Chapter 369: Training Gym
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Walking out of Los Angeles airport, Dai Li took a taxi to the reserved hotel.
Downtown LA remained unchanged, appearing exactly as it had several years ago, which brought Dai Li a feeling of familiarity.
American cities were like this, their city scales extended block by block, but the downtowns themselves remaining unchanged. The pull down-rebuild model was rarely used in America. Thus, cities like New York and Chicago, buildings around fifty to sixty years old, or even more than hundreds of years old, were everywhere. Central Station in New York looked the same as it had a hundred years ago. Hence, many people felt that American metropolises' infrastructures were old and outdated. Downtown LA was in a similar situation, although it looked prosperous, it didn't change much every year.
After settling down in the hotel, Dai Li went to the bank to cash a check worth one and a half million dollars. This check was given to him by Yunan Xiao, and was her case-dough, for when she studies in America. Besides, Dai Li had an eight hundred thousand dollar initial fund, which was earned from Duke Gaer and the others' rehabilitations in Europe.
Dai Li planned to open a training gym in Los Angeles. America had developed a thriving sport industry, and Americans love sports. There were plenty of training centers in America, like specialized fitness centers, or places focusing on a specific activity, such as boxing halls, gym halls, natatoriums, etc. Some of them were nonprofit organizations, while some were for profit institutions.
Dai Li was not here for charity work, as he was going to open a for profit training center, which was equivalent to running small business. Hence, application procedures were not complicated. If he asked a professional lawyer to help, things would be more easier. Dai Li didn't mind to pay a lawyer's fee, after all, under a professional's guidance, fewer worries would be raised.
But to declare enterprise, one must have an operation premises first. Therefore, before declaration, Dai Li must find a suitable place for his training center.
Dai Li only had around two million dollars, which was not enough to buy a suitable training center. What's more, Dai Li needed to keep a part of the fund as working capital, hence, he had to rent a place instead.
Los Angeles' property market had always been bustling, which had fed a large group of real-estate brokers. Dai Li found several brokers, at which he had left his email address, then went back to the hotel with ease. He knew that, soon, these agents would send information to him.
As expected, in the next three days, Dai Li gradually began to receive dozens of emails, which were all about housing information, sent from those agents.
This used to be training center, but the price is too high. If I rented it, I would not have much circulating capital left.
This one is too small, it's OK for a gym, but definitely not large enough for a training center. Oh, the introduction says that, actually, it is a gym.
This gym is big enough, pity that the location is not ideal. It's too far from the city, plus it is surrounded by Mexicans. People say that there might be many illegal immigrants, so then the security might not be very good.
This has a good location and a proper price, but it used to be a hardware store. I would need to rebuild it, which will cost too much. Then buying fitness equipment will cost another large amount of money. No, it's not worth it to do so.
This is a swimming center, including a ten-meter diving platform. I'm in the beginning stages, so a swimming center seems to be useless.
Well, this looks nice. Wait, the landlord wants me to sign a five-year lease. Let's forget about this one. Five years is such a long time, maybe I will move to a better place within five years.
Dai Li looked through all the emails, carefully filtering those with new information.Finally, one email caught Dai Li's attention:
This looks good, nice location, no slums around, most of the neighbors are middle-class. And there is a university not far from here. This center used to be a medium-sized gymnastic hall, a large space inside, plus a fitness room with much equipment available for me to use. As for its price...No price? What does it mean?
Dai Li slightly frowned, creasing his eyebrows. These American brokers were professional, as they had introduced lease requirements in detail, such as prices, the minimum leasing time, deposit, whether the building was allowed to be rebuilt or not, all those items were listed clearly. It was the first time Dai Li met an introduction without a price.
I checked this agent's certificate, so he should be a professional one. But why is there no price? Dai Li hesitated, then called the agent.
After Dai Li explained his calling's purpose, the agent immediately explained.
"Well, Mr. Li, the building you prefer is a special case. It doesn't belong to any individuals, but rather, to the bank. It used to be a gymnastic hall, but not long ago, American Gymnastics had a scandal, and the gymnastic hall owner was accused of crimes. He went bankrupt, and faced a court battle. So during the insolvency liquidation, this gym was taken back by the bank."
