Chapter 18 Chapter Eighteen

At Rudbeck's the next morning, hardly anyone came down to breakfast.But Soapy was not used to eating in bed, so he came out to the garden alone, and prepared to have breakfast, enjoying the warm mountain sun and the delightful tropical flowers, while enjoying the wonderful snowy scenery around him.The pure white snow attracted him deeply. He never thought that there is such a beautiful thing in the world. But next morning Wilmsby followed Soapy into the garden, and sat down in a chair.A servant quickly arranged a place for him.Wilmsby said, "Good morning, have a cup of coffee, Sol."

"Good morning, Uncle Jack." "Well, have you finished researching the files?" "Sir? Oh, yes. I fell asleep watching it." Wilmsby laughed. "A lawyer's language is a lullaby. Do you believe what I'm telling you about the documents?" "Well, I suppose so." "Okay," said Wilmsby to one of the servants, putting down his coffee cup. "Give me your home telephone. Sol, you've kept me up all night." "sorry sir." "But I think you're right. You should take a look at what you're about to sign—if only I had the time! As for me, I can only do what I say about my daily affairs, otherwise I won't have time to think about it." Long-term plans... I think you'll be like me. But it's never a mistake to be cautious." He said into the microphone, "Carter, get those papers from Rudbeck's room. I'm in the garden."

Soapy wondered if Carter would find those materials.He had a safe in his study, but he hadn't learned how to use it yet, so he hid the papers behind a book.He was about to say this, but Uncle Jack spoke. "Here are some things you want to look at ... Once decided, this is a list of properties that you own - or you will own. These properties have nothing to do with our business." Soapy looked at the list carefully with a feeling of amazement, thinking, does he really own an island called Pitcairn in the South Pacific Ocean at 15° south latitude and 130° west longitude—I don’t know what it is ?Is there another igloo on Mars?A hunting lodge on the banks of the Yukon? —Where is the Yukon River?Why go there to hunt?To hunt should go to free space and risk your life shooting marauding ships.What are all the other things?

Soapy kept looking for a place on the list. "Uncle Jack, where's Rudbeck?" "Huh? Where you are sitting is Rudbeck." "Yes...but does it belong to me? Leda said it was mine." "Well, yes. But it's legally bound—that is, your great-grandfather has decided that it can never be sold...so there will always be a Rudbeck home in Rudbeck place .” "Oh." "I thought you might like to take a look at your estate. I have arranged for a car to be reserved for your use. Will the car we were in when you came be okay?" "What? My God, that's great!" Thorby blinked.

"Fine. That was your mother's car. I don't want to sell it for emotional reasons. But we've put a lot of stuff on it, with all the latest equipment. You can ask Leda to come with you, She is familiar with most of the places on the list. Plus, you can bring a few more friends and have a picnic or something. You can do whatever you like. We can also find you a suitable older A little girl." Soapy put down the bill, and said, "I might go later, Uncle Jack. But now I should get to work." "what?" "How long does it take to learn to be a lawyer here?"

The expression on Wilmsby's face suddenly brightened. "I get it, lawyers' eccentric language does take people by surprise. It takes four or five years." "yes?" "For you, it will take two or three years to go to Harvard or some other good business school." "That long?" "There is no doubt about it." "Well...you know more about these things than I—" "I should! So far." "—but can't I learn something about business before I go to school? I don't know what business is." "You have plenty of time, take your time."

Wilmsby's face darkened, then he smiled and shrugged. "Sol, you have your mother's stubborn personality. Well, I'll give you a room in the Rudbeck City main office, and some people to help you study. But I warn you, it's not fun Yes. No one can govern business affairs, only business affairs govern people. You will be its slave." "Hmm... I should try." "Your spirit is admirable." At this time, the phone next to the Wilmsby coffee cup rang, and he picked it up, frowned, and said, "Wait a minute, don't hang up." Wim Spey turned to Soapy and said, "That idiot can't find those papers you took last night."

