The call was from Chen Qing, who had returned to China again. It was indeed an important matter. Next month, someone comes to the United States and wants to visit the Dume Point Manor.
Simon thought about it for a while and agreed.
After chatting in some details and learning that her boss was not busy, Chen Qing mentioned other things by the way.
Several film and television companies in China have basically settled the matter of investing in shares; antiques were unearthed at the construction site of Jinshu Film and Television City, but unfortunately the pile of bottles and cans were too ugly, so they took the initiative to hand them over; next month Little Dog Dan’s Full Moon Wine She also planned to join in the fun; there was a fight recently at the Heavenly Earth Nightclub in Beijing where she owns a stake, and the battle was huge; a group of experts claimed to have identified the location of the legendary Utopia 'Shangri-La'. Chen Qing had seen the photos, and it was indeed beautiful, so she planned to give it to her My boss circled the area and built a separate courtyard as usual.
Barabara.
He also talked about a business that Simon was quite interested in.
Because Tinker Bayer and Nokia plan to change their procurement strategies, mainly due to Simon's previous explanation of the encirclement and suppression of Korean companies, during this period some battery orders that previously belonged to Korean manufacturers are planned to be transferred to several emerging companies in China.
One of them is named BYD.
After investigation, we found that this manufacturer is very good. In less than three years since its establishment, it has quickly reached an annual revenue of 100 million yuan, growing rapidly. In addition, even if Tink Bayer and Nokia gave BYD a small share of orders in the initial stage, it is still a large order for this newly developed company, so financing to increase production is inevitable.
Chen Qing took advantage of the situation and took action.
The business is not big. Through a sub-fund established in Hong Kong by Apollo Management Company under Cersei Capital, it invested US$6 million, or approximately 50 million yuan, in the company, acquiring 30% of BYD's shares.
A very good deal.
Because based on the company's annual profit scale and revenue growth rate, the valuation is at least 200 million yuan. If listed, it is not impossible to reach a market value of 3.5 billion yuan.
However, both sides also get what they need.
Identify a high-quality equity investment here, and accept Westeros System's shareholding there. While obtaining funds to increase production, you can also obtain more orders from companies such as Tinker Bayer and Nokia.
Of course there are concerns.
This company currently mainly produces rechargeable nickel-cadmium batteries for electronic products, and the iPad-10 just released by Tinker Bayer has begun to use more advanced and environmentally friendly lithium-ion batteries, which is also the Westeros system. An inevitable trend for core electronics companies.
If this company cannot keep up with the pace of technology, the future is uncertain.
Simon just listened and didn't comment much.
Just like many other start-ups that the Westeros system has invested in around the world in recent years that may grow into giants in memory, Simon basically does not show too special attitude, just quietly watching and trying to avoid interfering with these companies. growth trajectory.
However, after thinking about it for a moment, I am still quite proud of Chen Qing.
In my memory, in 2008, Buffett subscribed for 10% of BYD's shares and spent 1.8 billion Hong Kong dollars. Calculated according to this standard, an investment of US$6 million now will surge 108 times in about ten years.
This is far from BYD's limit.
The only pity is that I couldn't come up with a good name for this company.
It’s okay to make batteries now. In the future, when we get involved in cars, we may be able to re-open an independent sub-brand.
After talking on the phone for half an hour, Chen Qing was finally willing to hang up.
Simon then connected to the video call at Dume Point Manor.
That's Jennifer over there.
Janet went to Australia two days ago to visit relatives, and by the way, she brought her precious son back from the old man's place to go to school. The woman usually seems to be indifferent, but she is actually very concerned about the little guy's education, even if she occasionally roasts the duck raised by her precious son. Come to eat, talk to Simon privately, and say that you don’t want your son to be too loving.
Moreover, he probably inherited the old man's educational philosophy, focusing on the eldest son, and other casualties. In fact, it is not casual. More accurately, he believes that a family must always have several descendants who can stand up and stand up.
Simon approves of this.
I guess it's also hereditary.
