Chapter 329: The Cuteness of the Gambling King and Li Xiaofan's Style
When Li Xiaofan greeted Lam Guotai and his three people who came to visit him at the door of his office in the Singapore Science and Technology Park, he was a little surprised and said with a smile: "Director Lam, why are you sweating on your shirt and you came here running?"
Zhao Lixuan, who was next to Lin Guotai, smiled and explained: "Dr. Lin and we took the subway here. After exiting the subway, Director Lin received a call from the headquarters of Genting Group of Malaysia. Because it involved an important job, so The phone call took a long time. After Director Lin finished the call, he saw that the ten o'clock meeting time agreed with you was coming soon, so we trotted all the way over..."
"Director Li, are we not late?" Lin Guotai took off his glasses, took out his handkerchief and wiped the sweat on his forehead and asked.
Lim Kok Thay is a very low-key and pragmatic person among the rich second generation in Southeast Asia. In Singapore, he never takes a security guard with him when he goes out, and he doesn't like driving luxury cars. It is said that in foreign countries, when Lin Guotai went out to discuss a US$2 billion business, he rushed there by himself on the subway...
At this point, Li Xiaofan had a lot of affection for the simple Lin Guotai. He said with a smile:
"Oh, Director Lin, there's no need for you to be in such a hurry. It doesn't matter if you're a little late. I, an idle guy like me, have a lot of time!"
Lin Guotai said seriously: "Director Li, don't be so polite. I know you must be very busy! A few days ago, I was on the American NBC TV station's live financial program for Yahoo!'s listing. I saw a reporter talking about Yahoo founder Jerry Yang. I had a special interview with you. Especially in the program, I heard Mr. Yang Zhiyuan introduce himself to you as a Chinese, and we are proud to be Chinese!”
Because there were not many people, Li Xiaofan directly accompanied Lin Guotai into his large office to discuss and communicate.
As soon as he entered Li Xiaofan's new office, Lin Guotai smelled a pleasant scent, which was refreshing.
Sitting on the elegant armchair, he couldn't help but curiously asked:
"Director Li, what kind of wood are used for the furniture in your office? It smells so good, as if it has a sweet and mellow smell, which makes people feel comfortable. Moreover, the shape of these office furniture also looks very elegant, noble and beautiful!"
Li Xiaofan explained with a smile: "This is a batch of Hainan huanghuali logs I bought in mainland China last year. Hainan huanghuali was also called step-down wood in ancient times. In mainland China, it is now simply called Haihuang. In the ancient "Compendium of Materia Medica", It is recorded that Hainan Huanghuali is called Jiangxiang, which can relax muscles and activate blood circulation, lower blood pressure, It has the effect of lowering blood lipids. There is a mysterious fragrance in sea yellow wood, which can relax muscles and promote blood circulation and improve sleep. In the Ming Dynasty, this sea yellow wood furniture entered the palace and was designated as the wood used by the Imperial Palace in Beijing. , there are a lot of old furniture made of sea yellow wood..."
"At the end of last year, I had an old domestic carpenter help me customize a set of Ming-style office furniture. It was just shipped last month. There are some old objects in it, such as this desk and a few armchairs. Renovated..." Li Xiaofan continued to introduce, pointing to the Haihuang furniture in the office.
Lin Guotai touched the handle of the armchair and said: "No wonder, the armchair I am sitting on now feels very comfortable and the shape is also very beautiful!"
The old-fashioned armchair that Lin Guotai is sitting on is obviously the most unique chair among modern furniture.
It has a round and graceful shape, a plump and strong body, and its most obvious feature is that the round back is connected to the armrests, flowing down from high to low. When seated, the person's arms can lean on the circle-shaped armrests, making them feel very comfortable. It has been popular with the court and nobles since the Ming Dynasty, and was once very popular in wealthy families.
Li Xiaofan's office was newly applied for by Ascendas Group in February this year.
Due to the rapid business expansion of Yahoo Singapore Station and Pacific Bookstore, the original office building can no longer accommodate more and more employees. In February this year, after Li Xiaofan applied, the Singapore Science Park gave them a new office building.
"That's great! Are these woods easy to buy in mainland China?" Lin Guotai asked.
Li Xiaofan smiled and said: "If you have the connections, you can still buy them. But if you are not an expert and have no acquaintances to recommend you, there are many fakes in the world, and it is easy to buy fakes. Director Lin, are you interested in these Haihuang furniture?" ?”
"Well, I really like your Ming-style sea-yellow furniture when I see it. If possible, I would also like to buy a set..." Lin Guotai said with a smile.
"Director Lin, I will give you a set when the time comes. I stocked up a lot of sea yellow wood last year, enough to build several sets of furniture."
After hearing this, Lin Guotai waved his hand and said: "Hey, I can't give it away. Director Li, I can buy it from you!"
Li Xiaofan handed Lin Guotai a picture album: "Director Lin, I have a picture album "Appreciation of Ming-style Furniture" here. You can take it and look at it first to see which styles you like, and then you can tell me. I have it. A friend has opened an antique furniture factory in mainland China and can help you customize Ming-style furniture exactly as shown in the book!”
The mainland friend Li Xiaofan was talking about was his old classmate Lin Zhiyong. Now he has opened a large-scale antique furniture factory in Ningdong County, and the business is quite good. The new set of Ming-style Haihuang furniture in Li Xiaofan's office was handmade by a master craftsman hired by Lin Zhiyong's factory.
When Lin Guotai was flipping through the album "Appreciation of Ming-style Furniture", he suddenly smelled a faint cool fragrance that penetrated his nose. This rich and natural fragrance was very comfortable, fresh and elegant, and gave him an indescribable sense of smoothness. .
This strange fragrance enters the nasal cavity and moves upward, bringing a moment of clarity, as if there is a feeling of rushing straight to the Baihui. Then it makes people's breath sink, bringing a peaceful state of mind. There is a special feeling of sinking the qi into the dantian, and collecting the heart and breath.
This fragrance has a clear sense of coolness at the beginning, which is stronger than mint. It goes straight to the Baihui, and the mouth and tongue are salivating. The clear and elegant fragrance seems to have a hint of the emptiness of the mountains.
Gradually, this pleasant fragrance became stronger, and the fragrance drifted around the room, sometimes cool, sometimes frankincense, sometimes mellow, and sometimes sweet. Several fragrances appeared alternately, changing in thousands of ways...
Let Lin Guotai take several deep breaths involuntarily, as if he couldn't smell enough, making people greedy and reluctant to let go, and taste this mysterious delicacy in one breath!
"Mr. Li, where did this agarwood come from? It smells so good, it's fascinating!" Lin Guotai asked curiously.
Malaysia also produces agarwood, and Lim Kok Thay knows a thing or two about it, but it is the first time he has smelled such a charming Hainan agarwood scent as today.
Li Xiaofan smiled and pointed to an incense burner on the table beside him and said, "This is agarwood from Hainan Island in mainland China. I put a little more in it because I have a distinguished guest coming today..."
"Thank you, so this is the agarwood, one of the three treasures of Hainan mentioned in the legend. No wonder!"
After the two chatted about Hainan Huanghuali and agarwood, Lin Guotai got to the point of visiting Li Xiaofan today:
"Mr. Li, I saw the story about your investment in Yahoo on the live broadcast of NBC TV in the United States a few days ago and in the Straits Times of Singapore published yesterday. In one year, the 2.65 million Yahoo shares you own have increased from the original investment of 4.6 million US dollars to more than 200 million US dollars now, an astonishing 40 times. I admire your foresight and courage! The market value of the Yahoo shares you own is now more valuable than the two super cruise ships I bought at the beginning..."