Above the mage!

Chapter 353: Killing Many Birds with One Stone

"Ah?" Faced with Gode's "sudden attack", Haaland was unable to react at first and was stunned.

Although he kept saying that he had met a group of unscrupulous businessmen who wouldn't even look at a dog.

But these words are actually like what businessmen say: "Business is not good."

Most businessmen will always say this, but whether it is really difficult to do or just pretending to be difficult to do is a matter of opinion.

Therefore, the prices offered by those potential buyers may not necessarily be the same as what Haaland said.

"Sell it to me as a package, including the remaining schooner and all the facilities in the shipyard. What is your target price? In addition, if I can successfully take over the shipyard, I am willing to continue employing the original workers there if they are willing to stay," Godd added.

"This..." Haaland hesitated for a moment and quickly entered a state of thinking.

He calculated in his mind and quickly gave a price: "The Harland Shipyard covers an area of ​​nearly two acres and is located in the port of Lagos. As you know, the land here is more valuable. According to the land price, the price of this piece is about 2000 Plantagenet coins."

"As for the buildings, excluding the dock, the other factories, warehouses, office areas, etc. are estimated to be worth 2000 Plantagenet coins."

"So the total valuation of the land and grounds is about 4000 Plantagenet coins."

"Then there are the fixed assets. First of all, there are docks for ship construction and repair. We have two in total, one large and one small. The large dock is valued at 1500 Plantagenet coins, and the small one is worth about 1000 Plantagenet coins."

"In addition, the shipyard also has some second-hand equipment such as woodworking machinery, ship frames, and a large number of woodworking tools. Although I have sold many of them before, the remaining part is still worth about 2000 Plantagenet coins."

"That's 4500 Plantagenet coins."

"In addition, there are still some unprocessed raw materials in stock in the shipyard warehouse, such as oak, canvas, and hemp rope, with a value of about 1000 Plantagenet coins."

"We still have one completed ketch left. The price I offered to the young lady earlier was 1250 Plantagenet coins. I will only charge you 1200 Plantagenet coins."

"Finally, our Harland Shipyard is a century-old shipyard. Although it is not large in scale, it is also one of the old shipyards in Lagos. It also has a certain popularity and reputation in the local fishing and shipping industries. Although it has gone bankrupt, this name still has a certain value, estimated at about 500 Plantagenet coins."

"The total is 11200 Plantagenet coins, sir. Do you think this price is acceptable?" Haaland asked tentatively.

Even with Phoenix's resource support, 11200 Plantagenet coins is still an astronomical figure for Gode.

It’s not that the resources Phoenix can provide are not worth 11200 Plantagenet coins. The main reason is that he is using astral teleportation, which is somewhat equivalent to smuggling, and the supplies he can carry are limited.

In addition, his strength is limited. It would be troublesome to ship such a huge amount of materials, and it would require multiple batches of small quantities to different locations.

Gao De's eyes rolled and he slowly said, "Since Harland Shipyard is a century-old shipyard with a good reputation in the local area, how did it fall into the current situation?"

This is both out of curiosity and a way to bargain.

Hearing Gode's question, Haaland's face stiffened slightly, and a hint of hesitation flashed across his face.

But he also knew that the truth would come out sooner or later. The news about the decline of the shipyard was no secret in Lagos, so he finally chose to tell the truth: "In fact, half of this business was ruined by me."

He sighed, with a look of shame on his face, "During the spiritual marrow fever, the huge profits from spiritual marrow mining attracted a large amount of wealth and labor. Some fishermen even sold their fishing boats to invest in spiritual marrow mining, and workers left the shipyard to join spiritual marrow mining organizations."

Harland paused, as if he had seen the crazy scene again: "You haven't seen the scene at that time, so you may not be able to imagine what a grand occasion it was. To exaggerate, even the old lady selling grilled fish strips at the dock was holding on to copper and stone coins to get a share."

"Naturally, many shipyards also sold off their assets to join the Spiritual Marrow Industry."

"Although I didn't reach that point, I was indeed blinded by greed at the time. I didn't care about anything else and threw all the money I had into spiritual marrow mining. This move directly caused the Harland Shipyard to lose all its working capital and also laid the biggest foreshadowing for its current bankruptcy."

"With the booming mining of spiritual marrow, at its peak, almost half of the people in Lagos were engaged in spiritual marrow-related industries. The fishing industry declined, and the shipyards also shrank. But at the time, I didn't take it too seriously because I had the spiritual marrow as a guarantee."

