The Goddess of Yantai Read online

  “She’s tough enough, if that’s what you mean, and I take that as a compliment,” Suki said. “But when she asked me about you, I told her not to be fooled by your age or your appearance. I told her that you’re tougher than her and me put together.”

  Ava glanced sideways. Suki returned the look.

  “I’ve heard enough stories about you. Why do you think I wanted you and May Ling as my partners?” Suki said.

  ( 7 )

  The day proceeded with a boredom that reminded Ava of her earliest jobs. She had graduated from York University in Toronto and then from Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts, with degrees in general and forensic accounting. Her first two employers had been large international accounting firms, but the jobs didn’t last long. Ava wasn’t very good at taking orders, and the firms had no interest in doing things the way she thought they should be done. So they parted ways and for a short time she had her own one-woman firm, catering mainly to friends referred by her mother. One of those contacts, though, had resulted in a debt-collection job that took her to Hong Kong and eventually led to her first encounter with Uncle. Now, as she sat in the Suns’ boardroom going through years of consolidated statements, Ava couldn’t help feeling grateful for her escape from traditional accounting.

  The Suns hadn’t understated the information they were making available. There were stacks of it, suitable enough, Ava thought, for a business that they’d spent thirty years developing. She focused on the last five years and directed most of her questions to Suki. When Suki couldn’t provide an answer, they called in Mrs. Sun. And when she couldn’t answer, they talked to one of the in-house accountants.

  After a couple of hours, Ava knew she was looking at a well-run, profitable business, but she also knew that she shouldn’t be too quick to say so. If there was still price haggling to be done, some seeds of doubt had to be planted. Besides, by one o’clock she was hungry.

  “I can’t drink any more tea. I need something to eat. Is there a restaurant nearby?” she asked.

  “I think they’ve organized some food to be brought in,” Suki said.

  “When?”

  “One-thirty.”

  “Please ask Mrs. Sun to make sure that happens.”

  Suki left the boardroom and returned a few minutes later. “The food will be here in a few minutes,” she said. “They’ll join us to eat, and they’ll ask what we think about the business.”

  “They want six hundred million renminbi for it?”

  “Yes.”

  “What do you think it is worth?”

  “A bit less, but not by much.”

  “What will they get if they go into the open market?”

  “I expect they’d get that, but I doubt if it would all be in cash. Most of the other operators around here are highly le­veraged, and the Suns would get offers that involved installment payments or shares in a company.”

  “I think six hundred million is high, but let me go over the latest financials again,” Ava said.

  “Does something trouble you about them?”

  “I didn’t see any depreciation of their trucks and other equipment in the last statement, and I think the estimated increase in the value of their real estate holdings is very aggressive.”

  “We need to get an independent assessment of the real estate,” Suki said.

  “I’d rather get three assessments and average them. There’s less chance of either side being short-changed if we do. The Suns can’t really argue with that.”

  “It will slow things down.”

  “I know, but I have no difficulty with reaching an agreement in principle on a price after the depreciation is put in. In terms of the real estate, for now we can use their evaluation, with the understanding that it will be adjusted after the assessments.”

  “What do you want to offer?”

  “That depends on how badly you want to acquire the business.”

  “They operate in parts of the north that no one else really serves. It will open up markets for some of our Shanghai customers, and vice versa. It will benefit us in far more ways than just making money from their current business — and that’s profitable enough as it is. So I want us to buy it, but I agree that the price has to be right.”

  “Would you be comfortable, and the Suns not insulted, if we offered five hundred and fifty million?”

  “Cash?”

  “Yes, we can do that.”

  “And that amount would be subject to a final real estate evaluation?”

  “Yes,” Ava said. “I would also need to talk to their bank to confirm some of the other numbers in their financials.”

  “That would be expected, and I have one more warehouse to visit. My plan was to finish that later today. Do you want to join me?”

  “No, thank you. I can’t imagine I’d have anything to contribute. You know your business, Suki. What I know are numbers.”

  Suki turned her head towards the door as voices were heard outside. “What do you want me to tell them when they join us?”

  “That we’re impressed and we’re prepared to make an offer subject to agreement on finalizing a real estate value, and assuming that no surprises are uncovered this afternoon.”

  “They’ll be happy enough with that,” Suki said, and then added as the door opened, “We won’t regret doing this deal.”

  Two young women entered the boardroom carrying trays that were loaded with food. Mr. and Mrs. Sun and their accountant followed them in. As Mrs. Sun supervised organization of the food, plates, cups, and chopsticks, Ava turned on her phone and saw she had two text messages. The first, from Fai, said, Chen managed to convince Mo to wait two days for an answer. Miss you. The other, from Lop, read, Call me.

  “Excuse me for a moment. I have to make a quick call,” Ava said. She stepped into the hallway, moved away from the boardroom door, and pressed Lop’s number.

  “Hello. Is this xaio lao ban calling me?” he answered.

