What's wrong with me being a rich man?

Chapter 391: Alarming the Snake
Yu Xing was unaware that the next stage after someone becomes paranoid is to act like a god or a ghost.

In addition to considering the new developments of Silicon Carbon Group and Silicon Carbon Data in a comprehensive manner, he is also pondering the exploration directions of Vania Pharmaceuticals and Volkswagen Group, which are currently on Guo Shanfeng's list of candidates for consideration.

If these two companies can find the right spot to strike, they can both rake in a lot of gold coins.

The problem is that they all seem to be somewhat tricky.

The Vania model has been investigated and processed by the US FTC. Liu Wanying's recent research on it has not found any loopholes suitable for short selling. The Volkswagen Group's oil vehicles were inspected by an agency commissioned by Yu Xing, but no abnormalities were found.

Silicon Carbon Group can still test Volkswagen models next year under the guise of emissions research, but isn't that a bit too targeted...?

As Yu Xing thought about it, he also thought of President Xu, who seemed to be observing from the shadows. He felt that he still needed to find a reason to get past the mountain peak and formally conduct a survey on the public. Moreover, Xiao Ying was very skilled at doing these things and was much better than him.

It all depends on when Mitsubishi's funding will arrive.

Yu Xing was unclear about the details of the negotiations between Nissan and Mitsubishi, but he observed that international corporate mergers and acquisitions were often lengthy processes, and he only hoped to recoup the funds before or after the new year.

In November, Lingang was shrouded in continuous drizzle and felt quite chilly. However, with the Lotus engineering team moving in one after another, the joint development team from Bosch also arrived at the Silicon Carbon Group. Inside and outside Silicon Carbon, everyone was working hard to bring the "Jiuzhou" prototype design to fruition.

Yu Xing's computer already contained all sorts of design drawings, but having witnessed the market success of the extended-range SUV craze, this six-seater SUV, designed for families, naturally leaned towards a more rounded design.

Furthermore, regarding the design of the front fascia, he discussed with Bangor, Hu Zhengnan, and others, and felt that the continuous light strip and rounded style were a better match, while the air intake grille was moved to a lower position to maintain the style unity of the upper part.

The first day of December was a Saturday. Yu Xing, who had been staying in Lingang recently, made a rare trip to the city and inspected Red Falcon Capital as a partner.

Unfortunately, unlike its well-known reputation in the industry, the office here doesn't have many clients like the one in Lingang; it's completely deserted.

"You guys in finance have it so easy."

Yu Xing circled around several times and saw that Xiao Ying was fine after making two phone calls, so he couldn't help but sigh.

Liu Wanying said with a smile, "It's easy, but most of the time there aren't many good projects to work on. I just use my free time to study the problems of listed companies. Hmm, looking at it this way, investors are quite suitable for short selling, while you, who are in the real business, are not."

She then said dejectedly, "The funds are also easily tied up there. Large companies with such wide-ranging operations are indeed prone to unexpected problems."

Yu Xing comforted him, "Sooner or later, there's no need to use the funds right now, and there's no sign of anything happening with Vania."

Liu Wanying frowned even more upon hearing the name Vanya.

She got up and walked a few steps, then suddenly laughed after thinking for a while: "Companies like Vania clearly know that their operations will cause problems, but they just can't figure out the problems. I've been thinking these past few days that maybe I can fly to Canada or the United States before the new year to see how it operates in person."

Guoshanfeng's current research on Vania Pharmaceuticals is based on financial reports and publicly available market information.

Yu Xing pondered for a few seconds, then shook his head and said, "What can you see if you fly over like this? It's impossible to delve into the company's system, and it's not safe enough. Hmm, did you really go through all the information you could?"

Hearing the question and seeing Mr. Yu's expression, Liu Wanying became even more interested in discussing it. She confirmed, "We've gone through all of its financial reports, acquisitions, drug patents, and dealings with the US FTC over the past few years several times."

Yu Xing nodded slightly, picked up his teacup, and silently drank his tea.

After a long while, Liu Wanying noticed that the tea in her cup had gone cold and couldn't help but ask, "What are you thinking about?"

Yu Xing replied thoughtfully, "A body length of just over 5 meters is enough. We won't pursue a longer body for our first electric vehicle."

Liu Wanying: "..."

She pressed her right hand on the table, making a crisp sound.

“Ahem, oh, Vanya.” Yu Xing’s wandering thoughts returned to his previous considerations. “If you listen to my conditions, if all the research that can be done so far has been done and we really can’t find any new information, I think we might as well try a different approach.”

He looked intently at Liu Wanying and gave four words: "Startle the snake by beating the grass."

"To stir up trouble?!" Liu Wanying repeated in a different tone, her mind racing.

