After about half an hour's flight, the helicopter landed at a manor on the seaside in Southampton, the eastern end of Long Island.
Zhu Momo, who had been excited all the way, took Simon's arm and got off the helicopter. Looking at the three-story stone country-style villa at the end of the open lawn, her eyes widened and she praised: "It's so beautiful here."
Compared to the crowds in Manhattan, standing on the lawn of this 10-acre estate, you can see the blue sky above your head, the magnificent villa in front of you, you can hear the sound of waves behind you, and you are surrounded by the vibrant greenery of summer. Anyone in this kind of environment can instantly feel relieved.
Simon led the three girls to the villa and said to Zhu Momo, who was holding him on his arm: "If you like it, you can come here often in the future."
Zhu Momo was very bold, looked at Simon, and said, "Actually, I was wondering if I could own such a manor."
A smile appeared on Simon's lips, and he didn't mind the girl's directly revealed ambition. There was a hint of temptation in his tone: "It depends on your performance."
When Simon said these words, the expressions of the three girls around him changed slightly.
If it weren't for the desire for fame and wealth, the three girls would not have signed up to participate in Elite's modeling competition. After all, in China at this stage, the modeling profession is still an unattractive job in the eyes of most people. If Simon's simple words were said by others, the three women might just think it was a joke.
But, this is Simon Westeros.
Thinking about the battle the other party had when they visited China a few months ago, and their net worth of more than one trillion US dollars, a manor like this might be about the same as one of their clothes to this man.
As I approached the villa, there was already a maid waiting respectfully in front of the door.
Although the Westeros family has properties all over the world, with its ever-expanding team of waiters, every property, no matter how big or small, is maintained to the extent that it can be moved in at any time. However, the expenditure on this aspect is enough every year. Simon buys a few more manors below his feet.
Of course, money is not a problem for Simon.
When Simon and others arrived at the steps of the villa, one of the leading blonde maids stepped forward, followed Simon up the steps step by step, and said respectfully: "Mr. Westeros, Ms. Davis is half Arrive in an hour, is there anything you need now?"
Simon did not answer immediately, but asked: "What is your name?"
"Jill," the waitress added after a slight hesitation: "Jill Peckett."
Simon nodded: "Ask about what kind of party there is tonight in the Hamptons. It should be a little more relaxed. Also, have someone send a batch of clothes over for them."
"OK."
Gil said, taking a look at the figures of Zhu Momo and the others, and instantly knew what they were doing.
When everyone entered the villa, the interior was also decorated in a relatively primitive style, with exposed rocks on the walls, dark red wooden floors, spliced log furniture, and seemingly rough fabric sofas... When they are gathered together, they have a special natural beauty. . In fact, there were originally some animal specimens, but Simon was not interested in them, so they were removed.
Zhu Momo, Jian Xin and Tao Yuelei looked around with interest. After hearing the man's words, they looked at each other again with anticipation in their hearts.
After passing through the villa hall, turning right and coming to a living room, Simon sat down on the sofa, patted the waist of Zhu Momo who sat down with him, and said to Jill: "Take them around the villa while I rest." A while."
Jill agreed again, made an invitation gesture to the three Zhu Momo girls, and then said to Simon: "Boss, do you want something to drink?"
"Just give me a glass of water."
Zhu Momo, who originally wanted Simon to accompany her, heard the man say that she wanted to take a rest. Without saying anything, she followed Jill and left the room obediently.
After leaving the house, Jill summoned another maid to take the three girls to visit the villa, and then ordered other subordinates to arrange for the entourage who came with Simon to stay in the annex building. By the way, he quickly dialed Angre on the way to the kitchen. Davis called and told Simon the two requests he had just made. Finally, he took a bottle of mineral water and a glass and returned to the living room.
Placing the tray on the coffee table in front of Simon, Jill knelt down on the carpet and looked at the man who was leaning on the sofa and flipping through a copy of "Business Weekly" and said, "Boss, do you want a cup?"
Simon shook his head: "No need."
Jill responded softly, unscrewed the bottle cap, and sent the water bottle to the corner of the coffee table closest to Simon.
Then the atmosphere became quiet.
Gil Peckett's expression was slightly hesitant, but he still insisted on kneeling next to the coffee table, because the opportunity to directly contact the boss was too rare. Once Angourie Davis arrived with his team, everything here would They will all be taken over, and if I want to say even one word to someone again, I don’t know when it will be.