"I see." Dai Li nodded. He heard about the scandal recently in American Gymnastics.
At the very beginning, a gymnast from the American national team revealed on a social media platform that she was molested by her team doctor. Later, the American media began to investigate, realizing that it was not a single event. Rather, hundreds of gymnasts had been molested or sexually offended by their coaches, gym owners, or the other staff in the gym. The key point was that those gymnasts were all juveniles.
This totally stirred up a hornet's nest, and became the biggest scandal in American Gymnastic history. It was a moral crime. More than three thousand gym halls in America were under the administration of the American Gymnastic Association, even the president of AGA was forced to resign.
The broker continued: "This gym hall's previous owner planned to sell the building to pay his debt, but nobody bought it. Later the gym was taken by the bank, and priced to sell at auction for three times the amount, but all remained unsold."
"Why? Was the price too high?" asked Dai Li.
"Well, in my eyes, the price was high. The previous owner owed too much, and he would be prosecuted and sent to jail for years. Even assessing the assets after a reorganization after bankruptcy, it was impossible to settle with creditors within a short time. To retrieve the loss as much as possible, the bank set a rather high price."
"Then why didn't they decrease the price?"asked Dai Li.
"Recently, California has attracted many immigrants, many of whom are rich. They raised general housing prices in California. Plus, this gym hall has a nice location, so it probably attracts foreign investors' attentions. Hence, the bank is not willing to decrease the price."
"When it's cheap, the bank is not willing to sell, but when it's expensive, no one is willing to buy it. So that's why the bank tries to lease it out instead. What about the price? If the bank does want to let it out to somebody, why doesn't it offer a price?"asked Dai Li.
"That's exactly what I'm going to explain. In fact, the bank offers two prices, one is for direct renting, which, I think, is quite expensive and less cost-effective, and the other price is relatively low, but it has an additional condition. Because of this, I didn't attach detailed prices in my email," said the agent.
"Additional condition? Is it harsh?"Dai Li frowned.
"I'm not sure how to judge it." The agent paused, then said, "The bank says, if the new runner continues to use this hall as a physical training center, to enjoy a discount, that person should train 10 or 15 disabled athletes free of charge. Otherwise, the new runner must pay the total amount of the original rent."
"That's weird. Why should the new runner undertake disabled athletes' training?" Dai Li was confused.
"Well, details couldn't be disclosed right now, so sorry about that. Actually, the reason I took this order is that I have been doing business with this bank for a while. If Mr. Li is interested in this building, I can make an appointment with the responsible person for you. You can discuss this face to face," said the agent.
...
The next day at nightfall, around the time of the work day's end, Dai Li came to a nearby cafe.
"Mr. Li, this is City Councilor Mr. Anthony," the agent introduced.
"City Councilor?" Dai Li looked at the housing agent with confusion. He was here to meet a bank clerk, but the agent brought him a Los Angeles City Councilor.
Sitting next to him, the agent explained, "Well, Mr. Anthony is the bank's responsible person in Los Angeles, and he succeeded in last year's Los Angeles City Councilor election."
After a brief introduction, the agent didn't stay long, as he found an excuse and left, leaving Mr. Anthony and Dai Li in the cafe.
"Mr. Li, you must be curious, why I offer such a weird tenant condition?" Anthony asked straightforwardly.
"Yes, that's what I'm here for," Dai Li nodded, said. "To be honest, I'm planning to use this gym as a fitness training center, and I'm able to meet your additional requirement. But may I know why?"
"Actually, the reason is quite simple. It's just not so good to declare." Anthony looked around, then lowered his voice, continuing, "Last year when I was campaigning for City Councilor, I promised the voters that I would strengthen humanitarian concern for the disabled. Then I won, so I should keep my promise."