"In the first year of my investment, I received dividends that were nearly twice my initial investment, while the profit from a shipyard's hard work in building a ship was at most 20% of the cost."

Harland let out a bitter laugh. "So, at that time, I not only didn't realize that something was wrong, but I also recovered the funds to protect the shipyard and even invested more of my assets into the spiritual marrow industry."

This decision may seem stupid now, but given the situation at the time, how could it not be a wise decision?
Traditional industries are in decline, while emerging industries are booming. Decisive transformation is a wise choice.

"You know what happened later. The spiritual essence was mined out, and the economy of Lagos City plummeted."

"But before the spiritual marrow resources were about to run out, the giants who controlled the spiritual marrow resources kept the news secret. In order to continue to create the illusion of a bustling business, they even filled the boxes with stones to make up the numbers, attracting other businessmen and investors to join in."

"And they themselves are quietly transferring assets and exiting the market."

I understand this. Isn't it just that the market makers are treating you retail investors like leeks?
Gao De secretly complained in his heart.

“When the giants finished their exit, they no longer hid the secret that the spiritual resources had been exhausted. The prosperous scene of Lagos City was like a bubble that was directly punctured.”

"The once prosperous spiritual marrow industries have closed down one after another, and the huge amount of money we invested in them has all gone down the drain without even a sound."

Although this happened a long time ago and Haaland had long since accepted the fact, there was still a hint of pain in his voice when he mentioned it again.

"The collapse of the spiritual marrow industry has also triggered a series of chain reactions."

“First, during the spiritual marrow fever, the traditional fishing industry in Lagos plummeted. Fishermen are important customers of our shipyard. Once the fishing industry declines, the shipbuilding industry will naturally not have a good time.

"In addition, during the period of the Spiritual Marrow Fever, the demand for fishing boats in the market dropped significantly, and instead the demand for merchant ships and passenger ships increased sharply."

"In order to adapt to this trend, we also changed our production structure to focus on merchant ships and passenger ships. However, once the bubble of the spiritual essence craze burst, these two types of ships became unpopular."

"Whether it is a ship that has been built but not yet delivered, or a semi-finished product under construction, those who have ordered it would rather default and pay liquidated damages than pay for it."

"The material and labor costs required for a merchant ship or passenger ship are extremely high, not to mention that the cost of raw materials for shipbuilding has risen sharply due to the shrinking supply chain of the shipbuilding industry caused by the spiritual essence fever. This backlog cost is even more terrifying."

"Plus, I invested all the working capital of the shipyard into the spiritual industry, so," Harland spread his hands, "my shipyard collapsed directly."

"Before the spiritual marrow fever, when the number of shipyards in Lagos was the largest, there were nearly fifty shipyards of all sizes. Now, there are only more than twenty left." "The reason why our Harland Shipyard can sustain its scale until this time is entirely due to this little bit of technical background and reputation." At this point, Harland raised his head slightly, expressing his pride in his own shipyard.

"So, the current reality cannot be changed. It is a fact that the shipbuilding industry has been in a slump and is considered a sunset industry. It is unreasonable for you to want to transfer the shipyard based on the valuation as the selling price." Gao De did not care about this and said slowly.

"This is a mess. I am somewhat interested in this mess, but you can't treat me as a sucker."

“As long as we can survive this period, the shipbuilding industry in Lagos will definitely be revived. It is not a mess.”

Haaland said quickly: "The government also realizes the importance of the fishery and is doing its best to help the fishery revive, including but not limited to providing certain subsidies to individuals and businesses that order fishing boats, reducing taxes on fish catches, and issuing industry protection regulations."

"Subsidy?" Gao De sneered, "Is that what the fishermen need?"

The main customers of fishing boats are still fishermen, and the so-called subsidy for fishermen is equivalent to a reduction of 10,000 yuan for orders over 200,000 yuan. It seems to be a large subsidy, but the problem is that they lack the 200,000 yuan!

"Reducing taxes on fish is a long-term strategy. If it is continued, it will help the fishery industry recover, but it is not a drastic measure. It is not enough for the current sluggish fishing and shipbuilding industries."

"As for the industrial protection regulations, you are not referring to the regulation in Lagos that local restaurants and businesses must purchase fish mainly caught by local fishermen." This is what Godd saw on the handwritten parchment at the front desk of the Palm Tree Hotel.

Haaland was slightly startled, a trace of embarrassment flashed across his face, but he still managed to say: "Yes, it is this regulation. This will be of great help to the revival of the local fishery."

"As long as fishermen have a market for their catch, they will have more money to buy fishing boats, and our shipbuilding industry will be able to recover, right?"

