Chapter Ninety-Two: So I’m the Majority Shareholder Now, Right?

This trip home came with its share of little mishaps.

More than ten minutes later, the Greyhound bus bound for San Francisco pulled out, while Su Dingcai drove home once more. Su Mu and Li Ping'an went together to Menlo Park.

At first Li Ping'an was still excited, but before long he had fallen into a deep sleep. Without anyone nearby snoring, Su Mu slept quite soundly as well. It was only when they reached Menlo Park that the driver woke him, and he nearly rode past their stop. After thanking the driver, he got off and led Li Ping'an back to the villa.

Li Ping'an had already known they were renting a place outside, but he had not known it would be such a luxurious villa.

He stared for a long time at the several people busy in the garage, and only came back to himself when Su Mu reminded him, asking what Li Zhekai and the others were doing.

Explaining in detail would have been like playing a lute to a cow; he would not understand anyway, so Su Mu simply said they were working.

After returning to the room and putting their things away, Su Mu went to James and explained that he would be “taking in” a friend for a few days and would not be staying long.

James usually had a good impression of Su Mu, and without thinking twice he nodded in agreement. They sometimes brought friends over for gatherings anyway; it was nothing unusual.

During the development of the office software, they ran into many difficulties, and both he and Li Zhekai were in rather low spirits.

A first venture always seemed to promise a vast future, but reality gave them a sharp blow. Many of their ideas had to be thrown out and started over. Barely half a month into the business, they were already beginning to lose heart.

It was evening again. The sunset glow today was especially beautiful, and the roads were fairly crowded at quitting time.

There was a cloud in the sky, like a glittering golden ingot. Li Ping'an stared at it for a long while, then counted on his fingers and affected the air of a fortune-teller as he said, “I think this trip may bring us riches. When I was little, a fortune-teller said my luck lies in the north.”

“Geographically speaking, this is the southwest of the United States. How about I pay for your ticket and you go try your luck farther north in Alaska?”

Back in Silicon Valley, Su Mu always felt as though he were alone. This time, with a friend accompanying him, he finally had someone with whom he could talk without restraint, and it felt rather wonderful.

When he first came back here at the start of the school term, he had been a stranger in a strange land, anxious and lost for two or three days. But with his close friend by his side, Li Ping'an felt none of that at all. Shaking his head, he said, “Then forget it. It’s so cold in winter you’d freeze to death. Where would you even go now?”

“I’m going to see a friend to discuss something. I only know his street number, so let’s take a cab. Tonight I’ll take you to see Stanford University; there are plenty of good places to eat around there. I’ll treat you.”

As he spoke, he flagged down an empty cab and gave the driver Daniel’s address. The two of them went on chatting idly, and soon they reached the street where he lived.

One glance at the grounds told the difference. Each villa stood at least fifteen meters from the next, and at the front were immense gardens of all shapes and sizes.

Some had pools, ornamental rocks, and fountains moved into the yards. If the avenue where Su Mu and the others now lived counted as a wealthy district, then Faxon Street was the wealthy district among wealthy districts.

The villas were all of different designs, some modern, others in a traditional Western country style, and each occupied a vast plot.

Daniel’s father was an executive at Motorola, a true gold-collar man with the means to afford a house like this. Standing before Villa No. 9, where two Gothic pillars rose at the gate, Su Mu clicked his tongue and sighed, “With a family this rich, how did Daniel end up in such a state?”

“What? What’s wrong with your new friend?” Li Ping'an asked.

“You’ll understand when you meet him.” With that, he pressed the doorbell.

Soon a plump white maid came out, and from across the more than ten-meter-long garden she called loudly, “Who are you looking for?”

“Daniel Brown! I’m his friend. Is he at home?”

“Oh my, what a rare visitor. Su, was it? He mentions you often. I’ll open the gate for you!”

The maid trotted over and introduced herself. “I’m Josiah. The young master doesn’t have many friends, so no one ever comes looking for him. He’ll be thrilled that you’ve come! He had a row with Madam at noon, so he hasn’t gone out all afternoon. I was just helping him make dinner. Would you like pasta?”

“I’ve got a recipe handed down from my grandmother. Tomato flavor, with a little caviar added—absolutely delicious.”

Hearing this, Li Ping'an finally understood why Su Mu had said Daniel was having a rough time, and guessed that the wealthy boy named Daniel probably did not have many friends.

He had never tasted caviar in his life, not even the cheapest kind. Su Mu very much wanted to try it, and the refusal that had reached his lips was swallowed along with his saliva. Smiling brightly, he said, “Thank you. If it’s not too much trouble, please prepare a portion for us.”

When Americans say they will treat you to a meal, they truly mean it. There is no custom of false modesty or polite refusal. Josiah nodded. “I was preparing it already. We have enough ingredients, no problem at all.”

As she spoke, she opened the gate and led them inside. Su Mu lifted the bag in his hand and said,

“This is Yanjing roast duck I brought from Chinatown in Los Angeles. We had it the first time I met Daniel. He seemed to like it very much, so I brought another one this trip home. It only needs a few minutes in the oven, and sliced into small pieces with the sauce, it’s delicious.”

Aunt Josiah’s eyes lit up at once. “It smells wonderful! Leave it to me. There’s an oven in the kitchen. I often see ducks in the park, and I’ve heard that you Chinese can turn them into very delicious food…”

Ducks are fortunate to be born in America. Westerners think ducks are cute, and thus rarely eat them. They are usually seen in the small lakes of parks and are kept as ornamental animals.

By contrast, near Chinese communities in the United States, any ducks in the lakes disappear very quickly, turned into roast duck, duck and radish soup, beer duck, medicinal duck, and the like. Roast duck especially, as one of the most famous dishes in Western countries, sells like mad.

After learning that Su Mu had arrived, Daniel came downstairs very quickly. His home was decorated in glittering splendor, leaving Su Mu and Li Ping'an at a loss where to step. They hesitated at the door for a moment before going in. Beneath a huge crystal chandelier, the place was filled with all kinds of ornaments, and they could even see blue-and-white porcelain vases, as though they had walked into a museum.

Pointing at an oil painting that ordinary people could not understand, Su Mu asked Daniel, “Picasso?”

“Yes. My mother works in a museum, and she likes collecting these. When she inherited some estate, she brought home a lot of antiques.” Daniel introduced it casually. “Oh, by the way, my mother’s great-grandfather once traveled to China when he was young.”

Well then. Judging by the time, that was probably around the time of the invasion by the Eight-Nation Alliance, or perhaps the Opium War. The origin of those vases and paintings was all too obvious.

There were countless antiques overseas. Picasso had only died more than ten years ago and left behind over thirty thousand paintings in his lifetime, more than a thousand of them oils. This work on the wall might not be worth much at all. Looking at the bizarre patterns, Su Mu felt he could paint something similar in ten minutes. It was hardly strange that the man had left so many behind.

Daniel’s mother’s great-grandfather had long since been buried in the earth, impossible to hold to account for matters of long ago. Su Mu, impatient, asked him, “How are things going with the business?”

Daniel did not keep him in suspense. Smiling in triumph, he said, “Yes. I pressed my father. After meeting them at the gathering yesterday, the principal agreed to buy seventy computers from us, provided the price is right. You promised that if we made money, my company would get five percent of the shares. That makes me a major shareholder now too, doesn’t it? Hahaha!”

“…”