North America 1849, from Gold Rush to Warlord

Chapter 109 You are humiliating us (5,000 words)
What could Azu say when faced with her father-in-law's pressure to get married?
Let's just stall!

“Mr. Parker, Vivian and I are only nineteen years old. We are too young. Shouldn’t we wait a little longer, until we are more mature?”

Parker Parker couldn't help but say, "Aren't you mature enough? You've fooled a whole bunch of old men and uncles. You're already a pro!"

"Uh, I meant Vivian! Getting married too early isn't good for her health!"

"You knew it was bad for her health, yet you still did it?"

Ah Zu was speechless. Could it be that Vivian was the one who took the initiative and he couldn't resist, so he was forced to accept it?

Ah Zu could only bite the bullet and say, "Alright, Mr. Parker, once I'm done with this busy period, I'll propose to Vivian! Believe me, I will definitely marry Vivian, she will definitely be my wife!"

Hearing what Azu said, Parker Parker breathed a slight sigh of relief.

"Azu, I hope you keep your word and don't let Vivian down!"

"Of course, I would never do that!"

Having managed to appease the father-in-law, the three of them set out together and arranged a time to negotiate with the Freemasons.

That afternoon, the two sides finally met in the shipyard's study.

Edgar Allan Poe began by introducing, “Boss, this is my friend, Mr. Steve Peterson, a director of the New York Telegraph Company!”

"Mr. Peterson, welcome to the West, welcome to San Francisco!"

Azu politely shook hands with Peterson, who had a beer belly.

“Peterson, this is my boss, and also the true owner of the pharmaceutical factory, Li Zunian!”

Peterson was not surprised. Apparently, during their time in San Francisco, they had also conducted a basic investigation and understanding of Huamei Industrial Company and Li Zunian.

"Mr. Li, it's a pleasure to meet you!"

Although he looked down on the Chinese from the bottom of his heart, strength determines status. With Azu's current strength, Peterson dared not show the slightest contempt or disdain.

"Mr. Li, it is my honor to introduce you to two of my important friends in Freemasonry!"

Peterson then pointed to an elderly white man with a full Prussian-style beard and said, "This is Mr. Bell Schneider, the chairman of our New York Telegraph Company and an 18th-ranking Knight of the Rose Cross of the Freemasons of Jerusalem!"

"Mr. Schneider, on behalf of Huamei Industrial, welcome!"

Schneider, with an arrogant expression, lightly shook hands with Azu.

Then, Peterson pointed to another well-dressed, elegant middle-aged gentleman and said, "This is Mr. Henry DuPont, chairman of the DuPont Company. DuPont mainly deals in gunpowder and chemical industries and is the most important gunpowder supplier to the American military."

"Mr. Henry DuPont graduated from West Point Military Academy and is also a seventeenth-rank East-West Knight of the Freemasons' Council of the Princes of Jerusalem!"

DuPont? Azu's eyes lit up slightly!
This is the same DuPont company that later invented nylon and black silk.

So, Azu and Henry DuPont shook hands even more warmly.

Each side had three people, and they sat down in the study as host and guest. Monica, who appeared as an assistant, poured a glass of wine for everyone.

"I never imagined that the owner of Huamei Industrial Company would be such a young Chinese man!"

With his large belly, Schneider spoke first: "It's unbelievable that a young Chinese man could create such a miraculous drug as penicillin!"

Azu cut straight to the point without batting an eye: "The three gentlemen have traveled thousands of miles from the prosperous East to the remote and desolate West. I don't think you came here to question me, did you?"

"I heard from Ellen that you want to acquire shares in my pharmaceutical factory? I think we should be more open about how many shares you want?"

"Ahem!" Peterson cleared his throat and replied, "Our consortium, consisting of New York Telegraph Company, DuPont, and other companies, wishes to purchase 70% of the shares of Huamei Pharmaceutical Factory!"

"Hehe! How much are you offering for 70% of the shares?" Azu asked calmly.

Schneider said calmly, "Mr. Li, your Huamei Pharmaceutical Factory has only been established for half a year. A small pharmaceutical factory like this, which has only been established for a short time, is not of much value."

"I think $100,000 for 70% of the shares is a very reasonable price!"

"One hundred thousand dollars?" Azu sneered. "Mr. Schneider, do you think I've never seen money before?"

"Right now, in the East, my penicillin has been sold for over $250, and it's still incredibly hard to find!"

"One hundred thousand US dollars, which is the price of four hundred vials of penicillin!" Azu sneered. "Mr. Schneider, if that's your attitude, then I'm sorry, please go back to where you came from!"

“Young Chinese, don’t be too greedy!” Schneider’s voice turned cold: “One hundred thousand dollars is enough for you to live a wealthy life! Take one hundred thousand dollars back to China and you will be one of the richest people.”

"Snap...!" Azu snapped his fingers.

Monica, who was behind him, immediately brought up a heavy suitcase.

Monica placed the briefcase on the desk, opened it, and turned to Schneider, DuPont, and the other two.

Inside the suitcase were neatly stacks of one-hundred-dollar bills!

