America's No. 1 financial conglomerate

Chapter 631 Harvesting韭菜 (韭菜 is a Chinese idiom meaning to exploit others), I only harvest Wall Street.

In the conference room of China Telecom, the original oval-shaped large desks have been completely removed and replaced with rows of temporary metal benches.

More than 300 representatives from Wall Street investment institutions were crammed into this limited area, shoulder to shoulder, breathing in each other's mouths. The narrow spacing forced everyone to maintain a stiff posture, and their expensive suits were squeezed so tightly they looked like they were made by dogs.

That's still considered good; more than a third of the attendees didn't even have a seat and had to stand against the wall, struggling to move through the gaps in the crowd, feeling extremely stifled.

Outside the glass doors of the conference room, Setonberg peered through a small, transparent gap. When he saw the sardine-can-like scene inside, his lips twitched involuntarily.

He turned to Ernst beside him and said hesitantly, "Don't we really need to rearrange the venue? Let's book a banquet hall in a hotel; it's spacious enough and befitting the status of these organizations."

When these Wall Street elites huddled together like punching bags, he could imagine that tomorrow his reputation for being stingy would resound throughout Wall Street.

It might even make the front page of a tabloid, becoming a laughing stock in the entire telecommunications industry.

But he felt wronged, because it wasn't his arrangement; the culprit was Ernst, who was standing in front of him.

Faced with Setonburg's question, Ernst showed no apology. Instead, a playful smile flashed in his deep eyes as he said calmly, "This is not stinginess, but the price they deserve for the damage they caused to Mainland Telecom over the past period."

He reached out and gently patted Setonberg on the shoulder, saying encouragingly, "Alright, it's your turn to go on stage. Now it's your performance time."

Setonberg gave a wry smile, his face full of bitterness; he really didn't want to go in.

There was nothing he could do; after all, the other party was the one who paid his salary.

Taking a deep breath, Setonberg straightened the hem of his suit jacket, trying to regain his composure, and then pushed open the glass door that seemed to weigh a ton to him.

Then, it was instantly drowned out by a torrent of curses from inside the room.

A cacophony of curses erupted, and Ernst and Anne could hear it clearly even from outside the door.

These investment institutions, which used to be big players and ruthless speculators in the futures market and only thought about fleecing ordinary people, have lost their usual gentlemanly demeanor and are now hurling insults at Seton Bogle as he walks in.

"Setonberg! This is monopolistic behavior by your Continental Telecom! We're going to file a complaint with the Federal Trade Commission!"

"Despicable and shameless! You are the vultures of the telecommunications industry, the scum!"

"You'd better watch your step, Setonburg!"

"Offending so many organizations will not end well for you and your family!"

Representatives from over three hundred investment institutions were outraged, their voices rising like a tidal wave throughout the conference room.

If it weren't for the two tall security guards standing guard at the entrance, and if this weren't the home ground of China Telecom, Setonberg probably wouldn't have been able to leave this conference room today.

He was initially terrified, but when he heard someone threatening his family, his face suddenly turned cold, and a sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

He suddenly picked up the gavel from the auction table and slammed it down hard, the dull thud piercing through the cacophony of curses.

The conference room fell into a brief silence as everyone's eyes were fixed on Setonberg.

He glanced around at everyone present and sneered, "The meeting room door is right there; no one will stop you. If anyone is not satisfied with this auction, they are free to leave at any time."

"China Telecom is a legitimate company that strictly adheres to market rules. We never force any organization to purchase our services and always uphold the principles of free and fair trade."

As soon as he finished speaking, another round of cursing erupted in the conference room, but no one got up to leave.

Every representative present understood that despite the criticism, no one wanted to lose real money.

This dedicated line, operated by Continental Telecom, connecting Chicago and Wall Street, is currently the fastest and most stable financial data line in the United States. Controlling a seat on this line means having an absolute advantage in high-frequency trading, which can bring in hundreds of millions of dollars in profits every year.

If they leave such a lucrative opportunity, then they don't deserve to stay on Wall Street.

Setonberg had anticipated this outcome. A sarcastic grin played on his lips as he raised the gavel again and announced in a booming voice, "The auction for the five-year lease on the Continental Telecom Chicago-Wall Street line is now officially open! The first lease starts at $3000 million!"

"Boom!" The conference room erupted again, with even more intense shouts of curses pouring out than before.

"$3000 million? Why don't you just rob someone!"

