Chapter 44

Pei Shaoan rambled on without getting to the point, until even Pei Xingze grew impatient. "What exactly are you trying to say?"

"I just think there's no need for you to give him face, or give him so much money." Pei Shaoan said awkwardly, "We're the real family. Why are you treating an outsider so well..."

Pei Xingze said, "Weng Group's stock price has risen. Aren't you happy?"

Pei Shaoan said, "...Of course I'm not happy."

Pei Xingze said, "You're unhappy, but I'm happy. If there's nothing else, get out."

"You—" Pei Shaoan glared at Pei Xingze in fury. After a long moment, he muttered irritably, "I really don't know what kind of spell that Weng guy cast on you. Why do you trust him so much?"

"Just wait. You'll regret it sooner or later!"

Pei Xingze watched Pei Shaoan storm away and shook his head.

Chapter 44

Weng Yingjie had the persistent feeling that the Weng family had been having a streak of terrible luck lately.

First, that little bastard Weng Shao had caused a family scandal, dragging the Weng family's reputation through the mud and sending Weng Group's stock price plummeting.

To restore the group's reputation, Weng Yingjie had no choice but to swallow his pride and repair his relationship with that money-grubbing bastard. Weng Group's stock had only just begun to recover when, before Weng Yingjie could even catch his breath, the group suffered consecutive bidding losses at several tender conferences—the projects they had been certain of winning at the beginning of the year were all snatched away by competitors.

An investigation afterward revealed that the other side's bids had been less than one million higher than Weng Group's. All three bids had been the same.

After seeing those bids, Weng Yingjie's first thought was that there was an insider leaking Weng Group's reserve prices.

However, before Weng Yingjie could find out who that insider was, news of Weng Group's repeated losses at land auctions spread like wildfire. So did rumors that Weng Group's sales performance in the first half of the year had fallen short of expectations, leaving it short on funds and unable to bid for land.

The major negative news was immediately reflected in the financial market. Somehow, as the rumors spread, they turned into, "Weng Group has fallen into a severe financial crisis and may face suspension from trading." Retail investors, already skittish, immediately panicked and began selling off their shares. The moment the market opened that morning, Weng Group's stock price kept falling, plunging straight past its lowest point in the past six months.

This time, the group's shareholders and directors could no longer sit still. They immediately called Weng Yingjie and told him to hold a press conference to refute the rumors, declaring that Weng Group's cash flow was absolutely not a problem.

To reassure the shareholders, Weng Yingjie could only propose repurchasing shares on the secondary market in Weng Group's name. He would pour two billion into supporting the market and use major investors to drive up Weng Group's stock price, then announce Weng Group's plans for the second half of the year at a press conference to restore investors' confidence.

"...Once Weng Yingjie drives the stock price up to a certain level, we can dump the shares we bought at the bottom and collect our first round of interest."

In Hanlin Academy 1701, Weng Shao sat before his computer, watching Weng Yingjie speak eloquently at the press conference.

Weng Yingjie truly deserved to be the founder of a listed group. Although his moral character had always been criticized, and Weng Group's stock price had fallen recently because of repeated family scandals, his prestige within the group and his influence over shareholders were both undeniable. No one questioned Weng Yingjie's business talent or methods.

Therefore, the moment he held a press conference and announced that Weng Group would invest two billion to support the market, then unveiled several major projects the group planned to push forward in the second half of the year, the stock market responded at once. The stock price, originally eight yuan, hit the daily limit several times in a row under the push from major investors, soaring straight to sixteen yuan.

As he watched the stock's K-line chart climb higher and higher, Weng Shao's clear eyes brimmed with ambition and certainty.

Those idiots in the Weng family still thought Weng Group's earlier stock recovery had come because they had spent money and effort to win Weng Shao over, then bribed reporters to loudly publicize the news that the five members of the Weng family had reconciled, restoring Weng Group's reputation. They had no idea the brief recovery in Weng Group's stock price was because Weng Shao and Pei Xingze had secretly bought up Weng Group shares at the bottom.

Once the shares in their hands had accumulated to a certain amount, Pei Xingze secretly leaked Weng Shao's calculated bid prices for Weng Group's land auctions to other real estate companies, allowing them to win with bids just barely above the line.

Since the real estate companies Pei Xingze selected had no obvious close ties with Pei Group, these failed bids did not initially catch Weng Yingjie's attention. He thought the losses were simply because Weng Real Estate's sales over the past few months had failed to meet expectations, which meant the group's profits were lower than expected and its accounts were not as flush with cash. They had not dared to bid too high.

It was only after several consecutive auctions, when the winning companies' bids were all less than one million higher than his own, that Weng Yingjie suddenly realized something was wrong. Unfortunately, by then it was already too late. News of Weng Group's repeated bidding failures had already been spread by people with ulterior motives. Rumors about Weng Group's cash shortage had grown louder and louder, and retail investors who knew nothing of the truth naturally began selling off their shares like mad.

