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

Chapter 129: Not Optimistic

Xu Xin came out of the Cultural Building, got into his car, but didn't leave immediately.

She took out her phone, found a number without a saved name, hesitated for three seconds, and then dialed it.

It rang twice, then I answered.

"Mr. Xu?"

"Old Zhu, I have a question for you. How much do you know about Lu Chenzhou?"

On the other end of the phone was Zhu Xiaohu, a partner at GSR Ventures.

The two had worked together on projects before, and while they weren't particularly close, they respected each other.

"Lu Chenzhou? That student from Renmin University?" Zhu Xiaohu's voice held a hint of surprise. "Why are you suddenly asking about him?"

"He invested $15 million in JD.com today, valuing the company at $60 million post-investment."

There was a three-second silence on the other end of the phone.

"Sixty million? He's not going to bargain?"

"I won't cut it. He said cutting it any further would be disrespectful to the facts."

""

Zhu Xiaohu chuckled, and there was something indescribable in his laughter.

It wasn't mockery, but more like a sigh.

"Mr. Xu, I have something to tell you. Last month, we discussed a case internally with a company that makes LED chips called Sanan Optoelectronics."

At the time, we thought the valuation was too high and didn't invest, but guess what happened?

Lu Chenzhou's private equity fund went all in on the secondary market today, buying in full on the very first day.

How did you know it was his fund?

"Because today's trading pattern was too obvious, my people checked the account and found it was a private equity account of Zhizhou Capital. Later, I found out that Lu Chenzhou was the one operating the account."

Xu Xin remained silent.

Zhu Xiaohu continued, "Also, you know about the Galaxy Entertainment thing, right?"

He acquired a 24% stake in the Hong Kong stock market, becoming its second-largest shareholder.

I don't know how the He family reacted, but I do know one thing.

He has at least one billion Hong Kong dollars in cash on hand.

"One billion?"

"right."

Xu Xin fell silent. He thought $1500 million was already shocking, but now you're telling me he has $10 billion in cash?

Zhu Xiaohu's voice became serious: "President Xu, if you ask me what I think of Lu Chenzhou, I can only say that I don't understand him. But among all the people I know, not one says he's a fool."

"understood."

Xu Xin hung up the phone, placed it on the passenger seat, and started the car.

She didn't drive away immediately, but sat in the driver's seat, her hands on the steering wheel, recalling every detail of Lu Chenzhou's office that afternoon.

When the young man said, "Your approach is correct," his tone was flat, his expression was indifferent, but his eyes were very certain.

It's not the kind of certainty where you "take a gamble."

It's that kind of certainty that "I know the ending."

Xu Xin stepped on the gas, and the car merged into the evening rush hour traffic.

She was doing some calculations:

Today Capital invested 1000 million in Series A, accounting for 40%, and followed up with 800 million in Series B, totaling 1800 million, accounting for 30%.

Zhizhou invested 1500 million, acquiring a 25% stake.

She is the largest shareholder, and Lu Chenzhou is the second largest shareholder.

If JD.com succeeds, Capital Today will earn more than him.

If JD.com fails, Capital Today will lose more money than JD.com.

"He's quite good at calculations," Xu Xin muttered to himself, a slight smile playing on his lips.

But she also knew one thing: Capital Today's portfolio was only so big, and she couldn't continue to invest a large proportion in Series C and D rounds.

JD.com is going to build its own logistics network, and what it will need later is not tens of millions, but hundreds of millions or even billions.

By then, Capital Today's stake will be diluted to single digits.

And what about Lu Chenzhou?

He reportedly has HK$1 billion in cash on hand.

If he follows up every round...

Xu Xin shook his head, not wanting to think about it any further.

She only needed to confirm one thing: Lu Chenzhou wasn't here to cause trouble.

Judging from today's negotiations, he is not.

He did not ask for anti-dilution clauses, board seats, or veto power.

The terms he signed were almost identical to, or even more lenient than, those of Capital Today's Series A funding round.

"This young man either genuinely believes in JD.com, or he has ulterior motives," Xu Xin concluded in his mind. "But I can't see what he's after right now."

China International Capital Corporation (CICC), Investment Banking Department.

Li Zheng hasn't left yet.

