Chapter 607: Private Jet, Welcome Home

After talking with Zhao Peng and reaching a basic agreement, Lin Chu met with several other people over the next few days.

The first wave was five people that Bian Gaige’s team transferred over from Europe.

They were all young, with an average age of no more than forty. They were the prized students or close relatives of those old professors. With the bank acquisition project nearing its end, it was time for them to consider their next steps.

Given Lin Chu’s generous spending, they were more than happy to join his next “project.”

After all, just from the bank acquisition project alone, each person would be close to financial freedom upon its completion—assuming they weren’t overly materialistic—with an income of at least several million.

And for Lin Chu, since these people were vouched for by their teachers or elders, their trustworthiness was absolutely not an issue.

He was in the midst of recruiting, so he would take all comers.

The second wave also consisted of candidates recommended by Bian Gaige.

It was the expert in capital operations mentioned before: Yang Rong’s son, Yang Huaping.

This man was well-versed in the rules of international capital markets and had a brilliant track record. At thirty-five, he had a very powerful presence. Standing next to him, Lin Chu felt that Yang Huaping seemed more like the CEO.

His demeanor and methods were that of a capital market elite: assertive and decisive.

Personality-wise, they weren’t a great match.

However, with the elders acting as intermediaries, it was worth a shot.

In this world, capable people are usually arrogant.

Lin Chu wanted to see what he was capable of.

The third wave consisted of several other professional managers poached from Wall Street by Old Liu. They were all industry veterans, attracted by the high salary.

Even in the financial industry, the market wasn’t great right now, so there was a lot of talent available.

These people were purely employees. They would stay as long as the money was there and leave when it wasn’t.

But since they were already here… Lin Chu decided to take them all on.

‘No matter the vegetable, just toss it in the basket for now.’ He wasn’t short on cash anyway, and who knew? There might be a pleasant surprise.

With these new additions, his private financial advisory team was starting to take shape.

Although, due to the issue of “factions,” there was occasional infighting and scheming among them during meetings.

But that wasn’t a problem. In fact, it was a good way to vet risks from various perspectives.

Lin Chu also assigned different roles to the three groups.

The most trusted group was assigned to private equity investment.

The moderately trusted group was assigned to stock and futures trading.

The least trusted group was sent to the market to raise funds.

Each had their own duties.

His main principle was “appointing people based on favoritism.”

Finance and capital was, by nature, a relationship-driven industry. Loyalty came first, ability second.

After all these arrangements were made, his own “tentacles” were being established, one by one.

New Year’s Day was fast approaching.

Lin Chu felt a certain sense of anticipation for the new year.

Of course, turbulence was also inevitable.

The lawsuit filed against him was still waiting to be scheduled.

He wasn’t worried about the domestic lawsuits, but he needed to be on high alert for the ones abroad.

Although he had taken numerous defensive measures, this kind of thing ultimately came down to a contest of strength.

Objectively speaking, his own strength in various fields abroad was definitely no match for Liszt’s.

His intelligence center was already in the preparatory stages and had its first batch of employees, but compared to a long-established system, it still lacked the foundation that only time could build.

This was something that couldn’t be rushed.

For now, all he could do was wait.

…

「December 24th.」

Dubai International Airport.

Parked in front of Lin Chu was a Gulfstream G650 private business jet. It had a white fuselage emblazoned with two giant letters: “LC”.

Looking at the scene, Lin Chu felt the satisfaction of getting a new toy. He took out his phone and snapped a quick picture.

This wasn’t the one he had originally ordered.

“Thanks” to Gulfstream Company’s snail-like production efficiency, the private jet he had previously ordered was not yet finished, so delivery was out of the question.

This one was a second-hand purchase, but fortunately, all the paperwork was in order.

The seller was a wealthy tycoon from his home country who was in urgent need of funds and had to part with his beloved jet.

The price wasn’t too expensive, either—only sixty million USD.

Upon hearing the news, Lin Chu acted decisively and bought it.

The market for used jets was actually quite hot right now. Many owners were in a hurry to sell, and if you had enough money, you could even acquire them in bulk.

Realizing this demand, Lin Chu had also dispatched people to make purchases on the market. He was even in the process of setting up a jet leasing and operations company.

Leasing, of course, was just the official story. In reality, the jets were mainly for his own use.

Having these things on hand would be incredibly useful, whether for giving them away as kickbacks, for personal use, or for transporting personnel over long distances.

This particular jet of his, after meticulous modifications, was now ready for use.

A plane!

A man’s dream… or at least, one of them!

He used to “fly” them when he was young; now, he finally had one of his own.

The spacious and luxurious cabin was like a mobile home, capable of accommodating 18 passengers, with a maximum cruising speed of 1,100 kilometers per hour and a maximum range of 13,000 kilometers…

From now on, physical distance on Earth would, for him, truly be like living in a single village.

“Brother Chu, let’s go! Let’s take it for a spin. Where do you want to go?”

Lu Ming said, clearly tempted. The end of the year was approaching, and he didn’t have much energy for work anyway. He’d rather go out and have some fun.