People in America: My Uncle Don Quixote

Chapter 271: Jointly Released, a Sensation Across America, Hard to Find (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

"No, no!"

Kim Ha-eun was startled and instinctively rejected Lee Wei.

She looked at the 39.2 degrees Celsius reading on the thermometer, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Um... I just took my temperature, it was 38.5 degrees Celsius, it's already dropping."

Lee Wei sensed the hesitation in Kim Ha-eun's words; her actual level was definitely higher than 38.5.

"Kim Ha-eun, I am now officially ordering you as your boss," he said. "I'm giving you three days off. Take a break and don't rush back to work."

"Also, given how well you did this," he paused, "I just gave you a bonus of 10."

"ah?!"

Kim Ha-eun sprang up from the bed instantly, but the sudden movement caused her to faint and fall back down. She steadied herself for several seconds, gripping the headboard, before stammering, "10? Isn't that... a bit too much?"

"This is what you deserve," Li Wei said gently. "Take a good rest. You can only continue working for me when you're fully recovered."

Unlike a raise, a bonus felt more personal, representing Lee Wei's recognition of Kim Ha-eun rather than Kim PR. This subtle difference made Kim Ha-eun feel a little shy.

Refusing again would be really pretentious.

Kim Ha-eun burst out laughing, and then suddenly felt dizzy, as if her head was about to give way.

"Thank you, boss," she said, forcing herself to speak. "Shall I hang up now?"

"Um.

""

"Goodbye, boss."

After hanging up, she collapsed onto the bed, feeling dizzy.

She hesitated for a few seconds before opening the bank's app, looking at her nearly six-figure US dollar balance starting with 3, and the $100,000 that had just been deposited into her account.

She didn't know what kind of feelings she had for Li Wei. Was it gratitude? It seemed so, but not entirely.

She was about to take a screenshot to commemorate the moment when she found herself sore all over and weak in the limbs, unable to take the screenshot. Suddenly, everything went black, and she fell back into a feverish coma.

Although Li Wei gave her three days off, Kim Ha-eun, whose fever had subsided, was already sitting in front of the vanity mirror on the second day.

She felt a little weak, but the idea of ​​"not having to do anything" felt like a burden rather than a relief. She felt anxious whenever she was idle.

So she got up, put on light makeup to cover her pale face, and drove her 911 slowly to Li Wei's "Vision Holdings Limited".

When she pushed open the door, Li Wei was sitting behind his desk, typing away.

"Boss—cough cough cough uh uh uh uh uh uh!"

Kim Ha-eun startled herself when she opened her mouth; why couldn't she control her voice today?

After coughing for a while, she finally regained her previous feeling.

Li Wei looked up at her and frowned.

"What brings you here?" he asked, somewhat displeased. "Are you feeling better?"

"My fever has gone down!" Kim Ha-eun puffed out her chest. "I was getting bored staying in the dorm all by myself, and my roommates aren't here all the time these days, so I thought I'd come over and stay with you."

Li Wei could clearly hear the nasal tone in her voice. He was about to ask her if she wasn't going home, but then he immediately remembered that Kim Ha-eun had never introduced her family in all this time, so he didn't say anything more.

Moreover, his [Knight Aura - First Sequence (Silver)] can slowly restore the status of friendly units; I tried it on Chen Haisheng before.

For minor illnesses and pains in ordinary people, the recovery effect of the aura should be much faster than usual.

Let her stay by my side for a while; it's much better than her having to tough it out alone in her dorm.

"Alright then," Li Wei said. "Since you're here, there's something I was planning to tell you after you recovered, but I'll tell you today as well."

Kim Ha-eun stood obediently opposite him.

"Have a seat," Li Wei said, pointing to the sofa opposite him.

Kim Ha-eun hummed in agreement and sat down opposite Lee Wei.

What struck her as odd was that, at this moment, when she was less than 2 meters away from Li Wei, she felt her spirits gradually lifting, and the pain from the friction between her skin and clothes no longer hurt as much.

Dafa, a little uneasy, thought to herself, "Could I have fallen in love with the boss? Is this the power of love?"

She had never felt this way before and thought it was the power of love that made her forget the pain.

Li Wei, of course, had no idea what she was thinking. He just stared at Kim Hae-eun for a few seconds, hesitating to speak.

"Hmm..." Li Wei paused, "I've discussed it with Uncle Don Quixote."

Kim Ha-eun's heart suddenly jumped.

"Starting today," Li Wei continued, "you should put your energy aside for public relations. Stop dealing with endorsements and commercial contracts after LV. Of course, your 10% commission will continue."

Kim Ha-eun felt as if her brain was on a busy signal.

She froze on the sofa, her lips trembling slightly, and her eyes reddening within two seconds.

Oh no, is she going to get fired by her boss?

Was it because she was sick? Was it because she seemed a bit greedy for refusing a raise? Or did she feel that Li Wei was getting too close to her?

"I'd like to offer you a new position," Li Wei continued. "I've discussed it with him, and I'd like to invite you to be the COO of my sports drink LW."

error?

Kim Ha-eun's mouth opened slightly, and her big eyes widened even more.

"In addition, besides the corresponding adjustment to your salary," Li Wei continued, "I will give you 1% of the shares. Uncle Don Quixote will have a lawyer draft a specific equity agreement with a 4-year vesting period, which means you will be working for me for the next 4 years."

error??

