The indulgent time lasts until late at night, but it will eventually come to an end.
After all the guests were sent away, the employees of the party company cleaned up the mess and left. It was already 12 o'clock in the morning.
Janet had taken a shower and walked out of the bathroom barefoot in a thin suspender nightgown. She saw Simon sitting on the single sofa by the floor-to-ceiling window in the bedroom. He was still wearing an evening shirt and trousers, holding a thick book in his hand. book, looking through it with a slight frown.
So he walked over, curled up like a cat in the man's arms, took the book from his hand and looked at it. It was the oriental novel called "A Dream of Red Mansions" that he had mentioned a few days ago, but it was the original Chinese version.
She has only read a small part of the English version so far. Looking at the square text with so many strokes, Janet suddenly felt dizzy. She casually threw the book aside, put her arms around the man's neck, and said: " If you don’t like it, we can rent a venue and have parties in the future, not at home.”
Saying this, Janet had a smile on her face.
After knowing each other for so long, I can naturally understand that he is a person who cares about his private space.
Then.
The lion's territory was 'invaded' by more than two hundred of its kind for a whole night. You can imagine how uncomfortable he must be.
"That seems so insincere." Simon noticed the smile on the face of the woman in his arms. He also smiled, lowered his head and kissed the woman on the lips, and said, "I was just thinking that I might be able to buy this place by the end of the year. , will be used exclusively for parties from now on.”
It's the end of the year.
Janet recalled the recent trend of the North American stock market. She heard another flaw unknowingly revealed in the man's words, but did not expose it. She nodded and said: "Okay."
Simon noticed a cunning flash in Janet's eyes, realized something, and just smiled. There are too many secrets in his body that are not open to outsiders. If he is on guard all the time, then the two of them will not be able to get along at all.
In fact, Simon would occasionally reveal some things to the woman consciously, such as the "Dream of Red Mansions" she had just thrown aside. I mentioned it by chance last time, so he took the time to buy the novel, an English translation for the woman, and the original Chinese version for himself.
Unfortunately, the simplified version was not found in the Chinese version, but the traditional version was obtained. Of course, there is no obstacle to reading.
Thinking like this, Simon stretched out his index finger and wiped it on the woman's lips, but failed to wipe away her smile, so he said again: "Baby, what will you do if one day you find out that I am actually an alien?"
Janet's eyelashes flashed, her face showed anticipation, and she said, "I will give birth to an alien baby."
Simon nodded with satisfaction: "It seems that my plan to invade the earth will not be greatly hindered."
"Haha," Janet laughed, changed into a more comfortable position in Simon's arms, and asked again: "Didn't Goldberg give you a check before he left? How much was it?"
Simon took back the "Dream of Red Mansions" and found a check tucked into the pages of the book and handed it to Janet.
Janet took it, glanced at it, and said in surprise: "One million US dollars, Fox is so generous."
"Yeah, I didn't expect that either."
After the second weekend box office of "The Butterfly Effect" was released, in order for Simon to cooperate with the follow-up promotion, Fox not only gave him US$300,000, but also promised to pay Simon another bonus after the film's North American box office exceeded 100 million.
Fox Film President Ronald Goldberg also attended tonight's party, and when he left, he fulfilled his original promise and left this check.
1,000,000.
It really exceeded Simon's expectations.
Ronald Goldberg's contract expires next year. In Simon's view, the possibility of News Corp. renewing the contract with the other party is almost zero.
Therefore, the check was most likely the result of Barry Diller's intervention.
After Ronald Goldberg leaves, Barry Diller will definitely personally intervene in the operation of Fox Pictures. This check is obviously to establish a good relationship with Simon in advance.
Of course, after careful calculation, compared to the profits that Fox Pictures can make from the entire "Butterfly Effect" project, the bonus Simon received is actually not an exaggeration.
The total production and promotion costs invested by Fox Pictures for "The Butterfly Effect" are only about US$20 million. The North American box office of more than US$100 million is enough to bring the company a net profit of no less than US$30 million.
