Chapter 5: Fame and Fortune

　　In the financial centre of LD's new city, a 57-storey office building, by the most stable-looking Phil, Yi Duan rented half of the twenty-third floor, and put up a sign for a metal smelting import/export company called 'Star'. Everything is but completed in three days, where the office is located, used to be a small company's workshop, I do not know because of the closure or because of what, now walk away and rolled out, taking advantage of the landlord is anxious to find a new tenant of the juncture, Phil with a lower than the market price of 12% of the price of the three-year lease.

　　Yi Dust and Fata Deo were still relatively satisfied with this office space, at least it looked like it had such a little bit of pizzazz.

　　Immediately after that, Yiduan called another LD City boss, "Dear David, can you do me a favour?"

　　David said with a false enthusiasm, "Of course, C Guo Yi, we're friends and it's only right that we help each other."

　　With a habitual smile, Easily Dust said, "So, I'm going to donate £10 million to the Royal College of Literature of Great Britain's archive, can you do me that favour?"

　　David asked in disbelief, "Can't you take care of these things yourself? Do you still need help with donations? ... Well, oh, I understand, then, you'd better prepare another five million pounds, I need to be up and down, you know, the second half of the year is coming up, and you'd better familiarise yourself with the relevant etiquette. Also, everything must be kept secret, otherwise, it's very hard to see from above, and you know, I'm only slightly familiar with them, with each other, and they're not of our class."

　　With an OK, Yi Duan hung up the phone and smiled at Fata Deo, "Everything is OK, there are still two months to go before the second half of the B Kingdom's royal family's investiture ceremony, getting a life knighthood is the easiest thing to do right now."

　　法塔迪奥双手颤抖着哈哈大笑:"按照B国王室这样的做法,两百年后,整个B国的人互相见面都要称呼爵士先生了...哈哈哈哈哈哈哈...难道用钱都可以买 of it?"

　　Yi Duan revealed a sneer, "Right now, many of the truly decent people in Country B are refusing to receive their ordination, but it's those of us who need to be bleached that are still happy to have the golden aura of nobility shrouded over our bodies."

　　Phyllis walked in with two cups of coffee and placed them in front of the two of them, then got tired of Yi Chen's body. Yi Chuan gently stroked her small hand and said with a smile, "Now, on the Manchester side, we also have a very good target. That Manchester United Metal Smelting Company, has been continuously losing money for seven years, his boss is preparing to put him up for sale, but no one is ready to take over. He's expected to go for around ninety million pounds, and although it's not a big plant, as long as we add a little bit of broken boiler or something, and do a bit of fiddling with the registered capital, we'll qualify for an IPO as well."

　　Fata Deo nodded, revealing a hint of a smile, picking up his coffee, carefully controlling his trembling hands not to spill it, and sipping it in one gulp, he said, "Our boss has indeed found the right person to work with, and you are the first of our past partners who can get things done with such quick efficiency."

　　Yi Duan smiled and nodded gently, accepting his praise with a kind of subtlety that was unique to the C's.

　　...

　　Two months later, Yi Duan, the head of the rogues, he was dressed in a gorgeous gown, with a felicity worth hundreds of millions of jewellery by his side, crowned with those outstanding people from all walks of life in the British Empire, accepting the Queen of B's conferment of honours.

　　Fata Deo who was watching the ceremony from below did not know what means he used to get the invitation, both eyes had narrowed into a slit, as long as Yi Chen had such a name of a life-long Sir, it would be of great benefit to their future acquisition of the steel mill as well as their IPO. After all, Country B was still a conservative country until now, and nobles were still very powerful in their society.

　　After the honouring ceremony, ignoring the whispers of those reporters, Yi Chen whizzed away with a group of people, a row of eight luxurious BMWs highlighted his power, but it made those reporters from large and small media puzzled, and they inquired, "Who is this? What makes him honoured by the Queen?" Of course, they could never imagine that the chairman of some committee below the royal family of their sacred British Empire was smilingly looking at the several numbers added to his bankbook.

　　Leaving Buckingham Palace, where the honours had been given, Yee Dust's convoy met up with Fata Dio's, and the group ran straight to the train station, heading for Manchester. Everything was timed just right, not a minute was wasted, and the train left the station less than five minutes after they boarded. Fata Deo seemed to have a bit of a special cleanliness fetish and insisted on chartering a carriage.

　　Negotiations for the acquisition of this steel mill took place at the private residence of their current owner.

　　This red meat faced B country fat man said in a serious manner, "Gentlemen, I am glad that you are interested in my factory ... My United Smelting Company is an old enterprise with a history of more than a hundred years, and it has a good social reputation and fame in the local area, and it also has a very high degree of integrity in the industry, and you will never regret choosing my company."

　　Yi Duan interrupted him nonchalantly, "Dear Mr Bili, integrity cannot be exchanged for silver for nothing. These days, only brilliant business tactics as well as strong economic power can turn an old and honourable company with a good social surplus and reputation into a hen that lays golden eggs."

