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

Chapter 755 Too much money to refuse!
If Lu Xiuchuan hadn't come knocking on his door, Li Changhe would have completely overlooked this matter.

For Dongda University, the 84 Los Angeles Olympics was the first time it had officially participated in such an international event since the founding of the People's Republic of China, so everyone attached great importance to it.

Especially after an incident a couple of years ago where an athlete participating in a competition in the US was "stranded" in the country, the embassy has been paying even more attention to this matter this time.

However, on the other hand, in places like Europe and America, money is an essential element if you want to do all kinds of logistical work well.

For major sporting events, national delegations come to participate. Not to mention accommodation, food, transportation, and other logistical support all require a large amount of funding.

Although the government allocates special funds, it is certainly insufficient compared to the actual amount used.

In addition, there are translators, service personnel, and other staff. The Los Angeles Olympic Committee also provided some volunteers, but the problem is that the embassy does not dare to use them.

Because this year's Los Angeles Olympics was very special.

Ultimately, this was because the Los Angeles Olympics were not officially organized, but rather "unofficially" organized by the public.

The reason is that, just before Los Angeles won the bid to host the Olympics, California passed a law that prohibited the use of public funds to host the Olympics.

This regulation left the Los Angeles Olympic Committee completely baffled. To put it bluntly, they had won the bid to host the Games, but the city of Los Angeles wouldn't provide the funding.

Finally, after negotiations, both parties decided to establish a commercial management team to attract sponsorships, sell broadcasting rights, and so on. In short, they aimed to raise money through commercial activities, cut expenses, and minimize the cost of hosting the event.

Another problem caused by this move is that the service personnel for the entire Olympics will be a mixed bag. To put it bluntly, in order to save money, volunteers and staff are basically selected based on cheapness and free work.

In this situation, the true identities of these volunteers and translators remain unclear, which adds to the difficulty of Lu Xiuchuan and his team's work.

Left with no other option, Lu Xiuchuan contacted the mainland authorities and received instructions to seek cooperation with Bao Zeyang, a tycoon in Hong Kong.

Although Lu Xiuchuan was curious, he had actually preferred to cooperate with the Huo family.

However, after seeing the information sent from China about Bao Zeyang's influence and businesses in California, Lu Xiuchuan decisively changed his mind.

There was no way around it; Mr. Bao's influence in California was too great, and he could provide them with comprehensive, one-stop assistance.

In the study, after listening to Lu Xiuchuan finish explaining their cooperation needs, Li Changhe smiled and nodded.

“Mr. Lu, it is only right to help with such a small matter.”

"By the way, regarding our translation work, I think we can use your international students. I can arrange a special fund to provide services specifically for our international students, allowing them to do your translation work. This can also be considered as them working and studying."

"As for any other needs, I can arrange for a person in charge of my secretarial team to work with you specifically, including providing all the services you need, such as legal assistance, transportation, and meals."

The right person Li Changhe thought of was Chen Lei. The girl had already returned from Hong Kong Island, and arranging her with Lu Xiuchuan would be just right.

"Mr. Bao, thank you so much for your help."

Lu Xiuchuan was surprised that Bao Zeyang agreed so readily and offered comprehensive support.

Li Changhe smiled and said, "You're too kind. The Olympics is a grand event. Since our people are here to participate, we can't let our spirits be weak. Besides, this Olympics is already very commercialized."

After speaking with Lu Xiuchuan, Lu Xiuchuan politely declined Li Changhe's invitation to stay for dinner. For them, dining in such a luxurious manor would be somewhat inappropriate.

Li Changhe didn't try to stop him, thinking that the matter was over.

Unexpectedly, just two days later, Li Changhe received another call from Hong Kong.

The caller was none other than Boss Huo.

Huo Da Lao was also talking to Li Changhe about the Olympics on the phone. In fact, if Li Changhe hadn't intervened, it was Huo Da Lao who was helping Dongda University in Los Angeles in his previous life.

Another idea behind Huo's phone call was to collaborate with Li Changhe to establish a sports fund to reward winners and encourage participants.

