Don't get married if you're reborn.

Chapter 442 About Games (5K)

After the person left, Zhuang Aimin shook his head.

I was hoping to see how much investment Zeng Wenjie could secure, but it turned out to be two spoilers.

But he didn't take it too seriously. He was too busy with other things to do all day long, so he didn't have the energy to investigate further.
A warning is enough. If they really don't know any better and keep causing trouble, then it's time to teach them a lesson.

"Xiao Zeng, you should really try to control your temper," Zhuang Aimin said with a smile.

"Senior brother, it's not that I'm not restrained, it's just that I was too restrained before, so they took advantage of my kindness," Zeng Wenjie said helplessly.

Zhuang Aimin was taken aback. After thinking about it, he realized that it made sense and was indeed the case.

Young people should be brave.

Zhuang Aimin said, "I am still very concerned about your financing."

Zeng Wenjie said, "Don't worry, senior brother. Tencent has already promised to lead the investment. We'll negotiate a sum of at least 50 million for them. Then we'll attract a couple of strong investors to invest, and that'll be it."

Zhuang Aimin said thoughtfully, "Doesn't Marlenia seek financing?"

Zeng Wenjie then said, "Currently, Marlenia's main market is still online. Offline stores are only operated through a direct sales model, so there are no plans to raise funds at the moment. Moreover, if we expand too quickly, I won't be able to keep up. This year, we're focusing on the 'Snack Panic' brand, building up our presence in supermarkets and improving our reputation."

Zhuang Aimin then said, "Let's proceed according to your plan."

Zeng Wenjie and Feng Xiao showed Zhuang Aimin around the Business Alliance and introduced the work of each position and how the Business Alliance operates.

Zhuang Aimin was actually most concerned about Miao Laoge Beef Hot Pot Restaurant, which was under Yan Peng's control, as it was the first shot fired by the business alliance.

At noon, Zeng Wenjie planned to treat Zhuang Aimin to lunch, but the latter declined, saying that he had other plans and would be going to a nearby county town soon.

After seeing Zhuang Aimin off to the car outside the business alliance, Zeng Wenjie turned to Feng Xiao and snapped his fingers, saying, "Mrs. Feng, you don't need to worry about being abandoned in the future. If I sold you, you'd actually be worth ten million!"

Feng Xiao glared at her irritably, then shook his head helplessly, saying, "That stupid woman Xu Yuhuan, those people only recruited her to use my brother's remaining influence and connections. Once they've taken advantage of her, she'll be nothing but a scapegoat, she won't even know how she died..."

Zeng Wenjie seemed to understand something, and said, "However, with your intelligence and talent, if you went back to Yanjing to raise your banner, you would definitely be able to gather a group of people, right?"

Feng Xiao said, "There are plenty of people in the world who are smarter than you. How can you guarantee that you are the smartest? I don't want to step into that quagmire again. One wrong move and you're doomed."

Zeng Wenjie nodded, put his hand on Feng Xiao's shoulder, and said, "To put it bluntly, isn't it just that you can't bear to part with me?"

Feng Xiao was taken aback, then laughed, replying with a seductive look in her eyes, "Yes, brother~"

That shout sent a shiver down Zeng Wenjie's spine.

It was only in public that Feng Xiao dared to provoke them so recklessly; in a private space, she would have to behave herself.

Back in his office, Feng Xiao organized some documents and handed them to Zeng Wenjie, saying, "Chairman, please read through them carefully and then sign them one by one!"

Zeng Wenjie smiled wryly, took the document, and began to read it carefully.

Many matters within the business alliance are linked to the government, but Feng Xiao and Zeng Wenjie carefully screen them and will postpone any that are risky. Even if they can't postpone them, they certainly won't touch them; let whoever wants to do it do it.

It has to be said that with Feng Xiao's help, we can avoid many pitfalls and hidden risks.

The capable and competent Mrs. Feng is truly a perfect 100.

Xue Lu even came running to the business alliance, asking, "President, has the financing deal been finalized yet?"

Zeng Wenjie said, "The talks were a complete waste. Two troublemakers showed up, and we almost got into a fight in the meeting room."

Upon hearing this, Xue Lu was stunned and exclaimed, "How could this be?"

Zeng Wenjie smiled helplessly and said, "There's nothing I can do. In other people's eyes, I'm more famous than capable. I'm just a fraud who was promoted by the authorities."

