Return to 88: Starting from Marrying My Sister-in-law

time flies.

Winter is already deep, and the end of the year is approaching.

Even the scorching sun of Shenzhen, with its year-round heat, couldn't dispel the chill lingering in Xiao Jun's heart from that night in the hospital, where disinfectant mixed with despair.

Months have passed, and time has washed away some of the surface wounds, but it has tempered something inside, making it colder and sharper.

On the top floor of the Little Prodigy Technology headquarters building, the huge floor-to-ceiling windows offer a view of the dazzling lights of this city that never sleeps.

The top-floor conference room was brightly lit and comfortably warm, yet it was filled with a solemn atmosphere that contrasted sharply with the bustling city outside.

This is the final core board meeting of Little Prodigy before its IPO, and the agenda will determine the success or failure of the listing.

The oval-shaped mahogany table with the main seat unoccupied indicates that the company's president, representing the management team, has not yet taken his place.

The table was already filled with very important people.

Mu Qizhong, his face glowing, was dressed in a meticulously tailored Chinese silk Tang suit. The large jade ring on his finger gleamed under the light as he flipped through the documents in front of him with great interest.

He sank comfortably into the expensive leather chair, but the glint in his eyes occasionally swept over the other attendees, revealing an undisguised smugness after a successful hunt.

The Zhao family is finished.

No, that's not right. It's that the Zhao family lost their shares in the child prodigy.

In order to cope with the crisis, the company paid the taxes owed for more than a decade and promptly paid three times the fine, in the absence of a buyer.

(Mu Qizhong listened to Lu Yang's words and spread the word again. After learning that the Zhao family had offended so many big shots, no investor in the industry dared to take the blame.)

Let alone taking over a portion of the Zhao Group's shares, even taking over the entire Zhao Group held by the Zhao family would require careful consideration of whether one could withstand the combined forces of Century Group, Nande Group, Shenzhen Investment Holdings, and Goldman Sachs—a powerful alliance of private, state-owned, and foreign capital giants. It's clear the Zhao family has become easy prey for these capital market behemoths; who would dare to interfere?
The benefits of eating in a less attractive manner are now becoming apparent.
Forced into a corner, the Zhao family, with Old Zhao and his two prodigy sons, repeatedly pleaded with Xiao Jun, the child prodigy CEO, but failed to gain the understanding of their son-in-law who had just lost his beloved wife.

In the end, he had no choice but to give up, slamming the door and leaving while cursing. His two sons, who were as clever as phoenixes and dragons, almost smashed up their brother-in-law Xiao Jun's office.

Then again?

There was no other way but to sell 2.7% of the original shares of Little Prodigy Company at a low price.

They treasured these shares like precious gems, even though they were determined to sell them after the company went public and make a fortune.

But if we don't do this, then there will be no future, and the Zhao Group will be finished immediately.

Seizing this opportunity, Mu Qizhong naturally bargained hard, because he had already spread the word that the existing shareholders, including Xiaoshentong, did not welcome any new shareholders before the company went public. The Zhao family was in a hurry for money, and apart from Mu Qizhong, they couldn't even find a second buyer in a short period of time.

Mu Qizhong acquired 2.7% of Xiaoshentong's shares from the Zhao family at a very low cost, and then, as previously agreed, distributed some profits to Lu Yang, Shenzhen Investment Holdings, Goldman Sachs, and other major shareholders who had worked behind the scenes.

Even so, he made a fortune, no wonder he was all smiles when he arrived at the company early in the morning.

Didn't you see? They even moved up the number of seats on the board of directors!
Lu Yang sat discreetly opposite Mu Qizhong, in the first seat on the left above him. He maintained his relaxed and languid demeanor, with one button casually undone at the collar of his white casual shirt, as if he were on vacation rather than attending a meeting that would determine the fate of hundreds of millions or even billions of dollars.

A steaming cup of tea sat beside him, his eyes seemingly vacant, but occasionally flickering slightly when Mu Qizhong or others spoke.

Directly opposite him sat Mr. Liu, the newly appointed head of Shenzhen Investment Holdings, dressed in a sharp dark suit, his posture as straight as a javelin.

People reach middle age.

No belly fat.

It looks like a place where demobilized military officers return to their hometowns.

