"Redwood is still brave enough to offer a price."

    Zhu Hu wore a bitter expression, finally understanding why Shen Peng was the king in the venture capital world while he could only be a little pawn.

    Their perspectives are fundamentally different.

    He sighed and turned to Lu Liang, saying, "The market is generally at 6.3 billion to 6.5 billion, and even Golden Sand River is only at 7 billion."

    Industry is a field Lu Liang has never ventured into, and he starts with such a massive investment, pouring in one or two hundred billion.

    Building tall buildings, setting up production bases, and aggressively purchasing production lines, the outside world generally remains skeptical.

    It can even become a point of mockery for people, like Luo, the higher the market share of Tianxing Car Machine, the more envious he becomes, as the underlying architecture of the system is derived from Hammer OS.

    He ends up appearing on TV shows, hosting live streams constantly, always saying, "I have a creditor who probably was fooled by netizens just like me, always thinking people would buy if they manufacture it, never realizing the netizens only talk support, otherwise Hammer wouldn’t have gone bankrupt."

    Luo harbors resentment, bringing his grievances is one thing, but it also reflects the market’s lack of confidence in Lu Liang’s car manufacturing.

    "Is it only $8 billion?"

    Lu Liang frowned, initially thinking it would at least be $9 billion, or an even $10 billion.

    With an $8 billion valuation, giving out 10% of shares for financing would only bring $800 million, equivalent to 5.36 billion RMB.

    This money wouldn’t even pay off the residuals on ten production lines, let alone the remaining 50% of the 3.6 billion RMB engineering payment due in six months.

    He also plans to invest 5 billion RMB opening direct stores in key cities of provinces nationwide to achieve online and offline integration.

    Lu Liang suddenly looked at Zhu Hu: "Mr. Zhu, if we initiate a follow-up investment, would Golden Sand River join?"

    Since the market doesn’t seem optimistic and offers such a low valuation, he might as well bring in Golden Sand River and DiDi, directly injecting capital through additional investment.

    "If there’s a follow-up investment, Golden Sand River would definitely join, but can I ask, Mr. Lu, how much are you planning to invest additionally?" Zhu Hu asked.

    Without thinking, Lu Liang blurted out, "100 billion, should be enough to last until May when the new car is released."

    If investing by shares, he needs to invest only 72 billion RMB; the recent dividend income of $12.38 billion, converted to 8.294 billion RMB.

    This money is just right for additional investment and leaves 1 billion RMB for tax payment and daily company expenses.

    "Mr. Lu, is the new car coming out this May?" Shen Peng asked, furrowing his brows, deeply conflicted.

    An $8 billion valuation is already the largest offer Redwood can make, but Lu Liang is visibly unsatisfied.

    There’s also a possibility that Lu Liang is using additional investment as leverage to force Redwood to increase the valuation.

    Seeing Lu Liang nod, Shen Peng asked again, "Mr. Lu, is the final version out? Can we take a look?"

    He’s anxious, fearing any unexpected circumstances.

    What if Lu Liang isn’t threatening but genuinely believes Tianxing Technology is undervalued, hence wants to add investment himself, especially considering he really can put up 72 billion RMB.

    If the new car is launched this May and achieves some success, then future development might practically not require additional funds.

    Because others expand scale while developing, whereas he’s getting everything in one go; they might miss the last chance to get on board.

    "The final design was originally finished, but after checking with a friend this morning, decided to tweak some details."

    Lu Liang called Xu Jiawei over, took out a tablet, showcasing the final car schematic while saying, "The domestic chassis tuning technology is somewhat lacking; I plan to have General Motors’ team help with some adjustments."

    Lei Jun’s eyes lit up, the car’s design and style were just dancing at his aesthetic point, he was utterly captivated.

    Without a second thought, he blurted out, "Mr. Lu, $9 billion, Xiaomi can subscribe to 5% of the shares."

    Shen Peng felt speechless, almost choked by Lei Jun’s impulsive offer, this guy clearly doesn’t treat money seriously.

    Doesn’t he realize, for every additional billion in valuation, one percent is $10 million?

    Without asking anything, he directly raised the valuation by $1 billion, leaving people feeling exasperated.

    Shen Peng sighed and asked, "Mr. Lu, what’s the estimated whole car cost? What’s the expected price?"

    "Currently, the estimated cost is 230,000 and the selling price should be around 300,000, with a gross profit margin of 30%," Lu Liang replied.

    "With the cost at 230,000, is there room to compress it further?" Shen Peng asked again.

    "Definitely," Lu Liang nodded with a smile, as long as production numbers increase, he will pressure suppliers to slash prices.

    "Everyone, my apologies, I have to excuse myself for a moment."

    After pondering for a while, Shen Peng uttered, quickly walking to the window to make a phone call.

    An $8 billion valuation was already achieved by overriding objections, and now with an additional $1 billion increase, he needs to consult collaborators.

    At a $9 billion valuation, one percentage point equals $90 million, over 600 million RMB, their money doesn’t come from thin air.

    Critically, Lu Liang is no ordinary entrepreneur; he’s an international capital tycoon with plenty of cash, attempting to pressure through financial means to gain decision power, likely a pipedream.

    If anyone has such ideas, Lu Liang would dare to smack the table, repurchasing their shares.

    Putting money in, yet having to play the subordinate.

    Shen Peng alone couldn’t decide on such matters.

    "How much equity do you plan to offer in this round of financing?" Zhu Hu asked curiously.

