Chapter 726: Definitely
Lu Yiming quickly explained: "I just came here to have fun, okay? I don't have any official business."
After hearing what Lu Yiming said, Li Yiwen finally breathed a sigh of relief and muttered, "That's more like it."
Lu Yiming asked: "Where are you? Let's have dinner together."
Li Yiwen said: "Champs-Elysees."
"Wait for me, I'll be there now."
"……All right."
Not long after, Lu Yiming saw Li Yiwen at the door of a luggage store on the Champs-Elysées. At this time, Li Yiwen was squatting at the door of the store counting ants out of boredom.
Lu Yiming walked over and squatted beside him, and asked, "Where is my sister-in-law?"
Li Yiwen pointed to the back and said, "Here, I'm buying a bag."
Then, he asked Lu Yiming: "What are you doing in Paris? Why don't you bring your girlfriend with you?"
Lu Yiming said: "I came from the United States and successfully sold PayPal. I wanted to buy a plane from Boeing, but they refused to sell it to me."
Li Yiwen felt very curious: "Not selling it to you? There is such a thing? Why?"
Lu Yiming said helplessly: "I guess I cut too much leeks last time. The top ten airlines joined forces to boycott me. Boeing sold planes to me, and I think it was because it was afraid of offending other companies."
Li Yiwen smiled and said, "That's a very reasonable explanation. They've already shown you an extra licence by letting you take a plane to the United States."
Lu Yiming said: "So I have to buy another plane, otherwise I can only row across the Pacific Ocean in the future."
The two were chatting when Li Zixian came out of the store. Seeing Li Yiwen and Lu Yiming squatting at the door chatting, she smiled and greeted them, "Cousin, you are in Paris too."
Lu Yiming turned his head and said with a smile: "Hello, sister-in-law. Don't worry, I came here for fun, not for official business."
Li Yiwen asked: "If Boeing doesn't sell it to you, are you going to go to Europe to buy the plane?"
Lu Yiming said, "Of course. If Boeing doesn't sell, there's still Airbus. There's always a way out, right? I plan to go to Airbus headquarters and customize a private jet. What do you think of the A340-300?"
The Airbus A340-300 is a high-passenger capacity version of the A340, with a standard passenger capacity of 295 people. The fuselage length is 63.6 meters, the fuselage width is 5.64 meters, and the maximum cabin width is 5.28 meters. The cruising speed is Mach 0.82, about 1,000 kilometers per hour.
Li Yiwen was surprised: "Are you crazy? This is a large plane. If used as a passenger plane, it can carry 300 people! What do you want to buy such a big plane for?"
Lu Yiming said confidently: "Isn't it normal for men to like big guys?"
Li Yiwen felt annoyed when he heard this and said, "Do you know how much an A340-300 costs?"
Lu Yiming said: "I consulted with Airbus before coming here . The initial quote was $200 million. This is the standard version. If the interior decoration needs to be customized, the price will be calculated separately."
"Two hundred million dollars!?"
Li Yiwen couldn't help but take a breath.
This is 1.7 billion Xia country currency.
Lu Yiming said proudly: "You probably don't know yet, but I sold PayPal during my trip to the United States and made nearly $1 billion, which is more than enough to buy an A340-300."
Li Yiwen didn't know how to refute it, so he could only give a thumbs up and say, "Okay, you're awesome, okay?"
This guy, why is he so irritating?
Lu Yiming said: "I plan to go to Toulouse tomorrow, do you want to go with me?"
“…”
The next day, Lu Yiming and his group arrived in Toulouse, the headquarters of Airbus.
Airbus directly sent the company's vice president Guillaume Faury to receive Lu Yiming.
In the high-end reception room of Airbus, Lu Yiming met with Guillaume Faury.
Guillaume Faury seemed very enthusiastic.
Airbus is currently competing globally with Boeing, and a super-rich man from Xia Country like Lu Yiming is someone they must win over.
In their view, by serving the super-rich Lu Yiming well, Airbus can enter the Xia country market through Lu Yiming.
