"Of course!"
William said, his heart racing with excitement.
He couldn't care less whether the citizens of those countries were under control.
Now, William had stopped thinking about the IPO; instead, he was figuring out how to get on board News Corporation—the sure-fire money-making train.
No, the offerings from the Harriman family now would never impress Leo.
Unless more people joined in. A light bulb went off in William's head, and he thought of the "outsiders" who were currently watching from the sidelines.
There were many such "outsiders," and William also had a clear sense of closeness and distance with them.
Back at the hotel that night, William couldn't wait to make a transoceanic call.
"William, if you don't have a valid reason, I swear you're done for!
Don't you know this is the time I usually enjoy my golf?
I was just about to make an eagle putt!"
As soon as the call connected, a man's voice, furious with anger, came from the other side of the ocean.
"Give up that fantasy, Prescott. With your lousy golf skills, an eagle is impossible!" William mocked.
"Ha, William, you've hurt your brother. I'll impose the highest punishment of Skull and Bones on you!" Prescott retorted.
George Herbert Walker Bush, who had called his father over to answer the phone, was utterly embarrassed.
His father, usually steady and dignified, would turn playful and mischievous whenever he talked on the phone with Uncle Harriman—his friend from their youth.
George had also discussed this with David several times, and they both agreed that Yale's Skull and Bones might have had this kind of humorous style when it was first founded.
"Alright, let's stop joking. William, you never call me unless it's something urgent.
Earlier, you mentioned that Mr. Valentino said he would take you to the UK to see his other businesses.
So, did you find the 'future' you were talking about?" Prescott Bush asked.
As soon as he finished speaking, he heard his old friend's excited voice through the receiver:
"Prescott, our earlier talk about that guy having the Midas touch might not be accurate."
"That's understandable, William. Mr. Valentino is two years younger than George, yet he's built a super enterprise like American Real Estate worth 6.5 billion. He's already a monster among monsters.
I told you before—don't be in such a hurry. We're optimistic about his future, but we can still wait and see a little longer," Prescott said, glancing at George standing beside him.
He had always believed his son was the most outstanding among America's younger generation.
Modest, determined, intelligent, quick-witted—all these wonderful adjectives applied to George.
That was until that small-town boy rose to prominence at a speed that shocked the Bush family, who had been pushed out of Washington and had lagged behind in information.
They had barely heard the name Valentino when he had already become someone they couldn't reach.
When George heard his father mention the surname Valentino, his attention immediately sharpened. He also believed that in America at that time, no young person could ignore that name.
Once, when George went to a bar with friends, he heard many people call Valentino a "legend."
Prescott thought his son was excellent, and George also believed he was far ahead of his peers. However, after studying Leo's rags-to-riches story with his father, George's initial resentment gradually turned into a faint admiration deep in his heart.
George often asked himself: If he and Leo had swapped identities, could he have achieved what Leo had? The answer often kept him up at night.
Prescott had started grooming George a long time ago, so George also knew William's purpose in going to the UK.
Now, hearing his father comfort Uncle Harriman, George felt a sense of relief. Fortunately, it seemed Mr. Valentino's businesses in the UK weren't outstanding.
This is how a normal person performs. I still have a chance to catch up, George thought.
However, William's words from the receiver shattered George's resolve completely.
"No, no, Prescott. You misunderstood me.
What I mean is—he no longer needs the Midas touch. He has already built a mountain of gold with his own hands!
Come to the UK quickly. Trust me, if you miss this train, you'll regret it.
Oh, and keep a low profile. Even though it's a mountain of gold, there are only a limited number of seats on the train."
Prescott's expression turned serious instantly. He knew William, though occasionally playful, was never careless when it came to serious matters.
He struggled to contain his shock and asked:
"Should we even keep this from Percy?"
The Percy Prescott mentioned was another friend of theirs from Yale Skull and Bones—Percy Rockefeller.
"Hey! Prescott, you and I are already off the 'table,' but Percy is still on it. Besides, given the Rockefeller family's scale, there might not even be room for you and me on this train," William said.
"Understood. I'll fly to the UK right away," Prescott said, hanging up the phone. He turned to George and said:
"Help me pack my bags."
According to their usual routine, whenever Prescott traveled by plane, George would stay behind to look after the house. But George was too curious—he was eager to see with his own eyes what kind of "gold mountain" the legendary Valentino had created.
"Father, I want to go too," George said.
