What's wrong with me being a rich man?

Chapter 707 Clues (4K)

Zhu Zehui raised serious questions about Youngman Automobile's new technologies.

He had doubts when he first saw the company's project description, but the technical collaborations they listed were indeed impressive, with the earliest project dating back ten years. So... there might be some possibility of success.

After all, Youngman Automobile is a car company that has been in business for more than ten years.

When Zhu Zehui asked President Yu about this, he noticed Pang Qingnian's strong support for silicon carbon stock, which made him feel that the so-called water-hydrogen fuel cell vehicles were more reliable. However, the "three heys" response immediately raised his vigilance to the highest level.

If you say Mr. Yu is bad at the internet, then Alibaba and Tencent are indeed very strong. If you say Mr. Yu is bad at car manufacturing, then gasoline cars still hold an absolute dominant market share. If you say Mr. Yu is bad at short selling... then his ability to go through such extremes over the past few years has been unique globally.

This unusual reaction from the major short sellers is definitely not unfounded.

Zhu Zehui quickly sent his secretary to find out more specific details, but the result made him frown. In addition to the endorsement from the university, Youngman Automobile had already set up a hydrogen energy base in Rugao and had also formed a joint venture with a company in Nantong for hydrogen fuel cell technology.

Furthermore, it is said that Youngman Automobile will soon hold a car launch event to introduce its first water-hydrogen fuel cell vehicle to the world.

It was all about technical cooperation, local projects, and press conferences—it all seemed very professional.

Zhu Zehui was a little suspicious. Would scammers really go to such lengths? It couldn't be that sinister, could it?
He showed no outward reaction to the documents involving Youngman Auto, but his deliberate act of looking at them was already a statement in itself.

"Boss, should we go and take another look at Youngman Automobile in person?" Secretary Zhang Mu asked while refilling the boss's tea.

Zhu Zehui didn't speak, but simply shook his head slightly.

Zhang Mu waited a few seconds, and seeing that the leader had no other instructions, tentatively asked, "What aspects should Youngman Automobile pay attention to?"

Zhu Zehui glanced at the team that had come from Lingang, chuckled, and said, "What I don't know is that President Yu has some issues with it. Tell me, what aspects should we pay attention to?"

Zhang Mu was startled, then said seriously, "If President Yu has any objections, then we really need to pay attention to everything. Youngman Auto's current car business isn't performing well, and maybe..."

He hesitated for a moment, then continued, "We might just take a risk."

Youngman Automobile's "Youngman Lotus" brand ceased production last year, and currently only its commercial vehicle business is struggling to survive. For a company with such heavy assets, such a major problem in its main business means it is practically on the verge of collapse.

In this situation, there's a possibility that the dog might resort to desperate measures.

Zhu Zehui also felt that Youngman Automobile might be trying to maintain the company's operation by taking advantage of the new energy trend, but it still needed to pay attention to the situation when it came to cooperation with other provinces and other places.

He finally said, "I'll tell Director Liao that the province's support for new energy projects like Youngman Automobile needs further discussion. We shouldn't rush to give a conclusion."

Regardless of what happens elsewhere, take care of your own affairs first.

Zhang Mu accepted the order and left. Although he didn't have any solid evidence, he felt in his heart that Youngman Auto might not be far from collapsing.

The rising stock price of Silicon Carbon Group has sparked differing opinions. Youngman Automobile is just a small company that has jumped out of this controversy. Most people don't care about Pang Qingnian's feigned support and are mainly focused on the voices of the short sellers.

Glaucus, a short seller focused on the Hong Kong stock market, still has influence. Its opinions have appeared in Hong Kong media reports, sparking discussions about the reasonable range of silicon carbide stock prices.

In addition, news that Silicon Carbon Group will soon be included in the list of securities eligible for short selling has begun to circulate through multiple channels.

Xu Xin, who was in Shanghai, closely followed the discussion and occasionally asked her husband if there were any contingency plans.

“I’m not with the Silicon Carbon Group. Didn’t President Liu tell you that we need to show a bullish attitude when necessary?” Li Song had already flown to Hong Kong. He was a little helpless after receiving his wife’s call. “President Yu definitely knows what’s going on. Don’t worry about the big short sellers. I’ll tell you if I hear anything here in Hong Kong.”

Xu Xin felt that she might be a little stressed, and thinking about her husband's behavior, she even felt that he was quite calm.

