I am a Big Player
Chapter 609 - 603, Top Secret CIA Files (Large Section)_1

Chapter 609: 603, Top Secret CIA Files (Large Section)_1

Formal business negotiations certainly have formal etiquette, and an old hand like Nie Ting would never make a mistake in this regard.

The next morning, the same four business cars came to pick up Nie Ting and others for the negotiation venue; however, this time they were not heading to the American Airlines Company but to a mansion in the suburbs of New York.

The mansion was luxurious, so luxurious it resembled a park, a type of private estate rarely found in China, with tens of thousands of square meters of lawn, beautiful fountains; from these scenes, Nie Ting sensed the aura of money.

When they arrived, three people were playing polo on the lawn, robust horses galloping across the grass, occasionally flipping up clods of turf.

As the vehicles entered, the three riders reined in their horses. As Nie Ting got out of the car, someone greeted him first, "Welcome to Brown Mansion, I’m George Brown."

Nie Ting looked at the other party’s proud bearing, thinking that ’fine clothes and spirited horses’ probably described the scene before him. He smiled and said, "Hello, Qinghe, Nie Ting."

Nie Ting had dealt with quite a few foreigners; now, Qinghe held equity stakes in six of the world’s top ten gaming companies, even holding a controlling share in one of them.

Just looking at this record, one could tell what extraordinary achievements Nie Ting had garnered over the past three years.

But he did not have an English name, and from the beginning, he never intended to adopt one; this all started from the initial setup of the investment and acquisitions department.

Back then, they were merely the finance department, not yet called the investment and acquisitions department; in fact, everyone thought that investment and acquisitions department sounded much more powerful.

At that time, Ren He held a meeting for the entire department and talked about the purpose of establishing the department. The core of Qinghe’s investment strategy also shifted from domestic expansion to international. At the time, someone joked that they would have to adopt English names then.

Nie Ting remembered clearly, that young man sitting at the end of the conference table smiling and shaking his head: "We will use Chinese names. Do you know, in the 90s and even now, too many of our compatriots wanted to integrate into that seemingly more free and prosperous group? And what was the result? Once you blend in, you’re lost in the crowd, indistinguishable, no one respects you, no one remembers who you are. However, when we begin to use Chinese names, gradually we begin to be remembered. Nie Ting is Nie Ting, Ren He is Ren He, that’s how you’ll truly earn their respect, not just because you hold the capital they all covet, but also because you have first respected yourself. There’s no need to follow local customs blindly; you can build your reputation through one acquisition battle after another. I hope one day, when you appear in foreign media as famous investors, they will also use your Chinese names, and that would be quite satisfying."

Ren He never denied that he was a nationalist. As for how prosperous and free the outside world was, Ren He completely negated that notion after returning from an exchange at Berkeley University. The movie "American Dreams in China" also portrayed this very realistically, that striving to fit into a foreign society was not as glamorous as imagined.

In that era, many ended their American dream with tears, but now, Chinese people have acquired the ability to walk with their heads held high.

When Nie Ting heard Ren He say this, he imagined foreign media introducing him with his Chinese name and writing about his brilliant deeds. It was an exhilarating thought, like fighting an uncompromising battle with a culture using one’s own name.

It’s funny when you think about it, actually, it was just a minor thing.

"Mr. Nie, I’ve heard of you," George Brown dismounted and shook hands with Nie Ting: "I’m delighted to have this meeting, and I hope everyone will obtain what they desire."

The other party’s arrogance was apparent as he received guests on horseback; Nie Ting could disregard it, but the final truth was that American Airlines was deep in a financial crisis, and they needed cash.

The Brown Consortium’s fortune was speculated long ago to have exceeded one trillion US dollars, and today the exact figure is unknown to many; the eight oil companies functioned like money printing presses, and moreover, the Brown Consortium’s assets were far more than just eight oil companies.

But if they think they already own a trillion, then a billion-dollar transaction could be taken lightly, so what is it that has brought this family to where it stands today?

Nie Ting did not underestimate these people because he knew they were the true elite within the American elite class. Their pursuit of capital would never cease, and intellect, such an attribute, had always been the other party’s basic cultivation.

The discussions did not involve long-table negotiations or prolonged battles spanning months; Nie Ting’s intentions this time were very clear. They had all the information on American Airlines; Nie Ting could spend millions of dollars on business espionage just for a piece of commercial intelligence; they came prepared.

The negotiation was conducted privately between George Brown and Nie Ting. The investment and acquisitions department team had not witnessed such a scenario before, but they understood that this acquisition could have special significance. The only issue was that Nie Ting was tight-lipped, so they were unclear about the details.

After hearing Nie Ting’s request in the reception room, George Brown pondered for two seconds and smiled, "Mr. Nie, your request might be a bit excessive. Perhaps you are not aware of what your boss has done in New York; if you did, you would agree with me."