In Shanghai, inside the building at Bund No. 18.
Even though Chen Qing had a video conference with her boss in Los Angeles at around 1 a.m. last night, she still got up at 6 a.m. on the dot without showing any signs of fatigue from the late night. On the contrary, she seemed quite excited.
After her routine morning exercise, she sat down in the dining room at 7 a.m., flipping through some documents delivered by her assistant, Lily Favre, while eating her breakfast. She glanced at Lin Su, who sat across from her and seemed a bit low-spirited, and said, "This was a decision personally made by the boss. What happened in Hangzhou is not something you can be blamed for. As for your father, I think you should just ignore him."
Lin Su glared at her weakly. "That's my father. Show some respect, would you?"
"I'm not being disrespectful," Chen Qing retorted. "Besides, regarding those three projects last time, we decided to invest in them anyway. Even though they're not large-scale projects, they're enough for your father to save face. And anyway, your father is, what… about to turn 60 soon, right? He's retiring soon. Why bother?"
Lin Su sipped her red bean porridge and shook her head. "Let's not talk about this anymore."
"Alright," Chen Qing replied without pressing further. Then she added, "I'll be heading back to Suzhou this morning. As for that internet entrepreneurship training program here, you'll have to go on your own today. Honestly, they only need to see you. Who even knows who Chen Qing is?"
Lin Su shot Chen Qing another look but nodded slightly.
The internet entrepreneurship training program was an idea Chen Qing had come up with months ago. However, after realizing how troublesome it was and that it wouldn't generate much profit, she almost gave up on it. After all, both women were worth billions of RMB, and there seemed little point in pursuing something that wasn't lucrative.
It was only after Simon personally intervened that the project moved forward.
Simon wanted to ensure that China's burgeoning internet industry wasn't completely in the dark. He personally designed the program to follow Harvard Business School's case study methodology. The training program detailed the financing, equity structures, daily operations, and business models of successful commercial websites in the USA, creating a 30-day short-term entrepreneurship training course packed with valuable content.
The program was so high-quality that some executives at Egret China were concerned it might "teach the apprentices so well that they'd starve the masters."
Simon, however, didn't worry about that at all.
After all, people tend to only notice the success stories in an industry while ignoring the countless failures. Just as books are filled with great principles, very few people can actually put them into practice.
Regarding China's internet industry, Simon planned to adopt a localized strategy, focusing on investments and equity stakes instead of direct involvement.
Historically, American internet giants had swept through global markets, conquering with ease, but they had repeatedly stumbled in China. This wasn't merely due to a lack of cultural compatibility but also because of various overt and covert obstacles in the Chinese market. Instead of getting involved directly and facing challenges head-on, Simon preferred to be a behind-the-scenes boss.
Thus, this monthly internet entrepreneurship training program, launched simultaneously in Beijing and Shanghai, also served as a way for the Westeros system to scout talent for China's internet industry.
Whether it made money or not wasn't the main concern.
Still, given the amount of effort involved, even for a month-long program, Chen Qing set the fee at a steep 100,000 RMB. At a time when earning just 10,000 RMB a year was something to boast about, charging 100,000 RMB for a one-month course seemed utterly outrageous to outsiders.
When Simon heard about it, he didn't oppose the pricing.
After all, the internet industry in China at this stage wasn't something anyone could just casually dive into. If someone was truly penniless, they likely wouldn't have the means to launch a startup anyway. Those who could afford to pay 100,000 RMB—and were willing to take that risk—were already going through a filtering process. Moreover, the 100,000 RMB fee wasn't just for the high-quality training; it was also about building connections.
The program participants would automatically be added to a registry, effectively granting them access to the extensive Westeros system's network—a network so vast and powerful that it couldn't be overstated.
Thus, although the participants paid 100,000 RMB, their performance during the training was still evaluated, and their results were recorded upon completion.
The October session of the training program started on October 1.
In Beijing, Chen Qing and Lin Su had already made appearances a few days ago. In Shanghai, since the two had just arrived yesterday, today's plan was for them to make a brief appearance and say a few words.
This was essentially a way of endorsing the program's credibility.
