Chapter 171: Chapter 170: Force-Feeding a Pie
Pei Ming truly never expected life to present such an opportunity. It was like a pie falling from the sky, landing perfectly and precisely in his mouth.
Keeping this factory afloat all these years had been incredibly tough.
At first, it was purely a matter of interest. He’d made a bit of money selling fast-fashion clothing and wanted to play around with something he was passionate about.
So he visited all sorts of masters, consulted various ancient texts and documents, and even conducted field research among the common people, piecing together the craft of Xiangyun Sha bit by bit.
Back then, it was just for fun.
That’s why he had such complicated feelings about "fun." Spiritually, it was satisfying and joyous; materially, it was painful and frustrating.
As he kept at it and eventually achieved a professional level, that pleasure and pain both intensified.
The product was truly amazing.
As someone who was prone to heat and humidity, even his crotch didn’t sweat when he wore underwear specially made from Xiangyun Sha.
When the economy was doing well, he could survive on foreign trade orders and high-end custom jobs. He could still make a bit of money. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing.
But as soon as the economy took a downturn, the whole thing became a bottomless pit, burning through money faster than a house full of kids!
The masters and workers had families to feed, but with no customers, he had to support them himself. He had already cut wages once, causing two masters to leave. The remaining staff was just enough to maintain basic operations.
He’d even sold two of his houses. He was completely at his wit’s end.
And now...
’Is this young man really going to invest?’
This was exactly why he had been reluctant to talk about his business when he chatted with Lin Chu last night.
In Lin Chu, he saw a shadow of his younger self. Young people are always optimistic, thinking the future will only get better. They’re used to adding things to their plate, wanting to experience everything they like to the fullest.
There was nothing wrong with that, of course. They had plenty of time and room for trial and error.
But...
Fortunes rise and fall. The river doesn’t always flow your way, and the economy has its own cycles.
The joy you feel when you’re adding things to your life is matched only by the agonizing pain you feel when you have to get rid of those burdens later.
What’s even more terrifying is dragging it out. If you don’t, there’s no hope at all. But if you do, it’s like death by a thousand cuts—a constant, throbbing pain day after day. You toss and turn all night, and the first thing you think of when you open your eyes every morning is money.
"Don’t invest!"
Pei Ming’s thoughts ran wild. He poured two cups of tea and suddenly blurted out the two words.
After the initial surprise and excitement came introspection.
’Why should I drag him into this mess?’
A young man should be out clubbing, drinking, and traveling. He should be riding the wildest horses and sleeping with the most beautiful women. What’s this business about running a factory?
Lin Chu glanced at him, took a sip of tea, and smiled. "What? You’re not going to let me invest?"
Pei Ming said nonchalantly, "It doesn’t make money. It’s a bottomless pit. Go play with something else, not this."
Hou Chengjin looked at the two of them.
He was speechless.
’What the hell are they playing at!’
’What’s with this intense bromance! Mutual admiration? Kindred spirits?’
One of them, the moneybags investor, wants to invest, and the other won’t let him.
’Geez, look at how chummy they are.’
’It’s true what they say: you always want what you can’t have, while the favored ones get cocky.’
’And here I am, begging him to invest in me. It’s like a full-time job. How much effort have I put in?’
Lin Chu glanced at Pei Ming, feeling a little moved. ’A man of principles, +2.’ ’But now I absolutely have to invest in this factory. Besides, his attitude isn’t that firm; he’s just being responsible.’
"You don’t get it. You’re old. I’m investing. You just handle production for me. I’ll take care of the marketing and have some fun with it."
"Give me a valuation. I’ll invest for 49%."
Lin Chu spoke with conviction. This was no different from picking up a girl. Don’t confess your feelings; just grab her hand and kiss her. As long as she doesn’t slap you, you’ve still got a chance.
Pei Ming was speechless.
He chuckled twice, a hint of helplessness in his tone.
’Is this guy for real?’
’He’s determined to shove this pie into my mouth.’
He chuckled again, then suddenly broke into a grin. "If you’re going to invest, then invest for 51%. I’ll take 49%, and you can pay me a small salary every month."
There was a hint of teasing in his voice, a bit of a jab, and also the suggestion that he wanted to wash his hands of the responsibility.
Lin Chu couldn’t help but laugh out loud.
"Deal. Then name your price."
This investment felt like a game, but he didn’t give a damn. For example, if he invested 50 million and then gifted the equity, he’d get 100 million back in an instant.
For instance, if the factory produced 10 million worth of Xiangyun Sha a year and he couldn’t sell it, he could always give it away, right? He’d gift it and get a 20 million rebate.
’The System—mastering the core business model, the ultimate competitive advantage.’
