life?
“Ahem, ahem, how about this? Boss Pei, if I can persist in this project by chance, would you tell me the truth about ‘Top Student, Come Quick? Is Dream Realization Ventures going to cash out?”
Pei Qian laughed in his heart. Boss Li’s request was exactly what he was looking for. Pei Qian was about to give him some advice even if he did not take the initiative to ask.
“No problem,” Pei Qian agreed.
Li Shi raised his thumb. “Good! Boss Pei is indeed straightforward! I’ll go and experience it. Boss Pei, don’t break your promise.”
Both of them had an ax to grind. Li Shi carefully recited the requirements written on the paper. After about a quarter of an hour, he recited them out loud again. He remembered them all.
“I’m ready.” Li Shi stood up. Pei Qian nodded. “Boss Li, please go ahead.”
Li Shi walked to the entrance of the second project with full confidence.
“He said he was afraid, but his pace is rather firm. Is Boss Li the same as Ruan Guangjian, pretending to be weak?”
Pei Qian suddenly felt a little uncertain about the Thriller Hostel project. However, he heard a tragic screen from within as soon as he walked to the front of the surveillance cameras.
“Ah!!!”
Boss Li, who had entered for less than a minute, fell to the ground with his hands wiping the back of his head frantically.
Boss Pei noticed that the first project that Boss Li entered randomly was the ‘ceiling’.
The guest had to bend down to pick up a broken notebook under the table when he entered the room. A drop of water would drip from the ceiling onto the back of the guest’s neck.
The guest would subconsciously raise their heads at this point in time to see that a board had been removed. A head with a pair of wide eyes shedding bloody tears would be looking down at the guest.
Obviously, Boss Li raised his head only to see this head. He was so scared that he screamed and retreated. He subconsciously wanted to wipe away the ‘bloodstain’ at the back of his neck after he fell to the ground.
Pei Qian was relieved upon seeing that.
“It seemed like there was no problem with the level of horror at Thriller Hostel. The one with the problem is actually Ruan Guangjian…”
Chapter 420 - The Method of Selling is a Problem
Chapter 420 The Method of Selling is a Problem
Chen Kangtuo and Hao Qiong dragged the jelly-legged Boss Li out after 20 minutes.
Boss Pei quickly brought some water to him. “Boss Li, drink some hot water quickly.”
Li Shi sat paralyzed on the chair and took a sip from the teacup with both hands. The paleness in his face did not go away at all. “Boss Li, do you feel better?” Pei Qian asked with concern.
Li Shi waved his hand weakly. He did not even have the strength to speak.
Terrifying!
Li Shi thought it was very simple at first. Wasn’t it just half an hour? You could survive by just gritting your teeth.
He also put a sneaky clause with Boss Pei by saying ‘persevere in this project’ rather than ‘clear it’. That meant to say that he would be considered a win as long as he persisted to the end without clearing it.
The idea was voluptuous, but the reality was all bones.
Li Shi was nearly scared to death by the first project he entered into. He gave up on the fourth project. His legs gave way on the spot, and he had to be brought out by Chen Kangtuo and Hao Qiong.
There was only one thought left in Li Shi’s unsettled heart: he must not underestimate Boss Pei at any time!
Take this haunted house challenge as an example. It did not seem scary on the surface. The process was not long, and there was no staff acting as spirits or ghosts. However, it was enough to scare a person half to death when they really experienced it!
Thinking back carefully, these projects were indeed not complicated but full of psychological cues.
To put it bluntly, it was to do everything possible to make the guests scare themselves!
He had to say that the effect was outstanding.
Boss Li held the teacup with trembling hands, feeling that he could often wake up in shock for at least a month.
The bloody head on the ceiling, the mirror in the bathroom… the rustling TV in the dimly lit living room…
These were common scenes at home, but they had now left him with a deep psychological shadow in his heart.
Boss Li who had always had the image of a mature man with a successful career was scared like a chicken waiting to be slaughtered. Pei Qian could not help but feel a little embarrassed.
Sigh, Boss Li just wanted to make some money. Therefore, even though he ruined my good plans so many times, his crime is not punishable by death.
I feel a little guilty, letting him experience such a scary haunted house just to hear some stuff from me.
Pei Qian felt that it was possible to temporarily cross out Boss Li from his notebook. Oh, no, push him down the list temporarily.
“Boss Li, you’ve worked hard. Your feedback on the haunted house is of great significance to us! Thank you very much!” Pei Qian’s expression was extremely sincere.
Li Shi’s pale face was now confused. “Huh? What feedback did I give?”
Pei Qian smiled. “Your screams are the best feedback. I have decided to give you information on the ‘Top Student, Come Quick’ as a form of gratitude.
“That’s right, Dream Realization Ventures is selling their shares of ‘Top Student, Come Quick’. This is my decision. Moreover, I hope that you will sell your shares away as soon as possible. These are my heartfelt thoughts; there is not a single word of falsehood!”
Pei Qian looked very serious.
