Chapter 462 - 248: Capitalist Tycoons Are a Joke

By mid-August, Spicy King’s locations in the four first-tier cities had all opened for business.

The personnel arrangements and transfers alone were stressful enough to give Yuan Li a few more wrinkles.

With the next round of financing and valuation on the line, Yuan Li had handpicked her best and brightest from within the company.

The original 21 store managers, plus a few outstanding assistant managers,

were dispatched to the four first-tier cities to serve as store managers.

Among them was Mei Lin.

As an Elite Level talent, Mei Lin’s performance was exceptional, and she had long been on Yuan Li’s radar.

From a migrant worker who had dropped out of high school to a store manager now earning over a million a year,

Mei Lin’s story was nothing short of legendary.

Thanks to Spicy King’s ample cash flow,

Qi Sheng had fully staffed the stores, assigning an Elite Level manager and an Ordinary Level assistant manager to each.

The mountains are high and the Emperor is far away, but with the talent provided by the system,

Qi Sheng, the hands-off boss, could finally feel at ease.

Business at these 24 new locations boomed from the moment they opened.

The populations of first-tier cities were large enough to guarantee a baseline of customer traffic.

The average check of 249 yuan per person was also considered mid-range.

After all, white-collar workers in the big cities earned seven or eight thousand a month.

They could still afford this price point.

Most importantly, though, was the taste of Spicy King.

Whether you liked the spicy mala flavor of Sichuan and Chongqing or a clear broth tomato base,

once you’d tried Spicy King, it was hard not to get hooked.

The +100% Flavor buff was just that effective.

In terms of service, Spicy King was no slouch either.

And its flavor completely crushed many local hot pot brands.

For it not to be a hit would have been a crime against nature.

As these 24 locations each reached a table turnover rate of four times per day,

and their net profit margin hit the 20% baseline,

the total daily revenue for all Spicy King stores reached a terrifying 18 million.

And that wasn’t even counting weekends and holidays.

On average, monthly revenue could reach 600 million.

A rough calculation based on a 20% net profit margin meant a monthly profit of 120 million.

After all, Qi Sheng had a system helping him cheat.

’A high net profit margin is perfectly reasonable, right?’

Previously, when Spicy King had thrown out an astronomical valuation of 10 billion US Dollars,

many venture capitalists thought it was overinflated, or even a complete fantasy.

But as the number of Spicy King locations grew to 45 and revenue climbed steadily,

its net profit became dazzlingly impressive.

Many VCs who had been watching from the sidelines could no longer sit still.

They began to constantly raise their expected valuations.

No one even dared to mention 5 billion US Dollars anymore.

A pre-IPO cash cow that was already stably profitable was naturally a hot commodity in the capital market.

Countless VCs were fighting tooth and nail to get on board and strike it rich.

Some of the well-informed ones found Wang Han and the others, hoping they would act as intermediaries.

It annoyed Qi Sheng so much that he didn’t get any peace until he turned off his phone.

Playing pool with Qi Sheng, Wang Han’s teasing tone couldn’t hide his envy.

"From now on, if anyone comes looking for you, just turn them away for me."

"If they’re not willing to accept a 10 billion US Dollar valuation, there’s no need for them to meet me."

Qi Sheng paid no mind to Wang Han’s teasing and cleanly ran the table again.

"How many games has it been? All I get to do is break. Can’t you let me feel like I’m part of the game?"

Wang Han watched Qi Sheng sink the eight ball once more, his eyes filled with resentment.

"Who told you to be so bad?"

It wasn’t that Qi Sheng didn’t give Wang Han a chance.

But the guy’s skill level wasn’t even amateur.

He wouldn’t be considered terrible if he were playing against an ordinary person.

But against a cheater like Qi Sheng, whose skills were nearly all maxed out, he was destined to get crushed.

Even if Ding Junhui himself showed up, he’d have to stand on the sidelines, cue in hand, and watch Qi Sheng perform.