He sat at his desk with JD.com's business plan spread out in front of him—the same one Liu Qiangdong had brought that afternoon—which he hadn't even opened.

He's watching now.

Read it page by page.

After reading it, he leaned back in his chair, took off his glasses, and wiped the lenses with his tie.

The assistant knocked and entered: "Mr. Li, aren't you leaving yet?"

"immediately."

After his assistant left, Li Zheng put on his glasses, picked up his phone, found Liu Qiangdong's number, and thought about calling, but then put it down.

He was thinking about something: if Lu Chenzhou was right and JD.com really succeeded, would CICC's rejection of Liu Qiangdong this afternoon become the biggest joke of his career?

He picked up his phone again, but instead of calling Liu Qiangdong, he called an old classmate from the School of Finance and Economics at Renmin University.

"Old Li, I have a question for you. Do you know a student in your college named Lu Chenzhou?"

"Lu Chenzhou? Who doesn't know him? The entire School of Finance and Economics is talking about him. He went from ten thousand to billions, and now he owns the entire 18th floor of the Cultural Building."

What do you think of him?

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone.

"I can't say for sure, but so far, he hasn't made a mistake."

Li Zheng hung up the phone and put JD.com's business plan into a drawer.

It wasn't thrown into the trash can, it was put into the drawer.

He turned off the light and walked out of the office.

He was the only person in the elevator.

He looked at his reflection in the elevator door and suddenly remembered what Liu Qiangdong had said when he left that afternoon.

He said at the time, "Given the current market environment, we really don't dare to touch projects that haven't made a profit yet."

Lu Chenzhou said, "Your approach is correct."

Li Feng walked out of the building, and the November wind rushed into his collar, causing him to shrink his neck.

He felt he might have missed something.

But he was unwilling to admit it.

Renmin University, Employment Guidance Center.

Mr. Meng sat in his office, with the business registration information of Zhizhou Capital displayed on his computer screen.

The school-run enterprise invested 1000 million RMB in Lu Chenzhou's private equity fund.

The investments were in Baotou Steel Rare Earth, Sanan Optoelectronics, and Sany Heavy Industry.

With the position fully booked, I went all in on the first day.

President Meng found out yesterday afternoon. It wasn't Lu Chenzhou who told him; it was his niece who told him.

"Meng Gu, the private equity fund has completed its position building, and all three stocks have been fully subscribed."

When President Meng saw this message, he almost dropped his teacup.

After finding out the details, she quickly picked up the phone and called the director of the school office.

"Director Wang, the private equity firm has started building its position."

"What did you buy?"

"Baotou Steel Rare Earth, Sanan Optoelectronics, Sany Heavy Industry, all in!"

There was a long silence on the other end of the phone.

"Mr. Meng, tell me the truth, how risky is this investment?"

Mr. Meng held the phone, wanting to say "the risk is controllable," but what came out of his mouth was: "Director Wang, these three stocks are all industry leaders."

Baotou Steel Rare Earth is a leading company in rare earths, Sanan Optoelectronics is a leading company in LED chips, and Sany Heavy Industry is a leading company in construction machinery.

"I'm asking about the risks, not the industry leaders."

President Meng took a deep breath: "The position is fully booked."

6

There was silence on the other end of the phone, and then for a longer time.

"When you told me about it, you didn't mention all-in."

"Director Wang, what was the situation at the time..."

"What did Lu Chenzhou say?"

Mr. Meng recalled that when Lu Chenzhou came to his office last Friday to sign the agreement, he said, "Mr. Lu, this 1000 million is the alumni's money, so be careful."

Lu Chenzhou said, "President Meng, don't worry."

"He told me not to worry," said President Meng.

A long sigh came from the other end of the phone.

"You better be right."

The phone hangs up.

President Meng placed his phone on the table and stared blankly at the QQ group on his computer, where rumors were circulating that Lu Chenzhou had invested $1500 million in JD.com.

Fortunately, Lu Chenzhou's investment in JD.com had absolutely nothing to do with school-run enterprises.

That's money from Zhizhou Hong Kong Investment Co., Ltd.

The $1500 million came from his Hong Kong company's account.

The 1000 million RMB from the school-run enterprise is honestly sitting in an A-share private equity fund.

