Chapter 523 I'm Not What You Think I Am
The next afternoon, Guo Guangchang learned that Lu Yiming had arrived at school for class, so he called him.
"Brother Lu, welcome back home safely. How was it? Was the assassination attempt on the United States exciting?"
Knowing that Guo Guangchang had no ill intentions and just wanted to tease him, Lu Yiming smiled and replied, "It's exciting, too exciting. I want to go play again in the future."
Guo Guangchang couldn't help but tease him when he heard this: "Brother Lu is indeed a young man, with a high fighting spirit."
Afterwards, the two chatted for a while, and Guo Guangchang talked about a recent major event in China Overseas, and said with emotion: "I just got the news that Wei Dong sold all his assets in China and is now hiding in the United States and will not come back."
Lu Yi knew that Wei Dong went to the United States, but he didn't know what Wei Dong was doing there. When he heard what Guo Guangchang said, he was immediately surprised: "Wow, is it such a big deal? There was no news report."
Guo Guangchang complained: "The investors behind Wei Dong are not very visible, mainly because their sources of funds are questionable. Who dares to report this? If it is exposed, won't they commit suicide?"
“Is it the state’s money?”
Guo Guangchang sighed, his tone heavy: "That's right. I heard that Wei Dong lost more than 10 billion in the US stock market. If he returns to China, he won't be able to explain himself. So he just made up his mind and decided not to come back. I guess he will never be able to wash off the stigma in his life, and don't even think about returning to his roots."
After hearing what Guo Guangchang said, Lu Yiming was also very sad and said, "I didn't expect that Wei Dong, who was a prominent figure in Zhonghai not long ago, would end up like this now."
Then, Lu Yiming mentioned that he had met Wei Dong in New York: "To be honest, a few days ago, when I was in the United States, he came to me and wanted me to help him through the difficulties."
When Guo Guangchang heard this, he was shocked and asked, "You didn't lend him money, did you?"
"Just a few days ago, he called us frantically to borrow money, crying and making himself sound as pathetic as possible. But as far as I know, he didn't seem to get much money."
Lu Yiming said: "Of course I didn't. I'm not familiar with him. He said he would use the shares of Yongjin Group as collateral, but I don't know the internal situation of Yongjin Group at all. How could I dare to take over casually?"
Guo Guangchang was relieved when he heard what Lu Yiming said. He said, "Fortunately, you didn't agree. Behind the Yongjin Group, many shareholders are powerful. If Wei Dong said he would mortgage his shares to you, those people behind him would never agree. Your money would be wasted. We all saw through this, so we didn't fall for his trick at all."
After listening to Guo Guangchang's explanation of the true situation, Lu Yiming was also very fortunate and said, "Fortunately, I was not greedy at the time, otherwise I might have really fallen into the trap."
Guo Guangchang also sighed: "Now that Wei Dong has drained the cash flow of the Yongjin Group, all the assets that can be sold have been sold. The internal situation has become a mess. Neither the new shareholders nor the old shareholders are willing to submit to each other. It is unknown what kind of chaos will arise in the future."
Today, the Zhonghai situation has been in turmoil because of Wei Dong's departure, and I don't know how many people have been implicated.
Fortunately, Lu Yiming did not fall into the pit, so he was able to stand outside the pit and watch the show.
As for Wei Dong's fate, Lu Yiming also felt that fate was wonderful. Although it seemed that he was the one who caused Wei Dong to lose money, at least this time, he fled abroad and was not forced to jump off the building. It can be said that he escaped death.
Although it is not a good reputation to abscond for fear of crime, it is better to live a miserable life than to die. I don’t know if this can be considered as saving a life?
After talking about Wei Dong, Lu Yiming changed the subject and said, "Senior, I have a favor to ask of you."
Guo Guangchang's face straightened and he said, "What's the matter?"
Lu Yiming immediately stated his request: "I would like to trouble you to introduce someone to me. Do you know Cao Guowei, the scumbag?"
