Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

Pei Qian felt like he had run into a pack of wild dogs on the streets. He had narrowly escaped their lethal fangs by scaring them into retreating, and then some prankster decided to throw a bone at him.

Obviously, Boss Li was the prankster.

As the saying went, one had to see it to believe it. Many investors had thought about backing out when they saw how desolate and deserted the place was. Yet, Boss Li's words turned them around!

A few investors exchanged looks as if infected by Boss Li's determined tone. For some reason, they thought that he was making sense.

Before this, everyone had agreed to invest money into this project. That was one way of putting it. It's just that, to businessmen only concerned about profit, oral promises were not promises until they were written on paper.

However, what really bought them over had been Boss Li's last few sentences.

Boss Pei was testing how determined they were!

Just think about 'Top Student, Come Quick'! Everyone recalled that the same thing had happened with 'Top Student, Come Quick' back then. Boss Pei kept persuading them to back off, causing many investors to be shaken.

Yet, what happened in the end? They almost dropped dead from the poison!

All the investors present had remained in the 'Top Student, Come Quick' project. In fact, some of them had even invested more funds into it. In the end, they all reaped huge profits.

At a time like that, investors were having a hard time! Ordinary investments did not lead to such high payouts, and risky investments could cause them to lose everything by fraud.

Yet, investing in Boss Pei's project had given all of them a taste of the good life!

Thus, everyone became doubtful because of Boss Pei's attempt at dissuading them and the subtle smile on his face. Boss Pei seemed to be playing hard to get!

Obviously, he wanted to filter out the best of this group of investors as well. Only those who absolutely trusted him and insisted on investing in him would share his profits!

The easily swayed investors giving up halfway would forever be excluded.

Just look at the investors who had not chosen to invest in 'Top Student, Come Quick'; none of them were here, right?

It was not that they had not wanted to come. In fact, they could hardly wait to invest everything they had into Boss Pei's projects now. However, that didn't mean anything. They couldn't do so anymore!

Everyone had only been roped into Boss Pei's projects thanks to their connection with Boss Li. If they backed out now and bailed on Boss Li, would Boss Li continue to rope them in for profitable projects in the future?

Many people were queuing to do business with Boss Pei. Would they miss one or two investors?

Thus, after hearing Boss Li's words, many of them understood.

Before this, all of them had earned a considerable sum from Boss Pei's project. Even if they incurred losses this time, they would have hopes of making a comeback as long as they kept following Boss Pei.

On the other hand, if they chose not to invest, they would never get to do business with Boss Pei again whether this project succeeded or not!

Wasn't the choice clear?

Soon, an investor—who had clearly shown his desire to back out earlier—somberly said, "Boss Li, what are you talking about? Are we the type to leave you in the lurch?"

Another investor chimed in. "That's right! Boss Li, you're underestimating us. We already said we would invest in the project together. Whoever dares to eat their words would never get to do business with us again!"

The rest of the investors began to nod and mumble in approval.

"Yeah, who isn't happy with this project? It's obviously very promising! Even if all of you disperse, I'll invest in it for sure!

"Boss Pei, rest assured. We don't have any intention of dispersing! To prove my determination, I'll invest another one million yuan!"

Everyone began to act like they were on the same page. Even the investors, who thought little of this project, tried hard to control their expressions and emotions—just to act confident and nonchalant.

Pei Qian, "…"

What's going on?! I was so close to success. Yet, a single speech from Boss Li made a mess of everything!

Pei Qian refused to give up. He turned to the weakest-looking investor. "Brother, don't listen to them! They're trying to cheat you!"

The investor was visibly shocked. At once, he looked self-righteous and indignant. "Don't worry, Boss Pei! I won't be affected by them! I'm genuinely confident in your project!"

Pei Qian turned to another weak-looking investor. However, before he could say anything, the man soberly said, "Boss Pei, my investment has nothing to do with them either. I'm purely making a negligible contribution to the development of Jingzhou's economy!"

To express their loyalty, the rest of the investors also said things like 'we just want to reciprocate the goodwill', 'it doesn't matter if we incur losses', and 'we trust Boss Pei'.

It seemed better when Pei Qian had kept quiet. Each time he asked a question, it looked more like he was testing them.

Everyone patted their chests in confidence. The only thing lacking was their solemn oaths.

Pei Qian was completely speechless by now.

Finished!

Anything he said now would be a waste of effort. It was almost as if everyone could understand what Boss Pei was saying, but nobody could understand his true intentions.

Pei Qian could not help but heave a long sigh. My kind warnings are wasted on those who deserved to die!

Since you're sure that you want to incur losses with me, I have no other choice.

Pei Qian reluctantly nodded. "Alright.

"You've already seen the deserted industrial zone anyway. If you want to make ducks and drakes of your money with me, I won't stop you. Do whatever you want to do. If you're busy, you can go ahead. I'm leaving."

