Chapter Twenty-Five
Just when Peng Kun was at his wits' end in terms of financing, he suddenly received a call from Lu Qian of Sancang Fund, who expressed his willingness to invest. The two agreed to meet and discuss the details.
Having previously seen Lu Qian and Luan Mingfeng's close relationship, Peng Kun once thought that Sancang Fund's target was Chaoma New Energy, so he had given up trying to persuade them. Now, they have actually taken the initiative to extend an olive branch, which is something he never expected.
Despite the valuation being significantly lower than the previous market valuation, Sancang Fund is still the investor that has been able to offer the highest valuation to Polar Blue Sky so far. Peng Kun was worried that once they learned about the company's current financial situation, they might continue to lower the price, so he accepted Sancang's investment almost without hesitation.
After this round of financing, the equity of all shareholders was greatly diluted, and Peng Kun also lost absolute control of the company. Sancang Fund became the second largest shareholder of Polar Blue Sky with a shareholding of only a few percentage points, just behind Peng Kun.
The huge sum of money arrived quickly, and the number of board members of Polar Blue Sky increased from four to five, all of whom were shareholders holding more than 5% of the shares.
However, before the board meeting, Peng Kun received explosive news: Sancang Fund had been acquired by the Luan Group! In other words, the Luan Group was now the actual controlling shareholder of Sancang Fund. Only then did Peng Kun fully realize that Sancang had no intention of cooperating with Chaoma; their target was the Luan Group, and the investment in Polar Blue Sky must have been orchestrated by the Luan Group behind the scenes. The Luan father and son had taken a roundabout approach, ultimately becoming investors in Polar Blue Sky at a lower cost.
The board meeting was held as scheduled. Although he was mentally prepared, Peng Kun still felt somewhat resentful when he saw Luan Mingfeng walk into the meeting room.
In the conference room, besides the two of them, there was also Tao Yun, the company's third largest shareholder, and two other shareholders with a shareholding ratio of less than 10%.
Before Peng Kun could speak, Tao Yun stood up and applauded, "Welcome President Luan to the board of directors."
The other two shareholders also stood up and clapped their hands a few times. In their view, the Three Warehouse Fund was the savior who rescued the company from its crisis.
Only Peng Kun remained unmoved, sitting at his desk and quietly watching the scene unfold before him, his attitude difficult to decipher.
Luan Mingfeng calmly sat down opposite him and said with a smile, "Sorry everyone, I'm late."
"Shall we begin?" Tao Yun suggested.
Peng Kun nodded, first explaining the changes in the company's equity structure and regulations after the financing, and then discussing the company's current focus on hydrogen energy projects: "This winter, two hydrogen refueling stations will be completed in the city, and the government will gradually put 180 hydrogen-powered buses into operation, covering more than ten bus routes. Currently, both the national and local governments have increased their support for the hydrogen energy industry, and we must accelerate product development and technology iteration..."
“I have a suggestion,” Luan Mingfeng raised his hand and said solemnly, “I suggest that Polar Blue Sky cooperate with Chaoma New Energy to develop these projects. This will not only ensure the speed of product launch to the market, but also reduce technical risks and make it easier for us to seize the initiative.”
Peng Kun immediately objected: "Our current R&D team is strong enough. Even if it is not, we can recruit people from the community. There is no need for joint development."
“We can discuss this issue later,” Luan Mingfeng said, not continuing the argument. “Before the meeting, Mr. Tao took me on a tour of the company’s various departments and gave a brief introduction to the company’s current structure. I found a problem: our lithium battery recycling department is struggling to break even and is basically operating at a loss. So… I suggest we close the recycling department and optimize its staff.”
"Collapse the recycling department?" Peng Kun's face darkened. He couldn't help but wonder who gave him the authority to interfere. The recycling department was one of the company's earliest established departments, and he had personally recruited everyone there. He knew their capabilities perfectly well. Suppressing his anger, Peng Kun patiently explained, "China's new energy vehicle industry hasn't been around for very long. The market has only entered a period of rapid growth in recent years. Based on battery lifespan calculations, we've just entered the first large-scale retirement phase for car batteries. It's normal not to see economic benefits in the early stages. Poor performance isn't the responsibility of the department's employees, nor is it related to their work ability. Besides, making such a casual decision to optimize is incredibly irresponsible."
“You’re wrong. I’m doing this not only out of responsibility to the company, but also to all the investors. You yourself admit that this department isn’t making money, and when it will generate profits is still unknown. I think none of you here want to waste your investment on a project that yields no returns or even loses money, right? As for laying off the recycling department employees, there are reasons for it. The recycling department has a total of 7 employees, and I think their average age is over 35. What kind of motivation can such a team have?” After Luan Mingfeng finished speaking, the entire conference room fell silent.
"According to you, people over 35 have no right to work? They deserve to go home and starve to death? As long as a person doesn't die prematurely, everyone will pass 35 one day. For example, Fang Zeduan from the recycling department is 47 years old this year. He graduated from USTC, has rich R&D experience, and has strong practical skills. Should he be sent home just because he is old?"
Fang Zeduan joined Polar Blue Sky five years ago. Five years ago, he took two months off for his child's surgery and was fired by his previous company upon returning. At his age, being unemployed makes finding suitable work extremely difficult. Fang Zeduan has two children, and his wife became a full-time stay-at-home mom after their second child. The entire family relies on his salary. After losing his job, he searched for work for over half a year, going without any income for six months. Mortgage payments, car loan payments, and various living expenses nearly drove him to suicide. Just when he was in despair, he received an interview invitation from Polar Blue Sky.
