Something smelt fishy, something was off. “Strange, this is obviously a loss-making project that will start burning money soon. Why am I not excited at all…?”.
Pei Qian woke up in the afternoon and was prepared to make a trip to Dream Realization Ventures.
The other projects were still under development, and there was no important news for the time being.
Pei Qian was only slightly surprised at the progress of the movie. There was not too much content in the script. It should have been completed by now if they went by it.
However, there were absolutely no signs of it being finalized anytime soon.
“Perhaps the shooting had not gone well and was therefore delayed?
“Well, it’s possible. Director Zhu Xiaoce made short films previously. It’s inevitable stepping on some pits without the experience of directing movies for the cinema.”
Pei Qian did not care too much. He did not have a schedule to meet for making a movie. It was the same for him no matter when the movie was released as long as it was released before the settlement.
Pei Qian gave the Dream Realization Ventures more money. It was three million yuan this time.
It was nothing much compared to the twenty million yuan previously, but it was more than enough to invest in some small projects.
What was more, Pei Qian gave it some thought. Investment should be done step-by-step, not all at one go.
The twenty-million-yuan investment was a good lesson. It was better to take their time, accumulate some failed investment experiences, and then slowly figure it out.
Moreover, Pei Qian personally did it this time, which should set a good example for Old Ma. Otherwise, there would be endless trouble.
“I don’t know if old Ma read the plan carefully during this period and found any unreliable projects.”
Pei Qian arrived at Dream Realization Ventures while he pondered.
This time, there were no more shouts for ‘Boss Ma, run away!’ or sounds of typing on keyboards and clicking on the mouse. The atmosphere of the entire company changed suddenly from an internet cafe to a serious office area.
He Desheng and the others were all busy with their own work. Some of them were looking through the details of investment plans; some of them were making reports. They looked very professional.
This group of people hired by Old Ma was not purely to accompany him in games. Strictly speaking, they were ‘newcomers in the investment industry who were also good gamers’. Take He Desheng as an example. He was working in the investment industry, and gaming was a hobby that he was good at. Pei Qian felt very uncomfortable seeing this scene. It seemed like it would only be more reassuring if everyone should continue playing games. Their hardworking attitude was rather scary. However, Pei Qian thought it was better this way after all since everyone would give advice to GOG when they played the game. Sigh, it was difficult on all sides. He had to think of a way to invest in any project!
Ma Yang was sitting at the big conference table with a lot of investment plans in hand. He was browsing them one by one.
However, he was probably just looking at the title and the first page going by the speed he was flipping through.
Pei Qian heaved a sigh of relief upon seeing that. He knew he could count on his bro!
“How is it? Is there a ‘dream’ that’s worthy of investment?” Pei Qian sat down beside Ma Yang.
He Desheng and the rest hurried over and took their seats around the conference table.
This was Boss Pei personally imparting investment experience; any word would definitely be gold! They had to listen with all seriousness!
Ma Yang announced proudly: “Brother Qian, I found one!”
“Just one?” Pei Qian was slightly disappointed. “You found only one proposal with ‘dream?”
There was a stack of investment proposals on the table other than the stack Ma Yang had on his hand.
Pei Qian picked them up and flipped through them. He couldn’t help but suck in.
Investment was a really technical job!
He could barely understand these plans, but the problem was that they all seemed too reliable. Pei Qian found it difficult to distinguish which project would lose money, just as it was difficult for ordinary investors to distinguish which project would be profitable.
That was because every entrepreneur and those seeking investments would basically choose the projects which have some real prospects.
Even those proposals designed to defraud investors would be made extremely believable and exaggerate even more than usual. Fake projects had to look even more believable than real projects.
How could they defraud people of money otherwise?
That was where a problem appeared. All the proposals looked reliable and likely to succeed even if a large part of them were doomed to fail.
Pei Qian did not have the insight to tell the difference between them. He could only obediently take over the proposal selected by Ma Yang
Pei Qian was shocked when it landed in his hand.
So light!
The other proposals had a lot of information, but this proposal had only one page! Not only that, but the format of the proposal was totally wrong and the content was very simple.
This project was “Shared phone booth” and did not require much investment, only 200,000 yuan.
Pei Qian couldn’t help but become excited. He saw a dream in this proposal!
Ma Yang was still screening the other proposals when Pei Qian raised his hand and motioned for him to stop. “Let’s invest in the project first; we’ll not consider the rest.”
Ma Yang put down the other plans obediently and said, “Brother Qian, are we really investing in this?
“This project is indeed filled with dreamswhich is why I singled it out, but… will it be profitable?”
Pei Qian laughed. What rubbish, why would I invest in it if it could be profitable?
However, he could definitely not say that.
Everyone at the conference table, including He Desheng, was shocked. They read the ‘shared phone booth’ investment proposal a long time ago but treated it as a total joke.
Shared phone booth, scanning a QR code to make calls… Wasn’t that just redundant?
If someone could use their cell phone to scan a QR code, why would they use the phone booth to call?
