Rebirth in 1985

Chapter 851: Invitation from the Royal Family

Lu Shaohua knew how powerful Ronaldinho was. He was the winner of the European Golden Ball and the World Footballer of the Year, and he won them in the same year. This means how powerful Ronaldinho was during his peak period.

At the same time, Lu Shaohua also knew that Ronaldinho became famous this year, letting the five major leagues know about the existence of a big-toothed player. Since then, Ronaldinho has become a hot commodity, and many clubs want to buy this player.

But this situation no longer exists, because Ronaldinho has not yet become famous. His name is only well-known in Brazil. He was signed by Manchester United, a traditional giant, and it is destined that no club can compete with him.

As for the issue of a work permit, perhaps he cannot apply for one now, but the situation will be different after he becomes famous. By using the genius clause and considering that Ho Ying-tung has connections in the British Football Association, I believe it will be no problem to get a work permit.

This is the fact. The fact shows that Ronaldinho belongs to Manchester United, although it is only temporary. Lu Shaohua doesn’t know whether he will transfer in the future, but in the next few years, Ronaldinho will definitely belong to Manchester United. There is no doubt about it.

Some people may ask, is Ronaldinho worthy of Lu Shaohua's attention?

If Lu Shaohua were asked to answer, he would definitely say it was worth it. Yes, Lu Shaohua had just acquired Manchester United and he urgently needed such a player, a player who could bring the Ballon d'Or and the World Footballer of the Year to the team.

Although Ronaldinho will not win the award until a few years later, when he grows up, people will definitely remember that Ronaldinho was purchased when Lu Shaohua just took over. The credit will then go to Lu Shaohua.

What Lu Shaohua wants is credit, so that he can further realize that it is the right decision for Lu Shaohua to take over Manchester United.

But no matter what, Lu Shaohua's trip to the UK was over. After learning that Ferguson had acted according to his arrangements, Lu Shaohua had nothing to worry about. He asked people to get ready to leave the UK and return to Hong Kong the next day.

However, just as Lu Shaohua was about to leave the UK, an unexpected invitation forced Lu Shaohua to temporarily stop all his plans and stay in the UK for two more days.

There are not many invitations that can make Lu Shaohua temporarily stop all his plans. Now that Lu Shaohua has decided to stop his plans, it can be seen how important the invitation is.

That’s right, the invitation came from the British royal family. The Queen of England personally invited Lu Shaohua. Although the royal family has left the center of power, as the spiritual symbol of the British people, sometimes what they say is more appealing than that of the British president. How could Lu Shaohua refuse the invitation?

Of course, with Lu Shaohua's current status, it is no big deal to refuse an invitation, because Phoenix Group is too powerful, and it is reasonable for a state-owned enterprise to give some courtesy to Lu Shaohua, the owner.

If that is the case, then why did Lu Shaohua accept the invitation?

The reason was simple. Lu Shaohua had guessed that the British Queen's invitation to him would involve two things. One was about the Royal Dutch Shell Oil Company, and the other was about business.

It can be said that the royal family invited Lu Shaohua half for public reasons and half for private reasons.

The reason why the Dutch Royal Shell Oil Company added the word "Royal" to its name is because a portion of the company's shares are held by the British royal family. The company previously had cooperation with the Phoenix Group, which now holds something like 17.something percent of the shares. As the major shareholder, the British royal family will of course have to talk to Lu Shaohua.

As for the public good, this is even simpler. The royal family must have been commissioned by the British government to allow Phoenix Group to invest in the UK, which is a bit like attracting investment.

Investing in the UK?

Lu Shaohua bought Manchester United in part because he wanted to break into the British upper class social circle. Why did he want to break into the upper class social circle? It was all for investment, in order to buy Rolls-Royce.

Now that the British government has taken the initiative to extend an olive branch, what reason does Lu Shaohua have to refuse?

No, Lu Shaohua had no reason to refuse. On the contrary, he was eager to be invited by the British government so that he could realize his ambitions and achieve his goals.

……

Oddly enough, the place where the royal family invited Lu Shaohua was not in the palace, but in a five-star hotel. It seemed like they were being treated as equals, rather than the royal family summoning Lu Shaohua.

But then again, whether it was being summoned or being treated equally, Lu Shaohua didn't mind at all, as long as he didn't act condescending when meeting her. Lu Shaohua could ignore the etiquette.

Lu Shaohua came for benefits. As long as you give Lu Shaohua benefits, what's the use of those so-called etiquette? Lu Shaohua cares about reality, not empty things.

Look, Lu Shaohua was dressed very casually, not that formally. Although he was wearing a suit and tie, looking neat and tidy, it was far from being as formal as attending a banquet. It was more like he was going to attend a negotiation.

