Fame and wealth

  In the financial district of New City, London, a 57-story office building, Phil, who looked the most stable, rented half of the 23rd floor and hung up a sign that read "Star Metal Refining Import and Export Co." Everything was completed within three days. The place where the office is located used to be the workplace of a small company, but it's unknown whether it went bankrupt or something else happened, and now it's empty. Taking advantage of the landlord's eagerness to find new tenants, Phil rented it for 12% below market price for three years.

  Yi Chen and Fatiao are still relatively satisfied with this office, at least it looks like it has a bit of style.

  Next, Yichen gave another boss in London a call: "Dear David, can you help me out?"

  David said with a hypocritical enthusiasm: "Of course, Chinese is easy, we are friends, and it's only right that we help each other."

  Yi Chen smiled habitually and said: "So, I'm preparing to donate 10 million pounds to the British Royal Academy of Literature's data library. Can you help me with this?"

  David asked inexplicably, "Can't you solve these things yourself? Do donations still need help?... Hmm, oh, I understand. So, it's best if you prepare another five million pounds. I need to grease the wheels a bit, and you also know that the second half of the year is approaching. Moreover, you'd better familiarize yourself with the relevant etiquette. Also, everything must be kept confidential, otherwise, it would be difficult for those above to accept. You see, my relationship with them is just slightly more familiar than others, they are not people from our circle."

  "Alright, got it," he said with a smile to Fattahdio after hanging up the phone. "Everything's fine. In two months, there will be the British royal family's second-half-of-the-year honors ceremony. Getting a lifelong baronetcy is easier than ever now."

  Fatadi burst out laughing, his hands shaking: "Following the example of the British royal family, two hundred years later, everyone in Britain will be calling each other 'Sir' when they meet... Hahaha... Can everything be bought with money?"

  Yi Chen revealed a hint of sarcastic smile: "Now, many of the truly upright people in Britain refuse to accept honors, whereas we, who need to whitewash ourselves, are still quite willing to shroud ourselves in a layer of aristocratic golden aura."

  Fei Li walked in with two cups of coffee and placed them in front of the two people, then leaned against Yi Chen's body. Yi Chen gently stroked her small hand, smiling as he said: "Now, on the Manchester side, we also have a very good target. The Manchester United Metal Smelting Company has been losing money for seven years in a row, and its boss is preparing to sell it out, but no one is willing to take over. It's estimated that the price will be around 90 million pounds, although the factory is not big, as long as we add some old boilers and do some tricks with the registered capital, we can also qualify for listing."

  Fatadio nodded, a hint of a smile on his face, picked up the coffee, carefully controlled his trembling hands not to spill the coffee, and drank it in one gulp, saying: "Our boss has indeed found the right partner for cooperation. You are the first among our past partners who can handle things with such efficiency."

  Yi Chen smiled and nodded slightly, with a characteristic Chinese subtlety, accepting his praise.

  Two months later, Yi Chen, the ringleader of the vagrants, was dressed in a magnificent attire, accompanied by Fei Li who wore jewelry worth hundreds of millions, and together with other outstanding figures from various fields of the British Empire, they received honors from the Queen of England.

  Fatahio, who was also present at the ceremony below, did not know what means he had used to obtain the invitation letter. His two eyes were already narrowed into a slit, and as long as Yichun had such a lifelong title of nobility, it would be very beneficial for them to acquire the steel plant and go public in the future. After all, Britain is still a conservative country, and the nobles are still very powerful in their society.

  After the award ceremony, Yi Chen ignored the whispers of the reporters and left with a group of people in eight luxurious BMWs, showcasing his power. The reporters from various media outlets were confused and asked each other: "Who is this? Why was he awarded by the Queen?" Of course, they had no idea that the chairman of a certain committee under the British royal family was smiling at the increased numbers on his bank statement.

  After leaving the Buckingham Palace, where they were awarded honors, Yi Chen's motorcade merged with Fattalio's and the group headed straight to the train station, bound for Manchester. Everything was timed perfectly, not a minute wasted; less than five minutes after boarding, the train departed. Fattalio seemed to have a bit of an unusual cleanliness habit, insisting on booking an entire carriage.

  The negotiations for the acquisition of this steel mill were held at their current boss's private mansion.

  "Gentlemen, I'm delighted you're interested in my factory... My United Smelting Company is an ancient enterprise with a history of over 100 years, enjoying good social reputation and prestige locally, as well as extremely high credibility in the industry. You won't regret choosing my company."

