Chapter 41: 41: 5 million yuan.
Meanwhile, back at Autumn Investment.
The meeting room was unusually lively.
At the far end of the room, Neo sat awkwardly in his chair.
He had originally come straight from college for one reason and one reason only.
Gaming.
After all, Benny had personally told him that the computers in the office were top-notch.
As a dedicated gamer, how could he resist?
The moment he entered the office, however, things had gone completely off the rails.
The beautiful mature woman at the reception desk had immediately looked at him.
"Oh, you’re Neo?"
Before he could even respond—
"Come in. You’re just in time."
And somehow, against his will, he had ended up inside a meeting room.
Discussing Benny’s love life.
Neo still wasn’t entirely sure how things had escalated to this point.
Across the table, Zhao Lin spoke first.
"I’m telling you, there has to be a reason."
"What reason?" Xu Ming asked.
"The cafe."
Zhao Lin pointed at the equity report lying on the table.
"Why is the boss so determined to acquire it?"
Everyone looked at the document in the table.
Golden Spoon Cafe.
The cafe had become a topic of discussion because earlier that week Benny had instructed Lucy to explore acquisition possibilities.
Naturally, the investment department had reviewed the available information.
Chen Wei adjusted his glasses.
"The numbers don’t support it."
Several people nodded.
As the company’s equity analyst, Chen Wei had examined the report repeatedly.
"The valuation isn’t attractive and the business is losing money every month.
"The operating model is inefficient and even if we assume future improvements, the expected return isn’t particularly impressive."
He paused.
"Objectively speaking, there are much better opportunities available."
"Exactly."
Zhao Lin immediately slapped the table.
"That’s exactly my point."
Xu Ming rubbed his forehead.
"I really don’t see where you’re going with this."
Zhao Lin looked around dramatically.
"Think about it. The boss is a young man and the owner of golden spoon cafe just happens to be a young woman."
The room became quiet.
Several employees exchanged looks.
Chen Wei opened his mouth, then closed it again.
Because when listed like that...
It sounded suspicious.
Xu Ming looked genuinely troubled.
"...You think that’s the reason?"
"What other explanation is there?"
Neo, who had been listening quietly, nearly choked.
Benny, you two-timing son of a gun!
Neo stared blankly at the table.
You already have Professor Selena!
And now there’s another woman?
His friend was advancing through life at a speed that completely surpassed ordinary people.
Before he even knew it, he was suddenly working for his friend.
Meanwhile, everyone else noticed his strange expression.
Li Na leaned forward.
"Hey, newbie."
Neo jumped.
"Huh?"
"You’ve been thinking pretty hard."
The room’s attention shifted toward him.
"What do you think?" she asked.
Neo immediately broke into an awkward smile.
"Uh... haha..."
His brain worked at maximum speed.
There was absolutely no way he was getting involved in this.
Benny was still his friend.
Friends didn’t snitch on each other.
"I don’t know," Neo said firmly.
Li Na looked disappointed.
"That’s it?"
Neo nodded seriously.
"That’s it."
The others eventually turned away and Neo quietly sighed in relief.
That was close.
Whatever Benny was doing was Benny’s business.
He wanted no part of it as long as he could get his intership hour doing nothing.
Lucy then suddenly clapped her hands and the room immediately quieted down.
"Everyone."
Her gaze swept across the table.
"You’re all going off topic."
All the employees suddenly coughed awkwardly.
Lucy continued.
"The boss didn’t ask us to analyze his personal life. What he asked for are ideas and ways to acquire Golden Spoon Café."
She tapped the report on the table.
"And he specifically authorized a budget of one million yuan for the acquisition plan."
Everyone froze, the room was in a state of pin drop silence.
"...One million?"
Chen Wei looked down at the report and then he wondered if he had heard wrong.
"A million yuan... for a single café?"
Several employees exchanged bewildered looks.
The valuation report in front of them wasn’t remotely close to requiring that amount.
Xu Ming frowned.
"Wait, if the budget is one million..."
His eyes slowly widened.
"He doesn’t just want the café."
The room gradually became quiet again.
Li Na spoke.
"You mean he wants it to be renovated upon acquisition?"
Zhao Lin added.
"Or perhaps he wants new equipment?"
Wang Jie gave it a deep thought and muttered, "perhaps he intends to also keep the current hires."
The ideas began flying around the room.
"If we’re spending that much, we could completely upgrade operations and redesign the entire cafe."
The discussion became increasingly animated.
Meanwhile Neo sat there looking completely lost.
For nearly ten minutes, the room buzzed with conversation.
Lucy quietly watched.
Nobody noticed the faint smile on her face.
The employees weren’t arguing anymore, they were thinking.
Which was exactly what she wanted.
Eventually she raised a hand and the room gradually settled down.
Once everyone became quiet, Lucy spoke.
"The one million is specifically for the café."
Everyone nodded, that part was obvious and then she continued,"As for the remaining four million."
The room immediately became attentive.
Lucy looked toward Xu Ming and Chen Wei.
"You should put all of it into stocks or equity investments."
The two investment professionals instantly nodded.
That was their specialty.
Unlike the café acquisition, which felt more like a strategic project personally directed by the boss, the remaining four million yuan could be deployed through more traditional investment channels.
Lucy folded her hands.
"The boss gave us five million yuan. One million for Golden Spoon and the other four million for investment opportunities."
She paused for a second before adding,"By tomorrow afternoon, I want proposals on my desk."
The room instantly became serious.
Just like that, the gossip session transformed back into an investment meeting.
Only Neo remained confused.
He had come here to play games.
How had he somehow ended up attending a five-million-yuan investment strategy meeting?
