1977: The beginning of the blind date with the daughter of the king

Chapter 653 Madonna's Thanks!

"Is this the cooperation agreement you negotiated with them?"

"The conditions seem pretty similar!"

At the dinner table, David Rockefeller ate a few bites casually, then looked at the cooperation agreement with the mainland that Li Changhe had brought, and then put it aside.

Besides Li Changhe's side, the Rockefeller family also had a public cooperation agreement with Dongda University. The conditions given were almost identical to those given by Li Changhe, except that some restrictions were relaxed in minor details.

"At present, they are still in the initial stage of external contact, so they have strict bottom lines and principles, and the conditions they offer are basically the same, so I don't think we need to rush."

"The opening up of that market will inevitably be a gradual process, and it will be a long-term process. We just need to prepare the manpower and technology in advance."

Li Changhe spoke earnestly to David Rockefeller.

David Rockefeller nodded: "Vic, your judgment is correct. I will leave Brian to you from now on. He will assist your people in getting all the technology and equipment you need."

"I'm very confident leaving the Asian side to you; your abilities exceed my expectations."

For David Rockefeller, the economic expansion into Asia was merely a side project, a way to secure benefits for the family; the real need was for political cooperation.

"By the way, David, there's something else I want to tell you."

"Bank of America wants to partner with Chase Bank to launch a new service company together."

Li Changhe then explained his club model to David Rockefeller.

"It sounds like a very interesting model, especially for the wealthy. The service is very comprehensive, and it's a great idea."

David Rockefeller listened and then smiled and said...

Economically speaking, David Rockefeller had little interest in this service model, but as a banker turned politician, he keenly perceived its unique effects.

That is to win over the wealthy, especially the middle-class wealthy.

The middle-class wealthy are currently one of the core groups that both parties are trying to win over, since they can directly influence a portion of the voter base.

From this perspective, David Rockefeller believed that Li Changhe's model actually had its merits.

In addition, Bank of America also greatly interested David Rockefeller.

This is one of the core banks of the California financial group.

"Let Brian communicate with them then and see if the two sides can reach an agreement!"

“I haven’t been paying much attention to Chase Bank lately.”

David Rockefeller said with a smile.

He didn't give Li Changhe a definite answer, or rather, he thought it wasn't worth his attention.

He has a lot on his plate and won't bother with such trivial matters.

Li Changhe didn't say much. It was already good enough that the other party was willing to leave it for Brian. As for whether it would actually work out in the end, he didn't care.

Anyway, Bank of America knows this strategy, and Chase Bank will know it too. Whether it's the California consortium, the Rockefeller consortium, or a joint effort, it won't be a loss for them.

"By the way, Vic, I heard you made a lot of money for Tarak and his people in the Middle East, is that right?"

At this moment, David Rockefeller suddenly brought up the Middle East again to Li Changhe.

After listening, Li Changhe nodded slightly: "That's right. An illegal stock market has appeared in Kuwait, but quite a few people are putting money into it. Tarak asked me to help him operate it, and I arranged some people for him."

“You’re lucky. Tarak is backed by the Sudri brothers, and their eldest brother, Fahd, is already the first crown prince. It’s a sure thing that he will become the next king of Saudi Arabia.”

"I think if you have time, you can go and take a look at the Middle East!"

David Rockefeller then said something meaningful to Li Changhe.

The core business of the Luo family is oil, and Saudi Arabia's oil is now arguably the highest quality in the world, which is also where the Luo family's core interests lie.

In recent years, with the rise of Middle Eastern countries, the Luo family's oil power has shrunk again and again. For example, the original ownership has been taken back by countries like Saudi Arabia, leaving only the sales rights.

Therefore, the attitude of Saudi Arabia is particularly important to these oil companies.

Although the Rockefeller family and their oil companies ostensibly had the United States as their backer, David Rockefeller was well aware that there were also conflicts between the US government and the oil conglomerates.

So David Rockefeller was quite surprised to learn that Victor had connections with the entire Sudley Brothers faction.

After all, being on good terms with Tarak and being on good terms with the Sudri brothers' faction are two completely different things, and they are on completely different levels.

