I am the only one who practices magic: I practice magic in the city

Chapter 398: Stepping on the Line and Taking Everything (4800)

"I just heard that this month's salary may not be paid today, did you know?"

"Who said that?"

"Shh, I'm telling you not to tell anyone. Stella from the finance department left her workstation without turning off her screen, and someone saw her and Jennifer's Chihiro chat page."

"Is this true? No way. Didn't the company just send out a mass email to refute the rumor, saying that the company's cash flow is very strong?"

"Yes, yes. And haven't you noticed that Robert hasn't been so anxious these days and his temper has improved a lot. Maybe he has found a solution."

"Ghost! The security team worked overtime every day, but we didn't see a single hair."

"Is the company really going to fail? It has applied to extend the suspension, right? It seems to be extended for 20 trading days?"

The atmosphere in Qianxun Building was weird. No one dared to joke, and no one would get angry loudly. The fact that everyone was pretending to be normal was itself not so normal.

The last working day of every month is Qianxun’s payday. Since Qianxun was founded, there has never been a single month in which salaries have been delayed.

As one of the most representative Internet giants and one of the three major players in the Great Zhou Dynasty, Qianxun is very lucky. It started out in the wild days of the Internet and was a supplier to portal websites such as Sohu and Xinglang at the beginning.

There were some difficult times at that time, but since Qianxun decided to build its own search engine website and adopt paid ranking to increase revenue, Qianxun has become a representative of wealthy Internet companies.

While Tengxun and Ali were still burning investors' money and struggling to explore profit models, Qianxun had already started to make profits!

No matter how the outside world views Qianxun, Qianxun's internal employees are still very satisfied with the company's treatment. In terms of income, Qianxun is fully worthy of the title of the troika.

Not to mention the six insurances and one fund and supplementary commercial medical insurance covering family members, weekly and monthly afternoon tea, birthday gifts for every employee, monthly special team-building funds, dozens of different interest clubs... Qianxun has almost all the employee benefits that a large company should have. Although it cannot be said to be the best in the industry, it is definitely at an upper level.

Most of Qianxun’s employees still have strong feelings for the company, mainly because the money is in place.

The only difference from the other two is that the company's reputation is a bit bad. To be honest, its sense of corporate pride is not as strong as those companies, and not many employees wear their work badges in their spare time.

It’s different with Ali and Tengxun. The employees of those two companies treat their ID cards as luxury items. They hang their ID cards around their necks when they go out to buy groceries, for fear that others won’t know they are Ali’s employees.

The employees of Qianxun, who have always lived a life of luxury, never imagined that one day they would worry about the company not being able to pay their salaries.

In the smoking area downstairs, several Qianxun employees were hiding in the corner and whispering. Everyone looked uneasy but tried to pretend to be relaxed.

"It's really hard to say. Haven't you seen that people are in a panic now? It's been more than 20 days, and the problem hasn't been found yet. Yesterday I heard that the company might be acquired by Tengxun." A young office worker in a striped shirt took a big sip of the thin Huanghelou cigarette between his fingers, and two columns of smoke blew out of his nostrils.

"Acquired by Tencent? Impossible. They can't pass the antitrust test. Can I borrow a lighter?" Another office worker in a blue shirt felt his pocket, only to find that he had cigarettes but no lighters.

The striped office animal casually handed the blue office animal a disposable lighter and said, "Hey, who knows? Do you think our company can still be considered a monopoly now?"

"...Fuck! I was speechless for a moment. It would be great if I could be acquired by Tengxun. Even if I was laid off after the acquisition, at least the compensation would not be bad. Now, I am afraid... Alas!"

With a snap, Lan Shejiu lit up the Marlboro Double Blast in his mouth. Amid the smoke, his expression looked uncertain.

The striped office boy laughed and flicked the ash off his cigarette: "It's useless to think so much, I might as well think about finding another employer as soon as possible. Oh, by the way, did you know that Bai Yuheng went to Y to search?"

