Chapter 601: A Threshold to Enter
Beijing, Qianmen Subway Station Line 2.
With his hands stuffed in his pocket, Tang Xiu strolled in the crowd. He had slightly adjusted his appearance, thus no one would be able to recognize him unless the person was very familiar with him.
Continuous rows of stores with superb collection of goods and the endless streams of passengers made Tang Xiu secretly sigh at the improvement of people’s living standards. He saw a lot of strange items after coming here and sometimes took the opportunity to buy a few pieces, all of which were for hobby and amusement.
He received several phone calls during his stroll since he didn’t shut his mobile phone down. One was from Long Zhengyu asking him when he would return to Star City; one from Mu Wanying asking him about what happened at the Virus Research Institute today; and also a call from his aunt, Tang Min, asking him to visit her house for dinner tonight.
Ring, ring, ring… The ringtone of his phone sounded.
After taking out the mobile phone and seeing that it was Chu Yi, he immediately answered it and smilingly said, “I just so happened to be thinking what you have been up to recently, so I never expected for you to call me now. Anyways, what’s up? It’s still 3PM, do you want me to go over and have a meal now?”
“Nope, it’s not that. I heard about what happened in the Virus Research Institute this morning, so I know you are in Beijing,” said Chu Yi smilingly. “Anyways, where are you now? I wanna see you.”
“At Qianmen Subway Station!” Tang Xiu laughed.
“Huh?” Chu Yi was puzzled. “What are you doing in Qianmen?”
“Nothing. I just feel bored,” said Tang Xiu. “I only have a few friends in Beijing, so I was just strolling around since I had nothing to do.”
“Wait for me there, I’ll catch up with you,” said Chu Yi quickly.
Half an hour later, Chu Yi appeared in front of Tang Xiu who had just hung up from a call with Tang Wei. With admiration on his smiling face, Chu Yi gave a him a thumbs up and praised, “You are really amazingly flamboyant, cousin. You just trashed and beaten up that devil incarnate of the capital, Zhao Yundi, until his head turned like a pig. The news of your actions is now flying everywhere! Your name has literally blasted into the ears of the social circles of young ladies and scions in the entire Beijing. Well, you can be considered to have a hot reputation and earned yourself a lot of fans!”
“Who could have such a big mouth to spread this matter out?” Asked Tang Xiu with a wry smile.
Chu Yi grinned, “No matter who the person was, you are now a hot, sexy chap on fire. And that bloke Zhao Yundi is now very miserable.”
“Eh?” Tang Xiu stared blankly before asking with a puzzled expression, “What happened to him?”
Before replying, Chu Yi looked around and then whispered after finding that no one was paying them any attention, “After his father, Zhao Qingfeng, took him back home, that old man lashed him with a belt and would’ve probably beaten him until he was close to dying if his mother didn’t stop him. Even so, he was sent to the Zhao Family’s residence to be locked up in that small dark house of theirs. You see, the dark house of the Zhao Family is a very famous hellish place in the entire Beijing, a lot more famous compared to the usual confinement room in the army!”
“Hahaha.” Tang Xiu couldn’t help but burst into a laughter. “That bloke does indeed need to be taught up well, else letting him freely stir up troubles will only court disasters to the Zhao Family sooner or later. I just hope that this matter will straighten him up, and it’d best if he can be an upright person!”
“Yeah! That bloke will probably end up very miserable in the future if he doesn’t act low profile.” Chu Yi nodded. “You have no idea how many people he has offended in the capital! Without the shelter from the Zhao Family, perhaps many people would have long laid vicious schemes to get even with him.”
“Let’s stop talking about Zhao Yundi, shall we?” Tang Xiu smiled. “Tang Wei just called me saying he’s going to see me with his friend. Ah, right. What car is a Knight XV, exactly? He told me on the phone that he will gift me this car. It made me wonder, though. He shouldn’t be like your mother, my aunt, who seems to be addicted to giving me cars, right?”
Chu Yi rolled his eyes in response and snapped, “Bah, just stop taking advantages of others’ kindness and pretending to be at a loss, will you? You know what? I’m so jealous and envious of you that it almost chokes me to death. My Mom asked me about the cars back then. I thought she was going to give them to me, so I showed her a lot of luxury cars. And you know the result, she bought all of them and sent them to you!”
“Hahaha…” Looking at his sour appearance, Tang Xiu coiled his arm around Chu Yi’s shoulder and said, “We are brothers. Even if my cars are not yours, you can straightly head to Shanghai and borrow all the luxury cars in my villa whenever you lose your cars. You know, if you have not enough money to pay the tolls, I’ll also give you some change then.”
“Bah, get lost!” Chu Yi derided and then asked, “Anyways, did Tang Wei say anything about the friend he’s going to bring?”
“Nah, nothing.” Tang Xiu shook his head.
Chu Yi nodded and asked, “So, what are we gonna do next? Should we continue hanging out, or find a place to drink something to pass the time while waiting for them to come over?”
“Let’s find a place to sit!” Answered Tang Xiu after thinking for a moment.
Immediately after, the duo found a café nearby and took seats in the innermost corner while chatting and drinking coffee. After some time passed, Tang Wei and Qin Shaoyang arrived at the place. Chu Yi’s expression immediately changed after seeing Qin Shaoyang, and then shot a Tang Xiu meaningful look.
“Howdy, you’re also here, Chu Yi?” Exclaimed Tang Wei with a cheerful expression after finding that the one sitting in front of Tang Xiu was Chu Yi.