"Mr. Lu, I've wanted to meet you for a long time! Today you finally came to our Airbus!"
Lu Yiming smiled faintly, shook hands with Guillaume Faury, and said, "I have wanted to visit Airbus for a long time. It is a great company."
The fancy sedan is carried by everyone. Since Airbus is giving so much face, Lu Yiming will naturally not be stingy with his saliva.
After some pleasantries, Lu Yiming got straight to the point and said, "Do you have the 340 aircraft I need? I want to go take a look first."
"No problem, please follow me."
Guillaume Faury took Lu Yiming and his team to the Airbus production workshop.
An aircraft that is more than 60 meters long is indeed a big one. There happened to be an A340 being assembled in the factory, so Guillaume Fourie took Lu Yiming to visit it.
"The company provides customized aircraft services. If you need it, Mr. Lu, I will call the person in charge of the customization department to you immediately."
Lu Yiming said: "My plane must not only have rooms for sleeping and relaxing, but also a banquet hall that can accommodate 30 people, and I will use a lot of Chinese-style gilding and gold decorations throughout the plane."
Li Yiwen couldn't help but complain quietly: "Are you planning to make the whole plane look like gold? Isn't that a bit too tacky?"
Lu Yiming waved his hand and said, "Hey, you don't understand. The most vulgar is the most elegant. It's so comfortable to look at the golden glitter. Have you ever visited the imperial palace? That kind of luxury is the top luxury. It's not just about piling up materials, it also needs artistry."
Guillaume Fourie had seen too many preferences of the sponsors. Over the years, the people who customized the aircraft here had various requirements, and he was no longer surprised. In fact, Lu Yiming's request was the most normal one for him.
"Then, Mr. Lu, let's go to the private order department to discuss it."
"Walk."
After careful planning by professionals, the interior design of the aircraft was finalized, which is expected to cost an additional $68 million. The interior layout of the aircraft was finally finalized to have four bedrooms, a guest lounge, kitchen and a dining area that can accommodate thirty people.
The total construction cost is 268 million US dollars!
Of course, Airbus was very sincere and gave Lu Yiming a discount, eliminating the remainder of the $8 million.
The two parties formally signed the contract, and Lu Yiming immediately paid the deposit.
After successfully buying the plane, Lu Yiming was still very excited thinking that he would own a luxurious sky fortress in the future.
"Okay, I've bought the plane and am ready to go back home. Cousin, sister-in-law, you guys continue to have fun here."
Guillaume Faury immediately dispatched an A340 to send Lu Yiming back to China for free.
To be honest, Airbus was also very cunning. After successfully winning Lu Yiming's order, it immediately leaked the news.
Who made Lu Yiming forget about signing the confidentiality clause?
Nowadays, the Internet is becoming more and more developed, and the speed of news dissemination has changed fundamentally compared with the past. The emergence of various portals has made the time for fresh information to be transmitted to users directly calculated in minutes.
Here, Lu Yiming was still crossing the Eurasian continent, but over there, the people of Xia Country were already excited because Lu Yiming spent 260 million US dollars to buy the A340.
As soon as Lu Yiming's plane landed at Baiyun International Airport, the reporters who had been waiting for a long time surrounded him .
Lu Yiming walked out of the cabin and looked at the large group of reporters, feeling a little confused.
After all, at this time, he didn't know that his purchase of a plane had become known to everyone.
A female reporter shouted, "Mr. Lu, is this A340 the latest private jet you bought?"
Only then did Lu Yiming realize that Airbus had used him as a promotional tool.
After secretly cursing the Angsa people for being so despicable, Lu Yiming said decisively: "No, my plane is specially customized and I won't get it until next year."
Another reporter asked, "Mr. Lu, I heard that the price of an Airbus A340 is as high as 1.68129 billion, and the one you customized costs 2.13584 billion. Is that true?"
Lu Yiming said: "It's true."
Although I have seen these data in the newspaper, now that Lu Yiming has admitted it himself, the concept is naturally different.
A group of reporters felt sad when they thought that their monthly salary was only one or two thousand yuan, while Lu Yiming spent more than 2 billion yuan to buy a plane.
