Chapter 852: Chapter 355: The Shifting Old Fox_2

Here is the English translation of the provided text:

“So, how do you plan to extract this money? Thirty billion isn’t a small sum.”

“Do you have any suggestions?”

“Pledge it, maybe?” Zuo Zongcai, already having a plan in mind, spoke slowly, “Don’t provoke their sensitive nerves again. The overall strategic direction of Gu Clan’s expansion was set by you. Using the company’s cash flow to subsidize Yueyue would probably not go over well.”

Gu Tongshu furrowed his brow: “Pledging stocks would still require explanations internally and externally, not to mention heightened scrutiny from the banks.”

“There’s no other way!” Zuo Zongcai spread his hands, “Thirty billion dollars–stirring that much up will definitely alarm a lot of people. If you sell other personal assets, the commotion would only be bigger.”

Gu Tongshu rested his chin on his hand, pondered for a long time, and suddenly hesitated as he spoke: “I’m thinking of selling off my shares in Evergrande Group and Country Garden.”

“What?!” Zuo Zongcai was stunned, “We’ve been investing in the real estate sector for many years now. A significant portion of Gu Clan’s domestic and international influence comes from our full industry discourse power…”

Between Gu Tongshu and Zuo Zongcai, there were no work secrets. If asked, one would answer.

“Because of Su Huai. That kid is collaborating with Wang, but what he’s really targeting is their family’s cinema chain.”

Zuo Zongcai immediately understood, surprised: “He’s already eyeing assets of that level? How did he figure Yida might sell its film company?!”

“I don’t know.” Gu Tongshu shook his head, “He seems to have his own logic for judgment.”

“Wait! This is a big deal…”

Zuo Zongcai rubbed his forehead, stood up, poured two glasses of red wine, grabbed a box of cigars, and sat face-to-face with Gu Tongshu to start digging deeply.

“Let’s piece this together bit by bit. When did you first sense he had this inclination?”

Gu Tongshu smoked a cigar, deep in thought.

“Once, during a meal at my place, I deliberately provoked him. He didn’t get angry, but when I mentioned Wang, he showed a very subtle difference in attitude.”

To Wang, he showed some admiration; toward Wang’s son, complete disdain; and to me, a hint of amusement, as if watching a show.”

“It was an extremely subtle emotion, but I’m certain I didn’t misread it.”

Zuo Zongcai helped analyze: “So, he has an extremely low opinion of your investments in real estate, thinks Wang is a pity, believes Wang’s son is incapable, and treats you like an entertainer?”

“Exactly.”

“Alright, let’s look at what’s been happening with Yida over the past two years.”

Zuo Zongcai bent his head and began scribbling rapidly.

His thoughts were crystal-clear. His first point went straight to the core: “Last year, Wanda Commercial Management delisted from the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, initiating privatization. Wang signed a gambling agreement, promising to relist domestically on the A-shares market next year.”

Gu Tongshu added: “This year, Wang, Sun, and R&F’s Li have been trying to drag us into forming a strategic alliance. You already know why.”

“Hm, let’s not cross any boundaries there.”

Zuo Zongcai nodded and continued writing: “In short, Wang is currently working hard on debt restructuring…”

Gu Tongshu chimed in: “The underlying reason for the restructuring is that the real estate industry’s titans are trying to consolidate, weather the storm, and survive this wave of policy-induced market shifts.”

Zuo Zongcai was alarmed: “So, Xiao Su’s judgment is that, even if the titans band together, they ultimately won’t withstand it?”

Gu Tongshu didn’t directly answer, his voice sinking slightly.

“Later, I intentionally talked to him about Wang’s Panda initiative, mocking how it was a waste of effort–just some interest money in return, pointless.”

He chuckled a bit, then casually made some remarks to Yueyue, suggesting she give me a tough time to see how I’d react.”

“At first glance, it seemed rather unserious, but his composure during the interaction was notably relaxed.”

“But did you notice his attitude when handling Xingyu-related matters? Extremely serious, meticulous, and detail-oriented.”

Zuo Zongcai immediately analyzed sharply: “So, he thinks developing Xingyu requires great caution–the price of mistakes is incredibly high–but he views Panda’s failure as irrecoverable and irrelevant, while being utterly confident he can extract value from it.”

“Yes. His judgment of Yida’s future surpasses his confidence in Xingyu’s development.”

“But he’s not familiar with Yida’s internal dynamics.”

“Correct, so the answer is simple: he’s basing his conclusions purely on his highly pessimistic view of the real estate market, which leads to all these derived judgments.”

