After the Divorce, I Could Hear the Voice of the Future

On the evening of March 15th, Ningde Era's IPO team made their way from Beijing to Modu.

Lu Liang warmly entertained them and had a long night's talk with Old Zeng, mainly to probe if they were holding anything back.

The powerful Kirin Battery he had been thinking about was soon to be equipped in the domestically produced Tesla.

If Ningde Era spilled all their secrets just to work with Tesla, that would be a somewhat Pyrrhic victory.

Zeng Minqun shook his head and grinned.

Lu Liang was puzzled, "Mr. Zeng, why the laughter?"

"In technology development, leading companies generally have one generation in production, one in reserve, and another in development."

Old Zeng shared his insights with Lu Liang, knowing full well that Lu Liang would definitely get into car manufacturing himself and patted his chest, saying, "Mr. Lu, whenever you're in need, we can supply the one in reserve."

Looking globally, in the power battery field, Ningde Era is at the forefront, so there's no need for them to offer their best technology, even the batteries provided to Tesla are two generations behind.

As an important partner of Ningde Era, if one day Lu Liang personally enters the fray, they would absolutely support him fully and give him the advantage of global first access to technology.

Lu Liang was speechless and gave a thumbs-up, then raised his glass, "Mr. Zeng, here's to you."

He also mentioned that, when that time comes, Tianxing Technology will also offer part of its equity to deepen the relationship between both parties.

"Mr. Lu, you're too polite. Cooperation is the key to mutual victory," Old Zeng said, smiling broadly, his eyes filled with admiration.

Ningde is willing to offer reserved technology, giving Lu Liang the advantage of global first access, which is based on relationships, but it wasn't a giveaway. Fortunately, Lu Liang understood that well.

The two had a very pleasant conversation, which lasted late into the night.

The next day at noon, Hilton Hotel.

"Wow, it was over 26 times oversubscribed in Beijing, I wonder how much it will exceed in Modu?"

"It should be no less than 30 times, after all, it's the financial capital."

"Such a small pattern, feel free to make bold guesses."

"You seem so certain, brother. Is it because you have inside information?"

A group of journalists whispered at the hotel entrance, as an IPO roadshow is like a premiere screening of a movie.

The more celebrities and big names attend, it shows the better standing of the company within the circle, which can also attract more investors.

For instance, during Ningde's roadshow in Beijing, Zhu Hu, Lei Jun, Li Xiang and others were in attendance, and it was said that Beijing's cash king, Lei Jun, even helped underwrite over a billion to join the fun.

Now that Ningde's roadshow had come to Modu, Lu Liang was likely to attend, so was Li Bing, and possibly Tesla too, but it was uncertain how many would come.

"Holy shit, Lu Liang is here so soon."

The IPO roadshow was scheduled for two in the afternoon, but just past one o'clock, a Bentley with a license plate of 11288 stopped at the hotel entrance.

Lu Liang appeared with a smile, quickly moving through the lobby to the eighth floor, escorted by security personnel.

Typically, the bigger the name, the later they would make an appearance, the so-called showstopper, so Lu Liang's early arrival was a bit beyond everyone's expectations.

Just when the media thought there would be bigger heavyweights to follow, there turned out to be no one of higher profile than Lu Liang by the time the roadshow began.

"Actually, a Lu Liang is enough, and moreover, he arrived so early," someone said softly.

The Tianxing Mixed Fund still had 20% of its capital position unused, a whopping 60 billion.

At the Modu leg of the roadshow, they would, unsurprisingly, only offer 52 million shares for the IPO subscription.

Lu Liang was so optimistic about Ningde Era that even if he used half for subscription purchases, it would hit more than 23 times oversubscribed.

At this remark, everyone fell silent.

It seemed to make sense.

Lu Liang alone was worth a thousand troops. Although he didn't possess much wealth, the funds he could mobilize were extraordinary.

Even if he spent all 60 billion, with just a word from him to launch another public fund, he could easily raise several hundred billion more in minutes.

A petition signed by tens of thousands for a hot search term still hung within the top hundred trending topics on Weibo, with over a hundred thousand names and likes.

Even if one person subscribed for ten thousand yuan, that would amount to one billion yuan, let alone that everyone will definitely subscribe for more than ten thousand yuan.

