The two walked a little closer to the banquet hall. Jack Welch said: "That's it, Simon, I heard that you are preparing to build a thermal power plant in Ukraine. The last order for nuclear power plant units was given to Westinghouse. This time There’s no reason not to cooperate with GM, right?”
Affected by the shortage of power resources in Rivne Oblast, in addition to Unit 4 of the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant that is still under construction, the Westeros System is also currently planning to build a 2,000-megawatt thermal power station in Ukraine.
Unlike the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant, where the total investment for a 950-MW Unit 4 is as high as $1.5 billion, the cost of thermal power plants is much lower. However, no matter how low the construction cost of a 2,000-megawatt thermal power plant is, preliminary estimates require it to cost US$500 million. Such a project is enough for Jack Welch to personally fight for it.
When Simon saw Welch mentioning this matter, he did not answer directly, but asked: "Jack, the GM team should have been in contact with Rivney, right?"
Jack Welch nodded: "Of course, but the reply over there is that they plan to use local equipment and solutions. Frankly speaking, Simon, I admit that the industrial strength of the former Soviet Union is not what it used to be, and you must know that. , general-purpose generator sets are definitely much better than those of the former Soviet Union in all aspects.”
"But it's also much more expensive," Simon said, then shook his head and said with a smile: "Jack, the last time the Rivne Nuclear Power Plant was built, frankly speaking, it was a Ukrainian state-owned enterprise, plus some other reasons. I will use Westinghouse equipment. But this time it is basically my personal investment. Of course, I have to consider the cost, so it’s a pity.”
Unit 4 of the Rovne Nuclear Power Plant originally required only a US$500 million investment to be completed. However, under the operation of Westinghouse Electric, the Ukrainian Nuclear Power Company and the Ukrainian Ministry of Energy, the price was raised to US$800 million. Not to mention the private intrigues, the money will eventually be paid by the already stretched Ukrainian government.
Now that he is doing it himself, Simon will certainly not be taken advantage of.
Compared with nuclear power, the technical difficulty of thermal power is much lower. As long as local Ukrainian companies can undertake it, using local solutions and equipment, the planned investment of 500 million US dollars may still be able to save a lot. Simon's plan is to take advantage of the trend to dig out and reorganize a related engineering technology. After all, this thermal power station may not be the last one.
When Jack Welch saw Simon's refusal, he did not give up and tried again: "Simon, I'll give you a good discount."
Simon shook his head again and said with a smile: "Jack, maybe you can also guess my layout for Ukraine. This thermal power plant is not the only one, but it is very important to me. It is definitely not just business. .”
Simon said this, and Welch, who was also very aware of certain things, stopped continuing, but still couldn't help but asked: "Simon, it seems that you are planning to artificially create one in Ukraine, well, according to the regulations in China The concept is called a special economic zone, right?”
"That's right."
"Then there are definitely other areas where we can work together."
"That's for sure, Jack. Speaking of which, if GM wants to build some factories in Eastern Europe, Rivne Oblast is a good choice."
Jack Welch didn't expect Simon to turn his back on customers so quickly and started his own business. He smiled and nodded: "Of course, if there is a suitable project, I will definitely consider it."
When the matter came to this point, Simon thought it was over and was about to go to socialize with other guests. Welch stopped him again and said: "There is one more thing, Simon, regarding Time Warner, this summer season that just passed. , seriously, Warner Bros. did a terrible job."
Welch is obviously referring to the fact that Warner didn't even have a movie with a box office of over 100 million in the past summer season. After all, this is the first summer season after General Electric merged with Time Warner. For such a performance, although the responsibility does not lie with the parent company. , but it definitely made Welch very embarrassed.
Simon could only shrug: "This, Jack, is not my responsibility."
Welch just couldn't help but complain. Seeing Simon say this, he realized for a moment that he really had no reason to blame Simon. Could he blame Daenerys Entertainment for being too strong and leaving Warner with no way to survive
As a legendary professional manager, he does not have this habit.
Moreover, if it were the heads of other Hollywood film companies, they might not be able to help but talk to Simon about cooperation at this time.