These two old foxes meticulously dissected Su Huai.

In reality, Su Huai had already been extremely cautious in protecting his information. But it couldn’t be helped–he frequently interacted with Gu Tongshu, an old hand who relentlessly observed him.

Zuo Zongcai frowned, full of worries: “That kid Su Huai is truly uncanny. His overseas investment fund started with $500, focused on gold, and ballooned to a billion-dollar scale years ago.

Yet he willingly poured precious capital back into the domestic livestreaming industry, successfully elevating Pei Shuyu to a benchmark figure, bringing Xingyu to its current heights.”

“This shows he doesn’t care about money; he genuinely believes in the growth potential of influencer-driven traffic businesses.”

“Now, given his extremely bearish view on the real estate sector, we should indeed be cautious.”

Su Huai’s system of funding inflows had long been “poured over” by Gu Tongshu, leaving no visible loopholes. It was an active fund in the gold market, with frequent gains and few losses, growing rapidly.

That’s why both Gu Tongshu and Zuo Zongcai took Su Huai’s judgment so seriously.

It wasn’t unreasonable. With such remarkable accomplishments, anyone would be astounded.

Gu Tongshu tilted his head back, his expression tinged with a hint of melancholy.

After staring at his office’s bright light for a while, he finally composed himself and decisively said: “Sell all my personal holdings in real estate-related stocks. The reason is ready-made–for my daughter’s property purchase.”

Zuo Zongcai nodded slightly: “That works; as for the company’s holdings, we can deliberate further. A complete shift in overall strategy can’t happen overnight.”

After a pause, he added: “But selling dozens of billions in one go will undoubtedly stir up the company…”

“I’ve made my decision.” Gu Tongshu cut him off.

“Hm?”

“Add Kuaishou and RedNote to the company’s key investment targets. If Su Huai doesn’t want them, we’ll take them. Let that serve as an explanation to the Gu Clan, top to bottom.”

“Whoa… That could work!”

Zuo Zongcai took a sharp breath, then broke into a wide grin.

“Yueyue gets Douyin on her own, we take Kuaishou and RedNote. In future, we can explain it as diversified investment–it’s hard for anyone to blame us for betrayal. You’re as cunning as ever~~~”

Gu Tongshu smiled smugly: “When the time comes, we’ll hold a shareholders’ meeting and solicit everyone’s opinions on the real estate sector. We’ll proceed per resolution, but transitioning to the short-form video arena, I’ll persist strongly. Ultimately, a dual strategy seems likely–delaying overseas expansion.”

“Devious!” Zuo Zongcai gave a thumbs-up, “You truly never stick your neck out!”

“Alright, when can you get the thirty billion ready?”

“It’ll take some time–at least one month, guaranteed in three.”

“Then I’ll have to coax her again. Damn it, raising a daughter is such trouble!”

Cursing under his breath, Gu Tongshu stood up to leave.

Zuo Zongcai flipped him the finger, thinking this sly old man had clearly grown cocky from having a beautiful daughter.

As he saw him out, his final remark was: “Don’t worry, your troubles won’t last long; the girl’s been planning her dowry to follow Su Huai for ages. You’ll have your peace soon~~~”

“Shit!”

Gu Tongshu turned around, ready to lunge at him, but the office door slammed shut, locking him out.

At that very moment, Su Huai was teaching Gu Jiuyue about output concepts.

“Remember, if he won’t fork over the money, make a fuss with him. Byte’s shares must be kept under Tianyi–that’s your future livelihood, don’t let those Gu folks snatch it.”

Gu Jiuyue giggled: “But, I’m a Gu too!”

Gou Huai’s face was full of slyness, both roguish and teasing: “No Gu is good, except you–that’s why I’ll stick with you and fight them to the end! Mark my words; one day, your grandparents will bow down and humble themselves before you.”

Gu Jiuyue didn’t actually care about this. What she was thinking was: What’s the use of money?

Yet, her thoughts shifted again: Money might be pointless for me, but it’s useful for Susu!

As Tianyi grows stronger, he gains backing. So, striving for this is meaningful–nothing wrong with that.

With this thought, she smiled sweetly and nodded: “Got it, I’m listening to you.”

Cheerfully, she rested her chin on her friend’s arm and straightforwardly said: “Can’t sit straight anymore, let me lean on you for a bit.”

Su Huai glanced at the panel showing thirty billion in petty cash, then at the abandoned monthly items in the store, feeling rather puzzled.

What’s going on? Why is it so hard to refresh desirable items?

From February to now–four whole months–when will I get what I want?

Could it be… I really have to level up to three first?