novelslam Chapter 337: Time is Money
Chapter 337: Time is Money
"What's wrong?"
Seeing that Huang Xiaochuan was staring intently at the crowds coming and going in the library for a long time without saying a word, Zhang Yun asked him a question.
"Oh! That's quite impressive, and it gave me an idea."
Zhang Yun immediately guessed Huang Xiaochuan's general idea: "You also want to build a library like this?"
Huang Xiaochuan nodded: "Why not?"
"Hahaha," Zhang Yun was amused by Huang Xiaochuan's whimsical idea.
"Are you kidding me? To reach this level, money is only one aspect. The most important thing is time. This library has taken more than a hundred years to reach this scale, and it also consumes a lot of funds every year, all of which come from private donations."
Huang Xiaochuan calmly replied, "I know! I probably won't live to see the library I build reach this scale, but laying the foundation shouldn't be a problem."
Huang Xiaochuan looked at Zhang Yun and said, "As the saying goes, when a person dies, it's like a lamp going out. But if I can leave behind a library that can be passed down for generations, then I can say that I have not lived in vain. Countless future generations will know me because of the library I built."
After listening to Huang Xiaochuan's words, Zhang Yun also had a bold idea.
"That's a great idea! I'll set up a museum for Ming and Qing dynasty furniture."
"Huang Xiaochuan, you have to donate to my museum. If I build it, you'll be the first person I contact."
Huang Xiaochuan thought to himself, "That would take forever! It wouldn't hurt to agree now."
"Sure! As long as you build the museum, I'll donate some money to it."
"Do you keep your word?"
"If you don't believe me, I can give you a written agreement!"
"Okay, we don't need a lawyer to draft anything. I'll go find some paper and pen right now." Zhang Yun immediately ran to the information desk and borrowed paper and pen from the staff.
After Huang Xiaochuan signed the document, Zhang Yun smiled and folded the paper carefully before putting it into her Hermes bag.
In the afternoon, Huang Xiaochuan was taken to the Fifth Avenue luxury district by Zhang Yun, because Zhang Yun said that she would need to fly around frequently in the future and she needed a few more suitcases.
Huang Xiaochuan was speechless. This woman insisted on buying LV and Hermes suitcases.
However, Huang Xiaochuan's trip wasn't in vain; he broadened his horizons.
Surprisingly, these two luxury brands not only sell various handbags for women, but also a wide variety of trunks, and can even customize them according to customers' special needs.
If you can think of it, you can buy it.
Besides suitcases, there are also round boxes specifically for hats, dressing cases for travel, boxes for shoes, boxes for musical instruments, and most outrageously, even boxes for pets! Good heavens!
Therefore, Huang Xiaochuan had to remind Zhang Yun.
"Ms. Catherine, aren't you planning to build a museum? Why not save the money and buy Ming and Qing dynasty furniture instead?"
Unfortunately, Huang Xiaochuan's words went unanswered, like a stone thrown into the sea.
Zhang Yun, as always, took out her American Express card and handed it to the sales consultant.
When the sales consultant handed her the form to sign, she said to Huang Xiaochuan, "These are two different things. Building a museum has no necessary connection with my consumption."
At this moment, Huang Xiaochuan thought of many plots where rich girls fall in love with poor boys. Bah!
The authors who wrote these stories certainly don't know how real rich heiresses live. Look at this one, is this the kind of woman a poor guy could afford to marry?
After the investment agreement was signed, Huang Xiaochuan spent several more days in New York, until one day the receptionist at the Plaza Hotel told him that there was a message from him.
The message was from Zhang Gaolei. He had called looking for Huang Xiaochuan, but Huang Xiaochuan wasn't there at the time, so he left a message for the front desk.
Back in his room, Huang Xiaochuan dialed Zhang Gaolei's number.
"Old Zhang, it's me. What do you need?"
"Someone from Goldman Sachs wants to meet with you, but they can't reach you, so they asked me to pass on their message."
"Okay, I'll come to San Francisco to see you in the next couple of days."
"Do you need me to book a hotel for you?"
"No need, my people will take care of it."
After hanging up the phone, Huang Xiaochuan went to the gym and the pool to exercise.
Having not swum for a while, Huang Xiaochuan, after warming up, leaped into the water, his arms splashing up waves, and swam rapidly forward along the lane.
He quickly finished the first 100 meters, and then applause came from the shore.
Huang Xiaochuan, holding onto the edge of the pool, took off his swimming goggles and looked in the direction of the applause.
The applause came from a father and daughter wearing swimsuits and trunks. The man looked to be in his forties or fifties, while the girl's age was hard to guess. This is mainly because girls in Europe and America develop very quickly, making it difficult to tell their age.
