King of Capital

Chapter 22: Starry Night
Cui A Liu said that the amount of information contained in her grape peeling was very complex, of course, not the kind of information that a king would eat when he was eating a grape.

Firstly, having a dedicated person to peel the grape skins means that the milk tea production process accounts for a high proportion of manual labor, and the correspondingly low level of automation makes it difficult to achieve the same level of standardized production as Starbucks' "espresso + milk sugar ratio".

Currently, "Bu Du" has nine stores across the country. How can we ensure that the grape skins are peeled cleanly in each store? Will the taste be affected if the grape skins are not peeled cleanly?
Secondly, how does the direct-operated store model solve the problem of raw material supply and ensure that the quality of fresh fruits in the nine stores is the same?

"We have our own warehouses to store raw materials such as tea, pearls and sugar. We have signed a long-term regional supply contract with Bright Dairy for fresh milk. Each store purchases fresh fruit locally, and basically cooperates with upstream suppliers in the fruit wholesale market." The answer given by Cui Aliu was not satisfactory.

The quality control of raw materials is pretty good, the fundamental problems of the supply chain have not been solved, and the issue of cost has also arisen.

Xie Jingxing asked in depth: "What percentage of your revenue is your labor cost?"

"24%. This proportion can be expected to decrease if the production process is continuously optimized in the future." Cui A-liu said this without blushing or beating her heart, words she herself did not believe.

There is no way. The labor cost of 24% is already comparable to that of high-end restaurants and hotels such as Michelin and Black Pearl. It is indeed a bit high for a milk tea brand.

Xie Jingxing asked in response: "What is the best-selling item?"

"Bawang Fruit Tea, Strawberry Milk Cap."

“What percentage of revenue does it account for?”

"17.3%."

Hearing the rapid question-and-answer conversation, Shen Xin silently exclaimed "evildoer" in her heart. Every question Xie Jingxing asked hit the nail on the head.

There is no need to explain how important standardized products are to a catering retail brand.

Haidilao is popular all over the country, but there has been no competitor that can compete with it for a few rounds. The reason is that not everyone can build a strong warehousing, logistics, and fresh food transportation supply chain.

The proportion of labor costs at Haidilao is also high, but the core reason is that it sells service experience.

"Budu" has more than a dozen products, among which Bawang Fruit Tea and Strawberry Milk Cap contribute nearly 20% of the revenue, and these two products happen to be the most labor-intensive products.

It is difficult to get around this problem without actually experiencing a few catering industry investment projects. In the morning, Feng Shuo's group and Qi Tian's group did not take the raw material supply of the chain catering brand seriously; the other group was a little better when they asked about labor costs, which were dealt with casually by optimizing the process flow.

"One last question, do other stores have the same decoration style?" Xie Jingxing asked at last.

Cui Aliu was a little proud when mentioning this: "Yes, I designed the decoration of our stores myself. The first store of 'Budu' was born in Dali. We are a brand with traditional ethnic genes, which fits the long-standing traditional oriental culture represented by tea itself."

"Very good, what is national is also global, and the national confidence in the new era will surely lead the trend of the times." Xie Jingxing raised his intention and forced it to sublimate.

Cui A Liu couldn't help but raise his eyebrows and said politely: "Indeed, thousands of years of brilliant civilization is the foundation of our national confidence."

Nowadays, no matter how bad the electronic music and hardware decoration of a nightclub are, as long as there are a few white girls in the atmosphere group and a few black guys as security guards at the door, it is a high-end nightclub.

Even for top brokerage firms like Juntai, the academic qualifications of overseas returnees are automatically higher than those of domestic graduates. Talking about national confidence is too far-fetched...

"I hope you can become a loyal customer of 'Budu' in the future."

Before leaving, Cui Aliu asked Xie Jingxing and Song Anli to each choose a box of finished tea from the variety of finished tea displayed next to the cashier counter as a free gift.

…………

After the meeting with Xie Jingxing, the two returned home, while Shen Xin stayed to wait for the third group of interns to come and meet with Cui Aliu.

Today, the four groups of interns have met with all the founders. The founders will give feedback to the four mentors and choose to communicate in depth with one group.

Finally, the day after tomorrow, the interns will bring their business plans to a project discussion meeting to present them, and they will be evaluated and assessed by the MD of Junhe’s internal direct investment (PE, VC) business.

When I got back to the company, it was just past three in the afternoon. Only Zhao Mengche's team and Xue Haoran's team were there. They seemed to be discussing which project they should choose if the two founders they had an appointment with chose them.

"'Instant Match' is really good. Mr. Chen has a lot of ideas." Song Anli was still showing off her scheming skills while drinking fruit tea.

Zhao Mengche asked bluntly, "So you are sure you want to choose 'Instant Match'?"

"Are overseas shopping websites not good?" Song Anli asked instead of answering.

"You can look for information about Huayi Warrior Shoes Company in Shanghai, mainly looking at their marketing strategies in recent years."

