The Tyrant Billionaire

Hardy listened and smiled lightly.

"What's the harm in doing it? Go ahead and buy the ships at five dollars per ton. It'll also help build a relationship with the U.S. military stationed there."

"Bring the ships back. If they can be repaired, fix them. If not, dismantle them for scrap metal. We won't lose money."

"I understand, Mr. Hardy," Victor replied.

Huo Qingtong, standing nearby, heard Hardy's words and admired him. There was no business that the big boss wouldn't dare to do.

After some thought, Huo Qingtong asked Victor, "Mr. Victor, if we buy these ships, I'm thinking of keeping a few for the trading company. Do you think that's appropriate?"

Victor smiled, "You can decide that on your own. As long as the boss agrees to the purchase, the rest is up to you."

Huo Qingtong wasted no time and hurried back to Okinawa. Coincidentally, on the way, he encountered the same patrol ship again, captained by Ivan. This made Huo suspect that Captain Ivan had been waiting for him all along.

Huo's ship signaled the patrol ship, and the patrol ship quickly understood and followed them to the port.

Once again, Huo Qingtong boarded the patrol ship.

"How did it go? Did your boss agree?" Captain Ivan asked as soon as they met.

"Yes, our boss agreed, but he hopes for a lower price," Huo Qingtong replied, displaying his businessman instincts.

Ivan shrugged, "Alright, then four dollars per ton."

"Okay, four dollars per ton." Huo Qingtong was pleasantly surprised; he had just tried bargaining and didn't expect Ivan to agree so easily.

Ivan was even happier. By selling off this scrap metal, the officers at the base would each make tens of thousands of dollars.

That's no small amount.

Ivan took Huo Qingtong to the ship graveyard and personally counted the ships. Each had its specifications and weight clearly marked, so the total tonnage was easily calculated. There were 31 ships in total, mostly smaller ones, amounting to 106,000 tons.

The total price was 424,000 dollars.

With the deal done, Captain Ivan said, 'I'll have someone come over to see how many ships can be started. If they can run, you can sail them back; if not, you can tow them, and we'll even fill up your fuel tanks.

These American soldiers were quite thoughtful.

"That's great! I was wondering how I'd get them back," Huo Qingtong replied.

After inspection, they found that most of the ships could still operate, which was very fortunate.

Over the next few days, the ships were towed two or three at a time back to Hong Kong, all docking in the Hardy Group's waters.

Global Shipping had a ship repair company, so Huo Qingtong enlisted them to thoroughly inspect the ships. The usable ones were kept, while the unusable ones were towed to shore, where a team of demolition workers began dismantling them into steel plates.

The scrap was then sold to steel mills.

In the end, 23 ships were repaired. Their original names and numbers were removed, new paint was applied, and new numbers were assigned, completely transforming their appearance.

Huo Qingtong kept four ships: two 1,600-ton ships and two 3,900-ton ships. These were relatively new and of suitable tonnage, so he decided to keep them. As for the remaining ships, he wasn't sure what to do.
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It was important to note that these ships were no longer just scrap metal; their value had increased dozens of times.

A 1,000-ton troop transport ship, which the U.S. had sold to him for just 4,000 dollars, excluding the repairs and painting costs—which didn't go beyond 10,000 dollars for the most severe one—was now worth over 100,000 dollars, even as a second-hand vessel.

What should he do with the remaining dozen ships?

Huo Qingtong consulted with Victor, who said, "Check if there's interest in Hong Kong. If they're willing to buy, go ahead and sell. If not, reach out to businessmen in the surrounding Asian countries. You can start with the Philippines—they've approached us before about purchasing American cargo ships, but the prices were too high for them at the time."

Huo Qingtong discreetly spread the word, seeing if anyone was interested in buying his second-hand ships, and within a few days, several potential buyers approached him.

The first group came from the Philippines, representing a business consortium that was keen on expanding their shipping operations. After negotiations, they agreed to purchase nine of Huo Qingtong's ships, finalizing the largest portion of the sale.

Shortly after, a Hong Kong businessman, already well-established in the logistics industry, expressed interest in acquiring a portion of the fleet for regional trade. Huo Qingtong sold him six ships, securing another major deal.

Finally, Bao Yugang approached Huo Qingtong with a smaller proposal. He introduced himself as a man who had worked on the mainland and had recently arrived in Hong Kong. His family had some savings but didn't know what business to get into. Upon hearing that Huo Qingtong was selling ships, he came up with the idea of buying a ship for cargo transport.

Bao Yugang had only 700,000 dollars, enough to buy at most two ships. After discussing it with Huo Qingtong, Huo offered him a suggestion.

"You could buy a ship yourself, then establish a shipping company. Afterward, you could lease a few ships from Hardy Shipping. The shipping business is good right now, and as you make more money, you can gradually buy new ships."

Bao Yugang thought it was a great idea. He spent 400,000 dollars to buy a 5,600-ton cargo ship, then after establishing his own shipping company, leased four more ships from Hardy Shipping and started his shipping business.

Bao Yugang and Huo Qingtong became friends.

Huo Qingtong had a total of 23 ships. After selling to the Philippine consortium, the Hong Kong businessman, and Bao Yugang, he kept four ships for his own company. The remaining four ships were sold to the CCP, though this was not an easy transaction.