Moreover, this was nothing new. There used to be so many public phone booths on the streets, but no one used them now.
Why? Times had changed! Who would still use a phone booth to make calls if everyone had a cell phone?
In the end, Boss Pei read it for ten seconds tops and decided to invest?
Pei Qian smiled, seeing everyone’s puzzled eyes. “You are not optimistic about this project?”
Everyone nodded. Pei Qian looked at Ma Yang. “You too?”
Ma Yang nodded then shook his head. “Brother Qian, any project you choose will definitely be alright! It will definitely be profitable!”
Pei Qian’s expression darkened.
This Old Ma was bootlicking, but why do I not feel good at all…? Definitely be profitable? Don’t curse me please! Pei Qian coughed slightly. “Remember, investing in something that everyone is optimistic about is not venture capitalist. That’s crowdfunding.
“Venture capital investment is investing in projects that seem unreliable and in projects that no one thinks will succeed! How could it be venture capital investing if there is no risk?
“The higher the risk, the greater the returns!”
Chapter 379 - My Only Requirement is that It Must be Easy to Take Down
Putting money into a project that everyone believed in was not providing ‘venture capital’… but crowdfunding.
Yes, what Boss Pei had said contradicted common knowledge, but it still caused everyone to reflect deeply. His words contained a profound philosophy.
The people seated around the conference table began to ponder the meaning behind Boss Pei’s words. Although they felt that it made sen
se, it also felt strange for some reason.
As Pei Qian flipped the flimsy piece of paper around and around, he tried hard to come up with more reasons why the project would succeed. However, he failed.
The contents of this investment proposal were extraordinarily bold and imaginative.
The creator of this project was named Zhang Wang. Although the investment plan had no pictures or personal information, Pei Qian could not help but conjure up a beautiful picture in his head.
Most words in the proposal were used to broadly describe how good shared phone booths would be.
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“With the development of mobile communications technology, cell phones have become everyone’s companion. On the other hand, fewer people are using public phone booths—symbols of the city’s public services.
“They’ve been left abandoned and deserted, and they even face the possibility of being demolished altogether!
“One has to admit that this signifies a break in our heritage, a dissipation of our precious memories, the pain that accompanies development, and a loss to every single citizen in the city!”
At that point, Pei Qian felt the urge to make a confused and disgusted expression. However, since so many people were watching him at that moment, he counted on his outstanding acting skills to hold the expression back.
“My aim is to inject internet connectivity into public phone booths in order to give them new life!
“Shared phone booths will be built on the foundation of public phone booths. I aim to use art to recreate the public’s perception of beauty, emotions to trigger the public’s memory, convenience to change the public’s lives, and performative art to show all of society the value of branding!”
TOV
Pei Qian could not help but sigh with sorrow. The writing looked quite proficient, and the language was at least comparable to the standards of students in their second year of junior high.
The rest of the plan contained smoky, flowery language. All in all, the entire proposal lacked a concrete plan. There was only one practical detail that was of any use: ‘budget of two hundred thousand yuan’.
At the end of the plan was the cell phone number of the writer—the only way they could contact him.
Pei Qian handed the plan over to He Desheng and said, “Give him a call and ask him when he’ll be free to come down for a chat about his proposal.”
He Desheng took note of the man’s cell phone number and then retreated to the side to make the phone call.
Shortly later, He Desheng returned. “Boss Pei, he said to give him a while. He’s rushing over and will be here in ten minutes.
Pei Qian was speechless.
That quick? I only wanted to make an appointment to meet him face-to-face in the future.
Yet, on further thought, it seemed natural.
The proposals that Dream Realization Ventures had been considering were all supposed to be Jingzhou City’s local projects. Zhang Wang probably lived in Jingzhou, not far from Dream Realization Ventures.
It was logical to guess that Zhang Wang did not have a full-time proper job either. Other investment companies probably did not bother with his proposal at all. Thus, his schedule was probably quite empty.
It was expected that he would be able to come down the moment Dream Realization Ventures contacted him. In fact, it would be surprising if he was busy. Since he was only going to take ten minutes, Pei Qian would wait for him. He retrieved his cell phone and started surfing the internet.
He Desheng and the others used this time to study the investment proposal, looking closely at every single word.
Although the proposal looked unreliable from every angle, something about it must have moved Boss Pei!
Since that was the case, they would probably be able to learn something about Boss Pei’s investment methods once they located that one thing, right?
This project was a small one that would only cost two hundred thousand yuan. That was merely one percent of their previous project. However, as the saying went, tiny clues revealed general trends. Perhaps it would be small projects like this one that would best reflect the brilliance of Boss Pei’s investment strategy.
Everyone at the conference table frowned as they swayed back and forth, between suspicion and self-doubt.
Soon, rushed footsteps could be heard from outside.
“I’m here! I’m here to talk about the project!”
Pei Qian looked up to see a muscular, well-sculpted man rush into the office.
It was already January. The weather had turned cold, and the average temperature was below zero degrees Celsius. Yet, this muscle man was only dressed in a relatively thin, black sweater and jeans. He looked quite energetic and not cold at all.
