Chapter 398: Stepping on the Line and Taking Everything (4800)
"I just heard that this month's salary might 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 screen on when she left her workstation, 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 rumors, saying 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 works overtime every day, and they haven't seen a single hair."
"Is the company really going to fail? They've already applied to extend the trading suspension, right? It seems like it's been 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 salary has been delayed.
As the most representative Internet giant and one of the three major companies in the Great Zhou Dynasty, Qianxun is very lucky. It started in the wild period of the Internet and was initially a supplier to portal websites such as Sohu and Xinglang.
There were also some difficult times at that time, but since Qianxun decided to build its own search engine website and adopt bidding 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 three major players.
Not to mention the six social insurances and one housing fund and supplementary commercial medical insurance covering all family members, weekly and monthly afternoon tea and snacks, 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. It cannot be said to be the best in the industry, but it is definitely at the top 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 probably 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.
Ali and Tengxun are different. The employees of those two companies treat their ID cards as luxury items. They even hang their ID cards around their necks when they go out to buy groceries, for fear that others will not know that 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 had a nervous look on their face but was pretending 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 they still haven't found the problem. 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.
"Being 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 and realized 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 we could be acquired by Tengxun. Even if I get laid off after the acquisition, at least the compensation won't be bad. Now, I'm afraid... Sigh!"
With a snap, Lan Shejiu lit the Marlboro Double Blast at his lips. Amidst the smoke, his expression looked gloomy and uncertain.
The striped office boy chuckled and flicked the ash off his cigarette. "There's no point in overthinking this. I might as well think about finding another job quickly. Oh, by the way, did you know 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 cybersecurity department who nearly died suddenly." Striped Livestock couldn't hide his envy. "It seems they only had one round of interviews, and their salary didn't drop. The other benefits are about the same, except maybe the housing allowance was a thousand yuan less."
"But renting in Haixi is much cheaper than in Xinhao. A thousand yuan less is more comfortable than living in Xinhao, and you don't have to squeeze into the subway every day."
"Plus, Ysou is very popular right now. With a Ysou resume, you can work for a contract period and then get laid off without having to worry about not being able to find a job after you turn 35."
The envy on the striped animal's face was almost overflowing.
Lan Shechu was stunned and bewildered. "Impossible? Which company would dare to hire someone like him? Besides, Y has a reputation for being difficult to get into. 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 80,000 yuan. Lan Sheju feels that in terms of technology and qualifications, Li Jing is definitely much better than the guy who almost died suddenly.
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 Chub boasted smugly, "Two of their team joined the same company as me, so the news is definitely reliable. It's said that Ysou has opened two new project teams and is now hiring. I'm planning 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."
"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 his cigarette butt into the trash can and added calmly, "I just got an offer for the operations position at Ysou. I'll start at the beginning of next month. The girl in charge of HR at Ysou is really pretty."
Holy crap! Holy crap!
The striped animal almost went crazy.
I am already good at pretending, but I didn't expect that you, with your thick eyebrows and big eyes, can 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 during 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 who just asked a recovered patient which supplement was effective.
"Come on, have another one." Lan Sheshu took out a Marlboro Double Blast and enthusiastically handed one to POLOshu.
"Thanks, I have some. I don't smoke mixed types." POLO Chu politely declined and smiled reservedly. "I felt the interview was okay. The questions for each position and each interviewer were different. They were all generated by AI."
"However, there are some quite interesting questions. They require you to find logical errors in the AI and even debate with it. I gave an answer that the AI initially judged wrong. After two rounds of debate with the AI, it finally admitted that I was right."
"I'm applying for an operations position. I think it's mainly a test of cognitive ability. The technical test really isn't that difficult. I don't know why Li Jing didn't pass."
A cognitive ability test? Striped Animal and Blue Animal exchanged a glance. Just as they were about to ask further questions, Blue Animal's phone rang.
Lan Chu picked it up and saw a notification of changes in the bank card balance.
"The salary has arrived. Isn't it paid?" Lan Chu breathed a sigh of relief after reading the text message, his face obviously calmed down a lot.
"It seems the company is indeed not in any danger. And really, how could such a large company collapse so easily?"
As he was speaking, text messages from Striped Animal and POLO Animal also rang.
"We're 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 were paid before the end of the working day.
"That's not right. The bonus for the first half of the year hasn't been paid yet." POLO looked at the text message and first calculated it in his mind, then shook his head.
