Chapter 112 I'm the King
Grapefruit Capital.

On Sand Hill Road in Menlo Park, a two-story villa hidden in the shade of lush trees on the roadside has a brand new sect logo hung at the entrance, reflecting a silvery-white light in the sun.

"Can't we dig up those trees outside and replant them? I can pay a little more money... What? We need the consent of our neighbors next door, KPCB Capital... Okay..."

In the independent office by the window on the second floor of the villa, Xie Jingxing was lying on the soft boss chair with his feet crossed, his white leather shoes swaying on the table.

Jim Gotz was sitting on the sofa eating a simple white sandwich lunch. From time to time, he could hear Song Anli shouting at the top of her voice downstairs. Several men and women in suits and ties and a few blue-collar workers were being ordered around by her.

"You're rushing things. This is very detrimental to your identity as a 'mysterious rich man.'" His head hurt a little from the noise.

"Dessert."

Xie Jing Xing reached out and took out a Snickers bar from the drawer and threw it to him: "I can't help it. My schedule is very tight. I have to go to New York tomorrow."

"I hope you won't be sued by your neighbors for illegal renovations." Jim Goetz quickly caught the Snickers with a happy smile.

Upon hearing this, Xie Jing Xing couldn't help but curse. It was already the end of September, and more than ten days had passed since that night when he pretended to be so arrogant at the Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist House and announced that a mysterious rich man from the East would personally lead an expedition to Silicon Valley's Sand Dune Road.

He successfully completed all the goals of this trip to the United States. He invested in Zoom to develop U.S. venture capital business, specifically in the field of enterprise software services + cloud computing; secondly, he established a U.S. dollar fund named "Spark Phase I" under Grapefruit Capital, with a total fundraising amount of US$200 million.

In the process, he also gained the most important interpersonal resources. Mark Mellon, one of the heirs of the Mellon family, became his client. The Stanford University Endowment Fund sent someone to give him a bouquet of flowers in the morning to celebrate the opening of the business.

Even Marc Andreessen, the self-proclaimed godfather of Silicon Valley entrepreneurship, tweeted a photo with him to celebrate Grapefruit Capital's entry into Sand Hill Road.

The only thing is that the neighbor next door, KPCB Capital, which claims to be on par with Sequoia Capital, doesn't give him any face. He needs the other party's consent to rent this villa office, and the same applies to decoration. Even if he wants to dig up two trees, he can't...

"I have to say that you have built up your personal image too well, to the point where people suspect you are a liar. KPCB has reason to suspect that your bankruptcy one day will affect their reputation." Jim Goetz pointed out the problem.

Xie Jingxing shrugged helplessly: "Like that Malaysian tycoon Liu Zuote?"

"...Thanks, you can't always make jokes like this while I'm eating." Jim Gotz choked and grimaced.

Xie Jingxing took a sip of wine: "This may be a side effect of the beacon of world civilization."

"Maybe." Jim Goetz, a moderate supporter of elite immigration, was unable to refute his assessment.

Liu Zuote is one of the most well-known Asian tycoons on Wall Street in recent years. He is good friends with big-butt Kim Kardashian, gave money to Leo to make the movie "The Wolf of Wall Street", Britney Spears jumped out of his birthday cake, and Elva Hsiao treats him as her younger brother.

The main point is that he spends money like water. Some media said that he spends tens of millions of dollars in a week, which is pure consumption.

People only know that he is from Malaysia, but no one knows where his money comes from, and no one pays attention to these things. There are always such mysterious rich people in New York or Los Angeles who pop out from cracks in the rocks, live a carefree life for two or three years, and then go to jail, or mysteriously disappear and go back into the rocks.

Some of these people are white gloves for money laundering, and the rest are scammers. They are attracted by the brilliance of the beacon of civilization and come to the big stage in the center of the world to perform.

This is also the reason why Xie Jingxing pretends to be a mysterious rich man even though he has a strong enough background. The American people from top to bottom buy into this. If he really plays the role of a low-key old money aristocrat, he will be blatantly ignored like air in the ostentatious New York and California.

"Do you know the background of Mr. Liu Zuote?" Jim Gotz was not afraid of choking after lunch and his curiosity was piqued.

Xie Jingxing smiled slightly: "Are you sure you want to listen?"

"Ok, you are becoming more and more like a mysterious rich man." Jim Goetz decisively did not ask any questions.

Xie Jingxing raised his eyebrows: "Thanks to your cooperation."

"You're welcome. Are you sure Palantir is about to launch a new round of financing?" Jim Goetz confirmed again.

Friends need to interact with each other. He has been helping Xie Jingxing build momentum and introduce him to various circles these days. In return, he has received financing news about Palantir, the most dazzling and mysterious big data unicorn company in the United States.

