Be reborn and be happy to the fullest

"Hello"

Li Shuo extended his hand and gently shook hands with Chen Duoduo, then shook hands with the others. Throughout the process, he did not introduce Reba or Li Qinghe.

There was no need to introduce his female companion and driver, but this made Li Shuo seem weak and alone, as if he had come to the meeting by himself.

But in terms of sheer presence, Li Shuo alone completely overwhelmed the four opponents!
After shaking hands, Li Shuo, surrounded by Chen Duoduo and others, stepped forward and entered the main gate of the resort, casually saying as he walked:

"I was in Beijing attending the China-Korea Song Festival and took the opportunity to acquire the traditional entertainment company Qianyu Times. Unexpectedly, during this process, someone discovered some songs I had previously written, which caused some trouble. Is Mr. Chen aware of this?"

"Um, I know a little. There are rumors that you also have a stage name, X, and that you're a contracted artist with Sony Entertainment?"

In fact, it is not just "rumor" that ordinary people do not know that "Li Shuo is Li Jiulin". Chen Duoduo also tries her best to show that she is well-informed.

"Oh, Mr. Chen is very well-informed. So, I ended up here by chance. I hope Mr. Chen can keep my itinerary and identity a secret..."

Li Shuo said with a smile, and Chen Duoduo naturally agreed.

With just his opening remarks, Li Shuo adopted the perspective of someone in a high position, asking Chen Duoduo questions and making demands, which Chen Duoduo could only try her best to meet.

This is not only because Li Shuo has a strong presence, but also because C-site is indeed in a bad situation. In the field of ACG (Anime, Comics, and Games), it is being overtaken by A-site and B-site, and is gradually showing signs of becoming the bottom. As Yuan Ke previously explained to Li Shuo, if C-site wants to transform into live streaming, it needs to upgrade its hardware and bandwidth, which are all capital expenditures!
Chen Duoduo needs Li Shuo's help!

Because he understood this, Li Shuo acted as if he were the host, accepting Chen Duoduo's invitation to enter the private room. After taking the seat of honor, he first reached out to stop Chen Duoduo from offering him the menu, and then decisively said:

"I'm short on time, let's talk business before we eat!"

The words were a bit harsh, and in Qi Province, dining culture is prevalent. How can you talk business without eating and drinking?

Chen Duoduo immediately laughed it off: "Oh dear, there's no rush with the investment, Mr. Li. This is the first time I've met such a talented person as you. You must have a good chat with me so I can learn a lot. Here, this is a bottle of 93 Moutai Rose Tea that I specially brought from my ancestral home when I heard Mr. Li was coming. Please do me the honor of tasting and commenting on it..."

The year 93 was special, coinciding with reduced Moutai production and soil changes, resulting in a rather unique "Rose Qu" flavor. After 10 to 20 years of fermentation, the 93 Moutai Rose Qu has become a legend. Before Li Shuo's rebirth, it had already been speculated to be worth hundreds of thousands of yuan per bottle, and there was no market for it, because this stuff often could open up some key opportunities!
That's why it's called Qi Province...

Li Shuo sighed inwardly, but still waved his hand and directly started the conversation: "President Chen, C-Station recently has the need to upgrade its hardware and transform into a new track. So, how much money is C-Station prepared to spend on these needs? And how many shares can Shuoguo acquire?"

Chen Duoduo was somewhat uncomfortable with this straightforward style, but he desperately needed the money. After a moment's hesitation, he still forced himself to answer, "Upgrading the hardware alone would probably cost over ten million. If we cover the employees' expenses for the next six months, the investment should ideally be over 3000 million..."

Li Shuo continued, "You didn't mention the cost of transitioning to a new track, but I think its budget should be unlimited. After all, live streaming involves more issues, such as advertising, promotion, and even signing big names, all of which generate huge revenue!"

At this point, the tone shifted abruptly: "But that doesn't matter, Shuoguo can invest 1 million in C-site! So, how many shares is Mr. Chen willing to offer?"

"what?"

Chen Duoduo was stunned. Although various industries had been rushing into the internet in 11, leading to a bubble in the valuations of many websites, a valuation of over 1 million was still too high for C-site! What's more, this was only "taking a portion of the shares"!
For a moment, he couldn't answer, because this level of investment would inevitably require giving up more than half of the shares, which would cause him to completely lose control of C-site.

Li Shuo naturally had no intention of letting Chen Duoduo name the price herself. He didn't even give her time to think it over, and said directly:

"130 million will be used to upgrade your hardware, and another 100 million will be used to enter a new market! The condition is that Shuoguo will take 60% of the shares!"

