When in America, Barron invited Amanda and the others to visit England and said he would take them to visit family estates including Chatsworth House. Amanda and the others agreed at that time.
But what Barron didn't expect was that the sisters came so soon. Didn't Amanda have to go to Boston University?
Barron thought of what Amanda said to him at the New York airport, "Maybe we'll meet soon." Maybe she had already decided to come to England at that time...
He had just coaxed Bonnie with his own hands, and at this moment, he definitely couldn't provoke her again.
Therefore, on the way to the Devonshire Hotel, Barron had decided to lure the two sisters of the Hearst family out of London as soon as possible to prevent them from meeting Bonnie.
In addition, because I was with them in London, the possibility of being photographed by tabloid reporters would be greater.
"Barron, you're here..."
"Amanda, and Lydia, welcome to London, but you should have told me in advance. I would have picked you up at the airport in person."
Barron met the Hearst sisters in a luxurious suite at the Devonshire Hotel.
"We know you are very busy, and we don't want to cause you too much trouble."
Amanda wore a floral shirt and slim jeans, showing off her beautiful figure in a casual look.
After seeing Barron, she never took her eyes off him and spoke with affectionate eyes.
Compared to Amanda, Lydia's outfit was even more daring. It was September now, and the highest temperature in London was only 15 or 16 degrees Celsius, but she was wearing a short skirt and crystal sandals on her long legs. At this time, she looked at Barron and said in a tender voice,
"And we also want to give you a surprise..."
Well, there was a surprise, but it almost became a shock.
"Are you hungry? Let's go have lunch together. The restaurants here should satisfy you. Do you want French, Italian or Chinese food?"
If they were at the Devonshire Hotel, this would be Barron's territory and he could arrange for them not to be disturbed.
"Chinese food…"
Amanda was very considerate and she still remembered Barron's preferences.
"Then you deserve to try it. Our Tang Yan Ge is the first Michelin Chinese restaurant in London."
After the Devonshire Hotel was built, its catering department included many types of restaurants, including French restaurants, Italian restaurants, etc., especially the Chinese restaurant. Barron specially invited the best Chinese chef in London to open a high-end Chinese restaurant called "Tang Yan Ge" inside the Devonshire Hotel.
It also passed the Michelin star certification this year, becoming the first Chinese restaurant to achieve this achievement earlier than Hakkasan Restaurant, and was awarded the title of the first Michelin Chinese restaurant in London.
In fact, being Barron's Chinese chef is a very easy job, because not only is the salary very good, but he doesn't eat Chinese food every day. Especially when Barron goes out and leaves London, he can get corresponding vacations.
Therefore, many times, Barron's Chinese chef would come to Tangyan Pavilion to help.
In addition to being able to earn extra income, he also hopes to continue to improve himself. After all, as the Duke of Devonshire's exclusive Chinese chef, he also hopes to secure his current position.
"Would you like to visit London first, or go to Chatsworth House?"
Being able to pass the Michelin star certification, the taste and cooking methods of Tang Yan Ge are more in line with European and American preferences. Therefore, the two sisters of the Hearst family praised this lunch. After the meal, Barron asked tentatively.
"Let's go shopping today and see the difference between London and New York. You can come back with us when you have time..."
"I have something else to do this afternoon. I'll find someone to go shopping with you. I'll take you to Chatsworth House tomorrow morning."
So Barron's personal assistant Wang Wanting was temporarily assigned to accompany the Hearst sisters shopping in the luxury shopping malls in London. Of course, two bodyguards were also assigned to follow.
After all, their safety is also very important.
Barron actually had plans for the afternoon. He had an important party to attend at White's Club.
"Hello, Mr. Jiashili, nice to meet you."
"Your Highness, our Ministry of Defense is also very grateful for your contribution to the resettlement of retired soldiers..."
The person who had a friendly conversation with Barron was the current Chief of Defense Staff Charles Garshley.
And the bigwigs participating in today's gathering can almost decide many policies of the British army.
They include His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, Ministry of Defence bigwigs including the Duke of Westminster, deputy chief of staff, Lord Robin Barratt, cabinet secretary, and staff from the prime minister and deputy prime minister's offices.
The main theme of this gathering was the resettlement of retired British soldiers and the situation in Iraq.
According to statistics, one in every four homeless people in the UK is a retired soldier.
The London authorities once conducted a statistical analysis of the current situation of retired soldiers and found that a considerable number of British soldiers were unable to find jobs after retirement, let alone buy houses and land.
Among the veterans, at least 100,000 were staying with relatives and friends, 20,000 were living in cheap hotels, and some could not even afford cheap hotels and had to sleep on benches in the park.
In this situation, many veterans began to seek help from social welfare agencies, hoping to get a place to live.
However, this idea is also difficult to become a reality.
On the welfare agencies' list of beneficiaries, veterans' names are ranked far behind released prisoners and refugees - because many welfare agency staff believe that veterans should be able to find jobs more easily than released prisoners and refugees.
In fact, many veterans find it difficult to find suitable jobs because they are used to the collective life in the army and are not adapted to today's society.
Moreover, because they have experienced war, they are under much greater psychological pressure than ordinary people.
According to a recent survey in the UK, 264 veterans who participated in the Falklands War have committed suicide, which is 9 more than the number of British soldiers who died on the Falklands battlefield that year.
The British Ministry of Defense and other government departments have been criticized many times by the public for their poor performance in solving veterans' problems, but no one has stepped forward to resolve the issue.
What to do after retirement has become a shadow in the hearts of many active-duty soldiers.
Faced with these problems, His Majesty the Crown Prince "stepped forward" and prepared to take the lead in establishing a special welfare organization to specifically help veterans solve housing and employment problems.
This is also one of the issues discussed at this gathering. Barron responded positively to the proposal of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and expressed his willingness to donate 5 million pounds to support His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's welfare organization that helps veterans.
In addition, the Protector Military Company will also increase the scale of hiring veterans to solve this problem for the military.
But he also pointed out that Protector Military Corporation also has their difficulties. As a staunch ally of the United States, Protector Military Corporation needs to be treated the same as American private military companies and compete fairly for their military contracting orders.
Only by obtaining more military contracting projects can they provide more jobs for veterans.
In this regard, both the Ministry of Defense and the Prime Minister's Office have expressed support to a certain extent.
Although before the Iraq War, Barron and the Prime Minister had an unpleasant relationship due to his staunch opposition to the war, the two sides had several tacit understandings afterwards, and the issue of veterans did affect the other party's support rate. Being able to solve this problem was also welcomed by the Prime Minister. Therefore, he was still able to gain the Prime Minister's support in this regard.
Looking at the development of private military companies, there were two very good opportunities. One was from the 1980s, when the "small government" emerged in Britain and the United States, and many security and policing tasks began to be outsourced to private companies.
G4S, the largest security company at that time, began to grow from that time.
Another time was the current wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The demand for military contractors made Blackwater a giant in the original time and space.
But now, the Protector Military Company is also ready to seize this rare opportunity to grow and develop.
You Americans insist on dragging us, the British, to work for you, so we can't let Blackwater take all the military contracting work alone.
As long as it gets on this express train and takes advantage of this opportunity, the Protector Military Company will not only be able to solve the problems of some retired British soldiers, but also get support from the military. Whether it is orders or equipment, it can use the investment of Britain and the United States in Iraq to strengthen itself.