Scent

The brief exchange basically confirmed that the next issue would only be about proportions, and the businessmen in Kuli Lan City began to investigate Lin Qi and his Interstellar Trade Company overnight.

A company that can be valued at 70 million during an economic recession is something that would be very interesting to any capitalist.

After several rounds of financing, they can apply for listing, and then it might be another wealth legend! Soon, more detailed information appeared in front of the capitalists in Kuli Lan City, including even information such as where Lin Qi was born and who delivered him.

This is the great power of money; as long as money is spent properly, there are no secrets in this world.

As a result, these people realized the value of this Interstellar Trade Company.

However, their "understanding" and Lin Qi's "understanding" are not entirely the same thing. For these capitalists, the value of this business lies in the fact that they can easily obtain loans from banks.

This makes the company's books look very good. Even if the company loses ten million in a year, as long as they borrow twenty million, they can show an extra ten million in net profit on the financial statement. Then the stock price will skyrocket, and their wealth will expand rapidly.

Conscience, morality, and ethics have long ceased to exist for capitalists; all they pursue is profit and various valuable returns.

Along with Lin Qi's alleged girlfriend, Catherine, she also came into the public eye, and two more names were added to some "hero lists," one being Lin Qi and the other being Catherine.

The power of money is truly amazing! The next day, Lin Qi took Catherine to find her a house next to the State University. If she didn't want to live on campus, she could go back to live off-campus. He also prepared all the necessary daily necessities.

Seeing that some students had already arrived at the university and that classes would begin next Wednesday, Catherine suddenly became a little sad.

At the end of the day, Lin Qi stood outside the door of his newly bought house, with Catherine holding his hands, just like she had years ago. "I don't know what to say, it's amazing, you know?"

Her voice was somewhat low, "I thought I was unlucky enough, but I didn't expect you to play a joke on me. But I still want to say thank you, Lin Qi."

The girl's jewel-like eyes looked directly at Lin Qi, filled with curiosity, reluctance, and a gradually rekindling excitement. "Thank you for everything you've done for me. I will work hard to complete my studies and make sure you know that all the money you spent was worthwhile."

Lin Qi sighed, pulled the girl into his arms, and kissed her forehead. "I have a piece of advice for you: no matter what choices or difficulties you face in the future, never forget your original dream."

He stepped back a little, and his mind drifted to his original self, who had worked so hard just to have a little money left in his pocket at the end of the month, just to afford the down payment on a small house, and just to live a simple and peaceful life.

He never intended to stir up Tidal Wave; he was forced into it!

The girl was a little confused, but that didn't stop her from remembering the sentence.

The two looked at each other for a moment, then Lin Qi smiled, took a step back, and waved his hand, "It's time to say goodbye. I'm leaving now. Call me anytime if you need anything; you know my number."

The girl nestled against the door and nodded. After a moment of eye contact, Lin Qi turned and left, and his car soon disappeared into the night.

Perhaps this is the best option right now. Everyone has returned to their own path, and if possible, everyone works hard, then the two paths will intersect again.

But if someone doesn't put in the effort, they'll always remain parallel lines! After resolving the girl's issue Lin Qi devoted all his energy to negotiating with the two groups. He now had a significant advantage: he could leverage the competition between them to force each other to raise their prices.

Moreover, the situation changed again the day before Lin Qi returned to Sabine City. A newly established Dawn Asset Management Company, announced that it would invest in Lin Qi's Interstellar Trade Company and demanded a minimum stake of five percent.

The sudden entry of a third party disrupted the previously orderly competition, making Lin Qi's attitude even more unpredictable.

After the meeting, the Skinny Tall Guy, thin man, with a gloomy face, called the Sabine City Social Services Bureau to inquire about the registration information of Dawn Asset Management Company.

This is a company from Sabine City, without a doubt. The business card they received had a suffix after the name Dawn Asset Management Company, which was an abbreviation of the name of Sabine City. Of course, Lin Qi's business card did not have this abbreviation. He believed that he belonged to the whole world, so he did not need this abbreviation.

Apart from Lin Qi, most people who need to use business cards will add the abbreviation of their place of work to increase recognizability. This makes the capitalists of Sabine City another example. Fortunately, they do not think it is an insulting abbreviation and are even proud of it.

