50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 592 Making Money with PPTs
He must combine kindness and severity. Only he can bestow kindness, and if anyone does not cooperate with the rectification, they will still be dismissed. But David must establish severity.

Sun Zhiwei paid David to be the manager, so he should take the blame. If he doesn't do a good job, then someone else should be promoted.

In short, Sun Zhiwei should avoid doing things that offend people, as it doesn't fit his public image.

Most ordinary people don't ask for much; they just want a stable job to support their families.

Sun Zhiwei may not be able to guarantee anything else, but he must guarantee this: after all, he is not a true capitalist.

After announcing the pay raise, Sun Zhiwei left the meeting room. Soon, the news spread throughout the airport, and all the employees wore smiles.

20% is no small amount; it instantly raised the average annual salary at LaGuardia Airport from below $19,000 in agricultural states to above $22,800 in New York State.

This is just the salary standard for ordinary employees; the salaries of management are rising even higher, which will minimize the resistance to the reform measures that David plans to implement.

The increase in employee wages has raised the airport's annual operating costs by 10%, which is in the millions of dollars. Sun Zhiwei has spent so much, he must reap the corresponding rewards.

He didn't ask for much; the equipment problem couldn't be solved immediately, but the human factors had to be addressed.

Keep the dirty floors clean, place more trash cans in the lobby and corridors, repaint the graffiti-covered walls, and add more security checkpoints to increase security efficiency.

These efforts, though seemingly effortless, can quickly reverse LaGuardia Airport's image of being dirty and chaotic in the public eye. An airport can be old and outdated, but it cannot be dirty and disorderly.

With such immediate results, the state government is no longer afraid of the media talking nonsense about the privatization of the Authority.

As for the traffic congestion in front of the terminal, it is actually not easy to solve, because the roads outside the airport do not belong to the airport, and widening them would involve many issues such as demolition.

However, he already had an idea: to open a new passageway in the direction of the zoo on the east side, which is near Terminal C.

The passageway runs over the water, which avoids the hassle of demolition.

Once completed, it will be able to divert at least 30-40% of passenger traffic, effectively alleviating the current traffic pressure on the roads in front of the terminal.

The main roads near the zoo are already in place; he only needs to build two secondary highways leading to them.

This waterway is about 1 kilometer long and will cost two to three million US dollars, which he does not intend to pay for himself.

The New York City government is rolling in money; they should be the ones paying for these municipal projects.

Of course, he needs a suitable reason to convince the New York City mayor and council to willingly spend the money.

He had already come up with a reason: the renovation project of the entire LaGuardia Airport.

As the only airport in downtown New York City and the city's oldest airport, it has always been a landmark of the city.

It's only because of its age and dilapidated state that it's now being criticized by the public.

If Sun Zhiwei is willing to spend money to renovate the entire airport, making it vibrant again and a new landmark in New York.

For this image-building project, New York City Hall would be willing to spend some money to build a supporting branch road.

Although this 'airport renovation project' doesn't even have a written plan yet, and there's no funding, that doesn't stop Sun Zhiwei from bragging about it.

PPT? Everyone's made one before.

Although there's no computer design software yet, there are painters. Find a painter to draw a colored rendering of the future LaGuardia Airport, and then show it to the mayor. That'll be more effective than anything else.

The tricks that later generations used to fool investors are still being used by no one today.

Therefore, he was certain that once he presented the renderings, those country bumpkin mayors and councilors would be amazed, and the effect would be immediate.

He acted on his idea immediately, so he found the person in charge of the team and asked them to find a painter. At the same time, he also called over Huang Mingyu's lawyer, Orpheum Smith.

Attorney Smith has done a lot for him over the years, and they are old friends. Sun Zhiwei is a major shareholder of the bank and is very generous, so he is leading the team again this time.

Upon meeting Smith, Sun Zhiwei handed him three copies of the "Fully Guaranteed Land Title" and the corresponding payment receipts.

"Is this information enough for the judge to award the land to me? If not, I will find other evidence."

Smith glanced at the contents of the document before saying, "We also need another document to prove that Davis served as the general manager of LaGuardia Airport back then."

“That’s easy. Davis died in a plane crash while he was in office. The airport paid a compensation, and there are insurance payout records.”

"Then there's no problem. I guarantee these three plots of land will soon be back in your name."

"It's not just these three plots of land. According to insiders, Davis used public funds to buy seven or eight plots of land back then."

"But apart from these three plots with land deeds, I don't have any actual evidence for the others."

"So what are your thoughts?" Although Smith was very capable, he didn't have any good solutions for cases with absolutely no evidence.

“You can start with USBank. They must have done something wrong back then, otherwise, the money wouldn’t have been able to get out.”

"Use this to blackmail them, then find the transfer records from decades ago, and then get the information from the seller."

"For the sake of the bank's reputation, I think they will cooperate with you."

Although he was certain that the bank would keep paper transfer receipts, he had no idea where the documents from decades ago were now stored.

Finding them won't be easy without the cooperation of banks.

"Starting with the banks? What a brilliant idea, Mr. James. I think this approach should work, but we'll have to try it to see."

"You should secure these three plots of land first, and then go to the bank."

“As long as the judge rules in our favor, the bank’s responsibility will be effectively recognized, and we won’t have to worry about them shirking their responsibility when we go back to the bank.”

“Yes, the judge has already approved it, they can’t deny it. Mr. James, if you become a lawyer, you will definitely be able to wear a judge’s robe in the future.”

The judge's robe he was referring to is the black uniform worn by Supreme Court justices for life in the United States, and becoming a Supreme Court justice for life is the ultimate dream of every lawyer.

Sun Zhiwei had no interest in the judge's robes; he only wanted his land.

Looking at the skyscrapers on Manhattan Island a few kilometers away, he fantasized that one of them was his.

(End of this chapter)