“Why can’t I come here if you can?” Replied Chu Yi, “Besides, I have taken up Tang Xiu’s time for the latter half of this day.”
Having said that, he nodded to Qin Shaoyang and smilingly said, “How come you get along with this bloke, Shaoyang? This chap should have taken you to the Kande Club, right?”
Qin Shaoyang took off his coat. He wore rather thin clothes, so his streamlined muscles were revealed. At this time, he smiled and answered, “Nope. It was me who took him there.”
Chu Yi let out a grin and then pointed at Tang Xiu, saying, “You won’t need me to introduce you to him since his fame now is even bigger than Zhao Yundi’s, right? Anyways, Tang Xiu, this is Qin Shaoyang, the fella who can be said to have the widest network and personal connections in the entire Beijing. One who tries to never offend anybody, I must say. But do be cautious of him, though. This guy is too smart; you’ll never know when he will sell and betray you.”
Qin Shaoyang forced a wry smile and said, “Tell me, Chu Yi, how come a friend act like you? Everyone else is always upholding their friends, yet you act on the contrary, even saying that I’m gonna turn my back and betray others. Anyways, my idol Tang Xiu, I’m honored to meet you.”
Tang Xiu got up and shook hands with Qin Shaoyang and then gestured for him to sit next to Chu Yi. Then, he patted the sofa next to him and smilingly spoke to Tang Wei, “Brother Wei, didn’t you talk with your friend outside about some things? How come you have time to come here?”
While pointing at Qin Shaoyang, Tang Wei replied, “He’s the one I had a discussion over some matters with. The subject is bit big though, so I may not be able to participate in it. Thus, I want to introduce him to you.”
Tang Wei then explained Qin Shaoyang’s previous proposal and finally said, “Anyways, the possibility that I may follow your suggestion to become a government official is about 80% now, so I don’t want to involve myself in a business cooperation. You’re a business genius in my eyes, so you might as well have some fun in it if you’re interested.”
Tang Xiu glanced at Qin Shaoyuang before turning his head again and asking, “Is there anyone in our Tang Family that can play the role to set it up?”
“Auntie Yanzi definitely has the authority for that,” answered Tang Wei.
Tang Xiu suddenly understood. After spending a few minutes thinking about it, he then said, “Qin Shaoyang, right? I’m indeed very interested in the business cooperation you proposed. But I think we need to consider the issue of management and shares further if we are going to have a business cooperation.”
Qin Shaoyang’s eyes lit and immediately said, “Please do say, Young Master Tang.”
“Just call me Tang Xiu later! I’m used to having others calling me by my name.” Tang Xiu waved his hand. “I’ll invest 2 billion of the total 4-billion-yuan investment, but you’ll be the one who’ll run the business, whereas I won’t intervene in any aspects regarding the management. You will hold 51% of the shares, whereas I will have 40% and the remaining 9% will be used to get a hold over the top executives of the company after it gets established. What do you think?”
Qin Shaoyang didn’t expect that Tang Xiu would be willing to provide 2 billion, moreover that he would only be accounted for 40% of the shares. It gave him a good impression of Tang Xiu. At the very least, he believed that Tang Xiu wouldn’t take advantage of him given his status as a member of the Tang Family. With such boldness, cooperating with this type of person would be quite appealing in the future.
“I have no opinion about that,” said Qin Shaoyang quickly.
“But I do,” grunted Chu Yi while rolling his eyes at them.
Tang Xiu and Qin Shaoyang looked slightly dazed for a second, before confused expressions appeared on their faces.
“Tell me, why did the two of you not invite me to such a good investment project?” Asked Chu Yi. “Needless to say about others, but for better or for worse, it’s better to enjoy the blessing and endure misfortune together. It’s a profitable business, so everyone can earn money together!”
“Alright! (Fine!)”
Tang Xiu and Qin Shaoyang didn’t object it. Although Tang Xiu and Chu Yi were cousins and his aunt, Tang Min, was also centered in the Tang Family, yet Chu Yi was a member of the Chu Family of Beijing, after all. His family may not be as prominent as the Tang Family in the capital, but still, it was also a prominent leader of the mid-sized families and could be ranked in the top fifteen even if they couldn’t enter the top ten.
Furthermore, Chu Yi himself lived in the capital since childhood, and his personal connections as well as social circles were also here. If he also joined in the venture it would be a great boon, for they would establish an entertainment media company in the future.
At the end of the day, after discussing this matter, the trio finally determined the amount of investment and the allocation of shares. Tang Xiu would invest 1 billion yuan, accounting for 30% of the shares; Chu Yin would invest 500 million for 15% shares, whereas 10% shares would be reserved for the company’s top management in the future. The remaining 45% of the shares would belong to Qin Shaoyang, with an investment contribution of 1.5 billion yuan.
After the end of the discussion, Tang Wei intended to invite everyone for a few cups to celebrate it, but Tang Xiu refused because he had already promised to have dinner at Chu Yi’s house.
“Let’s hang out together tomorrow night! We’ll discuss some details of the cooperation and then sign the contract.”
“Fine with me. Then we’ll gather in the Kangde Club tomorrow!” Chin Shaoyang smilingly said. “Anyways, have you ever been to Kangde Club, Tang Xiu?”
“Never heard of it, to be honest,” said Tang Xiu, shaking his head.
“Kangde Club is the best place for the scions of the super-rich and prominent families like us,” said Tang Wei with a smile. “If I were to make an analogy, if the leading figure of a family has family assets worth no more than 10 billion yuan, then there’s no way they will be able to enter the club’s door.”