America: I came here to study, not to show mercy.

Vanguard Group and BlackRock are arguably the world's top private equity management firms, holding the largest and second-largest shareholder positions among global giants, including Apple, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, Tesla, and even the largest shareholders of other national giants.

Their capital has penetrated into various fields around the world. According to what Li Xiaoen had previously learned, they directly or indirectly control a considerable portion of the equity in companies such as Tencent, Meituan, and Baidu in China.

I once heard a saying that what you think are Chinese companies growing up in China are actually companies whose equity structure has long been firmly controlled by foreign giants.

In just a moment, these thoughts flashed through Li Xiaoen's mind. When he came to his senses, he noticed that the two women were looking at him, so he nodded and greeted them.

"Let them in."

Upon hearing this, the girl nodded and left. Catherine returned to the coffee machine and ground extra beans this time.

Is it finally time for these giants to take notice?

With these thoughts constantly flashing through his mind, Li Xiaoen lost all interest in writing the document. Fortunately, it wasn't long before the girl who had just left returned with two men in suits, pale-faced and with hooked noses.

Jewish?
Having subconsciously come to this conclusion, Li Xiaoen stood up and went to greet them, smiling and extending his hand.

"Welcome. May I ask what brings you two here on this leisurely weekend?"

"Ha ha……"

The two exchanged a glance and both burst into light laughter, their faces showing admiration. "We've heard rumors about Mr. Li online for a long time, and seeing him in person today, he truly is a free spirit and easygoing person."

Between men, there's no talk of each other's appearance. Even if the other is very handsome, they'll just glance at each other, take out their business cards from their briefcases, and hand them over.

After a brief conversation, Sean Lee learned that the two were friends: Hobson from Vanguard Group and Turs from BlackRock Group. They had come to visit by chance and decided to come together.

The company's financial situation only started to become strained yesterday, and today, even though it's the weekend, people from both groups have come to us.

Li Xiaoen's thoughts were unclear, but he beckoned the two of them to sit down at his desk.

Just then, Catherine brought the three of them a cup of coffee.

"Oh……"

Upon noticing the newcomers, the two exclaimed in surprise and quickly nodded and bowed, saying, "It is our honor to receive coffee personally brewed by Miss Hearst."

"Hehe, now I'm Mr. Li's secretary."

Compared to the two's shock, Catherine chuckled and shook her head, "Besides, before you came, I was going to make it for myself too."

"Hmm... It seems Miss Hearst has a better eye than our company's professionals, arriving at the company so early."

Tulls chuckled, turning his gaze back to Sean Lee, "Mr. Lee, with Miss Hearst's assistance, BanYan's prospects look even brighter."

"You're right, she really helped me a lot."

His words were undeniably smooth, flattering both sides directly or indirectly. Li Xiaoen inwardly grumbled, but outwardly smiled and nodded in agreement.

It seems that Catherine is more familiar with people at BlackRock. Is it because of her family's business?

Li Xiaoen pondered, unconsciously recalling the terrifying scale of BlackRock's control over the technology and military industries of various major countries, its coverage of 90% of global pension funds and sovereign wealth funds, and its control over the world's trade choke points.

With expertise in science and technology, military industry, and people's livelihood and welfare, adding media to the mix doesn't seem so hard to understand—but thinking about it this way makes it all the more chilling.

"You guys chat, I'll head out first."

He was pulled back to reality by Catherine's ethereal call. When Li Xiaoen came to his senses, he could only see her departing figure.

As the office door slammed shut with a knock, Tulls and Hobson's expressions quickly turned serious as they sat upright in their chairs and looked at Sean Lee.

“Mr. Li, you are so smart, you must know why we came to see you.”

Hobson nodded, a formulaic smile on his face, took a document from his briefcase, placed it on the table, and pushed it towards him. "Our group has a very high opinion of BanYan and wants to engage in some in-depth cooperation with Mr. Li..."

After he finished speaking, Tulls added that there were two documents in front of Li Xiaoen.

"Aren't you afraid that if you all come together, I'll choose the one with the greater benefit?"

