Losing Money to Become a Tycoon: Starting with Games
Chapter 379: My Only Requirement Is That It's Easy to Tear Down
Projects that everyone likes aren't venture capital, they're crowdfunding?
Hmm. President Pei's words once again overturned common sense, yet they were deeply thought-provoking and carried quite a bit of philosophical weight…
Everyone gathered around the conference table was pondering the meaning behind President Pei's statement.
It sounded very reasonable, but somehow… it also felt a little off?
Pei Qian flipped through the pitiful single page in his hand, trying hard to find more "success factors" on it, but failed.
The contents of this investment proposal could be summed up in one phrase: wildly fanciful.
The initiator of the project was named Zhang Wang. Although there were no photos or personal details on the proposal, Pei Qian couldn't help but imagine a comedic figure in his mind.
More than half of the proposal was spent waxing lyrical about the bright future of the Shared Phone Booth project:
"With the development of mobile communication technology, mobile phones have become standard equipment for almost everyone. However, public phone booths—once one of the symbols of urban public services—are now rarely used."
"Left idle for long periods, falling into disrepair, and even facing the fate of being dismantled!"
"It has to be said that this is a break in cultural heritage, the disappearance of precious memories, the growing pains of an era, and a shared loss for every citizen!"
At this point, Pei Qian couldn't help wanting to make the classic 'old man on the subway staring at a phone' meme face, but since everyone was watching, he managed to hold it together with his excellent acting skills.
"My goal is to let public phone booths, nourished by internet thinking, be reborn with new vitality!"
"Shared Phone Booth will, on the basis of continuing the functions of public phone booths, reshape public aesthetics with art, awaken public memories with sentiment, change public life with convenience, and showcase brand value to society at large through performance art!"
Pei Qian couldn't help but marvel: this kid sure knew how to use parallel sentence structures. With language skills like this, he had to be at least at a middle-school sophomore level.
The rest was basically vague, empty rhetoric—no concrete plan for how the project would actually work, just one dry number: a budget of 200,000 yuan.
At the end of the proposal was the contact information: a phone number.
Pei Qian handed the proposal to He Desheng. "Give him a call and ask when he's free to come over and talk about the project."
He Desheng jotted down the number and went aside to make the call.
A moment later, He Desheng came back. "President Pei, he said to wait a moment, he's on his way here right now and will arrive in about ten minutes."
Pei Qian: "..."
That fast?
I was actually just planning to set up a time first and talk later.
But on second thought, that was pretty normal.
Most of the investment proposals Dream Fulfillment Ventures had received were local projects in Jingzhou. This Zhang Wang probably lived in Jingzhou too, and was likely not far from Dream Fulfillment Ventures.
Logically speaking, Zhang Wang probably didn't have a proper job. Other investment firms most likely wouldn't even bother to look at this proposal, so his schedule was probably wide open.
Being able to show up at a moment's notice was normal. If he actually had something else going on, that would've been the strange part…
Since it was just ten minutes, they might as well wait.
Pei Qian took out his phone and casually scrolled through some webpages.
Meanwhile, He Desheng and the others seized the time to pass around the proposal, reading it word by word with great care.
Even though this proposal looked unreliable in every way, it must have had some point that moved President Pei!
If they could find that point, wouldn't that mean they could understand at least a bit of President Pei's investment thinking?
Although this was just a small deal of 200,000 yuan—only about one percent of the previous investment—as the saying goes, small signs reveal big trends. Perhaps it was precisely these small deals that made it easier to grasp the essence of President Pei's investment philosophy?
Everyone around the conference table furrowed their brows, wavering back and forth between doubt and self-doubt.
Before long, a series of hurried footsteps came from outside.
"I'm here! I'm here to talk about the project!"
Pei Qian looked up and saw a burly, muscular man rush in from outside.
It was already January. The weather outside was cold, hovering around several degrees below zero all year round, yet this muscle-bound guy was wearing only a rather perfunctory black jacket and a pair of jeans. He looked full of energy, showing no sign of being cold at all.
The jacket, jeans, and sneakers weren't from any famous brands, but they were all clean—clearly washed frequently.
No hat, scarf, mask, gloves, or other "accessories." Even with just a jacket and jeans on, you could tell this guy was built like a tank—like a small mountain.
What stood out most was his flowing long hair, casually tied into a ponytail at the back of his head. A few strands at the front fluttered with the breeze, giving him a bit of an artist's air.
It was just that this "ethereal, refined" vibe was completely mismatched with his physique.
Pei Qian fell silent for a moment.
This Zhang Wang was wildly different from the image he had imagined…
He had pictured all kinds of scammers or fools, but never in a million years had he expected a muscular brute. If someone said this guy was a bodyguard, no one would doubt it.
Ma Yang whispered in Pei Qian's ear, "Judging by how he looks, he probably ran all the way here."
Pei Qian noticed it too: Zhang Wang had fine beads of sweat on his forehead, his face was flushed, and he was slightly out of breath. This didn't look like the result of a short burst of intense exercise, it was more likely from a long run or cycling.
