Chapter 112 Gallieni's money is not easy to earn

Carter's Flying Club is in the 10th District.

Paris Gare de l'Est Train Station is in this district. Carter believes that airplanes and trains are both means of transportation, and a flying club may gain more business by opening one here.

The fact is that many people only know that there is such a thing as airplanes. When they see an airplane flying in the sky, they may exclaim in surprise: "Look, there is a big kite."

However, instead of spending money on flying, they would rather ride a horse.

After the bank's people showed up at Eric's aircraft factory, Djokovic immediately realized that Charles was probably right... If the aircraft factory had no business opportunities, the bank would not be willing to pay a higher price to acquire it.

Therefore, Djokovic is somewhat worried that the same situation will occur at the Flying Club.

"We have to hurry!" Dejoka said, "The bank people may have already negotiated the price with them at the flying club. That Carter... I hope he will recognize you like Eric did!"

Djokovic stepped on the accelerator to the bottom, wishing he could drive the car to the flying club as if it were a plane.

But Charles was not in a hurry at all. He advised Djoka: "Don't worry, father! The people in the bank will not be interested in the flying club!"

"Why?" Djoka turned his head slightly and looked at Charles in confusion: "What's the difference between them and an aircraft manufacturer?"

"Of course!" Charles replied, "The aircraft manufacturer can achieve a technological monopoly, but the flying club is just a piece of land. The military can easily find another place to replace it!"

"But there are still pilots!" Deyoka objected. "Not many people can fly a plane!"

"Pilots can be trained in batches!" Charles cast his eyes at the pedestrians on both sides of the car: "People may be the least valuable thing in the world. The capitalists are not stupid enough to compete with the military for people!"

Djoka felt that what Charles said made sense. After all, the military had the power to recruit people. If capitalists competed with the military for people, not only would they not make any money, but they might get into trouble. This was obviously unwise, very unwise!

Thinking of this, Djokovic was less nervous and eased off the accelerator a little.

Sure enough, when the car drove into the Flying Club, no one from the bank was spotted.

The flying club was a mess and was full of pilots. There were also many planes of various models parked at the airport. When they saw Charles' car coming in, they cheered and raised their hands to salute Charles.

They were all pilots near Paris. When they heard that Charles would give them high salaries, they all came one after another.

Charles never turned away anyone. He asked Carter to screen and keep only those who could really fly planes or had relevant skills, such as the ability to repair planes, maintain planes or manage airports.

Deyoka felt a little guilty. He pulled Charles aside and said in a low voice, "Charles, we only have more than two million francs in total, most of which are deposits from the motorcycle factory. Today we spent more than half a million in one go and signed so many pilots. It will be a continuous expense. Are you..."

"We don't need to pay for the pilots' salaries, father!" Charles interrupted Djoka: "Neither do the clubs. They are needed by the military!"

"What?" Djoka looked at Charles in confusion. "So, are you signing them on behalf of Charles or the military?"

"Sometimes I don't quite understand!" Charles said frankly: "General Gallieni put me in charge of this matter, but he didn't make many things clear. He only said that it might be transferred to military use in the future..."

After thinking for a while, Charles explained: "I think he meant to let me sign them in my personal name first, which is conducive to confidentiality and will not let the Germans find out our preparations in this regard too early. After they play a role in the battlefield and meet the military's expectations, they will be transferred to military use!"

Djokovic was somewhat disappointed, as this meant that the club and the pilots were just Charles's tasks rather than his business.

What he didn't know was that the flying club that Charles bought from Carter for 100,000 francs today would be purchased by the military at an estimated price of 300,000 francs in the future if the military found it "useful".

Pilots really have nothing to do with business. They have been wanted by the military from the very beginning, and no one can take them away.

Soon, Charles discovered that this money was not so easy to make. Gallieni was notoriously stingy when it came to military spending. Before that, he was famous for always quarreling with capitalists.

Charles spent most of the day signing contracts and finally screened the pilots and signed 137 of them. He also bought back the planes in good condition from the pilots, including various models: "Dove", "Gaudron", "Breguet", and even the German "DD Albatross".

(Note: Before the outbreak of World War I, the "DD Albatross" set several world records in a few months, making it very popular among flying enthusiasts)

Charles reported the contract results to Gallieni and explained which aircraft could be used for reconnaissance, which aircraft could be used for combat with rockets, and some aircraft could be used as trainers to train new students.

"Very good!" Gallieni nodded and praised as he read the report and listened to it from time to time: "I am very satisfied!"

"So..." Charles raised the document in his hand: "We bought 21 planes, which cost 173,000 francs. Add the first salary of the pilots, and the total is 181,500 francs!"

What Charles meant was, where should the money spent be reimbursed?

This does not include the money for purchasing the flying club. Are you going to return the original price of 100,000 to me now or buy it back for 300,000 in the future? There must be an explanation!

Unexpectedly, Gallieni replied calmly: "You know, Lieutenant, the military recently purchased a batch of tanks and a large number of sidecars, plus recruited many new soldiers. Now the military is in serious deficit and cannot afford to pay other expenses!"

"But General!" Charles looked at the documents in his hand: "I have already spent the money..."

"Yes!" Gallieni said, "Of course I won't let you waste this money. How about calculating it at 5% interest? It will be considered as a loan from the military to you!"

Charles refused without a second thought: "This is the lowest interest rate, it's hard to get a loan from a bank!"

Charles is a capitalist who knows the future trend. He can make money with money at a very fast speed and make it grow rapidly like a snowball. Therefore, it is not cost-effective to lend money at an interest rate of 10%, let alone 5%.

"Then..." Gallieni said, "I may need to send a staff officer to talk to you and let him convince you to accept this plan!"

Charles raised his eyebrows and said, "It doesn't matter who you send, I will never agree to it!"

Unexpectedly, Gallieni closed the document in his hand, stared at Charles and said, "Lieutenant, you go and complete this mission!"

Charles was stunned and instantly understood what Gallieni meant. He sent Charles, the "adviser", to persuade Charles, the "capitalist"!

Can you still do this?

Isn't this one of the reasons why you recruited me as your advisor?

This old fox!

(End of this chapter)