Chapter 3000: If You Are Given a Chance and You Don't Use It

"Rothschild?"

Ye Chen's words made the three An family members look unbelievable.

An Qishan couldn't help but say, "The Rothschild family has always been arrogant. In their eyes, there is no enterprise or family in this world that can be on an equal footing with them. Even if the An family is the second largest family in the United States, what? Howard has always been arrogant and high above me when he sees me."

Speaking of this, An Qishan added, "I have known Howard for so many years. He has only been polite or even respectful to me once, which was when Chen Zhimin died and he called to discuss with me. With his character of using people when facing forward and not using people when facing backward, he wouldn't feel he owes me a favor after Chen Zhimin's matter is safely passed."

Ye Chen smiled, "There is no need to communicate with Howard about this matter. I will arrange for Steve to do it directly."

"Steve?" Second Uncle An Kaifeng asked subconsciously: "Is it Howard's eldest son, Steve Rothschild?"

"Yes." Ye Chen nodded and smiled, "It's him."

An Kaifeng smiled, "Steve, that guy, is even more of a jerk than his old man. His old man uses people when facing forward and doesn't use people when facing backward. He picks up the bowl to eat and puts down the chopsticks to scold his mother."

Ye Chen smiled, "Second Uncle must be talking about the Steve of the past. He doesn't dare to be so arrogant in front of me now. I was able to send the Four Directions Treasure Tower back to China this time, all thanks to his personal escort out of the country. Now that this little pigtail of his is in my hands, if I ask him to do anything, he wouldn't even dare to fart."

Speaking of this, Ye Chen looked at the time and said, "I guess the Rothschild family has long finished their internal meeting. I'll give him a call now."

Others heard Ye Chen talk about the Four Directions Treasure Tower and realized that Ye Chen had indeed grasped Steve's life gate this time.

Ye Chen dialed the phone, turned on the speakerphone, and before it rang twice, the other side answered immediately. Immediately after, Steve's respectful voice came over: "Oh, Mr. Ye, have you returned to China?"

"Yes." Ye Chen said indifferently, "I have returned to China. I called to thank you. You've worked hard for the Four Directions Treasure Tower."

"Oh..." Steve trembled all over and said hurriedly, "Mr. Ye... let's not mention those four words on the phone. It's too sensitive..."

Ye Chen smiled, "Anyway, I just called to thank you, and by the way, ask how your father is doing?"

Steve on the other end of the phone was so angry that his lungs were about to explode.

He cursed in his heart: "Ye Chen, Ye Chen, you are not satisfied with killing people and punishing hearts, and you have to jump out and sprinkle salt on my wounds! Can you not know whether the old master is healthy or not?"

Although Steve was very angry, he didn't dare to be presumptuous in front of Ye Chen, so he could only say respectfully, "Thanks to

"That's good then," Ye Chen said with a smile. "Steve, I cured your father; do you harbor any resentment toward me in your heart?"

Steve, as if he had been a cat whose tail was stepped on, blurted out hurriedly, "No, no! I'm so grateful to you that I don't know what to do; how could I possibly resent you..."

Ye Chen asked curiously, "By the way, now that your father's health has recovered, did he pass the position of family head to you as agreed?"

Steve felt extremely depressed, but he said in a muffled voice, "Father did not pass the position to me; he only clarified my status as the first heir."

As he spoke, Steve really couldn't hold back his frustration and muttered in a low voice, "Mr. Ye... you really poured a big bucket of ice water over me!"

Ye Chen stopped playing games with him and said straightforwardly, "Steve, we have an old saying in China: when Heaven is about to bestow a great responsibility upon a person, it first tests their resolve, exhausts their muscles and bones, and starves their body. Letting you wait a few more years to take over the Rothschild family is also to temper your will and, incidentally, to train your abilities. Although I am not as old as you, I can see that your personal ability is not yet enough to lead the entire Rothschild family. You still need your father to cultivate you for a few more years; otherwise, the vast foundation of your Rothschild family might just be ruined in your hands."

Steve cursed Ye Chen in his heart, but he could only say sullenly, "Mr. Ye, you are right; I do indeed need to learn more and settle down more!"

Ye Chen gave a hum and said nonchalantly, "But don't be too anxious. If you can't temper yourself in a few years, ten or twenty years will be more than enough. You don't need to worry about your old man's lifespan either. With me around, letting him live another twenty years is just a matter of one medicinal pill, so you still have plenty of time to learn properly."

Upon hearing this, Steve was so terrified that he almost cried.