Holding his wine glass, Azu calmly said, "Here is one million US dollars, Mr. Schneider, Mr. DuPont. I think this box of dollars should be enough to acquire your New York Telegraph Company and DuPont!"

“Gurgle…!”

Upon seeing the neatly arranged one million dollars in cash inside the briefcase, Schneider, DuPont, and Peterson were instantly dumbfounded, and all three swallowed hard.

"Smack!" Azu slammed the briefcase shut and said, "Gentlemen, you want to buy my pharmaceutical factory? Fine! But with your financial resources, you're far from enough!"

"If it's your telegraph company and DuPont that want to sell, we can have a proper discussion!"

Schneider, recovering from the shock of receiving a million dollars in cash, exclaimed, "Mr. Li, you are humiliating us!"

“No!” Azu replied, “You think you can buy my pharmaceutical factory with a mere $100,000? You’re the ones who humiliated me first!”

At this moment, Henry DuPont, who had been silent all along, spoke up: "Mr. Lee, you must understand that we are not just representing the New York Telegraph Company and DuPont, but the Freemasons, to negotiate with you!"

"Represent the Freemasons?" Azu calmly asked, "What evidence do you have? How can you represent the entire Freemasons without any proof?"

Henry pulled a heavy gold badge from his pocket and showed it to Azu.

"This is my evidence!"

Edgar Allan Poe whispered in Azu's ear, "This is the badge of the seventeenth-rank Freemason knight of the East and West!"

Having been connected with the Freemasons online, Azu has also learned a little about the Freemasons' organizational structure in the past two days.

Within Freemasonry, there are thirty-three minor ranks and five major ranks.

The thirty-three ranks range from the lowest apprentice to the highest Grand Inspector.

The five major orders range from the lowest, the primary order, to the highest, the religious court.

The seventeenth-rank East-West Knights and the eighteenth-rank Rose Cross Knights both belong to the third major rank, the Council of Princes of Jerusalem.

Within Freemasonry, the 17th and 18th orders are considered relatively high-ranking members.

Only those who reach the fourth and fifth major ranks above the nineteenth archbishop are considered true core members of Freemasonry.

The presidents of each branch are like branch masters at the 20th level.

Franklin was once the first 20th-rank Master of a chapter in the United States!
Azu stared at the seventeenth-rank Eastern and Western knight insignia and said coldly, "Mr. DuPont, this only proves your Freemasonry membership, it doesn't represent Freemasonry at all!"

Henry DuPont put away his badge: "Mr. Lee, even if we don't represent the entire Freemasonry, we can at least represent certain people within the Freemasonry!"

"Even if it's just a few individuals, the power we represent is absolutely not something you can contend with!"

Henry DuPont said in a calm tone: "A miraculous drug like penicillin cannot be controlled by a small pharmaceutical company like Huamei, much less by a young Chinese like you! You simply cannot keep penicillin, much less maximize its value."

"Penicillin can only reach its full potential if it's in our hands!" "Reach the full potential of penicillin?" Azu asked with interest. "To be precise, in Mr. DuPont's eyes, it should be about maximizing its value, right?"

Henry DuPont replied, "There is no conflict between earning and maximizing value!"

“There is indeed no conflict!” Azu said, “However, you are here, exploiting my value!”

Azu continued, "Let me do the math for you three gentlemen. Currently, I earn seventy dollars for each vial of penicillin. Although the annual production is only one million vials, the profit it brings me has already reached seventy million dollars...!"

"Seventy million US dollars... Oh my God!"

Peterson could not suppress the shock in his heart and let out a low gasp!

"This is just one year's profit, and I'm not in a hurry to expand production capacity! Even if I only maintain the current production capacity, I can still earn $700 million from penicillin over the next ten years!"

"If I were to increase production capacity tenfold, believe me, I could absolutely do it! In the next ten years, I could earn seven billion dollars from penicillin!"

“You want to acquire 70% of the shares? Then let’s say five billion dollars!” A cold smile appeared on Azu’s lips. “If the three esteemed gentlemen, and some of the people you represent, can come up with five billion dollars, I will sell you the penicillin and the pharmaceutical factory!”

"Fifty billion dollars!" Schneider roared angrily, "What the hell are you talking about, you damn Chinaman?"

"You started this joke!" Azu said coldly. "You think you can buy penicillin for $100,000? What is this if not a joke?"

“From beginning to end, you have never treated this as a normal business negotiation, nor have you treated me and Huamei Industrial Company as equal business partners.”

Azu's voice gradually turned cold and sharp: "You're just relying on the Freemasons' mountain of power, looking down on me and Huamei Company with an air of superiority. You think buying my pharmaceutical factory and penicillin is like giving alms to a beggar!"

"You may have realized the enormous commercial value of penicillin, and you may also have realized the great prestige that penicillin can bring you."

"However, you don't understand me and Huamei Industrial Company at all. Perhaps, deep down, you think we are not worth investigating or understanding by you high and mighty gentlemen!"

"You have absolutely no respect for me, and you have absolutely no respect for Huamei Industrial Company!"

