Chapter: 6188

When he reached this point, Bill curiously asked: "Mr. Rothschild, are you just calling me today to tease me for two sentences?"

Howard smiled: "Many years ago, people said that when you picked up a hundred dollars, you'd lose a thousand; and I'm no exception - time is precious, especially for us old folks, who value it even more."

Saying that, Howard's tone became serious and he opened his mouth: "Bill, I need you to do a small favor for me."

Bill thought for no time at all and said: "You say it. There's no need for us to discuss our relationship; if I can help, I'll definitely help."

Howard said: "I heard that Microsoft has a data center in Northern Europe, and I want to buy it."

"Buy it?" Bill was taken aback, then immediately said: "Mr. Rothschild, if Microsoft's cloud services are like a Boeing 747, the data center in Northern Europe is like one of its four engines. The airline company would never remove an engine from a plane that's still flying and sell it off. Once sold, half of Europe's cloud services will be paralyzed, and other data centers won't be able to handle this huge demand in a short time. We didn't design for such a large buffer."

"It's impossible." Howard said calmly: "Boeing 747 took flight over 50 years ago when I was one of the honored guests. At that time, you were only a teenager and couldn't possibly understand Boeing 747 as well as I do. Even with double-engine failure, another engine can ensure the plane continues to fly for 180 minutes. For a four-engine plane like Boeing 747, losing one engine won't have any significant impact. You guys didn't leave any design buffer in your data system?"

Bill hurriedly said: "Mr. Rothschild, this isn't looked at that way. The current cloud processing requirements are huge, and the storage demands for cloud data are incredibly large. We left a buffer to account for the peak demand of data processing. If we remove that data center from Northern Europe, half of Europe's users will be affected."

Howard paused slightly, speaking with gravity: "Bill, I've known your mother very well since early on. So well that she was still working at IBM when we were already close acquaintances. I can say I watched you grow up to this day. Don't forget the help I gave you along the way, including the times when you got stuck in a predicament and I helped you get out of it. Now, as an old man, I need your help. You're always worrying about something or other, but that's not very suitable, is it?"

Bill fell silent for a moment, helpless: "Okay, Mr. Rothschild, give me some time to prepare the data migration. After the migration is complete, this data center will be yours."

Howard finally nodded with satisfaction, smiling: "Bill, God bless you, so do I."

Bill helplessly said: "Thank you for your blessing, Mr. Rothschild."

Howard smiled and said, "Why don't we go to Rothschild Manor at seven o'clock tonight? I'll treat you to dinner."

Bill replied without hesitation, "Okay, Mr. Rothschild, I'll be there on time."

...

A few minutes later, the family conference room of the Rothschild family.

All members of the Rothschild family had gathered, with a long table seated in the center of the room and not a single empty chair except for the reserved seat for the patriarch. Temporary stools were placed at the back of each side, as all collateral family leaders had also arrived.

At this moment, the conference room was filled with lively chatter, with direct-line Rothschild family members chatting enthusiastically around the table. Only Steve and his son seemed somewhat subdued. The representatives from those collateral families seated behind them, however, were whispering to each other in hushed tones, unaware of the events that had occurred in the Rothschild family over the past two days.

These collateral families mostly consisted of outsiders, but some did share the same surname as the Rothschilds. However, all these collateral families were either brothers or nephews of Howard's, while those outsiders were mostly men who had married into the Rothschild family and pledged their allegiance to them.

For these collateral families, it was almost impossible for them to attend a high-level meeting at Rothschild Manor in the past.

After all, Howard is the patriarch of the family. In normal times, he rarely has direct contact with these collateral families, who usually interact with professional managers of the Rothschild family. Even Steve wasn't someone they could just go see whenever they wanted.

These collateral families mostly consisted of outsiders, but some did share the same surname as the Rothschilds. However, all these collateral families were either brothers or nephews of Howard's, while those outsiders were mostly men who had married into the Rothschild family and pledged their allegiance to them.

For these collateral families, it was almost impossible for them to attend a high-level meeting at Rothschild Manor in the past.

After all, Howard is the patriarch of the family. In normal times, he rarely has direct contact with these collateral families, who usually interact with professional managers of the Rothschild family. Even Steve wasn't someone they could just go see whenever they wanted.

Today, suddenly, a meeting was called here, and all members of the collateral families were wondering in their hearts if Howard is preparing to pass on his position as patriarch to his eldest son. JrNovels.com