Gao De sneered: "Let's not talk about how many obstacles this rule will encounter during its implementation, and whether it can really be implemented."

"Moreover, even if the local fishermen's catch can be sold, they may not invest all their money in buying new boats. After experiencing the impact of the spiritual essence fever, they all have shadows in their hearts."

He continued, "Look at your shipyard. During the Spiritual Marrow fever, you withdrew all the funds to invest in the Spiritual Marrow industry, causing the shipyard's technology to stagnate. Now even if the shipbuilding industry is really revived, how do you think Harland Shipyard can stand out in the fierce market competition?"

Harland's shoulders slumped slightly. What God said was true, but he still refused to give in. "The Harland ketch is still one of the best schooners in Lagos."

Gao De shook his head and said disapprovingly: "This doesn't have much effect. After experiencing the spiritual marrow fever, which shipyard can still survive? Which one doesn't have some skills?"

“This advantage of yours may be an advantage compared to those bankrupt shipyards, but in the current shipbuilding industry in Lagos, it may not be worth mentioning at all.”

Haaland's face turned ugly. He opened his mouth and wanted to say something, but was interrupted by God again.

"I know you're unwilling to accept this. After all, this is your family's shipyard that has been passed down for a hundred years. But reality is so cruel, and you have to accept it."

Haaland was silent for a long time, and finally said with difficulty: "Then how much can you offer?"

"8000 Plantagenet coins, calculated at % of the total estimated value of your assets." Gao De stretched out his hand and made an "eight" gesture.

"8000?!" Haaland almost jumped up, his face flushed slightly, his eyes widened, and he was very excited: "Impossible, impossible, this price is too low, you are even more unscrupulous than those unscrupulous businessmen!"

"All of them." Gao De paused for a moment and said with a smile, "That means my price is still higher than others."

Haaland knew he had said something wrong and wanted to slap himself twice, but bargaining was the most important thing at the moment, so he didn't care about his face. "10000 Plantagenet coins, this is the lowest price."

"It's too expensive and not worth it." Gao De shrugged, appearing unusually indifferent.

"There's also a brand new two-masted sailboat at 9500." Harland's expression already began to show a hint of pleading.

Gao De did not respond immediately, but instead assumed a thoughtful attitude.

After a while, he slowly raised his head and looked at Harland. "9200, this is the most sincere price I can give. If you still don't accept it, then I can't do anything about it."

"But I believe that no one will offer a better price than mine at the moment, and the value of your shipyard will only decrease the longer it takes."

Haaland was struggling internally. On the one hand, he was reluctant to see the shipyard left by his father being acquired at such a low price, but on the other hand, he also knew that the facts were indeed as God said.

"Mr. Harland, what are you going to do next after the shipyard is sold?" Goder suddenly asked at this time.

Harland was stunned for a moment, then told the truth: "I plan to move to Dorne City, buy one or two small shops, and start living in retirement."

Gao De smiled slightly and said, "I don't know anything about shipbuilding. I'm an outsider. So if I acquire the Harland Shipyard, I am willing to sell 10% of the shipyard's shares to Mr. Harland at the current valuation and invite Mr. Harland to be the shipyard's guide and consultant."

"In this way, you can enjoy your retirement life in Dorne City while continuing your family's century-old heritage. It doesn't count as completely selling out the foundation passed down by your parents."

Haaland's eyes widened slightly, and a hint of emotion appeared on his face.

Obviously, the condition proposed by Gaode hit the mark.

When doing business, the key is to cater to the customer's preferences.

Gode ​​accurately saw the "good" in Haaland, so he put forward a condition that he could not refuse.

"Okay, 9200 Plantagenet coins, deal." After another half-hour of hesitation and thinking, Haaland nodded and finally agreed.

"This is not a small amount of money, and I will need at least half a month to prepare it."

"Of course." Haaland had no doubt.

9200 Plantagenet coins, how many people can take them out directly?
"However, I don't want you to think about looking for another buyer while I am raising funds."

"We can sign a preliminary contract first to confirm the transaction intention. I can pay 50 Plantagenet coins as a deposit, and you need to immediately withdraw the relevant information previously released about the transfer of the shipyard and the sale of the ship."

"No problem. Next, I will reject all other customers' purchase intentions and wait for you to raise funds and complete this transaction."

"That's great, but we have to be honest. If the lady you promised before comes to us again and wants to buy this schooner, you should ask her to go to the Palm Tree Hotel to find a lady named Anna." Goder said again.

(End of this chapter)