"If you continue with this condescending attitude, then I can tell you directly, there's absolutely no room for negotiation!!!"

After finishing his sentence, Azu calmly picked up his wine glass and took a small sip.

An eerie silence fell over the study.

Schneider, unable to contain his anger, said, "Chinaman, perhaps you really don't understand us Freemasons, or the power we represent!"

"If we wanted to, we could easily suppress you and your penicillin! We could cut off all your sales channels! Even...!"

Schneider's somber gaze swept over Azu, Edgar Allan Poe, and Peter Parker: "Even you and your families will be in extremely dangerous circumstances!"

"Mr. Schneider, your threat is so old-fashioned. Can't you come up with any new words?"

Azu said, “In the eastern United States, your Freemasons certainly have very powerful influence, but don’t forget, this is the West! This is the Wild West!”

"At worst, I'll just stop selling my penicillin in the east! The world is so big, I have no trouble finding a market for my penicillin!"

"If you're going to resort to the most despicable and shameless threats... heh, then come with me!"

With that, Azu led them out of the study and to the entrance of the office building!
As soon as Azu appeared at the door, he heard a neat and deafening chorus of shouts!

"Hello, boss...!!!"

The sudden loud noise startled Schneider, DuPont, and Peterson, who were following behind Azu, causing them to stumble!
I quickly looked over and saw that, without me noticing, a dozen or so formations of hundreds of people had been neatly lined up in the open space outside the office building!

A dozen or so formations of a hundred men each, and a group of over a thousand men, all dressed in neat military uniforms and holding brand-new rifles they had never seen before, stood at attention and gave a salute to the people at the entrance of the small building with dignified bearing and high spirits!
"Hello, boss...!!!"

Another perfectly synchronized shout rang out.

Ah Zu stepped forward, waved high at the impressive procession, and shouted, "Brothers, you've worked hard!"

"Serving China...!!!"

Azu turned around and said to DuPont and the other two, "See that? These are some of the militia from our Huamei Company!"

"If you want to threaten us, then please convince the American government and people to wage a real war against us!"

"Gulp...!" The three of them swallowed hard.

Peterson quickly explained, "Mr. Li, I think you've misunderstood! We absolutely have no intention of threatening you or Huamei Company!"

"Heh!" Azu chuckled coldly. "No? Good! Shall we go back and continue our discussion?"

"Of course, of course!"

So the group returned to the study and sat back down in their original seats.

However, the atmosphere in the room has become completely different!

The arrogant and condescending attitude that Schneider and his two companions had just displayed vanished instantly!

Instead, a cautious and apprehensive attitude prevailed!
They were afraid that if they were not careful, they would never be able to leave this room, never leave San Francisco, and never leave this wild West!

Ah Zu raised his glass: "So? Can we have a proper talk now?"

"Ahem...!" Henry DuPont coughed twice with difficulty before saying, "Mr. Li, we sincerely apologize for our attitude just now!"

"We really don't know much about you and your Huamei Industrial Company!"

"All we know is that Huamei Industrial was founded just a year ago, and the pharmaceutical factory has an even shorter history! And the one who created all of this is a young Chinese man!"

"We never imagined that Mr. Li and your Huamei Industrial Group already possessed such formidable strength!"

Henry DuPont's attitude became very sincere: "If we had known you possessed such strength, we would never have been so presumptuous!"

"I believe that Mr. Li and your Huamei Industrial Group have proven everything with their strength, and you have earned our respect!"

Azu said, "So, do you still want to acquire my pharmaceutical factory and penicillin?"

"this……!"

Henry DuPont, Schneider, and Peterson exchanged glances.

Under these circumstances, how could they possibly have the confidence to discuss acquisitions?
Even if Azu were willing to sell, they simply wouldn't have enough funds!
They can't even come up with five million dollars, let alone five billion!

They represent not just New York Telegraph and DuPont, but a small circle of wealthy businessmen within Freemasonry, represented by them.

When penicillin suddenly became popular, Peterson remembered a letter that Edgar Allan Poe had written to him long ago.

It was through that letter that they found the source of penicillin.

After recognizing the miraculous effects of penicillin and the enormous profits it represented, this small circle of wealthy Freemasons quickly reached a consensus: to acquire penicillin as soon as possible with the fastest speed and the lowest cost.

Therefore, this circle of wealthy businessmen formed a consortium and sent three representatives—Peterson, Schneider, and DuPont—to the West, to San Francisco, to negotiate.

It's absolutely impossible to achieve this quickly and at minimal cost without invoking the Freemasons' prestigious name.

So, that's how the story of the past few days came about.

The consortium they represent offered an acceptable acquisition price of less than one million US dollars.

Of course, if you could get it for $100,000, that would be even more wonderful.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as they expected!
The target they wanted to acquire was simply too powerful! The profits represented by penicillin were far too enormous for them to swallow whole!
"It's impossible to talk about an acquisition now," Henry DuPont suddenly had a brilliant idea.

"Mr. Li, if an acquisition is not feasible, could we discuss becoming a distributor of penicillin?"

(End of this chapter)