Chapter 210: The gods fight and the mortals suffer
When I was young, I always thought there were endless possibilities, but later I discovered that there are only a few opportunities in a person's life - Zhang Xuhao heard this sentence a long time ago.

The basketball coach once told him that since he has talent, he should work hard to practice the basic skills of dribbling and passing. Taking the athlete certificate exam can get extra points in the college entrance examination. This is an opportunity to change his destiny and he must cherish it.

So he obtained a second-level athlete certificate and successfully entered Tongji University as an undergraduate. He then went to Shanghai Jiao Tong University to study for a master's degree in Internet. He and his roommate Kang Jia and others created Ele.me when they were playing games late at night and couldn't order takeout.

Along the way, we have encountered Internet majors, high-quality entrepreneurial environments on prestigious campuses, and precise entrepreneurial tracks.

He believed that he had not wasted any opportunity, and he often proudly told people around him to be good at discovering and cherishing opportunities.

But the fact is that what he thought was important enough was just his self-conceit, and perhaps the greatest opportunity in his life was about to slip away quietly.

"I want to talk to Xie Jingxing. I think there is a misunderstanding between us, and it can be resolved through communication."

In the early hours of the morning, the lights in the office building were dim, and Zhang Xuhao sat in his chairman's office, making a difficult compromise.

"Mr. Zhang, discussing business with emotions is a big taboo in the business world."

Su He sat opposite him, with an indifferent expression and said softly: "If you have any ideas, you can talk about them openly. I will try my best to solve them within the scope of my authority. If I can't make the decision, I will report it to Mr. Xie as soon as possible."

What she meant was that Xie Jingxing did not mix any personal emotions and handled everything impartially, and she was fully responsible for the project.

Zhang Xuhao remained silent. The smoke from the cigarette butt took shape under the light, changing constantly and dissipating with the cold air from the air conditioner.

"Dianping's acquisition of Ele.me has enabled both parties to integrate resources to compete with Meituan, while also expanding the scope of shareholders. After the merger, the new company has fully penetrated the two fields of group buying and food delivery, and Tencent's traffic resource support is more targeted. This is a situation that everyone is happy with."

Su He paused for a moment and said, "We have drawn up a merger plan. Yunhe Logistics and Taihe Capital will first make strategic investments in Dianping and Ele.me respectively to solve your debt and asset problems, and then merge to create a new company."

"Dianping holds 70% of the new company's equity, and Ele.me holds 30%. Of course, this is just an estimate, and the specific distribution will be adjusted based on actual conditions."

She added lightly, "The new company will have co-CEOs, and you will still be the founder."

Zhang Xuhao was in a daze, extinguishing his cigarette, and showing an attitude of non-violent non-cooperation.

Currently, he and the founding team hold a total of 41% of the shares of Ele.me. According to the plan proposed by Su He, it is only worth 12.3% of the shares of the merged new company.

Xie Jingxing, who holds shares in both Ele.me and Dianping, will hold a 16.5% stake in the merged new company, not to mention that a round of strategic financing must be completed before the merger.

By then, the shareholding ratio will easily exceed 20%, firmly establishing itself as the major shareholder of the merged new company.

Whether it is him and Kang Jia, or the founding team of Zhang Tao of Dianping, their positions remain unchanged on the surface, but both Ele.me and Dianping no longer exist.

Xie Jingxing is the real master behind the scenes.

Zhang Xuhao could not accept such a merger, so he finally said, "I agree to the merger, you call Xie Jingxing."

"Since you have no objection to the merger plan, I will arrange a meeting with Mr. Zhang Tao as soon as possible so that we can have a chat together." Su He nodded to himself.

Zhang Xuhao slammed the table and emphasized: "I asked you to call Xie Jingxing. I agree to the merger. The main body of the merger is Dianping. We can first introduce a large amount of financing to acquire Dianping, instead of letting Dianping acquire us!"

"You may not understand the venture capital industry. Small and medium-sized investment institutions do not have the strength to meet your financing needs. Leading investment institutions attach great importance to the exit path and will not rush into the market when the pattern of the food delivery market is roughly determined."

Su He pursed his lips and explained leisurely: "They will ask you whether you have plans to merge with Dianping or even Meituan in the future, and how to ensure the exit mechanism."

“So there is no essential difference between Ele.me acquiring Dianping or Dianping acquiring Ele.me.”

"CITIC Industrial Fund and JD.com are willing to invest in us, and there are many other investors. I will go to Alibaba to get bond financing to acquire Dianping!" Zhang Xuhao took a gamble and smashed the water cup fiercely.

Meituan has been delaying its financing and has been reluctant to receive full support from Alibaba, thus engaging in a war of offline payments in the local life sector with Ele.me and Dianping, which are led by Tencent.

Moreover, although Alibaba’s internal food delivery business Taodiandian has failed, its group buying business Koubei.com has been preheated and can be launched and restarted at any time.

