Super Zoo-Chapter 749 - 731: Bribery
Before coming to Xiangjiang, Suming hadn't thought about making a big score at the Horse Club. His trip was just for relaxation, making a little spare change with his spiritual power for fun.
But before his arrival, he had a conversation with Park Cheol-bin about the company's future development. After arriving, he visited Long Wu's mansion, invested in the World of Warcraft film, and then there was Hou Longtao's heartbreak. Several matters combined, Suming suddenly realized that his business had reached a turning point.
If he managed to navigate this transition successfully, he would step onto a higher platform and truly stand among the upper echelons of the domestic business circle; if he failed, he would still be considered a small to medium-sized entrepreneur for the near future.
In plain terms, he had reached the time when he needed money the most.
Investing in a movie and taking a company public both required spending a lot of money.
At the moment, although money was tight, it seemed to be just enough. But doing business is not about barely having enough funds to get by.
The bigger the investment in the movie, the bigger the potential return. Similarly, going public also required tens of millions in investment.
His liquid assets were nearly depleted, relying solely on the steady income from his other companies for support.
In other words, should any of those companies encounter issues, Taoyuan Group's seemingly robust financial chain would break.
That would trigger a collapse-like chain reaction. Taoyuan Group, just beginning to thrive like the rising sun, would have to resort to taking on loans, bearing the heavy burden of high-interest debt like many other private enterprises.
Moreover, whether the movie would make money was uncertain, and even if it did, it would likely take at least half a year to break even.
So, from any perspective, it was essential to have a sum of money on hand as a contingency fund.
If no opportunity arose, Suming would only have the option to gamble on the World of Warcraft film and take the risk.
But with the Xiangjiang Jockey Club—an 'ATM' right before him—Suming now had a new choice.
During the days when he discussed the film with Long Wu, Suming had been planning how to smoothly extract a sum of money from the Horse Club.
The first was obviously spiritual power. With his current strength, he wouldn't say victory was assured, but it was no longer a small probability event; the odds of winning were significant.
Secondly, there was the issue of the amount. If he really won several hundred million or even billions, Suming believed that the Jockey Club would not simply sit idly by. Coming to him would not be the Horse Club, but authorities such as the Independent Commission Against Corruption or departments like the Commercial Crime Bureau.
After checking past winning records, Suming thought that keeping the winnings around the historical minimum would likely be within what the Horse Club could accept.
The third was how to explain afterwards. Winnings over a hundred million would not go unquestioned by the Horse Club, especially since he had won big prizes in two seasons, which was too coincidental.
Therefore, he had previously staged a play, purposefully letting the potential-winning horses show spirit, using Hou Longtao as a cover while he himself acted like a capricious nouveau riche.
Of course, stirring the waters and using intimidating tactics to spook the Horse Club was essential as well.
Seeing Shen Jiayi was indeed fooled, Suming felt the time was ripe to give everyone a way out.
"Actually, I'm not entirely clueless about horses." Suming gently stirred his black coffee with a spoon, suddenly revealing a smug smile, "I run a zoo on the mainland and own two racehorses. Strictly speaking, I'm quite a skillful Beast Tamer, and that's something the Horse Club should be able to find out."
Shen Jiayi nodded, "It seems your understanding of animals far exceeds expectations."
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"This isn't against the rules, isn't Xiangjiang home to more than a dozen horse racing analytics services? That's exactly what they do, isn't it?" Suming shrugged as he replied.
This left Shen Jiayi speechless. After all, the Horse Club is ultimately a gambling business. If someone is technically skilled, what can you do about it?
It's like playing dice. If you use dice loaded with leaded mercury, that's cheating and against the rules, something that everyone would condemn. But if someone can, with incredible sleight of hand, shake the dice cup to roll the desired number, that's a fair and square strategy and the person is admired by everyone as a gambling god.
"Of course, my skills aren't as good as you imagine. Otherwise, I wouldn't have lost so much," Suming set down his coffee and spoke seriously, "Alright, Miss Shen, my time is also precious. If the Horse Club isn't planning to file a report, please transfer my winnings to my account as soon as possible."
With things having come to this point, how could the Horse Club possibly file a report? With no evidence, and if things were blown out of proportion, it might even spark a sensitive issue across the straits...
Actually, from the very beginning today, Shen Jiayi's mission in speaking to Suming on behalf of the Horse Club was never to renege on paying the debt. If Suming were truly unaware of his limits and had won tens of billions, then the Horse Club would definitely have used every trick in the book to keep that money. But a bit over a billion was still within the Horse Club's tolerance threshold.
However, Shen Jiayi had her own plans. As one of the executives, if she could make a mark in handling this situation, it would greatly help her future position within the Horse Club.
Fortunately, Suming was prepared and didn't let her intimidate him.
"You misunderstood, Mr. Su Sheng. The payment will definitely be made," said Shen Jiayi helplessly, pushing aside her ulterior motives to return to her original purpose, and smiled as she spoke: "I am here just to invite you on behalf of the Horse Club to become a member of Xiangjiang Jockey Club. So I need to learn a bit about you first."
After saying that, she took out a dark gold-colored black card from the drawer very solemnly and handed it to Suming with both hands, adding, "If you agree, the rest of the procedures will be taken care of by a special representative who will visit you tomorrow to handle them."
This time it was Suming's turn to be slightly startled. Xiangjiang Jockey Club was not like the regional clubs on the mainland where money was enough to grant entry. To become a member of the Xiangjiang Jockey Club, just having money wasn't enough; one also needed to have a good societal reputation and to have made significant contributions to society.
Moreover, the membership spots are limited, with only a few spots issued annually.
There are numerous wealthy and well-known Xiangjiang billionaires who queue up for these spots, waiting years for a chance to join.
Even Long Wu and Jacky are only 'honorary members' of the club, not formal members. As for Shen Jiayi standing before him, an executive of the club, she could only be considered an 'employee' of the club, not necessarily a club member.
Club membership didn't offer any visible benefits; in fact, members were required to pay a considerable annual fee and fulfill certain obligations.
But the invisible benefits were immense.
Some exclusive venues under the Horse Club could only be accessed by its members.
In Xiangjiang, becoming an official member of the Horse Club is the highest affirmation of one's achievements, granting not just honor but a ticket into the highest echelons of Xiangjiang society.
After a brief moment of surprise, Suming quickly caught on. This card was likely prepared for him before Shen Jiayi even came to see him.
Was she using a Horse Club membership to 'bribe' him?
Suming was speechless and really wanted to shout, "I'm impressed with YOU!"
If they can't handle it, they buy it off?! That's real tycoon style, I like it!
But on his face, he pretended to be puzzled and wondered aloud, "Me join the Horse Club? That doesn't seem quite appropriate, does it?"
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