Xie Jingxing first ordered Song Anli, then looked at Zhao Mengche: "We don't choose 'Instant Match'. When you talk to Mr. Chen, the only focus is on the operation of the picture and text community. Don't let him lead you astray."

"Is there any connection between Huili shoes and the project we are going to look at?" Song Anli asked first.

Xie Jingxing looked at her expressionlessly for a few seconds: "By the way, find the information of a milk tea shop called 'Cha Yan Yue Se' in Xianghu area and give it to me before you choose the founder tonight."

After saying that, without waiting for a response, he stood up, holding the car keys and walked outside.

"What happened to you?" Zhao Mengche asked, blinking his confused eyes.

Song Anli smiled and said, "It's nothing. We had a very in-depth discussion with the milk tea brand. Its entrepreneurial philosophy is quite unique, which made both of us feel a little heavy."

Zhao Mengche didn't believe her words. During the three days since he joined the company, Xie Jingxing had always been in a calm and indifferent state, but just now he looked unhappy.

Song Anli forced herself to maintain a smile, twisted her hands together and her mind raced. She seemed to have done nothing wrong, so it was just the process of meeting the founder in the afternoon.

She couldn't judge Cui Aliu's ability, but at least she behaved well and didn't make common mistakes or fatal flaws. Comparing her with Mr. Chen, she tended to choose the former.

So where is the problem?
Song Anli thought about it and couldn't figure it out. She simply gave up and turned into a little maid. She would do whatever I was told to do. I wouldn't make any mistakes, right?

After being busy from 3pm to 6:30pm, the remaining two groups came back, but there was still no sign of Xie Jingxing.

Everyone was testing each other to determine the preliminary targets for each group. Qi Tian's group and Feng Shuo's group, who also had an appointment with Cui A Liu, saw Song Anli researching the Huili shoe brand and felt disappointed.

The master is not at home and the little maid is left alone to do nothing and mumble things. She is too unruly and her life will not be good. Brothers, hurry up and pack up and change your target!
Just when Song Anli seemed to be full of confidence but was actually about to burst, Xie Jingxing came back with a few file bags.

Without giving her a chance to speak, several instructors sent emails to their respective groups of interns, informing everyone to come to the office for discussion.

"You two have done a great job. Both the milk tea brand and the social APP want to choose you to follow up on the project."

In the independent office, Su He announced the result with a smile like spring breeze, paused and asked: "What do you think?"

Song Anli confirmed in surprise: "Mr. Chen from Jihe chose us?"

"He said that Xie Jingxing has a clearer understanding of VC and believes that communicating with you will be more efficient." Su He said in a strange tone.

His strong macro-analysis ability can be said to be due to his outstanding pattern of observation and exposure since childhood. His clear prospectus writing shows his solid basic skills and excellent knowledge. So how do you explain his clear understanding of venture capital?

This business cannot be done by just looking at it. Every professional venture capitalist recognizes the essence of VC through the process of falling into big pits, even Shen Nanpeng and Xu Xiaoping are no exception.

Su He tapped the table with her fingertips and continued tentatively, "Mr. Cui from the milk tea brand said that you did a good job in market research and you know the milk tea industry best among the three groups of interns." Shen Xin reported the entire meeting process to her, some of which could not be understood by research alone.

"Let's choose milk tea." Xie Jingxing gave a concise response without any intention of answering her doubts.

Su He nodded and said with satisfaction: "Then you need to go on a long trip tomorrow to Yunnan Spring City to conduct on-site research on the formula laboratory of the milk tea brand, including their entire founding team."

Song Anli sighed inwardly. She was exhausted from the long-distance business trip, which required her to go on the same day and return on the same day. When she came back tomorrow, she would have to write a PPT to prepare for the project discussion meeting the day after tomorrow morning, and she would have to stay up late until she went bald.

Xie Jingxing was full of interest and took the initiative to ask: "Can we set off tonight? It takes about three hours to fly from Magic City to Spring City. This way, we can go to the countryside overnight, and have an extra morning to visit the tea mountains tomorrow, and return to Spring City in the afternoon to meet the founding team."

"Well... this arrangement makes sense, but we need to coordinate with President Cui, and the administrative colleagues are off work, so we can't help book the flight."

Su He said tactfully that the main reason was that the plan was changed at the last minute and it was inconvenient for the program crew to arrange a photographer to follow the filming.

Xie Jing Xing was unwilling to give up easily and insisted: "I will book the tickets myself, and I will coordinate with Ms. Cui."

"Are you optimistic about this project?" Su He's expression changed slightly and his tone became serious.

Xie Jingxing stared at her for a moment, then turned his gaze to Song Anli, whose face was filled with shock, and said softly, "Taihe is interested in following the investment."

"...Okay, I got it. You guys go out first." Su He sat up straight.

Xie Jingxing quickly swiped the screen of his phone: "Hurry up, there are very few flights to Spring City."

"I think we need to have a formal chat after this test is over."

Su He picked up the phone, pushed the chair away, walked to the door of the office, knocked on the glass door, and called out loudly: "Shen Xin, book a flight ticket and pack your things for the business trip."

