I changed the world.

As he spoke, he glanced around instinctively, and seeing that everyone else had consciously made way for them, he whispered, "Besides, this is the best time to choose sides, so we can't let this person develop any resentment..."

"Don't worry, I'm not a bookworm. Everything at the base and incubator is ready, there won't be any problems. I'll personally give the presentation in the demonstration hall later." The middle-aged man nodded in agreement.

The man referred to as "General Manager Fei" is Fei Shiguang, the head of the Jiangdong Provincial Headquarters of Qianluo Group established in Linzhou. The man next to him is Zeng Qi, the Dean of the Southeast Research Institute of Qianluo Group.

Upon hearing this, Fei Shiguang reached out and patted Zeng Qi on the shoulder, then said nothing more.

"Here they come! Mr. Fei, they're here!" A short while later, a commotion arose ahead, and a young man jogged up to Fei Shiguang. Behind him, a black sedan, guided by a security guard, drove around the large lawn in front of the Innovation and Research Institute and arrived at the institute's main gate.

Upon seeing this, the group of people waiting at the entrance of the Innovation and Research Institute perked up. Regardless of their previous expressions, they were now beaming with joy and followed Fei and Zeng forward.

The first one, the second one, the third one, a total of three cars.

Fei Shiguang, a broad smile on his face, strode forward, opened the rear door of the middle car with his right hand, and simultaneously placed his left hand on the door frame in a gesture of protection. The entire movement was fluid and natural, without any hint of obsequiousness.

Wearing sunglasses, An Huiling stepped out of the back seat. Today, she was wearing a very stylish camel-colored trench coat and black leather boots. She looked capable, beautiful, yet aloof.

"I'm sorry to have kept you waiting, Mr. Fei." After getting out of the car, An Huiling greeted Mr. Fei with a smile and extended her hand.

"No trouble at all, no trouble at all. This is Miss's first time visiting the Research Institute, and everyone has been eagerly awaiting her arrival." Fei Shiguang extended his right hand and grasped An Huiling's right hand, shaking it twice before letting go. Then, he took a step back and stood beside An Huiling, introducing her to the group of senior executives from the Research Institute and the companies behind her.

Just as An Huiling got out of the car, Mei'er also got out of the car from the other door, carrying An Huiling's bag and following behind her.

"This is Dean Zeng. In recent years, Dean Zeng has put in a lot of effort for the development of our Southeast Innovation and Research Institute..." President Fei first introduced Zeng Qi, the dean of the Innovation and Research Institute, to An Huiling.

"Hello, Dean Zeng. I remember you were a visiting scholar who returned to China from the Luenwell Institute, right? My father once mentioned to me your insights into the industry, such as your research on intelligent networks for deep space colonies. I have always looked forward to visiting and learning from you."

Upon hearing this, Zeng Qi's smile grew even warmer, and he also reached out and shook An Huiling's right hand twice: "The research projects here at the Innovation and Research Institute are progressing steadily. I will give Miss a special introduction later."

Chapter 605 Southeast Research Institute

"Then I look forward to Dean Zeng's introduction." An Huiling nodded with a smile.

"This is the vice president of the Research Institute..." After that, Fei Shiguang and Zeng Qi introduced the people who were there to greet An Huiling one by one.

It can be said that most of those present were senior executives of the Innovation and Research Institute, in addition to senior executives of some internal incubated companies that have moved into the Innovation Incubation Park. Even though the number of people was repeatedly controlled, there were still more than 20 people present.

To everyone's surprise and astonishment, An Huiling's demeanor was not only remarkably composed and appropriate, but she also accurately recited the resumes of each of the more than twenty greeters, regardless of their rank. This made everyone present feel honored, and their smiles became even more genuine.

To those with a keen eye, however, this dramatically increased their assessment of the young lady. It seemed she wasn't the introverted, clueless college student of rumors. Her interpersonal skills alone were quite remarkable…

What these people didn't know was that An Huiling hadn't actually done much research beforehand. She had only briefly glanced at the brief introduction of the reception staff that Mei'er had prepared on the way there. With her deepening cultivation, her memory had also been greatly enhanced. Although she hadn't reached the legendary level of photographic memory, remembering the important parts wasn't a big problem.

This allows her to match the names of those people with their resumes and speak naturally when she hears their names.

Of course, An Huiling's personal efforts also played a part. After recovering from her illness, her life clearly underwent significant changes. She began to occasionally come into contact with family businesses and personnel matters. Some of these were intentionally arranged by her father, An Zhengquan, while others were investments made by individuals within the group. In short, this gradually exposed her to things completely different from the ivory tower of academia.

Learning how to interact with all sorts of people is something she has been trying to learn all along.

Of course, compared to spiritual practice, these things are not difficult to master. As the saying goes, it is easy to go from frugality to extravagance. Learning how to become a superior is always much easier than struggling at the bottom of society.

An Huiling is also keenly aware of this. Perhaps because most of her life has been spent suffering from illness, and not long ago she even faced a harrowing life-or-death ordeal, An Huiling always feels a sense of alienation when faced with scenes that would be enough to make ordinary people vain and complacent, as if telling her: "All this wealth and glory is like a dream, a bubble..."

