A perfect life begins with changing the timeline.

Chapter 133 Speaking and Agreeing

During Li Mu's interview, and with Fan Bing's "Wow, I didn't know you were so amazing" eyes, Li Xingping, whose desire to confide was completely aroused, spoke freely.

He answered whatever Li Mu asked.

Zhao Fengrui, on the other hand, had already shut up.

It's not that he didn't want to help, but he found himself unable to get a word in edgewise.

Mr. Li, who used to be a reporter, always asked very clever questions, one after another, without giving himself any chance to interject or give his cousin any opportunity to "smooth things over".

Often, just as he felt his answer to a question was somewhat inappropriate, before he could even speak, Mr. Li would steer the conversation in a different direction.

This kid—he's been sold out and he's still helping the seller count the money!

He looked at his cousin, who was beaming with excitement, and sighed inwardly.

"So, can I understand that, according to what you're saying, Mr. Li, HA0123 is currently in a very primitive, undeveloped state? And your daily work is just maintaining server stability?"

"right."

After agreeing, Li Xingping seemed to be in great pain, scratching his head: "Mr. Li, to be honest, at first I just used the internet cafe's mainframe as a server, but its storage capacity was too small and its stability was very poor. Although it was barely enough, the daily maintenance issues alone took up a lot of my gaming time."

Under Zhao Fengrui's despairing gaze, he shook his head: "Later—because my internet cafe was so famous, other people knew I had this website, and they started using it too—the problem is, the server I set up in the internet cafe only had so much space. The more internet cafes used it, the slower the website became, and the more easily it crashed. I didn't really know what to do, but—then I found out that my boss had spent money to buy me two more servers to expand the capacity. At first, I was quite happy, but then I found out—actually, those internet cafes pooled their money to give to my boss. My boss let them use this website, but they had to pay him every month."

"Did he give you the money?"

"No—I just felt unbalanced, so I quit my job and wanted to start my own business. But—I don't have enough money, which is why I'm seeking funding. Actually, I didn't even want to continue with this website, but my cousin said—"

At this point, he suddenly paused—

'

""

5

, "6

""

The other three were also speechless.

The reason is simple: "But my cousin said" and his finger both pointed at Zhao Fengrui.

In an instant, the bubble of lies was popped by his own honest hands.

The atmosphere instantly became a little awkward.

Li Mu was the first to react. He nodded slightly and said in a very calm tone, "What did Manager Zhao say?"

"Well----"

Li Xingping didn't know what to say.

Later, Zhao Fengrui took the initiative to speak: "Sigh—I told him, your website gets one or two thousand visitors a day, which is already quite a lot. It would be a shame to give up on it. Why not try to turn it into your own business? I'll help you try to attract some investment. If it succeeds, you can buy your own house, get a computer, and play games all day without anyone bothering you."

As he spoke, he picked up his teacup and said to Li Mu and Fan Bing, "Mr. Li, Ms. Fan—we are actually relatives. I admit I was wrong in this matter. Regardless of whether this investment goes through or not, I apologize to both of you."

He was quite desperate.

How did I end up with such an honest cousin?

In just a few words from others, you've revealed all your secrets.

"Haha, not at all. Actually, I can tell that Mr. Li cares a lot about your opinion."

Li Mu smiled and shook his head: "Business is business, I understand. Besides, I quite like our open and frank way of chatting. Manager Zhao, there's no need to feel pressured. Let's keep things separate and not affect our friendship."

He continued, "But it sounds like this 100,000 in funding won't really help you much, will it?"

"In the short term—it's enough. Find a stable server, and let this website no longer be confined to a small circle, but known to users all over the country—Mr. Li, you should understand, it really works very well, right?"

After the conversation was brought up, Zhao Fengrui took the initiative to speak.

He really didn't dare let his cousin continue talking.

"Um.

""

Li Mu nodded: "It really works quite well. But like I said, this 100,000 yuan can only rent one server at most—and for maintenance, we can hire one more person, or to put it jokingly, hire a couple more people, freeing up Mr. Li so he can continue playing the game with peace of mind, haha—"

Li Xingping looked embarrassed.

"But—is this the limit?"

"We can build a reputation. As long as we have a large user base, we don't need to worry about the market."

"But what about the profit model? Mr. Zhao, it seems you haven't found one yet, have you?"

"Well----"

"To be honest, HA0123 is still small in scale, limited to the Guangdong region. Even saying Guangdong is an exaggeration; it mainly serves internet cafe users and individual users like us, right? 4000+ IPs per day is not small, but it's not particularly large. Moreover, without a profit model, it may not be sustainable in the long run. The internet bubble has just burst, and people are no longer blindly pursuing high traffic; they prefer to see websites with balanced commercial revenue."

