The entertainment empire began with Liu Yifei's premarital pregnancy.

Ueshima Coffee is a Taiwanese brand that initially entered the mainland market in 96, opening its first store in Yiwu.

It primarily serves coffee, Western food, and business meetings.

Leveraging its advantages, Ueshima Coffee quickly opened up the mainland market.

However, since Shangdao Coffee has eight shareholders, each with their own ulterior motives, each of the eight shareholders is responsible for a region.

All funds received by franchised stores in this region belong to the individual shareholders and have nothing to do with the company.

Throughout the development of Shangdao Coffee, the head office has essentially acted as a "mascot," having no authority whatsoever to manage its franchisees.

It is this kind of rapid expansion that has led to Ueshima Coffee opening more than 3,000 stores across mainland China. And because of the presence of private rooms, many business owners choose to hold business meetings here.

As the saying goes, "Success and failure both depend on Xiao He."

Ueshima Coffee's aggressive expansion, coupled with its lack of management of its franchise stores, has led to a rapid collapse in its reputation.

Some Shangdao Coffee shops in second- and third-tier cities have even been transformed into places like "chess and card rooms".

It was precisely because he conducted a thorough investigation of Shangdao Coffee that Xu Hongfei decided not to invest in it.

"What a pity..."

Lin Bufan wasn't a professional after all; he only knew about the Shangdao Coffee brand, which was supposedly number one in China, and he had originally been thinking of investing in it.

Ueshima Coffee completely squandered a winning hand.

If Shangdao Coffee hadn't pulled these shady moves and instead focused all its efforts on developing and building the "Shangdao Coffee" brand, Starbucks wouldn't have had any chance in the domestic market.

"but……"

Xu Hongfei paused for a moment, then continued, "President Lin, I recently discovered a coffee brand called 'Sculpting Time,' which I think has potential..."

Sculpting Time Coffee was founded in 97, and has only opened five stores to date.

"Only five stores?"

Lin Bufan frowned slightly as he looked at Xu Hongfei, waiting for his response.

He believed that Xu Hongfei must have his reasons for choosing "Sculpting Time".

"Yes, Mr. Lin!"

Xu Hongfei explained earnestly, "Although this coffee shop has relatively few stores, they are all directly operated, and most importantly, it has a social aspect."

"Social attributes?"

"Yes, Mr. Lin!"

Xu Hongfei continued, "This shop emphasizes a slow-paced, artistic lifestyle..."

For investors, the most important thing about a brand is being able to tell a good story. Although Shangdao Coffee has a big brand, it doesn't have a good story.

But Sculpting Time is different. If he increases investment and tells the brand story well, he is confident that he can make Sculpting Time the first listed coffee company in China.

"Are you confident?"

Lin Bufan looked at Xu Hongfei calmly.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Lin!"

Xu Hongfei was startled and quickly stood up, looking at Lin Bufan with trepidation.

"Tell me, what exactly happened?"

Lin Bufan looked at him and asked calmly.

"Mr. Lin, the situation is like this..."

To be honest, Xu Hongfei noticed the brand because he met someone named Ling Rou at a business gathering.

Ling Rou, who had just returned from studying in the United States this year, met Xu Hongfei at this gathering.

Ling Ruo told him everything about Sculpting Time Coffee, and of course, he also sent someone to investigate afterwards, and it was indeed as the other party said.

This brand is definitely worth investing in.

"Is she very beautiful?"

Lin Bufan continued to look at Xu Hongfei in a calm tone.

"no!"

Xu Hongfei quickly shook his head, explaining that he wasn't bewitched by the other person's beauty, and that she wasn't actually that pretty.

For the average person, her looks are acceptable, but for those who are well-informed, her appearance is only slightly above average.

"Show me the data you investigated!"

"Yes, Mr. Lin!"

Xu Hongfei turned around, opened the drawer, and took out a large stack of documents, placing them in front of Lin Bufan.

Lin Bufan glanced at the documents to make sure they contained substantial information, were the result of careful investigation, and weren't just something the other party had done on a whim.

"This is a one-time exception; there will be no next time."

Lin Bufan closed the file and glanced at Xu Hongfei.

Normally, given the size of Zhewei Capital, it would hardly be interested in such an investment. Moreover, according to Xu Hongfei's plan, once Zhewei Capital enters the market, the management will be changed directly, namely Ling Rou, whom he mentioned.

Generally speaking, when a capital investor invests in a company, it is not only about looking at the company's prospects, but also about investing in the "people" and whether they are worth investing in.

"Yes, Mr. Lin, there will absolutely be no next time!"

Xu Hongfei assured Lin Bufan.

He understood what Lin Bufan meant by "this is the last time," which was not only a warning that he should never let emotions cloud his judgment when making investments.

While it wouldn't be accurate to say he acted entirely out of emotion, it's impossible to say he wasn't at all emotional.

Although Ling Rou wasn't particularly beautiful, Xu Hongfei wasn't attracted to her because of her looks, but rather because of her demeanor and conversation.

Xu Hongfei is not exactly a gentleman. Over the years, he has been involved with many women and often entertains at clubs.

He'd seen plenty of beautiful women.

A woman who can pique his interest will never be someone who is beautiful.

"As for investment..."

After considering for a moment, Lin Bufan looked at Xu Hongfei and said, "Have Ling Rou come over here."

"Yes, Mr. Lin!"

Watching Xu Hongfei's departing figure, Lin Bufan's gaze became somewhat profound.

Perhaps it's time to find a new general manager for Zhewei Capital.

Some things are not about not allowing mistakes, or not giving you a chance, but rather that if you might make a mistake once, you might make the same mistake a second time.

Of course, he didn't mean that he would change it right now.

It depends on what he does next. After all, there's a saying, "It's better to make mistakes than to make merits." Perhaps after this mistake, he can completely change.

However, there is one thing: if he makes another mistake, he will definitely replace him without hesitation.

……

"Mr. Lin!"

Just then, the professionals who were organizing the data put down their documents and looked at Lin Bufan.

"Tell me, which industries are these technologies involved in?"

Lin Bufan looked at everyone. He had thought that this technology might only involve two or three industries, or at most five or six.

However, through their stories, Lin Bufan learned...

This technology alone involves quite a few industries; it's not just a problem of one industry, but a problem of an entire industrial chain.