Therefore, she understands what to do and knows how to do it, but it's hard for her to truly immerse herself in it.

An Huiling didn't realize that this made her seem calm, reserved, and capable of handling important tasks.

It's important to understand that in many cases, people are willing to follow a strong person who can "get things done," rather than a nice guy who only knows how to please everyone.

After exchanging a few pleasantries at the gate, An Huiling was escorted by the crowd into the gate.

Qianluo Southeast Innovation and Research Institute integrates incubation and technology research and development. Relying on the historical heritage of Linzhou and the talent reserves of scientific research institutions, it is the largest innovation and research base of Qianluo Group in the southeast region.

Covering an area of ​​over 500,000 square meters, only a portion of it has been developed so far, with a considerable area reserved for future development.

The main building of the Research Institute is a typical garden-style building, designed by the famous architect Li Yiping. The overall building density is low, and the surrounding greenery is arranged in the style of traditional Southeast gardens, making it a feast for the eyes.

The Southeast Innovation Research Institute is mainly divided into two parts: the Qianluo Innovation Research Base and the Qianluo Innovation Incubation Park. The former is mainly responsible for tackling and researching various topics in software engineering, artificial intelligence, big data applications, software and hardware integration, and information processing. The latter houses many small and medium-sized companies invested by Qianluo.

Because the entire Innovation and Research Institute campus is extremely large, the group transferred to a specially prepared internal vehicle, accompanied by Fei Shiguang and Zeng Qi, who explained the scenery along the way and the progress of the institute's important projects.

Qianluo Group is a giant conglomerate that started with online social networking. After establishing a firm foothold in its core social networking business, the group has continued to expand into multiple fields.

In recent decades, the calls for and investment in deep space exploration have grown increasingly large. At the same time, in the last ten years or so, countries have begun to gradually loosen their regulations on aerospace, allowing some private funds to be involved in aerospace-related industries and R&D investments.

Although Qianluo Group started in the internet industry, as a large conglomerate, it naturally cannot miss this opportunity. In fact, as a defensive investment, it must invest a certain percentage of its profits in this area of ​​research and development every year.

Meanwhile, a significant portion of the research topics at the Southeast Research Institute are applied to starship systems and future deep-space colonies.

An Hui Ling University majored in Business Economics, so she didn't have an in-depth understanding of the research topics at the Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. As she said, she focused on learning and visiting, observing more and speaking less, and listening to the opinions of professionals on many issues.

In fact, her attitude has impressed many people along the way. After all, many people were worried that if the young lady really started giving advice casually, would they listen or not?

Fortunately, such a thing did not happen.

At noon, An Huiling and her group had lunch in the staff canteen of the Innovation and Research Institute and took the opportunity to observe the food served there. In the afternoon, they will visit the Innovation Incubation Park.

..............................

***

承和三十七年西历2016年3月31日11:33临州云漫茶餐厅

Yunman Tea Restaurant is a tea restaurant with a relatively light flavor, mainly serving Jian'an cuisine. It is not far from Zhang Jing's home. Zhang Jing had eaten here twice before and was quite satisfied with its food and environment, so they arranged to meet here this time.

When Zhang Jing entered the tea restaurant, it was lunchtime. Some people were already seated in the spacious lobby. Led by a waiter, Zhang Jing was led to a table by the window, where a middle-aged man who was sitting had already stood up.

"Mr. Sun, is that right? Hello, my surname is Zhang, courtesy name Hongjian, chairman of the 'Historical Relics Protection and Research Foundation'. It's a pleasure to meet you." Zhang Jing smiled and extended his hand.

Chapter 606 Acquisition Mystery

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Chairman Zhang. My name is Sun Zhonghe, courtesy name Dezhong. You may simply call me Dezhong." The middle-aged man quickly extended both hands to shake hands with Zhang Jing, and then the two sat down again.

After questioning the two, the waiter brought over a screen from the side and surrounded them to increase their privacy.

The two ordered food first. During this time, Zhang Jing also observed the man in front of him. He was a tall man with a broad face, light eyebrows, and a straight nose. He looked to be in his forties and dressed appropriately. Overall, he was a rather handsome middle-aged man.

"I heard from Zhixing that you two were college classmates?" Zhang Jing picked up the teapot on the table and poured a cup for the other person.

“He’s a classmate from Southeast University of Finance and Economics, but Senior Jiang is two years ahead of me. We were both members of the school’s photography club back then, and we got along quite well. We’ve kept in touch since graduation.” Sun Zhonghe accepted the teacup with both hands and nodded.

The two chatted with Jiang Shanlin for a few more minutes, and Zhang Jingshun introduced his "Historical Relics Protection and Research Foundation".

Afterwards, the two chatted about food using the menu. After a while, the dishes were served, and they ate and talked, gradually getting to the main topic.

"After graduation, I went to the School of Political Science and Economics at King Rune University to study finance and financial analysis."

"After graduating with my master's degree, I got a trainee position at Redfield Investment Bank on my advisor's recommendation. I worked there for two years before being transferred to the securities investment department as a financial industry analyst..."

