Chapter 166: Chairman Long's Favors? Shengxin's Earnings Explode

Blind boxes were nothing new to Zhang Long.

In fact, Zhang Shangyu and the others were quite familiar with them as well. Blind boxes typically contained peripheral merchandise from anime and television series, or custom-designed figures created by independent artists. Because the packaging bore no labels, buyers had no way of knowing what they had drawn until they opened the box, offering a touch of excitement.

Psychological studies indicated that uncertain stimuli reinforce repetitive decision-making and foster purchasing addictions.

...

"There's potential here."

Zhang Long gave a direct, affirmative response.

The investment project involved renting a factory in the suburbs of the Modu to manufacture anime and television merchandise, or other blind box items, and releasing them onto the market. Tianhong would not be required to manage or operate it; the project proposer had their own team, and what they currently lacked was seed capital—a rather substantial amount at that.

There was no point in playing small. By the time you finally edged your way into the market, corporate capital would have already made a massive aggressive entry.

A complete streamlined chain of production, sales, and operations formed the foundation of the proposer's confidence, presenting strong developmental prospects.

Moreover, Tianhong would not be the sole investor.

The Modu market for blind boxes was massive and full of potential, let alone its future expansion nationwide, or subsequent rounds of financing to grow and strengthen the enterprise. One had to remember that the profit margins of blind boxes were astronomical, yielding returns of tens or even hundreds of times the initial investment.

Logically speaking, a team aiming to launch such a large-scale project should not have lacked investment firms, meaning it shouldn't have fallen to Tianhong.

"They only want the money."

Although the blind box project seemed promising, no one could predict just how large it might ultimately grow; everything was merely an estimate, and the risks were definite.

Bringing Tianhong on board not only secured a considerable amount of capital but also helped distribute some of the risk.

Future matters would be dealt with in the future.

"I agree."

Zhang Long nodded and gave an immediate okay. While blind boxes might not necessarily achieve explosive popularity in this era, a complete, self-contained chain of production, sales, and operations guaranteed profitability.

As long as this blind box project wasn't an empty shell designed to defraud and fleece investors, there would be no problem.

A moment later, the project proposer came from the VIP lounge into the conference room and gave a detailed presentation of the blind box project.

Zhang Long, however, paid no attention to the other details; there was only one thing he needed to verify: whether any negative return values would appear above this person's head. Fortunately, none appeared.

He was genuinely here to secure investment, and that was sufficient. Whether it would turn a profit depended on subsequent developments.

Regrettably, Level 2 could only issue warnings regarding potential pitfalls and was incapable of predicting project return values—a slight disappointment.

Perhaps such foresight would have to wait until Level 3.

...

"Allocate another 10 million and pause."

After the blind box proposer departed, the meeting in Tianhong's conference room did not disperse. Including this blind box venture, a total of four projects had been invested in, amounting to 20 million in funds.

A milk tea chain store took 5 million, and two other small projects totaled another 5 million, leaving nothing more.

Tianhong still retained 30 million in funds.

It was projected to keep 20 million in reserve to cover salaries for Tianhong's internal staff and related supervisory operations teams, as well as to ensure capital availability should other premium projects emerge later on.

After all, these venture capital projects would take at least two to three months before officially showing a profit.

Before Tianhong's revenue reached an ideal equilibrium, it was better to slow down the pace and avoid rushing.

"Chairman Zhang, wait a moment."

As the briefing adjourned, Zhang Shangyu called out to Zhang Long and spoke directly, "Tomorrow is Monday, I'll come over to your Shengxin to open an account. Sound good?"

"Uh, I suppose that's fine."

Zhang Long was taken aback for a moment, but then broke into a smile. "Well, let's establish this beforehand: you bear your own profits and losses."

"Rest assured, that goes without saying."

Zhang Shangyu had no doubts about Zhang Long's stock analysis capabilities, having heard about them long ago from Du Hong. Otherwise, how could Zhang Long have had the capital to buy a luxury mansion at Jinxiu Huating, or follow Qian Caiying and Ling Zhiqin to join Shengxin? He wouldn't even have dared to dream of it.

They hadn't been particularly close before, and moreover, it was improper for friends to interfere with or guide trading operations, so the topic hadn't been raised. But now that Shengxin's performance was steadily improving, the time was right.

