Chapter 146: If Soft Tactics Fail, Resort to Hard Ones (2/4 - Please Subscribe)

Normally, John Cena dealt with regular businessmen; it wasn't that high offers were unheard of, but he had never encountered anyone as exorbitant as Boss Han.

He felt that BuyFun Supermarket was worth a decent sum.

The valuation range of eight to twelve million dollars estimated by Su Mu seemed quite reasonable in Mr. Cena's eyes.

Based on his extensive experience, a company whose market value had multiplied thirty to forty times in just over half a year could be considered exceptionally impressive. It was hardly surprising that someone as young as Su Mu wanted to seize control.

He had expected it to be an easy little transaction, but instead, he hit a snag with Boss Han. This bruised the proud Mr. Cena's ego, leaving him annoyed. After discussing countermeasures with Su Mu last night, he gathered data overnight and rushed over to this agency named Simon Department Store early in the morning.

It supplied over twelve percent of the merchandise for BuyFun Supermarket. Qian Helberg, the corporate spy, had already handed over detailed purchasing data, so investigating these details wasn't difficult.

At this very moment, a plump and corpulent elderly white man sat opposite Mr. Cena, glancing at his watch. The agreed-upon time had already passed, yet Su Mu had not arrived.

Mr. Cena spoke up, "Good morning. We are here to investigate a supermarket called BuyFun. As far as I know, it routinely wholesale purchases goods from you, right..."

...

Su Mu had set off early in the morning driving his Porsche 911. He could have arrived at the designated location ahead of time, but he had run into trouble and, unable to reach Cena, wore a worried expression.

His car was parked on the roadside, and a slightly tanned female police officer was inspecting his driver's license.

He hadn't been speeding, nor had he run a red light; he was simply unlucky. Driving with the top down, he had caught her attention because he looked far too young.

In the United States, when police officers flash their lights to signal a stop, it is best to pull over immediately, remain obediently inside the car, and keep one's hands where the police can see them.

Quite a few fellows who failed to do this ended up shot dead by police without quite understanding why. The law grants American police officers numerous rights, among which is the authority to shoot directly if they perceive a threat to their personal safety.

While white people had it easier, people of color needed to follow this rule even more strictly, so Su Mu was sensible enough to quietly hand over his license while keeping both hands firmly on the steering wheel to signal that he posed no threat.

Being only seventeen years old and without a guardian present, driving without a license violated California's traffic regulations, and he was deeply worried about encountering trouble because of it.

Just as he was fretting, he heard her ask, "Nineteen? Just started driving recently? Alright, you can go. Remember to drive a bit faster; you're holding up the traffic behind you."

"..."

Su Mu was momentarily stunned, silently thanking the American educational system—it was hard to imagine a police officer failing to calculate his age. He hurriedly replied, "I'll remember, ma'am. Thank you."

Taking back his driver's license, he hurriedly started the car, terrified that she might realize her mistake, and sped away from that hazardous spot in a flash.

Without a navigation system, he took a wrong turn and wasted a bit of time before finally locating Simon Department Store. Just as he parked the car, he saw Mr. John Cena walking toward him.

"Thank God, I'm sorry for keeping you waiting. Shall we go inside now?" Su Mu assumed Mr. Cena had been waiting for him.

"I've already finished talking and was just about to head to the next supplier. If everyone had your efficiency, I would have starved to death in my Manhattan apartment long ago."

"Huh? What did you say to them?"

"Nothing much, just a casual reminder to let them know that BuyFun Supermarket's capital chain might snap at any moment. That was your own idea, after all. If they aren't willing to let payment for the goods be delayed when the time comes, don't blame me for not warning you."

Su Mu understood what he meant. Once these suppliers lost trust in BuyFun Supermarket, delaying payments in the future would become exceedingly difficult. He shook his head and smiled, "Securing controlling stake is more important. Once we hire a shrewd professional manager, there will always be ways to win them back. What merchant isn't willing to make money?"

"That is true indeed."

Mr. Cena climbed into the Porsche, unceremoniously commandeered the driver's seat, and told him, "I don't trust your driving skills. I'll drive. Before I bought my Jalpa-V8, I also owned a black 911. Don't worry."

The Jalpa-V8 was a model released by Lamborghini just last year.

Once upon a time, Su Mu also thought that rich people liked to show off their wealth, but now he realized that wasn't true at all. Those luxury goods were simply a mundane part of their everyday lives.

