My American magical life
Chapter 134 - 134 49 These Are the Last Few Photos on His Phone_2

134: Chapter 49: These Are the Last Few Photos on His Phone_2 134: Chapter 49: These Are the Last Few Photos on His Phone_2 Cheng Daqi passed a piece of paper to the Elder Deng across from him without offering further comfort.

“Life is hard for everyone, I have my difficulties just as you have yours.”

Li Haiping had understood what Cheng Daqi meant; he mumbled and moved his lips before saying,

“CEO Cheng, I may not be very bold, but I know the rules.

If anything goes wrong, I’ll take the fall, and I certainly won’t reveal anything about you and your partners.”

The house had already been rented out, and he had already begged humbly and swallowed the loss.

If he couldn’t gain some advantage from this, Li Haiping feared that he’d be too regretful to sleep tonight.

“Elder Li, you’re not cut out for this, and besides, your intermediary business is booming.

Haven’t you made quite a bit of money over the years?

Why insist on hanging yourself on this broken project?

This is hardly a good path.”

This was Cheng Daqi’s genuine thought.

“CEO Cheng, you’re absolutely right in what you say,”

“But at the end of the day, my line of work is all about earning money while trying to please others.

If the clients are in a bad mood, I have to put on a smile.

Oh, what can I do?

I don’t have any resources; apart from being an intermediary, I don’t know what else to do.”

Wiping away his tears of grievance, Li Haiping composed himself, deciding to play ‘candid’.

In sales, this tactic is like trying to get the customer to empathize with you.

Whether or not they actually empathize isn’t the point; the key is to get customers to listen and to feel your sincere attitude.

Cheng Daqi didn’t interrupt the man over fifty; he simply listened silently.

“You call me Elder Li.

Yes, I am indeed old, CEO Cheng, but you are truly young and promising.

They say that at fifty, one knows their destiny.

I’ve come to recognize my destiny, but I can’t accept it!

I want to give it a try; do you think I still have a chance?

CEO Cheng?”

What was supposed to be a passionate one-person show turned, due to Li Haiping’s last words, too ‘in-character,’ leaving Cheng Daqi unsure how to respond.

Someone is asking you if they still have a chance.

This seemingly simple question, once broached in the secrecy of a corner, becomes an ultimate question.

“Elder Li, you’ve made quite a bit over the years; there’s really no need.”

“CEO Cheng, you’re not familiar with the situation and policies of immigration, so you don’t know how lucrative this path can be.

In the past two years, a new Great Commander has taken office, tightening the grip on skilled and investment-based immigration from the mainland, and family reunification immigration requires actual relatives.

Sham marriages take time and are very costly.”

Li Haiping was a jack-of-all-trades intermediary, and he knew the immigration policies very well.

“Moreover, CEO Cheng, your family-reunification immigration path works even without actual relatives and doesn’t require waiting or queuing.

The sole barrier is money.

Just a few hundred thousand and those eager to come can cobble together nearly enough by simply tapping into online lending platforms in their homeland.

If your approach could be scaled up, it could potentially reap profits of at least a hundred million.

I can do a seventy-thirty split with you as I’ll still have to facilitate the channels for you, and if things blow up, I’ll be the one to bear it all.

I really can’t settle for less.”

Pushing up his glasses, Li Haiping looked at Cheng Daqi with anticipation.

He had shown his willingness to cooperate,

His bottom line was a twenty-eighty split; after all, that too would yield earnings in the millions.

An individual would earn nearly twenty thousand dollars, and he could make a four thousand dollar commission.

If he recruited three thousand people, that would be ten million dollars.

Ten million US dollars; that was an enormous wealth he had not even dared to dream of before.

“Elder Li, you don’t need to worry about bearing the brunt of any fallout alone.

Such matters involve everyone sharing the spoils.

They will catch your future agents instead; scapegoats are enough, and it has nothing to do with you.”

This kind of operation was backed by the intertwined interest of the American civil service system, and Cheng Daqi was confident they wouldn’t face exposure.

The worst-case scenario would just be halting operations, but how could they investigate their own people?

Even if operations were to be halted, it wouldn’t last long.

Once an interest group has joined forces, their pursuit of gain is unstoppable.

They can only run wildly until death.

