Billings, a city with a population of over 100,000.
It is an industrial and commercial center for livestock and irrigated agriculture areas. The main industries include food processing (dairy products, meat, sugar), oil processing, agricultural machinery, etc. Nearby Indian ruins, famous cave carvings...
Although it is said to be a city, it is actually a village. However, the greenery is very good, especially in the hill villa area, where there are beautiful small western-style buildings and each household has a neatly repaired yard, which looks very pleasing to the eye.
Bai Xiaoou went out to work before dawn, and Zhang Kun took Chen Mo to visit the city...
No wonder many people like to go to the United States, which is vast and sparsely populated. A city seems to be built in a forest... But in the city, you can see rolling desolate hills in the distance, brown soil, and sparse vegetation.
As dry and desolate as you can imagine.
There are very few people in Billings.
There are very few vehicles on the spacious street...
"Billings is just like this. It has a small population and is deserted. It's not as lively as the towns in China..." Zhang Kun drove a BMW Z4 with a metallic silver convertible.
April in Montana is still a bit cold. It was about 10 degrees in the morning. The car did not open the convertible and the air conditioner was turned on. Chen Mo took a ride in the passenger seat and felt quite good...
"The life you and Lao Bai live in is corrupt."
"This car was given to me for free. It's not a luxury car... The beggar's version of the 2009 model was given to me last year..."
"It's pretty good, at least it's an open trot. If I had known better, I would have come here a few years ago and eaten meat with you." Chen Mo smiled and lit a cigarette.
Zhang Kun shrugged his shoulders: "The 2009 beggar version of the Z4 only costs US$35,000 as a new car. The second-hand car collected by Laobai shop has run nearly 100,000 miles and only costs US$5,500. American cars are cheap, especially the beggar configuration.
Car models... That guy from Lao Bai is what I call luxury. He has a 13-model Daniu and an Audi R8 at home. However, they are also second-hand cars. The two cars add up to 400,000 US dollars..."
"How much is Lao Bai's net worth?" Chen Mo was more interested in this.
"A millionaire. He has shares in tii investment company. He is a small shareholder, but he owes a lot of money to the bank. His net worth should be close to 3 million US dollars. I also work at tii investment company, with a monthly salary of 7,000 US dollars. I am famous throughout the United States.
It's pretty good. It's all thanks to Lao Bai who protects me..." Zhang Kun drove the car to the pizza shop, bought breakfast and came back. While eating, he continued: "I'll go to the car dealership later to have a look. When Lao Bai went out in the morning
As I said, if you like the car in the dealership, just drive away and give it to you as a gift."
Chen Mo raised a smile: "That guy..."
Zhang Kun also smiled: "He was the best with you when we were in high school. We often talked about you and things in high school here in the United States. Thinking about that time, it was really wonderful..."
"Who says it's not?" Chen Mo also sighed with emotion.
After breakfast, Zhang Kun drove to the second-hand car dealership.
The car dealership is very large, covering an area of more than ten acres, with car maintenance, warehouses, and open-air parking lots. There are probably thirty or forty cars for sale outside. Some of the cars look very old, and they can be sold for only a few hundred dollars.
…
Parked in the warehouse were good cars, with prices starting at US$10,000. Chen Mo also saw an orange-red Corvette sports car, which was super handsome. It was priced at US$48,590.
Chen Mo knew Bai Xiaoou's character, and it was no joke when he said that he would give Chen Mo one. If he didn't take it, the guy would be unhappy... After looking around, Chen Mo chose a Ford Raptor that was almost 90% new and sold it.
Priced at US$45,500, it is considered a very expensive car in a used car dealership.
This car is a top-of-the-line model. The new car sells for about $53,000 and has only traveled less than 7,000 miles: "How could such a good car be sold? Could it be an accident car..."
"I'm dizzy." Zhang Kun rolled his eyes: "The owner of the car is a rich man. He has a ranch here. He sold it some time ago. This car was naturally sold as well. Don't worry, it's not an accident car...
"
The top-of-the-line Ford Raptor is the same as the one Bai Xiaoou drove yesterday, a two-door version. His one is black, this one is white...
The white raptor looks more dignified and majestic. Chen Mo really likes this color...
There is a staff member in the car dealership who is Chinese, named Zhou Donglai, who is in his forties.
The development project in the large pastoral area that Bai Xiaoou was responsible for ran into big trouble. It seemed that some ancient relics of the local aboriginal people had been destroyed. The aboriginal Indians protested at the city government...
Bai Xiaoou was not free in the next few days, and Zhang Kun was also very busy because of this matter. Chen Mo wandered around Billings, and occasionally went to the car dealership to chat with Zhou Donglai and practice American oral English.
A few days later, the matter was resolved perfectly. The larger ruins were discovered, and tii paid to enclose the land and build it into an Indian Heritage Park.
