I'm back in 1990

Chapter 350: A 3-cent Debt

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"Someone wanted to buy our mosaic tiles, but I turned them away."

Zhang Yun immediately brought up a very important matter.

"When?"

"Just now! I estimate they left less than five minutes ago."

Which company is it?

"Call it Seven-Colored Hummingbird Company."

Huang Xiaochuan was completely bewildered. He had never heard of such a company before. And how did this company know that Mosaic was owned by Changhong Investment? They came knocking on his door with such precision. Huang Xiaochuan certainly didn't believe there was nothing going on here.

"Have you given a price quote?"

Zhang Yun kept everyone in suspense: "I did report it, but you definitely won't believe me if I tell you."

Huang Xiaochuan immediately became interested upon hearing Zhang Yun's question: "How much?"

"One and a half billion US dollars."

"Only this much?" Huang Xiaochuan felt that the price was far too insincere.

"Right? I had the same thoughts as you do now."

Huang Xiaochuan asked Zhang Yun, "So what's your opinion on this?"

Zhang Yun said, "There must be something going on here. An unknown company has found us precisely and offered 150 million to buy the mosaic we have. This is strange no matter how you look at it. I think this Seven Colors Hummingbird must have been arranged by some big company."

Huang Xiaochuan laughed and said, "It seems we're on the same page. I thought so too. Let's put this matter aside for now. Anyway, Mosaic is definitely not going to be sold at this stage."

Zhang Yun quickly picked up on a clue from Huang Xiaochuan's words: "You mean you'll still sell the mosaic in the future?"

Huang Xiaochuan firmly denied it: "Did I mean that?"

Huang Xiaochuan did have such a plan, but not in the near future. He wanted to keep the mosaic in his hands to create maximum value before selling it, and he had to sell it for a good price.

Because at this stage, only Huang Xiaochuan understands that there are too many web browsers to choose from in the future, the blue ocean has become a red ocean, and there's no point in squeezing out much profit from keeping the mosaic.

Therefore, Huang Xiaochuan had long had the idea of ​​selling the mosaic for a good price when the time was right.

Zhang Yun said helplessly, "Alright! It seems I misunderstood."

"Has Microsoft offered a proposal to invest in Gaze?" Huang Xiaochuan asked another question.

"They offered it, but Goldman Sachs and I rejected it. We both agreed that now was not the right time to accept Microsoft's investment."

Huang Xiaochuan thought for a moment, then asked, "I'd like to hear your reasons for doing this."

"Goldman Sachs is currently actively pushing for Gaze's IPO. Goldman Sachs and I agree that it is not in the best interests of existing investors to bring Microsoft in at this stage. The most appropriate time is after Gaze goes public, and then we can swap shares with Microsoft based on the post-IPO stock value. Our Gaze browser combined with Microsoft's Windows system would be a powerful alliance that would benefit the stock prices of both parties."

Huang Xiaochuan nodded. It seemed that letting Zhang Yun take the helm of Changhong Investment was the best thing he had ever done.

However, Ms. Catherine was also very particular about appearances. She copied the Goldman Sachs model and rented an entire floor of office space on Fifth Avenue in New York, recruiting a professional investment team with business acumen, financial expertise, and the ability to handle investments in different markets.

She also used her own Rolls-Royce as an official vehicle, taking her all over the world, and was followed by a large group of bodyguards, assistants, and secretaries. Her aura was even stronger than that of Huang Xiaochuan, the real boss.

As the saying goes, "A general in the field may disobey the emperor's orders," so Huang Xiaochuan simply turned a blind eye to the extravagant behavior of Ms. Catherine.

After finishing their business, Zhang Yun asked, "Are you coming to America this summer?"

Huang Xiaochuan said listlessly, "I'm not going. You're here, aren't you?"

"Fine, don't come then!" Zhang Yun angrily hung up the phone.

Huang Xiaochuan, holding the phone, thought to himself, "Holy crap! Who's the boss here? Are they trying to overthrow the Heavenly Gang?"

When Huang Xiaochuan returned home in the late afternoon, the house seemed quite lively, as if some guests had come.

Upon entering the house, I saw that it was Uncle Qian and Qian Yuangen who had brought bayberries.

Huang Xiaochuan quickly greeted Uncle Qian and Qian Yuangen.

"Uncle Qian, A'gen is here!"