Cao Guowei studied journalism at Fu Ri University as an undergraduate. After graduation, he worked as a financial reporter at China Overseas Television for a year. He then went to the United States to study, obtained a master's degree, and found a job in Silicon Valley.
It is obvious that Lu Yiming wants to get to know the new senior Cao Guowei through the old senior Guo Guangchang.
Guo Guangchang naturally would not refuse such a small matter and said, "Him? Sure, I'll arrange it for you right away."
Seeing that Lu Yiming was becoming more and more powerful, Guo Guangchang naturally paid more and more attention to this junior. Recently, he had been thinking about how to take his relationship with Lu Yiming to the next level. Suddenly, he received this request from Lu Yiming, and immediately he felt as if "after searching high and low for something, I finally got it without any effort".
On the third day, Guo Guangchang invited Cao Guowei to Zhonghai and agreed to have lunch at the China World Trade Center.
In the box, Guo Guangchang saw Cao Guowei and immediately shook hands with him warmly: "Senior Cao, long time no see, I miss you so much. If I hadn't called you, I wouldn't have known that you were on a business trip in Guangdong Province. You didn't even call me when you arrived in Guangdong Province, isn't that too polite?"
Facing his junior Guo Guangchang, Cao Guowei also appeared very calm and said with a smile: "Junior Guo is very busy, so I dare not come to disturb you, right? Oh, by the way, first of all, congratulations to Fosun Group for successfully developing a new business in the medical field."
Guo Guangchang said modestly: "No, I am just doing a small thing. Senior Cao, you are the best among men. You have single-handedly led Zhalang to go public on NASDAQ and have become famous in the investment circle. You must have a bright future."
After the two of them flattered each other for a while, Guo Guangchang got back to the point and said, "Senior Cao, I invited you here today not only because we haven't seen each other for so many years, but also because I want to introduce you to a new friend."
Upon hearing this, Cao Guowei smiled and said, "Really? You know, I love making friends. I wonder which business tycoon could have the pleasure of having Junior Brother Guo come and introduce me to you personally."
Although Cao Guowei is two years older than Guo Guangchang and graduated two years earlier than Guo Guangchang, in terms of personal achievements, Guo Guangchang is now a billionaire, chairman of a group, owns his own business and company, and has connections and resources that Cao Guowei cannot compare with.
Therefore, when Cao Guowei faced Guo Guangchang, he still subconsciously felt inferior to him. After all, in the business world, achievement always determines success, and age is nothing.
Guo Guangchang did not put on airs in front of Cao Guowei. Instead, he smiled and said, "I'm going to introduce you to someone who is probably familiar to you. Besides, he is our junior. He is still a student at Fu Ri University."
Cao Guowei was very surprised and said, "Really? Then I really have to see it."
"Here he comes."
Speak of the devil, and he will appear. Seeing Lu Yiming coming in, Guo Guangchang said with a smile: "Junior brother, you are really on time."
Cao Guowei turned around and was immediately shocked. He blurted out: "Mr. Lu?"
He never expected that the junior fellow student that Guo Guangchang said he would introduce to him was actually Lu Yiming, the youngest richest man in mainland China who is currently in the limelight.
Lu Yiming's smile was warm and his tone was easygoing: "Senior Cao, you are joking. The richest man or not is just an empty title."
Relying on his status as an alumnus, Lu Yiming quickly succeeded in narrowing the distance between himself and Cao Guowei and chatting about various topics.
The person in front of him is a great talent, especially in the field of capital operation. He can be said to be the soul of Zhalang.
According to the original history, Cao Guowei began to take charge of Zhalang in 2006. After taking office, he immediately carried out drastic reforms throughout the company. He then created the phenomenal product Zhalang Weibo, which stood out from the competition of countless peers and became a big hit.
It has to be said that Cao Guowei's ability is unquestionable.
If it weren't for the inherent limitations of Zhalang as a portal website, which made it difficult for him to realize his ambitions, perhaps if he switched to another platform, he would be able to shine even more brightly.
While Lu Yiming was secretly sizing up Cao Guowei, Cao Guowei felt very nervous.
