Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

March 23rd, Wednesday…

Thriller Hostel's construction was in full swing.

Chen Kangtuo and Hao Qiong were there at the site. Apart from supervising the construction each day, they also gathered material from horror novels, videos, and films and brainstormed about how to make the various projects in Thriller Hostel better.

They had various subordinates in charge of various work in the haunted house, but there weren't many of them to begin with. When the haunted house was almost done, they planned to recruit a large group of employees to sell tickets, act, and maintain cleanliness.

However, all three projects of the haunted house would probably only be completed in at least three more months.

Just like before, Chen Kangtuo stared at the design diagram on his computer screen and seriously considered various details. All of a sudden, his cell phone vibrated. It was a message.

Chen Kangtuo jumped and then gestured for Hao Qiong to come over.

"Quick, be prepared! Boss Pei is coming!"

Hao Qiong had been engrossed in something on his cell phone. It was the latest horror novel on Zhongdian Chinese Network, which had achieved pretty good results.

However, upon hearing Chen Kangtuo's words, he quickly asked, "When?"

Chen Kangtuo was already on his feet, organizing various documents. "He'll be here in ten minutes!"

Both of them quickly cleaned up all the trash lying around.

They were in a temporary office set up in the corner of the factory, which had been done up strictly according to the Tengda spirit. There were large office desks, a sofa, and a refrigerator. All in all, the office environment was very cozy.

However, it was also usually messy at the same time.

There were random items like empty soda bottles, horror novels, and horror concept art scattered across the sofa and office desk. Chen Kangtuo feared that it would leave a bad impression in Boss Pei's mind if he saw the scene.

Thus, both of them quickly packed up the entire office and restored it to its original clean state.

Not long after they were done, Boss Pei arrived. With a folder in hand, Chen Kangtuo welcomed him. "Hello, Boss Pei! Please, come in!"

The folder contained information on Thriller Hostel's various projects including floor plans, design details for each project, renderings, sources of inspiration, project costs, contracts signed with various partners, and the like.

Chen Kangtuo was sure that Boss Pei had come to ask about Thriller Hostel's progress and several other details. Thus, he prepared as much as he could in the limited time.

Although he knew many things by heart, he could not go wrong with having the documents ready for Boss Pei's inspection at any time.

Chen Kangtuo invited Boss Pei to sit on the sofa and then prepared himself to report Thriller Hostel's progress.

"Boss Pei, let me update you on the construction of Thriller Hostel first," said Chen Kangtuo once Hao Qiong had served Boss Pei a cup of tea.

Boss Pei took the cup of tea and sipped it. After hearing Chen Kangtuo's words, he shook his head and said, "There's no need for that. I have something important for you."

Chen Kangtuo could not help but feel nervous when he saw Boss Pei's somber expression.

What important thing did Boss Pei want to tell them about? Judging by Boss Pei's somber expression, the task was probably extremely complicated and difficult!

Chen Kangtuo and Hao Qiong dared not ask any questions. Instead, they listened intently.

Pei Qian sipped his tea again and asked, "Based on how things have been going, how long more would the haunted house take?"

Chen Kangtuo answered, "At best, it would be three months. If everything goes according to our original plan, it would take four months."

Pei Qian nodded. Four months was acceptable.

"I'll give you another forty million yuan. I want to spend it all on Thriller Hostel. If you foresee any difficulties, let me know now."

Chen Kangtuo waited for a moment and then realized that Boss Pei was done speaking. It was then that he asked, "Er… Boss Pei, is there anything else?"

Pei Qian answered, "There's nothing else."

Chen Kangtuo: "…the important thing you were talking about was spending money?"

Pei Qian nodded. "That's right."

Confusion was written all over Chen Kangtuo's face. However, a few seconds later, a realization dawned on him. "Oh! I understand now! Boss Pei, is this forty million yuan meant for building the surrounding facilities? I've thought about it!"

Chen Kangtuo had thought that the previous budget had been sufficient to construct all of Thriller Hostel, but there would not be a single surrounding facility!

There would be no shops, no hotels, and no restaurants. People would not be able to eat, shop, or find a place to stay. Transport was even worse. Trains aside, even public buses didn't come here.

How could the haunted house attract tourists?! Were tourists expected to drive over and stand around while waiting for their turn to enter the haunted house?

That would be inappropriate.

Now that Boss Pei was adding another forty million yuan to the project, they could finally start working on the surrounding facilities!

Pei Qian shook his head, speechless. "You're wrong. The forty million yuan was set aside purely for Thriller Hostel.

"Spend it all on the projects, and don't spend a single cent on the surrounding facilities. What's more, you shouldn't delay the completion of the project. I'm going to emphasize this again: this is very important, and you have to do a good job, understand?"

Chen Kangtuo was confused.

Sh*t, I've guessed wrongly…

Boss Pei was indeed Boss Pei. Nobody could guess his train of thought.

They were supposed to spend all forty million yuan on Thriller Hostel and not delay the completion of the project. That meant they could not add any more new segments. They could only improve the details of the existing projects.

Still… this seemed very excessive! The price-quality ratio of building surrounding facilities would be much better! Could Boss Pei have deeper intentions?

Chen Kangtuo instinctively found this a waste of the money, but he dared not ask too many questions. Instead, he decided to obediently follow Boss Pei's instructions. "Alright, Boss Pei! I'll do that!"

Pei Qian nodded, satisfied. Then, he stood up and said, "Go ahead and go back to work. A group of people will come and survey the area soon. I'll be bringing them around. Don't bother about us at all. Even if you see anything strange, don't ask any questions, understand?"

Chen Kangtuo and Hao Qiong nodded. "Yes!"

Pei Qian happily left the office, boarded his car, and waited.

