Chapter 176: Chapter 175: Bluffing is Also a Basic Skill
Gu Tong was inwardly surprised after sitting down. The guest list described Lin Chu as a well-known private investor, but as an industry insider, she had made a point to look him up and had drawn a complete blank.
Now, seeing him in person, she was shocked by how young he was.
However, anyone who could become a Chartered Diamond Member of the Mission Hills Golf Club had met a certain threshold. So, she committed no breach of etiquette and remained exceedingly polite.
After a few pleasantries, the conversation began to flow with a natural back-and-forth.
Lin Chu had heard of MQ Investment. The venture capital firm was quite influential in Peng City.
Investment firms with English acronyms for names were usually the domestic arms of international capital. For the past decade, they had reigned supreme.
But now? With interest rates rising overseas and capital flowing back, the entire market had slumped.
’They were probably having a tough time too.’
There had been a lot of news about people jumping off buildings lately.
’But someone at Gu Tong’s "partner" level must still be living comfortably. After all, she’s already built her fortune. The issue now is just a lack of new growth, but she can still live off her savings.’
’Her standing is definitely a notch above that of Liu Junfeng, that other veteran from the finance industry. She’s probably on par with my old boss from back when I was an employee, maybe even a little higher.’
’In jest: Power of Gold, Seventh Rank!’
’Old Liu is a Fifth Rank, at best.’
’Wouldn’t be bad to make friends with her.’
’Investment firms are just brokers for capital, and their business is connecting people.’
"President Lin, are there any particular sectors you’re optimistic about this year?"
Gu Tong asked with a pleasant smile.
’When you sit down for a chat like this, of course you’re going to talk about making money. What else would it be, our feelings?’
There was no public information on Lin Chu, but she could get a good read on him based on the scale and sectors of his investments.
Lin Chu glanced at her and smiled. "Not really. I bought property instead. I’ve already liquidated all my stocks."
’Yup.’
’My stocks were indeed "liquidated."’
’Back when I was just a wage slave, I’d thrown, at most, a total of ten thousand yuan into Alipay funds and the stock market. I pulled it all out long ago, bit by bit, for a loss of nearly a thousand yuan.’
’The biggest lesson Lin Chu had learned was: What the hell makes me think I can play this game?’
’Even now, Lin Chu had no intention of investing in stocks. He’d rather spend his money on clubbing with models—at least that was fun. He’d rather light fireworks—at least that was beautiful.’
’Put it in the stock market, and you could lose everything without even knowing how.’
’Buying property?’
Gu Tong automatically overlooked the comment about stocks—who wasn’t losing money this year? But when she heard him mention property, the smile on her face froze slightly. With a hint of wry amusement, she said, "The property market is dropping too, you know."
Lin Chu took a sip of his tea and said nonchalantly, "I bought a place in Taiyi Villa. And an overseas island."
’In a setting like this, Lin Chu instinctively avoided mentioning his investment in short-form web dramas. You could invest a few hundred thousand in those, or a million or two. It wouldn’t do anything for his "well-known investor" image. All his prestige would be shattered.’
Gu Tong paused.
And was instantly filled with a new level of respect.
’Taiyi Villa!’
’Of course she knew of it. It was the most exclusive luxury residence in Yang City. A property there easily cost a "small fortune."’
’Core real estate in a first-tier city like that holds its value well. Even if it depreciated, it wouldn’t be by much. And it would be incredibly comfortable to live in.’
’And an overseas island?’
’That was a realm only true tycoons who had achieved financial freedom could even touch. Who would dare dabble in that without a net worth in the high nine figures?’
And so, her smile grew even more enthusiastic. "You really have a very stable investment style. As for us, well, we invested in two AI startups, but it feels like an uphill battle. The data resources are pretty much all monopolized. Even with an excellent model, it’s not so simple to succeed."
She returned the gesture by sharing some information of her own.
The two of them continued to chat, their conversation flowing back and forth.
...
"How many companies has your firm invested in over the years?"
Lin Chu asked casually. He was genuinely curious. The past decade had been a boom time, and investment firms like hers must have profited immensely, securing shares in many high-quality companies.
’Of course, this information was publicly available, but Lin Chu was too lazy to look it up. Why bother, when the source herself was right here?’
’I’m starting to move in this direction myself, so it’s good to accumulate some sample data.’
Gu Tong thought for a moment, then smiled. "Before, we averaged about fifteen companies a year, roughly one a month. But in the last three years, we’ve only invested in three total. That’s an average of one per year. Sigh... we can barely get by."
"Did any of them go public?"
Lin Chu asked again, already running some calculations in his head.
"Yes, three of them," Gu Tong said. "But we don’t do long-term holding. We usually sell off our stake right after the post-IPO lock-up period ends."
She had a faint feeling that Lin Chu either had some business to introduce to her or had some other need he wanted to connect on.
"I see."
Lin Chu nodded.
After a moment’s thought, he decided to be direct. "I’ve recently taken an interest in the intangible cultural heritage sector—products related to traditional culture. I just bought a small Xiangyun Sha workshop. President Gu, if you know any masters who create similar high-end, traditional Chinese luxury goods, I’d appreciate a recommendation. Incense, jade, swords... anything with an antique feel would work."
’Acquiring Pei Ming’s factory was a fluke, like a blind cat stumbling upon a dead mouse.’
’But I don’t have an information network. A professional venture capital firm like hers, on the other hand, most certainly does.’
’The model has already been proven to work, so of course I need to keep replicating it.’
’When the time comes, I’ll have a direct supply source, my own streamers, and a sales or rebate-gifting model. The path forward is crystal clear.’
’And the prestige level would be maxed out.’
Gu Tong was taken aback for a moment when she heard this. That particular field... was extremely niche and obscure.