"Are you crazy?! Lehman Brothers' contract was clearly $300 million a year!"

"The price of $1500 million over five years has now doubled; it's outrageous!"

It's one thing for mainland telecom companies to sell their seats through a Dutch auction, but they've even raised the prices.

Although this price is not the final transaction price, the final transaction price will certainly be much higher than Lehman Brothers' five-year $1500 million.

Setonberg waited expressionlessly, letting the insults echo in his ears.

Thirty seconds later, seeing no response, he continued calling out, following the procedure, "First bid, $2900 million!"

In the corridor outside the conference room, Ernst leaned against the wall, his hands in his suit trouser pockets, his eyes closed, a lazy smile on his face, as if the angry shouts inside were not the clamor of business, but a pleasant symphony.

Annie stood beside him, her tone tinged with reproach and curiosity, "Aren't you worried at all? The starting price is set so high. What if these institutions collude and collectively lower the price, resulting in a final transaction price far below expectations? China Telecom will suffer a loss."

Ernst slowly opened his eyes, stretched out his arm, and gently pulled Anne into his arms.

"What...what are you doing?" Her body stiffened instantly, her cheeks flushed uncontrollably, and she tried to push Ernst away while trying to remain calm, but her eyes flashed with undisguised panic.

Ernst looked down into her flustered eyes, his smile deepening, and asked softly, "Are you worried about me?"

"Who...who cares about you!" Anne's face turned even redder as she struggled to break free from Ernst's embrace.

For the first time, Ernst thought this woman was quite lovely.

As I withdrew my hand from her slender waist, I seemed to catch a fleeting glimpse of disappointment in her eyes.

"Dutch auctions are all about psychological games."

"If supply exceeds demand, the kind of collective price-cutting situation you described can indeed occur."

"The problem is that supply is currently less than demand. This dedicated line has a unique advantage, and someone will inevitably succumb to the psychological pressure and bid first, because no one wants to be the unlucky one who misses the opportunity."

"And," he said, pausing deliberately.

"And what?" Annie had recovered from her earlier panic and asked curiously.

"Furthermore," Ernst said, turning his gaze back to the conference room, "I will continue to put psychological pressure on them and intensify their efforts."

I've also prepared a second layer of pressure to put even more intensity on them.

Annie didn't know what he meant by "strength" and was about to ask when the first seat was sold.

At $2200 million, someone finally couldn't resist and bought that seat.

Then, through the gap in the glass of the conference room door, she saw Setonberg take out a white whiteboard from behind him, on which the number "50" was clearly written in black marker.

Amidst everyone's puzzled gazes, he erased the "50" and rewrote "49," then turned the whiteboard towards the crowd and said, "Everyone, there are now 49 seats remaining."

"Boom!" The conference room erupted in a deafening roar once again, more intense than ever before.

"Why are there only 49 seats left? Weren't there supposed to be over a hundred?"

"Isn't this dedicated line supposed to have at least 200 seats?! What on earth are you doing?"

Questions, anger, and complaints mingled together, plunging the entire conference room into unprecedented chaos.

Setonberg waited a full two minutes before regaining control of the situation with a mallet.

He shrugged and explained in a calm tone, "Ladies and gentlemen, the total number of seats on the Continental Telecom Chicago-Wall Street dedicated line is indeed 220."

"Lehman Brothers holds 30 exclusive seats. Of the remaining 190 seats, top financial giants from Wall Street, Europe, and Asia, such as JPMorgan Chase, Citigroup, and Deutsche Bank, have already reserved 140 seats in advance. Therefore, only 50 seats will be offered in this public auction."

Instantly, the cursing resumed.

However, this time it's not targeting China Telecom and Setonberg, but rather all the major Wall Street giants.

They also remarked that they hadn't seen a single representative from any of Wall Street's top institutions, whether American, European, or Asian.

So you've already finished eating, leaving us with scraps, and you still expect us to pay a high price?

You were the ones who said you'd fight against mainland China Telecom, but now you've run away. You're such bastards.

Setonberg ignored their thoughts and turned a blind eye to the infighting. Taking advantage of a lull in the crowd's emotions, he struck the gavel again. "Now, let's begin the auction for the second five-year seat, starting at $3100 million!"

Not only are there fewer seats available, but prices have also gone up.

"You're so mean." In the hallway, Annie finally understood what Ernst meant by "increasing intensity."

However, she felt a strange liking for it.