Feng Xiao was busy with her work when she heard this and couldn't help but chuckle.

Clearly, those who knew her believed that she was the one giving Zeng Wenjie advice from behind the scenes.

Zeng Wenjie is a complete waste of space, a lazy winner, Feng Xiao is the real MVP?

"Let's go, Mr. Xue, let's go to Century City to check out the renovations. We'll invite Lao Zheng to dinner tonight," Zeng Wenjie said.

“Sure, Old Zheng is a fun guy, we should invite him along,” Xue Lu said with a smile.

Zeng Wenjie stood up and said to Feng Xiao, "I'll call you later, let's have dinner and drinks together or something."

Feng Xiao raised her eyes and smiled charmingly, extending a silent invitation.

Zeng Wenjie knew that she wanted her royalties again.

Century City also underwent a major overhaul. After the mall was shut down, most of the merchants fled, and also sought compensation from Xue Lu for breach of contract.

Xue Lu had no choice but to compensate those who were owed compensation. He persuaded some merchants with whom he had a good relationship to stay, and promised to give them a good shop after the mall reopened.

Upon arriving at Century City, the shopping mall was undergoing renovations.

Xue Lu said, "The longer this drags on, the more anxious I get. Every day costs money, and every day is a penalty for breach of contract!"

Zeng Wenjie said, "Don't rush. Once our 'Haoyoulai' is up and running, you'll make money. You saw it when we went to Zhongyuan Province for inspection. Mr. Yu has a great reputation and can make money. Isn't it wonderful to be an entrepreneur that everyone praises?"

Upon hearing this, Xue Lu realized that it made sense.

He has made a lot of money by cheating on his conscience over the years and is already financially independent. Now, it's time for him to gain fame.

If he could become President Yu of Chongshan, wow, Xue Lu couldn't even imagine how awesome his life would be.

However, Zeng Wenjie felt that he could never become the second General Manager Yu. General Manager Yu was truly honest and kind, which is why he was loved by the people and his employees.

Xue Lu is a slippery and cunning fellow. No matter how much he tries to disguise himself, he can't fake that kind of pure simplicity.

The renovation of the basement was already quite impressive, prompting Zeng Wenjie to nod repeatedly. He then said to Xue Lu, "President Xue, do you know where the next big opportunity in Chongshan is?"

Xue Lu perked up and said, "Please enlighten me, Chairman?"

Zeng Wenjie said, "The hotel industry."

Xue Lu was stunned, then thought for a moment and said, "Tourism?"

Zeng Wenjie nodded and said, "Yes, with the two powerful punches of 'The Voice of China' and 'Village BA,' Chongshan Province is no longer that poor, remote place that no one cares about, and outsiders even subjectively think we live on candlelight. I got data from the provincial government that more and more tourists from other places are coming to Chongshan..."

Xue Lu immediately replied, "Okay, I'll research this further and invest in it."

Xue Lu started his business with non-performing assets. After making money, he did all sorts of things, investing in real estate, cars, pawnshops, hotels, internet cafes, and nightclubs. After listening to Zeng Wenjie's words, he decided to think about it, reduce his investments, and focus all his efforts on the hotel industry.

“Fengzhou is actually a good place to open a hotel. As the provincial capital, it’s not a large city, but it’s densely populated. However, the hotel industry has a slow return on investment and requires patience to operate. If you want to make quick money, you shouldn’t spend too much energy on this,” Zeng Wenjie advised.

"That's true. The hotels I invest in have always been very stable, but that's the only advantage," Xue Lu said with a helpless smile.

After looking around, Zeng Wenjie had a few questions in mind, so he called General Manager Yu and humbly asked for his advice.

Mr. Yu took good care of his younger brother, and since the younger brother had a good reputation, he considered him a kindred spirit and was therefore generous in offering his advice.

Mr. Yu sincerely hopes that his approach can gain the recognition of more entrepreneurs, so that every worker can live a good life and at least enjoy life after a hard day's work.

“President Yu is truly a mentor and friend. We should invite him over here and give him a proper welcome,” Zeng Wenjie said.

“Okay, I’ll arrange it. I’ll make sure he’s spoiled for choice,” Xue Lu said with a smile.

"Forget about your approach, it's too vulgar. I doubt President Yu will like it," Zeng Wenjie sneered.