Ten or twenty years?

If the old man lives another twenty years, he himself will be over seventy!

At seventy, people are already collecting their ten-year pension, and he still hasn't been officially promoted—how is he supposed to go on living like this?

However, he did not doubt the truth of Ye Chen's words at all, so he sighed and said, "Mr. Ye, if there is anything you need me to do, just say it. As long as it is within my power, I will definitely go all out..."

As he spoke, he said in a humble tone, "I admit that I did have some selfish motives before, and some unspeakable, dirty thoughts. But you can rest assured—from now on, if I, Steve Rothschild, show even the slightest bit of disobedience or hypocrisy toward you, may I die without a burial place!"

Ye Chen gave a faint hum, then stopped joking with him and said seriously, "Steve, since you've put it that way, I do have something I need your help with."

Steve hurriedly blurted out, "Mr. Ye, please speak! As long as it is something I can do, I will definitely go all out! Please give me a chance to share your burdens!"

Ye Chen said, "My grandfather is preparing to move all of the An family's businesses that can be withdrawn from the United States to China. However, for those real estate assets and industries that cannot be withdrawn from the United States, there is no one to take them over for the time being. You know that real estate also needs to be well-managed and operated to ensure its value grows steadily, and those physical industries that are difficult to withdraw also need someone to strictly control them to ensure steady upward progress. The An family no longer has any top-tier generals in the United States who can stand alone, so I hope you can help take over these industries and manage them on our behalf."

"Oh..." Steve breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly said, "Acting as an operator is simple. You can have your grandfather arrange for someone to sort out which ones cannot be taken away and are not willing to be sold; they can all be handed over to me for operation. I will definitely do my best to maintain them well."

Ye Chen said, "Steve, just doing your best is definitely not enough. You must give me a military pledge: for the real estate I hand over to you, you must at least guarantee me a 10% profit annually; for the businesses I hand over to you, if they are profitable, you must guarantee an annual growth rate of no less than 10%; if they are not profitable, you must turn them from losses to profits within one year."

"How... how much?!" Steve was stunned and blurted out subconsciously, "Mr. Ye... the current rent-to-sale ratio for high-quality real estate in the United States is about 30, which translates to an annualized return of only 3-5%. Even extremely high-quality projects cannot reach 10%! And... the businesses the An family cannot take away must be traditional industries, either manufacturing or traditional services. How can these industries guarantee a 10% annual growth rate now... As for the unprofitable ones, it's even harder to say. Even the Rothschild family has many industries that don't make money or even lose money, and there are some industries that are impossible to make money in no matter how hard you try. What virtue or ability do I have to achieve such good operational results for you..."

Ye Chen said casually, "It's fine, just make up the difference yourself. What's the big deal? You are now the legitimate first heir of the Rothschild family; what is this little bit of money to you?"

"I have to make it up?!" Steve felt a wave of dizziness in his brain and said subconsciously, "Mr. Ye... that's not how things are done... You asked me to help manage them; I am willing to take zero remuneration and go all out to serve you, but you set such a high performance standard and then ask me to make up the difference—isn't... isn't this extortion?"

Ye Chen said frankly, "That's right, it is extortion."

As he spoke, Ye Chen added, "Steve, you have to know that I am extorting you because I think highly of you and am giving you a chance to show your sincerity and demonstrate your strength. Guess why, for such a small matter, I didn't just have Helena call your old man?"

Ye Chen's rhetorical question made Steve's heart skip a beat, and he asked nervously and subconsciously, "Why... why?"

Ye Chen snorted coldly and said, "If I let your old man handle this, he definitely wouldn't say a word of nonsense. If he handles it beautifully and gives me the urge to cooperate long-term, I might even sell him another pill. But if I ask him to handle everything in the future, I can't guarantee anything else, but I can guarantee that you will definitely go before him. By then, your old man will be presiding over your funeral, and you, the first heir, will only have a title left."

Steve was instantly scared into a cold sweat!

Ever since Helena brought the medicine from Canada to cure Howard, Steve had hated Ye Chen to the core.

But now, he suddenly realized that Ye Chen had invisibly controlled the fate of both his father and himself.

If he really continued to supply his father with that kind of magical pill, perhaps he, depressed and unhappy, would really die before his father.

Just when Steve was terrified, Ye Chen said faintly, "Steve, the reason I handed this matter to you is to give you a chance to see if you are worth me maintaining a substantive cooperative relationship. If I give you a chance and you are useless, then I will bet everything on your father!"