Li Changhe immediately guessed that this must be the later famous Huo's Sports Foundation, and naturally agreed.

In fact, Li Changhe had considered this idea when he met Lu Xiuchuan before, but he didn't mention it later. Mainly because he knew that even if he brought it up, it would most likely not be approved.

The reason is simple: Li Changhe's current identity as Bao Zeyang is a British citizen.

To put it bluntly, no matter how Chinese Bao Zeyang is, he is essentially just a Chinese descendant, not even an overseas Chinese.

In this situation, using funds from a foreigner to reward domestic athletes would be something that the domestic sports authorities would never agree to, no matter how much they are short of money, as it concerns the country's reputation.

However, this is something that Mr. Fok can do, because he is a Hong Konger and is a legitimate Chinese citizen. It is perfectly acceptable for him to use his own people's money to reward his country's athletes.

Li Changhe simply didn't expect that Boss Huo would ask him to collaborate on this project.

Soon, the Huo family sent someone to the United States. The person who came was none other than the future diving queen's father-in-law, Huo's eldest son.

In Li Changhe's office in Los Angeles, Huo Zhenhuan sat opposite him.

“Ah Yang, my father was originally going to come in person, but he has some business to attend to in Hong Kong, so he has to delay and asked me to come first to talk to you.”

"Actually, this sports fund is quite simple. It mainly involves two things: what name we choose and how much money we invest."

Huo Zhenhuan told Li Changhe about his purpose in coming.

If it's just the Huo family, it can be called the Huo Sports Foundation or simply named after his father.

But now that Bao Zeyang has been added, the name can no longer be so simple.

"Brother Zhenhuan, what are your thoughts over there?"

Li Changhe then said with a smile.

Huo Zhenhuan shook his head: "We don't have any ideas on this side. My father still wants you to take the lead. Actually, in terms of money, we definitely can't offer as much as you."

“My father originally intended to start by rewarding the winners of this Olympics, but after learning that you were also involved, he suggested that we could work together to expand the program.”

After listening, Li Changhe smiled and nodded, then shared his thoughts.

“Brother Zhenhuan, my idea coincides with that of Elder Huo. It can indeed be expanded. I think we might as well call it the China-H Sports Foundation and make it a large sports foundation, and then set up several smaller sports foundations under it.”

"For example, with the Huo family's sports fund, we can set up a separate Huo YD Sports Fund, which, according to your ideas, can specifically reward events like the Olympics." "Another example is that I will establish a Bao family sports fund, which can focus on areas such as athlete injury medicine. If other families are willing to invest in the future, we can still set up other affiliated funds."

"Of course, these small foundations don't mean that each foundation only uses the money of one other foundation. Instead, they divide the foundations by name into those that are responsible for specific sports projects."

“I am willing to sponsor the funds of Olympic champions, and these funds will also be invested in the Huo YD Foundation. The China-H Global Sports Foundation mentioned above only plays a leading role in allocating funds. I also prefer Mr. Huo to serve as the chairman.”

"How about I have my fiancée become a vice president?"

At this moment, Li Changhe shared his ideas with Huo Zhenhuan.

To put it bluntly, the goal is to get Mr. Huo to step in and use his influence to get this deal done, and in return, the China-H Sports Fund will become a channel for foreign exchange to flow directly into the domestic sports industry.

Once established, in addition to Olympic awards, things like sports hospitals and sports schools—basically anything related to sports—can be developed domestically under the foundation's name.

In addition, it also allows Gong Xue to gain some reputation along with them.

Hearing Li Changhe's words, Huo Zhenhuan was somewhat shocked. No wonder his father asked him to listen to Bao Zeyang's opinion. Sure enough, his ideas and vision were different, and he turned it into a big project in no time.

"This sports fund is so large, I don't know if the mainland will agree to it?"

Huo Zhenhuan said somewhat hesitantly.

Li Changhe smiled and said, "If it were done by one party alone, it would definitely be risky, but with Elder Huo's status and my assistance, I think there shouldn't be any major problems."

"You can talk to Elder Huo first. As long as we reach an agreement, we can join forces to report to the capital!"