There was no lie here. Pei Qian was indeed selling his shares, and he really hoped that the others would sell their shares, too. However, he hid his true intention: hoping that the ‘Top Student, Come Quick’ project would lose money.
Boss Li would definitely think that Boss Pei was going to sell all his shares in hand and cash out this way. He would naturally follow suit. The other investors would naturally dump their shares if they threw theirs together.
In actual fact, Pei Qian was planning to keep some shares in hand so that these shares would become worthless when the project fails.
That way, it would be a stop-loss order[1] even if this project could not make too much of a loss.
Li Shi observed Pei Qian’s expression carefully before nodding. “I understand. I’ll sell the shares in my hand if that’s the case.”
Pei Qian could not help but smile.
Done!
Boss Li had more than 20% shares in his hand now. Selling it together with Dream Realization Ventures would definitely smash their confidence in this project instantly!
Boss Li’s shares would probably still be able to profit a little if it was successful. No one suffered; it was perfect!
Afternoon, Fu Hui Investments…
Li Shi was in his office, his eyes shut in deep thought. He was rather shocked in the morning at the Thriller Hostel, but work could not wait.
The information that he exchanged for with his life should be reliable.
Boss Pei said Dream Realization Ventures was selling their shares. It was indeed his thinking and recommended that Li Shi should sell his shares with him. Boss Pei should not be lying.
Li Shi decided after considering it for sometime.
Sell!
However, he had to think about how to sell.
The transfer of shares of a non-listed company generally required an internal offering. That meant that a shareholder would have priority to purchase the shares.
If no shareholders were willing to buy the shares, they would then sell the shares to outside parties if the shareholders agree during the shareholder meeting.
In other words, all the shareholders would know if Li Shi wanted to sell his shares in the first place.
The shares that Boss Pei sold were basically
gobbled up by these internal shareholders as well. There were no new shareholders.
However, Boss Pei did not sell a lot of shares so these shareholders held their suspicion, but they did not think that Boss Pei was going to exit.
Then again, Li Shi was going to sell all of the 20% shares he held in his hands away. The exit was too obvious. There was no way the other shareholders would not know that he was trying to exit!
Most shareholders only invested in this project because Li Shi invested in it. The other investors would definitely panic if Li Shi were to sell his shares together with Boss Pei. If that were to happen, everyone would lose confidence in this project and sell their shares, too. The valuation of the company would then collapse instantly!
If that really happened, Li Shi would probably not be able to sell his shares for much of a profit.
Therefore, Li Shi felt that he should not sell this way.
He invested a total of four million yuan into such a good project. Its valuation would plummet if he were to throw it in such a way.
Profiting only a few hundred thousand after so much trouble?
Not possible!
Therefore, he had to sell them… but not in this way!
Li Shi searched for the contact info of the other investors. He decided to hold a mini-phone conference. The other investors replied in no time. They set the meeting to one hour later.
Li Shi took advantage of this time to sort his thoughts out a bit. He then recorded all the points that were needed to be spoken later.
One hour later, the telephone conference started on time.
“Boss Li, what is so urgent?” One of the investors on the ‘Top Student, Come Quick’ app asked.
Li Shi decided not to waste time and go directly to the point. “Boss Pei is probably cashing out. I’m also about to sell off all my shares.”
There was a moment of silence, and then doubtful voices came. “Huh?”
“What? Are you sure?” “Now?”
“Where did you hear about that? Is it reliable?”
Obviously, most of them were skeptical and were unwilling to believe it instinctively. Everything was going well with the ‘Top Student, Come Quick’ app. It might be burning money fast, but the money was all exchanged for data!
They could continue to burn money until it gets listed to the stock market. The investors would profit many times over then!
This project was far from going downhill, and yet he wanted to exit now? That seemed rather unreasonable.
“I don’t have to lie to you. Think about it. Isn’t it the best time to cash out when the ‘Top Student, Come Quick’ app is on fire?
“Moreover, do you really think this project can be listed? Even if it could, how much money do we have to burn? A company must have at least three years of operating history before it can be listed!
“I would have no doubt that this company will be listed after three years if Boss Pei were to persist, but Boss Pei is going to withdraw now. Do you think this project will be able to last three years then?
“How much more money will be burnt according to the current rate of burning? Which of you would have so much money to burn? Who could guarantee that you could find financiers?
“Have you thought about what would happen when the money’s gone?”
Everyone fell silent again.
Obviously, most investors understood and recognized Boss Li’s views.
This project was credible only because of Boss Pei. If Boss Pei were to withdraw and confidence were to crash, then there would only be one ending to this project:
Get nothing back! A voice came from the phone after sometime. “Boss Li, why are you telling us these?”
Shouldn’t he make a fortune in silence and sell his shares first? The confidence of this project by outsiders would be crushed if everyone were to sell now. No one would be able to profit from it!
Li Shi smiled. “What I mean is… I cannot just sell off stupidly since I’ve decided to sell.
“People would not want something cheap, but they would grab it if we desperately raise the price.
