The night after meeting Gustav, Gustav let Allen stay in the guest room of their private palace.

Ordinary foreign guests cannot enjoy this kind of treatment, which is enough to show how much Gustav values ​​Allen.

…

The next day, as the reception had not yet been arranged, no welcome dinner was held for Alan the previous night, and the famous queen did not show up.

I guess they won't meet until a few days later when Gustav officially receives Allen.

"Where would you like to visit?"

Today Betil changed into a short-sleeved shirt with a thin jacket on the outside and jeans on the bottom, looking like a boy next door.

This guy is three years older than William and taller than the current William. He is almost as tall as Alan's chest. It is estimated that he is over 1.6 meters tall.

"How about we go somewhere different?"

"Um?"

Alan walked in the garden with his hands behind his back and thought about it. He had planned everything before coming.

This time, he wanted to visit several internationally renowned large companies in Sweden. He didn't want to steal their things, but he wanted to visit and learn from them.

His first target now was the IKEA which later became famous!

This world-famous company, which is famous for selling furniture, has now begun to make a name for itself. It is said that it has opened more than 100 shopping malls across Europe. Alan wants to open large supermarkets in the future, so he needs to learn from IKEA's business model.

Nowadays, although the Internet has been developed, its penetration rate, information dissemination, and so on are still in their infancy.

It's not like decades later when you can just open a search engine, type in "IKEA" and find a lot of information about them.

Although these things are not considered too secret nowadays, most people cannot understand them. If one wants to learn other people's models, one can only use the most primitive method of visiting and inspecting.

This method is most common both in China and abroad. If a company is well-known in the industry, everyone will make an appointment to visit and learn from it.

Of course... this premise requires the consent of others. If others disagree, that’s another matter.

Alan didn't have the opportunity before, but now he happens to be in Sweden, where IKEA's headquarters is located. It would be a waste if he didn't go with such a good opportunity.

…

"You know that IKEA? The one that sells furniture? I want to visit their headquarters."

Alan didn't know whether the little brat Betil knew about this place, but the one responsible for receiving him now was this little brat, and he couldn't find anyone else if he didn't look for him.

"Ikea? The one in Älmhult?"

"Yes, yes, that's the place!"

As soon as Allen said that, Prince Bertil realized that he was far from being as useless as Allen imagined, but when it came to going to Ålmholt, Prince Bertil showed a hint of difficulty on his face.

"Almholt is about 500 kilometers away from here. Are you sure you want to go? If we take a car, it will take us nearly a whole day."

"???"

Five hundred kilometers, it would take a whole day to drive?

Alan looked at the kid with some doubt. Is he going to go in a wheelchair? Is it so troublesome?

"Can we take a plane?"

"Take a plane..."

Prince Bertil grinned, looked at Alan in confusion and said, "First, there is no airport in Älmhult. Second, if so many of us go together, even if we take a flight to the nearest Malmö, the airfare... uh... let's just take a car."

“…”

Alan looked at the little brat's face, which seemed to be a little red unconsciously. Suddenly he realized, could it be that he thinks it's too expensive?

I've always heard that the Swedish royal family doesn't seem to be very rich. Their palace is big, but it was left by their ancestors.

Now I see... even if I want to go on a "long journey" of several hundred kilometers, I still have to calculate the airfare. Life... is so miserable. It is indeed a small tragedy.

"Okay, I don't have time to spend a whole day in the car, so let's just take a helicopter. I did some research before coming here, and there's no airport there, but they have a flying club that can also make a temporary landing. As for the cost... I'll pay for it."

Alan patted Bertil on the shoulder and made the expense issue clear first to save the little brat from feeling the pain later.

"Well... okay, thank you."

Bertil didn't think much about it. He was quite happy to see Alan said he wanted to pay. This way, he could save money in his piggy bank.

…

Älmhult is located in the Scania province in southern Sweden. The nearest big city is Malmö, and Älmhult is, uh... equivalent to a small town.

It's not even as big as the town of Carmarthen, and its total population is only about 6,000 to 7,000.

