Those Years When I Was Forced to Top the Forbes List

Chapter 216 Enemies meet
Chen Xuebing came to Shanghai alone this time, without his assistant Ren Ying, because Lu Xiaochun said that everything was arranged here and the time was very tight, and the process could be completed in two days.

Although Lu Xiaochun had concerns, Chen Xuebing didn't care much. He figured it was just that the investors were trying to take advantage of the situation and ask for extra conditions.

Since there's an intention to invest, let's take our time and talk things through; we'll eventually reach a consensus.

The roadshow was in the afternoon, and Lu Xiaochun prepared a standard speech for him, which he went through briefly during lunch.

in the afternoon.

At the intersection of Minsheng Road and Dingxiang Road in Shanghai, there is no hustle and bustle, and the trees are covered in autumn colors.

Along the tranquil road, numerous grand and high-end business clusters are located, within easy reach of the Pudong Cultural Center, Shanghai Visa Application Center, and Pudong Administrative Center.

Two years ago, this place was given a new name, Lianyang Community.

It was later known as Private Equity Street.

Chen Xuebing never expected that he would be doing a roadshow here.

The residential complex where his apartment in Shanghai is located—Renheng Riverside City—is just over a kilometer away; you can see a vague outline of the complex from there.

The newly built Wudaokou Plaza is a low-key Grade A office building with a simple and calm architectural style that is very similar to the Hilton in Puxi, Shanghai.

"This plaza and these two buildings belong to Zendai Group. You know Zendai, right? The pioneer of private equity in China, with one hand in finance and the other in real estate. When it went public in Hong Kong in 02, it was already a company worth tens of billions. A few years ago, it was managing over 30 billion yuan in funds, and now it's one of the largest private equity funds in the country. The two founders are both graduate students from the Financial Research Institute of the People's Bank of China. That place is called 'Wudaokou'. They built this building and named it Zendai Wudaokou. All the Shanghai connections from the Wudaokou Research Institute converge here. The conference hall in this building was even rented out after it was renovated. I went to great lengths to rent this venue for you and even invited a bunch of investment bigwigs. You should try your best to raise more funds."

With his hands in his pockets, Lu Xiaochun began to recount the history of the building.

Wearing a smart new gray suit, Chen Xuebing chuckled: "Thanks. After we finish this job, I'll help you make a big profit."

Lu Xiaochun dusted off the hem of his exquisite suit, shook his head and chuckled in a pretentious manner: "You're not going to rob anyone, are you?"

"Hehe, more or less. Once I, Old Chen, am in a good mood, investors will be begging to send me loads of cash."

Chen Xuebing twisted his neck, looking like he was about to go to war, and walked into the building with his hands in his pockets.

Lu Xiaochun grinned.

"Financial bandits."

When Chen Xuebing arrived at the 15th floor with his hands casually tucked in his pockets, he was stunned when he saw a figure at the entrance of the conference hall.

After several months apart, her beauty had only grown more radiant. Her long hair, no longer styled in a proud ponytail, was now styled in a simple, relaxed low bun. Her black halter dress was form-fitting and flattering, accentuating her curves while perfectly concealing her best features. She radiated a captivating glow.

Chen Xuebing, however, was only nervous.

"Why is she here?"

He lowered his head and asked somewhat guiltily.

"Hehe, Xiao Xin is our most outstanding female employee. If it weren't for your financing, Mr. Chen, most people wouldn't be able to hire her."

Lu Xiaochun deliberately spoke a little louder, then waved her hand and laughed, "It's all work. She came here today to support you, Mr. Chen. Don't let personal matters interfere with official duties!"

This sentence brought the two people face to face.

Chen Xuebing hadn't figured out how to greet him.

Xin Mengzhen didn't seem to be planning to greet him. She just glanced at him, then turned and smiled as she handed a document to the investor who had just entered the room.

It really is a platform.

The proud Xin Mengzhen actually helped him hand out flyers at the door.

Chen Xuebing felt a little soft-hearted, but then he imagined himself going up to greet him.

【"haven't seen you for a long time."】

The other person didn't say anything, and I just stood there awkwardly.

Or:

"Come in and have a seat."

"No need, this is my job."

[I felt awkward there again.]

After thinking it over and over, Chen Xuebing still felt something was wrong, so he simply gritted his teeth and walked past her without looking at her.

Once inside, he calmed himself down and focused on the work at hand.

The lobby was lit with a dark blue hue, and the projection equipment on the stage was quite good, displaying a fairly clear PPT on a white screen covering the entire wall.

"Introduction to Chongqing Gu'an Group Changzheng Capital Co., Ltd."

Today is a special roadshow with no time limit. Lu Xiaochun only set the time at about 20 minutes. After the speech, someone will bring champagne and snacks, turning it into a cocktail party. They also invited a mezzo-soprano who debuted from "Super Girl" to sing a few soft and elegant blues. At that time, Chen Xuebing can chat with some interested investors.

The mezzo-soprano surnamed Zhang is known as the Dolphin Princess and is quite popular with people in Shanghai. There are many people here today, and some investors have even brought their children.

These extra arrangements often represent the value of a company. Lu Xiaochun does have some connections; Chen Xuebing never expected that he could invite Zhang Liangying over at the last minute.