As Zhang Jing listened to Sun Zhonghe introduce his resume, he would occasionally put a piece of food in his mouth. He had to admit that the overseas experience of the man in front of him did indeed fit the image of a "financial elite" in many people's minds.

As the leader of the Western world, the financial industry of the United Kingdom of Rune is quite developed. Redfield's financial district is even known as a barometer of the world economy. In some respects, it surpasses the Zhao Empire in terms of the openness of its financial industry.

Sun Zhonghe had worked in the financial district for ten years. During those ten years, he changed jobs once, moving from the securities investment department of Redfield Investment Bank to Henry Perley Investment Fund. Zhang Jing had heard of this fund before; it was a private investment company that had developed quite well in recent years, and it had launched several sizable global market investment funds, which were said to have very stable returns.

"Dezhong, so why did you decide to return to China later?" Zhang Jing asked curiously.

"While parents are alive, one should not travel far." Sun Zhonghe sighed. "In 06, my father suffered a stroke. As the only son in the family, I had to return to China from Luen to take care of him. Later, my father's condition stabilized, and I got married. I met my wife at the hospital. We are both locals from Linzhou. The following year, we had a child, so I completely gave up the idea of ​​returning to Luen."

"Later, I went to work at Southeast Securities, a subsidiary of Southern Bank, as a private equity fund manager, and managed three private equity funds in succession..."

While introducing his resume, Sun Zhonghe also chatted with Zhang Jing about his views on the capital market and his trading habits. Zhang Jing had a certain interest in finance from both his previous life; although he wasn't a professional, he wasn't completely ignorant either.

Listening to his investment style, it seems this person's approach is conservative. In Zhang Jing's words from his previous life, he's a believer in value investing, accustomed to entering the market during industry downturns based on meticulous data analysis. Because of his extensive experience and background as an analyst, his previous investments have been remarkably steady and accurate.

But how did this investment style lead to such a huge setback?

As Zhang Jing listened, he picked up a piece of roast suckling pig and put it in his mouth. Then he suddenly said, "I heard from Zhixing that you ran into some trouble and left Southeast Securities?"

Upon hearing this, Sun Zhonghe took a breath and gave a wry smile. He clearly had no intention of hiding anything, since in his view, the matter at the time was too serious to be concealed.

"You know about the deep space technology incident last year, right?"

"I've heard a little about it," Zhang Jing nodded. The incident last year caused quite a stir, so although he hadn't invested in stocks in this life, he still remembered it from the media frenzy.

In addition, he had heard some information from Jiang Shanlin before he came. Of course, Jiang Shanlin's knowledge was not comprehensive, but it was enough for him to do some homework in advance.

Sun Zhonghe nodded upon hearing this and briefly described the matter.

In early February last year, Deep Space Technology, whose main business is providing Starship subsystem software, was listed on the Songjiang Stock Exchange. Because it belongs to the currently popular deep space concept, it hit the daily limit immediately after listing. Unlike many new stocks that fall into a long-term decline after opening the daily limit, Deep Space Technology's stock price rose by 20% after seven consecutive daily limits.

In the following month, Deep Space Technology's stock price trend was very stable, basically remaining between 48 and 55 yuan.

However, this peaceful period did not last long. In early April, Deep Space Technology suddenly suspended trading on the grounds of "planning a major event," and then entered into a major asset restructuring.

In May, Deep Space Technology announced a restructuring plan with another aerospace communication device supplier, Visee Optoelectronics. However, when the official details of the transaction were finally released, it was met with widespread skepticism.

The reason is simple: this is an equity acquisition disguised as a cash acquisition.

Generally speaking, there are two types of acquisitions of listed companies: cash acquisitions and equity acquisitions. The main difference is that cash acquisitions do not dilute the equity of existing shareholders, while equity acquisitions do.

Because of past scams that caused significant negative social impact, regulatory agencies in Zhaoguo, like those in most other countries around the world, now have very strict regulations on the review of restructuring plans involving the issuance of shares to purchase assets. However, if a listed company uses 100% cash payment for a merger or acquisition, no regulatory review is required.

The reason is simple: to put it simply, shares are intangible, while cash is tangible. Being able to conduct cash acquisitions proves that you are more powerful and reliable.

Therefore, in order to avoid increasingly stringent regulations, increase the success rate of acquisitions, and speed up the acquisition process, Deep Space Technology chose a 100% cash acquisition method.

However, Deep Space Technology needs nearly 180 billion yuan in funding for this acquisition, while its own company's total assets are only 16 billion yuan. Even if all the funds in its account are used for the acquisition, it will still be a highly leveraged acquisition.

What if you don't have enough cash? Borrow some!

Specifically, the funds for Deep Space Technology's acquisition all came from 15-year long-term loans provided by the top four shareholders, totaling approximately RMB 158.6 billion. In addition, RMB 20 billion came from 3-year short-term loans provided by the top three shareholders.

In this way, Deep Space Technology didn't actually spend a single penny in this transaction; all the funds needed for the acquisition came from its shareholders. And after going through a cycle, the money returned to the hands of Deep Space Technology's four major shareholders.