Chapter 41 Partner

"Hello, Mr. Schneider! I never expected that Florence still had a cousin like you, who owns a shipyard. What a coincidence! What a coincidence!"

Zhang Hainuo repeatedly expressed his surprise. Although luck played a certain role, how could a significant Brazilian port city like Salvador lack German immigrants engaged in shipbuilding? Even if there were no relatives of Florence in this industry, it wouldn't be difficult to find German immigrants with the appropriate qualifications through the German Chamber of Commerce. However, in Zhang Hainuo's plan, this partner had to be absolutely reliable.

This reliability wasn't just about personal reputation but also about possessing a strong sense of German honor and belonging.

"Well, I'm ashamed, ashamed. My shipyard is very small in scale and can only build small sailing boats and short-haul freighters! Over the years, it has barely managed to keep running!"

There was some modesty in Schneider's words, but after touring the shipyard, Zhang Hainuo judged for himself: this was a shipyard that could only build small vessels, with only four small docks and fewer than fifty shipbuilders.

However, what Zhang Hainuo valued was not the land and facilities here but Schneider, this German immigrant with Brazilian citizenship, and the reputation of Schneider Shipyard. As Hydewood made clear, having a local shipyard in Salvador would make investment and acquisition much easier!

After touring the shipyard, Albert Schneider, who was almost fifty-seven years old and still looked more like an old sailor than a shipyard owner, invited Zhang Hainuo and Otto to his office. A small shipyard wouldn't have a spacious and luxurious office, but the decor here was full of nautical elements: a globe, large nautical charts, delicate monoculars, and many beautiful seashells.

Florence helped brew a pot of coffee and poured it into two metal coffee cups in front of Zhang Hainuo and Otto.

"I heard from Florence that Mr. Schneider used to be a sailor?"

Speaking as an Austrian businessman, Zhang Hainuo said, if he found someone like Schneider, a German immigrant with Brazilian citizenship, to act as the company's representative for his shipyard, he wouldn't need to worry too much about others verifying his true identity—company information was protected by law in many countries.

"Yeah! I served on two ocean-going freighters. I started as a seaman on the Fidderin, a cargo ship of the Hamburg Shipping Company. I was only fifteen when I first went to sea, and I served for ten years! When I was twenty-five, I started as a second officer on the famous Hamburg liner. I served for another eight years! At that time, my uncle, Florence's grandfather, immigrated to Brazil with his family. After they settled down, they invited me to come. Thinking back, although my days as a sailor were meaningful, I was often far away from land and my family, so I gave up that decent job and came to Brazil! Eighteen years have passed in the blink of an eye, time really waits for no one!"

Zhang Hainuo and Otto exchanged glances, it seemed that they had found the right person without much effort. Such a German immigrant, who grew up in Germany and had been working as a sailor for many years, should have more "Germanic essence" than the average German immigrant. But before confirming this point, Zhang Hainuo planned to indirectly assess whether he was worth investing in.

"Does Mr. Schneider still have relatives in Germany?"

Schneider shook his head with some nostalgia, "No! Since my wife passed away, Florence's family is my only relatives!"

"In that case, it's good! At least you don't have to worry like us, worrying about those relatives who went to the front line during the war every day. Even after the war ended, you still have to worry about their livelihoods, right?"

As soon as the war was mentioned, Schneider's eyes dimmed significantly. He sighed softly and remained silent.

At this moment, Florence stepped forward to explain for him, "For the past four years, my uncle has been paying attention to the war situation every day. You don't know, when the news of the sinking of the German High Seas Fleet in the North Sea came, my uncle was sad for many days alone!"

"Florence!" Schneider gently stopped his niece from continuing, and with a look of apology, he said to Zhang Hainuo and Otto, "Let's not talk about these unpleasant things! I heard that you two came here with the intention of investing in the shipbuilding industry?"

"Yes, we do have that intention!" Zhang Hainuo asked cautiously, "Does Mr. Schneider have any intention to sell the shipyard?"

Schneider waved his hand, "I built this shipyard from scratch, and I'm like the captain here, still hoping to retire here! However, if you two want to invest in the shipyard, I can offer you some advice and assistance! To build a shipyard in Salvador, you must first..."

"Mr. Schneider, sorry to interrupt!" Zhang Hainuo looked at him seriously, "Haven't you ever thought about expanding the scale of this shipyard, turning it from a shipyard that can only build small freighters into a large shipyard capable of building giant cruise ships?"

Upon hearing this, Schneider was stunned, his gaze lingering on Zhang Hainuo's young face for a long time.

"When I was young, my dream was to be a respected captain, but I never achieved it! After coming to Brazil, I did think about gradually expanding the scale of my shipyard and eventually being able to build ten-thousand-tonners, but... But with a small shipyard like mine, profits are very meager. After buying materials and paying workers' wages, there's hardly anything left every month. How can I expand the shipyard?"

"If you are willing to accept our investment, we will strive to build it into a first-class large shipyard. In fact, we have already discussed it with Vice Mayor Hydewood, and he is willing to fully support us. As long as the project is finalized, we will also hire the best engineers, naval technicians, and shipbuilders from Germany! Now, we only lack one partner, a truly reliable partner!"

"Oh..." Schneider didn't immediately reject their suggestion this time but pondered for a while before asking, "How much capital is Mr. Link prepared to invest?"

Zhang Hainuo held out his right hand, making a gesture of five, "Initially $500,000, and the investment will be expanded later depending on the specific situation! Mr. Schneider, as long as you agree, we are willing to buy ninety-nine percent of the shares of this shipyard for $20,000!"

"Ninety-nine percent?" Schneider smiled, seemingly a bitter smile. He knew very well what this investment proportion meant: he would become the signing pen of these two young Austrian businessmen. Of course, if the scale of this shipyard continued to expand and eventually became a large enterprise, that one percent would be quite remarkable!