“It’s not like when we first started this business. Guoshanfeng is a globally renowned short seller, well, I guess you could say that,” Yu Xing said slowly. “We’re conducting an internal investigation now, but it seems we can’t find any major problems. If we commission a third party to investigate, they won’t find anything either. Perhaps we could make it public and use the media to generate public opinion that Guoshanfeng is investigating Vanlia Company, and then see what happens.”

If we can't figure out the problem in the current situation, then let the situation change.

No change, create change.

Liu Wanying pondered for a moment, then asked, "What if we still can't find a loophole?"

Yu Xing shrugged: "Then let's abandon this goal for now and just consider it a seemingly unreasonable but reasonable existence under the rules."

Liu Wanying glanced at Boss Yu; this was indeed a direction she hadn't considered.

Crossing the mountain peak has always been about secretly gathering information, confirming evidence, and then suddenly striking. And this kind of "stirring up trouble" is about getting involved in the scheme.

If you still don't get what you want... there will be a loss, the loss will be the reputation of Guoshanfeng.

After all, a successful strike before reaching the peak provides credibility. Just like in the conservative Japanese financial market this time, even without verification from a third-party institution on the first day of shorting Mitsubishi, the stock price still fell by 17%.

Seeing Xiao Ying deep in thought, Yu Xing got up to pour himself some tea, then strolled to the French windows and said, "I learned a lesson from running the Silicon Carbon Group: once you raise your banner, some people will consider following you. With Guo Shanfeng's current reputation, once the 'investigation of Vanlia' is exposed, our short-selling peers will definitely be interested. In fact, Vanlia's internal situation may not be so secure."

He added, "But there's a problem with this 'stirring up trouble' approach. We might stir up trouble but find no snake. In that case, we need to consider the risks of our investment. We can't use too much leverage. The returns and risks need to be weighed."

By securing confirmation before taking action, profits can be maximized.

Conversely, if one's own side is unclear about the final outcome, it will inevitably have to adjust its expectations of the benefits.

Returning to the current situation, if we really want to alert them, the premise for how much funding should be allocated is: how likely is it that Vania Pharmaceuticals has problems?

Liu Wanying's mind returned to this question.

She thought back to her previous conversation with Yu Xing.

Despite having dealt with the US FTC, undergone scrutiny, and made reforms, Vania remains radical.

A company that is driven by aggressive capital operations, by all accounts, is likely to cause problems at multiple levels throughout the company.

However, once the money invested is real, "common sense" won't step in to help make up for it if the money is lost.

After much deliberation, Liu Wanying sighed softly, "President Yu, you have such a brilliant mind. You've come up with a strategy that offers both risk and reward."

Yu Xing chuckled and said, "If we can get evidence or make a secret report along the way, we can invest more money. Anyway, you're the mastermind, so you decide what to do."

As Liu Wanying pondered the potential gains and risks, her emotions began to surge. She murmured, "Is there a method with even lower risk...?" Unexpectedly, she immediately heard Yu Xing's affirmative reply.

Yu Xing: Yes.

Liu Wanying perked up: "There are even lower risks? Why aren't you going to tell me?"

"It's no use me saying anything," Yu Xing laughed. "It's simple to reduce the risk: we just need to alert them without investing any money."

Liu Wanying paused for a few seconds: "It's just harming others without benefiting yourself."

The risk is gone, and there are no losses because no investment is made, but there are also no returns; it's just a waste of time.

Yu Xing shrugged: "If you decide to do that, just tell me. I'll cover the cost of hiring the media myself. If it hurts one family, it will bring happiness to millions of others. That's fine too."

Liu Wanying: "..."

She felt this was largely due to Yu Xing's medical background.

After a moment of silence, Liu Wanying shook her head and said, "I'll study Vania some more. There's no rush. If we can find a clearer target in the process, we can work on it separately. But we can't do it without investing money. We can't go empty-handed. When the knife is drawn, blood will be drawn. Either it will bleed, or we will bleed."

Yu Xing laughed and said, "A little blood is good for us. We might bleed a little, but if the other side bleeds, it'll be a huge loss."

Liu Wanying pursed her lips, feeling truly torn between two choices.

She shook her head, putting the matter aside for the time being, but she wasn't in the mood to chat with Yu Xing in the office. She stood up and said, "Come on, let's buy some fruit from your farm, then go eat. What are your plans for tomorrow?"

Yu Xing picked up his light jacket and casually replied, "A few people from Lotus Engineering are going to the track to test drive the cars. They asked me to go with them yesterday, and I happened to have nothing to do, so I decided to go and take a look. I've never driven a car on a track before."

He invited, "Why don't you come with me tomorrow?"

