2003: Starting with Foreign Trade

Chapter 581 Shen Nanpeng takes action
"We've already made a little money from our few small short-selling attempts."

Cheng Linfeng reports to Tan Jincheng every day. He knows that it is very sensitive for the boss to entrust him with so much money. If he cannot let the boss know the financial situation in time, it may cause unnecessary misunderstandings.

But this feeling is really exciting. Bringing a team to Hong Kong to short the US dollar always feels like going back to 1998.

"Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac's stock prices plummeted once, and Lehman Brothers' stock price has also softened. Boss, the direction you provided was indeed useful."

Damn it, how did the boss know that the stock price of the US mortgage company would collapse? That's outrageous, he doesn't even know much about the rules of the US stock market.

"Okay, I don't know the specifics of the operation either. You can decide for yourself when to test the waters and when to increase your position."

This can be considered a gamble. If this deal is settled, Weilai Auto will not be short of money for the next year or two. It can also raise some funds for the acquisition of mineral resource stocks, which will greatly alleviate the pressure on cash flow.

Tan Jincheng didn't find Cheng Linfeng's daily reports annoying.

"You're incredibly bold! 20 billion! Short selling is so risky. If you lose it, forget about acquiring Changfeng Group, ByteDance's engine will probably go bankrupt, right?"

"Take a chance, and you might turn a bicycle into a motorcycle, just like last year."

Short selling is indeed very risky, but the current state of the US economy and the trend of the US stock market are similar to what I remember from 2008. This is definitely an information gap.

If you don't take advantage of such a huge information gap, you'll regret it for the rest of your life. Besides, there's no psychological pressure about taking advantage of the old rice.

Gu Qingqing smiled. She didn't know that Tan Jincheng was so certain that the subprime mortgage crisis from last year would break out again. She just assumed that he got the information from Shen Nanpeng.

Shen Nanpeng has been in frequent contact with him recently.

"But you've gone too far this time. You should be careful. You can't do business entirely by gambling."

"Yes, this should be the last time. Once the company gets bigger, we won't be able to do these kinds of thrilling things anymore," Tan Jincheng sighed.

Taking risks and seeking thrills is always the behavior of the weak; the strong will only use their strength to crush others.

Gu Qingqing is right. If this judgment is wrong, although it will not have a full impact on Tan Jincheng's entire career, the bankruptcy of Julang Engine is certain, and Weilai Auto will also belong to someone else.

As for acquiring Changfeng Group, that's even more of a pipe dream.

After Tan Jincheng hung up the phone, Shen Nanpeng quickly took action, feeling somewhat excited. In 2008, the tycoons of later generations were far from having cultivated the ability to remain calm and composed when it came to their investments.

He realized that this might be the fastest return he had ever made in his investment career, possibly even faster than Orange Technology, and it was a real business!
However, the first thing to do is to win over that person. As one of the leaders in charge, Shen Nanpeng was not sure if he could really win him over, but he had to try his best no matter what.

We don't need this company to come forward; we just need to let Xiangcheng know that he was the one pushing for Shanchi's acquisition of Changfeng Group, and that would reduce a lot of resistance.

"No wonder this kid has been so eager to raise funds, I knew it."

In order to add another brilliant chapter to his investment career and for his own profit, Shen Nanpeng quickly mobilized Sequoia Capital's network of contacts in China, not just the one he knew.

He began preparing all the information and connections he could regarding the acquisition of state-owned enterprises.

In the current environment, Sequoia Capital is not qualified to acquire a state-owned enterprise. Fully supporting Tan Jincheng's acquisition of Changfeng Group is currently the most advantageous thing for them.
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"So what if they impose tariffs? We're doing it too, and in fact, we're much harsher than them."

"How to say?"

“Look how expensive imported cars are. Foreign brands have to form joint ventures with us to set up factories, and we have to hold a controlling stake.”

Zhang Xupeng was speechless: "Uh, it seems so."

Zhang Xupeng ultimately didn't meet at home. Instead, he brought Nie Ruoxi, Tan Jincheng and his wife, along with their assistant, to a hotel. At the dinner table, Zhang Xupeng complained about how the increased tariffs imposed on the clothing industry had caused Jincheng to earn significantly less.

From a rational perspective, it's understandable that Americans and Europeans are doing this. In terms of clothing, our costs are far superior to theirs. We can sell the same piece of clothing for 10 yuan, while they would have to sell it for 50 yuan to make a profit.

We've done plenty of things to raise tariffs and protect our own industries, and China isn't really upset about it. It's just normal business practice, and even local governments have their protectionism.

However, these policies may cause some problems for businesses in the short term, as they are sometimes added and sometimes subtracted, making them difficult to manage at times.

Nie Ruoxi is one year older than Gu Qingqing, and one year younger than Tan Jincheng and Zhang Xupeng. Her height is approximately 165 cm.

She was listening intently to Tan Jincheng and Zhang Xupeng's conversation, and she also noticed that the renowned Boss Tan was surprisingly attentive; he was taking care of his sister's meals. At the same time, he still managed to find time to attend to President Gu's feelings.