But this is not the point. The point is that this small town is the location of IKEA's headquarters, and among the people in this town, about 80% of them work at IKEA's headquarters, and the remaining 20% ​​are basically engaged in jobs that are indirectly related to IKEA.

In other words, this town is basically equivalent to the IKEA headquarters and the living area for its employees.

Alan and his group of outsiders had just arrived in this small town, and as outsiders, they were naturally very conspicuous.

Coming out of their flying club, Alan ignored the looks of those country bumpkins and sat in the car, looking at the scenery of the town outside the window.

There are graffiti everywhere, and some places have a lot of slogans posted.

The slogan is written in five common European languages ​​and has an international style.

"Welcome to Älmhult, this is IKEA. Please make an appointment in advance to visit. The appointment number is: XXXXXX."

Such slogans can be seen everywhere, making it look like a scenic spot in the countryside, which gives a... weird feeling.

While looking at the scenery along the roadside, he could hear the biu, biu~ sounds of the handheld game console. On the way here, this was the handheld game console that Allen bribed Prince Bertil with. This game console was a new model that Allen had snatched from William before coming here.

As expected... only little kids understand little kids best. By giving away a game console, Alan and Prince Bertil instantly went from ordinary friends to good buddies.

…

"Betil, stop playing, we've arrived."

"Go and see for yourself. I'll wait for you in the car."

Alan and Betil stared at each other, one was eager to learn from the master, while the other was addicted to games and didn't want to go anywhere.

“Bang!”

Alan snatched the game console from the brat, clicked his fingers, pressed the power off button, and pointed at himself in Prince Bertil's angry eyes and said, "I gave you the game console. Now I need you to accompany me to do something. If you do it well, you will get other benefits in the future. If you don't do it well, you won't even be able to play the game console. Do you understand?"

Bertil, who had just become acquainted with Allen, was not very afraid of Allen, but when Allen didn't smile, he still looked very scary. With years of accumulated power, his demeanor was greater than that of his father, the king. When Allen scared him, Bertil moved his lips twice, and under the powerful situation, he took the initiative to open the car door and get out to wait for Allen.

"snort!"

…

No matter how bad the Swedish royal family is doing, it is only relative. For private enterprises like IKEA, Prince Bertil's words still have some effect.

A phone call had been made before coming, and when Allen arrived, IKEA had already arranged a ten-person reception team, including a translator, product manager, head of the headquarters, etc. If the chairman had not been on a business trip, even he would have been ready to come.

They didn't give all the face to Prince Bertil, mainly because the identity of today's visitor was not ordinary.

This is an aristocrat from Britain, a great aristocrat at that, an elite among the most traditional aristocrats.

In their view, these nobles are completely different from the Swedish royal family.

Whether it is external or internal, it is a great honor for such a noble to come to IKEA for a visit and inspection, even if it is told to others, and... even as an ordinary person, who doesn't want to see the style of a famous British aristocratic lord?

This kind of opportunity is rare. When the call was received, the leaders who stayed at the headquarters almost came to blows in order to compete for the spot on the reception team.

Now when he meets Allen, he begins to doubt his life.

Isn’t it said that...Swedes are very cold towards outsiders?

Why are these people so enthusiastic?

…

"That's Prince Bertil, right? Oh... the one next to him is that Excellency?"

"As expected, he is a noble from Great Britain, he has an extraordinary bearing."

"That's right. Didn't you see that the prince had to get off the car and wait for him?"

"Boss, do we need to go over to greet him?"

The middle-aged man in front of the team was wearing a light gray thin suit. He stood outside the gate of IKEA headquarters with his hands in front of him, staring at the stopped convoy with his bright eyes.

I could hear the arguments of the other members of the reception team.

This was also the first time he had seen such a scene.

In the past, when the Swedish royal family traveled, they did not have a motorcade of this size. Although the cars were not good ones and were probably rented nearby, the imposing manner could not be maintained by just luxury cars.

As soon as the convoy stopped, dozens of big men in black came down to provide guard and inspection.

Just looking at it makes people feel nervous and tense.

In addition, Prince Bertil got off the car obediently and waited for the distinguished guest to get off.

