Who would still be a social slave when they are so rich?

Chapter 381 Don’t be fooled!

Magic City, Lujiazui!

The last rays of sunset faded from the glass curtain wall of Jinmao Tower, and the lights of Lujiazui lit up one after another, like a brilliant galaxy pouring into this bustling city.

The headquarters of Dingsheng Catering Company is located on the 16th floor of Jinmao Tower. The newly established Yunmengze Investment Bank is located upstairs from Dingsheng Catering. If Su Chen knew about this, he would definitely laugh out loud.

After all...this is just too much of a coincidence!

In the conference room, Chen Yuanzheng, the executive president of Dingsheng Catering Company, and several company executives sat quietly, smoking without saying a word, as if they were waiting for something.

"Dong dong!"

A crisp knock on the door broke this eerie scene!
A young woman who looked like a secretary walked in quickly with a stack of documents.

"Mr. Chen, this is the first investigation report on Shufen Hotpot!" The beautiful secretary placed the document in her hand on the table in front of Chen Yuan and quickly left the meeting room.

The beautiful secretary general breathed a sigh of relief as she walked out of the conference room. She did not forget that in the afternoon, Mr. Chen went outside in front of everyone and scolded the heads of several departments.

Now every employee in the company is terrified, fearing that if they fail to do something well, they will be caught and scolded by Mr. Chen.

The atmosphere in the office became more tense due to the document. The executives raised their heads and looked at Chen Yuan, who was sitting at the top seat, and the document in his hand.

Chen Yuan looked at the document in his hand and his brows immediately frowned. The more he read, the uglier his expression became.

"Oh!"

After Chen Yuan finished reading all the information, he slapped the conference table hard, scaring several executives so much that they trembled. Even the beautiful secretary standing outside the conference room was startled by the sudden noise.

"Song Lei, you guys in the investment department are all shit eaters, you're really a bunch of losers, do you think you've made enough money and want to go home and take care of your kids? If you don't want to do this, tell me as soon as possible, or I'll fire you right away!"

Song Lei, who was sitting on Chen Yuan's left hand side, was suddenly stunned. He had never seen his CEO scolding people like this before, and he had never been so out of control even in the afternoon.

"Mr. Chen, I..." Song Lei was about to explain when Chen Yuan raised his hand and interrupted him: "What do you mean by me? Who is responsible for collecting information about the Shufen Hotpot project? I don't want to see this person again tomorrow!"

"Look at the difference between the information you collected before and now. If I were Wu Kang, I would run to your department and point my finger at you and yell at you!"

As he said that, Chen Yuan threw the documents in his hand to Song Lei.

Song Lei quickly picked up the documents on the table, muttering to himself, "What a joke! You're talking as if you're not pointing at my nose and scolding me now."

Although he complained in his heart, his face did not show a trace of dissatisfaction. He quickly lowered his head to look at the documents in his hand.

If he didn't look at it, he would have thought it was no big deal. But the more Song Lei looked down, the faster his heartbeat became, and in the end, a dazed expression appeared on his face.

Only now did Song Lei understand why Chen Yuan was so angry.

He had read the information analysis report of Shufen Hotpot before, and the information he was reading now was on completely different levels.

If the previous analysis report was about the large flat in the mainland, then this information is about the manor in Tan Palace. You can imagine the gap between the two.

"Mr. Chen, this...how is this possible?" Song Lei's voice was a little stammering, completely lacking the decisiveness of a department head.

Upon hearing this, the other executives also showed curiosity on their faces.

The executive sitting next to Song Lei quickly took the document from Song Lei's hand, scanned it quickly, and threw the document to the other people with a grim expression.

After going around in circles, all the executives looked unhappy after reading the information, and there was a hint of disbelief in their eyes.

There were even executives who whispered that it was impossible.

It's not that they are unsophisticated. On the contrary, as the executives of Dingsheng Catering Company, each of them is an expert in conspiracy, otherwise they would not be able to control so many restaurant chains through financing.

In all their years of work experience, they have never seen a development trend like Shufen Hotpot. It can no longer be said to be a stable development, but a leap forward.

In just two or three months, earth-shaking changes took place, from only about thirty branches to nearly one hundred branches, covering the entire Fog City and Chengdu.

Even the profits soared from several million to 20 to 30 million, especially in Chengdu, where the profit in a single month reached 15 million, which was really terrifying.

This completely shattered their understanding of the catering industry.

Chen Yuan also took note of the expressions of all the executives. He half-clenched his right hand and knocked on the conference table, attracting everyone's attention.

"You have all finished reading the information, and I believe everyone has a rough idea of ​​what's going on. Tell me what you think. Is it necessary to continue with the Shufen Hotpot project?"