After nearly ten minutes of this, Jill finally heard the voice she was expecting: "You know I like women to maintain this posture?"
Jill paused for a moment and nodded honestly: "Yes, boss."
After all, she is in the Wei family's maid team. As for someone's personality and preferences, Jill Peckett, who has been a Wei family maid for nearly two years, put together the information she had collected scatteredly, and it was roughly as follows: Can know.
Simon turned a random page of the "Business Weekly" in his hand and asked, "Tell me about yourself."
Jill was stunned for a moment.
I really didn't expect this, but I also understood that this was the best opportunity to leave an impression on this powerful man.
After quickly sorting out his thoughts, Jill said: "Boss, I received this job invitation after graduating from Princeton's graduate school in applied mathematics two years ago, because I believe this job can give me a great potential development platform. So I agreed. After the initial training, I was initially responsible for the daily work of an estate in Miami, Florida. Half a year later, I was transferred to New York by Ms. Davis. Later, she may have thought that I was doing a good job and talked to me personally. One time, I was put in charge of a team of waitresses for a total of seven properties in Southampton starting last month."
"It seems you did a good job."
Gill thought for a moment, and did not show off the many opinions he had put forward for the daily management and team structure of Wei's maid, but said confidently: "Yes."
"And applied mathematics. I like people who are strong in mathematics."
"Thank you, boss. In addition, while working in the past two years, I also obtained an MBA degree."
"Oh, I like this too." Simon flipped through the magazine in his hand with a smile on his lips: "However, it is a pity that you missed the opportunity. Good opportunities like ABCD and others are no longer available, just like the founder bonus of a company. The founding team can always obtain higher returns relatively easily, while subsequent employees, no matter how capable they are, no matter how well they do, or even become CEOs, cannot earn more than the original shareholders.”
"Boss, I don't think so," Gil retorted: "With the resources the Westeros system has, as long as the boss is willing to give us a chance, we can still succeed more easily than ordinary people."
"So what kind of opportunity do you want?"
“I want to be the boss woman.”
"Then what?"
"Whatever opportunity the boss gives me, I will do it."
"In this case, you probably know some of my habits. Put down your current job and become a personal maid for the three girls just now."
Jill looked at Simon, whose eyes were still on the Business Weekly: "Boss, you mean, my opportunity is in China?"
Simon finally raised his head and looked at Jill: "You are indeed very smart."
Jill smiled softly.
I remember when I, a top student at Princeton, received a job invitation as a maid in the Wei family. With such selection criteria, how could an unintelligent woman get in? Moreover, she also believed that the man in front of her should also see another advantage of her: sufficient resilience.
You know, she had waited patiently for two years for this opportunity.
Although even the peripheral members of the Wei family's maid and bodyguard team are paid quite well, because the daily work is too 'low-level' and because they can't see a certain man for a long time, it is far less than what they originally imagined and they can't endure it. Many people choose to leave their jobs.
In comparison, Jill is definitely one of the few people who is very proactive and able to withstand ordinary suffering.
Of course, I didn’t plan to stay through it forever.
Jill's plan is to work for the full term of her five-year contract. If she can't make it through the dragon gate, she will definitely leave her job. She will rely on her accumulation in recent years and the share of the vase fund provided by the Westeros family for the Wei family's maid team. own things. She was 23 years old when she joined the company two years ago. Even five years later in the plan, she will only be 28 years old. Many things are not too late.
Now, things have apparently taken a turn for the better.
Speaking of which, even if it weren't for today, Jill knew that she had already secured a good future after meeting Janet Westeros in June. There are always rumors outside that Janet Westeros has been left out by Simon Westeros, but Jill knows very well that Janet Westeros, or rather the two Janets, in the Dume Point Manor have a lot of resources. And the power far exceeds that of the hostess of many wealthy businessmen and wealthy families.
However, compared to Janet Westeros' future arrangements for her, Jill still hopes to gain the direct favor of the male master of the family.
Simon simply closed the "Business Weekly" in his hand and motioned to the girl: "Come here."
Jill obediently moved to the man's feet.
