Chapter 643 - 299: The Magic of Finance

Fifth Avenue, Pittsburgh. The PNC Bank Tower.

Peter Hoffman parked his second-hand Ford pickup truck in a VIP spot in front of the tower.

If this had been yesterday, the security guard would have already come over, knocked on his window, and told him to get lost.

But today, the uniformed guard just glanced at the license plate before respectfully pulling open the car door for him.

Peter clutched the blue folder under his arm, feeling like he was holding a piece of red-hot charcoal.

Inside was the letter of intent signed by Leo Wallace.

A letter of intent worth twenty million US dollars, but for now, it was just a worthless piece of paper.

He walked across the marble-floored lobby, the sharp click of his leather shoes echoing.

He was surrounded by financial elites rushing about, discussing exchange rates, futures, and hearings in Washington.

Peter used to dread coming here. The air was too thin, making a dust-covered contractor like him feel suffocated.

But today was different.

He strode straight to the elevator and pressed the button for the corporate credit department on the top floor.

The elevator doors opened.

Manager David Cole was already standing at the entrance, waiting for him.

Cole was a lean, middle-aged man. In the past, Peter had treated him to dinner three times and given him two cases of red wine just to get a loan for a hundred thousand dollars to buy equipment, and even then, the man had barely given him the time of day.

"Mr. Hoffman."

Cole wore a professional smile and proactively extended his hand.

"Mr. Ethan Hawke already gave me a call. Please, come in. The coffee is ready."

The two of them walked into the spacious office with its floor-to-ceiling windows.

Peter sat down and placed the folder on the desk.

"I assume Ethan has already told you," Peter said, trying his best to make his voice sound confident. "City Hall gave me the South District overpass project. Twenty million."

"Yes, a major project."

Cole sat back in his chair but didn’t rush to open the folder.

He just tapped his fingers lightly on the desktop.

"However, Mr. Hoffman, we both know the rules. This is just a letter of intent. The bill hasn’t passed the State Assembly, and the money hasn’t been allocated. From the bank’s risk management perspective, this is a high-risk asset."

Peter’s heart sank.

"So..."

"So, you won’t be getting a conventional commercial loan."

Cole’s words were blunt.

Peter clenched his fists. He was about to stand up and argue, but Cole raised a hand, gesturing for him to stay seated.

"Don’t be hasty. The conventional path is closed, but we can take an unconventional one."

Cole opened a drawer and took out a contract he had prepared in advance.

"Given that this project has Mayor Wallace’s personal endorsement, and considering this special period of revival, the bank is also willing to bear some social responsibility."

Cole pushed the contract in front of Peter.

"We’ve approved a startup loan for you."

"The amount is five million US dollars. It’s enough for you to start the project, purchase the first batch of raw materials, and pay the first three months of workers’ wages."

Peter took the contract and quickly scanned the terms.

Five million.

This would indeed solve his immediate problem.

But when he saw the interest rate, he froze.

"Five percent?" Peter looked up, a pleasant surprise in his eyes. "But the current prime rate is..."

"It’s a preferential rate," Cole cut him off. "For any other company, even with collateral, I wouldn’t lend at anything less than seven percent right now."

"However, there’s a condition."

Cole pointed to the restrictive clauses in the contract’s addendum.

"This money... you can’t take it with you."

"What do you mean?" Peter frowned.

"This loan won’t be deposited into your company account as cash. It’s a closed line of credit."

Cole took out a stylus and drew a circle in the air.

"This money can only circulate within this circle."

"You want to buy steel? Fine. But you can only order from the Erie Steel Factory. They are in our settlement system, and we will transfer the figures directly to their account."

"You want to buy cement? No problem. Scranton Cement Company is the designated supplier. The money will go straight to them."

"Simply put, Mr. Hoffman."

Cole stared into Peter’s eyes.

"You won’t see the money, and you won’t touch the money."

"You only possess a credit limit, a universal digital voucher."

Peter understood.

’This isn’t a loan at all.’

’This is just helping City Hall print money. All transactions are completed within this closed system.’

"If... I mean, what if," Peter swallowed hard, "what if I want to withdraw cash? What if my suppliers only accept cash?"

"Then you’re out of the game."

Cole’s smile vanished, his voice turning cold.

"The prerequisite for this loan agreement is that the funds must circulate within the Alliance. If you try to withdraw cash, you’ll trigger the breach of contract clause. We will immediately freeze your assets and auction off your equipment."

"And Peter."

Cole leaned forward.

"Right now, in all of Pennsylvania, no one will give you work except for this Alliance. Those suppliers who only take US dollar cash will soon find they have no more orders."

"These are the new rules of the game."

"You either take these numbers and get to work, or you can starve while clinging to your loyalty to the US dollar."

Peter looked at the contract.

He suddenly understood what Leo Wallace was doing.

The young mayor was using executive orders to lock in demand, bank credit to create currency, and a closed supply chain to force circulation.

It was insane, but it was also surprisingly effective.

Because it meant that as long as everyone played within this circle, everyone would have work.

Peter understood the intricacies of this all too well.

Using his own capital to start, then leveraging payment terms with downstream suppliers to get upstream project funds—he himself had used this playbook for getting something from nothing countless times.

