"Things aren't looking good, Boss. The timing is really unfortunate. There are only three cruise ships we can urgently charter by paying extra, and two of them have already been rented out. We'll have to pay more to beat the other bidder, so the price will be triple the normal rate."
Wei Liqun paused, then continued rapidly:
"For a one-week charter, the normal cost is 30 million per ship. So it'll be one 30-million charge plus six 30-million charges, for a total of 210 million to rent three cruise ships. I'll send you the detailed information. If it looks good to you, I'll make the payment."
"Three ships aren't enough!" Song He frowned.
At least two cruise ships had to be prepared for the Genius Institute. On top of that, there had to be at least two more as a smokescreen. Using only one ship as a smokescreen would be too flimsy. Four ships was the bare minimum.
"If we absolutely have to add another ship, there's one extremely expensive solution," Wei Liqun said. "Buy one directly."
"Go on."
"A domestic shipyard happens to have a large luxury cruise ship that was just completed. Its interior is brand-new. It was originally supposed to be sold to a cruise company, but the company that ordered it recently suffered a financial-product collapse and suddenly couldn't pay the balance. The ship has been stuck there ever since."
"On one hand, the shipyard urgently needs the final payment to repay its debts. On the other hand, the cruise company doesn't really want the ship anymore. But if it refuses to take it, it'll have to pay an astronomical penalty, so it can only grit its teeth and accept it while delaying as long as possible to raise the money."
Wei Liqun continued, "The shipyard