"Considering your workload," Li Wei made sure Kim Hee-eun heard every word he said clearly, "I'm giving you 10 positions to build your own team. I've also inquired about the offices next to this building; they're available for rent and can be rented anytime. So your task now is to run this startup."

???

"There's one last thing," Li Wei smiled, "I believe you don't think I'm a stingy boss, so if LW's valuation can reach over 50 billion US dollars, I will give you an additional 1% of the original shares."

? ? ? ?

Kim Ha-eun opened her mouth, as if she was about to say something, but in the end she only managed a soft "Huh?"

Seeing Kim Ha-eun's surprised expression, Lee Wei felt a little happy inside.

After all, who wouldn't be happy to see such a beautiful female employee who could easily debut as an idol based on her natural looks, is so hardworking, and knows how to say nice things?

Moreover, judging from Kim Ha-eun's performance, she has already proven her worth ever since she dared to stand up and stop the NFL's drug test (Chapter 231).

"What's wrong?" Li Wei smiled. "Do you feel it's too low?"

"No, no, no..." Kim Ha-eun said instinctively, "I was just thinking... how much is a 2% stake worth at a valuation of $50 billion?"

100 million US dollars, how many zeros were there?

Moreover, even if they don't reach $5 billion, based on their current operations and market expectations, LW's current valuation is at least $50-3 million.

In other words, Li Wei gave her stocks worth several million US dollars all at once.

"I...—." Kim Ha-eun said hesitantly, "I'm a little scared, boss. Can I really do this?"

"Go ahead and do it," Li Wei patted her shoulder. "I believe in you."

On the one hand, Li Wei also saw Kim Ha-eun's work attitude; on the other hand, Li Wei had enough confidence in his sports drink.

Moreover, he wasn't particularly interested in personally managing the company.

Ultimately, all he ever sought was to improve his attributes.

However, he couldn't tell Kim Ha-eun these things, so in Kim Ha-eun's eyes, this was a sign that Lee Wei trusted her.

Time gently swayed the slender waist, and it was January 29th.

9:50 a.m. New York time.

A long queue formed in front of the LV Fifth Avenue flagship store, and the red velvet ropes around the store were almost broken by the crowd.

Starting at 6 p.m. the previous night, people began arriving one after another, bundled up in down jackets and carrying canvas folding chairs to queue up. By 10 p.m., the queue had already turned the second street corner.

Among these people are personal shoppers, fashion bloggers, middle-class housewives who want to see if they can find a bargain, international students, and local personal shoppers.

Today's release is the first wave of the top-of-the-line version of the Levi's LWXLV x Julien de Lacroix collaboration sports water bottle, featuring a colorful LV and LW cross iogo print.

Although it was said to be a limited edition of 100 pieces, only 80 were released in the United States, with the remaining 20 reserved by Levi's and LV's internal brand.

Of the 80 slots allocated, 10 will be for the New York flagship store, 10 for the Beverly Hills flagship store in Los Angeles, and 10 for the Miami Design District flagship store.

Of the remaining 20-plus cities, the quota for each flagship store was reduced to only 1-2.

Despite this, none of the people crowded in front of the LV Fifth Avenue flagship store were willing to leave. Although a broken cup cost as much as $2999, everyone knew that once they left the store, the $2999 would have to be increased by another digit.

At 10:00 a.m. sharp, the doors of the LV flagship store slowly opened.

The young woman at the front of the line, dressed in a Canada Goose jacket and wearing Saint Laurent sunglasses, walked into the flagship store trembling after her identity was checked by the doorman.

Despite having over 300 million followers on TikTok and being a nationally renowned fashion blogger.

However, in order to ride on Li Wei's popularity, she had no choice but to start queuing at 1 p.m. and even spent a hefty sum of $5000 to buy the first spot in line, just to be the first person to get the sports water bottle.

Her assistant was giving her a live stream from behind while whispering, "Ladies! Did you see that? We're the first ones in! We're the first people in the whole country to get our hands on this collaboration!"

""

The live chat exploded with comments: "Women's power!"

"Can you give me $8000?"

"I'll pay 1! Even secondhand items are fine, sisters!"

Meanwhile, in Los Angeles.

It was still before 7 a.m. on the West Coast, and the LV flagship store on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills was also packed with long lines, although the number of people in line was at least half that in New York.

It's not that people in Los Angeles aren't vain; on the contrary, it's one of the most dramatic and vain places in the US and even the world, perhaps even the most.

However, these personal shoppers know perfectly well that the vast majority of the goods allocated to the Los Angeles flagship store are taken away by celebrities before the sale even begins.

For example, at this moment they could only watch helplessly as a tall, blonde woman in her thirties carrying two gift boxes walked out of the back door and got into a black Maybach—this was Taylor Swift's assistant.

A few minutes later, Rihanna's assistant also came out carrying a gift box.

These are just rehearsals before the storm.

By the afternoon, angel investors and investment analysts had their first vague understanding of the extent of Li Wei's business influence.

It was just a routine collaboration between Levi Strauss and LV (designer Lacroix was automatically ignored by them because he wasn't famous), but it actually ignited a huge fire on the internet throughout North America.