Simon stretched out his hand to lift the girl's chin and looked at it. She had a standard Germanic girl appearance of 80 points or above, with blond hair, blue eyes, a straight bridge of nose and a delicate mouth. There was also the touch of soft skin that was clearly carefully maintained on her fingertips: "Peckett, this Is it a German surname?”
Jill nodded slightly: "Yes, boss, I was born in Germany and immigrated to the United States with my parents when I was 3 years old."
Simon took back his hand and smiled: "One more point, I also like German girls. Apart from the lack of humor, the Germans are indeed one of the best nations in the world."
Jill considerately handed the bottle of mineral water that Simon had not touched to his boss's hand. He looked up at the man with eyes flashing slightly, but did not speak.
In fact, Jill was very curious about this man's ethnicity.
Or the whole world is very curious.
Westerners always emphasize equality and political correctness, but in fact, most people are very concerned about ethnicity. This is not only the difference between different races, but also between white people. For example, the most superior people are obviously the Anglo-Saxons, and the most controversial ones are the Jews. As for the Slavs, they belong to the lowest level. Due to historical reasons, they have long been disliked and even hostile.
Let’s talk about Simon Westeros. Because he made his fortune in Hollywood and the miracle of this young man quickly accumulating huge wealth, there were once rumors that he was Jewish, and the Jewish community obviously very much wanted this to be true.
However, based on the appearance, Westeros seems to be more mainstream Anglo-Saxon, which is of course also the expectation of the 'Wasp' family.
In addition, with some rumors about Westeros being interested in Eastern Europe, especially after using the Soviet army to cause a stir in Africa two years ago, there are also some rumors about Westeros having Slavic ancestry.
Because this man was an orphan, even his real surname was unknown. Even Westeros himself probably didn't know the truth. Or, this man already knows. After all, as power and wealth become more and more powerful, if Westeros wants to pursue something, it may not be difficult to find out some truth.
With this thought in mind, after Simon took a few sips of water and seemed to be in a good mood, Jill said again: "Boss, can I choose my own team to follow the three of them?"
"OK."
"So, boss, what can I do next?"
"First understand China and look for opportunities yourself. Unlike Europe and the United States, the other side of the ocean is a blue ocean of capital in my opinion. If you can't find opportunities in such an environment, you can only rest assured about your current position."
“If I find it, will my boss support it?”
"Find it first and then talk about it."
Jill opened her mouth again, but stopped talking.
Simon smiled and said: "As for funds or resources, they will be given to you when they are due."
After chatting for a while, the housekeeper Angora Davis arrived and naturally took over Jill Peckett's work. The three girls were swam around the villa by Simon, who wanted to let the cat go. When I called downstairs, I saw shelves full of luxury women's clothing and packaged shoes in the hall, and there was even a team of professional stylists.
After more than two hours of preparation, the three girls, who had just signed a contract with Elite and had only lived in dormitories and wore the cheapest clothes, were completely transformed from Cinderella to princesses.
As in a dream.
During the process, the housekeeper also collected a batch of information about parties held in the Hamptons area tonight, and Simon selected a charity cocktail party hosted by Condé Nast Group boss Shiyi Newhouse at his East Hampton mansion. After a little contact, they learned that Simon was interested in attending, and they naturally expressed their great welcome.
Eight o'clock in the evening.
The summer night finally enveloped the countryside. Simon took three dressed-up girls in a stretched Rolls-Royce and arrived at Shiyi Newhouse's mansion on the east side of East Hampton. This man who controls a large number of media resources once had a close relationship with Hess. The head of the Newhouse family, who is equally famous as the special family, came out to greet him in person.
"Welcome, Simon, you will be the biggest surprise at the party tonight."
"I hope I wasn't too abrupt."
"of course not."
Shiyi Newhouse greeted Simon, not forgetting to shake hands with the three gorgeous oriental girls around him, and he couldn't help but tease and envy them.
Really envious.
This young man, in every aspect, is enough to make them, the established rich, jealous. Speaking of women, of course there will be no shortage of women at Newhouse's level, but Shiyi Newhouse, who is short and unattractive, cannot attract large numbers of beauties of all colors to take the initiative to embrace him.
After a brief exchange of greetings, Shiyi Newhouse led Simon and others into the reception. As soon as someone entered the lobby of the villa, many eyes around him immediately focused on him, and then they couldn't move away.
