Chapter 45: Very bad results (Part 2)

'Not good news?' Zhou Ming was amused when he heard Lao Brook's words. 'I don't think so. After all, it seems that in my current state, there won't be any more bad news. Since there is no more bad news, the next thing for me will be good news.'

Zhou Ming said, deliberately looking up and down at Lao Brook twice, 'And I've never thought that anyone could spit out any ivory from their own mouths, even if they are some kind of bullshit senior senator.'

'It seems that Mr. Zhou Ming's mouth is still so indebted to fuck,' Lao Brook said to Zhou Ming with gritted teeth.

'Senator Brook, if you have something to say, can you say it quickly? If you don't have anything to say, don't get in my way, otherwise I have the right to ask you to leave,' Zhou Ming said.

Old Brook laughed again at this time: 'I said that you are good at acting, Zhou Ming. You have already fallen into the river yourself, but you still dare to threaten the person on the shore. But never mind, I won't argue with you. There is just one thing I think I have to tell you, and that is to ask you to give me five million US dollars as soon as possible, because my employees need this money.'

Old Brook said, taking a document from his lawyer and showing it to Zhou Ming, 'Look here, Chinese, this is the medical insurance contract that my employees bought from you. Now they have all been seriously infected and are in hospital. As the head of the company, I have the right to find an insurance company to make a unified claim for them. And according to the calculations of our company's accountant, the treatment will cost at least five million US dollars.'

'Only five million dollars? That's not a lot of money,' Zhou Ming said indifferently.

Lao Brook was a little surprised by Zhou Ming's calmness, but he continued without changing his expression, 'Maybe, for Mr. Zhou Ming, this is indeed not a lot of money, but five million dollars is only our most conservative estimate. However, if the treatment continues and the maximum coverage specified in the contract is reached, I think the final figure may reach 8 to 9 million dollars.'

Old Brook's words were complacent. In his opinion, the figure he had thrown out was already very exaggerated. Any insurance company would have a headache facing this figure, and Zhou Ming would naturally be no exception. However, the result still disappointed him, and Zhou Ming just absentmindedly let out a single 'oh'.

This was very unacceptable to Old Brook. He had no idea what Zhou Ming was thinking. You know, 8 to 9 million US dollars is already a very high claim settlement figure, almost reaching the upper limit of the contract. Aren't you at all worried?

'It's only nine million dollars. It doesn't matter if you add another nine million dollars, or even 19 million dollars or 190 million dollars, because I don't have it, or rather, I won't give you a single penny,' Ming said very brazenly.

This answer made old Brook almost vomit blood. He never imagined that Zhou Ming would give such a rogue answer. Previously, he felt that although he did not understand Zhou Ming's thoughts, this was not a problem. After all, if you want to pay, I will just take it. But who would have thought that Zhou Ming would suddenly say, 'You can say as much as you like, but I don't have the money anyway?'

Compared to the old Brock's craziness, his lawyer Sapir was very calm. He slightly calmed down the emotions of the old Brock, and then came out and said to Zhou Ming, 'This is Mr. Zhou Ming, right? I don't think this is the first time we have met. I am Mr. Brock's lawyer. My name is Sapir. I think I can help you solve the current crisis.'

'According to Massachusetts law, if your insurance company is no longer able to make normal claims payments, it can file for bankruptcy. However, insurance companies are not allowed to go bankrupt, so your company will be acquired by another insurance company, and all your insurance policies will be transferred to the acquirer. In other words, the next insurance company will pay for your claims,' Sapir explained to Zhou Ming.

'But I have no intention of letting my company go bankrupt, and I don't want to pay you a single penny,' Zhou Ming said.

Sapir laughed. 'Mr. Zhou Ming, I'm sorry, but your idea is not valid from a legal point of view, because we have a contract, and all the employees who have signed a contract with Wharton Insurance Company have indeed been admitted to the hospital, and we have the right to claim compensation.'

'Of course, you can continue to refuse to claim compensation and embezzle the insurance money maliciously,' Sapir continued, 'but then we can choose to sue...'

Julie then stepped forward and said, 'Please wait a moment, Attorney Sapir. You may have misunderstood Mr. Zhou Ming. He is not refusing to settle the claim. It's just that we have only just received your claim application, and we need some time to investigate. In addition, as you can see, our insurance company is currently in a bit of trouble, and there will be some difficulties in settling the claim. We need time...'

Julie's words were interrupted by Sapir before she could finish: 'According to Massachusetts law, the maximum investigation time for insurance companies may not exceed three days based on serious medical conditions, in order to protect the legitimate rights and interests of patients. As for your difficulties, they have nothing to do with us, because we only purchased the insurance contract from you, and you must fulfil the contract. Anything else that is not listed in the contract has nothing to do with us.'