Soapy took the receiver and said, "I was just about to tell you that I hid them and didn't want to throw them around." "I know, but where?" "Well, it seems that I have to get it myself." Wimsby took the receiver and said, "Come back." He threw the phone to a servant and said to Soapy, "If you don't mind, please come on." Soapy was very unhappy, for he had had only four mouthfuls of food so far.In the first place, anyone would be upset if he was asked to do this or that while eating.Besides...is he still "Rudbeck's Rudbeck"?Is he still running errands under some weapons officer?

"I'll get it after breakfast." Uncle Jack looked very annoyed, but he said, "Excuse me. If you can't get away, please tell me where to put it. I'm busy today. I want to get this little thing done and go to work. Do you think it's okay?" Soapy wiped his mouth and said slowly, "I'm not willing to sign those documents just yet." "What? You said you were satisfied." "No, sir, I'm just telling you that I've seen the papers, but I haven't understood the words. Uncle Jack, where are the papers my parents signed?"

"Huh?" Wilmsby looked at him alertly. "Why do you ask that?" "I want to see." Wilmsby considered it, and said, "I think it must be in the vault at Rudbeck." "Well, I'll go there and see." Suddenly Wilmsby stood up and said, "I'll go to work now, if you'll let me." He snapped, "Young man, someday, you'll find that I'm doing my best for you! In the meantime, though You have taken a non-cooperative attitude, and I will continue to perform my duties." Soapy felt aggrieved when Wilmsby left without saying goodbye—it's not that he didn't want to cooperate...but since they've been waiting for so many years, why couldn't they wait a little longer and give him a chance?

