Chapter 306: The Greatest Overt Plot of This Century

Words : 2099 Updated : Oct 3rd, 2025

"Mr. Lu, I’m sorry, so very sorry, it was me being somewhat thoughtless with my words. Please forgive me." Wang Yizhi was scared; she had just taken a moment to look at the comments on Douyin, and the public opinion had exploded. She held an undergraduate degree from the Communication University of China and a master’s degree from Hong Kong University, and it’s true that in terms of education, she was far ahead of Lu Liang, but success in this society isn’t determined by academic credentials. Even Double Ma and the newly First Rich from Hengtai, Old Xu, wouldn’t dare to mock Lu Liang to his face, so where did she get off doing so? The overwhelming abuse made her fearful. "Mr. Li, today’s press conference went quite well," said Lu Liang with a smile, completely disregarding Wang Yizhi. Grievances have their rightful claimant; parents pay for their children’s mistakes, husbands for their wives’, it’s beneath one’s dignity to quarrel with a woman. So, he placed the blame squarely on Li Bing. "It did go quite well." Li Bing gave a bitter smile; he had indeed sent Wang Yizhi to Lu Liang to stir up some heat for the press conference, but he hadn’t anticipated things would spiral out of control. After pondering for a moment, he said with a sincere attitude, "Mr. Lu, let me handle this matter. I’ll make sure you’re satisfied." Lu Liang thought for a moment, slightly nodded, then turned to Lei Jun and Milk Tea Girl, "Would you two like to find a place to dine together?" Lei Jun said with a smile, "I don’t often come to Modu, so I’ll follow your lead." Milk Tea Girl hesitated slightly and then politely declined, "Mr. Lu, I have some business to attend to back at the company later, maybe next time." Lu Liang nodded, greeted Li Bing, and then left the venue with Lei Jun. No sooner had they left than Wang Yizhi published an apology on platforms like Weibo and Douyin. She apologized for her tactlessness and resigned from her role as NIO’s brand ambassador, hoping to quell the rage of the internet users. "Did Li Bing do it on purpose?" Lu Liang was puzzled; he thought that even those with low emotional intelligence had their limits. If Li Bing aimed to kill two birds with one stone, making a name for the NIO ES8 while also pushing his wife out of NIO management, then everything made sense. "It doesn’t seem likely," Lei Jun shook his head. He’d known Li Bing for a long time and was the first investor to buy into NIO. Wang Yizhi, whom Lei Jun had met a few times before, was just like that—somewhat arrogant and somewhat ignorant. As a host, she had made several mistakes before. Luckily, none were political stance issues, otherwise, she would have been fired long ago. An understanding dawned on Lu Liang, he paused, then smilingly asked, "So, by next year when Xiaomi goes public, it should be about time, right?" "What should be about time?" Lei Jun was confused. With a smile playing on his lips, Lu Liang said, "The new energy market is so hot right now, surely Xiaomi also wants to dive in." Everyone said he was bullish on the new energy industry and had invested in many related sectors, but Lei Jun and Xiaomi were no lesser. In recent years, investing in NIO, Xiao Peng, Chang’an, as well as Carbit and Hengtai Science with a focus on in-car navigation, and persistent requests to visit Tianxing Technology. Lu Liang had made inquiries and the company analysts had also said that with Xiaomi extending its reach into the small and medium-sized home appliance sector, becoming addicted to diversification, and provoking Miss Dong’s daily tirades, they certainly wouldn’t miss out on the lucrative new energy sector. The conclusion was that Xiaomi’s lack of activity was probably because the IPO was imminent, with a valuation of 50 billion US dollars, a P/E ratio of 85, and a high chance of breaking issue, leaving no time to focus on anything else. At least until after the IPO, and stabilized for a year or so, that would be the time for Xiaomi to enter the new energy market. Lei Jun smiled and stopped feigning ignorance and asked in return, "What about you, Mr. Lu?" "Next year, it should be about time." Lu Liang looked towards Su City; the mutual fund had only recently been established, and Lou Shui Industrial Park had just been approved, existing only on paper so far. Like the beginnings of his private fund, he needed to oversee it until its development was on the right track before he could smoothly step away. Lei Jun raised his cup, filled with tea instead of alcohol, and toasted, "Here’s to smooth sailing." The development of the new energy market was faster than expected, and although he was eager, there was nothing to be done. To fend off outsiders, one must first secure the home front—ensuring Xiaomi’s successful IPO was the current top priority. "Here’s to smooth sailing." Neither touched alcohol, they simply shared a quick meal and then went their separate ways. That night the public discourse continued to ferment, and the press conference epitomized the notion that all publicity is good publicity, even the bad kind. With the reservation system opened, within eight hours, they had received over 500 pre-orders. There were those who, just for show, paid a deposit of 5000 yuan, took screenshots, and then asked for a refund. Still, at least a third, amounting to over a hundred units, would probably remain on the books. If perfection was 100 points, then the report card NIO turned in was at least above 70. Everyone was engaging in internet vehicle manufacturing, and while current sales figures weren’t critical, future sales were, but having sales now certainly added luster to the endeavor. Even with just 100 units sold, NIO’s position as a high-end car brand could be solidified. "Mr. Lu, we can’t lose sight of one thing while chasing another." Li Xiang called Lu Liang overnight, begging for him to reserve his schedule on the 12th. Lu Liang already owned a Li Xiang One, but Li Xiang suggested personally delivering another unit to make a statement. "Mr. Li, I won’t be available that day." Lu Liang’s gaze turned unfriendly as he curtly declined without second thought, everyone