Prescott, who was about to walk out of the room, paused. He turned around, saw the determination in George's eyes, and nodded:
"Alright. Arrange two planes. We'll travel separately."
The next day, at the Langham Hotel, Leo gently placed Audrey—her face flushed, still lingering in the afterglow of passion, and breathing heavily—on the soft velvet bed.
Just moments ago, Leo had used the rare ray of London's morning sunlight to wrap the delicate Audrey in warm affection.
"My performance today is ruined again," Audrey complained.
The day after Lucas arrived in the UK to establish the newspaper, Audrey's public image reversed almost instantly. It became nearly impossible to see any criticism of her in the newspapers—simply because no one was writing critical articles about her anymore.
After spending time with Leo, Lucas was no longer as bookish as he had been at first. He had gradually learned Leo's straightforward and efficient way of solving problems.
Clearly, nothing was simpler or more efficient than dealing with the people behind the problem directly.
Lucas had contacted the notorious Peaky Blinders in the UK's underworld through Mike. Although the gang's leader, the Shelby family—led by Thomas Shelby—had long since gone legitimate (Thomas was now a Member of Parliament), their influence in the UK's underworld remained enormous.
To put it simply, all businesses related to horse racing in the Commonwealth were still under the Shelby family's control.
Years earlier, Shelby had befriended Victor through bootlegging. After Victor's death, Shelby had even called Mike to offer his condolences.
Upon learning that Lucas had come to invest in the UK on behalf of Valentino, this old man—who had once been steeped in violence but now seemed to have retired from the "jianghu" (underworld)—cooperated fully.
All the critics who had attacked Audrey received threatening calls: if they didn't stop, gang members would come to threaten them. Of course, there were also some truly stubborn ones—but in the end, these people were "encased" in concrete (literally turned into "iron heads") and dumped into the Atlantic Ocean.
After washing up and feeling refreshed, Leo remembered Lucas mentioning the previous day that Thomas Shelby had invited him to his estate. Considering Shelby's influence in the Commonwealth's underworld, Leo thought it was indeed necessary to meet him.
But for now, the most important thing was to see what kind of surprise William would bring him that day.
Although William was an old hand in the business world, he hadn't been able to hide his excitement when he saw the broad prospects of the newspaper company the previous day—letting Leo see through his intentions.
Leo already knew this old guy definitely wanted to buy shares. And that was exactly what Leo had intended.
On his way to the UK, Leo had been thinking: instead of letting the Harriman family benefit from his success and stage a comeback through an IPO, it would be better to make the best use of them—by gathering all the losers from the previous round of power struggles under his banner.
In the restaurant of the Langham Hotel, Leo saw the surprise William had brought.
"Leo, allow me to introduce you. This is my best friend and business partner—the operator of the Brown Brothers portion of Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., Prescott Bush, and his son, George Herbert Walker Bush," William introduced enthusiastically.
"It's an honor to meet you, Mr. Valentino," Prescott and George stepped forward and greeted politely.
Leo shook hands with each of them. When he shook George's hand, he studied him carefully—and finally confirmed: this was the American president who would later launch the Gulf War, and who would be called "Old Bush" by netizens in China in later years.
This was also the man who would later have a son—George W. Bush, the president with questionable intelligence who would inadvertently boost China's national fortune for a decade.
Leo never imagined that a single "fishing trip" of his would "catch" the Bush family—a future wealthy and powerful clan from Florida.
Leo's gaze made George think he was impressed by his long name, so he took the initiative to explain:
"My name comes from my maternal grandfather. You may have heard of him—he's a famous Wall Street financier, George Herbert Walker."
Leo nodded. He was indeed familiar with that name—not because of George Herbert Walker's identity as a financier, but because when Leo was learning to play golf, he had learned that there was a famous golf tournament in the United States called the Walker Cup. This tournament was founded by George Herbert Walker, who was serving as the president of the United States Golf Association at the time.
The Augusta National Golf Club, which Leo often visited, was also a property of the Walker family.
Upon learning that Leo also loved golf, everyone immediately found a common topic.
"I'm quite addicted to golf. In that case, why don't we play a few holes? Coincidentally, my friend Robert Grove owns a top-tier golf course in London," Prescott suggested.
After a simple meal, the group headed to Prescott's friend's golf course. When they arrived, the owner of the course was already waiting there.
Leo took one look and thought: Hey, he looks familiar!
During the implementation of the Marshall Plan in Europe, this man had appeared frequently, usually by the Queen's side. At that time, the guests had addressed him as the Earl of Westminster.
