I am a literary giant in Europe

Chapter 822 Daily life
After the blitzkrieg ended, Liu Jin did not make a fuss.

In fact, because the Dow Jones Industrial Average crashed so suddenly, many people outside the market were caught off guard.

Meanwhile, the timely response of the 'circuit breaker mechanism+' also salvaged the situation.

Thirty-six minutes, just thirty-six minutes... and then everything returned to normal.

Everything seemed as if it had never happened.

If it weren't for the ever-growing funds in his GST account, Joann would have thought he was just dreaming.

As expected of 'AMOS'!

……

Settlement is still ongoing.

The operation of large sums of money also requires a considerable amount of time to be fully digested.

Liu Jin estimates that an accurate profit figure will not be available until around the end of the year.

According to Joan P.'s estimate, Liu Jin could gain nearly $40 billion from this blitzkrieg.

Of course, this money wasn't entirely his; some of it came from the assets of the Italian Mafia Union, as well as investments from the Blumenthal and Bush family. Adding in other funds… Liu Jin roughly estimated that he could receive over 20 billion.

Therefore, Liu Jin became increasingly low-key after the operation ended.

In mid-May, Mela and her group returned from Reunion Island.

They had a great time there for over two months.

Mela is alright, but Chloe is at least two shades darker.

In her words, this is the most pleasant season in the southern Indian Ocean region; in another month, winter will arrive there, and the weather will get colder…

"The sea view over there is really amazing!"

Chloe still looked somewhat unsatisfied.

Mela handed Liu Jin a document containing information on various projects they had collected over the past two months after conducting on-site surveys in places like Reunion Island, Madagascar, and Mauritius.

"Cape Calais Port?"

Liu Jin was looking through documents under a parasol on the lawn.

"Is Reunion Island preparing to sell the operating rights of the port of Cape Calais?"

He looked at Méra and asked in confusion, "This is the fifth largest port in France, why are they selling the operating rights?"

Previously, the port of Cape Calais was contracted out to EMC of Bay Island.

However, after the contract expired last year, EMC wanted to continue the contract, but was blocked by CMA CGM... It seems that President Sarkozy did not want the operating rights of French ports to be controlled by an overseas company.

However, CMA CGM, or CMA CGM, didn't intend to contract the project directly, but instead wanted its subsidiary, Ceva Logistics, to take it over. The problem was that the fee offered by Ceva Logistics was far lower than Reunion Island's expectations…

Therefore, Reunion Island is looking for someone else to take over.

After thinking for a moment, Liu Jin simply crossed out the Cape Calais port project.

This is not something he can handle.

but……

Liu Jin glanced at the documents, which mentioned that China's ZY Group and SG Group seemed to have a strong interest in the port of Cape Calais and had been in discussions with the Reunion Island government. However, due to the French government's stance, the Reunion Island government was not very enthusiastic.

Old Zhong sat next to him, petting the dog.

He seemed to have noticed something and suddenly asked, "Have you heard of CNMP LH?"

Liu Jin was taken aback and shook his head.

"This is a port operating company that previously focused on temperature-controlled food logistics in Europe."

It's a 100% French company…involved in the operation of the Port of Le Havre. Both its qualifications and pedigree meet the requirements of the French government. As far as I know, this company is facing the risk of a broken cash flow due to the financial crisis and is actively seeking financing. If you are interested in the Port of Cabo da Calais, you can invest in this company.”

"Will they accept my investment?"

"We can talk."

"The problem is, what am I going to do with the port?"
What's the point if I can't gain control? Besides, I don't particularly trust the credibility of these Europeans.

What if they discover my existence one day and suddenly try to forcibly acquire me?

So, it depends on how you think about it.

Old Zhong neither confirmed nor denied Liu Jin's concerns.

To be honest, he wasn't very confident either...

But the location of Cape Calais is indeed very special.

It is very important to China.

Liu Jin looked at the documents carefully for a while longer and said, "Let me think about it carefully."

He then looked at other materials.

When he saw a document about a small island called Zanzibar, he asked in confusion, "What's the story behind this island?"

Chloe immediately perked up and said, "This is an uninhabited island located off the coast of Mayotte."

It covers an area of ​​2.3 square kilometers.

The island has beautiful scenery, including an extinct volcano and a freshwater lake.

The scenery around us is beautiful, I love it!

"so……"

"Or you could buy the island."