Nie Ruoxi had only met Tan Jincheng a few times, but she often heard his name. Whether at home or on the phone, her father would mention this big boss Tan, his tone always filled with gratitude.

In addition, during the year that Nie Ruoxi had been in contact with Zhang Xupeng, Zhang Xupeng talked most about his good brother rather than about doing business or his parents. This made Nie Ruoxi very curious about what kind of person Tan Jincheng was.

Of course, before that, her biggest idol was Gu Qingqing. They were both college students, but Gu Qingqing was a year younger than her, yet she had achieved such brilliant success in her career, becoming the youngest CEO of a listed company in China.

If anyone thought Gu Qingqing was just a pretty face arranged by Tan Jincheng when Orange Technology was first established, then anyone who still considers Gu Qingqing a pretty face after Orange Technology went public is somewhat unwilling to acknowledge her excellence.

His interviews on Wall Street, coupled with his bilingual speech at the bell-ringing ceremony, were impressive.

Tan Jincheng's viewpoint is novel. Unlike ordinary people who are indignant about the additional tariffs and feel that we have been bullied by foreigners, he did not suffer greater losses in the process.

"You two, why are you still talking about work even here? Aren't you bored?" Gu Qingqing interrupted.

She meant well, mainly because she was worried that Nie Ruoxi would feel awkward. These two good buddies chatted non-stop on their first meeting, completely ignoring everyone else. She had been through similar situations before.

"Haha, okay, let's not talk about this anymore. I can't control my mouth when I'm with Lao Zhang, please forgive me, sister-in-law." Tan Jincheng laughed.

"Get lost. I'm older than you. Who do you think you are, your older brother?"

Gu Qingqing was already used to their bickering, and even Tan Jinyue was used to it. Dr. Tan would occasionally chime in with his own words. Nie Ruoxi, however, found it particularly strange when she first saw them together.

Nie Ruoxi looked at Zhang Xupeng: "I often see news reports about your entrepreneurial journey with President Tan. They always describe your relationship as very good. At the time, I thought it was a bit exaggerated, but now it seems that the news reports are actually a bit understated."

Zhang Xupeng raised an eyebrow and laughed heartily.

"How's your dad doing at work lately? We haven't been in touch for a while. Why don't you tell him to come visit Beicang sometime?"

Neither Tan Jincheng nor Zhang Xupeng made a point of correcting Nie Ruoxi's way of addressing her. He could call her "Little Tan" as he pleased, but in his heart, he felt that nowadays, few people were qualified to call her "Little Tan" like he was.

Even his own wife wouldn't do it, let alone his girlfriend.

Tan Jincheng was already used to it, and sometimes correcting him would only make others uncomfortable.

"Okay, I'll talk to my dad." Nie Ruoxi was a little nervous as she looked at Tan Jincheng across from her.

Tan Jincheng also noticed this: "Don't be nervous, just chat casually. You'll see that I'm not that scary in time. If you don't believe me, you can ask the company's employees."

"As for what you mentioned about my friendship with Lao Zhang in the media? I feel very fortunate about that, at least now. We didn't quarrel when we separated our businesses, otherwise neither of us would have developed so smoothly."

In the early stages of economic development, there was no formal financing system in China, and not everyone could borrow money from banks. Most people started their businesses with their brothers, parents, or husband and wife.

Everyone pooled their money and worked together to grow the company. There were no clear boundaries in terms of responsibilities and equity, which led to many such partnerships falling apart later due to conflicting interests, leaving later generations with the impression that brothers shouldn't talk about money.

In reality, the media is no different from the gossipy women in the village; their gossip is mainly negative, which is how they attract the attention of ordinary people.

There are actually quite a few brothers who have always cooperated well, but few media outlets are willing to report on them. For example, the three brothers who made animal feed were once the richest family in the world, and they were doing just fine until Tan Jincheng's rebirth.

"That's because you're generous. You left the company to me, what else can I say?"

"You can't say that. I took all the company's money with me. What I left you was just an empty shell. If you can't keep up with the business, then you'll have nothing left."

Although it appears that Tan Jincheng was helping Zhang Xupeng make money, Zhang Xupeng was truly generous in this respect alone.

There are countless leather goods trading companies, and equity is practically worthless. If Tan Jincheng still wanted to do clothing trading back then, he could have easily opened another company and snatched all the customers away.

In the early stages, all the major clients were developed by Tan Jincheng. If that had happened, Zhang Xupeng would have been left with nothing and might even have been burdened with debt.

Tan Jincheng didn't know whether Zhang Xupeng had thought of this at the time, but over the years, he must have come to understand it. He probably already understood this when he sought to merge Jinpeng into Shanchi for the second time.

Overall, neither of them had any ulterior motives and both were simply trying to make money together. Otherwise, if either of them had even the slightest bad intention, things wouldn't be like this now.

(End of this chapter)