Chapter 80 (1/2)

Huang Xuan kept the secret key and ordered Rolin to call Aubrey and Dutoit. He had tried so hard to persuade Guy to hand over the formula. According to Rolin's a.n.a.lysis, it was going to be easy to find the ingredients for the pill, given the current state of the technology. They only needed a few simple elements and organic matters. The pill was similar to other medicines in the market. It was made of a variety of complex compounds, which had unique spatial requirements in terms of degree of rotation and chirality. However, there were many methods to obtain them. The difficult part was configuring the purity of the pill. In comparison, this required more out of them.

Based on the information provided by Rolin, there were only a handful of companies which were able to produce pills with that purity. Unfortunately, none of them were in China. During the campaign to destroy the Four Olds, the United States of America acc.u.mulated the most resources in the world. Europe similarly took about 20 years to complete its revival. Although they claimed they had finished ahead of schedule, their estimation was inaccurate — the entire plan was a mistake.

Of course, as long as there was a company capable of manufacturing the pill, Huang Xuan was satisfied. He didn't care which country the company was in. However, he was not the only one who was involved in the pharmaceutical industry; the entire Huang family was as well. If he started a research, he might invite trouble.

He could engage professionals to help him.

Huang Xuan, who was indeed his mother's son, immediately thought of Citigroup.

”Rolin, contact Aubrey and Dutoit.”

”Alright.”

The consortium of banks was the leader of the entire capital market. In the United States and Europe alike, bankers were always important to businessmen. Even businessmen like Rockefeller, despite being akin to Ford, wouldn't dare offend these financial giants. Of course, most of these businessmen already had one foot in the banking industry.

If one wanted to be welcomed by industries in the United States, he first had to be on good terms with the banks. It was simple: they had to ensure that the banks trusted them enough to lend them money. Taking unnecessary loans or making unnecessary deposits were all crucial to building a relations.h.i.+p and repaying the loans on time would improve their credibility with the banks. At the same time, the process of taking and repaying the loans would facilitate the forging of friends.h.i.+ps. This made use of the same logic as dating in school. Borrowing books from girls and taking the wrong textbook on purpose... These were old school methods that worked.

Compared to Walmart, which economized its way to first place, Citigroup was more powerful. The unbeatable giants on Wall Street had unique methods. These giants could be counted on one hand: Merrill Lynch, Citigroup, J.P. Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Bear Stearns, Chase Manhattan, and Morgan Stanley. These groups were at the tip of the capital market; they formed a small monopoly. According to the words of the old Marx, the banks were formed to average out society's profits. The simplest explanation of this statement was that banks searched for the least risky ways to use others' money, in order to earn the most profits.

Aubrey and Dutoit were perfect representatives of these financial groups.

Despite having watched a movie, Dutoit was still the first to arrive. He brought with him a tall, white man. However, Huang Xuan was more interested in speaking to Citigroup. Hence, he had no choice but to invite them to wait.

Dutoit understood and sat down. With the help of a translator, he introduced his colleague: ”Mr. Huang, this is Dr. Kelly. He is a specialized a.s.set manager at UBS Private Wealth Management Company. On the team's name list we created for you, Dr. Kelly is the second manager.” Dutoit handed the name list to Huang Xuan.

”OK.” Huang Xuan received the name list. He greeted Dr. Kelly, and they exchanged a few pleasantries. He was an Englishman. His eyes were dull but lit up when he talked about economic problems.

There was a total of eight names on the list. The first five had ”Doctor” in front of them. They seemed powerful, yet Huang Xuan was not hopeful about increasing the value of his personal a.s.sets; hence, he was not too concerned about the name list. He folded the piece of paper and placed it in his pocket. Sitting opposite to Dutoit, he casually picked up a few information sheets and asked, ”How was the latest delivery?”

”It went smoothly. We've completed more than half of it.”

”Very good.” Huang Xuan nodded. He continued, ”How's Furnas? I've seen your plans, but honestly, they're too complex. If you don't mind, I'd like you to explain it to me once more.”

”Of course I don't mind,” Dutoit scanned his surroundings and said. ”Dr. Kelly is very familiar with this. The restructuring of Furnas was done by him.”

”Mm-hmm?”

Kelly pushed his spectacles upwards. He nervously removed a stack of doc.u.ments from his bag and hurriedly said, ”Yes. I've conducted a field investigation at Furnas. I've found a couple of problems that we have to resolve—”

”Dr. Kelly,” Huang Xuan couldn't help interrupting him. ”We don't have much time. Now, I want to know if this company has been restructured according to my instructions.”

”Yes.” Kelly was almost 30 years old, but it seemed like he only knew how to communicate with his mentors. He stuttered, ”But I think restructuring the company this way is a mistake. Splitting a company into three parts will create a lot of problems. Professor Durney's tutorial says—”

Huang Xuan heaved a sigh and raised his hand. He smiled stiffly and said, ”Dr. Kelly! Dr. Kelly?”

”Yes!”

”Tell me, have you restructured the company as I have told you?”

”I have, but—”

”OK,” Huang Xuan signaled for him to stop talking. He said, ”That's enough.” He suddenly felt as if their ages were reversed.

Sensing the tense atmosphere, Dutoit interrupted, ”Mr. Huang, there's another matter.”

”Oh?” Huang Xuan poured a cup of coffee for him.

Dutoit retrieved a thumb drive and placed it on the table. He asked, ”Do you know John McLeish?”

Huang Xuan spread his arms slightly and answered, ”No.”

”Here is some information about his new company. Indeed, he's talented in investing.”

While Dutoit was thinking about the best way to describe McLeish, Aubrey walked into the room behind the butler. He abruptly added, ”He's also talented in losing.”

Compared to the small villa in Sao Paulo which Huang Xuan's father owned, this bungalow in Nanjing was indeed grand. Not only did it have a large lawn which Westerners desired, but it had a backyard and a Chinese-style pavilion. From the looks of it, Mr. Aubrey was admiring the place.

He followed Zhou Lian through the Ivy League corridor and looked around. He heard McLeish's name just as he entered the living room.

Huang Xuan stood up to welcome him. He asked, ”Coffee or tea?”

”Coffee, thank you.” Aubrey sat down and asked Dutoit, ”Are you really thinking of asking Mr. Huang to invest in JWM's funds?”

”Is there a problem with that?”

”Of course!” Aubrey's face turned red. Coa.r.s.ely, he said, ”McLeish nearly lost the whole of Wall Street two years ago. Now, a Swiss person is telling my client to invest in JWM. I can't be hearing this right.”

”McLeish's investments are usually fine. That was an accident.”

”An accident that was worth USD $1,000,000,000?” Aubrey shook his head in astonishment.

Kelly joined the discussion, and the three men argued in English so Huang Xuan gave up trying to understand them.

He leaned back on the sofa and asked Rolin, ”What are they saying?”