Wang Congcong replied with a playful look, "Your long-awaited new watch is finally a sure thing, isn't it? Look at how happy you are."
Qi Yuan nodded vigorously with a look of joy on his face.
"Exactly! The drop in the Conglomerate's stock today was just exaggerated—it's already over twenty percent. Do you know what that means? Their market value evaporated by nearly ten billion euros. It's simply staggering."
Qin Fen took over the conversation and continued, "That's right. This wave of banner incidents joint-organized by Shanghai and Kyoto has been making a huge stir online. Even the foreign internet has been keeping an eye on it."
Chen Hao added, "Initially, foreign investors could still hold steady, and the stock price was only slowly declining. But after China's fine was announced, everyone started selling off en masse. Today, it was a cliff-like halving. The Conglomerate is helpless now; the situation changed too quickly."
Wang Zheng hurriedly chimed in, "Exactly! Jiang Cheng, you have no idea. Last night, Brother Qin, Old Chen, and I didn't sleep a wink. We were staring at this the whole time, and we're still too excited to sleep."
Hearing this, Jiang Cheng turned his gaze toward the Business Trend Card in the system.
The data on the card clearly displayed the current situation.
It was obvious that the lowest point for the Conglomerate's trading price had not yet arrived.
Based on the current trend analysis, the price could still drop by as much as another twenty percent tomorrow.
According to the statistical data from the system, combined with the decline over the past few days...
Before the shares started to rebound, the Conglomerate would drop by a total of thirty-seven percent.
This meant that the Company's market value would evaporate by a full third in an instant.
Converting this figure into a specific amount, the Conglomerate lost a total of over twenty billion euros.
Such a massive loss was definitely not something an ordinary person could bear.
Jiang Cheng shrugged and responded, "It's not like it's the first time for you group of old scumbags, yet you're still pulling this 'no sleep' act."
Just as Jiang Cheng finished speaking, the familiar young woman beside Wang Zheng couldn't hold back her laughter and let out a "puchi" sound.
Although on the surface she didn't dare to directly ask about the business details the clients were discussing...
Having listened from the side for a while, she quickly understood what Jiang Cheng and the others were talking about.
After all, the matter regarding the Conglomerate had exploded across the entire internet over the past few days.
Whether it was social media, news websites, or various forums and communities, discussions and reports about it were everywhere.
It was almost impossible not to know.
Although she didn't understand the stock market...
She knew that trading stocks had always been a favorite investment method for the wealthy.
As the saying goes: succeed in stocks and enjoy young models at a club; fail in stocks and work at a construction site.
For wealthy people like them, insider information on the stock market was very well-informed.
Thinking of this, the young woman, who had been absent-mindedly stroking Wang Zheng's chest, suddenly changed her movements.
Her fair, slender fingers slowly slid down from his chest, all the way to his crotch.
After teasing him a few times, she said coquettishly, "Can you really go a whole night without sleeping?"
Wang Zheng, being teased like this, didn't appreciate it at all.
Instead, his face immediately darkened, and he said irritably, "What are you thinking? A whole night? Did you pay enough? Let's get one thing straight: I'm the one spending the money. You're not the one who gets to enjoy. Know your place."
Seeing Wang Zheng glaring coldly at her...
The beautiful young woman's originally lovely face instantly turned extremely awkward, as if hit by a frost.
She immediately sat up straight as submissively as a startled fawn, her hands unconsciously clutching the hem of her clothes tightly.
In a slightly trembling and nervous voice, she replied, "I'm sorry, Young Master Wang. It's all my fault for being so inconsiderate. Please don't take it to heart, and don't be angry with me."
The round dining table was exceptionally large, and Si Qing, sitting further away, hadn't heard clearly what the beautiful young woman had initially asked.
Suddenly hearing her being scolded, a hint of curiosity rose in her heart, and she subconsciously turned her gaze over there.
Qi Yuan, who had witnessed the whole scene from the side, had the corners of his mouth curled slightly upward in a playful smile.
He directly teased without hesitation, "Old Wang, why so angry? Beauty, don't be nervous. This guy just can't do it and got frustrated. He doesn't know how to cherish a flower. Brother will dote on you."
As soon as he said this, everyone present burst out laughing.
Jiang Cheng roasted him mercilessly, "I'm afraid you've forgotten what happened on the plane last time."
Qi Yuan had already opened his mouth to retort.
