“So this is the method of bidding!” Huang He smiled slightly. Bidding was the method uniformly adopted for government projects in China.
Although this seemed not to have the overt competition of an auction, and thus not excessively fierce, in reality, this kind of covert competition was no less intense than an auction.
Huang He had accompanied his company’s boss to participate in two related bidding sessions. The result was that during the bidding stage, he was constantly worried that his bid would be higher than his opponent’s, thus losing the opportunity. In the end, he had hard-pressed himself to submit a bid that was slightly lower than the cost price.
And this was not a special case but the norm for bidding. For many companies without strong connections, their bidding was to break even with the cost price, only then would they have a sliver of a chance.
This time was no different. Upon hearing that Reed Hastings intended to adopt this method of bidding, many investors present began to feel conflicted.
They started to calculate what others’ perceived prices might be and how much they should bid above them.
But then they thought again, if they increased their bid, others would surely increase theirs too, so would they need to bid even more?
As a result, Huang He saw many white faces turn red, looking around at others, trying to ascertain their bottom lines and bids.
But at this juncture, even if you told someone your bid, they might not necessarily believe it, making things even more complicated.
On the stage, Reed Hastings looked at the hesitant investors below, a smile instantly appearing on his face. This was the result he wanted, and he believed that a considerably good price would emerge this time.
Suddenly, Reed Hastings’ pupils constricted. He noticed that the first person to walk towards the envelope station to collect an envelope and paper was a black man.
“Attention-seeking!” Reed Hastings let out a soft snort. He had actually seen this black man long ago and knew he was the president of Western Mustang Investment Company.
Although Reed Hastings had never heard of this company, it was legitimate and had all the necessary paperwork. Therefore, Reed Hastings could not go against his own rules and reject him, so he could only ignore what he saw.
“Never mind, there’s no way there will be a good price!” Reed Hastings muttered to himself. Then, this black man began to pick up a pen to write.
And this made Reed Hastings somewhat surprised because, from the way this black man held the pen, it was clear he was someone who didn't often use a pen.
This fellow was very young; under normal circumstances, he should be studying in university and be someone who uses a pen daily. Yet, he appeared so awkward, clearly someone who had dropped out early. Who knew how such a person managed to become the president of an investment company?
If this were a domineering CEO novel, Reed Hastings would certainly say, "Congratulations, my good man, you have successfully piqued my curiosity!"
Soon, this black man put the completed envelope into the mailbox. Seeing that the first position had been taken by a black man, and that they, as white people, hadn’t had the courage to do so first, many felt somewhat displeased and decided to salvage their white pride by submitting their bids. This gave Reed Hastings a bit of a headache.
He had originally wanted to let this atmosphere brew a little longer to drive up the bids, but this little black man had ruined it all.
“Boss, my task is complete. Was there anything I did poorly?” Little Swift asked cautiously as he returned to his original position.
“No, you did very well!” Huang He said with a smile.
“Sir, may I interview you?” Just then, a voice suddenly sounded. Little Swift looked up and saw a black reporter holding a microphone towards him.
“Sir…”
“Don’t expose my identity, you can say whatever you want!” Little Swift wanted to consult Huang He’s opinion, but Huang He just whispered in his ear and then left directly with Leng Zhiruo, leaving Little Swift with a stiff expression as he accepted the reporter’s interview.
Well, because this reporter was also black, Little Swift could speak smoothly. Otherwise, if it were a white person, he would have to start rapping.
The reporter began with very standard questions, and Little Swift, being a very intelligent person, managed to evade them with platitudes.
However, after a while, the reporter started asking about Little Swift’s personal situation, which touched upon a sore spot for Little Swift. He then began to recount the hardships of his childhood, and so on, to the point where the reporter cried.
When the reporter asked how he became the president of this investment company, Little Swift became a bit bewildered. Finally, he managed to blurt out a statement that sounded very fake: the company’s money wasn't his; a wealthy individual saw his capabilities and proactively invited him to become the company’s president, responsible for its operations.
Inviting a black man who had just turned eighteen to be the president of an investment company was preposterous, but Little Swift couldn't think of any other reasonable explanation.
However, remarkably, the reporter seemed to believe him and excitedly stated that he had always believed black people were the most outstanding race in the world, and Little Swift’s success as an investor was proof of this. He vowed to let all black brothers know that black people could also be investors.
