Chapter 409 BlackRock

Chapter 409 BlackRock

Chapter 409 BlackRock

Following Thurman's words and his turning around, another figure appeared in the small hall inside the transparent partition. This person was sitting on a chair, and General Thurman's tall figure blocked his entire body, so that An Rusong did not see him before.

The guy sitting in front of General Thurman was a middle-aged man who looked to be in his early fifties. His hair was half white, but there were not many wrinkles on his face. His rosy complexion proved that he should be in good health.

Like General Thurman, this middle-aged man also held a wine glass with half a glass of red wine in his hand. When General Thurman said that, his eyes were fixed on An Rusong, and then he stood up from his chair with a smile on his face.

An Rusong did not know this middle-aged man, but since he was able to sit in front of General Thurman, it meant that he had a very close relationship with General Thurman, or that his status was not lower than General Thurman.

In the small hall inside the partition, after General Thurman finished speaking, he walked towards the living room outside, and the middle-aged man followed behind him and walked towards this side together.

An Rusong followed Leonard and greeted him. When General Thurman walked into the living room, he bowed slightly to him according to Korean etiquette and said, "We should have a drink today to celebrate the general's wish to officially take office as the commander-in-chief of the US forces in Korea."

"Haha, that's right," Thurman was a man of outspoken personality. He accepted An Rusong's flattering words without hesitation. "This is something worth celebrating. However, it would be even better if General Sharp could be here right now."

After saying that, he laughed out loud again.

It can be seen that not only does Thurman have a completely opposite political stance from his predecessor, but the two also seem to have done a lot of dirty things in private, so much so that in private, Thurman did not forget to mock Sharp.

Although An Rushong did not know General Sharp, he did not slander his predecessor in front of General Thurman - flattery is certainly an excellent way to please important people, but the so-called flattery also depends on the situation. Thurman can mock his old rival Sharp, but if An Rushong is foolish enough to participate in it, he may not necessarily get Thurman's favor. On the contrary, he may offend the other party invisibly.

"Right, let me introduce you," Thurman half-turned his body after laughing twice, revealing the figure of the middle-aged man behind him, and said to An Rusong, "This is Mr. Robert Capito, a smart man from 'BlackRock Private Equity Partners'."

Listening to Thurman's introduction, An Rushong turned his gaze to the middle-aged man with a smile on his face.

"BlackRock Private Equity Partners" is translated as "BlackRock Private Equity Investment Company". Yes, it is the famous BlackRock Group, but this company is a subsidiary of the BlackRock Group, and its main business is venture capital and private equity management.

An Rushong had heard of the name Robert Capito before. He was the partner of Larry Fink, the founder of BlackRock Group. In An Rushong's previous life, this man once served as the president and independent director of BlackRock Group.

Today's BlackRock Group is not as strong as the BlackRock in its previous life around 2020. At this time, BlackRock Group had just merged with Merrill Lynch, and through this merger, it broke away from the control of PNC Group and to a certain extent controlled its own destiny.

At the same time, the fierce subprime mortgage crisis also had a great impact on the BlackRock Group. Of course, An Rusong knew that a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity was waiting for this company with assets under management of more than 1300 billion US dollars, and the time for them to explode would soon come.

Of course, Robert is not the president of BlackRock Group today. He is an independent director of BlackRock Group and also serves as the manager of BlackRock Private Equity Investment Company.

"Robert, this is Mr. An, the president of NGN Company," General Thurman turned around and said to Robert.

"Hello, Mr. Robert, I've heard a lot about you and it's a pleasure to meet you," An Rushong took the initiative to extend his hand and said.

"Hello, Mr. An," Robert shook his hand and said with a smile, "I have heard of your name for a long time."

He glanced at General Thurman beside him and added, "I came to Korea this time and specifically asked Thurman to introduce you to me."

"Oh?" An Rushong made a puzzled expression.

"Let's sit down and talk," General Thurman interrupted, "Leonard, have someone bring some food over."

At this moment, Colonel Leonard seemed to be taking on the role of a waiter, but he looked like he was enjoying it.