Victor's ability to achieve this impressed David Rockefeller.

Given Victor's relationship with the Luo family and his close ties with the Saudi King's faction, this is undoubtedly good news for ExxonMobil, since personal relationships often outweigh national interests in the Middle East.

After hearing what David said, Li Changhe vaguely guessed the other party's intention, after all, the core of the Luo family was oil.

“I actually planned to go after Fahd ascended the throne. Now I hear that Fahd and his men are negotiating with another group of brothers. Going there now wouldn’t be of much use.”

Li Changhe said with a smile, while an idea suddenly came to mind.

Perhaps, he could gradually develop a business in the Middle East.

Saudi Arabia won't work, but places like Qatar and the UAE might be a better fit.

Of course, this is contingent on the Luo family supporting him; otherwise, these Western oil conglomerates would definitely exclude him.

Thinking about this, Li Changhe felt that he really needed to find time to go to the Middle East.

"It seems you have a deep collaboration with them, to know even these things."

"Yes, you can go if you have time. Just call me before you go, and Exxon can help you out!"

David Rockefeller then smiled and said to Li Changhe.

Li Changhe nodded: "Okay, I'll call you, David, when I decide to go."

The two chatted for a few more minutes, and when David Rockefeller yawned, Li Changhe got up to say goodbye.

After leaving David Rockefeller's residence, Li Changhe got into a car.

"Anna, did we agree to meet Carol at three o'clock?"

This afternoon, Li Changhe also arranged to meet with Carroll from Red Bull, mainly because Carroll has performed very well in the past year, and Li Changhe wanted to give him more responsibilities.

"Yes, boss, meet with Carol at three o'clock."

"There's still an hour and a half until our meeting!"

Anna glanced at her watch and answered Li Changhe.

Seeing Li Changhe deep in thought, Anna hesitated for a moment before speaking up: "Boss, if you don't need to rest, how about we go check out Universal Music?"

"I heard that McDonald's and Universal Music are having a pretty big fight right now. Do you want to go and take a look?"

Madonna was just a nobody, but she was, after all, a singer that the boss had specifically signed and invested a lot of effort in developing, so Anna kept track of her progress.

Now that McDonald's is having problems, she feels she should report it to Li Changhe.

"Oh?"

Why is there such a commotion?

Li Changhe asked with some curiosity.

"It should be because of the difference in musical style. After the small company that Madonna founded was merged into Universal Music, Universal Music arranged a brand new team for her, but the two sides could not reach a consensus on the style."

“Madonna is rebellious and doesn’t want to follow Universal Music’s arrangements, while Universal Music thinks that the songs Madonna chose are too unconventional. The two sides are currently having a conflict over this.” Anna told Li Changhe what she knew about the inside story.

After listening, Li Changhe smiled and said, "Alright, let's go see her then!"

"Let's see how well her training goes."

Anna nodded, then told the driver the address, and drove Li Changhe towards the headquarters of Universal Music.

Soon, a convoy of cars stopped in front of Universal Music's headquarters, and then Li Changhe got out of the car, followed by a group of people.

"Let them wait in the rest area, we'll go up and check it out ourselves!"

Li Changhe thought for a moment and then gave instructions to Anna.

Meanwhile, at the entrance of Universal Music, the company's vice president, Connery, was already waiting respectfully.

Since Li Changhe was coming to inspect, Anna must have informed Universal Music in advance.

Currently, only Connery remains at Universal Music headquarters as a vice president, so it was natural for him to step down.

Connery was also very excited at this moment, after all, this was the first time that the group's major shareholder, the mysterious Mr. Victor, had come to inspect Universal Music.

Connery was very curious about this Mr. Victor and was considering whether he should try to get close to this powerful figure.

As a senior executive at Universal Music, he could be considered part of the management team within the entire MCA Group, and he had heard some of the news.

It is said that MCA will undergo a structural split next, and the Global Group will likely become independent. This seems to be a way for Mr. Victor and Mr. Wasserman to divide their interests.

Of course, these are just a few rumors and have not been confirmed by the group.