Bonus? Striped and Blue didn't think much of it. With two consecutive shutdowns in the first half of the year and the entire company in such a mess, how could there be any bonus?
——
"I'm sorry, Robert, I'm sorry, Madeline. I don't want to resign at this time either." A short-haired woman who looked to be in her forties or fifties smiled subtly at the two of them. "But you know, I've always wanted to return home and spend time with my family."
Robert and Madeline looked at each other.
"Joanna, you don't have to make such a hasty decision. If you don't want to continue working as the Chief Financial Officer, you can go to Qianxun Capital. They have several big projects that need experts like you to handle."
Robert's voice was sincere, but his right hand gently rubbed his chin and his eyes drifted to 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 slightly and said, "This is not a sudden idea. I talked about this topic with you last year."
Going to Qianxun Capital? Are you kidding me? I'm not the CFO anymore, don't you understand what that means?
At this time, they are saying that the 3.1 billion Malaysian dollar acquisition of Chloe is "an important part of Qianxun's strategy for the next 20 years". You can figure out what's going on even if you use your ass.
How could someone like me possibly get involved in this mess?
Did the board of directors approve it? You have more than 60% of the voting rights. Does the board of directors have any significance in this matter?
Joanna joined Qianxun as CFO eight years ago. Before becoming Qianxun's CFO, she was a director of several multinational companies. Her industry background and personal background are both top-notch.
In Qianxun, Robert Lee dared to scold anyone, but even though his emotions were as out of control as 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, without a wrinkle in the corners of her eyes. "I have no choice. I've worked for so many years, it's time 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 dreams 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 when I came back this time, but now you're leaving. What are your plans for the future?"
"Although I'm gone, I was once a member of Qianxun after all. For the time being, I will just spend time with my family. I've 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 have no idea, for the past two years I've been getting so annoyed by the ringing of my phone that 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 a smile, knowing what was going on.
We are all smart people, so there is no need to explain everything, otherwise it would be boring.
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.
——
"Three billion and a half billion dollars!?" Goldstein stood up suddenly, shocked and angry. "Who approved this acquisition? Why didn't they get our consent? This acquisition is invalid!"
"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 clauses is 20% of the market value on the previous trading day. Within this limit, Robert, who holds 60% 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 is too fast. We haven't had 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 how Qianxun had 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 in order to avoid greater losses half a month ago.
At that time, Qianxun's market value had just fallen to 15.535 billion Malaysian dollars.
If they had not applied for a trading suspension, Qianxun's current market value might not even reach 10 billion, and they would not have been 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 (McGolden Securities and Exchange Commission) and the FCA (Finance Canada) 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 can you be so shameless?
They were stuck at the 20% mark, not more or less, and ate it all up. Not only did they completely eat up the 3 billion yuan that was allocated to them through the private placement, they also ate 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 Mai Yuan, as long as you have used the Mai Yuan, 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, I was just executing it. Moreover, in order to speed up the progress, you did not include the corresponding terms when you asked for financing. Can you blame me?
"It's useless, Boss. They use a Tocharian bank and settle in Singaporean currency. 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 this 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 scope of authority mainly involves "violations of securities market information disclosure" 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 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 is a problem with this transaction, it will undoubtedly be a very long legal process. It may even take dozens of lawsuits around this acquisition, lasting for several years, before there is a way to prove that Qianxun committed intentional fraud.
Moreover, this transaction requires a joint investigation by the SEC and the FCA. Although Anglo-American are family, they have different interests. Not to mention two different organizations in two countries, even two different departments within an organization cannot have truly consistent interests. It is not uncommon for them to hinder each other 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 exposed for falsification and fraud. Despite irrefutable evidence, the investigation procedures have not been completed and she has not even appeared in court.
If this continues, it will take at least five to eight years before we can even get a preliminary result from this "Chloe acquisition case."
By then, not only will the daylily be out of favor, but Chihiro will also be out of favor.
Is there any point in such a lawsuit?
"Fuck!" Goldstein punched the wall again, his eyes flashing with murderous intent.
"No one could have taken so much money from BlackRock like this! No one!"
"Prepare a plane for me immediately! I want to go to England myself!" Goldstein's canine teeth flashed coldly. "Also, keep a close eye on where this money goes! I want to know where every penny of it goes! Understand?"
(End of this chapter)
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