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It always rains in the UK in March.

The continuous rain is unpleasant.

However, Zhou Buqi still stayed here for a long time. After more than half a year of operation and arrangement, his industrial layout in the UK has basically reached the final stage.

The most important thing is that he can finally live in his home at 4 Cowley Street, London. The Liberal Democratic Party moved, and this 4-story building with a history of nearly a century in the center of London finally became Zhou Buqi's private residence.

This place is not ordinary.

Almost every day, dignitaries and celebrities from London come to visit. Fortunately, these upper-class British people know etiquette very well and will make reservations in advance. In fact, there is no security here at all. Open the door to the main road. If you want to come to the door, just knock on the door.

This morning, Zhou Buqi received the Mayor of London and talked about Ziwei’s cloud computing business.

There is no way, despite the economic crisis, London also needs to attract investment.

Ziweixing has already announced that it will invest US$100 million in the UK within three years to build a large cloud data center with 30,000 servers.

Site selection is very particular.

This cloud computing center serves the entire British Isles and will also have backup storage functions. There is no need to choose a location in London, a city where people are expensive.

For the Mayor of London, of course he hopes that this investment can become his political achievement.

Zhou Buqi was rather vague, saying that he would consider everything and the relevant teams would conduct a thorough investigation and then publicly invite bids at several locations.

Communication between the two parties is relatively easy.

After a while, Sun Wanran, wearing a red shirt and a black mini-skirt, walked over with a smile and said in Zhou Buqi's ear: "Gilbert is already in the small reception room."

Zhou Buqi nodded, "Ask him to wait for me for ten minutes."

This was once the headquarters of the British Liberal Democratic Party. Just like the president of the United States lives in the White House, the leader of the Liberal Democratic Party and his family also live here. Because of the economic crisis, I ran out of money, so I sold the headquarters.

Therefore, this private residence is not purely a residence, but is used for both living and office purposes. The entire first floor is an office area, with 4 reception rooms, a large reception room, a small reception room, a cigar reception room and a whiskey reception room. There is even a dedicated room for press conferences.

This is also very useful for Zhou Buqi.

It feels like this way is better.

Whether they are dignitaries, business partners, or subordinates at work, everyone can come and communicate directly. This is the most prominent place in London, with the Prime Minister's Office and MI5 nearby, providing absolute security.

After work, you can go upstairs to enjoy family life, hug Xinxin, and spend time with the pregnant Ning Yaxian.

After perfunctoryly dealing with the Mayor of London, Zhou Buqi put down the whiskey in his hand and got up to go to the small conference room on the other side. With Gilbert Lawrence as his subordinate, communication was easier.

Mainly talking about Manchester United business matters.

Gilbert has a proposal, which is that Manchester United's business should have two headquarters: one in Manchester and one in London.

No way, Manchester is too remote.

It is an industrial city that lags behind the times and cannot be compared with the bustling metropolis of London. If you want to do commercial development, you must not do without London’s international market.

Gilbert also said: "I can feel that there is a force within Manchester United that is very opposed to commercialization. It seems that there is a contradiction between business and sports. If business is done well, the football business will decline."

Zhou Buqi waved his hand and said with a smile: "It doesn't matter, times are changing, and they will gradually understand."

Gilbert said: "Having the headquarters of Manchester United's business in London is more conducive to our market development. Manchester is a city with a backward economic transformation, but our ideas for Manchester United's business are avant-garde and trendy. Such a temperament More in line with London.”

Zhou Buqi waved his hand, "You are the president of Manchester United's business. If you think it's okay, just do it. You don't need my opinion."

Gilbert did not get his absolute support, but at least he did not object or hold back. He further said: "In the sales of jerseys, it is not the strong players who sell the jerseys well. The market exposure is high and the fans' preference is high. Players who can score goals and excel are easier to develop commercially. When transferring, is it possible..."

"You must be wary of this idea!" Zhou Buqi interrupted him very seriously, "Gilbert, you have to remember that Manchester United is a team, and competitive performance is the soul of the club. Manchester United's commercial development , the purpose is not to make money, but to make money to repair the stadium, improve training facilities, and purchase more outstanding players. In the final analysis, the purpose of making money is the healthy development of the club. And the most important thing about the club is competition."

Gilbert smiled, "I know, competition is the main thing and business is the supplement. What I mean is that when there is a choice, my department can have a certain say."

Zhou Buqi frowned slightly, not wanting to give him the right to speak.

To some extent, this logic holds true.

For example, when buying a striker, there are two backup options: Drogba and Raul.

From a competitive perspective, what Manchester United needs most is Drogba.

If Drogba can't be bought, it would be good to buy Raul.

But from a business point of view, Raul must be chosen. The two parties are not on the same level at all.

Once the group of business people represented by Gilbert have a voice, trouble will easily occur, and they may create obstacles behind their backs. As a result, the transfer that could have bought Drogba fell through, and Raul could only be chosen.

This will greatly weaken Manchester United's competitive ability.

Manchester United's business is a company system and has performance indicators. This group of professional managers receive bonuses for achieving the indicators. They can see everything. I can tolerate anything else, but I cannot tolerate it if it affects competitive performance.