  "Dear Mr. Birla, credibility can't be exchanged for silver coins. In this day and age, only clever business strategies and strong economic power can turn an old, glorious company with good social surplus and reputation into a golden egg-laying hen."

  He blinked and went straight to the point: "I'm asking for ￡130 million, and you can get the factory building, land use rights and machinery of my company. You should understand that this price is very reasonable."

  Yi Chen blew a whistle and said casually, slumping on the sofa: "Considering your company's scale and the cost of those machines, hmm, it would be reasonable for you to charge an even higher price."

  Bili's eyes lit up with excitement and he let out a hearty laugh, saying: "So, dear, are you ready to sign the agreement now?"

  Fatiao stood beside him with a nervous smile, watching as Bili was manipulated by the sinister Yicun like a pig.

  "No, I absolutely won't use $1.3 billion to buy your company. It's not worth that price, your company is absolutely not worth that price."

  Bi Li's self-esteem seemed to have been hurt, he suddenly stood up: "Sir, you're speaking too...".

  Without waiting for him to finish, Yi Chen hummed and said: "Your land use rights will expire in less than five years. Your factory is dilapidated, your machines are old products from twenty years ago, and even your workers... dear God, if your factory had a team of skilled and hardworking workers, would it have been losing money for seven consecutive years? If your company's operations were ideal, would you be selling to us?"

  "Y-you... how much are you prepared to pay?" At this moment, the pig-like Bili's eyes flashed with a fox-like gaze.

  "Eighty million pounds, take it or leave it, no room for negotiation. Either you sell to me, or you find another buyer."

  "Impossible, your price is too harsh, I absolutely cannot accept it. In that case, we have nothing more to discuss."

  He tilted his head to look at Birlstone, revealing a strange smile: "What if I take over the factory's union along with the bill in your hand? What if I take over your factory, which owes around 200 million yuan in debt? Moreover, according to general acquisition contracts, the new boss has the right not to accept the previous workers. So, do you think the thousands of workers in your factory will cause trouble for you or me? How do you think the Manchester Court would rule?"

  Yi Chen quickly stood up and said, "Forget it, since Mr. Bi Li is unwilling, then let's go, after all, we have many acquisition targets, not necessarily just Mr. Bi Li's."

  He hastily stepped forward a few steps, fawning and grasping Yi Chen's hand: "Sir, let's discuss this carefully again. Are you saying that the company's debts are also included? And taking over those workers as well?"

  Yi Chen nodded slightly.

  Finally, Bhilai sold for ￡30 million and his small steel mill was taken over by the smelting company jointly controlled by Eichan and Fattardi's bosses.

  No notice was given to the employees, inviting them to attend a dinner party, Yi Chen took him directly to the local court and other relevant government departments. In one night's time, the sign of Bili's joint smelting plant was changed to 'Xing' Metal Smelting Import and Export Company. At the same time, members of the local trade union supervised the entire acquisition process, they were very satisfied that Yi Chen did not fire any workers, and also paid an extra month's salary.

  Yi Chen stayed in Manchester for a week, and with the financial experts brought by Fattah, they assessed the current value of the factory. Afterwards, they reported the total value of the reorganized assets to the higher-ups through various illegal means. Yi Chen kept saying that there was a huge investment from Russia coming soon, so the bosses in Manchester's business community were shocked to see that Oldbury's old and dilapidated steel mill had a staggering self-produced total value of 2 billion pounds after reorganization.

  Yi Chen looked at the reports in the hotel with satisfaction, smiled and said: "As long as these reports are approved by the local authorities, we can directly apply for listing. I'm not very familiar with the stock market, so I'll rely on you all."

  Those Russian men with big faces proudly said: "Don't worry, Mr. Yi, for the British market, such a lucrative place, we will absolutely not let it go. Our combination has never made a mistake before, your investment is absolutely guaranteed."

  Yi Chen revealed a hint of a smile, smiling at Fattahdio and saying: "Dear, your subordinates are very confident... hmm, of course, I hope this confidence can be maintained until the end... The Chinese are a polite nation, so they won't do anything out of line to friends, but I'm an exception among the Chinese, so I'll warn you in advance that if my investment shows any abnormalities, I'll directly take down your boss first, and then slowly play with you guys."

  Fatiao smiled a bit awkwardly: "Mr. Yi, don't worry, everything is fine."

  Yi Chen nodded and stood up, saying: "I hope so. You Russians still haven't conquered Chechnya, if I send someone to put a hundred bombs on your boss's turf, what do you think will happen? So the money I invest must not go wrong... after all, it's hard to make money in this day and age."