Uncle Qian was chatting with his grandmother and aunt, while Qian Yuangen was being pulled aside by Zeng Xia to talk. In one corner of the living room, there were more than a dozen baskets of bayberries.

Upon seeing Huang Xiaochuan return, Uncle Qian immediately stood up to greet him.

"Xiao Chuan is back!" His sudden appearance startled Huang Xiao Chuan, who quickly went over to let him sit down.

"Uncle Qian, you're my elder, this isn't right. Are you trying to shorten my lifespan?"

Grandma agreed, saying, "That's right, he's a junior; how can you, as his maternal uncle, welcome him?"

This was the first time that the unassuming Uncle Qian had come here. The interior decoration and the beautiful garden made him feel a little overwhelmed and he couldn't help but feel a bit reserved. On the other hand, Qian Yuangen was more relaxed and looked around curiously.

"Did you and Uncle Qian pick out all these bayberries?"

"No, my uncle arranged for a car to bring us here. Otherwise, my dad and I wouldn't have been able to find our way here!"

Huang Xiaochuan smiled and said to his uncle, "Uncle Qian, stay here tonight and don't leave. I'll have a couple of drinks with you."

Uncle Qian didn't stand on ceremony with Huang Xiaochuan and nodded with a smile in agreement.

"Okay!"

Seeing that Uncle Qian had agreed, Huang Xiaochuan patted Qian Yuangen on the shoulder.

"Ah Gen, drink a little more tonight. I know your alcohol tolerance."

Qian Yuangen has a high alcohol tolerance; he can drink a bottle without any problem, but he only feels the effects after two bottles. He's the kind of person who's born to drink.

Qian Yuangen smiled and nodded.

Huang Xiaochuan and Qian Yuangen hadn't seen each other for a long time, so they chatted.

"Ah Gen, is working at the factory tiring?"

"It's definitely tiring, but it earns more than farming or growing fruit."

At this point, Uncle Qian said, "Anyway, people always have to endure hardship. If you can't endure the hardship of studying, you'll have to endure other hardships. If it weren't for the many township and village enterprises now, you, a young man, would only be able to farm."

Huang Xiaochuan smiled. Although Uncle Qian wasn't very educated, he had a profound understanding of life and his words were always to the point.

Huang Xiaochuan then asked Qian Yuangen, "What do you most want to do?"

Without thinking, Qian Yuangen blurted out, "I want to go into sales and marketing. I can travel frequently, and the income is much higher than what I earn in the workshop. I can even start smoking Hongtashan cigarettes."

Do you enjoy business trips?

"There is a subsidy for business trips. You get eight yuan a day while you're away, and you can also get reimbursed for entertainment expenses. Plus, there's a sales commission, which is much higher than the piece-rate wages you get in the factory."

"So your factory is doing quite well!"

Qian Yuangen shook his head: "I heard from the factory manager that our business partners owe us a lot of money, and we also owe a lot of money to the raw material suppliers. Sometimes our factory manager has to go out and collect the debts himself."

What Qian Yuangen described was not an isolated case; it was very common in the 1990s. This was known as "triangular debt," which eventually led to countless messy accounts. In the end, the government had to step in and establish four companies to buy these non-performing assets from the banks and dispose of them, thus resolving the problem of triangular debt.

Since bayberries cannot be stored for too long, the bayberries that Uncle Qian brought need to be processed promptly.

Huang Xiaochuan called Yu Weilai and asked him to take away a few baskets, and then asked him to give half of them to Tang Yuan'an. He also asked Ding Yilai to take away a few baskets, and then asked him to take one basket each to Chen Zhe and Sang Weihong. That way, they had used up a small portion of the food.

Seeing that there were still quite a few bayberries left, Huang Xiaochuan accompanied Yu Xiang out again, delivering a basket each to Ji Mei and Yu Xiang's mentor.

We kept some of the rest to eat and used the rest to make medicinal wine.

Aunt asked Huang Xiaochuan to bring a few cases of liquor from the basement. Huang Xiaochuan saw that there was a lot of Moutai, so he simply brought a few cases of Moutai to make bayberry wine for his aunt.

Uncle Qian and his son Qian Yuangen were so shocked by what they saw that their eyelids twitched. This was just too much!

That evening, Huang Xiaochuan treated Uncle Qian and his son to Moutai. The next day, when they left, Huang Xiaochuan even brought several cases for Uncle Qian to take home and drink.