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Chapter 1463: Chapter 1308: Acquisition (Please Subscribe!)
November 23rd.
The day after the media fervently discussed Tang Qing’s intention to establish a university.
Shanghai Stock Market.
Fudan.
Just after the first class ended.
Tang Qing was called to the office by Vice Principal Qiu Jie. The school also took this matter seriously. Having a student of their own looking to set up a university and compete with them was an odd feeling indeed.
Fudan.
In theory, there should be no fear of a private university.
After all.
When compared to public universities,
there’s quite the gap.
Firstly.
It’s the attraction to talent. Some college versus prestigious universities with students all over the world and national attention – anyone with a sound mind would know which to choose.
Secondly.
It’s the tuition fee.
Since they don’t have funding from the Ministry of Education and are financially independent, private universities generally charge high tuition fees, easily amounting to tens of thousands. Many rely on selling diplomas for a living, and this hurdle alone can deter most students.
These two factors.
Determine that ordinary private universities
simply cannot compete with public universities for students.
Nevertheless.
The person behind this operation...
...is Tang Qing.
Huaxia’s richest man.
With properties worth hundreds of billions.
Just this title alone can attract a great number of talented individuals – in fact, there’s no need to attract them; his companies already employ a multitude of professionals, especially Sky Eye, which can be described as a haven for top talents.
As for the tuition fee.
If Tang Qing is willing,
he could make no profit, even offer subsidies.
Thus.
This kind of competitor
is exactly what gives them a headache. Once someone who doesn’t care about money comes in, they can do many unconventional things. Fudan’s intention is to probe Tang Qing’s plans to ease their minds.
"...That’s the situation. What will be the main source of students and the educational focus of the university you plan to establish?" Qiu Jie, the Vice Principal most familiar with Tang Qing, had no choice but to bite the bullet and ask.
On the sofa.
Tang Qing sipped his tea lightly.
"Vice Principal Qiu, are you afraid that I will compete with you for students?" Tang Qing responded with a question.
Qiu Jie shook his head.
Then nodded.
He chuckled nervously, "A little bit, after all, among private universities, it’s the first time for a tycoon like you who doesn’t care about money to establish one. Excellent students are the heritage and reputation of a university."
To Qiu Jie’s candid words,
Tang Qing laughed.
"You can rest assured about that. My university will have a different educational focus from yours. As for the student source, I have no interest in competing for top provincial scholars or anything like that."
"Moreover, you don’t have to solely pursue so-called academic achievement. The future belongs to the age of innovation; being academically excellent doesn’t necessarily equate to innovative ability. Many students who are not academically strong might also become the pride of the school."
Qiu Jie: "..."
These words.
Were as good as not saying anything.
They are a public university.
Enrollment is not something they can take for granted as they please; it is based on academic performance, as regulated by the state, with a long legacy of encouraging students to study hard instead of looking for shortcuts or backdoors.
What Tang Qing meant was...
There are many successful people who never attended school,
even just graduated from middle school. But once the University creates an ’Innovative Admission Channel,’ without a doubt, it will instantly become a backdoor for everyone.
That’s inevitable.
Therefore.
It’s unthinkable.
And Tang Qing’s words were not actually persuading Fudan to open such a channel – that’s impossible. Instead... it will be a means of self-consolation for them when he eventually snatches away Fudan’s students in the future.
With his reputation,
there would surely be academically strong students who wish to attend his university.
After all.
Attending university
Is to secure a good job,
To earn money.
The university opened by the person best at making money in the nation, there’s no reason not to give it a try. So, there’s no need to compete; the flow of outstanding students who come on their own will be ample. But now is not the time to show off to Qiu Jie.
Stay low-key.
Stay low-key.
And he’s right in what he said.
When it comes to the academically elite,
Tang Qing isn’t that interested.
In the grand scheme of things, the goal should be to cultivate individuals who are useful to society. However, he doesn’t consider himself so noble and only wants to run this education venture while solidifying the foundation of his business empire.
Therefore.
As for the source of students.
Just do well enough.
No need to reach for the stars.
Just need to hold onto the kingdom he has carved out and focus on doing his job well, that will suffice.
"When will the school be ready?"
"Soon."
"How long until it opens?"
"Uncertain."
"...So what is certain then?"
"Building the university."
"..."
Soon.
Qiu Jie, having received his answer.
Sent Tang Qing out of the office ’satisfied’, then turned around to report to the principal. After listening, the principal didn’t say much either, how things will develop in the future is still unknown.
Let’s wait and see.
...
At this moment.
Tongcheng.
Headquarters.
The founding team jointly signed the stock transfer agreement, consenting for Wanzi International to buy their 70% shareholding for $3.5 million. Thus, Tongcheng changed hands.
It wasn’t as if they were utterly disheartened.
They still owned 30% of the shares.
Plus, this was a strategic investment, with an agreement that they would still manage the company in the future, except that the controlling shareholder had changed, and a new position of Executive Vice President had been added.
This month.
Had worn them out—rising peers, intensified competition, cash shortage, internal partnership disagreements... This month, since the startup, had been the most exhausting for their hearts.
With this investment.
At least they won’t fall to the fourth place.
The first one gets the meat.
The second gets the soup.
The third can still catch a whiff.
The fourth, however, hardly has a way out.
At this moment.
They already know who the boss of the company was---Tang Kai, Tang Qing’s second uncle, and a business tycoon. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have easily transferred most of their shares.
Holding the contract.
The president of Wanzi International smiled.
Finally.
Acquired Tongcheng at a low price, albeit at a cost, but that was necessary. The others had already built up the network and secured some territory; the price was fairly reasonable.
"Congratulations on making the right decision," said the president smilingly.
"..."
This sentence.
Sounded a bit odd.
"Please look after us in the future," the current CEO of Tongcheng, Wu Xiang, squeezed a smile on his face. Since its foundation, Tongcheng had never financed, and this was the first time, and they had ended up transferring 70% of the shares.
It hurts.
But the thought of possibly leveraging Tang Qing’s Internet resources in the future made it more bearable.
"No, I’m afraid I can’t look after you guys," the president chuckled.
Everyone was stunned.
Then.
The answer was revealed.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I’d like to formally inform you that we will be transferring the 70% stake in Tongcheng to another well-known company—Xiao Xiao Technology, the people from Sky Eye will be arriving soon."
As these words were spoken.
The office fell into a deathly silence, faces filled with astonishment.
They were not fools.
Suddenly.
It seemed like they understood something.
"You all might have guessed, our acquisition of your company has its reasons. Our Little Tang is keen on the travel industry, and as I serve the Tang Family, naturally, I would find a way to satisfy this," the speaker explained.
"Our original plan was to invest heavily in building a new firm, favorable for management and stability. After all, Ctrip is too expensive. However, after investigating, we found your company quite adequate, so we applied a two-pronged approach."
"Therefore, you are fortunate. If by the end of this month you were still insisting on not selling, we would have given up on this acquisition and gone on to build a new company owning 100% of the shares."
"By that time, with the capital of our Little Tang, we could only say sorry."
Half-truths.
Are the easiest to deceive people.
And the logic is clear.
So.
Originally ’the villain who stops at nothing’, he has transformed into their helper, because according to this narrative, with Tang Qing’s vast capital entering the scene, they would have definitely been brought to their knees.
And it would have been a resplendent kneel.
Thinking of this.
The crowd felt an inexplicable sense of relief. Compete with Tang Qing’s company?
No.
Too terrifying. 𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙥𝒖𝒃.𝒄𝒐𝒎
