Water and Fire~Chapter 96.2: Repression and Indulgence

 

Chapter 96.2: Repression and Indulgence

The next afternoon, Chu Qianmiao arrived at Liya's auditorium to prepare for a training session for the company's executives and shareholders.

Hooking her computer to the projector, Chu Qianmiao sat on the stage, looking down at the audience.

The sea of ​​heads below was so impressive that she felt like Dong Qing, the scene as grand as hosting a Spring Festival Gala or a poetry conference.

She hadn't expected so many people to attend her training session. Besides the shareholders and executives, it seemed all of Liya's employees had also arrived.

Soon, Ren Yan and Qian Siji entered the auditorium. They sat in the front row. Qin Qianyu and the others edged down, one by one, to sit next to Ren Yan.

Qian Siji stood in front of his seat, facing backwards. Ke Mingjun tactfully handed him a microphone, allowing him to amplify his voice throughout the auditorium.

Qian Siji said to everyone in the auditorium, "Everyone, be quiet. Now we'll have someone from the securities firm give us a training session. Liya will be a listed company in the future, so we need to have some knowledge of listed companies. Listen carefully. Afterward, everyone will take an exam. If you do well, there will be a bonus."

The whole audience was in high spirits.

Siji sat on the stage and thought, "Qian Siji isn't completely useless. At least he knows how to rally the people under him." Come to think of it, without some skill, how could a company go public?

Qian Siji then said to the entire audience, "Now, let's have Manager Chu from the securities firm's investment banking department give us a lecture."

The audience erupted in applause. Amidst the clamor, Chu Qianmiao's gaze fell on Ren Yan's face.

He was pressing his hand down over his chest, trying to calm her down.

At that moment, all her restless emotions vanished, her uneasiness and anxiety smothered by that hand.

She confidently opened the courseware with a smile, speaking fluently and effortlessly.

The auditorium occasionally erupted in laughter, the employees' feedback and praise for her brilliant lectures.

Ren Yan sat in the audience. At first, he had been a little apprehensive. This was Chu Qianmiao's first time coaching a company. He'd assumed the audience would only be executives and shareholders, but he'd unexpectedly included employees as well. The scene suddenly became a spectacle, and he worried Chu Qianmiao would get nervous. Today's event was indeed a bit grand.

But as soon as she began, his heart was at ease.

She presented those obscure regulations in her own way, in a humorous, accessible, and informative way. For each regulatory point, she could cite several brilliant real-world examples, and these examples came easily to her. Some of these examples were casual references he'd mentioned during their conversations, and she'd memorized them and diligently studied them when no one was around. Others were variations on the cases he'd mentioned, which she'd researched on her own initiative.

She truly works hard.

Others see her rapid progress, but they don't see how she's splitting her time between double and triple that of others. For someone so hardworking, any achievements are perfectly natural.

Beside him, Qin Qianyu was leaning toward him, whispering, "Leader, don't you think Qian Miao has completely transformed since her early days on the Hanhai project?"

He turned to look at Qin Qianyu, raised an eyebrow, and motioned for him to continue.

"Back at Hanhai Home Textiles, I was the one providing training for the company. Sun Yi later told me that Qian Miao, sitting in the audience, looked up at me, saying I was both humorous and informative, and that citing cases was as easy as chatting about the weather. I wonder when she'll be as good as me." He paused and sighed, "Qian Miao, after four major projects, has become even better than me. She can hold these grassroots employees, who have no experience in the capital markets, spellbound. Her ability to simplify complexities and command attention truly puts me to shame. Qian Miao is improving so rapidly. She's a promising investment banking talent."

The auditorium erupted in laughter again. Chu Qian Miao had given an interesting example on stage, and employees were interacting with her. She responded...

Ying Kuai quickly picked up the conversation, then threw it back, then asked a question. Many people raised their hands, eager to answer. Laughter erupted from the audience.

Ren Yan looked at the people on stage and echoed Qin Qianyu's words, "She's so smart and can endure more hardships than anyone. She's not just in investment banking; she can accomplish anything in the future."

After completing the training for Liya's executives and shareholders, Chu Qianmiao, Qin Qianyu, and the others began intensively preparing the various filing materials. Previously, Chu Qianmiao was responsible for writing legal opinions, but now her role had changed: she was working with everyone on the prospectus.

The prospectus is a company's first public appearance to regulators, shareholders, and the entire capital market, and it's the most crucial of all documents. While writing the prospectus, Chu Qianmiao felt like her eyes were a microscope and her mind a corrector.

Under intense pressure and intense stress, she, Qin Qianyu, Liu Lifeng, and Yan Yunqiang finished the first draft of the prospectus on schedule.

By the time the first draft of the prospectus was completed, time had quietly slipped from July to August. The lingering heat of summer lingered, combined with the scorching sun of early autumn, baking everyone into a state of unwarranted anxiety.

Around the beginning of autumn, people's anxiety subsided somewhat. The company's coaching and acceptance inspection had been approved.

Chu Qianmiao and her team were next to face an on-site inspection by the Quality Control Department of Litong Securities. Only after passing this internal review could the project team submit it to the China Securities Regulatory Commission. If it failed the internal review, the filing process would be a non-starter.

Chu Qianmiao and Qin Qianyu toiled for two days, organizing all the working papers in accordance with regulatory requirements and awaiting the arrival of the company's Quality Control Department the next day.

