I Inherited 5,000 Years of Family Property

"What did you say?" Kim Tanaka's face changed drastically.

Indeed, he had thought everything too simple just now. When Zhang Menglong agreed so readily, he really thought he had intimidated him, but it turned out he was the clown himself!

Because of the disruption in natural gas supplies, the directive from above stated that this year's coal import must reach at least 350 million tons, and the price should also be controlled at 80 US dollars per ton.

Giving the current international situation, even 65 US dollars per ton would be considered a high price.

If they imported at 65 US dollars per ton, domestic coal power businesses would have a huge margin of profit, each and every one of them would definitely be scrambling for it!

At 80 US dollars per ton, 350 million tons would be 28 billion US dollars, which was the total budget they had prepared for the coal import this year.

But Zhang Menglong had started off by demanding 27 billion US dollars in penalty fees. If they really deducted this portion of penalty fees, with 1 billion US dollars left, how much could they import then?

Who the hell set such a high penalty fee when signing the contract? Weren't you afraid of not being able to pay up when the time came?

Kim Tanaka was on the verge of going mad.

However, when Zhang Menglong signed the agreement back then, he had not considered this issue at all.

First of all, the money for buying coal had been paid upfront for the entire year by Zhang Menglong, so for him, there was no possibility of a breach of contract.

Even if such a situation were to arise, a mere 27 billion US dollars meant nothing to him; if he had to pay it, he would simply pay it. After all, when Zhang Menglong had made the purchase, he had paid much more than a mere 27 billion US dollars in premium. If he really cared about this sum, he would not have driven the price so high.

"What's the matter, you don't believe me? Afraid that I'm going to swindle you?" Zhang Menglong said to Hong Yi, "Hong Yi, make a copy of those contract duplicates for Mr. Tanaka to review, so he doesn't accuse us of embezzling their money!"

"Certainly, Mr. Zhang," said Hong Yi, "Director Zhou, may I borrow your printer, please?"

"Miss Hong, right this way."

A moment later, Hong Yi entered the conference room with a stack of contract documents.

"Please have a look, Mr. Tanaka," Zhang Menglong moved the stack of documents in front of Kim Tanaka.

"Bowen Coalfield, penalty fee is 10 billion US dollars!"

"Sydney Coalfield, penalty fee is 4 billion US dollars!"

"Sumatra Coalfield, penalty fee is 5 billion US dollars!"

...

Looking at these staggeringly high numbers, Kim Tanaka's hands began to tremble uncontrollably.

Not only these penalty fees but also the import amounts stipulated in the contracts; even the cheapest coal was priced at 220 US dollars per ton!

Sometimes, whether to impose a penalty fee or not could be resolved through mutual negotiation between the two parties. If they reached a peaceful negotiating agreement to terminate the cooperation, there was also the possibility of waiving the penalty fees.

But this was completely different!

The highest price Kaibong country was willing to offer was only 80 US dollars per ton, yet the lowest price Zhang Menglong was asking for was more than double theirs, and some even reached an unimaginable 400 US dollars per ton!

If you asked others if they were willing to cancel the cooperation and not buy the coal priced at several hundred dollars per ton, and instead sell their coal to you for several dozen dollars per ton, anyone with a bit of sense would not agree to this deal.

Selling to Zhang Menglong, they could easily make tens of billions of US dollars! Moreover, the payment was settled on the spot with no delays!

Selling to Kaibong country, let's not talk about whether they would make as much profit as the change from Zhang Menglong's transactions, but just the thought of begging and beseeching for their payments later was draining in itself.@@novelbin@@

"Negotiate to cancel this contract? They must have bubbles in their brains if they think that's happening!"

"So there's no way the penalty for breach of contract could be any less!"

"Mr. Zhang, that penalty is an agreement you made with those coalfields. It's hardly fair for us to bear the breach of contract penalty, is it?" When Jintianjing Long spoke these words, he even seemed to lack confidence.

"Mr. Jintian, are you the idiot, or am I the idiot?" Zhang Menglong said without any courtesy.

"Mr. Zhang, please watch your language!" Having been called an idiot to his face, Jintianjing Long's expression turned very ugly.

"Mr. Jing Long, considering the relations between our two countries, I made a significant sacrifice in relinquishing this batch of coal to you, and now you treat me like a fool? Do you think I'm running a charity, losing $27 billion for nothing?"

Zhang Menglong continued, "When I bought that coal, I paid the full penalty for any breach. Do you think you would have received the compensation so easily upon receiving the cancellation agreement if I hadn't?"

"My heart aches for nothing!" Jintianjing Long cursed inwardly. Does it make any difference to you whether you buy that coal or not? If you don't buy the coal, will you have no hot water for showers or no fire for cooking?

His nation, Kaibong, needs that coal for power generation, while for you, it's merely a bargaining chip for negotiations.

"Mr. Zhang, that batch of coal is of no consequence to you; there's no such thing as a heart-wrenching sacrifice, right?"

"How can you say it doesn't exist?" Zhang Menglong argued with a righteous tone, "I am an environmentalist. Those coals carried my dream of energy conservation and emissions reduction. I gave them to you, which means sacrificing my great dream of contributing to the greenhouse effect. Isn't that a sacrifice?"

"Wow, what a grand dream, it almost made me cry!" Hong Yi listened with a stunned expression; Zhang Menglong's ability to talk nonsense seemed to grow stronger year by year.

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"Mr. Zhang, since we are not negotiating the penalty for breach of contract, you might as well sell the coal directly to us. That would amount to the same thing."

"That works!" Zhang Menglong said with a smile, "A thousand dollars a ton, how much do you want?"

"What? A thousand US dollars a ton?"

"Are you robbing us?"

Jintianjing Long and his two assistants immediately stood up in outrage; a thousand dollars a ton was more than ten times the market price!

With their $27 million, they couldn't even buy 30 million tons of coal!

Thirty million tons of coal would probably only last them a month, right?

"Rob, you say? Don't be so offensive. I am a businessman; a businessman has to make some profit, right?" Zhang Menglong justified strongly, "The Americans sell iPhones for ten thousand a piece when the cost is only a little over two thousand—that's making a profit of four times, isn't it?"

"The average price of these coal shipments was about $300 a ton, and that's without factoring in transportation and storage costs! Selling it to you for a thousand dollars a ton is not even three times the price. What gives you the right to accuse me of robbery?"

"And besides, you seem to really enjoy those iPhones!"

"Their costs only account for materials. When you add up the research, development, advertising, and other costs, it's far more than that. How could that be the same?" Jintianjing Long retorted.

"Then what about the time I spent talking to them on the phone, negotiating the deal? Doesn't my time, energy, and saliva count as added value?"

"You're twisting words to suit your argument!"

"My time is worth that much money," Zhang Menglong stated, "like it or not, a thousand dollars a ton, take it or leave it. If you don't want it, get lost. I won't sell. You can't force a transaction, can you?"

"Zhang Menglong, don't go too far!"

"Bang!" Zhang Menglong slammed the table and stood up, "Please remember, you are the one asking me, not the other way around. Don't think that by waving your Kaibong flag I'll be intimidated!"

Zhang Menglong enunciated every word, "In my eyes, you're nothing but a fart!"