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Chapter 388 Google Officially Embarks on the IPO Path

The Charleston district of Mountain View is home to a brand-new upscale residential community that attracts many people seeking a high-quality lifestyle with its exquisite planning and superior quality.

Reeves carefully supported his pregnant wife Linda, and the two, accompanied by a professional real estate agent, slowly walked into a house for sale.

His son stayed close to his wife, fearing any mishap to her, while Linda looked around with anticipation, occasionally gently touching her protruding belly, her eyes filled with longing for their future home.

The real estate agent, with a warm smile, guided the two through the tour while methodically introducing the various aspects of the property.

"Although the interior area of ​​this house is not particularly large, with only 6 master bedrooms, from the perspective of spatial layout and practicality, it can fully meet the various needs of daily life for a family of five who are about to welcome a new life."

The agent's voice was gentle and professional. He specifically emphasized the practicality of the house's space, hoping to dispel any concerns the couple might have about its size.

Subsequently, the real estate agents shifted their focus to outdoor amenities, which is one of the key selling points of high-end residential communities.

"The garage is spacious enough to easily park two family cars, and the front deck and roadside parking also meet your needs. The house is surrounded by many palm trees, and the backyard features a very large swimming pool, where your whole family can enjoy happy times in your leisure time."

"There is also a well-maintained garden in the backyard, planted with all kinds of flowers and green plants. If you have special needs, such as wanting a sports field, then the large lawn in the backyard can be properly cultivated and turned into a basketball court or tennis court."

The agent explained the facilities while leading the two on a detailed tour of the outdoor area, allowing them to experience firsthand the actual condition of the amenities.

The outdoor spaces and facilities are a highlight of this high-end residential area, which is why Linda chose to look at properties in this area.

Compared to the outdoors, she cares more about the indoors. "Let's take a look at the facilities inside first."

The agent nodded and accompanied Reeves and Linda on a detailed tour of each room, carefully explaining the functional layout, lighting, and decoration details of each room.

"The home appliances are all from internationally renowned brands, while the furniture is mainly from high-end Italian and Japanese brands, combining style and practicality," the agent explained to the Reeves couple, pointing to the appliances and furniture in the room.

"As you both know, the Charleston real estate market has been exceptionally hot recently. This house is an excellent choice, whether for personal use or as an investment."

Reeves and Linda knew this without the other party needing to say it, because the property values ​​in this area were increased by the purchases made by employees of Google, where Reeves worked.

As Google continues to grow and expand, more and more Google employees are choosing to settle in the Charleston area, leading to an increasing demand for housing and driving up local house prices.

Today, the Charleston area can be described as an area built around Google.

The commercial facilities, transportation infrastructure, and educational resources here largely serve Google employees and their families.

Homes developed by real estate developers in the Charleston area have virtually no sales difficulties; about 90% of them are bought by Google employees.

Standing on the spacious balcony of the master bedroom, the warm California sunshine bathed me, making me feel cozy and comfortable all over.

Opening her eyes and looking at the beautiful scenery before her, she said softly, "The house is really nice. It meets all my expectations, and I really like the environment and atmosphere here."

It was easy to tell from her tone how much she loved the house. Just when the agent thought the deal was done, Linda hesitated, "But about the price—"

"Madam, this house is priced at $115 million. Considering the current market situation for high-end real estate in the Charleston area, this price is really not expensive. You should know that this is a mansion with a lot size of over 5200 square feet. Both the land area and the overall quality of the house are commensurate with this price."

"7

Linda didn't respond to the agent immediately; she just thought about it silently.

But Reeves could tell from her eyes and expression that his wife was very interested in the house. "Since you like it, let's buy it. Don't hesitate any longer."

Linda hesitated for a moment, then shook her head. "Let's wait a bit longer. You know I've already quit my job, and the family's income mainly depends on you."

"Moreover, Niang and his wife have high tuition fees and daily expenses every year. If we buy this house now, the repayment pressure will be very high, which will put a lot of burden on our lives."

Linda's capable and domestic skills warmed the heart of the real estate agent standing nearby. However, the agent was unaware that just a year ago, this was a family that was almost torn apart.

When Reeves secretly quit his job and came to Mountain View, the two would argue endlessly about it almost every time they met, and the family atmosphere became very tense.

But later, Google's valuation exceeded 10 billion US dollars, Reeves' salary at Google increased, and he became a middle manager. Linda also quit her job at the San Francisco department store and became a full-time housewife. The family became warm again.

"As you know, our company is about to launch an IPO. Once I receive the stock options, buying a house like this will be a breeze for us, and we won't have to worry about repayments at all."

"I know." Linda's eyes were filled with a beautiful longing for the future, but she remained rational and calm. "But this is only the current information. How many shares you will ultimately get is still unknown. It would be more prudent for us to wait until everything has settled down before considering moving."

Reeves glanced at his wife's protruding pregnant belly. "I can wait, but can the little one in your belly wait? The house we live in now is too small. Let alone setting up a nursery for the baby in the future, even when Niang and his wife come home for vacation, the house feels very cramped."