After all, it was a very important time to entertain guests, so I chatted with Jennifer in detail for half an hour before closing the line again.
Look at the time, it's about two o'clock in the afternoon.
Didn't go to the pool again.
This is a large study room covering an area of more than 200 square meters on the first floor of the main villa. Except for a few windows on the south side, the other walls are filled with bookshelves with ceilings, densely packed with books in various languages and genres. The interior of the study is also divided into three parts by two rows of horizontal bookshelves. The outer door is the reception area, the middle office area, and the inner area is the rest area.
Because it is very spacious and has several large and bright windows, the study room, which may originally feel oppressive to patients with trypophobia due to the tens of thousands of books surrounding it, does not appear cramped at all. Instead, it has a special sense of order and beauty.
Simon selected in the Chinese ancient books area for a moment, pulled out a book, returned to the leather chair behind the desk, placed the leather chair on the couch, with his legs still crossed on the desk, and began to quietly read the book in his hand.
Often.
Suddenly I want to be quiet.
I don’t know how long it took, but there was a slight sound of opening the door outside, and then there was the sound of high heels hitting the floor. Simon thought it was Girl A and didn’t pay attention. However, the footsteps did not come over in a hurry, but began to slow down. , seems to be strolling, stopping occasionally.
After a while, a tall figure wearing a black professional suit finally turned to the office area, and then there was a soft cry of "Ah-", and books fell to the floor with a crash.
Simon then looked up.
In order to avoid direct sunlight, the desk was placed against the north-south book wall behind it. Simon leaned on the leather chair and could directly see the girl walking outside.
Seeing Mo Wuling who looked frightened, Simon asked, "What's wrong?"
The man's calm tone made Mo Wuling feel strangely guilty. He gestured twice in a panic, then thought about it again and quickly bent down to pick up the book on the ground. Then he said calmly: "I thought there was no one here. Mr. Westeros, why are you here?"
Simon raised the book in his hand slightly: "Read a book."
"oh."
Very reasonable answer.
However, Mo Wuling immediately showed a slightly weird expression.
There should be a group of goblins over there in the swimming pool, they are all pretty and beautiful. This man actually came here to read a book
Well, there’s also…
Is my sense of existence so weak? It's all in front of you, without any emotional ups and downs.
Simon turned a page in the book in his hand, looked up and saw that Mo Wuling was still there, and casually ordered: "Make me a cup of coffee, just outside."
I'm not your maid!
Mo Wuling said this almost subconsciously in his heart, but it was only in his heart. He hummed on his lips, turned around and went to the outside, walked to the coffee machine, and then remembered that he didn't know his taste, whether to add milk or not, and whether he wanted sugar
Then I thought, why am I so considerate
So I fiddled with it for a while, picked up a cup of coffee and returned to the office area. I handed it to the right side of the man across the desk, far away from the big feet on the table. After all, I couldn't help but remind him: "It's a little hot. "
"Thank you," Simon said, pointing to a swivel chair opposite: "Sit down."
Mo Wuling wanted to say I won't bother you anymore, but he followed the man's voice and pulled up the swivel chair to sit down. He straightened his back unconsciously, like a primary school student waiting for the teacher to lecture him, not daring to be as dishonest as him. However, it seems... This swivel chair, which is only used for entertaining guests, cannot be reclined.
After a moment of silence, he finally took the initiative to find a topic: "What book are you reading?"
In fact, I have already seen the cover, so I pretended not to see it in order to find something to say.
Simon raised the book in his hand again. There were three eye-catching Chinese characters on the hard cover: "Han Feizi".
Mo Wuling scrolled through some information related to Han Feizi in his mind, and then asked a question he regretted asking: "Do you understand?"
Simon was not as displeased as Mo Wuling imagined, and just said: "It's okay, and there are notes."
Mo Wuling just recognized that it was the original Chinese version of Zhonghua Book Company, and it could not have English annotations, but he realized that what he said was annotations in vernacular. Obviously a foreigner's face, even if he only reads in vernacular, is surprising enough.
