Chapter 81: The Night Before
Translator: Shari Editor: Tehrn
Huang Jindi’s condition had stabilized. However, this also meant that the chances of his condition improving were getting slimmer and slimmer. Huang Xuan enthusiastically offered financial aid to a few medical institutions. The only thing he could do now was to sit and wait for their replies.
QIAGEN was the reagent company that Dutoit had chosen for him. It was a renowned company in Germany. It had patented technology for separation and purification of nucleic acids. Moreover, it became a global leader in biotechnology due to its high yield and purity. Huang Xuan, however, was not concerned about its products. He had offered to sponsor US$10,000,000, yet all he could do was to wait for a response.
Citigroup’s suggestion was the California Institute of Biomedical Research. In the industry, it was known as QB3. It was also one of the most prestigious institutions in the world. The organization was made up of the top laboratories in the University of California, San Francisco, Berkeley, and Santa Cruz. Many Nobel Prize winners contributed to its development. Naturally, they were very careful with accepting sponsors. Huang Xuan similarly heard nothing from them.
Huang Jindi’s condition was beginning to worsen. Each afternoon, he was only conscious for a short while. When Huang Xuan visited him again, Huang Jindi reached out for him semi-consciously. Weakly, he mouthed, “Be brave.”
Huang Xuan thought he was. However, when he saw the condition of his once mighty grandfather, he became unexpectedly devastated.
Huang Qunsheng remained in the hospital. Zhang Xinyi ran back and forth between various meetings and negotiations. As Huang Xuan walked out of the hospital, he bit his lips and said, “Brother Qing, please call Aubrey for me.”
“Okay.” Li Qing had followed Huang Qunsheng back to the country. Zhang Xinyi figured that it was best to let him follow her son, given how capable he had become. That way, he would at least have a driver.
Aubrey answered the phone call using broken Mandarin, “Boss, good afternoon!”
“Good afternoon.” Huang Xuan wanted to laugh about it. However, when he recalled his grandfather’s condition, he lost all humor. His face sunk. As he boarded the car, he asked, “Mr. White, has QB3 gotten back to us?”
Although the California Institute for Biomedical Research was equally troublesome, the Germans’ QIAGEN had far too many problems which required time to resolve. These included obtaining visas. Additionally, Huang Xuan wanted to test the formula which Guy had handed to him earlier. Huang Xuan trusted QB3 with this more than companies that were driven solely by profit.
Aubrey had guessed that Huang Xuan would question him. However, he still hesitated for a moment before answering, “I’m sorry, you know what politicians in Washington are like…”
“Mr. White!” Huang Xuan exclaimed. “I thought Citibank could familiarize us with the Western market and techniques, so I tolerated their inefficiency. However, Mr. White, if they’re both inefficient and incapable of helping me, then I apologize for what I have to do.”
Aubrey began to panic. Not only did Huang Xuan have US$100 million in Citibank, Capres and the Xihuang Industrial Company were also the envy of many others. He hurriedly said, “Mr. Huang, please give me one more week. I’ll definitely…”
“No, Mr. White!” Huang Xuan emphasized each word. “I do not have a week to wait! I want you to listen to me now!”
“Yes.”
“I can afford to spend a little more money, but I want to make sure that I get what I pay for. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“I know there are countless lobbyists in Washington: politicians, upper-class lawyers, former senior government officials, public relations experts, and political advisers. You also know countless senators, representatives from the House of Representatives, the President, and the former President. I only want one thing, and you know what it is. Right?”
“Yes.” Aubrey swallowed. Huang Xuan’s tone reminded him of the tough fellas on the Board of Directors.
Huang Xuan softened his tone and said, “I will only wait one more day. ONLY one more day! Do you understand?”
Aubrey paused for a moment. He answered with a long and confident, “Yes!”
Huang Xuan let out a long sigh. He finally leaned back in his seat. The Bentley he was in was his mother’s second vehicle. She had specially given it to Huang Xuan to reward him for his accomplishments. It also doubled up as a surprise birthday gift. The fact that they had only gotten it less than three years before, and that Li Qing was good at driving, meant that car rides were always comfortable for Huang Xuan.
There were only cans of Coca Cola, fruit juice, and tea left in the car’s mini refrigerator. The red wine and whiskey had been stored back at home. Huang Xuan brewed himself a cup of Kopi Luwak coffee. It was said that the coffee beans had been defecated by civets. Although it sounded disgusting, the taste was amazing. The coffee was thick and fragrant — it tasted lovely. This was what Zhang Xinyi told Huang Xuan. He didn’t fancy the caramel taste of the coffee before, but when he tasted it again after what he had been through, he fell in love with the richness of it.
