Chapter 174: Baidu Goes Public
August 5.
In the morning, while Li Dong was still asleep, Qin Yuhan pinched his nose and asked, "Has it gone up?"
Li Dong was roused from sleep, his consciousness still fuzzy. He muttered in confusion, "What's gone up?"
"The stock!"
Li Dong sighed and said, "It's too early. It's just getting dark in the U.S., and we won't know the results until late at night here."
"Then why did you tell me yesterday?" Qin Yuhan was exasperated.
Such things were too nerve-wracking. Not knowing was one thing, but knowing made her nearly frantic.
If it weren't for Qi Fangfang helping her share the stress last night, she probably wouldn't have slept at all.
Li Dong was at a loss for words and awkwardly said, "I was nervous yesterday, and when you asked, I just told you."
"Idiot, as if I'm not nervous!"
Qin Yuhan, frustrated, slapped him hard.
Li Dong gasped in pain and said, "Where do you think you're hitting? If you break something, just wait for me to be a widower!"
Qin Yuhan immediately became concerned, "Is it okay? I didn't mean to. Let me check?"
She reached for Li Dong's underwear, but Li Dong quickly covered himself and said, "Don't touch. Just looking won't solve anything. Don't try to seduce me so early in the morning."
Seeing that he was yelling with full vigor, Qin Yuhan knew he was fine and retorted, "Who's trying to seduce you? Shameless!"
"Why bother with shame? It doesn't put food on the table." Li Dong mumbled.
Qin Yuhan gave him a disdainful look and huffed, ignoring him.
Li Dong pinched her cheek and said with a smile, "Don't be angry. Just wait one more day, and you'll be the real wife of a billionaire."
"Dream on! Who's your wife?" Qin Yuhan blushed and scolded.
Li Dong laughed heartily and teased, "I said 'wife of a billionaire,' not 'my wife.' Why are you so eager to clarify? Are you impatient to get married?"
"Go to hell!"
Qin Yuhan was so mad she pinched him several times, only stopping when Li Dong begged for mercy.
After a bit of playful fighting, Qin Yuhan helped Li Dong get dressed and said, "If you're not busy today, let's go out and have some fun. I can't stay at home any longer; I'm so anxious I feel like I'm suffocating. Let's go out and distract ourselves for a day."
Li Dong thought this was a good idea.
Although he said he wasn't anxious, he couldn't be completely indifferent.
After all, it was over seventy million. If he wasn't nervous, it would be strange. Going out for a day was a good idea.
---
On this day, Li Dong and Qin Yuhan were almost constantly on the move.
In the morning, Li Dong accompanied Qin Yuhan shopping. Regardless of quality, they bought a ton of things, filling up the car.
In the afternoon, they went to the Pingchuan amusement park, trying every thrilling ride and anything that could clear their minds.
Only by having the most fun could they forget about Baidu and the seventy million.
In the evening, they first went to the snack street and tried every food, then went to see a movie.
By the time the movie ended, it was nearly eleven o'clock.
Leaving the cinema, a tired Qin Yuhan asked, "Has it gone up?"
Li Dong, with a wry smile, said, "You're still thinking about this?"
"I can't forget it. Whenever there's a moment of free time, I keep thinking about it. I feel like I'm going crazy," Qin Yuhan said with a bitter smile.
"Don't rush. Just wait a little longer. It'll be listed soon."
Qin Yuhan nodded, "Then let's go back. By the time we get home, it should be listed."
---
Qin Yuhan said she would stay up with Li Dong to wait for the results, but she fell asleep in the car before they got home.
After a day of shopping and playing, they were both exhausted.
When Li Dong parked, he heard Qin Yuhan half-asleep, asking, "Has it gone up?"
"It's gone up!"
Li Dong responded cheerfully, carefully carrying her upstairs.
When he placed Qin Yuhan on the bed, she groggily asked again, "Has it gone up?"
"It's gone up. Just sleep well. You'll find out the result first thing in the morning."
"That's good…"
Qin Yuhan mumbled, then relaxed and fell into a peaceful sleep.
---
That night, Li Dong stayed awake.
He wasn't the only one who couldn't sleep—many others were also awake.
Sun Tao was awake, waiting for the result. He wanted to know what magic Baidu had that could make Li Dong spend such a fortune on its stock.
Li Dong had even emptied Yuanfang's reserves and mortgaged properties to buy the stock.
It had caused a huge commotion and nearly paralyzed Yuanfang.
Qi Fangfang also couldn't sleep, or rather, she hadn't slept much since last night.
The phrase "seventy million" kept echoing in her mind. She just wanted to know whether Li Dong had made a profit or a loss.
The fat man and Cheng Nan from the Little Red Mansion were also awake. They hadn't paid attention to Baidu or any company IPOs before.
But with Li Dong holding Baidu shares and spending nearly a hundred million, they wanted to know the result as soon as possible.
Xu Chen, Bai Su, Huang Shanshan, Li Wan, Fang Qingfei…
Almost everyone who knew Li Dong's identity was awake. The last time Li Dong caused such a stir on the forum was because of his acquisition of Baidu shares.
Because of Li Dong, many people were paying close attention to Baidu and NASDAQ that night.
---
At the same time, in the U.S.
Li Yanhong, Xu Yong, and other high-level executives or shareholders at Baidu were in a frenzy.
Around 12:40 a.m., Baidu's stock price surpassed $100 per share!
Around 2:30 a.m., Baidu's stock price soared to $150 per share!
By 4 a.m., Baidu closed at $122.54. Within a few hours, Baidu's market value skyrocketed to $4 billion, which is over 30 billion RMB!
On this day, the big screen in Times Square displayed "Welcome Baidu" continuously for 24 hours.
Baidu became the non-U.S. company with the highest price increase on the first day in NASDAQ's history, with a rise of over 350% on the first day!
The miracle created by Baidu shocked Wall Street!
---
On the morning of the 6th, Li Dong received a call from the U.S.
After hanging up, Li Dong began to cheer wildly!
There were no surprises, no butterfly effects—Baidu was successful, and so was he!
Five hundred thousand shares of Baidu stock, 60 million dollars, nearly 500 million RMB—that's an astronomical figure.
Li Dong excitedly rushed into Qin Yuhan's room and kissed the still-sleepy Qin Yuhan fiercely.
Qin Yuhan nearly suffocated from his kisses, pushed him away angrily, and said, "Are you crazy?"
"I'm not crazy. I'm really not crazy!" Li Dong laughed heartily, spinning Qin Yuhan around several times before exclaiming, "Yuhan, it's up! Baidu's stock has skyrocketed. Do you know?"
"It's up?"
Qin Yuhan, now awake, quickly asked, "By how much?"
"Almost five billion. Do you know? Five billion! Hahaha…"
"Five billion!"
Qin Yuhan was completely shocked. Did she hear correctly? Li Dong said five billion!
At that moment, Qin Yuhan felt dizzy. Is this real?
---
Meanwhile, major media outlets in China were reporting on Baidu.
Baidu's IPO had created eight billionaires, hundreds of millionaires, and countless millionaires in a single day.
And Li Dong, the new five-billionaire, was among them.