Chapter 326: Knowing there is a tiger in the mountain, but still going towards it

'This is definitely problematic. If one or two or even three people think of the same thing at the same time because of something, I can still understand it as a coincidence, but now the entire finance class has come up with the same idea almost at the same time, and this can definitely not be explained by the word coincidence. As the saying goes, when something unusual happens, there is always a demon involved. I think this information is very likely to have been deliberately leaked to you in this way.'

Over the phone, Lin Muqing told Zhou Ming her guess. Zhou Ming didn't say anything at first, but instead took the phone and went to the windowsill. It was already dark outside.

Lin Muqing heard Zhou Ming didn't say anything for a while, so she tried asking, 'Zhou Ming, are you still planning to start an insurance business?'

'You know me well, Muqing,' Zhou Ming said, 'I'm not stupid, how could I not know that so many people heard about the insurance business at the same time? Someone must be behind it.'

Zhou Ming's tone changed as he continued, 'But this is the only way for me to get in touch with American finance as soon as possible. I have also consulted with Alan the lawyer about this, and he told me that neither the federal constitution nor the Massachusetts law currently has any hard and fast rules regarding the qualifications of insurance companies. Whether this is a way that someone deliberately revealed to me or not, this is indeed the best option at the moment.'

'It seems that you have already made up your mind,' Lin Muqing said. 'But I'm curious, Ming, why are you in such a hurry to enter the financial market? Can't you wait until the Jinming Fund has passed the US qualification review? That's your fund company, with very complete qualification and contract procedures, and it will take at most one or two months to enter the US.'

Zhou Ming thought for a moment and did not answer directly, but instead asked in return, 'Sister Muqing, if you were Brooke Sr. and you had spent so much and still suffered a great loss in court, would you let it go?'

Lin Muqing was stunned by Zhou Ming's question, and then said after thinking of something: 'Zhou Ming, do you want to give Wharton to Old Brook to vent his anger? But I'm worried that you, Zhou Ming, personally sent his son and butler to prison. A little-known Wharton company is not enough. By then, if you, Zhou Ming, get yourself into trouble by starting a fire, you'll be in trouble.'

Lin Muqing hesitated suddenly when she said this, but she continued, 'Just like this time, if it weren't for that email and photo, after Brooke Jr. and the others won this trial, they would definitely have turned the tables on you. This time, it may be their competitor who helped you behind the scenes, but next time, you may not be so lucky.'

Zhou Ming shook his head and said, 'Muqing, you underestimate me. After all, I didn't owe him anything in the case of Brooke Jr. and his butler. My idea is that since he wants to set the battlefield at Wharton Insurance, then I will fight him here and see what tricks he can play.'

'I call this knowingly walking into a tiger's den,' Zhou Ming said.

Lin Muqing is also a strong woman in the business world who never backs down from a challenge in the city of Hong Kong, but now she knows that Zhou Ming's decision is very wilful, but still she cannot say a word to argue with him.

'Zhou Ming, come on, if there are any difficulties or problems, please be sure to talk to me, I will definitely help you!'

Lin Muqing said to Zhou Ming, and after thinking for a moment, she added, 'If I remember correctly, Chairman Tong Gang happens to have a ship docked in Brighton. If your insurance company gets started, I think, given your friendship, he would be more than willing to insure with you.'

'I didn't expect that my insurance company hasn't even started yet, and I can already have an overseas insurance policy. Thank you very much, Muqing,'

Zhou Ming said to Lin Muqing, although he had a bit of a teasing tone in his previous words, the last sentence of thanks came from the bottom of his heart, because Zhou Ming knew Tong Gang. He was the second richest shipowner in the world, owning nearly 200 various cargo and cruise ships worldwide. His business spread all over the world, and with such a huge transportation network, I'm afraid even he himself can't figure out which one of his ships is in what position at the moment, but Lin Muqing can tell it out of the blue.

This can only mean one thing, and that is that Lin Muqing cares deeply about Zhou Ming. As a result, she asked someone to collect all the information about Brighton, which is why she could say so accurately that Tong Gang's ship was in Brighton.

Such concern cannot be summed up by a simple liking or repaying a favour. After all, Lin Muqing is also the chairman of several companies such as the Harbor City United Investment Fund, Siming Investment Company, and Jinming Fund. She must have a lot on her plate, but she still finds the time to specifically remember the situation on her side, not to prove anything or take credit, just to help herself. How can this not be touching?

'Why are you thanking me? What's mine is yours, as long as you, you little rascal, don't forget me,' said Lin Muqing.

'Of course not, Muqing, you'll always be in my heart,' said Zhou Ming.