This level of prestige has far exceeded these people's cognition.

It gives people a feeling that it should be so.

They didn't feel like they were being insulted by having their Swedish prince get off the car first.

The Swedish royal family...has a very low presence in Sweden and is not very popular.

And the British nobility...

With so many film and television works, legends, novels and other news, everyone is curious about this group of people. Moreover, the person who came today is already famous and has many identities.

Such identities as member of the British House of Lords, member of the European Parliament, Sweden's accession to the European Community, head of the Human Rights Council's special inspection team, personal assistant to the British Crown Prince, deputy chief of the British Royal Guard and chief of the guard to the Prince of Wales, etc.

Any one of these would look countless times more glamorous than the title of Prince of Sweden.

"Stand still, they are coming over here, don't embarrass yourself!"

The middle-aged man watched Alan get off the car, took a deep breath, tightened his stomach, and stood in the most standard posture, looking at the VIP team coming towards him, like a guard waiting for inspection.

…

"Are you the person who will receive me?"

"Yes, sir. It's a pleasure to meet you. Welcome to visit IKEA headquarters. Our chairman is on his way back. I wonder if..."

The middle-aged man standing at the front of Allen's reception team was very satisfied with the level of attention shown.

He first shook the middle-aged man's hand before starting to ask questions.

"No need... Let him take care of things if he has something to do. I'm here today just to visit and learn. I hope I didn't disturb you guys?"

"Don't disturb me, don't disturb me, please."

The middle-aged man was somewhat panicked. He had just clearly told his men not to embarrass themselves, but when the time came, he was the first one to get nervous.

Although Alan smiled when he spoke, his attitude of smiling but keeping people at a distance was very hurtful.

The natural attitude he reveals when shaking hands with others will make some people who have not seen much of the world feel inferior.

It's a very strange feeling. After meeting him in person, you will be unconsciously suppressed by his aura, and then become inferior and humble.

The next step is tension.

"Haha, Little Stone, pull the gift over here."

Alan shook his hand lightly and then withdrew it. He stood in place and glanced at the IKEA reception team that was receiving him. He raised his right hand and waved it lightly, signaling Xiao Shitou to start giving gifts.

This time he came, he did not make it clear in what capacity he came, whether he was coming as the leader of the inspection team or as a private individual.

I just gave my name.

As a result, IKEA was not sure about Alan's intentions, but they welcomed him no matter what identity he came in.

But Allen doesn't think so. He thinks that if you want to learn something, you have to give some benefits, right?

The effect of forcing someone to take him on a tour and bribing them to take him on a tour is different.

…

Xiao Shitou called a bodyguard, who was holding a large tray with exquisite wooden boxes of the same size on it. The decorations on the boxes did not look cheap.

This room is filled with jade bracelets, the kind with jade inlaid in gold.

Wearing jade is not very popular in Europe, and most of the people who wear it are East Asians who have immigrated here.

But that's what Allen does, and these pieces of jewelry are specially designed as "export styles" that meet European aesthetic standards.

Ingredients...

It's very rubbish, all made of jade scraps.

But after the designer's design, he adopted the model of gold inlaid jade. After polishing and carving these scraps, he wrapped them with gold and silver, and then made them into oval-shaped openable and closable bracelets.

In this way, the quality of the materials is improved, the appearance is also improved, and it is more convenient to carry than the traditional jade bracelets that are molded together.

For foreigners who don’t understand the ins and outs of this, as long as you don’t tell you the cost, just looking at the packaging and appearance, this thing looks like a high-end product.

If you add that it's a "little gift" given by Alan himself, basically... these country bumpkins can take it back as an heirloom.

…

Sure enough, these people took the jewelry box from Xiao Shitou somewhat at a loss.

No one was polite or shy. In their opinion, a small gift from a count should be opened in person and praised for its beauty. This was the greatest respect for the gift giver, rather than just putting it away after receiving it, as that would be misunderstood as not liking the gift.

“Wow…”

The middle-aged man took the box in a daze and opened it...a flash of precious metal appeared.