The King of Shanghai Read Online Free PDF Page A

asked.
    “Of course.”
    Ava climbed up onto the stool next to May’s. The bartender was in front of her in a flash.
    “Prosecco,” she said.
    “And another martini,” May said.
    “Will Amanda be joining us?” Ava asked.
    “No, she can’t get away from Pudong. She said they’re putting the final touches on the pitch they’ll make to us tomorrow. I have to say, it’s all quite mysterious.”
    “It has certainly piqued my curiosity.”
    “Me too.”
    “And your day with Suki was just so-so?”
    “It was mainly positive. The money we invested in Suki’s business is already reaping dividends. Our timing was good, I think. She’s very aggressive. She’s opened a couple of new warehouses and she’s added to the truck fleet. She tells me that we now have the largest privately owned storage and distribution business in Shanghai. Not that she’s satisfied with that.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “She wants to get bigger and better. A cold-storage facility is the next thing on her horizon. They aren’t cheap to build, but there’s a shortage. We’d fill it to capacity the day we opened.”
    “How much more money would we have to put up?”
    “For the cold storage, or for everything else she wants to do on top of that?” May said wryly. “I’m afraid we’ve unleashed a bit of a tiger in Suki. For years she was strapped for cash, and her husband’s lack of ambition didn’t help. Since he died and we gave her the money, she’s seen what she’s capable of.”
    The waiter placed two drinks in front of them. May finished her first martini and picked up the fresh one. “ Gan bei ,” she said.
    “Cheers.”
    “The thing about the cold-storage warehouse,” May said after they had each taken a sip of their drinks, “is that we can pay for it by reinvesting our profits. We don’t have to put up any new money.”
    “I like your idea.”
    “Me too, and it isn’t mine — it’s Suki’s. She’s quite driven, that woman, very intense, and she keeps right up to date. She’s installed every new system she can find to make the business more efficient,” May said.
    “So you’re obviously comfortable with her cold-storage proposal.”
    “Yes, but that isn’t her only idea.”
    “So you said. What else does she have in mind?”
    “She wants to expand the Shanghai business and extend her reach to Beijing,” May said.
    “The cold storage isn’t enough?”
    “No. She says we have to keep growing to keep pace with the economy. Pudong is booming, and Shanghai has come roaring back. There are more than twenty million people living in this immediate area. The need for logistics — for trucking and warehousing and distribution networks — has never been greater. The manufacturing sector keeps expanding, and the more products that are made, the more need to be warehoused and shipped. Changxing and I experienced the same phenomenon in Wuhan and Hubei, but it was a more manageable growth. Here it’s crazy, and the costs are greater.”
    “From what I’ve read, she already has the largest operation in Shanghai.”
    “I know, but she wants to get bigger yet. And she’s not wrong. If you stand still you’ll get run over by the competition.”
    “Let her continue to invest our profits.”
    “Our profit margins are healthy, and they’ll get even stronger if we can throw up the cold storage quickly, but she still wants more money.”
    Ava finished her Prosecco and passed the glass to the bartender. “I’ll have another.”
    The bartender looked at May.
    “No, we’re going out to dinner and I want to be able to walk to the restaurant.”
    “What’s this about Beijing?” Ava said when the bartender left.
    “There’s a warehouse and distribution company on the outskirts of the city that a friend of hers owns. He’s ready to retire and he wants to sell the business to someone he knows, someone who values the effort he’s put into it.”
    “How much money would that entail?” Ava