Leonard went to ask someone to arrange food and got a glass of red wine for An Rushong. During this time, An Rushong and the other two sat on the sofa in the middle of the living room.

"Ann, it's like this, Robert is very interested in your NGN company," General Thurman said directly after sitting down, "He..."

"No, no, no," Robert interrupted him before he could finish his words, "Thurman, our procedure is wrong. You can discuss your matters with President An. As for my matter, please allow me to discuss it with President An later. How about that?"

His words surprised An Rusong. Although Robert was smiling while speaking, everyone present could tell that his words were not very polite, or rather, a little ungrateful. But strangely, General Thurman didn't seem to mind at all. He smiled and changed the subject, saying, "Okay then."

He picked up the wine glass that had just been placed on the coffee table, gestured to An Rusong, and said with a smile: "There is actually nothing to discuss between President An and me. I need to express my gratitude to President An."

Hearing him mention the word "gratitude", An Rushong hurriedly stood up and wanted to say something in a humble manner.

"Chairman An, listen to me," General Thurman interrupted him first, then waved his hand to signal him to sit down, and continued, "I can be considered half an expert on Korea."

As he said this, he suddenly switched to Korean and continued, "I understand your Korean etiquette and customs, and I know what you mean by loyalty."

Not to mention, although these guys speak Korean with obvious accents, it is already very authentic. This shows that this guy is not bragging when he says he is half an expert on Korea.

Most importantly, the Pentagon would certainly not rashly appoint someone who knows nothing about South Korea, or East Asia, to serve as the commander-in-chief of US forces in South Korea, like Thurman's predecessor, General Sharp, who is an expert on South Korea.

"I am a very loyal person," Thurman said again, switching back to English. "I will definitely remember those who helped me and the friends who stood by me. And you, President An, you are a friend who stood by me."

As he said this, he still stretched out the index finger of his right hand and pointed at An Rushong.

"Dong dong."

Just at this moment, there was a gentle knock on the door.

Leonard, who had been standing nearby, walked over quickly and opened the door a crack.

Sitting in An Rushong's seat, he couldn't see who was coming from the door. The other party spoke to Leonard in a low voice for a few words, then the latter closed the door again and walked quickly back to General Thurman.

The knock on the door had interrupted Thurman's conversation, and he didn't continue until Leonard came back.

"General, all the guests are here," Leonard said. "Senator Elijah is here too, look."

Thurman nodded and continued to say to An Rusong: "You have a saying called 'there is a long time to come'. President An, you will definitely have the opportunity to get to know me better in the future."

You, is "there is a long way to go" a Korean proverb? Your so-called Korea expert is also exaggerated, right?
An Rusong muttered to himself, but said with a smile: "Of course, in my opinion, the general must be a generous and righteous person."

"Haha," Thurman laughed and stood up from the sofa with his hands on his knees. He leaned forward and patted An Rushong on the shoulder. He turned his head to look at Robert, who had been sitting beside him with a smile on his face but without saying a word.

"Okay, I'll go downstairs to deal with the guests first," Thurman said after standing up. "President An, Robert, you guys sit here for a while. I'll be leaving now."

An Rushong hurriedly stood up and bowed to the other party, and Robert next to him also stood up and watched Thurman walk quickly towards the door.

Soon, Thurman and Leonard disappeared outside the living room door. When the heavy door was closed silently, An Rushong retracted his gaze and looked at Robert beside him.

Meeting his gaze, Robert smiled and said, "President An, are you curious about the relationship between me and General Thurman?"

This guy didn't directly talk about the purpose of meeting An Rushong, but instead asked such a question. However, this is a good way to start a conversation.

Adhering to the principle of speaking less, An Rushong just smiled and said nothing.

Robert gestured to him to sit down, and then said, "In fact, General Thurman and I have been friends for many years. In addition, he is a staunch supporter of the Democratic Party's policies. BlackRock and I, for whom I work, are both 'lifelong Democrats.' Of course, we have also been the Democratic Party's largest donor since six years ago. So."

He spread his hands and smiled, "You know, Chairman An, this is politics, democratic politics."

(End of this chapter)