Chapter 3

Li Jingming lived to the age of forty-four in his previous life, which was the year 2030 AD. At that age, he had seen and experienced much, and had many thoughts, but life did not always go as he wished.

In his previous life, Li Jingming had a smooth career and held a high position at a young age. However, his existence blocked others' paths to capital. Despite his caution, he was eventually shot by his enemies and could not escape the fate of being "killed."

In his previous life, Li Jingming carried too much burden and never had a moment to breathe easily until the end. Since his rebirth, every time he recalled the past, he couldn't help but feel, "I have never truly been myself." In this life, he was determined to indulge himself. Of course, indulgence also required planning. He wanted to have fun and make everyone cheer for him and worship him. All of this needed careful planning because he was destined to carry even more burdens in this life, the desires of two lifetimes.

No matter what, to stand firm in the world of capital, money was the most basic requirement.

Li Jingming was not his real name; Li Kan was his name in the Li family genealogy. His father was Li Rong (a fictional name), his grandfather was Li He (also fictional), his great-grandfather was Li Qing, and his great-great-grandfather was Yi Prince Li Gang, a symbol of Korean independence and democracy.

This Li Gang was not the "my father is Li Gang" who was betrayed, but a prince of the Joseon Dynasty, the uncle of the last emperor of Korea (who was actually a prince of the Chinese Empire). His status in Korean history was high, as the title "independence activist" suggests. If Li Jingming shouted, "I am the great-grandson of Emperor Gojong's son, Yi Prince Li Gang," the effect would be no less than "I am the great-grandson of Emperor Jing of Han, the descendant of King Jing of Zhongshan." He might even pick up a couple of followers while shopping at the supermarket.

For various reasons, the Li family had declined compared to the past and now allied with the Leeheung Min family, the Andong Kim family, and the Pungyang Cho family. Although they had declined, they were still powerful and influential, among the most powerful families on the peninsula. Each of the Li, Kim, Min, and Cho families had their own industries. The Li family controlled the Hanwha Group, the Min family controlled the Shinhan Financial Group, the Cho family controlled the Hanjin Group, and the Kim family, due to early support from the Japanese in their anti-Qing activities, was the actual controller of the Lotte Group. Although they were pro-Japanese and somewhat marginalized among the three families, they were still family.

The family was one thing, but in this life, Li Jingming wanted to achieve his own goals with his own strength.

As a reborn person, Li Jingming's foresight gave him an unparalleled advantage. Remembering lottery numbers was unrealistic, but the 2002 World Cup held in South Korea gave him a chance. Betting on football was very popular in many football-loving countries, especially in Europe, where almost every World Cup was a playground for bookmakers. Billions of euros in bets could make these bookmakers very rich, but a surprise result could also make them lose everything. In the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup, Italy unexpectedly lost to South Korea. Although Li Jingming, as a South Korean, felt embarrassed by the unfair victory, the surprise result allowed him to make a lot of money.

As a South Korean, especially one who could attend every match, Li Jingming naturally watched all the matches involving the South Korean team and the strong teams. At 17, he was in his prime, and with the continuous propaganda from the South Korean government, he remembered the results of every match in that World Cup very clearly.

To make money from betting, one needed a lot of skill, not just the three steps described in many novels: first, take some money from home; second, go and place a bet; third, wait for the money. Official betting had limits, and underground betting required connections and guarantees. Even if everything went smoothly, how much one could earn was a big question. If one didn't control the degree well, not only could the bookmakers refuse to pay, but one might even receive a bullet. Before experiencing the 2002 Korea-Japan World Cup for the second time, Li Jingming had saved 50 million Korean won, which was about 40,000 US dollars at the time. He spread his bets widely and, except for one in Thailand, he recovered all the others, ending up with 30 million US dollars.

In 2003, when Li Jingming was 18, he used the 30 million US dollars to register a company in the Cayman Islands, naming it "The Light Kingdom" (shortened to "LK"). His father helped him hire a few good managers. In the stock market, Li Jingming's foresight allowed him to keep making money, especially in the early days when the left shore was a gold mine. However, becoming a big player in the stock market was not his goal.

The venture capital development of LK was a direct reflection of Li Jingming's foresight. In 2003, he invested in helping Google acquire a web log company, earning his first board seat. Although it was a small stake, in 2004, at the age of 19, Li Jingming, who was still a minor in South Korea, earned a substantial dividend through his foresight, proving his ability to his parents.

