The Money Was in the Bank

"We've named this product Purification Tree 10!"

"Don't let its size fool you. It's only thirty centimeters in diameter and fifty centimeters tall, but with sunlight and water, it can purify all the polluted gases in a hundred-square-meter space within ten minutes! Of course, that's for indoor spaces with ceilings no higher than three meters."

"That's right! It's an entirely new artificial plant created through genetic programming! Its purification capabilities are beyond your imagination, and all it needs to keep running is sunlight and water!" As Tang Er finished speaking, a video showed a white hall covering a hundred square meters.

A worker in a hazmat suit stepped into view and placed a pot containing a Purification Tree in the center of the room.

Several more workers then brought in various potential sources of air pollution and placed them in the corners of the room: a brazier with a fire burning in it, lit cigarettes, burning diesel, and so on.

After the workers left, a faint haze gradually filled the room.

Then a circular opening two meters across suddenly appeared in the ceiling. It was sealed with glass, and the camera gave it a close-up.

As soon as sunlight reached the Purification Tree, it began working. The murky air around it quickly started to clear.

Several minutes later, the air in the room had gradually returned to the way it had been at the beginning. The air pollution monitor in the lower-right corner of the video, which had been blaring alarms at first, showed a reading that had dropped to almost zero.

"Whether it's secondhand smoke from cigarettes, the waste gas people exhale, car exhaust, or toxic gases emitted by factories, just place a Purification Tree nearby and it'll turn them into completely clean, high-quality air!" Pride shone in Tang Er's eyes.

Applause broke out. Even the bodyguards standing nearby couldn't help clapping.

"Of course, you may still have questions. What happens at night, when there's no sunlight? Don't worry! We'll also provide customers with a new type of biological nutrient pack!"

"Each pack can keep a Purification Tree going for a whole month! And each one costs only six RMB—that's one US dollar!"

"Here's what that means. Suppose a family buys one of these Purification Trees, and in the end, only twenty million households around the world buy our product."

"The sale of nutrient packs alone will earn us two hundred million dollars a year! Our nutrient packs cost virtually nothing to make, because the extra energy absorbed by the Purification Tree is stored in its roots! The nutrient pack simply activates that energy!" Tang Er said with a sly grin, looking every bit the unscrupulous businessman.

"And that's not all! Including the pot and shipping, each Purification Tree costs us only three dollars to make. But do you know how much we plan to sell them for?"

"One hundred and three dollars! That's right—a hundred dollars in pure profit!"

"Just imagine how much we could earn if we sold twenty million Purification Trees around the world. Two billion dollars!"

"And that's based on our most conservative estimate of sales. Once the consumer market is saturated, we can also offer governments around the world our Purification Tree 10 Plus!" Tang Er spoke passionately about the future, and Jiro was captivated.

"Everyone, have you noticed how dark this conference room is? And that there's no air conditioning?"

"Now, it's time to witness a miracle!" Tang Er waved his hand, and a Purification Tree suddenly rose from beneath the conference table.

As soon as it appeared, the air in the conference room quickly became fresh. Jiro and the two secretaries felt as though their lungs had been cleansed, leaving them refreshed and clear.

"This—this feels amazing!" one of the secretaries exclaimed despite herself.

"This is just the classic model. For an extra twenty dollars, we can provide Purification Trees in different varieties that release the fragrance of your choice while purifying the air!"

"For an extra hundred dollars, you can get the upgraded, multi-fragrance Purification Tree 10s! Just press a different colored leaf on the tree to switch fragrances!" As he spoke, Tang Er pressed a pale yellow leaf on top of the tree. A faint chrysanthemum fragrance immediately filled the air.

"All right, what are your terms?" Jiro slammed his hand on the table. Even if the board hadn't pressured him to invest in the company, he would have gotten his hands on a stake at any cost. He was willing to pay whatever it took!

"Our terms for the Series A round are one hundred million dollars for twenty percent of the shares. The investor may not withdraw their investment for any reason or interfere with the company's normal operations." Tang Er's tone suddenly turned serious as he named a seemingly outrageous figure. Any investor unfamiliar with the situation would have thought he was crazy.

"Fine, we agree!" Jiro had no intention of negotiating. He accepted the deal on the spot. Even if the company had a billion dollars in debt, twenty percent of it would still be worth the hundred million. By his calculations, they'd recoup the investment in just six months!

"Looking forward to working with you!" Tang Er warmly shook Jiro's hand. Zhao Yin and the two secretaries from the Sman Group would work out the detailed terms next.

Five days later, one hundred million dollars was transferred into Titan Environmental's company account.

One hundred million dollars—that was a full six hundred million RMB in cash! It was enough to finish the office building and buy all kinds of manufacturing equipment.

They expected to have around two hundred million left over, which they would use to establish offline sales channels.

"Boss, we've got money!" Tang Yi excitedly waved the tablet in front of Tang Shizhe. The long string of digits on the screen made Tang Shizhe's eyes ache.

"I know. We can use some of it to beef up security. I expect plenty of people will come looking for trouble," Tang Shizhe said, sitting in the boss's chair in his new office with his legs crossed.

He had to admit, this enormous, two-hundred-square-meter office was much more comfortable than his old study.

The entire office was laid with high-end black marble tiles, and the walls were decorated with panels made of black titanium alloy. Two sets of sleek, high-end office sofas sat symmetrically on either side of the room. At the very center was a sixty-square-meter pool, with an openwork bridge above it stretching from the office entrance to the desk. The bottom of the pool was covered with pebbles.

The office lighting had a warm yellow hue. Behind one of the titanium alloy wall panels was a concealed door, which led to an elevator connecting directly to Tang Shizhe's sprawling six-thousand-square-meter penthouse on the fifth floor.

But the penthouse hadn't been finished yet, so he still had to live in his two-story home.