The business side of things was secondary.
First, it was for fun.
Second, it was to make a friend.
Pei Ming was speechless once again. ’Stubborn bastard. Stubborn as a mule!’
"My current valuation is negative two million, HAHAHA. What, you want me to give you a million back?"
Lin Chu: ?
’Holy shit!’
He didn’t know much about physical factories, but he understood the basics. These bosses had money for daily expenses, but their cash was all tied up with upstream suppliers and downstream clients. Until the moment of liquidation, you could never really say how much cash they could actually get their hands on.
"That’s not out of the question. WeChat or Alipay?"
Lin Chu teased him.
After the joke, his expression turned more serious. "Let’s base it on production value. We’ll calculate it based on the annual output. As for this place, I’ll cover the rent, and I’ll bear half of the labor costs."
Pei Ming said leisurely, "The land doesn’t cost anything. It’s my family’s."
He was now certain that Lin Chu genuinely wanted to invest. He thought for a moment and dropped the pretense. "Right now, there’s about thirty million in inventory—raw materials, semi-finished products, and finished goods. At normal capacity, the workers can produce about twenty million in goods per year. This can only be calculated annually, not monthly. Many of the processes are too lengthy—three steams, nine boils, eighteen sun-dryings—and you can’t stop in the middle."
"So the fixed assets are roughly fifty million. We can even take a twenty percent discount on that."
"The maintenance cost is a bottomless pit. The biggest expenses are raw materials and labor. Materials are about five million a year. Labor, with thirty-four workers right now, is around two and a half million a year. We can’t stop. If we stop, it’s all over."
Lin Chu pursed his lips. "Isn’t fifty million a little low? You’ve been doing this for decades. Factor in your blood, sweat, and tears... let’s round it up to sixty million."
Pei Ming: ?
Hou Chengjin: ?
’You’re haggling in reverse?’
"COUGH, COUGH, COUGH..."
Hou Chengjin choked on his tea, his eyes wide with disbelief as he stared at Lin Chu.
Pei Ming’s reaction wasn’t as dramatic, but he was just as shocked. He felt as if his entire fifty-two years’ worth of views on life, values, and money had been completely overturned.
He stared intently at Lin Chu, waiting for an explanation.
Lin Chu stood up, lit a cigarette, but didn’t explain. "I’ll invest thirty million for 51%. You take twenty-five million. Of the remaining five million, pay off the two million in debt and keep three million as a reserve. Look into renovating a bit. Down the line, let’s see about shooting a short web series here and build up the cultural brand."
After speaking, he turned to Hou Chengjin. "Find someone to write a custom script for your master here. Find actors—the kind of elegant beauties who can do justice to the clothes. Find a bunch of them, enough to make your own Jinling Twelve Beauties if you want. I’ll fund that separately."
"Gentlemen?"
Pei Ming... took a deep breath, the muscles in his face twitching slightly.
Hou Chengjin let out a long sigh and clapped his hands. "I’m convinced! That’s some real boss energy!"
Pei Ming looked at Lin Chu with a complex expression. There was a glimmer of joy in his heart, but mostly, he was filled with emotion. ’Youth... it really is a wonderful thing.’
’The clash of steel on armored steeds, a spirit that could swallow the world whole.’
Lin Chu had stated his decision. Since neither of the others had any objections, it was settled.
He would invest thirty million for 51% of the shares. The equity, the legal representative status—he’d gift them away later, and the system’s double rebate would arrive in his account. Sixty million.
The life of someone with cheats is just that simple and unpretentious.
...
Sipping his tea,
Lin Chu casually opened his phone and sent a message to Yang Huixian and Liao Meili respectively.
"Send me your height, weight, and three sizes. Hand measurements aren’t accurate."
’Got to get things in order.’
Yang Huixian replied quickly: "Huh? Are you buying me clothes?"
Lin Chu: "Not exactly. I’m having a 1:1 scale replica doll of you custom-made."
Her: ?
’What is going on!’
"No way! I don’t want it."
Lin Chu: "Fine, then forget it. You said it, now don’t regret it."
"I want it, I want it! Height 173, leg length 101, sizes 90, 62, 87. What is it really?"
"What’s so fun about a doll? Am I not more fun?"
Lin Chu: "You’re no fun. You have no patience at all. I was going to surprise you, but now it’s ruined. Xiangyun Sha."
Yang Huixian: "Wow! Do you have me under surveillance?! I was just looking at Xiangyun Sha clothes online!"
Lin Chu didn’t know if she was telling the truth or not. Women liked to get sentimental over these kinds of coincidences that seemed like telepathy.
But it was hard to say. Whatever.
He casually replied: "Yep. Remote control, one-click activation."
...
...