Soapy retrieved the files that night and called Leda.Lyda turned off the TV and replied, "Sol dear, what are you up to in the middle of the night?" He explained that he wanted to go to the family business office. "I thought maybe you could give me some pointers." "You mean Daddy has agreed?" "He's going to assign me an office." "I'm not only going to give you advice, but I'm going to take you there. But you have to give a girl a little time to put on makeup before she drinks up this glass of orange juice." On the way, Soapy found a high-speed sliding tunnel between Rudbeck's house and Rudbeck's office.They arrived at a private lounge attended by an elderly receptionist.The woman named Aji looked up. "Hello, Miss Leda! It's a pleasure to meet you!" "Nice to meet you, too. Would you please tell Daddy we're here?" "Of course." She looked at Soapy. "Oh," said Lyda, "I forgot to tell you, this is Rudbeck of Rudbeck." Aggie stood up and said, "Oh, my God! I didn't know it was you—I'm sorry, sir!" Things were done very quickly, and within a few minutes, Soapy had a quiet and luxurious office, and at the same time was equipped with a quiet and elegant secretary.The secretary addressed him with his list of titles, but wanted him to simply call her "Dolores."There seemed to be countless elves hidden in the walls here, and if she flicked her fingers, they would come out to serve her. Lyda stayed with Soapy until he officially took office: "Since you must be a boring goddam businessman, I'm going to get out of here." She glanced at Dolores, " Well, maybe it's less monotonous? Maybe I should stay." But she went anyway. Soapy was deeply intoxicated by great wealth and power.The middle and senior managers of the company call him "Rudbeck", the lower managers call him "Rudbeck's Rudbeck", and the people at the lower level respectfully call him "Mr."From their address, Soapy can judge their respective identities. At this time, Soapy had not really participated in business.During this time he saw very little of Wilmsby, and almost never once of Judge Bruder.But otherwise, everything he wanted would appear immediately.Just speak to Dolores, and a respectful young man will knock on the door and explain legal matters; speak to her again, and another staff member will come to show him all kinds of things that are going on everywhere, even on other planets. Stereoscopic color image data related to commercial profit.He spent days looking at such images, but never once saw the actual thing. His office was filled with so many books, films, charts, pamphlets, fact sheets, files, all kinds of data, etc. that even Dolores's office next door had become a library.The numbers representing the finances of the affiliated companies are too numerous to comprehend.So many numbers, and the intricate relationship between them, made his head dizzy.He began to worry about whether he had what it takes to be a corporate titan.It seems that being respected, getting out of the way when you enter the door, and getting what you want don't cover everything.Being exhausted by work, but unable to enjoy the fun of work, why?It's so much easier to be a National Guard soldier. Still, it's nice to be someone important.For most of his life, he was an insignificant person, at least in a relatively low position. It would be great if Dad could see him now.There are so many luxurious furniture around, and there is a barber who cuts his hair when he works (the old man used to hold the begging bowl in one hand, and comb his hair with the other hand), and a secretary pre-draws his hair for him. Good work plan, dozens of people scrambling to help him.But in his dream, the old man had a reproachful expression on his face.Soapy didn't know what he was doing wrong, so he studied the numbers even harder. Finally, there is a little eyebrow.It turned out that the company was called Rudbeck Associates, Inc.According to Thorby's understanding, this company does not engage in any other business, but is a chartered private investment trust company with a large amount of property.Most of the property Thorby would own—when his parents' will was probate—was in shares of the company.But the company wasn't all his.When he found out that all the shares held by his parents accounted for only 18% of the company's shares, he felt as if he had suddenly become poor. He also found the "voting" and "no-voting" issues.The shares inherited by him account for 18/40 of the total voting shares, the rest are held by relatives and some non-relatives. Rudbeck Associates also has shares in other companies.This issue is more complicated, there are Galaxy Company, Galaxy Acceptance Company, Galaxy Transportation Company, Interstellar Metal Company, Samsung Revenue Stamp Company (with business activities on 27 planets), Havermeyer Laboratories (running ship shipping company, food factory , and several research institutes), there are countless companies listed on the table.These companies, trust companies, conglomerates, banks, etc., are in a mess that can't be sorted out.Soapy knew, for example, that he had inherited from his parents a share in a six-subsidiary consortium called "Hornas Brothers Holdings," which was 27 percent, 44 percent, and 19 percent of the company's property rights. 