Chapter 345 - 195: Central Park One

Chapter 345: Chapter 195: Central Park One

「The next morning.」

Mark arrived at the hillside villa bright and early. He had been celebrating with Raymond, Chen Fei, and the others last night and had drunk quite a bit. After the party ended, he was driven back to his place.

He woke up this morning to a summons from Su Chen, telling him to come to the hillside villa to discuss the profit-sharing.

The thought of receiving nearly a billion USD made Mark feel like he was walking on air, as if treading on clouds.

He arrived at exactly eight in the morning. Su Chen, Raymond, and the others were in the dining room, eating breakfast. When Su Chen saw Mark arrive, he beckoned him over.

"You haven’t eaten breakfast, have you? Sit down and join us. We can talk business later."

Jiang Hui quickly had the kitchen staff bring out a bowl and a pair of chopsticks.

Mark hadn’t expected such hospitality. "Thank you, Mr. Su!" he said excitedly.

He took the bowl and chopsticks and sat down next to Chen Fei.

They hadn’t finished the giant grouper from yesterday, so the Cantonese chef had made a pot of grouper congee for breakfast. Su Chen had assumed it was just ordinary congee, but after tasting it, he felt like he’d discovered a new continent.

Su Chen had eaten a lot of Cantonese food over the past two days and had been thoroughly impressed. ’Maybe I should hire a professional Cantonese chef when I get back,’ he thought. ’It would be nice to switch things up once in a while.’

After breakfast, Su Chen led Mark to the back garden. He offered Mark a cigarette before lighting one for himself.

After they had smoked in silence for a moment, Su Chen finally spoke. "Do you want the money now, or should I wait until you’re in Huaxia?"

Mark froze for a second, but then he quickly understood the implication of Su Chen’s words. His bank accounts were all monitored by Uncle Sam’s tax authorities. A sudden transfer of such a large sum wouldn’t be a good thing for him at all.

But this was nearly a billion USD. He wouldn’t feel safe unless it was in his own pocket.

Mark started puffing on his cigarette much faster. Su Chen didn’t rush him, instead gazing out calmly at the beautiful Bay Area cityscape.

Soon, Mark’s cigarette had burned down to the filter. Seemingly having made up his mind, he stubbed out the butt in the ashtray on the table.

"Mr. Su, please wait until I’m in Huaxia to transfer the money. After all, Uncle Sam’s tax men are no joke." In the end, Mark chose to trust Su Chen.

From the very beginning of the company’s sale, Su Chen had been the one pulling all the strings. In fact, it was only because of him that Mark even had the opportunity to be standing here discussing his share of the profits.

If Su Chen hadn’t been his company’s majority shareholder, Mark was certain that Morgan and BlackRock would have devoured it, leaving nothing behind—let alone a payout of nearly a billion USD.

Even though he’d only known Su Chen for two or three days, Mark had a very good feeling about him. For instance, the two top electronics PhDs he was close with had already arrived in Shanghai and were reportedly already settled in.

These things were enough to prove that Su Chen was a man of his word. Once he got to Huaxia, he hoped to latch onto Su Chen’s coattails for a good future.

Su Chen was surprised by Mark’s boldness. After all, it was a billion USD. Not many people had the guts to entrust that kind of money to someone they’d only known for a few days.

"Alright. You should head over there as soon as you can. Delays can bring complications."

Su Chen paused, tossing his cigarette butt into the ashtray before continuing, "I’m heading back to the country after a trip to New York. I’ll call you then."

"Thank you for everything, Mr. Su!"

During breakfast, Mark had overheard Chen Fei and the others talking about it, so he knew Su Chen was going to New York for a visit at Arthur Morgan’s invitation.

After a bit more small talk, Mark announced his departure. He planned to take his family and fly directly to Huaxia today. The sooner he left the US, the more at ease he’d feel.

Otherwise, he’d keep picturing agents from Uncle Sam’s tax department breaking down his door to arrest him at any moment.

A faint smile touched Su Chen’s lips as he watched Mark leave. He stood up, planning to head to the rooftop pool for a swim.

He wasn’t in a rush to get to New York. Arthur and BlackRock still had some business to wrap up and would likely be in the Bay Area for another two days.

He had only taken a few steps when Jiang Hui hurried out of the house with a phone.

"Sir, it’s a call from back home."

’A call from back home?’ Su Chen took the phone, puzzled. When he saw Xiao Peng’s name on the screen, his brow instantly furrowed.

"Hello, Xiao Peng," Su Chen said, quickly doing the math in his head. It had to be five or six in the morning on Zheng Island. ’Is he calling at this hour because there’s trouble at the park?’

"Ahem... Sir, I hope I’m not disturbing you," Xiao Peng said from the other end, his tone tentative.

This made Su Chen’s brow furrow even more deeply.

"Is something wrong at the park?" Su Chen’s tone grew heavy.

"Wrong? Nothing’s wrong at the park," Xiao Peng replied, puzzled for a moment before he understood. He quickly explained, "Sir, I’m calling because the park’s funds are about to run out."

Xiao Peng thought about the recent projects. Money was being spent like water, with daily expenses in the hundreds of thousands, even tens of millions. It made his heart ache just thinking about it.