His sweater, jeans, and sports shoes did not have any brand. However, they looked clean. Obviously, he washed them well.
He was not wearing any accessories like a beanie, a scarf, a mask, or gloves. Even in his sweater and jeans, the man looked huge-he looked like a small hill.
The most eye-catching thing about me was his long, flowy hair. His hair was pulled back in a loose ponytail, and a couple of locks of stray hair framed his face. He looked every bit like an artist.
However, his sage-like vibes were a stark contrast to his muscular figure.
Pei Qian had no words at that moment.
Zhang Wang looked extremely different from what Pei Qian had imagined.
He had thought about how many fraudsters or silly people looked like. However, he would never have expected Zhang Wang to be a muscle man. If Zhang Wang introduced himself as a security guard, nobody would have suspected a thing. Ma Yang whispered in Pei Qian’s ear, “It looks like he ran over here.”
Pei Qian also realized that beads of perspiration had formed on Zhang Wang’s forehead. His face was slightly flushed, and he was panting as well. If he had only run a short distance, he probably would not look like that.
Thus, Pei Qian guessed that he probably ran or cycled a long distance to get here. It was a very cold day. Running or cycling in this weather was not normal behavior.
At that moment, the entire conference room fell silent. Perhaps no one had ever encountered this scene before.
Zhang Wang looked lost as well. He lowered his tone and said again, “I’m here to talk about the project.”
Pei Qian immediately stood up and waved at everyone else. “What are you waiting for? Serve him tea! Come, Mr. Zhang. Please, take a seat.”
Pei Qian gestured for Zhang Wang to take the empty seat across from him, in front of the conference table.
Someone served Zhang Wang a cup of hot tea, which Zhang Wang took with a ‘thanks’. Pei Qian said, “Don’t be nervous. Drink it slowly. It must have been tiring for you to run here. Catch your breath first. We can talk about the project when you’re ready.”
Zhang Wang blew at his tea and then downed the entire cup in one breath. Finally, he looked at the young man across from him, who had been talking to him the entire time.
Obviously, this was the potential investor. However, Mr. Zhang had no idea how to address him.
He Desheng quickly introduced Pei Qian. “This is Boss Pei, the CEO of Tengda Corporation. This is Boss Ma, the CEO of Dream Realization Ventures.”
Zhang Wang looked excited. “Boss Pei, Boss Ma, thank you both for giving me this opportunity! I’ll tell you both about my project-shared umbrellas!
“We always meet with this troublesome situation: we’re out on a rainy day with no umbrella. We could buy one from a random roadside stall, but it would be expensive yet with poor quality. Pei Qian, “?” He raised his hand, gesturing for Zhang Wang to stop talking at once. “Wait, wait, wait. What did you say your project was?”
Zhang Wang paused and then answered, “Shared umbrellas.”
Question marks filled the minds of everyone around the conference table at once.
Pei Qian cleared his throat and said, “…but your proposal is about shared phone booths.”
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Zhang Wang was obviously stunned. Laughing awkwardly, he said, “Yes, yes, yes. Shared phone booths is also my project! I’m sorry, Boss Pei. I have too many ideas, and I’m finding it difficult to remember them all.
“Boss Pei, I wonder if you’d be interested in my shared umbrellas project. Do you want to invest in that, too?”
Ma Yang’s eyes lit up with interest. He whispered to Pei Qian, “Brother Qian, that project sounds more reliable than phone booths!”
Pei Qian’s expression darkened.
Shared umbrellas? That project sounds too reliable. Why would I invest in that?
Er, actually, it’s hard to tell if it’ll be reliable, but at least it’ll be useful. Usefulness indicates risk!
Pei Qian shook his head. “I’m not interested in shared umbrellas for now. Tell me more about the shared phone booths.”
“Alright, Boss Pei.” Zhang Wang did not look that disappointed. “I got the idea for shared phone booths because of how much I miss public phone booths…”
Pei Qian had a feeling that Zhang Wang was about to start a long, meaningless monologue. He quickly raised his hand to stop him.
“Alright, alright. You don’t have to introduce the project in so much detail. Your investment proposal is already extremely detailed.”
He Desheng instinctively looked down at the proposal. Was this one-page proposal considered ‘extremely detailed’?
Pei Qian continued speaking. “I’m going to ask you a few simple, key questions. Answer me as simply and directly as you can, alright?”
Zhang Wang nodded. “No problem, Boss Pei!”
Pei Qian asked, “How did you come up with the budget of two hundred thousand yuan?”
Zhang Wang confidently answered, “Boss Pei, I did my calculations. I plan to invest in twenty shared phone booths. The cost of constructing each one would be ten thousand yuan.
“The booth would be 2.4 meters high, made of tinplate, and sprayed with high-temperature paint. It would also have exquisitely carved, retro door handles and wooden flooring. The workmanship would be exquisite and beautiful. The booth itself would cost about five thousand yuan to build.
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