Chapter 573 Another Emerging Industry
Plastic, as the first choice of new materials, has great development potential. After Baekeland began to face the reality, Sheffield began to take over, which was just right at this time when the plastic patent holder was desperate.
Why is it just right? This is also closely related to Baekeland's identity as an entrepreneur. This can be compared with another example. For many small countries, being a dog is a way to get by. For example, Thailand is a country similar to the path of Japan before it was taken over.
Although the people of this country need to change their sex to please foreign guests, and children have to practice cruel Muay Thai from an early age, and they will die in the boxing ring if they are not careful, this does not prevent Thailand from having the most luxurious royal family and a number of multinational corporations. Aren’t the lower-class people also quite happy?
These countries have such basic conditions, and they have not caught up with the tiny gap between the old and new eras like Japan, so they can only be dogs in misery. Anyway, their ancestors were not rich, but for a big country, anyone can be a dog, but you can't, and it's a crime to think about it.
Baekeland had not yet witnessed the development of the plastics industry and the subsequent rush of people to plastic products. He was one of those people whose ancestors had never been rich. Even if they saw this scene in the future, the citizen class would only attribute the credit to Sheffield, who promoted it. It was very doubtful how much spotlight could fall on Baekeland.
Fortunately, Sheffield also had a temporary residence in New York, but he did not go there. Instead, he went to the Vanderbilt family's Bilmont Manor, which was large and luxurious. The debtor's arrival made the Vanderbilt family members very happy. Although this person owed them tens of millions of dollars and only paid the interest of 2% according to the interest rate of the United Bank, it was not a big deal because they had the ability to pay it back.
"Long time no see my friend. I may bother you here today." Sheffield thanked several members of the Vanderbilt family who came out to greet him, including several children.
For example, all members of the Vanderbilt family live with kidney deficiency almost all year round, so it is understandable that the family has grown so fast. However, the Sheffield family is more troublesome, as the pressure of carrying the burden is all on this only child.
Sheffield had never met Baekeland, but judging from his haggard face, he believed that he had been under invisible pressure for a long time.
It seems that the East and the West share the same suffering when it comes to litigation. And it seems that different social systems cannot eradicate this problem. Sheffield has no way to comfort them. This problem may require social changes supported by high technology, so that no one can hide, and a highly efficient system can solve this problem.
Sheffield comforted Baekeland in a very perfunctory manner and said that all the problems were on him. Of course, the slave owner had the confidence to say this, because this was not a problem in the first place. The problem was caused by the slave owner himself.
Then the topic inevitably shifted to plastic patents. Normally, Sheffield hated to use rhetoric to package his words, but that didn't mean he didn't have the ability to do so. If he got serious in the field of rhetoric, even little Morgan couldn't ignore his existence.
Sheffield was able to handle Baekeland, a very novice player, with ease, and asked him about Baekeland's ideas on the development of the plastics industry in a rambling way.
He even expressed his willingness to use the power of the joint company to inject capital and provide support, as if to say, "I don't have to worry, as long as I'm here."
The reason for saying this is that Baekeland expressed his vision for this industry, believing that it would be a multi-million dollar market. Hearing this, Sheffield, as a slave owner, smiled very brightly. The vision of entrepreneurs is still limited. Perhaps millions of dollars are an unimaginable astronomical figure for Baekeland.
But what the other party said was true. Even if Sheffield told the other party now that the business he was discussing with Morgan Jr. was worth billions, the other party would probably only be skeptical, because the foundations of both parties were different and Baekeland still needed to grow.
"I am willing to give out two million dollars to help Mr. Baekeland build a factory and realize his dream after winning the lawsuit. Mr. Baekeland may be very surprised and think that my support is too huge. To be honest, of course it is, but for me, there are so many emerging industries that need to be promoted. I am an impatient person by nature and hope to see the results as soon as possible. This has led to the fact that although there are many failures, I have also grasped the development of several industries, such as United Motors Corporation."
Sheffield was very surprised to see Baekeland, and started a new round of confusing rhetoric attacks, explaining the logic behind it, indicating that he was not particularly optimistic about the plastics industry, but just wanted to see results in the shortest possible time. If this industry did not work, he would withdraw as soon as possible and look for the next outlet.
