"Darling, this is the woman I mentioned on the phone, my mentor during my internship at Clifford Chance, Mrs. Juliana Abbey. And this gentleman next to her is Mr. Gore, former head of the M&A investment department at the Britain branch of Chartered Bank." Angie Perlis naturally stepped forward and hugged Song Tianyao, gently kissing his cheek. She said in a very low voice, "Gore's personal investments have failed, and he's on the verge of bankruptcy. He needs cash to turn things around. It's only because of the two million Hong Kong dollars that he agreed to come to Hong Kong for a vacation."
"Madam, welcome to Hong Kong." Song Tianyao smiled and released Angie Perlis, then bowed politely to Juliana Abbey and greeted her in fluent English.
Juliana Abbey said calmly, "Hello, young man."
"Hello, Mr. Gore." Song Tianyao turned to the old man named Jonathan Gore and extended his hand.
Jonathan Gore shook hands with Song Tianyao: "Hello, Mr. Song, where is my temporary office? I'm more eager to earn my commission than Mrs. Abbey."
"I've arranged everything for you in Hong Kong. Please get in the car with me."
Huang Liu and Chen Xingfu led the way, guiding the group toward the parking lot. Song Tianyao brought up the rear and couldn't resist picking up Angie Perlis and spinning her around. The movement was probably a little too loud, causing the people in front to turn around and glance at the two of them.
"You must have had a tough time in London," Song Tianyao said as he put Angie Perlis down.
Angie Perlis generously took Song Tianyao's arm and said with a smile, "It is indeed very tiring, but it's worth it to get everything sorted out before Christmas, right?"
"All the preliminary preparations are complete. Now you can rest well and accompany your mentor on a tour of Hong Kong. I'll start this match," Song Tianyao said to the Foreign Girl beside him. "After this match, we'll go to London for Christmas."
"My office after my first bankruptcy when I was twenty-seven was in a better place than this," Jonathan Gore said, looking around the offices of Wealth-Through Securities.
However, his tone was only joking; he didn't actually express any dissatisfaction with the office.
Jonathan Gore, a seasoned veteran of the London Stock Exchange for over forty years, rose from a high school dropout who made money speculating in the stock market to become a trader at the investment arm of the multinational bank, Chartered Bank, where he planned and executed numerous acquisitions.
He wasn't exactly a top figure who dominated the London Stock Exchange, and his position Chartered Bank wasn't exactly prestigious. At his age, many top figures would have already started their own companies or simply made enough money to enjoy their remaining years, while he was still struggling to earn commissions.
As for intelligence, education, capital, background, and achievements, Jonathan Gore is utterly inferior to those well-known traders in London. Jonathan Gore's only advantage is that he has been in the London stock market long enough and has enough experience.
He had a brief period of brilliance, but for most of his time he was mediocre. During his six years working for Chartered Bank, the acquisitions and transactions he was in charge of generated a profit of £37 million for the Chartered Bank, averaging over £6 million per year. This figure was far inferior to that of truly top traders.
Take Macquarie Bank as an example. Macquarie Bank's investment bank, headed by top London trader and financial maverick Gary Weinstein, earned £13 million a year, more than double the profits of Mercantile Chartered Bank, headed by Jonathan Gore.
Not to mention that this retired old scoundrel lost all his savings in the stock market this year due to misjudgment, and also owes more than £40,000 in debt to several trading companies.
If he hadn't bought a trust for his family early on, so he wouldn't have to worry about their situation, they might have already been kicked out of their home and left to live on the streets.
But this old man on the verge of bankruptcy was the best helper Angie Perlis could recruit in Song Tianyao for Song Tianyao's acquisition of Xizhen Properties. Those top traders who wielded influence in the London market disdained to come to a colony Hong Kong to earn meager commissions. In other words, even Jonathan Gore, if he hadn't failed in his investment and was on the verge of bankruptcy, and urgently needed to raise capital to rebuild his business, he wouldn't have come to Hong Kong to manage this project for Song Tianyao for a commission of two million Hong Kong dollars.
"Here's the information you need, Mr. Gore." Song Tianyao gestured for Luo Zhuankun to hand over the prepared documents to Jonathan Gore, and then vacated his own desk.
This office was prepared by Song Tianyao specifically for this old hand in the London stock market.
After handing over the documents, Luo Zhuankun remained standing in the corner of the office, watching Jonathan Gore sit down, take out his crystal glasses, put them on, and begin reviewing the documents.
Luo Zhuankun knew that Song Tianyao had asked Angie Perlis to find a trader in the London Stock Exchange who could oversee the entire operation. However, although he had greeted the other party politely, just like Song Tianyao, it didn't mean that Luo Zhuankun believed that the other party could really fool him with those titles. Song Tianyao thought that foreign monks might be able to chant sutras, but Luo Zhuankun didn't think that his reputation, which he had made in Shanghai Bund, was much weaker than that of Foreign Devil.
If the old man in front of him didn't show some real skill, given Song Tianyao's personality, he would definitely drive him away without hesitation.
If he has real skills, then I should observe and learn from him, absorbing his knowledge.
Jonathan Gore read very slowly; it took him an hour and a half and four cups of coffee to finally put down the thick stack of documents. Then he looked up, adjusted his glasses, and glanced at Song Tianyao, who had just put away his newspaper and sat up straight.
"That's all?"
"Was the information not detailed enough?" Before Song Tianyao could speak, Luo Zhuankun asked first, "What other information do you need? I'll prepare it for you right away."