“It’s not just an age issue. Looking around, the entire recycling department is full of the elderly, the infirm, the disabled, the lame, the stutterers, the gray-haired… It’s even more outrageous than the Seven Heroes of Jiangnan.” Luan Mingfeng became more and more agitated as he spoke, unconsciously raising his voice. “We are entrepreneurs, not philanthropists. Our company isn’t a welfare home, a nursing home, or a disability aid center. Those who walk with a limp…”
Peng Kun interrupted him: "Yuan Liang is a PhD from a university of science and technology. He contracted polio when he was 3 years old, which left him with a limp. He has some difficulty moving around, but he has never been late for work."
"So you also admit that he is disabled?" Luan Mingfeng asked provocatively, the atmosphere tense.
"So what?" Peng Kun smiled dismissively. "His illness is in his legs, not his brain. Physical disability does not affect his mental activity at all. Hawking was paralyzed from head to toe. Do you dare say he is not as smart as you?"
Luan Mingfeng was speechless for a moment before continuing, "And that woman, what was her name again?"
Seeing that he was looking at him, Tao Yun immediately added, "Qu Hui."
“Yes, Qu Hui,” Luan Mingfeng repeated, as if he already knew the name. “Don’t you think her appearance is detrimental to the company’s image?”
"Qu Hui is a top student from T University with exceptional business skills. She invented several patented technologies for the recycling department. You can't judge a book by its cover. I think you understand this principle after so many years in the business world, right?" Qu Hui was personally recruited by Peng Kun. She is indeed not very good-looking, and she has a black birthmark on her cheekbone, which makes her extremely self-conscious and quiet. So, despite graduating from a prestigious university and having excellent grades, Qu Hui's job search was still very difficult. Even startups that had just started up wouldn't give her a chance. If it weren't for Polar Blue Sky recruiting her, she probably would have gone back to her hometown to farm long ago.
Upon hearing this, Luan Mingfeng awkwardly rubbed his hands and defended himself, saying, "I'm not judging people by their appearance. She not only has a problem with her appearance, but she also has difficulty speaking. If this affects work communication, wouldn't it be a waste of everyone's time? In any case, there is no need for a department that cannot generate economic benefits. I still suggest that it be eliminated."
"The recycling department cannot be closed. Given the current pace of development of electric vehicles, the demand for raw materials may soon exceed their production. Battery recycling can alleviate future raw material shortages and reduce the environmental pollution caused by waste batteries. Its future market size will continue to grow. Entrepreneurs should have a long-term vision and not measure value solely from the perspective of short-term economic benefits. As for the seven employees in the recycling department, although their situations are somewhat special, each of them is an invaluable talent. Once the recycling process they are developing is successful, it will greatly improve the efficiency and cost of battery recycling." Peng Kun was right. The employees in the recycling department have the most outstanding professional skills in the entire company, and their loyalty is very high. Previously, the turnover rate in this department was too high. Employees with even a little bit of skill jumped ship to product development. That's why Peng Kun arranged for these seven technical backbones to be in the recycling department. Only such people can stay wholeheartedly in this seemingly unpromising department.
However, Luan Mingfeng clearly neither believed nor agreed with his statement: "Since we disagree, let's vote by raising our hands. Everyone, please raise your hands if you agree to abolish the recycling department."
After he finished speaking, he immediately raised his hand, and Tao Yun followed suit. Another shareholder hesitated for a long time, but finally, thinking that battery recycling was not profitable and would result in losses, he slowly raised his hand as well.
Furious at the result of his efforts, Peng Kun declared resolutely, "No, the recycling department cannot be closed. As long as I remain the chairman of Polar Blue Sky, no one is allowed to touch the battery recycling business!"
Luan Mingfeng stared at him for a while, then slowly said, "By the way, President Peng may not know yet, but we plan to acquire Mr. Tao's shares in the company, and he has already agreed."
Once Luan Mingfeng acquires shares in Tao Yun, he will become the largest shareholder of Polar Blue Sky, possessing absolute control. Peng Kun looked at Tao Yun in shock, and the latter quickly lowered his head, stammering, "Yes, yes."
With a smile on his face, Luan Mingfeng said slowly, "Since President Peng is so stubborn, for the sake of the company's development, I propose that we reconsider the candidate for Chairman and General Manager."
At this point, Peng Kun finally realized: "Oh, I see. All this painstaking effort you put into lending Sancang to the company was actually planned all along. When you wanted to acquire Polar Blue Sky, I didn't agree, so you invested in us through Sancang Fund and bribed Tao Yun to transfer his shares to you. You went to great lengths to become the largest shareholder of the company in order to completely control Polar Blue Sky, bring your most powerful competitor under your wing, and incidentally acquire the hydrogen fuel cell R&D technology. You got the biggest benefit at the lowest cost. What a brilliant move!"
"You've misunderstood. The Luan Group has always wanted to join Polar Blue Sky, but it just hasn't had a suitable opportunity. Everything today is just a coincidence. President Peng, why make such malicious assumptions about your partner?"
Partner? Peng Kun chuckled self-deprecatingly. He never imagined that the price of saving the company would be sacrificing himself.
When the company experienced a personnel upheaval, Zuo Xutong was downstairs conducting tests. That morning, as soon as she arrived at the company, she went straight to the third-floor laboratory, unaware that Polar Blue Sky had undergone a complete overhaul overnight. Instead of receiving news of the Shengguang project's restart, she was met with the devastating news that the Luan Group had taken over Polar Blue Sky – a truly shocking turn of events.
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