"How much should we set for it?"

Huo Zhenhuan asked softly at this moment.

Li Changhe thought for a moment and then asked, "How much is Elder Huo planning to offer?"

Huo Zhenhuan was a little embarrassed at this point.

"One hundred million Hong Kong dollars!"

One hundred million Hong Kong dollars was indeed a large sum of money in those days, but it depended on who it was. To be honest, one hundred million Hong Kong dollars wasn't much in front of Bao Zeyang.

Li Changhe nodded: "Then I'll contribute 100 million Hong Kong dollars. Anyway, the foundation is something that's developed gradually. It's not like we'll spend all the money at once. We can inject more capital gradually in the future."

"We'll tentatively set up two branches, one named by your Huo family and the other by the Bao family. However, the main operation will still depend on your efforts, Brother Zhenhuan. We're too busy to do much else besides providing the funds."

"That's no problem!"

Upon hearing that Li Changhe had also contributed 100 million, Huo Zhenhuan was naturally grateful.

In fact, even if the other party contributes more money, he can't refuse. However, when two families do charity work together, with one contributing the majority and the other a small share, the smaller party can easily have its limelight stolen by the larger party.

Now, Li Changhe and the Huo family each contributed 100 million Hong Kong dollars, making it an equal amount for everyone, and Huo YD was even appointed as the chairman. This scale and benefits immediately benefited the Huo family, which can be considered as Bao Zeyang giving them a concession.

After seeing Huo Zhenhuan off, Li Changhe sat there and thought for a while.

The Olympic Games pie has still been divided among the Huo family. So, what slice will they get next?

The three major ball sports?
Although the three major ball sports have faced many problems in later generations, especially football, it is undeniable that they have a large number of fans, and football and basketball have a wide audience.

Moreover, he now owns a stake in the Lakers in the NBA, and Red Bull is expanding its influence in the NBA. In football, he has also acquired Chelsea in London.

It might be worthwhile to participate and see if we can help sort things out in China. After all, in twenty years, his Peking University classmates will be in similar positions, and they might have some influence over those associations.

After making up his mind, Li Changhe made a simple plan on the paper and then put it away.

These are all things for the future, there's no rush now.

After spending two more days in Los Angeles, deepening his relationship with Sophie Marceau and Monica, Li Changhe boarded a plane and flew to Texas.

He wants to meet with Li here.

In Texas, at one of the Bush family's estates, Li Changhe and Little Bush embraced warmly.

“Vic, I heard you’ve made another shrewd investment in the East.”

Bush then asked Li Changhe curiously.

Li Changhe nodded: "That's right, we made a fortune in the Hong Kong foreign exchange market. George, you're quite well-informed."

Bush shook his head: "It's not that I'm well-informed, it's that Texaco spread the news all over the place. They made a lot of money from their investment in you, especially since many of their other acquisitions went wrong. The profits you brought in became a highlight that management used to make a fuss."

"Right now, quite a few oil companies want to invest in you!"

Little Bush then said with a smile.

After listening, Li Changhe sighed.

"I have too much money to carry!"

Money isn't always better the more you have. After all, when people give you money, they want it to grow. But once you have a large amount of capital, where are all the investment opportunities?

Earning 20% ​​of a billion dollars is only 1.2 billion dollars, but earning 20% ​​of 10 billion dollars is 2 billion dollars. The difficulty of doing so is extraordinary.

This is also why Vanguard and BlackRock went on a buying spree around the world in later generations. Many people thought they controlled the world after they found out, but in fact they were just trying to preserve the value of their clients' funds.

Clients entrust them with so much money, all hoping to make it appreciate and profit. With such a large amount of capital, the performance pressure is already difficult to manage solely through the capital market. The best way is to buy the world's best stocks, diversify them, and wait for them to appreciate!

Li Changhe currently has several billion dollars in his hands and is still under control. But if these oil companies each throw in another one or two billion dollars, then he'll be helpless.

Therefore, Li Changhe did not hesitate to hint to Xiao Bush to reject these investments.

(End of this chapter)