Chapter 116: Possible problems

At Adams Manor in the depths of the Baishan forest, a fiery red supercar with a unique engine roar whizzed into the manor, out of place with the classical and elegant atmosphere of the manor.

The only person who would do this is Robert, the youngest member of the Adams family, who is the least particular. Due to his identity and his disposition, no one in the manor cares about him, or if someone does, he won't listen. But today, as soon as Robert parked the car in the manor's parking lot and got out, he saw Christo standing at the entrance with a serious expression on his face.

This came as a bit of a surprise to Robert, but that was about it, because Robert did not share the awe that the rest of the family had for the head of the family, so he just waved his hand in boredom as a way of saying hello, even though Christo was his father.

However, Christo did not let Robert get away with it this time, but stopped him and said, 'Robert, do you know the rules of the White Mountain Manor?'

Robert stopped in his tracks, looked at Christo and said, 'I know, but I don't have any other car to drive today, I'll just be more careful next time.'

Robert stopped in his tracks and was about to go out, but Christo still hadn't finished: 'Next time? How many next times do you have?'

Robert stopped again. He of course understood what Christo meant by this, because he had never taken the family rules seriously and had always driven his sports car to the White Mountain Manor.

Robert laughed at last and said to Christo, 'We are the same. You have as many next times as I do.'

Christo's eyes were full of doubt, and Robert continued, 'It seems that Mr. Christo is always busy with family matters, so I need to remind you. I wonder if you remember what you promised me about the Chinese?'

'I'm working on it, but now his funds and those collaborators from Hong Kong are all under my control. The Chinese people who came with him can no longer continue their classes at Harvard, and they can only hide in their hotel room every day. Even he himself dares not return to Brighton anymore. You know all of this. Isn't that enough?' Christo said.

'Of course it's not enough!' Robert said. 'Mr. Christo, if I remember correctly, what I said in the beginning was for him and all the other Chinese people related to him to go to hell!'

Christo looked at Robert and said, 'I think you must have remembered incorrectly, because that is not what you said. I did not promise that either, because this Chinese person has a special status and a large country stands behind him. Although I am not afraid of that Eastern country, there is no need to get into that kind of trouble, so I only said that I would help you make this person disappear forever in Brighton.'

Robert smiled disdainfully and nodded: 'No need to get into trouble? Okay, just as you say, but has he disappeared now?'

Robert pointed his finger at Christo and answered, 'I'm telling you, no, he hasn't disappeared. Not only has he not disappeared, he's done even more. Don't think that you're the only one who knows everything about the Adams family. I know a lot too. Just an hour ago, Harbour City Investment started negotiations to acquire Brighton Bank.'

Robert paused for a moment before continuing, "Don't tell me you don't know what Harbour City Investment is.'

Christo frowned and asked him seriously, "Robert, who told you this news?'

Robert spread his hands and sneered, 'It doesn't matter, and if you ask me, I'll just say that God told me. What's important is that I know very clearly that this Harbour City Investment Company is controlled by that Chinese guy, or rather, him and that bitch!'

Robert's tone was gritting his teeth, and Christo frowned in puzzlement, 'I don't know why you're saying this, but I hope you're not getting angry at this time. I suspect that this whole thing is a conspiracy...'

Christo wanted to explain, but Robert ignored him and interrupted him directly, saying, 'Sir, I'm sorry, I don't want to hear this. I don't know about any conspiracy. I only know that now you haven't fulfilled your promise. Not only has the Chinese man not left, he's even going to attack our Brighton Bank. How can you still have the face to stand in this manor? Get out of here as soon as possible!'

Christo raised his hand at once, but in the end he did not hit him. He angrily lowered his hand and said to Robert, 'The so-called merger with Brighton Bank is a complete joke. Do you know how much funding they have proposed? Only 2 million US dollars, which can't even buy your sports car! So I think this is a crazy move by the Chinese after they ran out of ideas, and it shouldn't be taken seriously.'

'Do you think any Chinese person's crazy behaviour is unreasonable?' Robert said, "It does seem that way, but I think it's very likely to succeed. Mr. Christo, I hope you don't forget about his alliance with the three families of Kendalline Lawrence and Lowell, and now there is also a Mr. Louis with him on holiday in Rhode Island.'

Hearing Robert say this, Christo calmed down. He looked at Robert quietly and asked, "It seems that you know a lot. Why don't you tell me, what else do you know?'

'I also know that you will lose very badly at the hands of that Chinese person,' Robert said.

Christo laughed: 'Really? Then I might as well tell you that, despite the alliance between the Chinese person and the three families of Kennedine Lawrence and Lowell, they are just bluffing. They simply do not have the capital to fight us, otherwise the Adams family would not have been in control of Brighton Bank for 300 years.'

