Acquisition

"If you're worried, I'll switch them on and show you." As Prakash spoke, he pushed up the main breaker. The lights on the electrical panel flickered a few times, then all came on.

He walked to the first loom and pressed the green button. The motor hummed, and the flywheel began to turn. Then came the second machine, the third, and finally the last.

"See? Every machine runs. I run them once a month, because I'm afraid something will go wrong if they sit idle too long," Prakash said.

Standing in the middle of the workshop, Aditya did some calculations in his head.

He had originally planned to come to Kanpur just to buy machinery, dismantle it, and ship it back to Varanasi. Now, he suddenly felt that this place seemed quite good. It had water and electricity, production could begin as soon as the machines were switched on, and the former workers lived on the street behind it.

There seemed to be no need at all to return to Varanasi to build a factory. Aditya felt he had fallen into a blind spot. All along, he had been thinking that since the Mishra Family was in Varanasi, setting up a factory at home would be convenient. But now there was a ready-made factory. He only needed to buy the whole thing, and production could begin immediately. Why pass up what was close at hand to seek it far away?

Dismantling the machines and setting up a factory might take another two or three weeks, whereas buying this factory would let him start work immediately. Which was better was clear at a glance.

Aditya walked up to Prakash and said:

"Your factory looks good. I won't buy the machines separately. Sell me the whole factory."

Prakash did not take it in at first. He looked at Neelam, then at Madan. Madan was stunned too, but said nothing.

"Are you joking?" Prakash asked tentatively.

"I'm serious. The machines here are good, and the factory buildings are usable. Aren't you in debt? Rather than selling it off piece by piece, you might as well sell the factory directly to me," Aditya said.

Prakash fell silent. Half a minute later, he stood up and said, "I owe a lot of money. This factory is my life's work, and I don't want to see it go under either. You can buy it, but the land here belongs to the government, and there's also..."

"Spell it out," Aditya said.

Prakash dug out several ledgers and a stack of papers. Dipti took them. On top was the government industrial estate lease.

"The land belongs to the state government. I leased it for twelve years, and there are five years left." Prakash gave a bitter smile. "I'm seven months behind on rent, and six weeks behind on workers' wages. There's also an unpaid bill for yarn from a supplier."

Aditya began calculating in his head. Twenty-eight British looms, with a market value of at least 1.2 million. Jaya's debts come to a little over two hundred thousand altogether. Deduct the debts from the factory's price, and it'll only cost a million.

"The debts come out of the factory's price," Aditya said. "The machines, tools, licenses, old yarn-everything will be valued at market prices. After deducting what you owe, we'll put the total value at one million. I'll pay you cash and deal with the government myself. Does that work for you?"

Prakash picked up a pen and began calculating. Soon, he raised his head dejectedly and said, "Could you give me a little more?"

"I'm paying you entirely in cash. Where else are you going to find a buyer like me? Is it a deal or not?"

"All right! One million it is," Prakash said bitterly.

Aditya turned to Dipti and said, "Senior, go through the factory's accounts and get the balance sheet in order."

"All right." Dipti nodded.

"One more thing. You need to invite the workers back and explain things clearly to them. The textile mill has a new owner. Anyone who wants to work should come to the factory gates the day after tomorrow," Aditya told Prakash.

"Of course. I'll notify the workers," Prakash replied.

That afternoon, Aditya took Madan and Dipti to the Kanpur Industrial Property Office.

The office was a small gray-white building on the edge of Kanpur's old city. Several bicycles and an old jeep were parked outside. A guard in a khaki uniform sat under the porch, slumped in his chair and dozing.

Aditya walked inside. The corridor was narrow and dark. Two clerks stood in the passage chatting, cigarettes in their mouths.

One of the clerks spotted Aditya's sacred thread and immediately became respectful. Pressing his palms together, he said, "Sir, how may I help you?"

"I need to arrange an industrial estate lease for Jaya Textile Mill," Aditya said.

"Sir, you can go to the room at the far end of the second floor and see Mr. Narayan. He's in charge of that."

Aditya went up the stairs, with Dipti behind him and Madan bringing up the rear.

The door to the room at the far end of the second floor was open. A middle-aged man reclined in a chair, his belly so large that the bottom two buttons of his shirt were stretched tight. He was fanning himself with an old newspaper. Several folders lay on his desk.

Aditya knocked on the door.

Narayan looked up. He sized up the three people standing there, his gaze settling on Aditya at the front.

"Who are you, and what do you want?"

"My name is Aditya Mishra. I'm from Varanasi. I'm buying Jaya Textile Mill and would like to arrange a lease transfer," Aditya said.

"Mishra? Buying a textile mill?" Narayan asked in puzzlement, looking at Aditya's sacred thread.

"That's right." Aditya nodded.

Narayan put down the newspaper and began leafing through the documents. It took him quite a while to find the right one. After reading it for a moment, he asked:

"Prakash's textile mill? You want to take it over?"

"Yes."

Narayan smiled, the slabs of flesh on his face quivering. "Prakash's factory owes the government seven months' rent. He can't even pay his workers, and you want to buy it?" he sneered.

Aditya walked up to the desk and said, "Kanpur has no way of collecting the land rent Prakash owes. The government can only treat it as a dead debt. Give me a new lease, and I'll pay the rent every month. The factory will start operating next month. I'll pay the workers' wages, and I won't pay a penny less than the taxes due. Nobody will ask about a dead debt. Only a living textile mill has value."

Narayan leaned back in his chair and chuckled. "You certainly know how to look out for the government."

Aditya shifted slightly to one side. Madan understood and went out, closing the door behind him.

Aditya took a thick envelope from inside his clothes and placed it beneath a stack of documents in front of Narayan.

Narayan did not look at the envelope. He merely rested his elbow on it.

"The government has already written off cases like Prakash's as bad debts," Narayan said quietly, his expression friendly. "If you want a new lease, I can arrange it. The first six months will count as a renovation period, at three thousand a month. After six months, it'll be the original rent, thirty-two thousand a year. We'll see about the third year."

"I'll sign for three years. Get it done today. The factory is still waiting for electricity. Help me sort that out," Aditya said.

"No problem. I'll make a call to the electricity board for you. Wait outside for a bit. I'll have someone rush the contract through," Narayan said.

Aditya nodded and went out, taking Dipti and Madan downstairs.

They waited less than an hour before a clerk brought over two sheets of paper.

Dipti read through them and said, "A provisional transfer agreement, a six-month renovation period, rent of three thousand a month, and state government compliance documents."

Aditya signed and left the office.

"The old debts aren't mentioned. They're not in the contract," Dipti reminded him quietly.

Aditya smiled and said, "We're here to lease land. We don't know anything about old debts. The lease clearly states that we're renting it for three years. Prakash's old debts have nothing to do with us. Who cares about the government's dead debts?"

Dipti looked at Aditya. Her piercing gaze sent a chill through him, and he stopped smiling.

"This is India. There's nothing I can do either. We need to save money, officials need achievements, the factory needs to open, and the workers need jobs. Their greed is a good thing for us too," Aditya explained helplessly.

Dipti looked away, her interest gone.

Aditya drove the three of them back to Jaya Factory.