People in America: My Uncle Don Quixote

Chapter 273 Kim Ha-eun: Loyalty! Sincerity! (Seeking monthly votes)

The car weaved through the skyscrapers of Manhattan. The cold weather seemed to have no effect on the hustle and bustle of Manhattan, New York. This is a city where money flows endlessly and capital never sleeps.

On the way, Li Wei suddenly saw Kim Ha-eun calling again on the CarPlay screen.

"Good evening, boss!" Her voice sounded much better. "Have you rested?"

"Not yet, I'm on my way home," Li Wei said casually. "Are you going to give a late-night work report again?"

"Hehe, it's only 11 p.m., not late at night yet," Kim Hae-eun said with a slightly nasal tone, laughing a little embarrassedly. "There are two main things to do today. The first is recruitment. I received 237 resumes today, mostly for the COO assistant and operations analyst positions. I plan to have the HR of the recruitment platform screen them first, and then conduct interviews."

Li Wei hummed in agreement. "You can decide these things. What's the second thing?"

"The second thing is that I received a total of 57 emails in your business email and my work email," she said. "Sequoia, Tiger, A16Z, Carlyle, KKR... basically all the top and second-tier investment institutions on Wall Street are here. I took a quick look and most of them are looking for cooperation."

"Are most of them the kind who shut up and take my money?" Li Wei asked jokingly as he drove.

"Pretty much," Kim Ha-eun said with a smile, "Most of them are begging you to let us send money to Li Wei."

"Don't rush to reply," Li Wei thought for a moment, "Let's politely decline them all for now, because production capacity in January is limited. We can talk about it after the Super Bowl in February."

If he wins the Super Bowl in February, he will unsurprisingly receive nearly $40 million in after-tax incentives. In addition, beverage sales will bring in nearly $20 million in cash. He has no interest in financing at the moment.

"Understood," Kim Ha-eun said. "I politely declined them all."

"No rush," Li Wei said as he drove around a corner. "It's the same if we go back tomorrow morning. Get some rest."

Kim Ha-eun's face suddenly turned red, and she hummed in agreement.

"By the way," Li Wei said, "you have my house password and guest access, right? I remember."

"Yes," Kim Ha-eun had visited Lee Wei's house before, "Boss, is there anything you want to discuss in person?"

"No, not at all," Li Wei stopped the car at a red light. "I saved one for you from the sports water bottles that were released today. Remember to pick it up when you have time. It's right by the entrance."

Kim Ha-eun was stunned. The boss had actually given her a water bottle worth more than $4.

She originally thought she was unlikely to have one—after all, she was just an employee.

She was still considering whether to tell people that she had secretly bought one on the secondary market, but when she saw the price, she immediately gave up the idea.

"Thank you, boss," she could only say, "I'll treasure it."

"It's just a kettle," Li Wei said casually. "You should get some rest. Judging from your nasal tone, you're not fully recovered yet."

"Okay."

After Li Wei hung up, Kim Ha-eun turned off her phone, stretched, and started replying to emails, finishing all 57 emails.

Thank you for your interest in and contact with the LW brand. We are not currently open to any financing or strategic cooperation matters. We will contact you if there are any further arrangements. — Kim Ha-eun, COO of LW

She looked at the three letters "COO" (C00) in her signature field in each email, and it all seemed so unreal.

10 a.m. the next day.

Kim Ha-eun was in her office sorting through the resumes she had selected, sipping a hot Americano with a bitter expression, when her phone suddenly rang.

An unfamiliar New York number.

She hesitated for a moment, but still accepted the answer.

"Miss Kim Hoon?" The voice was from someone in their early forties, speaking slowly but with perfect pronunciation, sounding like someone with a higher education. "Excuse me for bothering you, my name is Mason Reed."

Kim Ha-eun recognized the name—the founder of the PE firm that was the first to want to invest in Levi's sports drink (Chapter 264).

"Mr. Reed," Kim Ho-eun sat up straight instinctively, "what can I do for you?"

"First of all, congratulations to Ms. Kim Ho-eun on facilitating the collaboration between Levi and the LVMH Group," Mason Reid paused, his tone full of praise. "My team and I spent a lot of time discovering that at every key juncture in this collaboration, the driving force was a student at New York University."

Kim Ha-eun didn't say anything.

"My clients admire you, and they're willing to offer you a senior public relations manager position," he said. "You can ask for as much as you want. By the way, their valuation exceeds $300 billion, making them the absolute leader in their field."

"Oh?" Kim Ha-eun suddenly found it a little funny, and she teased, "How much can you give me?"

"In my experience, $50 plus management's carry share is a perfectly reasonable price," Mason Reed continued. "It's top-tier in the industry."

Kim Ha-eun suddenly laughed twice.

"Mr. Reed," she said in a light tone, "may I ask you a question?"

"certainly."

"You just mentioned that your team of analysts spent a lot of time figuring out how this collaboration came about."

"Yes."

