The butler looked utterly bewildered, finding the metaphor quite strange!
But he understood. His young master's pursuit of Miss Ye was akin to the Tang Monk's journey to retrieve scriptures, facing eighty-one tribulations. And he had just left Chang'an!
"All the best, young master," the butler said with great earnestness.
Qi Xuan: ...
Was he being pitied again? Hmph, the butler had no sense of humor at all. He hadn't even asked how Zhaocai could possibly perform a triple backflip with a half twist.
*
Under Ye Zhi's instruction, news of Taoxun Games' first-month revenue reaching a staggering two hundred million yuan spread like wildfire, even trending on Zhiwei, becoming highly disseminated.
Ou Minghan naturally saw it. He merely sneered dismissively; he was far too familiar with such matters!
This must be a press release written and published by Ye Zhi herself, meant to inflate her value. He had done such things frequently in the past! Ye Zhi could deceive others, but she couldn't deceive him!
However, before long, he received a call from Su Ming.
Su Ming said with some hesitation, "Mr. Ou, I think I should sell my shares to Ms. Ye..."
"Wait, Chairman Su, didn't we already reach an agreement? How can you go back on your word?" Ou Minghan was both surprised and enraged.
Su Ming said, "You must have seen it too. Taoxun Games' first-month revenue exceeded 200 million. Ms. Ye has money now, and I feel more at ease selling to her..."
Ou Minghan immediately became anxious, "That's all fake! Chairman Su, haven't you noticed that all this news is coming from marketing accounts? This is just a little trick by Ye Zhi to boost her own value! Besides, the best project from a shopping website is a game? It sounds utterly unprofessional and unreliable!"
Su Ming almost broke character. If he hadn't known the inside story, Ou Minghan would have convinced him. He truly admired Ou Minghan's ability to live in his own world, refusing to open his eyes to reality.
"Ahem," Su Ming collected himself and said with a seemingly troubled tone, "Mr. Ou, I don't really care about what you're saying. I only care about who offers a higher price..."
Ou Minghan gnashed his teeth in anger. This was Su Ming's true intention, wasn't it? This was clearly a squeeze!
But even knowing Su Ming's plan, Ou Minghan had no choice but to accept his fate.
Qianbai had now overcome its most difficult period and could contend with Taoxun. He absolutely would not allow Qianbai to fall into Ye Zhi's hands!
"Chairman Su, my offer can be higher than hers!" Ou Minghan gritted out.
Su Ming almost burst out laughing. He had been waiting for these words! He praised sincerely, "As expected of Mr. Ou, you have such boldness!"
The two quickly reached an agreement. Ou Minghan, fearing further complications, quickly raised the funds and bought back some of the shares from these investors.
Once the matter was mostly settled, Su Ming contacted Ye Zhi and informed her of the situation.
He couldn't help but sigh, "Ms. Ye, I really underestimated Ou Minghan. I never expected him to be so wealthy! He actually bought back a large portion of the shares we held. This far exceeded our expectations..."
Ye Zhi was also surprised. She had guessed that Ou Minghan might have a lot of money, as he had engaged in many illegal activities privately to accumulate wealth. But she hadn't expected Ou Minghan's secret stash to be so abundant.
However, she suspected that Ou Minghan's secret stash would be nearly emptied this time.
"Why do you think he's so strange?" Su Ming asked, puzzled. "If he had money himself, why didn't he use his own funds to save Qianbai back then and instead sought investment from us?"
"As you said, he had to use his own funds," Ye Zhi replied calmly. "At that time, Qianbai's reputation had plummeted, and saving its reputation required a massive capital investment.
If it could be saved, that would be good, but if not, the money would be wasted. Ou Minghan, why would he be willing to gamble his own money? Using your money could not only save Qianbai but also pit you against me to a mutually destructive end, allowing him to wait for the right opportunity to reap the rewards. Why wouldn't he?"
Su Ming was instantly disgusted. When they invested in Qianbai, they had indeed seen that Ou Minghan intended to use them, to create a situation where both sides were severely damaged, and he could then profit.
They didn't really care about such business tactics, as they weren't particularly scrupulous either.
However, the fact that Ou Minghan had money but refused to part with a single cent, completely unwilling to save his own company, was truly contemptible.
"Chairman Su, what do you plan to do with the remaining shares you hold?" Ye Zhi asked casually.
"Are you interested, Ms. Ye?" Su Ming asked.
"No, just asking," Ye Zhi replied calmly.
"It's quite simple for us to deal with these shares," Su Ming said with a smile. "Ou Minghan has already helped us recoup some losses, so we plan to sell these shares on the stock market."
"Then Chairman Su, you should act quickly," Ye Zhi said softly.
Su Ming blinked in surprise, "What do you mean, Ms. Ye?"
Ye Zhi reminded him, "Taoxun's detailed financial reports are out, and the time for public announcement to shareholders has been set. Once it's announced, Qianbai's stock price might reach a new low."
Su Ming suddenly understood and said sincerely, "Ms. Ye, thank you again this time. I owe you another favor."
Ye Zhi picked at her ear. She had heard this phrase so many times it was making her ears fall off. But it was fine; she would definitely collect all the favors Su Ming owed her in the future!
Taoxun Film and Television's small-budget film, a trial attempt, had finished shooting and entered post-production. It was scheduled for release during the summer slot.
When it was released, asking Su Ming for more screening time wouldn't be too much, would it?
Of course, saying this now would seem too opportunistic. By the summer, she was confident Su Ming would be sensible.
Subsequently, Su Ming and other investors began selling their Qianbai stocks. Their selling caused Qianbai's stock price to fall.
Ou Minghan was furious. He called Su Ming, but Su Ming was evasive, reiterating only that he no longer wanted to hold the shares.
Seeing that persuasion was futile, Ou Minghan directly paid to buy all the stocks they were selling. He bought as much as they sold, stabilizing Qianbai's stock price.
Ou Minghan's financial strength impressed both Su Ming and Ye Zhi.
Although the recoupment from these shares was far less than what the investors had put into Qianbai, they were truly surprised by how deep Ou Minghan's pockets were.
With the investors withdrawing from Qianbai, Ou Minghan, now holding the largest number of shares in Qianbai, finally returned to his office.
However, as soon as he settled into his office, he saw a high-level executive walk in with an anxious expression. "Mr. Ou, I've received news that Su Ming and the others plan to short Qianbai's stock!"