She Outshines Them All

She Outshines 316

At night, the Donovan family was celebrating Josie’s sixth birthday. Matthew was carrying out his routine of checking in on the Donovan family at least once a month. He asked, “How’s Brandon’s company doing?”

He had been taking Athena out for dinner every week in Kitmore City. He stayed at the Donovan family farm once a month, so he had a decent understanding of Donovan’s Restaurant and Donovan’s Farmland. For everything else, he got updates from Louis.

Louis responded, “Ever since Donovan High–tech landed that big order from Hastron Group, their Al products have become quite famous and are selling very well in the market.

“But the original production workshop is too small, and the company’s production capacity is weak, so they can’t meet the demands. Many of their components have to be outsourced to contractors or other manufacturers.

“Brandon has high standards for his products. However, powerful manufacturers aren’t interested in orders from a small company like Donovan High–tech, while those that are willing to take on such orders often lack the equipment or capability to meet his standards.”

Louis continued, “Brandon wants to bring in a world–class, fully integrated production line to handle everything from R&D to production, assembly, and testing, but this requires a huge amount of capital.

“Some expensive equipment would only be used to make small, low–cost parts and wouldn’t be very practical. Because of this, his idea has faced strong opposition from his partners.”

He added, “To convince them, he proposed two solutions. First, he would be responsible for raising the funds for the production line while keeping all salaries and benefits unchanged. Second, once the production line is fully operational, any idle equipment could be used to take on external orders to avoid waste and losses.

“Even so, several partners still felt his idea was too aggressive and risky, and they strongly opposed it. Only one unconditionally supported him. At this point, he’s in quite the dilemma.”

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Louis added a bit of gossip, “That one partner who unconditionally supports him is Lindsay Dudley, a classmate from his time studying abroad in Aeloria. She seems to like him, and there’s some ambiguity in their relationship.”

Matthew wasn’t interested in Brandon’s personal life. He only cared about his business. “How much investment does he need for these production lines?”

Louis, being a top–tier secretary, had all the details. “At least 100 million dollars, not including land and factory space.”

Donovan High–tech’s total assets wouldn’t even reach 20 million dollars, so an additional 100 million investment was indeed a crazy leap.

“Brandon is certainly ambitious.” A look of appreciation flickered in Matthew’s eyes. “Call him right now and tell him I’ll invest 120 million dollars in one go. Ask him if he dares to accept it.”

Louis hesitated for only two seconds before responding, “I’ll call him now.”

He walked out of Matthew’s office.

Two minutes later, he returned and respectfully reported, “Brandon says he’s extremely grateful. If you dare to invest, he will accept it.”

Louis felt Matthew’s investment was a bit wild, but Matthew wasn’t short on a few hundred million dollars. Even if it were a loss in the end, he could consider it part of a gift to the Donovan family.

Matthew nodded, then asked, “What about Wesley’s side of things?”

Louis replied, “The third phase of Bard Property’s housing development goes on pre–sale in two days.

“Since the quality of the first and second phase homes was good, and the property management has earned a solid reputation, many buyers are very interested in Bard Property’s houses. It’s expected that the pre–sale of the third phase will do well, bringing in some funds to help finance the construction of the fourth phase.”

He continued, “But there is a situation. There’s a plot of land next to Bard Property. It’s not large, but you could build a dozen buildings on it.

“The landowner bought it at a low price eight years ago, intending to profit from the success of the old Bard Property and develop a small housing complex.

“But when the old Bard Property failed, it caused property values in the area to drop, and the development of that land was delayed.”

He added, “Now, the area has been revived by the new Bard Property, but the landowner is heavily in debt and still doesn’t have the money to develop it. He wants to sell the land at a fair price to Bard Property.

“Wesley is planning to rally the company’s full resources to buy that land and develop it into housing. That’s the full report.” After finishing, Louis focused on his breathing, waiting for Matthew’s decision.

Matthew tapped his fingers lightly on the table and shook his head slightly. “Real estate has been appreciating for nearly twenty years, but the bubble is too big. I predict that in two to three years, the real estate sector will face a crisis and reveal its true state. At that time, many companies lacking sufficient strength or with high debt ratios will go bankrupt.

“So, for the next few years, he cannot venture further into real estate.”

Louis was momentarily stunned.

From his position, he was certainly aware of both domestic and international economic conditions.

The domestic real estate industry had a serious bubble and high debt ratios. However, there had been many predictions of a decline in real estate over the past twenty years, but the industry had never truly faced a major blow.

In fact, even during economic downturns or crises, real estate remained one of the most resilient industries.

Louis himself had made a considerable profit from buying property. He couldn’t quite see how this booming real estate market could face a wave of bankruptcies in just two or three years.

Of course, Matthew had been involved in investments since a young age and had never lost, so Louis dared not question him. He asked, “Shall I subtly find a way to remind him and help him drop the idea?”

Matthew pondered for a few seconds. “You don’t carry enough weight.”

Louis went speechless. However, he thought Matthew was right, so he was not offended.

Matthew picked up his phone and dialed a number. “Mr. Frowick, I’d like to ask you for a favor.”

He didn’t hide the conversation from Louis and directly explained his intentions to Ethan Frowick,

Louis’s eyes twitched nervously as he listened. He knew well who Ethan was

Ethan was the CEO of one of the top real estate companies in the country, a big figure whose decisions could shake the real estate world. And yet, Matthew was actually calling on him to guide Wesley.

For the sake of his future father–in–law, Matthew was going all out.

Naturally, a big player like Ethan wasn’t going to accept Matthew’s prediction of an unprecedented crisis in the real estate

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industry in the next two or three years without some debate.

Thus, the two of them engaged in a debate over the phone that lasted for more than an hour. Louis listened, astonished and deeply impressed.

The depth and insight of their discussion were remarkable, and if word got out, it would surely cause a stir in the industry.

At first, Louis doubted Matthew’s perspective. But after hearing their debate, he was convinced that the real estate sector’s good times were nearing an end.

In the end, Ethan was persuaded by Matthew. “Your analysis makes a lot of sense. It looks like I’ll have to prepare ahead as well and brace myself for the super cold winter in the real estate industry. As a return favor, I’ll give your elder a hand.” Content is © by NôvelDrama.Org.