Noticing Lu Yang's gaze, he returned a rather serious smile to Lu Yang.

How serious should we be?

It was probably squeezed out by force.

Did this guy never smile before?
Lu Yang observed that his brows were habitually furrowed slightly, his eyes were focused on the report on the table, and the pen between his fingers showed that he was ready to jot down key points at any time. He should be a serious and rigid person in his work.

This contrasts sharply with Mr. Hong, who is representing Goldman Sachs Capital today.

Mr. Hong's ancestral home is also in mainland China. I heard that he immigrated overseas with his father when he was a teenager. At this moment, he was speaking fluent English mixed with Chinese and was having a low conversation with the translator next to him. He had the air of a typical international investment banking elite, and you could smell that aura from a great distance.

Madam Qian sat to the left of Mu Qizhong, representing the Qian family at today's meeting, maintaining the Qian family's usual composure and dignity.

She is Xiao Jun's mother.

I suppose he's here today to support his son.

Otherwise, they could simply send a representative.

The Qian family's shareholding in Little Prodigy was not high, just 5%, and their board seat was just an ordinary seat with voting rights, but they had no say in the company's major decisions.

They haven't even dealt with their own family troubles yet.

Recently, internal conflicts within the Qian family have been escalating, especially among Qian's cousins. Feeling a sense of shared fate, they realized that Qian was planning to reclaim power and are now banding together to fight against the founder of the Qian family, showing a strong tendency to split up and go their separate ways.

Old Qian is now paralyzed.

He had just undergone brain hemorrhage surgery a few months ago, and his speech was still a bit slurred.

It is currently in the recovery period.

Qian Youyou is pregnant again, and her due date is less than a month away. Old Qian has ordered her to stay at home to rest and not to do anything. He said that even if the sky falls, he, as her father, and her mother will take care of everything for her.

Lu Yang smiled and nodded to the beautiful middle-aged woman opposite him.

This woman was also her ally, except that she was his stepmother-in-law.

He's here today to support his brother-in-law, Xiao Jun. Otherwise, who would have nothing better to do than the chairman of a large corporation personally lower himself to attend the year-end high-level meeting of a subsidiary?
Then there was a knock on the door.

Led by his secretary, Xiao Jun walked in, dressed in a sharp dark suit. The grief and violence of a few months ago seemed to have been forcibly frozen and sealed away, replaced by a rock-like coldness and heaviness.

There was only a tablet computer in front of him, his slender fingers tapping silently on the edge, his gaze as sharp as a hawk's.

Scanning the entire room.

He had changed his usual carefree and smiling demeanor.

"Now that everyone's here, let's begin. Secretary Liu, please distribute a copy of the documents you've prepared to everyone present..."

Without any beating around the bush, we sat down and got straight to the point.

Lu Yang soon received a document as well, and he knew its contents without even opening it.

the reason is simple.

He had read all the contents.

And it has been reviewed.

As the major shareholder and the true decision-maker behind Little Prodigy, whose success in listing after the start of the year is crucial, I naturally have to oversee the process first.

Set the general direction.

Next, the discussion of details and the arrangement of some unimportant personnel is where this cheap brother-in-law can freely make his moves.

But Lu Yang still pretended to open the document and glance at it a few times.

The document at the top lists several sets of data, which explain in written form the sales growth of Xiaoshentong in the first four quarters of this year. The overall performance is very impressive, especially in terms of VCD product sales, which have exaggeratedly surpassed the company's previous flagship products. The annual sales of Xiaoshentong learning machines are close to 10 times higher.

A staggering figure: 195 billion, of course, in RMB.

Lu Yang flipped to the sales data section, which showed that Little Prodigy's VCD shipments were approximately 121 million units in the first quarter of this year, rising to 179 million units in the second quarter, followed by a further increase to 210 million units in the third quarter, and then a direct surge in the fourth quarter, reaching an unprecedented level of over 300 million units, for a total annual sales figure of over 810 million units.

According to another set of data, although the scale of the VCD market in mainland China has nearly doubled compared to last year, it has not reached more than 2000 million units. It is only equivalent to an increase of more than 890 million units on the basis of 800 million units last year, exceeding 1700 million units.

