Pei Qian didn’t believe a single punctuation mark of what Li Shi said.
From a business perspective, Li was a veteran investor. How could he possibly invest money in projects that were never going to recover their costs?
Much earlier, Pei Qian had already mentioned the haunted house project to Li and had disingenuously invited him to join. At that time, Li had just chuckled and completely avoided the topic.
Li Shi thought the haunted house couldn’t possibly succeed, so he didn’t want to get involved.
So why had he changed his mind now?
Clearly, “thanking Mr. Pei for his support” was just an excuse, just a polite phrase.
Could it be that after some thought and investigation during this period, Li Shi had seen some profit potential in the haunted house?
Pei Qian thought carefully. Recently, the Jingji Hostel has been under construction for nearly a month.
Since they were currently working on smaller projects, progress was fast. Perhaps in a few more days, one or two of the small projects might be ready for a preliminary experience.
So if Li had sent someone to investigate, he would naturally discover that Boss Pei was very serious about this haunted house, and progress was rapid…
In short, there must be some misunderstanding here.
Pei Qian sighed softly: “Mr. Li, I remember you weren’t optimistic about the haunted house project before. Can you tell me why you’ve changed your mind?”
The implication was: Mr. Li, what exactly do you find reliable about the haunted house project? I can change it if needed.
Li Shi smiled: “Well… it might sound a bit absurd.”
Pei Qian smiled, thinking to himself, It doesn’t matter how absurd the reason is, I’ll have Chen Kangtuo and his team change it!
Li Shi continued: “Actually, my renewed optimism about the haunted house project isn’t because of the project itself, but because of some insights I’ve gained while opening this restaurant recently.”
Pei Qian: “?”
What did insights from opening a restaurant have to do with a haunted house?
Li Shi said, “The Ming Fu Family Banquet had an unfavorable start. I’ve been reflecting on why these past few days.”
Thinking carefully, the key lies in some details. These details directly affect the customer experience and determine the reputation of a high-end restaurant…”
Li Shi began to analyze earnestly.
Pei Qian sipped his tea, struggling to maintain his expression.
Mr. Li, you’re overthinking this! Ming Fu Family Banquet had a bad start simply because I accidentally brought Little Tang along that day and inadvertently harmed an ally…
But since he couldn’t say this outright, he could only silently drink his tea and keep his thoughts to himself.
After an extensive analysis, Li Shi finally remarked with emotion: “Therefore, I increasingly realize how difficult it must have been for you, Mr. Pei, when you started Nameless Restaurant!”
“The initial situation of Nameless Restaurant and the predicament of this haunted house are so similar!”
“Yet despite this, Nameless Restaurant became wildly successful!”
“I’ve discovered that no matter how outlandish a project is, once it passes through Mr. Pei’s hands, it seems to be injected with a soul!”
“Since you’ve decided to build a haunted house, Mr. Pei, you must have complete confidence. So, although I still can’t figure out exactly how you plan to promote this haunted house, I believe in you!”
Li’s attitude was very sincere.
Pei Qian was speechless.
Just because of this?
Pei Qian had been wondering which aspect of the haunted house Li was optimistic about, so he could change it.
But it turned out to be for such an absurd reason.
Pei Qian was at a loss for words: “Mr. Li, I appreciate your goodwill, but the risk of the haunted house project is truly significant. I’m being genuinely sincere for your good.”
Pei Qian spoke earnestly. He had no intention of letting Li get involved. Although Jingji Hostel had an extremely low chance of success, they couldn’t forget the lesson of Mingyun Private Kitchen.
What if Li decided to set up some kind of complementary facilities next to Jingji Hostel, attracting other investors to follow suit, and turned the surrounding area into a new commercial district with high popularity…
Wouldn’t that be a disaster?
However, Li Shi smiled, clearly not believing a word.
“Mr. Pei, since you also think this is goodwill, then don’t just appreciate it—let’s not be so formal between us—just accept it.”
“Rest assured, I absolutely won’t interfere with the operations. I just want to earn a bit of dividends. Making money together isn’t that good?”
“Or, if Mr. Pei feels that investing in the haunted house is inappropriate, can you recommend another investment project? Let me invest in Slackin’ Internet Café, and we can open a few more branches?”
“Or… should I go to Lin City and invest some money there?”
Li’s expression was very sincere.
Pei Qian: “…”
This was a threat, a very obvious threat!
As soon as he heard the words “Lin City,” Pei Qian understood. Although he had instructed Zhang Yuan to keep a low profile, the activities in Lin City were not escaping Li’s watchful eyes.
Previously, when ROF made a fortune due to rising memory prices, Pei Qian reluctantly decided to have Zhang Yuan expand into Lin City, hoping to open Slackin’ Commercial Complex in this remote area to consume the excess funds.
But Li Shi had been keeping an eye on Pei Qian all along and had such well-informed sources. How could he not know?
Pei Qian found himself in a dilemma.
He could certainly ignore Li Shi, but then Li Shi could invest this money in Lin City, opening several bars, coffee shops, and stores within the Slackin’ Commercial Complex…
With the brand effect of Slackin’ Internet Café, plus the capital hype from Li and various investment institutions in Handong Province, the future of the Slackin’ Commercial Complex in Lin City would be uncertain…
Pei Qian felt his current situation was extremely difficult. Li Shi’s words sounded to him basically like “Do you want to save face yourself, or do you want me to help you save face?”
If he didn’t agree to Li’s investment in the haunted house, Li would most likely invest in Lin City, which couldn’t be prevented.
It was a choice between two options.
Pei Qian felt melancholic. After weighing the pros and cons, he thought Lin City was more dangerous.
