Losing Money to Be a Tycoon

Chen Kangtuo hesitated. Anyone observant enough would be able to tell that this was not simply 'a small gesture'.

If Thriller Hostel could become popular, all the peripheral businesses would earn a considerable profit as well.

At the moment, for most amusement parks in the country, developers of peripheral businesses and other profit-generating channels were only just picking up. Ticket sales still accounted for the majority of the profits earned.

However, famous international amusement parks were different. Judging from more mature models, entrance tickets, shopping, and 'others' each accounted for one-third of the income generated.

'Others' included income earned from food and beverages, accommodation, investment by other players in the tourism industry, sponsorship for tourist festivals, real estate development for the purposes of tourism, and the like.

Now, Boss Li and the other investors had decided to give Tengda half of the income they earned from the projects peripheral to Thriller Hostel. That would amount to quite a generous sum.

Seeing Chen Kangtuo's hesitation, Li Shi smiled. "Brother Chen, don't stand on ceremony with us.

"The Thriller Hostel was Boss Pei's project to begin with. Given Tengda's financial power, Boss Pei could have eaten up all the profits surrounding Thriller Hostel. Yet, he did not do so. Instead, he left such a generous share of the profits to us. He was generous to us first.

"Now, everyone's interests are tied together. If one prospers, all will prosper. If one loses out, all will lose out. We shouldn't be divided by opinions. The other investors and I only invested in this market to repay Boss Pei's generosity.

"Brother Chen, if you feel bad, just make sure you run Thriller Hostel well and make it popular. That would be good enough repayment to us."

Chen Kangtuo considered this for a long time. He was put in a spot, seeing how resolute Boss Li was. Finally, he nodded and said, "Alright. I'll thank you all on behalf of Boss Pei, then."

Boss Li smiled. "I've already prepared the contract. Please take a look at it, Brother Chen. If there are no problems, quickly come up with a plan and get to work. Time waits for no one."

…

After walking out of Chen Kangtuo's office, Boss Li immediately felt light and refreshed. He was much more relaxed now!

Recently, Li Shi had been watching the renovation of the restaurant he was setting up near Thriller Hostel like a hawk. Although construction was going well, he could not relax.

The same feeling kept gnawing at him for a very long time. After thinking hard about his experience working with Boss Pei, Boss Li finally realized why he had been feeling so uneasy.

The investors and Boss Pei's carts were not locked firmly enough together!

In other words, the investors still ran the risk of having their cart overturned.

Before this, they had invested in the Shared Top Student project. Boss Pei had first shaken their confidence to dissuade a group of investors from investing. Then, he had resorted to little tricks to eliminate all the shareholders so that he could hog the biggest share of profits.

After everything settled down, Li Shi had replayed what happened in his head. It was then that he had realized something: all of that could only happen because the investors had not followed Boss Pei closely enough.

Business was business. In terms of doing business, Boss Pei would always put Tengda's interests first.

To Boss Li, Boss Pei had always had the same attitude towards all the investors: if you want to have a taste of the soup, just follow me. However, don't even think about eating the meal. All the meat in the pot belonged to Tengda.

If they were to leave the table in the ascending order of who ate the most, Tengda would be the last to leave.

Thus, Boss Li figured that he had to tie his own profits tightly and closely to Boss Pei's. Only then could he prevent himself from being shaken off for nothing!

Offering to give Tengda a share of the investors' profits had been the result of him thinking hard. On the surface, he looked generous, but inside, he was being stingy.

Boss Li and the others were setting up restaurants and hotels. Those were the accompanying facilities around Thriller Hostel. Although the income generated would be less than the entrance tickets, it would still be considered stable.

Boss Pei was knowledgeable and far-sighted. He must have hoped to turn Thriller Hostel into a first-tier amusement park in the country—or even the world. That meant the income structure would be similar to first-tier amusement parks around the world: entrance tickets, shopping, and 'others' would each account for one-third of all income generated.

Of those shares, Tengda would keep all the income earned from the sale of entrance tickets. Income earned from 'others' would be split between Tengda and the investors. Only income earned from shopping remained unclear.

Once Thriller Hostel officially opened for business, there were two possible outcomes.

First, it could turn out like other amusement parks in the country and only earn money from the sale of entrance tickets, but not from anything else.

Second, it could earn a lot of money from entrance tickets and peripheral businesses alike.

If it were the former and the peripheral businesses were not making money, what would be the harm in splitting half the income with Tengda?

If it were the latter and everyone was earning profits, Tengda would be able to obtain real, tangible benefits from the surrounding businesses. Naturally, it would be motivated to run the amusement park well.

Thus, after some discussion, Boss Li and the other investors decided to split a share of their profits with Tengda. That would tie them tightly and closely with Boss Pei's chariot of interest, so that all of them would rise or fall together.

With those additional interests, Boss Pei would spend more effort on the peripheral businesses, which would benefit the development of Thriller Hostel in return.

Until now, although all the investors absolutely trusted Boss Pei, they were still uncertain about whether Thriller Hostel would succeed or not.

That was why they had to pay extra attention to it and bet that Boss Pei's business genius would cause another miracle to happen.