When Chu Qianmiao saw that Li Tang was among those present for the on-site inspection, she wasn't surprised. She thought she would be surprised if Li Tang hadn't come.

Li Tang had been at Litong for several months. Call it a dormant position, or perhaps a period of preparation, she'd been waiting for an opportunity like this one.

Li Tang arrived with her leader, the head of the quality control department.

On their first day, they didn't ask many questions, spending most of their time reviewing the documents and understanding Liya's basic situation.

The next day, Li Tang's leader paired up with Ren Yan. They went to another room to discuss the company's situation, leaving Li Tang in the due diligence office, examining the documents and peppering her with questions.

Specifically, she peppered Chu Qianmiao with questions.

She peppered Chu Qianmiao with questions. Some were simple, some were tricky, and some were practically optional.

But Li Tang always managed to pose these questions with an air of utter professionalism, as if the project wouldn't pass muster without concrete answers.

Her demeanor bewildered Qian Siji. In his eyes, Li Tang became the most professional person, the one most worthy of his favor. Only with Miss Li's help could his company safely and smoothly embark on the road to IPO.

In private, Qin Qianyu, unable to bear it any longer, vented his frustration. "Damn it, Qian Siji is such a jerk. He's an amateur, and he treats someone who asks questions without even focusing on the point as his ancestor." He asked Chu Qianmiao, "Have you ever offended Li Tang? She singles out you for questions, but you're so good-tempered, answering whatever she asks."

Chu Qianmiao smiled and told him, "Brother Qin, I have a bad temper, but you don't understand my hidden agenda. I can answer anything she asks, even the off-topic ones. She can't get past me no matter what she asks. Don't you think I'm infuriating?"

Qin Qianyu laughed.

On the morning of the third day, Li Tang's supervisor stayed at the hotel and didn't come. Li Tang, however, dutifully rushed to the due diligence office and continued to question Chu Qianmiao. Ren Yan, freed from the need to accompany Li Tang's supervisor, experienced just how prolific Li Tang was at questioning.

He frowned and actually began to help Chu Qianmiao answer questions.

Chu Qianmiao wasn't driven crazy by Li Tang's questions, but Ren Yan's quick answers nearly drove her crazy.

She felt that Ren Yan, a steely, straight man, simply didn't understand women's hearts.

She secretly sent a WeChat message to Ren Yan, saying, "Boss, please don't help me. I can handle it on my own. The more you help me, the more Li Tang will question me."

Ren Yan replied with a message, "I'm not helping you. I simply hate bringing personal emotions into work. She's asking such unnecessary questions, and they're so obvious." However, he still listened to Chu Qianmiao's advice and stopped helping her answer questions.

What Chu Qianmiao didn't expect was that a little later, when Li Tang asked another question, Liu Lifeng exploded.

It was Li Tang who peppered Qian Siji with questions, meticulously detailing every detail. Qian Siji was so nervous that he rubbed his hands and stamped his feet, practically following Li Tang's lead that he felt his company still had many unresolved issues. If Li Tang hadn't uncovered them, he would still be in the dark.

Chu Qianmiao, unfazed by Qian Siji's anxiety, patiently answered and resolved each question, reassuring Qian Siji that none of them mattered.

When Chu Qianmiao finished answering that wave of questions, she calmed Qian Siji's nerves. But Li Tang was about to ask another round, when Liu Lifeng slammed the table and stood up.

He exploded.

He confronted Li Tang directly, saying, "Manager Li, I think you don't need to ask so many detailed questions. Asking too much will make you seem unprofessional. You've been asking questions for two days now, and all you've asked are trivial details. Honestly, the regulators won't even ask any of these questions at the meeting. I think to improve project efficiency, you should focus on the key issues first. For example, you should first understand and ask questions about issues like proxy holding, internal controls, veto rights, and gambling agreements, which have been more obvious issues in the past."

Chu Qianmiao almost applauded Liu Lifeng.

She saw that Li Tang struggled to maintain a respectful smile. Then she said to Liu Lifeng, "Manager Liu, regulators are overseeing things more strictly these days. Asking more detailed questions is a responsibility to the company and to our own business. Don't you agree? Your suggestion is good. I'll improve efficiency while still paying attention to details."

Li Tang, driven by her efficiency, only asked a full morning before finding nothing more to offer. Although this project was plagued by numerous problems and the company was incredibly erratic from top to bottom, it might have collapsed in the hands of another project team, but it was in Ren Yan's hands. A strong general is always a weakling, and under Ren Yan's leadership, Chu Qianmiao and the others had already tamed this erratic company into good order. If Li Tang tried to find a major flaw in the company during the core development process and criticize them for not properly cleaning up the project, it would be a Herculean task.

Thinking of this, Chu Qianmiao almost felt a little sympathy for Li Tang. She had been lying dormant for so long, yet she hadn't been able to recover. She figured Li Tang would have even less chance in the future, as she would only grow stronger.

In the afternoon, Li Tang and her leader prepared to return to Beijing. Qian Siji specially arranged for his personal driver to give them a warm and friendly farewell.

After sending Li Tang and her leader away, Liu Lifeng asked Ren Yan, "Leader, I confronted Li Tang. Didn't that get you in trouble? If you want to criticize me, go ahead. I know I was impulsive."

Ren Yan patted Liu Lifeng on the shoulder and said, "Well done! There are some people I wouldn't be comfortable confronting, so it's just right for you to do it."

Liu Lifeng glanced at Chu Qianmiao, then at Ren Yan. "Leader, I'd do anything for you."