Chapter 41: The Huge Transaction

  The Magic City, French Concession, The Great World Club. SC Trading Company invites many celebrities from all walks of life to hold gatherings here.

  Elegant gentlemen from various countries gathered in small groups, sipping wine and chatting leisurely, all of whom were envied and admired by the renowned SC traders in Shanghai.

  It's like selling flour, SC trade makes merchants from all countries earn a fortune, and merchants from all countries are chasing after SC trade like diligent bees. The locals also feel honored that such a powerful company has emerged in their poor and backward country.

  Of course, the Japanese are excluded. Gao Yang's identity has long been known to all walks of life, and the Japanese who have repeatedly tried to take action against Gao Yang have also been forced to give in under the great pressure from various countries!

  In the center of the venue, Karl Dile, the boss of Kaylo Company, was chatting intimately with Gao Feng, the president of SC Trading Company. "Mr. Dile, haggling is necessary when doing business, but the price you're asking for is no longer a business negotiation. I suggest you take your shotgun to the bank, that way you'll get money faster."

  "Mr. Chairman, isn't there a Chinese proverb that says 'ask for the sky and settle for the ground'? We can continue to negotiate until we reach a price that is acceptable to both of us."

  Gao Feng put down the wine glass in his hand, lit a cigarette and started smoking alone. Just when Mr. Laidi felt a bit awkward, he smiled at him and said, "Mr. Laidi, I know your company is the only radio station in Magic City now, but if you think this can be used as capital to make exorbitant demands, then you are greatly mistaken!"

  "My boss told me that we can't care about money, but absolutely cannot be treated as a fool! It's this price, if you don't accept it, then SC Trade will set up its own radio station! Believe me, this is what you don't want to see."

  Mr. Laidi finally agreed to sell his company to SC Trade at the price given by Gao Feng. It was a win-win situation, with Mr. Laidi getting double returns on his investment and Gao Yang gaining control over public opinion.

  Afterwards, Gao Feng visited many people in the news industry, including Shen Bao, Mo Du Daily, Fen Bao and World Pictorial, to explore the possibility of acquisition, on the condition that the price is negotiable. Gao Yang's next main goal is to control Mo Du! Before that, Gao Yang plans to control the public opinion in Mo Du first.

  The humming voices of the crowd in the auditorium were covered by a refreshing music, and the lights gradually dimmed down. The stage performance is about to begin!

  The host took the stage to introduce this performance, which was a tap dance that had recently been introduced from the United States. He especially thanked SC Trading Company for their comprehensive sponsorship of the dance troupe, from costumes to theater. Gaofeng smiled slightly and applauded lightly.

  The performance began, with six young girls standing in the center of the stage, using their nimble legs to drive the ever-changing rhythms beneath their feet. The floor was central, with both feet jumping and the sound being intense, causing the on-site crowd to be dazzled and amazed.

  The audience felt that at this moment, only dance was the only thing that could be unreservedly expressed. Slowly, everyone seemed to melt into the dancer's footsteps, and their emotions also drifted away with the "kick kick tap" to reach the inner space of the heart. A restless heart would suddenly stop still on the stage like a dance.

  When the girls on stage lifted their legs wrapped in nylon stockings, the whole scene was boiling, and everyone was talking about this new dance and the nylon stockings worn by the girls. At the end, SC Trading gave away nylon stockings to all participants.

  The next day, all the newspapers and radio stations in Fullerton were featuring this new dance craze and the nylon stockings worn by the performers, along with an ad for SC Trading Company! The six girls became overnight sensations.

  Very soon this brand new fashion trend blew from Shanghai to the whole world, and its popularity was so rapid that it left everyone stunned.

  In the United States, in Europe and all over the world, girls want to have a pair of nylon stockings. Their husbands and boyfriends rush into every store waving banknotes shouting "I want to buy stockings!" The huge market demand makes countless businessmen red-eyed and waving checks rushing towards SC Trading Company. President of SC Trading gives out a unit price of $98 per pair! Wholesale without discount! This time, dollars and pounds are accepted.

  Tens of millions of pairs of stockings drifted across the oceans on merchant ships from various countries, arriving in every bustling metropolis around the world, only to be snapped up immediately by eager young women!

  In a short period of time, it brought huge income to Gaoyang, and the amount was so large that the Shanghai branch of Citibank asked the US Consulate to send troops for protection! This sum of money is enough to support Gaoyang's various constructions.

  Making money for Gao Yang is meaningless, having a pile of banknotes does not help this country in any way, only exchanging them for all kinds of urgently needed goods is the important thing.

  Moreover, simply exporting for money will only invite crazy suppression from the importing country! Gaoyang needs to maintain a balance between imports and exports.

  They bought a large quantity of goods from the United States, ranging from tractors to trucks, from cargo ships to excavators, and from flour to beef. At its peak, the monthly import and export volume reached as high as $100 million!

  He also quickly became the most concerned object of the US government. When Consul John met with Gao Yang, he said that in order to maintain a good cooperative relationship with Gao Yang, the US government can provide "any necessary assistance" within the allowed range! At the same time, it also blocked the strong pressure from Britain and France for Gao Yang!

  In the words of Consul John, "To maintain free trade between the two countries, the United States would not hesitate to go to war!" Apart from purchasing arms from Germany, all of Kao Yang's money was spent buying things in America. Britain and France were naturally jealous of this enormous trade and their eyes were popping out with envy!

