A perfect life begins with changing the timeline.

Chapter 120 Beer and Irrational Exuberance

The old chef who became close friends with Fatty must be a master of French cuisine.

Because the recipes in Fatty's mind are basically all French cuisine.

Take, for example, the dish Li Mu is making now, called Lyon Stew—at first glance it looks a bit like braised beef in China, but—actually it's pretty much the same.

In short, it's a very satisfying dish.

He was busy in the kitchen, while Fan Taobing was sleeping in the inner room.

Once the heavy cast-iron jar was placed in the oven, the work in the kitchen was finally done.

He wiped his hands and returned to the living room.

Although it was his own home, he didn't open the door to the guest room to see how his friend was sleeping. Instead, he turned on his computer, checked his email, and when he saw that Zhao Fengrui hadn't sent the email yet, he picked up the newly bought books on international relations, sat down on the sofa, boiled some tea, and began to read.

It's as if he could sit there all day with just a pot of tea and a pack of cigarettes.

Just as the aroma of stewed meat began to waft through the living room, a telephone rang.

It was Zhao Fengrui who called.

I told Li Mu that all the projects had been compiled and sent to his email.

Li Mu politely thanked him and said he would reply after reading it. Then he went to the computer, refreshed the webpage, and saw a new email named "Zhao Fengrui".

Inside is a compressed file containing an attachment.

However, it's not very big.

Several megabytes (M).

After downloading and unzipping the file, he found about seven or eight document files, all of which were already named, such as "Hairui Technology - Software - MUD Engine Design" and "Website Design - Social Type".

Li Mu glanced at the names of the documents, and suddenly, when he saw the last document, his pupils contracted.

【HA0123 — Community Index Website】

Without saying a word, he clicked on it.

Project Description: HA0123 is a comprehensive community index website domain.

Core Business: Comprehensive Website Indexing —

When he saw the name "Li Xingping" in the "Founder" column, he immediately knew that it was definitely this person.

And then the rest is simple.

Li Mu didn't care at all about the project prospects, products, or services described in the project proposal.

He quickly scrolled down with his mouse and found the financing plan section.

Immediately afterwards, he saw the amount the other party needed.

[Funding requirement for this round: 100,000]

[Purpose: Server rental, company startup.]

[Shares to be sold: 15%]

Instantly, a smile appeared on Li Mu's face.

It seems there's no difference from when the wheelchair-bound guy invested; he invested 20 and received 30%.

The shares.

Having gained a better understanding of the plan, he began to carefully examine it.

Actually, this plan is very simple to write.

HA0123 hasn't figured out how to make a profit yet, so their business model is described in a very general way, only saying that their website has an average of 4000+ IP visits per day.

It has enormous potential.

But potential is potential, and Li Xingping doesn't seem to have figured out how to monetize it yet.

But this wasn't a problem for Li Mu, because the wheelchair guy had mentioned the website's profit model, which, to put it bluntly, was GG.

However, it's not about specific product Google Ads, but rather about internet domains paying Google Ads fees to have their domains added to indexing websites.

The GG fee for a domain name is usually several hundred to several thousand yuan.

It was after figuring out this business model that the number of websites on HA0123's directory increased, and eventually Li Xingping subdivided them into portal websites, communities, email services, and later, more specialized categories such as music, Flash animation, and images.

As its website was indexed more and more and its potential grew, it was eventually noticed by Baidu, which directly acquired it.

Furthermore, according to the wheelchair user, HA0123's development has actually kept pace with the times. Since 2002, China's internet has entered a period of rapid development, and the reason is quite simple. After joining the WTO in 2001 and aligning with the world, the country announced its Tenth Five-Year Plan, the sixth chapter of which was "Accelerating the Development of the Information Industry and Vigorously Promoting Informatization."

Riding this wave, the Internet entered millions of households. As the demand for internet access increased, users urgently needed a comprehensive index webpage like HA0123 to help them use the internet more conveniently.

This is the real opportunity for HA0123.

At the same time, with the increasing demand for computer installations, more and more computer stores also bundled free website indexes like HA0123 with their installation systems, which led to its early user base doubling almost every month.

Now, Li Xingping has just decided to start his company, which is exactly when he needs money the most.

But—even without the wheelchair-bound guy explaining things, when Li Mu saw this business plan, he understood the main reason why he dared not raise too much funding.

An unclear business model is fatal for the internet ecosystem, which has just experienced a bubble burst.

Li Mu guessed that this was probably the main reason why he only dared to raise a mere 100,000 yuan.

After his own analysis and the wheelchair-bound man's prior explanation, he understood this point and his smile widened.

Just then, the sound of a bedroom door opening was heard in the living room.

Fan Bingbing, still looking tired but with slightly less redness in her eyes, walked out of the guest room with her hair a little messy.

"Brother Li, I'm hungry—wait, why are you smiling so brightly? Is something good happening?"

