After meeting with the Google Duo, He Zhengcheng, who had been wavering, made a decision.
"Call Ji Jiasheng!" He Zhengcheng said, approaching Chao Yang.
"Have you decided?" Chao Yang asked.
"Alas, in this life, finding a true confidant is so difficult. You trust me, and I will repay your trust.
Although I will have my own choices in the future, at least before I start my own career, I believe in our team." He Zhengcheng, from the very beginning, had the idea of accumulating experience, so he acted recklessly.
He let himself go, commented on current affairs, and expressed his thoughts freely in front of Meg Whitman, Yang Zhiyuan, Pierre Omidyar, and Zhang Zhiyuan and Liang Botao from Hong Kong. Essentially, he didn't care about these people; because he didn't care, he dared to act recklessly.
During this time, he had actually been treating them as natives. He Zhengcheng was very proud. But in interacting with these people, he was inevitably influenced.
Interactions between people are not just about money and interests; there is also emotional exchange. He is a passionate person, not a heartless one.
"I believe you won't regret it!" Chao Yang said.
"You don't need to care, and tell him not to care about my choice either. Perhaps what I pursue is simply: a clear conscience, what more is there to say!" He Zhengcheng started showing off again.
If it weren't for a more exciting world waiting for him, why would he give up joining eBay's Board of Directors at this time? Ultimately, it's still a bit like preferring the new over the old.
Bah, bah, it's about having higher aspirations.
"..." Chao Yang patted He Zhengcheng's shoulder and said nothing.
Time flew by. Ji Jiasheng had not yet arrived in Silicon Valley, but eBay had already rung the NASDAQ bell in New York, and He Zhengcheng was able to witness it firsthand.
eBay's IPO price was set at $18. Many people transferred old shares. After the opening, with the assistance of Goldman Sachs, Shanhai Capital successfully acquired 2.22 million eBay shares, accounting for approximately 5.5% of the total shares.
On this day, eBay's stock price surged, quickly exceeding $30, rising to a high of $38, and closing at $35.
It rose 94.4% for the entire day, which was somewhat different from eBay's historical IPO. The increase was much smaller, and the trading volume also seemed significantly lower. Historically, on its first day of listing, eBay had more than double the IPO shares change hands at prices over $40.
Regardless, eBay successfully went public. On the same day, Yahoo's stock price exceeded $60, beginning its upward trend.
Finally, some people believed that the Long-Term Capital Management crisis no longer existed, and Wall Street giants were fighting tooth and nail to acquire this asset.
News soon confirmed Shanhai Capital's assessment: under the leadership of the Federal Reserve, several Wall Street giants jointly injected $4 billion, directly acquiring Long-Term Capital Management.
The original shareholders' stakes were compressed to the extreme, with virtually no say.
So, on Friday, the second day of eBay's listing, America's stock market surged. eBay soared to $42, rising 20% for the day.
Ji Jiasheng also arrived in Silicon Valley on this day to prepare for the eBay board meeting scheduled for next week.
"I won't say many thanks; you've worked hard this time!" Ji Jiasheng said.
"It's fine, the main business is important. If we were reversed at this point, we would become a laughingstock." He Zhengcheng replied.
To join a company's Board of Directors and fail even with the support of the founder and major shareholder, that would only mean that the person and the company are too weak.
"Don't worry, the cooked duck won't fly away." Ji Jiasheng assured him.
Hong Kong capital was not without investments in America, nor had it not entered company boards, but most of those were not within the reach of a startup of Shanhai Capital's scale.
Especially an enterprise with unlimited potential like eBay. Perhaps only in the future will the weight of an eBay director be more clearly understood.
No, that's not right. eBay's market value exceeded $1.4 billion on its first day of listing, and now it's close to $1.7 billion. Converted to Hong Kong dollars, that's about 13.2 billion, much stronger than Lenovo's current value. Has Shanhai Capital's influence already begun???
Over the next two days, accompanied by He Zhengcheng, Ji Jiasheng had friendly exchanges with Pierre Omidyar and Meg Whitman, expressing his willingness to support eBay's current management for the long-term interests of the company.
"I believe you because I believe Christopher!" Omidyar said.
"I believe him too; he is my best partner!" Ji Jiasheng responded.
Besides visiting eBay's founders, he also communicated with Goldman Sachs' representative at eBay, and later met with some other investors, though He Zhengcheng did not accompany him.
Last time he met with the Google Duo, he asked if they had any plans for financing, but was elegantly ignored.
Facing two highly intelligent elites, He Zhengcheng temporarily didn't know how to proceed. Suggesting Yahoo acquire Google, who knows if Bing would appear? Without Bing, perhaps there would still be excellent rising stars like Dogedoge. Rather than leaving the future to the unknown, it's better to continue on the old path of history.
"It's better to communicate with them more, and even if they agree to invest, I don't have much money right now, do I?" He Zhengcheng looked at his account. Although Yahoo's stock price was $70, he only had $2.45 million, of which nearly a hundred were financing funds. Oh, and there was eBay, 100,000 shares of eBay stock, now worth $4.2 million. Even after deducting the $500,000 loan, he still had over $3 million.
"How did I suddenly become a millionaire?" He Zhengcheng only now had a clearer realization: he had struck it rich!
"There are still 50 shares of Lenovo in Hong Kong. Should I try to gather 1 million shares?" He Zhengcheng hesitated a bit. His journey was towards the stars and the sea; small achievements could not shake his ideals. He should just buy, buy, buy; he wanted to earn more money!
He checked Lenovo's stock price; it was already HK$2.4 per share. The stock price would definitely rise, that was beyond doubt, and it could be foreseen without a prophet.
The largest tech company in a superpower wouldn't have a low market value. At least, before the Wall Street bubble burst, its market value wouldn't be low.
"When Chao Yang goes back, I'll ask him to help me finance and buy some shares." He Zhengcheng made a decision. Using other people's money was still more satisfying.
eBay's board meeting did not let the complicated He Zhengcheng continue such a difficult period. He was hired as a senior consultant for the company and also attended this board meeting.
It wasn't entirely harmonious, but there were no fiery or intense scenes. Ultimately, eBay's original board members were not that powerful, meaning there were some easy targets among them. Coupled with the exit of some venture capitalists and investment banks during this IPO, it was already a moment for re-dividing the cake.
Shanhai Capital's entry had a good excuse: for eBay's globalization, and the unspoken reason: He Zhengcheng's good personal relationship with the Yahoo chief.
He didn't quite understand some of the covert battles within the board, but the final outcome was good. Ji Jiasheng successfully joined eBay's Board of Directors, though he was a non-executive director. He didn't know what their logic was; he couldn't understand it!
Well, these were irrelevant. Ji Jiasheng also had Shanhai Capital and wouldn't serve at eBay long-term, so a non-executive director it was! He Zhengcheng's long-planned goal was finally achieved today... The stock prices in the text refer to the ex-dividend prices from Sina, Hithink RoyalFlush Information Network, and Yinghua Finance.