September 13, Tuesday.

Zhang Lixian, carrying the Finance Channel’s recording equipment, arrived at the uniquely designed building of City Dawn.

Li Shi was already waiting on the 11th floor.

“Mr. Li, hello, hello!”

Zhang Lixian and Li Shi shook hands warmly, and Li Shi invited Zhang Lixian and the cameraman in.

Entering the empty living room, Zhang Lixian was stunned.

Was this… a newly moved-in house?

It was practically bare, like it had just been robbed. How could anyone live here?

Zhang Lixian felt very confused.

When she previously heard that Mr. Li had set the interview location at City Dawn Residential Complex, she thought it was Mr. Li’s residence, since it was in a residential complex and obviously couldn’t be an office location.

But upon arrival, Zhang Lixian became puzzled again.

How could this be a residence?

There wasn’t the slightest hint of life.

As far as she knew, Mr. Li had been married for years, and his son was already in middle school, but there was no trace of his wife and son having lived here.

Which meant Li Shi wasn’t treating this place as his home, but had merely rented a Sloth Apartments unit?

Why?

Was there something special about this place?

Zhang Lixian hadn’t even started the interview, but already had many questions.

Li Shi noticed her confusion and smiled: “I know what you want to ask. No rush, let’s talk slowly.”

Near the balcony was a small tea table with two chairs, perfect for the interview. The sunlight coming through the floor-to-ceiling windows initially created backlighting for the camera, but Li Shi adjusted the smart glass to solve the problem.

This wasn’t a formal news interview, but more like a talk show segment. The program had a longer time slot, and the conversation between the two was relatively casual.

Zhang Lixian recalled the questions she wanted to ask while involuntarily glancing at the square black box on the tea table.

What was this thing?

It was impossible not to notice. The room was so large with virtually no other furnishings, making this black box on the tea table extremely eye-catching.

Li Shi smiled: “This object, I’ll explain later.”

Zhang Lixian nodded, deciding to proceed with the normal interview process. If she wasn’t satisfied with the interview results, they could always reshoot.

After all preliminary preparations were complete, the interview officially began.

Zhang Lixian had many questions, such as why Mr. Li arranged the interview here, what the deal was with the room’s furnishings, what the black box was for, and so on. But she still started with the questions she had prepared beforehand.

“Mr. Li, you’re a veteran in Jingzhou and even Handong’s venture capital industry, a witness to many wealth legends, and your Fuhui Capital has directly or indirectly helped many local industries in Jingzhou.”

“Recently, you’ve also responded to the call to invest substantial funds in the old industrial zone, where Startling Inn is located.”

“However, originally, Jingzhou’s businesses and investors avoided this area like the plague. What made you decide to invest there?”

Li Shi fell into reminiscence: “Actually, I wasn’t optimistic about the place either. But one day, Mr. Pei asked me which project in Jingzhou was the one investors were most unwilling to touch?”

“I thought about it and said, it should be the old industrial zone.”

“Because at that time, the old industrial zone was still a wasteland, with only some abandoned factories, and it was far in the suburbs, in a very remote location.”

“I thought Mr. Pei was just joking, but he invested without a second thought!”

“So, I invested too.”

Zhang Lixian was stunned.

Was it… that casual?

Mr. Pei invested, so you followed? What if Mr. Pei’s investment had failed?

“Then… why do you trust Mr. Pei so much?” Zhang Lixian asked.

Li Shi smiled: “If you investigate Mr. Pei’s Dream Fulfillment Venture Capital investments in detail, you’d find that his investments are worlds apart from others!”

“Others’ investments have only two outcomes: loss or profit.”

“But Mr. Pei’s investments also have only two outcomes: profit now or profit later!”

“The most successful investment of Dream Fulfillment Venture Capital was buying Finger Company shares. Every step’s timing was perfect, and the return multiplied more than twenty times!”

“Investing requires not only courage but also vision.”

“An excellent investor must first see opportunities, then know how to seize them, and finally dare to grasp them!”

“Mr. Pei has achieved the extreme in every aspect, which is why he can invest in so many successful projects.”

“Of course, before investing, Mr. Pei repeatedly warned me that this project would have great risks. I thought, risk is risk. The renovation of the old industrial zone was imperative. If we lost money, it would be like contributing to Jingzhou.”

“As a native of Jingzhou who has fortunately acquired some wealth, giving back to society is what I should do.”

Zhang Lixian nodded: “Mr. Li’s breadth of mind is truly admirable. I notice you seem to have great trust in Mr. Pei. Does this trust come from Mr. Pei’s brilliant investment record, or from elsewhere?”

Li Shi was silent for a moment, then said, “Actually, at first, it was because of Mr. Pei’s brilliant investment record. At that time, I didn’t have a deep understanding of why Mr. Pei and Dream Fulfillment Venture Capital could achieve so much success.”

“But recently, I’ve increasingly understood what the root of it all is. I think this experience can be shared not only with investors but also with all young people aspiring to make something of themselves.”

“The fundamental reason Mr. Pei has achieved such results is his way of thinking!”

Zhang Lixian’s eyes lit up: “Could you elaborate?”

Li Shi smiled slightly: “This is Sloth Apartments, Tenda’s newest rental brand. But many people don’t know that Mr. Pei also lives here, on the top floor of this building. All the furnishings in this room are the same as in Mr. Pei’s room!”

Zhang Lixian was surprised.

She certainly hadn’t thought of this!

Everyone knew where Tenda’s office was located and where Mr. Pei’s office was, but few knew Mr. Pei’s true appearance or where he lived.

“Mr. Pei’s residence is also like this? Isn’t it too simple? How can anyone live here?” Zhang Lixian asked in confusion.

