Chapter 151: Returning Hearts

Listening to the cheers outside, Lu Kun couldn't help but smile.

With this maneuver, the company's management was now firmly in the same trench as him. Even after the Huakun Group underwent financing and its shareholding structure became complex, Lu Kun no longer had to worry about the management colluding with newcomers to stage a mutiny.

The Huakun management team were no fools; on the contrary, they were sharp people. They clearly understood that their boss’s grand move was a setup designed to "snare" certain targets. Lu Kun had previously dropped subtle hints that the Huakun Group might become a company that never pays dividends. Once he finished screening and restructuring the group, he would allow those who contributed significantly to its future growth to invest in shares to a limited extent.

What business is the most profitable? Monopolies, of course. Currently, the Huakun Group held a near-total grip on the retail market in Angui, building a fortress so secure that not even a needle could pierce or water could seep through it. One didn't need to be a genius to guess how many people were watching with envy from the shadows.

Business is supposed to be about harmony and mutual prosperity, but the current path was unsustainable. A tall tree invites the wind. If Huakun continued to go it alone, should any storm arise, the number of people waiting to kick them while they were down would be enough to form an entire division. At such a critical juncture, there might not even be a single person willing to speak up for them. This was detrimental to the group's long-term development.

Therefore, Lu Kun had always advocated for "limited monopoly." Within the territory of Angui, he strove for total dominance—"one does not allow others to snore on one's own bed"—while in other regions, he championed harmony with "friendly competitors," believing that everyone thriving together was the true path to success.

Would big-time investors still be keen on buying into the Huakun Group even if its books showed persistent losses? The answer was yes, especially since the group held a regional monopoly and possessed high resilience against risks. As long as the Angui retail market remained secure, the Huakun Group would never fall. In fact, if the group ever wanted to "turn a profit" and present a beautiful financial statement, it could do so at a moment's notice. As for the fact that actual dividends were as elusive as a mirage, the investors didn't care in the slightest; they possessed enough foresight to understand the game.

The Huakun Group’s book losses were simply the result of pouring capital into market expansion and strengthening the company. It didn't matter if they didn't pay dividends for a long time. Once the timing was right, they could push for an IPO, and after the lock-up period expired, the shareholders could harvest a massive crop of retail investors, or even quietly manipulate the market to keep the money game going. It was a classic case of a willing buyer and a willing seller.

Moreover, both then and in the future, many private enterprises went to great lengths to ensure their books showed a loss, primarily because corporate income tax was a massive pitfall. It was only in these recent years, with a plethora of tax exemption policies, that private companies hadn't focused on "losses." In a few years, when these tax holidays ended and standard taxation resumed, private enterprises would happily embrace "long-term losses."

Of course, the state wouldn't leave such an obvious loophole in the law. In reality, the government was quite content with private enterprises using "long-term losses" to avoid taxes. To achieve this, companies had to find ways to spend their earnings rather than letting the money sit idle. This didn't just help the enterprises grow; it stimulated prosperity across other industries, which, from a national perspective, clearly outweighed the downsides. Therefore, the state turned a blind eye to this common practice—neither encouraging nor opposing it.

The Huakun management team was ready to give their boss a standing ovation for this move—it was brilliant! As the group’s control over the Angui retail market tightened, various ghosts and demons had been frequently probing Huakun’s stance on external capital and political influence. Even the managers were becoming annoyed by these pests. The fact that their boss was now planning to entrap these people—fattening his own team while reeling in these powerful "suckers"—was the most delightful outcome imaginable. Even if those targets eventually realized what had happened, they would have to swallow their pride and accept it.

The management team was already busy pondering which relatives and friends they could borrow money from. Although they were already quite wealthy, this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Even if it meant exhausting their savings to subscribe to Huakun Holdings' shares, it would be worth it.

Less than two hours after Sun Bowen had left, he returned. "Boss, here is the share subscription intent form from the entire management team. Please take a look."

Sun Bowen walked in with a beaming smile, his attitude toward Lu Kun so deferential that it gave Lu Kun the fleeting impression that Sun might be willing to lick his boots.

"Wow, your speed is comparable to a rocket!" Lu Kun took the intent form and scanned it quickly.

When he finished, his mouth twitched violently. Every single person had applied for the maximum share quota that Lu Kun had previously set for their respective positions.

"Are you sure you can actually come up with this much money?" Lu Kun asked with a complex expression. He had quietly conducted a survey and estimated there were only about two hundred "ten-thousand-yuan households" in the entire group. Yet, the total subscription amount on this form had already reached over 3.8 million yuan.

"Well... please give us some time, Boss. We have all signed promissory notes; we will definitely hand over the funds before the share subscription meeting. Would you like to see them?" Sun Bowen handed over another stack of papers.

Lu Kun looked at them, speechless. Many of these people were clearly planning to sell houses and land and borrow from every relative they had to buy into Huakun Holdings.

"Fine. But I’ve always believed in setting the rules clearly: let's be the 'villain' now so we can be 'gentlemen' later. You must explain to them that we follow a 'different rights for the same shares' policy. I don't want any squabbling later on," Lu Kun said with a shrug.

"Rest assured, Boss. With you at the helm of Huakun Holdings, we can all sleep soundly!" Sun Bowen replied quickly.

Once this was finalized, Sun Bowen would naturally become the second-largest shareholder of Huakun Holdings. The better the group performed and the more profitable the investment company became, the greater their own gains would be. While the boss took the lion's share, the management team would get to enjoy the broth—a truly satisfying prospect.