Li Shi walked out of Chen Kangtuo's office, prepared to check on the progress of the restaurant's construction and then drive back to his own office.

However, at that moment, his cell phone rang. It was an unknown number.

"Hello, Boss Li. I am Wu Bin, from Tengda's HR department. I've been collecting some material on Boss Pei recently. I wonder if you have time to answer a few simple questions."

Li Shi was stunned. This phone call surprised him.

However, since Wu Bin claimed to be Boss Pei's employee, Li Shi had to show him due respect. What's more, Li Shi was extremely curious as to what kind of material Wu Bin was trying to gather.

"Alright. Let's meet at the Fish-Catching Internet Cafe near Handong University."

…

At Fish-Catching Internet Cafe, Li Shi, Wu Bin, and Cui Geng each ordered a cup of coffee. Wu Bin had already explained his intentions to Li Shi. The part about the Tengda spirit piqued Li Shi's interest.

Everyone knew that Boss Pei was very good at managing his subordinates.

All of Tengda Corporation's employees could hold a fort on their own. What's more, they strictly obeyed Boss Pei's instructions and dared not go against his orders.

From Fish-Catching Internet Cafe to Dream Realization Ventures and Thriller Hostel—whenever Li Shi interacted with Boss Pei's subordinates, he could feel that they worshiped Boss Pei uniquely.

What was the Tengda spirit about, then? What was its effect? If Li Shi could learn that spirit, would Fu Hui Investments' employees become like Tengda's?

Having a spiritual weapon would be extremely useful for any businessman.

Li Shi sipped his coffee. "No problem. Please ask me whatever you want to. I just have one request: when you're done with the Tengda spirit handbook, give me one copy."

Wu Bin hesitated.

The Tengda spirit was considered an unspoken secret within the company itself. Employees could only pass it down in secret; they could not disseminate information about it on the internal forum or online.

Obviously, the notes that they were writing on the Tengda spirit would not be passed down to just any employee.

Li Shi seemed to be able to tell what was on Wu Bin's mind. He smiled subtly and said, "Don't worry, I won't disseminate the information. For something as valuable as this, the fewer the people who know, the better.

"What's more, there's no conflict of interests between Fu Hui Investments and Tengda Corporation. We've always been close business partners."

After some thought, Wu Bin decided that it made sense.

The Tengda spirit was a summary of a mindset; he could not call it a business secret.

It was only an unspoken secret because he did not want random people passing the Tengda Spirit compatibility test. At the same time, he wanted the employees to persist in trying to figure out and study the Tengda spirit without slacking off.

Further, like Boss Li said, he had no reason to disseminate the information.

Since Boss Li was contributing to the notes on the Tengda spirit and he was going to keep the Tengda spirit a secret, giving him a copy of the handbook would do no harm to the company.

At that thought, Wu Bin nodded. "Alright, Boss Li. Let's finish the notes on the Tengda spirit together.

"I want to ask you what your impression of Boss Pei is. Obviously, people inside and outside the company have different impressions of Boss Pei. As an employee, we can only see one side of Boss Pei.

"As his business partner, you can see another side of Boss Pei. That's key to writing these notes on the Tengda spirit."

Li Shi sipped his coffee and pondered for a moment. "From my perspective, the first impression I had of Boss Pei was that he's calm and ruthless.

"He's so calm that, no matter what situation he's put in, he can address the problem objectively and logically. That allows him to make the right decision every time. Coupled with his outstanding far-sightedness and business knowledge, one can say that he's a strategist.

"When dealing with business, he always puts Tengda's interests first. If any other company threatens to affect Tengda's interests, Boss Pei would take the necessary action to make their lives miserable.

"While working with other people, Boss Pei remains ever-ready to kick anyone off the boat for the sake of Tengda's interests. Of course, Boss Pei would not resort to low tricks. Instead, he would always remain fair and honest. That's the most admirable thing about him.

"From another angle, Boss Pei is a very tolerant and kind person. He has a unique understanding of 'working together'.

"He will only work with people who have absolute trust in him. Before that, he would think of all ways and means to test his partners and dissuade the weak-willed ones from working with him.

"To partners who hang on until the end or give up a share of their interests for him, Boss Pei can be very generous. The seemingly conflicting characteristics blend perfectly well in Boss Pei. In him, I see the cunning of an old fox and the ideals of a young man. It's incredible.

"Maybe business geniuses like Boss Pei were born into this world to run successful businesses."

Wu Bin transcribed everything that Li Shi had said, word for word. Touched, he said, "Thank you very much, Boss Li. This angle has given me renewed inspiration!"

Cui Geng, who had been sitting by the side, was already thinking about how to write all of those things at a suitable angle.

Wu Bin continued asking questions. "Boss Li, can you tell us more about your experience working with Boss Pei? Can you also give us specific examples of Boss Pei's personality that you just described?"

Still holding on to his coffee, Li Shi dug deep into his memory bank. "If I were to start at the beginning, I would have to start from Fish-Catching Internet Cafe's flagship store…

"At the time, I stumbled upon a cold and deserted internet cafe. It was deserted, but it had limitless potential. Thus, I thought about investing…"

Wu Bin listened intently. In his mind, his image of Boss Pei became fuller and more multi-dimensional.