Losing Money to Be a Tycoon c1-883

by Inebriation-seeking Blue Shirt, 青衫取醉

  “This market will be jointly funded by me and other investors. Tengda will come up with a design plan. We’ll split the final income evenly between Tengda and the rest of the investors in a 50:50 ratio.

  “What do you think?”

  Chen Kangtuo could not help but be taken aback. “Boss Li, this isn’t appropriate. Wouldn’t that be equivalent to gifting it to Tengda for free?”

  Boss Li smiled slightly. “This is a little something from all of us to Boss Pei.”

  Chapter 522 - There was More to Boss Pei

  Chen Kangtuo hesitated. Anyone observant enough would be able to tell that this was not simply ‘a small gesture’.

  If Thriller Hostel could become popular, all the peripheral businesses would earn a considerable profit as well.

  At the moment, for most amusement parks in the country, developers of peripheral businesses and other profit-generating channels were only just picking up. Ticket sales still accounted for the majority of the profits earned.

  However, famous international amusement parks were different. Judging from more mature models, entrance tickets, shopping, and ‘others’ each accounted for one-third of the income generated.

  ‘Others’ included income earned from food and beverages, accommodation, investment by other players in the tourism industry, sponsorship for tourist festivals, real estate development for the purposes of tourism, and the like.

  Now, Boss Li and the other investors had decided to give Tengda half of the income they earned from the projects peripheral to Thriller Hostel. That would amount to quite a generous sum.

  Seeing Chen Kangtuo’s hesitation, Li Shi smiled. “Brother Chen, don’t stand on ceremony with us.

  “The Thriller Hostel was Boss Pei’s project to begin with. Given Tengda’s financial power, Boss Pei could have eaten up all the profits surrounding Thriller Hostel. Yet, he did not do so. Instead, he left such a generous share of the profits to us. He was generous to us first.

  “Now, everyone’s interests are tied together. If one prospers, all will prosper. If one loses out, all will lose out. We shouldn’t be divided by opinions. The other investors and I only invested in this market to repay Boss Pei’s generosity

  “Brother Chen, if you feel bad, just make sure you run Thriller Hostel well and make it popular. That would be good enough repayment to us.”

  Chen Kangtuo considered this for a long time. He was put in a spot, seeing how resolute Boss Li was. Finally, he nodded and said, “Alright. I’ll thank you all on behalf of Boss Pei, then.”

  Boss Li smiled. “I’ve already prepared the contract. Please take a look at it, Brother Chen. If there are no problems, quickly come up with a plan and get to work. Time waits for no one.”

  After walking out of Chen Kangtuo’s office, Boss Li immediately felt light and refreshed. He was much more relaxed now!

  Recently, Li Shi had been watching the renovation of the restaurant he was setting up near Thriller Hostel like a hawk. Although construction was going well, he could not relax.

  The same feeling kept gnawing at him for a very long time. After thinking hard about his experience working with Boss Pei, Boss Li finally realized why he had been feeling so uneasy.

  The investors and Boss Pei’s carts were not locked firmly enough together!

  In other words, the investors still ran the risk of having their cart overturned.

  Before this, they had invested in the Shared Top Student project. Boss Pei had first shaken their confidence to dissuade a group of investors from investing. Then, he had resorted to little tricks to eliminate all the shareholders so that he could hog the biggest share of profits.

  After everything settled down, Li Shi had replayed what happened in his head. It was then that he had realized something: all of that could only happen because the investors had not followed Boss Pei closely enough.

  Business was business. In terms of doing business, Boss Pei would always put Tengda’s interests first.

  To Boss Li, Boss Pei had always had the same attitude towards all the investors: if you want to have a taste of the soup, just follow me. However, don’t even think about eating the meal. All the meat in the pot belonged to Tengda.

  If they were to leave the table in the ascending order of who ate the most, Tengda would be the last to leave.

  Thus, Boss Li figured that he had to tie his own profits tightly and closely to Boss Pei’s. Only then could he prevent himself from being shaken off for nothing!

  Offering to give Tengda a share of the investors’ profits had been the result of him thinking hard. On the surface, he looked generous, but inside, he was being stingy.

  Boss Li and the others were setting up restaurants and hotels. Those were the accompanying facilities around Thriller Hostel. Although the income generated would be less than the entrance tickets, it would still be considered stable.

  Boss Pei was knowledgeable and far-sighted. He must have hoped to turn Thriller Hostel into a first-tier amusement park in the country —or even the world. That meant the income structure would be similar to first-tier amusement parks around the world: entrance tickets, shopping, and ‘others’ would each account for one-third of all income generated.

  Of those shares, Tengda would keep all the income earned from the sale of entrance tickets. Income earned from ‘others’ would be split between Tengda and the investors. Only income earned from shopping remained unclear.

  Once Thriller Hostel officially opened for business, there were two possible outcomes.

  First, it could turn out like other amusement parks in the country and only earn money from the sale of entrance tickets, but not from anything else.

  Second, it could earn a lot of money from entrance tickets and peripheral businesses alike.

  If it were the former and the peripheral businesses were not making money, what would be the harm in splitting half the income with Tengda?