"Um..." Mo Wuling paused and then asked, "Do you like Chinese Legalism?"
Han Feizi was a famous representative of the Legalist school during the Warring States Period.
"If you want to seek business management ideas from a theoretical perspective, "Han Feizi" is no worse than "Sun Tzu's Art of War". However, if you talk about the hundreds of schools of thought in China, I still prefer Confucianism."
Mo Wuling was surprised again: "Why?"
In modern times, Confucianism has not been very popular in China and has been the target of criticism in most cases.
Simon thought for a moment and then said: "Legalism can only establish systems, but Confucianism can shape people's hearts."
Mo Wuling studied in the Chinese Department of University and has sufficient literary literacy, but he has never considered similar issues. Hearing what the man said, he felt that he didn't understand. He couldn't help but subconsciously argue with someone: "Do you think people's hearts are more powerful than others?" Is the system more reliable?”
Simon raised his head and looked at Mo Wuling's soft face, which was a bit prettier than Zhu Momo and more in line with his own aesthetics: "You shouldn't ask a foreigner like me this question."
Mo Wuling was stared at by the pair of questioning blue eyes across the desk, which made her feel inexplicably guilty. However, she had a strong character similar to her eldest sister at heart, and she became stronger when she was bullied. She counterattacked: "That's what you just said. , prefer Confucianism.”
"oh."
The man's tone became restrained again. Mo Wuling was aroused and pursued him: "Where's the question I just asked?"
Seeing that the girl across from him was unknowingly looking high-spirited, Simon curled up the corners of his mouth, put away his legs on the edge of the desk, stood up, looked at the opposite side and said: "In this way, from the perspective of the continuation of civilization, you You can find out how lucky the Chinese civilization is to have Confucianism. Among the major ancient civilizations in world history, India, Egypt, Greece, Rome, etc. have basically disappeared in history. Many of the remaining ones in the corresponding lands are now They are no longer the descendants of the original civilization. As for China, your civilization has not completely stopped since the Han Dynasty, even during the Yuan Dynasty when it was conquered by the Mongols. Until now, it has lasted for 2,000 years. Why do you think this is?"
Mo Wuling was speechless for a moment.
It seems to make sense.
As for why
The answer seems...obvious.
Seeing Mo Wuling's speechless look, Simon took a sip of the coffee next to him, and continued: "So, having Confucianism is the greatest luck for your Chinese civilization. Otherwise, after the Wu Huan chaos about 1,700 years ago, Chinese civilization may no longer exist.”
Mo Wuling was still unconvinced, his thoughts were racing, and he finally said: "But don't you think Confucianism is also a constraint on civilization? Otherwise, China would not be as backward as it is now."
"Bondation?" Simon looked at the girl opposite: "If Confucianism is really a bondage, it should develop into a religion. Do you know how many pagans were burned to death in Europe in the Middle Ages? What's more, whether it is economic or cultural, etc. From various angles, most of the ancient Chinese dynasties that lasted for two thousand years were the most powerful on the planet."
"But... what to say now?"
"Now," Simon also felt a little emotional, but said: "China's modern weakness began in the Qing Dynasty. In my opinion, this has nothing to do with Confucianism, but it happens to be because of Legalism. The Qing Dynasty was a period of minority rule. The period of Chinese civilization, of course, has now been assimilated by you. During this period, in order to stabilize its rule, the Qing government adopted a high-pressure strategy of weakening and obscuring the people. This was exactly the method of the Legalists, "Shang Jun Shu" You should know, right? If I remember correctly, in the early Ming Dynasty six hundred years ago, the Ming Dynasty army began to use a large number of artillery when fighting the Mongols. And a hundred years ago, faced with the artillery on British warships, Some officials of the Qing Dynasty who were supposed to be knowledgeable even thought it was magic, so they responded by praying to witches and offering sacrifices like primitive people. This is the result of Legalism fooling the people."