With the help of his parents, he asked his grandfather and maternal grandfather for 15 million and 12 million US dollars, respectively, as so-called "departure fees." It wasn't that Li Jingming was willing to be expelled from the family, but rather that he was stating he would no longer inherit the family business through inheritance, equivalent to selling his future inheritance rights in advance. With an additional 3 million from his parents, he aimed to gather 30 million US dollars.

Of course, this was just a joke. Even if Li Jingming voluntarily gave up his inheritance rights, legally, he would still need to inherit the property, which he could only transfer or sell after it was truly his. Second, his father, Li Rong, and mother, Kim Yoon-shoo, would not give up, and they only had one son. Third, and most importantly, the Li and Kim family businesses were worth billions of dollars, not won. As the eldest grandson of the Li family, Li Jingming's inheritance rights were far more valuable than 30 million US dollars. By mentioning his inheritance rights, he was essentially mocking the two elders, saying, "You have such a large estate, and it will all be mine after you pass away. Why not give me a little now?"

Li Jingming said this to show that, although he was young, he could earn money and needed some capital from the elders. It was like a child in an ordinary family asking for something, saying, "Grandpa, give me this, or I'll leave the family." The Li and Kim families would not really expel Li Jingming, and in the end, he received 50 million US dollars as startup capital.

If other children in the family had acted this way, they would have been disciplined long ago, but Li Jingming was different. He understood the survival strategies of large families and, after his rebirth, did not plan to endure for twenty years to become a ninja turtle. He showed abilities beyond his age early on. As an adult who had already learned the school curriculum, he found exams easy and skipped grades frequently. He studied in China for four years and then went to Harvard. During family gatherings, he often debated with his uncles, leaving them speechless. Although Korea respected seniority, they were happy to see their capable child, at least in front of the elders. In reality, Li Jingming had lived to 44 in his previous life, and with his foresight, his vision was far beyond that of his uncles.

With the capital, Li Jingming felt more confident and began to take action. 2004 was a big year for LK. When news of Steve Jobs' pancreatic cancer broke, not only did Apple's stock collapse, but Jobs' position was also in jeopardy. Although Li Jingming had limited funds, he was still a timely helper, and Jobs gave him face. With 50 million dollars, he acquired 5% of Apple's shares, which was not a small amount.

That year, Mark Zuckerberg and his friends were still two Harvard students who had been disciplined. Li Jingming's managers, with their silver tongues and green dollars, successfully secured 45% of the original shares of "Facebook" for Li Jingming, costing him only a few million dollars. The managers' eloquence was secondary; the main reason was that Mark was intimidated by the aura of Jobs.

Although Jobs, like his Southern Song ancestor, was betrayed by his subordinates and was in a difficult situation, his legend still lived on. In American universities, countless students idolized Jobs, and the spirit represented by the letter "i" had become a totem for American college students, like the 28 Dragon Subduing Palms of the legendary Jobs.

Li Jingming invited this great figure to meet Mark Zuckerberg and said, "Young man, I see that you have a unique aura and are a one-in-a-million IT genius. I will introduce an investor to you, and soon you will have the capital to start your business. In a few years, you will be a flying dragon." Mark was immediately dazzled by the golden light of the master and bowed in submission. In fact, Jobs only appeared because Li Jingming had helped him in a time of need, wearing a mask to support the scene. At the time, many people in America dreamed of making money from the internet and its related industries, and Facebook was not considered original. Jobs did not think that being from Harvard guaranteed success, and he had no particular interest, purely out of gratitude to the Li family.

Jobs miscalculated. The words "Harvard" and "beauty" had strong appeal in America, and when combined into "Harvard beauty," it was like a golden carp meeting the wind and clouds, truly transforming into a dragon. Without Li Jingming's foresight, Facebook would not have received its decisive investment until May 2005, but now Li Jingming could make the company take off earlier.

Many companies would achieve great success in the coming years, as the Korean saying goes, "Da Fa" (big success). But why would they sell their companies to you? You have the face for it? When a company is doing well and making money, the shareholders are not fools, and private companies are even less likely to sell. Even if Li Jingming knew many companies had the potential to succeed, he was at a loss: "A mouse pulling a turtle—no place to start."

To add, how did the protagonists with only millions of dollars become major shareholders or even owners of companies worth billions? This has always puzzled Li Jingming. He wanted to learn from those reborn or transmigrated predecessors, but in the end, he could only say, "I can't do it!"

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