Back to the prime of life

Chapter 221 Contact
Lu Changge didn't expect that once the idea of ​​selling Lu Mang as a package was put on his agenda, he would be unable to suppress his inner impulse and even want to go back to China to make arrangements for it.

The reason, of course, is that he saw too many opportunities, Tesla being just one of them. But he didn't have many resources at his disposal, and after searching high and low, all he could find was a promising opportunity to sell.

It's meaningless and has little potential; it's really perfect to sell it.

The only problem is that many of the people he recruited don't see Lu Mang as just a small shop; instead, they see it as a golden opportunity to change their lives. Some have even invested their emotions in it, so he anticipates there will be trouble.

But the final decision ultimately rests with him.

As for the visit to Tesla, DST's Ivanovic played a crucial role, not only connecting the person but also the boss.

Tesla was probably in need of funding, so it accepted all venture capital offers. But what Lu Changge didn't expect was that this guy surnamed Ma would rush to invest as soon as he heard that he was interested.

Lu Changge remained honest to avoid leaving a bad impression on either side during their first meeting, and stated directly that he currently had no cash assets.

Then he heard something absolutely insane.

Musk suggested, "You could sell Chatter; isn't it worth hundreds of millions of dollars?"

Lu Changge thought to himself, "What kind of thought process does this guy have? He can even make such a suggestion, and he says it so casually, as if it's a very small matter."

And when faced with the incredulous looks from himself and Ivanovic, he simply shrugged and said, "Yes, that's definitely an option. I mean, if you have something you like, why not invest your money in it?"

Okay, it seems he's serious.

Lu Changge paused briefly, then said very seriously, "China and the United States are two completely different societies. Everything surrounding me today was initiated by me. I am the person in charge. The word 'responsible' has two meanings. One is that I have the final decision-making power, and the other is that I also bear the expectations of everyone. This means that I cannot do whatever I want. Some people in our team have changed their plans for the future because of Chatter. So even if I adopt your suggestion, I will have to discuss it with the team before making a decision."

“Okay, I get it. Let’s talk about our car then. You know, I always like to talk to people about Tesla cars. They’re cool. I think they’re cooler than any other car.”

Lu Changge listened with great interest. To be honest, some of the things that happened in the early days cannot be seen in the media.

Ivanovich, who was standing nearby, asked, "Lu, aren't you a software engineer? Why are you so interested in this kind of manufacturing?"

Lu Changge replied, “I think the concept of electric vehicles is very good. You know, in China, in order to get rid of poverty quickly, we put all our efforts on economic growth, which has brought about some environmental pollution problems, and vehicle exhaust is an important part of it. Mr. Musk’s idea is to promote a sustainable energy revolution, which is an exciting slogan. If it can be successful on the commercial level, it will be even more exciting.”

"Of course, this is not just a slogan; we have already built the car."

Lu Changge added, “Actually, Ivanovich is right. Hardware manufacturing is indeed a very difficult thing. In fact, building a factory here is completely different from building a factory in China. Have you considered it? Or at least go there first. I assure you, the approval process for our factory construction, the quality of the workforce, logistics and transportation, etc. will exceed your imagination.”

"Really? That sounds like a good suggestion. I'd be happy to go if I have the chance."

Regardless, Lu Changge first established a connection between them using 'shared vision and common values'. As for what comes next, it's just a matter of money.

At this time, the future of Tesla cars was unknown, like walking in a foggy forest at night, trying to attract any investor (unlucky one) they could.

……

……

"So you actually went with Ivanovic to meet that South African today?"

Back at the company, Shen Mo and Chi Yongsheng came to inquire.

Lu Changge actually felt quite good about the meeting, but they both seemed rather surprised. "Is there a problem?"

Chi Yongsheng said, "There's no problem. I've heard people talk about this guy before. He started out in Silicon Valley by writing programs. After selling PayPal, he became a billionaire, and he's the most unique one among billionaires."

“Yeah, when normal people achieve financial freedom, they either enjoy life or find ways to invest and increase their wealth. Only this guy, with his wild ideas about building rockets and changing the century-old automobile industry, has almost bankrupted himself.” Shen Mo glanced at Lu Changge. “You’re not that old either. Don’t listen to his nonsense and start talking about building rockets too. We can’t stand it.”

"Haha, sometimes the world needs these crazy people, doesn't it? He told me today that being an investor is incredibly boring, staring at a bunch of screens and data, praying that the numbers will go up, getting happy when they go up, and feeling disappointed when they go down. It's a complete waste of life. But don't worry, I'm not a billionaire yet, and I don't have the money to mess around with things."

"It will be soon."

Chi Yongsheng picked up a laptop from the table next to him. The screen displayed a webpage, entirely in English.

Lu Changge stared at it for a while. As someone who had passed the CET-6 (College English Test Band 6), he naturally recognized some of the words, such as "China." However, he couldn't read the entire article fluently, and finally, too lazy to review his reading comprehension skills, he simply asked, "What is this?"

