Chapter 82.1: That Good Girl
Wu Jin briefly considered Ren Yan's
proposal and made his decision.
"Okay."
Projects between investment bank
departments are not confidential. Typically, after one department completes
filing documents like a prospectus, other departments will analyze them
together to assess the company's qualifications, operating performance, profit
structure, future profitability, and so on.
After a moment's thought, Wu Jin
offered this question: "Both of your departments have recently launched
projects. Mr. Ren's is on IPO, and Mr. Kan's is on M&A and restructuring.
So, I'll send the information on Mr. Ren's IPO project to Xia Fengyong, and Mr.
Kan's M&A and restructuring project to Chu Qianmiao. You can review each
other's projects and find flaws in them. Let's see who finds the biggest
problems."
As soon as he finished speaking,
before anyone else could react, Liu Lifeng, who had been standing behind Chu
Qianmiao, stepped forward and spoke directly, "Mr. Wu, this isn't fair.
Chu Qianmiao in our team hasn't even completed a complete M&A and
restructuring project, while Xia Fengyong has worked on several IPO projects.
This comparison isn't fair to Chu Qianmiao."
Chu Qianmiao was stunned. She
hadn't expected Liu Lifeng to speak up for her at this moment.
Of course, she could also imagine
that after they left the room, Liu Lifeng would say to her with a look of
disdain, "Don't be so self-indulgent! I'm afraid you'll lose to Xia
Fengyong and hinder President Ren."
But regardless, she felt a warm
feeling in her heart.
After hearing his protest, Wu Jin
smiled and said, "But Mr. Kan's department has only this M&A and
restructuring project lately, no other IPO projects, so this is the only way to
compare."
Kan Qingzhou slid aside, "Hey,
Xiao Chu hasn't even completed an M&A and restructuring project. Mr. Wu, we
have no problem with this comparison. Investment banking skills are universal.
Whether it's IPO or M&A and restructuring, judging a company's capabilities
and qualifications requires universal skills. So I don't think it's
unfair." He paused, then suddenly changed his tone, sounding stern.
"Well, since Mr. Ren has already made his conditions, I'd like to make one
too. If Chu Qianmiao ultimately loses to our Feng Yong, it means she's
incompetent and must leave the project department."
Before anyone else could say
anything, Liu Lifeng began to confront Kan Qingzhou again, "Mr. Kan,
please be clear. Chu Qianmiao is in our department. Whether she stays or leaves
is up to Mr. Ren."
Kan Qingzhou's expression was about
to change, but Wu Jin spoke first, "Xiao Liu, this is a conversation
between the leaders, don't interrupt."
Liu Lifeng sulked and shut up.
Wu Jin then turned to Kan Qingzhou,
"Mr. Kan, if this is how we decide an employee's fate, our investment
bank's personnel appointments are being treated too frivolously. Let me make
the decision. If Xiao Chu loses to Xiao Xia, Xiao Chu will apologize to Xiao
Xia for the spilled coffee. If Xiao Xia loses to Xiao Chu, Xiao Xia will
apologize to Xiao Chu for his rude remarks. It's not a big deal, just an
apology." After a pause, he asked gently yet with authority, "Any
objections?"
Ren Yan turned to look at Chu
Qianmiao, his eyes asking, "Are you ready to take this on?"
Chu Qianmiao stared back, his eyes
hinting at the answer: "I'll give it a try."
Ren Yan turned back and told Wu
Jin, "Everything will be done as you say." Kan Qingzhou and Xia
Fengyong also agreed.
Wu Jin then asked for their email
addresses and cross-sent the project materials from the two departments to Chu
Qianmiao and Xia Fengyong.
"I'll give you one hour to
review the materials," Wu Jin said.
This amount of time is very
challenging for a preliminary understanding of a project. Chu Qianmiao told
herself that she needed to concentrate intensely.
She and Xia Fengyong sat on the
reception sofa, their laptops in hand, reading the materials. The others
gathered around Wu Jin and chatted.
Chu Qianmiao quickly immersed
herself in the project documents, the surrounding voices a muted background to
her. She fell into a void of silence. Until someone tapped her shoulder. She
looked up and saw Ren Yan saying, "Time's up, are you ready?"
She tilted her head to look at him.
From this angle, he looked
especially tall, a pillar of strength. Wherever this pillar stood, the sky
would remain intact.
She tilted her head and smiled at
him, revealing her small white teeth. She said, "No problem, I'm
ready."
At worst, I could just apologize to
Coffee. It wouldn't be a disaster.
Wu Jin asked who would speak first.
Kan Qingzhou and Xia Fengyong both
wanted to take the initiative, suggesting they could speak first. Chu Qianmiao
said, "It's up to you."
The project Wu Jin sent to Xia
Fengyong was the IPO project being worked on by Sun Yi, Lu Zhonger, Wang Sian,
and a few others. Ren Yan had previously sent some information about that
project to every department via a group email, allowing everyone to study and
research together. Therefore, Chu Qianmiao was relatively familiar with the
project. Furthermore, having worked with those people on two IPO projects
before, she knew they were reliable and felt confident.
Xia Fengyong also knew that Chu
Qianmiao had come from a law firm and assumed finance would be her weakness. He
cunningly asked a financial question.