Liu Wanying refused, saying, "I won't go. I'll study this drug seller some more. We'll have someone from abroad investigate it this month. My own energy and connections are limited, but maybe a third-party organization can find some clues."

Yu Xing shrugged, having no illusions about the actions of the third-party organization.

The following day, the group from Silicon Carbon Group arrived at the Shanghai International Circuit in Anting, the venue for F1 races in China.

The entire track, including the backup track, is about 7 kilometers long, and its shape is exactly the Chinese character "上" (shàng, meaning "up").

Tesla's Model S has been delayed, and the cars brought over this time are mainly belonging to a group of foreign executives in the company. The most popular car among them is Bangle's fourth-generation M3.

Yu Xing has been driving himself almost all year, mainly to experience the driving feel of different car models, but this is the first time he has driven on a racetrack.

He thought he had run a normal lap, but as soon as he got out of the car, he was greeted with a question from Ma Nana, the deputy director of Lotus.

"Yu Xing, why don't you ride a bicycle instead of driving like this?"

Yu Xing just chuckled and replied, "I don't play this game. A wise man doesn't stand under a crumbling wall. I'll just try it out."

Ma Nana grabbed Yu Xing and said, "Mr. Yu, come on, sit in the passenger seat, I'll show you around."

Yu Xing hesitated for a moment before being strapped into the passenger seat by the seatbelt, and immediately experienced a completely different experience.

After slowing down, he made a request: "Wait, wait a minute, let me compose myself. I'm the boss, I'm the boss."

Seeing Yu Xing's pale face, Ma Nana smiled inwardly and gave him time to adjust.

When they got off the bus, she urged Bangor in English to take the boss for a tour as well, and then temporarily acted as a translator, persuading Yu Xing to get into the passenger seat based on Bangor's age and steady driving style.

Yu Xing's expression changed drastically.

At this point, everyone from the Silicon Carbon Group considered it an honor to take their boss to experience the racetrack, and they all invited him to sit in the passenger seat.

Unfortunately, Yu Xing's stomach treatment was over for the day, and he really didn't want to vomit in the car, so he politely declined the kind offers of the excellent employees.

By Monday, Yu Xing, who hadn't eaten much the night before, still didn't have much of an appetite, but he did have a... somewhat exhilarating feeling about the cars whizzing by.

He mentioned his experience yesterday in the cafeteria at noon, not hiding his fear on the bus, which naturally drew laughter again.

However, before they had finished their lunch, Zhong Zhiling glanced at the latest news and handed his phone to his senior.

Yu Xing glanced at it twice and scoffed, "What's Old Ma up to all this time?"

The news article above prominently features Alibaba's CEO, Ma Chuan's, evaluation of information aggregation software, stating that this type of move has absolutely no future.

He didn't directly name silicon carbon data or the latest hot topic, but recent reports on this subject have mainly focused on silicon carbon data, and the public opinion that was previously pushed to the forefront still has lingering effects.

Zhong Zhiling took the phone from his senior and asked, "Brother Xing, how should we respond?"

"What do you mean, how should we respond? What's there to respond to?" Yu Xing retorted. "Is Lao Ma wrong? He even mentioned the daily active user issue. Did he do a great job with the latest hot topic?"

Zhong Zhiling muttered, "Brother Xing, give him some face."

“There’s a discussion with Zhai Yifei and the others on Friday, right? I’ll go listen to it later.” Yu Xing didn’t continue criticizing, feeling that it wasn’t all Zhong Zhiling’s fault, but then added, “Is Lao Ma very free lately? He’s just adding to my troubles.”

Zhong Zhiling remained silent.

Yu Xing changed his mind, opened his phone, and also added fuel to the fire by posting a Weibo: "I was using WeChat just now and suddenly felt a lot of emotions. I didn't use up all the brilliant ideas I designed for WeChat. Otherwise, we wouldn't be in such a dilemma between WeChat and Wechat. What a pity, what a pity."

Lunch at the cafeteria is over.

Zhong Zhiling, who was heading towards the office building of Silicon Carbon Data, suddenly jogged back to his senior's side and asked in surprise, "Brother Xing, do you still have some brilliant ideas you haven't used yet?"

Yu Xing denied it: "No, where would so many brilliant ideas come from?"

Zhong Zhiling asked, "Really?"

Yu Xing laughed and said, "It's true, but my reputation is something that makes others feel uneasy."

Zhong Zhiling nodded, turned around and took two steps, then turned back and asked, "Brother Xing, is it really over? You're not lying to me, are you?"

Yu Xing waved his hand at the skeptical Zhong Zhiling, saying, "This is also a matter of reputation."

(End of this chapter)