Old Brook picked up where Sapir left off and said, 'So Chinese, I'll give you three days. I'll see what result you can give me.'

Zhou Ming said to him, "Congressman Brook, don't worry, I will definitely investigate, but I won't give you any results, because I don't plan to give you a single penny!'

Old Brook laughed heartily, "Good, I'm looking forward to the result, because compared to getting your 9 million claim settlement, I'd rather take over your entire insurance company.'

At this point, Old Brook suddenly stuck his head in front of Zhou Ming and whispered to him, 'By the way, I also did it when the law enforcement officers from the Department of Justice came today to freeze your company's assets, because I just want you to pay when you can't pay. But there's nothing I can do about it, because you gave me the opportunity by conducting such serious high-frequency trading before.'

'I can't help but say that you, Brook, are a really annoying old bastard!' Zhou Ming scolded him.

Old Brook smiled happily, "Thank you very much, I will take this as a compliment to me, and I will carry it forward until you get out of Brighton!'

'Councilman Brook, you seem to have made a mistake. It should be you who gets out now!" Zhou Ming said.

Old Brook very pretentiously shook his finger in Zhou Ming's face, 'As a rather accomplished entrepreneur, you shouldn't swear so casually, but for you, Zhou Ming, I think it's forgivable, because the title of accomplished entrepreneur has nothing to do with you. I really hope that the next time I see you, it will be at the airport, seeing you off, and I will definitely have a big present for you!'

After saying this, Lao Brook turned around and left, leaving behind a string of unrestrained laughter. When Lao Brook left, Zhou Ming turned his head and immediately saw Zhu Li silently shedding tears.

'Mr. Zhou Ming, they did it on purpose, didn't they? They fabricated false information about insider trading at the company, and then when the law enforcement officers from the Judicial Bureau came to freeze the company's assets, they came back to demand compensation. This was basically part of their plan, wasn't it? Their goal is to take over our company, those sons of bitches!' Julie cried out angrily.

'That's the truth, I can't deny it, this is really terrible news,' Zhou Ming sighed.

'Mr. Zhou Ming, we get paid in three days, right?' Julie suddenly asked.

Zhou Ming nodded and said yes, then asked Julie, 'Why did you suddenly ask this question? Are you worried about the future of Wharton Insurance and want to resign from me?'

Julie hurriedly explained, 'That's not it, Mr. Zhou Ming, you've misunderstood. I love this company very much, and as long as the company doesn't give up on me, I definitely won't give up on the company. I asked about my salary just to say that...actually, I can give up my salary this month to help the company get through this difficult time.'

Before Zhou Ming could be surprised by Julie's words, several other administrative staff also said to Zhou Ming, 'Chairman, we are also willing to give up our salaries this month, as long as the company can get through this difficult time!'

Zhou Ming was very touched by Julie and the other administrative staff, because originally, Zhou Ming hired them to handle things when he and his classmates from the finance class were not around, so that all business would not come to a standstill. Zhou Ming only regarded them as NPCs who could handle things according to the rules, but he never imagined that they would actually have such a deep affection for their insurance company and actually take the initiative to request to waive their salaries.

Although their salaries were only a drop in the bucket compared to the huge amount that Brock Sr. was asking for, and were not even enough to cover Allen's legal fees, it was already very rare for them to adopt such an attitude. After all, this was capitalist America, not some kind of dedicated communism.

Thinking about this, Zhou Ming said to Julie and the others, 'You are all my very good employees, and I am proud of having you at Wharton Insurance. But precisely because of this, I absolutely cannot withhold your salaries.'

Zhu Li and the others were anxious to say something, but Zhou Ming continued, 'I know you all want what's best for the company, which is why I can't afford to mistreat you. Think about it, would you feel safe in a company that needs to cut staff salaries in order to develop? That would just be a cancer, and our Wharton company will never be such a cancer. Therefore, Zhu Li and everyone else's salary will be paid on time, whether this month or next month, or every month you are here.'

In the face of Zhou Ming's speech, everyone cheered, except Julie, who heard the undertone in Zhou Ming's words: 'Mr Zhou Ming, what you mean is...that our company can get through this difficult time?'

'Of course. It's only 8 to 9 million dollars. Not to mention that I very much doubt the reason for their claim this time. Even if it's true that there was no illegal activity, I can get this money out at any time,' said Ming. "If we can't overcome even this little difficulty, how can we accomplish our dreams? I still remember our company's advertising slogan.'

Then Julie and the others took up Ming's words in unison and said, "Our goal is the stars and the sea!'