Robert also laughed: 'It seems that Mr. Christo is still as arrogant as ever. Then I'll wait for the good news you'll bring me. As I said, although I really want to see that Chinese person like a homeless dog, I'd rather see you get slapped in the face.'

...

In the living room of the luxurious beachfront villa on Rhode Island, Zhou Ming and Lin Muqing continued to fight against a pile of documents. Of course, with the help of Louis, the documents they were facing were much less than before.

'What's the deal? My two Chinese friends, you've been going through this data for two days now, have you found anything? I'm really looking forward to it!'

Suddenly a voice came from somewhere, and both Zhou Ming and Lin Muqing were very familiar with it. They didn't even need to look up to know who it was. Sure enough, a short figure then walked into the living room. It was Louis, who had stayed behind at the villa.

Louis was not surprised by the cold treatment from Ming and Qing, but he came over and sat in front of them. He reached for a document on the table and said after taking a look at it, 'This is the document from the Pilsen Insurance Company. Among the insurance companies controlled by the Adams family through Brighton Bank, this is not a very well-known company, but it was the first to offer insurance services for subprime loans.'

'After the first credit default swap contract was signed, other insurance companies followed suit, and now almost all insurance companies are providing this service. All loans taken out from Brighton Bank, whether they are prime loans or subprime loans, and regardless of who the final borrower is and what their credit rating is, are all very well protected.'

Louis smiled as he said this, put the material back on the table, and deliberately asked Zhou Ming and Lin Muqing, 'What do you think? My Chinese friends, isn't this guarantee system a bit beyond your expectations?'

Facing Louis's mockery, Lin Muqing stood up in dissatisfaction and said, 'Mr. Louis, I admit that the current situation is indeed a bit unexpected, but this is normal. After all, the Adams family, as a three-hundred-year-old family, will definitely consider all aspects of what they do. We are now analysing countermeasures, so I hope that as our partner, you can help us find a way out, rather than sneering at us here.'

'Ms Lin, I think you are wrong to say that. I have provided you with so much documentation, so how can you blame me for not helping you? Your words really chill me to the bone!' Louis said, feigning sadness.

Lin Muqing obviously had no way to deal with the deliberate Louis, so she had to let Zhou Ming step forward and say, 'These documents and materials have indeed helped us a lot and given us a better understanding of Brighton Bank's subprime loan business, especially on the part of the intermediary lending company. We have discovered that there are a lot of external hot money involved. I was wondering if we could take these unknown hot money as the target?'

Hearing this question, Louis immediately shouted, 'Absolutely not! These hot money are all assets of our Lowell family.'

'Is that so? But why is it that even though there is a patriarch of the Lowell family here, he is not giving us any information?' Zhou Ming asked as he looked at Louis. "I think if I go and find Governor Edwards and President Lawrence, they will definitely agree, right?'

Louis was so angry that the muscles on his face kept twitching. He knew that Zhou Ming had said that on purpose.

'Mr. Zhou Ming, I hope you understand that it is not that I am not giving you any information, but it is just that I did not expect it either," said Louis, word by word.

Zhou Ming retorted, 'Then please don't talk nonsense here!'

Louis was so angry that his lungs were about to burst. Since he became the patriarch of the Lowell family, almost no one had yelled at him like that before. Even Christo, the patriarch of the Adams family, had to treat him politely. But now he was being treated like a servant in front of Zhou Ming. How could this not make him angry? Of course, if that was all, it would be fine. What made him spit blood was that in the current situation, there was nothing he could do about Zhou Ming.

You Chinese, I'll see how you die when this is over, you won't get what you want!

Louis thought to himself, then took a deep breath and said, 'Mr. Zhou Ming, I think we should all calm down. The most important thing right now is the subprime mortgage market, isn't it? I can apologize for my inappropriate words just now.'

After all, they were partners. Since the head of the Lowell family had already yielded, Zhou Ming naturally had no interest in being unrelenting. He said to Louis, 'To be honest, although the subprime loan market looks very good right now, it seems to me that it is just a bubble that has been blown up. We just haven't found a way to burst it yet.'

'You may be right, but Mr. Zhou Ming, I'm curious as to why you've made this judgment,' Louis asked.

'Because I studied economics at Harvard, and as far as I know from the books, the financial market itself is just a place for capital to gather. It can only transfer capital, and does not create any value. So without an increase in value, unsafe practices like subprime lending are very vulnerable to collapse,' said Ming.

Louis nodded and then asked with interest, 'I have heard this argument before, and it is an interesting one. But this can only be said. If it really collapses so easily, I'm afraid there would be no financial industry, would there?'

'I don't think Mr. Louis understood what I was saying. I was trying to say that credit default insurance may be the biggest problem!' Ming said.