The complex relationship allowed Zhang Xuhao to find a glimmer of opportunity. Ele.me launched its E-round financing and introduced two state-owned shareholders, CITIC Industry Fund and JD.com, to replace Xie Jingxing's resources in terms of funds, government relations and logistics.

Then accept large-scale bond financing from Alibaba, forcibly acquire the holdings of Tencent and Xie Jingxing, replace Tencent's traffic entrance support, and completely turn to the Alibaba camp.

This is an alternative plan. If possible, Zhang Xuhao does not want to offend Tencent. However, people are not afraid of death, so why scare them with death?

Xie Jingxing's proposal for Dianping to acquire Ele.me will benefit all stakeholders except him, and there is no chance of forceful opposition.

They could only adjust their alternative plans immediately and borrow a large amount of bond financing from Alibaba to obtain cash flow to acquire Dianping.com, instead of adopting the plan of merging to create a new company.

In this way, his equity will not be diluted too much and he can guarantee the controlling line. Ele.me, which has acquired Dianping, will still belong to him. Only Xie Jingxing and Tencent will object, and the general direction is in line with the interests of other financial investors.

"I don't know why Alibaba is willing to lend you $10 billion or even $20 billion for debt financing, but I think shareholders are definitely unwilling to bear huge debts."

Facing Zhang Xuhao who was forced into a corner and roaring angrily, Su He couldn't help but smile.

"Then I will sell Ele.me as a whole to Alibaba. Even if it is merged with Meituan, I will fight you to death!" Zhang Xuhao would rather destroy his own opportunities, just like Cheng Wei once did.

Su He remained calm, just smiled and shook her head. Her red lips, painted with crimson lip gloss, looked like scarlet blood that was not wiped clean after a big meal.

…………

At the same time, in another office, a conversation was going on.

“What role did you play in the management team’s malicious transfer of assets?”

"I do not know anything."

"In other words, you knew nothing about the widespread corruption among the management team?"

"Idiot~ Are you playing the female prosecutor in an AV movie? How interesting." Kang Jia crossed his legs and spoke in a frivolous tone with a mocking face.

Song Anli blushed instantly and shouted, "You need to understand your current situation. The real-name report mentioned your name and Zhang Xuhao's name. If you can't explain it clearly, the shareholders will have the right to sue the two of you for maliciously transferring corporate assets and infringing on the rights of all shareholders."

"Then call the police and have me arrested." Kang Jia raised his hands and shrugged. Song Anli's eyes widened: "It's no use for you to act like a rogue. Once the malicious transfer of assets is proven, according to the investment agreement, we have the right to initiate asset liquidation and reorganization. Then everyone will be in trouble."

"Who knows what kind of traps you have dug in the contract to disgust us on purpose? Whether it is good or bad depends entirely on your words." Kang Jia argued.

"You are a graduate student at Shanghai Jiaotong University and have normal civil capacity. If you go to court and tell the judge that you don't understand the contract, do you think the judge will listen to you?"

Song Anli suppressed her anger and said, "You signed the contract with your own hands. You are obliged to abide by it!"

"Bullshit, does the contract say that you can maliciously target the founder?" Kang Jia's defense was immediately broken.

Of course he could understand the contract, but he also felt cheated and betrayed. Before Xie Jingxing bought the shares, he made a lot of promises and even created a drama about Taihe and Xiyou competing with Ele.me.

As a result, they showed their ugly face as soon as they came in. From joining forces with Dianping to fight Meituan to the current money-burning war, they have always been high above and giving orders.

Zhu Xiaohu is of the same character. When he first came in, he was full of confidence and full of support from you, but now when something goes wrong, he shrinks down and plays dead.

Kang Jia and Song Anli were arguing meaninglessly. Liu Lin from Tencent was sitting next to them, frowning and repeatedly raising her hands to hold the short hair beside her ears to hide her anxiety.

Ever since Xie Jingxing proposed the Dianping-Ele.me merger plan in the evening, Su He had been negotiating one-on-one with Zhang Xuhao.

Song Anli forced her to stare at Kang Jia, her real purpose was to prevent him from colluding with senior executives to cause trouble before the end of the negotiations.

Kang Jia also understood this, and tried his best to show a strong attitude and put pressure on Zhang Xuhao to help him gain bargaining chips, but he could not really encourage the executives to cause trouble before the negotiations were settled, as that would cause the situation to get out of control and leave no room for maneuver.

It’s nonsense for the two of them to call the police and go to court. The front line is fighting a life-and-death battle with Meituan, and the two founders of the company in the rear went to the police station for a visit.

Only a very stupid person could do such a thing. Apart from other things, the city agents alone would immediately start to act out the plot of "Running Man".

Song Anli and Kang Jia look like idiots, saying everything without any reason, but in fact they are just putting pressure on each other.

"I'm telling you, Kang Jia, keep your mouth shut, or I'll never let you go!"

"I told you what I was talking about, but you dare not admit it, right? Everyone knows that you and Xie Jingxing are having an affair, and there are a lot of posts about you on Douban. If you weren't having an affair with Xie Jingxing, you would have only been working for a few years, so how could you be qualified to complain to me here?"