Liu Jin picked up the photo and looked at it for a few moments; the scenery was indeed beautiful.

However, Chloe was unreliable, so Liu Jin turned his attention to Mella.

Mela laughed and said, "Zanzibar is indeed a beautiful place, but the sovereignty of the island has always been disputed."

Comoros claims sovereignty over the island, but it is actually under the actual control of Mayotte.

Simon told me that someone had wanted to buy it before, but there were issues with ownership…

Mayotte was one of the French colonies in its early years.

However, it has now become an overseas department of France, and its nature is very similar to that of Réunion.

Regarding the sovereignty of Mayotte, whether according to international law or French domestic law, it belongs to French territory.

Comoros, however, has been asserting its sovereignty over Mayotte.

From the 70s to the 90s, Comoros fought a 20-year legal battle with France at the United Nations in order to obtain the Mayotte.

In 1976, the UN Security Council also held a special discussion on the question of sovereignty over Mayotte.

At the time, 11 of the 15 members of the Security Council (including China) supported Comoros' claim to sovereignty over Mayotte.

However, the resolution failed to pass due to France's veto.

It's worth noting that France hasn't used its veto power since 76, which demonstrates just how much France values ​​this island.

Liu Jin asked, "If I make the purchase, with whom will I sign the contract?"

"It must be the French government, since legally speaking, this is French territory."

"Will it be troublesome?"

"You really want to buy it!"

Chloe stared at Liu Jin with wide eyes, somewhat surprised.

Liu Jin couldn't help but yell, "You're the one who said you were buying it, and you're the one who's questioning it... What exactly do you mean?"

"I just think, are you really that easy to talk to?"

Chloe chuckled, then her expression turned serious as she said, "But this island is deserted. Even if you buy it, you'll still need a huge investment just for construction."

"Construction?"

Liu Jin glanced at the valuation in the documents.

This island is located in the Mozambique Channel, close to the African continent.

The price isn't too high.

An island of the same size would be incredibly expensive in Europe.

But in Africa...

It can be acquired for less than 100 million.

The key question is, what is the significance of taking over this island?

Liu Jin hadn't decided yet, but he vaguely felt that there should be some benefits.

"Let's buy it first, and then we can do the specific planning and design to see how much money we need to invest."

Yes, the scenery is indeed beautiful, and it would be a great vacation spot.

Mela said, "We can have Simon ask him about this. After all, he's a lieutenant colonel staff officer on Reunion Island, so he'll be more reliable."

“Okay!” Liu Jin put the information about Zanzibar Island aside.

There aren't many projects on Reunion Island; most are trade and tourism-related.

After reviewing the materials brought back by Mela and her team, Liu Jin selected projects from the sugar processing plant in Villeret, as well as a newspaper company and a television station. This sugar processing plant on Reunion Island has existed since the 11th century, witnessing the development of sugar processing from the 11th century to the present day—a condensed history of the sugar industry.

However, the factory has now ceased operations.

The Reunion Island government hopes to build a sugar industry museum.

Liu Jin was quite interested in this.

"Mera, it seems we need to assemble a more professional team."

"The negotiations with Reunion Island and the subsequent operations will all require a professional team to manage..."

"That's not difficult. As long as the salary is generous, we can attract people."

Mela laughed and asked, "Do you have a suitable candidate?"

"I do have an idea, hmm, let me think about it some more."

Liu Jin did not rush to answer.

The investments in Reunion Island will not be too large.

It can also be considered Liu Jin's investment in helping Simon rise to power over there.

In Liu Jin's view, this was even more important.

After all, the materials Mr. An had previously sent him mentioned that China also attaches great importance to Reunion Island and hopes to increase its influence in the southern Indian Ocean region. The establishment of LSG and the founding of X Institute are all paving the way for this.

However, this is, after all, an overseas department of France.

China also values ​​its relationship with France, so it doesn't want to provoke France too much.

Economy first, money paves the way...

However, if Liu Jin can establish himself there, it will play a very important role in China's next steps.

Liu Jin felt that it might not be impossible!

……

The Cannes Film Festival in May came to a quiet close.

Liu Jin still didn't join in the fun, but instead went to work and wrote diligently, leading a very monotonous life.

This year's Cannes Film Festival had very few Chinese elements.

Aside from two Hong Kong Island natives, Nansun Shi and Johnnie To, who served as judges, only one film, "Wu Xia," produced by Chen Kexin, participated in the midnight screenings.

