Becoming the King of Bottom Fishing After Going All-In on A-Shares

Chapter 125 Fundraising

The group headed towards the elevator.

There were already three people sitting in the reception room downstairs.

Mr. Sun, the general manager of the school-run industrial group, was fifty-seven or fifty-eight years old. He was overweight, his suit jacket buttons were barely fastened, and he wore a pair of old Beijing cloth shoes. He was sitting with his legs crossed, looking at his phone.

Sitting next to me was President Liu of the publishing house, a thin man in his early sixties, wearing black-rimmed glasses, with a half-read copy of "The Fifteenth Year of Wanli" open in front of him, the pages of which were covered with sticky notes.

Old Liu from the printing factory sat on the far side. He was around fifty years old, wearing a dark blue work jacket, twirling a pen in his hand, and remained silent, like a rooted wooden stake.

As President Meng pushed open the door, all three people looked up at the same time.

"You're here?" President Sun stuffed his phone into his pocket, stood up, and looked past President Meng, his gaze landing directly on Lu Chenzhou.

He looked him up and down, and the expression on his face changed from scrutiny to satisfaction.

Mr. Sun extended his hand and shook it firmly.

"Mr. Lu, it's an honor to meet you. My surname is Sun, and I work for the university-run industrial group. Mr. Meng showed me the materials for your fund, and they were well-written, but I don't understand them very well. I just trust that you're from Renmin University, so I won't cheat you."

Lu Chenzhou nodded: "Don't worry, Mr. Sun."

"Don't worry, don't worry, the money is easy to handle, 400 million, it will be in your account this afternoon. But I have a small request."

My son is a junior in college, majoring in finance. He wants to find an internship during the summer. His grades are average, but he's quick-witted. You see?

""

"Okay, I'll report for duty next Monday."

Mr. Sun's eyes lit up. He pulled a bank card from his suit pocket, flipped it between his fingers, and lowered his voice: "Mr. Lu, the 400 million for business transactions is done. Can I put my personal money in too? 50, it's not much, I'll go with you."

"Mr. Sun, personal money and corporate money should be kept in separate accounts."

"I understand. I'll open an account and subscribe to your funds through legitimate channels. Just don't let me lose too much money, or my wife will check the accounts."

Lu Chenzhou nodded without saying anything more.

Mr. Sun smiled and returned to his seat.

President Liu coughed softly beside him.

He closed the book "Fifteen Years of Wanli", stood up slowly, tucked the book under his arm, and held it for exactly three seconds with a firm grip.

"Mr. Lu, my surname is Liu. I work at a publishing house. The 200 million from the publishing house is no problem."

In addition, our publishing house is currently compiling a series of books on "China's Capital Markets," and we are short of a financial reviewer. We would like to ask Mr. Lu to be listed as an editorial board member.

I review the manuscripts once a quarter, each time taking about two to three hours.

"When the manuscript arrived, I saw that I didn't need to sign it."

President Liu paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Okay."

He pulled a folded piece of paper from his pocket, unfolded it, and handed it to Lu Chenzhou: "This is my former boss's grandson. He has a master's degree in finance from Peking University. He graduated last year and worked at a securities firm for half a year, but he wasn't very happy with it. Take a look and see if he's suitable."

Lu Chenzhou took the paper and handed it to Xia Yaozong: "Schedule an interview."

President Liu nodded, then added, "By the way, I have 30 yuan of my own money. I'll put it in your foundation, so it won't go through the publishing house's accounts; I'll handle it myself."

Lu Chenzhou nodded without saying anything.

Old Liu from the printing factory was the last to stand up.

Instead of reaching out, he took out a thick wad of brown paper envelope from the inside pocket of his work jacket, placed it on the table, and pushed it in front of Lu Chenzhou.

"One million in cash or a check?"

Xia Yaozong leaned over and glanced at the envelope, his eyes widening in surprise.

