I changed the world.

Page 367

Since he said so, the three of them didn't ask any more questions. Although they were somewhat curious, that was all. After waiting for a while, the incense and candles in front of the grave burned out. After bowing to the grave again, they walked towards the exit of the cemetery...

As we walked towards the cemetery entrance, we saw groups of people gathered together, discussing something. My aunt, curious, went to ask them a few questions, then returned somewhat mysteriously, saying, "Did you know? Apparently, a corpse in a grave on the mountain has risen from the dead. Someone saw a dead person crawl out of the grave..."

"Nonsense..." the uncle scoffed.

"What they said was very detailed and convincing."

"Most likely, they saw some old graves that had fallen into disrepair, and the dead were washed out by the rain..." the uncle said casually. He would never believe such nonsense about the dead coming back to life without seeing it with his own eyes. His guess was not without basis; it rained a lot around the Qingming Festival, and it even rained here in the cemetery last night. In previous years, some of the old graves were not belonging to wealthy families when they were buried, and the coffins used were thin, and the graves were just hastily mounds of earth. If the descendants neglected to maintain these graves, the remains could indeed be exposed by the rain.

Upon hearing this, the aunt stopped talking, clearly also thinking this was the most likely possibility, and Zhang Jing naturally had no intention of explaining.

When the family arrived at the cemetery entrance and were about to hail a taxi, they suddenly noticed several police cars with sirens blaring arriving at the cemetery entrance and dispersing the crowd. Some police officers were even setting up roadblocks at the entrance to the Li family's memorial archway.

"Officer, what's going on? Today is Qingming Festival, how can people not visit graves!" A street vendor, who was also being driven away, asked indignantly.

"We have just received a notification that a vicious murderer has escaped into the cemetery area. This person is extremely brutal and has already killed many people. For everyone's safety, the police need to seal off the cemetery area..." A senior police officer, who was clearly a leader, explained loudly.

Upon hearing the word "murderer," the vendor shrank back and didn't say much, as it was a matter of life and death. However, he was somewhat unwilling to give up because he hadn't sold all his goods, and he was also curious. So, he didn't want to go far, so he pushed his cart a little further out and waited there, craning his neck to look into the archway...

Zhang Jing understood all of this perfectly well. It was likely that some departments had received a report and begun to mobilize; these police officers were probably there to clear the area…

"There's nothing to see, let's go..." Zhang Jing patted Qian Ju, who seemed to still want to watch the excitement, and hailed a taxi on the street. The family got into the taxi and drove away...

Volume Two: The Truth Hidden Behind History Books: Chapter 737 The Acquisition of the Qianluo Group

承和三十七年 2016年4月5日10:32 建安省晋安市卧蛟山

While Zhang Jing was paying respects at the grave, An Zhengquan and his family were also doing so. An Zhengquan was not born into a prominent family; his mother died when he was young, and his father was a small merchant. The An family had migrated to Jin'an in their ancestors' generation and were not native to the area. It was said that their ancestors were descendants of nobles, but the main branch had long since declined, and his grandfather's branch was not the eldest son and thus failed to inherit the title. By his father's generation, the family was small and could only be considered middle class.

Many people say that An Zhengquan relied on his wife's family to get started, and this is not entirely wrong. He and his wife An Xuqing were college classmates. An Xuqing's family, the Jin An Xu family, was a noble family with the title of viscount. In order to support her husband's business, An Xuqing even had some unpleasantness with some of her brothers. Fortunately, her father, Xu Jing, valued this son-in-law very much and used his money and connections to help him get through the most difficult years of starting his business. Therefore, An Zhengquan has always been very grateful to his late father-in-law.

After his father passed away a few years ago, An Zhengquan specially consulted a feng shui master and finally chose to buy a hilltop on Wojiao Mountain in the eastern suburbs of Jin'an City as the burial site for the An family's ancestral graves.

Despite being described as a collection of graves from various generations, this place actually only contains the tombs of An Zhengquan's grandparents and parents.

During the Qingming Festival tomb sweeping, An Zhengquan did not intend to hold a grand ceremony. Only his family members participated, including his wife and daughter, his two concubines, and some servants and maids.

However, Xu Hanzhang, the nephew who had come to sweep the tombs every year, did not come this time, which made some of the servants of the An family somewhat worried.

Although it's said that Young Master Xu suddenly fell ill, the fact that he fell ill at this particular time of year makes it hard not to speculate...

Xu Hanzhang is the second son of An Xuqing's second elder brother. Previously, due to An Huiling's poor health, there had been calls within the Xu family to have him adopted by An Zhengquan and his wife.

