Chapter 155
Yu Min asked timidly, "How do we cooperate?"
The tone is the same as "Please spare my life, sir."
However, Gu Jiangkuo was quite satisfied with his timid appearance. He carried Yu Min downstairs and paraded him in front of the people that Old Man Gu had sent to follow him. Then, after entering the underground parking lot and getting into Yu Min's car, Gu Jiangkuo said, "Don't you have agreements with several lithium mining companies? You have pricing power, right?"
"Now I want experimental-grade lithium carbonate, as much as I can get, and I will sell it to Xingxu at a reasonable market price," said Gu Jiangkuo.
Yu Min: "...Mr. Gu, if you want to rob someone, you don't need to go through this process."
Gu Jiangkuo laughed and said, "Let's drive to the airport and talk while we walk."
He fastened his seatbelt and now looked like a decent human being, not much like a bandit.
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New news broke today: the consignee holding the contract requested the activation of additional terms to inspect the quality of the goods. Any part that does not meet their stringent standards needs to be converted into higher-purity experimental-grade lithium carbonate at a certain ratio.
As soon as the news came out, the entire financial community began to observe a moment of silence for Xingxu, and the incident even spread to ordinary netizens. Some people explained the ins and outs of the incident, some cursed the foreign capital for setting a trap, and some blamed Xingxu for his greed and opening so many short orders, saying that he deserved it.
The people inside Xingxu also began to panic. They were still celebrating yesterday, praising President Jiang for his wisdom, foresight, and strategic planning. He had stockpiled so much industrial-grade lithium carbonate, and the company was sure to make a fortune this time. Now they were all dumbfounded. The bulls actually had this trick up their sleeve, wanting high-purity experimental grade lithium carbonate. Moreover, the delivery deadline was tomorrow. If they couldn't deliver enough high-purity lithium carbonate, they would have to lose the sky-high margin - even if they sold Xingxu, they couldn't raise the billions of dollars in margin.
Now it seems that I can only be forced to close my position.
"We have industrial-grade stock. If things don't work out, we can buy some at a high price to fill the gap and still make a profit. But right now... where can we buy experimental-grade, high-purity lithium carbonate in a day? There's only a small global production of that stuff! Only a US company with a K prefix and a company in a neighboring country with a P prefix have the technology. Maybe they can help out in this emergency."
"Latest news! The two companies you mentioned have suddenly announced they are temporarily withdrawing from trading on the Nasdaq exchange and will no longer be accepting orders!"
"This... is clearly aimed at us. It's over, it's over. We've really been tricked this time. Who is the boss behind the bulls who has such immense power? Isn't this like being both the referee and the athlete?"
"It's over, it's over. Will Xingxu be gone tomorrow? Will we all be out of work?"
"Alas, I was able to support my family thanks to the factory's good performance, and now it's all gone."
"Mr. Jiang, can you think of a solution? Isn't he very rich? Doesn't he have the Jiang Group to back him up? Can he get through this difficult time?"
"Forget it. Just look at how high the price of experimental-grade lithium carbonate has been raised today. It's sky-high, more expensive than gold. The price of this order is already ridiculously high, reaching tens of billions of RMB. The 12% margin alone is enough to support ten Jiang companies. President Jiang would go bankrupt and he himself would be in trouble!"
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Just as everyone in Xingxu was discussing, the bulls were still trying their best to throw money at the price, and even KQRT itself felt that it was a bit excessive. Its president personally called Chen Zhigu, the person in charge of Gu's company. Mr. Chen did not delay. After understanding the bulls' intentions through the translator, he immediately asked Mr. Gu for instructions:
"KQRT believes there's no need to raise the price any further. The current price is already enough to bankrupt Xingxu or the Jiang Group. At that point, the entire Jiang Group will be liquidated by us, and any further efforts will be futile."
"How is it useless?" Old Man Gu said confidently, "Akuo is unwilling to give up and wants to help him out of his own pocket... Since we've already done this, let's maximize the effect and let the child understand that the arm cannot bend the leg."
Chen Zhigu: "So that's how it is. Then I'll notify KQRT to continue raising the price."
Mr. Gu: "Go ahead, tell them not to worry about the cost, Gu's will reimburse them all."
