Shanghai.
Deep Space’s office building in the high-tech zone.
Xu Gui returned to his office from a board meeting. He threw his meeting notes on his table and sat on his office chair. He frowned and sighed heavily.
Since 2020, China had included aerospace as one of its main national focuses. A large number of private aerospace companies had had significant growth because of this.
Deep Space was at the right place at the right time.
Generally speaking, an industrial company needed more than just capital and policy support; it also needed time to grow its technology.
However, this company was special.
In one year, with just one billion yuan in capital, the company went from a raw materials supplier to a “high tech enterprise”, mainly engaging in “aerospace launches”.
Because of the successful Chinese moon landing project, Xu Gui was able to cooperate with Haifeng Capital Ventures and successfully take Deep Space to the public.
However, the good times didn’t last long. The delay of the Tiangong program and the rise of the Moon Palace program lowered the demand for low-Earth orbit launches. This had a huge impact on the profits of Deep Space.
After all, Star Sky Technology was the only company that was capable of Earth-Moon transfers. That meant they couldn’t receive any of the billions of yuan that was going to be spent on launches.
This was all because of Professor Lu…
Xu Gui stared at his meeting notes on the table and took out a cigarette from his pocket. He was about to light his cigarette when suddenly the office door was pushed open. A man wearing a suit walked in.
Chairman Xu Gui spoke in a commanding tone.
“I’ve told you before, knock before you enter my office.”
“Is now the time to talk about that? Not to mention, I’m not your subordinate.” The man placed a document on the table and said, “The board is not happy, that’s all I have to say.”
As Deep Space’s partner, Haifeng Capital Ventures had a huge role in Deep Space’s success.
One could even make the case that all of Deep Space’s success came from Haifeng Capital.
Because of this, Xu Gui had no power over this man.
However, he wasn’t scared of him either…
After all…
Xu Gui smirked and slowly said, “Forget about those useless things. I know the board isn’t happy. We’re walking on a tightrope here.”
He Yan smiled and replied, “You’re right, I wasn’t trying to offend you. I just want you to know that because the Tiangong plan was replaced by the Moon Palace plan, our stock dropped by 15 basis points in a week. Even though I trust you, if this trend continues, other investors might not.”
He Yan was actually underplaying the situation. If the stock price continued to fall, the small shareholders wouldn’t be able to handle it anymore. It would be a bloodbath.
With the current financial state of Deep Space, any withdrawal or liquidation of assets would be a devastating blow.
Even though He Yan was smiling on the outside, he was bleeding on the inside.
His investment in Deep Space was one of his biggest career victories. He was the one that secured series funding for Deep Space and eventually taking it public. Haifeng Capital Ventures’ initial 20 million yuan investment turned into 1 billion yuan.
However, unforeseen events happened. He counted on China’s future investment in aerospace, but he didn’t expect Professor Lu to disrupt the industry by sending a man on the moon.
He never expected that, in support of Professor Lu, the Communist Party of China even established a Lunar Orbit Committee!
Even though Haifeng Capital Ventures had some connections in politics, their influence wasn’t comparable to the Lunar Orbit Committee at all…
Xu Gui stared at He Yan and didn’t say anything.
After being in the industry for so many years, his intuition told him that the man standing in front of him didn’t come here without a reason. So far so that Xu Gui believed He Yan already had a solution.
He Yan smirked.
“Insider information.”
“Insider information again?” Xu Gui snorted and leaned back in his office chair. He said, “What’s the news? Is the Lunar Orbit Committee going to be dissolved?”
The last thing he wanted was more news.
Ever since the establishment of the Lunar Orbit Committee, his company had had nothing but bad news.
He Yan shook his head and said, “Not yet, but close.”
Xu Gui raised his eyebrows, and he said, “Oh really?”
He Yan slowly said, “According to a trusty source, there was a major failure in the core module of the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation.”
Xu Gui’s eyes suddenly lit up, and he bounced up from his chair.
“Are you sure? Is the problem serious?”
“Very serious, the problem is with the cooling system. I think the loop heat pipe is broken or something… I don’t know the specifics, but apparently, the higher-ups are planning on delaying the launch.”
Xu Gui slapped his thigh.
“Fantastic!”
Even though he shouldn’t gloat this much…
But the entire company’s future was on his shoulders. This was music to his ears. He wanted the higher-ups to realize the impracticality of Professor Lu’s moon space station. Only then would they adjust their aerospace policies and plans…
Maybe Professor Lu would be removed as chief designer, or the annoying Lunar Orbit Committee would be dissolved, and a new committee would be formed…
He Yan looked at Xu Gui’s excited face and said, “Don’t get excited just yet, this is just a small mistake. At most, a few higher-ups from the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation will have to write a report. It won’t reach Lu Zhou’s level.”
Xu Gui calmed down and looked at He Yan.
“So what you’re saying is?”
“Spread the news.”
Xu Gui looked surprised.
“Are you crazy?! Won’t we get caught?”
“Don’t worry, I’m not that dumb,” He Yan said. “The news obviously won’t come out of China. We can let the American media leak the news first, then wait for the news to travel across the ocean.”
Xu Gui’s eyes were lighting up, but he still had some doubts.
“Are you sure… about this?”
Hopefully, no one will find out we’re the ones behind this.
But if someone finds out…
The stock price dropping won’t be the only thing awaiting me.
He Yan saw that Xu Gui was a little hesitant, so he smiled and said, “Don’t worry, remember that ‘We are losing this race’ article?”
“Kind of…” Xu Gui suddenly looked at He Yan and said, “You’re the person behind that article?”
“Manipulating public opinion is a valid strategy. Professor Lu benefits our country as a whole, but that doesn’t mean he benefits us.” He Yan lightly smiled and said, “Even though the public opinion isn’t impactful, when combined with other strategies, it can work wonderfully!”