Capital Today is a major investor in silicon carbon and views such investments as growth opportunities comparable to those of companies like JD.com. However, it does involve too many unrelated issues.

Xu Xin forcibly shifted her attention away from the silicon carbon group, wanting to once again become a focused venture capital queen.

The stock price of Silicon Carbon Group was quite stable in late August. In the past, it fluctuated downwards, but now it fluctuated upwards. The point of contention among many institutions is whether it will be impacted by the further reduction of subsidies in the second half of the year.

At the same time, it remains to be seen whether there will be enough room for growth in major city markets like Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and Shenzhen in the future.

Silicon car prices are not cheap, and city policies such as license plates will inevitably lose their effectiveness eventually.

Xu Xin tried her best not to pay attention to the situation regarding silicon carbon, but even though she did so, others would always bring it up on their own initiative.

On the last day of August, Xu Xin met with Gao Yi, the founder of Yifeng Pharmacy, to discuss the future development of the industry.

Today Capital invested in Yifeng Pharmacy several years ago, and the latter went public last year, which was also a very successful investment.

Gao Yi talked about the development of his own industry, and suddenly the conversation turned to the recent market value and news of Silicon Carbon Group in relation to stock prices.

Xu Xin felt a little helpless and stopped talking after a few brief exchanges.

While sipping his tea, Gao Yi pondered for a moment, then finally said softly after a flicker of his eyes, "President Xu, I am especially grateful to Capital Today for their investment in us. Without that investment and guidance, we would not have achieved what we have today."

Xu Xin found the sudden gratitude baffling; she had already thanked everyone she needed to, so why bring it up now?
She felt a strange unease, but smiled and said, "That's the point of our investment—to ensure everyone wins."

Gao Yi nodded, his expression turning serious, and said, "President Xu, I was chatting with a friend recently and found something quite interesting. Some pharmaceutical companies are just passing the drugs around without actually getting them into the market."

Xu Xin was stunned.

She looked at General Manager Gao in front of her, momentarily stunned, and hesitated before asking, "You mean, some companies are using related-party transactions to inflate their revenue?"

Gao Yi became excited when he heard these words. Yes, yes, that's the tune.

He nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, it's related-party transactions, and then inflating revenue, which should also inflate profits, right? The final financial statements will definitely have to be falsified, right?"

Xu Xin noticed the change in Gao Yi's expression and realized what was going on: "You..."

Gao Yi, unsuspecting, continued in a low voice, "President Xu, I heard that Ercon Pharmaceuticals is doing this. They make pharmaceutical excipients. I heard from a friend that they haven't sold that many starch capsules."

Now even the company name and the water-injected products have been revealed.

Yifeng Pharmacy is a drug sales channel, so they come into contact with this kind of industry information every day. Xu Xin stared straight at President Gao and said quietly, "President Gao, why are you telling me this?"

Gao Yi rubbed his hands together: "Um, Mr. Xu, I am especially grateful for your investment in us back then. You just said that everyone should win, and Yifeng has already won quite a bit. If possible, I would definitely like to see Mr. Xu win even more."

Xu Xin found it funny but couldn't laugh.

She tapped her temple with her right fist and sighed, "Mr. Gao, you've come to the wrong person. Talking to me about this is like casting pearls before swine."

Gao Yi was not surprised to see this, and instead said, "Yes, yes, Mr. Xu, we're just chatting, it doesn't involve anything else. I just heard it from a friend, so you can just listen to it casually."

He understood the public opinion situation in China; the short-selling guru didn't actually want to be exposed like that.

Xu Xin hesitated, then stopped, "You... me..."

She paused for a moment, then abruptly ended the topic and went on to talk about Yifeng Pharmacy.

Gao Yi felt that President Xu was quite cautious.

He has already mentioned the key information, so there's no need to discuss this further.

After a long while, Gao Yi got up to take his leave.

Xu Xin found the rest of the conversation awkward, so she only escorted Mr. Gao to the elevator: "Mr. Gao, I'm sorry to have taken up your time today. Today Capital has a lot of confidence in Yifeng, and we will definitely hold it for the long term."

Gao Yi nodded and thanked President Xu.

He pressed the close button on the elevator, and just as the doors were about to close, he silently mouthed a final reminder: "Starch capsules."

Xu Xin watched as what seemed like four words came out of President Gao's mouth, and then she saw the elevator doors close.

