Chapter 114 Belmondo Family
Francis confirmed the other person's eyes, which were arrogant, disdainful, and contemptuous. He was so disgusted that he didn't even bother to say a word.
They are nobles, yes, and so are Grevi and Armand.
"Your Excellency is..." Francis asked cautiously, bending over.
"Vartan!" The old nobleman answered, holding his coffee: "Vartan Belmondo!"
Francis didn't have much impression of the name at first, but the servant standing next to the old noble added softly: "We are from Algeria, sir!"
Francis's mind exploded with a buzz. The Belmondo family of Algeria? The one that owned more than a dozen plantations and almost monopolized the country's coffee market?
"I'm so sorry, Mr. Vartan!" Francis nervously stepped forward and shook his hand: "I... do you need some red wine?"
"No, Mr. Francis!" Vartan sniffed the coffee and put it down, replying, "This is good, familiar taste."
Francis was very glad that he had been drinking Algerian coffee. It seemed that his luck had come.
Vartan took the initiative and asked, "Let's talk business. I heard you have a lot of tractors in your warehouse?"
"Yes, yes!" Francis nodded repeatedly.
"Very good!" Vartan leaned back against the backrest, crossed his legs easily, put his right hand on the sofa, and said, "It just so happens that I need a tractor!"
"May I know how much you need?" Francis asked cautiously.
"How many do you have?" Vartan asked instead of answering.
Francis confidently replied, "We have eighteen hundred, sir!"
He thought this would definitely satisfy Vartan's request, but unexpectedly, Vartan frowned slightly: "It's not much, but maybe it's enough!"
Francis was shocked by this. Did this mean... buying all the tractors? God, 1,800 tractors, with a total value of nearly 2 million francs. This was the biggest deal in history!
But Francis was cautious. Years of business experience told him that the bigger the business, the more careful one must be, otherwise one might be cheated and lose all his money.
"Mr. Vartan!" Francis pretended to be surprised, but in fact he was testing: "There are so many tractors that are enough to plow the whole of Algeria!"
Vartan showed a little impatience on his face, and there was a hint of anger in his eyes: "France has recruited more than 100,000 soldiers from Algeria, which forces us to consider buying tractors!"
Francis immediately understood that, just as he thought, the plantation owners and the people had different needs. They needed tractors because they had a shortage of people and insufficient labor, while the people were afraid of being conscripted and did not dare to buy tractors.
"Algeria is far from Paris!" Vartan continued. "I believe that some people would rather buy from me than come here in person!"
Francis nodded. Vartan in front of him saw this business opportunity and wanted to buy a large number of tractors to act as a middleman.
No wonder the Charles Tractor Factory could not satisfy him. His tractor factory had insufficient production capacity and no inventory. Especially since Algeria did not need advanced tractors, they needed to solve the problem of whether or not they had them.
"If you're not interested..." Vartan bowed slightly and made a gesture to leave.
"No, no, Mr. Vartan!" Francis apologized: "Of course I'm interested. I'm very sorry!"
Considering that Vartan came from Charles, Francis hesitated for a moment before giving a relatively conservative price: "1,100 francs, sir, this is our cheapest offer!"
Vartan smiled softly. "Charles' tractors are also priced at the same price, sir. Do you think I would choose a 'Holt 60' instead of a 'Holt 75' for the same price?"
Damn it, Francis cursed in his heart, the profit at this price was only a pitiful 130 francs.
However, is profit still a consideration at this time? Shouldn't we sell them as soon as possible and concentrate the funds on the production of new tanks?
"1,000 francs, sir!" Francis updated the offer: "This is the lowest price. We have never sold it so cheaply, I promise you!"
Vartan seemed to be able to accept the price and nodded slightly.
This made Francis secretly happy, because that was how the nobles were, they didn't know that he was willing to sell even at a loss during this period.
Vartan hesitated and added, "If I pay in full, will the price be lower?"
Francis was surprised and delighted that 1.8 million francs were paid in full at one time. He was indeed a nobleman.
At the same time, the last bit of suspicion he had about Vartan was thrown out of the window. It was impossible for a scammer to offer a one-time payment. They would find all kinds of excuses to delay payment and then deny paying the debt.
It's a transaction where real money is exchanged and goods are delivered. What traps could there be?
Thinking about it, Francis immediately agreed: "Of course, sir! If that's the case, 980 francs each!"
Vartan didn't seem to care too much about this little change. He looked a little dissatisfied, but he didn't want to waste time. He nodded casually and said, "Okay... Show me the contract, Mr. Francis!"
Francis was so excited that he almost jumped up. As a result, all the inventory piled up in the warehouse was cleared out in an instant. Is this God's favor to the Francis family?
But he suppressed his inner joy and didn't show it. He bowed to Vartan with a smile on his face and said, "Please wait a moment, Mr. Vartan. I will draw up the contract right away. It won't take much time!"
Just as he stood up, he saw Joseph talking to Vartan's servant beside the carriage outside the window. Joseph's face showed sincerity and anxiety.
Francis thought to himself that this was not good. The Shire Tractor Factory was obviously unwilling to give up this big order.
Sure enough, the servant hurried in, bent down and whispered something in Vartan's ear. Vartan looked surprised and asked, "Is this true?"
"Yes, sir!" The servant glanced out the window: "Mr. Joseph is waiting outside the door. He hopes you can talk to him again!"
Francis looked at Joseph with anger in his eyes. This traitor! Not only did he betray him, but now he was trying to steal his business!
But Francis certainly wouldn't show it. He hurried forward to steady Vartan: "They can't meet your needs anyway, Mr. Vartan. His factory has just opened and can only produce dozens of cars a month!"
"But they will expand production and guarantee a supply of 100 vehicles per month!" Vartan replied, "and the price of each vehicle is only 1,000 francs. I don't understand how this is different from your 980 francs?"
Francis gnashed his teeth, he understood that Charles wanted to drive his tractor factory into a dead end, so he would rather give up profits and engage in a price war with him!
"900 francs!" Francis said with determination: "If you agree, sign the contract immediately!"
(End of this chapter)
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