Seeing this situation, Shiyi Newhouse actually felt a little uncomfortable in his heart, but he couldn't show it.
For this young man who almost destroyed the Hearst family, the Newhouse family did not dare to neglect at all. Even if the rise of the Internet dominated by the Westeros system in recent years has continued to squeeze the living space of traditional paper media, when the gap becomes wider When we grow up, no one will have any special thoughts anymore.
As for the pride of the century-old Qian family
forget it.
Simon also has no airs and quickly blends into the crowd.
Simon basically knows all the guests present at the Newhouse family's parties, whether they are in the fashion, media or financial fields. For example, Anna Coleman, the female president of Fashion TV, Anna Wintour, the editor-in-chief of "Vogue" magazine, and Cindy Crawford, all met at Jerry Hall's house last night.
In fact, this kind of circle is already very small.
Anna Coleman and others were not surprised at all that Simon, who was staying overnight at Hall's house, brought three oriental girls to the reception today. No one can predict how many lovers there are in Westeros. The number is clear. Moreover, if it is other men, especially married men, it is inevitable that there will be ups and downs. After gradually getting used to Simon Westeros, many people will take it for granted.
"Jane and the three of them have just signed under Elite. Anna, if there is a suitable opportunity in "Vogue", we can let them try."
"No problem, Simon," Anna Wintour agreed with a smile, and looked at the three girls carefully: "I have to say that their figures and temperaments are all very good, and they will definitely shine in the future, by the way. , Simon, are you going to let them walk on the Victoria’s Secret runway for the last time?”
"It depends on the specific situation. They have just entered the industry and are not very good at walking. You know, my requirements are very strict."
Anna Wintour laughed: "I am actually a very strict person."
"certainly."
Simon was chatting with Anna Wintour and others, while the three girls, Jian Xin, were obediently accompanying them with smiles on their faces. The English skills of the three girls are only sufficient for simple communication. It is difficult to understand the people around them if they speak a little faster. However, although they could only act as quails around men, the three women were quite excited to participate in such a party.
It's just Anna Wintour, and the eyes of the three women are shining as they already understand what "Vogue" means in the fashion world, not to mention the people around them who are all big figures in New York City in their minds.
Of course, no matter how big you are, you can't be bigger than the man next to you.
So definitely hold on tight.
Simon was chatting with Wintour and others when a slightly older voice came from beside him: "Simon, I didn't expect to see you here tonight."
He turned around and looked over, but it was George Soros, accompanied by another middle-aged man.
After shaking hands with the other party, Simon also said: "I didn't expect to see you here, George. I didn't expect you to be interested in fashion?"
"Oh, of course not. I have been talking about things here in the afternoon, and there happened to be a party here in the evening, so we came together." George Soros said, then looked at the three vases next to Simon and said, "Can you It’s really enviable.” After saying this, he introduced the middle-aged man with gray hair and black-rimmed glasses beside him: “By the way, Simon, this is David Rubinstein. He and several other people run a private equity firm. The equity fund is called Carlyle, maybe you’ve heard of it.”
The middle-aged man took a step forward and stretched out his hand to Simon: "Mr. Westeros, nice to meet you."
"Hello, David, just call me Simon."
David Rubinstein showed the right expression of honor and took out his business card and handed it over: "Well, Simon, this is my business card."
Simon took it and said with a smile: "I'm sorry, I don't seem to have a business card."
This is the truth.
It has happened before, but I don’t know when it started and then stopped. The main reason is that I don’t want to mess up my hair.
There was nothing wrong with David Rubinstein's expression: "It doesn't matter."
Simon nodded and looked at the business card in his hand.
The Carlyle Group, combined with the memories of two lives, Simon certainly knows.
Unlike New York, where various funds are concentrated, the Carlyle Group is one of the few investment companies that originated in Washington. People with keen intuition can probably understand the background of this company based on this alone.
A standard combination of politics and business with capital.
The Carlyle Group, which has recruited a large number of former senior officials in Washington as executives or consultants, has been engaged in corporate capital operations in the defense field since its establishment in the 1980s. To put it bluntly, it acquires or invests in companies in related fields, and then uses political connections to provide these services. The company makes money by attracting defense orders.
