Huang Xuan’s learning of Greek had been progressing speedily in the past few days. He wanted to study Portuguese for a couple of hours to refresh his brain but was unexpectedly praised by his tutor.
Huang Qunsheng was pleased too. It proved that his extensive education method was effective, so he should deepen it and spend more time in the lab not educating his son.
Zhang Xinyi seemed even busier. Huang Xuan wanted to help, but his mother wouldn’t let him and just told him to put more efforts into his study.
Although the base was able to manufacture now, it consumed an unprecedented amount of energy. The most unbearable part was that to produce one object, it had to manufacture the equipment needed first, and then more equipment to manufacture the equipment needed to make the equipment, and so on. Thinking about this, Huang Xuan couldn’t help wondering, “Am I fooled by Rolin again?”
“Huang Xuan?” Li Qing ran up the stairs and knocked. “There is a phone call for you from a Mr. Yu Liye.”
“Yu Liye?” Huang Xuan remembered that he was the president of the board of Shanghai Xinye Company. He opened the door and took the phone.
“Hello, Mr. Yu. How are you?”
“I’m fine. Thank you. Are you having a good time in Brazil?”
“It’s OK. I have adapted to it.” Huang Xuan walked in the bedroom.
Yu Liye laughed and then said, “I have called to report to you the plans our company has made recently.”
“You are too courteous. You should have had your secretary make the phone call. You don’t have to do it yourself.”
Yu Liye finally came to the point after a few more polite remarks. “Our company has decided to engage in database business and has made a deal with Shenzhen Guanyuan Company on the purchase price, which is ¥8.3 million. They mainly deal in—”
“Mr. Yu, I have confidence in you. You know, I am young and don’t have as rich experience as the other shareholders…” Huang Xuan couldn’t help interrupting him. As stipulated in the agreements that had been reached before, Huang Xuan wasn’t entitled to express his opinions on day-to-day affairs. He was even allowed to take part in such a huge matter as purchasing another company only when he was attending or had been authorized to attend the board meeting. Yu Liye’s phone call was just a notice.
Seeing Huang Xuan was really not interested in the business of the company, Yu Liye changed the subject. “I’ve heard that you have been taking care of your assets in person. Is it true?”
Huang Xuan thought he was talking about the assets he had just received in Brazil and responded, “Presently, the guardians are still my parents.”
“I meant your individual property like the investment in the Xinye Company.”
“Er…” Huang Xuan started thinking. “Two people are helping me, but it’s mostly myself.” Li Shenggang could only be counted as half a caretaker; whether Rolin could be counted as a person or not was ambiguous.
Yu Liye laughed wryly, “I have made a few new friends who are in banking recently. When they heard that Huang Gongzi was so young and successful, they wanted to know whether you need a professional assets caretaker?”
Huang Xuan giggled. Since his income and expenses had been so enormous, how dared he entrust his assets to somebody else? But he thought about it and then said, “Which bank are you talking about? I would like to meet with them if they are willing to come to Brazil.”
“Thanks a lot. It is Citigroup Global Markets separated from Salomon Smith Barney.”
Huang Xuan was surprised. Citibank was a familiar foreign bank to many Chinese, maybe the only one they knew. However, Citigroup Global Markets was totally different from Citibank. Strictly speaking, Citibank was just an affiliated retail bank of Citigroup. The Citibank the Chinese usually referred to was actually Citigroup.
Salomon Smith Barney had once been the fifth-biggest investment bank in the world, but it was obscure in China. Huang Xuan knew that the Huang Family Funds had done some business with it. In the late 1990s, it had been purchased by Citigroup at the price of nine billion dollars. Two years later, it was restructured with Nikko Securities, the third biggest securities house in Japan, and divided into Nikko Salomon Smith Barney and Citigroup Global Markets.
After that, the three honorable names—Salomon, Smith, and Barney, no longer existed. The last two were jointly called Smith Barney by the Chinese.
However, Salomon Smith Barney remained influential in the industry. In respects like net property value, taxable and tax-exempt liabilities, and merger and acquisition of corporations, Citigroup Global Markets remained the best.
In retrospect, such an investment bank wouldn’t be interested in capital operations of less than ¥20 million, and they didn’t know that Huang Xuan had $300 million, so they must be interested in his property in Brazil. Although Huang Xuan wouldn’t be able to dispose of the assets until he was 18, the Huang Family had a tradition of taking part in management in advance. Most of the kids had been busy going to college and dealing with relationship issues these years, but they had also shown much enthusiasm in managing clan assets.
“It is fine to meet.” Huang Xuan thought that the professional issues were supposed to be left to the professionals.
“I don’t have the function of assets management,” Rolin said honestly. “You indeed need someone to take care of your assets, but you should increase your assets first.”
“How?” Huang Xuan regretted asking the question as soon as it came out of his mouth. “Do you want me to go to another plane again?”
“It will definitely increase your assets.”
“It’s dangerous.” Huang Xuan was about to refuse when he thought of his mom. He seemed to have seen a bunch of people waving their arms in the smoky meeting room. He clenched his teeth and then asked, “Can you go to a farther space now?”
“The upgrade just improved the manufacturing function of the base. The properties of the time machine weren’t improved much, so currently I can just travel to the planes after T1600.”
“It’s OK. At least the kids in that age were civilized and wouldn’t eat people easily.” Huang Xuan rubbed his nose.