Chapter 16: Taking Action

The reason Lin Haoran had Su Zhixue obtain the stock transaction records for Qingzhou Ceramics from the past six months was to see if Li Jiacheng had made his move on the company.

Because he lacked detailed knowledge of Qingzhou Ceramics in his previous life, he did not know exactly when Li Jiacheng would begin his maneuvers. Therefore, these transaction records became the key basis for him to assess the current situation and understand market dynamics.

However, he knew that Li Jiacheng would likely begin his covert operations on Qingzhou Ceramics toward the end of 1978. That year, Li would have acquired approximately 25% of Qingzhou Ceramics' shares at maximum speed, becoming a major shareholder and being invited by the board of directors to serve as a company director.

If the trading volume of Qingzhou Ceramics suddenly spiked abnormally, it would go without saying that Li Jiacheng had begun his move, because as far as Lin Haoran knew, Li's covert acquisition of Qingzhou Ceramics had been very smooth, without interference from other forces.

Although Li Jiacheng had lost the possibility of acquiring Wharf Holdings, he had made a massive profit of nearly 60 million Hong Kong dollars by reselling those shares to the "King of Boatmen."

Consequently, Li Jiacheng's current cash flow was extremely abundant.

After receiving the stock transaction records, Lin Haoran scanned the data carefully and quickly.

His primary focus was the daily trading volume.

Soon, he finished reviewing the records.

After finishing, Lin Haoran breathed a sigh of relief.

Based on the data, Li Jiacheng had likely not yet made his move on Qingzhou Ceramics, as the daily trading volume was not particularly high.

This allowed him to feel at ease.

However, Lin Haoran also knew that he had to act as soon as possible, as it was already September.

It would be best to become a major shareholder of Qingzhou Ceramics before Li Jiacheng acted, making it difficult for him to enter the market.

As for whether his funds would be insufficient, Lin Haoran was not considering that for the time being.

Once the 50 million Hong Kong dollars arrived, he wouldn't worry about running out of money until at least that amount was spent.

If he ran out of money, what if the funds from Wharf Holdings were insufficient? He would naturally find a way to raise more capital when the time came.

Setting down the transaction records, Lin Haoran turned his gaze toward Su Zhixue, who was sitting nearby.

"Boss, please give me your instructions," Su Zhixue said, understanding that a task was imminent.

"If I want you to covertly acquire shares of Qingzhou Ceramics without being discovered, without driving the price up too much, and while keeping the current price stable—would that be difficult for you?" Lin Haoran asked.

"Mr. Lin, please rest assured. Such a task is not difficult for me; in fact, this is exactly what I specialize in," Su Zhixue replied confidently.

"Good. From this moment on, I need you to devote your full effort to absorbing as many shares of Qingzhou Ceramics as possible, with no upper limit on the quantity. But you must ensure the entire process is conducted discreetly so that the outside world does not notice our movements. At the same time, the price must remain stable during the acquisition to avoid market volatility, while maintaining high efficiency in the absorption rate. Do you have the confidence to complete such a task?" Lin Haoran continued seriously.

"I am confident!"

"I have already linked my stock trading account to my bank card, and there is currently over one million Hong Kong dollars in the account as startup capital. Once these funds are exhausted, I will increase the capital as quickly as possible. My goal is to become the largest shareholder of Qingzhou Ceramics, and I hope to achieve this goal as soon as possible, ideally within a month.

I have learned that other business owners have already shown great interest in this stock and may take action in the next month or two. Therefore, we must race against time to acquire as many shares of Qingzhou Ceramics as possible before they do. This is a daunting task, but I believe in your ability. I hope you will give it your all and not let me down!" Lin Haoran instructed sternly.

"Mr. Lin, I have always believed that this stock holds immense potential. I once proposed my views to the company, but unfortunately, when the news reached the Chairman, it did not receive enough attention and failed to progress further.

This also caused my in-depth research into Qingzhou Ceramics to be interrupted. Now, seeing how much you value this stock, I am deeply encouraged.

Please rest assured, Mr. Lin. I will devote all my resources and efforts to serve you and ensure our goal is successfully achieved!" Su Zhixue was full of confidence. He hadn't expected that his boss shared his eye for the same stock—they were kindred spirits!

"Your task isn't just this. Later, when the stock price of Wharf Holdings drops to a certain level, I will also have you step in. At that time, you may have to handle two stocks simultaneously," Lin Haoran said with a smile.

Given the current situation, it would actually be better to hire one or two more stock traders, or even a whole team. However, if their loyalty was not high, his objectives might be leaked. Whether this information reached Lin Wan'an or the outside world, it would significantly impact his subsequent actions. Lin Haoran did not want to take that risk, so for now, he could only let Su Zhixue handle it alone.

Moreover, from what he could see, it would take some time for Wharf Holdings' stock to drop to the low point in his memory; it likely wouldn't hit bottom before the 50 million Hong Kong dollars arrived.

Therefore, Su Zhixue only needed to deal with Qingzhou Ceramics for the time being.

As for Wharf Holdings, Lin Haoran would also keep an eye on it; he wasn't going to sit idle.

"Managing two stocks simultaneously will be somewhat stressful, but I will do my best to handle things well for you, Mr. Lin, and achieve the goals you require!" Lin Haoran was his benefactor, so Su Zhixue had long since decided to help his boss to the best of his ability.

"Mm, let's not talk anymore. Get to work!" Lin Haoran smiled.

"Yes, Boss!" Having received his orders, Su Zhixue began to busy himself.

Lin Haoran was gambling.

He was gambling that Li Jiacheng would not start moving on Qingzhou Ceramics within the next month or two.

He was gambling that Li would only act toward the end of the year.

If he won the gamble, he would have the chance to control the largest cement company in Hong Kong.

If he lost, he could simply sell it to Li Jiacheng and profit from the price difference.

Win or lose, he wouldn't lose money!

Thus, he had set his sights on Qingzhou Ceramics.

Watching Su Zhixue's busy figure, Lin Haoran stayed in the office for a few minutes before leaving.

He had things to do next.

For instance, monitoring the stock market transactions of Wharf Holdings.

At this moment, he felt that what he lacked most was perhaps a team to collect intelligence, analyze information and data, and conduct research for him.

It would be wonderful if he had a think tank capable of investigating any piece of business intelligence for him.

Perhaps then, he could use intelligence to understand the movements of Cheung Kong Holdings.

Unfortunately, his current strength was insufficient, and he did not yet have the capacity to build his own think tank.