Chapter 50 Blowing Balloons
After hearing Song Yang's words, Eric shook his head and said, "I want the RICK Club to make changes. You know my mother's donation to the church was rejected!"
Speaking of this, Eric was obviously a little angry and helpless. He took out US dollars but was rejected.
Song Yang would not be easily fooled by Eric's words. If he wanted to donate money, there were plenty of opportunities to do so privately.
But to make donations in an open and aboveboard manner and under the name of the RICK Club, no one would dare to accept the money unless the person collecting it did not want to stay in America anymore.
Don’t be fooled by Hollywood movies, which make America appear to be very open. But in America, a country where Puritans are the mainstream, people still have to save face, even if it’s just superficial.
Seeing that Song Yang didn't seem to believe what he said, Eric said, "I guarantee that nothing . Nasdaq has already proven that it can accept RICK's listing application!"
"I want RICK to make a transition, not just run these nightclubs. I want RICK to enter other industries and I want RICK's company to continue to exist."
Of course, some of these words are true and some are false. Eric really wants to make some changes. Besides the fact that this industry has a bad image, even if RICK goes public, outsiders will not regard Eric as a real big shot in the American entertainment industry. There are even many people who call him a pimp in private.
On another point, Eric also ran into trouble. Nightclubs are very special and have been subject to a lot of public opinion and controversy. No matter how bad the federal government is, it still has to maintain its superficial integrity and it is impossible for it to openly support the RICK Club. This made it impossible for Eric to get a loan from the bank.
All these made Eric a little overwhelmed. There was no way around going public. Whether RICK wanted to maintain his current position in the industry or really transform and enter other industries, he had to have money . In this industry, Eric was already a big shot. If he wanted to go further, it was not a matter of opening a few more nightclubs.
"Song, RICK really wants to transform and wants to cooperate with Song and technology companies like DoubleClick!"
Eric told Song Yang that to have come this far, Eric naturally had vision. He naturally knew what the hottest industry was right now, and in Houston, the most famous Internet company today was undoubtedly DoubleClick.
Song Yang didn't expect Eric to want to cooperate with Double Click. As for Eric, Song Yang didn't want to provoke him, so he could only say vaguely, "Maybe, I will definitely cooperate with RICK if there is a chance!"
Eric was not surprised by this statement. On the contrary, if Song Yang agreed immediately, Eric would have suspected that Song Yang was trying to trick him.
"This is America, anything can happen. Everyone has their own value. Keep my business card. You may need it someday!"
Eric looked at Song Yang meaningfully and took out a card inlaid with small diamonds, which looked very luxurious.
"This is RICK's club diamond card. It can be used in any RICK club in America. In addition to receiving the best service, holders of this card can also receive full support from RICK's clubs around the world, including temporary safety and shelter. Currently, there are no more than 200 people in America who have obtained this card. The most recent person to obtain it is Marshall II!"
The Marshall family is also a well-known billionaire oil family in Houston. Several decades ago, the Marshall family exchanged 15% of the shares with Koch Industries, an American chemical giant also based in Texas. It is conceivable how rich they are. Even Marshall II has become a VIP of the RICK Club. Eric is "small" revealing the power of the RICK Club.
"Thank you!"
Song Yang picked up the diamond card and took a look. In addition to the RICK logo, there was also a sentence engraved on it that showed the RICK club style: "I will ascend to heaven, hold high my throne, and be above the kings under God."
If this statement was put somewhere else, it might just be pretentious, but when it is printed on RICK's diamond card, it can't help but make people think about it.
After coming down from the rooftop, Song Yang went straight back to his seat. At this moment, Gallo and his gang were having a hot affair with Nicole and other hostesses. Gallo had obviously drunk a lot.
"It's time to go!" Song Yang went over and pulled Gallo up.
Outside, Gallo regained consciousness and said to Song Yang, "I just went to look for you. Someone from the RICK Club said you went to see Eric. Is everything going well between you and Eric?"
Gallo couldn't help but look a little worried. Eric was not the same kind of person as Frant, but the real local boss in Houston.
Song Yang glanced at Gallo and knew that he had drunk a lot, but his brain was not yet soaked by alcohol. He threw RICK's club diamond card to him and said, "It's okay, we just talked about something!"
