After hearing Bill say that these were from the Tang Gang, Hardy had some guesses in his mind, but then he changed his mind and thought that the Tang Gang might be able to make use of them.
"Bill, how is your contact with the Tang Gang?" Hardy asked.
"Not bad. Not long after Los Angeles entered San Francisco, Luo Jincheng, deputy leader of the Tangren Gang, invited me to dinner. We met in Chinatown and talked about cooperation. Originally, I wanted to visit their leader, but Luo Jincheng said that their leader, Mr. Situ, was not in the United States. Now Luo Jincheng is fully responsible for the affairs here in the United States." Bill said.
Mr. Situ Hardy knew who it was.
Han Ye-jin's grandfather.
"Bill, help me contact Luo Jincheng and tell him there's a big deal to discuss with them," said Hardy.
"Big business, how big?" Bill asked curiously.
"There must be hundreds of millions of dollars?"
Bill was shocked. Although he was the boss of a gang in Los Angeles, the business he dealt with was only in the millions. He couldn't even think about doing business worth hundreds of millions of dollars.
"Boss, if you make money from business, don't forget Los Angeles. This is also your own business." Bill said like a little wife.
"Don't worry, there's a copy for Los Angeles here." Hardy said unhappily.
"Okay, I'll contact Luo Jincheng right away."
After hanging up the phone, Hardy called Andy again, "Andy, start the truck sales plan tomorrow and let the Global Times and ABC advertise."
"Okay boss."
"Also, register a shipping company," said Hardy.
"Shipping company, are you planning to do shipping business again?" Andy said in surprise.
Hardy smiled and said, "The U.S. military now has more than 500 7,000-ton Liberty ships and more than 100 15,000-ton Victory ships. All of these cargo ships are now rusting in the port. Isn't that a waste of resources?"
"I plan to take over all of them. Even if I don't use them myself, I can make a profit by selling them."
The Liberty ship cost $1.6 million and the Victory ship cost $3.3 million. Why were they so cheap? Because they used welding instead of mortise and tenon joints, so the design life of these freighters was only 5 years, just to deal with the German wolfpack bombing operations.
However, Hardy knew that some of these cargo ships had been used for more than 20 years and their quality was still very good.
The base price offered by the military was very cheap: 180,000 for a Liberty ship and 350,000 for a Victory ship, which was only slightly higher than the price of scrap iron.
Hardy's idea was very simple. These freighters were so cheap, so he bought them all and put them under the name of the shipping company. However, he could not use all of them himself, so he could transport cargo and sell the ships at the same time in the future, making money on both ends.
Once these cargo ships are disposed of slowly and the money earned is used to buy new ships, then we will have a large shipping company in our hands.
However, even though the Liberty ship was as cheap as only 180,000 US dollars per ship and the Victory ship was only 350,000 US dollars per ship, there were too many of them. Hardy calculated that it would cost 170 million US dollars to buy them all.
Fortunately, he had an innate advantage, which was that he could owe money. The sales contract he signed with the military stated that some buyers had no money and could only owe them money first, and the maximum term could be extended to 10 years.
In less than 10 years, Hardy would have sold off this batch of goods and even made more money.
Andy took note and set about doing these two things.
The next day.
ABC TV station aired an advertisement showing that Hardy Trading and Sales Company was preparing to sell a batch of second-hand trucks, and images of trucks appeared in the camera.
"The price is low. Dodge WC62 truck, down payment of $200, 10 installments of loan with monthly payment of $50. GMC 2.5-ton military truck, down payment of $300, 10 installments of loan with monthly payment of $50. White 6666 truck, down payment of $500, 10 installments of loan with monthly payment of $50."
"The vehicle is guaranteed to be in good condition and comes with original spare parts. Owning a truck may be the cornerstone of your business."
"In addition, to encourage veterans to start businesses, the Hadi Group announced that all military personnel can use their discharge certificates to waive their first two months of loan payments," he said.
Freight transportation was still very profitable in this era. In fact, American truck drivers also made a lot of money in later generations. It’s just that many people found it difficult to pay for a truck all at once. The cheapest one cost more than two thousand, which was equivalent to an ordinary person’s annual salary.
The expensive ones like White 6666 cost more than 5,000 US dollars for a new car, which is really not affordable for ordinary people.
Now there is an opportunity to buy a truck at one-tenth of the price. Many people are immediately excited. Not many can take out 2,000 dollars at once, but it is still possible if you take out 200 dollars and think about it.
As for repaying the loan, as long as you have a truck, it is not difficult to pay back $50 a month. In just 10 months, the car will be completely yours.
The ad ends by saying: "If you want to buy a truck, please go to your local Wells Fargo bank to apply for a loan. After completing all the procedures, pick up the truck at the nearest armory. Only 20,000 trucks are available for sale while supplies last."
The ad also ran in the Global Times newspaper, with content similar to the TV ad.
Not everyone has a television these days, so newspapers are still the largest and most widespread form of media.
White is 26 years old this year. After retiring from the army in World War II, he worked as a loader. His dream is to own a truck of his own because he knows that trucking is very profitable. He has been working hard to save money in the past few years after retiring from the army, but now he only has more than 600 US dollars in his hands. After all, he has a wife and children to support a family.
It may be years before you can buy a truck.
When he saw the Hardy Company's advertisement for selling trucks, he was immediately excited and felt that he could realize his dream soon.
What does it matter if it's a used car? He has driven cars in the army and knows a little bit about repairing cars. He knows that the performance of these cars is very good and there will be no problem driving them for a few years.
