ALL NOVEL Chapter 3 - I Have a Ton of Cheap Gold to Sell to the Country
Chapter 3: I Have a Ton of Cheap Gold to Sell to the Country
Fang Jian chuckled and tossed a cigarette inside, saying, “Alright, do me a favor, will you?”
Soon, the guy emerged with the gold bar and assay report, asking, “Hey, Fang Jian, you did well this time. The goods meet the standards completely. But why isn’t there a factory mark on it?”
Gold bars sold by large factories would invariably have markings. However, an unmarked gold bar like this one was undoubtedly privately cast. Still, privately cast bars could reach this quality level was impressive.
Fang Jian expressed his gratitude and brushed it off casually. Then, carrying the gold bar, he headed straight for the CEO’s office.
For ordinary salespeople like them, the CEO was someone high up. Under normal circumstances, if Fang Jian and his colleagues encountered an issue they couldn’t resolve, they needed to report it up the chain of command. It would eventually reach the CEO’s desk if they couldn’t resolve it at their level.
However, there was an exception. That exception was when a salesperson got lucky and suddenly secured a big order. In such cases, the salesperson could directly approach the CEO and apply for special approval. But such lucky occurrences, where an opportunity fell from the sky, might not happen even once in the company in two or three years.
Before entering the CEO’s office, Fang Jian greeted the secretary. Both were experienced professionals who had worked abroad for several years, and their relationships with colleagues in a foreign land were often smoother than back home.
Upon hearing Fang Jian’s purpose, the secretary didn’t delay and went in to inform the CEO, then ushered him in.
The company’s CEO was named Lv Ding, a middle-aged man who had gained some weight over the years.
“Fang Jian, what brings you here?” He asked.
Fang Jian approached, opened his briefcase, and took out the gold bar and assay report, saying, “CEO Lv, I’ve found a new channel. Take a look at this. It’s the verification report.”
Lv Ding took it and glanced at it, his eyebrows twitching slightly.
In reality, gold that is 100% pure is called 24-karat gold, but such gold doesn’t exist in real life. Generally, gold with purity above 99.96% is called “thousand-foot gold” or 24-karat gold.
However, this report showed that the gold content of this bar was 99.99%, which was already the best data.
Nodding slightly, Lv Ding inspected the gold bar and asked, “Privately cast?”
“Yes,” Fang Jian replied.
Lv Ding furrowed his brow slightly. Instead of speaking officially, he asked, “What’s the price?”
According to regulations, state-owned enterprises wouldn’t purchase privately cast gold. However, the country was the world’s largest gold-importing nation. Although it also ranked first in gold production, it couldn’t meet the ever-growing domestic demand. In such a situation, exporting gold would be extremely difficult. But if it was imported gold…
Policies, when necessary, had a lot of flexibility and room for maneuver.
Fang Jian thought momentarily and said, “9000 per ounce.”
Lv Ding almost spat out a sip of tea. He raised his head, glared at Fang Jian, and said, “What are you playing…” Suddenly, he paused and asked in confusion, “In RMB?”
“Yes, they requested half in US dollars and half in RMB.”
Lv Ding’s eyes lit up.
The current international gold price was around $1825 per ounce, give or take. Of course, it fluctuated daily.
An ounce is the internationally recognized unit of measurement, and when it comes to measuring gold weight, one ounce is equivalent to 31.1 grams.
The exchange rate between ounces and US dollars to RMB was 1:6.35. So, if the $1825 per ounce was converted to the domestic price, it would be 372.62 RMB per gram. At this price, a ton of gold would be worth 372.62 million RMB.
“Gold is a substantial quantity. Even if the price difference per gram of gold is only about two Chinese yuan, a ton of gold would differ by a staggering 2.3 million Chinese yuan. And the other party is asking for 9,000 Chinese yuan per ounce. By calculation, the company would only need to pay 289.38 million Chinese yuan to purchase a ton of gold. That’s a discount of more than 83 million Chinese yuan compared to the market price. And more importantly, this is unplanned gold.
Taking a deep breath, Lv Ding asked, ‘Fang Jian, are you confident?’
Fang Jian replied solemnly, ‘The other party said they want long-term business with us. They’re willing to deliver the goods first, and after we inspect the goods, we can make the payment within three days.’
Lv Ding widened his eyes and thought, who would agree to such a deal? This is Mali we’re talking about! A place where firearms and ammunition are rampant, and killing and looting are common.
At this moment, countless thoughts raced through his mind. If the amount of gold were less, he might consider it. But the problem was, the quantity of this gold was too large. And if someone could possess such a large amount of gold and offer such generous conditions…
This is Mali we’re talking about! A place where firearms and ammunition are rampant, and killing and looting are common. If he wanted to embezzle this money, the consequences would be unimaginable. Even if he took the gold and immediately abandoned everything, assuming a new identity and going into hiding, whether he could hide indefinitely with modern scientific and technological capabilities was a big question mark.
He let out a long sigh, and Lv Ding said, ‘Fang Jian, if we do this deal, you need to contact them and discuss the delivery location…’
Fang Jian interrupted, ‘They said I should drive alone to pick it up.’
Lv Ding raised his head and silently stared at him, and his mouth twitched. Fortunately, they would deliver the goods and receive the payment after inspection. Otherwise, they would not agree to the deal.
‘Fang Jian, are you sure?’ Lv Ding asked.
‘Yes, I’m sure,’ Fang Jian replied in a low voice. ‘Mr. Lv, once you inspect the goods, please immediately transfer the money. Otherwise, our place might turn into a bloodbath three days later…’
Lv Ding nodded silently and said, ‘I understand, don’t worry.’ After a pause, he continued, ‘You make an arrangement with them. Give us three days to prepare, and three days later, you go to pick up the goods.’
‘Okay.’
As Fang Jian left, Lv Ding picked up the secure phone and made a call. He could not decide on such a significant private transaction on his own. However, he also knew that the relevant domestic departments would never refuse such a deal. So, all he had to do was wait silently.
Fang Jian left the company and went to the bank. He had to wait for a month and a half because he needed to set up an offshore company in the Cayman Islands. In these two years abroad, he had learned quite a lot. Anyway, when doing this kind of business, the money should never be directly deposited into his account. He had to create a loop through an offshore company overseas. With all the necessary documents in place, Fang Jian silently waited.”