Chapter 349
That shape, it’s the Golden Apple!?
How is that possible!
Jiang Chen’s first reaction was that he made a mistake. He wanted to confirm the shape of the ring, but Carmen already let his hand go. Because of the angle, he couldn’t see the front of the ring.
“After we finish the next round of auditing, the one billion will be transferred to your company’s account. Of course, I trust that there are no other problems. To celebrate the success of our partnership, can I invite you to eat lunch with me?” Carmen smiled.
“My honor.” Jiang Chen humbly laughed as he hid his shock behind his laughter.
The Golden Apple? Why?
Could it be the Rothschild family and the Golden Apple have some hidden secrets? No… But that Golden Apple was inside the U-235 submarine, from the diary of the officer from the Third Reich. The Golden Apple was protected as the “last trump card” for the Third Reich. As a Jewish family, how could they have come into contact with this?
Could it be that it was Hitler who robbed the Golden Apple away from them? No, that didn’t make sense.
Suddenly, Jiang Chen felt strange.
He suddenly realized that there was no point in being bothered by this.
Regardless of whatever the empire had plotted, that part of the history has already gone by for 70 years. From the diary, he already confirmed that the possessor of the Golden Apple didn’t know how to use it even at the last moment. Although the country may have received some technologies in the future, it still faded in the passage of time.
Carmen didn’t notice the irregularity on Jiang Chen’s face as he warmly welcomed Jiang Chen to sit with him on his vehicle. The black bodyguard sat down in the driver seat, and his assistant sat in the passenger seat.
Although the bodyguard didn’t say anything for the entire trip, Jiang Chen still sensed a hint of danger from him.
The guy was dangerous, at least on the same danger level as Nick. But contrary to Nick’s silent and reserved state, this person didn’t attempt to restrain his murderous vibe. He seemed like a war machine.
The bodyguard of the Rothschild family was not a simple character.
Jiang Chen sat with Carmen in the back as they chatted and joked. Carmen spoke excellent Chinese, it was even better than Robert, and he was also very talkative.
It didn’t take long before the car arrived at its destination – Catalan restaurant.
The place has quite a reputation in the upper-class society in Xiangjiang. From the delicate interior to the elegance of the waitress, it was easy to see how remarkable the restaurant was. From the respectful expressions the two waitresses at the door gave to Carmen, Jiang Chen suspected that the restaurant was an asset that belonged to the Rothschild family.
They entered a private room and ordered. It didn’t take long before the servers brought up exquisite dishes. The two chatted while they ate.
“Oh right, I remembered the bet we made. I still owe you a Maybach EX,” Carmen said as he elegantly dissected the red shrimp from the Mediterranean.
When they first signed the contract, Carmen and Jiang Chen made a bet. If Jiang Chen could deliver the product before May, he would gift Jiang Chen a Maybach EX – one of the only five vehicles worldwide.
Jiang Chen was shocked.
He almost forgot about it.
“Is Mr. Jiang free in October?” Carmen smiled.
“Hard to say, is there something going on?” Jiang Chen asked.
“The Mun Auto Exhibition is in October. Daimler corporation will be participating in the auto exhibition as a sponsor. The five Maybach EX will be displayed during the exhibition, and one of them will belong to you. If Mr. Jiang has the time, I would like to extend an invitation.”
“Even if I don’t have time, I will make time to attend.” Jiang Chen laughed.
Carmen also smiled. To Jiang Chen accepting the invitation, he was pleased.
As lunch was approaching the end, Carmen put down his utensils and wiped his mouth with the cloth.
“Speaking of something else, does Mr. Jiang mind talking about business during lunchtime?”
“Of course not, it is a tradition to talk about business over a meal.”
“Then I will be straightforward. Although the Rothschild family is in an expansive industry, our foundation still lies within the banking sector. I heard that Future International recently accepted a bid to the ten billion mega-project, would you guys need a little help?” Carmen smiled.
“Oh? What kind of help?” Jiang Chen pretended to be intrigued and asked.
“A loan of eight billion USD. A five-year term and an annual interest rate of 4.15%. Is Mr. Jiang interested in this loan?”
