Chapter 40: Taking the Lead

On the morning of June 22, a lectern was set up in the East Gate Square of the Vinda Community, with the logo of the Meitong Logistics Company next to it.

The Vinda community is not large, with only a handful of people coming and going every day, and not much happening. Recently, the most talked about thing in the Vinda community has been the establishment of the Meitong company. Relying on low prices and advertising advantages, it has made everyone in the Vinda community choose it, even though it has only been established for ten days. Due to the popularity of Meitong Logistics, and the fact that it was the weekend, many people in the community were attracted here.

Seeing that there were a lot of people, Omar took Botter with him on stage. Their appearance undoubtedly surprised everyone. As the saying goes, 'rivals are like enemies'. Shouldn't they be competitors? How did they end up together?

Facing everyone's doubts, Omar smiled and said, 'Dear brothers and sisters of the Vinda community, I know everyone is very puzzled as to why Botbo and I are together, and some people may even have some unfriendly thoughts about it. But I can tell you here very responsibly that there is absolutely no conspiracy. I am with him because we need to tell you all the news. Mr. Botbo and I have reached an agreement: starting today, Metong Logistics will acquire Vinda Logistics in its entirety.'

His words sent shockwaves through the crowd. No one had expected this outcome. Although everyone had a lot of complaints about Vinda Logistics, they had to admit that it had been deeply rooted in the community for ten years. How could it be bought by a company that had only been in business for ten days? This was too far-fetched.

Could it be a conspiracy between Veda Logistics and Miton Logistics? They seemed to be in competition, but in reality they were just the same, and only this answer could explain it.

Everyone thought this, and when they looked at Omar again, their eyes were not so kind. They thought Omar had deceived them.

On the podium, Omar didn't say much in response to everyone's doubts, but simply invited Botterb onto the stage. Botterb said to everyone, 'I fully agree with the acquisition of Vidda Logistics by Meilong Logistics.'

After Botterb finished, he consciously stepped aside, and Omar continued, 'Dear brothers and sisters in the community, Botterb is the chairman of Vidda Logistics, and I believe his words are the most convincing.'

Omar's words did not elicit any cheers, but instead a chorus of boos, because Botter and Omar's speeches had convinced them even more that they had been deceived. Everyone booed while giving Omar the finger: 'Die, you despicable liars, we won't believe you again. This is definitely the worst joke of the year. We'd rather go to a logistics company further away than choose a liar...'

This situation made Omar frown, but he did not back down, but continued to say loudly, 'Dear brothers and sisters of the Vinda community, I don't know what has led you to the misunderstanding that we are scammers. I think I must explain here that Mr. Boutb and I did not know each other before, and he even took the position of community councillor from me...'

Omar tried desperately to explain, but the angry people didn't want to listen. They kept giving him the finger, and some even took off their socks and threw them at the stage, while hurling vicious insults: 'Die, you damned liar! We won't believe a word you say again! You and Botter are the worst kind of scumbags! You deserve the harshest torture in hell!'

These insults caused a huge impact that made Omar subconsciously take a step back. He could see the mocking smile that Bertolt was showing him behind his back. He never expected the situation to turn out like this. How could everyone misunderstand him so much? Omar didn't understand, and he also wanted to give up a little. But then he thought about Zhou Ming's trust in him, and he absolutely could not let him down.

So Omar gathered his confidence again, took a step forward, and sang a melodious melody: 'Oh, can you see what makes us so proud at the dawn's early light? Whose broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight?

As Omar sang this melody, the scene gradually quieted down, because this was the American national anthem.

When everyone had quieted down, Omar said again, 'You think I have deceived you. The truth is that you are wrong, and you are very wrong. Here today, I can solemnly swear on the Stars and Stripes that although Vinda Logistics has been acquired by APL Logistics, APL Logistics will still adhere to its traditions and only act as a freight handler.'

Omar's speech surprised everyone. Omar continued, 'Many of you were once my supporters and voted with me at the polling station, so you should also know my ideas for reforming the Veda community healthcare system.'

As Omar spoke, the people below subconsciously nodded along. Omar continued, 'So here today, I can also assure everyone that Mr. Baoteb can focus on being his MP and better build our community, and our Meitong Logistics Company will give its full support in the construction of the hospital. Please believe me!'

Omar's speech was like dropping a bombshell in everyone's heart, shocking everyone. However, Omar's speech was not over yet.

Omar continued, 'You have just misunderstood me, which has hurt me deeply, but I can forgive you, because I truly love you, I love each and every one of you, and for this I would rather suffer the pain of being crucified.'