Li Xiaoen raised an eyebrow with amusement, put down his coffee with his right hand, and casually picked up a copy in front of him and opened it.

These words did not cause Turs and the other man any surprise. Instead, they exchanged a glance and chuckled twice. Just as Li Xiaoen was carefully looking at the contents of the document, Zhang began to explain.

"As long as it's a good project and we can reach a cooperation agreement, we don't mind letting the other party get a bigger share of the profits. For example, we had been paying special attention to Mr. Li's BanYan for a long time, but we only came to discuss cooperation with you after you had completely made a name for yourself online and the price of your shares was much higher..."

The logic is simple: the earlier you get involved, the more you'll benefit.

Investing in BanYan's company from its inception yields different returns for the same amount compared to BanYan's current online fame—which is why BanYan only started considering financing yesterday; he simply wanted to sell more company shares, or even more shares at a higher price.

"Hmm... no wonder it's a top global corporation."

Li Xiaoen sighed softly, his gaze sweeping over the terms of the document before picking up a second copy.

Vanguard Group holds a controlling stake in BlackRock, and in the equity structures of many companies, the two groups jointly hold the top two shareholder positions, forming a symbiotic relationship.

Over the years, the conditions offered by the two companies have been quite similar, but the specific clauses still left Li Xiaoen with mixed feelings.

The support of a massive funding chain, information sharing and cooperation among the companies with stakes in the two groups, and subsequent assistance in terms of manpower and publicity resources are all things that his startup, now standing at the starting line, urgently needs.

In addition, he remains the main director of the company, and apart from the two groups, he is also the largest individual shareholder of the company. All of this would make any entrepreneur who has just achieved some success envious.

Full of confidence in the conditions offered by the group, Hobson and Tulls didn't say anything more to disturb them. They calmly picked up their coffees and took a sip.

After a long while, Li Xiaoen finally closed the document in his hand and put it back on the table in front of him.

"How is it, Mr. Li?"

With smiles on their faces, Tulls and his companion said, "Whether it's funding or resources, Vanguard and BlackRock can provide BanYan with the world's largest support. Believe me, with the help of these two groups, BanYan will become world-famous in a very short time, becoming another internet miracle after Facebook, and even going public won't be long..."

"Thinking about it this way, perhaps you've already achieved enough before graduating from university to make it onto the Forbes rich list in your early twenties, something that many people still can't imagine."

As they spoke, Hobson and Tulls looked at the still somewhat immature face of the young man before them. Although their words were flattering and ingratiating, they both knew in their hearts that, given the young man's current achievements, such a future was not impossible. Indeed, in the world, in the field of the internet, there has never been a shortage of geniuses who soar to great heights.

Feeling a pang of emotion, under their watchful eyes, Li Xiaoen actually smiled and shook his head.

"I'm sorry, the offers and conditions from both of you are very good, but I think it's still too early."

"..."

Upon hearing this, the entire office fell into an eerie silence.

"Mr. Li, do you have any concerns? You should know that our two groups are actually asset management companies. We simply accept clients' funds and then make long-term, stable investments in exchange for commissions..."

After a long pause, Hobson frowned and quickly explained, "Don't worry, it's also stated in the cooperation agreement that we will never interfere with your sole right to be a director of BanYan!"

“I saw everything, that’s not the issue.”

Li Xiaoen smiled and shook his head, about to say something more, when Turs quickly interrupted him.

"Mr. Li, do you think the price we're offering is too low?"

"No, to be honest, the conditions you've offered are something even some companies just starting out on their IPOs would dream of."

Li Xiaoen smiled and shook his head in denial, referring back to the reason he had been postponing the fundraising date.

In the early days of the company, after receiving some funding, most of the shares were handed over. As the company grew and became stronger, the price of each share rose accordingly. Looking back, anyone would regret giving up most of the shares for what now seems like a small profit.

The company has just completed its funding round, so it has plenty of money and technology. He is extremely confident about the future development, and there is no reason for him to sell his shares during this stable development phase.

