Cultivation Department Shura Field

Chapter 498 Uncle Has a Question
“These are all votes you cast…”

Shen Ze flipped through the latest brochure and couldn't help but sigh.

Next to this middle-aged man is Yao Hao in a suit and tie. As the vice president of Chongkai Investment, Yao Hao has fewer and fewer people to deal with. The people he usually drinks with are Zhang Yiming of Toutiao, Cheng Yixiao of KuaiZhua, and Zhang Xuhao of Ele.me. Compared with these entrepreneurial tycoons who took money from Chongkai Investment, Shen Ze is undoubtedly just an ordinary uncle.

But this ordinary uncle is the father of Mr. Shen of Lanzhe Technology, and Yao Hao can guess that Mr. Shen has a special relationship with Mr. Xu, and maybe she can be considered half the boss's wife. Therefore, he must maintain a certain respect for Uncle Shen Ze, and even take him to visit Chongkai Investment and show the company's achievements in the past one or two years.

This can also be considered as helping the boss flex his muscles and show off to his future father-in-law, right?

Yao Hao smiled politely and confidently, saying, "You may have heard of the food delivery platform Ele.me. This company is currently very popular, but according to Mr. Xu, he is most optimistic about Toutiao and KuaiZhua. Compared with these two, Ele.me's ceiling is not high enough."

"Ceiling?" Shen Ze scratched his head. "Uh, it means the upper limit of development, right?"

Yao Hao: “That’s right.”

Shen Ze looked at the brochure in his hand and murmured, "Actually, I've heard of this Toutiao as well. An old friend of mine recently downloaded Toutiao and has been sharing news on it with me all day long... I didn't expect that this company is also owned by Mr. Xu."

Yao Hao smiled and said, "Strictly speaking, that is not Mr. Xu's company. We just invested some money and took a portion of the shares from them."

Shen Ze: "How much equity is it?"

Yao Hao suddenly lowered his voice and said, "Boss Xu told me that I can tell you this, but you'd better not tell anyone else. We own more than 20% of Toutiao's shares. The company's latest valuation this year is more than 3 billion yuan."

"How much?" Shen Ze's eyes were shocked. "That's more than 20%, isn't that almost 1 billion?"

Yao Hao nodded.

Shen Ze swallowed his saliva, not knowing what to say for a moment. According to Mr. Yao, the stocks of this company alone were worth nearly 1 billion. And how high the valuation of Toutiao could rise in the future... He didn't even dare to think about it. He felt that he had reached a level that ordinary people could hardly even imagine.

"Since the shares of Toutiao alone are worth so much money, then how much is Chongkai Investment worth?" Shen Ze wanted to ask this, but hesitated when the words came to his lips.

Yao Hao flipped the booklet back for him and continued, "But that was all last year's work. This year we invested in some other startups. According to Mr. Xu's instructions, we will mainly focus on shared bicycles."

Shen Ze: "Fof, Mobai... No, the two most common types of shared bikes I saw on my way here were both invested by you?"

Yao Hao nodded: "Yes, at present these bicycles are mainly deployed in first-tier cities, but they will continue to be deployed and expanded in the future, and they can also be seen in smaller cities."

Shen Ze couldn't help but ask: "You have invested in both of these companies, but aren't they competitors?"

Yao Hao smiled and said, "Yes, but it doesn't stop us from betting on both sides."

Shen Ze nodded. He looked around at this high-end and exquisite office, and his eyes stopped at one of the doors. On that door, there was a sign that said [Chairman's Office].

Yao Hao added, "Isn't Mr. Shen going to have dinner with Xu Zhe and Mr. Shen tonight? If you are interested in these things, you can ask them then."

Shen Ze's expression was somewhat solemn: "I understand..."

————This dinner was arranged at a high-end Sichuan restaurant, and it was Song Xingye who arranged it. However, Xiaoye did not show up here, after all, the one who invited the dinner was Senior Sister Shen Lan's father, so she certainly would not join in the fun.

Shen Lan and Shen Ze, the father and daughter, came together.

When Shen Lan came here, she drove her newly bought Lamborghini. This car was undoubtedly very luxurious, but it made Shen Ze, the father, feel unreal.

When you arrive, just sit down in the private room. You don’t need to order any dishes. The restaurant has already prepared everything and will serve the dishes in order according to the schedule.

When Xu Zhe arrived, less than half a minute later, cold dishes such as beef with bamboo shoots and spicy squid were served on the table.

After a brief greeting, Xu Zhe took the initiative to talk about something he and Shen Lan had already arranged:

"Uncle, we are planning to open a few billiard halls in Shanghai. Are you interested in helping us look after the venues?"

Shen Ze was stunned: "You two, are you going to open a billiard hall?"

Xu Zhe nodded. "Yes, a chain store, but there is no need to pursue a large scale at the beginning. The total cost in the early stage is only two to three million. I am not sure if I can leave it to someone else. Sister Lan and I are both busy, so I want to ask if you have this idea."

Shen Ze stood there with his chopsticks in hand, neither picking up any food nor answering immediately. He stared at the beef in the dish - the beef was so thin that the light could penetrate it, making him curious about how the chef cut it.

After a moment of silence, Shen Ze said, "Mr. Xu is the big boss. He invested millions of dollars without blinking an eye. But it's hard for my uncle to feel at ease about such a good thing."

Xu Zhe smiled and said, "I have invested in more than a dozen entrepreneurs, ranging from millions to tens of millions. I think they feel at ease taking the money. Besides, you are not taking my money directly. This is my and Sister Lan's business. You are just helping to look after the place. We will give you a separate salary."

Shen Ze still did not agree immediately, but changed the topic to a seemingly irrelevant direction:
"Mr. Xu, how are you and my daughter getting along recently?"

"We get along very well."

"Don't blame me for being too blunt. I just want to ask, what is your relationship now?"

Faced with such a question, Xu Zhe first glanced at Shen Lan and exchanged glances with her. Before this dinner, the two of them had of course already discussed their answers.

Xu Zhe followed the answer that had been discussed in advance and said, "Then I will tell you the truth, uncle. I like Sister Lan very much, and Sister Lan also likes me. So we are in love now."

At this time, Shen Lan suddenly said: "But we have no plans to get married."

Shen Ze was stunned: "Why?"

Because besides Shen Lan there are two other girls, if he wants to marry all three at the same time, he can only immigrate to the Middle East - this is the fact, but Xu Zhe certainly can't say that.

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(End of this chapter)