Anyway, whatever wine he couldn't finish, he could take back to Russia and store in his cellar.
"Six... six cases? That's quite a lot... I'm sorry, Mr. Mavi, but our restaurant doesn't have that many bottles of Lafite! Would it be alright if we substitute it with other wines of equivalent value?" The restaurant manager asked with a slightly troubled expression.
People who worked in such high-end restaurants were well-mannered and professional. Unlike those brainless antagonists in novels, they wouldn't suddenly jump out to make things difficult for the protagonist or mock them.
"That's fine." Mavi casually glanced at the wine list and realized that these future prestigious wines were shockingly cheap in the year 2000!
For example, a bottle of 1986 Petrus was only $500! A bottle of 1983 Mouton Rothschild was just $600!
These world-class fine wines would appreciate at least twentyfold by 2018. So whether for drinking or collecting, they were an excellent investment.
Watching Mavi casually spend $30,000 on a single meal, Larry and Sergey, sitting across from him, couldn't help but feel once again the extravagance of the wealthy. Thirty thousand dollars could buy about 5% of their company's shares… or several new servers to improve their website's responsiveness.
Mavi noticed Larry and Sergey staring at him in a daze. Shrugging, he said, "Before the food arrives, why don't we discuss business?"
At the mention of "business," Larry and Sergey immediately sat up straight, adopting a serious, attentive demeanor.
"How much investment are you looking for? Name your price," Mavi asked with a calm smile.
After he spoke, Larry and Sergey exchanged glances. A week ago, Google was valued at just $600,000. However, with the recent dot-com crash, its valuation was plummeting daily, and it was expected to drop to $500,000 soon.
Both of them were already considering finding investors or selling the company before things got worse.
After a long moment of contemplation, Larry cautiously asked, "Mr. Mavi, we're very, very grateful for this opportunity. As for investment… how about $300,000? Would that work for you?"
In the wake of the crisis, every internet company was desperate for funding. As the company's president, Larry was well aware of their current standing. He didn't dare to ask for an exorbitant amount like a million or ten million dollars. Instead, he tentatively proposed three hundred thousand.
Hearing this, Mavi rubbed his forehead in exasperation. A $300,000 investment? That could have been discussed over the phone! He wouldn't have bothered sending a car to the airport if he had known.
"And you? How much do you think I should invest?" Mavi turned to Sergey after rubbing his forehead.
Sergey had observed Mavi's reaction closely and immediately understood his frustration.
Feigning deep thought, Sergey put on a serious expression and said, "Well… esteemed Mr. Mavi, I believe the internet industry is the future of the world… so I think… maybe… $150,000? Uh… $150,000?"
At first, Mavi had been looking forward to hearing a larger figure—perhaps five million or ten million dollars—something he could really negotiate with.
But to his surprise, instead of increasing the number, Sergey had lowered it even further! Mavi didn't even know how to respond.
Cough! "Let me ask a different question: if I were to acquire your company outright, how much would I have to pay?" Initially, Mavi had only wanted to invest, but seeing how clueless these two founders were about their own company's potential, he figured he might as well buy it outright!
Otherwise, with investment offers of just $300,000 and $150,000, he'd be stuck investing bit by bit for who knows how long.
"You mean… buy our company?" Larry asked in surprise. He couldn't help but recall how, six months ago, Excite had refused to acquire Google. At the time, they had asked for $1 million, but Excite wouldn't even pay $750,000. Their attitude had been dismissive and unenthusiastic.
After exchanging a glance, Larry and Sergey hesitated before cautiously replying, "S-Sixty thousand dollars… would that be acceptable?"
As soon as they finished speaking, Mavi immediately agreed without hesitation.
"Sure."
With that, he clapped his hands. Immediately, his butler, Ivan, who had been silently standing by, stepped forward carrying a black leather briefcase.
Thud!
Ivan placed the briefcase on the table, then unlatched it with both hands, revealing stacks upon stacks of crisp, green US dollars neatly arranged inside.
Hiss…
Seeing bundles of hundred-dollar bills filling an entire suitcase, Larry and Sergey, still in shock, felt as if their hearts had skipped a beat. They even found it a little difficult to breathe.
Hiss…
"T-This…"
Larry's hands trembled slightly. He had never seen so much cash in his life!
Sergey, equally stunned, stared at the stacks of money, momentarily forgetting even to blink.
"Mr. Mavi… this seems to be more than $60,000?" Larry counted quickly and realized that the amount was closer to $100,000.
Mavi chuckled slightly and replied, "That's right. The extra $60,000 is your annual salary if you agree to stay on. What do you think?"
Hearing that Mavi was offering a $60,000 salary and inviting them to stay with the company, Larry and Sergey were both pleasantly surprised and immediately nodded in agreement.
"Yes! Yes! Absolutely, I'd love to!"
"Me too!"
After running Google for a year and a half, enduring all sorts of challenges, they had ultimately sold it for just $60,000. Meanwhile, Mavi was offering them that same amount as an annual salary. This was the kind of disparity that could drive someone crazy. If they had known this was an option, they might as well have worked for him from the start…
"So, shall we sign the contract?" Mavi raised an eyebrow. He wasn't the type to artificially inflate the purchase price just to show off—doubling it to $120,000 for no reason would just make him look foolish and invite ridicule.
The contract included several business restrictions, such as non-compete clauses preventing them from joining competitors or starting a similar company for a certain number of years. This effectively mitigated the risk of them jumping ship or launching a "Googol," "Googa," or "Goograndpa" in the future.
Mavi wasn't worried about managing a tech giant like Google despite being a foreigner. After all, even industry giants like Tencent and Alibaba had foreign majority shareholders. For instance, Alibaba's largest stakeholder was Japan's SoftBank, while Tencent's was South Africa's Naspers.
So even if there were regulatory challenges in the future, Mavi's position as the primary shareholder was secure. Besides, the authorities wouldn't intervene too aggressively—doing so would damage national credibility and public trust, which would be a greater loss than gain.