43%, 31%, 18%... After calculating this series, this share should be too small to be worth mentioning, so Soapy didn't calculate it.But his parents directly own 7 percent of Hornas Brothers Holdings.In some enterprises, he has only 1% indirect equity, but completely controls the enterprise, but there is not much profit return.He doesn't control the 7%-holding business -- yet he gets paid 140 times that. Soapy finally understood that control had little to do with ownership.He used to think that "ownership" and "control" were the same thing. As long as you own something, whether it's a job or a uniform, you have control over it! It is even more difficult to figure out the merger and separation of various companies, as well as the partial merger and partial separation, so he is very annoyed.These things confuse people like a fire control computer losing its brilliant logic.He spent a lot of time drawing a diagram, but it was useless, because the ownership of each business entity was related to common stock, preferred stock, government debt, the income of senior managers and junior employees, all kinds of strange names and unclear uses. Securities are intertwined; sometimes company A directly owns part of company B, and through a third party owns another part of company B; or companies C and D may each own a little of each other; or sometimes company E The company itself only owns part of the shares, while the rest are the assets of others... These are all incomprehensible. This is not a "buy and sell".What a trader does is buy and sell...buy, sell, and profit from it.But now it is a stupid game with chaotic rules. There were other things that disturbed him as well.He didn't know that Rudbeck could build ships.The Galactic Corporation controls the Galactic Transport Corporation, one of the many subsidiaries of the Galactic Transport Corporation that builds the spaceships.He was very proud when he heard the news.And then a lot of worry—Colonel Brisby had said, and Pop had attested, that "the biggest" or "one of the biggest" starship builders was connected to the slave trade. How stupid he was to himself—this beautiful office had nothing to do with the sordid business of the slave trade.But one night he awoke with an angry and ironic thought that some slave ship on which he had been a slave might be the property of his mangy, terrified slave. . It was a nightmare feeling, and he tried to get it out of his mind.But as soon as he had this feeling, he lost all interest in what he was doing. One afternoon Soapy studied a long memorandum from the legal department, which was said to be a summary of the situation of the enterprises with interests in Rudbeck Associates.He looked and looked, and finally stopped.The authors of the abstract seem to have deliberately confused the issue.This document seems to be written in ancient Chinese, or Sargon plus Chinese, which makes people confused. Soapy sent Dolores out to do some errands, and put his head in his hands, thinking: Why, oh, why didn't he stay in the Guard?He is very happy there because he understands the world there. Then he sat up straight and did something he'd been putting off until now.He made a videophone call to his grandparents.They had wanted him to visit them since they first met, but he had to hurry up and learn about his work. Soapy was a big hit. "Come see us early, kid, we're waiting for you." On the way to grandpa's house, these words kept ringing in his ears.It's been an amazing trip.He crossed the prairie, the majestic Mississippi River (which is small from above), cities and farmland, and came to the quiet college town of Tourist Valley.The sidewalks there are quiet, and time seems to pass slowly.The homes of grandparents add a lot of color to the sightseeing valley.More intimate and comfortable than the awe-inspiring Rudbeck mansion. But this visit to grandma's did not relax Soapy.There were many guests at the dinner table, including the president of the university and the heads of departments.Many people came after the meal, some called him "Rudbeck of Rudbeck", some hesitantly called him "Mr. To call the rich man, so just call him "Rud Baker".As a proud housewife, grandma would tell everyone that she was happy.His grandpa sat up straight and called him "kid" loudly. Soapy tried to be a credit to them.But it soon became clear to him that people didn't care what he had to say, they only cared about the fact that he had spoken to Rudbeck.The next night, when grandma was not at home, Soapy found a chance to talk and listen to grandpa's teachings. At first, they talked about their respective situations after separation.Soapy learned from his grandfather's words that his father married his grandfather's only daughter and changed his wife's family name when they got married. "It's understandable," Grandpa Bradley told Thorby, "because the Rudbeck family must have a Rudbeck to support the family. Although the daughter Martha is the heir, her husband Creighton, who is you Father, gotta go to chair boards, other official meetings, be the master of the table. I had hoped my son would study history like I did. But he didn't take that path. What else can I do but be happy for him? " Soapy's father was determined to be a veritable Rudbeck's Rudbeck.He went all out to check the operation of this "business empire", and in the process, the couple and their son Soapy disappeared. "Your father has always been very concerned about people. For example, when your grandfather Rudbeck died and he finished his apprenticeship, your father put John Wilmsby in charge of the overall work. John was your grandmother's