50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 667 Taking it All for Himself
Lieutenant Colonel Page was referring to a 'retired' Black Hawk, while Sun Zhiwei was referring to a 'scrapped' Black Hawk.

Changing just one adjective can drastically change the price.

A 'retired' Black Hawk is still a Black Hawk. If you want to buy it, you have to pay the price of a weapon, and at most you can get a discount.

A 'scrapped' Black Hawk is just scrap metal, which can be weighed by the kilogram.

Lieutenant Colonel Page clearly understood the meaning behind Sun Zhiwei's words. He had never done this before, so he didn't answer immediately but instead pondered in silence.

Sun Zhiwei wasn't in a hurry. He took a sip of whiskey and quietly looked out the window at the naval port.

After a while, Lieutenant Colonel Page asked, "Has there been any precedent for this before?"

Of course, otherwise, where did those EA-6B, F-14A, and A-7 aircraft that he sent back to China as scrap come from?

Therefore, Sun Zhiwei immediately replied, "Of course, our American soldiers often damage weapons and equipment during training and patrols."

"You should have a disposal process here, right? With the cooperation of the inspector, this is easy to do."

"With so many bases around the world, the number of pieces of equipment that are scrapped each year for various reasons is unknown."

"The scrapped equipment was all kinds of things, from tanks to airplanes to ships, you name it."

"As you probably know, some equipment is beyond repair once it is damaged, because a complete repair would cost more than buying a new one."

“In this case, it’s better to sell it to a recycling company; that way, you can at least recover some of the costs.”

Lieutenant Colonel Page understood what he meant. From Sun Zhiwei's words, he also realized that he would play a key role in this matter.

"But what good will this do me?" Yes, all his hard work can't be seen as Lei Feng doing good deeds.

"That depends on the outcome of our discussion. I can pay for the 'scrapped' Black Hawk at scrap price, and you can offer me a service fee as a token of your appreciation."

"Currently, the recycling price for scrap metal is around $200 per ton. A Black Hawk has an empty weight of 5 tons, and the recycling price for each one is around $1000."

"As for your service fee, how about $10 per aircraft?"

Lieutenant Colonel Page was not very satisfied with the price. Sun Zhiwei had previously paid $10 per day to rent the plane.

He didn't give the rent to the base; he pocketed it all.

"That's too little. 50 per aircraft, the buyback price should be increased to 1.5 per aircraft."

This price is not cheap, because purchasing a new Black Hawk only costs $210 million.

The item had been used for several years and its price had dropped significantly. He would have to re-maintain it after buying it back, so buying it for 51.5 yuan was a bit of a loss.

“This fee is too high,” Sun Zhiwei shook his head.

"However, there is another way to handle this, which would be more beneficial to both of us if you could do it."

"What method?" Lieutenant Colonel Page was very curious. This Mr. James was not only a very wealthy man, but also seemed to be very familiar with things in the military.

"Lieutenant Colonel, have you heard of 'Environmentally Friendly Dismantling'?"

"Environmentally friendly dismantling? What's that?"

"You may not know that the lubricating oil, residual fuel, and heavy metals such as lead and cadmium in a helicopter are all highly toxic."

"If these toxic substances are released into the ocean or soil without treatment, they will cause large-scale pollution of the local sea and soil."

"These toxins may not be able to naturally dilute or degrade for hundreds of years, causing lasting harm for centuries." "Is 'Environmentally Friendly Dismantling' a deep-processing method to prevent equipment from polluting the environment and to render the equipment harmless?"

"But I heard that's only used when dismantling aircraft carriers, isn't it?"

"NO, NO, NO, 'Environmentally friendly dismantling' isn't just for dismantling aircraft carriers; it can be used for dismantling any mechanized equipment."

“The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has become increasingly powerful in recent years and its management in this area has become very strict.”

"If equipment is disassembled haphazardly, violating the Air Purification Act, then the person responsible will indeed be arrested and imprisoned."

"And that's where the new method comes from. As long as you apply to have your scrapped Black Hawk dismantled in an environmentally friendly manner, and if the application is approved, you can get a dismantling fee from the logistics department."

Upon hearing that he could earn money through "Environmentally Friendly Dismantling," Lieutenant Colonel Page became interested: "Approximately how much is it?"

"Generally speaking, the cost is around $100 million to $150 million per aircraft."

"How should we split this money?" Paige asked, her voice tinged with impatience.

Sun Zhiwei almost laughed again. They hadn't even done the deed yet, and they were already thinking about dividing the spoils. But he didn't laugh at them. After all, who doesn't love US dollars?

"How about we split it 40/60? Lieutenant Colonel, you get 60%."

Lieutenant Colonel Page calculated in his mind that 60% would be $60 to $90, which he was not satisfied with, so he shook his head.

"What about a 30/70 split?" The lieutenant colonel shook his head again.

"Then how much do you think is appropriate?" Sun Zhiwei had no choice but to let him answer for himself.

Lieutenant Colonel Page solemnly replied, "I don't think you contributed anything to this, and you even got the 'Black Hawk' for free, so you shouldn't get any more of this money."

Good heavens, this bastard actually wants to take it all for himself. Sun Zhiwei was also stunned by Lieutenant Colonel Page's appetite and was speechless for a long time.

Lieutenant Colonel Page calmly picked up his glass, took a sip, and waited for Sun Zhiwei's reply with a smug smile.

After a long pause, Sun Zhiwei finally managed to reorganize his thoughts: "I need ten, not one less."

Lieutenant Colonel Page, who had gained a great advantage, was very tolerant of Sun Zhiwei's 'last act of stubbornness,' and he generously waved his hand, saying:

"Sure, ten it is. And I'll allow you to choose any you like at the base. However, you'll have to rent a cargo ship to transport them yourself."

"Alright, you win, Lieutenant Colonel."

After Sun Zhiwei finished speaking, he raised his glass and clinked it with Lieutenant Colonel Page's, then drank the whiskey in one gulp.

The two agreed to set the transaction time for a week later.

During this week, Lieutenant Colonel Page needs to write an application for "Environmentally Friendly Dismantling of Used Equipment" and then smooth things over with connections to get the application approved quickly.

This must have cost a lot of money, but Sun Zhiwei didn't get a single penny this time, so Peiqi felt embarrassed to ask him to pay for it again.

Fortunately, Sun Zhiwei had rented Blackhawks here many times in previous years, so Lieutenant Colonel Page's pockets weren't empty, and he could afford the cost of smoothing things over.

During this period, Sun Zhiwei first urged the small airport on Subi Island to speed up its construction.

They need to call over lawyer Brown, who is far away in New York, to sign a dismantling agreement with Lieutenant Colonel Page in the name of West Point Recycling Company.

They also need to rent boats to bring back 10 Black Hawk helicopters.

(End of this chapter)