He hurried home. His wife was surprised that he came back at this time. "Don't you have work today, White?"
White hugged his wife and kissed her hard.
"Haha, we're going to have our own truck soon. I'll go pick it up now, and we can live a good life in the future." He rushed into the house and opened the piggy bank, which contained more than 600 US dollars he had saved with great difficulty and some documents.
He went to the bank to handle the formalities and quickly got the car pick-up documents. Since White had served in the military, he was able to waive the interest for the first two months, which was equivalent to saving one hundred dollars. White was very grateful for this. In fact, Hardy Company has always had preferential policies for military personnel.
Before it was televisions, now it is trucks, the Hardy Group has a good reputation among veterans.
White found a friend and asked him to ride a motorcycle and take him more than a hundred kilometers to the nearest armory, where many people had already gathered.
White bought a White 6666, which was the type of vehicle he drove in the army. He knew this guy was very tough and could haul a lot. Even though it was only 6 tons, he had hauled 16 tons.
After showing the vehicle pick-up procedures, the soldier on duty let him go in and choose a vehicle. He could drive whichever one he liked. This surprised White a little bit, as he could choose by himself.
Rows of cars were parked there, and many people were already choosing. White was familiar with this type of car, and he quickly picked out the one that he thought was the best. He got in, started the engine, and drove away smoothly. He showed the car pick-up procedures at the door, and the car drove out smoothly.
“Wow~~!”
White shouted excitedly.
He finally had his own car, and the performance of this car was very good. It was estimated to be 80% new and could probably be driven for another ten years without breaking down.
Together with my friend, I loaded the motorcycle onto the truck, and we drove home singing all the way.
......
The Hadi Group has registered another shipping company, and everyone should be able to guess the name.
Hardy Lines.
This is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hardy.
On the second day after its establishment, the company signed a sales contract worth 168 million US dollars to purchase 662 "abandoned" cargo ships from the military.
Among them, there were 535 Liberty ships and 127 Victory ships.
The repayment date cannot exceed March 1958 at the latest.
The U.S. military at that time was truly wealthy and powerful. If it were in other countries, these assets would have been put to good use, but these things were a burden to them. Whether it was the military or the government, the only thought was how to get rid of them as quickly as possible.
For example, a large number of tanks were pushed into the sea, 14,000 tons of bombs were dropped into the Gulf of Mexico, explosion experiments were carried out to destroy explosives, and warships were pierced and sunk into the sea.
What,
Dismantle and sell scrap metal.
Dismantling it costs money, and scrap iron is worthless, so it’s better to throw it away and save trouble.
If you don't consume supplies, how can those arms dealers make money?
......
Bill contacted Luo Jincheng, the current manager and deputy leader of the Tangren Gang. Luo Jincheng was a little surprised to hear that Hardy wanted to see him.
Could it be that the other party knew that I was helping to operate those weapons and medical supplies and wanted to cause trouble for me?
That’s not right. This should be the business of the US government.
Besides, the Los Angeles Gang is Hardy's property. The Chinese Gang and the Los Angeles Gang have had a good relationship since Los Angeles and even greeted each other before coming to San Francisco. Logically, this boss Hardy should not cause trouble for him.
No matter what, since the other party wants to meet him, he should meet him first. Luo Jincheng agreed with Bill, "I also want to meet Mr. Hardy. Where can I meet him?"
"The boss said we should meet in San Francisco. What do you think, Mr. Luo?" Bill said.
"good."
Two days later.
Hardy's plane landed at the San Francisco airport.
Bill brought his men to pick up Hardy. After Hardy got in the car, he came to the manor that Bill bought in San Francisco. An hour later, a car drove into the manor.
Luo Jincheng walked into the living room with his secretary. Hardy stood up with a smile. Luo Jincheng extended his hand: "Hello, Mr. Hardy."
"Hello, Mr. Luo."
The two shook hands.
"I wonder what Mr. Hardy wants to talk to me about this time?" Luo Jincheng asked.
Hadi smiled softly, "I have a business I'd like to do with you guys. I wonder if the Hongmen is interested?"
Luo Jincheng was slightly stunned.
Because Hardy was talking about the Hongmen, the scope of the Hongmen is much broader.
“I wonder what kind of business it is?”
"Reselling military supplies. I know that the Hongmen has influence in more than 30 countries, especially in Asia. Our Hardy Group has taken over the sales business of post-war supplies for the US military. I think there is a huge market in Asia."
"However, we are not very familiar with Asia, so we want to cooperate with an organization that is familiar with the situation in Asia and has certain strength. I wonder if the Hongmen is willing to do so?" Hardy asked.
Luo Jincheng was shocked after hearing what Hardy said.
He didn't expect that Hadi would actually look for him to help sell supplies for the US military, and to Asia. If that was true, then why did he spend so much money to smuggle the goods over there?
Now you can carry it over openly.
"I wonder how Mr. Hardy is prepared to cooperate?" Luo Jincheng asked tentatively.
"I am responsible for shipping the things over, and you are responsible for contacting for sales, Thailand, Myanmar, the Philippines, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Malaya, Indonesia..." Hardy listed a bunch of names.
"Does it include weapons?" Luo Jincheng asked?
"Except for heavy weapons."
“Does that include China?”
Hardy smiled and said, "The United States has a weapons ban there now, so we can't ship them there so openly. I can sell them to other countries and places, but if someone wants to smuggle them to China, I can't do anything about it."
"Mr. Hardy, I wonder how much profit we can get?" Luo Jincheng asked.
"Ten percent." Hardy said with a smile.