After the Divorce, I Could Hear the Voice of the Future
Chapter 430 - 427: Cunningly Advancing by Retreating

"Lu, where are you?"

The next day at noon, Little Wang called, and Lu Liang woke up to the ringtone, giving out his room number: "Room 1010 on the 52nd floor."

After hanging up the phone, there was a knock on the door after just ten seconds, evidently Little Wang had also stayed at the hotel last night.

Wearing the hotel's slippers, he schlumped in and complained, "What's so important? I just woke up and haven't even had lunch yet."

Lu Liang said, "I just want you to keep a low profile for now, someone's got their eyes on Panda and wants to pump it into a penny stock. I hope there won't be any slip-ups on the company's part."

Hearing this, Little Wang's eyes widened in astonishment, "Damn, Panda turning into a penny stock? Doesn't that mean we're gonna make a fortune?"

He hurriedly inquired, "I just took a glance, the share price climbed to 7 US Dollars, does that mean it'll double?"

The latest share price is 7 US Dollars, with a market cap of 13.5 billion. If it doubled, that would be 27 billion, holding 31.55% of the shares, making it 8.5 billion US Dollars, equivalent to 57 billion RMB.

57 billion RMB; based on last year's list, that ranks 30th on the national rich list, equivalent to the Wu family of Longhu Real Estate.

"It might, or it might not; it all depends on how they plan to play it."

Lu Liang was distracted, noticing several red banknotes pressed under the ashtray on the coffee table, he counted about thirty-two of them.

Reminded of several long hairs on the white pillow and leftover condoms on the nightstand, it was clear that last night wasn't spent alone.

Putting all this together, it looked like he'd been solicited.

"Smart guy, do you think I've got the potential to be someone's kept man?"

Lu Liang said with a smirk, flicking the banknotes for a crisp sound.

Little Wang looked perplexed, "Where did this money come from?"

"I was busy all night, woke up and the person was gone, only this stack of cash was left."

Lu Liang laughed casually, quite content to pocket his hard-earned money.

Having roughly grasped what happened, Little Wang looked incensed, "Have you no shame?"

To him, this was a humiliating act.

However, Lu Liang didn't see it that way; he chuckled, "A hardworking farmer deserves some reward for his labor, doesn't he? Isn't that fair?"

After a long silence, Little Wang suddenly scoffed derisively, "I'm ashamed to associate with you."

His disdain was mixed with the competitive spirit of a man—Little Wang, still in his twenties, wondered why he hadn't received such 'payment' being in his thirties.

"That's the difference between us."

Lu Liang said lightly, heading to the bathroom to freshen up, followed by a loud door shut.

After a while, when he came out of the bathroom, Little Wang had already left. Lu Liang looked at the red notes and, without a second thought, stuffed them casually into his wallet.

Being solicited was one thing, Cinderella's slipper another; he was untroubled by such matters.

If fate willed it, he would pick up where he left off; if not, let it vanish with the wind.

Both adults, neither the woman nor Lu Liang were looking to take responsibility.

That afternoon, Lu Liang took a trip to Lou Shui in Su City.

Though it was Saturday, the construction site was still bustling with loud noises.

Zhuo Yifan was already on the job, acting like a personal assistant at Wang Xiaofeng's side.

He spoke little, observed and inquired a lot, learning about local operations in as short a time as possible.

Across the river, eighteen factory buildings were taking shape; a few more months and they'd be complete.

Lu Liang took a cursory look and didn't linger, heading back to Modu early the next morning.

Wen Chao called the previous night; Bitcoin prices had suddenly surged.

A 7% jump overnight, climbing back to 1600 US Dollars.

They only held a 41% position, and with almost six hundred million in liquid funds, should they keep buying in?

"Buy, create the illusion of retail investors buying high," Lu Liang commanded without a second thought.

On December 17th, Bitcoin closed at 20,852 US Dollars, with each having gained over nineteen thousand in value.

Anything under ten thousand was considered a low price; they would have bought in bulk long ago if they weren't concerned about impacting the market.

At the end of September, on the eve of National Day.

DiDi, following tradition, and led by Liu Qing, convened a board meeting to report September's performance to the shareholders.

The frequency of these board meetings, which had been quarterly, was unusual in recent months.

The main reason was the failed listing review; they met frequently to produce the latest performance reports every month, placating the shareholders.

It wasn't that they couldn't go public, they just didn't want to yet; the company had strong cash flow and was growing each month.

"If we go public with an IPO valuation of 50 billion US Dollars, that's undoubtedly selling at a ridiculously low price. We should wait for a better opportunity," someone said.

The audience exchanged glances. They had heard this rhetoric too many times, and it was as if their ears had grown calluses from listening to it.

Whether they were unable to or just unwilling, they had long had the answer in their hearts, but no one wanted to be the first to stick their neck out.

She was the daughter of the former chairman of the Taishan Association, who had just returned from deepening her studies at Goldman Sachs, a perfect blend of Eastern and Western expertise.

Unless it was truly a matter of life or death, no one wanted to offend the daughter of the Liu family.