According to the company's sales data currently held by the prodigy himself, compared with the sales data of the entire mainland VCD market this year, the company's sales data not only did not decline in market share compared to last year under the siege of members of the Asian Film and Television Fund Association led by the Li family, but actually increased, from 36.9% last year to 47.6%, delivering a perfect report card to shareholders and investors.

Next was a list of company executives who had decided to go to Manhattan, New York for a roadshow, which included some of Lu Yang's acquaintances...

Xiao Jun is currently making a statement: "The company has decided that I will personally lead the team to the United States, assisted by General Manager Hong, to be responsible for the roadshow in Manhattan, New York, and the final lobbying for the listing. Regarding this part, since it is overseas, only Goldman Sachs, represented by General Manager Hong, is most familiar with the securities firms. Therefore, General Manager Hong will be fully responsible for the coordination from now on..."

The reason for bringing in Goldman Sachs to lead the company's Series C funding round was because of Goldman Sachs' extensive overseas network, so Xiao Jun's statement is entirely accurate.

Everyone nodded in unison.

As the head of Goldman Sachs investment banking in Asia and the representative today.

Mr. Hong, who was middle-aged and balding, had no objections.

However, this prominent figure in the Chinese community then raised another pointed question: "Since Huachen Jinbei successfully pioneered the path for mainland Chinese companies to list in the US in 92, it has developed its own model and is nearing maturity. I am honored to be able to undertake the company's North American roadshow and connect with securities firms, and I believe that with the strength of Goldman Sachs, we can accomplish this successfully, but..."

His sharp gaze swept over everyone present.

"We must also inevitably recognize that it is a Chinese company, rooted in your Chinese soil, and those who know it best are us Chinese, our own people. We can handle the task of deceiving foreigners, but who will take responsibility for the powerful overseas securities firms and investor groups within our own Chinese community?"

Seeing that no one spoke.

He tapped the table: "Hong Kong and Singapore are the most concentrated Asian financial centers. I have every reason to believe that investors and securities firms here will welcome us to arrange roadshows. Be as happy as a lark. Who will be in charge?"

This time everyone understood. It meant that Hong Kong and Singapore are both quite close to the mainland. These two Asian Tigers are not only economically developed, but also have many wealthy people. More importantly, many wealthy people understand mainland Chinese culture.

In short, these people are easier to fool than foreigners.

Lu Yang thought to himself: No wonder that in later generations, when mainland companies went to the US for listing, they did not go directly to the North American mainland for roadshows, but first went to Hong Kong for roadshows, then went south to Singapore, and finally went to the North American mainland. It turns out that this default sequence of procedures started from this time.

After careful consideration, and seeing that no one had noticed yet, Lu Yang decided to take matters into his own hands. "I also think it's worth a try. Although it's not a strict requirement of the NYSE, through roadshows in Hong Kong and Singapore, the company can have more direct access to a large number of Asian and global funds that focus on the Chinese market. In addition, there are many financial securities enthusiasts in the local area. These investors usually have a stronger understanding of and willingness to invest in Chinese companies and are not overly influenced by geopolitical factors."

Lu Yang smiled, and while everyone was listening attentively, he winked and looked at Mu Qizhong opposite him, "Old Mu, how about you do the work and lead a team to Hong Kong and Singapore?!"

Mu Qizhong's heart skipped a beat: Oh no, this kid has outsmarted me.

He had no idea that Lu Yang would call his name.

I was mainly distracted.

They were too busy having fun.

Otherwise, if you think about it carefully, the end of the year is approaching and the company's listing schedule is very tight. If the roadshow is to fly to one city at a time, it will definitely be too late. They can only be responsible for one place each. Xiao Jun has just stated that he will personally lead the team to the North American region for the roadshow and has also appointed Mr. Hong from Goldman Sachs to cooperate with him.

Of the remaining people, Mr. Liu from Shenzhen Investment Holdings Co., Ltd. represents the government and has a local state-owned enterprise background, so it is inconvenient for him to participate in the roadshow.

And the beautiful lady next to him is Xiao Jun's mother. I heard that the situation within the Qian family is quite complicated right now, with various factions clamoring for independence. They can't even handle their own affairs, so they probably won't want to get involved in this mess.

Among the remaining people, he is one who can be considered significant, and the young man surnamed Lu across from him is another.

If he were to speak first... (End of Chapter)