As July rolled in, Simon Westeros was tirelessly playing the role of a father everywhere.
On July 7th, at the Dumais Point Estate, his assistant Jennifer gave birth to her second child, a boy named James Westeros. On July 11th, Maria Bezluk in Boston also welcomed a boy, named Daniel Westeros. Then, on July 15th, Grace Crep in New York had her baby, yet another boy, named John Westeros.
Following closely, Irene Lauder was nearing her due date, while Lin Su's was still a bit further off, scheduled for September.
Simon's biggest feeling about all this remained the same as when he first learned the genders of the babies.
All boys.
All boys, not a single little girl in sight.
At a manor by the sea in Southampton, Long Island.
The date was July 16th.
A Wednesday.
Blythe Levinson, who had been in Florida, rushed to Long Island upon hearing the news. She arrived at the manor and immediately asked a maid who greeted her, "Where is he?"
The maid gestured for her to follow and led her to a suite on the east side of the manor's villa. However, Carmen Kass, standing guard outside the suite, stopped her: "Ms. Levinson, the boss and Ms. Crep are resting."
"It's morning, what are they resting for?"
Blythe said, glancing at the door beside her. Taking advantage of Carmen's momentary distraction, she pushed the door open and barged in.
Inside, she saw a man who had just sat up from the bed and Grace, who was hurriedly pulling down her blouse, her face flushed.
In the crib beside them, a tiny baby was sound asleep.
Simon gave Blythe a cold glance before turning to Grace: "You rest well, I'll go handle some work. Call me if you need anything."
Grace nodded gently, watching him leave before glaring at Blythe: "Couldn't you have knocked?"
Blythe was momentarily stunned by Simon's cold gaze, but once he left, she regained her composure. She walked over to the crib to look at the little one and said, "You just gave birth, and you're already so eager?"
Grace's face, which had just regained its normal color, flushed again. She retorted, "It's not what you think."
The baby, born around 5 a.m. the previous day, had fully opened its skin, looking pink and adorable. Blythe, though fond of the baby, didn't dare to pick him up. After a moment, she sat down on the bed and was about to speak when she suddenly sniffed the air. Realizing what had been happening before she entered, she glanced at Grace's chest and smirked, as if she had caught them in the act. "What a despicable guy," she teased.
Grace, seeing that Blythe had figured it out, simply pulled the thin blanket over herself and adjusted to a more comfortable position on the bed. She warned, "You better keep your mouth shut. He was already annoyed earlier and probably wanted to hit you."
But Blythe couldn't resist adding, "Lacking love as a child, now obsessed with older women as an adult. Tsk tsk, what a pervert. No wonder he always goes for older women."
Grace slapped her arm: "If you keep talking like that, I'll get mad too."
"Alright, alright, I'll stop," Blythe said, realizing she might have gone too far. If he found out, she might really get hit. She raised her hands in surrender, then changed the subject: "So, what's his plan for you all?"
"What plan?"
"Well, the baby's here now. By the way, what's his name?"
"John."
"How unoriginal."
Grace smiled slightly: "John Westeros."
Blythe shot her a jealous look and returned to the topic: "Alright, what I mean is, hasn't he given you anything? At least a hefty alimony or something?"
Grace's gaze softened as she looked at the little one in the crib within arm's reach: "This is the best thing he's given me. I don't need anything else."
"Ugh, you're so naive."
"And you're so clever. That's why he'd never let you have his child."
"I wouldn't want to even if he did. Giving birth is so painful," Blythe said, trying to mask her strange jealousy. "Besides, if I were to... you know, how would Rita and my Mike get along in the future?"
Grace just smiled.
The relationship between the two families' children had always been stable. If nothing unexpected happened, they would likely end up together in the future.
However, this wasn't Grace's main concern. Even the little one beside her still came second in her heart. Whatever he wanted to do, she would support him.
Blythe saw the hopeless look on Grace's face and reached out to gesture: "I really want to slap some sense into you."
Perhaps disturbed by their conversation, the baby in the crib stirred, opened his eyes, looked around, and then burst into tears.
Grace quickly picked him up and cradled him, pulling up her blouse again.
The crying soon stopped.
Blythe sat beside her, watching, and couldn't resist teasing: "One big, one small. I doubt there's enough to go around."
Grace just rolled her eyes.
In truth, she had already started looking for a wet nurse to help feed the baby. She definitely wouldn't use formula—breast milk was best for the child.
As for herself, whatever he wanted, he would always come first.
She even thought about finding a beautiful wet nurse, no matter the cost.
Blythe, seeing her expression, rolled her eyes in exasperation.
Simon hadn't left.
In a study upstairs, Simon sat at his desk. A female assistant soon brought in a stack of files and a scheduled video conference.
The topic was Nokia.
Besides discussing Nokia's upcoming quarterly earnings report, the main focus was on another matter.
"Regarding Southeast Asia, Jorma, you must have been paying attention lately," Simon said, looking at Nokia's Chairman and CEO, Jorma Ollila, on the video call. "This is related to South Korea. I've reviewed Nokia's supply chain data recently, and I need you to drastically reduce or even cut off purchases of components like LCD screens and semiconductor chips from South Korean manufacturers like Samsung."
Jorma Ollila, based in Helsinki, was surprised: "Simon, I have been following the situation in Southeast Asia. The currency devaluation in those countries will greatly benefit our component purchases. However, as you know, Nokia faced a supply chain crisis a few years ago due to rapid growth. It took us years to build a robust procurement system. I don't understand why we should do this."