Seeing the two people arguing more and more, and even resorting to personal attacks, Liu Lin had no choice but to interrupt them: "Boss Kang, let's talk it over. We won't classify the report as corruption or bribery or asset transfer, but the content of the report is true and conclusive."

"...I didn't say anything about you, did I? I saw you and you forgot whose meal you were eating and whose bowl you were holding? Xie Jingxing has a very comprehensive taste, he accepts all kinds of young girls and young women!"

Kang Jia's momentum stagnated for a moment, and then he became even more fierce and wild.

He was well aware of the corruption and bribery in the company. This was a common practice when the company was on the rise. No matter what problems occurred at the company's management level, it led to widespread corruption among employees worth hundreds of millions of yuan.

At the very least, these employees are on the front line fighting Meituan for their lives, so it is impossible for them to acknowledge this bad debt and make corresponding arrangements.

One could guess with one's toes that if Ma Su was executed and the corrupt employees were dismissed, Xie Jingxing would jump out and pretend to be a good guy to help plead for mercy.

He and Zhang Xuhao were in a bad position and would automatically take the blame. By then, it would be unnecessary for the employees to say who they supported, and they would have no capital to bargain with Xie Jingxing.

But because Song Anli refused to admit corruption, she charged him with malicious asset transfer. This is no joke. Once the charge of malicious asset transfer is proven, they may really go to court.

In short, let's wait until Su He and Zhang Xuhao come to a conclusion before we talk about it. Before that, we can only act like a hooligan and not say a word.

Kang Jia's eyes were full of wit, and she looked like a big wolfhound spitting saliva at all directions: "As the old saying goes, pimps love money, and girls love beauty. Xie Jingxing has both, which is really charming. Does your husband know about this?"

"Mr. Kang! Don't go too far. We are all people who have received basic education. Please show some basic respect!" Liu Lin was so angry that her face turned pale and her whole body was shaking.

Kang Jia raised his nose and said, "I don't need to be polite to you. You will get out of here tomorrow with all your people."

"That is your right, but what we are talking about tonight is the report letter!" Liu Lin could not help but take over the important task of the confrontation.

Kang Jia was waiting for this sentence, and he issued the most powerful threat: "My company has 8000 employees, and there are thousands of people sitting at the headquarters. You are talking about the report letter, right? Tomorrow, all employees will take paid leave and be quarantined at home for investigation. You can go and ask them one by one to see how many people are involved!"

"Shameless!" Liu Lin gritted her teeth and spat out two words in shame and anger.

She is very clear about who she works for. Tencent sent her to lead a team to support human resources work at Ele.me, and at least for the time being, they have no bad intentions.

Xie Jingxing had completely kidnapped her, and through Xu Nuo, the project manager of the product department, he forced her to submit three real-name complaint letters, forcing her to either come forward and disclose the contents of the complaint letters and represent Tencent to stand on Xiyou's side.

Either she suppresses the report letter and pretends she saw nothing, then what will happen afterwards is another matter, but she will definitely have to take the blame for knowing the truth and not reporting it.

As a last resort, she used a huge amount of favors to ask her own leader within Tencent to make a temporary report to the big boss Pony Ma who was in a meeting in Hong Kong Island.

Even this almost went wrong. First, Xiao Ma's assistant asked casually what I do for a living.

What do I eat?
Of course, I am the on-site human resources team leader. If something like a complaint is received, it is reasonable for me to verify it first and then report it.

Liu Lin understood the intention, which was obviously to tell her not to listen to Xie Jingxing and temporarily suppress it. However, while she was farting, Xiao Ma Ge's assistant called her in a hurry and said that Mr. Liu Chih-ping would go on a business trip to Shanghai tomorrow.

OK, let's continue to understand the intention and rule out the possibility that Peng Zhijian, the head of the strategic investment department, died suddenly. Mr. Liu came here in person only for Xie Jingxing, and no one else is qualified.

After many twists and turns, she finally walked into the conference room with Song Anli, feeling as if she was going to a grave, and reported the contents of the letter of complaint in front of several shareholders and founders.

When gods fight, mortals suffer. Xie Jingxing suppressed Zhang Xuhao with a few words. It seemed that there was no trace, but she had already passively pressured most of her career prospects.

If Xie Jingxing wins, it may not be good for her. If he loses, he will have to return to Tencent in disgrace and continue to fight with other teams in the department.

"Boss Kang, your angry words are useless. It is true that the company has 8000 employees. Excluding the front-line food delivery riders, there are several hundred people who were recruited by my team in the past few months, especially last month and this month's campus recruitment. There is no way they are involved in corruption."

Liu Lin made up her mind to fight back and said something tough.

In her eyes, the capabilities of Ele.me's own human resources team are just a bunch of shit. If Kang Jia wants to incite employees to go on strike, he can just see how many people are willing to follow him.

(End of this chapter)