  If it were the latter and everyone was earning profits, Tengda would be able to obtain real, tangible benefits from the surrounding businesses. Naturally, it would be motivated to run the amusement park well.

  Thus, after some discussion, Boss Li and the other investors decided to split a share of their profits with Tengda. That would tie them tightly and closely with Boss Pei’s chariot of interest, so that all of them would rise or fall together.

  With those additional interests, Boss Pei would spend more effort on the peripheral businesses, which would benefit the development of Thriller Hostel in return.

  Until now, although all the investors absolutely trusted Boss Pei, they were still uncertain about whether Thriller Hostel would succeed or not.

  That was why they had to pay extra attention to it and bet that Boss Pei’s business genius would cause another miracle to happen.

  Li Shi walked out of Chen Kangtuo’s office, prepared to check on the progress of the restaurant’s construction and then drive back to his own office.

  However, at that moment, his cell phone rang. It was an unknown number.

  “Hello, Boss Li. I am Wu Bin, from Tengda’s HR department. I’ve been collecting some material on Boss Pei recently. I wonder if you have time to answer a few simple questions.”

  Li Shi was stunned. This phone call surprised him.

  However, since Wu Bin claimed to be Boss Pei’s employee, Li Shi had to show him due respect. What’s more, Li Shi was extremely curious as to what kind of material Wu Bin was trying to gather.

  “Alright. Let’s meet at the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe near Handong University.”

  At Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, Li Shi, Wu Bin, and Cui Geng each ordered a cup of coffee. Wu Bin had already explained his intentions to Li Shi. The part about the Tengda spirit piqued Li Shi’s interest.

  Everyone knew that Boss Pei was very good at managing his subordinates. All of Tengda Corporation’s employees could hold a fort on their own. What’s more, they strictly obeyed Boss Pei’s instructions and dared not go against his orders.

  From
Fish-Catching Internet Cafe to Dream Realization Ventures and Thriller Hostelwhenever Li Shi interacted with Boss Pei’s subordinates, he could feel that they worshiped Boss Pei uniquely.

  What was the Tengda spirit about, then? What was its effect? If Li Shi could learn that spirit, would Fu Hui Investments’ employees become like Tengda’s?

  Having a spiritual weapon would be extremely useful for any businessman.

  Li Shi sipped his coffee. “No problem. Please ask me whatever you want to. I just have one request: when you’re done with the Tengda spirit handbook, give me one copy.”

  Wu Bin hesitated.

  The Tengda spirit was considered an unspoken secret within the company itself. Employees could only pass it down in secret; they could not disseminate information about it on the internal forum or online. Obviously, the notes that they were writing on the Tengda spirit would not be passed down to just any employee. Li Shi seemed to be able to tell what was on Wu Bin’s mind. He smiled subtly and said, “Don’t worry, I won’t disseminate the information. For something as valuable as this, the fewer the people who know, the better.

  “What’s more, there’s no conflict of interests between Fu Hui Investments and Tengda Corporation. We’ve always been close business partners.”

  After some thought, Wu Bin decided that it made sense.

  The Tengda spirit was a summary of a mindset; he could not call it a business secret.

  It was only an unspoken secret because he did not want random people passing the Tengda Spirit compatibility test. At the same time, he wanted the employees to persist in trying to figure out and study the Tengda spirit without slacking off.

  Further, like Boss Li said, he had no reason to disseminate the information.

  Since Boss Li was contributing to the notes on the Tengda spirit and he was going to keep the Tengda spirit a secret, giving him a copy of the handbook would do no harm to the company.

  At that thought, Wu Bin nodded. “Alright, Boss Li. Let’s finish the notes on the Tengda spirit together.

  “I want to ask you what your impression of Boss Pei is. Obviously, people inside and outside the company have different impressions of Boss Pei. As an employee, we can only see one side of Boss Pei. “As his business partner, you can see another side of Boss Pei. That’s key to writing these notes on the Tengda spirit.”

  Li Shi sipped his coffee and pondered for a moment. “From my perspective, the first impression I had of Boss Pei was that he’s calm and ruthless.

  “He’s so calm that, no matter what situation he’s put in, he can address the problem objectively and logically. That allows him to make the right decision every time. Coupled with his outstanding far-sightedness and business knowledge, one can say that he’s a strategist.

  “When dealing with business, he always puts Tengda’s interests first. If any other company threatens to affect Tengda’s interests, Boss Pei would take the necessary action to make their lives miserable.

  “While working with other people, Boss Pei remains ever-ready to kick anyone off the boat for the sake of Tengda’s interests. Of course, Boss Pei would not resort to low tricks. Instead, he would always remain fair and honest. That’s the most admirable thing about him.

  “From another angle, Boss Pei is a very tolerant and kind person. He has a unique understanding of ‘working together’.

  “He will only work with people who have absolute trust in him. Before that, he would think of all ways and means to test his partners and dissuade the weak-willed ones from working with him.

  “To partners who hang on until the end or give up a share of their interests for him, Boss Pei can be very generous. The seemingly conflicting characteristics blend perfectly well in Boss Pei. In him, I see the cunning of an old fox and the ideals of a young man. It’s incredible.