Lan Shechu was stunned: "Bai Yuheng? Who? Which department is he from?"

"That's the guy from the network security department who almost died suddenly." Striped Livestock couldn't hide his envy. "It is said that there was only one round of interviews, and the salary didn't decrease. The other benefits are about the same, except that the housing allowance may be reduced by 1,000 yuan."

"But renting a house in Haixi is much cheaper than in Xinhao. A thousand dollars less is more comfortable than living in Xinhao, and you don't have to squeeze into the subway every day."

"And Y-search is very popular right now. If you have a Y-search resume and work for a contract period, you don't have to worry about not being able to find a job after you turn 35 even if you get laid off."

The envy on Striped Beast's face was almost overflowing.

Lan Shechu was shocked and said, "Impossible? Which company would dare to hire him in his situation? Besides, Y has found out that it is notoriously difficult to get in. Li Jing didn't even pass the interview."

Li Jing is the technical backbone of their department, a senior T6 with an annual salary of nearly yuan. Lan Shejiu feels that in terms of technology and qualifications, Li Jing is definitely much better than the guy who almost died of sudden death.

Li Jing heard about the interview from another buddy in the department who also went to Ysou for an interview on the same day. It was said that the interview questions were very tricky. In addition to basic skills, there were also many questions similar to IQ and reaction speed tests.

Seeing Lan Shechu's surprise, Striped Chu showed off proudly: "Two of their group joined the company at the same time as me, so the news is definitely reliable. It is said that Ysou has opened two more project teams and is now hiring. I plan to give it a try in a few days. I heard that Ysou's HRD is very beautiful, but I don't know if it's true or not."

"real."

Another office worker in a polo shirt who had been silent suddenly spoke up.

The two office workers were stunned. The office worker in the POLO shirt threw the cigarette butt into the trash can and added calmly, "I just got an offer for the Y search operation position. I will start working at the beginning of next month. The girl in charge of HR at Y search is really pretty."

Damn it! Damn it!
The striped animal almost went crazy.

I am already quite good at pretending, but I didn't expect that you, with thick eyebrows and big eyes, could pretend even more than me.

You're treating me as a tool, right?

"How is it? How is it? What do you think of that company? Is it easy to get in? What questions are asked in the interview?" The striped animal and the blue animal looked at the POLO animal eagerly, with a bit of expectation on their faces, just like the middle-aged man with a sheep's tail asking his recovered patient which supplement was effective.

"Come on, have another one, have another one." Lan Sheshu took out a Marlboro Double Blast and enthusiastically handed one to POLOshu.

"Thanks, I have some, but I don't smoke mixed types." POLO Chu declined politely and smiled reservedly, "I felt the interview was okay. The questions for each position and each interviewer were different, all created by AI."

"However, there are some interesting questions that require you to find out the AI's logical errors and debate with the AI. The AI ​​initially judged one of my answers wrong, but after two rounds of debate with the AI, the AI ​​finally admitted that I was right."

"I applied for an operations position. I think it mainly tests cognitive ability. The technical test is not that difficult. I don't know why Li Jing failed."

Cognitive ability test? Striped Livestock and Blue Livestock looked at each other and were about to ask more questions when Blue Livestock's phone rang.

Lan Chu picked it up and saw the notification of bank card balance change.

"The salary has arrived. Isn't it paid?" Lan Chu breathed a sigh of relief after reading the text message. His face was obviously much more calm.

"It seems that the company is indeed not in any danger. After all, how could such a large company collapse so easily?"

As he was speaking, text messages from StripedCow and POLOCow also rang.

"It's finally here." The striped animal had a strange look on his face, a little happy, but also a little embarrassed.

He was just saying that the company might not be able to pay the wages, but they paid them before the end of get off work.

"That's not right. The bonus for the first half of the year hasn't been paid yet." POLO looked at the text message, did the math in his head, and then shook his head.

