Chapter 86: Wanting the Shares, but Not Wanting to Pay the Money

Perhaps to demonstrate their sincerity, this time Zhu Weilian and the others came directly to the school to find Cao Sheng.

That afternoon, after Cao Sheng finished his last class and was walking out of the teaching building with his classmates, he suddenly heard Wang Jing calling him.

"Cao Sheng! Cao Sheng!"

Hearing Wang Jing's voice so suddenly, Cao Sheng thought he was having auditory hallucinations.

Wang Jing was an employee of Under the Banyan Tree, and since Under the Banyan Tree was in Shanghai, how could he possibly hear her voice at the Huizhou Teachers College?

But he still subconsciously looked in the direction of the sound.

As it turned out, he really did see Wang Jing.

What surprised Cao Sheng a little was that there were two men beside her, both looking to be around thirty years old.

One of them, with slightly dark skin, stood in front of Wang Jing and the other man; he looked to be Wang Jing's superior.

When Cao Sheng looked over, both men also smiled and walked over with Wang Jing.

Many questions arose in Cao Sheng's mind, but he still put on a smile and went to meet them.

Wang Jing walked up quickly, her face full of smiles as she began, "Cao Sheng! Let me introduce you. This is our station manager, Mr. Zhu, and this is my colleague, Old Zhang."

Zhu Weilian extended both hands, and seeing this, Cao Sheng also extended both hands to shake his.

Zhu Weilian: "Mr. Cao, are you interested in buying shares in our Under the Banyan Tree?"

Cao Sheng: "???"

Talking about this kind of thing right off the bat?

Cao Sheng looked at Wang Jing.

Wang Jing nodded. "Cao Sheng, our station manager came to see you in person this time specifically to talk about you buying shares. You can give it some serious thought; we really came with sincerity. This isn't the place to talk, so why don't we find a place to eat and chat? Since you should be done with your classes for the day, it's time for dinner, right?"

Cao Sheng nodded.

Zhu Weilian released one hand and gestured toward the school gate. "Mr. Cao! Please!"

And so, the four of them walked toward the school gate, laughing and talking under the gaze of many students.

Cao Sheng was already quite famous at the Huizhou Teachers College.

Many people had heard of him, and some even knew him.

Therefore, many people noticed Zhu Weilian and the others coming to find him today.

After leaving the school gate, the four of them took a taxi to the first floor of the Old Street.

They requested a private room, ordered seven or eight dishes, and asked for a bottle of white liquor.

At first, neither side mentioned the share purchase; everyone ate and chatted about some trivial topics.

For example: the scenery, historical sites, architectural styles, and various delicacies of Huizhou, and they even talked about the Huizhou Teachers College where Cao Sheng was studying.

After chatting for over an hour, when everyone had drunk enough to be on the verge of intoxication but not yet drunk, Zhu Weilian put down his chopsticks, gave a light cough, and finally brought up the topic of the share purchase.

"Mr. Cao, what do you think of our Under the Banyan Tree? Are you optimistic about our prospects?"

Cao Sheng nodded. "It's very good! Otherwise, I wouldn't have kept choosing to cooperate with your station, right?"

Zhu Weilian smiled. "Then are you interested in buying shares in our Under the Banyan Tree? If you have this intention, we can discuss the specific terms."

Cao Sheng glanced at Wang Jing and Old Zhang.

After a slight pause, he asked, "How many shares can you give me? And what are the conditions?"

He was somewhat interested in buying shares in Under the Banyan Tree.

Because his memories from before his rebirth told him that Under the Banyan Tree would eventually be acquired and incorporated into Shanda Literature, and the future Qidian Chinese Network would be the flagship site of Shanda Literature.

The point was that Under the Banyan Tree was acquired by Shanda Literature at a premium, and the price seemed quite high.

Therefore, if he could buy shares in Under the Banyan Tree now, he would also get a cut when it was acquired at a premium by Shanda Literature in the future.

It counted as a decent investment.

