Chapter 100: "Mortgage Loan"

Huang Fengwen thought this matter would drag on for at least a few days, but to his surprise, Shen Zekai returned the very next day.
People, once blinded by an overwhelming lust for power, lose all reason.
The ancients were truly right: greed blinds reason!
“Mr. Huang,” Shen Zekai plopped down, trying his best to maintain a calm facade, though the anxiety in his eyes was already impossible to conceal.
“I think you understand why I’ve come to visit again this time, right?”
Huang Fengwen slowly sipped his tea:
“Heh, Mr. Shen, you’ve returned. Perhaps you’re considering… a deeper discussion about those 10 billion shares?”
Shen Zekai took a deep breath, as if to bolster his courage, or perhaps to expel all the pent-up frustration in his chest:
“Phew—to be honest, Mr. Huang, 10 billion…is there really no room for negotiation?”
“Didn’t we make things clear last time?”
Huang Fengwen’s smile remained unchanged, but his tone brooked no argument.
“Mr. Shen, my place is small; I don’t negotiate. 10 billion, not a penny less!”
Shen Zekai’s teeth itched with hatred; he wished he could tear off the smiling tiger’s face to see if a pair of fangs were hidden beneath.
He knew in his heart that this old fox had him cornered, that he was now backed to the brink of disaster, one step back and he would fall into an abyss.
"Fine! One hundred billion, I, Shen Zekai, admit defeat!"
Shen Zekai seemed to squeeze these words out from between clenched teeth, his voice hoarse.
"But... one hundred billion, I really can't raise that much on hand right now."
Huang Fengwen raised an eyebrow, feigning surprise, his tone tinged with amusement:
"Oh? I heard that you've been surrounded by quite a few 'hungry wolves' lately, Mr. Shen?"
"Aren't those people who run funds and venture capitalists all rolling in money?"
"Don't even mention it!" Shen Zekai waved his hand, his face full of gloom.
"Those greedy bastards, the moment they heard 10 billion, they ran faster than rabbits, afraid to get even a scratch!
Everyone wanted to distance themselves from me, saying the risk was too high, they couldn't afford it!"
Huang Fengwen rubbed his nose; it was no wonder they wanted to run.
This price was indeed outrageously high.
10 billion for 5% of the shares—the premium was ridiculously high.
Being called a profiteer taking advantage of a crisis was being polite.
But equity prices in extraordinary times are such unpredictable things.
As long as someone is willing to accept it, then it's a "reasonable" price!
It's like Zhou Yu beating Huang Gai—one is willing to hit, and the other is willing to be hit.
Shen Zekai's face flushed and paled in turns, finally settling into a look of tragic determination:
"But if I don't get these shares…
My old man has said he'll make me rot in his lousy factory for the rest of my life!
That's the best-case scenario, what if…
What if my dad really dies one day? Will my older brother let me off the hook?
He'd probably grind me to dust!"
"Hiss—yes! Just thinking about that scene makes me sweat for you, Mr. Shen!"
Huang Fengwen clicked his tongue dramatically, but his face showed not a trace of sympathy; he was purely there to watch the drama unfold.
Shen Zekai ignored this insincere consolation and went straight to the point:
"I really can't scrape together 10 billion. But I absolutely have to buy these shares.
So, there's only one way left…"
Huang Fengwen's eyes darted around: "Young Master Shen, you… you wouldn't be thinking of borrowing money from us, would you?"
Shen Zekai enunciated each word clearly, his eyes fixed intently on Huang Fengwen:
"That's right! Lend it to me!"
Huang Fengwen's lips twitched. This kid was certainly something else.
Although he had expected it, Shen Zekai's confident demeanor still surprised him.
Shen Zekai was certain that finding someone willing to pay 10 billion besides selling to him, a sucker, would be harder than climbing to heaven.
Huang Fengwen hesitated for a moment, tapping his fingers lightly on the table, feigning difficulty:
“Young Master Shen, please wait a moment. I need to make a phone call to discuss this. This is a serious matter; I can't make the decision alone.”
Shen Zekai was taken aback: “Mr. Huang, aren't you the owner of Fanghuan Investment? Who do you need to consult with?”
“Hehe, that's what you say on the surface,” Huang Fengwen smiled mysteriously, speaking with an air of profound mystery:
“However, the world is a deep and complex place. Sometimes, even a boss can't always have the final say.”
These words were quite intriguing!
Shen Zekai's heart skipped a beat, a thought flashing through his mind:
Could it be that from beginning to end, an unseen hand was manipulating everything behind the scenes?
‘Holy crap! I knew it! Something felt off! Something fishy was definitely up!’
Shen Zekai suddenly realized, this was all a setup from the very beginning!
It turns out someone had foreseen the succession battle raging at Changqing Group all along…
So they secretly acquired the shares for 2 billion yuan beforehand, then waited for this big fish to walk into their trap, only to sell them to him at five times the price!
This is ruthless exploitation!
Where does an institution of Huanfang Investment's caliber get such a large sum of money, daring to fish so brazenly in the murky waters of Changqing Group?
And they caught a big one at that!
With an initial investment of 2 billion yuan, they dared to ask for 10 billion yuan immediately; the ruthlessness and greed are simply outrageous!
If there isn't some incredibly powerful figure pulling the strings behind this, he wouldn't believe it for a second!
'Damn it, which bastard is behind this?'
Shen Zekai was seething with hatred, really wanting to drag the guy hiding behind the scenes out and see if he had gold trim on his face to dare play him like this!
At the same time, Su Hao suddenly felt a tickle in his nose.
"Achoo! Who said I'm handsome behind my back?"
His phone rang at that perfect moment; it was Huang Fengwen.
"Hey, Brother Huang, what's going on? That kid's planning to borrow 10 billion from us?"
"Yeah, right! He said he can't come up with 10 billion and wants us to lend it to him!"
Huang Fengwen sounded overjoyed.
"Will it work?"
"Theoretically, it's possible. We're not actually handing over 10 billion in cash to him. To put it bluntly, it's just transferring money from one pocket to another."
Huang Fengwen explained.
"We're just 'lending' him those shares, and then we'll get them back with interest. It's a sure-fire deal!"
"So, what's the usual procedure?" Su Hao asked curiously.
“What other tricks could they possibly have? It’s just pledging something as collateral and then collecting monthly interest!” Huang Fengwen paused,
“But to be honest, in the entire financial industry, there aren’t many institutions that can immediately come up with 10 billion in cash.
But the current situation is perfect for manipulating him. We can ask him for some solid collateral, raise the interest rate a bit, set a repayment date, and then ‘lend’ him the shares.”
Su Hao pondered. Logically speaking, for a behemoth like Changqing Group, 10 billion, while painful, should be something they could squeeze out.
His initial decision to set a five-fold price was based on this assessment, assuming the other party would have to accept it even if it meant bleeding money.
However, he hadn’t expected them to choose the “collateralized loan” route.
Collateral… what could they be collateralizing?