“Now, let us maximize our own interest. The best way is not to panic and sell to external parties in a frenzy but to continue stirring up the popularity of this project and then find a suitable buyer to sell all the shares at a high price ‘unwillingly’!”
There were voices of approval on the phones immediately. One of them pondered for a while before talking. “Speaking of which… Boss Li, a vice president of Xude Education showed a strong interest in ‘Top Student, Come Quick’. He wanted to buy the shares I had in hand. I hesitated and had yet to reply to him.”
Boss Li smiled. “It sounds like this is the ‘suitable buyer’.”
Li Shi had plans in his head after hanging up the phone.
All the investors were now grasshoppers on the same rope. Their interests were all aligned. They wanted to sell their shares at as high a price as possible so there was no need to worry about someone leaking this secret.
The next step was for everyone to work out a way to continue the enthusiasm of the ‘Top Student, Come Quick’ project so that it would be of greater appeal to Xude Education.
Then… Xude Education would definitely continue to acquire shares of ‘Top Student, Come Quick’ to become a major shareholder of ‘Top Student, Come Quick’. Li Shi and the rest would be able to cash out with huge profits.
As for Xude Education…
Li Shi did not have a good impression of this educational institute.
Xude Education sounded legit, but it was in fact a bad company. They posted false propaganda, made fake promises, and the salesperson had multiple identities when getting students to enroll. It could be said that they did anything to get money. Of course, such a company had grown to a large scale with its ubiquitous propaganda, aggressive marketing, and training of its sales personnel.
Many students were still naive about worldly affairs. Their parents also hoped they would become prominent in the future. Xude Education, therefore, managed to fool them all with their marketing tactics. It was very hard for money to be spit out once it was given to them.
Li Shi could not be like Boss Pei where every penny he earned was clean. He could only assume as much social responsibility as possible, for example… investing in Upwind Logistics which did not make much money.
Nonetheless, he still despised the behavior of Xude Education which was defrauding students.
Li Shi would not feel the least bit guilty letting such a black-hearted company take over.
[1] This is an order that limits the loss of a broker.
Chapter 421 - Venturing into a Sinking Market was Wise!
Chapter 421 Venturing into a Sinking Market was Wise!
February 18th, Friday…
School had not reopened, but Pei Qian was already extremely busy.
Tomorrow is Beautiful was going to premiere on Tuesday. However, until now, Pei Qian had not made time to go to Fei Huang Workspace to see how the film had been edited.
The day ahead of Pei Qian was going to be very full. He considered leaving the outcome of the film to fate if he ended up having no time to watch it before the premier.
In any case, there was no point watching the final cut of Tomorrow is Beautiful anymore. Even if he found problems with it, he could not change anything. Now, Pei Qian was on a car to Lincheng.
Lincheng’s ‘Fish-Catching Complex’ was more or less done. It had one Fish-Catching Internet Cafe 2.0 branch in a core commercial district, three Fish-Catching Internet Cafe 1.0 branches in lower-tier commercial districts, a Fish-Catching Take-Out branch, twenty Upwind Courier stations, and a huge warehouse for ROF Computer-Installation with four distribution points around the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe branches.
They had been working on the entire set of branches for two months, and things had finally come to a close recently.
Today was going to be the first day of operations. Pei Qian wanted to look at how well-rece
ived Fish-Catching Internet Cafe would be in Lincheng City.
It shouldn’t be that well-received, right?
Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, Fish-Catching Take-Out, and ROF Computer-Installation were considered more expensive brands, and Lincheng’s purchasing power was quite low. Pei Qian didn’t think the businesses would appeal to them.
As for Upwind Logistics… he was sure everyone would like it, but it would not generate profits.
Of course, there were other possible outcomes… less desirable outcomes.
If they happened, Pei Qian would have to plan ahead for rainy days and think hard about where he could spend the additional income.
While in the car, Pei Qian sneezed. After that, as if recalling something, he whipped out his cell phone and called He Desheng. “Why does it seem like ‘Top Student, Come Quick’ has become… more popular?”
On the other end of the line, He Desheng sounded obviously confused. “Boss Pei, I’m not sure either…”
Before this, Pei Qian had asked He Desheng how he could make other investors lose confidence in the project. He Desheng answered ‘sell the shares’, and Pei Qian deeply agreed with the suggestion.
Pei Qian had also told Li Shi, in no uncertain terms, to start selling his shares as well. He had done that in the hopes of damaging investors’ confidence.
Yet, a strange thing happened: all the shares that Pei Qian had sold had ended up being eaten up by various other investors. It was almost as if none of them felt fearful at all.
Li Shi had not even sold his shares. Pei Qian could not figure out what he was thinking.
Could it be that Li Shi doesn’t believe me?
…it’s very likely. This isn’t the first time either.
What made Pei Qian more anxious was that money was still being poured into Top Student, Come Quick’s application, so that its figures and popularity were increasing!
With each passing day that things didn’t slow down, Pei Qian felt more unsure.
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