Losing Money to Become a Tycoon: Starting with Games
Chapter 421: How to Sell Is a Problem
Twenty minutes later, Chen Kangtuo and Hao Qiong came out from the left and right, dragging along a weak-kneed President Li.
Pei Qian hurriedly handed over some tea. "President Li, quick, have some hot water."
Li Shi collapsed into a chair, took the teacup with both hands, and drank a sip. However, the pallor on his face didn't improve in the slightest.
"President Li, feeling any better?" Pei Qian asked with concern.
Li Shi weakly waved his hand—he didn't even have the strength to speak.
Too terrifying!
At first, Li Shi had thought it would be simple. Wasn't it just half an hour? Just grit his teeth and endure it, right?
He had even played a small trick on President Pei, saying he would "hold out in this project" rather than "clear it." In other words, as long as he lasted until the end, even without completing the challenges, it would count as a win.
However, ideals are full, reality is harsh.
The very first segment had already scared him half to death. By the fourth segment, he was completely unable to hold on any longer—his legs went weak, and he gave up on the spot, getting carried out by Chen Kangtuo and Hao Qiong.
Still shaken, Li Shi had only one thought in his mind: never underestimate President Pei under any circumstances!
Take this haunted house challenge for example. On the surface, it didn't look particularly scary. The process wasn't long, and there were no staff members acting as ghosts. But when you were actually inside, it was more than enough to scare you out of your wits!
Thinking back carefully, these segments weren't complicated, but they were filled with all sorts of psychological cues.
To put it bluntly, they did everything possible to make visitors scare themselves!
And it worked incredibly well.
Li Shi held the teacup with trembling hands, feeling like he'd be waking up from nightmares for at least a month.
That head on the ceiling with blood and tears streaming down… the mirror in the bathroom… the rustling television in the dim living room…
These were all ordinary household scenes, yet they left a deep psychological shadow on him.
Seeing President Li—usually the image of a successful, composed businessman—now frightened like a lamb waiting to be slaughtered, Pei Qian couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed.
"Sigh, although President Li has repeatedly ruined my plans, he's really just trying to make some money. It's not like he deserves this."
"For the sake of getting a few words out of me, he even went through such a terrifying haunted house. I do feel a bit bad."
Pei Qian felt he could temporarily cross President Li off his little blacklist—or rather, move him further down for now.
"President Li, you've worked hard. Your feedback on the haunted house is extremely valuable to us!"
"In any case, thank you very much!" Pei Qian said with utmost sincerity.
Li Shi's pale face showed a hint of confusion. "Huh? What feedback did I give?"
Pei Qian smiled slightly. "Your screams were the best feedback."
"To show my appreciation, I've decided to still tell you about the Top Student, Come Quickly project."
"That's right, Dream Fulfillment Ventures is selling its shares in Top Student, Come Quickly. This is my decision, and I hope you'll also sell off your shares as soon as possible. These are my heartfelt words, not a single lie!"
Pei Qian spoke with complete sincerity.
There wasn't a single falsehood in what he said. He was indeed selling shares, and he truly hoped others would sell theirs as well.
What he concealed, however, was his real intention: he wanted the Top Student, Come Quickly project to lose money.
That way, President Li would assume that Pei Qian was cashing out and exiting. Naturally, he would follow suit. Once all the investors sensed something was off, they would all start dumping their shares.
In reality, Pei Qian planned to keep as many shares as possible for himself—so that when the project failed, those shares would become worthless.
This way, even if the project didn't lose much money, it would still count as minimizing profits, avoiding earning too much.
Li Shi carefully observed Pei Qian's expression. After a long moment, he nodded. "I understand. In that case, I'll also sell off the shares I'm holding."
Pei Qian couldn't help but smile.
It worked!
President Li currently holds more than 20% of the shares. If he sells together with Dream Fulfillment Ventures, it will definitely send a very clear signal to the other investors and instantly shatter their confidence in this project!
If all goes well, President Li should still be able to make some profit from selling his shares.
No one loses—perfect!
…
That afternoon, at Fu Hui Capital.
Li Shi sat in his office, eyes closed in deep thought.
He had been badly frightened at Fright Hostel that morning, but work couldn't be delayed.
The information he got at the cost of his life should be reliable.
President Pei said that Dream Fulfillment Ventures was selling its shares in Top Student, Come Quickly. It was indeed his decision, and he also suggested that Li Shi sell as well. That shouldn't be a lie.
After careful consideration, Li Shi had already made up his mind.
Sell!
But exactly how to sell required careful planning.
For non-listed companies, share transfers are usually handled internally first. In other words, if existing shareholders are willing to purchase, they are given priority.
If no internal party is willing to buy, then approval from the shareholders' meeting is required to bring in external investors.
In other words, the moment Li Shi tries to sell his shares, all shareholders will immediately know.
The shares that President Pei sold were basically absorbed by these same shareholders, without introducing any external investors.
However, President Pei didn't sell many shares, so although the shareholders were suspicious, they didn't think he was really planning to cash out and leave.
But Li Shi was planning to sell all of his 20%+ stake. That intention to exit would be far too obvious—there's no way the other shareholders wouldn't notice!