sister Aria The second husband, Leda, was Aria's daughter by her first husband. You must have known this for a long time." "No, I don't know these things." Soapy compared the kinship here with Sisu's family... and then came to a conclusion in surprise: Leda turned out to be "on the other side of the spaceship"!Of course, they don't say that here.As for Uncle Jack, well, he's not "Uncle," a relationship that's impossible to describe in English. "John was previously a business secretary and your grandfather's housekeeper. He was the perfect choice. He knew the inside story better than anyone but your grandfather himself. After recovering from the grief of the loss, we realized that The world is going to go on, and at the same time think that John can run the affairs of this family as well as Rudbeck." "What a most wonderful fellow he is!" whispered Granny. "Yes, he was. I must admit that your grandma and I have gotten used to living comfortably since your father, Creighton, married. The salaries in college were never where they should be, but Creighton And Martha were very generous. Your grandma and I would have found the problem troublesome if John hadn't told us not to worry when we found out our baby was gone. He took good care of us and made our life and treatment the same as before Same." "And it's even better." Grandma Bradley added deliberately. "Well, yes. The whole family - we consider ourselves part of the Rudbeck family despite our own proud names - all of us are very happy with John's representation. " Thorby is not interested in the virtues of "Uncle Jack". "You said just now that my parents and I left Acre and wanted to fly to distant stars, but we never got there. But Jubul is far away from there." "Very far, I think. We only have a very small galactic telescope at the university. I must admit, it's hard to comprehend that what looks like an inch or so in length actually represents many light-years .” "In that case, it would be about 170 light-years away." "Let me see, in miles, how many miles?" "You can't calculate the distance between them that way, which is equivalent to measuring the length of a couch in microns." "Come, young man, stop being pedantic." "I'm not being pedantic, Grandpa. I'm thinking, it's a long way from where I was caught to where I was sold. I don't quite get it." "I also heard you say the word 'sold' last time. You have to understand that your statement is not accurate, because Sargon's slavery cannot be counted as real slavery, it is a 'caste' from the ancient Indians ' or a 'hierarchy' system - a stable social system of mutual restraint from top to bottom, cannot be called 'slavery'." "Sargon has a word for it, but I don't know of any other words that translate it." "I can think of several names, though I don't know Sargon... It's not a useful language in the academic world. My dear Saul, you are not a student of human history and culture , but you have to admit that in my own field, I still have a bit of authority." "Hmm..." Soapy felt speechless, "I'm not very proficient in Galactic English, and I don't understand many historical issues. The scope of history is too great." "Yeah, I know this all too well, it's true." "But I really can't express it in better words-I was sold, and I was a slave." "Son, it's here again, isn't it?" "Honey, don't refute your grandpa's point of view, that's a good boy." After hearing what they said, Soapy stopped talking.He had told the story of being a beggar all these years--to find his granny horrified, and though she said nothing, he was embarrassed.Soapy had found that, though Granddad knew a good deal about many things, whenever he disagreed on any subject, he always believed in his own way.Soapy had no choice but to think in despair that this was a characteristic of old age, and no one else could do anything about it.When Grandpa Bradley talked about the history of Nine Stars, Soapy just listened calmly.What he told was not the same as the Sargon's own version, but it was pretty much what Pop told Soapy--except about slavery.Soapy pricked up his ears when the conversation turned to Rudbeck's corporate and institutional side, where he knew he was falling short. "You can't build Rome in a day, Saul." "I can't seem to learn! I'm still thinking about going back to the Guard." Grandpa frowned: "This idea is not very wise." "Why not wise, Grandpa?" "Even if you don't have the ability to do business, you can still engage in other noble professions." "You mean the guard is bad?" "This...your grandma and I are rational pacifists. No one can deny that there is never a valid reason for taking human life." "Absolutely not." Grandma firmly supported Grandpa's point of view. I wonder what my father will think after hearing this?This is totally wrong!Soapy knew that Pa had killed people like chickens, and rescued a ship of slaves. "So what do you do when a marauder ship comes upon you?" "What kind of ship?" "Pirate ship. What would you do if a pirate ship appeared behind you and would soon overtake you?" "Well, I guess the only thing to do is run. It's not right to wait to die or fight them hard. There's no gain in using force, Thor." "But you can't run away because he's faster than you. It's a question of whether you die or he dies." "When you say 'he', you mean he is human. Then you have to surrender to him and keep him from getting what he wants...that's what Mahatma Gandhi said." Soapy sighed deeply, and said, "Grandpa, it's a pity that that's exactly what they wanted. So you'll have to fight, or the marauders will take you as a slave. I've done it all my life." The thing I am most proud of is destroying a raiding ship." "Huh? 