Xue Lu said, "Old Zheng likes it very much, doesn't he? He always needs two or three people to drink with him."

When it was time for dinner, Zheng Shouyun and Feng Xiao arrived. Feng Xiao drove a brand-new black Audi A8. With a light touch on the accelerator, the engine emitted a pleasant roar, befitting its W12 engine.

Zeng Wenjie looked at the W12 Audi A8 he had bought at great expense and his lips twitched. He was driving a 4.2-liter V8.

The key point is that Feng Xiao would often drive this car to take Zeng Mi for a spin and show it off.

This made Zeng Mi a little resentful, and she subtly hinted that she wanted Zeng Wenjie to get her one too.

It's not that Zeng Mi is materialistic or anything, but a W12 Audi A8 isn't really anything special to her. If she weren't afraid of being too high-profile, she could have been driving a Rolls-Royce back then.

But Zeng Wenjie ignored it. Anyway, even if the Heavenly King himself came, he would only buy Zeng Mi a Volvo. Who knows if there would be some force to correct history?
Zheng Shouyun said to Zeng Wenjie with a grin, "In a little while, our 'Hero Kill' will be online. We'll fix a few minor bugs and it will be perfect."

Zeng Wenjie sighed, "I never thought this pleasant collaboration would end so soon?"

Zheng Shouyun then said, "President Zeng, didn't you have some big plans?"

Zeng Wenjie said, "We have to wait until the game becomes a huge hit before we can make a move. Otherwise, why would Mr. Ma believe my empty promises?"

Partnering with Tencent is undoubtedly the best choice. If they were to start their own game business, they would be easily copied by Tencent. Moreover, Tencent's massive user base could easily crush them.

Moreover, now that he has the talented Feng Ji at his disposal, Zeng Wenjie is even more determined to develop in this direction.

Feng Xiao asked, "Is the big move the entire large-scale game?"

Zeng Wenjie said, "No, it's about creating a game platform that allows developers of all sizes to publish their games on the platform for consumers to buy, thereby making money. Currently, many single-player games have too few distribution channels, making it easy to face the embarrassing situation of not being able to recoup costs and losing everything. Of course, we also need to make some excellent games ourselves and put them on this platform."

Zheng Shouyun said, "There is already a Penguin Games lobby."

Zeng Wenjie looked at him and asked, "Does Mr. Zheng know about Steam?"

Zheng Shouyun nodded and said, "Of course, how could I not know the launch platform for Half-Life 2?"

In fact, in 2007, many people couldn't even use a computer properly, let alone know what Steam was.

Steam truly became a huge hit after PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG) became a sensation at the end of 2017, which brought it into the view of Chinese gamers.

Through this game, people learned about the platform and then realized how much garbage they had been eating all these years, and how many excellent games were actually on the platform!
Zeng Wenjie said, "We need to move in that direction, rather than software like game lobbies."

Zheng Shouyun said thoughtfully, "I see..."

Xue Lu couldn't help but ask, "Can you make money making online games?"

Zheng Shouyun rolled his eyes at him and said, "Old Xue, please keep up with the times. You're asking if online games can make money? Go learn about games like 'Fantasy Westward Journey' and 'World of Warcraft' before you talk to me."

Xue Lu grinned and said, "I really don't know anything about the internet, but if President Zeng is willing to do it, then it will definitely be profitable."

Feng Xiao couldn't help but laugh and said, "President Xue, you really are a genius!"

Xue Lu said, "No matter how talented I am, I'm no match for President Zeng. Just one or two ideas from him can make people incredibly wealthy. Moreover, the projects he planned have directly boosted tourism consumption throughout our entire province. I'm not even worthy to shine President Zeng's shoes!"

Xue Lu is now fawning over Zeng Wenjie, as if he's afraid the kid won't include him when he makes money.

Having been a fence-sitter before and learned my lesson the hard way, I now know I must cling to the coattails of a powerful figure and never let go of them again.

They had a falling out back then, but he still managed to meet her in Marleneja by spending over a million, and he didn't want to suffer that pain again.

At the dinner table, Zeng Wenjie talked to Xue Lu about some things within the business alliance. As the vice president, Xue Lu also had to manage things.

“Mr. Zheng, why don’t you join our Fengzhou Business Alliance?” Zeng Wenjie asked Zheng Shouyun.

“Sure, but I have to switch from Tencent to Game Science.” Zheng Shouyun readily agreed.