"That's right, Mr. Li is correct."

Zhao Fengrui knew he was telling the truth.

There was no rebuttal.

Just then, Li Mu suddenly said, "But I, and she, both think this website is quite useful."

Zhao Fengrui subconsciously looked up and met Li Mu's eyes: "Well then, Manager Zhao, since we're all being so open, let me state my conditions. First, my point is that 100,000 yuan is absolutely useless for the development of this website. If you want to make it successful, 100,000 yuan is definitely not enough. Similarly, although the business prospects are currently unclear, I still have high hopes for this website. So, I want to know your bottom line. How much investment do you need, and how many shares are you willing to give up—of course, I won't overstep my authority. As an investor, I can help you, but how to operate the website can be discussed together later. I don't intend to acquire it, but rather to cooperate. What's the maximum number of shares you can give up?"

"this----"

For a moment, Zhao Fengrui didn't know what to say.

Seeing this, Li Mu added another piece of firewood to the pile: "Let me first tell you about the advantages I can bring you. First of all—that's it."

He tapped the notebook in front of him.

"You two should both know about the Southern Metropolis Daily, right?"

"I know, Mr. Li, could it be that you are—"

"Yes, I am a reporter from Southern Metropolis Daily. And—you can ask her."

Pointing at Fan Bing, Li Mu laughed and said, "How's my power?"

After remaining silent for almost the entire meal, Fan Bingbing opportunely chimed in: "The promotion for 'Young Justice Bao 2,' which I was filming in August, was all arranged with Brother Li. He even wrote an interview for me."

1"

Zhao Fengrui was taken aback.

Such a large amount of energy?

He continued, "Oh right—Brother Li is currently the only journalist who witnessed the 9/11 attack firsthand in New York. The photos of the disaster that we see on TV were all taken by him. You could say he's very famous in the industry, even nationwide."

"ah?

'

Both of them were now speechless with astonishment.

Li Mu was also somewhat surprised.

I thought to myself, "Are we really that in sync?"

You're making me feel like I'm on a pedestal.

Despite his surprise, he still said, "I can help promote the website. Believe me, with the size of Southern Metropolis Daily, a special report on a personal entrepreneurial history can bring a terrifying amount of user traffic to the website."

He didn't say the second half of his sentence.

Especially such a convenient and fast indexing website.

Once people start using it, they'll definitely love this kind of convenient website.

Zhao Fengrui's eyes lit up immediately, clearly knowing what it meant.

But just then, Li Mu pointed to the side: "Not to mention—Mr. Li, Manager Zhao, after our investment, her celebrity status can also be used as a marketing tool to bring in all sorts of users, right? Whether it's endorsements or if we invest more money in marketing—"

In short, we can both bring publicity to the website, which is our biggest advantage. We provide the funding, we drive the promotion, and all you need to do is build the website and maintain its smooth operation. As for the future profit model—we can develop that together. So, I'd like to know, what's your bottom line regarding the percentage of shares you're willing to give up?"

The two fell silent instantly after Fan Bingbing's fleeting look of surprise.

Li Xingping visits his cousin.

The older cousin visits the younger cousin.

To be honest, what we discussed today was a bit beyond Zhao Fengrui's expectations.

In his view, investment and financing is, if not a long-term endeavor, but a process of repeated trial and error.

To everyone's surprise, my cousin immediately sold off all his family's assets.

Similarly, they encountered an opponent whose negotiation style was as sharp as a machete.

He was genuinely caught off guard when the blade came slashing down.

His mind raced.

After a silence of about ten seconds, he tentatively asked, "Then—how many does Mr. Li want?"

"Well—"

After thinking it over, Li decided to make an outrageous demand.

After all, you can always bargain down the drain even if someone asks for an exorbitant price.

Therefore, he argued, "We will provide publicity, funding, and a stable operating environment, but we will not interfere with the website's operation without authorization. The greatest respect I can give Mr. Li is respecting that HA0123 is his product. So, change it to ten. I want 70%."

Regarding the price—according to Mr. Li's requirements, 100,000 yuan for 15% of the shares. We'll offer 500,000 yuan for 70% of the shares.

"Can."

Just as Li Yu presented his conditions, before Zhao Fengrui could even think of a solution or give a response, Li Xingping's voice suddenly rang out.

Zhao Fengrui's lips twitched.

He saw his cousin's eyes light up as he looked at President Li and Fan Taobing across from him: "If—Miss Fan Bing could be the spokesperson... sure!"

Li Xingping nodded vigorously and agreed immediately.