Since it was a company in Sabine City, it would naturally fall under the jurisdiction of the Social Services Bureau. The Social Services Bureau quickly provided feedback that the company had a registered capital of one million and was a sole proprietorship.

Because the company currently has only one independent shareholder, they have the right not to disclose further details about themselves to the public.

Even if the Skinny Tall Guy spends money and pulls strings, he still won't be able to find out the truth about this matter.

Some things can be trampled on at will, because in people's eyes, this trampling is the most correct and conventional approach.

It has transformed from an irrational concept into a reasonable one.

However, some things still maintain their original rules and cannot be easily changed, which is actually based on people's consideration for their own safety.

After slamming down the phone, the Skinny Tall Guy paced back and forth in the room, while his companions on the sofa just watched him. The atmosphere in the room was oppressive and heavy.

Lin Qi insisted that the cash percentage should not be less than 33%, which was hard for them to accept. In people's minds, 17% and 33% are not that different—17% is about 20%, and 33% is about 30%. Mathematics is so amazing.

Of course, this concept is based on the premise that "these are very small percentages," but in reality it has almost doubled, meaning they would have to spend twice as much real money as originally planned to get what they originally wanted.

How could this be acceptable? This has also led to many problems. If they actually acquire these shares according to the original plan, they will have paid too much cash, and their own businesses may be at risk in the short term.

The risks of running a physical business are indeed significant; regardless of whether it is profitable or not, monthly operating costs cannot be avoided.

If they want to retain some cash, then they can't ask for too many shares; they might only be able to accept around 10% to 15%, which still falls short of their initial requirements.

What they want is to gain a greater say on the Board of Directors; that's the most important thing.

Don't be fooled by the fact that Lin Qi currently holds the most shares. Once the first round of financing is completed, his shareholding will only decrease in the second and third rounds.

Whether it's a later entrant directly acquiring his shares or diluting everyone's shares, all participants will adhere to an unspoken rule: the founder's equity can only decrease, not increase.

This is a kind of Unspoken Rules rule in investment, and some say that the purpose of doing so is to sideline the founders so that they can take over their wealth.

Yes, that's right. This is how capital harvests capital. There's nothing to hide. They can do it, so why be afraid to admit it? And this is how capital plays the game, which is also the most criticized way of playing the game – plunder.

Therefore, they require around 30% equity, in order to maintain a larger equity stake in future rounds of financing.

Having more shares means having more control over the Board of Directors, which is crucial.

The situation is getting complicated. What's even more complicated is that Dawn Asset Management Company has actually agreed to Lin Qi's request. They have signed a letter of intent to acquire 5% of Interstellar Trade's shares for a 33% cash stake.

That is, a little over one million in cash, plus some other things, to acquire five percent of the shares.

If no one agrees, Lin Qi will eventually have to compromise. That's how business deals work: you give a little, I give a little, and eventually everyone agrees that it's acceptable.

But now that someone has agreed, it means that Lin Qi's demands meet people's approval of the company. If they want to talk further, it would be unreasonable. Even if Lin Qi refuses to let them invest, no one can say anything.

Everyone else can accept it, but you can't? This isn't business; this is picking a fight.

The Skinny Tall Guy hated this troublemaker. He cursed under his breath, basically saying that he didn't want to be found out who was behind this company, and if he did, he would make them pay! As he cursed, he suddenly paused, then frowned, "Do you think it's possible that Lin Qi himself is behind this Dawn Asset Management Company?"

After he voiced his thoughts, he immediately felt like he had finally discovered the truth. The more he spoke, the more convinced he was that what he was saying was the truth, and the faster he spoke.

"It is very likely that Lin Qi registered Dawn Company in advance with the intention of intervening when necessary and setting too high a standard for us. Now it is difficult for us to do so, and he has maintained his bottom line."

"I don't think anyone would be stupid enough to agree to Lin Qi's demands outright. We can put pressure on Lin Qi together, and that company will definitely be one of Lin Qi own!"

He spoke with absolute certainty, like Poirot, who had discerned all the clues and discovered the fatal evidence!