"I’m done. It’s more fun playing with Old Fu and the others."

Wang Han instantly lost all interest in pool, already missing his buddies who were also terrible at the game.

"I need to make a call first."

Qi Sheng went back to the lounge area, took a sip of water, and saw a missed call from an old friend. He called the number back directly.

"President He?"

"Chairman Qi, you’re still in Shanghai?"

"I was just playing some pool with a friend."

"Then send me your location. I’ll explain in detail when I get there."

"Just come straight to Jingyao Qiantan T6. We’re on the top floor."

After hanging up, Qi Sheng knew exactly why He Yu was calling.

It was nothing more than wanting to lock in a ticket on the gravy train ahead of time.

Qi Sheng didn’t mind giving an old friend a chance to get rich with him.

’It’s all the same whose money I take, and I can do him a favor in the process.’

「...」

When He Yu arrived, Qi Sheng and Wang Han were having tea.

"Chairman Qi, is this the office your company rents?"

"Rent?"

Qi Sheng shook his head with a smile. "This building... I’ve already bought it."

"Holy shit, are you serious?"

He Yu was completely stunned. "This is Jingyao Qiantan! Even the cheapest building has to be over a billion, right?"

"Old He, you’re thinking too small."

Qi Sheng smiled and gestured for He Yu to sit down.

"It was only two billion. It’s not like that’s hard to make."

"Er..."

He Yu and Wang Han exchanged a look, both feeling the urge to strangle the guy.

"Chairman Qi, I’m sure you’re aware of the purpose of my visit."

He Yu didn’t beat around the bush and got straight to the point.

"We are willing to accept the 10 billion US Dollar valuation and will invest 200 million US Dollars."

"As soon as the due diligence process is complete, the funds will be transferred within a week at the latest."

"Old He, I knew I wasn’t wrong about you. You guys deserve to make this money."

Qi Sheng shook his head with a smile, his tone filled with emotion.

He had thought the first to reach an agreement would be a capital giant of Sequoia’s scale.

Instead, the smaller firm, Black Ant Capital, had surprised him by being the first.

"We have you to thank for that, Chairman Qi, and for the two star projects we previously invested in."

"We had a successful exit from Pop Mart, and Spicy King’s valuation has skyrocketed. Fundraising for our second phase went very smoothly."

He Yu chuckled. "Otherwise, I’d have to just watch from the sidelines as others feasted, hoping for a sip of the soup."

"In that case, on behalf of Spicy King, I welcome Black Ant Capital’s follow-on investment."

Qi Sheng stood up and extended his hand to He Yu with a smile.

"This is a win-win partnership for us."

He Yu let out a breath of relief and shook Qi Sheng’s hand firmly. "Besides us," he asked curiously, "have any other VCs offered this valuation?"

"Sequoia will be making a move soon. They probably didn’t expect you to act so quickly, President He."

Qi Sheng poured He Yu a cup of tea.

"Jinshi Capital will be leading this round with an expected investment of 400 million US Dollars."

"Haha, then President Su is going to be frustrated again. The portion left for them is just another small slice."

He Yu knew very well that Qi Sheng wouldn’t give up too much equity.

The share left for Sequoia would be no more than 4%.

Speak of the devil, Su Kai had also rushed to Shanghai.

He was also clearly aware of who the real decision-maker was.

"Chairman Qi, would you be willing to reconsider?"

"We at Sequoia are extremely sincere. You have to give us at least 5% of the shares!"

Su Kai had been full of confidence, planning to score a big win in one go.

But he never expected that fellow He Yu to launch a sneak attack.

He’d preemptively reached an agreement with Qi Sheng, locking down 2% of the shares.

Subtracting the 4% reserved for Jinshi Capital,

the most they could get was now only 4%.

Even with the 3% from the Series A round, it was less than 10%.

This was a far cry from the target he had guaranteed President Shen.

"President Su, a 4% stake isn’t a small amount."

