Chapter 216: Categorize, Refine, Split

On Tuesday morning, Lynch held a shareholders’ meeting.

Mark, the tall, thin man; Asel; and other local investors arrived at the company’s conference room. Representatives from the Kurland City investors also showed up.

Though called a shareholders’ meeting, there were only about eight people, but the name stood regardless of attendance.

Sitting in the chairman’s seat, all eyes were on Lynch. He skimmed through the materials for a minute or two before turning his full attention to the meeting.

“There are two main topics for discussion today. First, the next phase of development plans…” he began, watching those around the table.

The Kurland City representative appeared indifferent but prepared to relay the meeting honestly, with a notebook and pen ready.

Mark looked tired. Rumor had it Lynch was doing well lately. Mark held many food coupons, and his food factory had taken on production contracts. For people now, food coupons were equivalent to money. Every bag Mark produced was money; his factory was like a money-printing machine.

Recently, Mark had been close to two female hosts from Sabin City TV. From his weary look, dealing with those women wasn’t easy. It was unfortunate for the ordinary people who idolized the hosts.

Local investors showed little expression, mostly worried. The financial crisis had hit them hard; life was tough for all.

Asel looked inconspicuous but was smart. He and Lynch exchanged little eye contact, though everyone knew their relationship was unusual.

After shifting his gaze from the last person, Lynch started the main topic.

“The growth speed of the Interstellar Trading Company is obvious. Even during the early strike phase, our operations never stopped. The strike actually proved my model’s success, so the strike didn’t impact us much.”

He meant cooperation—everyone was his partner. He had no employees; if they struck, they only lost their wages. Lynch bore no loss; only they did.

This kept the company running smoothly, surviving the strike crisis in an almost unimaginable way.

Nods around the table acknowledged this truth.

After a pause, Lynch continued, “Next, the company will enter a faster growth phase. The double blow of strikes and economic hardship will strain most families. Demand will rise, budgets will shrink, and a large amount of goods will flood the market.”

“Not only ordinary families but some factories and capitalists are going bankrupt. They will also be targets.”

“Buying more goods at lower prices and selling at profitable prices means we only face short-term capital tie-up.”

“But this creates a problem: if our purchase speed exceeds our sales speed, capital will pile up in warehouses, which I cannot accept.”

“So I have an idea: split our main business—the secondhand goods auction—into two separate parts: a secondhand goods trading and a secondhand goods auction…”

A young woman acting as temporary secretary began distributing detailed materials Lynch had prepared, outlining the effects and possibilities of the split.

The materials were impressive, with realistic, detailed research data and clear charts.

Research showed that bosses preferred visual data like bar and line charts over dense text.

“After splitting, the regular secondhand market won’t tie up much capital. We just provide space and collect fees.”

“Based on auction records, we will focus more on valuable goods that bring higher profits.”

“This reduces wasted capital on slow-moving goods and makes auctions more professional and profitable.”

He emphasized, “We’re not just splitting the business but also the audience.”

He paused, letting them absorb this. This was a plan he had long considered.

The current auction mixed high-end and low-end bidders, causing issues. Low-end bidders often disrupted valuable goods auctions by driving prices up too fast.

Rapid bidding isn’t good; it looks like fierce competition and high demand, but it scares off determined bidders who think success is uncertain.

Auctions with fewer bidders chasing prices tend to perform better.

Having low-end buyers in the market and high-end bidders in auctions with more profit potential, better targeting, leads to higher returns.

The tall man consulted others, then asked, “How will you handle the market?”

Lynch pointed to the materials. “If you don’t ask, I will.” After a few seconds of eye contact, he said, “Please turn to page seventeen…”

As pages turned, Lynch explained, “Our city, and others, lack an official secondhand goods trading.”

“Most secondhand trades happen in dirty, poor streets, with many stolen goods.”

“We will do three things: standardize, legalize, centralize!”

“Our profits will come from booth rents, transaction commissions, and insurance.”

Lynch explained each point thoroughly, as if he had researched and refined the plan carefully.

Supported by clear data, his arguments were convincing.

Even the difficult tall man was satisfied. He agreed that splitting the business and audience to earn more with targeted methods was the true way to profit.

Watching Lynch speak confidently, he wondered what was inside this young man’s head.

Unaware of the tall man’s curiosity, Lynch smiled slightly when no one opposed the split plan.

“Given our upcoming tasks, I propose making the split businesses independent subsidiaries.”

Mark showed no reaction, uninterested and focused on happier thoughts.

As long as his uncle remained in Sabin City with power, Mark had nothing to worry about.

The Kurland City representative made no comment. The meeting’s outcome would not be decided today; only the tall man and a few others showed thoughtful expressions.

After a moment, the tall man asked, “Chairman, is this really necessary?”

He was referring to splitting the business into independent subsidiaries for operation. To him, this was unnecessary, but he wanted to hear Lynch’s explanation. In truth, he shouldn’t have doubted, since convincing others was Lynch’s greatest skill.

Lynch smiled warmly. “Of course. Let me explain the differences in detail…”

Soon, everyone understood why Lynch wanted to do this and the pros and cons involved—every decision has two sides, but as long as the benefits outweigh the drawbacks, people tend to ignore the negatives.

After about half an hour, the tall man and the others grasped Lynch’s idea, though they didn’t respond immediately. They needed to discuss it further and consult others, as it involved new changes.

After they left, Lynch glanced disdainfully at the materials on the table and tossed them into the trash. He already knew the outcome.

They wouldn’t reject his proposal because the purpose of splitting the company was to make more money. As long as merchants pursued profit, they wouldn’t say no.

Greed had brought them great wealth but also made them biased, gullible, and blind.