Chapter 511 - 284: With a Cullinan, Life Is No Longer Hard (Part 3)

Soon, Qin Qingyi came out of the chairman’s office, smiling and nodding at Jie Chao.

"President Jie, you can go in now."

"Alright."

Jie Chao didn’t take her lightly and gave Qin Qingyi a polite nod.

Although Qin Qingyi’s position in the group was just that of a simple secretary, it all depended on who was backing her.

Even as a personal secretary, she was someone the general managers of the subsidiary companies, like himself, dared not offend.

The fear was simple: if she were to whisper something in the boss’s ear at night, their own positions might no longer be secure.

"Sit."

Qi Sheng was looking at a document. "Qingyi," he said without raising his head, "pour President Jie some tea."

Jie Chao didn’t dare disturb Qi Sheng, so he sat down obediently across the large executive desk.

He respectfully took the teacup with both hands and politely thanked Qin Qingyi.

"You’re welcome. I’ll let you two talk."

Qin Qingyi smiled and left the office, having already mastered the duties of her role.

"Zhuangyu Catering is developing at quite a clip. Both the Zifei and Yu Tu chains have reached seven locations each. You deserve a lot of the credit."

Qi Sheng had been looking at Zhuangyu Catering’s revenue data. He looked up with a smile and praised Jie Chao.

"You give me too much credit. It’s all part of my job."

Jie Chao breathed a sigh of relief, glad that he wasn’t about to be reprimanded.

"However, this is still a bit too slow."

Qi Sheng tapped his fingers on the armrest of his executive chair.

"In early March, I’ll inject 200 million US Dollars into Zhuangyu Catering, and I will also provide you with all the necessary talent."

"When the time comes, I want you to open sixteen new branches all at once, bringing the total to thirty stores. You can handle that, right?"

"No problem. The investment costs for branches in second-tier cities aren’t too high. Factoring in renovations, equipment, rent deposits, and the operating budget, 30 million will be more than enough."

Hearing that the boss would provide the talent, Jie Chao patted his chest and gave a firm reply.

"In that case, opening the stores will only require 500 million. With the remaining 900 million, we’ll invest in four more organic farms."

"I want you to personally lead the site selection team. The goal is to meet the ingredient demands of all Zhuangyu Catering and Spicy King locations nationwide."

Qi Sheng had just seen in Zhuangyu Catering’s documents that they had invested in two more organic farms.

The first phase of land acquisition and construction had been completed, costing 100 million.

The investment budget for a single organic farm was about 150 million.

For seven organic farms, 900 million would be just about right.

For Spicy King’s massive chain of stores, seven organic farms were but a drop in the bucket.

But at least they’d be keeping some of the business in-house.

Once Spicy King’s stores broke 500 locations, the orders from Spicy King alone would be enough to support an entire ecosystem of supply chain companies.

"Understood. I’ll personally take charge of this matter and report back to you promptly as we make progress."

Jie Chao had been eager to expand the organic farms, but even the most capable housewife can’t cook a meal without rice.

The 200 million US dollars previously invested by Jinshi Capital had been spent in no time.

Fortunately, their stores were all doing booming business, which is what funded the subsequent expansion of more locations and organic farms.

Relying solely on Zhuangyu Catering’s cash flow to open twenty branches and seven organic farms all at once was, without a doubt, a pipe dream.

But with a big boss like Qi Sheng investing money, it was a different story.

"Boss, a lot of venture capitalists have been contacting us recently, and the valuations they’re offering aren’t low. Do you think we should accept their investment?"

Jie Chao was also looking out for Qi Sheng’s best interests. What kind of company relies solely on its owner for cash infusions?

Jinshi Capital was merely an investment vehicle under Qi Sheng’s control.

Qi Sheng held all the voting rights, and it acted purely as a financial investor, not participating in the company’s day-to-day operations.

As a result, Zhuangyu Catering was entirely Qi Sheng’s one-man show.

"Not for now. The group has plenty of money. We won’t be accepting outside financing in the short term."

Qi Sheng knew without even asking that the valuations these VCs were offering couldn’t be that high.

’Once the organic farms are completed and have secured orders from Spicy King—*that* will be the best time to accept outside financing.’

"I’ll do as you say, then."

When Jie Chao heard the phrase "The group has plenty of money," he didn’t feel the slightest doubt.

The mere fact that he’d spent five billion on a building was enough to demonstrate Qi Sheng’s financial might.

’With the boss’s resources, he could probably rival some of the top VC firms.’

After chatting for a while, Jie Chao prepared to get up and leave.

He suddenly remembered something and slapped his forehead.

"Boss, how could I forget? Mayor Liu from Longxing Town asked me to get in touch with you earlier."

"The province has already prepared the ’Outstanding Entrepreneur’ certificate. You can go pick it up when you have time."

"Outstanding Entrepreneur?"

Qi Sheng shook his head with a smile. "I think they’re really after our phase two investment."

"Heh, that’s what I thought too."

Jie Chao had dealt with Longxing Town many times, so he naturally knew what they were worried about.

’With Qi Sheng’s current net worth, a small project like an organic farm is hardly worthy of his attention. Even the importance of Zhuangyu Catering ranks behind Spicy King, Banyan Tree Group, and Universal Entertainment. It’s only slightly better than Pop Mart, Shengxuan Decoration, and Shengxuan Property.’

"You tell him, the investment I promised won’t be a single cent short."

"The phase two investment will arrive by the end of March at the latest."

Qi Sheng didn’t care about the empty title; it had just been a whim on his part.

His current on-paper net worth was already over 100 billion.

Never mind an "Outstanding Entrepreneur" award from the province; he was worthy of being a delegate to the National People’s Congress.

"Alright, I’ll pass on the message."

Jie Chao smiled and nodded, understanding that his boss had no use for such an empty title.

’But given the boss’s status, once he’s made a promise, he would never go back on his word.’

...

After Jie Chao left, Qi Sheng stood up and stretched.