As soon as he finished speaking, all the executives spoke up and expressed their ideas. Although it was a mess, they all expressed the same meaning, that is, the Shufen Hotpot project must go on.

Everyone has seen the unlimited potential of Shufen Hotpot in the future, so who would be willing to let such a big piece of fat slip away from their Dingsheng Catering Company?

I want to take a bite and then slowly eat it all!
After getting unanimous agreement, Chen Yuan and all the executives began to discuss what appropriate price should be given in order to extend their tentacles into Shufen Hotpot.

Compared to the bustling scene in the Dingsheng Catering Conference Room, Su Chen was quite relaxed at this time.

After dinner, the host Hou Ting wanted to take Su Chen to experience the authentic nightlife of Chengdu. He recommended several places, but Su Chen refused.

As for the reason, it is that the places recommended by Hou Ting were either bars or pubs, and he has not forgotten that Hou Ting had "cheated" him before.

Finally, we went directly to Dongmen Wharf, chartered a large black-sailed boat, and found three dancers dressed in ancient style clothes, ready to take a night tour of the beautiful Jinjiang River.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself here. You must have come here many times before!" Su Chen joked as he looked at Hou Ting standing aside.

It is so pleasant to sit in the cabin, eat snacks, drink tea, and enjoy the ancient dance performed by beautiful women.

Su Chen now understood why those literati and poets in ancient times all longed to go to Qinhuai River. Even the current configuration made Su Chen feel very nice. If the Qinhuai River was like that in ancient times, he wondered how happy he would be.

"I've only been here once or twice, mainly to relax and unwind!"

Hou Ting laughed and then changed the subject, "I didn't expect that Young Master Su likes this kind of atmosphere. If you have nothing to do in the next two days, I'll take you to a good place that's similar to this one, but it's many times larger in scale."

As if afraid that Su Chen might have some misunderstanding, he even explained, "The pure green imperial service will not disappoint you, Young Master Su."

Su Chen noticed that when Hou Ting said this, a trace of memory flashed across his face, as if he was still a little nostalgic for this place.

Even Chen Fei, who was standing by, cast an expectant look at him, wanting to see what the imperial service that Hou Ting mentioned was like.

After a brief moment of contemplation, Su Chen nodded and agreed, "Okay, if you don't have anything else to do in the next two days, let's go see what fun things there are in the place you mentioned."

"I guarantee you will be satisfied!" Hou Ting said confidently with a slight smile on his face.

At this time, the phone on the table rang. Su Chen looked down and found that someone had sent him a message on Green Bubble. After reading the note, Su Chen's eyes flashed with a thoughtful look. "Why did Li Hao think of sending me a message? Could it be that he wanted to ask me out for dinner to extend the time?"

After a brief thought, Su Chen picked up his phone and clicked on WeChat, and a few words came into his eyes...

"Is Su Chen available? It's urgent!"

Seeing this, Su Chen's mouth curled up slightly, a faint smile flashed across his face, and he whispered softly: "Interesting, let's see what you are up to."

After saying that, he found the number of Li Hao that he had saved before and called him directly.

The phone rang twice and was connected.

"Old classmate, what's the matter that makes you so anxious? You asked me to call you. Can't you just talk about it on the green bubble?" Su Chen asked with a smile as soon as the call was connected.

"Well, there are indeed some things that are not convenient to talk about on the green bubble. Please wait for me for a moment."

I only heard a sound of footsteps, followed by a "dong" sound, like the sound of a door closing.

Just when Su Chen was still confused, Li Hao's voice rang out again, "Su Su Chen, let me tell you something. Our manager just called us to a meeting, saying that the company still has some ideas about your Shufen Hotpot!"

"Mr. Chen, the head of the company, will bring people over overnight to discuss the financing of Shufen Hotpot with you."

Hearing this, Su Chen frowned slightly. He did not expect that Dingsheng Catering had not given up. It seemed that they had spent some time and effort to investigate the situation of Shufen Hotpot again.

If people knew the current situation of Shufen Hotpot, not to mention Dingsheng Catering, even some investment banks would focus their attention on Shufen Hotpot.

A branded hotpot restaurant with a monthly profit of over 10 million is simply a hot commodity in the eyes of these people. Who would be willing to miss the opportunity to eat meat?

What's more, Dingsheng Catering is the bull in the catering industry, and it will not miss any fat meat it sees.

Seeing that Su Chen did not respond, Li Hao thought that Su Chen was digesting what he had just said, and quickly added: "Su Chen, as an old classmate, I don't want to cheat you. I advise you not to cooperate with Dingsheng Catering!"