Many of these investors had followed Li Shi into this project. Now, if both President Pei and President Li start dumping their shares, it would definitely trigger panic among the other investors. Everyone would want to sell, confidence in the project would collapse, and the company's valuation would crash instantly!
If it really came to that, even if Li Shi managed to sell all his shares, he probably wouldn't make much money.
So Li Shi felt that selling like this wouldn't work.
This was such a good project. He had invested four million in total—if he just dumped shares chaotically, the price would inevitably drop lower and lower.
After all that effort, only to earn a few hundred thousand?
That would be too embarrassing!
So yes, he would sell—but definitely not like this!
With that in mind, Li Shi contacted the other investors and planned to schedule a small conference call.
Soon, the other investors replied, and the meeting was set for an hour later.
Li Shi used the time to organize his thoughts and jot down the key points he wanted to discuss.
…
An hour later, everyone had joined, and the conference call began on time.
"President Li, what's so urgent?" one of the investors in the Top Student, Come Quickly project asked over the phone.
Li Shi didn't intend to waste time and got straight to the point:
"President Pei is probably planning to cash out and exit. I'm also preparing to dump all the shares I'm holding."
There was a brief silence on the call, followed by a wave of doubtful voices.
"Huh?"
"What? Are you sure?"
"Now?"
"Where did you hear that? Is it reliable?"
Clearly, most of the investors were skeptical and instinctively unwilling to believe it.
After all, the current state of Top Student, Come Quickly was excellent. Although it was burning a lot of money, that spending had translated into solid growth data!
If it continued like this and made it to an IPO, every investor's returns would multiply many times over!
The project was nowhere near decline—so why exit now? It seemed completely unreasonable.
Li Shi said calmly, "I have no reason to lie to you. Think about it carefully—everyone sees how hot the Top Student, Come Quickly project is right now. Isn't this exactly the best time to cash out?"
"Besides, do you really think this project can go public? Even if it can, how long will that take—and how much money will it burn? The company needs to operate for at least three years before it even qualifies for an IPO!"
"If President Pei keeps pushing, I have no doubt this company could go public in three years. But now that President Pei is pulling out, do you think this project can last three years?"
"At the current burn rate, how much money will be spent over three years? Which of you has that kind of money to keep burning? And if we keep raising funds, who can guarantee we'll find enough people to take over in the next rounds?"
"And what happens if the money runs out? Have you thought about that?"
Silence fell over the call once again.
Clearly, most of the investors agreed with President Li's reasoning.
The only reason this project seemed reliable was because of President Pei. But if President Pei was going to walk away, confidence would collapse—and once that happened, there would be only one outcome for this project: total ruin.
After a long while, someone finally spoke up.
"President Li, then why are you telling us all this?"
The unspoken meaning was obvious: shouldn't you be quietly making your fortune by selling off your shares first?
By informing everyone now, if they all try to sell at once, market confidence in the project will instantly collapse. Everyone will scramble to dump their shares, and no one will benefit!
Li Shi smiled. "What I mean is, since we've decided to sell, we definitely can't do it foolishly."
"The cheaper something is sold, the less people want it. But if the price keeps getting pushed up, people will rush to buy it instead."
"If we want to maximize our profits, the best approach isn't to panic-sell. It's to keep hyping up this project, then find a suitable buyer—and 'reluctantly' sell all our shares to them at a high price!"
Immediately, approving voices came through the call.
After thinking for a moment, one investor said, "Speaking of which… President Li, a vice president from Moral Education previously showed strong interest in the Top Student, Come Quickly project and wanted to buy the shares I'm holding. I hesitated and haven't given him an answer yet."
Li Shi smiled slightly. "Sounds like we found our 'suitable buyer.'"
After hanging up, Li Shi already had a plan in mind.
Now, all the investors were in the same boat, with completely aligned interests—they all wanted to sell their shares at the highest possible price. There was no need to worry about anyone leaking information.
Next, they would all work together to keep boosting the hype around the Top Student, Come Quickly project, making it even more attractive to Moral Education.
Then… in order to become the major shareholder of Top Student, Come Quickly, Moral Education would definitely keep buying up shares. Li Shi and the others could seize the opportunity to cash out at high prices and exit.
As for Moral Education…
Li Shi didn't have a good impression of this company.
The name Moral Education sounded respectable, but in reality, it had a long history of misconduct—false advertising, misleading promises during recruitment, and salespeople playing multiple roles. It could be said that they would stop at nothing to squeeze money out of people.
Yet despite this, the company had grown massively through relentless advertising and aggressive sales training for new recruits.
Many students were inexperienced, and their parents—eager for their children's success—were easily swayed by Moral Education's marketing tactics. Once they paid, getting a refund was nearly impossible.
Li Shi admitted that he couldn't be as principled as President Pei—earning every cent cleanly and taking on social responsibility, like subsidizing Against the Wind Logistics.
But even so, he still despised Moral Education's despicable practice of "scamming students out of their money."
Letting a company that profits through such unscrupulous means take over… Li Shi would feel absolutely no guilt.
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