"Lando, instead of properly taking care of your business in France, what are you doing here trying to compete with me?"
Lando had originally been negotiating with the golf course's previous owner. He had basically already driven off the other two competitors, because he was willing to raise the price, and raise it by a lot, to buy this golf course.
The French businessman Lando had an extremely sharp mind for business. He wanted to develop his assets in England, especially in the Merseyside area.
And when he learned that Leo Lin had already taken over two small golf practice ranges in the southeast, he understood that he absolutely could not let this golf course slip away. Otherwise, southeastern Merseyside's future earnings would all be monopolized by Leo Lin.
That was exactly why Lando had landed in Liverpool at once with a very high offer.
But what Lando had not expected was that Barnett's first words after coming in were not that Leo Lin wanted to compete, but that Barnett himself wanted to compete. That immediately threw Lando into a panic.
Because his competitor had suddenly changed from Leo Lin to Barnett.
Lando believed that taking on Leo Lin would be no problem. With Leo Lin's current strength, there was no way he could compare with the wealth Lando had accumulated over half a lifetime.
But if the opponent was Barnett, things became extremely complicated.
In Lando's eyes, Barnett was not a walking man at all. He was a walking hundred billion.
"Barnett, I'm not trying to compete with you. Wasn't Lin the one who wanted to buy this course?"
Barnett greeted his two old friends, then leisurely made himself a cup of coffee. He also knew the previous owner, who was one of his VIP clients.
"That was the original plan, but I just changed my mind."
"You know, Lin is the honorary head of a very important supervisory department in our company, and his position is getting higher and higher now. So I've decided to buy this golf course and give it to Lin as his year-end bonus."
Hearing that, Lando was even more confused.
"Year-end bonus?"
"It's April. Your company gives out year-end bonuses in April?!"
Barnett laughed. Seeing Lando panic made him happy.
"You really are a clever little thing, aren't you?"
"And you actually got it right."
"That really is how things work at my company. I, Barnett, give out year-end bonuses whenever I want. What are you going to do about it?"
"I'm taking this golf course, Lando. What are you going to use to fight me?"
Lando was almost driven mad with anger. After beating the other competitors, the price he would have needed to pay for this golf course was originally 1.2 million pounds.
But Barnett clearly had no intention of letting him take this golf course so easily.
Barnett exchanged a glance with Leo Lin, and Leo Lin gave him a clear signal of approval. This was the final piece of the puzzle for taking over southeastern Merseyside, so paying a little more for it was no problem.
"How about this, Barnett? Let's make a deal."
"I know you've always been missing a proper branch company in France. Give me the agency rights, and I'll help you open a branch of your player agency in France. I'll represent you there and help recruit young players from French football."
Barnett had known for a long time that Lando had always been very interested in the agency rights for his company in France. The reason Barnett had not given them to Lando before was that he had been waiting.
He wanted to see whether a more suitable agent would appear, but that person never came.
In that case, he might as well use this opportunity to hand the agency rights over to Lando.
"No problem, Lando. We'll be very good partners."
In the end, Leo Lin secured the final piece of the golf course puzzle for 1.2 million pounds, officially establishing the Merseyside Leo Lin Golf Course Chain.
After formally establishing the golf course chain, Leo Lin's next plan was to fully promote his golf courses.
Just as Barnett had said, after gaining a strategic lead in the golf course market, what he needed to do next was push the promotion as hard as possible.
Leo Lin planned to serve as the face of the golf courses himself. At the same time, he also planned to invite another player, Barnett's top client, Gareth Bale, who could be said to come from the same camp as him.
Everyone knew exactly how much Gareth Bale loved playing golf.
With one phone call from Barnett, Gareth Bale came to Merseyside to meet Leo Lin.
Bale was very friendly. Off the pitch, he did not have the same domineering presence he had during matches. Instead, he seemed a little shy.
After meeting him, Leo Lin felt for the first time that communicating with a stranger could be this difficult, even a little awkward.
But Bale was actually very kind, and his attitude toward Leo Lin was excellent.
"So we're planning to invite you to join me as a promotional ambassador for the golf courses."
"It's a two-year contract at two million pounds per year. At the same time, I'll give you top-tier membership cards for all the golf courses under my name. You'll be able to enjoy the best golfing experience here."
The endorsement fee at the beginning did not move Bale, but the moment he heard the condition afterward, Bale signed his name on the contract.
Barnett watched as his two top players actually reached a partnership, and he found it unbelievable. But of course, this was a strong alliance.
Aside from football fans, some people had originally become fans of Bale precisely because of his love for golf.
Because of that, when Bale announced that he was officially endorsing Leo Lin's golf brand, the response was excellent.
Leo Lin began hiring a team, created an official page for his golf brand, filmed promotional videos for the golf courses, and immediately released them.
Barnett also transferred an assistant from his agency to serve as the temporary manager of Leo Lin's golf courses, officially helping Leo Lin Golf Club begin operations.
When the huge promotional posters slowly unfurled on the advertising rails at the entrances of Leo Lin's three golf courses, Bale and Leo Lin's handsome smiles attracted the eyes of passing visitors.
More and more fans began registering as members of Leo Lin Golf Courses, planning to enjoy the unique charm of golf here for a long time.
Leo Lin successfully took over three golf courses and invested a huge amount of additional money into facility construction, fully upgrading the venues.
So far, Leo Lin had already spent more than five million pounds.
Everything was ready. Next, Leo Lin only needed to wait for all his golf courses to open. As for whether they could turn a profit, that could only be left to fate.
Leo Lin had already done everything he could. He even planned to invite his Liverpool teammates to take turns becoming ambassadors for his golf courses.
Since they were his close friends, the endorsement fees could naturally be heavily discounted, reducing his expenses.
With that, Leo Lin's golf course chain officially completed the first step of its grand blueprint.
...
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