With Zhang Long steering the ship from behind the scenes, it was entirely feasible.

Even if one could still make money trading stocks in a bear market, putting in one or two million to play around with was no issue at all.

Thus, Gu Su's good fortune had arrived.

"Oh? Really...?"

On Monday, at the Shengxin trading department, when Zhang Long instructed Gu Su to receive Zhang Shangyu and mentioned that an initial deposit of at least one million would be made to activate the account, Gu Su was thrilled.

Oh my god, hanging around Chairman Zhang more often really paid off! She hadn't even had to wait long before landing a client.

Mm, Chairman Zhang's favors must be distributed evenly among everyone.

...

"Brother, my heart is moved."

"Get lost, your lust is moved..."

Shortly afterward, Zhang Shangyu completed the account opening process, though the funds would have to be deposited after he returned home. Clients were not permitted to make deposits, withdrawals, or trades on Shengxin's premises to avoid messy disputes should a conflict arise; after all, if the IP address originated from the firm and a client later claimed they were coerced, how would one explain it? It was better to steer clear of trouble.

Gu Su possessed pretty and charming features, and her crescent-shaped eyes were especially captivating when she smiled. Zhang Shangyu's heart had indeed fluttered.

Yet Zhang Long exposed him without a shred of hesitation. Heart moved? Love at first sight? Pure lust disguised as romance, nothing more.

"Ahem, pull some strings for me, will you?"

"Stop right there, don't even think about it."

Zhang Long rolled his eyes in annoyance. "It's not easy having a little beauty in my trading department; stop trying to flirt with her. There are all sorts of beauties in the clubs—don't come here to corrupt an innocent young girl. Besides, if I'm the one who introduced Gu Su to assist you with your trades, and you end up ruthlessly dumping her..."

"Then I'll turn into the villain."

That was a valid point. As the old saying goes, a friend's wife—ah no, a friend's employee—must not be violated.

He couldn't make things difficult for Zhang Long.

With a sigh and a shake of his head, Zhang Shangyu took his leave. While Gu Su was indeed charming and pretty, she wasn't so breathtakingly peerless as to utterly scramble his wits. Leaving aside other venues, art academies and universities were brimming with pretty girls.

It was simply akin to a child's fascination with toys—novel, attractive, and fun things always aroused cravings.

Especially when it was someone else's toy.

"Oh, how much did he deposit?"

"Hehe, two million!"

Back at the Shengxin trading department, Zhang Shangyu had gone straight to the bank to handle the relevant procedures after returning, and as soon as the stock market opened in the afternoon, he wired the activation funds—a full two million!

Good grief, Qin Miaotong clicked her tongue in amazement.

One could tell from his demeanor that the Zhang Shangyu who had visited today was far wealthier than that fellow Lin Yuan. Since they were both Chairman Zhang's friends, why was there such a massive gap?!

If Lin Yuan had heard this remark, he probably would have felt like crying, having been looked down upon once more.

However, now that both Qin Miaotong and Gu Su had effortlessly acquired second-generation wealthy friends as clients courtesy of Zhang Long, what about the future? The two individuals from the Yuanyun Financial and Gold Toad teams who also assisted Zhang Long felt a surge of renewed spirit.

When the next opportunity arose, it would be their turn.

...

In Hongkou, located in the northern district, stood a mid-tier residential complex.

Lately, the Luo family had been busy with various matters. Mother Luo had already resigned from her fruit and vegetable stall, having contacted relevant delivery suppliers. The ground-floor storefront right at the entrance of the residential complex had long been simply renovated, and the shelves had already been installed.

The shop sign, business license, health and fire safety permits, and everything else had been secured. All was in readiness.

Monday, April 29th, marked the official grand opening.

There was no need to wait specifically for May Day; the promotional events would run for a full seven days until Sunday, May 5th. As for the scale of the discounts, they were quite substantial—all part of the plan formulated by Zhang Long.

Various perks included receiving gifts based on membership card top-up amounts, and lucky draws for spending above a certain threshold on the opening day, with guaranteed prizes.

As long as spending targets were met, one could at least win consolation prizes like towels and toothbrushes, alongside second, first, and grand prizes...

Electric fans, refrigerators, and electric scooters!

"It stings a bit to spend this much..."