　　Billie rolled his eyes for a moment and went straight to the point: "I'm asking for one hundred and thirty million pounds, and you'll get the plant, the right to use the land, and the machinery for that company of mine, and you have to understand that that's a very reasonable price to ask."

　　Yi Dust whistled and said, paralysed on the sofa very unconcernedly, "According to the size of your company, and the cost of those machines, well, it's reasonable for you to ask for a bit more."

　　Pleased, Billie gave a harrumph and said, "So, my dear, are you prepared to sign the agreement now?"

　　Fata'dio smiled nervously beside him as he watched Bili, who seemed like a pig, being juggled by the sinister Easy Dust.

　　Yi Duan balked, "No, I will definitely not use 130 million to buy your company. He is not worth that price, and your company is definitely not worth that price."

　　Bili's pride seemed to be hurt and he snapped to his feet, "Sir, you're talking out of your ..."

　　Without waiting for him to finish, Yi Duan hummed, "Your right to use the land will expire in less than five years. Your factory buildings are in shambles, your machines are old products from twenty years ago, and even your workers ... Dear God, if your factory has a group of competent and hardworking workers, is it as bad as losing money for seven years in a row? If your company was doing well, would you have sold it to us?"

　　Bili opened his mouth, "How much are you ... prepared to offer?" At this moment, the pig-like Bili's eyes were flashing with a fox-like gaze inside.

　　Easy Dust said, "£80 million, one-bite price, nothing negotiable, either you sell it to me or you find another buyer."

　　Bili shook his head quickly, "Impossible, your bid is too harsh, I absolutely cannot accept it, then, we have nothing to talk about."

　　Yi Dust cocked his head at Bili, revealing a quirky smile, "What if, what if I take it along with the bill you're holding? What if, what if I receive it along with the union of your factory? Your factory, the amount of debt is around twenty million; also, according to the general acquisition contract, the new boss has the right not to accept those previous workers, then, do you think the thousands of workers in your factory will look for your trouble or look for me? How do you think the Manchester District Court will pronounce its judgement?"

　　Yi Duan stood up quickly and said, "Forget it, since Mr Bili is unwilling, then let's go, anyway, there are many, many targets for our acquisitions, we don't necessarily have to acquire Mr Bili's."

　　Bili flew up a few steps, fawningly pulled Yi Dust's hand: ''Sir, let's discuss this more carefully. Do you mean, together with the company's debts? Together with taking over those workers?"

　　Easy Dust nodded.

　　In the end, Billie asked for three million pounds more, and his little steelworks changed hands to a smelting company jointly controlled by Easy Dust and Fattadio's bosses.

　　Ignoring Bili's invitation for them to attend the dinner, Yi Chen escorted him directly to the local court and a series of other relevant government departments, and in one night's time, Bili's United Smelting Factory's sign was changed to 'Star' Metal Smelting Import and Export Company. At the same time, the members of the local labour union supervised the whole acquisition process, they were very satisfied that Yi Duan didn't fire any of the workers, and at the same time, they were also very generous with an extra month's salary.

　　Yi Dust stayed in Manchester for a week, and Fata Deo brought a few financial aspects of the competent hand inventory of the value of the current factory, and then the reorganised assets after the total value of all kinds of unlawful means to report up. Yi dust claimed that the R country a huge investment will soon be accounted for, so Manchester local industrial and commercial bosses were surprised to see the old Bili that broken steel plant, reorganisation of self-production of the total amount of two billion pounds of shocking figures.

　　Yi Dust looked at these statements with satisfaction inside the hotel and smiled, "As long as these statements are approved by the local authorities, we can directly apply for listing, I am indeed not very familiar with the stock market, so I will rely on you all."

　　Those R countrymen with big faces said proudly, "Don't worry, Mr Yi, we will definitely not let go of such a lucrative place as the B country market. Our portfolio has never made a mistake, your investment is absolutely guaranteed."

　　Yi Duan revealed a hint of a smile and smiled as he said to Fata Deo, "My dear, your subordinates are very self-confident ... Well, of course, I hope that such self-confidence can be retained until the end of the day ... The people of Country C are a polite people. So they won't do anything out of the ordinary to their friends, but I'm an anomaly among the C people, so I'll warn you in advance that if any abnormality occurs in my investment, I'll directly take out your bosses first, and then I'll slowly play you to death."

　　Fata Deo smiled a little awkwardly, "Mr Yi, don't worry, everything will be fine."

　　Yi Duan nodded, stood up and said, "I hope so. Your country R still hasn't conquered Chechnya yet, if I send someone to place a hundred bombs in your boss's territory, what do you think will happen? So, the money I put in, I absolutely can't make a mistake ... After all, it's not easy to earn money the hard way in this year."

　　Fata Deo nodded repeatedly, "Don't worry, don't worry, I can understand you."