"Holy crap, he switched from Tencent?" Xue Lu couldn't help but exclaim in shock.

Zheng Shouyun said, "Don't think that I'm doing well at Tencent. There are too many experts and talented people there. It's not easy to get a chance to move up and show my skills. It's much easier for you to join here, Mr. Zeng. If I join now, I can be considered a veteran in the future."

Zeng Wenjie said, "Of course I welcome Mr. Zheng's willingness to switch jobs. We will start by offering him the salary according to Tencent's standards, and then increase it as the company grows and becomes stronger."

Zheng Shouyun laughed and said, "Let's talk about it after 'Hero Kill' is launched. I'm quite satisfied with my current job; it's easy and comfortable."

Zheng Shouyun was indeed very satisfied. He spent all his time with a group of young people, and the work environment was relaxed with little office politics; everyone got along well.

He even felt that spending more time with these young people made him more energetic and his temper improved.

He was known for his serious demeanor at Penguin, but everything changed here.

Zeng Wenjie thought that with so many talented and brilliant people at Tencent, if he poached Zheng Shouyun, Pony Ma shouldn't be too angry.

After a meal and drinks, Zheng Shouyun clamored for Xue Lu to arrange a second round.

Xue Lu glanced at Feng Xiao, somewhat wary, and asked, "Is President Zeng going or not?"

Zeng Wenjie said, "Go ahead, Secretary-General Feng and I will go together. We'd like to have a good time drinking today."

Zheng Shouyun's face turned awkward, but unexpectedly, Feng Xiao said, "It's just touching and singing. I used to go to these kinds of places all the time. You can touch all you want, I'll sing my own!"

These words made Xue Lu and Zheng Shouyun a little embarrassed.

Zeng Wenjie couldn't help but ask Feng Xiao, "How much does the top-tier 'touch and sing' service cost per session?"

Feng Xiao glanced at him and laughed, "For those kinds of places, the minimum requirements for models are a bachelor's degree, a height of over 1.7 meters, a face comparable to a star, and the ability to sing and dance with some unique talent. One would cost about 50,000 yuan, I remember that was the price back then."

"Did they put diamonds in her vagina? Fifty thousand each!" Zheng Shouyun couldn't help but swear.

Zeng Wenjie couldn't help but think of the KTV he had heard about in his previous life where a private room cost over two million yuan. After carefully calculating the price, he figured it was probably about the same as what Feng Xiao had mentioned.

Feng Xiao glanced at Zheng Shouyun and said, "It's probably around seventy or eighty thousand now."

Xue Lu couldn't help but ask, "Isn't that a place where innocent victims play?"

Feng Xiao smiled and said, "It is quite a waste, but rich people are happy to play this game, especially those who can get a lot of money with just a wave of their hand."

Zeng Wenjie also felt that such places were run by a specific group of people. Real rich people know how hard and difficult it is to make money, and they will not easily spend money that they feel is not worth it.

Upon arriving at the KTV, Xue Lu had the manager call all the girls over. They were all wearing skirts and stood in a row, and they looked to be of decent quality.

But Zheng Shouyun found it rather dull; compared to Feng Xiao, these people were not very appealing.

"Shall I order one for you?" Feng Xiao looked at the person, then turned to Zeng Wenjie and smiled.

"Forget it," Zeng Wenjie rolled his eyes. "I'm not interested."

Feng Xiao said, "Whether you're a man or not? I'm not even interested in that!"

Zeng Wenjie then said, "Don't you know whether it's true or not?"

Zeng Wenjie and Feng Xiao left around 10 o'clock to avoid spoiling Director Zheng's enjoyment.

Since we had all been drinking, it wasn't convenient for us to drive, so we didn't bother going back and simply booked a room at the hotel next door.

Zeng Wenjie is a terrible person, but a first-rate dog. He smuggled some Romani-Conti from Xue Lu's shop. Although it's not the most expensive one, a bottle still costs tens of thousands.

He planned to have Feng Xiao teach him how to appreciate wine. After all, red wine is something that rich people like, and he would inevitably have to deal with it more often in the future. If he didn't know anything about it, it would be a bit embarrassing.

He was teaching well at first, but then it turned into fancy wine tasting, and he poured the wine into Feng Xiao's two back dimples.

Hey, I have to say, it has a rather unique flavor.

(End of this chapter)