My capital is quite large.

Chapter 114 The Confidence to Not Go Public

May 1st, Nanjing.

The early summer sun shines through the panoramic floor-to-ceiling windows on the top floor of Haofeng Building in Xianlin Science and Technology City, casting a golden halo on the carpet.

Li Feng leaned back in the boss's chair, holding a cup of freshly brewed pre-Qingming Longjing tea, looking languid and content.

With a "click," the office door was pushed open.

Zhang Xinyu walked in with light steps, her charming peach blossom eyes revealing excitement.

"Boss, good news!"

Zhang Xinyu walked to the desk and handed a share transfer agreement to Li Feng with both hands.

"As you instructed, after two weeks of negotiations with JD.com, the Investment and M&A Department has finally finalized the agreement!"

"Our Haofeng Network invested a full two billion RMB to acquire 15% of the shares in JD.com's Series C funding round!"

When the figure of "two billion" was mentioned, Zhang Xinyu couldn't help but click her tongue, her tone tinged with pain: "Boss, this JD.com guy is really asking for the moon! Their logistics is a bottomless pit, losing money year after year, and they dare to ask for two billion for 15% of our shares! JD.com is really expensive!"

At that point in 2010, two billion RMB was an astronomical figure that could cause an earthquake in the domestic business world.

However, as Li Feng looked at the equity agreement in his hand, a pleased smile appeared on his lips.

"Expensive? Xinyu, your taste is too shallow."

Li Feng signed his name on the last page of the agreement, tossed his pen on the table, and chuckled as he began to give his personal secretary a business lesson:

"This two billion yuan is a ticket to one of the two poles of China's future e-commerce!"

"The underlying logic of the internet is to burn money to build barriers. Richard Liu is indeed losing money building logistics, but once this asset-heavy logistics system is completed, it will be an insurmountable moat!"

"You think 2 billion is expensive because you only see its current losses. Wait a few years, until JD.com goes public in the US, and the moment they ring the bell..."

"Our 15% original shares are worth ten or twenty times more! With profits in the hundreds of billions, do you still think it's expensive?"

Zhang Xinyu's beautiful eyes widened in surprise: "Ten times, twenty times?! Pre-IPO shares are actually worth this much?"

Her mind raced, and she immediately thought of her thriving company. She couldn't help but lean forward, half of her body resting on the large desk, revealing a striking glimpse of her snow-white skin through her neckline.

"Boss, since going public is so profitable... and Haofeng Network's various business lines are dominating the country, with such terrifying monthly revenue, if we also went public on NASDAQ or the A-share market, wouldn't your net worth skyrocket? When is Haofeng going public?"

Upon hearing this question, the smile on Li Feng's face gradually faded.

"Haofeng Networks? It will never go public."

"Huh? Why?" Zhang Xinyu was stunned. Are there really people in this world who don't want to have too much money and don't want to ring the bell to become the richest person in the world?

"Going public is a way to raise money and allow investors to cash out and exit."

Li Feng scoffed, "My Haofeng Network receives tens of millions of US dollars in net foreign exchange inflows from overseas games every month. Do you think I'm short of money?"

"Once a company goes public, it becomes subject to the SEC's oversight and has to disclose financial reports to those greedy Wall Street shareholders. Every strategic decision I make involves arguing with those short-term profit-driven vampires at the board meeting!"

"Some things only belong to me, Li Feng, if they are not listed on the stock market and are 100% in my own hands! I don't want to have to act according to other people's wishes on my own turf."

This powerful declaration made Zhang Xinyu's legs go weak, and the admiration in her eyes almost overflowed.

This is the real capitalist tyrant! He doesn't need the approval of the capital market; he himself is the greatest capital!

"The boss is brilliant; it was Xinyu who was too easily fooled~"

Zhang Xinyu flattered him sweetly, then opened another folder in her hand and began to report on last month's revenue.

"Boss, our game division's revenue remained largely unchanged last month; it was as stable as a rock."

"Games like Plants vs. Zombies, Fruit Ninja, and Subway Surfers have already dominated the domestic and international casual mobile game market, leading by a wide margin in terms of both monthly active users and in-app purchase revenue."

"In addition, the commercialization of Haofeng's Weibo is also progressing smoothly. Relying on the sale of splash screen ads and accurate trending search terms, we achieved a net profit of nearly 10 million yuan last month."

At this point, Zhang Xinyu paused, her delicate eyebrows furrowing slightly, and turned to the last page.

"However... the financial data of video platforms like iQiyi and Bilibili is really bad."

Zhang Xinyu pointed at the glaring red text and couldn't help but complain, "Boss, video platforms are a money-shredding machine! Last month alone, server expansion and bandwidth leasing costs alone burned through nearly 100 million! Although the exclusive dramas we bought out attracted a lot of traffic, we didn't accept any random ad-supported content, and the VIP membership conversion rate is far from covering the costs."

"This thing has such a huge investment, it looks like a complete waste of money. It's like throwing money away with the money earned from games..."

Seeing Zhang Xinyu's money-grubbing expression, Li Feng felt a hint of helplessness, but he was too lazy to explain to her what the ultimate moat of monopolizing content discourse power meant.

For a strategic weapon like video streaming, you can't wear down competitors like Tudou and Youku without burning through hundreds of billions.

This is the inevitable path to controlling the attention and public opinion of Chinese netizens over the next decade.

"Loss? I'm willing to lose, and they can afford to lose."

Li Feng didn't launch into a long speech; instead, he stood up and walked behind Zhang Xinyu.

"Snapped!"

A crisp sound echoed in the spacious CEO's office.

Li Feng slapped her buttocks, which were covered by a tight-fitting bodycon dress!

"oops!"

Zhang Xinyu cried out in pain, leaning forward and bracing herself on the desk with her hands. Turning around, her peach-blossom eyes were full of grievance and confusion: "Boss... why did you hit me...?"

"You're too talkative."

Li Feng's large hand slid down from her waist, pinching her slender waist and pressing against it.

"Don't ask questions you shouldn't ask, just do your job as a secretary."

"Since you care so much about the company's financial statements, then today's punishment will be a good lesson for you."

Feeling the scalding heat coming from behind her, Zhang Xinyu immediately understood what her boss meant.

The grievance in her eyes turned into a pool of spring water, and she leaned her upper body on the pile of financial statements, her waist arching in an alluring curve.

"Whatever punishment the boss wants to give... Xin Yu will accept it..."

Early summer sunlight filtered through the gaps in the blinds, casting dappled shadows on the CEO's desk.

A profound punishment for being talkative is unfolding in this soundproof office.