After all, there are plenty of ordinary people without access to investment channels, some of whom want to buy cars, some want to buy houses, and others are getting married. Their capital varies from tens of thousands to several hundred thousand yuan.

It can be said that as long as Lu Liang asks, their capital would all become a strong logistical force for Lu Liang, charging into battle.

Meanwhile, at the eighth floor of the Hilton Hotel, which can accommodate a banquet hall for five hundred people.

Lu Liang was there, just there.

He came only to support Ningde Era and had no intention of subscribing for shares, as he already held directly, or indirectly, 18% of the equity. Any more and Old Zeng would start to worry.

"Mr. Lu, the NIO ES8 has passed all safety and related tests and is expected to open for presales next month," said Li Bing, who also came to participate in Ningde's roadshow, looking haggard but spirited.

After 18 months and countless days and nights, his NIO was finally about to face its first major test.

The presale volume of the first day, first week, and first month would determine whether NIO had a future.

"Do you need my assistance with anything?" Lu Liang inquired.

Despite holding NIO's equity through a private placement, he could still offer a hand out of friendship.

Li Bing shook his head: "Do your best and leave the rest to fate."

He had done what he could. If sales flopped, he was prepared to accept it.

Lu Liang gave a slight nod of respect and said nothing further, focusing his attention on Old Zeng who was on the stage.

Ningde Era had performed very well last year, with the sales volume of its power batteries growing almost in sync with the new energy market.

The year before last, they only sold 2.4 GWh, equal to about 48,000 lithium batteries, but last year they saw an 82% increase to 4.36 GWh.

"In this year of rapid market growth, we've set a goal of producing 10 GWh..."

Old Zeng, a man of technology, was not one to boast or make empty promises; he basically listed the data and stuck to the facts.

Lu Liang silently sighed, applauded for show, and then, as a special guest, took the stage to say a few words.

He took the microphone, approached the podium from the side, with a smile on his lips and a slightly mocking tone: "To be fair, Mr. Zeng is just bragging about Ningde Era's position as one of the world leaders in power battery technology and the prospect of an endlessly promising market."

The investors in attendance could not help but smirk, displaying knowing smiles.

It had to be Lu Liang, with that unique flavor, he had it just right.

Because from an investor's perspective, Zeng Minqun's remarks were extremely poor.

They were not there to hear straightforward facts; they came for a story, to listen to the grand blueprints that Ningde painted.

Capital markets deal in expectations. Two years of success is not considered good. It must be a success for ten or twenty years to be truly good.

The longer the corporate development timeline, the more grandiose the blueprints, and the greater the potential for appreciation in the future.

That's why internet companies can reach PE ratios of dozens, even hundreds of times, which is quite normal.

Because any internet application targets a market that is nationwide, even worldwide.

The bigger the market, the greater the room for imagination. Just think, earning one yuan from each of China's 1.4 billion people would mean 1.4 billion yuan, and it's 7.4 billion on a global scale.

Moreover, the subsequent maintenance costs are ridiculously low. As long as the market grows, or even achieves a monopoly like WeChat, the wealth will naturally pour in.

"However, there is one data point that Mr. Zeng mentioned that is quite good, Ningde Era's power batteries account for 19.5% of the national market."

"What does this mean? On average, one in five new energy vehicles on the road carries a Ningde battery."

"The total sales of new energy vehicles in the country were just 250,000 units the year before last, but last year, that number doubled."

Lu Liang smiled, pacing leisurely, expounding on a fact: "According to Tesla, BYD, and SAIC's sales announcements, the first quarter of this year is expected to reach 300,000 units, surpassing 1.2 million for the whole year, becoming a reality."

"This market is growing rapidly, doubling in size each year. Just imagine, 1.2 million this year, 2.4 million next year, and 4.8 million the year after. It won't take five years for it to rival the fuel vehicle market."

"Those who understand the market know that the three key components of new energy vehicles are most important, with the battery being the foremost..."

Lu Liang was in the middle of his sentence when suddenly someone from below interjected, with a teasing tone: "Mr. Lu, are you solving a math problem? One million two hundred thousand this year, two million four hundred thousand next year, four million eight hundred thousand the year after — at this rate, the Earth will not be able to contain Ningde Era."