Chapter 80

Using the Gray Bear Ranch and organic vegetable technology as collateral was the result of Liu Yunxuan and his team's long deliberation. $20 million is a huge amount of money in the United States. If the bank doesn't see enough benefit, they won't be interested at all.

Currently, everything seems to be developing as expected. However, Liu Yunxuan couldn't feel at ease. It's not just a matter of having a plan; it's more like he has just started to write the first stroke.

The Gray Bear Ranch being able to sell at a low price would be the first step. Only if Citibank approves the loan would it be considered a complete success.

After returning from Jack's place, Robert went to organize Liu Yunxuan's materials, leaving Liu Yunxuan alone at home waiting for Charlie's return.

Seeing Liu Yunxuan frequently looking at the door, Michelle didn't know what to say. She could only stand behind him and massage his head.

"Michelle, I'm sorry for worrying you," Liu Yunxuan said, "How is Professor Lyle's research going?"

"It's going well. They have made some discoveries, but they still need a lot of experiments to prove them," Michelle said after a pause.

"Is it tiring to be my girlfriend?" Liu Yunxuan held Michelle's hand and placed it on his chest.

"Not at all. I will support you no matter what you do. After returning from China, I knew you were worth my expectations," Michelle said.

Smelling the faint fragrance from Michelle, Liu Yunxuan's chaotic thoughts of the past two days were momentarily calmed. The two of them, one sitting on the sofa and the other standing behind, leaned on each other.

Good times are always short. Just as the two were immersed in the warm atmosphere, Charlie, whom Liu Yunxuan had been waiting for, finally returned.

Charlie entered the house without acknowledging the two, first pouring a large glass of water and gulping it down in one go.

"Andy, my throat was parched outside, but you're so relaxed at home," Charlie said irritably after drinking the water, plopping down on the sofa.

Liu Yunxuan felt a surge of joy; there must be good news, or Charlie wouldn't be joking.

"Charlie, do you have good news for me?" Liu Yunxuan ignored Charlie's teasing and asked directly.

"I was thinking of keeping this news a bit longer, but seeing how eager you are, I can't bear to do so," Charlie said with a smile, "Today's luck was really good. When I went to their company headquarters, I directly found the person in charge. We talked until the afternoon, and the current price is set at $22 million. If Citibank approves the loan, I estimate the final price won't exceed $21 million."

"Oh, Charlie, this is the second piece of good news I've heard today," Liu Yunxuan said, clenching his fist, "Jack has already agreed to help us. Now it's up to Citibank headquarters."

Hearing this good news, Liu Yunxuan felt much lighter, and even the sun outside didn't seem as hot.

"Charlie, if things go well, what gift do you want?" Liu Yunxuan asked Charlie, who was lying on the sofa. This guy had really helped him a lot, as had Robert, who was practically working for free.

"If it works out, just give me a horse. But you'll have to take care of it for me, and I'll ride it when I come to visit," Charlie thought for a moment and said.

"OK, no problem. You're my friend, and my first friend in America. Whether things succeed or not, I'll give you a horse," Liu Yunxuan said readily.

This gift was no big deal. Charlie wouldn't want a purebred horse, just a few thousand dollars. Remembering that Charlie had once said he liked convertibles, Liu Yunxuan could consider giving him one later.

At dinner, Liu Yunxuan ate a lot; he had been very worried these past few days.

The next day, Robert also brought good news.

The senior management of Citibank was in a meeting discussing the loan, and there was still some hope. Liu Yunxuan told Robert not to come back yet, as it would be too tiring to travel back and forth. He should just wait for the news there.

After waiting for two more days, they finally received a definite response. Citibank was very optimistic about Liu Yunxuan's organic vegetable farming, but they also needed to assess the Gray Bear Ranch, which was a necessary procedure. This meant that things were basically settled.

Liu Yunxuan also went with the Citibank assessors.

Liu Yunxuan had only been to the Gray Bear Ranch once before, when he came to apologize, and he hadn't had the chance to take a good look.

The construction of the Gray Bear Ranch was much better than his own pastoral ranch. There was a beautiful villa surrounded by some spruce trees, with the entire villa hidden in a green setting. On both sides of the villa were worker dormitories, with about 30 rooms in total due to the large number of workers.

The villa was on high ground, and from the front door, one could see the scenery of the ranch. In front of the villa was a swimming pool, and to the right of the pool was a row of stables. Next to the stables was a comprehensive racetrack for horse racing and equestrian training.

To the left of the swimming pool was a row of tall warehouses for storing feed for cattle and sheep. Adjacent to the warehouses were the cattle and sheep pens.

Since there was no water source nearby, the ranch used a computer-controlled sprinkler irrigation system. Because it was early and the temperature wasn't too high, the cowboys took the opportunity to herd the cattle and sheep out to graze. The number of cattle and sheep was significant, with over 4,500 cattle, including nearly 1,000 breeding bulls, and over 6,000 sheep, mostly young ones.

The entire ranch was surrounded by forests, like a private little kingdom. There was only one road leading out, lined with two rows of French plane trees, which added a lot of color to the road.

Liu Yunxuan was very satisfied with the layout of the entire ranch. It seemed that large ranches were easier to plan. If his small ranch were to be set up like this, there probably wouldn't be much space for grazing.

The Citibank assessors also gave a high evaluation of the Gray Bear Ranch.

The remaining issue was how much they could negotiate the price down during the talks with the Gray Bear Ranch.

After two days of negotiations, the selling price of the Gray Bear Ranch was set at $21 million, still $1 million short of Liu Yunxuan's target price.

"Andy, it's going to be hard to negotiate that $1 million difference," Charlie said tiredly, sitting on the sofa.

"Andy, how about this: tomorrow, during the negotiations, we start with a $500,000 price reduction. We'll see how it goes for a day. If it still doesn't work, we might have to accept their price," Robert was also exhausted, given the large amount of money involved.

"Alright, let's try our best. Actually, their price is acceptable. If we miss this opportunity, all our hard work will be in vain," Liu Yunxuan said weakly.

The third day of negotiations went smoothly. Perhaps they were really eager to raise funds, and the final deal was made at $20.5 million.

When all three parties signed the contract, the stone in Liu Yunxuan's heart finally fell.

Immediately after, he felt a surge of joy. He had finally seized this opportunity.