Xie Jing Xing took his legs off the table, restrained his expression and said seriously: "Jim, I never joke about investment. They are in the business of firewalls, firewalls for the entire Internet world."

Jim Goetz opened his mouth and was silent for a long time before he said, "I'm sorry, sometimes I really doubt that you are an intelligence officer, always knowing this or that incredible secret."

"You have to get ready as soon as possible, their share of this round of financing is very huge." Xie Jingxing sighed.

Palantir's biggest client is the CIA, which means that no matter how high the return on investment of this company is, it has nothing to do with him and can only be given as a favor.

Jim Goetz stood up and opened his hands. “Thank you again for your generosity. I have received an invitation from Tsinghua University to share investment experience. Maybe we will meet in China soon.”

"Then I will invite you to give a speech at Jiaotong University, which is also a very excellent university." Xie Jingxing hugged him.

The two were acting out the farewell scene of old friends who admired each other, when suddenly there was the sound of someone running on the floor at the office door.

"You can't stay in the office all day drinking and bragging with your friends and leave all the work to Song Anli. She is just your assistant, not your slave!" Choi Yun-soo, a mixed-race girl with red hair, complained loudly while standing at the door.

Jim Gotz blinked his eyes awkwardly, spread his hands toward her as a greeting, and walked away silently.

As a neighbor, he would come to visit whenever he had time to exchange investment ideas with Xie Jingxing. Every time he saw the lady who claimed to be an investment specialist from Wells Fargo, she always looked very familiar.

"Order me some takeout."

After watching Jim Goetz leave, Xie Jingxing sat back in his chair and resumed his lazy demeanor.

Cui Yunxiu scratched his hair and said, "I am here to celebrate as Lili's friend today, not to lobby you."

"I know. Then please order a pizza takeaway for me as Song Anli's friend, and also order one for her as well." Xie Jingxing said lightly.

Cui Yunxiu was helpless: "I think you should at least hold a party to celebrate your company opening today."

"Count how many people are in the company now, give each person a pizza and a cash bonus of $500." Xie Jingxing arranged directly.

Choi Yun-soo and he were in a stalemate for a few seconds, but finally chose to surrender. His aura disappeared, and he walked out of the office with his head down to do as he was told.

Wells Fargo's wealth and asset management department has customized investment businesses for large individual clients such as Middle Eastern royal families, African warlords and kings. The investment team she belongs to serves a warlord who owns diamond mines in Africa.

Other African warlords are very conservative and buy houses all over the world, especially in New York, where houses are hard currency. If they are defeated and flee, they can make a comeback by selling a house.

The investment team she was in used to do low-end business like real estate brokerage, but the warlord she served now was different. He was very far-sighted in choosing financial investment, and specifically required high risk and high returns, even if the investment period was longer.

So when she heard that a Silicon Valley tycoon's venture capital fund needed to raise funds, she immediately rushed to Silicon Valley to do a high-end business that fits her professional capabilities. In addition to the three investors scheduled from Columbia University, Stanford University, and Mark Mellon, the remaining investors of the "Spark Phase I" fund raised by Xie Jingxing came in this way. In the past few days, many wealthy agents with mysterious origins came to the door.

The African warlords represented by Choi Yun-soo are only the lowest type among them. In fact, even the big drug lords in Mexico think it is profitable and want to invest.

These people have one thing in common - as long as Grapefruit Capital has assets in the United States, regardless of the success or failure of the investment, they can recover their interests according to the bet agreement.

They were even too lazy to check whether Xie Jingxing had used WhatsApp shares as collateral for a loan of $10 billion. Even if Grapefruit Capital went bankrupt in the end, they dared to take a chance and repay their bet agreement first after clearing the assets.

Xie Jingxing was really not interested in such investors. He didn't take money from emerging Silicon Valley entrepreneurs like Jan Koum, but instead took money from Mexican drug lords?
Could it be that he wanted to fulfill the Mexican drug lord's promise that if he accepted investment, he would give him top female stars and models at gunpoint to play with?

Indian Asan Makan needs to rely on Zuckerberg's signboard to win over the circle of money friends. He is confident that he can do it on his own. Money is not only money but also a ticket. Not everyone is qualified to board the Grapefruit ship.

"What is he doing standing there like an idiot?"

In the lobby on the first floor of the villa, Choi Yun-soo asked in confusion after ordering takeout.

Song Anli, wearing a baseball cap and neat casual clothes and flat shoes, followed her gaze to the second floor: "Imagine that he is a navigator."

"Huh?" Choi Yun-soo was confused.

Xie Jingxing leaned on the handrail on the second floor and looked down at the two of them whispering. Song Anli accidentally met his gaze and asked, "How long will it take to complete?"

