Chapter 563 Parofon Manor
Palofon Manor covers an area of 1.2 acres and has only one building. It is only ordinary among the many manors around Silicon Valley.
But among the Chinese community in Silicon Valley, it is not famous, but it is also very well-known.
This is a place where many top Chinese wealthy people and politicians often gather.
Yang Zhiyuan, the richest Chinese man, is one of them.
"Mr. Yang, this is the wine you asked for."
A waiter wearing a vest and bow tie came over with a bottle of 1992 Lafite.
“Open it.”
Yang Zhiyuan said.
After the waiter opened it, he handed him the oak stopper.
Dong Dong…….
To a certain extent, the degree to which the cork is stained by wine can also indicate the age of the wine.
For example, if the wine is stored upright, the wine liquid and cork are completely separated. No matter how long it is stored, there will be almost no color on the cork.
Checking the oak cork is something that many gourmets do. One is to see if the oak cork has a peculiar smell.
Yang Zhiyuan quickly stood up and greeted him.
The higher the degree of cork staining in wine, the longer the wine has been bottled.
Looking at the crimson wine liquid entering the glass, Yang Zhiyuan also had a touch of anxiety on his face.
There is not much dye color on the cork, which indicates that the wine has been bottled for a short time, and sometimes it also indicates that the wine may have been stored incorrectly.
Yang Zhiyuan took it and smelled it. After a few glances, he nodded.
There was a knock on the door.
Therefore, he did not want to get into trouble with Xu Liang.
If it were just this, it wouldn't make him anxious.
“BOSS, Mr. Xu is here.”
That’s not the only bad news.
More importantly, Yahoo’s new business ‘search engine’ has never been able to defeat Google, and has been further and further left behind.
Given the status of Parofon Manor, the wine here should be fine.
There is a peculiar smell in the cork, which means there may be a problem with the quality of the wine.
But today’s guests are extraordinary, and even Yang Zhiyuan does not want to make any mistakes in the reception.
Sometimes the wine in the cork has flowed to the top. This phenomenon indicates that the wine has leaked, the quality has been damaged, and the wine may have gone bad.
The second is to check the aging of the wine.
The expansion of capital never ends.
“Come in.”
So, it is in Yahoo’s best interests to let it spend its funds on Vivendi Global.
The third is to look at the storage condition of the wine.
If mold appears on the surface of the cork, it means the wine was stored at too high a humidity.
Squeak, the door opens.
Yang Zhiyuan, who interrupted his thoughts, turned his head.
As a result, Yahoo's stock price has never exceeded US$50 billion, which is still not as good as Yahoo Japan's subsidiary.
But Hongmeng is both an enemy and a friend. Yahoo also needs them to provide search technology and experience to compete with Google's expansion in the English market.
After the secretary reminded him, he stepped aside and let Xu Liang out from behind.
Hongmeng is already the most valuable Internet company.
Looking at the age of wine from the cork has a good benefit: identifying the authenticity of the wine.
For example, in some old vintage wines, the cork has been very softened by the wine, sometimes reaching more than half of the length.
Hongmeng Company received a huge financing of US$15.7 billion, and then the news that the portal business expanded significantly in China and Southeast Asia made him even more uneasy.
This is one of the reasons why he took the initiative to treat us.
Although it cannot prevent it from becoming more powerful, it must not be allowed to further threaten Yahoo's mainstream business.
“Haha, Xu Liang, finally I’ve been waiting for you.”
So, when Larry Ellison called, although he refused on the surface, he still asked MGM made an offer.
Sometimes some counterfeiters use some old vintage wine to pass it off as old vintage wine. However, the degree of cork staining is very small, indicating that these old wines may be fake wines.
Although the Nasdaq crisis has become a thing of the past and Yahoo's stock price has slowly recovered, there has not been a big breakthrough in terms of revenue.
Although China and Southeast Asia are not mainstream markets, Yahoo's foundation is the portal. If Hongmeng Sina is allowed to develop, will it covet the entire Asian market?
Will you covet the European market?
The answer is yes.
As soon as Xu Liang was about to shake hands, the other party gave him a warm hug.
Somewhat unexpected, but also somewhat reasonable.
"Brother Yang, I haven't seen you for a long time. You are getting more and more energetic. It seems that Yahoo has been developing very well during this period." Years later, the valuation is now more than 65 billion US dollars, and there are not many people in the world with the ability of your brother.”