By now, anyone with even a little access to information in China knew that the August issue of Forbes' list of the 400 richest Americans had included a young Chinese woman who had only immigrated a few years ago. Moreover, this woman was closely connected to the vast Westeros system.
After breakfast, even though it was still early, Chen Qing left in a hurry. She even had her phone clipped to her ear as she dashed out the door, clearly not stopping for a moment.
Lin Su, on the other hand, wasn't idle either.
First, she had to relay the bad news she had received last night to the team in Hangzhou. The Jinxiu Film City project had fallen through.
She directly called her father to deliver the news. As expected, he reacted like a bucket of cold water had been poured on him, urgently asking if there was any way to salvage the situation and even offering to come in person. Left with no choice, Lin Su used Chen Qing's advice from breakfast, emphasizing that this was a decision personally made by a certain someone and that it was non-negotiable.
Her father sighed heavily on the other end, followed by a series of attempts at persuasion.
Fortunately, Lin Su's mother grabbed the phone, shooing away her husband and chatting with her daughter for a while instead. Clearly aware that Lin Su had been under a lot of pressure since appearing on that "list," her mother even suggested that Lin Su return to the USA to get some peace and quiet.
After hanging up, Lin Su couldn't help but reflect on what her mother had said. Her thoughts drifted to something the man had mentioned not long ago: Little Simon Lin Westeros.
For some reason, although she tried not to brag too much in front of Chen Qing, she found herself increasingly looking forward to it. Following the man's advice, she had indeed started paying attention to her health.
Maybe, just maybe, it was because she had reached the age where becoming a mother felt natural.
Even though she was anticipating it, returning to the USA in the short term wasn't possible.
There was simply too much on her plate.
Originally, she planned to stay in Shanghai for two days before heading to Hong Kong tomorrow to deal with China Telecom's IPO. However, with Chen Qing suddenly changing her plans, Lin Su would now have to go to Hong Kong alone.
After her mother's call, Lin Su sat in a daze for a while before picking up the phone again and dialing Beijing.
Last night, in addition to the Jinxiu Film City issue, she and Chen Qing had also discussed a villa real estate project in Beijing with the man. It was none other than the CP District Rose Garden that had recently been making headlines in the media.
Chen Qing had taken a keen interest in the project after detailed investigations. However, the problem was that it wasn't suitable to handle it under the Leviathan Group's name.
This was because the project was mired in an incredibly complex web of debts. From what they had uncovered, the direct and indirect debts associated with the project totaled no less than 600 million RMB. Much of this debt stemmed from bad decisions made by previous developers trying to flip the project for a profit. Some even included high-interest loans.
If Leviathan Group got involved openly, it would essentially signal to everyone that there was a fat lamb ready for slaughter.
Better to remain in the shadows.
The man's suggestion was to use someone else as a proxy.
After all, with 800 acres of land, this was the largest villa project in China. It was risky, but its scale made it extremely attractive.
Lin Su had no choice but to follow the man's decision, knowing it was all ultimately for their future. After another lengthy discussion with their proxy, Jill Pect, she resolved to tread carefully.
By the time the call ended, it was nearly 9 a.m. Lin Su quickly set off for Fudan University, where the training program was being held.
The training program's Shanghai sessions were conducted in a rented Fudan classroom, ensuring credibility and professionalism. After all, spending 100,000 RMB to attend classes at a prestigious university like Fudan or Tsinghua naturally felt more worthwhile.
Arriving fifteen minutes before class started, Lin Su met with the morning's lecturer. The trainers for these programs were handpicked by Simon, either Silicon Valley executives of Chinese descent or senior researchers from Cersei Capital's China Economic Research Institute.
Interestingly, Simon had also designed an incentive for these lecturers. After the one-year program concluded, they would each receive $1 million in seed funding from the Westeros system to launch their own startups in China.
At 9 a.m., the morning session began. Lin Su entered the classroom alongside the lecturer and briefly introduced herself to the 41 participants, all under 30.
Many had been pre-screened, with some even attending on public funding.
It was clear that Simon's meticulous approach had been designed to not only educate but to subtly shape the future of China's internet industry.
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