In the original timeline, Woody Allen would have used "Midnight in Paris" as the opening film.

However, in this timeline, Woody Allen only acquired the adaptation rights to Midnight in Paris from Liu Jin at the end of last year after the novel was published, so it hasn't been filmed yet. It's estimated that the movie won't be released until next year.

Liu Jin wasn't very familiar with these people from Hong Kong Island.

Moreover, his relationship with these people in Hong Kong wasn't very good, so he had no interest in joining in the fun.

However, the chairman of the jury, Robert De Niro, called and invited him to visit, but Liu Jin declined.

He has a lot on his plate.

The creation of "Castle" will continue, and his goal is to complete all three parts by the end of June.

He doesn't want to work too hard this year.

Moreover, he had made a promise with Camille that he would take her out to sea during the summer vacation.

Therefore, finishing work as soon as possible and preparing for the summer sea voyage is, in his view, the most important thing.

And just like that, June arrived before we knew it.

School started its holiday, and Eva and Alizee returned to China, then took the four little ones and Camille back to Toulouse.

The once quiet villa suddenly became lively.

Qianqian and Chen Qi are here too!
They told Liu Jin that they were planning to get married in October.

"Uncle, will you be coming back then?"

After thinking for a moment, Liu Jin could only give the answer of 'try his best'.

In October, the third season of "Music by the Fireplace: UK Edition" will begin recording.

Liu Jin was also unsure whether he would be able to free up the time at that time.

He then took his entire family aboard the 'Hugo' and embarked on a journey around Europe.

……

On July 10, the century-old World News newspaper was forced to cease publication due to wiretapping.

Liu Jin received the information via satellite phone and immediately instructed Zhou Shouzi, who had just returned to London, to keep a close watch on the situation.

The News of the World, also known as the Sunday edition of The Sun, is owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation.

After the incident broke out, The Sun immediately distanced itself from The News of the World.

News Corp. announced that it would permanently shut down the newspaper.

This is a huge loss for News Corp.

However, cutting losses in time is undoubtedly the best option... because too many celebrities are involved, and if it is not shut down, more serious problems may arise.

"Boss, News Corp. is secretly looking for a buyer to acquire the News of the World."

I think it's worth trying to make contact.

"Then let's make contact."

To be honest, Liu Jin was not optimistic about this acquisition.

Murdoch is a staunch supporter of the FH (Frankenstein) movement and may not be willing to let Liu Jin take over.

But the News of the World is now a liability for News Corporation.

There's no benefit in continuing to hold it.

It all depends on whether that old guy chooses money or his stance in the end.

For Liu Jin, a successful acquisition would mean he could drive a nail into Great Britain.

It's incredibly difficult for Chinese people to gain a voice in Europe.

Especially mainstream media...

You see, after he acquired La Cinq, although he successfully restructured the local cable television network in southern France, there were still many obstacles.

Liu Jin cannot even state that he is the owner of the television network.

Sometimes when I think about it, it's really frustrating.

When the Hugo passed through Naples, Monica took Diva aboard the yacht.

This also gave Camille a friend.

However, Monica came to report to Liu Jin about the acquisition of the local cable television network in southern Italy.

The four regional cable television networks have been established.

There are a total of fifty-seven television stations under this television network.

Mara and Mark Müller are pushing for the merger of the four television networks.

So far, it's going relatively smoothly.

However, there will definitely be obstacles.

After all, racial discrimination is commonplace in Italy.

Fortunately, Liu Jin did not show up; all the procedures were handled by Marco Müller and Monica Bellucci.

With Mara's help, the process is now halfway complete.

The BABT audit is very complicated, but fortunately, it is just a local cable TV network and does not need to go through the EU's CE certification.

Otherwise, it will be more troublesome.

"It is expected that all procedures will be completed in December."

Monica made the final decision.

She smiled wryly and said, "If it weren't for Minister Calfania's secret help in pushing things forward, given BABT's efficiency, it might have dragged on until next year."

"Is the show going smoothly?"

"It's not bad, the response has been quite good."

"Then let's keep pushing it forward. There's no rush for these things anyway."

Liu Jin walked to the ship's side and gazed at the azure sea.

Let's take it one step at a time. Matters involving ideological channels are unlikely to be accomplished overnight...

(End of this chapter)