Xu Hanzhang was handsome and always diligent in his interactions with his aunt and uncle. After graduation, he worked within the Qianluo system, and An Zhengquan and An Xuqing had a good impression of him. Originally, the adoption was highly likely to succeed. If this matter were to come to fruition, then changing his name to An Hanzhang would essentially make him the undisputed heir to the An family business.

However, after An Huiling recovered, the matter was dropped. It was obvious to everyone that An Zhengquan would most likely want to have his daughter marry into the family in the future. After all, his own daughter was always better than a stepson with no blood relation. This was something that everyone could understand.

An Huiling secretly took a picture of her senior brother sweeping the tomb, and soon after, she saw a patting emoji sent from the other side.

She smiled demurely, then sent a "missing you" kitten emoji, and waited for her senior's reply...

I haven't seen my senior brother for several days, and I miss him quite a bit.

She had originally planned to return to Linzhou after the Qingming Festival, but after the previous incident, she was worried about going back. She also needed to discuss this with her senior brother...

While exchanging messages with her senior brother, An Huiling followed her parents through the steps of offering incense and burning paper money to worship their ancestors. Afterward, the group lingered for a while before slowly leaving the cemetery.

On the way back, An Zhengquan and his daughter An Huiling rode in the same car, sitting in the back seat of a limousine. The father and daughter chatted casually about their experiences and life in Linzhou. The one-way window in the front was closed, making the back seat a relatively private space.

An Zhengquan's biggest concern was naturally his daughter's health. However, judging from her complexion and their conversations over the past two days, it was clear that An Huiling was recovering very well, even better than most people. She no longer had the sickly feeling she had a few years ago.

This put An Zhengquan in a good mood, and he was very talkative. After chatting about the local customs and culture of Linzhou for a while, the father and daughter naturally turned to work. An Huiling had visited Qianluo's related industries in Linzhou. Although she hadn't actually spent much time on these things, her greatly enhanced memory after cultivation allowed her to handle data, especially seemingly complex financial and personnel data, with ease. This obviously surprised An Zhengquan. Although he felt that his daughter's views on many issues were somewhat naive and inexperienced, her sensitivity to data and personnel at least showed that she had either really put in some effort or had a talent for it. In any case, this was a necessary quality for a company manager.

This led An Zhengquan, who had only intended to have a casual chat with his daughter about work, to begin discussing some topics more deeply with her.

“The day before yesterday, the group held a board meeting. Interstellar Ventures, the main investor in Genesis Aerospace, wants to sell their shares on the secondary market. This is a very good opportunity. If all goes well, we will become the largest shareholder of Genesis Aerospace in the future,” An Zhengquan said with a smile.

An Huiling's heart sank upon hearing this. The Genesis Aerospace Company her father mentioned was a unicorn company in the field of starship manufacturing. Its parent company was listed in Hope City and was one of the few private companies with the capability to manufacture planetary transport ships.

Under normal circumstances, especially at a time when interstellar travel is already widely known and promoted, shares in such a company would undoubtedly be a high-quality asset that no investment institution would be willing to give up. However, now…

With the Fengsui Fort incident still largely unresolved, An Huiling had noticed over the past two days at home that her father was unaware of what had transpired there. A prominent businessman like her father possessed an extremely extensive network of connections; however, this suggested that his political influence likely hadn't yet reached the highest levels…

Even though she has not yet participated in the operation of the family business, An Huiling is not a business novice due to her exposure to the industry. She can guess that the reason why the Fengsuibao incident was delayed in being announced was to give some large funds time to withdraw, which is a very important factor.

If we consider it from this perspective, then the acquisition mentioned by the father seems rather suspicious...

"Dad, what's their offer for the acquisition?"

"The other party hopes to acquire 36% of Genesis Aerospace's shares held by them at a premium of 120% over the closing price before noon. After the acquisition is completed, Luo will become the largest shareholder of Genesis Aerospace."

Volume Two: The Truth Hidden Behind History Books: Chapter 738 An Zhengquan's Ambition

"If we can become the major shareholder of Genesis Aerospace, then the group can smoothly get on the fast track of deep space exploration, and the subsequent series of transformations will promote the steady development of the group for the next hundred years." An Zhengquan's eyes gleamed with ambition.

"If it's an acquisition at a premium, then based on Genesis Aerospace's current market value... does the group have that much money?"

“Indeed… this transaction will drain the group’s cash flow.” An Zhengquan gave his daughter an approving look. After considering the matter, being able to remain unaffected by huge profits and keenly grasp the safety of cash flow is an excellent quality of a leader of a large group.

He continued, "However, a syndicate of several large banks, including the Maritime Bank, is willing to provide credit support for this transaction."

