"Two months, two months..."
Repeating this timeframe in his mind several times, Carter sighed and said, "Alright, so be it. If someone is really desperate enough to sell their house and move to Douglas within these two months, we'll just have to accept it."
"That's it?" Benjamin, stunned, nodded and hesitated, wanting to argue further. But his conscience stopped him from saying more. On second thought, at least there was still a possibility of absorbing new citizens within these two months.
"Alright, I understand. I'll start working on this matter once I get back. By the way, there's something I need to mention. Regarding the consumption tax exemption I granted you, don't manipulate the oil prices, okay?"
"Oil prices? What's the issue with that?"
Carter was puzzled. After lowering the price of refined oil at his gas station, business had indeed boomed as expected. In fact, in terms of single-store profitability, his gas station had become the most profitable business under his name.
However, making money was secondary to him. Firstly, it was just a single gas station, not something that could be scaled up. Secondly, although the total profit was good, the unit profit was too low!
Except for the consumption tax exemption, he had also reduced his own margins. After all, the gas station wasn't meant to be a major profit center; it was a tool to attract customers.
So, Carter didn't pay much attention to it. As long as it didn't lose money and could attract customers, it was fine. Even if it earned a lot, it would only be around $10,000 per month.
"Well, there's a big problem. Mike Jones has a major issue with you lately. He even blames me for granting you the tax exemption, saying that his three gas stations combined can't match your business. He accuses you of engaging in malicious competition!"
Benjamin chuckled. He could understand Carter's confusion.
$10,000 might not be much to Carter now. Considering his current asset scale and the loans from Forest Bank, with 26 signed store agreements, Carter had already disbursed at least $5 million in loans. If HT's revenue remained stable, with an annual interest rate of 12%, his interest income alone would be $600,000 annually, or $50,000 per month. This didn't even include future operating profits from HT stores.
Moreover, Carter's income in this aspect had significant growth potential. As more stores opened and business improved, his income in this area would only increase!
This was far more attractive than a gas station benefiting from policy dividends. Carter's indifference was understandable.
"I understand your purpose, but I also think you need to raise your oil prices a bit. You wouldn't believe it, but people in Douglas would rather drive 20 kilometers to your station and back than go to Mike's stations."
"That doesn't make sense. If they drive 40 kilometers round trip, they'd consume over two gallons of gas, making the extra cost outweigh my small discount."
An American gallon is about 3.785 liters. American cars were notoriously gas guzzlers. Before adopting fuel-saving technologies post several oil crises, American cars often had fuel consumption rates over 10 liters per 100 kilometers.
Even Carter's Mustang GT had high fuel consumption. While driving on the highway at higher speeds, the fuel consumption might be a bit better, but in the city, it never dropped below 18 liters per 100 kilometers.
With such exaggerated fuel consumption, who would be crazy enough to spend several dollars more just to save a few cents per gallon at his station?
"You might not see much difference in oil prices alone. Even for large tank family cars, this kind of refueling at most breaks even, not offering much advantage. But have you forgotten there's an HT restaurant next to your gas station? You think those thousands of pancakes sold daily are bought by chance?"
"You mean they refuel and then buy a lot of pancakes to take home?"
Carter was surprised at this operation.
"Exactly! Your discounted gas price effectively covers their travel costs, allowing them to drive to Highway 23 to buy pancakes. And your pancakes are cheap, making the trip worthwhile when combined with refueling."
"I get it. You're suggesting that I raise my oil prices to a point where citizens would hesitate to make the trip, right?"
"Exactly! This is for the city's stability. If Mike loses all his customers to you, and his stations face issues, it'll be another mess."
Benjamin nodded. Though it sounded unprincipled, it had to be done. The mayor's job was to ensure the city's stability, and stability often hinged on equitable distribution of resources.
In a city where everyone could benefit, find work, and have bread to eat, crime rates would naturally decrease!
Except for inherently antisocial individuals, most people, given a stable life, wouldn't resort to crime.
"But as compensation, I've found a location for you. There's a property on Bob Nook Street, still under city government ownership. You can take over this property at a symbolic price and open a store of your choice there, as long as it's not an HT restaurant. Unless you want to recreate the HT plan in Douglas..."
To compensate for Carter's loss, Benjamin had to make concessions.
Bob Nook Street housed the best elementary school in Douglas. In future terms, this was prime school district property, extremely valuable. Initially, Benjamin intended to sell it at a high price.
But now, it seemed this was the only way to compensate Carter for the potential loss in restaurant profits due to raising gas prices.
"Forget it, I think you all see me as a cash cow. Recreating the HT plan in Douglas? You might as well cut me up and see how much I'm worth at the slaughterhouse."
Carter sighed, agreeing to Benjamin's compensation plan and conditions.
To balance interests, he had no choice but to accept. If not, and Mike went bankrupt later, Carter would still have to clean up the mess.
Better to agree now and at least get a valuable school district property in exchange, even if it had no immediate use.
Despite its current lack of utility...