"Now that I'm a manager in the company, I can't keep not inviting my colleagues over for meals, can I? But you know where we live now, the space is really too small. If two more people come, there's not even enough room for them to sit in the living room, so we can't entertain them at all."

But Linda was still hesitant. She wasn't someone who liked to consume in advance and had a relatively traditional and conservative view of consumption.

Just as she was about to try to persuade her husband again, the phone rang in Reeves' handbag.

Reeves deftly took out his phone from his handbag, a sight witnessed by the real estate agent beside him, who couldn't help but show an envious expression.

He knew the Motorola StarTAC; it was the world's first folding phone, only the size of a palm.

Not only is it compact in size, but it can also store 100 contacts, and the battery can last for 40 hours on standby and 120 minutes on the call.

Even though it has been released for two years, the price is still over nine hundred US dollars, making it a truly high-end device.

"What's wrong? What happened?"

When Reeves saw that it was a call from one of his team members, he assumed there was some work-related problem.

Linda and the agent then saw Reeves' expression gradually change from calm to surprise, and finally to ecstasy.

His eyes were wide open, and the corners of his mouth unconsciously turned up; he looked unusually excited.

When he hung up the phone, he was so excited that he picked up Linda, who was standing next to him, and happily spun her around.

Linda was startled by Reeves' sudden action and quickly reminded him, "Be careful, watch out for the baby in your belly."

After she landed safely, she saw that her husband was still too excited to express his feelings in words, and just kept smiling.

A guess formed in her mind, and she instinctively covered her mouth, her voice trembling as she asked, "Could it be—?"

Reeves nodded repeatedly, and it took him a while to calm down somewhat. His voice still trembled slightly as he said, "Google's updated equity structure has been officially finalized, and the employee stock option registration information has been sent to everyone's email address. We're about to become multimillionaires!"

"Really?" Upon hearing this long-awaited good news, Linda was so excited that tears streamed down her face.

When Reeves decided to quit his job and join Google, Linda was full of incomprehension, and the two had countless arguments because of it.

But as Google continued to grow, Linda gradually saw hope. She chose to believe in her husband's choice and silently supported him.

The man in front of her truly kept his promise, making her a wealthy wife who could take care of the whole family all by herself.

However, Linda wasn't blinded by joy. She quickly calmed her excitement, a hint of smugness on her face, and deliberately said, "How can you be so sure you'll become a multi-millionaire? Maybe the company will only give you a small percentage of shares?"

Reeves shook his head slightly, saying with absolute certainty, "Impossible, Jeremy already got 18000."

"Regarding the shares, I have more seniority in the company than him, and my position is higher. How could I possibly receive fewer shares than him?"

Linda knew Jeremy; he was a junior manager under Reeves.

"Has the issue price per share been determined? What is it?" The issue price per share is directly related to the actual value of the shares, so Linda is very concerned about this issue.

"The company has not yet officially announced the offering price per share, but with a total share capital of 500 million shares, and considering the market's valuation of Google, the offering price per share will be at least $250."

Linda quickly calculated in her mind that with a total share capital of 500 million, even if the issue price was $250, the market value would only be $125 billion, far below the market's expectations.

Jeremy's 18000 shares are worth 450 million. Reeves joined the company earlier than the other party and can be considered a veteran employee of Google. Moreover, he is a key middle-level manager being groomed. Doubling the number is not unreasonable.

A net worth of tens of millions of dollars is really beckoning to them.

"I need to go to the company now; I can't wait to know the results."

Linda was also happy for her husband, saying, "Don't you want to share this joy with me?"

Reeves slapped his forehead. "Shall we go home?"

I have a computer at home, so I can check it by logging into my email.

The real estate agents who watched the whole thing were filled with envy and admiration.

No one understands the wealth-creating power of Google better than him, a real estate agent in the Charleston area. Why are houses in this area selling so well? It's all because of Google's IPO.

According to Google and Wall Street regulations, Google is required to conduct an IPO by early next year.

Therefore, Google's long-term employees who are guaranteed to receive stock options are prime targets for banks. They already have high salaries, and with the added benefits of Google's IPO, banks are so lenient with their loans that it's almost like they're philanthropists.

"Mr. Reeves, this house..."

"We've bought this house, but we'll discuss the details another day."

The real estate agent shook his head. "That's not it. What I wanted to tell you is that our houses offer discounts for Google employees—a 2% discount. If you need renovations, you can get a 10% discount on costs up to $100,000."

"Huh?" The other person's words made Reeves, who was about to leave with his wife, pause for a moment.

Google employees get these kinds of perks? I've never heard of the big boss Ernst owning a construction company.

The agent explained, "Our developer and the contractor for Google headquarters are both from the same construction company, Chandler Construction. This was specifically arranged by our boss; no one else has this benefit."

Reeves wasn't stupid; he immediately understood the other party's intention.

How many employees does Google have? It now has over six thousand.

That's six thousand target customers.

What about the future?

Everyone knows that Google's current number of employees is far from saturated.

It's no exaggeration to say that the HR department is currently Google's busiest department.

This year, Google's total number of employees may exceed 10,000, and the construction of its headquarters has never stopped.

Once they gain a foothold among Google employees, these people become easy prey for Chandler's company.