  Consul John also revealed a piece of news to Gao Yang, just three days ago, the US Asian Fleet stationed in Cam Ranh Bay had a serious confrontation with the British Far East Fleet departing from Hong Kong near the Taiwan Strait! The British are here to put pressure on you.

  Sitting comfortably on the leather sofa, Gao Yang listened with a smile as Consul John boasted about how brave the young men of the Asian fleet were in driving the British back to Hong Kong. He picked up his coffee and took a sip, then smiled at Consul John and said, "Thank you for everything your government has done. To show my appreciation, I've decided to double next month's crude oil import quota."

  Consul John was overjoyed, and since the 1920s, with the advent and application of a series of geophysical exploration technologies such as gravity method, electrical method, magnetic method, seismic refraction, and seismic reflection, the United States has entered an era of major oil and gas discoveries.

  After 1921, large oil fields such as Signal Hill, Huntington Beach and Santa Fe Springs were discovered one after another in California, and the Oklahoma City Oil Field was discovered in 1924. From 1922 on, the newly discovered petroleum reserves in the United States exceeded 1 billion barrels every year. Correspondingly, the annual production of petroleum in the United States increased from 557 million barrels in 1922 to 732 million barrels in 1923 and reached 1 billion barrels in 1924!

  In 1925, the entire US oil consumption was less than half of production! The huge output led to a sharp decline in prices, and the oil purchased by Standard Oil cost around $2 per barrel, including transportation costs, which was an extremely low price!

  The current oil price in the US is around $1.5 per barrel. Gaoyang imported 13 million barrels of crude oil from Mobil last month, if doubled that would be 26 million barrels, exceeding 300 million barrels per year!

  Gao Yang is now the most valued customer of Mobil, and the US government has dispatched an Asian fleet to intercept the British. Gao Yang just returned a favor, anyway he also needs it.

  John Consul went back excitedly to report the good news. Gaoyang also activated the time-space shuttle and returned to modern times, sending a text message to Zheng Xiujing.

  "See you in Korea tomorrow." Zheng Xiujing, who had been discharged from the hospital and was resting at home, received a text message from Gao Yang and quickly replied with an "Ice cream!"

  "Hehe, I'll buy that store and give it to you." Gao Yang's text left Zheng Xiujing stunned. She had been deliberately trying to forget that Gao Yang seemed extremely rich!

  Having waited for half a day without receiving a reply, Gaoyang sent another message "What's wrong? Are you thinking about the future life in an ice cream filled fridge?"

  "Haha" Zheng Xiujing, who was still entangled, saw the text message and couldn't help but burst out laughing when she thought of the scene described. After laughing, she lightly bit her lip and replied to Gao Yang with a message: "OPPA, your gift is too expensive, I can't accept it. The midnight snack that OPPA bought last time was great, unfortunately, it was eaten by my sisters." The text message also included a cute emoticon at the end.

  Gao Yang looked at the text message and slightly curled up the corner of his mouth, then directly dialed the number. Zheng Xiujing, who was anxiously waiting for a reply, was startled by the ringing of her phone and hesitated for a moment before pressing the answer button.

  "Don't like eating ice cream anymore?" Gao Yang's words were laced with a hint of teasing.

  "Oppa, ice cream is delicious, but Western restaurants are unacceptable, too expensive." Zheng Xiujing said lightly.

  "Is it expensive? To me, it's just a matter of pulling out a few strands of cold hair." Gaoyang said with a smile.

  "Haha" Zheng Xiujing covered her mouth and smiled "Oppa, are you a giant or something? Your arm hair is so thick?"

  "Alright, alright, I know. I'll buy you your favorite mango ice cream, rest well and see you tomorrow." Gaoyang said softly to comfort her.

  "Ah, thank you, oppa." She hung up the phone and leaned against the bed with a vacant expression, lost in thought.

  Go Yang arrived in Seoul that afternoon and first attended the acceptance ceremony for the steel components of the Changjiang Bridge, then accompanied by the president of Hyundai Steel to the high-level conference room on the top floor of the New Lotte Hotel.

  Upon entering the conference room, I found that there were already people waiting for a long time. Chairman Jin introduced Gao Yang one by one, and representatives from Korea's seven major financial groups were all present, including Kim Jong-hoon, Director-General of Trade and Commerce at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

  This conversation started from a while ago when Go Yang required using petroleum as payment for an order at Modern Steel Company.

  For more than half a century since South Korea implemented its industrialization strategy in the early 1960s, the country's economy has grown rapidly, accompanied by a sharp increase in energy consumption. However, South Korea produces almost no oil domestically and is the world's fourth-largest oil importer, with an annual oil consumption of nearly 1 billion barrels!

  The structure of the Korean economy is extremely vulnerable to changes in international energy prices, and as soon as the annual average international oil price exceeds $95 per barrel, Korea's current account balance will immediately show a deficit.

  Therefore, any fluctuation in the international crude oil price will make the South Korean government nervous. The cost of energy imports for some years even exceeded military defense expenditures.

  All previous South Korean governments have regarded increasing energy self-sufficiency and securing stable energy imports from abroad as a matter of economic survival, and have consistently pursued the task of enhancing their ability to respond to energy crises in their foreign trade and diplomatic policies.

  Today's meeting theme is very clear, for Gaoyang's oil.