The difference lies in the manner of death; one is a physical extinction, the other is losing the qualification to share the pie of interests.

For the former, American civil servants and the nation itself are inextricably tied; no one could physically annihilate them.

As for the latter, countless groups throughout history have quietly vanished with the setting sun.

But new groups emerging to occupy the original niches will still chase profits, and when that time comes, it will only be a repeat of what happens today.

“CEO Cheng, but after all, I’m the one who is directly facing the risk.

Any lower would be inappropriate, right?”

Seeing that Cheng Daqi was truly planning to cooperate with him, Li Haiping suppressed the excitement in his tone and began to play the victim.

“We’ll design a special profit-sharing agreement, Elder Li.

With fifty million dollars as the benchmark, I can guarantee you a price no higher than forty thousand US dollars.

Before you help me earn a net profit of fifty million dollars, our split will be 90/10.

After fifty million, it will be 30/70.”

Li Haiping immediately began doing mental calculations.

Assuming a profit of twenty thousand dollars per case, under a 90/10 split, Cheng Daqi’s fifty million in profit would require enrolling two thousand eight hundred people.

That number might sound outrageous, but it might actually be less than one thousandth of the number of people interested in emigrating.

Doable!

“CEO Cheng, this price of forty thousand dollars is still too high, your profit margin is too slim.

If we bring in a large number of people, can’t they give us a wholesale price?”

Cheng Daqi was amused by Li Haiping’s words.

Good grief, processing illegal legal statuses, and now you want a wholesale price for doing it in bulk?

Unbelievable.

Worrying about my slim profit margins, I think you’re worried about your own slim profit margins.

“Elder Li, I’ll try my best to negotiate this price, don’t worry, I’ll do my best.”

Shaking hands with Li Haiping, Cheng Daqi patted the back of the middle-aged intermediary’s hand and gave his solemn instructions.

“For this matter, you’ll need to recruit agents.

Exactly how to recruit and how to operate without exposing your identity, you’ll need to figure that out.

If there are difficulties we can meet and talk, just come to this house to find me, don’t discuss it over the phone or on social media.

For the first time, let’s start with twenty people, then bring the information and the money to me, as a kind of appetizer.

We need to show our strength to the partners who’ll be helping us with the identities on the other side.”

“CEO Cheng, I’ve been an intermediary for so many years, I understand a bit about what you’re saying.”

The collaboration was thus set in stone.

Li Haiping still had a lot he wanted to say, but Cheng Daqi had already opened the door to leave.

Taking one last look at his meticulously decorated house, Li Haiping smiled contentedly.

Pretty good, no loss.

How much did the house cost?

Renting it out at a low price meant a loss, but the gain on the other side was greater.

—————–

Sani was packing up the tent with Kernor’s help; Black Sister could move into her new house tonight.

Having spent the night in the hospital without returning, the tent Kernor shared with the blond veteran had been plundered.

Both being homeless drifters, they didn’t have any other valuable possessions.

Cheng Daqi was filming video content on his phone.

The video upload plan from yesterday had been postponed due to the kidnapping, so no videos had been posted for a day.

In the old videos, many ‘fans’ were already spreading rumors in the comment section about Cheng Daqi dying in the streets of America.

Responding to such rumors was a waste of time.

Cheng Daqi planned to shoot another video, also to fish for reactions.

Yes, mainly to fish for reactions, to let fans through being baited and then contradicted, get a sense of immersive interaction.

“On How a Top Influencer Walks Their Fans”

His MCN company was already beginning to get on the right track.

With Eris and Li Haiping, there wouldn’t be a shortage of cash flow in the future.

Logically, there was no need to continue making short videos, but Cheng Daqi still liked his rebellious fans.

Walking one’s fans, what a delightful thing!

Putting a photo taken while being examined by a doctor at the hospital at the beginning, Cheng Daqi’s lips revealed an anticipating smile.

Then add a few other photos.

Things like Red Street avenues with a black and white filter, or the tent being ‘violently’ taken apart by Kernor.

Combine a few photos like that, then add ‘Everybody’s Working Hard’ as the BGM.

That hint of sadness, scratch on it and it comes rushing up.

The copy for the video was the finishing touch, Cheng Daqi thought and thought.

In the end, he wrote a line in English.

“These are the last photos in his phone.”

These are the last few photos in his phone.