CH 256

Xing Conglian looked at the old man with a determined gaze, making it imperative for him to answer.

“How many senior executives change jobs every year and get accused by their previous employers under various pretexts? Look into the name ‘Liu Chunning*’.” The old man, holding the urinary bag, smiled ambiguously at the guilt-ridden executives from Zhourui. “The most likely scenario is that these naive kids have been squeezed. They probably have some shares of Zhourui themselves. If the company goes bankrupt and they end up in jail, they might as well come forward now to protect the company. Who knows, the chairman might have promised to take care of their wives and children and give them more money every year. That’s how it goes when it comes to taking the blame.”

*Alibaba’s vice president who was arrested for bribery and corruption.

No one had expected Xing Conglian to publicly expose this hidden truth, let alone the fact that this “bum-like old man” he brought along would be able to point it out and dare to do so.

“How should it be resolved then?” Xing Conglian asked.

“It’s simple.” The old man’s gaze suddenly became shrewd and sharp. “You can tell them that even if they take the blame, the company may not necessarily be saved. When disaster strikes, it’s every man for himself.”

“I’m afraid that reasoning won’t convince them,” Xing Conglian said. “Behind pharmaceutical companies are complex financial conglomerates, and the days of rebels are probably not going to be easy.”

The old man took two steps forward and stood facing Xing Conglian, and he replied, “That makes it even simpler…”

He dragged out his tone, and in an instant, all the high-ranking executives who were prepared to take the blame turned to look at the old man, instinctively awaiting his answer.

“The highest bidder wins,” the old man casually said, as if he were casually buying a pastry.

Everyone in the conference room was dumbfounded, as if they had heard the most nonsensical plot twist.

The first one to burst into laughter was the chairman of Zhourui Pharmaceutical.

He took off his glasses, lowered his head, and smiled helplessly. “With such a mess, if you want to buy it, we can discuss the price.”

“Who wants to buy your pathetic company?” The old man hunched over, limping his way to the chairman, and seemed to be pointing out the way forward. “But just because I don’t want to buy it doesn’t mean no one is interested in it.”

Before the chairman could speak again, the old man affectionately patted his head, which was shiny with hair gel, and said, “You’re promising them a possibility for the future, but not the greatest possibility. In a sense, you’re deceiving them.”

The old man snapped his fingers and said directly, “Comrade Xiao Wang, show these uncles the case of the hostile acquisition* of Anlijie Pharmaceutical by Canadian pharmaceutical company Wali.”

*Also known as a hostile takeover, it is when a company (the acquirer) takes control of another company (the target) without the approval or consent of the target company’s board of directors. This is usually done when the acquirer goes directly to the shareholders or fights to get management replaced to get their acquisition approve.

Since the old man entered the room, Wang Chao seemed to have figured something out. He had been making gestures at his boss for a while, but Xing Conglian remained inscrutable, giving him no hints. When he heard the old man’s request, he looked at Xing Conglian with surprise, and then, as if he had been prepared all along, he clicked on the document on the desktop, and a well-detailed acquisition process appeared on the large screen.

Except for the research and development personnel, everyone in the room had some understanding of business acquisitions, so they had no trouble following along. The executives’ gazes became evasive and no longer as resolute as before.

“In fact, it’s very difficult for your company to survive.” The old man stood with his hands behind his back and said, “When I was taking a dump, I read some news about your company. In early September of this year, you initiated the acquisition of Li Nanquan Pharmaceutical. On September 7th and 8th, you acquired 19.5% of Li Nanquan’s shares through secondary market transactions.”

The old man paused, and as soon as he mentioned the acquisition, everyone became tense. The old man comforted them. “Don’t be too nervous, there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a normal hostile takeover. With an additional 0.6%, your company will become the largest shareholder of Li Nanquan Pharmaceutical. But the problem is, isn’t your company already in big trouble? Li Nanquan could easily adopt the common poison pill defense plan* in the industry to counter the acquisition. Then your company, not only invested a significant amount of money in a doomed acquisition but also faced the dilemma of a major criminal case, along with issues such as bank loans coming due. With multiple pressures, things will be miserable. Oh, wouldn’t you end up bankrupt and undergo restructuring? In that case, the big shots in the capital market will definitely step in to acquire Zhourui. If you were the boss, what would you do?” The old man walked and talked, and finally casually patted the shoulder of a high-ranking Zhourui executive who was ready to take the blame, whispering to him, “You’ll be the one to go to jail for him, and he’ll sell the company and run away. If he’s kind-hearted, he might fulfill the promises he made to you. But if it were me… You’ve already admitted guilt, so what does it have to do with me?”

*A defense tactic also known as the shareholder rights plan. It allows existing shareholders to buy newly issued stocks at a discount if one shareholder has bought more than a stipulated percentage of stock, resulting in dilution of the ownership interest of the acquiring company (hostile company trying to take over). Usually, the buyer who triggered the defense is excused from the discount. This basically aims to make the company a less attractive target (thus why it’s called a poison pill). You can learn more about hostile takeovers here.

The impeccably dressed industry elite trembled.

Although the old man intentionally lowered his voice, in the completely silent conference room, his voice, filled with sarcasm and amusement, was enough to deeply shake people’s hearts.

He implied that the high-ranking executives of Zhourui would definitely refuse to take responsibility and face protests.

“With such a big mess caused by our company, who would be willing to take it over? Won’t bankruptcy be the only way out?” someone asked, feigning concern.

