Chapter 293 - 292: Accepting Investment Is the Only Way to a New Path

Chapter 293: Chapter 292: Accepting Investment Is the Only Way to a New Path

Lin Feng briefly skimmed the document.

He saw that although Zhao Zhengye’s startup was currently stuck in a bottleneck,

his idea was actually very good.

From Lin Feng’s perspective, it also had great market potential.

"This startup project is indeed not bad. It’s just a shame you don’t have the talent for entrepreneurship."

Zhao Zhengye hadn’t expected Lin Feng to actually have a word of praise for him, even if it was followed by an insult.

"Why do you say I don’t have a talent for entrepreneurship? You admitted yourself that my startup idea is good."

On this matter, Zhao Zhengye was still a little unconvinced.

This young man before him was probably ten years younger than he was.

’Can this kid really tell if someone has a talent for entrepreneurship?’

Lin Feng looked at Zhao Zhengye and said calmly, "An entrepreneur must be a leader. You can’t even perform the most basic task of judging character. At best, you’d be a very good subordinate on a team."

Zhao Zhengye was speechless. He truly had no rebuttal.

Moreover, in his previous startup team, Zhao Zhengye had indeed found management to be a real struggle.

Unwittingly, Zhao Zhengye was already being persuaded by Lin Feng.

He just hadn’t realized it himself yet.

Lin Feng stood up. "I wasn’t originally interested in your project, but now I think it has a lot of potential."

"I can consider buying your project from you. You should also think carefully about whether you want to continue with your startup."

This time, Zhao Zhengye didn’t immediately refuse like he had before.

His conversation with Lin Feng today had also made him re-examine the confusion he’d been feeling recently.

’Perhaps there are some things that, no matter how much I refuse to admit them,’

’I have to understand that not everyone is cut out for entrepreneurship.’

After Lin Feng left, Zhao Zhengye stared at the business plan on his computer, lost in thought for a long time.

He didn’t even sleep well the entire night, his mind replaying his conversation with Lin Feng.

’Am I really not cut out for entrepreneurship?’

Zhao Zhengye had a sleepless night.

’Forget it. I’ll ask the granny tomorrow morning where she saw that young man...’

As this drowsy thought crossed his mind, he drifted off to sleep.

...

「Meanwhile.」

Work on the plot of land was also proceeding in an orderly fashion.

The reviews and guides that Brother Guo, Old Cui, and Old Jin had uploaded online were being viewed by countless people.

While monitoring the internal network, Zheng Yan discovered something.

The number of plane tickets to Cyan Mountain Town being booked by out-of-towners was steadily increasing.

He predicted that the first small tourism boom would arrive in two or three days.

Zheng Yan had already notified his subordinates to make the necessary preparations.

Because Cyan Mountain Town had very few dining options,

Zheng Yan thought it would be a good idea to create a street stall economy.

He would encourage the grannies and grandpas with good cooking skills to set up stalls.

In fact, this initiative had already begun some time ago.

But since there weren’t many outsiders in Cyan Mountain Town at the moment,

the grandpas and grannies weren’t really coming out to set up shop, even with the tax exemptions.

However, Zheng Yan knew very well that once the tourists actually arrived, these grandpas and grannies would naturally come out to set up stalls and earn a living.

’This town is going to get more and more lively in the future.’

Zheng Yan and his team didn’t know much about tourism operations.

So, they outsourced some of the work.

As for some of the more general operational tasks, they were posted on a third-party website.

As it happened, Zhao Zhengye accepted this very job for Cyan Mountain Town.

Zhao Zhengye was already familiar with Cyan Mountain Town, and his profession was in operations anyway.

Because Zhao Zhengye’s startup had failed and he was short on funds,

he would often take on small, operations-related gigs to supplement his income, funneling the money into his project.

...

「Early the next morning.」

Before Su Ruoxi and the others had left, they saw someone pacing back and forth at the entrance.

At first, they thought it was a delivery person, but the man looked a bit odd.

"President Lin, do you know that person at the door?"

Du Hai put down his chopsticks and looked at the entrance with some confusion.

Lin Feng slowly raised his head.

The moment he saw the familiar-looking back of the person standing at the entrance,

a knowing smile appeared on his face.

"Looks like it’s someone I know!"

Lin Feng walked to the entrance and, sure enough, saw Zhao Zhengye.

Zhao Zhengye looked up and saw Lin Feng as well.

He smiled at Lin Feng, neither obsequious nor arrogant. "Sir, I’ve come to ask for a cup of water."

Lin Feng nodded.

He led the man inside.

The others in the room were eating breakfast.

Seeing Lin Feng bring in such a person, everyone’s eyes showed a hint of curiosity.

Suddenly, the gazes of so many people fell upon him. Despite being scrutinized, Zhao Zhengye showed not a hint of embarrassment. Instead, he calmly found a seat at the table and sat down.

The others had to follow up on the projects related to the plot of land.

Lin Feng had assigned some projects the previous night.

He had made different people responsible for the work in different areas.

The main task was for Cao Ming and the others to monitor the progress.

It would be even better if they could negotiate with the companies to shorten the timeline.

So now, Cao Ming and the others were essentially the general managers for their respective areas.

Although they were curious about the strange-looking man who had appeared in the room,

they had a lot on their plates, so they left after finishing their meal.

After showing up at the door, Zhao Zhengye sat in the room.

He waited until everyone else had left.

