Chapter 86: Wanting Shares But Unwilling to Pay

Perhaps to demonstrate 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 walked out of the teaching building with his classmates, he suddenly heard Wang Jing calling out.

"Cao Sheng! Cao Sheng!"

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

Wang Jing was an employee of Rong Shu Xia, which was in Shanghai; how could he possibly hear her voice at Huizhou Teachers College?

But he still instinctively turned to look in the direction of the sound.

And he really did see Wang Jing.

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

One of them, with somewhat dark skin, stood in front of Wang Jing and the other man; judging by appearance, he should be Wang Jing's superior.

When Cao Sheng looked over, those two men also showed smiles and walked over together with Wang Jing.

Many questions arose in Cao Sheng's heart, but he still showed a smile and went forward to meet them.

Wang Jing stepped forward quickly and, with a face full of smiles, began: "Cao Sheng! Let me introduce you, this is our station master, Mr. Zhu, and this is my colleague, Old Zhang."

Zhu Weilian extended both hands; seeing this, Cao Sheng also extended both hands and shook hands with him.

Zhu Weilian: "Mr. Cao, are you interested in taking shares in our Rong Shu Xia?"

Cao Sheng: "???"

Talking about such matters right from the start?

Cao Sheng looked at Wang Jing.

Wang Jing nodded. "Cao Sheng, our station master came personally this time to see you because he wants to discuss taking shares with you. You can consider it carefully; we really came with sincerity. This isn't a place to talk, so how about we find a spot and chat while eating? Just so happens your classes for today should already be finished, and it's also time for dinner, right?"

Cao Sheng nodded.

Zhu Weilian let go of one hand and extended his palm toward the school gate direction. "Mr. Cao! Please!"

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

Cao Sheng was already very famous at Huizhou Teachers College now.

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

So, when Zhu Weilian and the others came to find him today, many people noticed.

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

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

At the beginning, neither side mentioned taking shares; everyone chatted about some irrelevant topics while eating.

Such as: the scenery of Huizhou, historical sites, architectural styles, and various delicacies; they even talked about Huizhou Teachers College where Cao Sheng studied.

They chatted for over an hour until everyone had drunk enough, being on the verge of drunkenness but not yet drunk, when Zhu Weilian put down the chopsticks in his hand, coughed lightly once, and finally brought up the topic of taking shares.

"Mr. Cao, what do you think of our Rong Shu Xia? Do you see our prospects favorably?"

Cao Sheng nodded. "Very good! Otherwise, I wouldn't have continued choosing to cooperate with your station, would I?"

Zhu Weilian showed a smile. "Then are you interested in taking shares in our Rong Shu Xia? If you have this intention, we can discuss the specific conditions."

Cao Sheng glanced at Wang Jing and Old Zhang.

After a brief pause, he asked: "How many shares can you give me? What are the conditions?"

Regarding taking shares in Rong Shu Xia, he was somewhat interested.

Because memories from before his rebirth told him: Rong Shu Xia would be acquired in the future, absorbed into Shanda Literature, and the future Qidian Chinese Network would be the flagship website of Shanda Literature.

The key point was that Rong Shu Xia was acquired by Shanda Literature at a premium; the price seemed not low.

So, if he could take shares in Rong Shu Xia now, when Rong Shu Xia was acquired at a premium by Shanda Literature in the future, he could also get a share.

It would count as a good investment.

But exactly how much he could earn, he was unclear.

Maybe it wouldn't be as profitable as directly investing in buying property.

Therefore, he was interested, but not very interested.

He just thought: If I can take shares in Rong Shu Xia, I will also be a shareholder of Rong Shu Xia. Setting aside how much money I can earn selling the shares later, at least life at Rong Shu Xia for the next few years should be easier.

The treatment for resident authors and shareholders at Rong Shu Xia was definitely different.

Becoming a shareholder, he would have some say at Rong Shu Xia.

He had no interest in creating and managing a novel website himself, but he had considerable interest in becoming a small shareholder and letting the major shareholders work diligently to carry him along.

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

Before Cao Sheng could reply, he continued: "Our website was created less than a year ago and is not a listed company; its value is limited. But after all, we are the first Chinese literature website in the country, and the current momentum is still okay. So, I am confident in leading Rong Shu Xia to grow and expand. However, my personal funds are also limited. Therefore, barring unexpected events, our website should accept several rounds of financing in the future. Financing requires giving out a portion of shares. So, Mr. Cao, I hope you can understand that the shares we can give you will not be many. But if you are willing to add investment every time we conduct financing, I can promise not to dilute your shares. How does that sound?"

Cao Sheng nodded slightly.

He was not disappointed.

Because he originally did not want many shares; if his shares occupied too much, how could he ensure Zhu Weilian had the motivation to manage well?

Did he expect Cao Sheng to manage it?

With that time, he might as well write two more books himself or do some other investments.

However, what he wanted to ask at this moment was: "Mr. Zhu, why did you suddenly think of inviting me to take shares in Rong Shu Xia? I am just a novelist; I cannot bring any development resources to Rong Shu Xia, can I?"

Zhu Weilian did not answer immediately.

After pondering for a moment, he said: "Mr. Cao, you underestimate yourself. There are many authors who write novels, but there is only one Zhongyuan Yidianhui! You are already the hottest new writer in our country. Your pen name is a brand. Our Rong Shu Xia needs this brand of yours. If you can become our shareholder, I will have confidence in making the development of our Rong Shu Xia enter the fast lane. You say you cannot bring us any development resources? Hehe, actually, you are the best development resource!"

Cao Sheng: "..."

Being praised always felt very good.

At the same time, it also made Cao Sheng understand the reason Zhu Weilian wanted him to take shares.

Nothing more than wanting to bind him to Rong Shu Xia.

Let him become a living signboard that never leaves under the banyan tree.

Since that is the case, a thought arose in him: I don't want to give money, but I still want the shares; can we negotiate this down?

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

Cao Sheng asked.

Zhu Weilian felt a sense of relief in his heart, thinking Cao Sheng's appetite was smaller than he had anticipated; this was good. He smiled and nodded, his tone very straightforward. "Sure! Our current valuation is over two million; you only need to give us..."

He had just spoken up to this point when Cao Sheng interrupted him. "President Zhu, I am just a poor student, not some second-generation rich kid, and I have no capital to invest. Could you consider using the hundreds of thousands of words I will publish under the banyan tree in the coming years as a condition to exchange for 15% of your site's shares?"

Zhu Weilian: "???"

Wang Jing: "???"

Old Zhang: "???"

All three were stunned, unable to believe that a student like Cao Sheng could propose such conditions.

Investing without giving money?

Just freeload?

The smile on Zhu Weilian's face began to falter. He had expected Cao Sheng to bargain, and he had also thought Cao Sheng's appetite might be large, wanting more shares.

He was mentally prepared for all of this.

He was also prepared to bargain.

But he was absolutely not prepared to be freeloaded.

In this moment, he had an illusion: the person sitting before him was not the emerging writer Zhong Yuan Yidianhui, but the somewhat shameless male protagonist from the book "I Wish to Become an Immortal"—Chu Feng.