Pei Qian turned around and started to walk back towards his car.

"Ai, Boss Pei, hold on!"

The group of investors, led by Boss Li, quickly stopped Boss Pei. In front of everyone, Li Shi cleared his throat. "Hehe, Boss Pei, everyone knows that you're very busy.

"However…

"You've been in charge of the planning for Thriller Hostel. Don't you think you should tell us what you have planned for this haunted house?

"We don't understand this project very well. There are so many of us, and each of us has a different idea. What if one ends up building one type of hostel while another ends up building another type of restaurant? Everything will look like a mess in the end."

Everyone nodded.

"Yes, Boss Li is right!"

"That's what we think, too."

"Boss Pei, please take a few minutes of your time to tell us about the project!"

Everyone obviously knew that, even though Boss Pei was here, they could not mindlessly invest money into the project. Furthermore, this was a large-scale entertainment project, and everyone was investing a huge sum of money. Of course, they needed to plan things carefully!

On top of that, none of the investors could afford to make this desolate place lively. All of them were counting on Boss Pei.

Boss Pei had to give them a clear plan, so that they could relax and invest!

Of course, they could not directly say this either. Even though it was true, they could not afford to look like they were just trying to cozy up to him because he was powerful.

Thus, Boss Li found an excuse and hid this concern under the guise of 'working together'. That way, not only would they be allowed to invest in Boss Pei's promising project, but everyone would also look good in front of Boss Pei. Boss Li killed two birds with one stone.

Pei Qian turned around and shook his head profusely. "No, I cannot interfere with this project at all!"

Pei Qian had realized that every time he sat back to observe, everything would change.

Normally, things went well when he did not come up with a plan. However, whenever he thought of something, he would strangely bring life into any project.

Thus, Pei Qian had decided that, no matter how well this group praised him, he could not afford to offer any advice. He would let them struggle and fight and let the project turn out however it was meant to. He would not interfere with the project at all!

The investors stared at him, confused.

Hasn't Boss Pei already accepted our investment? If so, why is he still so reluctant? Can't he just give us a bit of information?

Li Shi's expression did not change. He had now become used to Boss Pei's confusing and perplexing behavior. Even though Boss Pei was not explaining himself, Li Shi was sure that there was a deeper reason behind what he was doing.

He cleared his throat and said, "Boss Pei, everyone, why don't we find a compromise?

"We know you're busy, Boss Pei. The Thriller Hostel is just one of the many projects that you have on hand. Of course, you won't be able to pour too much time and effort into it.

"Everyone has already seen it—it's half done. Obviously, Boss Pei has briefed your subordinates on the general direction of the project.

"How about this, Boss Pei? Why don't you ask the employees in charge of this project to introduce it to us? That'll save us from having to go to the trouble of doing all the research on our own.

"Of course, if you really cannot spare the manpower to brief us on this, it's alright as well. We'll look for a professional to do a survey and give us their opinion so we can learn more about how we should spend our money. It's just as well that we know many friends who are professionals that have worked in amusement parks in Shanghai and Beijing…"

Pei Qian waved his hand. "Come with me."

Those words from Li Shi had sounded too threatening to Pei Qian even though the former likely had no ill-intent.

However, if given a choice, Pei Qian would much rather let Chen Kangtuo explain the situation briefly to the investors.

Pei Qian was very sure that the investors would be able to find a professional to give them a good plan for an amusement park, given their connections.

Thus, he could only choose the lesser of the two evils.

As he walked, Pei Qian retrieved his cell phone and sent a message to Chen Kangtuo secretly.

"Just explain the current situation for the project. Do not say anything more."

Soon, a line of people walked into Chen Kangtuo's temporary office. Someone took charge of hosting them and serving tea while everyone took their own seats.

Pei Qian looked at Chen Kangtuo who immediately signaled that he had gotten the message by subtly nodding his head.

Pei Qian visibly relaxed. He cleared his throat and said to the investors, "This is the man in charge of Thriller Hostel. His name is Chen Kangtuo, and he used to work in Tengda Games."

Pei Qian hinted to the investors that the man in charge used to work in Tengda Games because he wanted them to know that he was not a professional in haunted houses. If they wanted to change their minds about the investment, it was not too late!

However, after hearing Pei Qian's introduction, the investors immediately sat upright and appeared more respectful.

"A talent from the games department! What an honor to meet you!"

"I knew that Tengda Games was the essence of Tengda Corporation. It has high standards for its employees, and you can be sure that all of them are giants among men. Today, I can finally say that I've seen it for myself!"

"With Brother Chen taking charge of the project on behalf of Boss Pei, everything is in order! I can fully relax now!"

Pei Qian, "…"

I'm done for. It backfired.