A tall skyscraper stood in the middle of Shanghai’s CBD.This was Tesla’s headquarters in China. It was Tesla’s second construction investment in China, behind the super factory.The building overlooked the western Pacific Ocean, like it was a lighthouse, guiding businessmen toward the international market…
Of course, there were many other lighthouses.
Ever since clean energy appeared in Asia, more and more international capital had begun flowing here, trying to take advantage of the energy revolution.
The top floor of the building, inside the boardroom.
Tesla’s China General Manager, Bobby, was meeting with an important client from Boston— David Lawrence.
In the United States, Lawrence was a common surname, but the Lawrence surname in Boston had an extraordinary meaning.
The Lawrence family was involved in the financial industry, and the name was frequently mentioned together with their friends, Lowell and Adams.
When North America was still a small colony, these people were the first ones to get rich. They invested in the banking industry and relied on these financial institutions to indirectly give them control over the heavy industrial chain.
After the two industrial revolutions, they were unsatisfied and entered a political alliance with the Kennedy family.
And this gave birth to the Boston Financial Group.
After relying on military arms orders during the Vietnam war, the unbreakable alliance gradually collapsed.
After that, the Boston Financial Group disappeared from people’s minds.
However, two centuries of heritage and wealth didn’t just disappear out of thin air.
Even though they rarely appeared in the eyes of the public, they influenced the world in secret ways…
Bobby stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows in the conference room, looking at the neon street lights. Bobby smiled and spoke to the man standing next to him.
“As you can see, we are facing the most prosperous land in the west pacific. Do you see that river? More than half of China’s wealth flows through that river.”
Bobby tried to do his best to please this important guest.
Tesla’s expansion in Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta city group required capital. Even though Chinese banks were happy to lend them money, the interest wasn’t cheap.
Therefore, the best option for Tesla was to receive financing from outside the country.
If the Boston Financial Group was interested and invested in EVgo, there was no doubt that EVgo’s expansion in China would go smoothly.
Even though these financial giants were often ruthless, they would never turn down an opportunity to make free money together…
“This is a beautiful city, much better than Boston.”
Lawrence smiled faintly. He didn’t speak like a clueless tourist; instead, he spoke like a wise businessman who was aware of the value of goods standing in front of him.
Bobby glanced at Lawrence’s face and spoke.
“Endless energy. We used to think it was just a fantasy, but someone really did it.
“I’ve worked here for four years, and I’ve watched this place move forward one step at a time. Even the Americans can’t believe that the Chinese are growing vegetables in skyscrapers, building maglev trains, and still remain profitable.”
“Growing vegetables in skyscrapers?” Lawrence asked with curiosity.
“Someone is doing that. Apparently, it’s called three-dimensional agriculture… You know, Asia goes crazy over fresh, natural food. They don’t care if it’s expensive.” Bobby cleared his throat and said, “What I’m saying is, don’t you think it’s a waste they’re using their resources this way!”
“Yeah…” Lawrence nodded. He looked at the night scene as he said, “Talk about your project, maybe it’ll interest me.”
Bobby smiled and spoke.
“Of course.”
Bobby was about to talk about the plan to Lawrence when a middle-aged man in a suit suddenly knocked on the meeting room door and walked in.
Lawrence looked at his assistant and frowned.
“Is something wrong, Mr. Jonard?”
“I’m sorry to interrupt your meeting, but I have something important for you.”
Lawrence glanced at Bobby and smiled.
“Is it related to this gentleman beside me?”
Jonard nodded seriously and handed Lawrence a stack of documents.
Lawrence said, “Oh, it is?”
Lawrence took over the documents from his assistant and looked apologetically at Bobby.
A million thoughts began to race through Bobby’s mind.
Even though he wasn’t happy, he didn’t dare to offend Lawrence. Thus, he could only stand there and watch Lawrence read the documents.
Time quickly passed by.
Lawrence was almost done with the documents.
Bobby was getting impatient when Lawrence frowned. Bobby instantly began to feel nervous.
“It seems like your company is in a bit of trouble.”
Bobby looked at Lawrence and spoke.
“What?”
“A Chinese company seems to pose a threat to your core business model.” Lawrence smiled and said, “It seems like you’re at a disadvantage here.”
Disadvantage?!
“You’re talking about Beep Beep Charging?” Bobby smiled and said, “No offense, but this is not the case at all. We’ve already signed with five major car companies, they—”
“I know about the cooperation agreements with the car companies. Also, don’t doubt my guy’s abilities.” Lawrence ripped off two pages from one of the documents and handed it to Bobby. He said, “Since you’re being so honest with me, I’ll show you something… Usually, we charge half a million dollars per page.”
After Bobby took the pages from Lawrence, he began to impatiently read the contents. Bobby wanted to know why Lawrence had changed his mind about financing EVgo.
However, the moment his eyes landed on the page, his heart skipped a beat!
“That as*hole!” Bobby clenched his fist and said, “They’re violating free trade laws! This is illegal!”
Bobby noticed that Lawrence was looking at him, so he tried to calm down and forced a smile on his face.
“Lawrence, I hope this doesn’t affect our cooperation. If we sue them, the judge will be on our side…”
“Really? The judge will be on your side?” Lawrence shrugged and said, “Of course, I don’t want this to affect our cooperation…”
Bobby smiled and extended his right hand. “Then I wish us a happy cooperation. I know a good restaurant nearby, should we—”
“But I have to think about it, weigh the risks and benefits…” Lawrence looked at his watch and said, “As for dinner, I’m going to pass. I have another important meeting…”
After that, he gave the documents back to Jonard and nodded.
Jonard stepped forward and opened the door.
“I hope to hear good news from you the next time we meet,” Lawrence said as he began walking out of the door. “See you later.”
The conference door closed.
Bobby looked at the closed door in disbelief.
He suddenly turned around and slammed his fist on the conference table.
“F*ck!”
He could feel his blood pressure rising.
Just like Lawrence had said, they were in trouble…
