Biao Biao and A Feng, though not involved in the construction industry, knew that sand mining was a lucrative business, albeit one with fierce competition. Fights over sand extraction sites, often involving weapons and resulting in fatalities, were commonplace.
Consequently, they didn't place much importance on sand mining, finding casino operations to be faster and less risky. At least in the Xunsi River area, they faced no competition from the underworld for their casinos.
"Brother Jian, since you've decided to withdraw from the casinos, we'll certainly follow your lead. However, could we postpone the withdrawal slightly? We still have some debts to collect, and withdrawing abruptly would make it more difficult."
Biao Biao offered a suggestion.
Yang Jian was a bit confused. "What does collecting debts have to do with withdrawing from the casinos? If we leave the casinos, the debtors can just come to us directly. What's so difficult about that?"
"Brother Jian, you don't understand. Some gamblers, after losing heavily and accumulating gambling debts, borrow money from multiple credit companies within the casino to continue gambling. On one hand, they hope to win, and on the other, they're trying to cover their tracks. They secretly use money from one credit company to pay off another. Therefore, some debts can only be collected at the casino."
"There's such a thing? Doesn't that mean they have to bear very high interest rates?"
Biao Biao proceeded to explain: "For professional gamblers, as long as they can borrow money, high interest rates are irrelevant. For example, if I borrow a hundred thousand from you today and lose it all, you won't lend me money again the next day and will demand repayment. If I can't repay, I'll have to pay interest.
So, I secretly borrow another hundred thousand from A Feng and start gambling. As soon as I win a hand, I'll first pay your interest and give you some 'red money' as a token of appreciation, which makes it awkward for you to pressure me.
If this hundred thousand is also lost, on the third day, I'll borrow money from another credit company. If I win, I'll pay the interest to you and A Feng and give you red money. The more generous I am, the more credit companies will lend me money, and you and A Feng might even continue lending to me.
"Although this will increase my total debt, I'll repay a portion if I win, thus gaining the trust of the credit companies. If I'm lucky, I might even clear all my gambling debts during the process.
Even if I'm unlucky, as long as I'm present in the casino daily, I can borrow money from credit companies. Because I'm generous, I've established trust with various credit companies. Even knowing I can't get money from outside to repay, they'd be happy for me to be in the casino every day, as they can recoup their capital solely through interest and red money, at least not losing money."
Yang Jian understood, but he also knew this was Biao Biao's excuse to prolong his time in the casino.
"Biao Biao, are you saying we should collect our principal through red money and interest before withdrawing?"
"Exactly. Starting today, we'll stop lending money and focus solely on collecting. Once we recover our principal, we'll withdraw immediately."
"How long will that take?"
"When is the cooperation date you set with Zhou Tao?"
"The auction is on the twenty-fifth of this month. We'll start cooperating once he secures the mining rights."
"Then let's say the twenty-fifth. Regardless of how much principal we've recovered, we'll all withdraw by then, how about that?"
Yang Jian pondered, recalling the expression and scene when Lu Jinsong had asked him to withdraw from the casinos that morning. He increasingly felt that something significant was about to happen.
When Lu Jinsong made this request, none of his family members spoke up, as if they all wished for his compliance.
Even Lu Hao only tried to smooth things over to avoid his embarrassment, without implying that his father was meddling.
This seemed to indicate that Lu Jinsong held considerable authority, and his sudden request had a deeper meaning, which Yang Jian couldn't fathom.
"Biao Biao, A Feng, we will withdraw from the casinos by the tenth at the latest. We'll collect as much principal as we can. For any unrecoverable amounts, we'll convert them to monthly interest."
Yang Jian no longer hesitated, making a decisive resolution. Firstly, his sense of crisis had intensified. Secondly, the funds he currently had were sufficient to sustain the operation of various projects.
Chunfeng Tower had already paid over two million, and with the two million rent from Han Hua Group, the funding gap was not large. At worst, they could delay the payment for Yu Feng's commercial concrete or use molds as collateral.
With an additional investment of over a million in the mold factory, coupled with Li Jin's monthly settlements, the cash flow was gradually smoothing out.
Some funds had also been allocated to road construction. The remaining payments would be made at the end of the year when the government appropriations arrived, posing no significant pressure.
As for the investment in the agricultural and sideline products trading company, it wasn't urgent yet. The available funds could cover the initial construction of the processing plant and cold storage. If absolutely necessary, Lu Hao could provide assistance.
Furthermore, the loan promised by the town mayor should be obtainable before the end of the year.
Considering all these factors, Yang Jian felt that the time was ripe to withdraw from the casinos and lead his brothers into legitimate businesses. It was time to retreat while ahead and cash out successfully.
Seeing Yang Jian's firm resolve, A Feng could only nod. "Alright, Brother Jian, you call the shots. We'll withdraw on the tenth. Should we inform Li Jin in advance?"
"Let's wait until after the Golden Week holiday. I'll talk to him then."
"Okay, then for the time being, we'll focus all our efforts on collecting debts. Starting now, we won't lend out any more money."
"Not only will we not lend money, but we should also distribute the daily profits to our personal accounts. I suggest you all transfer the money to your family members' bank accounts. Don't keep too much money in your own."
"Brother Jian, aren't you being a bit too cautious? It's as if you think we'll be caught by the police any moment."
Yang Jian shook his head. "I can't say for sure, but I just feel it's safer to do this. We won't lose anything anyway. Just listen to me and transfer the funds. Biao Biao, transfer my share of the profits directly to the factory's account. Have the accountant record it as mold sales, and we'll pay some taxes to the government."
He had learned quite a bit from Jiang Bin at home recently, including knowledge about money laundering.
He hadn't known before, but Jiang Bin had told him that people like them who ran large casinos were easily targeted by the police. Once caught, their bank funds or even cash would surely be frozen or confiscated as illegal income.
The best way to handle this was to launder these illicit earnings through trade. With proper accounting and a pass through the tax authorities, the money could be spent with peace of mind.
Hearing this, Biao Biao also became a little scared. "Brother Jian, how about we transfer all of our money into the mold factory's account? We can then draw money from the mold factory."
"It's up to individual preference. For those willing to go through the mold factory's accounts, I'll cover the taxes, so you won't incur any losses. For those who aren't, we'll distribute the profits directly. After withdrawing from the casinos, we'll discuss future investments in detail. I'll also need Lu Hao's advice then; his foresight is definitely better than all of ours."