However, after quietly studying a series of external cooperation projects of Daenerys Entertainment in private, Welch discovered that although other Hollywood film companies have made a lot of money from their cooperation with Daenerys Entertainment, in fact To some extent, they have lost their independence, which is absolutely harmful to the long-term development of an enterprise.
The current situation in Hollywood is largely due to the fact that other studios have indirectly promoted Daenerys Entertainment to grow bigger through their cooperation with Daenerys Entertainment in the past few years.
The most typical one is probably the DC movie universe plan.
Welch felt heartbroken when he thought of this now. In the DC movie universe plan, although the majority of the interests lie with Warner, the initiative is completely controlled by the young man in front of him. Although the other party only occupies a smaller amount of interests, in fact, the main It is the distribution commission, but it is equivalent to using most of Warner's resources to help itself make money. Daenerys entertains herself and can continue to develop her own projects with the saved production and publicity resources.
The Jurassic Park series, the Conjuring cinematic universe series, the Pixar animated series, the list goes on.
Even now, Warner doesn't even dare to fall out and break up.
Because Daenerys Entertainment still has the biggest bargaining chip, no less than DC and Marvel. Once the two parties fall out, Daenerys Entertainment will only need to hold the copyrights of the three giant superheroes at the core of the DC Cinematic Universe. Neither party will be able to continue to develop the DC series, but the other side can start the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
All in all, it's just too uncomfortable.
His expression changed for a moment, and he remembered the phenomenon-level reality show "American Idol," which was also launched last week on the ABC TV network owned by Daenerys Entertainment. Welch became even more out of temper for a moment and could only raise his glass to Simon.
Simon understood and could probably understand Welch's mood. He also raised his glass. Without saying anything more, he walked away with Maria and the two girls who had been standing quietly beside him just now.
The reception lasted until one o'clock in the afternoon.
Simon left the hotel with the two women and came to the parking lot. The bodyguard opened the car door and Ulyana got in the car first. Simon was about to get in the car when Maria next to him tugged her clothes: "I can take the car in the back." ?"
Simon paused, stepped aside and said, "You and Uliya sit together, I'll sit in the back and I have some things to discuss with A."
Maria's face turned slightly red, and she got into the car obediently.
After a while, when the car started, Maria in the car finally spoke carefully and asked Ulyanna beside her: "Are you really pregnant?"
Ulyanna leaned lazily on the leather chair and heard the words: "Otherwise, would he come over?"
Maria paused and whispered: "Then what are you going to do?"
"It's what he plans to do," Ulyanna said and kicked off her shoes, curled up on the seat to make herself more comfortable, and looked at the scenery outside the car and said: "We don't have any decision-making power, but I You can probably guess what he’s thinking.”
"Um?"
"He wants you to take care of the baby."
Maria's eyes widened, and she subconsciously glanced at Ulyanna's abdomen, and couldn't help but said: "How is this allowed?"
Ulyanna didn't care: "What else? In fact, it is obvious that you are better at educating children. Your children are all outstanding. Anita can be admitted to the National Technical University. Victor and the other three have just arrived in the United States. You can directly overcome the language barrier and enter a private school. In comparison, Anna and Nick can only stay at home and tutor in English for the time being."
"Well... Actually, Anna and Nick are both pretty good."
"I know what my own child looks like," Ulyana did not accept Maria's consolation: "So, it's not bad to let you take care of this child. If possible, I would even give it to you, Anna and Nick. When I came to the United States, I just wanted to enjoy life, nothing else mattered."
"This..." Maria hesitated again before saying, "This is not good."
Ulyana suddenly smiled, looking even more charming, and glanced at Maria: "You're not trying to persuade me to cheer up, are you?"
Maria shook her head quickly: "No, I won't interfere in other people's lives."
Ulyanna didn't say anything more, turned her head again, and fell into silence.
But inside I felt a little melancholy.
In fact, it was all to blame on this damn world. If the Soviet Union had not disintegrated, she should have been a princess all her life, got some glorious titles with her clever mind, and then enjoyed her life leisurely.
I just didn’t expect that the collapse of a super empire would come so soon.
Even if she has two children, in fact, if she can keep her old life, she can put a little effort into educating her well. However, in the past few years, their family has even had problems eating. There was a huge gap between her and her living standards. She was lucky that she didn't collapse. She couldn't care less.
