Chapter 55: Repaying with Land

"I want you to use land to repay the loan, but I only need the land near the road. As long as there are enough trucks passing by, we might even make some money through the highway."

Carter stroked his clean-shaven chin, recalling the businesses along the highway from his past life and continued, "Repair shops, tire stations, gas stations, convenience stores, restaurants, parking lots, and so on, all seem feasible. As long as there's enough demand, I'll take these lands, lease them to people interested in doing business here, and it should be profitable."

"It's not as easy as you think, son. Your idea is good, but to attract people to do business by the roadside, you need to show them there's profit in it first, right? You'd have to start by opening a successful shop yourself."

Unlike the optimistic Carter, Exxon was a bit skeptical about this idea.

"Moreover, from Jacksonville to Atlanta, it's only 346 miles, about a five-hour drive, and there's hardly any need to stop along the way. Even if they did, they could rest in Macon. Why would they stop in Douglas, let alone, this is just a desolate roadside?"

In comparison to the future, where Florida's most famous cities would be Orlando and Miami, Jacksonville seemed relatively low-profile. Its development in the future would indeed not match Orlando's. But for now, this city was the largest in Florida.

Jacksonville, situated in the northern part of Florida, almost bordering Georgia, wasn't far from Atlanta, the southeastern hub of the United States. And unfortunately, Douglas was located south of Atlanta, closer to Jacksonville. Meaning, vehicles traveling from Jacksonville to Atlanta were even less likely to stop here.

Carter wasn't surprised that Exxon was pessimistic about his idea. But he knew that in the future, when people mentioned Florida, it was usually Orlando or Miami. Although Jacksonville wasn't far from Atlanta, these two new cities, one in the central part of Florida and the other in the south, the vehicles traveling to Atlanta would pass Douglas, and there was potential profit if something attractive was available to entice them to stop.

But it wasn't necessary to say all this now.

"For now, maybe. But I think Jacksonville's potential is limited. Have you not seen that Disney World is built in Orlando? In the future, I see more potential in the development of Central and Southern Florida. With the space center, tourism, sunny beaches, they are all in Central and Southern Florida. At that time, whether it's freight or passenger transport, as long as it's on the highway, it will inevitably pass through us. If there's something to attract people to stop, I think there's still some profit to be made."

Carter smiled, preparing to go back and investigate further. With just his current idea, he thought it was feasible! He even had the first business to attract people already in mind.

KFC!

Although KFC was somewhat tacky, it was popular! Moreover, KFC restaurants first appeared as part of gas stations by Harland Sanders, the Colonel, to provide snacks for drivers. It was naturally suitable for operating by the roadside.

What was even more miraculous was that although there were many KFC franchise stores across America, Carter hadn't seen one in Georgia yet. But before, when dining at KFC, Melissa's feedback was good; she thought the fried chicken tasted good.

With this in mind, the plan became clearer. Starting with KFC, lease the nearby land after attracting enough passing vehicles to stop. Then, lease the land for other businesses such as repair shops as complementary businesses. This way, he could earn rental income to fill the gap in the loan repayment.

The risk was that if the KFC didn't attract people to stop, everything else would be lost. But if he didn't do this, what else could he do? They didn't have money to repay, and the farm machinery couldn't be sold at a good price. Doing this might allow them to collect rental income while repaying the loan. If not, they wouldn't get a cent.

The farm machinery could be sold to stop the loss, but Carter thought it might not sell much. If they sold everything, and the farm in Douglas faced problems with cultivation next year, he and his bank would immediately be put in opposition to the people of Douglas.

So, Carter silently calculated in his heart. Currently, the Blake Bank still had about two hundred thousand dollars belonging to the Blake family. Opening a KFC restaurant was more than enough.

If they lost all the money, the funds in the bank might only have around 1.6 million left. But the deposits needed for withdrawal were 2.8 million, with a gap of around 1.2 million. In five years, he also had a loan of about ten million to repay. In the fund, he had invested a total of seven and a half million. If the profit of the two funds, as recorded in history, didn't deviate significantly, he would receive more than twenty-seven million in five years. Subtracting the loan, he would have more than twelve million left, more than enough to fill the gap in the bank.

Although the accounts couldn't be calculated like this, there could be accidents in between. But as long as the profit of the funds developed normally like in history, he would be able to recover more than twelve million in three years. Carter frowned and thought, three years later, which was in 1982, was precisely when the United States was in its most sluggish period in the 1980s. A large number of depositors withdrew their money for living expenses, etc. It should happen around that time.

That said, this could work! It was just about losing a business. But the land ownership was still in his hands. And land ownership in the United States was basically permanent. Even if it was left uncultivated for a short time, there would still be some profit in the future.

Thinking of this, Carter was already eighty percent decided in his heart, and the remaining twenty percent had to be investigated. If there were no accidents, he would most likely proceed according to this plan. So, he said directly:

"All right, let's make this verbal agreement. A week from now, at nine o'clock in the morning, I'll be waiting for you at Blake Bank."

"I'll be there on time!"