After Bai Xiaoou finished his work, he finally started to select the ranch.
Chen Mo has 8.63 million US dollars in cash and wants to buy a ranch. The price is between 5 million and 6.5 million. He needs to leave some money to run the ranch, just in case.
Based on the price, Bai Xiaoou selected three pastures for Chen Mo. One is in the west, in the valley of the Little Rocky Mountains, with an area of 350 hectares. It is only ten minutes away from the town and has convenient transportation. The asking price is 6 million, and Bai Xiaoou said that he can buy it for 5 million.
.
The other one is in the north of Great Falls, covering an area of 1,395 hectares, a plain, with pasture areas and pasture irrigation areas. The asking price is 7 million, and it should be possible to negotiate 6.5 million.
The last one is less than 10 kilometers west of Judithga, 170 kilometers from Billings, and about 230 kilometers from Helena...the transportation is also convenient.
This is a large pasture, 2,350 hectares, with 300 hectares of land with irrigation water rights, 950 hectares of grazing area, and the rest is a densely forested mountain... I heard from Bai Xiaoou that ginseng is planted in the mountains and forests of the pasture.
Except for the land with irrigation water rights and a small stream, the rest of the land is dry and desolate, much like the Gobi Desert seen on TV.
The rancher's house is not luxurious, and there is a stable. The cattle farm has three dilapidated cowsheds, which can raise more than two hundred cows. The pasture fence is also very old...
But such a ranch actually costs $11 million.
The most valuable thing about the ranch should be the construction and machinery. But the total value of all the equipment and buildings on this ranch will never exceed 1 million. The main reason is the good location...
The name of the ranch is Snow Mountain Ranch, with Roger Snow Mountain in the background. As long as the weather conditions are not particularly bad, you can see the bare, rocky Roger Snow Mountain from the ranch.
"It's a good place to invest. If there were no trade frictions, the Snow Mountain Ranch would be quoted at least 20 million (non-transaction price). The Snow Mountain Ranch is suitable for conversion into a vacation ranch, and it is a land that rich people like to collect." Bai Xiaoou led Chen Mo
Went to the pasture for a walk.
The building facilities are very poor, the environment is very good...
"I only have 8.63 million. To buy a ranch, I have to leave at least 1 million in working capital." Chen Mo doesn't like loans. The so-called debt-free life is light, but carrying debt always feels unreliable.
"The ranch doesn't need much operating capital. Is it enough to leave 500,000? I estimate that 8 million can be negotiated."
"OK."
This land has been abandoned for a long time. It should be very good to take care of it carefully.
Next came Bai Xiaoou's performance, where he began to negotiate with the rancher and found fault with all the shortcomings of the ranch...
The rancher is a native of Wisconsin and comes from Marathon County. Marathon County is famous for marathon events and is a major agricultural county. It grows 10% of the world's American ginseng production and 95% of the U.S. production...
The rancher's family comes from Marathon County and is the largest ginseng growing family in the area. No, due to Sino-US trade issues, the ginseng farmers in this county can be said to be suffering from blood mold. The rancher's family needs a large amount of funds to maintain the normal operation of the head office and has no choice but to
I just decided to sell this property...
Similar situations occur in various agricultural regions in the United States, and are not uncommon.
Investing in agriculture is very risky now, and no one knows how long the trade war will last. The rancher quoted US$11 million, which is the listing price of the intermediary company. If the transaction is successful, the intermediary company will take a 5% commission, which is 550,000.
.This part of the money can be saved completely...
Bai Xiaoou was in charge of the bargaining, from 11 million to 9 million. The rancher refused to lower the price, but it was because the harvest season of ginseng in the mountains and forests of the ranch was about to come.
9 million, and I won’t lower the price no matter what.
Although Chen Mo liked this place very much, he had no choice but to give up because he didn't have enough money and didn't want to take out a loan. He visited two other ranches.
The buildings in the other two ranches are much more luxurious, with villas and stables... When you buy a ranch, you have to pay the price of including everything in the ranch.
The Snow Mountain Ranch is indeed good, but there are no horses in the stables and no cows in the cowshed. Except for ginseng, it is an empty pasture... But why do you plant ginseng in a pasture? I will convince you. You must know the climate in Montana.
The soil seems not suitable for growing American ginseng.
Just when Chen Mo was about to buy the 1,395-hectare ranch in Great Falls, there was a call from Snow Mountain Ranch, agreeing to the previous offer... 7.9 million. But the transaction needed to be completed as soon as possible...
The facilities of Snow Mountain Ranch are not good, but the environment is good and the potential for appreciation is better.
The next step is to contact a lawyer, finalize the contract, complete the transaction...then prepare the investment materials and go to the Immigration Bureau to apply for a temporary green card...