He Chuan, who was drinking coffee to refresh himself in the empty office area, was startled and looked at Shen Xin innocently. The latter was even more innocent than him and quickly took out a 20-inch suitcase and a pair of flat leather white shoes from under his workstation.

"Let's go." Xie Jingxing pulled Song Anli, who was still in a daze, out of the office.

"Why go?"

"When buying clothes, bring the information I asked you to check."

…………

At ten o'clock in the evening, on the last flight of the day from Shanghai to Spring City, Yunnan, Song Anli listened to the engine noise beside her ears and looked at Cui Aliu, whom she had just met in the afternoon, sitting next to her. Her intelligence finally returned to her mind.

"I'm really sorry, President Hatri. Competition in the milk tea industry is fierce right now. If we can implement the project even one minute earlier, we can gain a slight advantage over our peers." She put herself in their shoes and tried to find the reason for the temporary change of plan.

Cui A Liu didn't care much and smiled and said, "This is Juntai's recognition of us. Don't forget that I also majored in finance. Venture capital is very hard work. It is normal to be on standby 24 hours a day, all year round. I understand."

"So, Mr. Cui, there should be a lot of investors who have read our business plan for 'Budu', right?" Song Anli scored 90 points on social skills beyond her professional field.

While the two people in the cabin were sparring with each other, Xie Jingxing was also sparring fiercely with Shen Xin in the airplane bathroom.

"This is Juntai's project, and I must lead it!"

"I am Juntai's employee now, and this is my internship assessment project, not yours."

"Ok, even if you are from Juntai, Juntai has never had a precedent of interns leading a project. This is a round A venture capital involving 20 million yuan. It's not about sitting in the office and writing a mock IPO prospectus, but just updating it."

“Before signing the investment agreement, the financing amount in the business plan is just a string of numbers.”

"It was me who advocated following up on this startup company. The direct investment department treated this business plan as waste paper and threw it over to the interns to practice. Why are you snatching it away now just by talking? Is Juntai so unruly?"

In the narrow bathroom, Shen Xin leaned against the door with her back, and Xie Jingxing's butt was on the sink, and the two of them were in a stalemate for a long time.

Bang, bang, bang, the thin door panel was knocked, and the voice of the flight attendant asking questions was heard.

Shen Xin sighed helplessly, holding her temple and unable to speak. To be honest, she didn't think "Bu Du" was worth investing in.

Colleagues in the direct investment department are not blind. If they think it is valuable, how could they give it to interns as an assessment question?

But the key point now is that Taihe is interested in investing. It's like Sequoia says that a pile of shit smells good, and other venture capital institutions have to pinch their noses and move forward to take a deep breath to smell it...

That’s Taihe Capital, Xie Cheng’s family office!

"You fail to see the value of this company and underestimate my intelligence."

Xie Jingxing pulled her aside with one hand, covered his nose, opened the door and left the bathroom.

If he wanted to grab this project, Taihe’s people would have already arrived at the tea mountain where they had traveled day and night.

"Hello, Mr. Xie. Welcome to China Southern Airlines. I am Qin Yi, the chief stewardess of this flight."

As Xie Jingxing and Shen Xin returned to their seats one after another and sat down, a flight attendant came over to introduce herself and explained, "I just saw you busy working with your colleagues, so I didn't disturb you. It's like this, there are still seats available in business class, do you need me to upgrade you to business class for free?"

"I don't need it. There are still a few seats. Can you upgrade them?" Xie Jingxing asked.

He still had to explain to Shen Xin alone why he was in a hurry to go to Chuncheng for field research and meet the founding team. This was related to whether "Budu" was really worth investing in.

The stewardess observed the other's expression and said without hesitation, "There are seats available. Ladies, please follow me."

The flight attendant's work system can check all passenger information in the background. For example, if you always fly economy class in the past and occasionally buy business class, you won't be able to get the flight attendant's contact information.

China Southern Airlines' membership levels are divided into silver, gold, platinum, super VIP in the documents issued by the Civil Aviation Administration, and important customers and shareholders who require special notes...

A giant southern airline was one of the earliest domestic airlines to operate logistics and air transport business. Yunshan made a strategic investment in it in its early years of warehousing and logistics business.

Later, Lao Xie realized that something was wrong and he had fallen into a trap. He immediately made a scene with his superiors and was forced to sell his shares at a loss and exchange them for shares in China Southern Airlines.

Shen Xin felt extremely complicated as she watched Song Anli happily take Cui Aliu to the business class.

The raw material supply chain issue mentioned in the afternoon meeting does not exist at all for Taihe, because behind it stands Yunshan’s entire huge warehousing and logistics system.

As long as it is willing to spend money, it can directly crush 80% of the milk tea brands on the market.

This is why she insists on emphasizing the project's leadership regardless of her image. This project is not worth investing in for Juntai, but the same may not be true for Taihe.

　Sorry, it's a little late.

　　No prize guessing, what is the true value of not crossing?
　　
　
(End of this chapter)