Wen Zhiyu answered for Lu Chenzhou: "Checks, please! Cash is too much trouble."

10,000, push it over.

Then he took a resume from the folder on the table and handed it to Lu Chenzhou: "My daughter graduated from the Central University of Finance and Economics, worked at one of the Big Four accounting firms for two years, has a CPA, and wants to switch jobs. Are you hiring?"

Lu Chenzhou took the resume and handed it to Xia Yaozong: "Let's schedule an interview."

Old Liu nodded. Unlike President Sun and President Liu, he didn't rush to bring up private investment. Instead, he remained silent for a few seconds, as if he was weighing something.

Then he spoke.

"President Lu, the 100 million yuan for the printing plant belongs to the government."

He paused, reached into the deepest zippered pocket of his work jacket, pulled out a bank card, and placed it on the table.

"This is a private property, worth 200 million."

The room fell silent for a moment.

Xia Yaozong's mouth opened and didn't close, the teacup that President Sun was holding stopped in mid-air, and President Liu's hand, which was pushing up his glasses, paused for a moment.

Two million, 1.5 million more than General Manager Sun, and 1.7 million more than President Liu. A printing factory manager in a work jacket pulled out the largest private investment of the entire event.

Old Liu did not explain how the money came about, nor did he mention any additional conditions.

He simply pushed the card over and added, "Mr. Lu, I, Lao Liu, have spent my whole life dealing with machines. I don't understand stocks or funds."

But I understand one thing: a person who can get a school-run enterprise to invest 1000 million yuan and who can get President Meng to send his own niece to him—following him is the right thing to do.

Lu Chenzhou looked at the bank card, neither refusing nor saying thank you.

He reached out and shook hands with Lao Liu.

Old Liu's hands were rough, with large knuckles and calluses on his palms.

"Mr. Liu, I'll try my best not to lose out."

Old Liu nodded, withdrew his hand, and sat down again.

It seems that the 200 million mentioned earlier was just one of many small things to be done today.

When signing the contract, each of the three people signed their own.

Mr. Sun signed the document very quickly, without even looking at it, finishing it in three quick strokes.

President Liu signed slowly, looking at each word carefully. If he didn't understand something, he would ask. Only after hearing the explanation would he sign his name. His handwriting was so neat it looked like it had been carved.

Old Liu was the last to sign. He didn't ask any questions, just flipped to the last page, signed, closed the contract, and stood up.

"I'm gone."

Mr. Sun stopped him, saying, "Old Liu, what's the rush? Let's have dinner together tonight, it's on me."

Old Liu glanced at General Manager Sun, then at Lu Chenzhou, and shook his head: "The machines in the factory haven't stopped; I have to go back and keep an eye on them."

After saying that, he left, his figure in the work jacket disappearing through the doorway.

Mr. Sun watched his retreating figure and shook his head: "Old Liu has always been like this. He treats that German machine in the factory better than his own son."

President Liu carefully put away his contract, glanced at Lu Chenzhou, and said, "President Lu, that 200 million is the savings of my family over several decades."

Lu Chenzhou didn't say anything and saw them off.

After watching the group leave, President Meng handed Lu Chenzhou a card: "There's 1000 million on this card. I got some friends to help me raise it. President Lu, be careful."

Lu Chenzhou gave her a deep look: "Okay!"

After seeing President Meng off, the group left the building.

Xia Yaozong's expression was not good: "Old Lu, am I an investment director or a kindergarten principal?"

Ten interns, a Harvard PhD, Mr. Sun's son, Mr. Liu's daughter, the one recommended by President Liu, plus President Liu's reviewer—am I here to do investment or to arrange placements for people with connections?

Am I here to invest or to run a daycare center?

Yang Cheng glanced at the somewhat irritable Xia Yaozong: "Those with connections aren't here to freeload; they're the eyes and ears sent by each family."

If you take good care of them, they'll be able to enter school-run enterprises, publishing houses, and printing plants without needing to hand over their business cards.

