Chapter One Hundred Forty-Eight: Planning in Progress

"This is a problem. Do you have any ideas on how to solve it?"

Hearing Carter's muttering to himself, Mayor Ravening also looked thoughtful.

It had to be admitted that Carter's plan sounded highly feasible. Similar to Benjamin's preference for Carter's highway commercial district earlier, relocating the unemployed population outward not only solved local employment issues but also attracted external funds back, further promoting local development.

Once implemented, the effect would be much better than simply solving local employment and providing a few job positions!

"Not at the moment, or I should say I'm still thinking. California and Texas are close by, so the transportation distance for beef is about the same as here, maybe even closer. But Iowa is a bit far from California, and finding suitable locations for related processing centers... it's quite tricky."

Carter shook his head, admitting openly that he hadn't come up with a suitable solution yet. Or rather, solving this kind of problem required a gradual process of research and calculation to determine the framework before refining step by step.

However...

"In broad terms, I think there shouldn't be a problem. Setting aside sixteen million to establish the supply system should be enough for the initial needs. Forming a logistics company, investing six million, with four million for refrigerated transport vehicles for long-distance transportation, and two million for insulated vehicles for short distances... Around seven million to establish a quasi-processing center, purchase equipment, and then three million for warehouse distribution centers..."

"Hmm... it doesn't seem quite feasible either. I don't have the manpower! "

After murmuring to himself, Carter slapped his forehead.

The idea sounded good, and sixteen million dollars had considerable purchasing power at the moment to support his efforts. But here came the problem, who would support such a large operation?

Himself? Carter shook his head...

He had gone bankrupt dealing with a small company in his previous life. Letting him handle these troublesome matters would only make things worse.

Goodman? That might not work either...

Leaving aside the issue of changing industries, just look at the scale of funds. With a total investment of sixteen million, it directly exceeded the total assets of the original four Burke banks.

Playing with money, like leading troops into battle, wasn't always a case of the more, the better! Not everyone was like Han Xin, capable of making more troops beneficial...

As the number of soldiers increased, various troubles would arise. Mishandling one could easily lead to a chain reaction and ultimately cause the entire battle to fail. Similarly, with a large scale of funds, mishandling could also lead to problems.

"Uh... in terms of manpower, Carter, I can recommend someone to you. I have a college classmate who is currently a regional manager at Walmart. I think he should be quite knowledgeable about supply chain construction issues. I don't know if you've heard of this company, they are..."

As the saying goes, a smiling boy is a lucky boy. Even if it was a fake smile, Carter felt like he was proving this theory!

"No need to say more! He's the one! Annual salary of twenty thousand, plus 5% dividend bonus! If he performs well in the future, I can give him a portion of the shares."

What was Walmart? Did Carter need Benjamin to introduce it to him?!

One of the world's most powerful chain supermarkets. In terms of supply, they were definitely experts!

The surprise came a bit unexpectedly. To prevent the opportunity from slipping away, Carter immediately stated the terms.

"Aren't you going to consider it more? Or maybe meet him first?"

Benjamin was momentarily speechless. To be honest, with Carter's conditions, he was also very tempted!

"No need to consider much. What's there to consider... It's just about meeting him first. I'll see what kind of person he is, and if the treatment isn't satisfactory, we can meet and discuss. If we can really get this person over, then there might be some hope."

Carter rubbed his chin, and the feasibility of this plan seemed to have increased significantly. As for whether this classmate of Benjamin's was reliable... Carter thought it shouldn't be a big problem.

Walmart at this time, although Carter hadn't paid much attention to it, theoretically should be in a period of rapid growth and development. In such a period, people without abilities couldn't even keep their own positions stable.

"After settling these matters, I'll take another million to negotiate with suppliers, consider it as a prepayment or guarantee deposit. Regardless of the form, I'll try to lower the prices as much as possible. Then six million as special loan funds, combined with Pierce's funds, to make up tens of millions, and expand the stores!"

"Calculating based on the cost of opening a store in one city, fifty thousand dollars, this money is enough to cover major cities across America!"

The purchasing power of fifty thousand dollars at this time was no less than five million in the future. With such a large investment, Carter's statement was actually quite polite.

Normally, even in cities like New York and Los Angeles, fifty thousand dollars wasn't much. It wasn't about creating high-end establishments aiming to impress certain tire people for Michelin stars. For fast-food restaurants, this amount would cover opening two to three branches easily.

In this case, Mayor Ravening's face changed from a gloomy expression to a pleased one...

"Enough! Absolutely enough! Even in terms of store construction, if you need wood, I can guarantee that Pierce will give you the lowest price! We can even offer credit! Frankly speaking, because of the timber transportation needs, they have far more trucks in Pierce than we do in Douglas..."

"Haha, not just more, but a lot more! Carter, don't be polite with this guy. Due to the decrease in wood sales, they have at least five times more trucks in Pierce than we have in Douglas. Every autumn, we even have to borrow trucks from Pierce!"

As Benjamin said this, he realized that Carter was probably determined to do this. In terms of both reason and emotion, Benjamin had to step forward and help...

"That's great! Timber... it's not easy to deal with in terms of building materials. Places like New York don't have much space for wood. But for bars, tables, chairs, we can use pine! I'll hire a designer later to come up with a set of unique items that belong to us. Then, all the stores can have uniform decoration and layout..."

"That's possible. These corn tortillas have a distinctive Central and South American flavor. If you use pine to make tables and chairs, the design and decoration can also lean towards the characteristics of Central and South America... Add some color to the glass, paint the exterior walls... Oh, by the way, the name! Since we want to build a brand, you can't use that Kentucky name. By the way, why did you choose the name Kentucky?"

Benjamin's sudden interruption made Carter feel a bit embarrassed. His enthusiasm was almost swept away...

"Don't mention Kentucky, we're still good friends!"