Bonus? Striped and Blue didn't think much of it. There had been two consecutive shutdowns in the first half of the year. The whole company was in such a mess, how could there be any bonus?
-
"Sorry, Robert, sorry, Madeline, I don't want to resign at this time." A short-haired woman who looked to be in her forties or fifties smiled implicitly at the two of them, "But you also know that I have always wanted to return to my family and be with them." Robert and Madeline looked at each other.

"Joanna, you don't have to make a decision so hastily. If you don't want to continue to be the chief financial officer, you can go to Qianxun Capital. There are several big cases there that need experts like you to handle them."

Robert's voice was sincere, but his right hand gently rubbed his chin and his eyes drifted out the window.

When Joanna heard Robert mention Qianxun Capital, her expression froze slightly: "No, Robert, thank you very much for your trust over the years."

Then, Joanna paused for a moment and said, "This is not a spur-of-the-moment idea. I talked to you about this topic last year."

Go to Qianxun Capital? Are you kidding? Don’t you know what I mean by not being the chief financial officer now?

At this time, they are saying that the 3.1 billion Malaysian dollar acquisition of Chloe is "an important part of Qianxun's future 20-year strategy". You can tell what's going on even if you use your ass to think about it.

How could someone like me possibly get involved in such a mess?

The board of directors approved it? You have more than 60% of the voting rights. Does the board of directors have any meaning in this matter?

Joanna joined Qianxun as CFO eight years ago. Before becoming Qianxun's CFO, she was a director of several multinational companies. Both her industry and personal background are top-notch.

In Qianxun, Robert Lee dared to scold anyone, but even though his emotions were out of control like a derailed train these days, he never dared to speak loudly to Joanna.

"Actually, I've already booked a flight for tomorrow." Joanna kept smiling, but there were no wrinkles at the corners of her eyes. "I can't help it. I've worked for so many years, and it's time for me to take care of my family."

"I've been very happy with Qianxun these years, and I hope everything goes well for you and that all your wishes come true."

"Okay then." Madeline stood up and hugged Joanna's arm intimately. "Look, I said I wanted to spend some quality time with you this time, but now you're leaving. What are your plans for the future?"

"Although I am gone, I was once a member of Qianxun after all. For the short term, I will just be with my family. I have always planned to live in seclusion in Zhongnan Mountain for a while. Now that I finally have the time, I plan to turn off my phone and live there for a few months."

"You don't know, I've been getting annoyed by the ringing of my cell phone for the past two years. I'm almost having a nervous breakdown."

Joanna had a smile on her face and a relaxed expression. She put her backhand on Madeline's waist and just pulled her arm out of Madeline's hand.

The two looked at each other with smiles, knowing what was going on.

We are all smart people, so there is no need to explain everything, as it would be meaningless if we did.

Whatever you want to do is your business. As long as you don't involve me, I won't take the initiative to ruin your plans.

For Robert and Madeline, replacing this position with a pure native of theirs will also be more conducive to subsequent operations.
-
"3.1 billion dollars!" Goldstein stood up suddenly, shocked and angry, "Who approved them to make this acquisition? Why didn't they get our consent? This is an invalid acquisition!"

"The investment amount does not exceed 20% of Qianxun's current market value. According to Qianxun's current articles of association, the threshold for major transaction terms is 20% of the market value on the previous trading day. Within this amount, Robert, who has % of the voting rights, has the right to directly decide whether to invest."

Jason Hawthorne, who had just returned to New York, rubbed his face, looking frustrated, "Time went by too fast, and we didn't have time to hold a shareholders' meeting to amend the articles of association."

"Shit!" Goldstein punched the wall next to him hard, and immediately thought of half a month ago when Qianxun, in order to avoid greater losses, asked BlackRock to assist them in completing the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Committee's application for Qianxun's voluntary request to extend the suspension to 30 trading days.