After Huang Xiaochuan got ashore, the father and daughter took the initiative to walk up to him and greet him.
"Hi! Hello, Cola Novels, following the updates has never been so enjoyable. I'm Andy Bertolson, and this is my daughter, Bella Bertolson."
Huang Xiaochuan dried his hands with a large bath towel and then reached out to shake hands with the father and daughter.
"Huang Xiaochuan comes from China."
"Really? It's nice to meet you."
"Me too."
Bella stared at Huang Xiaochuan curiously and asked.
"You swam so well! Are you a professional athlete?"
"No, this is just one of my ways of exercising."
At this moment, Andy Bertolson said to Huang Xiaochuan, "I hope we haven't bothered you."
Huang Xiaochuan understood what the other party meant, because this might have disturbed Huang Xiaochuan's private space. In Europe and America, private space is relatively respected.
"It's okay!"
After chatting for a while, Huang Xiaochuan learned that this Mr. Andy Bertoson was the founder and director of a company called Sun Corporation.
"Huang, may I ask what you do for a living?"
"Me? I'm an investor."
"Venture capital? Which investment bank are you from? Morgan Stanley or Goldman Sachs?"
"No, no, no, it's not that. It's a Hong Kong investment company, and not many people know about it."
"I see!"
The three chatted for a while, until Mai Guangde reminded Huang Xiaochuan that he had to have dinner with Zhang Yun that evening. Only then did Huang Xiaochuan end the conversation with Andy Bertoson.
They exchanged contact information, and before parting, Bella asked, "Huang, can I call you?"
"Of course, but if I return to China, you'd better calculate the time before you call me, since there's a thirteen-hour time difference between China and New York."
Huang Xiaochuan smiled and said to the father and daughter, "Goodbye! Have a great vacation!"
"Goodbye, I hope to have the opportunity to meet you again. You're a very nice person, Huang!"
"goodbye!"
Two days later, Huang Xiaochuan flew from New York to San Francisco on the West Coast. Since he was already familiar with the place, he didn't ask Zhang Gaolei to pick him up at the airport this time. After getting off the plane, Huang Xiaochuan went straight to Palo Alto.
Huang Xiaochuan and Zhang Gaolei had dinner together that evening.
Zhang Gaolei skillfully used a knife and fork to cut a veal steak into small pieces, then stuffed them into his mouth one by one, talking to Huang Xiaochuan as he ate.
Huang Xiaochuan took a sip of soda water and said dismissively, "It seems they don't understand the saying 'haste makes waste.'"
Zhang Gaolei laughed: "I bet they don't even know what tofu is, right? This dish isn't on the menus of these foreigners."
"What are Trevor and Darwin's thoughts now?"
Zhang Gaolei shrugged: "Needless to say, it would be best if the shares could be diluted less, but they are still taking a wait-and-see approach."
"Didn't you tell them that they should focus on technology development now? As long as they grow the company, even if their shares are diluted, it won't prevent them from becoming millionaires or even multi-millionaires?"
"Of course I said that. As for whether it will work or not, only God knows. You know, these two are obsessed with money now."
"Alright, let's not talk about this anymore, let's eat!"
But they were turned away.
Huang Xiaochuan could sense the man's deep resentment the moment he opened his mouth.
"Mr. Huang, it's so rare to see you!"
"Mr. Bronson, would you like some coffee?"
"Thank you! If it's alright, I'd like a glass of water!"
"Guangde, pour Mr. Bronson a glass of water."
Mai Guangde accepted the order and left, returning soon with a cup of water.
"Mr. Huang, I'd like to hear your opinion on the Series A funding round."
"I don't have any particular stance. Everything will be handled according to the signed agreement. Goldman Sachs, you just need to lead the investment, and I will follow suit according to the agreement."
"No, no, no, what we mean is that you shouldn't participate this time."
"Why? I want to know the reason."
"Because we want to push Gaze to go public as soon as possible, we need to bring in new partners. You know, there are certain requirements for the number of shareholders to go public on Nasdaq. If you continue to invest, then we can't dilute the shares and distribute them to more partners."
"If that's the case, why can't Goldman Sachs give up its shares?"
Huang Xiaochuan gave him a cold look: "Can I take your words as a threat?"
"I think so! Also, if you don't agree to our conditions, Mr. Huang, we can support other companies. Nowadays, more and more companies are entering the browser market, and we have the ability to help other companies take over Gaze's market share."
"In that case, you can go ahead and do it. I won't object. For me, competition isn't a bad thing."
Huang Xiaochuan smiled and instructed Mai Guangde, "Arrange a car, I want to go out for a drive."