Weng Group's stock price fell again. The group's major shareholders, acting for their own interests, would certainly pressure Weng Yingjie as chairman. And to steady the confidence of the major shareholders and investors, Weng Yingjie would inevitably choose to support the market.

"We bought at the bottom when Weng Group's stock price fell to eight yuan, investing two hundred million. Now that Weng Yingjie has driven the price up to sixteen yuan, we'll sell while the momentum is strong and double our money. That's another two hundred million in profit."

Of that, Weng Shao had put up eighty million in principal, while Pei Xingze had put up one hundred and twenty million. The two would split the proceeds forty-sixty, leaving Weng Shao with another eighty million. Together with the luxury house and luxury car Weng Yingjie had transferred to him earlier, Weng Shao had made nearly eighty-six million this time.

At that point, Weng Shao smiled faintly. To thank the Weng family for their generosity, he would next release word to the outside world: "...Say that Weng Yingjie illegally diverted the money meant for buying land to acquire Weng Group shares on the stock market, deliberately creating the illusion that Weng Group was flush with funds. In reality, he was merely treating the symptoms while ignoring the cause, robbing Peter to pay Paul."

Pei Xingze smiled and picked up the thread. "That will inevitably provoke protests from Weng Group's other minor shareholders. It may even bring an investigation from the authorities."

"Weng Group's accounts weren't well-funded to begin with. If a scandal involving the illegal diversion of funds breaks out at a time like this..." Weng Shao clasped his hands atop the armrests of his executive chair and leaned back to look at Pei Xingze. "At next month's auction for the king plot, and this year's urban construction project in the Jinghai City Economic Development Zone, will they still be qualified to compete with Pei Real Estate?"

In his previous life, Weng Group had successfully obtained the king plot and several prime parcels of land. Then, riding the nationwide fame earned by stepping on Weng Shao, it had smoothly taken on the urban construction project in the Jinghai City Economic Development Zone and made a fortune during the real estate boom of the following two years. This time, Weng Yingjie would not be so lucky.

With Weng Shao lurking in the shadows, watching like a tiger and waiting for his chance, he could guarantee that Weng Yingjie would not be able to smoothly advance any major project—unless he was willing to increase the cost budget.

But Weng Group's accounts were already stretched thin. If it forced itself to raise its budget costs, then the slightest mishap could trigger a chain reaction. By then, even if the news about Weng Group's cash shortage had started as fake news, it would probably become real.

Pei Xingze poured two glasses of red wine and handed one to Weng Shao. "The thing Weng Yingjie regrets most in this life will definitely be failing to acknowledge you as his son."

Weng Shao clinked glasses with Pei Xingze and drained the red wine in one gulp. "But the wisest thing I've done in this life was refusing to return to the Weng family and be their grandson."

In just over a month, two hundred million had turned into four hundred million, and they had quietly pocketed it all without alerting anyone.

After happily dividing the spoils, Pei Xingze suggested they go out to celebrate. "How about Western food?"

Weng Shao said, "Sure."

After thinking for a moment, Pei Xingze added, "Tomorrow's the weekend. Do you want to go out to sea? We can stay overnight on the water and have a candlelit dinner."

Weng Shao could not help laughing. He looked at Pei Xingze without saying anything, and Pei Xingze looked back at him. After a while, they both laughed.

"Anything is fine with me—" Before Weng Shao could finish, Pei Xingze's phone suddenly rang.

The call was from Lu Qingyang, asking whether Pei Xingze and Weng Shao wanted to go out to sea. They wanted to hold a yacht party. "The next two days are the weekend anyway. We can spend three days out at sea and come back Sunday night."

Pei Xingze and Weng Shao looked at each other. Weng Shao smiled. "I'll go pack."

An hour later, the two appeared at the harbor pier, where Lu Qingyang and the others were already waiting aboard the yacht.

Meanwhile, Weng Group, exposed for illegally diverting funds to sweep up shares on the secondary market, suffered another stock price crash.

Just as Weng Shao had predicted, this scandal caused far more commotion than the Weng family's previous scandals. Not only did retail investors and minor shareholders protest the board's decisions for harming their interests, even the authorities stepped in to investigate.

Weng Yingjie and Weng Zhen were run ragged. After finally pulling strings to settle the matter, Weng Zhen belatedly said, "Dad, don't you think the rise and fall of Weng Group's stock price this time feels like there's an invisible hand manipulating everything from behind the scenes?"

Weng Yingjie narrowed his eyes slightly. He had been suspicious as well, feeling that Pei Xingze was behind this.

"If the Pei family really is behind this, could Weng Shao have been involved too?" Weng Zhen immediately said. It was not that he was prejudiced against Weng Shao; it was simply that Weng Shao's behavior lately had indeed been rather strange.

"With his kind of petty, smug personality, how could he suddenly become so reasonable and even be willing to reconcile with us?" Weng Zhen did not hesitate to judge Weng Shao with the worst possible intentions. "Could the two of them have joined forces to set us up?"