The companies I bought were Baotou Steel Rare Earth, Sanan Optoelectronics, and Sany Heavy Industry.

But what President Meng is worried about now is not JD.com.

The market will open next Monday.

If the A-share market falls, the 1000 million yuan of the school-run enterprise...

She didn't dare to think any further.

He picked up his phone again and flipped to the K-line chart of Baotou Steel Rare Earth.

The stock closed up 4% today.

She stared at the red number, her heart not racing, but rather growing more panicked.

Because she knew that the higher it rises, the more painful the fall will be.

Li Zheng had just arrived home when his phone rang.

It wasn't a phone call, it was a message.

One after another, it was like a pot had exploded.

He picked it up and saw that the CICC internal group already had 99+ members.

He scrolled up and the first message was from a VP in the Hong Kong investment banking department: "I heard someone invested in JD.com's Series B round? Who?"

Then came a series of replies: "Today Capital followed up with an investment of 800 million."

"There's another firm called Zhizhou Capital, which invested 1500 million."

What is the background of Zhizhou Capital?

"A student from Renmin University."

"???"

"Am I seeing things? A third-year university student?"

"Are you crazy?"

"1500 million US dollars, invested in a company that's about to go bankrupt?"

"It's not his money, so he can spend it however he wants."

"7

"It's not about the money, it's about the valuation. $6000 million, no bargaining. In today's market, who dares not to bargain?"

"Who is his father?"

"orphan."

"Where did the money come from?"

"He supposedly turned 10,000 yuan into billions by investing in stocks."

Hahahahaha

"Are you serious?"

"From trillions to billions? You believe that?"

"I don't believe it, but that's what everyone in the industry is saying, and there are even rumors about it."

"You believe that? I also have a story that I went from being a street vendor to working my way up to an investment banker."

"No, don't laugh. Galaxy Entertainment is real. They're listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and hold 24% of the shares. You can find it in the exchange's announcements."

"So what? Being good at stock trading doesn't mean you can do primary market trading; those are two different things."

"That's right, secondary market speculators and primary market investors are two different species."

"And it was invested in JD.com. JD.com! That company is almost bankrupt; they can't even pay Zhangshangji's salary."

"What's his relationship with Liu Qiangdong? Are they relatives?"

"No, they're alumni, Renmin University alumni."

"Alumni investing $1500 million? That's ridiculous."

"I must have been fooled. Liu Qiangdong must have just made empty promises to his people."

"What kind of pie could be worth $1500 million?"

"I've seen this 'I'm the Amazon of Zhongfu' story a hundred times."

"Hahahaha, if Zhongfu High School is Amazon, then I'm still Zhongfu High School's Buffett."

"Don't laugh at me for being so naive; what if it works out?"

"Success? JD.com? Tell me how it succeeded? Building its own logistics network, how much money would that cost? Billions of dollars might not even be enough. How many rounds can a student like Yi keep up with?"

"Exactly, $1500 million for Series B, how much for Series C? $5000 million? And Series D? $1 million? Where are you going to get so much money?"

"Doesn't the company have billions?"

"A few billion Hong Kong dollars is only a few hundred million US dollars. JD.com is a bottomless pit; even if you throw a few hundred million into it, you won't see a ripple."

"Moreover, Capital Today is the largest shareholder, holding 30%, while JD.com only has 25%. Even if JD.com succeeds, Xu Xin will still be the one who controls the majority of the shares."

"So what is the lost map?"

"It's all about reputation. Look at everyone in the financial world talking about it now, isn't that right?"

"Paying money to buy fame? $1500 million? That's way too expensive."

"It might not be expensive for them, don't they have billions?"

"Those billions also belong to the investors; aren't they all in cahoots?"

Seeing this, Li Zheng put down his phone.

I don't want to watch anymore.

Because the group discovered that what these people in the group said and what they were thinking were actually quite similar.

A 20-year-old college junior invests $15 million in a company that is about to go bankrupt.

If he's not crazy, he's been fooled.

But the guy didn't say a word about Ting in the group chat.

Because it was he who introduced Liu Qiangdong to Lu Chenzhou.

If others also mock him in the group, wouldn't that be tantamount to admitting that he made a mistake in his introduction?

The attitude of "not mentioning pavilion" is the most concise and straightforward.

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