Chapter 406 - 210: This Is a Friend I Must Make

"Ahem, Ah Nan, you’re the only one who hasn’t officially started working for the family. The rest of us have already begun taking over the businesses, so where would we find the time to get together and organize events?"

Fu Songyang gave a wry smile, not telling the whole truth.

Many of the members of their club had fallen on hard times.

Recreating the glory days was impossible now.

"Alright, let’s head in first. We can talk more inside."

Fu Songyang clapped Jiang Nan on the shoulder.

He’d been through that phase himself, so he understood Jiang Nan’s fun-loving nature.

But people are pragmatic. Brother Jingcai and the others had fallen from their previous status.

It wasn’t realistic for him to maintain a close friendship with the now-struggling Brother Jingcai and the others.

He might as well use that time to get to know powerful new friends like Qi Sheng.

After they entered the private room he had booked, Fu Songyang motioned for the waiter to start bringing out the food.

"President Qi, Yong Mansion serves Ningbo cuisine. The flavor is similar to Xinrong Ji’s—fairly light. I hope you find it to your liking."

"I’m not a picky eater. I’ve actually never tried Ningbo cuisine before, so I’m grateful to President Fu for the opportunity."

Qi Sheng shook his head with a smile, watching as the dishes were brought out one after another.

He figured the food alone for this meal would cost no less than ten thousand yuan.

Fu Songyang had brought his own Château Latour, but it seemed no one intended to drink too much.

During the meal, the conversation naturally drifted toward investments.

Wang Han knew Fu Songyang’s net worth well; it was at least several billion.

In terms of financial clout, he wasn’t far behind Wang Han himself.

So he brought up the fact that he and Xu Yi had invested in Qi Sheng’s venture capital firm.

He was testing the waters with Fu Songyang on Qi Sheng’s behalf, to see if he was interested.

"Whoa, President Wang and President Xu each invested 500 million?"

Fu Songyang was a little surprised. He hadn’t expected them to trust Qi Sheng that much.

After all, they hadn’t known each other for very long.

Fu Songyang himself didn’t know much about Qi Sheng.

Wining and dining was one thing; it didn’t cost that much.

But handing over several hundred million for Qi Sheng to manage made him hesitate.

"Old Fu, President Qi’s net worth is much higher than ours. You must get your share of pitches from VCs pestering you for money, right?"

Wang Han did his best to advocate for Qi Sheng.

"President Qi is nothing like those guys who try to get something for nothing."

"He’s personally investing one billion. Go look at the other venture capitalists out there raising funds. How many of them would dare do that?"

"President Qi, you have a venture capital firm too?"

Jiang Nan had been looking for a way to get in on the action, and his eyes lit up.

"I’ve got seven or eight hundred million in cash on hand. What are your management fees?"

Qi Sheng’s mouth twitched. This was a real eye-opener.

The wealth of these top-tier trust fund kids truly left ordinary rich kids in the dust.

They could casually pull out several hundred million.

If the world of the wealthy elite had tiers, then Jiang Nan and his friends were undoubtedly in the very top circle.

"Our firm uses a tiered management fee structure..."

Qi Sheng explained Jinshi Capital’s performance-based fundraising model to the intrigued Jiang Nan and Fu Songyang.

Both of them were a bit stunned; they had never heard of a fundraising model like it.

His fees only matched what other venture capital firms charged if the DPI reached 2x.

This showed just how confident Qi Sheng was in his firm.

The 12% annualized return also guaranteed them a baseline profit.

"I have to invest in something, so why not this? President Qi, I’ll personally invest 500 million. I’ll just treat it like a wealth management product."

Jiang Nan made his decision without a moment’s hesitation.

Fu Songyang, sitting beside him, was utterly speechless.

’Damn you, being so decisive. How am I supposed to think this over carefully now?’

He watched as Qi Sheng and Jiang Nan smiled, shook hands, and chatted happily.

"President Qi, I’ll put in 500 million as well. Count me in with President Wang and the others."

"If the DPI for the first fund is good, I’ll make a follow-on investment."

No longer agonizing over it, Fu Songyang also decisively agreed to invest.

"Thank you for your trust, President Fu. The first fund will be liquidated in three years at the most."

"The return on your investment will absolutely leave you all very satisfied!"

Qi Sheng also thanked him with a smile.

Including the one billion from the system, he had already raised three billion.

He was only two billion away from his fundraising goal of five billion.

"I have faith in your abilities, President Qi. Come on, here’s to us making a fortune together!"

Fu Songyang, Wang Han, and the others were all thinking along the same lines.

In the worst-case scenario, they still had the 12% annualized return as a safety net.

A loss was definitely out of the question.

How much they’d profit, however, all depended on Qi Sheng’s skill.

Even if Jinshi Capital’s first fund only achieved a 2x DPI.

Fu Songyang would absolutely make a follow-on investment without hesitation.

As for anything over 2x?

Fu Songyang hadn’t even considered it, and he certainly didn’t believe a fledgling firm like Jinshi Capital could pull it off.

...

After they had eaten and drunk their fill, an eager Jiang Nan suggested they go out to a bar.

He’d already booked a booth. Not going would be a great loss of face for Jiang Nan.

The 500 million Jiang Nan had just invested was reason enough for Qi Sheng to do him the courtesy of showing up.

Since everyone had been drinking, driving was out of the question.

Qi Sheng made a quick call to Li Ai.

He told him to arrange for another Gust to come over.

Both Rolls-Royces were long-wheelbase models.

Jiang Nan insisted on riding in the Phantom, pulling Fu Songyang along with him.

Wang Han and Xu Yi didn’t mind, so they got into the other Gust.

As for Jiang Nan’s P1, one of Qi Sheng’s bodyguards would drive it to the Banyan Tree’s parking lot.

Since the car was going to be transferred to Qi Sheng’s name tomorrow anyway, Jiang Nan wasn’t too concerned about it.

"Tsk. My old man has the same extended-wheelbase Phantom. It’s just too stuffy, not really a fit for our generation," Jiang Nan said, crossing his legs as he and Qi Sheng sipped champagne from the mini-fridge.

Fu Songyang, in the front passenger seat, quite liked the Phantom’s interior.

After all, he was approaching forty.

His aesthetic tastes were leaning more and more toward those of a middle-aged man.

The only exception was his enduring passion for supercars.