    In his view, this valuation was already set, because he knew Shen Peng well. When he said he was making a call, it was just a notification. At Redwood, once he decided something, no one could oppose.

    Lu Liang looked conflicted, and Lei Jun said faintly, "Mr. Lu, you don’t think 9 billion US dollars is too little, do you?"

    Daqiangzi choked on his tea upon hearing this and coughed violently a few times, "Lu, my friend, we’ve already been quite generous."

    Although JD’s investment department wasn’t as professional as Redwood or Golden Sand River, knowing the market consensus on valuation wasn’t difficult.

    He had prepared a valuation of only 7.5 billion US dollars; with 200 to 300 million US dollars, he should be able to lead the investment and support his friend.

    But who knew, Redwood started at 8 billion, and Lei Jun, as if under a spell, directly raised it to 9 billion US dollars.

    However, having already said it, he silently accepted the 9 billion US dollar valuation, yet Lu Liang was still hesitating.

    Lu Liang forced a laugh, thought for a long time, and sighed, "For the sake of friendship, 9 billion it is."

    Shen Peng had just finished a call and came back to see Lu Liang looking as if he was reluctantly parting with something precious, and the old blood he had just swallowed down suddenly surged back up, barely resisting the urge to slam the door and leave.

    He gritted his teeth and forced a smile, "Mr. Lu, is there some cutting-edge technology in this car that hasn’t been showcased?"

    Lu Liang’s eyes sparkled with sudden inspiration, "Now that you mention it, there actually is."

    He tapped the screen, selected a function button, and the suspension system began to shake as if it were possessed.

    The sports sedan has a lower chassis than a regular sedan. To adapt to more complex roads, they equipped it with the chassis elevation function typically found in luxury cars.

    Within the elevation function, he added a few small creative touches. Officially, it’s called Bounce Mode, but he likes to call it DJ Mode.

    "When starting or accelerating, it can lift the car nose like it’s propelled."

    Lu Liang smiled with squinted eyes, "Isn’t it just cool?" sea??h thё ηovelFire.ηet website on Google to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

    Shen Peng, Zhu Hu, and Daqiangzi were all at a loss for words, while Lei Jun’s eyes shone like light bulbs and he exclaimed, "It’s awesome."

    He held Lu Liang’s hand earnestly, "Mr. Lu, please make sure to reserve a car for me when the new model is launched."

    "No problem, I’ll deliver it to the Xiaomi Group building in Beijing for you," Lu Liang said with a broad smile, as if he had found a kindred spirit.

    Shen Peng coughed dryly, breaking their passionate interaction, "Mr. Lu, if there’s a funding gap of a billion, 10% financing might not be enough."

    Lu Liang nodded, "I’m planning to offer 20% equity for this round of financing, with Tianxing Investment also participating and subscribing to 5%."

    Shen Peng was taken aback, squinting as he asked, "Mr. Lu, this is an unfamiliar field for you. Are you really that confident?"

    Lu Liang’s lips curled into a smile, "If even I don’t have confidence, will you still invest?"

    Shen Peng was speechless and looked at Lei Jun and Daqiangzi, "We at Redwood hope to lead this round of investment."

    "Xiaomi will subscribe to 5%." Lei Jun said.

    "JD will take 3% then," Daqiangzi interjected, to which Shen Peng nodded, "That leaves 7% for Redwood."

    With a few jokes exchanged, they finalized an 18 billion US dollar financing.

    Redwood led this round with 630 million US dollars, with Tianxing contributing 450 million, Xiaomi 450 million, and JD 270 million.

    By that evening, the news had spread, with Hu Run gleefully eyeing the trending topics since their Rich List hadn’t generated such a buzz in quite some time.

    But sitting at home, disaster struck from nowhere.

    They had only given Tianxing Technology a 3 billion US dollar valuation, while the actual figure was 9 billion, a discrepancy of 6 billion US dollars.

    Initially, not so many people knew about this blunder, but Forbes specifically reprinted the news and commented meaningfully, "As a professional research institution, the most important aspect is to be objective, neutral, and meticulous. What is false cannot become true, and what is true cannot become false."

    The implication was mocking Hu Run as a thief, managing to publish a list without even conducting proper research, showing professionalism inferior to even the most disreputable magazines.

    Hu Run immediately countered, "Last year was already in the past, this year tells a new story."

    The editors-in-chief of the two magazines started fighting online,

    Leading more and more netizens to learn about the news.

    Eventually, it evolved to where, in one day, Lu Liang’s wealth increased by 3.474 billion US dollars, because it was previously 72% of 3 billion dollars, now it’s 62.6% of 9 billion dollars.

    "Liangzi, I was just joking during the day, do you have to go this hard?"

    "Making over 3 billion US dollars in one day, even the Federal Reserve can’t print money this fast."

    "Damn, what else can you say besides it’s terrifying?"

    "Are you going to break into the top ten?"

    "Not quite there yet. If Hu Run’s investigation is correct, the tenth place is Ding Sanshi at 16.4 billion US dollars, while Liangzi is only at 13.4 billion dollars, equivalent to 90.2 billion RMB."

    "Pfft~ 90.2 billion? I thought it was in the hundreds of billions."

    "Brothers, be gentle with your sarcasm. I’m afraid I won’t be able to handle it."

    "If it were just a few million, tens of millions, maybe it would be unbearable, but even 200 million, just the rounding error, is an unreachable dream for most people in a lifetime."

    "Stop it, stop it, it hurts~"