  Ava smiled. Xaio lao ban meant “little boss.” It was a term that some of Xu’s men — and Xu himself when she wasn’t present — often used to refer to her. She was surprised and pleased that Lop respected her enough to say it. “Is this the Dragon Head of Wanchai?” she said.

  “Not by title — that’s still Sammy Wing. And not in the power I have — that still flows from Xu.”

  Lop said it lightly, but Ava wondered if she’d been insensitive. Xu’s Shanghai gang had taken control of Wanchai the year before but had left Wing, its former boss, in place as a figurehead. Lop ran the day-to-day operations, but obviously Xu was directing the broader business. “All I know is what I’m told,” Ava said, “which is that you’re doing a fantastic job there.”

  “Thank you for saying that,” he said. “When I spoke to Xu this morning, he implied you might need my help.”

  “I hope he did more than imply.”

  “I didn’t want to be too presumptuous.”

  “I’m not embarrassed to say that I most definitely need your help, and I’m delighted that you phoned.”

  “He mentioned the China Movie Syndicate and some guy named Mo.”

  “Mo seems to be the source of my problem.”

  Lop paused and Ava heard the sound of traffic in the background. She imagined him walking back and forth while he was talking to her; she’d never seen him be still for more than a minute at a time. “If it is Mo, you’re dealing with someone who’s really connected. His cousin is Zhang Jinlong; he’s number four of seven members of the Politburo Standing Committee. Zhang is responsible for propaganda and ideology. He appointed Mo.”

  “That explains some things,” Ava said.

  “Xu said you need to lean on Mo.”

  “I do.”

  “Well, I don’t think you’ll be able to do it through the government, like you did with Tsai. Zhang will protect him
, and Zhang is well beyond our reach.”

  “What does that leave us?”

  “We’ll have to get personal.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Xu said that you need Mo to stop harassing Pang Fai and to distribute that new film of hers.”

  “That’s what I want.”

  “Then we need to find something we can use against him,” Lop said. “And something that will intimidate or embarrass him enough that he won’t go running to his cousin.”

  “What are you proposing?”

  “I don’t have an idea yet. I’ve just started gathering information about him.”

  “So when do think you’ll have something?”

  “It had better be by tomorrow morning, because you and I have a meeting scheduled with Mo at one o’clock tomorrow afternoon at his office in Beijing.”

  “Are you serious?” Ava said.

  “I just assumed that meeting with him face-to-face would be something you’d want to happen,” he said. “And Xu said you wanted to move quickly, so I called some friends.”

  “Military?”

  “That’s the only type of friends I have in Beijing. They arranged it.”

  “Do they know the reason we want to meet with Mo?”

  “No reason was necessary.”

  “What did they tell Mo about us?”

  “Only that we were friends and that I needed to talk to him.”

  “And that got us an appointment?”

  “The friend who made the call is a prominent general in the PLA. He emphasized my military background and said he would consider it a personal favour if Mo gave me and a friend fifteen minutes of his time.”

  “That’s terrific. When do you arrive in Beijing?”

  “Tomorrow morning at ten,” he said.

  “Where do you want to meet?”

  “Their office is in Chaoyang, the business district.”

  “That’s close to the Hotel Éclat. Why don’t you go there directly from the airport. I’ll meet you in the lobby.”

  “If my flight is on time, I could be there by eleven. It will give us a chance to talk.”

  “I hope you’ll have some useful information to share by then,” she said.

  “It isn’t actually me who’s gathering it,” he said. “Some other friends are doing that for us, and they’re good.”

  “Then I look forward to tomorrow morning. Call me if there are any delays. Otherwise, I’ll see you at the Éclat.”

  She ended the conversation feeling more confident than when it had started. If Lop’s connections were powerful enough to open Mo’s door, it was up to her to make the best use of the time they’d been given. She thought of Lop’s remark about intimidating Mo and smiled. There wasn’t much in her mind that was off-limits when it came to doing that.

  ( 8 )

  It was almost five o’clock when Ava left the Suns’ offices. There hadn’t been much discussion while they ate lunch, but as soon as the last chopstick was put down, Mrs. Sun asked Ava, “What do you think you’re going to do about our business?”

  “I’m going to leave it to Suki to explain our position,” Ava replied.

  Mrs. Sun frowned, and Ava realized that her choice of words may have sounded negative. “By that I mean Suki will go over our offer with you,” she added.

  Suki nodded, her face sombre. She shuffled some papers in front of her and then leaned towards the Suns. “We think the business is worth five hundred million,” she said. “But that’s only if the real estate is worth what you claim.”

  The Suns exchanged looks that went from shock to disappointment to something approaching anger. “We wanted six hundred and fifty. We were willing to settle for six hundred only because it was you, Suki,” Mrs. Sun said.

  “The numbers don’t justify that kind of price, and we have doubts about the real estate valuation,” Suki said.

  “You must be looking at different numbers than us,” Mrs. Sun said.