Sometimes, the gap between people is greater than the gap between people and maggots.
In fact, it’s not just the reporters. Some wealthy people on the Hurun Rich List are also confused.
At the headquarters of Delong International Strategic Investment Company, the brothers Tang Wanli and Tang Wanxin looked very upset when they saw the news in the newspaper.
As the helmsmen of the Delong Group, they control assets worth hundreds of billions, but the two brothers' personal assets are not high, only 1.9 billion, ranking 26th on the Hurun Rich List.
Moreover, most of the 1.9 billion is in various fixed assets such as stocks, bonds, and various RVs, not cash.
This means that even if they spend all their money, they cannot afford an A340-300.
Tang Wanli waved the newspaper in his hand, making a rustling sound. With an envious expression on his face, he said to Tang Wanxin: "Lu Yiming is so rich. He is a real billionaire. Compared with him, the two of us are so poor."
Tang Wanxin sighed and said, "Yes, compared to Lu Yiming, the two of us are simply paupers."
Although the current Delong Group is still prosperous in the eyes of outsiders, Tang Wanli and Tang Wanxin both know that there is a big problem with the company's accounts and the capital chain will soon be unable to hold up. This matter has made the two brothers melancholy for a long time.
Tang Wanxin suddenly had an idea and said excitedly: "What do you think about us looking for Mr. Lu to invest?"
Tang Wanli became interested when he heard it, but then he hesitated and said, "Is it possible?"
Tang Wanxin said, "Now is not the time to hesitate. We have to try it to know whether it works or not. What if Lu Yiming is really stupid and rich? Spending more than 2 billion to buy a plane, which normal person can do such a thing?"
The two brothers agreed that Tang Wanli would be the company's representative to discuss cooperation with Lu Yiming.
Lu Yiming and Tang Wanli met, and after a few pleasantries, Tang Wanli proposed that Delong International Strategic Investment Company wanted to cooperate with Future Capital.
Both parties are engaged in investment, but their methods are different.
"Mr. Lu, Future Capital has money, while Delong Group has strength and industry. Once the two sides start to cooperate, it will definitely be a strong combination."
If it were an ordinary person, he might really be intimidated by the Delong Group, a behemoth with a scale of hundreds of billions. But Lu Yiming was different.
Because he didn't know this company at all... Even after Tang Wanli introduced it, he still didn't have any outstanding impression in his mind.
Never get involved in things you don't understand. This is the conclusion Lu Yiming came to after reading the entrepreneurial history of countless bigwigs.
The most typical example is the discontinuation of fake medicine.
Therefore, Lu Yiming had no interest in cooperating with Delong Group at all.
However, he was a tactful person. He felt that such a rejection should not be said too directly, so he pretended to be very interested and said to Tang Wanli with a smile: "Mr. Tang, you are a man with great ambitions. Delong Group has grown to a scale of 100 billion at an astonishing speed in just a few years. It is indeed a strong company. But investing in Delong Group is such a big thing, I need time to think about it."
When Tang Wanli heard this, he sighed inwardly and said with a forced smile, "Then I will wait for Mr. Lu's good news."
"good."
When Tang Wanli returned to the company, Tang Wanxin hurriedly asked, "What happened? Did it work? What did Mr. Lu say?"
Tang Wanli shook his head slightly and sighed, "Lu Yiming is indeed a man with a good reputation. He must have seen that there is something wrong with Delong."
Tang Wanxin was horrified: "How is this possible?"
Tang Wanli smiled bitterly and shook his head, saying, "Why is this impossible? I'm not a god. Even if I have tried my best to conceal the company's financial problems, there are still some clues left. Sooner or later, people will find out the flaws."
Family members know their own business. The current Delong Group can be said to be "golden outside but rotten inside", and it urgently needs a lifeline to overcome the current difficulties. Before, the two brothers wanted to find Lu Yiming, but now it seems that Lu Yiming has no intention of paying attention to them at all.
Tang Wanxin said helplessly: "Brother, don't we have any other way?"