This time, hiring Mr. Cena to help acquire the shares would cost Su Mu two hundred thousand dollars out of his own pocket if successful. By comparison, a Lamborghini sports car or a Porsche was nothing at all.

Ordinary people bought luxury goods like Hermès and Chanel to show off, which was why secondhand luxury stores flourished. To the upper class, however, those were just pretty leather bags or clothes, nothing more.

When he had first bought the car, he had held onto the steering wheel all day, reluctant to let go. After a while, though, Su Mu's passion for driving had faded. Having someone else drive was naturally better, so he simply shrugged indifferently and sat down in the passenger seat.

They soon arrived at another wholesale market that supplied fruit to BuyFun Supermarket. The owner was also of Chinese descent, and Su Mu felt it unwise to show his face, fearing his intervention would backfire and let Boss Han discover he was the one stirring up trouble.

Mr. Cena repeated his previous tactic, omitting any mention of asking these suppliers to demand money from Boss Han. Instead, he simply stated that he intended to acquire BuyFun Supermarket and asked if they knew that BuyFun was withholding payments for goods and misappropriating funds to open new stores.

Upon hearing this, the Chinese owner's expression instantly turned ugly. No merchant ever wanted to encounter such frustrating dealings where a buyer had money yet refused to pay up.

After Mr. Cena left, Su Mu clearly saw that owner rush angrily to pick up the telephone, most likely to call BuyFun and demand a clear explanation.

The matter of payments was handled by Qian Helberg. Last night, instructions had already been given, and Helberg would only reply to them that the company temporarily lacked funds.

Even without inquiries, that Jewish "spy" would proactively call several suppliers to tell them that payment for the goods would need to be delayed for another period, perfectly coordinating with Su Mu from the inside and outside.

Opening three new supermarkets had required an investment of over two million four hundred thousand dollars, and rent alone exceeded one million dollars, already consuming the vast majority of the funds in BuyFun's accounts.

Recently, they had been robbing Peter to pay Paul, paying the suppliers on the agreed dates because these suppliers didn't demand payment all at once. By carefully managing the time gaps, they had managed to keep things afloat.

The method Su Mu devised was ruthless, striking directly at the "soft underbelly" of BuyFun Supermarket. As long as these suppliers demanded payment simultaneously in the near future and refused to allow further delays, BuyFun Supermarket would quickly go "bankrupt."

It wouldn't be a true bankruptcy, but rather a severe cash flow shortage. The company itself was sound—otherwise, he wouldn't have dared to do this—and he intended to use this leverage to force Boss Han to accept financing or sell off his shares in BuyFun and walk away.

By late afternoon, all the suppliers who needed to be notified had been reached.

Boss Han still had no idea that Su Mu was moving against him. Today, he had used BuyFun Supermarket's name to purchase a house, registering the property title under the BuyFun company name, though he would be the one living in it.

Naturally, he hadn't told Su Mu about this, playing a little clever trick to take advantage of the company.

He figured that since he would eventually have to split the money with Su Mu fifty-fifty, he might as well enjoy himself first. Other company executives had company cars and housing provided; Boss Han felt he deserved those perks too.

Busy moving houses all day long, he remained entirely oblivious to the troubles brewing at BuyFun Supermarket. Helberg, the company's second-in-command, had gone behind his back, thoroughly offending every single supplier, and had generously informed several supermarket foremen of a twenty-percent across-the-board raise along with a decision to purchase health insurance for them.

Afterward, he left a resignation letter sitting on his desk. Having stirred up muddy waters just as Su Mu requested, he washed his hands of the matter. Helberg himself felt this mess was infinitely troublesome, and he didn't believe Boss Han would be able to handle it.

As he walked out of the office, Helberg glanced back at the familiar company sign. Thinking of the respective methods employed by Boss Han and Su Mu, he shook his head, chuckled softly to himself, and muttered, "Intellectual suppression... Leon is truly terrifying to be able to come up with such a vicious trick."

In just a single day, BuyFun Supermarket had been transformed from a thriving enterprise into a pool of muddy water.

Su Mu didn't stop there. He returned to his old family home and retrieved that blank authorization document without a guardian's signature, keeping it ready for any contingency.

When he originally handed management rights over to Boss Han, he had kept a backup plan, retaining an opportunity to reverse his decision.

Things having escalated to this point, a winner simply had to be decided. Since the battle for controlling stake had already begun, it was best to finish it in one decisive push.

If gentle financing wouldn't work and Boss Han refused to agree, then he would simply have to play hardball...