But when he saw that the person speaking was Jiang Cheng, he immediately swallowed the words that were about to come out.
Instead, he said, "Brother Cheng, let me tell you, Old Wang is right. We men are just like women; we have to love ourselves. Walking two steps leads to the finish line, and running two steps leads to the finish line, so why work so hard?"
Seeing Qi Yuan start putting forth his twisted logic again...
Jiang Cheng laughed and scolded, "You're simply toxic..."
Wang Congcong, hearing Jiang Cheng's words, also couldn't help but laugh out loud, chiming in, "It's the first time I've seen someone state such an excuse in such a refined and unconventional way. Brilliant! Truly brilliant!"
Initially, when she heard the first part of what Qi Yuan said, the beautiful young woman's heart was actually a bit touched.
But hearing the latter part, the expectation that had risen on her face immediately dimmed.
Although they came here for money...
What woman whose body has been 'developed' would like having her nose picked only halfway?
Or even worse, having it come out just after going in, before any 'digging' even happened?
The words they spoke were quite subtle. Although Si Qing realized that these words didn't seem simple, she still didn't quite understand if they were talking about what she thought. So, Si Qing subconsciously asked Jiang Cheng, "What are you guys talking about? I don't quite understand."
At that moment, the quick-reacting Qi Yuan hurriedly turned to face Si Qing, putting on an extremely serious and solemn expression as he explained.
"Sister-in-law, don't misunderstand. I'm talking about wholesome chicken soup for the soul, not the messy things they're talking about. Don't overthink it."
Before he could finish, Wang Congcong also hurriedly chimed in, "Right, right, right, Sister-in-law. We're all very innocent. We didn't say anything bad."
Wang Zheng also said, "Haha, exactly. We were just discussing a man's outlook on life and values, nothing else."
Jiang Cheng laughed and scolded upon hearing this, "I'm going to puke. You old perverts, stop talking nonsense. Let's just end this topic. Don't pollute my baby, okay? Let's get down to business, quickly."
Seeing Jiang Cheng say this, they all laughingly returned to serious topics.
Wang Congcong continued, "Do you know how ridiculous it is? The Conglomerate's Shanghai head even used connections to reach out to the Company, asking me to stop posting related things on the Social Media Platform. Even my dad knows about this. Talk about making a scene."
Chen Hao also chimed in.
"The most ridiculous part is still the media. Yesterday, when I opened the Social Media Platform, there were actually media outlets trying to whitewash them, saying the Conglomerate was framed by a joint smear campaign from Japanese car companies. But you were right before; the Conglomerate really spends a lot of marketing money in China. Their PR capability is quite something."
Wang Zheng took over and said, "Haha, making money isn't shameful. And actually, netizens and some of the Conglomerate's car owners don't really care about this, since it concerns their interests. Fortunately, the official response was very fast, directly issuing a fine and rectification notice, otherwise who knows what this would have turned into."
Seeing Wang Zheng give him a thumbs up, Qi Yuan waved his hand and looked at Jiang Cheng.
"The Information Department and the Market Supervision Bureau weren't arranged by me this time. It must have been Brother Cheng's doing."
Jiang Cheng picked up an oyster, put it in his mouth, and then replied.
"The media probably knows more about the Conglomerate's affairs than we do. But as Old Wang said, they have to make a living, so they take the money and do the job. If we hadn't invited the authorities to step in, this whole thing might have been quietly suppressed by the Conglomerate. That would have been troublesome."
Chen Hao listened and asked with some concern.
"Will targeting the Conglomerate on such a large scale be bad for Xingchen Investment? After all, this matter is a bit different from the previous two waves. The banner-pulling this time was a bit too obvious. Will there be any repercussions?"
Jiang Cheng waved his hand and said, "Don't worry. Xingchen wasn't the only one shorting this time. As you all know, many retail investors and some securities companies who received the news later also entered the market. It's just that their entry was one step slower than ours."
Qi Yuan also took over and said, "Exactly. Even if they want to settle scores later, we're not afraid. This is China. In a place like Shanghai, with our families united, what can they do? I bet they wouldn't dare."
Wang Zheng followed up, "Well said. So what if the Conglomerate has Germany's backing? This matter has been laid out clearly. The official investigation results are out, and the penalty notice has been issued. Even if they want to pursue it internationally, it depends on whether our people here will cooperate. They won't get their way so easily."