You call this entrepreneurship?

Chapter 255 Emotional investment is also an investment
Xiong Xiaoge frowned unhappily and said unhappily, "What two billion? What are you talking about, Mr. Peng?"

Peng Xiaolin laughed and said jokingly, "Boss Xiong has a strong sense of confidentiality. It's pointless to keep it secret at this time."

"I don't understand what you are saying at all." Xiong Xiaoge asked back, "Boss Peng, just say what you want to say, or I will hang up."

"My friends in the media have already told me." Peng Xiaolin said mysteriously.

Xiong Xiaoge asked in confusion: "What did those reporters say?"

"They said there is reliable news that a foreign Internet company is willing to pay 2 billion to acquire Qvod." Peng Xiaolin couldn't suppress his excitement and asked, "Boss Xiong, is this true?!"

Xiong Xiaoge said angrily, "There is no such thing as 2 billion. Those reporters just believe everything they hear and always want to make a big news!"

"Don't you know what kind of people they are? How can you believe this?"

Peng Xiaolin said confidently: "Boss Xiong, this time is different. This time the news is definitely authentic."

"We are all VCs. Mr. Xiong, you can hide it for a while, but you can't hide it forever."

Listening to Peng Xiaolin's firm tone, Xiong Xiaoge, who knew the inside story, became a little skeptical.

What kind of plane is Qin Shaoyan working on again?
How come the number of people on Qvod.com has reached 2 billion in just half a day?
What on earth is he doing?
This is not the way to blow up the valuation. It's even more outrageous than blowing up a balloon.

"That's not true." Xiong Xiaoge frowned and said, "Boss Peng, it's true that a company acquired Qvod, but the 2 billion is completely nonsense."

Peng Xiaolin immediately became excited. "Who is going to acquire Qvod? What is the specific price? Can Mr. Xiong tell me?"

"No, this is a trade secret." Xiong Xiaoge refused directly, "You should know the rules."

Seeing that Xiong Xiaoge refused to give in, Peng Xiaolin had no way to ask any more questions. He could only sigh and said with envy and jealousy, "Qvod.com has only been established for less than three months, and it has been sold so quickly."

"Boss Xiong has a great vision. He got such a good project."

Xiong Xiaoge said perfunctorily: "It's nothing. With so many projects invested in, there are always one or two surprises."

"What kind of surprise is this?" Peng Xiaolin said with emotion. "The website was established less than three months ago and it was sold right away. This can't be called a surprise."

"Qvod.com is not the most profitable project for Mr. Xiong, but it is definitely the one with the fastest return, right?"

After hanging up the phone, Xiong Xiaoge suddenly laughed.

Luo Yan was a little confused, "What are you laughing at?"

Xiong Xiaoge said proudly: "Peng Xiaolin's last sentence is right. Qvod is not the most profitable project I have invested in, nor is it the project with the highest return rate, but it is definitely the project with the fastest return."

IDG implements a strategy of broad acquisition and thin planting in the domestic Internet field, and the funding for a single project is controlled within one million.

Before 2005, IDG had invested in a total of four to five hundred projects, basically all the projects that should be invested in.

Because he was one of the earliest venture capitalists in China, the return on his early investment projects was quite amazing, with several projects returning more than a thousand times the original return.

IDG has invested less than US$2 million in China, but the returns have reached more than US$10 billion.

Xiong Xiaoge is also a veteran in the industry and has seen all kinds of projects.

Only the Qvod website is a little different.

Seeing her husband in high spirits, Luo Yan picked up the red wine, poured a glass for Xiong Xiaoge and herself, raised her glass and said, "Cheers to your investment vision."

Xiong Xiaoge was secretly pleased with himself and said with a smile, "Thank you, ma'am."

……

Not only Xiong Xiaoge was disturbed tonight, but also other investors of Qvod.com.

Xu Xin received a call from Hou Jingtao, vice president of Dachen Venture Capital, asking about the details of the acquisition of Qvod.com.

"Mr. Xu, how much is YouTube willing to spend on the acquisition?" Hou Jingtao asked excitedly, "Is it 2 billion?"

"This..." Xu Xin hesitated.

"What?" Hou Jingtao was very surprised. "I am also a shareholder of Qvod.com. Am I not even qualified to know this?"

"Mr. Hou, you misunderstood." Xu Xin said quickly, "Where did you hear about 2 billion?"

"Don't worry about it. Just tell me if this happened or not."

"YouTube's asking price was $240 million," Xu Xin explained.

"That's 2 billion, right?" Hou Jingtao became even more excited. "How is the negotiation going?"