When she saw Li Mu sitting in front of the computer with a bright smile (PLUS version), she was taken aback at first, and then walked over curiously.

Following his feelings, Li Mu smiled and said, "Yes, I've found a great project."

Fan Taobing blinked, then laughed and said, "Ha, shouldn't we celebrate? How about a drink?"

Let's not talk about the project for now; that was sent to Brother Li by someone else, not to her.

So even if she's interested, she won't ask questions unless Brother Li speaks up.

But—since there's good news, we definitely have to have a good drink!

Today—hmm, I can drink more.

To relieve fatigue.

"Brother Li, want to try this beer?"

She took a can of Kirin beer from the refrigerator.

She got the wine from the supermarket. When she asked Li Mu if he had drunk it, Li Mu shook his head.

So, with a bit of novelty, I picked up a bag.

"You drink it."

Aren't you going to drink?

"I won't drink. I need to check on these projects. I'm afraid I won't be able to think clearly if I drink."

Following Li Mu's words, Fan Taobing's eyes were filled with regret, as if to say, "You really don't know how to enjoy life." She opened a beer, tilted her head back, and chugged it down—

The drowsiness of just waking up, coupled with a dry mouth, is perfectly complemented by an ice-cold beer with foam, bubbles, and temperature all in the most comfortable range. The refreshing taste is simply indescribable.

Only those who have truly experienced it can understand this sweetness.

"Hoo---hiccup~"

After letting out a small, bubbly burp, she ignored Li Mu sitting in front of the computer, comfortably sprawled on the sofa, and her gaze fell on the coffee table.

There is tea on the coffee table.

There were books next to the tea.

Several books.

*Irrational Exuberance*, *A Random Walk Down Wall Street*, *Poor Charlie's Almanack*, *The Clash of Civilizations and the Remaking of World Order*, *Man, State, and War: A Theoretical Analysis* —

Hmm————

She had no idea what these books were about.

Intrigued, she tilted her head back and gulped down another mouthful of beer before picking up the book, *Irrational Exuberance*.

It was turned over.

In an instant, the only sounds in the room were turning pages and clicking the mouse.

A few minutes later, Fan Bing put down the book, looking rather scratching his head, and picked up the beer can.

After finishing the last sip of beer, I smacked my lips, but still felt a little thirsty.

Ignoring the amber-colored tea in the fairness cup on the table, she got up, grabbed a can of beer from the refrigerator, slumped back onto the sofa, curled up with her legs tucked in, and opened the book again.

She didn't read the main text, since the preface alone was quite long.

The preface was written by a man named Li Zhi, who, according to the introduction, is a famous economist and a professor at Yenching University.

In the preface, Professor Li highly praised the book, or rather, its author Robert Shiller. He even claimed that the book accurately predicted the bursting of the dot-com bubble in the United States.

One month after its publication, all Nasdaq Internet stocks plummeted.

Huh?

Is this foreigner really that amazing?

Although Fan Bing had never read any financial books before, she became completely interested in the book just from reading about this incident in the preface.

After quickly finishing reading the preface, she turned to the first page of the main text.

Upon reading the very first paragraph, she was immediately captivated by the book's premise: the theory that "when stock prices soar to unprecedented heights, people often create a new era" serves as a justification. However, history repeatedly tells us that these theories are ultimately just stories woven to explain bubbles.

To be honest, she didn't really understand the story of the US stock market.

She didn't even have a basic understanding of it, but when she saw this passage, she immediately felt a sense of déjà vu, "Hmm, this person is right."

It has a sophisticated feel to it.

And considering that this was a book bought by Brother Li—she felt even more certain of it.

At least for her, the sense of mystery and sophistication surrounding Brother Li never faded.

And recently—without even realizing it herself—she has become so obsessed with this sense of sophistication.

Then, the living room fell completely silent.

The sounds of turning pages, clinking beer cans, and clicking mice blended together once again into a harmonious symphony.

This completely relaxed her somewhat anxious mind.

Soon, the second can of beer was empty as well.

She pursed her lips, looked up—and found that Brother Li was still in that focused posture, looking at the content on the laptop screen. She knew she shouldn't disturb him, so she silently got up, went to the refrigerator, grabbed another can, opened it, took a sip, and returned to the sofa.

However, instead of curling up, she changed to sitting cross-legged, leaning against the sofa.

The posture is becoming more and more casual and relaxed.

Time slowly passed in this relaxing and tranquil atmosphere.

As Li Mu was reading the final project proposal, suddenly—

A somewhat abrupt noise rang out.

"?"

He instinctively turned his head and saw a woman holding a beer can in one hand, covering her mouth with the other, staring at him with wide eyes.

She looked embarrassed.

There was a book on her lap.

"Hiccup~~"

Her toes, hidden beneath her white socks, curled up unconsciously out of embarrassment.

On the coffee table in front of her, there were already four beer cans.