They actually raised the price!
Chen Duoduo hesitated for a moment. If it was 1.3 million, then he...

He fell into deep thought, and the entire private room was completely silent. Almost all of the people Chen Duoduo brought held shares in C-Station, and at this moment they couldn't help but indulge in the wonderful fantasy that "the shares I hold are actually worth so much."

Reba met Li Shuo for the first time to discuss business, which allowed her to see another side of the man. He seemed like a domineering CEO in the real world, a perfect male god!

Li Shuo waited silently for a minute, and when he saw that Chen Duoduo seemed about to speak, he said again:
"160 million, covering your hardware upgrades and employee expenses! The condition remains that Shuoguo takes 60% of the shares!"

"what?"

Chen Duoduo exclaimed in surprise. He never expected that the price would rise after only a short period of hesitation. In an instant, greed arose in his mind: As expected of the legendary founder of the conglomerate, could Li Shuo continue to raise the price?
"2 million! Still 60% of the shares!"

This time, Li Shuo raised the price again after only half a minute!
"Wow~"

Chen Duoduo and everyone around her were breathing heavily. They looked at Li Shuo expectantly, hoping that he could call out higher and more numbers!

However, just 10 seconds later, Li Shuo spoke:

"150 million, 60% of the shares!"

"Why has it gone down?"

Chen Duoduo could not hide her disappointment, and even questioned him with some anger.

His response was Li Shuo's subsequent offer:

"130 million, 60% of the shares!"

In an instant, all greed vanished from Chen Duoduo's mind. No, to be precise, he was still greedy, but he had calmed down! Before Li Shuo could speak again, Chen Duoduo almost impatiently grabbed him and shouted:
"Okay, I agree!"

Li Shuo then smiled, shook his hand in return, and said with a smile, "Now that we've reached a cooperation agreement, we're on the same side from now on. Qinghe, you open the wine, I'll have a drink with President Chen..."

Li Qinghe, who had been standing behind Li Shuo, quickly bent down and stepped forward.

Chen Duoduo then realized what was happening and said with a wry smile, "President Li, you have quite the skills. I admire you..."

"This is called the extreme pressure strategy... When the price is raised at the beginning, everyone will be driven by greed, hoping that the price will rise even higher. But after three times, Li Shuo immediately lowers the price. The first time, most people will be greatly disappointed and angrily question him. The second time, only a very few smart people can come to their senses. And the third time, most people, fearing that the price will continue to drop, will hurriedly agree. Often, by this time, the price has already returned to the original starting point."

As Li Shuo spoke eloquently, he raised his glass and said, "President Chen's ability to react on the second attempt demonstrates that he is an exceptional individual, one in a hundred. Cheers to President Chen's decisive decision!"

"Thank you for your kind words, Mr. Li. Cheers!"

A sip of 93 Rose Wine reveals not only the aroma of Moutai but also a delicate and serene fragrance. Even Li Shuo, who doesn't drink much baijiu, couldn't help but exclaim, "Good wine!"
Hearing this praise, Chen Duoduo felt a little lighter and immediately grinned, "Oh dear, that's why I say we still have to drink. To be honest, Mr. Li..."

"We're partners now, how about we call each other brothers?"

"Alright, Brother Li, let me tell you, we people from Qi Province just love this kind of thing..."

With the cooperation agreement reached, the next step was to make friends without too much interest involved. After some toasting and drinking, Chen Duoduo started calling Li Shuo "Brother Li" more and more naturally, and even patted his chest and said that he would give Li Shuo a whole case of 93 Moutai Rose Wine.

In certain situations involving dealing with officials, this is a valuable commodity. Upon hearing this, Li Shuo's eyes lit up. After thanking him with a smile, he offered some guidance:
"Since C-Station is going to launch a live-action track, the current name is obviously no longer suitable. Has Mr. Chen thought of a new name?"

"Not yet... I know that Brother Li's Shuoguo Culture specializes in new media. Do you have any suggestions?"

"How about calling it Douyu? It implies having fun in your spare time, and most viewers of live streams have that kind of mentality..."

"Douyu! Great! I don't know why, but this name just popped into my head, it feels like it perfectly matches my state of mind..."