In weather this cold, going for a long run or cycling was pretty baffling behavior.
For a moment, the atmosphere around the conference table went quiet. It seemed no one had ever encountered a scene like this before.
Zhang Wang also looked a little awkward. Lowering his voice, he repeated, "I'm here to talk about the project."
Pei Qian suddenly stood up and motioned to the others. "What are you all standing around for? Hurry up and bring some tea! Come, Mr. Zhang, please have a seat."
Pei Qian gestured for Zhang Wang to sit in the empty seat across the long conference table.
Someone handed over a cup of hot tea. Zhang Wang took it and thanked them repeatedly.
Pei Qian said, "No rush. Take your time and drink. It must've been hard coming all this way. Catch your breath first, we can talk about the project slowly."
Zhang Wang blew on the tea, then in one go gulped down the entire cup. He looked at the young man across from him who had been talking to him this whole time.
Clearly, this was his investor—he just wasn't sure how to address him.
He Desheng hurriedly introduced them: "This is President Pei, CEO of Tengda Group; and this is President Ma, CEO of Dream Fulfillment Ventures."
Zhang Wang was very excited. "President Pei, President Ma, thank you both so much for giving me this opportunity!"
"Next, I'll properly explain my project to you, Shared Umbrellas!"
"We often run into this problem: going out on a rainy day without bringing an umbrella. Buying one from the roadside is not only expensive, but the quality is also bad!"
Pei Qian: "?"
He raised a hand to stop Zhang Wang. "Hold on, hold on—what is your project?"
Zhang Wang froze. "Shared umbrellas."
Everyone around the conference table had a huge question mark pop up over their heads.
Pei Qian cleared his throat twice. "But on this proposal of yours, it says 'Shared Phone Booth.'"
Zhang Wang paused for a moment, then gave an awkward laugh. "Right, right—shared phone booths are also one of my projects!"
"Sorry, President Pei, I have too many ideas and got them mixed up."
"President Pei, are you interested in my Shared Umbrella project? Would you like to invest in it together?"
Ma Yang's eyes lit up with interest as he whispered, "Brother Qian, this project actually seems more reliable than the phone booth one!"
Pei Qian's face darkened.
Shared umbrellas? A project that sounds this reliable—how could I possibly invest in it?
Well, whether it's reliable or not is debatable, but at the very least, it's useful.
And useful means… risk!
Pei Qian shook his head. "I'm not interested in shared umbrellas for now. Let's talk about the Shared Phone Booth instead."
"Okay, President Pei." Zhang Wang didn't seem too disappointed. "Shared Phone Booth comes from my nostalgia for public phone booths—"
Pei Qian had a bad feeling he was about to launch into another long, meaningless monologue, so he quickly raised a hand to stop him.
"Alright, alright, no need to go into the details. Your proposal already explains the project very thoroughly."
He Desheng instinctively glanced at the proposal.
This one page… counts as 'very thorough'???
Pei Qian continued, "I'll just ask you one key question. Try to answer it as simply and directly as possible, okay?"
Zhang Wang nodded. "No problem, President Pei!"
Pei Qian: "You're asking for 200,000 yuan in investment. How did you come up with that number?"
Zhang Wang answered confidently, "President Pei, I calculated it."
"I plan to put in 20 Shared Phone Booths, and each booth will cost 10,000 yuan to make."
"The booth will be 2.4 meters tall, made of tinplate with powder coating and high-temperature baked paint, finely carved retro door handles, and wooden decorative baseboards. The craftsmanship will be meticulous and the design elegant. The booth itself will cost around 5,000 yuan."
"On top of that, I need to reserve another 5,000 yuan for other costs inside the booth."
"So all together, that's 200,000 yuan."
After finishing, Zhang Wang looked at Pei Qian with eager anticipation.
Pei Qian thought for a moment. "That won't do."
"Spending the entire 200,000 yuan in one go? How can you run a project without any emergency funds on hand?"
"How about this: I'll give you 500,000 yuan. Go back and think about what else you can add to these phone booths. If nothing else, just customize the booths for me inside and out!"
Zhang Wang was overjoyed. "Okay, President Pei! No problem!"
Pei Qian thought of something else and added, "Oh right, make sure these booths are easy to install and easy to dismantle. That's my only requirement."
Zhang Wang considered it for a moment, then nodded. "Alright. Although I don't really see the need for that, since President Pei has said so, I'll definitely make it happen!"
Pei Qian didn't have any other requirements for this project, he just wanted the booths to be easy to dismantle, so that after the project failed, they could be taken apart smoothly and sold as scrap metal, without creating urban waste.
That said, Pei Qian only noticed at this moment that even for such an unreliable project, the system hadn't raised any warning at all.
Could it be that, in the system's eyes, a mere 500,000 yuan didn't even count as money anymore?
After all, the system had already allowed a charitable quota of five million.
Pei Qian couldn't help but sigh. System, system—seems you still don't understand the principle of "nipping problems in the bud."
Lots of five hundred-thousands can add up too, you know!
No matter what, getting rid of 500,000 yuan first was a good start!
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