She reached out and pressed her hand against the door. Damn it! I don't want to know anything about starch capsules!

However, both Ercon Pharmaceuticals and starch capsules are easy to remember.

Xu Xin returned to her office, sighed, and wondered if this company was actually founded by Fu Erkang. So... what should she do next?
Pretend you didn't hear it? Pretend you don't know anything?
Or is it to present crucial clues?
If this turns out to be a crucial clue, won't I really become a loser?

After hesitating for a while, Xu Xin called President Yu directly and mentioned the information she had just learned about the suspected fraud by the listed company.

Yu Xing was surprised by the phone call: "Mr. Xu, what's going on? Aren't you indifferent to short selling? Why are you specifically helping me gather information?"

“I didn’t do it intentionally, I just…” Xu Xin said irritably, “I’m just being treated as one of the people who shorted the stock. Don’t worry about it, there’s just this incident, you can deal with it yourself.”

Yu Xing clicked his tongue: "Listen to your tone. When you and President Li were shorting stocks together, weren't you also shorting? Why are you looking down on us like this?"

Xu Xin felt a throbbing nerve in her temple: "That's him, not me!"

Yu Xing smiled and said, "Okay, okay, then just forward it to the China Securities Regulatory Commission or the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. You don't need to tell me. The sources of this kind of information are usually quite reliable. Just let them take care of it."

Xu Xin sneered, "You don't like it? There's not much meat in it, is that it?"

“Yes, that’s one way to understand it. Big short sellers target big companies, and Glaucus, which jumped out this time, is a medium-sized short seller that came to us medium-sized companies,” Yu Xing said. “Sometimes, everyone has a set of rules.”

When the conversation turned to this, Xu Xin casually asked, "Glaucus can't do anything to silicon carbide, right?"

Yu Xing thought for a moment and said, "Silicon carbon is not fake, but short selling doesn't necessarily have to be about finding fake things. It can also be a way to reassess the value. They want to send this kind of signal to the market, and the liquidity of the Hong Kong GEM is low."

He said, "However, whether he's a short seller or we are, it's fine."

Xu Xin felt encouraged.

The next second, she felt that she shouldn't feel so proud.

However, it's not just medium-sized short sellers who have their eyes on silicon carbon. The day after Xu Xin and President Yu finished their conversation, another well-known short seller, Greenlight Capital, also spoke out about the recent rise in silicon carbon's stock price, believing that its market value was in a bubble.

Greenlight Capital is undoubtedly a major short seller. It shorts Tesla and Apple, and its funds are around $70 billion. At the beginning of the year, it suffered heavy losses due to shorting Netflix and was ridiculed as a contrarian indicator of the market, but its influence is greater than that of Glaucus, which focuses on Hong Kong stocks.

"I have great respect for the achievements of Guoshanfeng in the financial market, but I don't understand why the founder of such an institution would choose such a fragile business model and a new energy technology route with no competitive barriers."

"Range-extending technology is undoubtedly outdated. It can neither create a moat for gasoline car manufacturers with more advanced technology, nor attract those who are committed to improving the environment with new energy sources."

"Anyone with basic physics knowledge knows that it's just an inefficient game of energy conversion."

“I think the Volkswagen Group’s assessment is accurate. Range extenders are the worst solution. They don’t require a complex pure electric platform or an advanced battery management system. They just need to put together an existing engine and battery pack. It’s too easy to copy.”

“As soon as the policy dividends disappear, the fundamentals of the silicon carbon group will inevitably collapse.”

David Einhorn, the founder of Greenlight Capital, talked about Silicon Carbon Group on a TV program. The topic came from Tesla, which he shorted, but Silicon Carbon Group took up a lot of the talk.

The host then asked, "David, would you short silicon carbide?"

David Einhorn answered without hesitation: "Of course, Silicon Carbon Group is a value trap in the new energy industry. It will fail immediately once the irrational sentiment in the market subsides, and I am responsible for exposing this irrational sentiment."

The following day, headlines about Greenlight Capital shorting silicon carbon appeared in many media outlets.

In less than half a day, Yu Xing, the head of the Silicon Carbon Group, made a new move.

He posted a video on Douyin showing a Jiuzhou vehicle with a new license plate that was about to be issued, along with the caption, "The scenery here is quite nice."

The new license plate is good, and the five-seater Kyushu is also good.

This is seen as a response to external signals of short selling.

(End of this chapter)