Upon hearing this, An Huiling immediately realized that her father's interest in Genesis Aerospace Company had been brewing for quite some time. Such a massive acquisition couldn't have been decided on a whim; extensive due diligence must have been conducted beforehand. If this acquisition her father spoke of succeeded, it would undoubtedly be the largest equity acquisition in the market in recent decades, and calling it an "acquisition of the century" wouldn't be an exaggeration. It would certainly spark widespread attention and discussion.

“It’s good that you can consider the security of cash flow. I had you learn some financial knowledge before to enhance your sensitivity in this area.” An Zhengquan seemed to be in a lot of talk. He continued, “Under normal circumstances, the company’s cash flow is of course the most important. What I have always adhered to is to ensure that the company has a lot of funds that can be used at any time.”

“You’re all grown up now, so I can talk to you about more in-depth topics… Although our An family’s ancestors were nobles, we’ve long since crossed the fifth degree of kinship. We also had some issues back then, and we lost contact with our main family. In the eyes of those nobles, we’re not considered true aristocrats.”

"As for those local aristocratic families, they consider themselves to have a deep-rooted heritage and hold themselves in high esteem. They also regard companies like Qianluo, which have risen with the wave of the internet, as outsiders..."

"Wherever there are people, there are social circles, cliques, and interests. If you're not one of their own, those crocodiles beneath the surface will always be thinking about how to bite you..."

"Therefore, I pay particular attention to the company's cash flow. Fortunately, the group's profitability is currently very strong, and we have therefore accumulated a large amount of capital. As long as the cash flow remains stable, even if they want to do something, it will be difficult for them to find a way in..."

Seeing his daughter's obvious worry upon hearing this, An Zhengquan smiled and comforted her, "You don't need to think too much about these things. Currently, you have your mother's connections. Over the years, I have intentionally given up some benefits and also won over some nobles' support... In addition, Qianluo has been weaving a network of relationships at various levels, so you just need to know about this. It's not that urgent."

"If that's the case, then why did Dad suddenly want to acquire shares in Genesis Aerospace?" An Huiling asked curiously.

“Because this is an opportunity.” An Zhengquan looked at his daughter and said seriously, “An opportunity for our An family to truly move forward.”

"From a theoretical perspective, all the technological milestones in deep space exploration have been achieved. For nations, the allure of occupying more distant space colonies is irresistible, and no country wants to fall behind on this path. It's like the Age of Exploration: more land, more discoveries, more demand, and further industrial revolutions. Any country that falls behind will lose its future. Therefore, whether the leaders of any country like it or not, they will inevitably do everything in their power."

"This will be the most important opportunity in the next few hundred years. If I were to make a comparison, it would be like the Ejia Shen coup of that time, after which Emperor Huanzong rose to power and launched the Northern Expedition. In the process, how many nobles rose to power as well..."

"While Qianluo Group's various businesses are indeed very strong, businesses built on social networks have their limits. With the upcoming era of interstellar development, we need new leverage, and Genesis Aerospace is the best bargaining chip we can get."

"If we can become the largest shareholder of Genesis Aerospace, we will be in an extremely advantageous position with its mature starship construction capabilities. It is conceivable that once the space jump-related technologies are verified and licensing begins, Genesis Aerospace will become even more important than it is now. It will be one of the core businesses of Qianluo Group in the future."

"In addition, we are also able to build our own exploration fleet. I have heard some news that His Majesty intends to confer a batch of new noble titles upon meritorious subjects in future colonial exploration activities."

Looking at her ambitious father, An Huiling knew that his plans must have been backed by extensive research and analysis. Qianluo also had its own think tank that regularly published internal analyses of the latest economic and social news, which An Huiling could also access.

According to the previous normal analysis, she believed that her father's thinking should be correct. Even if it was a loan, given Qianluo Group's current profitability, there shouldn't be any major problems. Even in extreme cases where the bank withdrew the loan for some reason, given the current economic situation, which is generally a relatively relaxed economic environment, there would be no shortage of banks, both domestic and foreign, willing to lend to a high-quality client like Qianluo with such a high-quality project.

However, all of this is based on the premise that the current economic trend will continue as normal and that the technological prospects for deep space exploration remain optimistic.

An Huiling, however, knew that this premise was not actually stable. News about Fengsui Fortress had not yet been released, but there were already signs of rumors circulating. Even with her current economic knowledge, she could see that a wave of economic turmoil was inevitable in the future.

“Dad, have you considered why Interstellar Ventures is willing to sell its shares in Genesis Aerospace at this time? For them, now is not a good time,” An Huiling said, trying to remind him.

An Zhengquan nodded: "You mean the recent correction in deep space concept stocks, right? Some professionals in the group have indeed analyzed this. Theoretically, it would be a better choice for Interstellar Venture Capital to wait for the stock price to return to its high point before selling its shares."