On the other end of the line, when Lin Muqing heard Zhou Ming's words, the tears in her eyes immediately began to flow uncontrollably. At that moment, she suddenly felt that she was no longer tired, and that everything she had done for Zhou Ming had been worthwhile. Behind Lin Muqing's bookcase, there was an open cabinet with files and documents that were half as tall as a person.

...

While Zhou Ming and Lin Muqing were discussing the insurance company, someone else was arguing about the same thing on another phone line.

'Mr. Brook, I don't understand what you're doing. You said you wanted to remind the Chinese that they could start an insurance business, but I didn't expect you to give this hint to all of them. My God, if 26 people get the news at the same time that they can start an insurance company, even a pig will see that something is wrong. Do you think that the Chinese are stupider than a pig?'

In the room on the 12th floor of 365 Charles Avenue, Wharton was also growling at the phone, and the bulging blue veins on his forehead showed his anger.

Compared to Wharton's anger, Old Brook on the other end of the phone was clearly very calm, and even talked to Wharton about the animal world: 'Young Mr Wharton, I guess you've never watched the animal world. On the African savannah, whenever a lion is about to hunt, it always becomes extremely quiet, because they know very well that agitation will not help with the hunt.'

But Wharton obviously wasn't listening: 'I don't want to hear this bullshit about the animal world, I don't want to know how lions hunt, I just want to know what we're going to do about the Chinese guy, how we're going to kick his ass!'

'It's simple, we just have to wait for his insurance company to get off the ground, and when he's invested all his money in the stock market, we'll find a way to shoot him in the back...'

Before Old Brook could finish his sentence, Wharton interrupted him, saying, 'Old guy, do you think I'm senile? Now that you've told him so clearly, how is he going to start an insurance company?'

'Of course he will. I don't know if you remember what I told you, but he has no choice. An insurance company is his best option, unless he wants to spend a lot of time applying for securities qualifications or fund approvals, but that won't do us any harm.'

Old Brook paused at the end of his sentence and then said to Walton, 'There's one more thing I need to make clear to you. When you're talking to me, please use respectful language with me. If I hear any more disrespectful terms like "old fool" or "old guy" directed at me, I can guarantee that you will join the pile of rubbish in the Fenway district landfill for eternity, just like the rubbish in your room! Never think about revenge in your life, and let that damned Walton Company go to hell together with that Chinese person!'

Old Brook's words made Wharton tremble uncontrollably. He then said, 'I'm sorry, Mr Brook, I got a little carried away. What should I do next?'

'Not yet. Keep watching. I'll get back to you.'

With that, Old Brook hung up the phone. Wharton, listening to the busy signal coming from the phone, slammed the phone down hard and cursed, 'What the hell!'

...

Time's up. The next morning, all the finance students were having breakfast in the lobby on the first floor. Zhou Ming walked downstairs. He first comforted Li Yang, who had just been discharged from the hospital, and then he said to everyone, 'Remember that everyone told me yesterday about raising insurance companies. I've thought about it all night, and I've made a decision. The future direction of Wharton's development is to develop insurance business!'

As Zhou Ming's decision was announced, there was an immediate outburst of enthusiastic cheers. Of course, not everyone was blindly following. Ye Ning stood up and whispered to Zhou Ming, 'Teacher, is this really okay? I know that Senator Brock is a Massachusetts senator who has a very large company with a lot of influence in Brighton. So many of our classmates have come up with this idea at the same time. Could it be that he is behind this?'

Zhou Ming did not answer but instead directly asked her back, 'Are you afraid?'

Ye Ning immediately blushed when she was asked this, and said, 'Of course I'm not afraid. Even if it is Old Brook's conspiracy, no matter what he wants to do, he will definitely not be your match, and we will definitely help you defeat him!'

Zhou Ming rubbed her little head and said, 'That's right. My finance students must have this unstoppable momentum, otherwise if we are afraid in the first place, there would be no story to tell.'

Afterwards, Zhou Ming looked up at everyone and said, 'My fellow students, you've just been waiters at a reception and salespeople at a dormitory convenience store, and now I'm asking you to become annoying insurance salesmen. There's no way around it. After all, if insurance companies don't have enough funds, they can't enter the financial market. We can't just play around with tens of thousands of dollars, can we?'

Zhou Ming's words made the students laugh out loud. They all said that being an insurance salesman was no big deal at all. Some even asked Zhou Ming, 'Teacher, what if we sell enough insurance policies?'

'Insurance companies are still just an idea right now, so don't kid yourself,' Zhou Ming said. 'But I can assure you here that as long as you do a good job, you can immediately have your own account to trade stocks.'

The students immediately cheered and howled at Zhou Ming's answer, and Zhou Ming was very happy to see their enthusiasm.