Yang Lin checked into the hospital on the twenty-sixth. She could go into labor any time in the next couple of days.

Xu Ye was on standby for Jiang Meilin's call. When the time came, there was no way she'd be able to handle the hospital on her own.

Sure enough, when Xu Ye mentioned selling some of his ofo shares, Zhao Ming was very interested. 2016 was the real start of the sharing economy, which would peak in the first half of 2017. No wonder he wanted in.

But because the sums involved were so big, Zhao Ming didn't say yes on the spot. He said he'd have to run it by his uncle, Zhao Wenhua. That same afternoon, Xu Ye got a call from Zhao Ming: his uncle was inviting Xu Ye to come to Lisheng Capital and talk it over in person.

Xu Ye agreed right away. After lunch, he drove to Lisheng Capital.

Zhao Ming was waiting for him at the front door. When he saw Xu Ye had come alone, he threw an arm around his shoulders, and the two of them went up to Zhao Wenhua's office together.

Zhao Wenhua's office was huge. His rosewood desk was a good three times the size of the one in Xu Ye's office. The tea table on the other side was intricately carved, too, with water actually trickling across the top of it. It had to be worth a fortune.

"Uncle, Xu Ye's here."

Xu Ye followed his lead. "Hello, Uncle Zhao."

Zhao Wenhua got up with a smile and pointed to a chair by the tea table. "Have a seat."

Xu Ye sat down and took in the office. When he saw Zhao Wenhua pick up the teapot, he quickly held out the cup on the table.

"ofo's valuation has been soaring. Why would you want to sell now?" Zhao Wenhua got straight to the point.

Xu Ye smiled. "To be honest, my company's out of cash. Selling shares right now is a loss, for sure. But I figured if good stuff's going around, it should…