After all, Slackin’ Internet Café was already a successful project. Even though Lin City was a completely new market, with Li’s involvement, the prospects would likely be grim…
Pei Qian never imagined he would be threatened by such a situation.
Meanwhile, seeing Pei Qian’s reaction, Li Shi was also puzzled.
What’s going on? I’m offering money to Boss Pei, and he’s still so reluctant?
Judging by his expression, it’s as if I’m asking him to cut off his flesh.
The two fell into silence for a moment, looking at each other without a word.
Pei Qian thought for a moment, then asked: “Mr. Li, are you really not afraid of losing money?”
Li Shi nodded: “Not afraid.”
Pei Qian sighed softly: “Alright, I have two projects on hand. If Mr. Li truly wants to thank me, then pick one to invest in.”
“The first is the haunted house project, Jingji Hostel; the second is ‘Study Genius,’ an educational APP I’m currently preparing…”
As Pei Qian spoke, he observed Li’s expression.
Li didn’t have any information about the “Study Genius” project and listened very attentively.
Pei Qian wasn’t familiar with the specific details of this project either, as He Desheng had developed the plan, and Pei Qian hadn’t inquired about it. So he only briefly outlined the general direction.
In Pei Qian’s view, both projects were bound to lose money. Since Li wasn’t afraid of losing money, he could invest in whichever one he preferred.
After brief consideration, Li Shi said: “Good, then I’ll invest in ‘Study Genius’!”
Evidently, between these two projects, Li found “Study Genius” more reliable.
Pei Qian nodded. No matter what, as long as Li didn’t invest money in Lin City, everything was negotiable.
…
…
January 18, Tuesday.
Dream Realization Venture Capital.
“Mr. Pei, the APP is ready. Please take a look.”
“These are the early promotional materials for the ‘Study Genius’ project.”
“Also, regarding Fuhui Capital’s investment…”
Looking at the pile of materials He Desheng handed over, Pei Qian felt a headache coming on.
He just glanced at them, then tossed the materials aside and took the phone to check the “Study Genius” APP.
It was done much faster than Pei Qian had imagined, taking only about a week to produce a rough version.
According to He Desheng, this company had previously worked on similar projects, so they just worked overtime to modify the code from a previous failed project, changed the UI, and added two new features to create the first version of “Study Genius.”
Seemingly afraid that Boss Pei wouldn’t be pleased, He Desheng added: “Don’t worry, Mr. Pei, there won’t be any quality issues. Although it’s outsourced, this company is very dedicated…”
Pei Qian didn’t care about these things. It would be better if the APP had quality issues so it would fail faster.
The original intention was just to casually spend some money anyway.
Pei Qian played with the APP briefly and found it currently had only the most basic functions.
The APP had two entrances, labeled “Study Genius Entrance” and “Poor Student Entrance.”
Entering through the Study Genius Entrance, users could fill in their information, including education, school, subjects they excel in, knowledge level, etc. They also needed to submit mandatory documents for real-name verification.
Entering through the Poor Student Entrance was much simpler: post requirements, let Study Geniuses accept the order, then reach an agreement, meet for tutoring, and pay the final payment.
To Pei Qian, this software felt very similar to a ride-hailing app.
He Desheng, had planned more features for this APP, such as online video explanations, question searching, etc., but there wasn’t enough time to implement them.
Moreover, the current basic functions essentially just “bridge connections,” but this was far from complete.
With few users at the beginning, the APP wouldn’t have issues, but as users increased, not only would server bandwidth need to expand, but the software’s architecture and stability would also need continuous improvement.
Of course, these weren’t concerns for now, as the APP currently had no users.
For the Study Genius project, He Desheng had established a company, with equity distributed as 60% for the startup team, 30% for Dream Realization Venture Capital, and 10% for Fuhui Capital.
Dream Realization Venture Capital invested 2 million yuan, and Fuhui Capital invested 1 million yuan.
Li had wanted to invest more, but Pei Qian refused.
Li had already earned quite a bit from mindlessly following Pei’s investments. Now, by accepting Li’s investment and letting him lose a small sum of 1 million, Pei could pour cold water on Li’s enthusiasm. This way, Li wouldn’t stick to him like a band-aid in the future, giving Pei more peace.
On the other hand, Pei Qian was still compassionate and didn’t plan to make Li bleed too much financially.
Of course, part of the reason was also to control risk—too much money in the project could cause problems.
So for now, he told Li to invest just 1 million as a gesture, saying they didn’t need that much money initially. If things went well later, they could always add more investment.
Of course, since the startup team consisted of his people, Pei Qian and Dream Realization Venture Capital effectively controlled 90% of the shares. Li had no interest in the project’s operations; he claimed to be repaying a favor to Pei, but in reality, he just wanted a small piece of the pie.
Therefore, the specific development of this project still depended entirely on Pei Qian’s decisions.
Pei Qian didn’t examine it carefully, returning the phone to He Desheng: “Alright, start spreading advertisements.”
He Desheng was stunned: “Uh, Mr. Pei, isn’t that a bit rushed?”
He wanted to say, even if they were just trying to fool people, shouldn’t they be better prepared?
Launching an APP with such low completion, even for deceiving people, wasn’t showing a lack of proper attitude?
Pei Qian waved dismissively: “It doesn’t matter, let’s advertise first.”
Low APP completion? That’s perfect.
Pei Qian was afraid that if the APP’s completion was high and they promoted it, Li might lead a group of investors to pour in more money, really hyping up the project, which would be a big problem.
It was precisely because the APP’s completion was low that they should advertise heavily now, spending money only to be criticized. Then, when no one had confidence in the project and it failed immediately, Boss Pei’s goal would be achieved.