Among the three people sitting here today, he is the oldest and Lu Yiming is the youngest in terms of age, but in terms of assets and achievements, the three of them are completely opposite.
Especially Lu Yiming, with his identity as the richest man in Xia Country and his success in the US stock market, he was under great pressure and had complicated feelings. He felt that he had been living a dog's life for most of his life.
When he was 18 years old, he was already the richest man in the country and had achieved great success. Although I was also considered a top student who had returned from studying abroad, to be frank, I was still just a high-level worker.
The more talented a person is, the more ambitious he is.
Especially for someone like Cao Guowei, if he was really content with being well off, how could he give up his job and life in the United States, give up the offers from the Fortune 500 companies, and instead return to China to take a lower salary and work hard as an operations officer in an Internet company that was founded less than two years ago?
To put it bluntly, we are still longing for a bigger stage and pursuing greater success.
People are never satisfied.
Guo Guangchang said to Cao Guowei, "To be honest, it was Junior Brother Lu who suggested that we invite you out today."
"oh?"
Cao Guowei asked curiously, "I wonder why Mr. Lu asked me to come here?"
Lu Yiming once again showed a modest and gentle smile and said, "Don't be in a hurry to talk about things. Let me tell you something. When I returned to China a few days ago, there was a female reporter from your country who spoke with ulterior motives and had hidden agendas."
Cao Guowei was shocked when he heard this and said indignantly: "Is there such a thing? Don't worry, Mr. Lu, I will investigate it thoroughly after I return and will not tolerate it."
Lu Yiming waved his hand and said with a smile: "Hey, don't always say richest man, I don't like this kind of false reputation. Just like Senior Guo, the three of us sitting here are the relationship between senior and junior. I call you senior, you call me junior. And this female reporter and others, although we can check, it is not necessary. There is a saying that goes, if the upper beam is not straight, the lower beam will be crooked. This kind of person can gain a foothold in Zhalang, which means that her style is allowed or even condoned by Zhalang. Don't you think it's right?"
Cao Guowei broke out in a cold sweat and agreed with a trembling voice, "Yes, yes, yes."
When the richest man gets angry, not to mention bloodshed within five steps, that is also something a high-level worker like him cannot afford.
A person's reputation is like the shadow of a tree. Cao Guowei does not have the courage like Wang Zhidong to openly confront a billionaire like Lu Yiming.
However, Lu Yiming did not get angry as Cao Guowei imagined. Instead, he said calmly, "I know Wang Zhidong likes to play this kind of confrontational trick the most, so I don't like him very much, so I'm thinking about how to kick him out. So, Senior Cao, do you have any idea about the CEO position of Zhalang?"
“Ah, this…”
This question was too straightforward, Cao Guowei didn't know how to complain, but after all, as a senior intellectual, he still had to save face, so he said: "Junior brother, I'm not the kind of person you think."
Lu Yiming said: "You are not doing this for your own selfish desires, but for the future development of Zhalang. Senior Cao, you don't want me to keep an eye on Zhalang because of Wang Zhidong's matter, right?"
Coercion and inducement are the only two means.
The key point is that Lu Yiming doesn't believe that Cao Guowei has no idea about the position of CEO of Zhalang. Is there anyone who doesn't want to climb up these days?
But Cao Guowei couldn't bring himself to do that, so Lu Yiming had to give him a way out.
Although Cao Guowei did not agree on the spot, the hesitation on his face had already caught Lu Yiming's attention.
Lu Yiming did not push him too much, but smiled and gave Cao Guowei a business card: "This matter is not urgent. When you think it through one day, call me. My promise is valid at any time."
Cao Guowei took the business card and accepted it with mixed feelings.
Guo Guangchang was watching from the side and felt that the conversation between the two seemed to have come to an end, so he quickly said, "Look, it's getting late, why don't we have dinner. Senior Cao, what kind of wine would you like to drink?"
Cao Guowei's mind was filled with what Lu Yiming had just said. How could he be in the mood to drink? He immediately said, "We're driving today, so let's not drink."