Moreover, handing over a large portion of the company's shares would make him lose that sense of belonging to the company, and feel like he was working for someone else. Although he was prepared to dilute his shareholding through financing, he was still unwilling to let that step come so soon. This is why he chose Sufeier as his first choice for the first round of financing.

Thinking about it this way, as long as you invest a certain amount of money, you don't need to worry about anything. You can just wait for the company to grow and then distribute dividends, or even resell the shares that have appreciated in value. Such returns can be quite substantial.

It all comes down to foresight. There are venture capitalists who lose everything, but as long as the capital chain is strong enough and invested in places with stable returns, the large amount of capital can attract other retail investors and thus expand profits, making it a sure-fire way to make money.

This is the business model of the two groups.

"Mr. Li, you need to understand that for businesses, sometimes time is a more important strategic resource than money!"

Clearly understanding Li Xiaoen's meaning, Tulls spoke with a heavy expression, "Of course, both of our groups are optimistic about BanYan, and there is a considerable probability that it can develop in the future. When it truly reaches a certain scale, or even goes public, the share price will naturally be much higher than it is now, perhaps several times, or even dozens of times higher..."

"But you've wasted your time there."

Tulls earnestly advised, "By partnering with either of our two companies, or even just one, you can undoubtedly propel BanYan's current prestige to new heights with the funds and resources you receive. This will allow the company to develop rapidly, and the time gained in the future can be used to secure more partnerships and business. The returns may not be less than the changes in share value, and could even be more..."

“We all have high hopes for BanYan. With the backing of both our families, BanYan will be able to go faster and further…”

No sooner had he finished speaking than Hobson added a sentence, the implication of which was thought-provoking.

Li Xiaoen remained unmoved and shook her head in refusal.

"Thank you very much for your recognition."

"..."

"Ok."

After staring blankly at Li Xiaoen for a while, Turs and the other person took a deep breath, nodded, and reached out to retrieve their own documents, their faces still showing disbelief and confusion.

When they were preparing at the company, including other colleagues in the team, they never imagined that such a large and top-notch group would be rejected by a small startup company for taking the initiative to cooperate, without even having drafted a range for negotiation or a better contract.

"I think we will have opportunities to cooperate in the future."

After seeing the two off to the company entrance, Li Xiaoen reached out and shook hands with them one by one to say goodbye in the building corridor.

Even though the deal fell through, goodwill remained. Turs and his companion forced a smile onto their dejected faces.

After seeing them off a few steps away, Li Xiaoen turned back, passing through the office area where all her colleagues were still engrossed in their work, and sat back down in her office.

To them, Tulls and Hobson were no different from many others who had come to discuss cooperation before. If they knew who the two were, who knows how excited they would be.

It was nothing important, just like the previous acquisition and cooperation talks with various internet giants. Li Xiaoen didn't make a fuss and composed himself to get into writing the document.

Two knocks were made, and the door suddenly opened again. Catherine walked in at the right moment, her gaze turning to look at him with a sigh.

"Sean, you didn't agree to their request?"

"Ah."

Li Xiaoen nodded, leaned back in his chair, and looked over with a smile. "Judging from your expression, are you very disappointed?"

After lowering her eyes and remaining silent for a while, Catherine finally spoke.

"Actually, Sean, rationally speaking, it's better for the company to agree to their cooperation."

"I know."

"then you……"

Catherine suddenly looked up, paused for a moment after speaking, and then said in a calm tone, "Sean, you need to understand that getting their cooperation doesn't just mean funding and resources, but also a supporting background, you know?"

"Although it wasn't done by those two companies, once you've clearly refused, you, a Chinese person running an internet company in America, are doing a secondary push service that relies on American internet giants. You're bound to face a lot of trouble in the future..."

"Even those internet giants could very well join forces to encircle and suppress you..."

Muttering to herself, Catherine let out a helpless sigh, her heart heavy, and she didn't know what she was thinking for a moment.

"I know."

Suddenly, a faintly smiling reply came from the young man's ear. Catherine paused, then quickly looked up. (End of Chapter)