But he didn't know exactly how much he could earn.

Perhaps it wouldn't be as profitable as investing directly in real estate.

Thus, he was interested, but not overly so.

He just thought: If I can buy shares in Under the Banyan Tree, I will be a shareholder, and regardless of how much money I can make selling the shares later, at least my life at Under the Banyan Tree over the next few years should be easier.

The treatment for a resident author and a shareholder at Under the Banyan Tree would definitely be different.

By becoming a shareholder, he would have at least some say at Under the Banyan Tree.

He had no interest in creating and managing a novel website himself, but he was quite interested in being a small shareholder and letting the major shareholders work diligently to take him to the top.

Zhu Weilian: "How many shares do you want?"

Before Cao Sheng could reply, he added, "Our website hasn't even been established for a year, and it's not a listed company, so its value is limited. But we are, after all, the first Chinese literature website in the country, and our current momentum is decent. Therefore, I have confidence in leading Under the Banyan Tree to grow and thrive, but my personal capital is also limited. So, barring any accidents, our website will likely undergo several rounds of financing in the future, and financing requires giving away a portion of shares. So, Mr. Cao, I hope you can understand that we cannot give you many shares, but if you are willing to make additional investments every time we raise funds, I can promise not to dilute your shares. How does that sound?"

Cao Sheng nodded slightly.

He was not disappointed.

Because he hadn't wanted many shares to begin with; if his stake were too large, how could he ensure Zhu Weilian would have the motivation to manage it well?

Should he, Cao Sheng, be the one to manage it?

If he had that kind of time, he might as well write two more books or make other investments.

However, at this moment, he wanted to ask: "Mr. Zhu, why did you suddenly think of asking me to buy shares in Under the Banyan Tree? I'm just a novel writer; I can't really bring any development resources to Under the Banyan Tree, can I?"

Zhu Weilian did not answer immediately.

After a moment of contemplation, he said, "Mr. Cao, you underestimate yourself. There are many authors who write novels, but there is only one Zhongyuan Yidianhui! You are already our country's most sought-after new writer; your pen name is a brand in itself. Our Under the Banyan Tree needs this brand of yours. If you can become our shareholder, I have the confidence to put the development of Under the Banyan Tree into the fast lane. You say you can't bring us any development resources—haha, actually, you are the best development resource!"

Cao Sheng: "..."

Being praised always feels good.

At the same time, it made Cao Sheng understand why Zhu Weilian wanted him to buy shares.

It was nothing more than wanting to bind him to Under the Banyan Tree.

To make him a living brand for Under the Banyan Tree that would never leave.

Since that was the case, a thought occurred to him: I don't want to give money, but I do want the shares—is it possible to negotiate that?

"Mr. Zhu, can you give me 15% of the shares?"

Cao Sheng asked.

Zhu Weilian felt relieved, thinking Cao Sheng's appetite was smaller than he had expected, which was great. He smiled and nodded, his tone very brisk. "Sure! Our current valuation is over two million, you only need to give us..."

Just as he said this, he was interrupted by Cao Sheng. "Mr. Zhu, I'm just a poor student, not some rich kid, and I don't have the capital to buy shares. Do you think we could use the number of words I publish on Under the Banyan Tree over the next few years as a condition to exchange for 15% of your station's shares?"

Zhu Weilian: "???"

Wang Jing: "???"

Old Zhang: "???"

All three were stunned, unable to believe that this student kid, Cao Sheng, could actually propose such a condition.

Buying shares without paying money?

Is he trying to get a free ride?

The smile on Zhu Weilian's face could barely be maintained. He had thought Cao Sheng would haggle, and he had even thought Cao Sheng might have a large appetite and want more shares.

He had been mentally prepared for these.

He had also been prepared to haggle.

But he was absolutely not prepared to be taken for a free ride.

At this moment, he had an illusion: sitting before him was not the new writer Zhongyuan Yidianhui, but that somewhat shameless protagonist from the book *I Want to Become an Immortal*—Chu Feng.