Mother Luo looked at the tangible items. Throughout the three-day lucky draw event, all these prizes would be given away. There were no empty gimmicks; setting up electric scooters and refrigerators without printing corresponding redemption cards would be pure fraud.

Three electric scooters, one given away each day.

Three refrigerators as well, while fans were more numerous at three per day. The remaining items consisted of inexpensive small articles like towels and toothbrushes, but owing to the sheer volume, the prizes alone cost a hefty ten thousand yuan.

Extravagant—this was considered quite extravagant indeed.

"Alright Mom, cheer up."

"Brother-in-law will be coming over tomorrow too. Don't let him see you looking distressed over money; we need to save face."

Luo Xin had no classes on Friday afternoon, so she had returned home early to help her mother with the preparations for the store opening. Over the upcoming Saturday and Sunday, they would need to stock up on fresh fruits and vegetables, and the rented meat and cooked food stalls would also move in. With a mountain of tasks awaiting them, there was no need to fret over trifles.

Since her brother-in-law was such a magnanimous person, she, as the mother-in-law figure, needed to be generous as well. Being overly stingy looked rather unseemly.

They couldn't afford to embarrass her older sister and brother-in-law.

Yet Mother Luo had lived through hard times for too long. Ever since Luo Xin was born, she had been accustomed to penny-pinching, splitting every single coin in two, and she couldn't break the habit overnight.

Still, once she grew accustomed to it after a while, and once the fruit shop began pulling in daily profits and reaping rewards, things would improve.

After all, no one was born stingy.

...

"Clap, clap, clap..."

Warm applause erupted, filling the crowd with enthusiasm.

At the Shengxin Market and Trading Departments, both divisions had published their monthly performance reports. Compared to the previous month, performance had improved dramatically. Although it still fell slightly short of the explosive peak achieved last October when Zhang Long led the Flying Eagle, Pioneer, and Blizzard teams, it already rivaled the figures from September.

In September, Zhang Long's individual performance had been stellar, boosted by the Blizzard team. At that time, the investment department boasted a full eight teams—no small number—yet now, merely six teams had matched the performance of last September, demonstrating remarkable efficiency.

Although Chairman Zhu, Chairman Xu, and even the major shareholders had each surrendered a portion of their equity shares to distribute among Zhang Long, Qian Caiying, and Ling Zhiqin, it was well worth the cost.

Whether it would exceed expectations depended on Shengxin's subsequent development: growing larger, strengthening further, and scaling new heights of brilliance.

"Damn, that's impressive."

That stubborn old fogey Chairman Xu let out an involuntary exclamation of rough praise as he looked over the company's April performance report, revealing just how deeply shaken and emotionally stirred he was.

If Shengxin had previously been valued at 120 million, today it could command 150 million—a massive surge of 30 million.

A 30-million valuation increase in Zhang Long's very first month!

"Indeed, truly formidable."

Chairman Jiang's gaze flickered. Although he remained unaware of why the major shareholder had agreed to Zhang Long's terms without even staging a dispute or haggling, he was nonetheless delighted to witness the company's performance making a formal and resounding recovery.

After all, he remained Shengxin's Executive President and CEO; stellar performance meant greater dividends, and at this rate, replacing his house by the end of the year would be a breeze.

"The performance is exceptional. However, tomorrow Saturday is a statutory workday makeup for the national holiday, so work continues as usual."

"As for Sunday, everyone gets a day off."

Logically speaking, Sunday was also a statutory makeup day for the May Day holiday, but forget it—he might as well grant the employees an extra day of rest, linking them together into a four-day break.

And thus: "Long live Chairman Zhang!"

Who wouldn't be thrilled by an extra day off? Both the investment and trading departments were ecstatic. Hugs and kisses for Chairman Zhang!

"Phew, May Day is finally here."

Zhang Long couldn't help a faint, inexplicable sigh. The bear market remained lifeless, showing no signs of turning bullish, nor had any standout favorable policies emerged. Many people were likely bound for disappointment.

Take Ling Yushan of Hongze, for instance!

Post a declaration and wait for the bull market to descend? Ha...

Never mind; that was Ling Zhiqin's family affair, and he wouldn't meddle. Tomorrow the Luo family's shop was opening, and he had to pay a visit.

At the same time, absence makes the heart grow fonder—it was a rather pleasant prospect.

PS: Seeking monthly votes for a daily output of ten thousand words.

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