My American magical life
Chapter 794 - 794 37 Leader 4_2

794: Chapter 37 Leader 4_2 794: Chapter 37 Leader 4_2 This is undoubtedly bad news.

Even though Cheng had anticipated there might be issues with Achilles’ “gift,” he had underestimated Achilles’ tactics.

This guy was really ruthless, essentially sucking the marrow from the bones of his own companies.

Sucking the marrow, draining profitable projects of West State Logistics dry, to the point where they couldn’t even pay off a single debt.

Leaning back in his chair, Cheng Daqi’s fingers gently pried at the edge of the desk, his head tilted back.

He was contemplating, contemplating how to clean up this mess.

Infusing capital was the simplest solution, breaking the vicious cycle of West State’s financial distress with cash flow.

But Cheng himself was in a situation where his cash was running dry.

Yes, he still had money, the earnings from his own business deals, the money from Lao Jia, the funds in his MAS account, etc., he still had money.

However, the LEC Cryptocurrency trading platform was currently in a period of rapid growth, and BEC just recently got listed; the turbulent waves in the cryptocurrency market required hefty capital reserves as ballast—Cheng couldn’t afford to touch those funds that stabilized the market.

If he couldn’t inject capital himself, then it would be crucial to bring in some financially capable strategic investors, but with West State Logistics currently under a newly established non-profit entity, incorporating investors became a challenging issue under such an equity structure.

Troublesome, indeed.

“Um, I was thinking…”

Pengte barely got a thought out before Sheriff Gru’s gaze, sharp and piercing as a blade, had him sitting back down and zipping his mouth shut.

Forget it, can’t afford to provoke them, can’t afford either of them.

“What is it, Pengte?

Have you thought of a solution to the problem?”

Cheng Daqi looked at Pengte with expectation.

“Ah?

Me?

Well, alright, we could lay off staff to reduce operational costs, cut off peripheral business to control spending, I think, we can also readjust the compensation for the executives.”

Anyway, I’m thinking of resigning, come what may.

Before Gru arrived, Pengte was the General Manager of West State Logistics.

After Gru’s arrival, he had been demoted.

Demoted be it, but Gru was too much to handle, and Pengte felt immense pressure.

Now with Baiyel blowing the lid off, and the new major shareholder seemingly at odds with the previous one, why should he stay in such a contentious place?

For a professional manager of a multi-billion group, finding a new job is a piece of cake.

There’s always a place for me elsewhere, Pengte was confident in that.

Even though Pengte was clearly undermining the company, both Baiyel and Gru didn’t seem to mind one bit; Baiyel had won his gamble, and Gru just did not care anymore.

“Greenspoon, let’s hear from you.

I remember you’re the number one ranked Deputy General Manager, your capabilities must be quite impressive.”

Cheng Daqi turned to the second person, and with a wipe of sweat, Greenspoon spoke up apprehensively.

“Eh, layoffs are a good option, other than that, in its early days, West State Logistics had outsourcing services that significantly reduced costs to us.

But over the years, their asking price has been climbing.

Mr.

Gru, respected Cheng, we can re-evaluate our company’s outsourcing system, I believe there is significant room to cut down costs in there.”

Gru let out a snort, lit a cigarette for himself, and quietly watched Greenspoon’s performance.

The feeling of being watched by a predatory beast is unimaginable for most, and Greenspoon could even hear his own heartbeat.

“Cheng, didn’t Baiyel mention that some executives were suspected of financial crimes?

Maybe I can start by checking there, see if we can scrape some money off them to deal with this urgent crisis.”

Sheriff Gru, sweating profusely, offered his suggestion.

Reviewing the outsourcing system would take too long and is a hassle.

Sheriff Gru had a much simpler solution—shake down for cash.

It has to be said, that was very much in Gru’s style, with a touch of Li Zicheng’s legacy.

Cheng sighed, rubbing his forehead in resignation.

“Layoffs, cutting business lines, executive salary adjustments, revising outsourcing business, anything else?”

Let’s not shakedown, let’s look ahead.

There’s no helping it, Cheng doesn’t really understand logistics; he’s not God.

Everyone looked at each other, Baiyel hesitated and then spoke up.

“We could talk to the bank about a repayment plan; such large debt can actually be negotiated, it’s just that we’ve never tried it before.”

Talking to the bank = Talking to Achilles.

This man who first bailed and bet everything gave Cheng a difficult recommendation to act on.

The Caramacris Family obviously saw West State Logistics as their check to cash, and all the executives knew it, which is why they had been so astonished by Baiyel’s frankness.

Now, their gazes—whether hopeful or skeptical—were on Cheng, curious to see how he would respond.

Do you have the strength to clash with Achilles?

“Alright, let’s talk about repaying the debt.

Ha, Great Qing back in the day was too honest, repaying every coin of its debt, or it wouldn’t have fallen so quickly.”

Do we have to repay every single debt we owe?

Many would say yes, as repaying debt is a moral duty.

But is it really a moral imperative?

Why not question who came up with and spread this belief?

In reality, a regular person must repay debts, but companies can declare bankruptcy—that’s very capitalist, isn’t it?

During the financial crisis in America, the ‘too big to fail’ behemoths outnumbered the fallen giants by two orders of magnitude; that’s the stark reality.

Cheng Daqi picked up the phone on the table, found Achilles’ business card, and dialed the number.

Gru looked on enviously and with regret.

He didn’t understand when he was young.

Now that he does, it’s too late.