Zhang Mingwen almost vomited when he saw his friend's sycophantic expression. He felt that his friend was overreacting. It was just a name. Although it did sound very good and was quite in line with the business direction of C-site, it shouldn't have made Chen Duoduo act like this!
The main issue is that only a preliminary agreement has been reached so far. Before the contract is signed, there could be any setbacks at any time. How will Chen Duoduo handle the situation then?
Just as he was thinking this, Li Shuo said generously, "I'm glad you like it, brother. To be honest, I not only invested in C-site, but also took a stake in A-site and B-site. If investing in the other two sites is a business, then investing in C-site is purely to see if you can turn the tide and successfully transform C-site into a live streaming platform!"

"Thank you for your high regard, Brother Li! I will certainly live up to your expectations!"

"Alright! Come on, let's do it for Station C!"

"cheers!"

Li Shuo is a person who can flexibly adjust his style of dealing with people. He can take the attitude of an investor when meeting someone, claiming that he will not eat or drink until the contract is finished. He can also play the emotional card after the contract is signed, making it seem as if he only values ​​Chen Duoduo and other management personnel!
However, one shouldn't drink too much. Even if the 93 Moutai Rose Wine was delicious, Li Shuo wouldn't get drunk just because of Chen Duoduo. After the banquet had been going on for over an hour, Li Shuo gave Reba a wink, and the clever and charming girl immediately whispered with concern, "Brother Shuo, drink less. We still have a long journey to take later..."

This immediately drew a scolding from Li Shuo: "What's with all this long-distance travel? Brother Chen and I hit it off immediately today, we're going to drink until we drop! Get out of here, you bitch..."

Upon hearing the word "stinky woman," Reba immediately pouted in grievance, and the lively atmosphere of the banquet was also greatly disrupted. Seeing this, Chen Duoduo had no choice but to get up and persuade her, saying things like, "You've already drunk quite a bit today," "Brother Li, you still have to go back to Lenghai after all," and "Your wife is waiting for you."

Li Shuo should have been a little dramatic, or even cursed the woman a couple more times, but as the saying goes, Chen Duoduo wasn't important enough yet, and Li Shuo couldn't bear to continue messing with Reba as the script suggested.

So he went along with it, getting up to say goodbye with a reluctant expression.

"Brother Li, it's a deal, you absolutely have to stay here for two days next time..."

Chen Duoduo saw Li Shuo off in the Rolls-Royce, holding his hand tightly as if reluctant to part.

Li Shuo readily agreed and added, "Putting everything else aside, once you've successfully launched your live stream, I'll fund a Douyu Carnival at your resort. We'll invite all our top internet celebrities to gather here and drink until we drop!"

This scene description once again made Chen Duoduo's blood boil, and he kept saying "good" until Li Shuo's phantom completely disappeared from his sight, at which point the flush on his face subsided.

At this moment, Zhang Mingwen leaned over and whispered, "Old Chen, wake up! Although Li Shuo's offer is very good, we have to hand over 60% of the shares. What's the difference between that and selling the company? No matter how nice Li Shuo's words are now, we can't guarantee that C-Station will still operate according to our plan after he takes control of the company!"

Chen Duoduo was startled, but quickly regained his composure. For a founder like him, selling the company he had nurtured was worse than death! However, the amount Li Shuo had just spent was too much, making it difficult for him to think clearly. Now, as he came to his senses, he began to feel a pang of regret…

“But 130 million is really too much, and I think Li Shuo is actually a pretty good person…” Chen Duoduo muttered after thinking for a long time.

Zhang Mingwen said bitterly, "Old Chen, are you confused? We only wanted Li Shuo to invest 3000 million at first. In fact, we could have managed with 1 million for a while, so why ask for 3 million all at once? Besides, although C-site doesn't have a lot of traffic, our fans are loyal, few but excellent. From this point of view alone, our website is still quite valuable, and there are quite a few venture capitalists in the industry willing to bet on us..."

"Um, so you mean to reject Li Shuo? That won't do. I feel Li Shuo is quite sincere. We can still discuss the shares..."

“That’s what I mean too. We can’t sell 60% of the shares all at once. We can accept a 6000 million investment first, transfer 30% of the shares to him, and give Li Shuo priority financing rights in the next round of financing…”

"That's a good idea, and it doesn't mean we're going back on our word; it means we're splitting the commitment into two steps..."

"In addition, we need to bring in other venture capital firms to compete... In the past, those venture capitalists looked down on C-site because A and B-sites were already ahead of them. Now, Lao Chen, you've heard it too, Li Shuo has already invested in two sites, which means that for other companies, we are the only ACG website they can choose from..." (End of this chapter)