However, this accounts for the majority of the 30 yuan expense.

When Chen Xuebing entered the venue, more than 60% of the seats for the two to three hundred people were already occupied.

Everyone was chatting amongst themselves, and no one noticed him.

Lu Xiaochun arranged for him to sit in the first row and wait. After about ten minutes, some more people came in.

At 4 o'clock sharp, a female host gracefully walked onto the stage, and the room fell silent.

"Distinguished investors, honored guests, ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon." The opening remarks were quite formal.

"As the Year of the Monkey ends and the Year of the Rooster arrives, we are here at Zhengda Wudaokou to celebrate the Spring Festival. Oh, sorry, this is a TMT-themed private equity financing roadshow event hosted by Changzheng Capital. Mr. Chen, I'm sorry, I came to the wrong venue."

The female host gave Chen Xuebing a very exaggerated bow.

Chen Xuebing, with a wry smile, raised his hand towards the stage, indicating that they should continue.

The joke worked very well; everyone laughed, and the atmosphere gradually relaxed.

The female host's speech became more colloquial: "Hello everyone, I'm Xiao Lin from Bosera Funds. Many of the guests here today are familiar faces, including Mr. He Jian, the fund manager of GF Steady Growth Fund. I must give Mr. He a special introduction. He was the champion of open-ended funds last year, achieving a 17% return in 2005. Shouldn't we give him a round of applause?"

Hua Hua Hua.

Chen Xuebing also looked back.

Lu Xiaochun did tell him that the usual roadshows involve many institutions working around the clock, and investors can see several institutions in an hour. But today, it was just a roadshow for Changzheng Capital, and it felt like a waste of time to come all the way here. So they invited some industry peers, and the investors felt it was worth the trip.

Let's all benefit from each other's success.

"Oh, besides Mr. He, there are many familiar faces! Guess who I saw? Mr. Lü Jun, the general manager of Guotai Golden Eagle Growth Open-ended Fund! He used to be the investment director of Shanghai Investment Morgan!"

"Who else? Mr. Jiang Jinzhi, CEO of Jinglin Capital!"

"Of course, there's also our most, most, most powerful and handsome, dear leader, Lu Xiaochun, President Lu!"

The female host blew a kiss in a coquettish tone toward Lu Xiaochun, as if she wanted everyone to think that Lu Xiaochun and she had something going on.

Lu Xiaochun crossed his legs and waved to the stage with a faint smile.

Chen Xuebing laughed, "You really know how to have fun in the financial world."

However, this is a way of riding the coattails of fame. Truly capable women in finance don't need to rely on relationships with certain financial celebrities to make a living.

The tone became much more serious after that.

"Next up are our esteemed investors."

"Please welcome Mr. Hong from Gurui Capital with applause!"

"Welcome, Mr. Yi, angel investor."

"Welcome, Mr. Zheng, from Yufan Venture Capital."

"Xiangrui Investment, Mr. Hu, welcome."

The speech was only 20 minutes long, but the pre-show preparation for the skills took 10 minutes.

However, this also made the roadshow seem to be packed with guests and very lively.

The female host read out more than a dozen names from the small cards, clapped her hands, and then looked at Chen Xuebing in the audience.

"Next, let's welcome Mr. Xuebing, the chairman of Gu'an Group and president of Changzheng Capital, who is even younger and more handsome than Mr. Lu. Mr. Xuebing's company has been very popular lately. Many of you have probably heard about their cooperation with industrial projects in Hefei. More importantly, in just 3.5 months since its establishment, the return rate has reached 63%! The annualized rate is 216%! With an initial investment of 1.55 million yuan, you should know how dazzling this achievement is in last year's overall bear market!"

As soon as this number was announced, everyone's attention turned to it.

The investors are here today because they've heard about this number.

But hearing the host say it in public was still somewhat unbelievable.

"And I heard that Mr. Xuebing's returns were also very high before the private equity firm was established! No less than this figure! Let's welcome Mr. Xuebing!"

applause.

There's no sense of excitement because this is Shanghai's financial district, where miracles happen every day.

Chen Xuebing breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, waved to the back of the group, and walked onto the stage.

At that moment, a strange laugh came from not far behind.

"Grandstanding!"

The sound wasn't loud, but in the quiet moment of waiting, Chen Xuebing, who had walked several meters out from the front row, could hear it.

Chen Xuebing didn't turn around until he went on stage, at which point he looked in that direction.

A person of average appearance, wearing a pair of refined-looking glasses.

Chen Xuebing didn't recognize the voice at first, but he immediately recognized the face.

Many eyes in the room were also focused on that face, and people were whispering among themselves.

Chen Xuebing picked up the microphone, glanced around the room, and seeing that no one was taking pictures or there were any reporters, he placed his prepared speech on the stage and chuckled, though the laugh sounded relaxed.

"Oh, Chief Xu is here too. Last time we met at OCT A, I only made over 600 million from you. There's no need to hold a grudge against me."

The sound was transmitted to the entire venue through the microphone.

The murmurs below grew louder.

Mastermind Xu Xiang!

Xu Xiang, actually got scammed?

Xu Xiang, sitting in the audience, looked ashen-faced.

(End of this chapter)