My 1999

"By the way, how was the discussion over with Chen Shijun?"

"He has already agreed."

Xu Liang nodded slightly, "In a few days, make an appointment with someone. Let's all meet and get to know each other."

"OK."

After hanging up the phone, Xu Liang had a smile on his face.

So far, progress in all aspects is pretty good.

The acquisition prospects of Vivendi Games are getting brighter day by day, and the acquisition of the two major branches of Hanhua Capital in the United States is also relatively smooth.

Oil speculation is also having little trouble at the moment.

The only thing that worried him was Vidhivan's unsatisfied appetite.

But the game progress of "Warcraft III" still has a long time, let him grind slowly.

The next day, just after Xu Liang came back from fitness, he received a call from Jiang Xiaoyang.

"What happened if you are looking for me so urgently?"

“Bill Gates just injected $100 million into Kunpeng Fund.”

"Really? I didn't expect him to actually vote." Xu Liang was a little surprised.

He also thought that Gates wanted to invest mainly to dig holes for Hongmeng International. Now it seems that things are not what he thought.

At least not entirely.

"Have you met him?" Jiang Xiaoyang asked curiously.

"Well, I met yesterday."

"No wonder he invested in Kunpeng. But how did you convince Bill Gates to invest?"

Kunpeng Fund’s performance is zero.

Xu Liang briefly told the story of his meeting with Bill Gates.

"Hongmeng is getting better and better, and even the world's richest man is interested in it."

"The Internet is the future, and Hongmeng is the top in the Internet industry. As long as there is a little vision, who is willing to miss it?"

"That's true. Not to mention foreign countries, there are many people calling here in China who want to invest in a roundabout way." Jiang Xiaoyang said with a smile.

Xu Liang's eyes flashed.

"Who called you?"

"Some pretentious people. But you don't have to worry. With our current strength, we don't need to care about them."

Xu Liangliang was relieved and was not surprised.

In fact, if it were not for the protection of the Jiang family, Hongmeng Huaxia may not be able to develop to its current level safely.

"By the way, you rejected Bill Gates, why did he still invest $100 million in Kunpeng?"

"I can't guess what the richest man is thinking. He may have the same idea as Li Jiacheng. But this is a good thing for us. Bill Gates's influence is greater than that of Li Jiacheng. If we publicize it well, Kunpeng will still be there before the end of the year." It can raise a lot of money." Xu Liang said with a smile.

"That's true. At least in the United States and the West, Bill Gates has greater influence, and we really need to publicize it well."

After Xu Liang nodded, "Tell Qiu Heng that the money raised by Kunpeng Fund should be kept in your hands for the time being and don't invest it."

"Um."

"By the way, I have to keep an eye on the oil market. It's probably difficult to return to China this year. Hanhua's year-end summary meeting will be held in Silicon Valley."

"You're not coming back?"

"Um."

Xu Liang nodded, "We have invested too much in oil. If we don't keep an eye on it, I'm afraid something will go wrong."

Of course, this is an excuse.

The most important thing is that watching domestic news these days reminded him of one thing - SARS.

Viruses don't care whether you have money or not.

If you get caught, you will be the unlucky one.

Therefore, he planned to take his parents out and spend the New Year abroad.

Several women were treated the same way.

"Okay. I'll tell them."

Jiang Xiaoyang didn't think much about it.

"Um."

The two chatted for a few more words before hanging up the phone.

After holding the phone and pondering for a moment, he called Xie Wen.

"Mr. Xu."

"Lao Xie, have you read the document I sent you?"

"I just finished reading it. Mr. Xu, this is very beneficial to us. After Microsoft is taken care of, Google will have an offer, and no one will compete with us for the Vivendi game." Xie Wen sounded excited.

I really didn't expect that the biggest enemy I expected would be defeated by Xu Liang.

And it also received a guarantee of US$1.5 billion.

With this guarantee, Hongmeng can issue a bond at a low interest rate.

More importantly, with this money, Hongmeng can easily acquire Vivendi Games without worrying about spending too much and delaying the company's normal development.

"Don't be too happy. Vivendi is now obsessed with money, so it's not that easy to negotiate. And if the acquisition fails, we will have to pay Microsoft 8% interest, which is not a small amount."

Microsoft's $1.5 billion guaranteed loan is based on Hongmeng's successful acquisition of Vivendi Games. If it fails, the money will have to pay interest.

Capitalists are not philanthropists.

"Having said that, it's still easier than when Microsoft was watching."

"Haha, that's true."