'Wrecked a marauder ship'?" "I hit and destroyed it with a homing missile." Grandma gasped.But Grandpa still said stubbornly: "Saul, I'm afraid you have been affected badly. It may not be your fault, but you have many wrong ideas in terms of understanding of objective facts and value judgments, and you should correct them. If How do you know they're going to 'take you as a slave' after 'wrecking' it, as you say? What are they doing with you? It's useless to capture you, is it?" Soapy said nothing.From different perspectives, the way of looking at the problem is different... If you have not experienced it, you will not be able to listen to it.This is a general rule. Grandpa Bradley went on: "We're not going to talk about that. Now for another thing, and I want to tell you what I told your father: If you don't think you're capable of running a business, don't eat This bowl of food. But run away like a kid and join the National Guard--no way, boy! You don't have to make a decision for a few years, though. John is a very capable manager, and you don't have to rush it. He stood up and went on. "I've spoken to John about this, and I know he's willing to bear the burden and carry this burden a little longer, . . . and a little longer if need be. It's late now , we should all go to bed. It's early in here." Soapy left the Tourist Valley the next morning.Before leaving, he said very politely that grandma's home was equal to his own home—it was true, neither place was actually his home.After returning to Rudbek City, he thought about it all night, and finally decided to live in a pleasant spaceship.He's going to put on Dad's military uniform again, and his character is not suitable for being a billionaire boss. First he has to act.Find the documents that your parents have signed and compare them with the documents prepared for him.Father's request will definitely be shown in the document he has signed. If there is no conflict between the two documents, he will sign the document.That way, Uncle Jack can keep working when he's gone.Grandpa was quite right on this point, John Wilmsby knew how to run a business, and he had no experience.He should be grateful to Uncle Jack, must thank him before saying goodbye.When all was in order, Soapy was ready to leave the earth for his kind, and his own language! Once in his office, Soapy called Uncle Jack's office, and the secretary said he was out of town.He thought it would be better if he could leave a note—oh yes!Leda must also be said goodbye.He called the legal department again and told the person who answered to get his parents' power of attorney from the vault and send it to his office. Instead of the papers, Judge Bruder did. "Rude Baker, what are you doing with the documents out of the vault?" Soapy explained, "I want to see it." "Except for the upper-level leaders of the company, no one can request to remove documents from the vault." "Then who am I?" "I'm afraid you are still a vague young man. You will have this right after some time. But now you are only a guest, learning about your parents' affairs." Soapy immediately believed it.It didn't taste good, but he was right. "I've always wanted to ask you, how should the court formally declare the death of my parents?" "Do you want to bury them completely to avoid future troubles?" "Of course not. But it's always going to be done, and maybe Uncle Jack would say the same. So I want to ask, how far have we gotten?" Judge Bruder sneered, "It's early, thanks to you." "what do you mean?" "Young man, do you think the leaders of the company are going to launch a campaign that will mess up the whole company's affairs? They will never start unless they are warned that measures to prevent the chaos will be taken. The processing of the will will drag on for many years-- —in the interim, business activities will be suspended... all because you did not sign the few simple papers I prepared for you a few weeks ago." "You mean nothing can be done until I sign it?" "Yes." "I don't quite understand. Suppose I'm dead—or not born, there's no such thing as me—what then? Every time a Rudbeck dies, does the business stop?" "This... well, no. Then the court will authorize the matter to go ahead. But since you are here, the responsibility is yours. Hey, listen to me, I have reached the point where I can't bear it. After reading a few you think you know business. But you don't. For example, you think it's OK to have those papers for John Wilmsby handed over to you, which are really his personal papers, Not the company. If you wanted to take over the company at this point, and you announced the death of your parents as you wished, I could see us in all sorts of chaos, and you would be at your wits end. We can't do that Do, the company can't do that, and Rudbeck can't do that. So I hope you sign those papers today, and stop wasting your time, understand?" Soapy bowed his head and said, "I won't sign it." "What do you mean, you 'won't sign'?" "I won't sign until I understand what I'm doing. If I can't even read the document signed by my parents, I will definitely not sign it." "Then we'll just wait and see!" "I'm going to wait and see what happens until I figure out what's going on here."