Zhang Tianxing and Jane Ai left Charlie’s home, perfectly satisfied. They had never imagined that one person’s house could hold so many antiques and historical artifacts.
“Zhang Tianxing, you spent a hundred thousand US dollars on just a pig’s head. Isn’t that a bit too much? With a hundred thousand US dollars, you could do so many things,” Jane Ai asked, somewhat perplexed.
“I didn’t want to spend that much, but Charlie is clearly someone who isn’t short on cash. Look at the oil paintings on his wall; they are priceless. And then there were the armors, swords, and the like. I could only offer a bit more money. Consider it building goodwill.”
Zhang Tianxing’s mind wasn’t focused on the pig’s head at the moment. In his opinion, anything that could be solved with money wasn’t a problem at all.
As Zhang Tianxing was lost in thought, he received a call from Ding Sanshi.
“Brother Zhang, your brother is in dire straits right now; you need to lend a hand,” Ding Sanshi pleaded for help over the phone.
“Brother Stone, what happened over there? How can I help?” Zhang Tianxing was completely clueless, one hundred and twenty-five percent so.
NetEase is a giant in the internet industry. What could possibly happen that required his help? He couldn’t figure it out.
Could it be game development? That shouldn’t be it. NetEase had just partnered with Tianxing Network Company to develop a game. The game hadn't even taken shape yet; a prototype would likely be ready by the end of next year. It wasn't ripe for picking yet.
“It’s like this: you know NetEase’s stock price, right? It’s already fallen below one US dollar. If it stays below one dollar for twenty consecutive working days, we’ll be delisted. That would be a huge blow to NetEase.”
Ding Sanshi cut to the chase and laid out the problem. This was what was keeping him up at night.
Previously, Ding Sanshi had said it wasn’t a good time to go public. But those angel investors were blinded by greed and forced NetEase to go public for their cash-grabbing scheme.
On the day NetEase went public, they dumped their shares without a second thought.
For those investors, it was a remarkably successful investment. In three years, their investment had multiplied dozens of times over. They had never experienced such a profitable business.
They only regretted one thing: that they hadn’t invested more money back then, thus missing the opportunity to become the richest people in Asia.
Opportunities don't wait, and lost opportunities never return. Life has no "what ifs," and there are no regrets pills. Those investors could only sadly accept their massive profits.
Unexpectedly, NetEase couldn’t escape the dot-com bubble. This year’s financial reports were unsatisfactory.
This caused the already dire stock price to plummet, turning entirely red.
NetEase released several positive announcements, but they couldn’t stem the tide of the stock’s decline.
“Brother Ding, you’re grasping at straws. You’re the most qualified to speak about NetEase. You built it from nothing to its current standing. What’s a temporary setback?” Zhang Tianxing said with a smile.
Brother Stone was losing his composure. It seemed this stock price crash had a significant impact on him.
“To be honest, Brother, it was the decision to list on NASDAQ that has been a thorn in my side. A few days ago, I used the stock price plunge as an excuse to remove those short-sighted shareholders from the board, preventing them from managing company affairs. I didn’t expect the stock price to keep falling. I didn’t realize the US stock market was like this.”
It seemed Ding Sanshi hadn’t been idle recently. Now, NetEase was under Ding Sanshi’s absolute control.
This was the right way to do it; this was the decisive Ding boss. Success is built on countless sacrifices. Now wasn't the time for sentimentality.
“Okay, I understand. Brother Stone, how can I help?” Zhang Tianxing asked directly. Besides having some money, he didn’t seem to have any other use.
“Brother Zhang, don’t you have the title of ‘The First Short Seller’ right now? Do the opposite and help your brother by going long on NetEase, bringing NetEase back from the brink. Brother believes in your ability, and there will be a generous reward!” Ding Sanshi had a strange sense of trust in Zhang Tianxing.
So what if he was young? Zhang Tianxing was thriving. Whether in China or the United States, wherever Zhang Tianxing went, he stirred up storms.
“Brother Stone, to be frank, I’ve already had people increase their holdings of NetEase stock. However, I don’t have absolute confidence that the stock price will stabilize. I can only say I’ll do my best,” Zhang Tianxing didn’t dare to make any firm promises.
Information changed rapidly, and the winter of the internet industry had arrived. Who among these internet giants would survive was an unanswered question.
To survive, they needed to transform, find ways to increase revenue and reduce expenditure, enhance user stickiness, and develop new profit points.
These things couldn’t be achieved overnight. Small, swift steps were needed to keep up with the times.
“Tianxing, to tell you the truth, our financial reports at NetEase are actually not bad. It’s just that we’ve invested too much in game development recently, making the financial reports look a bit bleak. I just wanted to take this opportunity to clean up the equity structure, but I didn’t expect to put myself in a difficult position. Brother Tianxing, you must save Brother Stone. If NetEase collapses, it won’t be good for your brothers.” Ding Sanshi was truly out of options now.
Online gaming was undoubtedly a new profit point, but the new online games they were developing were still in their infancy; it wasn’t time to launch them yet.
Seeing the revenue from “Legend” in just one quarter, Ding Sanshi admitted he was envious. The speed of making money was incredibly fast.
He had never seen such a pace of wealth generation. The profits of Tianxing Investment Company would surely shock everyone.
Even during the internet’s most prosperous times, it couldn’t compare to the revenue of “Legend.” Not to mention anything else, the income from point cards alone made Tianxing Network Company handsomely rewarded.
There was no other way; the number of online players was too huge, leaving other online games far behind.
It truly deserved to be called a "Legend for the whole nation." This year, the most profitable undoubtedly was Tianxing Network Company. Such a speed of profit generation surprised everyone.
“Alright, Brother Stone, don’t worry. I will do my best to find a way to stabilize NetEase’s stock price,” Zhang Tianxing finally decided to help, after all, they were partners.
After hanging up the phone, Zhang Tianxing fell into contemplation. NetEase’s way out of this predicament still lay in its financial reports, but this was an objective reality. It seemed he would have to write a short commentary to interpret NetEase’s financial reports.
“Zhang Tianxing, will the stock of that NetEase company you mentioned go up?” Jane Ai asked while driving. Under the internet bubble, a lot of money had shrunk. Her allowance hadn’t been as much lately. She wanted to seize this opportunity to earn some extra income.
A horse doesn't get fat without night fodder, and a person doesn't get rich without extra income. It seemed her salary alone was far from enough; she would still have to rely on family support, Jane Ai thought mournfully.