"We've only had the first round of contact. We need to discuss the details further." Xu Xin said with a guilty conscience, "Mr. Hou, you know that this kind of acquisition requires many rounds of discussions."

"The two sides have not yet reached an agreement on the price, and IDG CEO Xiong is not too supportive of selling Qvod."

"It's good to be able to talk about it." Hou Jingtao said optimistically, "This 2 billion is really beyond my expectation. Qvod.com can have so many surprises. It seems that Qin Shaoyan is indeed a talent."

Xu Xin said against her will: "Well, this Qin Shaoyan is indeed quite unexpected."

Hou Jingtao said with a smile: "Then I will wait patiently for the money to be divided."

Xu Xin was shocked. This is just the beginning. Are you going to open champagne to celebrate?

She immediately said, "Boss Hou, the negotiations have just begun, and there is nothing to be done yet."

"Besides, who can say what happens in the business world?" Xu Xin advised, "Mr. Hou, don't be too optimistic. This acquisition negotiation is very complicated."

Hou Jingtao interrupted Xu Xin before she finished speaking and said directly: "I know that Mr. Xiong is very optimistic about Qvod, but we don't plan to continue to follow."

"Even if the acquisition of Qvod is not finalized, it proves the value of Qvod. We plan to transfer the shares and get the funds first."

"Boss Xu, are you interested? We can give you our shares."

"This..." Xu Xin hesitated and couldn't help muttering in his heart.

What does Hou Jingtao mean by this? If you want to cash out, just cash out. What’s the point of transferring the shares to me?
Could it be that he saw something?
Seeing that the other party did not answer, Hou Jingtao said to himself: "It doesn't matter if Mr. Xu doesn't want it. You can transfer it to SoftBank. They will definitely accept it."

Xu Xin nodded and agreed, "Indeed."

At this time, SoftBank feels like a sucker, as all the shares of Chinese Internet companies can be dumped on him.

Yan Yan, president of SoftBank Asia, once said, "I have been acting as Xiong Xiaoge's agent for many years."

There was a time when IDG often did the first round of financing, increased the amount four or five times, and then sold it to SoftBank for the second round.

Hou Jingtao excitedly discussed with Xu Xin for a while, then hung up the phone and turned to harass Zheng Nan.

……

Nine p.m.

Qin Shaoyan finished the online meeting with Davis of Microsoft and Taylor of Sequoia. He pinched his forehead tiredly, stood up and looked at the dark night outside the window, feeling a little dazed for a moment.

He was in meetings all day today and sat in the company without going out.

The tense and high-intensity meeting made him forget the time, and when he suddenly relaxed, he felt a sense of time confusion in his head.

After closing his eyes and taking a rest, Qin Shaoyan, who had recovered from his shock, hurried to the office.

He had left Su Ran in the office for most of the day.

Qin Shaoyan gently pushed the door open and took a guilty look, only to find that Su Ran had fallen asleep on the sofa.

Su Ran was like a kitten, curled up on the sofa with a down jacket on her body, dozing quietly.

Qin Shaoyan walked closer and looked at her carefully. Su Ran had put on her makeup and dressed up carefully today, but it was a pity that she didn't get a romantic date.

……

Su Ran seemed to have heard some noise, and he moved his body and sat up sleepily.

"Hey, are you done with the meeting?"

Su Ran rubbed his eyes embarrassedly, "I was so sleepy that I wanted to take a nap, but I fell asleep."

Qin Shaoyan asked with concern: "Have you eaten? Are you hungry?"

"I ate it." Su Ran said quickly, "Your friend ordered a McDonald's for me, and I ate a hamburger."

"How can you be full just by eating hamburgers?" Qin Shaoyan said with a smile, "Come on, I'll take you to eat something delicious."

"Ah?" Su Ran was a little confused, "I'm not hungry."

"Even if you're not hungry, you have to eat something." Qin Shaoyan insisted, "The sense of ritual is very important."

Su Ran was visibly happy, but then hesitantly said, "It's so late, some restaurants are closed, right?"

"It must be open. Besides, today is February 2th, it won't close so early." Qin Shaoyan picked up his coat and said, "Come on, I'll take you to eat Western food."

Su Ran jumped up from the sofa with cheers, happily grabbed her down jacket, and followed Qin Shaoyan out happily.

Qin Shaoyan deliberately chose an Audi sedan as his car. After all, driving a Wuling Hongguang to a western restaurant would be a bit out of place.

Su Ran didn't care, but just asked curiously, "Why did you change the car again?"

"These are all company cars. We can drive whichever one is more practical." Qin Shaoyan explained casually, "The company can reimburse the gas money. It's much more cost-effective than buying a car yourself."

Su Ran said with great joy: "You are really stingy. You are a company boss after all, and you really live frugally."