"Even if they offer very tempting conditions, you should not agree. They are baits put out by Dingsheng Catering. Don't be fooled!"

"Otherwise, in a few years, Shufen Hotpot may have nothing to do with you!"

"I can't say much about the details. You should think about it yourself!" After saying that, he hung up the phone without giving Su Chen any time to talk.

Looking at the phone in his hand, Su Chen couldn't help but laugh.

He didn't know whether Li Hao was resentful towards Manager Wu, or because of his identity as Mr. Su, or because of the friendship between old classmates, which made him take the risk of making this "leaking" call to him.

Anyway, this matter is becoming more and more interesting.

After thinking about it, Su Chen sent a thank you message to Li Hao on Green Bubble as a thank you for the "leaking" phone call.

"What's the matter? Did something happen?" Hou Ting saw that Su Chen only said one sentence and then spoke again, and thought that he had received some bad news.

"Just a small thing!" Su Chen did not hide anything from Hou Ting and directly told him about Dingsheng Catering.

After hearing this, Hou Ting didn't care about his image at all and burst into laughter, "Hahahaha, this really makes me laugh to death, Dingsheng Catering is teasing the tiger's whiskers!"

"I've heard of this catering company before. It's said that its reputation in the industry is... quite radical. They like to play contract traps the most, and many people have fallen into them."

"Master Su, they should come to see you tomorrow, and you must bring me along then. I also want to see this good show and see where the confidence of Dingsheng Catering comes from."

Hearing that Hou Ting knew something about Dingsheng Catering, Su Chen immediately became interested. Although he knew that Dingsheng was good at some means to achieve the corresponding goals, he didn't know how they operated specifically!

"Tell me, how exactly does Dingsheng play the contract trap?"

Hou Ting took a sip of tea, and the smile on his face faded a little. "In fact, Dingsheng's routine is very simple. First, Dingsheng will provide a very considerable financing plan, and you only need 20% to 40% of the shares."

"But there is a hidden performance bet in the terms. If the growth rate is less than 20% for two consecutive quarters or a year, the investor has the right to purchase all the shares of the founding team for one yuan!"

"This condition sounds a bit risky, but it's not a big problem!"

Su Chen thought about it for a while and realized that it was just as Hou Ting said. As long as one of the quarters met the standard, this situation could be completely avoided.

Moreover, after obtaining financing, you can open branches to expand your business scope, which will make it easier to achieve the conditions in the agreement.

Seeing Su Chen nod, Hou Ting narrowed his eyes slightly, and a smile obviously flashed in his eyes.

"Master Su, if you think so, then you have fallen into the trap set by Dingsheng!"

"Huh?" Su Chen's expression froze, and he looked at Hou Ting in astonishment, "Well, as long as we keep expanding, we can avoid the risks of the contract."

"Hahaha, that's what they want!" Hou Ting chuckled. Seeing that Su Chen was about to ask again, he quickly kept it a secret, "Young Master Su, you'll know when I finish!"

Su Chen stopped talking after hearing this and looked at Hou Ting quietly, waiting for his next words.

"In addition to the pitfall I just mentioned, they also need to find another treaty to assist, that is, forcing the founders to pledge their equity in the second round of financing!"

After hearing this treaty, Su Chen immediately understood what was going on and why Dingsheng Catering would take control of the catering company they invested in a few years later.

In order to ensure a 20% growth rate every quarter, the investee will continue to open branches to achieve the goal.

The branches developed from one city to one province, then to several provinces and even spread across the entire country.

In the process of development, a large amount of funds will definitely be needed to open branches. At this time, Dingsheng will promote the second round of financing and find an investment company under its own name to join in, thereby diluting the founder's equity.

As the size of the branch grows and the number of financings increases, the founder will invest more money himself, and at the same time, the shares he holds will gradually decrease.

It wasn't until Dingsheng achieved absolute control through the "anti-dilution" clause that they showed their fangs.

At that time, if some tricks are used to prevent the growth rate from reaching the stipulated 20% standard, the founder’s shares will be acquired by Dingsheng for one yuan!
In the end, the founder got nothing. All the money he earned was used to expand the market, and his shares were taken away by Dingsheng.

It can be said that I lost both the wife and the army. I have struggled for half my life, but in the end I am working for others.

"It's quite interesting. You know what, I'm actually looking forward to meeting Dingsheng Catering tomorrow."

Hou Ting had a strange expression on his face when he heard this, as if he had seen the expressions of those people from Mingtian Dingsheng, "I just hope they don't cry when the time comes!"

As soon as these words were spoken, a burst of joyful laughter broke out in the black-sailed boat.

(End of this chapter)