HLnovel Chapter 204 Are you an idiot?
Chapter 204 Are you an idiot?
Chapter 204 Are you an idiot?
The twilight over the San Francisco Bay Area, like a diluted burgundy, slowly permeates the skyline along the Pacific coast.
Nestled halfway up Mount Norb, in a clubhouse, Ernst's right fist clenched so tightly his knuckles almost turned white when he saw the man before him, and he felt an urge to throw a punch.
"Hey bro, that look on your face." Massim's voice always gave him the feeling that this guy was gloating, especially when the other guy brazenly stretched out his right hand and put it heavily on his shoulder, there was always a hint of victory in it.
"Shouldn't we be happy to see old friends again?" Massim said, swaying his shoulders as if to show off their deep friendship.
Ernst suddenly turned to the side, his movement so fast that Massim almost stumbled and crashed into the door frame due to inertia.
"I want to change the person." He said this and turned to walk into the private room.
Massim stood there and chuckled twice, his slyness almost overflowing. Although he knew his eldest niece wasn't there, he still cautiously glanced back.
"I know Annie... well... she's well protected, but it doesn't have to be to the point of needing to be replaced, does it?"
He strode over to Ernst and sat down beside him, picked up the red wine on the table, gracefully uncorked it, and poured the wine into two crystal glasses.
The way he poured the wine was textbook perfect; the red wine flowed slowly down the side of the glass without splashing or getting any liquid on the rim.
But Ernst could tell that Massim's obsequious manner made him look guilty no matter how he looked at it.
"At your age, among the girls in the Boston conglomerate who are a good match for you," Massim said, handing one of his glasses over, "Anne is the only one with pure blood. Are you sure you want to change your mind?"
Ernst did not take the glass, but only glanced at the ruby-red wine out of the corner of his eye.
Everyone understands what the two sides' intentions are; it was made clear during their first contact, as evidenced by Ernst's statement that he wanted to replace the person rather than return the goods.
Among large families, only marriage and entanglement of interests can provide the best guarantee for unity. At present, the two sides are just cooperating, and the next step is marriage, then cross-shareholding between enterprises, and finally developing into an inseparable community of interests.
Every conglomerate has done it this way; that's the American rule, more deeply ingrained than any law passed on Capitol Hill.
In this process, whoever gains more control within the core enterprise will gain the upper hand in the power struggle within the conglomerate.
This involves both the methods and judgments of various families, as well as the uncontrollable forces brought about by the changes of the times.
Like the Boston Group, which once occupied a mid-level position among the eight major American conglomerates by relying on light industries such as textiles and footwear, and at its peak even controlled more than half of the light industrial capacity in New England.
However, with the rise of the technology industry, the light industrial industries that the Boston Consortium was once proud of have been left far behind by the high-speed rail of the times, just like an outdated steam train.
The fate of the Cleveland Group is even more poignant. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, they dominated the steel industry. The steel produced by Carnegie Steel supported the American railroad network and skyscrapers. At that time, the head of the group could stand in New York Harbor and overlook countless cargo ships loaded with steel sailing to all parts of the world.
But what about now? The steel industry has long lost its glory, and the Cleveland consortium has to rely on investing in the medical and education industries to barely survive. Its former glory is like a faded old photograph, only occasionally mentioned in the family museum.
How did the Kennedy family become a core member of the Boston Consortium? Besides their own vast assets, the most crucial factor was that when Kennedy came to power, he provided the Boston Consortium with a sure-fire path to survival: the military-industrial complex.
"I need compensation," Ernst finally said.
Upon hearing this, Massim's face immediately revealed an expression of "I knew it," a smile that seemed to have been rehearsed a thousand times, perfectly capturing the balance between understanding and smugness.
He put down his wine glass, leaned forward, and said in a low voice, "Brother, at our level, what's the point of talking about personality or first impressions when choosing a wife? Those are just ordinary people's little romantic musings."
He paused, tapping his fingers lightly on the sofa armrest, as if emphasizing the weight of his words. "Providing assistance is the only consideration. If you don't like it, fine, you can just not come home. As long as there are children, the family bloodline can continue, and you can serve as a bridge between the two families, isn't that enough?"
Although these words were spoken bluntly, they revealed the truth about the marriage alliances of top conglomerates.
In their circle, marriage has long been reduced to a tool for exchanging benefits, and love is nothing more than a luxury used to decorate one's image.
Is it really okay for you to push your niece into such a dangerous situation? Even if she has to live a life of widowhood, is that alright?
Seeing Ernst's glance, Massim gave a fake laugh, realizing he had talked too much, and quickly changed the subject.
"Didn't you want compensation? No problem, that's exactly why I came to San Francisco."
Ernst narrowed his eyes slightly, not believing the other party's nonsense at all. These people always liked to get the greatest benefit with the least cost, and getting real benefits from them was even more difficult than getting a lost investment back from Wall Street capitalists.