Janet played with the check in her hand, but laughed again after a moment, and said: "If Fox knew that you had obtained more than 30 million US dollars from the stock index futures market in just over a month, maybe he would not take out this money again. It’s $1 million, so you don’t care too much anyway.”
Since Simon established 4,500 long S&P 500 index futures contracts in mid-May, in more than a month, the S&P 500 index has risen from around 270 points initially to 287 points at the close of last Friday.
The long contract position held by Westeros Company ranges from 270 points to 275 points, with an average of about 272 points.
then.
In more than a month, the average index increase of all 4,500 contracts was 15 points. Each index increase meant a profit of 2.25 million US dollars. The book profit of the long S&P 500 contract held by Westeros Company at this time had reached 3,375 Ten thousand U.S. dollars.
US$33.75 million is just the beginning.
Even so, Simon held Janet's little hand and felt the unique texture of the check paper together, and said: "Of course I care, this is 1 million US dollars, and many people will never make so much money in their lifetime."
Janet raised her face and looked at Simon, saying, "You already have so much money, so what are you going to buy?"
Simon thought about it for a moment, but then shook his head.
Janet was puzzled: "What? Or are you planning to be like that stingy old man Warren Buffett, who only makes money without spending money?"
According to recent public data, Warren Buffett's net worth is still only about $2 billion, which is equivalent to the wealth of Janet's family. However, Buffett relied entirely on value investing to accumulate such a huge amount of wealth almost from scratch. His fortune experience is legendary, and he has become a household name in North America over the years.
Simon laughed when he heard Janet calling Buffett a 'stingy old man', pinched the woman's delicate face and said: "It's not good to call others that in private. Besides, I won't be like him, just The money we have now is still too little.”
"I didn't call him that in private, I called him that in person too, stingy old man," Janet said arrogantly, opened Simon's hand, and then said: "Too little? You are only 19 years old. , little bastard, tens of millions of dollars, that’s still less?”
"Of course," Simon nodded and said, "Basically nothing can be done."
"What exactly do you want to do?"
"A lot," Simon looked at the woman in his arms and said, "Of course, the ultimate goal is to conquer the world."
Janet nodded and persisted: "Then, talk about something that can be bought with money. This is easier to achieve, right?"
"What money can buy, first of all, must be a good house. However, I hope to have a house belonging to Westeros in every city in the world that I may go to. Los Angeles, New York, Chicago , San Francisco, Miami, Las Vegas, London, Paris, Berlin, Rome, Venice, Amsterdam, etc.," Simon listed them casually. Seeing that the woman in his arms had widened her eyes, he added with a smile: " Of course, Melbourne, Canberra, Brisbane and other places in Australia must also have them.”
When Janet heard Simon mention Australia, her long eyelashes flickered a few times, and she thought that there were indeed so few.
Not to mention the cost of buying countless luxury homes in major cities around the world, the annual maintenance costs of these properties are estimated to be something that few people in the world can afford.
but.
This should be Janet Johnston's boyfriend.
So he asked again: "What about the others?"
Simon continued: "If you want to go to places you are interested in at any time, of course you must have a private jet, and it must be an ultra-long-range private jet that can connect any two cities in the world. Probably, a slightly modified Boeing 747 will be enough. Used. You know, I am a person who has no sense of security, so I must have a spare, but buying two would be too much like following the trend of Air Force One. So, it is best to buy one more."
Three Boeing 747s.
this.
How much does a Boeing 747 cost
and.
If you buy so many planes, you must have your own airport, right
On top of that, the maintenance cost of a private jet is much higher than that of a house. Many wealthy people only choose to rent private jets because they cannot afford the annual expenses equivalent to about 10% of the cost of private jets.
but.
Although it cost a little money, this wish seems cooler.
So I asked again with some anticipation: "Is there more?"
Simon also continued: "I hope to have a private island of my own."
Um
Janet was immediately disappointed.
A private island.
This is too easy.
Shaking the check still held in her hand, Janet looked at Simon and said: "Private islands are easy to buy. Our family has a private island in the Aegean Sea. My grandfather bought it more than ten years ago. It covers more than ten square miles and only cost 3 million Australian dollars at the time.”