En route home, Huang Xuan thought of Aubrey once again. If they failed to agree, Huang Xuan would have no choice but to sneak into a laboratory. Rolin had already reserved 50,000,000 kWh of energy for this — that was sufficient to take over half of the city. However, Huang Xuan shuddered when he thought of the possible consequences of doing this. It would probably take them years to clean up that mess.
More importantly, Huang Xuan was unsure if Rolin, and himself, would be able to produce the medicine they wanted in such a short time. What’s more, they had to conduct clinical tests to determine the medicine’s toxicology and pharmaceutical properties…
The next morning, Huang Xuan met Aubrey. The financial experts who were present had bloodshot eyes from working through the night.
Although Citigroup was a huge financial group, it was challenging for the middle management level to network with them.
In reality, Huang Xuan’s request was easy to fulfill. However, it was not easy for Aubrey to fulfill it on his own. Originally, he had only been prepared to manage US$2,000,000. He hadn’t thought that this golden opportunity would fall from the sky; Huang Xuan’s investments skyrocketed, far exceeding the amount that Aubrey was capable of managing. He was evidently in a more difficult position than Dutoit.
Therefore, when Huang Xuan gave him an ultimatum, he had no choice but to seek help from those above him. Despite that, one day was far too short. They failed to move the firm QB3.
Aubrey was slightly nervous when he stepped into Huang Xuan’s house. He felt like he did when he went for his first interview after graduating from university. After he had shaken Huang Xuan’s hand, he said, “Mr. Huang, we have met with some problems trying to fulfill your request.”
Huang Xuan had stopped learning languages through the base. However, in merely one month, he had built a solid foundation. Practicing with his mother and speaking to Aubrey and the others also improved his English drastically. He could now hold a proper conversation without a translator. In an Eastern accent, he asked, “What problems?”
“Due to time constraints, QB3 needs to hold a meeting to discuss your request. I mean, although we’ve provided them with financial support, they’re unwilling to specially set aside a laboratory and manpower for you.” Despite Huang Xuan’s explanations, Aubrey and the rest were still under the impression that he wanted to manufacture some strange Chinese medicine. Of course, this was not far from the truth.
“In other words, you’ve failed?”
“No, no.” Aubrey licked his lips nervously like his friends from Brooks. He continued, “Actually, we contacted a major client for you, Pfizer Group. They’re one of the world’s leading pharmaceutical companies — among the top 500.”
Huang Xuan knew peanuts about the medicine industry. He asked, “What about their laboratories? How are their research and testing abilities?”
“They’re comparable to QB3.”
“That doesn’t sound like bad news. What’s the problem?”
Aubrey paused to take in a couple of breaths. Then, he answered, “The CEO of Pfizer, Mr. Steere, feels that their laboratories are worth more than US$10,000,000.”
“US$15,000,000?” This was not a problem for Huang Xuan. However, he was not about to be blackmailed either.
Aubrey was reluctant to answer, but his time was running out. He tapped his temple and mentally cursed the executive director of the company. He said, “Mr. Huang, Mr. Steere thinks that Pfizer’s productivity will suffer if he lets you use their laboratories and manpower. Therefore…”
“How much?” Huang Xuan dragged the word “how”.
Aubrey subconsciously wiped his forehead. He replied, “They hope you’d be willing to buy Pfizer’s bonds — US$1.2 billion worth of them.” Merely reading out the numbers seemed to drain his energy. He quickly continued, “It’s non-transferable. The term is two years, with an interest of 6.7% per annum.”
The interest on the bond alone was considerable. Afterall, Pfizer was a stable and profitable world-class company. However, $1.2 billion was a significant amount.
Huang Xuan tapped his phone casing with his finger. As long as he could save his grandfather, he was willing to spend any amount of money. However, $1.2 billion was well beyond his abilities. At that crucial moment, nobody was willing to lend him that much money. Not even the Shougang Concord Grand (Group) Limited had that amount of cash.
“He’ll let me use the laboratories once I buy the bonds?” Huang Xuan asked with a solemn expression.
“Of course.” Aubrey knew Huang Xuan’s financial situation better than anyone else. The teenager in front of him had less than US$500 million in his hands. Including the US$300 million he had contributed to the Huang Family Funds, he only had half the amount of money he needed. Uneasily, he said, “Mr. Huang, these bonds are non-transferrable. They cannot be sold,” this was Steere’s request. He was afraid Huang Xuan would sell the bonds. To a certain extent, these were extra bonds he was releasing.
Huang Xuan nodded impatiently. “I know. Go back and wait for further updates.”