"The reports about you and Chatter are just regular tech news. In Silicon Valley, as a major shareholder of Chatter, you're a billionaire. Those shares aren't cash, but they can be spent like cash if you want," Shen Mo added. "It's probably DST's doing. They invested in us, so naturally they want to create hype. It's not really for us, but for themselves. America is a financial country; it's all about the power of collective action. The more people who think we're valuable, the more valuable we become."

At this point, Shen Mo suddenly asked, "You're planning to sell Chatter, right?"

"Why do you ask?"

"A woman's intuition. You've been away from the US for a long time, so you probably don't have much of an emotional connection to this. I just have one request: don't wait until the last minute to tell us. Because you can't know how much others have invested in this."

A week later, Lu Changge boarded a plane back to China.

In the last few days, he kept his promise to Xu Qiuxue, found a car and drove around the California coastline with her. The scenery was beautiful and unforgettable.

It's really good to have money; you no longer have to worry about how much money you spend on going out.

Before leaving, he left Xu Qiuxue a card and gave her some instructions. There were few things about daily life, since she was an adult and didn't need him to teach her how to live. Most of the instructions concerned his business in the United States.

He is indeed not here for a long time, and cannot be here, so he hopes that Xu Qiuxue will study hard and become a part of Silicon Valley.

After returning to China, he landed in Shanghai.

The first thing they did was bring Zuo Shuya in, and the two of them discussed it and officially established Future Capital, an investment company. To call it a discussion was really just listening to him talk.

Initially, the funds can only come from his own capital. In fact, if he goes around trying to raise money, he might be able to do so, but if he uses other people's money to invest, wouldn't he become a financial manager? What's the point?

Moreover, he still wanted to keep a low profile with this company, since the success rate would be relatively high.

In a hotel room in Shanghai, the two of them, still in their pajamas, finalized the deal. "Wang Hongcheng's Cuijingyuan project has been sold. He gave me a share of the project profits, not much, just over 3000 million yuan. After deducting taxes and such, it's about 3000 million yuan. My company's financing is going smoothly right now, and I don't need to inject any more capital, so this money will be placed in Future Capital."

Since you're a lawyer, you should study corporate law, tax law, and so on. Design a relatively complex structure for me, with multiple layers, to prevent a simple Baidu search from revealing that the future capital boss is someone like me. These are the basic tasks.

There are actually two things to do. First, research the path and buy some Bitcoin to invest in future capital. Second, there's a website in Shanghai called Ele.me, which, if I remember correctly, was founded last September. Contact them and make a moderate investment. I'll tell you what I mean by moderate after you understand the specifics.

I recently spoke with the owner of DST, and he gave me an insight. He said that my future capital planning might involve cross-industry collaborations, and since we can't be experts in every field, we might as well use the "no voting rights required" advantage to facilitate investment. Our focus will be on the post-investment equity appreciation.

Zuo Shuya pondered for a moment and asked, "I've been studying this carefully lately, and in my understanding... investing is a rather serious activity with a complete methodology. Are you really planning to do it this way?"

“I’m not discouraging you from practicing those methodologies. You can also explore projects on your own. Just do what the industry norms are, as long as you report to me. As for my investment choices, there are always reasons behind them, whether it’s based on information I’ve gathered, recommendations from friends, or discoveries I’ve made myself.”

"Okay, I understand. There probably aren't many people in this kind of company. I'm a lawyer myself, so we don't even need a legal department. We probably don't even need to find a place to operate."

Lu Changge shook his head: "No, let's find one. Sometimes we need to entertain people, and property prices in Shanghai are rising. Let's buy a nice place, not too big, as an office. Oh, and we also need an accountant. Go and find Xiaowei. We'll talk about the others later. Anyway, you two will be working this job from now on. When you're out, try not to talk to people too much."

"What?"

"Don't flaunt your wealth; the more you make money, the more you should keep quiet about it."

Shuya is really drawn to Lu Changge's confidence. She might have teased him before, but not anymore.

In August 2009, news of Lu Changge's skyrocketing net worth, reported by American media, began to circulate back in China.

More than a decade later, many netizens, when faced with slander from foreign countries, simply nod and say, "Ah, yes, yes, yes." That's because they had already gained confidence by then.

Things are different now. The Olympics were just held last year, and the whole society is excited and feels proud because of foreign recognition.

Lu Changge's story has spread far and wide, not just nationwide, but at least within the internet industry. After all, this guy has written a successful entrepreneurial story that's taken to Silicon Valley, which is quite remarkable.

So Chen Xiaohe was speechless. This guy hadn't shown up at the company for two or three weeks, but when he came back, everyone in the company still regarded him as the backbone, and some employees even admired him.

Of course, she also has to admit that the sudden surge in Lumang's sales is related to its explosive growth in brand awareness.

The first meeting Lu Changge held after returning to the company also focused on this topic.

"Our company's sales have absolutely exploded!"

(End of this chapter)