A Pie Falling from the Sky vs. Inviting a Wolf into the House

"Haven't we been successful enough?"
"Why won't you trust someone who is already successful?"
"Li Dongling will regret his choice today for the rest of his life!"

Li Wenjun's angry remarks at the entrance of the Dongling High-Tech office building quickly made headlines in major media outlets, and the reasons behind his fury were soon dug up by reporters.

Or rather, the media didn't even need to dig. Insiders from the Stone Group leaked the true purpose of Li Wenjun's trip to Dongling High-Tech.

Following that, even more sensational details were exposed, such as the Stone Group's plan to spend a staggering three hundred million to acquire Dongling High-Tech and help it go public. These explosive news items were broken one after another by the media, causing a massive uproar.

Because the Stone Group was listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, these media reports even caused fluctuations in the Stone Group's stock price.

The headlines in the Hong Kong media were even more eye-catching: "Stone Group Intends to Acquire the Mouse King for 280 Million Hong Kong Dollars," "Mouse King Li Dongling Set to Enter Mainland Wealth Rankings," and similar titles began to surface.

The Stone Group's high-priced acquisition of Dongling High-Tech was already full of talking points. As soon as the news broke, many people wondered if the Stone Group was being too reckless. Spending three hundred million to acquire a tech company that, although somewhat famous, had been established for less than a year, was simply too risky.

Of course, there were also those who praised Duan Yongji for his discerning eye. They argued that if they could acquire Dongling High-Tech, the Stone Group would hold the banner of a domestic tech brand, and the returns this banner would bring to Stone would far exceed the three hundred million spent.

If it were just this news, while still a major event in the tech industry, it wouldn't have been enough to completely ignite public opinion across the mainland, Hong Kong, and even Southeast Asia.

However, the fact that Li Dongling rejected the Stone Group's acquisition—and even turned down their investment—was simply too sensational!

That was three hundred million! Many people wouldn't make a fraction of that amount even if they worked without eating or drinking for a lifetime. Putting it in the bank to collect interest would be enough to support generations, yet Li Dongling turned it down flat.

Refusing the acquisition was one thing, but rejecting the investment as well—especially when the Stone Group offered to help Dongling High-Tech go public—left many people feeling bewildered. Some even felt that Li Dongling was the one in the wrong!

Going public—not even mentioning the New York Stock Exchange or NASDAQ, but simply listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange or the Mainland's A-share market—was something countless domestic companies fought tooth and nail to achieve. At the time, what defined a company's or an individual's success? Achieving a public listing was one of the hard-core standards, if not the only one!

"Li Dongling has truly missed an opportunity. I admit that Dongling High-Tech is perhaps one of the most dynamic tech companies in the country today, but without a public listing and the support of a major corporation like the Stone Group, how long can it withstand the onslaught of foreign brands?!
This is not only a missed opportunity for Dongling High-Tech, but also a missed opportunity for the domestic tech brand Silver Marten mouse!"

***

On China Central Television Channel 2's Finance Channel, the invited guest was currently discussing the hottest news of the day. A professor from the School of Finance at a local university in Beijing was sharply criticizing Li Dongling. Although not explicitly stated, his meaning was crystal clear: rejecting the Stone Group's acquisition and investment was an utterly erroneous choice made by Li Dongling.

"I often tell my employees that character determines destiny!"

As another invited guest in the television studio, dressed in a sharp suit and wearing gold-rimmed glasses, Qian Wanshan was introduced by the nameplate in front of him as the owner of an investment advisory company. His label was that of a renowned domestic investment consultant—the kind of person who charged fees to guide others on how to make money.

"I have never had personal contact with Mr. Li Dongling, but judging from Dongling High-Tech's lawsuit with Microsoft and now this rejection of the Stone Group's acquisition, we can clearly see Mr. Li's character. I must say, too rigid a tree easily snaps. Impulsiveness, arrogance, and conceit will cause a person to plummet off a cliff just like a runaway car."

Compared to the professor, Qian Wanshan was much more direct, essentially stating that Li Dongling had been blinded by his previous lawsuit with Microsoft to the point where he looked down even on a giant like the Stone Group.

We currently live in an era that worships success, a phenomenon that would persist for decades. As long as a person is successful and wealthy enough, no matter how bizarre or eccentric their words and viewpoints might be, people will interpret them favorably and chase after them.

And right now, between Dongling High-Tech and the Stone Group, the question of which company was more successful yielded an obvious answer.

Li Wenjun's remark—that the Stone Group was already so successful, why wouldn't they trust Stone—could hardly be considered wrong in this era; in fact, it represented the mainstream view.

One could tell from the direction of public opinion at that moment: after the news broke, from the media to the external public, the majority believed that Li Dongling's rejection of Stone was far too arrogant and demonstrated a complete lack of self-awareness.

"President Duan, this time I..."

Upon returning to Beijing and meeting with Duan Yongji, Li Wenjun wore a look of deep shame. He had originally thought his trip to Pingyang to negotiate the acquisition and investment with Li Dongling would be a walk in the park—a surefire achievement to bring back—only to hit a brick wall head-on.