After seeing Aubrey out, Huang Xuan crossed his arms and pinched his nose bridge. He said, “Rolin, I think we need to look for more money.”
…
Rolin welcomed the idea of time traveling. However, he had his own sequence of principles, which he was not prepared to compromise on for Huang Xuan’s sake. As an independent guardian, he only listened to Huang Xuan because he had a great relationship with only one authority (not including himself).
As an advanced base, P112 was safe in terms of the first principle. Advancing and protecting the plane had thus been neglected. Thus far, Huang Xuan was the only local who was able to satisfy all the principles. Of course, this was also true because Rolin hadn’t given anyone else the opportunity to try.
If the base energy had not been low, Huang Xuan could have shared the same fate as other daredevils — he could have lost his life or been thrown into a second plane. However, when the base had insufficient energy to change its location or protect itself, Zhang Xinyi conducted a massive search. That was what saved Huang Xuan’s life.
From the beginning, Rolin had been enthusiastically suggesting time travel. Not only could it provide them with funds to charge himself up, but it could also replenish the buffer zone’s energy. This was the reason the plane existed, and this was the mission of official time travelers.
The preparation of logistics was still to be done in Brazil. The passage could only be opened under certain circumstances — near people with authority or near a base. This protective measure could protect the plane’s buffer zone to a certain extent. This was also the principle that Rolin could not compromise on.
Since their objective this time was to obtain cash, Huang Xuan hoped to be as prepared as possible. Apart from using dense metal to protect himself, he also brought with him a small pistol. He requested for the purchase of as much food as possible. In Brazil, the vast farms produced food which was far more expensive than they could afford. The worldwide famine made such purchases more widespread, but also more chaotic.
However, Huang Xuan was asking for far too much food. He had begun to draw the government’s attention to himself. In addition to enthusiastically supporting the postal industry’s contributions to the state, the Sao Paulo state government also praised Sheng Feng. After all, the government had always focused on the agricultural industry. However, it was difficult to imagine how they would react if they learned that the focus of this export was a certain unknown plane.
Based on his observations, wheat was the most common in most areas. Accordingly, 80% of Huang Xuan’s logistics was wheat. It weighed a total of 15,000 tonnes. Its average price was US$193 per ton, totaling US$2,895,000. The remaining 20% was made up of spices. If they returned to the 17th century, basic spices like cardamom and pepper were enough to make them a windfall.
The most important consideration when deciding how much to carry while traveling was the energy expenditure. If they were unfortunate enough to end up in the Philippines, they would be able to survive on 15,000 tonnes of wheat until the Americans colonized the islands. The main question was, how were they going to conduct their sales? The longer they stayed in the second plane, the more Huang Xuan would worry for his own safety. He was already getting increasingly worried. After all, a considerable amount of preparation was needed for a man with bad thoughts to begin committing bad deeds. Perhaps by the time he was prepared, the plane transaction would have been completed. There was even less need for him to worry about those who were after his money. Rolin had a thousand methods to deal with them. However, if they stayed there for too long, the chances of such things happening would increase significantly.
For that reason, Huang Xuan requested to bring the dense metal and the pistol. This would require ten times the energy needed to carry the grains. In essence, they had already used up all the petroleum that they obtained under the futures.
Rolin could only calmly criticize Huang Xuan for this wastage. However, he was increasingly accepting Huang Xuan’s suggestions for the allocation of energy. After all, he was the one obtaining most of the energy.
It was midnight. Rolin confirmed the time period. Huang Xuan stepped through the small teleportation door under the pavilion in his backyard. At that moment, Rolin said, “Based on some signals from the secret key, I can double our teleportation accuracy. However, we may still end up outside our time period.”
“Double?” Huang Xuan asked, surprised. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? I could have prepared myself better for this. Shall we change the time period?”
“We don’t need to.” Rolin was using the speed of his speech to express his embarrassment. Very slowly, he said, “You can make your decision now — whether we are entering the interval plane T1600 to T1800, or the interval plane T1800 to the current time. However, based on the general principle of uncertainty, we still cannot confirm our location.”
“That’s double?” Huang Xuan was absolutely astonished.
“Yes.”
Huang Xuan waved his hand and pouted. He replied, “Let’s go to the later interval. At least my Asian skin wouldn’t attract so much attention.”
“Alright.”
They entered the familiar, yet unfamiliar, passage. Huang Xuan still found it amusing. When Rolin’s system was of good use, he had nothing to say. However, when it malfunctioned, it was hilarious. It was true that the accuracy was doubled. Putting it that way, though, was funny.
“We have arrived at P101T1081931W5290.”
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