Chapter 43

"Xiao Shao, are you sure this is your first time coming to San Francisco?" Liang Ning, sitting in the driver's seat, asked Li Xuan curiously while driving. He was the only one among them who had applied for an international driver's license.

"Of course, this is my first time coming to the United States, and also my first time leaving Hong Kong!" Li Xuan said with certainty.

"Why do I feel like Li has lived here for many years? Just now, how did you know the best spot to take a photo?" Liang Ning asked, puzzled.

They had just visited the Golden Gate Bridge and were about to take a commemorative photo before leaving. Li Xuan casually stood in front of the best viewpoint.

Li Xuan's eyes flickered, and he unconsciously touched his nose, a habitual small gesture he made before lying, probably without even realizing it.

"I had an American exchange student in the dorm next to mine, who was from San Francisco. Before I came to the United States, I specifically asked him many questions. My boss, I did my homework before leaving." Li Xuan couldn't tell his past self that he had indeed lived in the United States for six or seven years and had accompanied several old classmates from China to visit the Golden Gate Bridge multiple times. The familiarity of returning to this city made him inadvertently reveal some clues.

"Is your friend back in the U.S. for Christmas? Let's invite him out for a meal!" Liang Ning, who knew which pot to stir, asked. His boss was lying, of course.

"Uh, he didn't return to San Francisco. He took a trip to Tokyo during the holiday, apparently to experience the local风俗店!" Li Xuan had to use a new lie to cover up the previous one.

"Hehe, it seems that American guy is also a man of the色道. Didn't he go to Bowrington Street in Hong Kong a lot? Actually, the风俗店 in Shinjuku are just so-so, not as exciting as some of the nightclubs in Hong Kong!" Liang Ning said with a sly smile.

Li Xuan didn't respond, turning his head to look out the window. The car sped south on Highway 101, a major artery connecting Silicon Valley and San Francisco. Li Xuan, in his past life, had driven on this road many times. Even though time had been rewound by thirty years, he still felt a sense of familiarity.

The most famous company in Mountain View was Silicon Valley, the standard-bearer of the 21st-century internet era, which was located along Highway 101. Of course, that would be twenty years later.

Sitting in the passenger seat, Li Xuan looked out the front window to the left side of the road. The Google headquarters he remembered was just a short distance ahead, on the left side, backed by the San Francisco Bay. There were also several large car dealerships nearby.

But now, it was just a lush, overgrown forest. In his past life, Li Xuan had several friends who worked in Silicon Valley, and he had visited the Google headquarters more than once. A large proportion of the 20,000 employees at Google were Chinese.

There was even a joke that if you wanted to visit Google but were stopped by the security guard, you could tell him you were there to see a friend. When asked who, you could say any name like Mike Lee, Jack Chen, or Tom Wang. Because there were countless Mike Lees, Jack Chens, and Tom Wangs at Google.

The group finally returned to their business hotel. As soon as Li Xuan entered, a blonde receptionist politely called out to him: "Good afternoon, Mr. Li, a Mr. Cousins is here to see you!"

She smiled and gestured behind Li Xuan. He turned around and saw a middle-aged white man with a full beard, dressed in a black suit, walking toward him with a smile.

"Are you Mr. Xuan Li? Welcome to California. I am the CEO of Cousins Entertainment, Tony Cousins. You can call me Tony!" Cousins pronounced Li Xuan's name a bit strangely.

"Mr. Cousins, hello. I am Xuan Li. You can call me by my English name, Vincent!" Li Xuan politely shook his hand.

Liang Ning had said that Mr. Cousins was initially arrogant but later became respectful. Clearly, Li Xuan only felt the latter. They had agreed to meet at 3 PM, but he had arrived an hour early.

Li Xuan decided not to go back to his room and instead invited Mr. Cousins to the hotel's restaurant for a cup of coffee.

"Tony, I'm sorry, but our company only plans to sell the arcade machines we produce. We have no intention of licensing the games to others!" Li Xuan smiled and politely declined the offer.

"Vincent, may I ask how large your factory in Hong Kong is? In my opinion, the potential of Tank Battle and Hong Kong Blocks is enormous. Their quality is far superior to Space Invaders. If your factory is too small, it won't be able to meet the demand of the U.S. market. Based on my professional judgment, these new arcade machines will sell at least 200,000 units! Does your factory have the capacity to produce that many game machines? If not, why not license the games to our company, Cousins Entertainment? I can definitely offer you a satisfactory price, which will maximize your profit!" Cousins continued to persuade him, undeterred.

"How much are you willing to pay for the license?" Li Xuan took a sip of coffee and said noncommittally.

When Cousins heard that Li Xuan seemed to be considering it, a glint of joy appeared in his eyes: "Our company will pay you $500 for each arcade machine produced. This is the highest price I can offer. What do you think?"

Li Xuan smiled with a hint of sarcasm and shook his head: "Mr. Cousins, it seems your sincerity is lacking! The license fee for each arcade machine is $1,200. If you can accept that, we can sign the licensing contract!"

"Impossible! That's outrageous, no one in the U.S. would accept that price!" Cousins' voice rose in anger, and the other people in the restaurant looked at them with surprise.

Cousins immediately realized he had lost his composure, took a sip of coffee, and stared at Li Xuan.

"So, let's talk about the distribution of the arcade machines instead! Tank Battle for $1,800 per unit, and Hong Kong Blocks for $1,200 per unit!" Li Xuan made his offer.

"Vincent, these prices are outrageous, you're just trying to make money!" Cousins said with displeasure. "Space Invaders only costs $1,000 per unit!"

"But as you said, my new games can easily outperform it. It's only natural for them to be priced higher! Imagine, after American young people play my Tank Battle and Hong Kong Blocks, would they still want to play the crude Space Invaders? Even if Tai Dong Company lowers the price to $800 per unit, you might not want to sell it!"

Li Xuan was well aware that the craze for Space Invaders was quickly fading, and American players needed new, more exciting games to reignite their enthusiasm.

"Tony, you can go back and think about it. I will focus on the upcoming Western Electronic Show in the next few days. We can continue our negotiations after the show ends!"

Li Xuan smiled and ended the meeting. He wasn't in a hurry; with great games in hand, he held all the cards in the negotiations.

"Shit! Damn yellow monkey!" Cousins muttered to himself as he walked out of the hotel's revolving door.

He had hoped to secure these two games before the Western Electronic Show, but his plan had failed. With the quality of these games, they would easily capture the hearts of arcade enthusiasts and shine at the show.

Then, Cousins would face fierce competition from a pack of hungry wolves, including the pot-bellied White and the Texan hick Davis. Thinking of those vultures, Cousins' mood darkened even more.

PS: A bow of gratitude to Wang Zijun for the recommendation. With the help of the great, I finally made it to the bottom of the new book list this weekend. I hope everyone continues to support me with your votes!

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