Chapter 140: China's Savior (Part 1)

'I never thought that I would have to sit at the same table with a Chinese person to discuss the future of Brighton. This is a nightmare!'

Christo said with emotion, although when Edward introduced the fifth person to him, Christo already thought it might be the Chinese person Zhou Ming who triggered the subprime mortgage crisis.

But he immediately dismissed the idea, because to him, it was just too absurd. After all, they were the four heads of the Brighton consortium, and their combined energy could influence the situation in the United States and even the world. But what was the Chinese guy? No one had heard of him before. What right did he have to come to this meeting to decide the financial future of Brighton? &? novel nbsp;However, Christo's hunch told him that it was very possible, because first of all, the subprime mortgage crisis was caused by the Chinese, and Brook Investment was also driven to the brink of desperation by him. In addition, these three guys have also formed an alliance with the Chinese, and God knows how their relationship is. Then it is not completely impossible for him to appear here this time!

Christo was torn between the possible and the impossible, until Zhou Ming walked into the meeting room, came up to him and greeted him. He was still in shock, as this outcome was too shocking for him.

And listening to Christo's words, Zhou Ming said to him, 'If this is a nightmare, then I'm afraid there's nothing to prove that you're awake.'

This time, Christo just looked at Zhou Ming for a moment and didn't say much. He just said to Edward Lawrence and Louis, 'No matter what you think, it doesn't matter now that such a person is attending the meeting. I just want to get started now, don't you think?'

The three Edward's nodded and said, 'Of course.' Then Christo said, 'Back to the question we were just asking. For Brook Investment Company...'

At this point, Christo suddenly paused for a moment, and subconsciously glanced at Ming Zhou before continuing, 'My opinion on the matter of Brook Investment Company is that it must be saved, for the simple reason that he does not represent himself, but rather the entire city of Brighton. Therefore, if something were to happen to him, it would not be the collapse of a single company, but rather a blow to the entire Brighton consortium!'

'Moreover, the current subprime mortgage crisis is still within manageable limits, because although many investment companies have become difficult, no one has gone bankrupt because of it. This in itself is a great boost to people's confidence, making people feel that this crisis is not invincible."

Christo then changed the subject and said, 'So if Brook Investment Company goes bankrupt or is sold off cheaply, it is likely to cause a series of domino effects in the market, causing the bankruptcy of a large number of investment companies. Is this what you want to see? Or do you think your company can withstand such an economic crisis?"

Faced with Christo's words, Edward Lawrence and Louis all frowned as they looked at each other. None of them were idiots, and they all understood that what Christo said was true. If they let Brook Investment Company go bankrupt and trigger a larger economic crisis, then the other companies they controlled would not be spared. But if they rescued Brook Investment Company, then what was the point of triggering this subprime mortgage crisis?

In the end, the three of them looked at Zhou Ming, and Zhou Ming did not disappoint and gave the answer: 'I completely agree with Mr. Kristo. We must save Brook Investment!'

This answer was unexpected for everyone. Neither Kristo nor Edward nor the other two expected Zhou Ming to give such an answer. Hasn't he been against the Adams family? Why would he say that Brook Investment should be saved?

It was Governor Edward who thought a little more, and he said to Zhou Ming, 'I think Mr. Zhou Ming will say this because he has a different opinion, right?'

Zhou Ming shook his head and said, 'I'm sorry, Mr. Governor, I don't really have a different opinion. I just think that Mr. Christo's opinion is not wrong. I also think that once Brook Investment Company goes bankrupt, it will inevitably affect other Brighton consortium holding companies. Although I don't belong to the Brighton consortium, I am now also part of the Brighton economy...'

Zhou Ming paused for a moment before continuing, 'In China, we have an old saying: "When the nest falls, none of the eggs will be safe". It means that if the nest falls from the tree, the eggs inside will definitely be destroyed. So I don't want to see chaos here.'

Zhou Ming's answer made Christo overjoyed. He immediately picked up Zhou Ming's line of thought and said, 'Yes, I think this Chinese gentleman Zhou Ming has a very broad perspective. It is just that saying, "When the nest falls, how can the eggs remain intact? " Brook Investment Company must of course be rescued!'

However, Christo then immediately realised that he had been too happy too soon, because Zhou Ming immediately asked a question: 'Brook Investment Company must be rescued, but who will pay?'

This question suddenly made the atmosphere in the room become subtle. It was indeed easy to decide whether to save or not, but the real problem was who would pay. After all, Brook Investment Company needed not just a few hundred or thousand dollars, but more than ten billion dollars. Perhaps this was just a small amount for a giant like the Brighton Consortium, but now with the Adams and the Kennedys on opposing sides of the Lawrence Lowell alliance, it was difficult to deal with.

At least Edward, Lawrence, and Louis, the three of them, were unwilling to pay this sum of money, otherwise there would be no need for today's meeting.