If what Omar just said was just a bombshell, then his words at this moment were a stormy wave that moved everyone. They all shed tears of remorse and scrambled to say sorry to Omar, as if they had all become his most loyal followers.

Facing everyone's apologies, Omar also shed tears. He was moved that they had done it for him, but he also raised his head and said in his heart: Mr. Zhou Ming, I have done it, I can finally take on a leading role for you. I have not let you down.

Omar's success undoubtedly made Boutboul feel even worse. He now deeply regretted why he had to compete for this council seat, which cost so much money every two years for nothing substantial in return. Especially after the incident of being splashed with faeces, he had no intention of competing for anything else. But then because of that damned Kane, who said there was greater support, he was made to run for councilor again.

Now, they have indeed given me a lot of support, and I have run for parliament as I wished. But now that I think about it, it was all bullshit, and I was completely used as a pawn by others.

It must be that Kane and that other person had a conflict with Zhou Ming, so they let me go and mess with him. I hate myself for being so stupid as to believe it, and as a result, I have now completely become that Chinese person's puppet.

In fact, Bertel had been in the Vidda community for ten years and had already taken root here. He should not have been so easily acquired. Even though behind Meitong stood the giant Wharton Insurance Company, Bertel would have been fine if he had to hold out for half a year or even a year even if he didn't have a single customer. Bertel could hold out, but the other shareholders abandoned him first.

Bob still remembers what Omar said to him when he found him in the morning: 'Your shareholders have sold all their shares to me. I now hold more than 50% of the shares and have the biggest say. You now have two options: either call a shareholders' meeting, cash out your shares and get out, or accept the acquisition by Meitong Logistics and accept my rule over you.'

In this situation, Bob had no choice but to accept.

Bob didn't even know how he managed to survive the end of Omar's event. He only knew that when it was over, he immediately returned to his car and burst into tears: 'Bob, you really are a fool!'

...

Everything that happened in the Vinda community was led by Zhou Ming behind the scenes, whether it was the establishment of Meitong Logistics or the subsequent acquisition of Vinda Logistics. Both of these things required the support of huge amounts of capital, especially the acquisition of Vinda Logistics, which was completely a matter of coercion and bribery.

After all, Vinda Logistics had been in existence for ten years, and although it might have been lacking in terms of expansion, it had never failed to pay dividends to its shareholders every year. The shareholders had a certain attachment to the company and would not give it up easily. However, this time, Meitong Logistics was constantly reducing its living space, and at the same time, Zhou Ming was willing to pay double the price for the shares.

This two-pronged approach made the shareholders of Vinda Logistics surrender one after another and quietly sell their shares to Zhou Ming. It was precisely because of this that Omar had the most important bargaining chip, and Boateng could only obediently follow orders.

However, at the moment, Zhou Ming's attention was not on the Vinda community at all. First, as Zhou Ming said, Boateng was not yet qualified, and at the same time, as the future President of the United States, Omar, even if he was still young, definitely had the ability to stand on his own, and it didn't matter if he failed. Second, it was also because of another piece of news that concerned him even more.

Zhou Ming was sitting on a chair in his room at the time, directly opposite a TV set that was broadcasting the news.

'This is the Brighton News. A few days ago, the Northeast Finance News released a video showing the news that Hoover, the head of the Brighton branch of the Tang Dynasty Bank, lobbied customers to return loans early. Once this news was released, it immediately had a very big impact on the stock market. Investors believed that Hoover's actions that Tang Bank's debt crisis is already very serious, and has even reached the point of insolvency. Investors have sold Tang Bank's shares in droves. In just one day, Tang Bank's stock price has fallen by more than 7%. This is another serious crisis for Tang Bank since the financial crisis of 1987.'

'According to the analysis of our commentators, this crisis at Tang Bank is most likely a continuation of the 1987 crisis. Because of that sudden stock market crash, Tang Bank suffered investment losses of over half a billion dollars. Although Tang Bank successfully raised funds and borrowed money to get through that crisis, the losses were irreparable and set the stage for this crisis.'

'Facing the deteriorating situation, shareholders and other investors of Tang Dynasty Bank have demanded that the bank disclose its financial statements, but as of press time, Tang Dynasty Bank has still not released any news...'

This is a news story that Zhou Ming has been following recently. In fact, since the day Hoover came to him to ask for an early repayment of the loan, Zhou Ming has been paying close attention to news about Tang Dynasty Bank.

'Teacher, the performance of Tangren Bank's stock has indeed been very poor in recent days. It may have rebounded a little at first, but since the day before yesterday, its stock price has been in a state of plummeting,' Ye Ning reminded him as she sat next to Zhou Ming.

Zhou Ming nodded silently and said, 'It seems that I need to go and have a good talk with Mr. Hoover.'