Chapter 68

*** Third Update! Votes needed! ***

"Ha ha! So there's a story behind this?" Ji Chang, rarely losing his composure, widened his eyes in surprise and asked.

"You'll die if you don't talk!" Zhang Ruoxi, feeling both angry and embarrassed, pounced on Zhao Lin and started "fighting."

Song Chen, however, was slightly taken aback, as some vague memories surged in his mind. He remembered that in his previous life, Zhang Ruoxi had also said something similar. It was clear how serious she was. Seeing the man beside her lost in thought, his handsome features stood out even more, Zhai Yue felt a pang of sadness but was also proud of her man's excellence.

"These are rare business insights! I've learned a lot!" Shi Tao said seriously.

Knowing his own situation, he had just a few more years of experience to cheat a bit! So Song Chen's face turned red, and he quickly waved his hands, saying, "I was just talking. I don't have any specific experience, which is why I especially hope that Miss Zhai, Sister Yue's younger sister, can be the manager of my company!"

Seeing Zhai Yue looking at him with a smile that wasn't quite a smile, Song Chen said awkwardly, "She graduated from a prestigious university! She must have the ability!"

Seeing her boyfriend standing up for himself in front of his friends, Zhang Ruoxi, rarely understanding Song Chen, smiled and said, "You have a point!"

"That's a very intimate way to call Sister Yue! But you're going to suffer!" Zhao Lin laughed and pointed at Wang Xiaoxue and Jiang Yan, saying, "Sister Xue, Sister Yan! I'm older than you, so call me Sister Lin!"

Song Chen's face twitched, and he said with a bitter smile, "We're only a few months apart, why call me 'sister'!"

Ji Chang laughed and said, "Call me Brother Chang, and we won't let you down. We can introduce you to some political elders in the future! I think they would be happy to meet a young hero like you!"

"That's the truth!" Liu Jun laughed.

Wang Xiaoxue, however, said with a teasing smile, "Since we're a few years older, we have something to ask for your help?"

"Eh?" Song Chen was speechless and asked, "What is it?"

Zhang Ruoxi, looking at Wang Xiaoxue with suspicion, said, "You're not asking for A-Chen's opinion again, are you?" Seeing Zhang Ruoxi protect Song Chen like a mother hen, Yang De and the others were both amused and exasperated.

"That's not it. We're here to give your man some money!" Wang Xiaoxue smiled and looked at Jiang Yan.

Seeing Song Chen raise his eyebrows, Jiang Yan felt more confident and carefully chose her words, saying with a light smile, "I didn't know the internet cafe business was so profitable. I felt a bit regretful after hearing your plan! But you said your software company burns a lot of money, right? What if we invest in it?"

Yang De was taken aback, and Shi Tao nudged him with his elbow. Yang De turned his head and saw Shi Tao nodding at Wang Xiaoxue, whispering, "There's something to it!" Even Ye Lin and Liu Jun started whispering to each other.

Seeing Chen Daohui and the others deep in thought, Song Chen pondered for a moment and asked carefully, "How much do you plan to invest?"

Seeing Song Chen not at all resistant, Jiang Yan and Wang Xiaoxue felt a bit guilty. Wang Xiaoxue thought for a moment and said tentatively, "What about 500,000?"

Song Chen laughed in disbelief.

Wang Xiaoxue's eyes narrowed, and she said unhappily, "What's so funny about that?"

"Sorry..." Song Chen smiled apologetically and then asked seriously, "So, Sister Xue, how much of my company, which doesn't even have official employees yet, do you think 500,000 can buy?"

Wang Xiaoxue smiled at Song Chen and said cautiously, "20%?"

Liu Jun was about to speak, but Ye Lin patted his shoulder and shook his head. Liu Jun looked at him in surprise, understanding something, and became serious.

The others, who were just watching, gradually put away their smiles, and the atmosphere became strange.

Song Chen smiled and said, "It sounds like Sister Xue is at a disadvantage! Sister Yan, you seem quite interested too!"

Jiang Yan was very honest and said succinctly, "I'll still invest 200,000. It looks like a loss, but we also believe in your capabilities!"

Song Chen nodded and smiled, "Alright!" The others looked at each other, puzzled by Song Chen's quick agreement.

Even Jiang Yan and Wang Xiaoxue, who initiated this, felt something was off.

"Only..." Song Chen dragged out the word, his smile unchanged.

Finally, they saw the flaw! Jiang Yan and Wang Xiaoxue's eyes lit up, and they became excited, "Only what?"

"Only, when it comes to additional investments in the future, I'm afraid you won't be able to afford it!" Song Chen spread his hands, looking helpless.

Wang Xiaoxue sneered, "How big is your lousy company? 700,000 plus your capital of over a million isn't enough to burn through?"

Song Chen laughed again, "I didn't include my capital just now. Even with my 800,000, according to my plan, 1.5 million can only last until mid-next year! And the rate of burning money will increase by at least 50% to 80% annually for five to six years! More importantly, there will be almost no returns during this process!"

"Whoa!" Zhang Ruoxi and the others stared at Song Chen in shock, drawing in a breath.

Ji Chang was taken aback, "Is it really that exaggerated? Who would dare to invest in such a company?" He muttered to himself, "Such a rate of burning money, can you afford it? Either you're scaring people or you're crazy!"