  “Maybe business geniuses like Boss Pei were born into this world to run successful businesses.”

  Wu Bin transcribed everything that Li Shi had said, word for word. Touched, he said, “Thank you very much, Boss Li. This angle has given me renewed inspiration!”

  Cui Geng, who had been sitting by the side, was already thinking about how to write all of those things at a suitable angle.

  Wu Bin continued asking questions. “Boss Li, can you tell us more about your experience working with Boss Pei? Can you also give us specific examples of Boss Pei’s personality that you just described?”

  Still holding on to his coffee, Li Shi dug deep into his memory bank. “If I were to start at the beginning, I would have to start from Fish-Catching Internet Cafe’s flagship store…

  “At the time, I stumbled upon a cold and deserted internet cafe. It was deserted, but it had limitless potential. Thus, I thought about investing…”

  Wu Bin listened intently. In his mind, his image of Boss Pei became fuller and more multi-dimensional.

  Chapter 523 - The Initial Effects of the Management Trainee System

  May 20th, Friday…

  At Deposit Fitness…

  There were not many people in the gym in the morning, and so it looked quite empty. There were only four female students training on the whole row of treadmills; the other machines were empty.

  Things were not much better where the free weights were. There were only six people, and three of them were fitness trainers who were working out.

  Guo Licheng had just finished training. He wiped the perspiration from his forehead with a towel and then sat down at the resting area.

  He had been quite busy as the branch manager these days.

  Preparations for the other branches were in full swing. Of course, Guo Licheng could not manage everything on his own. Thus, he had found a few fitness trainers in Deposit Fitness’ flagship store whom he knew very well and made them branch managers of other branches.

  He purchased equipment of the same brand and informed Rui Yuchen of Fish-Catching Take-Out as well. Placing the exact same orders at all the nearby Fish-Catching Take-Out outlets would be easy to do. Only recruiting new employees would be quite troublesome.

  Guo Licheng had already set recruitment guidelines for the other branches. He followed Boss Pei’s instructions strictly: they had to assess every trainer’s muscles and body shape first. Even if they could talk extremely well, they would not be hired unless they could train equally well.

  That meant that many trainers did not make the cut because of their body shape. Thankfully, Boss Pei was offering a generous remuneration. Thus, despite the strict recruitment standard, a significant number of trainers who matched the criteria jumped ship.

  Thus, preparation for the various branches was going quite smoothly. Deposit Fitness’ branches were going to start opening for business over the next two days.

  It seemed like the Deposit Fitness outlet at Ming Yun Villas would be the first to open. Since Guo Licheng had been extremely busy, he had not found the time to take a look. He had also had no idea whether the gym would operate well or not once it opened for business.

  According to Guo Licheng’s preliminary judgment, it would not go well.

  One look at the state of the flagship store, and one would be able to tell.

  Apart from being occupied by the other branches, Guo Licheng had been following Boss Pei’s instructions strictly and training hard. He was afraid that Boss Pei would be able to tell if he slacked for a day or two and that he would end up being criticized.

  However, that also meant that Guo Licheng had no time to attract new customers or publicize the gym.

  Things had been alright when Coach Yaling was still around. Each day, new customers would register for slots because of her. However, now that Boss Pei had transferred Coach Yaling away, the gym was much more deserted.

  “Branch Manager, the fitness meals are here!” The lady at the front desk called out to Guo Licheng.

  He looked up and saw two delivery men from Fish-Catching Take-Out carrying insulated delivery boxes on their backs. They placed them down, retrieved the take-out boxes from ins
ide, placed them neatly on the table, and then left in a hurry.

  It was almost noon, and the delivery men had other deliveries to make. Since Deposit Fitness was family, they had not felt the need to be polite. That was why they left immediately after completing the delivery.

  Guo Licheng called out to the rest of the trainers. “Meal time!”

  “Oh…” A few listless replies came from around the gym. Guo Licheng was helpless, too. He knew why everyone was in low spirits. They had no interest in the fitness meals whatsoever.

  Fish-Catching Take-Out’s fitness meals were not that different from other fitness meals in the market. They were mainly made up of salad. Although there were other ingredients and the meal was relatively well-balanced, it still tasted bland.

  If they were only eating it from time to time, they would probably be alright with it. However, they had eaten it so many times that just smelling cup noodles made them drool now.

  The few students in the gym were loyal customers—the extreme minority. They had very strong wills and so had not been turned away by the meals. In fact, they had already been eating them for a long time.

  To them, eating fitness meals had become nothing more than a daily task. Each day, no matter what went into the fitness meal, they would wolf it down after training and lie to their stomachs. They did all of that just to complete their tasks.

  Of course, they had no interest in eating those meals.

  There weren’t many people in the gym, and so there was no need to eat in smaller groups. Everyone took their respective seats and opened the lunch boxes in front of them.

  After opening his own lunch box, Guo Licheng became stunned.

  “Has there been a mistake?”

  Half the lunch box was filled with stewed rice with mushroom and chicken breast while the other half was filled with tomato eggs and steamed tofu.