seemed eager to take advantage of him. If he was exhausted, when Tianxing released a new car, perhaps no one would care. Furthermore, Li Xiang and NIO took different paths, one embraced pragmatism, the other idealism. The former needed to slowly ferment its reputation, while the latter was all about going public to raise funds, they couldn’t be summed up with a blanket statement. Unable to persuade him and unable to shift Lu Liang’s decision, Li Xiang sighed, "Mr. Lu, you should get some rest early then." "Mr. Li, the same to you." After ending the call, Lu Liang browsed today’s news; the entire web was discussing how explosive the NIO press conference had been and how low the EQ of Li Bing’s wife was. But in an unnoticed corner, Weima EX5’s first-day reservations broke through the 1,000-unit barrier. "Is Baidu finally standing up?" Lu Liang contacted Zhuo Yifan to pull up detailed information on Weimar Motors and was more surprised the more he read. Unlike Weiliao which touted an internet mindset and initially relied on contract car manufacturing, Weima chose to build their own factory. And while Weiliao competed for the high-end market, Weima went for the middle market, biting off a chunk from BYD. Reserving an ES8 might be for show, to boast with a screenshot, but 90% of those who reserved the EX5 genuinely wanted to buy it. Sёarᴄh the NôᴠeFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality. Originally valued at only 3.5 billion yuan, Weima’s value skyrocketed by a hundred billion within 24 hours of the EX5’s launch. The three-legged race of Weiliao shifted to become the "Four Small Dragons," with Weima upsetting the ranks and vaguely threatening to take the lead among them. "Keep a close watch." Lu Liang squinted his eyes, feeling pleased, having finally found a target to aim for in crossing the river. Reviewing the development history of Weima Motors, it closely resembled the plan in his mind. The biggest difference might be that Weima wasn’t as wealthy as he was and couldn’t mobilize as many resources. Comparable development trajectories meant more attention and caution could prevent future mistakes. The next day, Lu Liang set out for Su City. Leaving Modu, traveling more than eighty kilometers north past the outskirts of Kunshan, he arrived at Lou Shui. The location was ideal, left to Su City District, right to Kunshan City District, with Yangcheng Lake to the north and Cheng Lake to the south. 15,000 acres, but only 12,000 were wasteland, the remaining 3,000 plus acres consisted of two nearly new industrial parks. The initial investment attraction had cost a good deal, but Su City was resolute with its compensation policy, relocating everything. After numerous meetings, city leaders convened; all plans and projects were to revolve around the Lou Shui New Energy Industry Zone. Seventeen listed companies moved in, with a total investment of 130 billion yuan; though BYD didn’t join, Ningde did. On the surface, there were 17 enterprises, but they were all tier-one suppliers, with second, third, and even fourth-tier suppliers beneath them. To be near the water for an early advantage, or to cut transport costs, subsidiary suppliers would also move when the time was right. Just within the Industrial Park, thirty thousand direct high-paying jobs would emerge, not to mention the countless indirect and service-related jobs around. They had to seize this extravagant opportunity. Once assimilated, in the Yangtze River Delta, they would become the undisputed Number Two. No helping it, Modu’s status was too extraordinary; even if Shenzhen from the south were in the Yangtze River Delta, it would still only ever be the perennial runner-up. Only Beijing could firmly outpace Modu within the country. In the afternoon, Zhou Yi led Lu Liang around and suddenly pointed across the Wusong River, "Mr. Lu, there’s another 1,450 acres over there." Ever since the Lou Shui Industrial Park project got underway, the surrounding property prices had soared from 18,000 yuan per square meter to more than 28,000 overnight. With so many enterprises moving in, a significant influx of top-tier talent would also settle there. The 1,450 acres over there was one of the last remaining wastelands in the area, just a river’s width away from the Industrial Park, less than 400 meters across, with bridges on both sides making it no more than a 20-minute drive. The New Energy Industry Zone had just been established, and top developers like Hengtai, Country Garden, and Huaxin were eyeing that land. But Su City delicately refused everyone, reserving it specifically for the future Tianxing Technology. After all, at this point, Lu Liang’s ambitions were widely recognized. It was for this very "vinegar," they were preparing this "dumpling" feast. Officially, the goal was to build the largest new energy industry cluster in East China, serving other car manufacturers like Tesla, Li Xiang, and NIO. But actually, it was for their own full industry chain development, circumventing public funds’ restriction on solid investments in the financial market, engaging in buying up stocks, and investing through bond purchases. Bringing self-serving to the extreme, Logically, Lu Liang should have been sent away to tread the sewing machine board. But greed needs a proper target; Tianxing Fund and Tianxing Technology had not a penny’s worth of financial exchange. Two subsidiaries, one in Beijing focusing on intelligent driving system R&D, and the one in Modu rumored to recruit fresh graduates and even design car shells, seemed to have no intention to enter the market. Like an unselectable target. If someone wanted to send Lu Liang to tread the sewing machine board, they wouldn’t know on what grounds; they couldn’t use hypothetical future actions as justification. That would be like using a bygone dynasty’s sword to behead a current official, even if the complaint was sent to the Securities and Futures Commission, others would hardly bother with it. Things that haven’t occurred can’t be construed as facts. Blurring the line between public duty and private gain, it could be called this century’s greatest open secret.

Chapter 306: The Greatest Overt Plot of This Century

Comments (0)