Chapter 183: Arrival in Ludao City
"I forgot. After being on a plane for more than ten hours, it seems like I've developed amnesia." Chen Yiyang chuckled, without telling the pawnshop owner the truth.
"How about selling it to me for one million six hundred thousand US Dollars?" Clearly, Chen Yiyang's words didn't make the pawnshop owner believe him.
He was sure that Chen Yiyang truly didn't know where he had bought the Independence Declaration replica from.
Such a level of collectible is really too rare, and he didn't want to give it up.
The pawnshop owner directly named a price upon hearing this.
Chen Yiyang glanced at the time the earliest call from the pawnshop owner came in.
It was when he had just boarded the plane.
It seems that it was not him who called the police over. Because at that time his presidential suite hadn't been searched yet, and if it were him, he wouldn't have actively called and alarmed himself.
It seems that the appraiser's character isn't that great. He probably spread the news to some group right after leaving Chen Yiyang's room.
Although the price of the Independence Declaration replica is just over two million US Dollars, due to its rarity and scarcity, many collectors want to own a copy.
After all, the historical significance of this item is very large.
When you collect other things at home, guests might not necessarily want to appreciate them.
But if you have an original replica of the Independence Declaration at home, any person from Europe and America would be interested to take a look and see if some of the conspiracy theories about the original copy circulating online are true.
After all, the pawnshop owner is still a businessman, so he hopes to buy the item from Chen Yiyang rather than resort to underhanded means.
"Let's talk next time. I'll go back to the hotel and rest first." Chen Yiyang didn't talk much with the pawnshop owner.
To be honest, if it was the pawnshop owner who acted, Chen Yiyang would actually feel a bit more at ease.
After all, the other party is a businessman who relies on reputation for a living, there is still room for discussion.
But if it is someone else, then it would truly be hard to say.
Especially in the United States, many major sponsors have a significant influence on police stations.
Furthermore, the law enforcement agencies in the United States are quite chaotic.
There are all sorts of agencies with law enforcement rights similar to the police, existing due to historical reasons.
These agencies heavily rely on some sponsors for survival, so once a person with significant influence applies pressure.
These agencies might not directly take Chen Yiyang away. In fact, there's no need for that.
They just need to come and search with warrants from time to time, eventually finding something illegal about Chen Yiyang.
And they can arbitrarily seize Chen Yiyang's belongings without returning them.
Given such circumstances, the United States is not a place to go to for now.
Chen Yiyang currently has no intention of selling the Independence Declaration original replica in his hands, so he's not in a hurry to negotiate with the person hiding in the shadows.
He will just stay domestic. Could the other party really hire mercenaries to come to the country and steal from him?
After leaving the airport in Shanghai, Chen Yiyang called his team helping to purchase stocks in the United States, asking them to accelerate the acquisition process.
Then he didn't return to Lin'an but instead took a flight to Ludao City.
Because, as he and Zheng Lu completed the stock purchase agreement, and after he made large-scale purchases of Kuxing Coffee stocks on the pink sheet market.
He has now become the largest shareholder of Kuxing, holding more than 30% of Kuxing shares and over 50% of the voting rights.
And since Ludao City is the headquarters of Kuxing, Chen Yiyang had to come by no matter what.
Originally, his plan was to finish handling matters in the United States before coming over.
But now, due to unexpected events, he had to come earlier.
Upon arriving in Ludao City, Jiang City, the only remaining senior management executive of Kuxing, welcomed Chen Yiyang.
He is quite a reserved person.
The previous Kuxing management, mainly led by Zheng Lu and some of his confidants.
These people formed an interest group.
However, after Kuxing was attacked by short-sell institutions, members of this small group gradually withdrew.
In the end, after Zheng Lu also left, the only person in the senior management who was working was Jiang City, who previously handled specific affairs.
"How has Kuxing been recently? Is there a situation of mass resignation?" Sitting in the car, Chen Yiyang inquired about Kuxing's recent situation with Jiang City.
"It's okay, everyone's mindset is actually quite stable." Jiang City said concisely, "Because Kuxing still has some cash on hand. The funds from the previous financing haven't been completely burnt through."
Before signing the contract, Zheng Lu had already sent some of Kuxing's internal documents to Chen Yiyang one by one.
Chen Yiyang was also aware of Kuxing's financial situation.
In the years Zheng Lu managed Kuxing, you could say he was unlucky to be targeted by short-sell institutions.
But you can't say he was bad or incompetent.
You can't say he was incompetent because he didn't distribute the funds acquired through various means.
Or rather, he only distributed a very small portion.
But the majority of the funds were used to expand the company.
Whether it was various coffee price subsidies or expanding storefronts to the masses.
In the end, the money was spent on the company.
And the reason you can't say he was bad is because he used this money to indeed expand Kuxing's storefront numbers to an astonishing degree.
Kuxing followed the route of take-away or self-pickup.
The stores were usually small, with little rent pressure.
The exaggerated number of stores was enough to cover all cities with coffee demand.
If Zheng Lu hadn't been extravagant in personal consumption after getting wealthy, pledging his stocks to banks.
Chen Yiyang wouldn't have been able to pick up this opportunity.
"How's the negotiation with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission going?" Chen Yiyang asked further.
Kuxing currently has a big trouble, which is the lawsuit with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission.
Because of accusations from short-sell institutions of data fraud, some investors in the United States have united to sue Kuxing.
At the same time, the United States Securities and Exchange Commission is also holding Kuxing accountable for this reason.
Even if Kuxing's stock trading has moved to the pink sheets market.
But a settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission is still needed. Otherwise, there's a chance they might enforce bankruptcy and liquidation of assets and shares there.
"The lawyers have communicated; approximately 180 million US Dollars are needed as a settlement for them to let go." Jiang City said.
"A billion plus..." Chen Yiyang sighed.
This is also why, when Zheng Lu initially asked for seven billion to sell the shares, he was only willing to offer five billion.
Because the money to buy shares is small; the money to satiate the Securities and Exchange Commission is the big expense.
This 180 million US Dollars is something that must be paid out. Without it, the company truly can't continue operating.
But fortunately, this money is to be paid by the company, and not by Chen Yiyang personally. Also, even though the settlement amount is agreed upon, this money doesn't have to be paid immediately and can be delayed for a year or so.
The key to look at now is whether Kuxing can revive and become profitable again.
As long as it can regain profitability, producing this money would still be relatively easy.
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