Chapter 18 Li Shi’s Thoughts

Li Shi's words were met with complete skepticism from Pei Qian.

As a seasoned investor who understood the business world, there was no way Li Shi would actually invest money in projects that were obviously not going to recoup their costs.

Pei Qian had disclosed the haunted house idea to Li Shi a while ago, even feigning an invitation for him to join in. At the time, Li Shi had just chuckled and dodged the topic entirely.

Clearly, Li Shi thought the haunted house was a non-starter and didn't want to get involved.

So why had he changed his mind now?

Obviously, "thanking President Pei for his support" was just an excuse, a polite formality.

Could it be that after thinking and investigating for some time, Li Shi had seen some potential for the haunted house to be profitable?

Pei Qian considered it carefully. Rejing Thriller Land had been under construction for nearly a month.

Since it was currently just focused on the smaller projects, progress was fast. Maybe in a few days, one or two of the smaller attractions would be ready for a test run.

If Li Shi sent someone to investigate, they would naturally discover that President Pei was taking the haunted house very seriously and that progress was rapid...

In short, there must be some misunderstanding.

Pei Qian sighed softly. "President Li, I remember you weren't very optimistic about the haunted house project before. Can you tell me why you changed your mind?"

The unspoken implication was: 'If you think the haunted house project has potential, I’ll change my plans, okay?'

Li Shi smiled. "Well... it might sound a bit absurd."

Pei Qian smiled back, thinking, 'It doesn't matter how absurd the reason is, I'll make Chen Kangtuo and the others change it!'

Li Shi continued, "Actually, my renewed interest in the haunted house project isn't because of the haunted house project itself, but because of some feelings I've had while opening this restaurant."

Pei Qian: "?"

What did the feelings from opening a restaurant have to do with a haunted house?

Li Shi said, "Ming Mansion Family Feast got off to a bad start. I've been reflecting on why for the past few days."

"After careful consideration, the key lies in certain details. These details directly affect the customer's 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 composure.

'President Li, you're overthinking it! Ming Mansion Family Feast got off to a bad start entirely because I accidentally brought Xiao Tang that day and hurt our own troops...'

But he couldn't say that outright, so he could only silently drink his tea and keep it to himself.

Li Shi went on a wild analysis spree before finally exclaiming, "So, I realize even more how difficult it was for President Pei when you first created the Upwind Bistro!"

"The initial situation of Upwind Bistro and the situation of this haunted house, how similar they are!"

"But even so, Upwind Bistro was a huge success!"

"I've discovered that no matter how outrageous the project, as long as it passes through President Pei's hands, it seems to be infused with a soul!"

"Since President Pei has decided to create a haunted house, you must have complete confidence. So, although I still haven't figured out how President Pei plans to promote this haunted house, I believe in you!"

Li Shi's attitude was extremely sincere.

Pei Qian was speechless.

Just because of that?

Pei Qian had been thinking about how he would change whatever Li Shi saw as promising about the haunted house.

But it turned out to be because of such an absurd reason.

Pei Qian was very frustrated. "President Li, I appreciate your good intentions, but the haunted house project really is very risky. I'm genuinely trying to do you a favor."

Pei Qian spoke very sincerely. He had no intention of letting Li Shi interfere, although Rejing Thriller Land had a very low chance of success, he couldn’t forget the lesson from Ming Yun Private Kitchen.

What if Li Shi set up some supporting facilities next to Rejing Thriller Land, attracting other investors to follow suit, and turning this area into a new commercial district with a lot of buzz...

Wouldn't that be a disaster?

However, Li Shi smiled, clearly not believing him at all.

"President Pei, since you also think it's a good intention, then don't just appreciate it. We don't need to be so polite between us, just accept it."

"Don't worry, I definitely won't interfere with the operations. I just want to earn a little dividend. Isn't it good to make money together?"

"Or, if President Pei thinks investing in the haunted house is inappropriate, can you recommend another investment project? Let me invest in Sloth Is Justice Internet Cafe and open a few more branches?"

"Or... I can just randomly invest some money in Lin City?"

Li Shi's expression was very sincere.

Pei Qian: "..."

Threat, this was 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 movements in Lin City clearly couldn't escape Li Shi's eyes.

Before, ROF had made a fortune because of the rising memory prices. Pei Qian had helplessly decided to let Zhang Yuan enter the Lin City market, hoping to build the Sloth Commerce Complex in the backwater town of Lin City and spend the excess funds.

However, Li Shi had been watching Pei Qian, and his information was so well-informed, how could he not know?

Pei Qian was in a dilemma.

He could definitely ignore Li Shi completely, but Li Shi could then invest the money in Lin City and invest in a few bars, a few cafes, a few shops in the Sloth Commerce Complex商圈...

With the brand effect of Sloth Is Justice Internet Cafe and the hype of Li Shi and various investment institutions in Handong Province, the future of the Sloth Commerce Complex in Lin City was likely to be uncertain...

Pei Qian felt that his current situation was very difficult. Li Shi's words sounded to him basically like, "Do you want to be comfortable yourself, or do you want me to help you be comfortable?" (an euphemism for forced compliance).

If he didn't agree to Li Shi's investment in the haunted house, Li Shi would most likely invest the money in Lin City, and there was no stopping that.

A choice between two evils.

Pei Qian felt very melancholy. After weighing the pros and cons, Pei Qian felt that Lin City was more dangerous.

After all, Sloth Is Justice Internet Cafe was already a successful project. Even if Lin City was a completely new market, with Li Shi's interference, it would probably be doomed...

Pei Qian never expected that he would be threatened by such a thing.