Simon shook his head and said: "I'm not talking about this kind of island."
Janet blinked: "What is that?"
Simon thought for a moment, helped the woman stand up from his arms, and pulled her to the study room next door.
There is a world map hanging on the wall of the study.
Simon picked up the black pen next to the writing board on the other side and came over. Under Janet's curious eyes, he circled a small 'island' on the world map and said, "I think this is a good place, the end of the world." , and the area is large enough. I don’t want to buy a small island that can be crossed in dozens of minutes by walking. Here, we can walk for a month.”
Tasmania.
Janet looked at the island surrounded by Simon and was finally a little surprised.
Tasmania is located in the southeast corner of the Australian mainland. From the map, it looks like an earring of the mainland. The island is also home to the platypus, the only egg-laying mammal found in the world.
Janet is very familiar with Tasmania because the island happens to be across the sea from Melbourne, where she grew up.
However, Tasmania is by no means comparable to a small island in the Aegean Sea with only more than 20 square miles, because the total area of this island reaches more than 20,000 square miles, which is completely different from those private islands that can be traded. It's not the same concept.
Super farmers in North America, such as CNN boss Ted Turner, who like to purchase land, only have one to two million acres of private land at most. The total area of Tasmania, which is more than 20,000 square miles, is more than 10 million acres. If he could really buy the entire island, Simon would immediately become one of the people with the most private land in the world.
After looking at the world map in front of her for a while, Janet turned to the man next to her and said, "Simon, this island is a bit big. Do you know how big Tasmania is?"
"68,401 square kilometers," Simon reported a number skillfully, still insisting on the metric system he liked to use. Noticing the confusion in the woman's eyes, he took the initiative to explain: "You know, Jenny. I used to only live in In a very small house, there is almost nothing that belongs to me. Now, since I have the opportunity and maybe the strength, of course I have to realize some of my dreams."
Janet felt the vicissitudes of life in Simon's tone, which was not what a 19-year-old boy should have. She grabbed the man's hand and shook it hard. She nodded and said, "Simon, we will definitely be able to achieve this."
Simon grabbed the woman's little hand with his backhand and said: "Of course. So, keep helping me. Last time I just did a little thing and then let go. This time, hold on a little longer."
"No," to Simon's surprise, Janet shook her head directly this time, leaned sideways against the man, and said, "Little bastard, I found that I still prefer to wrap around you like a vine, you As high as I grow, I can climb.”
Simon nodded and said, "It seems that I quite like this too."
"Haha," Janet smiled and scratched Simon's body, as if trying to find out where to wrap him around more easily, and then said: "Actually, if you want to realize what you just said, you don't need to wait until later, we will do it now. You can start."
"Um?"
Janet shook the check she was still holding in her other hand, then gestured towards Tasmania on the map, and said: "68,401 square kilometers, this is larger than many states in the United States. Well, it is simply impossible to buy it all at once. However, from now on, if we buy some every year, one day this island will completely belong to us. Tasmania is actually very desolate, and most of it is Next door to primeval forests and barren mountains. Just this 1 million US dollars is enough for us to buy a large piece of land. By the way, there are hundreds of thousands of people on the island. If you want to do this, you must plan carefully. . Well, it’s best to set up many shell companies and then secretly buy them without knowing it, otherwise it will definitely cause land prices to rise.”
Simon became more and more excited as he listened to Janet talking. He raised his wrist and looked at his watch and said, "In that case, I'll leave this matter to you. But now we'd better go to bed."
Janet was pulled out of the study by Simon obediently. The man took a shower and the two hugged each other on the big bed.
But, I'm still very excited.
He discussed with Simon in detail how to place the entire Tasmania after buying it, and then talked about his other two wishes. This continued until around two o'clock in the morning, feeling the steady breathing of the man next to her, but she still didn't fall asleep.
Repeatedly recalling every bit of the dream in this late night.
At some point, it suddenly dawned on me.
In many moments when they were together, she could clearly feel that there were too many things tied up in his heart.
perhaps.
All he really wants, after all, is freedom.