novelraw Chapter 866: Chapter 867: Unstable Factors
Chapter 866: Chapter 867: Unstable Factors
Chapter 866: Chapter 867: Unstable FactorsChapter 865: Chapter 866: Not a Cent Less[Chapter 866: Not a Cent Less]
The lawsuit filed by Sony Music, BMG, and Polygram against Fireflyer for facilitating music piracy was dismissed by a federal court in San Francisco. This ruling indicated that the electronic product now had an official legal market position, and it would face little to no risk of similar lawsuits in the future. With the unstoppable growth momentum of the Fireflyer player, traditional portable music player manufacturers were destined to face strong, even devastating impacts.
Stimulated by this news, as soon as the New York Stock Exchange opened that morning, the stock prices of traditional portable music player manufacturers, led by Sony, showed significant declines. By 9 a.m. Pacific Time, when the federal court in San Francisco held a press conference to announce the news, Sony's stock had already dropped 2.7%. In just a few hours, nearly $1.5 billion in market value vanished. Coincidentally, the authoritative financial newspaper, The Wall Street Journal, estimated that Firefly Electronics was worth about that same figure of $1.5 billion.
Although Firefly Electronics was not a publicly traded company, the news had indirectly manifested on the stock market. The company that had first developed the one-inch micro hard drive was Seagate Technology.
The original development agreement stipulated that Firefly Electronics would have exclusive rights for three years after the company launched its first product associated with the micro hard drive. In return, Firefly Electronics was required to prioritize purchasing micro drives from Seagate Technology.
As the largest mechanical hard drive manufacturer in the previous timeline, Seagate's strength at that time was far from comparable to traditional tech giants like IBM, Hitachi, and Toshiba. Last year, Seagate's shipment of mechanical hard drives only reached 5 million units, barely accounting for less than 10% of the total mechanical hard drive market share. While the re
"What if I don't pay?"
"Then Joan and I will find Elia and Kevin a new dad."
Eric immediately raised his hands in surrender, "Okay, I give up."
Joanna, who had been listening to their light-hearted banter, playfully swatted at them and laughed gently, "You two stop joking around."
Virginia giggled, wrapping her arm around Eric, her eyes fondly looking toward their precious son in the crowd, "There's something I need to discuss with you. Kevin and Elia need to start school, and there aren't any suitable schools in Hampton."
Eric thought for a moment and suggested, "Why not move to Manhattan? There are more private schools there."
But Virginia shook her head, "Joan and I are used to living in Hampton. Manhattan is too
noisy."
"Well, we can't just create a school just for the two kids, can we?"
Eric's casual remark, however, touched on a sensitive issue for Virginia. She said, "Why not? Rockefeller set up a school for his kids back then, Browning School in Manhattan. Your net worth is not much different from the Rockefeller family's back then, right?"
Eric shook his head, "Starting a school isn't just about the money."
Virginia insisted, "As long as you're willing to pay, Joan and I will handle the rest ourselves."
Eric had no choice but to concede. He knew Virginia and Joanna placed more importance on their children's education than he did, so there was really no need to worry. He nodded, "Alright, I'll fund it. You both can do whatever you want."
...
After a busy day of preparation, most people stayed up that night, and as dawn broke, the farm buzzed with energy once again.
After breakfast, guests who could only stay in the Frederick area began arriving. Although this wedding wasn't as extravagant as many wealthy individuals touted as "the wedding of the century," the number of guests added up to two or three hundred. Three hours before the ceremony, the farm was already bustling with activity.
Frederick City was just over sixty kilometers away from Washington, D.C., and at 9 a.m., the Clintons arrived by helicopter at the farm.
Though Chris may not have been a public figure, he had made a name for himself in North America's business community in recent years. The presence of numerous high-profile guests at his wedding garnered significant media attention.
Although the entire farm was private property, keeping journalists from sneaking in wasn't an easy task. Eric felt that the biggest advantage of the Clintons' arrival was that they could now rely on the Secret Service agents stationed around the perimeter of the farm to help deter
prying media.
The plan was to keep the wedding entirely private without accepting any media interviews. However, since the Clintons were attending, the White House hoped for some media
coverage.
After a brief discussion, Eric arranged for reporters from ABC News, the New York Post, and The Washington Post to attend the wedding. ABC News was part of the Firefly Group, the New York Post belonged to News Corp, and The Washington Post was introduced by Warren Buffett, who
was a major shareholder of Berkshire Hathaway.
...
At 11 a.m., all guests had taken their seats. The music started, and the best man, bridesmaids, and flower children entered one after the other. Eric, sitting near the aisle, watched his two children walking ahead. Kevin held the ring pillow, looking quite serious, a result of Virginia's repeated coaching. Meanwhile, Hawaii was carrying a small basket of flowers, her curious eyes surveying the surroundings. Behind her, Emma was excitedly scattering petals, and by the time she reached the end of the aisle, it looked likely her basket would soon be empty. The groom then stepped onto the platform, and everyone rose to welcome the bride. Under everyone's gaze, the vows, the ring exchange, and the embracing kisses occurred in rapid succession. Once the ceremony concluded, Chris and Emily briefly left for photographs, and the guests started to depart for the adjacent outdoor banquet area.
...
Just as Eric stood up, a little Emma, dressed in a pink flower girl dress, rushed over to him. Compared to his two children, Emma seemed more attached to him. Seeing her reaching her
arms up for a hug, Eric smiled and picked her up.
"Dad, I still have petals! They smell so good," she said, wrapping one arm around Eric's neck while with the other hand she brought petals up to Eric's nose, "Smell this."
Eric sniffed them in her palm, nodding, "Mmm, they smell great. Emma smells great too."
"Hehe," Emma laughed joyfully, then covered her little belly and said, "Dad, I'm hungry."
"Just be good; we're about to eat soon," Eric replied, noticing the Clintons approaching, so he passed Emma to Joanna, who was nearby, and went to greet them.
...
Clinton glanced at the two women and the three little ones before returning his gaze to Eric, smiling casually, "Eric, you'll surely be staying in Maryland for a few more days, right?"
The leaders of various companies under the Firefly umbrella, including Firefly Group, Nokia, Cisco, Qualcomm, America Online, Firefly Electronics, and Amazon, had gathered in Maryland. Jorma Ollila even flew in from Northern Europe. With such a large gathering, they wouldn't just be there to eat and drink before leaving.
Eric had already planned out the next few days, as everyone would stay at the farm for at least
three more days to discuss the development of the various Firefly companies and collaborative issues.
Not fully grasping why Clinton asked that, Eric nodded; after all, that wasn't a secret.
Seeing Eric nod, Clinton continued, "Well, I'm planning to host a high-tech entrepreneur dinner at the White House soon. I'm curious if you'd be interested?"
Though he couldn't be re-elected, the Clintons clearly had not given up on their political ambitions, which Eric remembered well. The companies under Firefly Investments gathered many of the most talked-about internet tech firms in recent years; attracting them could significantly bolster their future political aspirations.
Eric found the question a bit ironic; if we weren't interested, would the dinner even happen?
However, he certainly wouldn't engage in stirring up pointless tension with the President, so
he quickly nodded and smiled, "Of course, Bill. I'll mention it to them, but we'll probably be in Maryland for three days."
"Oh, perfect timing," Clinton said, a hint of delight on his face, "By the way, you'll come to
that, right?"
Eric hesitated a bit; he wasn't exactly a fan of the Clintons. He replied ambiguously, "Maybe. I have a lot on my plate lately and might not be able to squeeze it in."
Clinton seemed unfazed. He patted Eric on the shoulder and said, "I hope you'll be able to
make it."
*****
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