Zhou Buqi was silent for a moment, then said categorically: "Manchester United's business is not qualified to participate in any decision-making at the competitive level, and can only deal with it according to the requirements of the competitive level. Today, with Ferguson here, it is like this. In the future, when Ferguson retires, it will be the same. !”

Gilbert then asked, "Can you make suggestions to the board of directors?"

"no!"

Zhou Buqi refused again.

The power of capital is very powerful.

The right of suggestion cannot be given to them.

In the future, when Manchester United starts to do business and makes a lot of money, and the entire Manchester United depends on this company to support itself, the board of directors will be particularly dependent on it.

At that time, Manchester United's business suggestions will have huge influence and appeal, and it will be easy for all parties to compromise, thereby listening to their opinions and intervening in sports from a commercial perspective.

Zhou Buqi said simply and neatly, "I'll say it again, business is business, and competition is economics. As for the business part, don't make any attempt to get involved in the competitive field."

Gilbert sighed and nodded.

He had communicated with Sandoku before.

I still had some hope.

I didn’t expect the big boss to be so absolute.

Zhou Buqi reassured him, "However, I allow you to provide me and Zhu Jun with suggestions on a transfer report every year. We will make a balanced analysis based on the situation."

After finishing the matter here, Zhou Buqi went upstairs.

The third floor is the living area.

It was only around 9 o'clock in the morning, and many people were still awake.

Then, he saw Senior Sister Zhen Yu in a white nightgown with fluffy hair and sleepy eyes. She pushed open the bedroom door and shouted loudly: "Wan Wan, my shower gel is broken, please lend me yours." use!"

Her pajamas are a little thin and see-through. At first glance, you can see her proud figure, with her breasts high and her waist thin, looming. The distinct curves were as smooth as water, flowing down to a pair of exposed straight legs.

Zhou Buqi couldn't help but take another look.

"What are you looking at?"

Zhen Yu rubbed her eyes and turned to stare at him.

"Huh? I didn't see anything."

Zhou Buqi felt guilty.

It's actually true.

But now he has a mission. In order to maintain the stability of his family and career, the plan to capture Senior Sister Zhen Yu has been put on the agenda, and he feels a little panicked.

Zhen Yu's snow-white arms were held in front of her chest to block his gaze. She rolled her pretty eyes at him and hummed, "Why do you act like you've never seen a woman before?"

"I……"

Zhou Buqi still wanted to make a few quibbles, but Senior Sister Zhen Yu had already closed the door with a bang.

After 20 minutes, Zhen Yu, Ning Lu, and Ning Yaxian started to eat breakfast. Zhou Buqi accompanied them, holding Xinxin in his arms, and they drank a glass of milk together.

Senior Sister Zhen Yu ate more casually and said, "I just received a letter, it's related to you. Comcast's acquisition offer for NBC Universal will be held for the first time next month, and you are invited to participate. ."

"Well, I must participate."

By participating, Zhou Buqi can learn and accumulate experience.

Previously, NBC Television Network was a company owned by General Electric, and Universal Pictures was a company owned by Vivendi. Later, NBC and Universal Pictures merged to form NBCUniversal Group, with General Electric holding 80% and Vivendi holding 20%.

Now, Comcast is entering the game, acquiring 51% of NBCUniversal's shares, taking a controlling stake, and officially expanding from a channel provider into the content field, integrating channels and content.

Zhou Buqi has no interest in channel dealers.

In the future, the biggest channel will be the Internet. Netflix and Spotify will be enough to control the channel market of film, television and music. As for the content market... he is also actively exploring it with SoftBank Group.

The latest news is that Masayoshi Son seems to be becoming more and more interested in the entertainment industry. He originally wanted to participate in the NBC Universal case, but Zhou Buqi rejected it. Then he set his sights on DreamWorks Animation, an animation factory as famous as Pixar and Disney Animation in Hollywood.

Zhou Buqi is more interested in this case.

Animation studios have great prospects and the market is very large. The profit of a cartoon, the profit from the box office is only 15%-20% of its total profit, and the larger part is the income from derivatives, such as animated dolls, costumes of animated characters, licensed products, etc.

This is exactly what Chaowan Commune’s blind box business needs.

"By the way, where is Yameng?"

"I went out with Shi Jingmei early in the morning to finalize the designer team. It seems that a jewelry designer from Cartier has resigned, and they want to invite him over."

"Cartier?" Zhou Buqi twitched the corner of his mouth, "The ambition is really big."

Ning Yaxian pursed her lips and said, "Didn't you also contact Sir John Peace?"

Zhou Buqi nodded, "Well, to promote the cooperation between Burberry and Manchester United, it would be best for him to serve as an independent director of Manchester United."

Manchester United's results are very good now, but the brand is a bit worse.

If you want to build a brand, it is necessary to establish a relationship with Burberry, the UK's largest luxury brand. Burberry can be called a British national treasure, more recognized than Cartier.

Sir John Peace is now the chairman of Burberry.

At the level of Zhou Buqi, doing business is actually managing social relationships. We can take advantage of this trend to promote cooperation between Burberry and Manchester United, and even include luxury e-commerce Farfetch.