"It's not easy for me to be a CEO." Qin Shaoyan said with emotion, "In fact, I'm very poor, so I always have to find ways to save money."

"I have to find ways to get money from investors every day. Only in this way can I make a living."

"I don't believe it." Su Ran said with a smile, "You never speak the truth."

"How can you slander someone's innocence out of thin air?" Qin Shaoyan retorted in astonishment, "I am nicknamed the Honest and Reliable Young Master, and it is not a false reputation."

"You're just bragging!" Su Ran didn't want to believe it, "Who is so shameless to give you such a nickname?"

"This is certified by the campus network!" Qin Shaoyan said seriously.

"Does this count?"

"Well, why not?"

"Hey, why is your smile so weird?!" Su Ran said with disgust.

Qin Shaoyan drove the car while teasing Su Ran. After searching for a few rounds, he actually found a western restaurant that was still open.

The waiter took the two of them to a seat by the window and asked enthusiastically, "What would you like to eat?"

"Steak, pasta." Qin Shaoyan asked as he flipped through the menu, "Do you have candles?"

"Yes." The waiter smiled, "Our restaurant has specially launched a candlelight dinner set menu, 1,988."

Su Ran was so shocked that she almost threw the menu away, "Why is it so expensive?"

"Then let's have a set." Qin Shaoyan handed the menu back, "Hurry up and cook the steak well done."

Su Ran tugged at Qin Shaoyan's clothes under the table and blinked desperately, "No more."

"It's okay. I can still afford a candlelight dinner." Qin Shaoyan smiled, "Just consider it as compensation for making you wait for a day."

"But this is too expensive." Su Ran was still a little confused, "It's almost as much as my monthly salary."

"Okay, don't think too much." Qin Shaoyan said gently, "The dishes have been ordered, so just enjoy it from now on."

Soon the restaurant waiter brought the tableware. In addition to the knives and forks, there were also two candlesticks with candles inserted and lit with a lighter.

Under the candlelight, Su Ran's delicate face was covered with a hazy halo, which gave her a unique beauty.

Su Ran felt a little embarrassed by Qin Shaoyan's gaze, and said coquettishly: "What are you looking at?"

Qin Shaoyan said with emotion: "Looking at a beauty under candlelight is really pleasing to the eyes, and it creates a unique artistic conception."

Su Ran's face quickly turned red, and looked even more beautiful under the candlelight.

In order to hide the embarrassment, Su Ran picked up the goblet and said, "I'll toast you."

"I'm driving today and can't drink." Qin Shaoyan declined. "Besides, why toast at a candlelight dinner?"

"You drink the beverage, and I drink red wine." Su Ran said solemnly, "I am serious."

"So what do you have to say about this cup?" Qin Shaoyan asked.

"Thank you for spending the holiday with me, and thank you for treating us to this candlelight dinner." Su Ran thought for a moment, "I wish we can have this day every year!"

Qin Shaoyan was a little stunned. Why did this blessing seem a little bit off?

"It's better not to have this day every year." Qin Shaoyan coughed and said awkwardly, "I was so busy today that I almost forgot about you."

Su Ran also realized that she had said the wrong thing, and quickly tried to make amends, "Your Valentine's Day next year will definitely not be like this one."

"That's hard to say." Qin Shaoyan said seriously, "If I get busy, I won't be my own person anymore. Besides, at my current position, I can no longer decide my own time."

Su Ran looked a little sad after hearing this, "Don't you have any private time?"

"Maybe, but very few." Qin Shaoyan sighed.

"No matter what, I still want to thank you." Su Ran cheered up and said happily, "I am still very happy today."

"Making investors happy is my consistent goal." Qin Shaoyan said with a smile.

Su Ran was stunned. "What investor? I haven't invested money in you before?"

"Emotional investment is also an investment." Qin Shaoyan answered seriously.

"Ah, you are such a..." Su Ran rolled her eyes at Qin Shaoyan with a smile, "You are such a smooth talker."

Su Ran enjoyed the meal very much. Qin Shaoyan also told her some interesting things about his time abroad, and she couldn't stop smiling.

After a pleasant dinner, Qin Shaoyan drove Su Ran back home.

Before Su Ran went upstairs, she suddenly looked at Qin Shaoyan and said solemnly, "Can you give me a gift?"

"Please tell me." Qin Shaoyan patted his chest and said, "I can't afford anything too expensive, but ordinary things are no problem."

"Give me a photo of yourself." Su Ran said with a smile, "The one you think is the most handsome."

Qin Shaoyan was a little embarrassed, "This is a bit difficult."

"why?"

“Because I look handsome in every photo.”

(End of this chapter)