As a result, the two children's academic performance was a mess. As for their personalities, a pair of children who had just started to become sensible at that time experienced great changes together. Coupled with the subsequent ups and downs, they were not only weak and timid in their bones, but also appeared to be greedy and snobbish on the surface.
Just two little things that even she hated.
Therefore, having guessed the man's thoughts, Ulyanna did not resist at all. Compared with the initial fear and panic when she found out that she was pregnant, and the worry of being misunderstood and abandoned by the man, this was actually the best result.
What's more, even if it is handed over to Maria, no matter what, this is his child after all.
What will happen in the future, who knows
Back in the affluent area of West, the group came to a golf club that had been arranged in advance.
Simon also formally told the two women about his plan in a cafe in the club. Ulyana's guess was correct. After reading the information about the two women and several children, Simon quickly decided to let Maria Responsible for raising the child, and not intending for the two women to live together as in some other arrangements.
Maria deliberately refused the man's request. She didn't want to do something like taking away another woman's child, even if the other woman was willing.
Unfortunately the rejection was ineffective.
After talking like this for more than ten minutes, Simon first sent Ulyana back to her residence, while Maria was left behind.
After Ulyana left, Simon also stood up and motioned to the woman: "Let's go for a walk. In addition, I also asked people to pick up Victor and the others."
Maria followed suit. After hearing the words, she paused for a moment before reacting. She followed subconsciously and asked anxiously, "What are you going to do?"
"Call over and give me a beating."
Maria's heart tightened, and she immediately realized that the man was joking with her, and she was obviously concerned about it. She quickly relaxed her mood, thought about it, and said again: "I don't think you should snatch Uliya's child away. Give me."
Simon led the woman to the court, casually took a club handed over by Girl A, held it in his hand and played with it. Hearing this, he turned around and looked Maria up and down, and asked, "You don't want it?"
"No... I mean, um, the child is Uliya's, so this is not good."
Simon showed a surprised expression and nodded: "Oh, I understand. You want to have a baby by yourself. That's no problem. We will start making babies tonight."
Maria's face suddenly turned red, spreading to her neck, and she glared at a certain little man: "You, I..." After saying that, she couldn't help lowering her head, but continued to follow him, whispering: "I, probably, am not suitable. Having a baby.”
"I have seen your last physical examination information. You are in good health and there will be no problem in having another baby."
Maria immediately raised her head and waited for him. This, he had even studied this, this...
"I... you know, Annie is... 21 years old."
"It just so happens that one sister and three brothers will help this child in the future. Well, two children to be precise," Simon said, looking at the woman next to him again: "Otherwise, do you think I am called Wei?" What are you doing here? As a de facto stepfather, of course he has to have a serious talk with his children."
stepfather…
Maria almost wanted to hit someone, and the burning on her face made her head feel dizzy.
However, subconsciously, after hearing the man say this, Maria felt that this... seemed to be definitely a good thing for her children.
This is Simon Westeros after all.
As the two of them were talking, a group of people appeared on the edge of the court. Maria looked and saw two bodyguards walking over with their three sons, and she was suddenly confused again.
Simon also saw the person coming, and seeing Maria's dazed look, he stepped forward and put his arms around the woman's waist. When she felt his movement, her head completely shut down, she kissed her forehead and said, "Let's go."
As he spoke, he took the woman's little hand and took the initiative to greet her.
Maria's three sons, the eldest Victor is 16 years old, Constantine is 15 years old, and the youngest Anton is 12 years old. All three children are very smart and were top students in the highly competitive Rivni City West School. When he saw his mother staying with Simon Westeros and being held by the hand, even though the boy would instinctively feel some resistance, when Simon and Simon came to him, they still took the initiative and politely. greet.
At the same time, of course everyone understood something.
It was not an easy thing for their mother to suddenly bring them to the United States.
Simon briefly greeted the three boys, and then said to Maria in a friendly tone: "Mary, we men need to have a good talk, so you don't want to follow. You can go to the cafe over there and take a rest."
After saying that, he asked Girl A for clubs and distributed them to the three boys, then led them to the court together.