"Mr. Liu is indeed correct," said Zhu Hu, giving Shen Peng a glance before suddenly challenging, "But I wonder if Mr. Liu has been paying attention to Panda."

"Panda's stock price closed at 7.12 US Dollars this morning, with a continuous rise of 224% over three days, and a market capitalization of 13.685 billion US Dollars."

"The recent roadshow in New York was subscribed over 218.85 times, breaking the record set three years ago by Ali for Chinese concept stocks going public in the US."

"Judging by the market's reaction, it's not hard to see that the winter for Chinese concept stocks in the US has passed, and spring is on its way."

Upon hearing this, the neutral shareholders, who had been wary of the Liu family's influence, suddenly became agitated.

It had been five years, they were the national number one, having raised over 20 billion US Dollars, and it was time to reap the benefits.

Liu Qing's expression stiffened, but she was forced to say, "Whether it's really spring is still questionable, because the presence of Lu Liang is a significant factor."

"Maybe," Shen Peng said, lifting the corner of his mouth naturally and taking the opportunity to continue, "But to my knowledge, iQiyi, Tencent Music, Mogu Street, and 360 Finance are all accelerating their IPO plans."

"The best opportunity has arrived. We have prepared thoroughly ahead of other companies. If we can land first, it will more than compensate for any losses of going public ahead of time."

Liu Qing lost her focus for a moment, her gaze suddenly sharp as a knife as she looked at Shen Peng, and then at Zhu Hu.

If it had been just Zhu Hu, she could have dismissed it as grumbling, but with Shen Peng chiming in, it was obviously a targeted move against her.

The other shareholders also realized that Little Wang, known as the top investor in the country, was banding together to pressure Liu Qing.

Such a good opportunity, how could they not kick someone while they're down? To go public sooner, cash out sooner, and return capital sooner was the most straightforward wish of every investor.

Liu Qing narrowed her eyes, looking at everyone: the executive directors, the non-executive directors, the shareholder representatives, the employee representatives, the capital representatives—a total of 22 people.

More than half were in favor of the two men's proposal, even Cheng Wei, who always supported her and only knew how to say "yes," also showed great interest.

Liu Qing furrowed her brows. If she excluded a few neutrals, the people currently standing with her might not even make up a quarter.

Going public was the voice of the masses, and while those in control can use roundabout methods, they absolutely cannot directly oppose the public face-to-face.

She was only a leader, not a dictator.

Liu Qing pondered for a long while, already making a decision: "Mr. Shen, Mr. Zhu, do you perhaps have better ideas? Feel free to share."

"We are all looking out for the company's interests. If you two have better ideas, I am willing to step down from the company's IPO advisory position."

Although everyone knew that DiDi had not gone public not because it didn't want to, but because it couldn't, nobody had said it outright.

Liu Qing was very confident in the results of her many years of management; she believed no one could replace her position at DiDi.

This move was known as a strategic retreat.

Only by making them realize that without her, Liu Qing, DiDi simply couldn't function, would they give up. And in the future, they would be better able to maintain control.

As soon as she spoke, Zhu Hu and Shen Peng glanced at each other, both seeing a fleeting joy in the other's eyes, as if the phrase "double happiness" was about to be written on their faces.

But none of them spoke further, and they even started persuading Liu Qing not to be rash, insisting that everyone was just discussing collectively and had not disregarded her contributions.

Liu Qing's mouth curled up, feeling increasingly smug, yet still spoke sternly, "DiDi should have gone public already; not having done so is indeed my neglect."

Zhu Hu offered a placating smile, "Mr. Liu has contributed greatly to DiDi's development to this point. You absolutely deserve immense credit. How could you belittle yourself like this?"

Shen Peng suddenly turned to Chairman Cheng Wei, "Mr. Cheng, please also persuade Mr. Liu. We can all sit down and discuss this properly."

They had already fired the first shot, and now it was time for Cheng Wei to take a stand. He couldn't continue to be a shrinking turtle, reaping the benefits without showing his stance.

Everyone turned their gaze to Cheng Wei, who had always been like the company's mascot. But suddenly, he seemed a bit different.

Cheng Wei pondered for a moment before slowly saying, "As for DiDi, Mr. Liu indeed deserves immense credit. Without her, there wouldn't be the DiDi of today."

Liu Qing's face gradually darkened, sensing something amiss. Being praised and acknowledged for her contributions right away was definitely not a good sign.

The next second, Cheng Wei's words confirmed her guess.

"But every field has its experts, and perhaps we should invite someone more professional to handle DiDi's IPO affairs."

"Mr. Cheng, who do you think we should invite then?" Liu Qing asked with a fierce look, feeling enveloped by a tightening net.

Zhu Hu, Shen Peng, and Cheng Wei suddenly came together, which definitely wasn't decided on a whim but had been planned for a long time.

Cheng Wei appeared indifferent; he had waited for this day for a long time, ignoring Liu Qing's piercing gaze.

After pondering deep in thought for a long while, he said, "I've heard that Chen Qi from Mogu Street is interested in contacting Lu Liang, and since we have invested in Tianxing Technology, perhaps we can benefit from being close by."

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