Li Shi smiled: “That’s what I initially thought, too.”

“After discovering that Mr. Pei lived here, I was also surprised, because the furnishings are so simple, simple to the point of affecting normal life.”

“People living here easily feel like they’re in a temple or monastery, because there’s no sense of life at all.”

“So I also became puzzled.”

“With Mr. Pei’s wealth, buying a luxuriously decorated villa would be effortless. Why would he live in a place like this?”

“So, with these questions, I also lived here for over half a month, and finally, I understood Mr. Pei’s profound intention.”

Li Shi deliberately created suspense, pausing before saying: “This place helps concentrate the mind for thinking. And Mr. Pei lives here precisely to focus all his attention on thinking for long periods!”

“Rather than calling this Mr. Pei’s residence, it’s more like Mr. Pei’s training room, his meditation chamber!”

“Mr. Pei’s success is not a coincidence, but the result of diligent thinking day after day.”

“He compressed his material enjoyment to an extremely low level, keeping only the bare minimum necessities in the entire room, living such a minimalist life just to prevent all kinds of miscellaneous things from interfering with his thinking!”

“Without these miscellaneous items, one can think more focused. Living in such an environment for a long time can foster this focused, long-term thinking mode.”

“There’s no such thing as an investment genius in this world. Mr. Pei has simply utilized all his time efficiently for thinking!”

“So now I’m also trying to learn this ‘simplifying complexity’ way of thinking.”

“I often come here to think quietly by myself. I’ve found that many problems I couldn’t figure out before can be solved quickly here, because here, I can concentrate without any distractions.”

Zhang Lixian’s face showed sudden understanding.

So that was it!

Previously, she was also perplexed. Mr. Pei was the boss of Tenda Group, making five hundred million from a single investment. What kind of house couldn’t he afford?

Although this apartment wasn’t small, it still didn’t match Mr. Pei’s wealth.

Moreover, Mr. Pei had arranged his home so simply, with almost nothing extra, reminiscent of ascetics and seekers of the Way.

Was this reasonable?

Who doesn’t like convenience? Who doesn’t like comfort?

Mr. Pei’s Tenda Group was already a huge enterprise. Logically, enjoying life would be a normal choice.

But Mr. Pei didn’t do that.

Mr. Pei had a very special purpose.

This puzzle was solved by fellow investor Mr. Li.

Mr. Pei’s success wasn’t accidental but the result of deep deliberation.

And the reason Mr. Pei could think deeper and further than ordinary people was because he created a space where he could set aside distractions and concentrate on thinking with this extremely strict attitude!

While others were enjoying family life at home, Mr. Pei was still here, seriously contemplating Tenda Group’s future development direction. Day after day, month after month, of course, there would be a world of difference!

Zhang Lixian suddenly thought of a question and looked at the black box on the tea table: “Then, what is this black box for?”

Li Shi didn’t speak but demonstrated it to Zhang Lixian.

After quickly pressing several metal rods, the machine in the box automatically restored them in sequence.

Zhang Lixian was confused: “This is…”

Li Shi explained: “It’s an exquisite craft item.”

“But it contains philosophical implications that help us think better.”

“Mr. Pei’s room also has an identical one. I went to great lengths to find this thing’s official website, only to discover it was also made by Dream Fulfillment Venture Capital!”

“In other words, this is likely Mr. Pei’s special custom invention.”

“Its name is the Automatic Contrarian Machine.”

Zhang Lixian remained confused: “Automatic Contrarian Machine? What does it have a philosophical meaning? How does it help us think better?”

Li Shi turned the Automatic Contrarian Machine toward Zhang Lixian, letting her try it herself.

Zhang Lixian pressed it for a minute and asked puzzledly: “What’s the point of this? It’s a complete waste of time, isn’t it?”

Li Shi smiled slightly: “It has no meaning.”

“Its greatest meaning is that it has no meaning.”

“It embodies the traditional Taoist philosophical idea: the utility of uselessness.”

“Making people realize that certain behaviors are meaningless is itself meaningful.”

“This thing is called the Automatic Contrarian Machine, simulating the entire process of arguing with people online.”

“Nowadays, there are more and more contrarians online, and more and more meaningless arguments, especially for public figures who very easily get trapped in these meaningless arguments.”

“We always tend to argue with people, but most of the time, many people aren’t debating right or wrong, but competing for superiority.”

“No one tries to understand what the other person truly means or reflect on whether they might be wrong. Instead, they try every possible way to find loopholes in the other person’s language, wanting to defeat them.”

“So we find that arguing with people online never leads to consensus.”

“Arguing with these people is like arguing with this Automatic Contrarian Machine. No matter how hard you try, it will counter-argue, and you’re just wasting your time.”

“As a thinker, it’s even easier to fall into these meaningless arguments. Because the more you think, the angrier you become at others’ foolishness; the more you think, the easier it is to fall into your foolishness without realizing it.”

“Whether it’s the former or the latter, it’s very dangerous. Thinking brings us wisdom, but sometimes it also brings obsession and arrogance.”

“This machine reminds you that this is meaningless, don’t waste your time, and don’t argue with online contrarians.”

“You just need to think carefully and do your own thing.”

“So whenever I feel irritable, I press it. Watching it constantly arguing with me, undoing all my efforts, I finally realize I’m wasting time, doing useless work.”

“Thus, my negative emotions are vented, and I can calm down and continue thinking.”

“Why did Mr. Pei leave no crafts or decorations in the room except for this?”

“It’s because it’s not just a craft or art piece; it’s also a ‘thought reset machine’ that, when combined with the overall room layout, helps us calm down and think better.”

“In my view, it’s the soul of this ‘thinking space’!”