At that time, Qianxun's market value had just fallen to 155.35 billion Malaysian dollars.

If they did not apply for a trading suspension, Qianxun's current market value might not even reach 10 billion, and they would not be able to do so.

At that time, in order to reduce losses, he agreed to Qianxun's request without hesitation and took the initiative to help Qianxun with public relations with the Listing Qualifications Committee and the SEC.

But now, BlackRock has completely shot itself in the foot!
"Bowen, contact the SEC (American Securities and Exchange Commission) and FCA (Anglo-American Financial Regulatory Authority) immediately and ask them to stop this shitty acquisition!" Goldstein's facial muscles twitched, and he immediately turned around and shouted to his public relations director.

It's so shameless!

How could you be so shameless?
They were stuck at the 20% mark, not more or less, and they ate it all up, not only completely eating up the billion yuan of private placement given to them, but also eating up a part of Qianxun's inherent funds!

How could something so blatant happen?

Aren’t they afraid of shareholder class action lawsuits and long-arm jurisdiction?
Oh, right, long-arm jurisdiction.

BlackRock is a Malaysian company!
Even if you eat up these 3 billion Maiyuan, as long as you have used the Maiyuan, you have to spit it out!

Goldstein gnashed his teeth, wishing he could eat Jason Hawthorne alive.

Jason Hawthorne felt depressed. You made the investment decision and I was just executing it. Moreover, in order to speed up the progress, you did not include the corresponding terms when you requested financing. Can you blame me?
"It's useless, boss. They use a Tocharian bank and settle in SGD. Qianxun has a company in Singapore. It's impossible for the SEC to complete the investigation and freeze the account within half a month."

Jason Hawthorne looked frustrated.

A loss of 3 billion dollars, it’s over, my career is over.

Qianxun is a listed company of Maigu. The SEC does have the power to investigate the acquisition, but it cannot directly prevent the acquisition, especially when there is no direct evidence to prove that Qianxun has committed major fraud. It cannot even apply to freeze the account.

The SEC's authority mainly involves "securities market information disclosure violations" and "investor protection."

The SEC does not have the power to directly "reject an acquisition transaction." Even if it suspects fraud, it can only initiate a formal investigation procedure; and if there is direct evidence, submit an application to the court for an "asset freeze and mandatory information disclosure order."

Just like in the subprime mortgage crisis eight years ago, when Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, the SEC urgently launched an investigation but was unable to prevent the liquidation of its assets. It could only apply for an "emergency asset protection order" through the court to reduce losses.

If one wants to prove that there are problems with this transaction, it will undoubtedly be a very long legal process. It may even involve dozens of lawsuits surrounding this acquisition, which may take several years before one can prove that Qianxun committed intentional fraud.

Moreover, this transaction requires the SEC to jointly investigate with the FCA. Although Angola and Miami are close, they have different interests. Not to mention two different organizations in two countries, even two different departments within an organization cannot have the same interests. It is not uncommon for them to hold each other back and engage in internal strife.

If Robert and his partner hire a former SEC or FCA executive to act as a lobbyist, there is a high possibility that the entire case will end in vain.

Last year, Elizabeth Holmes, the star entrepreneur and founder of Theranos, was accused of fraud and deception. Despite irrefutable evidence, the investigation process has not been completed and she has not even been brought to court.

If this continues, it will take at least five to eight years before we can get even a preliminary result from this "Chloe acquisition case."

By then, not only will the daylily be forgotten, but Chihiro will also be forgotten.

Is there any point in such a lawsuit?

"Fuck!" Goldstein punched the wall again, his eyes gleaming with ferocity.

"No one could take so much money from BlackRock like this! No one!"

"Prepare a plane for me right now. I want to go to England myself!" Goldstein's two canine teeth flashed coldly. "Also, keep a close eye on where this money goes! I want to know where every penny of this money goes! Do you understand?"

(End of this chapter)