"Yes." Chen Zhigu agreed, but didn't leave immediately. He hesitated and said, "Chairman, KQRT is just a proxy. We've actually bought back all the contracts. ... If Jiang Nuo can really deliver a sufficient amount of high-purity lithium carbonate on time, the loss will have to be borne by us. We're not like Xingxu or the smaller Jiang Group, who can't afford the losses and file for bankruptcy. We're big enough to pay back the debt. The total price is already approaching 40 billion. If it continues to rise..."
"What will they offer?" Gu Zhonghong said contemptuously. "Xingxu doesn't have the conditions to produce high-purity lithium carbonate, and there's only one day left. Even if Akuo was willing to bankrupt himself to help him, China wouldn't have that much stock for them to buy. Don't forget, the two international companies with the technology to produce high-purity lithium carbonate have already terminated the deal."
"That's right," Chen Zhigu agreed. "All roads are blocked. They have no way to escape, unless... they secretly purchase from those two foreign companies from the beginning."
"Impossible," Gu Zhonghong said, "I've already sent people to investigate those two companies. In the past year, there has been no record of any transactions with Xingxu."
"That's good. I must have thought too much." Chen Zhigu then did as he was told.
Gu Zhonghong actually had these concerns, but decades of business experience have given him an inherent mindset: low-probability events can be ignored.
If we were too cautious, we would not be able to achieve the level of success that the group has today.
Although Mr. Gu is old, his habits of doing things have not changed. What's more, he really doesn't take Jiang Nuo and Gu Jiangkuo, two young boys in their early twenties, seriously.
——When encountering problems, you get so anxious that you throw your fists. If you don’t have enough cunning, how can you achieve great things?
"This is all right," Old Master Gu muttered. "Killing the chicken to scare the monkey, pulling out the little brat's claws and teeth, just enough to make him stay by my side obediently. Fang Wan, you see, I haven't treated your grandson harshly. I don't intend to ask him to return the 5% of shares that A Kuo holds now. As long as he learns to behave himself in the future..."
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Now, the entire Xingxu is boiling like a pot of boiling oil, and probably only two people can remain calm.
Chairman Jiang Nuo and Mr. Zhang who knows the inside story.
But Mr. Zhang didn't remain calm for long. After listening to rumors for a long time, he couldn't help it and knocked on the chairman's door.
"Boss Jiang," said Mr. Zhang, who was nearly sixty years old, anxiously, "Should we tell the truth and appease the people first?"
The young man Jiang Nuo was much calmer than him. He stood up with a smile and went to look for tea himself: "Mr. Zhang, please sit down. You've come just in time. I don't know how to drink the Da Hong Pao that someone gave me."
"Hey, boss, I'm not here for tea," Mr. Zhang said. "The rumors are spreading like wildfire. They say our company is going bankrupt, and many employees are packing up and want to leave early."
"It's okay to leave work early," Jiang Nuo said. "I was inconsiderate. There's nothing to do today, and the workshop is closed. Let's give everyone a day off this afternoon."
"Ah? Wouldn't that make outsiders think we've given up resistance?"
Jiang Nuo finally found the Dahongpao tea leaves. Her fair fingertips pinched two leaves, her movements paused mid-air, and she curled her lips into a smile at Mr. Zhang. "Isn't that perfect? That 180,000-ton short position was instigated by Wei Jiande, and now that he's gone, there might be another 'Wei Jiande' in the company. ... It won't be too late to announce it tomorrow. Here's what I'm thinking: Tomorrow morning, notify all lower-level employees to cooperate with loading and unloading, and make the necessary deliveries."
"...High!" Mr. Zhang thought for a moment and said excitedly, "Let them continue to raise the price. We have plenty of stock anyway. Oh, no, they don't want industrial-grade lithium carbonate anymore. According to the ratio, we don't have enough high-purity lithium carbonate..."
"It's on the way." Jiang Nuo said, "Mr. Gu from Shengchen called me half an hour ago and said they have stock and can use it free of charge."
As for what Gu Jiangkuo forcibly took from Yu Min, the three parties combined should be able to make the payment.
Regardless, if there's ample spot supply, the pressure will shift to the bulls. That's a hefty sum, 50 billion? Or 60 billion? Mr. Jiang is looking forward to tomorrow.
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