"It's simple," Simon explained. "I plan to use this opportunity to expand into foundational areas like LCD screens and semiconductors, focusing on Asia. Japan was my first choice, but given its size, it won't be as severely affected by this crisis. So, I've set my sights on South Korea, where these industries have also grown rapidly in recent years. Nokia needs to support my overall strategy by putting extreme pressure on South Korean manufacturers."
"I see," Jorma nodded, though he still had reservations. "But Simon, I don't think it's necessary. LCD screens and semiconductors are cyclical industries with high technical barriers, fierce competition, and massive investments. I don't believe entering these fields is a wise choice for the Westeros system."
"I actually agree with you," Simon said patiently. "But even though it's difficult and risky, the Westeros system has no other choice. Based on my recent analysis, after this crisis, the electronics industry—whether in North America, Europe, or Asia—will undergo another major wave of consolidation. The weak will be weeded out, and the strong will dominate. Industries like LCD screens and semiconductors will increasingly concentrate in the hands of a few major players. Whether to ensure our supply chain security or for profit, we must take the initiative. Jorma, I'm not discussing this with you—this is an order. I need Nokia to present a reduction plan within a week."
Jorma Ollila, sensing the firmness in his boss's tone, hesitated but finally agreed. He couldn't help but ask, "Will ThinkPad also support this plan?"
"Of course, not just ThinkPad, but also Cisco. And at critical moments, I'll lobby IBM and other PC manufacturers to join in."
Jorma Ollila silently mourned for the South Korean manufacturers and asked, "One more thing, Simon. How long will this plan last?"
"At least a year, but no more than two."
From his memory, South Korea recovered from the crisis in just two to three years, so this operation had to be completed within two years.
Jorma Ollila nodded again, then added, "Simon, our procurement volume—including ThinkPad and Cisco—is enormous. If we reduce purchases from South Korean manufacturers, Japanese or European and American suppliers might raise their prices."
"That's something you'll need to figure out. But as you mentioned, the currency devaluation in Asia will significantly reduce our procurement costs. You can shift more orders to Japan. Even if Japan isn't hit as hard, the yen will definitely depreciate."
"If I recall correctly," Jorma Ollila raised an eyebrow, "the U.S. has been suppressing Japan's electronics industry, especially semiconductors, for years. If we increase our purchases from Japan, aren't you worried Japanese manufacturers might regain their strength?"
"No," Simon said confidently. "The goal of weakening Japan has already been achieved. Their electronics industry may maintain a technical edge for many years, but a full recovery is unlikely."
"Simon, I don't understand."
"My time is precious. If you're interested, you can study Japan's economic situation yourself."
"Alright," Jorma Ollila shrugged. "I'll draft the reduction plan as soon as possible."
After ending the video call, Simon flipped through the daily brief on the Southeast Asian financial crisis that his assistant had brought in, pondering the discussion.
It was time to start preparing for a change in Nokia's leadership.
He also thought of another core company in the Westeros system: Cisco, led by John Chambers.
Within the next five to ten years, both leaders would need to be replaced.
This wasn't because Simon was dissatisfied with Jorma Ollila's lack of immediate compliance. In fact, if top executives didn't have their own opinions, Simon would find that problematic.
This was a long-term strategic consideration.
After leading their companies for so long, both Jorma and John, who had contributed greatly to their companies' rapid rise, were bound to become complacent.
This was evident from the histories of both companies.
Nokia, once dominant in the early 2000s, eventually retreated from the mobile phone industry and was sold to Microsoft. Until then, Jorma Ollila, though no longer involved in day-to-day operations, remained Nokia's chairman.
Nokia's decline was undoubtedly linked to Jorma's prolonged tenure.
The same was true for Cisco.
The most striking comparison was between Cisco and Huawei.
When Cisco rose to global prominence in the 1990s, Huawei was just a small company in China, nearly forced to sell itself due to a patent lawsuit from Cisco.
Later, Huawei began to rise, not only securing a foothold in network equipment but also expanding into communication base stations and eventually mobile phones. Meanwhile, Cisco, years later, remained stagnant, clinging to its network equipment business and making little progress in other areas.
The reason? John Chambers.
John Chambers didn't step down as Cisco's CEO until 2015, having led the company for twenty years. While he brought Cisco to its peak, he missed almost every other tech trend outside of network equipment.
In short, these legendary managers, after their early successes, almost inevitably lost their drive and became complacent.
Like countless kings in history who started as wise and ambitious rulers but ended as senile and ineffective.
Thinking this, Simon didn't forget to reflect on himself.
The Westeros system had grown to its current scale, and to most, it seemed to have reached its peak. If Simon claimed he wasn't feeling some self-satisfaction or laziness, he'd be lying.
Simon just didn't know if he, too, would become another senile old king in the future.
Then he thought of the recent string of baby boys.
Tsk.
The future battles over the Westeros family's assets and power would likely be quite dramatic.
This was something that needed to be planned early.
In fact, many ideas had been brewing in Simon's mind for a while.
For his children, Simon certainly didn't want them to end up in the kind of bitter feuds over inheritance that plagued many wealthy families. In truth, this was easy to solve: the previous generation's patriarch should clearly outline what belongs to whom, ensuring no ambiguity. Unlike the Gary family in the 1980s, where the notoriously stingy old Gary held onto everything until his dying breath, leaving his descendants to fight over the inheritance.
Having lived two lives, Simon was confident he could handle this.
After finishing the daily brief on the Southeast Asian financial crisis and briefly considering the future, Simon picked up another document: resumes of 30 students from the Central Academy of Drama and Beijing Film Academy who had recently arrived in the U.S. for a year-long exchange program.
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