  Fatadi nodded repeatedly: "Don't worry, don't worry, I understand you."

  Yi Chen smiled satisfactorily: "So, very good, I'm going to go settle that 200 million debt problem. When someone comes to our door asking for the debt, we can't just ignore it, right? But 200 million is also a lot of money, especially when I hold 45% of the shares inside. I don't want to lose 90 million pounds unjustly, so I have to go myself." "Gao Er, get the car ready."

  After Fatiao and others left, he whispered to several financial experts: "You be careful, if something goes wrong this time, don't need the boss to come out and get rid of you, none of us can leave Britain, this guy is ruthless and even the largest family in Moscow can't figure him out, do you understand?"

  Several bearded men hastily nodded in agreement.

  The private bank that came to the door to collect debts was a local one, and Boli had borrowed 20 million pounds from them as working capital due to business problems, which was used to pay workers' wages, coal bills and so on. Now seeing that Boli's company has changed bosses, they are a bit anxious and rushed to come to the door to collect debts. Although it is said that the new boss has great strength, after all, there are too many scams in the business world, and who knows if there will be any problems. They trusted Boli, this Manchester-born boss, but did not trust these 'Londoners' from London.

  Yi Chen met with their boss in the bank's general manager office and said straightforwardly: "We hope that after our smelting plant resumes normal operation, we can return to your bank for the 200 million loan you provided."

  The bank's boss was a bit embarrassed: "Dear Mr. Yi, your request is really..."

  Yi Chen smiled: "Mr. Green, your business is an old bank with a very good reputation, I believe you won't be anxious just because of 20 million pounds?"

  Grimm, with a thick exterior, nodded honestly and said: "200 million pounds is not a problem, but we must be responsible to our depositors. To be honest, for Mr. Bili, although we know he has some problems in his business, after all, he is a well-known figure in our local area, we trust him. And you, have never had any dealings with our bank, your credibility with us is still 0, our board of directors will not be at ease..."

  "Ah ha, dear Mr. Green, you're talking about credibility? Credibility? Then, how much credibility do you think your own country, the sacred British Empire, has?"

  Indeed, just like any conservative orthodox English gentleman, Green stood up, excitedly waving his hands and said: "The dear Great British Empire? His credit is infinite, he is a great sacred empire, do you doubt her credit?"

  Yi Chen raised an eyebrow and smiled shamelessly: "So, what do you think of the nobility of the British Empire?"

  Greene smiled: "They are all noble gentlemen, their integrity is boundless because of the British Empire. They are gentlemen, and gentlemen will not abandon their position and dignity for a small amount of money."

  "Then, do you think that I, a decorated officer of the British Empire and a lifelong baronet, would give up my position and honor for a mere 20 million pounds?"

  Green stared at Yichun with his mouth agape, stuttering: "I... I'm sorry, you... you're a lifelong noble? Oh my god, I apologize, I didn't know, you... you really are..."

  He carefully pulled out his medal from the inner pocket of his chest, an iron piece that cost around 100 pounds to make, but was kept in a very precious crystal case. He smiled and said: "I just received the honor from the great queen and was fortunate enough to be included in the ranks of the lifelong knights of the British Empire. Sorry, I didn't mean to show it off on purpose, but because of business reasons, I came straight here after receiving the medal. To show my respect for the British royal family, I specially stuck it on my chest."

  Green eyed the medal enviously and nodded his head saying: "I believe in your strength, but Mr. Yi, how am I supposed to explain this to the board of directors?"

  Yi Chen smiled and slightly shook the medal in his hand, saying: "How about this? You publish an advertisement in the local newspaper, saying that to support our company's operations, your bank invests ￡100 million in shares. In fact, you only need to invest ￡80 million. Of course, when you sign the agreement with us, we will return a certain interest rate on your loan, which is beneficial to both of us. Our large investment has not yet arrived, and your investment will be our latest start-up capital."

  Grimm sank into deep thought...

  Three hours later, Green's Bank accepted Yidian's proposal, with Yidian guaranteeing a certain rate of return, while Green Bank's good reputation in Manchester increased the credibility and trustworthiness of Yidian's new company.

  After leaving Green's bank, Yi Chen flicked his mouth, and the box containing the medal that was still precious just now was casually thrown onto the seat. He lit a cigar and said, "It's really strange, don't these people know that so-called fame and reputation are all empty, only actual benefits are the most wonderful?"

  The crowd of subordinates burst out laughing...

  With Green's bank as a backing, which was brought over by the dust of time, everything will be easier to operate in Manchester in the future.