In the small restaurant of the five-star hotel, restrictions are implemented and hotel guests are not allowed to dine here. Only Lu Shaohua and officials of the British royal family and the British government can enter here.

This is Britain, not Hong Kong. Lu Shaohua couldn't bring all his bodyguards in like he did in Hong Kong. Lu Shaohua only brought two people, one was He Qiang and the other was Li Shangkui.

When the three of them entered, there was naturally some polite exchanges. Fortunately, Lu Shaohua's English was good and he could talk to everyone without going through a translation.

After the pleasantries, everyone took their seats one by one, including Li Shangkui and He Qiang who followed Lu Shaohua. At this moment, they were not Lu Shaohua's bodyguards, but representatives of the Phoenix Group's entourage.

The British royal family present included the Queen and a prince, while the British government presented the President and the Minister of Commerce. However, today the British government was not the protagonist; the protagonists were Lu Shaohua and the Queen of the royal family.

Obviously, this kind of occasion is not suitable for discussing business, after all, it is dinner time. Lu Shaohua also knows the situation, so he naturally would not talk about business. Instead, he chatted and laughed with British government officials and the Queen.

Until the end of the banquet, everyone entered the reception room arranged by the hotel and sat down on different sides. The atmosphere automatically escalated and became extremely serious. Both Lu Shaohua and the British representatives knew that the main business had begun.

First, the British president spoke up and extended the most sincere invitation to Lu Shaohua, hoping that Phoenix Group could invest in the UK. Oh, no, not to invest in the UK, but to increase investment in the UK.

But don't forget, as a country with a developed economy, how could Phoenix Group not set up a branch here?

Phoenix Sales has an overseas branch in London, England. Now Lu Shaohua has invested in Manchester United, which can be regarded as an additional investment. However, the British government feels that this is not enough and hopes that Phoenix Group can invest more.

After the British President made his statement, Lu Shaohua also responded, claiming that he was willing to increase investment in the UK.

In addition, Lu Shaohua also said that Phoenix Group intends to enter the UK's retail industry and plans to open more than ten hypermarkets in the UK.

Phoenix Supermarket, the first thing Lu Shaohua mentioned was Phoenix Supermarket. Phoenix Supermarket is now carrying out its overseas strategy, and the UK is just one of the stops. Now if we talk about it in front of the British government, we might be able to get some preferential policies.

Don't forget, I heard that Lu Shaohua is interested in entering the British retail industry. Although Lu Shaohua only said that he would invest in more than ten hypermarkets, Phoenix Group is a company. Once the investment is successful, it will be no problem to open a few more, even a dozen or twenty stores.

This is a large investment, and also a huge form of investment. First, invest a batch of tentatively, and then look at the efficiency. After there is a return, it is inevitable to increase the investment.

The British President was very happy about this. After thinking for a moment, he immediately stated that he would give Phoenix Group certain preferential policies. At the same time, the British government would also help Phoenix Supermarket settle in the UK in various ways.

The British President was vague about the help he would provide, but Lu Shaohua knew that this help would cover a wide range of areas, such as land, real estate, and other things necessary for opening a large shopping mall, and the British government would do its best to help.

With the words of the British President, Lu Shaohua was naturally happy. After thanking him, Lu Shaohua proposed another important investment - the automobile industry. Phoenix Group wanted to invest in the automobile industry in the UK.

However, Lu Shaohua was also very vague in this regard and did not indicate whether he would open a Phoenix Automobile branch or acquire an existing automobile brand in the UK.

The British President was naturally happy and quickly expressed his welcome. He also reiterated what he had just said, that Phoenix Group would be given preferential policies. Obviously, as long as Phoenix Group came to invest in the UK, preferential policies would be inevitable.

Lu Shaohua expressed his gratitude this time, and then said that he would send people to the UK for inspection as soon as possible, and then let Phoenix Group's industry settle in the UK.

At this point, the two sides have reached an agreement, and the talks with the British government have come to an end. All they have to wait for is for Phoenix Group to send someone over to conduct an inspection and then make a formal investment.

It seemed that the British government officials were more sensible. After everything was discussed, the British President immediately said that he still had business to attend to and left with the accompanying officials, leaving only Lu Shaohua and others and the British royal family in the reception room.

However, the Queen, a shrewd woman, did not seem to be in a hurry. She chatted and laughed with Lu Shaohua for a while until the atmosphere was not so tense and relaxed a lot. Then the Queen pretended to cough twice.

This was the prelude to getting to the main topic, and Lu Shaohua was very clear about it, so he put away his smile, became serious, and waited quietly for what was to come.

……