The market value of Hongmeng at the time of Series B financing was 53.5 billion US dollars, plus 107 after financing. billion and $5 billion in corporate debt.
The valuation alone exceeds US$65 billion.
“My achievements are not worth mentioning in front of Brother Yang.
Yahoo was founded only five years ago and has a market value of more than 100 billion U.S. dollars. Although Hongmeng is developing well, it is still far from Yahoo's results. "
Xu Liang's compliment put a smile on Yang Zhiyuan's face.
Yahoo's past glory is something he has always been proud of.
"All Achievements are in the past tense, we should look forward. So let’s not brag to each other here. Let's go and sit inside. "Yang Zhiyuan smiled.
"Please. ”
The two came in and sat down.
The accompanying secretary and bodyguard also sat down next to him.
Hand the menu to Xu Liang.
“The Chaoshan cuisine here is very authentic. What do you want to eat?”
“Looking at the name of the manor, I thought it was mainly Western food. I didn’t expect it to be Chaoshan cuisine.” Xu Liang smiled.
"Parofon Manor is a name for people outside to follow the local customs. We Chinese people all call this place 'Chaozhuang'."
"Chaozhuang?"
Yang Zhiyuan Explained: "Parofon Manor, or Chaozhuang, is a private club built by Liu Qizhi, a wealthy Chinese businessman in the last century. He is from Chaoshan, so the food tastes mainly Chaoshan cuisine.
You also know, In this part of the United States, it is difficult to eat authentic Chinese food.
As time goes by, Chaozhuang's reputation has grown, and it has become a place where wealthy Chinese Americans, especially those from southern China, often gather. place.”
Before the reform of China, eight out of ten overseas Chinese were from the south.
Most of the southerners live in Chaoshan, Shunde and other places.
After the reform, more and more people studied abroad and did business, and northern and southern China became balanced.
Xu Liang opened the menu.
He doesn’t know much about Chaoshan cuisine.
Although he has been a rich man for both his life, his appetite is not high.
He can have any of the top ingredients such as Black Sea caviar, French matsutake, Tibetan pork, and Japanese Wagyu beef.
As long as you eat healthy, ordinary beef, mutton, and ordinary vegetables are fine.
So, I ended up ordering a few signature dishes on the menu.
“Why don’t you order more? I know you have a big appetite.”
Xu Liang shook his head, "You don't need to eat too much tonight." Yang Zhiyuan smiled and ordered a dozen dishes before stopping.
"I've already sobered up. Try the 1992 Lafite."
Xu Liang was not polite and handed over the wine glass.
The drinks were distributed.
After putting it on the tip of his nose and smelling it, Xu Liang smiled and said: "It is indeed a good wine."
"You are my distinguished guest, so of course you must use the best wine to entertain you."
Xu Liang said directly without playing riddles with him.
"Distinguished guest? Not necessarily. During this period, your brother has been cooperating with Google and Oracle to attack Hongmeng badly. Now many people in the company are suggesting to me to terminate the cooperation with Yahoo! . ”
“Is this what Yahoo is buying from MGM? ”
"Otherwise?"
"I said this is a misunderstanding, do you believe me?"
Xu Liang smiled lightly, "I am very willing to hear what this is like. Misunderstanding."
Yang Zhiyuan sighed, "Xu Liang, we are all compatriots and have been friends for many years. I won't hide it from you. Although Yahoo has received your help on the search engine, But the development is not as good as Google's.
Now Yahoo's daily search traffic is only 170 million, while Google has exceeded 290 million.
Moreover, Google's search database has exceeded 3 billion, which is almost twice that of Yahoo.
After more than a year of development, the gap has not narrowed, but has become wider.
In order to bridge this gap, we can only think of ways from other directions.
As the largest and best-developed Internet company in the world, Hongmeng is the best person to imitate.
Hongmeng’s main business is Internet search and pan-entertainment.
We are already developing Internet search, but the foundation of pan-entertainment is very weak. Therefore, we plan to acquire MGM to lay the foundation for Yahoo in the pan-entertainment industry.
So, the strategy of acquiring MGM is Yahoo’s future development strategy, and it is not intended to target Hongmeng! ”
Looking at Yang Zhiyuan who was talking eloquently and with a sincere tone.
Xu Liangliang sighed.
In his heart, Yang Zhiyuan has always been a program sitting in the CEO position. Apes are not very good at business.
But look at how eloquent he is now.