"Not long ago, several amateur disabled athletes came to me and told me that they wished to receive professional training, and that, while coaches from the Protection Centre for the Disabled are usually low-level volunteers, they couldn't meet those athletes' training requirements, and high-level professional training centers offer rather high prices, which they are not able to afford. Therefore, I came up with this additional leasing condition."
"But this is not good to tell the public, after all, as this is the bank's property. Although I'm the responsible person of the bank, and I have the right to determine the final rent, if I lowered the rent without authorization, I would damage the bank's interests to some degree. It would be using my right to complete my commitment."
Pausing here, Anthony grinned wickedly, showed a "You know why" look.
Sitting opposite, Dai Li nodded with a smile, indicating that he understood what Anthony meant. He was not like some so-called public intellectuals, advocating how clean-handed European and American countries were.
Actually, foreign politicians using their powers or resources to seek benefits was nothing new, such action was even accepted widely. It was just that the so-called interest didn't have to be money. Using powers and resources to help oneself get re-elected, to support one's sponsors, or to defeat political opponents, although the politician didn't gain any benefit, meant he was still actually gaining interest.
Just like the American TV series 'House of Cards', there were many people who were good at "using power", and their exchanges of interests were not noble at all. Those methods could even be described as "sordid". In fact, this was a hidden rule in European and American countries, that every politician gained interest more or less for themselves, and would trade-off with others.
Frankly speaking, this was politics, which had a similar pattern around the world. People, who were as innocent as the Virgin Mary, would never be politicians, just like sheep could never sneak into wolves' dens unnoticed or blend in. Anthony was doing the same thing, but compared with the tactics used in the "House of Cards", his behavior was nothing.
Dai Li didn't care whether Anthony was using his power to gain interest, nor did he care about how much the bank was going to lose. Rather, he was only focused on the training hall's rent, which was closely related to his own benefit. Therefore, Dai Li asked: "Mr. Anthony, how much discount would you offer, if I accept this additional condition?"
"This." Anthony took out a pen, then wrote a number on the napkin in front of him. He showed Dai Li the number. Seeing this figure, Dai Li's interest was aroused. It was a price with a high performance-price ratio, and nowhere else in Los Angeles could offer such a suitable place with this price. But Dai Li didn't agree immediately. He deliberately frowned, seeming to be unsatisfied.
"Mr. Anthony, training disabled athletes is different from training ordinary people, as it requires a high level of professional skills. If a disabled athlete trains here four hours per week, and according to your condition, at least ten people would come here, then I need to have 40 hours extra working time per week, which is the legal weekly working time. I would have to hire an extra coach for this." Dai Li spoke logically, with ease and composure.
Dai Li apparently brought the set point, what cost most in America was human resource! In America, energy price was low, land price was low, and while tax might not be low in some states, it didn't charge extra ridiculous fees. Hence, human capital input became the biggest expenditure. Americans had high wages, about fifty-six thousands dollars in average, which was definitely ranked among the world's top percentage.
America had a well-developed labor security system, and when hiring a formal worker, the company paid not only wages, but also various kinds of insurances for that worker. Besides, if that individual's working time exceeded legal working time, overtime pay must then be offered. Add to all this other legal welfares, and hiring employees actually meant a rather high input.
Therefore, to American small companies, hiring an extra worker was blood-sucking, for they could not afford such a high cost. Moreover, unlike labor workers, being a fitness coach required special skills. In America, any individual with special skills could be called specialists in a certain area, and thus, would not accept a salary that was lower than average.
Anthony knew that Dai Li said these things in hopes of striking a deal to cut down the rent. He hesitated for a second, wrote a new figure on the napkin, then showed it to Dai Li.
"This is the lowest price I can offer. After all, this training hall is the bank's property, and I can't justify myself to the bank if the rent is too low,." Anthony said with a serious look.
Dai Li didn't believe Anthony's bullshit, and he guessed that this figure was not Anthony's minimum price at all. But he didn't continue his bargaining, because he was quite satisfied with this price, and because Anthony was Los Angeles's City Councilor, so Dai Li dared not waves, as he hoped that one day, they might gain some common interest in the future.
"Deal!" Dai Li held out his right hand, agreeing.