After the Divorce, I Could Hear the Voice of the Future
Chapter 428 - 425: Selling Grandpa's Land Without a Twinge of Conscience

"Lu, West Africa probably left around ten o'clock last night and should be close to Modu, so I'm counting on you to handle the matters there."

West Africa was Little Wang, and Wilson hoped that if there was any situation unfavorable to Panda, Lu Liang could lend a hand.

"No problem, he should call me soon, and I'll mention it to him then."

Lu Liang couldn't help but reflect. Little Wang had really made it; even heads of Wall Street firms had to look to him before acting.

Although fad stocks don't make sense, don't look at earnings, and even projections aren't important, it's a different story when the founder deliberately causes trouble.

If Little Wang caused any mischief,

it would be easy for one bad apple to spoil the whole barrel.

What Wilson meant was that if Panda ran into any issues, they should be reported to them first.

If it could be resolved, everyone would help out; otherwise, if it couldn't, it was better to do nothing than to make a mistake.

"Thank you."

Suddenly, Wilson burst into laughter. There was a time when they had been competitors in the marketplace, but now they were shaking hands in peace.

With Lu Liang at East Country, acting as a connector, Chinese concept stocks could become their target too.

Lu Liang said with a smile, "There are no eternal enemies, no permanent stances; everyone is in it for the money."

"Lu, I like your candor."

Wilson laughed heartily, feeling great.

Suddenly, a call came through to Lu Liang's phone, and he glanced at it: "West Africa is calling me; he must have arrived."

"Then I won't keep you any longer. Feel free to stay in touch, whether you need anything or not."

"Of course, we're friends."

After ending the call with Wilson, Lu Liang picked up Little Wang's call. An excited and hurried voice came through the speaker: "I'm back in Modu, where are you? Are you free tonight?"

"At the office, I guess I'm free."

Lu Liang glanced at Sun Yutao. The next two days were the weekend, and he was in the midst of seeking a haven for the capital.

Looking for a place to park the funds wasn't new for Sun Yutao, so his oversight wasn't necessary.

"ojbk, wait for me on the rooftop in ten minutes; I'll come to pick you up." After saying that, Little Wang hung up, charged with excitement.

Lu Liang looked out the window at the night sky above Lujiazui, where occasional red lights flickered, the lights of helicopters and planes.

He then looked at the stock price chart on the wall; it had risen 16 points today, with the market value increasing by another 2 billion US Dollars.

Little Wang's paper wealth had increased by 600 million US Dollars. It wasn't hard to imagine that tonight the sky would be ablaze with fireworks, marking a sleepless night.

"Yutao, proceed as planned. Keep an eye on it; I'm heading out."

Lu Liang said goodbye and took the elevator to the top floor.

Several buildings near Lujiazui had helipads on their roofs, usually a tourist attraction, costing 1800 to enjoy the view of Modu from the sky.

Having a helicopter was a mark of the wealthy, but this trend hadn't blown in from Xiangjiang to the mainland, possibly also because the bigwigs on the mainland preferred safer travels on the well-connected roads.

Unlike Xiangjiang, where the roads were mostly one-way, getting caught in traffic during an emergency could be a death sentence.

Lu Liang reached the rooftop, summoned building security, and turned on the helipad signal lights to help the aircraft recognize the location.

After waiting a while, the sound of whooshing came through the night sky as a medium-sized helicopter capable of carrying six people landed.

"Old Lu, come aboard."

The cabin door swung open, and Little Wang was smiling brightly, excitedly waving. Beside him were Liu Mou and Long Fei, it looked like they had just come from the airport.

Liu Mou, a plump and agile man with a beaming smile, quickly handed noise-cancelling headphones to Lu Liang.

Wearing the headphones, Lu Liang bent down to avoid the helicopter's propeller wind, stepped into the cabin, and leaned in close to Little Wang's ear, shouting, "Where are we going?"

"Just come out, don't ask where."

Little Wang laughed heartily, his laugh overtaking the noise of the propellers, radiating pride and wildness.

Clearly he knew about Panda's stock price rise for the second day in a row, his personal stake now valued at 4.259 billion US Dollars.

Lu Liang was momentarily at a loss for words amidst the noise; he chose to remain silent and enjoy the night view of Modu instead.

The helicopter left the New International Building, crossing over Pujiang, passing the Bund, and in less than ten minutes, the nose suddenly dipped.

Lu Liang saw a rooftop terrace above the high-rise buildings.

The lights were ablaze, the lasers flashed, and men and women raised their glasses to welcome their arrival.

