Rebirth Starting as a Stock Market Enthusiast

Zhao Dong slammed his hand on the table, making the teacup lid jump.

He stood up, his eyes blazing with murderous intent: "Zhang Defu, do you have any humanity left? Making a pregnant woman, three or four months along, yell at the top of her lungs for five or six hours in a live stream? And you call that a 'marketing angle'? Did a donkey kick your brain, or did a pig eat it?"

Zhang Defu was startled by his sudden outburst of anger and instinctively took a half step back, but immediately straightened his back and said defiantly, "Old Zhao, don't put it so harshly. What's the situation now? The company is about to go bankrupt! Look at the accounts, how much money is left? If this drags on any longer, forget about dividends, we won't even be able to pay salaries! Your daughter-in-law gave birth to a child of the Zhao family, and the Zhao family will raise her. Why should hundreds of shareholders be dragged down with her?"

"Exactly!" Liu Chengmin interjected, his tone sinister. "Old Zhao, you might not be willing to part with it, but we certainly aren't willing to let our money go to waste. Last time we made 50 million in live streams; even if we reduce it by 20% this time, 40 million should be enough to give us a breather. Besides, it's not like internet celebrities can't stream when they're pregnant. They can just sit and chat, showing off their baby bumps; people will still watch, and they might even become more popular. It's all ready-made traffic. Aren't you going to capitalize on this hype and wait to fade away?"

Zhao Dong's chest heaved violently as he pointed at Liu Chengmin, unable to speak for a long time.

Of course he knew the company was in trouble.

The funds in the account are indeed only enough to last for two months.

The bank has issued an ultimatum: if the interest payments are not made, the mortgaged assets will be frozen.

He also knew that Li Yuanyuan was a cash cow.

Not to mention that Shen Fei had previously advised against continuing the broadcast, Zhao Dong also dared not let Li Yuanyuan continue broadcasting after learning that she was pregnant.

But that's his daughter-in-law, and she's carrying his own grandson!

Making a pregnant woman endure that kind of high-pressure, long-duration live stream... what if something bad happens to her...?

Zhao Dong's chest heaved violently. He knew what Liu Chengmin was planning—if he refused, Liu Chengmin would use "chairman's management decision-making errors" as a pretext to join other shareholders in ousting him.

Originally, Anyuan Clothing had already shown some improvement after Li Yuanyuan's live broadcast. If he had just given more time, he could have gradually divided the shareholders. But now, with Liu Chengmin's commotion, his plan has been completely ruined.

After years of pledging and dilution, his current shareholding is less than 30%, which is simply unsustainable.

"Give me two days," Zhao Dong finally spoke, his voice sounding as if he had aged ten years in an instant. "I'll talk to Li Yuanyuan and also... get in touch with her team. If we really want to broadcast it, we need to refine the plan."

Liu Chengmin's lips curled up slightly.

He knew Zhao Dong would back down. He didn't want to make trouble so soon. If Zhao Dong could continue live streaming and completely revitalize Anyuan Clothing, he wouldn't be in a hurry to make trouble.

Unfortunately, Zhao Dong didn't know what he was thinking; after one live stream, he stopped streaming altogether.

Just because Li Yuanyuan is pregnant? Has Zhao Dong lost his mind...?

"Okay, as long as Mr. Zhao understands. However, we still need you to handle things with the bank..."

"Understood, I'll handle things at the bank." Zhao Dong waved his hand, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes.

The office door finally closed.

He was the only one left in the room.

Zhao Dong pulled a cigarette from the pack, his hand trembling twice before he managed to light it. He took a deep drag, and the pungent smoke filled his lungs, making his eyes sting.

He looked at the swirling smoke and recalled the expression on Li Yuanyuan's face a few days ago when she announced her pregnancy.

She also recalled the bewildered look on her son Zhao Jun's face when he found out about it—whether he was surprised, delighted, or simply confused.

......

After settling Tuantuan in, Shen Fei didn't linger and went straight back to the company.

Not long after arriving at the company, Zhao Dong brought Li Yuanyuan and Zhao Jun over.

"Mr. Zhao, what brings you here in person?"

Shen Fei looked at Zhao Dong with a puzzled expression. Li Yuanyuan's account operation was basically stable, so Shen Fei directly handed her over to Qin Ziyi to manage. Originally, Shen Fei wanted Zhou Jiahui to take over, but Zhou Jiamin was not very familiar with the work of an agent. She was already struggling to manage a pet account, not to mention that there was a virtual IP project that required her to do copywriting and creative work.

"President Shen, could you arrange a short live stream for Yuanyuan? It doesn't have to be as big as last time, just..." Zhao Dong said eagerly upon seeing Shen Fei, but he stopped mid-sentence, glancing at Li Yuanyuan beside him.

Li Yuanyuan listened quietly to Zhao Dong's gaze, and her expression froze for a moment.

Since she told the Zhao family about her pregnancy, she could clearly feel the changes in Zhao Dong. Even Zhao Jun had changed recently, following her around all day long, completely different from before.

Li Yuanyuan knew that Zhao Jun's change was not only due to the baby in her belly, but also due to the pressure from Zhao Dong.

Li Yuanyuan picked up where Zhao Dong left off, saying softly, "Dad, let me explain. President Shen, after the shareholders of Anyuan Clothing found out I wouldn't be doing live streams for a while, they collectively pressured Uncle... Dad, trying to force me to continue live-streaming sales. We discussed it and were thinking about whether we could do a simple special session to appease them..."

Shen Fei pondered for a moment, his gaze sweeping over Li Yuanyuan's slightly pale face before turning to Zhao Dong's tense profile.

Shen Fei calmly said, "President Zhao, I still don't recommend that Yuanyuan start live streaming."

Zhao Dong frowned, about to speak, but Shen Fei raised his hand to stop him.

"It's not about the money." Shen Fei looked at Li Yuanyuan. "Yuanyuan's last live stream went viral because the special setting of the 'charity special' gave fans an outlet for emotional release and moral satisfaction. When people bought clothes, they felt they had done a good deed, and that goodwill was attributed to you."

"Frequent live-streaming e-commerce may look good in the short term, but in the long run, it is depleting Li Yuanyuan's brand. Fans will feel that her previous charity work was just a prelude, and the ultimate goal is still to sell products. Once fans lose their trust, it's not just a matter of losing followers; it can even affect future conversion rates."

Shen Fei definitely doesn't approve of Li Yuanyuan starting live-streaming e-commerce now. In his previous life, which of those live-streaming e-commerce influencers didn't frantically monetize their traffic during their peak, then quickly exhaust their fans' trust, collapse their persona, and eventually fade into obscurity?

Li Yuanyuan has gained some fame and a fan base because her persona has a compelling backstory and emotional value. If this is treated merely as a sales tool, she will quickly be labeled a "profit-driven streamer."

Zhao Dong fell silent. He understood Shen Fei's words, but his anxiety did not lessen. If Li Yuanyuan didn't start live streaming soon, all the shareholders of Anyuan Clothing would side with Liu Chengmin, and then he would be powerless to reverse the situation.

"President Shen," Zhao Dong's voice was deep, "I understand your concerns. But now... if I can't give the shareholders an explanation, I'm afraid I might be... removed from my position before we even reach the shareholders' meeting in two months."