Facing Li Wenjun, the Vice Chairman of the Stone Group and a trusted confidant within the board of directors, Duan Yongji appeared extremely magnanimous. Showing no sign of anger, he instead consoled Li Wenjun, "You've worked hard this trip, Wenjun. You can't be blamed for this; who could have known you'd run into such a stubborn mule?"

"A young man who hasn't taken a few hard knocks how could he possibly know his own limitations? Once he gets his head bloodied, he'll realize who the person truly looking out for his best interests was!"

Duan Yongji picked up the tea set, poured a cup of tea for Li Wenjun, and spoke with calm indifference, as if the matter was entirely inconsequential.

"However, young people sometimes need to be taught a lesson. In the future, our companies, distributors, and collaborating partners in the domestic market—including those working with us—should exercise a bit more caution when dealing with Dongling High-Tech!"

Duan Yongji's words sounded plain and ordinary, but to Li Wenjun's ears, they signaled that the Stone Group was about to target Dongling High-Tech. Not only the Stone Group itself, but also its partner companies, distributors, and agents would refuse to cooperate with Dongling High-Tech or sell its products.

Given the Stone Group's scale and influence in China, once such a directive was issued targeting Dongling High-Tech, other companies would have to think twice before cooperating with them. Even computer market distributors everywhere would have to consider whether they were willing to risk offending the Stone Group just to sell Dongling High-Tech's products, and the banks would likely grow wary as well.

***

Duan Yongji needed to respond. If he didn't establish his authority, anyone in the future would dare to talk back to him and use him as a stepping stone to build their own reputation. What kind of chaos would that create!

Over in Pingyang, Luo Junwu, after reading the newspaper reports and seeing that Li Dongling had rejected Stone's partnership, couldn't help but feel a deep sense of regret. If Dongling High-Tech could have achieved a public listing with Stone's backing, it truly would have become the premier technology company in Pingyang City. Having a listed private technology company emerge during his tenure would have undoubtedly been a brilliant stroke on Luo Junwu's resume!

He picked up the phone at his side, intending to call Dongling High-Tech, but halfway through pressing the numbers, Luo Junwu withdrew his hand.

The Stone Group had already been rejected by Li Dongling. Calling Li Dongling at this point would accomplish nothing. If it only served to create a rift with Li Dongling, or worse, drive Dongling High-Tech to relocate, that would be a loss that outweighed any gain. In the end, Luo Junwu could only slap his thigh and heave a sigh.

Yao Zhengru also saw the reports in the news. However, unlike Luo Junwu's sigh of regret, Yao Zhengru felt no disappointment over Li Dongling's rejection of the Stone Group. Instead, he was somewhat astonished by Li Dongling's boldness. He suspected that Li Dongling must have had some trump card up his sleeve to dare turn down the olive branch extended by Stone.

Having interacted with Li Dongling several times and frequently hearing Yao Luoying mention him, Yao Zhengru understood Li Dongling's character. He never fought battles without preparation. Daring to refuse the massive acquisition proposal from the Stone Group meant he must have had deep confidence and firmly believed that Dongling High-Tech's future value would far exceed that three hundred million RMB...

***

While the outside world was buzzing with discussion, the internal shock within Dongling High-Tech was even greater.

Li Dongling was the absolute majority shareholder of Dongling High-Tech; no one within the company could oppose his decisions. Consequently, there wasn't much debate regarding his rejection of the Stone Group's acquisition offer; instead, discussions revolved endlessly around the valuation of Dongling High-Tech itself.

From senior management like Hu Zixian, Yao Luoying, Zhang Ao, Peng, and Chen Tao, down to supervisors and regular staff, everyone inevitably speculated to what extent Dongling High-Tech's valuation had actually risen, and whether it would climb even higher in the future.

If Dongling High-Tech were to truly go public one day, would they be able to receive equity rewards and leap to become hundred-thousandaires or millionaires? Just like the Stone Group, or Lenovo which went public in Hong Kong earlier this year, management's net worth had multiplied dozens of times over, and ordinary employees had received substantial bonuses.

Li Dongling paid no attention to the various discussions. Instead, he locked himself back in the laboratory, determined to complete the research and development of the electronic pet device as soon as possible.

As for whether rejecting the Stone Group's acquisition and investment was a blunder or a brilliant move, only time would tell. At this point, whether expressing regret or rebutting the Stone Group in the media would only make one look like a pathetic, raving madman inviting mockery. What was the point of wasting breath?

However, accepting the Stone Group's investment right now wasn't necessarily a good thing. Setting aside the fact that Dongling High-Tech hadn't run out of money to the point of desperation, even if it did need cash, was money from the Stone Group really that easy to take?

There are no free lunches in this world. While you might be eyeing their interest, they are eyeing your principal!

Although Li Wenjun made grand promises—claiming the Stone Group agreed to numerous conditions such as not participating in Dongling High-Tech's management and not interfering with personnel or finances—once the investment was actually made, things might change entirely. Especially when there was a significant disparity in strength between the two parties, what you invited might not be an investor, but a hungry wolf!