"Combined with your existing shares, your total stake is nearly 7%."

Qi Sheng placated him with a smile. "Surely you’re not trying to become the largest shareholder, are you?"

"Of course not. We never get involved in the concrete operations of the companies we invest in; we are purely financial investors."

Su Kai waved his hands dismissively, not daring to entertain such a thought.

He didn’t know much about Qi Sheng,

but he could tell the man was an absolute control freak.

The fact that he would rather use Jinshi Capital’s money than accept their additional funding

was enough to show that he had no intention of ceding control of Spicy King.

Faced with such a firm company leader,

Su Kai was out of options and had no choice but to call President Shen at Sequoia for instructions.

Shen Nanping, who hadn’t been paying much attention to Spicy King, suddenly became interested.

"President Su, arrange something. I’d like to talk with Chairman Qi this evening."

"Understood."

Su Kai hung up and walked back in, beaming. "Chairman Qi, our President Shen would like to invite you to dinner this evening. Would you have the time?"

"If President Shen is inviting me, I have to make time even if I don’t have any."

Qi Sheng didn’t mind dealing with these VCs.

’The system’s investment audit of Jinshi Capital will need these VCs to help drum up the hype.’

"Then I’ll go arrange for a restaurant right now."

Su Kai breathed a sigh of relief, having feared that Qi Sheng would refuse.

"Shen Nanping from Sequoia?"

Wang Han, who had been sipping his tea quietly, was secretly astonished to hear the name of a familiar titan of the capital world.

’He’s totally living up to my expectations, catching the eye of a big shot like that so quickly.’

Being invited to dinner by Shen Nanping...

...was something that would make countless entrepreneurs so jealous they could die.

Yet Qi Sheng looked perfectly calm, as if he didn’t care much about this dinner at all.

’Then again, if I had such an awesome company, raking in insane amounts of cash every day, with all sorts of capital begging me to take their investment... I’d be walking with a swagger, too.’

"Old Wang, why don’t you join us for a casual dinner tonight."

"Me? I can go?"

Wang Han had been about to make an excuse to slip away, to save Qi Sheng from an awkward position.

He never expected Qi Sheng to invite him along.

"Why not?"

Qi Sheng’s smile was gentle. "We’re friends. You were one of the first-round investors. I’ll always remember that kindness."

"Say no more! I’m going to liquidate some assets, and I’ll invest another billion in your second round!"

Wang Han was genuinely moved, and he decisively made a decision he had been planning for a while.

"You’ve got good taste."

Qi Sheng chuckled without a trace of modesty.

It was no exaggeration to say that once Jinshi Capital’s first fund was settled,

its DPI would absolutely make jaws drop.

By the time they were raising a second fund, the investors would surely be pension funds and sovereign wealth funds from various countries.

A mere billion yuan really wouldn’t amount to much then.

Those sovereign and pension funds casually threw around investments starting at a billion US Dollars.

Still, when fundraising, you can never have too much money.

The fund’s management fees were the most basic form of income.

With Qi Sheng’s clairvoyant ability, just by picking a few projects,

achieving a DPI of over 2x would be a piece of cake.

Qi Sheng looked at He Yu and asked with a smile, "Old He, why don’t you come along for the fun?"

"I’m a competitor. Wouldn’t that be a bit awkward?"

He Yu paused, scratching his head in embarrassment.

"Don’t overthink it. Just think of it as making a new friend. Even if President Shen doesn’t invest, Spicy King has no shortage of investors."

Qi Sheng’s domineering aura made both He Yu and Wang Han look at him with renewed awe.

’That’s Shen Nanping we’re talking about! A titan of the capital world that countless companies dreamed of getting close to, a figure they’d practically worship on sight.’

But to Qi Sheng, he was truly dispensable.

’If Chairman Qi ever needed to suck up to someone, it would only be Lord Tong. Compared to the 900 million that Lord Tong rewards me with every month, no strings attached, that President Shen from Sequoia is just a little punk.’