Not just Ji Chang, but Yang De, Liu Jun, Ye Lin, Chen Daohui... even Zhang Ruoxi looked at her man with strange eyes. Zhao Lin even shouted, "If you don't want others to invest, just say so! We won't force you!"

Song Chen laughed bitterly and raised his hands in surrender, "I'm not lying to you! That's why I told Sister Xue and the others before that it burns a lot of money! Even with 10 million, it would be gone in two to three years!"

Zhao Lin sneered, "Where do you get 10 million to burn? If there were such a big investment, would you be foolish enough to pour money into it?"

"There's profit to be made! First, I definitely don't have 10 million to waste!" Song Chen shrugged and said with a smile, "But there are people willing to give me money to burn! You just don't pay attention to the newspapers. With high-tech as the concept, the so-called 'internet 3-year economy is equivalent to 70 years of industrial economy' miracle is happening on Nasdaq. The entire internet is 'feverish,' so my bold statement just now isn't surprising!"

Shi Tao pondered and said, "You're talking about venture capital, right? I know a bit about it! Venture capitalists in Europe and America are very fond of internet companies. I heard that as long as someone has a good business plan, venture capitalists will invest heavily. The most successful is Masayoshi Son of SoftBank in Japan! His investments are almost all in internet companies! In April 1995, Sequoia Capital valued Yahoo at 4 million, and then invested 2 million. In the same April, Masayoshi Son of SoftBank invested 60 million! On April 12, 1996, Yahoo went public, with an opening price of 13 dollars per share, but it opened at 24.5 dollars, reaching a high of 43 dollars, and closed at 33 dollars, with a total market value of 848 million dollars, 200 times the valuation by Sequoia Capital a year earlier!"

Looking at Song Chen, Shi Tao smiled, "If your confidence comes from this, I don't think anyone needs to be surprised!"

Seeing that Song Chen's plan might be feasible, everyone's eyes lit up, "Doesn't that mean that as long as you invest in an internet company and get it listed, you can get a huge return? Isn't that even more profitable than an internet cafe?"

Song Chen shook his head, "It's not that easy. First, you need capital, which is the foundation. Second, you need a strong nerve to withstand the blow if the investment fails!"

Pondering, Song Chen carefully chose his words and said slowly, "Although Brother Tao used Yahoo as an example, it's not quite appropriate, because Yahoo has been profitable since last year, even if it's just a few thousand dollars! This year, Yahoo's advertising revenue is much higher than last year, so a significant increase in net profit is expected! However, the 'feverish' internet companies I mentioned are mostly in net loss! Silicon Valley entrepreneurs sell ideas, venture capitalists hype concepts, and investors care about rising stock prices..."

Closing his eyes, Song Chen said calmly, "But concepts are concepts, and ideas are ideas. The company's revenue is the only attribute that ultimately determines the stock value. The feverish market will eventually return to rationality. Once rationality returns, many people will end up on the streets, and many families will be destroyed!"

Seeing that everyone was taken aback by his words, Song Chen smiled self-deprecatingly, "I went off-topic! What I said just now is my personal assessment of this crazy phenomenon! There are naturally others who share my pessimistic view, both domestically and internationally! My plan indeed requires finding a venture capital firm to invest in my software company! But not now. I'm lazy and don't want to actively seek them out. On the contrary, I think many venture capitalists will come to me within a year! At that time, the valuation won't be up to them!"

The last sentence clearly implied that 500,000 was far from enough!

"What about the future?" Zhai Yue, who had been silent, asked Song Chen with some concern, "You don't see the internet economy positively, do you?"

Song Chen smiled and said, "It's not that I don't see the internet economy positively, but I don't see the internet economy boom based on concept hype positively! I also don't see the single advertising revenue model of companies like Yahoo positively!"

After a moment of silence, Song Chen said to Wang Xiaoxue and Jiang Yan, "I need a large amount of capital. Even if all of you and your parents invest 100 million in my company, you won't be able to bear the anxiety and pain of only investing without any returns, and this process will last for many years!"

Zhao Lin still didn't believe it and sneered, "I don't believe it! If you say this company will burn money for many years, how much profit will it bring you in the future?"

Song Chen smiled slightly and asked, "What do you think? If I really implement this plan, what will the company be worth in five years?"

Zhao Lin pouted, "Who knows what you're up to in your mind! How can I guess?"

Shaking his head, Song Chen looked around and said sincerely, "Actually, venture capital is just one part of my plan. I must consider the possibility that venture capitalists might not want to cash out, in which case my company might end up working for others! So another plan is to fund it myself!"

Zhang Ruoxi asked in surprise, "Where do you get so much money?"

Jiang Yan said unhappily, "Right! You just said you need a huge investment!"

Song Chen smiled and said, "The internet cafe is my first cash cow! Of course, the profits are far from enough for my software company to develop! So I need to find a second cash cow!"

Yang De asked tentatively, "Have you found it?"

Song Chen smiled and said, "I've noticed it! But it will take two to three years for the conditions to mature! So after much thought, I still plan to find a venture capital firm to help me get the much-needed funds for my company's development!"

Looking at Wang Xiaoxue, Song Chen said, "Sister Xue, Sister Yan, don't worry. The internet cafe is just a step in my plan. To put it confidently, as long as you follow my lead, you'll soon achieve the status