Sir Merlot, the de facto owner of the Corinthian Hotel, flew directly from his home in Malta to London on an early flight. Before the official dinner, he needed to meet Lin Yilong first, and even though he already knew what Lin Yilong was going to do, he still wanted to find out what his business partner wanted from it.

"Nothing to be courteous, either a traitor or a thief. The philosophy behind this statement is applicable in all cultural contexts.

Lin Yilong and Katie arrived at the penthouse of the Corinthian Hotel at five o'clock, and Sir Merlot, who had been informed, went to visit him, accompanied by Madame Director.

The two have never met, but they already know what each other looks like on various materials.

Sir Merlot's face was lush and lush in his youth, and if he hadn't known that this lord was far beyond the age of retirement, Lin Yilong would probably think of him as a middle-aged man about 50 years old, with a smile on his kind face, and he looked kind, friendly and approachable, in stark contrast to the age-appropriate gloom accumulated on Lin Yilong's face.

"I'm sorry to come to the door, Mr. Lin!" said Sir Merlot, in a friendly tone, but without any apology, "I am honored to be invited to your naturalization celebration. ”

"Just in time, Lord Merlot. Lin Yilong welcomed Lord Merlot into the suite, placed him in the living room, and brought a cup of lemon black tea that had already been prepared, "Unfortunately, the meal will not start until a while, and now I only have some honey lemonade and some refreshments to entertain you here." ”

"It's okay to be a host. Sir Merlot straightened up and looked at Lin Yilong, "Please forgive me for asking so bluntly, why did Mr. Lin come to me for tonight's celebration?"

It's obviously rude to ask that.

"I was the commercial director of Corinthian Hotel Group when I worked with you, and although that respectable gentleman was very professional and responsible, I was still willing to have a face-to-face conversation with the head of the company to get to know each other better and see if there was any room for further cooperation. Lin Yilong coped with the scene, "After all, as a professional manager, the responsible commercial director will only be responsible for the representative company, not to the shareholders, although the two should be similar in the general direction of interests, but after all, shareholders may invest in more than one entity." ”

"So, what exactly is the cooperation?" Sir Merlot planned to take the initiative and force Lin Yilong's intentions to come out.

"Meaningful. "After all, no one would invest in a business that is doomed to lose money, just as Sir Merlot backed his investment in 'International Hotel Holdings' in 2000 and continued to buy shares in InterContinental Hotels ever since." In the end, it's just a benefit-risk ratio to make its own value judgment. Because the plans are different, the valuation is high and low when balancing the benefits and risks, which highlights the importance of cooperation in some aspects. ”

"Why, you're interested in my investment project?" said Ser Merlot frowned, he didn't know how his investment plan had been known to the man in front of him.

There is no obstacle for a behind-the-scenes person in an industry to use his own money to invest in his opponents through trusts and entrusted banks, but this is limited to the legal – but tacit level – there is still a need for some degree of obligatory loyalty to his partners and agents, and once it is revealed, it is very embarrassing for those partners and agents.

"I'm not very interested in hotel management and hotel management, and we can work together in other areas that are of interest to everyone. Lin Yilong's tone became more and more calm, and he had completely lost the enthusiasm on the surface of the door just now, "So I mentioned just now that shareholders can invest freely after all, and it is always good to broaden the breadth and depth of cooperation and communication with each other." ”

Lin Yilong can't back down in this short confrontation, he must lead the process of his "naturalization celebration", if Sir Merlot seizes the opportunity to turn against the guest, this party will become Sir Merlot using Lin Yilong's money to expand his social contacts in Westminster, so that Mr. Fisco and Sir Merlot bypass Lin Yilong to contact him directly, marginalizing him.

If it really happens, it will not only be rude, but even a little intimidating.

"Yes. Sir Merlot admitted, this time there was no way to deduce his thoughts from Lin Yilong, so he put on the kind smile that the two had before the confrontation, "I have great hopes for this party with Mr. Lin and Mr. Lin's friends, and please allow me to be absent for a while, I have to go and make some preparations for the dinner." ”

"Please. Lin Yilong sent Sir Merlot out of his apartment, and then returned to the living room, breathing a sigh of relief.

Katie also came out of the kitchen where she had been hiding just now, took a glass of cranberry juice and handed it to Lin Yilong.

"Thank you. Lin Yilong took the plum juice and drank it in a big gulp, "It's really a very good antidote." ”

"What is the antidote?" asked Katie.

"That Sir Merlot. Lin Yilong said, "I'm wondering what made him have the capital to treat his former partner so rudely." Isn't it an attitude that I met all the old people in the future. ”

"Since the crisis of the '70s, it's slowly getting better. Katie replied, "Thanks to the Internet and the mass media, you can see that Mr. Fisko is much better, he has caught up with the new educational guidelines." ”

"That's fine. Lin Yilong nodded, "The reason why I sought out this Sir Merlot and introduced him to Mr. Fisk is because this terrible old gentleman is very difficult in Westminster. ”

"How?"

"If you think about it, first of all, he is a wealthy man who will support low taxes and limit social security, his source is still hotels, which will inevitably support the migration of people to and fro, and there are also defense and foreign trade expenditures that require further in-depth analysis of the impact, making this person's coordinates more difficult to determine, and if you want to find a place in the square not far away, you will need his help more or less. ”

"I thought you were going to introduce him to that Fred. Katie said.

"That's what I think, but Fred is an outsider to us after all, and if I want to properly protect my own rights, of course it is more convenient to find a closer 'partner'. Lin Yilong said, and then looked at Katie with an appreciative look.

"So, you chose me?" Katie was very sensitive to the details of Lin Yilong's demeanor and expression, and realized the meaning of this.

"Isn't this Katie's dream?" Lin Yilong asked rhetorically.