  And so began more than two hours of haggling between Suki and Ms. Sun, with everyone else in the role of interested bystander. This was the first time Ava had been party to this kind of negotiation with Suki, and she quickly became impressed with how low-key, patient, persistent, and stubborn she was. Mrs. Sun was more emotional, twice storming out of the room. When she did, Suki just sighed and waited for her to return. It’s like watching theatre, Ava thought.

  Mrs. Sun was the first to blink, when after an hour-long stalemate she lowered her asking price by ten million. Suki countered by going up ten million, and then slowly the two sides moved towards the RMB550 million offer she had agreed on with Ava.

  “But if I take that price, you’ll have to accept the real estate valuation as is,” Mrs. Sun said.

  Suki looked at Ava.

  “Mrs. Sun, we want to be fair, but the real estate is a large component of the purchase. I just want to be certain we’re paying market price. We’ve suggested getting three independent assessments. We’re prepared to average them and pay whatever that amount is, even if it is more than what you’re currently asking,” Ava said.

  “I don’t see how you can argue against a proposal like that,” said Suki.

  “Would whatever you pay be entirely in cash?” Mr. Sun asked.

  He had been so quiet that Ava had almost forgotten he was there. “Yes.”

  “And would you send it to any bank that we designate?”

  “Certainly.”

  “Then I’m okay with the offer and the way it’s structured,” he said to his wife.

  Mrs. Sun shot him an annoyed look, but he didn’t flinch, staring back at her. She turned to Suki. “I guess we have an agreement in principle.”

  “That’s wonderful,” Suki said, a broad smile splitting her face.

  Both Suns smiled as well. “But we still have to decide how we choose those independent assessors,” Mrs. Sun said.

  “What I suggest is that we get a phone book, select three companies, call them together, and give them their instructions,” Suki said.

  After all the hours she’d spent fighting over every renminbi, Ava couldn’t believe that Mrs. Sun would accept such a random solution.

  “That sounds good to me,” Mrs. Sun said. “Let’s do it now.”

  Ava looked at her watch and saw it was four-thirty. During the negotiations she had been so absorbed that she’d lost track of time. Now Lop popped into her head, and she wondered how he was progressing.

  “You’ll join us for a celebratory dinner tonight?” Mr. Sun said to her and Suki.

  “Yes,” Suki said.

  Ava began to say no and then caught herself. It would be insulting to the Suns and disappointing for Suki. “Yes, of course. But I have another issue I’m dealing with and I need to make some private phone calls first.”

  “Is the issue important?” Mr. Sun said.

  “It’s rather urgent, and truthfully, I don’t know how long I’ll be tied up.”

  “Would you prefer to have dinner tomorrow night?” he asked. “We still have some work to do here and we haven’t made any reservations. It might be better for everyone.”

  “That’s very considerate of you. Tomorrow would be preferable.”

  “Do you want to make your calls from here?”

  “I’m staying with a friend in Xicheng. I think I’d rather do it from there.”

  “We’ll have our driver take you,” Mr. Sun said.

  After a round of handshakes, Mr. Sun left the boardroom to get the driver. Ava and Suki followed him, several paces behind.

  “You did an amazing job,” Ava said to Suki.

  “Will you call May Ling and Amanda to let them know we have an agreement?”

  “No, I think you should do that. It’s your deal.”

  Suki nodded, a satisfied look on her fa
ce.

  The driver was already at the warehouse entrance when they arrived. “Where shall I tell him you’re going?” Mr. Sun said.

  “I don’t actually know the exact address,” Ava said, feeling instantly silly. “Let me call my friend.”

  Fai answered immediately. “I’ve been waiting for you to phone.”

  “We just finished our meeting and I’m heading back to the house, but I don’t know your address. I’ll pass my cell to the driver so you can give him instructions. Don’t hang up after you do, so we can talk.”

  A moment later the driver passed Ava’s cell back to her and opened the back door of the SUV. She climbed in, with the phone stuck to her ear. “I got your text. Did Chen have any problems with Mo?” she said.

  “He was abusive as usual, but Chen was persistent.”

  “I hope you thanked him.”

  “For doing his job? I don’t think so. Besides, when it comes to choices between me and Mo, I’m quite sure that Chen takes Mo’s side most often. I’m not his only client, after all, and he can’t do much for any of the others without the support of the Syndicate.”

  “You know best.”

  “In this case, I do.”

  “We’ll have to talk about Mo tonight,” Ava said.

  “Why?”

  “I’m meeting him tomorrow at one o’clock. I need to know more about him; I need to understand what motivates him.”

  “You’re meeting with him? How did that happen?”

  “Through a friend of a friend.”

  “Does Mo know we’re connected?”

  “Of course not, but after tomorrow he will. If we handle it properly, that shouldn’t make any difference to your future. But if we misread the situation or botch the meeting, it’s possible it could. Are you okay with that?”

  “I’m not backing down. Whatever happens, happens.”

  “Good,” Ava said, just as her phone vibrated. She saw the call was from Lop. “Fai, I have a call I have to take. I’ll see you in a while.”

  “Ava, its Lop. How strong are your North American connections?”