Lu Yiming smiled and said, "It just so happens that I am a student and I don't drink. Let's drink tea instead of wine today."
After dinner, Cao Guowei left. Guo Guangchang asked Lu Yiming in surprise: "Do you really want to kick Wang Zhidong out? It's just a quarrel, there's no need to fight, right? Aren't you too young and impetuous?"
Lu Yiming laughed: "Senior Guo, I am only eighteen years old this year. If I am not angry, how can I be called a young man? If Wang Zhidong wants to blame someone, just blame him for his foul mouth. He has offended me."
If a young beast does not often show its sharp fangs, it will become a vulnerable existence in the food chain.
One punch is enough to prevent a hundred punches from coming.
Lu Yiming deliberately wanted to vent his anger on Wang Zhidong, to let everyone know that the richest man in Xia Country should not be insulted lightly, and if anyone dares to provoke him, then be prepared to pay the price.
At 10 p.m. on April 13, 2000, ZHALANG was officially listed on the NASDAQ stock market with the code SINA.
Wang Zhidong was full of confidence. He took Wang Yan, Cao Guowei and other senior executives of Zhalang Company to the United States to participate in the bell ringing ceremony.
Zhalang, who chose to go public when he was surrounded by enemies and ambushes on all sides, soon had to pay the price for his reckless behavior.
The IPO price of Zhalang was set at US$17, but it only rose to US$22 at the opening and closed at US$20 on the same day, only 22% higher than the issue price, which disappointed the investors behind Zhalang who were eager to make a fortune.
Even domestic news media are questioning the future potential of Zhalang and even questioning whether Xiaguo's Internet industry has any future at all.
This result was beyond Wang Zhidong's expectations. Under everyone's doubts, he had to hold a press conference as soon as he returned to China to explain the situation.
At the press conference, Wang Zhidong talked about Zhalang's philosophy and then mentioned Zhalang's listing. He said in front of everyone: "Zhalang has not failed yet, and Zhalang will not fail!"
A reporter immediately asked: "Now that the facts are before us, what basis does Mr. Wang have to make such a judgment?"
Wang Zhidong said immediately: "In the original plan, we had eleven companies in Xiaguo ready to go public at this time, but later due to insufficient sales and other reasons, nine of them withdrew and postponed the listing plan indefinitely. Only Zhalang.com and another software company went public, and there was an increase in price. If you don't have a good physique and enough confidence, you definitely won't dare to go public."
As the founder and CEO of Zhalang, Wang Zhidong certainly cannot admit his failure. At the moment, Zhalang is forced to do something, and it has to succeed no matter how hard it tries.
At this moment, a reporter below suddenly received a call. After answering the call, the reporter immediately said, "Mr. Wang, the news just came back to China that Zhalang's stock on the Nasdaq has fallen below the issue price. What do you think about this matter?"
"What?"
When Wang Zhidong heard the news, he was so angry that he almost fainted.
Another reporter asked: "Does Zhalang still have a future?"
Wang Zhidong turned and left.
The stock price has already fallen below the issue price just after it was listed. As for whether it has a future or not, what’s the point of answering that?
If I continue to stand here, are I waiting to be slapped in the face?
After returning to the backstage, Wang Zhidong immediately called Cao Guowei over and gave him a good scolding.
"Mr. Cao! How do you do things? You said that after the listing, the future would be bright. Now the stock price has fallen below the issue price. How can I explain this to the investors?"
Cao Guowei had just heard about this matter. As the chief operating officer, he had no choice but to take responsibility for this matter.
Wang Yan, one of the co-founders, spoke up for Cao Guowei: "Zhidong, we don't know what the situation is with the US stock market yet. Let's wait until the exact news comes back."
After waiting for a long time, I finally got the exact news.
The Zhalang employees who remained in the United States told Wang Zhidong that the company's U.S. stock price plummeted due to malicious short selling.
The one who shorted Zhalang was none other than the Salty Water Fund.
When Wang Zhidong heard the words "Salt Water Fund", he was so angry that the veins on his forehead almost burst.
"Lu Yiming! You have no moral principles!"