"Mr. Xu, do you need me to go to the United States?"

"No. I'll just take care of signing the contract with Microsoft. There's no need for you to travel all the way. Also, it's the end of the year soon. Year-end summary and New Year's outlook are all inseparable from you."

Xie Wen didn’t insist.

He does have a lot of things going on here.

"Also, Lao Xie. I won't go to the company's annual meeting this year."

Xie Wen agreed without asking for specific reasons.

After a few final chats, Xu Liang hung up the phone.

"Mr. Xu."

Lu Hui came over.

“Here’s information on all the estates for rent and for sale around Silicon Valley.”

As the world's largest technological innovation hub, Silicon Valley will definitely be a place he will visit often in the future.

It's impossible to stay in a hotel every time you come, that would be too inconvenient.

Xu Liang took it and looked at it. There were three copies of the information, all of which were manors covering a large area.

I was secretly satisfied.

Lu Hui still understood his preferences very well.

The first villa covers an area of ​​two acres, nearly 8,094 square meters, has 7 bedrooms and 9 bathrooms, and has a living area of ​​just over 1,644 square meters.

Two floors above ground, one underground floor, U-shaped layout, cement frame structure, completely modern decoration, price is around US$8 million.

The second building covers an area of ​​2.5 acres (approximately 10,117 square meters), with a usable area of ​​1,208 square meters, four bedrooms, seven bathrooms and two guesthouses, as well as a tennis court and a cinema.

The price is around $10 million.

The third building covers an area of ​​5.5 acres (approximately 24,164 square meters), with a usable area of ​​4,415 square meters. It is huge, fully functional, and has its own horse farm and vineyard. The price is around US$25 million.

The three mansions are located in Atherton, a luxury neighborhood in Silicon Valley.

Looking at the photo above, Xu Liang clicked his tongue in admiration.

The American house is big.

Especially the last building is surprisingly big. Once the door is closed, it becomes a world of its own.

It can indeed be called a manor.

The information prepared by Lu Hui was very detailed. The sales prices and rents of the three houses were clearly written.

"Buy the last one."

Although he doesn't have much money now, he still has no problem coming up with a few million dollars for a down payment.

"OK."

——

Dong Dong…….

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in."

Eric Schmidt opened the door and walked in, putting the documents in his hand on the table.

"Larry, this is the company's November earnings report."

Larry Page took it with a smile.

"How about it?"

"Net revenue increased by 40% compared with last month, and net profit doubled."

Eric Schmidt's face showed excitement.

Google's customer base, revenue and net profit are growing every month. The bright future makes him very grateful for his choice.

The CEO of Google is definitely a new starting point for his career.

After reading it, Larry Page also showed joy on his face.

The combination of Hongmeng and Yahoo has filled the entire company with a sense of anxiety and gloom. Although this report cannot fundamentally change the situation, it can at least make everyone feel more relaxed.

Put down the file.

"Eric, now that we have enough funds, the previous 'book search' business should also be started."

A worried look flashed across Eric Schmidt's face.

Google's book search is to move the content of all offline paper books online for anyone to search and download.

It can be expected that such a business will seriously infringe on the interests of publishers and authors.

Once launched, Google will definitely face legal battles.

"Larry, the United States is not China. Copyright laws are more stringent. Once we start promoting the 'book search' business, it will be very troublesome."

Larry Page calmly said: "Eric, do you know how Bing got out of these lawsuits?"

"certainly."

Eric Schmidt nodded.

According to copyright law, piracy of books is definitely illegal.

But the excerpt is legal.

And copyright law does not specify the specific scope of excerpts.

The few hundred words you excerpt are excerpts, and the few thousand words you excerpt are also excerpts.

Bing cleverly exploits this loophole and counts all the essence of a book as excerpts.

Therefore, when you go to court, you basically never lose, and most cases end in private settlement.

"In this case, I'm afraid it will affect our Google's reputation." Eric Schmidt said.

"Eric, there is a Chinese saying: When there are two beneficial things, choose the one with greater benefits; when comparing two harmful things, choose the smaller harm. If Google is not as good as Bing in terms of search accuracy and content, welcome to us The only thing is to be abandoned by the market.

If we fail, all goodwill will become worthless. "Larry Page said.

Eric Schmidt pondered for a moment and then nodded.

"I understand, I will move forward with this matter immediately."

Ali Page nodded and felt relieved.

At this critical moment, he needed Eric Schmidt's management talents to preside over the company's development.

So it’s important to communicate in advance and maintain a consistent pace.