And Li Shi, watching President Pei's reaction, was secretly puzzled.

What's going on? I'm giving President Pei money, and President Pei is still so unwilling?

Looking at this expression, it's as if he's being asked to cut off a piece of his own flesh?

The two of them fell silent for a moment, lost for words.

Pei Qian thought for a moment and asked, "President Li, are you really not afraid of losing money?"

Li Shi nodded. "I'm not afraid."

Pei Qian sighed softly. "Okay, then I have two projects on hand. If President Li really wants to thank me, then just pick one to invest in."

"The first is the haunted house project, which is Rejing Thriller Land. The second is 'Xueba, Come Quick!', which is an education app I'm currently preparing..." (Xueba: academic master)

Pei Qian said, observing President Li's expression.

President Li had clearly not grasped any information about the "Xueba, Come Quick!" project and listened very carefully.

Pei Qian didn't know much about the specific details of this project either. The plan was made by He Desheng, and Pei Qian hadn't asked about it, so he just briefly talked about the general direction.

In Pei Qian's view, both of these projects were bound to lose money. Since President Li wasn't afraid of losing money, he could invest in whichever one he wanted.

Li Shi considered it briefly. "Okay, then I'll invest in 'Xueba, Come Quick!'"

Obviously, for Li Shi, compared to the two projects, the "Xueba, Come Quick!" project was more reliable.

Pei Qian nodded. In any case, as long as President Li didn't go to Lin City to invest money, then everything would be fine.

...

...

January 18th, Tuesday.

Dream Realization Ventures.

"President Pei, the app is done. Please take a look."

"This is the preliminary promotional material for the 'Xueba, Come Quick!' project."

"Also, regarding the investment from Fuhui Capital..."

Looking at the pile of materials that He Desheng handed over, Pei Qian felt a headache.

He just glanced at them and threw them aside, taking the phone to check the "Xueba, Come Quick!" app.

It was done much faster than Pei Qian had expected. It had taken them only about a week to get a rough version out.

According to He Desheng, this company had done similar projects before, so they just worked overtime to modify the code of the previous failed project, changed the UI, added two new functions, and created the first version of "Xueba, Come Quick!".

Seemingly afraid that President Pei would be unhappy, He Desheng added, "President Pei, don't worry, the quality won't be a problem. Although it's outsourced, this company is very dedicated..."

Pei Qian didn't care about these things. It would be better if there were problems with the quality of the app so that it would die even faster.

He just wanted to mess around and spend some money.

Pei Qian played with the app for a while and found that it currently only had the most basic functions.

The app had two entrances, "Xueba Entrance" and "Loser Entrance."

Entering from the Xueba Entrance, you could fill in your information, including academic qualifications, school, expertise subjects, knowledge level, etc. You also had to submit some necessary materials for real-name authentication.

Entering from the Loser Entrance was much simpler. You could post a request, the Xueba would accept the order, and then the two would reach a consensus, meet for tutoring, and pay the final payment.

To Pei Qian, this app felt a lot like a ride-hailing app.

In fact, He Desheng had planned more functions for this app, such as online video Q&A, problem search, etc., but there wasn't enough time to do it.

Moreover, the current basic function was essentially just "connecting people," but it was still far from complete.

In the beginning, there would be very few users, so this app wouldn't have any problems. As the number of users increased, not only would the bandwidth of the server need to be expanded, but the architecture and stability of the software itself would also need to be continuously improved.

Of course, there was no need to worry about these things for the time being, because this app currently had no users.

For the "Xueba, Come Quick!" project, He Desheng established a company and distributed the shares according to the ratio of 60% for the entrepreneurial team, 30% for Dream Realization Ventures, and 10% for Fuhui Capital.

Dream Realization Ventures invested 2 million, and Fuhui Capital invested 1 million.

President Li wanted to invest more, but Pei Qian refused.

President Li had already made a lot of money by blindly following his investments. President Pei was now accepting President Li's investment so that President Li could lose a small amount of money, which would give President Li a cold shower. This way, President Li wouldn't stick to him like a dog skin plaster in the future, and he would have a lot more peace and quiet.

On the other hand, Pei Qian was still compassionate and didn't plan to let President Li bleed too much, losing too much money.

Of course, there was also a part of the reason to control the risk, it would be easy to have accidents if there was too much money in this project.

So he temporarily told President Li that he would first invest one million as a token gesture, and that he wouldn't need so much money in the early stages. If the situation was good in the future, it wouldn't be too late to make a follow-on investment.

Of course, the entrepreneurial team was made up of his own people, so in reality, Pei Qian and Dream Realization Ventures controlled 90% of the shares, while President Li had no interest in the operation of this project. On the surface, he said that he was returning President Pei's favor, but in reality, he just wanted to get a share of the profits.

So the specific development of this project was still completely up to Pei Qian's own decision.

Pei Qian didn't look at it carefully and handed the phone back to He Desheng. "Okay, start advertising."

He Desheng was stunned. "Uh, President Pei, isn't it a bit too hasty?"

He really wanted to say, even if you're fooling people, you should at least be prepared, right?

This app is launching with such a low level of completion. Even if it's just to fool people, isn't your attitude a bit wrong?

Pei Qian waved his hand. "It doesn't matter, let's put out the ads first."

The app has a low level of completion? That's good.

Pei Qian was afraid that if the app's completion level was too high, President Li would lead a group of people to follow-up investments, really hyping up the project, which would be a big trouble.

He should take advantage of the app's low level of completion now to promote it vigorously, spend money and be scolded, and then everyone would not be optimistic about the project and give up on the spot. That way, President Pei's goal would be achieved.