Virginia is also on the East Coast, and New York is only more than 600 kilometers away from Virginia. Hardy only brought Henry with him this time and met him at Brigadier General Darrell Williams' apartment.
Before Hardy came, Brigadier General Williams also asked someone to find out about Hardy's situation and was very surprised after learning about it.
Hardy retired from the army in 1945, and as of this year he owns several listed companies, including the famous HD Security, HD Pictures, and Playboy magazine.
Although Brigadier General Williams is already in his fifties, this does not prevent him from being a fan of Playboy magazine.
"Have you been a soldier?" The brigadier general stretched out his hand and shook hands with Hardy.
"Yes, General." said Hardy.
"It's great to be young, especially at your age, to have achieved such success is amazing."
"My growth is inseparable from the guidance of seniors like you, General." Hadi said humbly.
The two sat down, and Brigadier General Williams asked about the old godfather's condition again, and then said: "I know your HD security. There were many reports in the newspapers last year. I even accompanied my little daughter to the cinema to watch the documentary "The Los Angeles Bank Robbery"."
"Actually, one of the reasons I want to buy a transport plane is because of HD Security. Right now the security company's main business is in Los Angeles. In the future, I plan to expand to major cities across the United States, which will require a lot of travel. A transport plane is the first choice in the future." Hardy got to the point.
"What type of aircraft do you want and how many do you want?" asked the brigadier general.
"I'm planning to buy a C-53 and a C-47, and if I can, I'd also like to buy a B-29 transport plane."
Both the C-53 and C-47 are aircraft produced by the Douglas Aircraft Manufacturing Company. Although there are differences in the models, there is actually not much difference from the fuselage to the engine. The biggest difference is that the C-47 has a large cargo door at the tail, which is mainly used for transporting cargo.
The C-53 is a troop transport aircraft with dozens of passenger seats inside, and this aircraft does not need to be modified to transport passengers.
Brigadier General Williams said: "Among the models that are being phased out this time are indeed the C-53 and C-47. According to the report, 120 C-53s are ready to be sold, and 200 C-47s are ready to be sold. However, many airlines are also interested in these two aircraft."
"And the B29 Skyfortress you mentioned has only been in service for three years, and the military has no plans to phase them out."
Hadi thought to himself, it seems that he was overthinking it.
He had originally been thinking about getting a B29 Flying Fortress for fun. When he had the chance, he would fly it across the Pacific Ocean to Japan and fly over the island country. He wondered if the people who were not living well now would be so scared that they would kneel down when they saw his plane.
Oh God,
Please,
Don't lay eggs!
"How much does the military plan to sell these planes for?" Hadi was more concerned about this issue. If they were too expensive, they would be meaningless.
Brigadier General Williams said: "The price has not been approved by the military yet, but the price quoted by our logistics department is $38,000 per C-53 and $36,000 per C-47."
When Hardy heard the price, he was immediately attracted.
A new plane costs nearly 200,000 yuan, but the military sells them for only one-fifth of the price. Although they are second-hand, the performance of these planes is not bad at all, especially this type of propeller plane, which is easy to maintain and can be used for another 20 to 30 years.
"General Williams, I wonder if you can help me order a few?" Hardy asked with a smile.
The brigadier general thought for a moment and said, "C-53 and C-47 are very popular. How about I order five of each for you?"
There are 10 in total.
In fact, Hardy wanted to buy more. This was definitely a rare opportunity to grab a bargain. Even if he bought them and didn't use them, he could probably make a profit by reselling them.
With such opportunities, all the benefits will be divided up by the big guys and there is no way they will flow into the market to be bought by ordinary people.
Fair competition?
Eat your shit, you don’t even know a lot of information.
This is also the most fundamental reason why many people can make money easily, but ordinary people cannot make this kind of money at all.
"Thank you very much for your help, General. By the way, General, are you familiar with Brigadier General Bob Ernst?" Hardy asked with a smile.
When Brigadier General Williams heard the name of Brigadier General Bob Ernst, his face darkened slightly. "Why, you also know Bob Ernst?"
Hardy shook his head. "I'm not familiar with Brigadier General Bob Ernst. I've never met him."
"So what do you mean by mentioning him?"
Hardy kept smiling as he said, "I heard some news. Someone contacted Brigadier General Bob Ernst and he promised to help him buy 50 airplanes. Brigadier General Bob Ernst's son-in-law opened an art gallery in New York and he was going to buy oil paintings worth $200,000."
Brigadier General Williams' eyes suddenly lit up, and he looked at Hardy and asked seriously, "Is this news accurate?"
"Very accurate," said Hardy.
Brigadier General Williams investigated Hardy's situation. Before Hardy came, he naturally asked Henry to investigate the Brigadier General carefully.
