Solving Middle Age Crisis by Intelligence System-Chapter 483 - 298: Investing in the Netherlands’ ASML
With the exposure of Genghis Khan’s Tomb in Northern Mongolia yesterday, the foreign affairs department simultaneously disclosed a piece of news that more than a dozen foreign tomb raiders met their end in the traps of the upper tomb passage.
Although no identities were officially released, De Gaulle knew that those dozen or so people were the team he had sent out, who had been out of contact for many days.
"Additionally, this matter should be related to that Huaxia person named Qi Yun whom you asked me to pay attention to," the secretary added, then pulled up an interview video on his phone and handed it to De Gaulle.
After watching, De Gaulle’s mouth involuntarily twitched, as if he had thought of something.
He put down his coffee and instructed his assistant, "Cancel all next month’s arrangements. I need to personally go to Huaxia."
Originally, he had planned to visit Huaxia to meet with Qi Yun and discuss collaboration, but the family internal power struggle was at a critical stage, keeping him busy.
Now, having learned that Qi Yun most likely grasped another clue, he couldn’t sit still and had to personally go to Huaxia to understand the situation.
"Alright." The assistant nodded, marking it on the tablet.
Over an hour later, the convoy arrived at Lyon Airport, a Gulfstream G700 slowly landed on the tarmac, and the cabin door opened, with a similarly blond and blue-eyed middle-aged man stepping out of the plane.
The visitor was Christophe Fouquet, the current CEO of Netherlands-based ASML Company, and he was also a compatriot of De Gaulle.
ASML, officially called Advanced Semiconductor Materials Lithography company, is the undisputed leader in the global lithography machine industry, holding overwhelming dominance over other companies in the same industry.
Fu Wentao’s trip to the United States was to try to obtain a batch of lithography machines produced by ASML through the Blackstone Group...
Seeing the other getting off the plane, De Gaulle quickly stepped forward, extending his hand and warmly greeting, "Christophe, how long has it been since you last returned home?"
Christophe grasped his hand with a hint of a smile in his eyes, "Nearly two years, the air in Lyon is still so refreshing."
De Gaulle released his hand and motioned toward the convoy not far away, "Let’s go. I specially had two bottles of wine fetched from the winery."
The two talked as they walked toward the convoy, sitting in the back of a Maybach. The assistant had already decanted the wine, pouring a glass for each of them.
Christophe raised his glass, sniffed it, with a face full of intoxication, "You know me well, I love this taste from the Burgundy region."
De Gaulle laughed heartily, clinking glasses with him.
As the convoy slowly started, Christophe glanced out the window and asked De Gaulle, "You specifically called me over from Eindhoven not just for wine tasting, right?"
De Gaulle nodded, putting down his wine glass, "You should know I’m in a very difficult situation now, and I need your help."
"How do you want me to help?" Christophe asked directly, without beating around the bush.
De Gaulle took a deep breath, speaking one word at a time, "I need you to convince the board to let me buy into ASML!"
Christophe’s hand, holding the wine glass, stopped abruptly. He looked up at De Gaulle, his face full of disbelief, then broke into a low chuckle, "De Gaulle, have you been basking in the Lyon sun for too long?"
"The ASML shareholder list is not something anyone can easily join."
"I know it’s hard." De Gaulle leaned slightly forward, seriously continuing to persuade, "But you might as well hear my terms first."
"I only want 8%, and will delegate the voting rights to you."
"In exchange, I can offer ASML the exclusive supply rights to rare earths from Africa, including the ion-type rare earth mine in Malawi, where the praseodymium-neodymium content is at least ten percentage points higher than what you’re currently importing from Myanmar!"
Christophe listened, thought for a moment, then slowly shook his head, "Your offer is indeed tempting, but I might not be able to help."
"Do you know the board just rejected Mitsubishi’s buy-in application last month? They were even willing to exchange semiconductor materials patents, but those people still didn’t budge."
"No rush, we can talk later." De Gaulle smiled, utterly undeterred, knowing well that there are no absolutes in business, only whether or not the benefits offered are sufficient.
...
Meanwhile, at Bailong Village, at the foot of Changbai Mountain, Huzi and Liu Meng were sitting on the kang at Captain Fu’s house, gnawing on corn on the cob.
"There’s nothing else here, but plenty of liquor. Drink up!" Captain Fu smiled, bringing over a case of Niulan Mountain and placing it on the small table.
Huzi quickly waved his hand, "No, Captain Fu, we can’t drink too much, we still need to take Brother Qi into the mountains later."
Captain Fu didn’t insist, adding some firewood to the stove, looking at the pot of stewing goose, he asked, "Why are you back here again to gather medicinal ingredients?"
"Probably, but I don’t really know." Huzi finished the last bite of corn, wiped his mouth and replied unclearly.
After a while, the pot released a rich aroma of meat, mixing with the thick scent of Northeast soybean paste, permeating the room.
Captain Fu lifted the lid, releasing a burst of white steam. The glossy pieces of goose rolled in the broth, while the potatoes had stewed to a soft texture.
The three men savored the meat and chatted, as the outside gradually darkened.