"I've landed a huge deal for Google's AdWords (GG) business." Massim paused deliberately, watching Ernst's reaction. "A mega contract with Coca-Cola, how about that? Is that enough to show your sincerity?"
When Ernst heard the words "Coca-Cola," his eyebrows twitched almost imperceptibly.
In American business circles, there's an interesting saying: Coca-Cola is the donkey, and Pepsi is the elephant.
There's actually a little story behind this: former US President Nixon was a staunch supporter of Coca-Cola.
During his tenure, Coca-Cola was an indispensable state gift, whether at White House state banquets or as part of his overseas travels. He even publicly endorsed Coca-Cola on numerous occasions, making him a veritable free spokesperson.
But who would have thought that after Nixon retired, when he tried to get a consulting position at Coca-Cola, he was rejected by the company's board of directors.
This incident caused a huge uproar in the upper echelons of society at the time. It should be noted that under the revolving door system in the United States, it is common for people of this caliber to take up positions in large corporations after retirement.
Coca-Cola's rejection was undoubtedly a slap in the face for Nixon. Feeling humiliated, Nixon angrily joined PepsiCo as their lawyer.
Since then, the two Cokes have diverged.
Elephants and elephant lovers choose Pepsi as their designated sparkling beverage, while donkeys and donkey lovers choose Coca-Cola as their primary soft drink.
Do you think the Oracle of Omaha's choice of Coca-Cola was truly a stroke of genius? If he had chosen Pepsi at the time, he would have made even more money later.
The real reason was that both Coca-Cola stocks were undervalued at the time, and as a Wall Street power with close ties to Donkey, the Oracle of Omaha had no choice but to choose Coca-Cola.
"Are you kidding me?" Ernst was completely unmoved.
"Given the influence Google is currently demonstrating, would they need you to deliver such a large order?"
Massim, caught red-handed, showed no embarrassment whatsoever. He picked up a wine glass from the coffee table, raised it to Ernst, and maintained his usual cheeky grin. "Come on, let's drink first. Wine is a good thing; it can clear your head."
After downing half a glass of wine, Massim turned to Ernst again, his eyes now filled with scrutiny. "I heard that Leap Motion is short of money lately?"
Ernst cursed, "Damn it!" and called him a "traitor."
Besides Ernst and Leahy Lehmann, the only other person who knew the content of their conversation was Anne, who later came in and sat on the sofa reading a magazine.
I never expected to underestimate this naive and innocent girl; this woman is surprisingly cunning.
Seeing Ernst's face turn from pale to dark, as if he had been rubbed on a palette, Massim knew he had misunderstood and quickly waved his hand to explain, "Don't overthink it, we really didn't want to pry into your situation."
He leaned forward and lowered his voice even further, "Otherwise, I wouldn't have been so blunt as to tell you this to your face."
Ernst thought about it carefully and realized that Massim's words made sense. His expression softened slightly, and he looked at Massim with a puzzled expression, waiting for a reasonable explanation.
"Actually, it was the little girl who called me to complain that you scolded her, and also—" Massim stopped abruptly, his expression turning strange, as if he had eaten something odd and wanted to laugh but dared not.
"What else?" Ernst asked curiously.
"She said you also like to abuse women. During this time, she discovered that you had abused several women. Every time, you would drag them into a room, and then the women would make noises..."
Massim couldn't continue speaking and burst into laughter.
Ernst was completely dumbfounded. His eyes widened, his mouth gaped open enough to fit an egg, and his mind went blank. Only one thought remained: Is this 23-year-old woman an idiot?
If the other person were here right now, he'd really like to ask them, "Are you an idiot?"
Ernst didn't know whether he should be happy or whether he had found a treasure, but he knew that the women of these top families were very conservative.
But when Annie thought about what the other person looked like, she wondered if he would call her a scalpel on the night of the wedding.
"I just asked out of concern, and then she went on and on about a lot of things," Massim shrugged, indicating that you know what I mean.
"Is this compensation? You're just trying to take advantage of me."
It seems we'll have to keep some important secrets from that little girl from now on. I don't even need to think about it; she must have revealed why Yuedong Company is short of money and what plans they have in place.
Despite his anger, Ernst knew that he couldn't really refuse Massim's request.
Previously, they were the ones making all the effort and showing plenty of sincerity. Now that they want shares, you can't refuse after all the hard work they've put in, can you?
Cooperation means I give you benefits and you give me advantages, and both sides support each other for common development.
"32 billion US dollars, I can personally transfer 10% of the shares, that's the most."
The gaming industry is very profitable, but Ernst doesn't care because the gaming industry has too little influence.
"No problem," Massim readily agreed.
He knew that while Ernst's offer wouldn't be much lower, it certainly wouldn't be higher than the price offered by YueDong Games for financing.
Ernst looked at him and said, "Tell me, you couldn't have come to San Francisco just for this."