Chapter 24: Invisible Rich Man
Zhao Weiming said, "The $100 million that the sponsor offered to Zuye is 0.3% of the shares of the American company Lehman. We can trace this line upwards. As long as we find out who happens to own so many shares of Lehman, we can identify the sponsor." He said proudly, "This kind of thing is difficult for ordinary people to do, but my sister is not an ordinary person."
Zhang Nianzu said: "How do you know that the financier has exactly 0.3% of the shares? Maybe he is the major shareholder?"
Zhao Meier said: "Owning 0.3% is also a major shareholder. The reason why I am sure he only has this much is because a larger shareholder will never reduce his holdings without reason. The sponsor we are looking for is obviously a super-rich man. Even if Lehman's shares are not a drop in the bucket for him, they are insignificant."
Zhang Nianzu said: "You are a professional, you have the final say."
Zhao Meier said: "Our previous thinking was wrong. What Zhao Weiming said just now is correct. Only by confirming the identity of the sponsor can we narrow down the scope of the search."
Zhang Nianzu asked: "Who is the sponsor?"
Zhao Weiming said: "This person is called Du Heng."
Zhang Nianzu asked: "Chinese?"
Zhao Weiming said word by word: "Chinese."
Zhang Nianzu asked: "Why have I never heard of a Chinese billionaire of this stature?"
Zhao Meier said, "I have the same confusion. I have done a lot of indexing work these days, and the results are very surprising. Du Heng is not only Chinese, but also active in this city in his early years." As she spoke, she took out a yellowed newspaper, handed it to Zhang Nianzu with great care, and pointed to a page circled with a pen and said, "Look here."
It was a newspaper from 1997, its edges already brittle. What Zhao Meir had circled with a pen was a small financial page, the main content of which was: The American Rose Society sent an invitation letter, inviting our city's financial professionals Du Heng and Liu Yuejin to the United States to attend the annual gathering, and then there was official documents, hoping to contribute to our city's economy and so on . The introduction to Du Heng and Liu Yuejin was also very vague, and it was obvious that the reporter did not know them very well and was just completing a draft for the assignment.
Zhang Nianzu scanned it and asked in confusion, "What does this mean?"
Zhao Weiming said proudly: "Sister, teach him how to read."
Zhao Meier said, "The name of the American Rose Society is unfamiliar to most people, but it is a giant in the financial world. The members of the society are all the world's top billionaires and financiers, including those mysterious American families that have been deified or even demonized. It can be said that any move by any member here will have a tsunami-level impact on the entire financial circle. They will not send invitations to anyone casually. Even if you live in a villa, drive a luxury car, and have a net worth of hundreds of millions, in their eyes you are at most middle class."
Zhang Nianzu was surprised and said, "Then Du Heng and Liu Yuejin..."
Zhao Meier said: "The net worth of these two people was conservatively estimated to be over 10 billion back then."
"Oh my god!" Zhang Nianzu was really shocked.
In 1997, Ma Huateng might have just come into contact with the Internet, and Jack Ma was still running into obstacles and being thought of as a liar. How come there are two billionaires in this city with a net worth of over 10 billion?
Zhang Nianzu said: "So, the Rose Association is like the Oscars of the financial world?"
Zhao Meier said: "The Oscar is just a national award. Strictly speaking, the Rose Society's annual meeting is more like a gathering of all Nobel Prize winners."
Zhang Nianzu asked, "Why are these two people unknown?"
Zhao Meier said, "The only possibility is that their assets have been operating overseas. 20 years ago, the domestic financial industry was relatively closed, and these two people seemed to deliberately keep a low profile. At that time, not many people could realize the value of the invitation letter. The reporter probably reported it because he found the invitation letter from abroad novel. But even so, Du Heng and Liu Yuejin must be very panicked. Since they want to be invisible, being exposed means trouble."
Zhang Nianzu asked, "What happened next?"
Zhao Meier said: "According to the information that can be verified, Du Heng went to the United States in the same year, and Liu Yuejin disappeared completely."
Zhang Nianzu asked, "What have you been doing these days?"
Zhao Weiming said: "There were two people on the invitation letter back then. Du Heng went to the United States alone, and now he is spending a lot of money to find someone else, so..."
Zhang Nianzu asked: "So you think he wants to find Liu Yuejin?"
Zhao Meier said: "It may not be Liu Yuejin, but it is definitely related to Liu Yuejin. My intuition is that he seems to be looking for an old friend, or the son of an old friend."
Zhang Nianzu asked: "How can I help you ?"
Zhao Weiming said, "We can understand most of this as long as we find Liu Yuejin." He whispered, "Didn't Chiang Kai-shek say last time that he had met a member of his clan? Do you think it was Liu Yuejin?"
Zhang Nianzu grabbed Zhao Weiming by the back of his neck and pulled him aside, lowering his voice and saying, "Have you forgotten who you are facing?"
Zhao Weiming said: "The Qiangren tribe is very powerful, but we are not going to fight them to death. We are just looking for people. If Lao Jiang and Liu Yuejin are from the same tribe, there will definitely be a major breakthrough."
Zhang Nianzu said: "Then go ask Lao Jiang yourself."
Zhao Weiming chuckled and said, "Doesn't he owe you a favor?"
Zhang Nianzu frowned and said, "Xiao Ming, I'm not going to interfere in this matter anymore. Just think about it, to find someone who is willing to pay 100 million US dollars, it reveals such evil intentions. I don't believe that Du Heng is just looking for an old friend to reminisce about the past."
Zhao Weiming said: "Why do you care about him? If we don't make the money, someone else will. We should take advantage of the information asymmetry to get ahead. We should hurry up. In this way, you just need to ask Lao Jiang to invite the tribesman he met to meet with us."
Zhang Nianzu just shook his head. He had promised not to bother Lao Jiang again, and deep down, he was against this matter.
Zhao Meier said, "We will split the profits equally. If you two trust me, it can be considered as our joint investment. I promise that in three years... no, in less than three years, I can double the profits."
Zhang Nianzu said calmly: " It's not about money, people should do what they say."
Zhao Weiming said angrily: "Zhang Nianzu, we have been together for so many years, I have begged..."
Zhang Nianzu said decisively: "Change!"
This shout actually made Zhao Weiming stunned: "What do you mean?"
"It's time to change your catchphrase."
Zhao Weiming said in a low voice: "Do you want me to kneel down and beg you?"
Zhang Nianzu knew that he was shameless. If kneeling could solve the problem, Zhao Weiming would never hesitate. He simply said resolutely: "I will definitely not help you, forget it."
Zhao Weiming said angrily: "How can you be so heartless? We are childhood friends..."
After hearing what Zhao Weiming said, Zhang Nianzu suddenly remembered Lei Tingting's evaluation of him - as difficult to approach as a lion. Zhang Nianzu's heart warmed up, and then it stabbed again. He changed his expression and said, "Xiao Ming, I may have had some problems in my past. I decided to treat you better in the future."
Zhao Weiming's eyes sparkled as he asked, "Do you agree?"
Zhang Nianzu said gently: "No."
Zhao Weiming was frightened by his tone and said tremblingly: "You...should speak properly...By the way, what has stimulated you recently?"
Zhao Meier said coldly: "Is it because of that girl just now?"
Zhang Nianzu raised his orchid finger and said softly, "Anyway, I can't agree to your request."
Zhao Meier suddenly said: "Let's go!"
As Zhao Weiming followed Zhao Meier out the door, he turned around and pointed at Zhang Nianzu and said, "You took the wrong medicine—"