Boss Li had said that he would lead a group of investors to invest in this project. He was going to survey the area today, and Pei Qian was supposed to host them.

Pei Qian could have left the hosting to Chen Kangtuo, but he could not relax.

What if Chen Kangtuo wasn't careful and inadvertently revealed something? Boss Li and the others might find out that Pei Qian had invested a huge sum of money into this project. Then, their desire to have a 'slice of the pie' would just intensify.

After that, Pei Qian would have difficulty shaking them off.

Pei Qian had made up his mind. Once Boss Li and the others arrived, he would bring them around the deserted and old industrial zones so they could see just how desolate this area was!

It would be best if they changed their minds on the spot.

Otherwise, Pei Qian would have to come up with something else.

…

Less than half an hour later, several high-end commercial cars stopped at the entrance of the old industrial zone.

Pei Qian immediately went to warmly welcome Boss Li and the other investors.

"Boss Pei! I'm sorry to make you wait. We weren't familiar with the surroundings, and so it took us a bit longer to get here. I'm really sorry about that."

Li Shi alighted from his car and expressed his sincere apologies to Pei Qian first.

The other investors alighted one by one and greeted Boss Pei as well. Some drove here on their own while others were chauffeured here. However, all the chauffeurs remained in their cars and did not follow the group.

Obviously, Boss Li had not been giving excuses. He had been stating facts. Of course, everyone would be unfamiliar with the surroundings here!

Two investors frowned the moment they alighted from their cars. This was more deserted than they had expected.

Everyone had heard about Jingzhou's old industrial zones, but none of them had actually visited this place. Since there had not been any business to be done here, there had simply been no point.

Now that they were here, they were extremely disappointed. The situation was much worse than they had imagined!

Li Shi had indeed said that Boss Pei was building a haunted house in a deserted and desolate industrial zone. At the time, they had thought that Boss Li was exaggerating. Now, they knew that he was not!

Saying that this place was deserted and desolate was an understatement! All in all, everyone was crestfallen. What's more, it showed on their faces.

Pei Qian noticed this and celebrated inwardly.

That's great! That's the expression I was hoping for! I already told you that this is a deserted place, and it won't succeed, but none of you believed me! Do you believe me now?

Of course, only two people looked obviously displeased. Pei Qian knew he had to work harder.

He would lead the group of investors around the old industrial zone, so that they could properly survey the environment and situation. Then, they would know that only the entrance could be described as 'quite desolate and deserted'.

The further they got, the worse the situation would become!

I've told you the truth, but you refused to back off. Now, I'll show you the truth, and see if you would finally learn your lesson.

"Come with me, everyone. I'll briefly show you the state of the old industrial zone and how Thriller Hostel looks like now."

With that, Pei Qian led the group of investors further into the industrial zone.

…

Thirty minutes later, everyone walked out from the deepest corners of the industrial zone and then stopped outside one of the factory buildings that was being renovated for Thriller Hostel.

Two slightly older investors were already panting from all the walking. Li Shi, too, rubbed his legs as beads of sweat dripped down his face.

Pei Qian was only twenty years old. This little bit of walking was nothing to him. However, this group of investors had obviously lived a pampered life. Half an hour of walking around had caused them to feel weak.

Even then, Pei Qian was surprised that all of them could keep up and that none of them had given up and left in anger.

Still, everyone did not look very happy.

After walking around the industrial zone, they realized that they had been imagining things when they had thought the industrial zone was deserted and desolate earlier. Having seen the inner parts of the industrial zone, they finally understood how deserted and desolate the place really was!

The entrance was deserted, but at least the floor was clean. As they walked further in, they discovered piles of rubbish, vandalism on the walls, and patches of tall weeds. All of those things pointed to one single fact.

The deserted entrance was the most presentable part of the entire industrial zone.

Pei Qian smiled, feeling like he had accomplished half of his goal. He only needed to show everyone how bad the industrial zone really looked so they could imagine what would become of their money if they invested in this project.

Pei Qian was sure that some of them would change their minds on the spot!

He cleared his throat. "Everyone, let me emphasize this again. This investment will cause you loss."

He tried to look as sincere and genuine as possible. He could tell that two or three investors would back out soon.

They had been interested in investing because they had seen how successful Boss Pei's previous projects were. However, after seeing the industrial zone's true state, they suddenly realized that Boss Pei's previous achievements were meaningless, no matter how impressive they were.

Making this place popular would be as difficult as turning stone into gold!

Still, everyone was too embarrassed to say that they were not interested in investing in the project anymore. Instead, they looked at one another, waiting for someone to speak up.

Pei Qian was not in a hurry; he waited patiently. He was sure that someone would speak up after weighing the amount of money they had.

However, Li Shi seemed to have caught on. He decisively took a step forward, and then scanned the group. "What's the matter? We talked about this before. Is someone really going to back out?!"

His voice sounded firm and determined.

Pei Qian, "…?"

He looked at Li Shi, evidently confused.

Li Shi gave Pei Qian a firm nod and then turned back to the other investors. "That's silly! Boss Pei was testing how determined you are!

"Before this, all of you were saying that you wouldn't invest in any other project but Boss Pei's. Now, after walking a little and seeing superficial things, you've changed your mind? You're so easily swayed!

"Just think about the investors who didn't trust Boss Pei when we invested in 'Top Student, Come Quick' back then. What has happened to them?!

"Do you want to part ways with a promising project, just like them?"

On hearing Li Shi's words, those who had looked like they wanted to back out earlier became determined once again. They exchanged meaningful looks and fell into deep thought.

Then, Li Shi turned to Pei Qian and grinned. It was almost as if he was saying, "Don't worry, nobody will back out with me around!"

Pei Qian, "…"

He was exhausted.