Little Swift also appeared to be in agreement, then found a way to extricate himself from the reporter and rejoined Huang He, telling him the entire interview process in detail.
“It doesn’t matter. At most, they’ll write a toothless report. As long as it doesn’t involve me, it’s fine!” Huang He said dismissively. However, the changes and turns, or rather, the wheels of history, had subtly shifted direction without anyone noticing.
Around 10 PM, Reed Hastings estimated that the bidding had mostly concluded. He then had someone open all the envelopes from the mailbox, organize them neatly, and hand them all to Reed Hastings.
Reed Hastings went through them one by one, finding that the bids generally ranged from fifty million to seventy million US dollars.
This price was within Reed Hastings’ expectations and was the fairest and most reasonable price, but it was still short of the funding investment Reed Hastings desired.
“Oh, Old Saunders is willing to pay ninety million dollars!” Reed Hastings finally saw a price that exceeded his expectations. If nothing unexpected happened, Old Saunders would secure one of the three spots.
However, Reed Hastings calmly continued to look, and on the fourth-to-last paper, he saw another bid of ninety million dollars from Kodoko Company.
“Is ninety million dollars the highest bid?” Reed Hastings felt a little disappointed. This was already the fourth-to-last paper, and there shouldn’t be any higher bids.
Then, Reed Hastings began to look nonchalantly until he saw the last paper, with some crookedly written English numbers on it. Reed Hastings’ entire body trembled involuntarily.
“Gentlemen, thank you for your favor. Today’s banquet has concluded. Please, Mr. Old Saunders, Mr. Representative from Kodoko Company, and Mr. Representative from Western Mustang, come to my study for a gathering!” Reed Hastings took a deep breath and then spoke.
“Wow, Old Saunders is really digging deep this time!”
“Kodoko certainly has new money recently!” No one was surprised about which companies would be selected, but what was that Western Mustang Company?
Everyone started looking around, trying to see who this representative from the Western Mustang Company was.
At this time, Old Saunders and the representative from Kodoko had already entered the room. They had brought one or two subordinates with them, but these subordinates were all stopped by the waiters at the door, and only the representatives themselves entered.
“Sir, what should I do!” Little Swift asked Huang He in a panic. He didn’t have the courage to face three white people alone; it was too terrifying.
“It’s alright!” Huang He smiled slightly. “Just go in, they can’t eat you!”
“But they’ll definitely ask me to speak and talk about some business philosophy, and I don’t understand any of this stuff!” Little Swift said fearfully.
“It’s okay, I’ll teach you what to say!” Huang He quickly whispered a few words in Little Swift’s ear.
——————————
“Mr. Representative of Western Mustang, are you still in the venue?” At this time, a waiter urged him. Little Swift then hurried forward. Everyone was surprised to find that the black man who bid first had also been successfully selected. What the hell was this?
And that black reporter excitedly took out his camera and snapped photos of Little Swift, recording a memorable moment in black history.
Meanwhile, with a heart full of apprehension, Little Swift entered Reed Hastings’ study and found a seat in the furthest corner, sitting down tremblingly.
The other two investors present glanced at Little Swift with surprise, then disdainfully turned their heads away.
Although they didn’t know how this black man had gotten in, they were absolutely sure they wouldn’t lose to such a black boy who hadn’t even fully grown up.
“Ahem, gentlemen, please tell me, how do you think Netflix should develop in the future!” Reed Hastings asked calmly. Then, Old Saunders and the representative from Kodoko Company began to speak profusely, elaborating on their vision for Netflix’s development direction and how to operate it. Each seemed to have a lot to say, taking more than twenty minutes, until Reed Hastings had to politely interrupt them.
“Mr. Little Saunders, what are your thoughts?” Reed Hastings asked.
“I think!” Little Saunders cleared his throat, calming himself down, and then spoke the words that had been echoing in his mind countless times: “I don’t understand Netflix, but I know that Mr. Reed Hastings is definitely the person who understands Netflix the best. So, I’ll just provide the money, and leave everything else to Mr. Reed Hastings to decide!”
Old Saunders: …
Kodoko: …
The next day, a newspaper in California, with a predominantly black readership, published astonishing news: Little Swift, the pride of black people and president of Western Mustang Investment Company, had successfully become an investor in the currently popular Netflix company.
Furthermore, Little Swift had achieved this by defeating dozens of white investors, proving that black people are also the most outstanding in investment and finance, and they are no inferior to white people.