I Became a Tycoon During World War I - Chapter 23

Chapter 23: I Will Buy All His Assets

Sign the contract, write the check.

Charles stared at the figure on the check and timidly asked, "Mr. Francis, is this enough to buy your tractor factory?"

Francis laughed heartily. "No, Charles! You would need at least ten of these checks to make it happen!"

Francis was exaggerating. In truth, five checks would suffice, but that was partly due to business confidentiality.

After a pause, Francis added, "The motorcycle factory, however, only costs 600,000 francs. You could manage to buy that!"

Charles responded with an "Oh," his face visibly disappointed.

Grevy and Armand looked puzzled. They couldn’t understand why this family was casually discussing the sale of their assets.

But since it was someone else's business—and family matters at that—they didn’t ask further questions.

...

On their way home, walking along the road, Djoka noticed Charles seemed sullen and tried to console him:
"I know how much the tractor factory means to you, Charles!"

"But we can take our time. After all, we’ve already made a fortune. One day, we’ll have enough to buy the tractor factory. Don’t you think?"

"990,000 francs. You should be happy..."

Charles kept his head down, but his tone was devoid of disappointment. "Can you still see the villa?"

"What?" Djoka was startled, then realized Charles was feigning dejection.

But... why?

Djoka turned to look behind them and replied, "Barely. You can only see a small part of it now!"

Moments ago, Charles had been as wilted as a cabbage. Suddenly, his demeanor changed, and he exhaled in relief. Pretending wasn’t easy, especially for an amateur.

"I never planned to buy the tractor factory, Father!" Charles said.

"You didn’t?" Djoka was baffled. "Then why..."

Before he could finish, realization dawned on him. "You really want to buy the motorcycle factory, don’t you?"

Charles nodded.

In business, the more you want something, the less you should show it. Conversely, you should feign interest in things you don’t want. Only under the guise of being "forced" or "left with no choice" can you negotiate the lowest price.

Djoka laughed at himself. "You fooled me, Charles!"

"I can’t promise I’ll fool Francis," Charles admitted, concerned. "He’s not someone who’s easily deceived!"

Djoka agreed, then returned to the matter at hand.

"But why? I mean, a tractor can be converted into a tank—and you invented the tank. Yet, you’re not interested in tractors. Meanwhile, motorcycle sales are declining, and you want to buy that?"

Motorcycles faced the same challenges as tractors.

Their primary customers were lower-income civilians. Wealthier individuals preferred automobiles. Meanwhile, lower-income civilians were either conscripted for war or too financially strained to afford purchases, leaving the market sluggish.

"Tractors are outdated, Father!" Charles explained. "I’ve done my research. The British ‘Holt 75’ tractor went into mass production last year. It’s faster and has a greater load capacity than Francis’s ‘Holt 60.’"

Charles turned to Djoka and continued, "On the battlefield, soldiers would obviously prefer tanks that are faster and carry heavier loads, rather than slow-moving tractors clumsily covered in thin steel plates like snails!"

The "Holt 60" tractor had a maximum speed of only 15 kilometers per hour—barely faster than a snail.

Djoka was astonished. "But... you just sold the industrial rights to the tank!"

The tank rights were sold; they had nothing more to do with tanks, right?

"Father!" Charles replied. "I’ll use the ‘Holt 75’ tractor chassis to develop a new type of tank. It will be completely different from the old model, with no industrial rights conflicts!"

Djoka was so stunned he forgot to keep walking. A new tank, developed just like that? And no conflict with the previous design? Was his son truly an inventor?

After a while, he caught up and asked skeptically, "So you’re saying you’ll sell the tank rights first, then develop a new tank to outperform your own? Is that it?"

Charles replied expressionlessly, "More or less!"

"But..." Djoka’s eyes widened. "If you do that, Francis might go bankrupt. His tanks, painstakingly produced, might only sell a handful. And his tractor sales would plummet due to the ‘Holt 75.’"

"Is there anything wrong with that?" Charles asked.

Djoka fell silent. In business, there were no familial ties. Francis had tried to destroy Charles, leaving him with nothing.

If Francis didn’t care about family, why should Charles?

If things continued this way, everything Charles achieved would belong to the Bernard family, to Francis, not to him.

So...

"There’s nothing wrong with it!" Djoka gritted his teeth. "Do it. I’ll stand by you!"

He had lost faith in the family since Francis tried to take everything from Charles.

After a moment’s pause, Djoka asked, "Why are we buying the motorcycle factory?"

"Not just the motorcycle factory!" Charles replied. "I’m going to buy all the Bernard family’s assets!"

His tone was casual, as if he had just remembered something trivial.

But this only shocked Djoka further. "Buying all the Bernard family’s assets isn’t an easy task! Even the motorcycle factory might not be for sale..."

"He’ll sell!" Charles analyzed. "Now is when he needs funds the most. His liquid assets were exhausted during his earlier operations."

Djoka recalled how, before the Battle of Davaus, Francis had spent everything to purchase food supplies.

"Furthermore," Charles added, "starting tank production requires capital. The commission he earned from us might only cover a few days of operation!"

Djoka nodded. The tractor factory employed over 2,000 workers. Monthly wages alone totaled 60,000 to 70,000 francs, not to mention electricity, rent, and loan interest.

"Most importantly," Charles said, "Francis bought the motorcycle factory for the machine gun factory. He never saw value in motorcycles. From the start, he planned to sell them—and we have the funds."

"The value of motorcycles?" Djoka was puzzled.

What value? Weren’t motorcycles destined to be replaced by cars?

"You’ll understand in time, Father!" Charles replied. "Motorcycles won’t be much less valuable than tractors!"

Djoka murmured his acknowledgment. He felt "precocious" no longer described Charles. Nor could he be compared to Francis in cunning. Charles surpassed him, treating Francis like a puppet!

It was unbelievable. Francis, regarded as a business prodigy within the Bernard family, seemed insignificant before Charles.

Unconsciously, they arrived home. In the distance, they saw Camille sitting by the door, knitting. The soft glow of the setting sun outlined her gentle figure like a cloud of warmth.

When she spotted them, Camille quickly set down her knitting, stood up, and waved.

"How did it go?" Camille approached, her eyes filled with hope. "Did everything go smoothly?"

Camille’s main concern was whether Charles’s identity had been acknowledged.

"Everything went smoothly!" Djoka nodded and replied. "We don’t need anyone’s acknowledgment. We are who we are!"

Camille seemed to understand. She nodded silently, turned to Charles with a smile, ruffled his hair, and embraced him.

Wearing a mask to negotiate outside must have been exhausting, she thought.

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