At 6 PM, Qi Yun and Chen Wei finally drove to Bailong Village. Under Huzi’s reception, they all arrived at Captain Fu’s house.
Northeast people are famously hospitable (except for those doing business in the south), and insisted that Qi Yun and his friends stay overnight at their place. Qi Yun thought that since they couldn’t make it up the mountain anyway, he agreed.
That evening, Captain Fu somehow procured a sheep and treated everyone to a whole sheep feast, which made Qi Yun and the others feel quite embarrassed. This meal probably took a good chunk out of their half-month salary.
Just passing through and not only inconveniencing others but also making them spend so much.
During the meal, Captain Fu shared with the group that the poachers caught last time had been sentenced.
Since they were not only poaching but also involved in kidnapping and murder, the main culprit was given a life sentence, while the other two got twenty years each, unlikely to have any chance of returning in their lifetime...
The meal went on until late at night, and when Qi Yun and the others opened their eyes again, it was already broad daylight outside.
Captain Fu had already prepared breakfast in the pot and had gone off to work. Qi Yun and his friends had a quick bite and got into the car heading towards the mountain.
Before leaving, Qi Yun placed three thousand yuan on the kang. It’s not that he’s stingy, but giving too much to Captain Fu, who is a policeman, wouldn’t be appropriate.
The group of four drove two cars, heading north for nearly two hours, until they finally reached the spot where they parked last time.
After getting out of the car, Qi Yun took a wad of bundled bills from his bag and stuffed it into Hu Zi’s arms: "Hu Zi, you head back first. Brother Wei remembers the route; we’ll follow the mountain side by ourselves."
"Take this money; it’s a bit embarrassing to have delayed your business for so long."
Hu Zi’s hand tightened around the money, and his face immediately turned red, as he pushed the bills back into Qi Yun’s arms: "Brother Qi, this isn’t right! We’re buddies, how can I take your money?"
"Besides, my business is just busywork; it’s not a matter of delay or not!"
Qi Yun held his hand, leaving no room for refusal: "Take it, it’s not easy making a living to support your family, and accompanying us for a trip takes several days." He patted Hu Zi’s arm, "Go back, when we’re out, we’ll find you for a drink in Fusong County."
Hu Zi opened his mouth to say something more, but Qi Yun directly pushed him towards the car.
"Alright, hurry up and leave, you can still make it back before dark."
Hu Zi stumbled a couple of steps, looking at Qi Yun’s expression that left no room for argument, swallowed the words back down.
He bowed his head and squeezed the money in his arms, finally nodding his head: "Okay, Brother Qi, take care, call me if anything comes up."
"Yes, I understand. Hurry on now." Qi Yun waved him off and turned to lead Chen Wei and Liu Meng into the mountain.
They’d walked this path several times and had already familiarized themselves with the route.
By around three in the afternoon, Da Zhu Zi’s cabins finally appeared ahead.
Summer is the best time for herb gathering, so Da Zhu Zi wasn’t home but had gone up the mountain to pick herbs. The three of them didn’t stop but continued on to Old Zhao’s place.
After walking for another ten minutes, a dog barked from the yard ahead, and on closer look, a small black dog was bouncing around the yard.
Old Zhao was sitting on the doorstep smoking a pipe, and upon seeing Qi Yun arrive, he slapped his bottom and stood up, walking two steps to greet them.
"Haha, old man, you look well?"
"Not bad, not dead yet." Old Zhao, still with his peculiar temper, puffed twice on his pipe. "You guys came quickly; I thought it would be tomorrow."
He stepped aside to let them in, and the small black dog trotted over, sniffing around Qi Yun’s pant legs.
Old Zhao glared at the dog, kicking it lightly with some annoyance: "Useless thing, move aside."
Qi Yun glanced at the little dog, smilingly asked: "What, still thinking about Hu Zi?"
Old Zhao said nothing, just brought a plate of pine nuts to put on the stove.
Qi Yun grabbed a handful, steering the conversation to the main topic.
"Old man, tell me about that thousand-year-old ginseng? Why are you afraid to dig it up?"
Old Zhao stuffed some fresh tobacco into his pipe, blue-grey smoke rings slowly spreading through the room. He puffed twice, then slowly opened his mouth: "It’s not that I’m afraid, it’s that I can’t."
"Why can’t you dig it up? If that thing is really a thousand years old, I’ll offer a good price, and you can enjoy a peaceful life by selling it."
Old Zhao sighed: "That ginseng has become a spirit! It’s the earth vein clue that the Mountain God keeps on the mountain!"
"It appears once every three hundred years, moves once every five hundred, and at a thousand, it carries the mountain’s vigor, going wherever there is spiritual energy."
"Would you dare dig it up? Aren’t you afraid the Mountain God will take you?"
Qi Yun listened, unimpressed, and smiled as he asked back: "Then when you first saw it, why didn’t you notice it had become a spirit?"
Old Zhao was stumped by the question, and glared at Qi Yun with irritation: "I didn’t believe it before either, until I saw it actually move. That’s when I realized all the ancestral stories were true!"
(Two Chapters with six thousand words, one more Chapter being written and should be released in the early morning)