The only difference was that before, he was begging others to let him buy on credit. Now, the bank and City Hall were proactively handing him a credit card.

Besides, the designated suppliers Cole mentioned were all old partners he had worked with for years.

This was a huge gamble, but all the players at the table were people he knew, and the house seemed to have some serious backing.

"I’ll sign."

Peter picked up the pen without much hesitation.

’As long as the machinery is running and the workers are moving, profits will come sooner or later.’

"Very good."

Cole watched Peter sign his name and nodded in satisfaction.

"Welcome to the game, Mr. Hoffman."

"The system is now active. You can start placing orders."

...

Walking out of the bank, Peter felt like he was floating.

He didn’t have a single cent of cash in his hand.

But he now possessed five million in purchasing power.

He sat in his truck, took out his phone, and dialed a number.

Erie City, Great Lakes Steel Factory.

The person who answered was Hans, the sales department manager.

"Hello, Peter?" Hans’s voice sounded a bit lethargic. "If you’re calling for a price quote, don’t bother. Steel prices have gone up recently, and we’re only accepting cash orders."

"I’m not calling for a quote."

Peter started the truck, the engine roaring to life.

"I’m placing an order."

"Two thousand tons of high-strength rebar, five hundred tons of H-beams, and a batch of prefabricated panels."

"I have the general contract from Pittsburgh City Hall."

Peter’s voice trembled slightly with excitement.

"And a five-million-dollar line of credit just approved by PNC Bank."

"Payment will be through the Revival Alliance settlement channel."

There were two seconds of silence on the other end of the line.

Then came the sound of a chair tipping over and Hans’s ragged breathing.

"Are you serious? The Alliance channel?" Hans’s voice shot up an octave. "You got the credit line?"

"I got it. It’s right here in my account." Peter glanced at the green number that had just lit up on his mobile banking app. "Ready to be transferred at any time."

"That’s fantastic!"

Hans shouted.

"Peter, you’re my savior! Do you have any idea? We’ve been waiting for this damn system to go live for so long, the steel in our warehouse is about to grow mold!"

"I’ll arrange for shipment right away! The convoy can leave this afternoon! They’ll be at the South District construction site on time tomorrow morning!"

"Pleasure doing business with you, Hans."

"Pleasure doing business with you!"

He hung up the phone.

Peter gripped the steering wheel, looking at the busy street ahead.

He suddenly started to laugh.

First a low chuckle, then it grew into unrestrained laughter.

He hadn’t spent a dime.

City Hall hadn’t spent a dime.

The bank hadn’t put up a dime either.

All because Leo had signed a piece of paper, because the bank had provided a number, and because everyone believed that the ten-billion-dollar bill would pass.

Thousands of tons of steel were now on their way from Erie.

Hundreds of workers were about to have jobs.

Construction on a massive bridge was about to begin.

This was the magic of finance.

Peter stomped on the gas, and the pickup truck surged into the flow of traffic.

He was heading to the construction site.

He was going to make those pile drivers, silent for half a year, roar to life with a deafening clamor once more.

...

Pittsburgh City Hall, top-floor command center.

On the massive LED screen, the gray icon representing the "South District Overpass Project" suddenly flickered and turned a brilliant green.

Immediately after, a golden line of light extended from Erie City, connecting to Pittsburgh.

It was the signal that logistics had been activated.

"It’s moving."

Marcus sat at the control console, pointing at the screen.

"The first loan has been activated. Hoffman Construction paid two point four million credit points to Erie Steel. Transaction confirmed. Logistics vehicles have left the warehouse."

"At the same time, Hoffman Construction has just posted two hundred job openings in the system. Our job-matching algorithm is now sending text messages to qualified unemployed workers in the South District."

Ethan stood before the screen, watching the green point of light.

He had to admit, he was impressed.

The plan that was just on paper yesterday had already become trucks rolling down the highway today.

Ethan remarked with a sigh, "The State Assembly hasn’t even allocated the funds, but a deal worth tens of millions is already in motion."

Leo stood to the side, holding a glass of water.

He watched the points of light gradually illuminate the screen and said calmly:

"This is the essence of economics."

"Money is just an accounting symbol. As long as both parties in a transaction recognize this symbol, it is money."

"The steel mill in Erie needs to sell its products, the construction site in Pittsburgh needs steel, and the workers need jobs."

"The demand is real, the supply is real, and the labor is real."

Leo pointed at the screen.

"As long as this cycle continues, everyone will have work and be able to eat."

"Whether that so-called ten-billion-dollar bill passes or not is actually no longer important."

"Because we’ve already created a new reality."

"When the machinery of all of Pennsylvania is roaring, those assemblymen in Harrisburg won’t be able to stop it, even if they want to."

Leo took a sip of water.

"Continue."

He ordered Marcus.

"This is just the first deal."

"Bring in the cement factory in Scranton, the glass factory in Bethlehem—bring in all the upstream and downstream enterprises."

"I want this network to cover all of Pennsylvania."

"I want those Senators who haven’t yet realized what’s happening to discover that while they were still debating the bill, I had already bought their districts."

Marcus’s fingers flew across the keyboard, producing a flurry of CLACKS.

On the screen, more points of light began to flash.

An infrastructure frenzy, one that was tangibly changing the landscape, had officially begun.