4.15% of annual interest was lower compared to the annual interest of 4.28% offered by the other banks Jiang Chen contacted. Although it was just a 0.13% discrepancy, for a multi-billion dollar loan, even 0.1% of interest differential was a difference of more than ten million.
“Eight billion USD?” Jiang Chen fell into deep thought.
“If Mr. Jiang has other opinions on the amount, we can discuss and adjust accordingly,” seeing that Jiang Chen didn’t give him a response, Carmen added.
Eight billion was nowhere enough, but not a lot of banks were willing to lend Future Technology over ten billion USD. Even if a few banks agreed, they would also include additional terms such as listing out the exact purpose of the loan or an IPO on Nasdaq.
Carmen came at just the right time to solve his problem, he deliberated for a few moment before he had an idea.
“Eight billion would not be enough, is Mr. Carmen interested in a bigger deal?” Jiang Chen looked at Carmen with a smile.
“Of course I am interested, Mr. Jiang’s suggestion is?”
“Thirty billion USD on a three-year term with 99% of Future Technology’s share as collateral.” Jiang Chen calmly unleashed a mega bomb.
Carmen’s eyes contracted as he held his breath, but he quickly regained his courteous expression.
Jiang Chen was pleased with how his facial expression changed.
He knew Carmen was tempted.
After a moment of silence, Carmen slowly said.
“Okay, we are interested in artificial intelligence, and we are also optimistic about the future of your company in this field. But thirty billion is certainly not a small number. I am interested in how you would pay me back in three years? Future 1.0’s current market penetration is already reaching its peak. With the current speed of technology shift, it will not be easy for your company to continue to increase its profitability.
Jiang Chen was surprised; he didn’t think Carmen would agree on this concisely. Just like he said, thirty billion was not a small number. Although the Rothschild family has built a massive business empire, money doesn’t just simply grew on trees.
“That would be my problem. But I have a feeling that it won’t take me three years to repay the debt.” Jiang Chen with a smile didn’t directly respond to Carmen’s question.
It would still take fifty years before the first basic artificial intelligence is introduced to the world. Even with the diverse political background in the mix and the technology research speed of the modern world is faster compared to the apocalypse, the technological gap would still not be surpassed in the next ten years. Additionally, it will be hard because basic artificial intelligence was not merely an advancement in the IT field, it also comprised of sociology, psychology, biology and other areas of combined achievements.
Before Jiang Chen can make the artificial intelligence database public, just in terms of the artificial intelligence field, Future 1.0 could not be surpassed. So Carmen’s concern was excessive, at least in the short run.
But just with Future Technology’s current profitability, it would still be impossible to repay the loan in only three years. But did Jiang Chen lack methods to make money? He didn’t have any concerns about repaying the loan.
Seeing that Jiang Chen wasn’t planning to disclose any information, Carmen didn’t persist.
“Then what about 4.5%? This the best offer I can give. Although the rate should be lower at a higher amount, it is at a condition where the party would have an equivalent amount of assets as collateral. To put it straightforwardly, your company currently does not have the assets for a thirty billion dollar collateral,” Carmen said with caution.
It was a risk he would take to lend the money to Jiang Chen.
“No problem, deal,” Jiang Chen said without hesitation.
Future International needed money, and a lot of it. He had already acquired the base as Pannu Islands. Thus all the growth must be accelerated. The technology from the wasteland would continue to fuel Future International’s growth in the world.
Although thirty billion was enough to purchase ten aircraft carriers, it was still a bit far away from completing the technological empire in his mind.
The only thing that made Jiang Chen puzzled was, why Carmen… Or instead, the Rothschild family had so much confidence in him and was willing to lend him the money without wavering.
It was thirty billion! Not the Zimbabwean currency, but the dollar!
What made Jiang Chen feel strange was, from Carmen’s dignified and courteous smile, he didn’t see a slight trace of hesitation.
Jiang Chen’s confidence rose from his belief in the wasteland’s technology, but what did Carmen count on? Even if it was the Rothschild family, how many billions did they have?
Although he was thankful for Carmen’s help, he felt something was off.