It is indeed as Brigadier General Williams said when he talked to the old godfather. The situation in the Logistics Support Bureau is now a bit chaotic. During World War II, there were more than 20 logistics support departments. Now that the war is over, the Logistics Support Bureau is preparing to streamline and merge departments.
Brigadier General Williams has the hope of competing for the position of deputy director of the Logistics Support Agency, and his biggest competitor is Brigadier General Bob Ernst. The two of them usually don't get along, and now that they are competing for the position, they are even more hostile to each other. Almost everyone in the Logistics Support Agency knows this situation, and it is no secret.
The person contacted by the Mafia Basini family was Brigadier General Bob Ernst, and their phone call was monitored by the intelligence room personnel.
Such private transactions are not uncommon, and the means of bribery are endless. I help you buy a cheap plane, you buy my aunt's paintings, and my aunt earns money and buys a villa and a car to give to my father-in-law. This is the filial piety of the child.
This situation is very difficult to investigate unless you have inside information.
Hardy learned that Brigadier General Williams and Brigadier General Bob Ernst were competing for the position of deputy director. Brigadier General Williams helped him buy an airplane, so he should also give him a gift.
Give money?
So vulgar.
What could be more tempting than offering someone an official position?
"Hardy, tell me everything you know." Brigadier General Williams looked at Hardy with burning eyes.
Hardy leaned forward and told Brigadier General Williams everything he knew in a low voice. The Brigadier General listened for a while, took out a small notebook from his pocket and wrote it down. He was really strict.
Hardy glanced over what he remembered.
The head of the New York Mafia, the Basini family.
50 c-53s and c-47s.
The name of the gallery of Brigadier General Bob Ernst's son-in-law.
Transaction details.
After closing the small notebook, Brigadier General Williams showed a triumphant smile on his face. If the truth was proven, Brigadier General Bob would be finished for sure, and he would have a great chance to be promoted to the position of deputy director, and his military rank would be raised to the next level, becoming major general.
Brigadier General Williams looked at Hardy, and now he became more friendly. "Hardy, are 10 of the planes you just mentioned enough?"
"It's not enough. I want to set up my own airline," said Hardy.
"Well, Hardy, I'll help you get more places, how much do you want to buy?" asked Brigadier General Williams.
“The more the merrier.”
Hardy thought to himself, this time the military is selling 120 C-53s and 200 C-47s. If you have the guts to give them all to me, I can really take them all in one gulp.
At worst, you can get a bank loan.
"Ok, I'll try my best to help you," Brigadier General Williams replied.
Brigadier General Williams was in a good mood. He had originally planned to chat with Hardy for only half an hour, but when it was time for dinner, he enthusiastically invited Hardy to stay for dinner.
During the meal, Hardy said in a casual tone: "General, I know that you are in the Logistics Support Administration and are also in charge of the Veterans Affairs Department. You know that I have a security company called HD Security. If possible, the company would like to accept some veterans and retired officers to join the company."
Every year, the military assesses the job placement of veterans. Brigadier General Williams is in charge of this task and knows how difficult it is to find a suitable job for veterans, especially now that the war has just ended and there are a large number of veterans left, with simply not enough positions to place them.
Brigadier General Williams was delighted to hear Hardy's proposal. "How many veterans can you resettle every year?"
Hardy thought for a moment and said, "One thousand people a year."
Brigadier General Williams was overjoyed when he heard this. This was equivalent to helping him solve the problem of a thousand people, which was also a considerable political achievement for him.
"Hadi, I want to thank you on behalf of those veterans. It's hard to find a good job now. Many of them don't have professional skills and can only do the most basic jobs. Entering the security industry should be the best job for them."
"Well, whatever kind of person you want, you can come over and pick one. I promise to give you the best one."
"Also, you have resettled a large number of veterans. The government has certain subsidy policies, and companies can reduce or exempt some taxes. When you come to recruit, I will ask them to get a tax incentive certificate for your company."
If HD Security wants to develop in the future, it will need more people. Now it has more than a thousand people, and its business is limited to Los Angeles. It only has a branch in San Francisco, which is considered an outpost, and it has not yet officially started business with other banking companies.
But Hadi believes in the future of security companies.
One thousand people per year is completely enough, and he even feels that it may not be enough.
After talking about recruiting veterans, Hardy brought up another topic, "General, is there one more thing I want you to help me with?"
"Oh, tell me?"
Brigadier General Williams did not agree at all.
"It's like this. My security company was established very recently and its foundation is not solid. I haven't thought through many things comprehensively. I have an idea to invite a few respected veterans to be the company's consultants and point the way forward for the company." Hardy said sincerely.
"The consulting fee is 20,000 per year, and there are other benefits," said Hardy.