On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year, as planned, Xishan Coal Industry will hold its first shareholders' meeting at Diaoyutai in western Beijing.

But the wealthy and prominent families in Beijing all gathered at Diaoyutai upon hearing the news. The high officials and their agents packed the Qinglu Hall, making it impossible for the conference to proceed smoothly.

The shareholders of Xishan Coal Industry had to hold urgent consultations and finally decided to postpone the shareholders' meeting for one day and change it to a share sale meeting today.

The excited nobles finally calmed down and listened to Mr. Zhao's description of today's process:

In the morning, Zhao Hao personally explained the status of Xishan Coal Industry, including resource reserves and business direction, as well as the bright vision for the future.

Xishan Coal Industry will then provide a sumptuous lunch for the distinguished guests. In the afternoon, the official bidding will be held, and the results of who will win and who will not win will be announced on the same day.

Because there were so many people listening to his lecture, Zhao Hao simply set up the podium on an island in the middle of the lake where willows hung down.

It was April, and the Diaoyutai was covered with drooping green willows and blooming flowers, creating an extremely beautiful scene.

But the more than 300 guests had no time to look around, and were all concentrating on listening to Mr. Zhao's explanation.

"The full name of Xishan Coal is Royal Xishan Coal Co., Ltd. It originated from the benevolence of His Majesty the Emperor Longqing, who could not bear to see the people of the capital suffer from hunger and cold and had His Royal Highness Princess Ning'an initiate the establishment of a coal company with charitable nature on His Majesty's behalf. Her Royal Highness Princess Ning'an also took the lead in investing and opening up the company."

"The company's capital is one million taels of silver, and it currently has 22 shareholders. Its main business at this stage is the re-mining, transportation and sales of coal resources. At present, the company has a reserve of 3,666 coal mines that can be mined again, and has the most advanced drainage, ventilation, mining and transportation technology. The annual output will reach about 15 million dan within a year, which is enough to supply the daily needs of the people in the capital."

"The production cost of our company per hundred kilograms of coal is one-fourth lower than that of ordinary coal mines, and the transportation cost is only half of that of others. Therefore, we can quickly seize the market while still maintaining a profit level far higher than that of our peers. After calculation, the company's current total asset value is about 22 million silver taels. It is expected that the first year's revenue will reach between 1.7 million and 1.8 million silver taels, the gross profit will be about 600,000 taels, and the profit attributable to shareholders will be about 360,000 taels. The dividend per share is 3 taels and 6 cents."

"Wow……"

Upon hearing this, the distinguished guests began to whisper to each other excitedly.

"This is just like lending money at usury!"

"How can the money from loan sharks be compared to this? Half of the money lent out cannot be collected, and the other half is pledged with goods and people. At the end of the year, it would be a blessing to earn even 10%."

"Yes, the dividends alone can pay back the investment in three years. Isn't this more cost-effective than doing anything else?"

After the distinguished guests had vented their excitement, Zhao Hao said loudly:

"And this is only the first year. We expect Xishan Coal's production and sales to double in the third fiscal year. By then, wherever ships go, our Xishan coal will be used!"

"Wouldn't the dividends also double?" The VIPs, who were caught up in a frenzy, believed Zhao Hao's words without a doubt and began to look forward to the bright prospect of getting rich with Xishan Coal Industry.

"Mr. Zhao, tell us how we can buy it!"

"That's right, we can't wait!"

Amid the urging of the distinguished guests, Zhao Hao announced the specific rules for the IPO:

"The company has no plan to issue shares this time. However, in view of the high enthusiasm of everyone, after consultation among shareholders, 15,000 shares will be sold by all shareholders in proportion. Because there are too many people who want to buy, shareholders decided to adopt a call auction model and sell them in batches in the afternoon."

"What is a call auction?" The VIPs had naturally never heard of this term.

"I will give you an envelope with the detailed procedures in it. In short, you will write the number of shares you want to buy and the price per share in the envelope, and then put it in this wooden box before the meeting this afternoon."

While Zhao Hao was speaking, Fatty Tang came out carrying a wooden box with an opening on top.

"After everyone has finished bidding, the bids will be called out and ranked according to your bids. The highest bidder will get the right to purchase until all 15,000 shares are distributed."

After a pause, Zhao Hao smiled innocently and said, "But Her Royal Highness the Princess is kind and doesn't want to take advantage of everyone, so she ordered that the lowest transaction price, that is, the transaction price of the 15,000th share, be used as the price for all transactions. In other words, even if you offer a sky-high price of 10,000 taels of silver per share, it will be sold at the lowest transaction price, and you don't need to pay a penny more."

"Wow..." The guests, who were unaware of the situation, cheered again, and were deeply moved by the generosity of Her Royal Highness the Princess.

At this time, Fatty Tang touched his belly and felt that things were not simple.

Based on his understanding of the young master, although Zhao Hao would never let anyone suffer a loss, he would not lose a single piece of meat in his own bowl.

How could the young master allow someone to take the meat from his bowl?

This is unscientific...

Amid the noise that the distinguished guests could not hold back, Zhao Hao said loudly:

"One last thing to add. In the future, all of our company's stocks will be freely tradable. Buyers and sellers only need to go to the Xishan Coal Industry Head Office in Dashilan to register the change and the transfer will be completed. Of course, the shares can also be listed for sale by the head office."

~~

After the meeting, the distinguished guests boarded several pleasure boats and went to the palaces and pavilions scattered throughout Diaoyutai for meals.

Lunch is prepared by the chefs of Diaoyutai, and it includes a variety of meat and vegetable dishes, which are as delicious as the imperial cuisine.

But no one had time to eat. They ate a few bites and then gathered in groups of three or five to find a deserted place to discuss.

In the pavilion by the lake, the Left Censor-in-Chief Wang Ting, the Minister of Justice Mao Kai, and the Minister of War Huo Ji... the sons of the family, gathered together with their respective managers.

The three gentlemen had a good time every day and were now discussing their bids for later.

"You two, how much money are we going to pay later?" Mr. Mao asked them.

"It's better to go a little higher," Prince Wang said, waving his folding fan, "Anyway, we'll sell it at the lowest price."

"How high should it be?" asked Master Huo.

"One hundred taels, let's increase the salary tenfold. That should be fine, right?" said Master Mao.

"Well, about the same." Prince Wang nodded.

"Sure." Master Huo also nodded in agreement. "That sounds good. We'll produce 15 million dan of coal in the first year. But the turnaround of Dilong has not been determined yet. It's still unclear whether we can start production this year."

"That's right. They will definitely lose money this year, and it's hard to say what will happen next year. Most people will only offer 40 or 50 taels." Mr. Mao slapped his thigh and said, "We can increase the price by ten times at most, there will be no problem."

"About that. In the end, it was sold for forty or fifty taels."

"Okay, it's settled!" Prince Wang closed his folding fan, stood up and said, "We all offer 100 taels, and no one is allowed to change their mind."

"Whoever turns into a puppy!".

The two young masters also stood up, and after the three of them high-fived each other, they returned to their respective carriages to take a morning rest.

ps. Second update, please give me monthly tickets and recommendation tickets~~