Xu Liang’s mood at the moment can be described in one sentence.
You thick-browed guy has also betrayed the revolution!
Take a breath and calm down the unnecessary thoughts.
“Brother Yang, if I remember correctly, Hongmeng’s acquisition of MGM has been going on for more than a month, and Yahoo’s acquisition of MGM has only been a week. Don’t tell me that you don’t know anything about it. .”
For multi-billion dollar transactions, detailed background checks must be conducted beforehand.
A matter as big as Hongmeng’s acquisition of MGM will definitely be reflected in the investigation data.
"Brother Xu, please believe that I did not know about this at the beginning. ... You know, the corporate system in the United States is different from that in China. The CEO responsibility system is popular here, and the chairman has no There is no way to interfere in the management of the company.
I only learned about it after Terry Semel decided to acquire MGM.
Xu Liang looked at the confident man in front of him.
I didn't believe a word he said.
Terry Semel dares to make the final decision on a multi-billion dollar transaction without the authorization of the board of directors?
"I believe Brother Yang, but now that things have happened, there is no point in pursuing who is right and who is wrong."
"Yes, right. There is no point in pursuing who is right and wrong now. The most important thing for us is to kill Google together and not let it continue to grow."
Xu Liang understood the reminder in Yang Zhiyuan's tone.
Indeed, if Hongmeng and Yahoo fall out now, only Google will benefit.
"Two gentlemen, your orders are ready."
The waiter's words interrupted the strange atmosphere between the two of them.
Every exquisite dish is put on the table.
The aroma that hits your nose is tempting.
"Brother Yang, I'm just crazy. Let's chat while we eat?"
Yang Zhiyuan agreed, "Come on, Brother Xu, this 'Qilin Sending Son' is a signature dish in Chaoshan cuisine. Try it." ."
"Then I'm welcome."
Xu Liang picked up some with chopsticks and put it into his mouth.
“How does it taste?”
“It’s very good, very different from northern food.”
“Northern food has a heavier taste, while southern food is lighter, highlighting the original taste of the ingredients, and is relatively healthier. Come, try this thick dish again Mushroom and mustard greens are also a classic dish in Chaoshan cuisine.”
After eating more, the originally tense atmosphere calmed down.
The two of them exchanged cups, and the number of dishes on the table quickly decreased.
However, most of it went into Xu Liang’s stomach.
Except for eating some at the beginning, Yang Zhiyuan spent most of the time watching Xu Liang eat and drink.
“Brother Xu’s appetite is really enviable.”
“Envy? Now many people in the country are using this to laugh at me for looking like a pig.” Xu Liang said with a smile.
“In the West, pigs are very smart animals.”
“It doesn’t matter, no matter what they say, I just want to be happy.”
"Brother, I still see it clearly. Life is only a hundred years old. If you have to depend on other people's faces for your happiness, anger, sorrow, food, clothing, housing and transportation, then life will be too tiring.
But unfortunately, not everyone wants to live as you do, brother. So free and easy." Yang Zhiyuan sighed.
"Free and easy? Maybe. But today I have had enough wine and food, so it's time for me to say goodbye."
As he said that, Xu Liang stood up slowly.
Yang Zhiyuan's expression changed, "Brother Xu, it's still early, why are you in such a hurry to go back? Why don't I show you around here? In addition to eating, there are many fun places here."
"Fun? It's just gambling and gambling. I'm not interested in it."
In his two lifetimes, he has not been interested in gambling.
This thing is completely an IQ tax.
As long as you have some knowledge, you will know that no matter how powerful the gambler is, it is impossible to beat the banker.
As for ‘Huang’, Brother Dong’s lessons will last a lifetime.
Especially in the United States, Ellison is eager to grab his sore foot.
So, whether in the United States or in China, his purpose is to do things with a high profile and be a low-key person.
I will never go to any messy party if it is not necessary.
To avoid being cheated.
"Brother Yang, if you have any unfinished words, please feel free to ask. I will promise you everything I can."
Yang Zhiyuan looked at him deeply.
“I hope Yahoo can continue to cooperate with Hongmeng and not do things that make relatives and enemies happy because of a misunderstanding.”
Xu Liang smiled and nodded.
"I thought it was a big deal. No problem, I can promise you. And Hongmeng and Yahoo are close partners."
"Really?"
"Of course."
After seeing that he didn't seem to be cheating, Yang Zhiyuan breathed a sigh of relief.
(End of this chapter)