"I knew you wouldn't arrange the show for me," Little Wang said with a chuckle, "so I arranged it myself."

He smiled mischievously as he couldn't wait to open the plane's door and disembark upon landing.

Striding onto the stage with steps betraying no familial recognition, he took the microphone from the DJ's hand.

He shouted, "Friends, I'm back! Tonight, let's revel to our heart's content and party till dawn."

The DJ, very cooperative, raised his arms and cheered, "Let's welcome the new billion-dollar company leader, Mr. Wang~"

The stage lit up with colorful neon lights, and Little Wang, with a beaming smile, took off the DJ's baseball cap and put it on, the brim facing backward, becoming the midnight DJ.

Dozens of handsome men and pretty women raised their arms, swaying with the rhythm of the music, wildly and unrestrained.

"What's gotten into him?" Lu Liang touched his chin, puzzled, and turned to ask Long Fei beside him.

Long Fei glanced at Lu Liang and, with a wry smile, said, "He probably pent up too much in New York."

During the ten days in New York, Little Wang had at least ten chances for romantic encounters, but he ended up alone in an empty room every time.

Based on his prior knowledge of Little Wang, he couldn't hold back, but surprisingly, he did.

He held back all the way until he returned to the country.

"One either explodes in silence or perishes in it," Lu Liang said with a chuckle.

Long Fei nodded, "That's the theory."

He took two cocktails from a passing waiter and handed one to Lu Liang, "Mr. Lu, would you like a drink?"

"Since we're here, let's have a drink," Lu Liang raised his glass, glanced at Long Fei, and then walked to a relatively quiet corner.

Understanding the cue, Long Fei followed him and, ensuring they weren't overheard, asked quietly, "Mr. Lu, do you have any instructions?"

"The stock price of Panda has been acting strange these last few days."

Lu Liang leaned against the railing, feeling the night breeze. This place should be near Jinling West Road, from where they could clearly see People's Park.

Long Fei nodded, then after a moment's reflection, said, "There's a rumor going around that you're the one hyping up the market sentiment."

Lu Liang chuckled lightly, "Yesterday, it was me, but not today, nor will it be in the future."

He took a sip of his drink and said leisurely, "Whatever plans Panda has, implement them as soon as possible and further push up the hype."

Some things were pointless to tell Little Wang; he didn't understand them, nor did he take much responsibility. The real efforts for Panda were being made by Long Fei.

The recent call with Wilson made Lu Liang realize that he wasn't just a bridge from East Country to Wall Street but also a two-way bridge from Wall Street to East Country.

Now that he had tasted some benefits, it was time for the Wall Street institutions to relish some too. Interfering with corporate operations without affecting the market was also his responsibility.

Mutually beneficial partnerships could last, and even if something big would happen next year, it would be best to keep a close relationship with Wall Street this year and the first half of next year.

Long Fei frowned, unable to help reminding him, "Mr. Lu, you are also one of Panda's top ten shareholders."

They both held original shares, which they couldn't cash in for the next six months, even if the stock price soared to a hundred yuan a share.

The market was currently overheating, and if Lu Liang truly had Panda's best interests at heart, he would advocate for cooling it down.

Feverishly hyping the market was like making a bridal gown for someone else, yielding them no benefits except draining potential.

They referred to the company's shareholders;

Lu Liang was a shareholder of the company,

But he was more than just a shareholder.

He had obviously partnered with the Wall Street institutions, aiming to heat up Panda.

Lu Liang chuckled to himself, glancing at Little Wang, who was still enamored with DJing, feeling more certain that Long Fei was the true backbone of the operation.

He said indifferently, "Kuai Shou's stores will launch after National Day, and Kuai Shou's small shops in mid-October. In less than six months, Panda will revert to its original form anyway. All this effort now is pointless."

In Lu Liang's opinion, in less than six months, Panda would be back to square one.

Since it's going to end, might as well smooth the way for it.

"Mr. Lu, we haven't even tried it. How can we know it's a meaningless act?" Long Fei finally spoke up after a long silence, clearly dissatisfied and bravely asked, "Mr. Lu, forgive my boldness, but is Panda just a tool for you to achieve some purpose? To be discarded once used?"

From rounds A to C of funding, Lu Liang was unconcerned, but starting with round D, he showed an excess of interest.

The plan was to go public in the spring of next year, but he rushed the process, completing the IPO three months early.

Now he spoke as though urging Panda to exert its last bit of warmth, which made him very uncomfortable.

It felt like selling the family fields without a second thought.