But for people like Connery, such news doesn't just appear out of nowhere; it must have been released by one side. Otherwise, who would dare to spread rumors about the bigwigs above?

So there's a high probability that this is true. Of course, it's also possible that the higher-ups are releasing this information to gauge the reaction from below.

Often, the effect of rumors is to gauge the response. If people are receptive, the rumor is likely to become a reality. However, if people strongly resist it, the group will often make a more cautious decision.

As Connery was pondering various things, he saw a convoy of luxury cars arrive, followed by a large number of people getting out of the vehicles.

Connery's gaze immediately fell on the young Asian man walking in front of Anna.

Besides Mr. Victor, there was probably no one else Anna would serve.

Seeing this, Connery quickly strode over.

"Hello, Mr. Victor, welcome to Universal Music!"

Li Changhe does not currently hold a position at MCA; the company's chairman is still Lou Wasserman, so he is merely a major shareholder and does not hold a company position.

"Boss, this is Mr. Connery, the Vice President of Universal Music, who is in charge of the company's record distribution and sales!"

Anna immediately began to introduce Li Changhe.

"Hello, Mr. Connery!"

Li Changhe shook hands with Connery gently.

"Sir, please come in with me, I will show you the way!"

Connery then took the initiative to lead the way, bringing Li Changhe into the company.

"Sir, would you like to see Ms. McDonald first, or would you like to inspect the company first?"

Connery led the way while asking in a low voice.

Li Changhe thought for a moment, then said, "This is my first time at Universal Music, so let's take a look around first."

He mainly wanted to see how a music group operated; although he didn't need to manage it personally, he still wanted to get a general understanding.

After all, he's not very familiar with Western music, but he'll understand Chinese music in the future.

There were Jacky Cheung, Andy Lau, Jay Chou, lyricist James Wong, composer Joseph Koo, and so on, not to mention the singers from mainland China who came after.

He can't just poach people; he needs to look at the management model in the US before giving guidance to his subordinates.

"Sure, let me show you around the company first."

Afterwards, Connery took Li Changhe on a tour of Universal Music and introduced him to the main departments.

After getting a general idea of ​​what was going on, Li Changhe went to an office, or rather a small meeting room, that Connery had prepared for him.

Not long after, a secretary brought Madonna in.

"Hello, Anna, hello, boss, I'm so glad to see you all again."

As soon as she entered, Madonna greeted Li Changhe warmly.

Anna smiled and nodded at Madonna, while Li Changhe gestured to Madonna.

"Sit down, Ciccone!"

Madonna then casually sat down.

"How's it going? I heard you're not having a good time at Universal Music?"

Li Changhe then took the initiative to ask.

Upon hearing this, Madonna immediately chimed in: "That's absolutely terrible."

"Boss, I don't think I'm suited to stay at Universal Music. Their musical philosophy is incredibly outdated; they even say things like white and black music can't be combined."

Madonna then started nagging at Li Changhe. This girl was indeed very impulsive and straightforward, and not very cunning, but that didn't mean she was stupid.

In fact, Li Changhe had seen the girl's information. She was very smart, with an IQ of 140, and was an all-around excellent student in high school.

"Do you think there are any musicians who appreciate you? People with whom you can spark inspiration?"

Li Changhe then asked with a smile.

"Of course, I think there's a musician at Warner who shares my musical philosophy."

Madonna said this instinctively at that moment.

But then, she seemed to realize something.

"Boss, I don't mean to switch jobs, what I mean is..."

“It’s okay, you can tell Anna the name and have her poach that person.”

"Anna, when you're at it, tell Universal Music to set up a separate personal studio for Madonna. All recordings will be based on her ideas, and Universal will only be responsible for distribution and sales."

Li Changhe thought for a moment, then spoke to Anna again.

Anna looked at Li Changhe in surprise upon hearing this. The boss was spoiling this little girl way too much.

McDonald, who was standing nearby, was also stunned. Was this boss really that nice to her?

"Boss, how about I sleep with you?"

At that moment, Madonna blurted out those words without thinking.

Li Changhe frowned after hearing this.

(End of this chapter)