"For your project, the largest
client in the most recent reporting period had never appeared before. Once it
did, the revenue generated between it and the proposed listed company reached
46%, almost half of all revenue. This clearly constitutes a significant
reliance on a client with significant uncertainty."
Xia Fengyong's words carried a
subtle sense of accomplishment, akin to finding fault with someone and giving
them a subtle rebuttal.
Chu Qianmiao noticed everyone was
looking at her.
Wu Jin waited to see how she would
react, while Kan Qingzhou and Xia Fengyong waited for her to be humiliated. Qin
Qianyu was a little worried this was a financial issue. "I'm fine, but
this is your weak point. You're fine too, right?" Liu Lifeng looked
disdainful. "You can't answer this question, right? I've been coaching you
for so long."
Finally, she met Ren Yan's gaze.
She couldn't quite make out what
was going on. Since she couldn't see it, she understood he was somewhat
concerned about her complete confidence. If he had complete faith in her, he
would show it directly to encourage her. And when he was unsure, he would hide
his emotions to prevent her from panicking. He only offered her empty, empty
encouragement. "Whatever you say, I'll cover it for you."
Chu Qianmiao smiled and answered,
"Whether the company is dependent on its largest client is still
debatable. While the company's revenue from this client accounts for 46%, its
profits only account for 30%. So, from a profit perspective, it's not considered
a significant reliance. So, there's still room for interpretation regarding
this client dependence."
After a pause, she continued,
"As for the significant uncertainty regarding the client, we can address
it from two perspectives. Although this client has only recently emerged, as
long as we can prove two things: first, that it has stable and healthy
development and operations; and second, that the company's future cooperation
with it is long-term, effective, and sustainable, then the significant
uncertainty can be eliminated."
Wu Jin nodded.
Xia Fengyong frowned, not
surprisingly, a lawyer who had recently changed jobs could understand finance.
He asked a few more financial questions, all of which Chu Qianmiao answered
beautifully.
Finally, Wu Jin said, "Okay,
Xiao Xia is done with this. It's time for Xiao Chu to ask questions." By
then, Xia Fengyong's forehead was already covered in sweat.
He realized that he had
underestimated his opponent. He hadn't even been able to question a lawyer
financially.
When it was Chu Qianmiao's turn,
she said, "I won't ask any more small questions, as I'd rather not waste
your time. I'll just ask a big question."
Her voice was clear and resounding.
"Mr. Kan, in this asset restructuring project, the target company that the
listed company intends to acquire actually owns the listed company's actual
controller. To put it bluntly, it's essentially transferring the listed
company's actual controller's assets to the listed company at a high price. The
information about these target assets isn't very detailed, but I just did some
online research and found that the company being acquired at such a high price
has been experiencing intermittent production halts and isn't performing well,
yet the valuation is very high."
"So, I have a question: a
listed company is acquiring a discontinued company at a high price, and that
company is actually controlled by the listed company. Does this raise
suspicions of profiteering? If the regulatory authorities ask this question,
will it implicate our project staff, for example, whether they were secretly
involved in this profiteering?"
Chu Qianmiao answered her question
without reservation. Silence fell over the room.
Kan Qingzhou was the first to
react. "What nonsense are you talking about? What do you mean?"
Chu Qianmiao was about to say,
neither servile nor arrogant, that she meant it literally.
But before she could say anything,
Ren Yan spoke first. "Isn't her literal meaning clear enough? Do you need
me to elaborate on it, President Kan?"
Fearing that Ren Yan's words would
be more explicit and difficult to handle, Kan Qingzhou kept quiet.
Wu Jin smiled at Chu Qianmiao and
asked, "Xiao Chu, people in your department say you haven't completed a
merger and reorganization project."
Chu Qianmiao nodded. "Yes, I
did one, but I stopped halfway through."
Wu Jin nodded. "I know that
project." Then he nodded again. "Not bad, Xiao Chu. You haven't
completed a merger and acquisition project, but you can identify the problems.
That's very good."
Chu Qianmiao replied modestly,
"Although I haven't completed a merger and acquisition project, President
Ren's guidance on mergers and acquisitions has been comprehensive." She
then offered Ren Yan a round of compliments. She hadn't meant to praise him,
but the flattery just flowed out of her mouth.
Ren Yan glanced at her.
Wu Jin smiled and said,
"You're still modest. You still remember the people who dug the
well." He looked up at Ren Yan and said, "Little Chu is a good
talent. Take good care of her."
"Thank you, Mr. Wu. Your
praise is a bit exaggerated. I don't deserve it, but I will continue to work
hard." Chu Qianmiao led the team flawlessly.
Wu Jin laughed again. After a
while, he turned to Kan Qingzhou and said, "Mr. Kan, since the issue of
profiteering has been raised, you should address it immediately. Investigate
whether there was any profiteering involved. Also, we must clear our personnel
and prevent anyone from accusing us of profiteering. If Litong is still working
on this project, we're probably involved."
Kan Qingzhou quickly agreed.
"Okay," he said. "I'll do it right away. Don't worry, our
personnel will be fine."
With that, he left Wu Jin's office.
Xia Fengyong was about to follow
him, but Ren Yan stopped him.
"Xia," Chu Qianmiao
immediately whispered, "Xia Fengyong."
"Xia Fengyong," Ren Yan
said coldly, "finish what you need to do before you leave."
Xia Fengyong had no choice but to
stop and turned to Chu Qianmiao, offering a reluctant apology.
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