Recaps

Zhao Chen forced Lu Shen to cover his Henglong short, then sold his Bitcoin holdings near the market peak and escaped the crash. With billions in proceeds to invest, he planned new stock purchases and rewarded Chen Xi and Zhang Qingxue before Shen Jue called him by name.

• Zhao Chen announced the release of pledged Henglong shares, while Lu Shen tried to drive down the price and then scrambled to cover his growing short position.
• Shen Jue bought more Henglong shares and agreed to sell 35 million shares to investment banks at 40 per share, in exchange for their help against Lin Wanqing and her company.
• Blackstone suspended Lu Shen and reported his alleged misconduct, while the investment banks negotiated with Shen Jue to close short positions.
• Lin Wanqing’s company entered liquidation, her interests in three projects transferred to Haoyu, and Zhao Jianguo refused to help her.
• Zhao Chen sold his Bitcoin in batches as the price rose toward $18,000, completing the sale of 350,000 coins and recovering a total of $8.233 billion with his previous holdings.
• Bitcoin crashed below $11,000, while Zhao Chen’s friends celebrated the profits from the Bitcoin he had sold for them and Wall Street investigators tried to trace the seller.
• Zhao Chen chose Swiss private banks to move his proceeds and planned investments in Nvidia, Tesla, and Apple, revising his allocations after hearing warnings about Nvidia.
• Zhao Chen gave Chen Xi and Zhang Qingxue bonuses of twenty million RMB each and a week off, then Shen Jue called him by name, surprising him and Su Wantang.

Zhao Chen secured Henglong’s investment in Yunnan Agriculture Group and then pursued a stake in Bubble Mary, using Mololoy’s overseas rights as leverage. Wang An resisted giving him influence over the company and prepared to negotiate with him alone.

• Zhao Chen negotiated a 20% stake in Yunnan Agriculture Group for 390 million yuan, and Henglong’s board approved the deal pending due diligence.
• Chen Xi confirmed Yunnan Agriculture Group’s problems were manageable, and Zhao Chen signed the investment agreement with Cheng Jiaxun while waiving voting rights.
• After returning to Shan City, Zhao Chen advised Shen Zhiyi and her roommates to invest in Fen Liquor and asked Zhang Qingxue to investigate Bubble Mary’s finances and IP rights.
• Zhao Chen learned Bubble Mary was close to accepting Ningxia Huaqiang’s offer, then offered Wang An 50 million yuan for 5% at a one-billion valuation and persuaded him to postpone the board vote.
• Zhang Qingxue secured Mololoy’s worldwide rights outside mainland China for 30 million Hong Kong dollars, subject to Bubble Mary’s right to match the deal within thirty days.
• Zhao Chen met Wang An and Bubble Mary’s team, offered to invest 200 million yuan for a 20% stake, and faced Wang An’s concern about outside shareholders gaining influence.
• Su Xiaotang told Bubble Mary’s board about the Mololoy rights deal, and Wang An decided not to buy the rights back yet and to negotiate with Zhao Chen alone.

Zhao Chen secured Henglong’s investment in Bubble Mary, expanded into US stocks, and directed the company’s financial and operational plans. After Tesla plunged and Era Vanguard’s losses mounted, he held onto its shares and turned his attention back to Henglong’s other business.

• Zhao Chen negotiated a Bubble Mary investment, winning agreement to buy 5% through a private placement and pursue willing shareholders’ shares at a premium.
• Zhao Chen sent Chen Xi to secure Labobo’s exclusive global license, while Zhang Zhendong publicly criticized Henglong’s Bubble Mary deal and entrepreneurs rallied behind Zhao Chen’s approach.
• Zhao Chen reviewed Henglong’s 2017 finances, paid employees a special bonus after the debt-to-asset ratio fell below 50%, and set a lower debt target for 2018.
• Henglong’s board approved spending up to 200 million RMB on Bubble Mary shares, and Zhao Chen assigned representatives to the company’s board and observer seat.
• Zhao Chen directed his team to invest billions of dollars in Tesla, Apple, and Treasury bonds, then used Tesla call options and share purchases to build Era Vanguard’s position.
• After ChainAnalysis linked Era Vanguard’s funds to a Bitcoin sale, Tesla fell and Zhao Chen bought more shares, taking the common-stock position to nine million shares.
• Zhao Chen ordered the sale of all Tesla call options at a loss but kept all nine million shares as the stock continued to fall.
• Zhao Chen refused to buy or sell Tesla shares, told Chen Xi to continue Henglong’s other work, and resolved to stop watching Tesla’s price.

Zhao Chen set Henglong on a debt-reduction drive while expanding its stake in Bubble Mary, then took Era Vanguard to the United States to build a large Tesla position. The arc ended in Toronto with Era Vanguard holding 7.98% of Tesla and Zhao planning to keep buying toward his target.

• At Henglong’s gala, Zhao Chen promised employees another 20% special bonus if the company reduced its year-end debt ratio below 25%, then ordered executives to devise a debt-reduction plan.
• Zhao Chen gave Su Wantang an art studio, while Wang An agreed to Bubble Mary’s Labobo license and lifted the cap on Henglong’s purchases of existing shares, and Zhao directed Zhang Qingxue to keep acquiring them despite governance concerns.
• After Lunar New Year, Zhao Chen traveled with Zhang Qingxue and Su Wantang to New York, where he hired Lin Shicheng and explored Tesla options with three investment banks.
• Lin Shicheng advised Zhao Chen to keep Era Vanguard’s Tesla stake below 10%, and Zhao chose to buy common shares rather than risk options-related scrutiny.
• Era Vanguard steadily accumulated Tesla shares, reaching 7.08% by March 6 as CNBC commentators noticed its purchases and Zhao arranged to continue buying from Toronto.
• In Toronto, Zhang Qingxue varied the timing and size of Era Vanguard’s orders, bringing its stake to 7.98%, and Zhao planned to resume buying about 850,000 shares per day after returning to the United States.