"The construction company has already inquired, and the construction fee for the 20-kilometer pipeline, the rental fee for excavators and other equipment, as well as the workers' wages, all added up, and the lowest bid is $80,000."
Two days passed in the blink of an eye, and it was almost time for school to start. Fortunately, today, all the information from various sources has been gathered. The land transfer was also completed yesterday. Now, most of the sections of Highway 23 within the Douglas area, except for the part that passes through the city, are already in Carter's hands.
"We can provide seven laborers ourselves, so we should be able to save some money on that, right?"
"Probably. I visited that company, and it's not very large in scale. For this order, even if they earn a little less, they probably don't want to lose it. But I'm a bit worried about the quality of the project with such a small company. After all, we're planning to open a shop on the highway. If any problems arise later, maintenance and repair will be quite troublesome."
"It should be fine. If we need to use excavators, it's mainly for underground pipelines. As long as we use good materials and bury them underground, there shouldn't be any major issues."
Carter pondered for a moment and felt that saving money was more important at the moment.
This investment could be considered dipping into the Black family's savings. Although Carter inherited the Black Bank, don't forget that primogeniture isn't a thing in Europe and America. Theoretically, Jenny, Anna, and Melissa, the women, all have inheritance rights.
The fact that he could inherit the Black family's assets intact was because they were afraid of taking responsibility. They just passed the burden on to him, inheriting the Black Bank while also shouldering the family's expenses.
Anna is now working, so the situation is slightly better. But Jenny and Melissa are completely out of work, and they've been used to living well. Their basic expenses each month are at least five hundred dollars, not including miscellaneous expenses like buying clothes and cosmetics.
The money borrowed was transferred to the fund after being loaned to him, and now it's completely out of reach. And over here at the Black Bank, after preparing to shrink the loans, the profitability is also worrying.
So at the moment, saving money is crucial. Some funds must be reserved for the initial period of the restaurant's opening, which is the period of losses. And there's also the franchise fee for KFC, equipment procurement fees, and so on.
"You're right. I'll make another trip and get the contract signed with them."
Goodman, who knew Carter's situation, nodded without objection. With Carter's confirmation, he left the office. Carter then picked up the phone on his desk.
"Hey, Carter. Are you done? Why are you suddenly in such a hurry to learn about that Kentucky Fried Chicken? I found them. They're now a brand managed by a company called Kantai Global Catering under PepsiCo. Why the sudden interest?"
"Ah, it's all because of the current situation. My father was too generous with loans before, and now many of them can't be collected, so I had to take back the land. I hope to develop the commercial value of this land to recover the losses. Frankly, Julian, if this fails, I'll be in trouble. There's still a gap of over a million in loans and deposits in the bank."
Carter complained about his current situation to Julian with a bitter smile. This situation is extremely similar to before, and he can't show his pressure to Goodman, Chris, and others.
Only Julian in New York, sharing his worries and uneasiness, wouldn't have much impact. It won't affect the morale of his team here.
"Just a month or two, it will be Thanksgiving, and then Christmas. At that time, there will definitely be increased demand for redemption. If you can hold on through this, it shouldn't be a big problem. But next year."
"Haha, I understand. But you don't need to worry too much. The situation with the Quantum Fund is very good lately, no, not just good, it's excellent! Have Rogers or Soros called you? They've only been closed for less than a month, and the profit has already exceeded 8%. Barring any accidents, this year's return rate is expected to exceed 30%. Next year, if the bank really has difficulties, you can redeem a sum of money for emergency use."
After Julian's good news, he reminded:
"But you also need to pay attention to this matter, Carter. Putting a large amount of funds into the fund and not leaving any reserves in your hands, you can't do this in the future!"
"I know. Who could have expected the bad debt ratio to suddenly skyrocket? Ah, let's not talk about this. Thanks for your reminder, Julian. Do you have the contact information for that Kantai company? I need to contact them about franchising. By the way, does that name sound like an insurance company to you? Are you sure you didn't get it wrong?"
Carter was almost speechless about this. In the future, there seems to be a company called Taikang Life Insurance, right? But what's even more worrisome is the bad environment. It seems that his embarrassment now is due to throwing a large amount of money into closed funds and having no money to use.
But don't forget, that money was borrowed in the first place. If it wasn't invested in the fund to make money, he would have been doomed on the repayment date. And if he didn't borrow, he probably wouldn't have been able to survive until now! The sum of these bad debts is already a large number, and without additional profit channels, it's hard to say whether he can survive until today. Even if he does, his quality of life will definitely plummet.
"If its founder is Colonel Sanders, then I think I haven't made a mistake. Hold on, let me check my phone. Can you write it down?"
Colonel Harland Sanders is a genuine Colonel rank. The Kentucky State National Guard, like the National Guard in the United States, is basically part-time, similar to reserves in China. So Sanders, as a colonel, is similar to a reserve colonel, but he doesn't actually have any power. He can only be a honorary title, similar to a knight in the UK. Carter could get himself a lieutenant or second lieutenant now if he wanted. But now KFC has nothing to do with him, as the ownership of the brand has changed hands several times and is now under PepsiCo.
Taking out pen and paper, Carter recorded the number Julian gave him, and after chatting with Julian about the information of this Kantai company, he immediately dialed the phone.
"Hello? Is this Kantai Catering Management Company? I want to open a Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise in Georgia. What are the requirements?"
Looking at the information recorded on the table, Carter expressed his thoughts frankly.
"Oh? A Kentucky Fried Chicken franchise? May I ask, sir, what's your name? And do you currently have your own restaurant?"
"Carter Black. Yes, I want to franchise a Kentucky Fried Chicken store. I currently have a restaurant that is not yet operational. More accurately, it's a restaurant under construction."
The current KFC is different from the future. Franchise stores are usually already mature restaurants. Franchising KFC is only for the franchise rights and the recipe for making fried chicken, including the supply of raw materials.
It's completely different from the future where KFC's people handle everything from site selection to decoration. In simple terms, the current franchise stores don't have the red walls and brown tiles decoration style commonly seen in the future KFC outlets.
"All right, I understand. But there are currently no franchisees in Georgia. Are you sure you want to franchise? May I ask where you are now? Can you come to New York for a discussion? Because besides franchising, we also have channels for applying for regional exclusive rights."
The customer service lady from Kantai company said enthusiastically:
"If you have confidence in our Kentucky Fried Chicken, I would be honored to invite you to visit our company and the raw material processing plant. This will give you a clearer understanding of your future investment, and I sincerely suggest that you directly apply for exclusive rights in Georgia. Currently, no one is competing for that authority, which is a very rare opportunity!"