Tang Wanli was a staff member and think tank for others, so even at this time, his mind was quite calm. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly made a decision: "The bad news is that Lu Yiming will definitely not invest in our Delong. But the good news is that Lu Yiming obviously does not intend to put this matter on the table."
Tang Wanxin scratched his head, his eyes full of confusion: "So what?"
Tang Wanli smiled slightly and said, "So we can definitely spread the word that Asia's richest man, Lu Yiming, is very optimistic about our Delong Group and plans to invest in it. He is currently actively conducting research."
Tang Wanxin was stunned by this operation. He was trying to use Lu's reputation as the richest man to fool other investors.
"Is this really okay? What if that richest man Lu comes out to refute the rumors?"
Tang Wanli said confidently: "Lu Yiming will not stand up, and I didn't lie. He said in front of me that he was optimistic about Delong Group. This is the truth."
“But can this attract investment?”
“So there has to be a next step.”
"What should I do?"
"After a few days, quietly spread the news that Future Capital is planning to invest in Delong Group, but we haven't agreed on the price yet."
Tang Wanxin scratched his head, then his eyes lit up and he clapped his hands suddenly: "Hey, that's amazing!"
Sure enough, a few days later, there was news that Lu Yiming was very optimistic about Delong Group.
Currently, the two parties have entered the negotiation stage, but there is a dispute between the two sides on the valuation of Delong Group. Lu Yiming wants to take the opportunity to lower the price, while Delong Group is arguing on its point.
The news quickly spread throughout the city, attracting the attention of countless investors in the investment community.
After all, this is a company that even Mr. Lu, the richest man in the country, is optimistic about!
On Monday morning, Lu Yiming was leisurely eating breakfast at home. He was thinking about where to go to relax with Shi Qingxue when Li Quanwang ran over.
Ning Xuehua went to open the door and found that it was Li Quanwang. She invited Li Quanwang in and said, "Wangzi, have you had breakfast? Do you want to eat with us?"
Li Quanwang said politely, "I've eaten. Thank you, Auntie. I came to see Mingzai for something."
Lu Yiming raised his head and asked, "What's the matter?"
Li Quanwang came to sit next to Lu Yiming and asked in a low voice: "What does the Delong Group do? Why did I see a lot of news when I was surfing the Internet today saying that you are optimistic about this company and are ready to invest? Is this company awesome? Is it profitable?"
Now, Tongxin Internet Cafe has been sold, and Li Quanwang's only source of income is the rent dividend of the house, which has shrunk significantly compared to before, so he wants to do something else to make money. Today, he suddenly saw Lu Yiming saying that he wanted to invest in Delong Group, so he ran over to inquire about the situation.
Lu Yiming hadn't noticed the news yet, and immediately frowned and said, "When did I say I was optimistic about Delong Group?"
Li Quanwang said: "It's in the anecdotes."
Lu Yiming quickly turned on his computer and soon found relevant news on the interesting news website.
After reading it, he was speechless and couldn't help complaining: "Damn it, I used to take advantage of Li Chaoren, and now it's my turn to be taken advantage of. Is this tit-for-tat?"
Li Quanwang said impatiently: "Stop sighing. Is this Delong Group really worth investing in?"
Lu Yiming said unhappily: "Investment? It's more like reincarnation! It's a rubbish company!"
Li Quanwang was shocked and said, "Not really? I've seen the growth momentum of this company, it's really strong."
After Lu Yiming came back yesterday, he studied the company carefully and said, "Of course it's powerful. Delong Group can easily acquire shares in multiple banks, and then illegally withdraw deposits from these banks to carry out large-scale mergers and acquisitions. How can it not develop quickly? But think about it carefully, is this something that ordinary people can do?"
Li Quanwang thought for a moment and said, "You mean there's someone behind them?"
Lu Yiming said, "Of course there are. And the water here is very deep. We can't control it. It's better not to get involved. If something goes wrong, the big shots will definitely be able to get away with it. After all, no matter how hard it is, you can't let the rich suffer. As for us capitalists who can only hang street lamps, we have to take the blame for them."