Mo Wuling listened to the man across from him talking in fluent Chinese, and his words were clear and coherent, leaving him completely unable to refute. His mind calmed down unconsciously, and he leaned forward slightly, resting his arms on the desk, and couldn't help but ask: " Then, tell me, why has Western civilization developed so well in the past hundred years?"
Simon happened to think about this question and replied without any hesitation: "This can only be said to be a historical accident. The rise of Western civilization has nothing to do with cultural systems and other reasons. It is an unexpected explosion of pure productivity that has transformed mankind. Society has moved from an agricultural civilization that lasted for thousands of years to an industrial civilization, and productivity has increased exponentially, giving countries like China with lagging productivity the illusion of being more advanced and advanced. But in fact, in addition to strong productivity, Western culture There are not many outstanding features of the system. Let’s just talk about modern times. The two world wars that brought huge disasters to human society both came from Europe, where industrial civilization originated. The reason is that the core of the European system is still in the two thousand years of China. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period when various countries were in conflict many years ago, the aristocratic system and chivalry in Europe that some of you Chinese people admire so much were actually just a culture that only became popular in China more than 2,000 years ago. People at that time also considered aristocrats It's natural. At the same time, there are also people who promise thousands of dollars and never regret it in order to serve the nobles. It was not until later that some people finally began to wake up. Princes, generals, and prime ministers, would you rather have the seed?"
Mo Wuling's eyes were shining unknowingly. When the man said the last word, he even had the urge to applaud, and his voice became a little softer: "Mr. Westeros, if it weren't for this face, I would almost have to I thought you were Chinese."
Simon smiled: "You can call me Simon."
Mo Wuling felt like something was about to melt away in his heart. It seemed dangerous, but he was reluctant to pull away immediately. He nodded: "Okay, Simon, um, how do you know so many things?"
Simon raised the "Han Feizi" he was still holding in his hand: "Read more books."
"That's definitely not the case," Mo Wuling said with a hint of coquettishness that he didn't even know he had in his voice: "You... seem to be only four or five years older than me, but I think your talent may take others several lifetimes to accumulate?"
Just like the songs she'd been listening to for the past few months.
I have been a little confused during this period, especially about ancient genres such as "The Meeting in the World" and "Yu Xi Tan". How could a Western man do it
Now, after the conversation just now, there is suddenly no doubt anymore.
Simon did not respond to Mo Wuling's question, but smiled and said, "I didn't expect you to be so small. I thought you were older than me."
The girl opposite and Mo Yiling whom Simon had met both had a mature temperament that favored the style of a royal sister, and it was Aunt Zhu Momo. Simon hadn't noticed it before, and he really thought she was about 30 years old and older than him. At this time, Mo Yiling When Wuling said this himself, he realized that this girl was actually younger than him.
Mo Wuling was speechless for a moment when he heard Simon's words.
Is this human language
Do you look that old
The more he thought about it, the angrier he became. He stared at someone with slightly wide eyes and an accusing look on his face. However, Mo Wuling suddenly came to his senses and thought of his niece. He blinked his eyes quickly a few times. He was obviously in the house, but somehow felt wet. Feeling the coldness of the rain, I stood up subconsciously: "Well, Wei...Simon, it's time for me to go out. I won't disturb you while reading."
"Well, in addition, help me call Momo and the others over here," Simon raised his wrist and looked at his watch, speaking in a casual tone with a strange seriousness: "I suddenly want to talk to you about the topic just now."
“…”
Bastard, are you going to reveal your true colors so soon
Big pervert!
Mo Wuling looked at a certain guy and finished speaking as if nothing was wrong. She leaned back on the leather chair and opened the book "Han Feizi". She looked lazily, but she raised her eyes again and looked at the wall of books behind the man. In fact, he had been to this study room in the morning, and Mo Wuling knew that across this wall, there was a lounge inside, with a big bed.
And... call them all over? !
Tired you to death.
Thinking about it with such resentment, I left the study without any intention of calling someone for a certain guy.
Wait!