Leo had always been uninterested in nobles like this, so he hadn't made an effort to get to know him.
Lucas stepped forward and whispered in Leo's ear:
"The earl's elder brother is currently the largest landowner in the UK. Half of London's land belongs to their family—even Buckingham Palace is built on their land.
Besides that, the City of London, Fleet Street, and the headquarters of The Sun were all purchased from their family.
However, I heard that his elder brother's health isn't very good, so he's in charge of all the family's affairs."
Lucas's words jogged Leo's memory. He recalled that once, in a dream, he had come across a Douyin (TikTok) video about this duke's descendant—a young heir who had inherited a 100-billion-yuan fortune.
Leo was delighted to meet such a wealthy landowner. Since many of his future businesses would be conducted in the UK, forging a friendly relationship with him would only bring benefits, no harm.
However, William and Prescott's expressions turned grim.
They never expected that the earl—who usually only had morning tea with the Queen—would appear here.
Although the earl hadn't stated his purpose, both of them could guess he had come for Leo. After all, this earl was known as the "most business-savvy noble" in British aristocratic circles.
The earl naturally noticed their somber expressions and laughed heartily:
"William, Prescott, don't blame me for crashing the party. You two are rare guests—you usually spend more time in the Netherlands and Germany. Now that you've both come to the UK together, I must act as a good host.
I also own shares in the Brown's Hotel where you're staying, so I asked a few questions out of curiosity. When I found out you were entertaining Mr. Valentino, I knew I had to come."
Leo looked at the earl again. It was clear he wasn't meeting Americans for the first time—Leo didn't detect any of the aristocratic arrogance that Americans often found annoying in him.
With the earl being so hospitable and humble, William and Prescott could only reluctantly accept. They exchanged glances, and their years of 默契 (tacit understanding) led them to reach an unspoken agreement to stand together.
Perhaps their mood affected their performance—Prescott and William's first shots were terrible.
In contrast, George played exceptionally well, keeping up with the rhythm of Robert Grove (the Earl of Westminster), a top-tier golfer, and Leo, who had a natural talent for the sport. The three of them headed to the next hole together.
William angrily threw his golf club on the ground and snapped:
"This was your stupid idea! You never miss a chance to play your ridiculous golf.
How can our financial strength compare to Robert Grove's? We could have made a huge profit, but now we'll probably only get crumbs.
Prescott, you're fully responsible for this!"
"If we don't achieve our target this time, I'll persuade the shareholders to replace 'Harriman' with 'Mortimer' in the company name.
We're already falling behind. Now it's all up to George—let's hope a young man can convince another young man," Prescott said slowly, furrowing his brows.
Leo, whom Prescott had high hopes for, was growing anxious—because he found himself completely unable to insert himself into the conversation between the two.
Thanks to their mutual rapport, Leo and the earl had already stopped addressing each other by their surnames.
"Leo, I'm very interested in investing in your Sun newspaper," the earl—known as Britain's most business-savvy noble—said directly, sensing the mutual interest between them.
"Robert, as long as the price is reasonable, the International Newspaper Group welcomes all sincere investors," Leo replied.
George, who was following behind, rolled his eyes in frustration. If Leo was truly "opening his arms" to welcome investors, why had Uncle Harriman been clinging to his father?
Leo really knows how to treat people differently based on who they are, George thought.
"The International Newspaper Group?" Earl Robert asked, curious.
"That's right. My holdings include not only the UK's The Sun but also America's The World and The Newspaper. Recently, I've also acquired newspapers in other countries, such as France's Le Progrès, the Netherlands' Amsterdam Courant, and Spain's El Toro—both large and small ones.
My plan is to replicate the successful models of The Newspaper and The Sun in these countries.
And the entity that will hold shares in and manage all these newspapers is the International Newspaper Group I plan to establish," Leo explained.
Leo's words made Earl Robert—who had already raised his golf club to take a shot—suddenly stop mid-swing. He propped himself up with his golf club, his eyes fixed on Leo. In the eyes of this young man, he saw boundless ambition!
I definitely made the right decision to come today, Robert thought to himself. He rubbed his palms gently, thought for a moment, and said to Leo:
"Name your price. No matter how much it is, I'm determined to make this deal.
Don't worry, I won't ask for too much—only 15% of the shares. This is both the Queen's request and the collective demand of Britain's nobles. We need to have a certain degree of influence over the media that spreads widely in the UK.
And I also believe that since you've built such a huge business, you won't be someone who asks for an exorbitant price."