The U.S. military-industrial conglomerate is not just the giants like Lockheed Martin and Boeing that ordinary people think of. Many important military equipment, such as fighter jets, aircraft carriers, etc., often require hundreds or even thousands of suppliers, and the operating space is very huge. Just like some news that was later exposed, a warship nut, the same material, the same standard, the market price is less than 5 US dollars, but the price purchased by the Ministry of National Defense from the supplier can be as high as 700 US dollars, a price difference of more than 100 times.
As for the reason
Do not ask.
Asking is a military secret.
After all, the national defense budget is too abundant, and it is impossible to spend all the money on hairy crabs. It can only be so bad.
However, compared to a bunch of parasites in the U.S. defense field, Carlyle Group is relatively ideal. Later, it gradually grew and grew, and once became a private equity giant in the industry comparable to Blackstone, KKR and other companies. Then, after experiencing the 2008 financial crisis, we could not escape the fate of decline after prosperity.
Simon has a deep memory of the Carlyle acquisition of XCMG.
Um.
Not much to say about this.
At this time, he did not expect that the Carlyle Group had a relationship with Soros. Simon was a little surprised by this, but it was not unexpected.
Soros' close ties to Washington are also well known.
David Rubinstein obviously hoped to chat more with Simon, but the initiative was quickly taken away by Soros: "Simon, I went to Russia some time ago and I heard that you were in Ukraine at the time."
"Yeah, vacation."
Soros showed a helpless expression and glanced at the three vases next to Simon: "Simon, you live in paradise almost every day, do you need a special vacation?"
"Of course, I will go to Australia for vacation soon."
Simon actually doesn’t really want to take up Soros’s topic about Russia. He talks too much. It would not be good if this financial giant jumps out of the Russian financial quagmire starting next year. He is still waiting to go. Help Soros clean up his "mess", such as the shares of a state-owned telecommunications company that are likely to be taken over by Soros-backed Russian oligarch Potanin.
"Actually, George, I don't have any special plans for many things now. Now I just scatter seeds everywhere, and then wait to see which ones can germinate. If they grow well, I water them. When they bear fruit, everyone is happy."
When Soros heard this, his expression was cautious and complicated: "Simon, I was a little scared to hear what you said. Last time you spread your seeds everywhere, and now everyone has seen it, Ygritte, Cisco, AOL..."
Simon is easy to talk to: "George, many of my actions are on the bright side. If you think they are promising, Quantum Fund can follow up."
After Simon finished speaking, David Rubinstein, who was standing next to Soros, couldn't help but shake the hand holding the cocktail glass slightly.
The gate to the new world.
Soros obviously had no thoughts of David Rubinstein at all. His solemn expression turned away and turned into a wry smile: "That's the problem, Simon, I can't keep up."
After becoming famous through several consecutive financial sniping attacks, Quantum Fund now controls tens of billions of dollars in funds. However, in the face of the Westeros system, which controls assets of more than two trillion dollars, Quantum Fund is still not enough. Simon said that he was sowing seeds everywhere, and even assuming that all the targets were carefully selected by this young man, the Quantum Fund could not keep up.
Even if you scatter along with a few of them, who knows how to care for the seeds after they germinate so that they can bloom and bear fruit
Nowadays, a series of new technology companies such as Yigrit seem to have smooth sailing and unstoppable success. However, if someone could really see this prospect at the beginning, and even know what to do after seeing it, the current market value of these companies is simply unstoppable. How could it be the turn of this new-money junior who had just emerged a few years ago to dominate the eye-popping super giant companies
All in all, Soros was really frightened when he heard Simon say that he was sowing seeds again.
Soros actually had some misunderstandings.
What Simon said about sowing seeds this time was actually similar to the small arrangement he made with Gil Peckett in the Southampton villa in the evening. Or, the industrial layout of Rivne Oblast in Ukraine. Or even slightly older, like a short man with thinning hair in Russia, and so on.
These are no longer the forward-looking layout of the new technology industry for several consecutive years after the 87 stock market crash.
After reaching the summit, Simon, who is indeed a little confused about the future, has been sowing seeds in a somewhat messy manner in the past two years, so he has no clear expectations for future benefits.
However, many years later, when the 'seeds' that Simon had sown all over the world over the years gradually grew up, almost covering the entire world, it was not only Soros who confirmed that the panic at this moment was correct, but the entire world at that time was inevitably terrified.