Christo understood very well that such a stalemate would not solve the problem, so he said, 'My idea is that the money will come from within the consortium, and then the Brighton Bank and Massachusetts Insurance Company will be used to fund the purchase of Brook Investment's equity. What do you think of this approach?'

Facing this proposal, Zhou Ming spoke first: 'I said, Christo, you are the patriarch of the Adams family, can't you use your brain? If they had agreed, would you still be arguing for so long, and would you still be having this meeting here?'

After Ming Zhou, Edward said, 'Indeed, even if we could agree to save Brook Investment, we would not agree to use all of Brighton Bank's funds to do so, because that would only set a bad precedent. Today Brook Investment is going bankrupt, and if we use Brighton Bank's funds to save it, then tomorrow Blue Luke Investment and Black Luke Investment will also go bankrupt, right? Should we use Brighton Bank's funds to save them too?'

Edward continued, 'If your answer is yes, then I don't think any investor in Brighton will agree. If your answer is no, then why must Brook Investment be saved? Just because of the personal relationship between Brook MP and you?'

Facing Edward's series of questions, Christo's face looked very bad. He took a long breath and said, 'It is because of these problems that we are all sitting here today having this meeting, just to exchange our views with each other.'

'In fact, there are no mutual views. If you really don't know what to do, just sit there and listen to me,' Zhou Ming suddenly said at this time.

At Zhou Ming's sudden words, Christo almost exploded, because in his opinion, the reason why today's situation had become like this was not caused by Zhou Ming at all. Now he was actually acting like a savior, how could he have the face to do so.

However, in the end, good manners made Christo hold back, and he just asked Zhou Ming, 'Then please tell me.'

'It's very simple. Since if we use the funds of Brighton Bank to save Brook Investment, no matter what the result is, it will lead to dissatisfaction from investors from all sides, then it would be better not to use the funds of Brighton Bank at all,' said Zhou Ming.

Christo laughed: 'Chinese, are you sure you're not joking here? If we don't use the funds from Brighton Bank, are you going to pay for it?'

'Why should I pay for it? Isn't Brook a servant of your Adams family? Since he is closely related to the Adams family, it is only reasonable for the Adams family to come up with a solution, why should it be pushed onto an outsider like me? Is it because you, Mr. Christo, can't afford to pay for it or you don't want to?' Zhou Ming asked, feigning surprise.

Zhou Ming's words made Cristo hateful, but he had to explain, 'It's not that I don't want to take it, it's just that if I'm too direct, I'll attract criticism from the outside world, which is not in line with the purpose of the consortium...'

Before Cristo could finish his sentence, Zhou Ming waved his hand and said, 'But Mr. Cristo, it doesn't matter what you think. Since you don't want to, I'll pay for it.

Zhou Ming's indifferent attitude almost made Christo spit blood, because Zhou Ming was simply teasing him, but his answer also surprised him.

'Chinese, you say you want to pay for this? Do you know that that is the money to save Brook Investment Company,' asked Christo.

Zhou Ming nodded and said, 'Of course I know, isn't it just a few hundred million U.S. dollars? I can still come up with such a small amount of money, I'm not that stingy, unless Mr. Christo doesn't agree.'

'Of course I agree!' Christo nodded with joy, although he had a bad feeling about Zhou Ming's answer. But now that someone was willing to pay, why wouldn't he agree? Just get the money in your hands first.

But at this time, Zhou Ming said again, "But Mr. Christo, I have a condition."

Christo thought to himself, as expected, where is there a free lunch in the world?

But on the surface, he still politely said, 'Mr. Zhou Ming, you can tell me what your conditions are.'

'Wharton Insurance Company and Harbor City United Investment Fund Company, I don't know if Mr. Christo still remembers?' Zhou Ming said, 'That is the company of my friends from Harbor City and me. Originally, there were hundreds of millions of dollars in my company's account, but for some reason it was frozen due to the influence of the Adams family. In addition, my partners, Tong Gang, Li Cheng, and Ilbeidov, were also placed under house arrest...'

Zhou Ming paused deliberately when he got to this point. Seeing that Kristof had no intention of responding, he had to make his point clear: 'Because they are under the influence of the Adams family, I hope that Mr. Kristof can help to resolve their situation first. The money issue can be discussed later. Otherwise, let's just continue arguing here. I don't care anyway.'

'Chinese, are you threatening me?' Kristof asked.

'Threaten? Mr Christo, you're overthinking it. I'm just discussing with you. If I really wanted to threaten, why wouldn't I make the subprime mortgage crisis even bigger until it affected Brighton Bank before I spoke to you?' Zhou Ming said.

Christo narrowed his eyes and looked at Zhou Ming for a while before saying, 'Okay, Chinese, for once, I promise you, I will solve the issue of your company's frozen funds and your partner's house arrest as soon as possible. However, you must also ensure that the funds you need to save Brooke Investments are in place, otherwise I will not let you go, I swear!'

'Deal,' Zhou Ming said happily.