Zhao Zhengye put down his teacup.

"Mr. Lin, I came here today because I’ve thought things through."

Lin Feng wasn’t the least bit surprised that Zhao Zhengye knew his name and address.

Cyan Mountain Town was a small town. When outsiders arrived, anyone could find out about them with a few simple inquiries.

Not to mention, Lin Feng and his group had been brought here by Chen Yong.

Chen Yong was a local of Cyan Mountain Town, and the neighbors all knew he now worked for Zheng Yan’s team.

Everyone was also aware that Lin Feng was staying at Granny Qin’s guesthouse.

All this information could be found out with just a little effort.

That was how Zhao Zhengye was able to find him.

Lin Feng smiled faintly. "You’ve thought things through?"

Zhao Zhengye nodded. "I used to be a proud person, always thinking about making a name for myself, and I did have some ideas."

"But now I’ve realized that perhaps letting go of my pride and accepting investment is the only way to find a new path forward."

Lin Feng took a sip of tea and tilted his head, asking Zhao Zhengye, "What did you come here for this time?"

Zhao Zhengye’s throat felt a little dry. "I wanted to ask if Mr. Lin would be willing to invest... to invest in my current project."

Lin Feng put down his teacup and suddenly stared motionlessly at Zhao Zhengye.

Zhao Zhengye met his gaze.

Lin Feng said, word by word, "Actually, I went to see you yesterday because I wanted to invite you, Mr. Zhao, to join our company as the operations team leader."

Hearing this, Zhao Zhengye was stunned. ℴ𝒗ⅇ𝑙.

’I can’t believe this was Lin Feng’s real intention.’

His expression became hard to read.

’Since Lin Feng has this in mind...’

’...it means he has no intention of investing in my project.’

’A boss who wants to make me his employee would never be willing to let that employee start their own business.’

Zhao Zhengye understood this simple logic.

Lin Feng watched Zhao Zhengye’s expression and knew he had understood his meaning.

Lin Feng already understood Zhao Zhengye’s project.

To be honest, if the project were left in Zhao Zhengye’s hands, its chances of success weren’t high.

Although Lin Feng was optimistic about the project’s potential, this was a big world.

Ideas pop up anytime, anywhere, but not many of them become truly useful.

Besides, Lin Feng always liked to keep the initiative in his own hands.

He would either buy the project outright and have his company take full control,

or he would let the project fail in Zhao Zhengye’s hands.

Zhao Zhengye’s face fell.

"Mr. Lin wants me to come work for your company?"

Zhao Zhengye asked after a long silence.

Lin Feng nodded. "I know you’re very talented in operations. My team is missing someone exactly like you."

"Rest assured, your abilities won’t be wasted at my company."

Zhao Zhengye didn’t say anything, but after a moment of thought, he looked at Lin Feng meaningfully and said:

"Mr. Lin, you must be the new owner of that plot of land outside town, aren’t you?"

Lin Feng nodded. "My invitation is because I hope you can handle some of the operational work after the construction on this land is complete."

"I still need to think about it."

Zhao Zhengye put down his cup and said with a sigh.

Lin Feng wasn’t surprised by this outcome.

Anyone facing such a crossroads in life would be cautious.

Lin Feng was willing to give Zhao Zhengye this time because he knew that the more Zhao Zhengye considered it, the more he would realize he had no other choice.

Lin Feng knew very well that for the current Zhao Zhengye, the job he was offering was absolutely the best option available to him.

Just as Zhao Zhengye was about to leave,

Lin Feng said slowly, "Mr. Zhao, you need to understand something. The courage to start over isn’t rare. What’s rare is the grace to give up."

Hearing Lin Feng’s words, Zhao Zhengye’s muscles tensed subconsciously.

With his back to Lin Feng, he left without another word.

’Zhao Zhengye definitely won’t give up so easily,’ Lin Feng knew. ’He’s probably still pinning his hopes on his startup project.’

But Lin Feng wasn’t in a hurry.

Zhao Zhengye’s personality meant he was destined to fail at leading others in a startup.

’He’ll figure it out sooner or later.’

Besides finding Zhao Zhengye, Lin Feng had other business to attend to in Cyan Mountain Town.

For instance, the development of the land in Cyan Mountain Town.

By now, the first wave of tourists had arrived in Cyan Mountain Town.

Most of them were captivated by the town’s scenery.

They lingered in the small town, reluctant to leave.

This was thanks to the foresight of Zheng Yan and his team.

They had gotten the guesthouses and street stalls all up and running.

As a result, this first batch of "pioneers" had a pretty good experience.

The guesthouses in Cyan Mountain Town weren’t expensive.

They were all converted from the courtyards of local neighbors.

If they encountered warm-hearted residents, they might even be invited into their homes for a meal, just like family.

This actually improved the tourists’ impression of the town even more.

The scenery was beautiful, and the local customs were simple and honest.

After their trips, these tourists left numerous positive reviews on major travel platforms and their own social media accounts.

The discussion topics about visiting Cyan Mountain Town were now filled with many beautiful travel photos.

More and more people were learning about this place.

Zheng Yan hadn’t been idle during this time either.

He conducted a small survey among the first-time visitors to Cyan Mountain Town.

He found that everyone’s satisfaction level was quite high.

Only then did Zheng Yan breathe a long sigh of relief.

’So all our previous work didn’t go to waste,’ he thought.

Cyan Mountain Town’s tourism had successfully put itself on the map.