Baekeland stared blankly at the young man in front of him. The other person's image suddenly became taller. What is a successful person? A successful person buys the most expensive things, not the best.
The premise is that Sheffield is not optimistic about the plastic industry, which is of course false. But the scene must be done well. The first investment is a number that Baekeland can't imagine, so that Baekeland can't think about the whole number. Then it's about the distribution of benefits. From the perspective of investment ratio, it should be reasonable for the slave owners to occupy the majority of the profits. Two million US dollars of investment, this is not paper.
Having invested so much money, Sheffield's request for patent sharing was not an excessive request. He only asked that the plastic patent be jointly owned by Baekeland and the joint company, which was also very normal. Everyone worked together to develop the plastic industry, and the benefits were divided 20:80, Baekeland 20:80, Sheffield 80:80, which was very reasonable.
After calculating this, Baekeland himself felt that the boss of the joint company in front of him was such a generous person. Facing an industry whose life and death were uncertain and whose future was unknown, he was willing to invest a huge amount of money to give it a try. If it succeeded, it could almost be said that he had met a noble person in his life.
"Thank you for the compliment. I am very willing to promote the progress of the times. This is the happiest thing for me. As a person, you must have a big picture." Sheffield accepted Baekeland's compliment with a smile.
When Baekeland left the Bilmont Manor, the decadent atmosphere that had risen was swept away, and he regained his high spirits. Sheffield blew gently on the contract that was not yet dry, thinking to himself that if Morgan Jr. came to negotiate with cash one day, how much would he offer? This depends on the era. The slave owner thought that it should be a little more expensive than this time, because people always want to move up.
Sheffield himself did not leave the Bilmont Manor immediately. He always greeted his creditors when he came to New York, and took the initiative to raise the debt issue. "When Mr. Vanderbilt II was still alive, he was worried about the family's property decreasing at an incredible speed. I can say bluntly that at present, except for the original railway system around New York, the Vanderbilt family's transformation can be considered a complete failure. As for the real estate business, it is not a failure, but this business has limitations."
The United States is a vast country with a sparse population. There are only a few places suitable for real estate development. New York, chosen by the Vanderbilt family, is already the most suitable city for real estate development in the United States, but it is still unsatisfactory today.
Such a good foundation is only barely satisfactory. Sheffield said that the failure of the Vanderbilt family's transformation was not an exaggeration. "I will exchange the 20 million US dollars for shares of United Motors and give them to your family in due time. This is to express my gratitude to Mr. Vanderbilt II for his help when the Sheffield family was in urgent need of funds. I believe that with certain traces in the railway and automobile fields, the Vanderbilt family's position will be more stable."
"But United Motors is not a listed company. Where do the stocks come from?" Vanderbilt IV asked puzzledly.
The decline of the Vanderbilt family really has a reason! Sheffield looked at him deeply, and this uncomfortable look finally had an effect. Vanderbilt IV asked, "Is United Motors going public?"
"If the news leaks out, I may not come to cause trouble, but others may." Sheffield reminded Vanderbilt IV to keep it confidential. Such business secrets should not be leaked now.
Fortunately, Vanderbilt IV also allowed reason to take over his brain because he could pay back the money. He reminded himself not to go out to the cocktail party, but he blurted out the wrong thing.
It only takes a little thought to know that since the company was able to acquire and list Sheffield United Motors, the other party must be quite powerful, and Vanderbilt IV should not cause trouble.
Once the merger is successful, the first direct consequence is that Sheffield will have to pay back the money. It will no longer be possible to use the Union Bank's external interest rate, which is 2%, to pay the previous creditors. Once the listing plan with Morgan Alliance is made public, what excuse will the slave owners have for not paying back the money?
Therefore, the slave owner did not feel that the price he asked for was excessive for this transaction. He did not ask for such a large amount of money for himself, but for the vast number of southern farmers and allies.
It's a little late now, but when I think about the fact that Standard Oil didn't distribute dividends for ten years when it was founded, it can be regarded as another way of not paying back the debt. I think I am quite conscientious. The Rockefeller family's conscience is mainly reflected in the international field.
(End of this chapter)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