　　Yi Chen smiled with satisfaction, ''Then, very well, I'm going to go and solve the problem of the 20 million in unpaid bills, when people come to the door to ask for debts, we can't just ignore them, can we? However, twenty million is also money, especially when I have 45% of the shares in it, I don't want to go out nine million pounds unjustly, so I can only go personally. Gore, get the car ready."

　　Fata Deo waited for Yi Duan to go out and then instructed a few financial experts in a low voice, "You guys be careful, if something goes wrong this time, you don't need the boss to step in and take you out, there's no way for all of us to leave Country B. This guy is ruthless, moreover, even the biggest families in Moscow can't figure out his bottom line, you guys understand?"

　　A few bearded men nodded in agreement.

　　...

　　The door-to-door debt collector is a local private bank, Bili once because of operational problems, borrowed them 20 million pounds as working capital, used to pay workers' salaries, coal payments and so on. Now they were a bit anxious to see the new owner of the company, so they rushed to the door to recover the debt. Although they have heard that the new boss is strong, but after all, there are too many cases of fraud above the shopping malls, genius knows whether anything will go wrong. They trust Bili, a Manchester born and bred boss, but not these 'LD guys' from LD.

　　Easy Dust met their boss in the bank's general manager's office and got right to the point: "We would like to wait until our smelter has returned to normal operations before returning to the $20 million loan that your bank has given us."

　　The bank's owner was a bit embarrassed, "Dear Mr Yi, the request you mentioned is really ..."

　　Easy Dust smiled, "Mr Green, your business is an old bank with a great reputation, I'm sure you won't be in a hurry because of a measly £20 million?"

　　The outwardly innocent Green nodded his head honestly and said, "Twenty million pounds is not a problem, however, we must be responsible for our depositors. Truth be told, as for Mr Billie, although we know that he has had some problems with his business, but after all, he is a well-known person in our local area, and we trust him. You, on the other hand, have never had any dealings with our bank, and our integrity with you is still 0. Our board of directors will not be comfortable with that ..."

　　Easy Dust interrupted his chatter, "Aha, dear Mr Green, did you say integrity? Integrity? Well, how much integrity do you think your homeland, the Holy British Empire, possesses?"

　　And sure enough, as any conservative and orthodox B gentleman would, Green rose to his feet, waved his hands excitedly and said, "Dear British Empire? He is of infinite integrity, he is a great and holy empire, do you doubt her integrity?"

　　Easy Dust raised an eyebrow and smiled shamelessly, "So, what do you think about the nobility of the British Empire?"

　　Grimm smiled, "They are noble persons, and their integrity is unlimited because of the British Empire. They are gentlemen, and a gentleman will not give up his status and dignity because of a mere amount of money."

　　Easy Dust laughed, "So, do you think that I, a recipient of the Order of the British Empire, a life knighthood of the British Empire, would give up my position and honour for a mere 20 million pounds?"

　　Grimm looked at Yi Duan with a dumbfounded open mouth, "Yes ... I'm sorry, you, you're Sir Lifetime? Oh my god, I'm sorry, I didn't know, are you, are you really ..."

　　Yi Dust carefully pulled out his medal from within the inner pocket of his chest, the piece of iron that probably cost around 100 pounds to manufacture, but was kept in a very valuable crystal case by Yi Dust, Yi Dust smiled and said: ''I have just accepted the great Queen's ordination, and have the honour to be included in the ranks of the Life Sirs of the British Empire. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to show it off with it on my person, but because, for the sake of business, I rushed straight here after accepting the medal. To show my respect for the Royal Family of the British Empire, I purposely stored it attached to my chest."

　　Grimm looked enviously at the medal, nodded and said, "I believe in you, but, Mr Yee, how am I going to explain this to the board?"

　　Yi Duan pondered for a while, smiled and slightly shook the medallion in his hand, and said with a smile, ''Let's do it this way, you will place an advert in the local newspaper, saying that in order to support the operation of our company, your bank has invested 100 million pounds into the business, and that you actually only need to invest 80 million pounds. Of course, when you sign the agreement with us, we will return your loan at a certain interest return rate, which will benefit us both. Our large investment has yet to arrive and your investment will be our most recent start-up capital."

　　Grimm meditated for a long time ...

　　Three bells later, Green's bank passed Yi Duan's proposal, Yi Duan guaranteed to give them a certain rate of interest in return, while Green's bank's good reputation in the local area of Manchester invariably increased the surplus and integrity of Yi Duan's new company.

　　After leaving Green's bank, Yi Duan skimmed his lips, casually threw the box containing the medals, which he had regarded as invaluable just a moment ago, onto the seat, lit up a cigar and said, "It's really strange, don't these people know that the so-called flamboyant and vain fame is all vanity, and that only actual benefits are the most wonderful?"

　　A group of subordinates laughed cheekily ...

　　In any case, with a backer like Green's bank pulled over by Yee Dust's lost soup, everything would be much better when it came to running a business in Manchester in the future.