"Two hours, and finally clean up." Song Anli unconsciously curled the corners of her mouth and replied in a slightly hoarse voice.

She is responsible for office leasing and decoration, company staff recruitment, ZOOM investment negotiations, and bidding for long-term outsourced law firms and accounting firms.

Xie Jingxing felt bad for chatting with various investors every day, so he asked Cui Yunxiu, who could speak multiple languages, to come and offer his services as free labor all day long.

He thought for a moment and clapped his hands, "Everyone take a break for an hour, and then we'll have the meeting later."

Several men and women in suits breathed a sigh of relief. Among them were interns from Sidley Austin LLP, who were sent by the company to run errands for a major client on a temporary basis.

There are also employees of Grapefruit Capital, including a legal officer, a financial officer, two VP-level investment specialists, an administrative receptionist, and a marketing director in charge of fundraising, a total of six people.

If nothing unexpected happens, this streamlined team size will last for a long time.

"Lili, I look like I'm going to fail completely. You'll help me, right?" Choi Yun-soo pursed her lips to show weakness.

Song Anli shook her head: "I don't understand why you are so obsessed with investing in this fund. Super high returns are often accompanied by super high risks."

"He offered a bet." Choi Yun-soo replied without hesitation.

Song Anli had no choice but to persuade him: "VAM agreements are not omnipotent. You have experienced the financial crisis, so you should know better than me that sometimes VAM agreements are just a blank piece of paper."

"But this seems to be my best chance right now." Choi Yun-su's words were weak and frank.

She had done enough, from the awkward chat at the Silicon Valley Venture Capitalist House that night to test the waters, to helping run errands for free in the past few days, and to the last ditch effort when she ran into the office and yelled at everyone just now.

From the beginning to the end, Xie Jingxing was not able to arouse the slightest interest. He maintained the same silent attitude as when he showed his cards that night when he went all-in, as if he didn't care about anyone or anything.

She didn't know what else she could do, but she had to do something, at least she couldn't go back to her previous job status where she was competing with real estate agents for work.

Song Anli was silent for a moment, watching the blue-collar workers who were cleaning around her walk away, and then hesitantly asked, "Do you want to change jobs?"

“……” Cui Yunxiu’s face was filled with confusion.

Song Anli coughed shyly and said, "You can speak Chinese, English, and Korean. You have worked at Wells Fargo for many years and have rich work experience. The most important thing is that you want to make achievements in the venture capital industry, right?"

"Lili, I treat you as a friend." Choi Yun-soo said dejectedly.

Song Anli was speechless and just waited calmly for the formal answer. She would return home after meeting with Professor Stiglitz in New York tomorrow.

Instead of hiring her partner assistant in China to be sent to Silicon Valley for a long time to coordinate and organize Xiyou's work in the United States, it is better to use local resources and hire a local boss in the United States.

Since the work content is simple and does not involve Xie Jingxing's personal privacy, and at the same time he needs to coordinate the work with her, she has the final say on the recruitment candidates.

She remembered very clearly how Cui Yunxiu deliberately created physical contact with Xie Jingxing in the bar that night. After contacting him for the past few days, she found that the other party was not stupid and was able to handle daily trivial tasks.

"To be honest, I've booked a ticket to New York tomorrow, on the same flight as you guys." Choi Yun-su realized that pretending to be pitiful didn't work and that he was still single.

Song Anli laughed and tilted her head to indicate it was up to you.

"It's your loss if you don't take my money."

Cui Yunxiu picked up the bag and said angrily: "You have been brainwashed by your boss. You were not so unkind when we first met. In just ten days, you are becoming more and more like him."

"Thank you for your recognition." The smile on Song Anli's pretty face became brighter.

Cui Yunxiu glared: "I really treat you as a friend. Do you think he trusts you by throwing all the work to you? You are totally wrong. He is just testing your bottom line. You will gradually become his vassal and lose your independent personality."

"No, as you said, maybe I will become Queen Isabella of Spain." Song Anli corrected.

Choi Yun-su thought quickly and said with his hands on his hips, "I mean the world's first venture capitalist was the Queen of Spain, she invested in Columbus!"

"Yes, he is Columbus, the great navigator. Because of Columbus, Isabella became a remembered female venture capitalist." Song Anli spoke slowly, her hoarse and magnetic voice sounded firm.

Choi Yun-su was so angry that he laughed: "Then do you have to help him shout out that line - I'm the king of the world?!"

"I'm the king of the world."

Repeated sentences were heard from the second floor. The two arguing women raised their heads and saw that Xie Jingxing had returned to the same position and was waving at them.

He smiled at Song Anli and said, "I can say it myself."

(End of this chapter)