Gallo hurriedly took the card and looked at it. After seeing what the card was, he was surprised. "Song, you really gave it to me?!"
Gallo had heard of RICK's club diamond card. He heard that those who got it were basically wealthy or powerful. If ordinary people wanted to get it, they would need to be approved by RICK.
Double Click Company started to get on the right track. After recruiting 300 employees, the size of Double Click Company more than doubled. Ryan is also preparing to set up a New York branch, and the size of Double Click Company will continue to expand.
Although Song Yang is still busy, it is much better now than the days when he had to get up early and work until midnight in the garage.
In the office building where Double Click Company is located, Song Yang rented another floor to be used as the office building for the new project.
"The main problem now is that we don't have enough manpower!"
As the person in charge of two new projects, Wesley is now overwhelmed. Compared with Silicon Valley, there are too few Internet talents in Houston, let alone technical experts.
Song Yang looked at the newly built office floor, where there were only a few people. Song Yang couldn't help but sigh. At this time, let alone Houston, Internet talents from all over the world are basically "making a pilgrimage" in Silicon Valley. A place like Houston is not very attractive to technical experts.
"This time when I go to Silicon Valley, I will choose a headquarters for the ICQ instant messaging project. When the email project is completed, the ICQ project will be moved to Silicon Valley!"
Song Yang gritted his teeth and said that originally Song Yang did not want to enclose the land now. Now Song Yang simply cannot afford to build a headquarters. But obviously not moving to Silicon Valley has begun to affect the development of projects such as ICQ.
The land price in Silicon Valley is not cheap now, but compared to later generations, it is definitely much cheaper. If you don’t buy a few pieces of land now, you will probably have to spend a lot of US dollars to buy land in the future.
When Wesley heard that he could move to Silicon Valley, he couldn't help but show joy on his face. In this era, who in the technology field doesn't want to make a pilgrimage to Silicon Valley? Although the conditions there may not be as good as Houston, countless people regard it as a "holy land". Of course, there are also countless rumors of getting rich overnight.
After dealing with matters in Houston, Song Yang, Greg, Irene and others got up and flew towards San Francisco.
Unlike the last time when he came here in a hurry, Song Yang felt different when he came to San Francisco again.
After arriving in San Francisco, Song Yang naturally wanted to visit some old friends, and he went to the "Wired" magazine.
Just like before, although she had been converted to a full-time employee, Kayla was still the first to arrive at the door of Wired magazine.
As soon as she arrived at the door, Kayla saw a familiar figure standing at the door of the magazine. Kayla thought she must be dazzled. The person whom she had met once but left a deep impression on should be living the life of a multi-millionaire in Houston at this moment. How could he come here so early in the morning?
But when she got closer and saw that face with a warm smile, leaning casually against the glass door just like the first time she saw it, Kayla couldn't help but cover her mouth.
"Kayla, long time no see!" Song Yang said to Kayla, holding up the coffee in his hand, "I don't know what flavor you like, so I brought them all for you!"
Kaila opened the door of the magazine and said to Song Yang in disbelief, "Song, I didn't expect that you still remember me..."
"I said I won't forget, thank you for everything you did last time!" Song Yang took out a jewelry box that he had prepared long ago and placed it in Kayla's hand.
Seeing the Tiffany logo on the jewelry box, Kayla knew it was worth a lot of money. With her salary, she might not be able to buy it for half a year. "Song, I can't have this. That's what I should do..."
Song Yang put the Tiffany jewelry box in Kayla's pocket without question. "You deserve this. If it weren't for you, I might not have met Kevin Kelly, and there wouldn't be DoubleClick today. I should give you a medal weighing a ton!"
Kira burst out laughing at Song Yang's words and felt that what happened today was still like a dream.
Not only Kira, but also Kevin Kelly, whose beard had grown longer, was also surprised when he entered the office and saw Song Yang.
"A multimillionaire is here at Wired magazine!" Kevin Kelly hugged Song Yang and said with a hint of sarcasm.
He felt differently about Song Yang than others. He had watched Song Yang rise almost with his own eyes. DoubleClick could also be said to have been hyped up step by step by Wired magazine...
