Chapter 842: 836. Zhang Ran's Hidden Terrifying Connections (Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets)

Zhang Ran did not concern himself with these matters regarding Qian Li, because no matter the outcome, he could ensure Qian Li remained unharmed, and in the end, the one who would always be left in misfortune was Wen Jing.

Even if Wen Jing eventually used some method to get the company completely into his own hands, and then used Qian Li's feelings to keep Siyan tied down.

Zhang Ran still had a hundred ways to make him obediently return the items, while also ensuring he would honestly stay by Qian Li's side from then on.

Therefore, Zhang Ran was not worried in the slightest; he currently had his own things to do as well.

The first thing was to acquire a telecommunications company; even if he possessed the technology licensing, he still needed a company with production capabilities.

However, there was no need to acquire a very large company for this; it only needed to be able to set up the framework and achieve some of his goals in the short term.

The acquisition of a telecommunications company was not a simple task either; after all, this business was subject to certain protections in many countries.

It was actually the same no matter where one was.

Prince Haiman did not mention these things, actually thinking of solving them himself; after all, with his status, combined with some other factors, although it was a bit troublesome, it could still be resolved.

However, the speed on Zhang Ran's side truly surprised Prince Haiman.

Three days later, Prince Haiman received the message Zhang Ran sent him; the matter had already been settled.

Sairuode Telecommunications Company, a medium-sized telecommunications company in France, was not very large in scale, with a market value of around one billion US dollars.

They did not have any patents on their side either; all their technology was obtained through licensing, which meant their profit margins would not be very high.

But even so, France would absolutely not easily agree to such an acquisition case.

This involved many things, yet Zhang Ran managed to do it.

And it was achieved in just three short days; of course, the price was a bit higher, but it was only one hundred million US dollars more.

Although one hundred million US dollars was a lot, it depended on how one looked at it.

If one could secure this telecommunications operator, then everything was worth it, and this actually carried the benefit of securing the telecommunications operations in France as well.

Of course, there were some restrictions involved, which was necessary, but being able to secure it was completely worth it.

"Just how many things are you still hiding? Do you have your people in France too?" Prince Haiman called directly to ask; he was truly too curious.

Zhang Ran did not hide it either, saying with a smile: "I invested in some people back then, and now they still remember the favor, so they are prepared to return it."

"You... you fellow are truly someone who leaves one speechless." Prince Haiman was truly stunned.

"Can you tell me who it is?"

Zhang Ran thought for a moment and blurted out a few names, which once again left Prince Haiman speechless.

"Sigh, I am now doubting whether there are any of your people here in the UK." Prince Haiman felt a bit uneasy after thinking about it.

"Of course there are, isn't it you?" Zhang Ran laughed.

He then explained: "It is not what you think; my side is also purely commercial in nature, without any other aspects involved.

And once it involves aspects that cannot be touched, do you think they would still acknowledge the favor from back then? You are overthinking it."

Prince Haiman thought that was true; indeed, for purely commercial matters, if they remembered the favor from back then and operated a little to treat it as repaying the favor, that was completely fine.

After all, doing so for them was likely just a matter of a single word, and they would not lose anything either.

But if it involved things that should not be touched, then it probably would not be so simple.

"Alright, I understand. By the way, an initial consensus has been reached here; when are you coming over? To sign the contract," Prince Haiman said.

Speaking of the negotiations, Prince Haiman was also a bit speechless; he had directly let Bert handle it, meaning that it should just be done reasonably well.

But he did not expect that Zhang Ran would also have Siyan come over; both sides did not have that competitive momentum in the negotiations, and the atmosphere was very harmonious.

On some issues, such as shares and equity—the two most important issues—the two sides quickly reached a consensus.

As for management and some other matters, basically, one side would state a plan, and the other side would agree to it.

Then the other party would state a plan on other issues, and the opposite side would agree as well.

This left the negotiation teams from both sides who had followed them feeling very speechless; this was the strangest negotiation they had ever seen, and it involved an amount as high as ten billion US dollars.

"I won't go over there; let Siyan sign the contract on my behalf, and I will sign it later," Zhang Ran said.

He truly did not have the time; there were still many things here waiting for him to handle.

"Alright then, I have also visited some places these past two days and have generally reached an agreement with some people. It is completely fine for us to participate; as long as we complete the acquisition of Sairode Company, we can join," Prince Haiman had not been idle either; he had been very busy these past two days.

However, his efficiency was truly high to have resolved it so quickly.

"Hmm, that is for the best. But when will you kick the South Africa Development Bank out? We have the funds, we have the technology, we have the connections, and we have the sincerity.

I believe there shouldn't be any more worries on that side, right? And our price won't be low either; getting the South Africa Development Bank out early shouldn't be a difficult task, right?"

"I will strive to do it quickly," Prince Haiman said.

He did not tell Zhang Ran that the trouble here was actually quite significant; one had to know that there were other local British forces involved in this as well.

Zhang Ran had already done what he could on his end, and Prince Haiman also needed to use his own relationships and influence to complete this matter.

"If it doesn't work, go contact these people and say that the favor can be repaid—of course, if they still remember this favor." Zhang Ran told Prince Haiman a few names.

Although Prince Haiman did not say it, how could Zhang Ran not understand? So he would also provide the help he could.

This immediately made Prince Haiman's jaw drop again.

"You fellow is truly... forget it. With their support, I believe we will soon have South Africa out of the picture." Prince Haiman did not want to say anything more; he just knew that Zhang Ran must have also invested in connections here.

"Haha, then I will wait for your good news here. Once you kick them out, I can take action," Zhang Ran said with a chuckle.

Whether in the past or now, Western countries have actually always been in a state of technological leadership, so Zhang Ran had made some investments back then for the sake of making things slightly more convenient in the future, and now these were having an effect.