Besides, you don't need to worry about these things. With the sunken ship holding them back, they can't cause any trouble.

Xia Yaozong paused for a moment, then remained silent.

November 7, 2008, Friday, the Beginning of Winter.

The nameplate on the 18th floor of the Cultural Building hadn't been put up yet, but the room was already full of people.

Xia Yaozong stood in front of the employee area, holding a list in his hand like he was holding a bomb.

"I'll read the names again. Raise your hand if your name is called."

"Zhao Keke".

A girl with a low ponytail raised her hand.

A third-year student majoring in finance at Renmin University, ranking in the top 10% of his class, and the Minister of External Relations of the Student Union. His resume states that he is "good at communication and has strong stress resistance".

She sat at her workstation, her back ramrod straight, the first page of her notebook already open.

"Sun Hao".

Mr. Sun's son raised his hand. He was wearing a newly bought shirt. His workstation was next to Zhao Keke's. There was nothing on his desk except a bottle of mineral water and a cell phone.

"Liu Ziheng".

The Peking University finance master's student recommended by President Liu raised his hand.

I left the securities firm last year and stayed at home for three months. My complexion was a bit yellower than in the photo on my resume, but my eyes were still quite energetic.

His workstation was assigned to the last row, by the window, overlooking the spot where Lao Liu's old Passat had been parked yesterday.

"Liu Yutong".

Old Liu's daughter raised her hand. She was a graduate of the Central University of Finance and Economics, a CPA, and had worked at one of the Big Four accounting firms for two years. She was wearing a dark gray wool sweater with the sleeves rolled up to her forearms, revealing an old Tissot watch on her left wrist.

Her workstation was opposite Xia Yaozong's, which Xia Yaozong had arranged specifically for her; this guy had some other ideas.

"Su Qingyuan".

The Harvard PhD student raised his hand.

The entire staff area fell silent for a second.

She sat at the front desk, wearing a black turtleneck sweater, her hair down, without makeup, with a ThinkPad and an Americano in front of her.

Xia Yaozong looked at Su Qingyuan, who had an extremely strong aura, swallowed, and continued reading.

The remaining ten interns are all students at Renmin University, either in their third year of undergraduate studies or second year of graduate studies, with majors covering finance, economics, law, journalism, and human resources.

Mr. Meng sent out a notice at the Career Guidance Center, and received more than 80 resumes last night. Wen Zhiyu spent three hours screening them out into these ten people.

What they have in common: top 30% of their class, passed CET-6, have a decent internship, and are not unpleasant to look at.

Xia Yaozong put down the list: "Now that everyone is here, let me explain the current job arrangements in the company."

Then, they were introduced one by one: General Manager Lu Chenzhou, Secretary Wen Zhiyu, Operations Director Su Qingyuan, Investment Director Xia Yaozong,

Investment Manager Zhang Yixing, General Manager Yang Cheng.

The operations director position was given to Su Qingyuan because Lu Chenzhou, Wen Zhiyu, and Zhang Yixing were going to Hong Kong as exchange students, and Yang Cheng was going to the United States. Beijing needed someone to oversee things, and she was currently the most capable and suitable candidate.

After everyone had finished introducing themselves, Lu Chenzhou asked, "How much have been raised so far?"

夏耀宗翻了翻文件：「私募基金募集了2亿元人民币，公募1号投向A股的有4亿元人民币，公募2号投向海外的有1亿美金。

Everyone is very optimistic about your overseas investment capabilities. As for A-shares, the market is not good at the moment, so there is little investment. Even if there is investment, it is mostly from classmates and acquaintances.

Mutual funds cannot hold more than 10% of the fund's net asset value in a single stock. This means we must buy at least 10 stocks, including both Hong Kong and A-shares.

Furthermore, it's best not to buy stocks that we've previously purchased.

Mr. Lu, which investment targets are you considering?

Everyone looked at him, wanting to know which stocks Lu Chenzhou planned to buy.