"Well..." Kim Ha-eun almost couldn't suppress the smile on her face, "You... um... do you know what kind of treatment I get as a C00 right now?"

"I would like to hear the details."

After a few seconds, Mason Reed spoke.

"Well... not to mention that my current monthly salary is already around 3... what I want to say is that I hold LW..."

"The brand's initial public offering (IPO) shares, but I won't say the exact amount," Kim Ha-eun said, enunciating each word clearly. "So, how many IPO shares are your clients willing to give me?"

Of course not. Even 0.05% of PepsiCo's original shares are worth hundreds of millions of US dollars.

Mason Reed took a deep breath, barely resisting the urge to smash the phone.

He hates startups like this the most.

You fucking founders, do you even have a sense of your company's valuation?! A market capitalization of hundreds of millions or even billions—do you think you can just give away original shares so easily?!

To be honest, although Kim Ha-eun's public relations record seems impressive, Gatorade recruited her more as a tactical reserve than to actually have her do any work.

In this situation, he even felt that Gatorade's annual salary of $50 was an astronomical figure.

As a result, Li Wei directly gave Kim Ha-eun some original shares, and judging from her tone, it wasn't a small amount.

Does Li Wei even know the rules of the game? Huh? If you have these qualifications, what kind of C00 can't you find?

He held the phone for several seconds, pausing in his hand.

"Hello," Kim Ha-eun's cheerful voice came through, "Mr. Reed, are you still there?"

"Yes," Mason Reed said. "I apologize for my intrusion."

"Then let's contact each other again next time." Kim Ha-eun smiled and hung up the phone, then couldn't help but chuckle softly in her office.

This is ridiculous! She was planning to cling to Li Wei's powerful backer and never let go. How could he poach her with just a few hundred thousand US dollars a year?

"What are you laughing at?"

Don Quixote came over with a cup of tea. It was a gift from Lin Daoxing, who said it was a top-quality local specialty, but Li Wei still couldn't get used to the taste, so he gave it all to his uncle.

Don Quixote became instantly enamored with this specialty from China, and even gave up coffee.

The energizing effect of caffeine feels more like overexertion, while tea is noticeably gentler.

“A guy named Mason Reed just called to poach me,” Kim Hoon told the truth. “He said his client offered me a top salary in the industry.”

"They said it was a $50 annual salary plus management bonuses," she said with a hint of pride. "They said it was the highest level for the same job in the New York market."

After she finished speaking, Kim Ha-eun suddenly realized that Don Quixote's expression had become somewhat strange.

"Of course I refused immediately," she quickly pledged her loyalty to Li Wei, "My attitude towards the boss can be summed up in two words: loyalty and honesty!"

Don Quixote, however, simply laughed and said to Livy, "Did you hear that? Give me the money! Give me the money!"

"What...what money?"

Li Wei reluctantly pulled out his wallet, took out a $100 bill and handed it to Don Quixote. Then he explained to Kim Hen, "Before we discussed giving you shares, Uncle said that someone would definitely try to poach you, and then he made a $100 bet with me." Li Wei shrugged. "It seems that my C00 is indeed doing a great job. Even the big capitalists are personally poaching people."

Kim Ha-eun's face flushed slightly. She was about to say something, but Lee Wei's words, "My C00," suddenly made her brain freeze, and she couldn't say anything.

Later that day, everyone went home from work.

Li Wei and Don Quixote had just returned home when a small whirlwind rushed down from upstairs.

Lily was still wearing her school uniform and holding a box in her hand.

"Brother!" She held the box up to Li Wei. "Isn't this the sports water bottle that was released the day before yesterday? I saw it in the entryway!"

Her eyes shone as if she had caught Santa Claus red-handed.

Li Wei glanced at her, and while taking off his shoes, said, "When did you see that?"

"I saw it when I left this morning!" Lily had no intention of answering the question. "Brother! Tell me quickly, is this for me?"

"no."

Lily's expression instantly fell, as if Santa Claus had just pulled tons of homework out of his back pocket.

"But I did leave one for you," Li Wei said, opening the cabinet above his head. "Look, here it is, they're all the same."

Santa Claus said he was just kidding and took the homework back.

"Thank you, brother!" Lily hugged Levi tightly around the waist and screamed, "You're the best brother in the world!"

"Alright, alright," Li Wei brushed her head aside. "Men and women shouldn't touch each other. Also, be careful when you're showing off; don't be too deliberate."

Lily nodded firmly.

"Just spoil her then," Don Quixote said, grabbing Lily's head with his large hand. "Have you finished your homework? Have you practiced piano? Have you fed the cat?"

As he spoke, he grabbed Lily and took her away. Li Wei smiled, picked up his bag, and went upstairs.

With only 3 days until the NFL Championship Series, they will once again face the Kansas City Chiefs, led by Mahomes. John Mara and head coach Daple have been going crazy lately, holding online meetings every day, and even Levi can't escape it.

After all, after the Championship League, there are only two weeks left until the Super Bowl!

>