Volume Two: The Truth Hidden Behind History Books: Chapter 739 My Daughter Became a Master...

"However, we have obtained some information through some channels. It is said that the fundraising period for Interstellar Venture Capital has just expired. The main investors are quite satisfied with the current returns and do not want to extend the period any further. They hope to redeem their shares as soon as possible."

An Zhengquan's reasons, at least on the surface, sound reasonable.

Interstellar Ventures is a renowned international venture capital firm. For venture capital firms like this, the funds they hold are not their own but raised from the public. Since it's public fundraising, there is a redemption period.

In terms of time, Interstellar Ventures has held its shares in Genesis Aerospace for at least 15 years, which is an extremely long time for venture capital, and it has even experienced at least one or two extensions. This time, it seems that the investors are not prepared to extend the investment any further. Even if they hold on, there may be even greater gains, but from an investment perspective, the current value, in terms of book value, is already hundreds of times the initial investment. Obviously, the investors are already very satisfied.

Therefore, An Zhengquan viewed this as an excellent opportunity. If the other party hadn't been looking to sell, acquiring the same shares would have cost several times more, and success wouldn't have been guaranteed. After all, a listed company has numerous ways to prevent hostile takeovers.

If we don't seize this opportunity, and once the experimental voyage ends and technology and policies are further relaxed, acquiring the same shares again will likely cost us far more than it does now...

An Huiling understood that this was why even her rational father was determined to raise a huge sum of money to complete the acquisition...

However... in An Huiling's view, the so-called redemption deadline was just an act. The biggest reason was that the senior management of Interstellar Venture Capital had obtained some key information in advance and were in a hurry to sell their shares in order to avoid losses from future declines.

Genesis Aerospace has a huge market capitalization and holds too many shares. If they were to sell them off in the primary market, it would cause the stock price to collapse and result in huge losses. Of course, they could also sell off their shares gradually, but that would require more than a year of planning, which is also unacceptable.

Therefore, finding a powerful buyer in the secondary market to take over at a negotiated price became the best option, and Qianluo Group became the perfect "sucker." An Huiling didn't know if there were any forces brokering such a massive transaction, but in any case, she couldn't watch her father step into it...

However, how should she tell her father some information without arousing suspicion? An Huiling hesitated for a while, but finally decided to use a false pretense.

"Dad, do you know about Dinghai Yunxiao Mountain?" An Huiling asked casually.

"Dinghai Yunxiao Mountain?" An Zhengquan was slightly taken aback upon hearing this. He had just been discussing equity investment and deep space exploration, and the topic had suddenly shifted to this. Although he didn't know what his daughter meant by asking this, he still nodded and said, "Of course, Dad knows about it. Yunxiao Mountain is a legitimate sect of Xuanmen. Many people have been talking about Master Li's trip to the capital these days. Your second aunt was just telling me last time that she wondered if the immortal who saved you before was from Yunxiao Mountain..."

After all, it happened to his own daughter. Ever since An Huiling's "encounter with a fairy" after experiencing a crisis in Linzhou, followed by her miraculous recovery, and then the series of events on Sulu Island... An Zhengquan understood that some miraculous powers existed in this world. It was just that they were usually concealed by the authorities, and his daughter's improved condition might also be related to these powers.

This is also why he agreed to let his wife build the "Yanfu Palace" in their home. Now, the entire An family are believers in the Xuanmen sect who worship the Heavenly Venerable.

Hearing her father's words, An Huiling was taken aback, thinking to herself that her second aunt's words had come true... However, she couldn't care less about that at the moment, and could only bite the bullet and continue making things up: "Well... when I was in Jiangling, I took a master from the Xuanmen sect, and my master was from the Yunxiao lineage, so I am now considered a disciple of Yunxiao..."

The eldest brother once said that Kunlun's identity should not be revealed, but if someone finds out, or if it is necessary to reveal the identity of Xuanmen in certain situations, one can say that one is a disciple of Yunxiao Mountain as a cover.

"Oh?! Is he a disciple under a formal name?" An Zhengquan was taken aback. As far as he knew, ever since Master Li of Yunxiao Mountain came to the capital, many well-informed families had been eager to establish some kind of relationship with Yunxiao Mountain. Naturally, the simplest relationship here was that of a master and disciple.

Especially since Yunxiao Mountain is a Taoist temple, it's impossible to stop people from coming to pay homage to the Heavenly Venerable... Therefore, many people hope to become disciples of Master Li.

However, it is said that the rules of Yunxiao Mountain are extremely strict, and that Master Li is upright and respectful, and does not accept disciples indiscriminately. Even if money is offered to bribe him, he will not open the door to such matters.