“Zhourui is indeed in a mess, and in a sense, you’ve made a mess of it. But is that really the case?” The old man spoke as if listing cherished treasures. “Zhourui is not only the largest pharmaceutical company in the country, but also one of the world’s largest producers of vaccines and blood products. The R&D institutions under Zhourui have more than 30 patents for the production processes of various major disease vaccines. The sales revenue from vaccines and blood products accounts for 39% and 29% of the total pharmaceutical sales business, respectively. This means that even if your pharmaceutical department is completely ruined, the profits from the vaccine and blood product departments alone would be enticing enough.” The old man sighed. “Such a good company. If I had some money, I’d really like to dismantle it and swallow the most valuable parts.”

The old man dragged out his sigh for a long time and made chewing sounds with his mouth wide open.

The comical sound echoed in the silent conference room, and everyone continued to contemplate the seemingly random words of the old man.

Before long, it was evident from their gazes that the Zhourui employees who were prepared to take the blame were now seriously wavering in their thoughts. They just needed some assurance, and they would change their minds.

At this moment, a female researcher sitting with crossed legs in the sunlight shook her long wavy hair and asked the question that concerned everyone the most. “Even if they choose to cooperate with the police and avoid punishment, and we end up being acquired, they will still be treated as expendable. But if they take the blame for the chairman now, they can immediately receive a large sum of money. How can we say that the former choice is necessarily better than the latter?”

“You must be a research scientist to have such a lack of understanding of finance, little sister.” The old man laughed out loud and didn’t answer Feng Zhenzhen’s question.

Feng Zhenzhen widened her eyes and almost wanted to argue with this old man who was teasing them.

Seeing this, Xing Conglian intervened and spoke up.

“Thank you,” Xing Conglian said.

The old man was delighted to hear the word “thank you”. He pretended to bow to Xing Conglian and even made a gesture of removing hair.

The production supervisor withdrew his gaze from the screen, swallowed hard, and made a determined decision as he walked up to the old man, bowing and asking, “Are you suggesting that our company will ultimately be acquired by a more powerful party, and they will choose to directly acquire our shares or terminate our positions, and at that time, we will receive a severance package. So the best choice is to cooperate with the police?”

“Why are you asking me? How should I know?” The old man widened his eyes and looked at the young production supervisor as if he were looking at a lunatic. “In life, who can guarantee anything for you? It all depends on whether you have the courage to take risks.”

The production supervisor nodded at the old man and then turned to bow to Chairman Zhou, saying solemnly, “Chairman, thank you for your years of cultivation.”

After saying that, he walked toward the empty seat in the sunlight.

His posture was so upright, as if he had never been so dignified in all these years.

Just like the most classic domino effect, as the production supervisor took the 11th seat, there was suddenly a clattering sound in the meeting room—the sound of chair legs rubbing against the floor.

The employees who had been observing from their seats realized the gravity of the situation as the old man exposed the truth. They immediately rushed out of their seats like hungry wolves, trying to occupy the remaining nine vacant seats. Even the previously unmoving top executives of Zhourui Pharmaceuticals shifted in their seats, as if having different thoughts.

However, the seats were instantly taken.

The employees who missed the last opportunity looked as if they had lost their souls, standing in the vacant space in front of Xing Conglian, not knowing what to do.

“Captain Xing, can you give us another chance?”

“We are willing to testify.”

Similar pleas kept ringing out, and in that instant, the once unshakable alliance of Zhourui Pharmaceutical turned into scattered dust under the sunlight.

However, Xing Conglian remained unmoved. He looked through the gaps in the crowd and locked eyes with Chairman Zhou.

Chairman Zhou stared back at him expressionlessly, but then he suddenly let out a cold laugh and raised his hands, applauding sarcastically.

“Captain Xing, you came prepared,” he exclaimed loudly. “I now understand that what Captain Xing is interested in is not the case itself but our Zhourui Pharmaceutical!”

Upon hearing this, Wang Chao was stunned. He had encountered ruthless businessmen before, but he had never seen someone so malicious and unrepentant.

Comrade Xiao Wang’s anger surged, possibly influenced by Zhourui Pharmaceuticals’ habit of banging the table. He also stood up and cursed, “Damn, what did you just say? Watch your language!”

“Getting all worked up because you’ve been exposed; there’s no need for such embarrassment,” the Chairman sneered.

“There’s something I must say, even though it’s vulgar. First, you accused our boss of bribery, and now you’re accusing our boss of investigating your company to sabotage it for an acquisition. Even a clay figure has three points of anger. If you continue to be so shameless, we… I’ll!” Wang Chao paused abruptly as he realized that he couldn’t say, “I’ll just arrest you and beat you up.” It was inappropriate due to his public position. Comrade Xiao Wang pursed his lips, searching for the right words but finding none that sounded quite right. In the end, he could only mutter, “Damn it, if A’Chen Gege were here…”

“Indeed, it seems that law enforcement agencies don’t allow people to speak the truth anymore.” Seizing this opportunity, Chairman Zhou continued his counterattack. “Captain Xing, you casually travel in luxury cars, and your driver used to be the former CEO of Morgan Stanley*. If that’s not coming prepared, then what is?”

*An American multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered at 1585 Broadway in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. With offices in 41 countries and more than 75,000 employees, the firm’s clients include corporations, governments, institutions, and individuals. Morgan Stanley ranked No. 61 in the 2021 Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.