At the start, I had to choose one of four options, and I immediately picked the Brahmin from the cou

"Dad, Wang Jianhui's incident has served as a monument to myself, and also a line I've drawn. From now on, I will never again actively engage in such bloody matters. The land in the south of the city, and the upcoming high-tech industrial park, are the true foundation of Lansheng."

Becoming the rule-maker or an indispensable beneficiary of the distribution of benefits—that is the true strategy, the legitimate and glorious trend.

Li Jianguo listened quietly, and an indescribable brilliance gradually emerged in his weathered eyes.

He originally thought that Li Xiao would only truly understand these words after he had suffered a great loss and been badly hurt in the business world.

In the turbulent world of business, countless brilliant talents have lost their way because of early success, becoming lost in the thrill of shortcuts and ultimately ending up disgraced. Unexpectedly, after I only offered half a suggestion, this kid not only completed the rest himself, but also clearly planned out his future path.

"If you can see this through, then your old man can finally enjoy this cup of tea to the fullest."

Li Jianguo picked up the purple clay teapot on the coffee table and, for the first time ever, poured a cup of hot tea for Li Xiao as well, pushing it in front of him.

"Have a sip of tea to calm your restlessness. Since you have a sense of right and wrong, I won't interfere with how you plan to deal with that piece of land in the south of the city, or how you want to steer the Lansheng ship. Go for it, just remember one thing—if the sky falls, the Li family will hold it up for you. Although our Li family isn't some powerful clan with connections to the highest levels, in Tianshui, as long as you act uprightly and honestly, no one can easily crush your bones."

Li Xiao picked up the purple clay teacup with both hands, lowered his head and took a small sip.

The tea was slightly bitter, but a long-lasting sweet aftertaste followed it down.

He's been drinking this tea since he was a child, but this cup tastes particularly different today.

It's not the tea that's changed, it's him.

A little over a month ago, when he sat on this sofa talking to his father about borrowing money, he was preoccupied with how to leverage ten million to make his first fortune. Now, as these dreams are about to come true, he is not as excited as he had imagined. Instead, he feels a heavy weight on his shoulders.

"Dad, there's something else I want to tell you today. I won't just focus on land development from now on. I plan to keep half of the increased value from that piece of land in the south of the city as long-term capital for the company, and I'm not in a hurry to cash it out. The other half will be used to launch a new business line, specifically for the early-stage incubation of internet technology companies, investing in startups that have core technologies but can't get bank loans."

"The Internet?"

Throughout his life, he's been involved in numerous businesses, from building materials to real estate, and even investing in a county-level commercial bank—all tangible, real-world ventures. The internet, to him, is like air—visible, but intangible.

Li Jianguo frowned, clearly harboring an instinctive wariness towards this completely unfamiliar territory.

"Dad, I know what you're thinking. In your mind, only buildings on the ground and steel bars in warehouses are real assets. But times have changed."

To make it clear to his father, Li Xiao broke down the complex logic of internet venture capital into the most straightforward business model.

"Internet companies are like commercial real estate in the virtual world. Investing in them now with a small amount of money is like acquiring barren land at a low price in Jiangyang County ten years ago. Once their platform is built, all the traffic and users will be like shops where we can sit back and collect rent."

"In the physical business world, you get what you pay for and you trade time for space, but in tech venture capital, it's a winner-takes-all game. If you bet on an industry leader, the return isn't just tens of percent, but tens or even hundreds of times."

Li Jianguo didn't respond immediately. He knew about making money online, and he wasn't some old fogey. But the vast majority of people in this industry lost money. Less than one percent survived and grew into big companies. The rest were either ruthlessly swallowed up by capital giants or left the market in disgrace after burning through investors' money and going bankrupt.

This industry is a bottomless pit, where one man's success is built on the bones of countless others.

Li Jianguo leaned back on the sofa, looking at his son who was full of confidence in his eyes, and said seriously, "Son, I don't deny that the internet can create wealth. But you also have to understand that venture capital isn't for everyone. If you invest in ten companies, nine of them will go down the drain, and even if the last one survives, it might not last long enough to go public and cash out. You're putting real money into a pile of invisible and intangible code and PowerPoint presentations, and once the winds change, you won't even hear a sound."

Li Xiao had anticipated his father's concerns.

However, he certainly wouldn't reveal his trump card. He couldn't very well say that he was a reincarnated being with the future development of the Internet over the next decade or more in his mind, nor could he say that he possessed a heaven-defying system.

"Dad, I accept all the risks you mentioned. It's a nine-out-of-ten chance of death, a bottomless pit of money, and the vast majority won't survive until the day we go public."

"But the bigger the storm, the more expensive the fish. And I'm definitely not entering this market to be a sucker who throws money around blindly. I don't invest in those makeshift teams that just use PowerPoint presentations to tell stories and blow bubbles. I only focus on those pragmatic teams that have core underlying technologies and can truly solve industry pain points. Entering the market now is actually the same as acquiring land on barren land in Jiangyang County ten years ago."

His words offered a way out, yet also possessed a sharp edge; they allowed him to advance or retreat as needed.

He pointed out the window towards the south of the city. In the darkness, nothing could be seen on that wasteland, but soon the warning lights of pile drivers and the searchlights of the light rail construction site would be lit up there.

"Ten years ago, when you acquired the land in the east of the city, it was also a wasteland, without even a decent paved road. But what you were betting on was not the land itself, but the favorable wind that the province would bring to the east of the city into the county's new urban area plan. What I'm betting on now is not which internet company, but the overall policy shift towards the technology industry after the province designated the south of the city as a high-tech zone."

"In other words, I'm not investing in a single company, but in an entire trend of the times. When the trend arrives, even if nine out of ten of my investments fail, as long as one survives in the incubation platform, gets endorsement from the provincial science and technology commission, and connects with the industrial support of the high-tech zone, its return will be enough to cover the losses of all the other projects."

However, the most important point that Li Xiao didn't mention is that the projects he invests in will absolutely not lose money.

If he could still lose money now that he has memories of the next few decades and that happy life system, he might as well find a block of tofu and kill himself.