Chapter 439 The Queen's Invitation
In 1837, after Queen Victoria ascended the throne, Buckingham Palace became the official residence of the King of England.
In the 1840s, the public facade of the palace began to be built, forming a continuation of the image of Buckingham Palace.
During World War II, the Palace Chapel was destroyed by a German bomb; the Queen's Gallery built on its site was opened to the public in 1962 to display the Royal Collection.
Buckingham Palace is open to the public for visiting, and the famous handover ceremony of the Guards is held every morning, which has become a major landscape of British royal culture.
Xu Liang has also been famous for this royal residence with many legends.
When he visited the UK in his last life, he visited Buckingham Palace during its open day.
But this is the first time I have accepted the Queen’s invitation to be a guest.
The motorcade arrived at the gate and, after being inspected by the palace guards, drove in through the gate.
Seeing the somewhat magnificent Buckingham Palace appear in front of her eyes, An Kaiyue showed excitement on her pretty face and kept looking around through the car window, as if Grandma Liu had entered the Grand View Garden.
"Dear, I heard that Buckingham Palace leaks when it rains? The Queen's Gallery is the worst."
"Hmm."
"Isn't the Queen very rich? The newspaper said that the royal family With tens of billions of dollars in assets, why can’t they even afford to repair a palace?”
“Most of the royal family’s assets are real estate and art, and the cash flow is not very large. Of course, it is not ruled out that the royal family does this intentionally. ”
“Deliberately?”
Xu Liang smiled and said: "The royal family spends taxpayers' money. If they spend their days drinking and living extravagantly, there will definitely be a lot of criticism. Maybe due to the pressure of the people, the royal family's money will be stopped directly, and the assets will be confiscated. It is not impossible.
Only by describing yourself as poorer and miserable can you win sympathy and enjoy wealth forever, as the Chinese often say, 'Wealth should not be revealed, and wealth should not be revealed'."
"It's true. ?”
“Of course, why is it that the Queen’s Gallery, which is open to the public, is leaking but not other places? And the Queen’s personal wealth exceeds 10 billion U.S. dollars, and she can spend hundreds of thousands on just a banquet. Pounds, this money is enough to repair the roof of the entire Queen's Gallery."
An Kaiyue nodded suddenly.
"I didn't expect that a simple leak could have so many hidden secrets."
"If you want to live well and live long, you need wisdom." Xu Liang said with emotion.
An Kaiyue glanced at him, didn't ask any more questions, and continued to look around.
But when the car stopped, she quickly became quiet.
The movement and silence made Xu Liang a little curious.
"Why don't you watch it?"
"I can't embarrass you." An Kaiyue said.
Xu Liang understood and didn't say much. He patted her hand, opened the car door and walked out.
At this time, the person who greeted us also came up.
"Hello, Mr. Xu. I am Henry Christen, the steward of the palace, and I welcome you on behalf of the Queen."
Looking at the middle-aged man in front of him wearing a red bow tie and a neat tuxedo, Xu Liang shook hands with him.
“It is also an honor for me to receive the Queen’s invitation.”
Kristen smiled slightly and turned sideways.
"Please."
Xu Liang nodded with a smile and led An Kaiyue towards the palace.
As soon as you enter the door, you are greeted by a magnificent front hall.
Gorgeous crystal lamps hang from the roof.
Exquisite oil paintings hang on both sides. There are some sculptures placed in the corner.
It can be seen that the art here is valuable.
After entering, turn into the left corridor under the leadership of Christen.
After walking forward for a while, he opened the two-meter-high door, and a gorgeously furnished living room of about a hundred square meters appeared in front of him.
"Mr. Xu, Mrs. Xu, please sit down for a moment. The Queen will be here soon."
An Kaiyue, who was called Mrs. Xu, smiled even brighter, nodded and followed Xu Liang sat down on the sofa next to him.
A waiter soon served tea and pastries.
Not long after, the queen opened the door and walked in.
The two parties chatted for a while and then decided on the investment.
The specific details are of course left to the staff below.
After lunch at Buckingham Palace at noon, we left after touring around.
——
The next day, Qiu Heng, the head of Kunpeng Fund, called.
"Mr. Xu, Kunpeng No. 2 Fund has received an investment of 200 million pounds from the British royal family."
"200 million pounds is a huge sum. ... Now Kunpeng No. 2 Fund has received 200 million pounds. How much investment is there?”
“It has exceeded 6.8 billion US dollars, and it is still growing rapidly. It will exceed 10 billion US dollars in a week at most.”
Xu Liang then, "Who voted the most?"
"Mr. Bill Gates invested US$500 million. In addition, Morgan Stanley invested US$400 million, the Ontario Retired Teachers Foundation invested US$400 million, the British royal family invested US$200 million, and Mr. Li Jiacheng US$300 million..."
“Li Jiacheng invested another US$300 million?”
“Yes, the money was already transferred to the company’s account three days ago.”
“This old man is really willing to give it up. ”
After chatting for a while, Xu Liang hung up the phone.
When I looked up, there was an oil painting showing the scenery of the Thames River on the originally empty wall opposite.
It is the work of Joseph Mallord William Turner, a famous British painter and a representative figure of British academic painters in the first half of the 19th century.
Particularly famous for its light, imaginative landscapes and seascapes.
A prolific artist, Turner created thousands of drawings, engravings, watercolors and paintings. He was more interested in light and tone than in form, which laid the foundation for the formation of the Impressionist painting style in the future.
As we all know, rare things are valuable.
Prolific means low prices.
However, even if the price is not tens of millions of dollars like the paintings of Van Gogh and Monet, if this Turner painting is auctioned by Sotheby's or Christie's, it should be no problem to fetch a million dollars.
And this valuable painting was a gift given by the other party after the visit to Buckingham Palace yesterday.
The royal family is indeed much more heroic.
Dong dong….
There was a knock on the door.
“Come in.”
With the slightly hoarse sound of opening the door, Lu Hui opened the door and walked in, holding a stack of beautifully decorated invitations in her hand
“ Mr. Xu, I received this yesterday."
Xu Liang picked it up and looked at it. There are many rich British people among them.
(End of this chapter)