69novels Chapter 99 Zhu Xiaohu's Wrath
Chapter 99 Zhu Xiaohu's Wrath
Chapter 99 Zhu Xiaohu's Wrath (4k)
"Boss! This—how can this be? Wouldn't this just be giving Ma Chunmei a free ride?" After hearing Geng Zhi's rough plan, Li Haipeng's eyes widened, and he stood up from his chair.
"No, you're so straightforward," Gu Wanning frowned, looking at him with disbelief, "Are you trying to kick yourself out of the game?"
"If I don't go to hell, who will?" Geng Zhi spread his hands, half-jokingly and half-righteously, "In order to purify the dating industry, someone has to be a pioneer, a martyr."
"Your joke isn't funny at all." Gu Wanning rolled her eyes at him, her expression turning serious. "Geng Zhi, you need to reconsider this matter carefully. Equity is your core bargaining chip, not a game."
While Geng Zhi and his two companions were secretly plotting the equity transfer plan in the conference room downstairs.
Meanwhile, in the CEO's office at the headquarters of Baihe.com in Beijing, the atmosphere was equally lively.
With a snap.
A Montblanc pen was swept to the edge of the table, narrowly avoiding falling.
"Jiaotong University! It's Jiaotong University again! Why is it that everything that becomes popular always has 'Jiaotong University' in its name?!"
Mu Yan slammed the market analysis report on the table, his gaze sweeping over Li Li and the core members of the marketing department like a knife: "Adding the words 'Jiaotong University' to it, does it have a special blessing or just a gilded finish? Tell me!"
Li Li and the others lowered their heads, remaining silent as if trembling in fear, even their breathing became soft.
"President Mu, calm down," CEO Han Yulu gently advised from the side. "Aren't we flying to Shanghai today to discuss investment with 'Jiaotong University's matchmaker'? Their success is good for us; if they invest, it'll be a huge achievement for us."
"I know!" Mu Yan waved his hand irritably, pointing to the screen that was still playing clips from "If You Are the One." "That's what I'm angry about! Why does that straightforward guy always succeed? We've spent so much money, and what's the result?! What's the buzz?!"
"Why are the most discussed online people Ma Nuo and Wang Qinqin and Kong Fanying, recommended by Jiaotong University's matchmakers?! Where are the people recommended by Baihe.com? They're nowhere to be seen! What is the marketing department doing?! Li Li! Say something!"
"Yes, yes, President Mu's criticism is correct." Li Li was sweating profusely and quickly tried to cover it up. "But judging from the program's presentation, Wang Qinqin's screen time and the way the topics were directed were obviously excessive. We suspect that the production team may have some inside information."
"There's something fishy going on?" Mu Yan laughed angrily. "Then why don't you give us Baihe.com insider information? I'm even surnamed Mu! We might have been in cahoots with the production team five hundred years ago, so why didn't we see any favoritism from you then?"
"Pfft—"
Han Yulu and several other executives couldn't help but chuckle, then quickly suppressed it.
"President Mu is so humorous!" Han Yulu quickly smoothed things over, glancing at Li Li before changing the subject, "President Li, are all the people arranging to create some drama at Jiaotong University's matchmaking event ready?"
Li Li gave her a grateful glance and nodded hurriedly, "President Han, everything's arranged. They have two eight-minute dates today," and our people will be there to "help liven up the atmosphere."
"Okay, I'll follow up and report to President Mu at any time." Han Yulu waved her hand. "You can go down now and refine the details that President Mu gave us."
"Yes, Mr. Han!" Li Li felt as if she had been granted a pardon and hurriedly led her subordinates out of the suffocating office.
After the door closed, Han Yulu turned to Mu Yan, who was still angry, and her tone softened: "President Mu, don't be upset. Even Gong Haiyan's 'Fudan University matchmaker,' which almost copied 'Jiaotong University matchmaker,' was completely suppressed and could only barely survive by lowering prices. This just proves that Geng Zhi really has some skills."
Sometimes, it's not that our people aren't working hard enough, it's that the other side is too cunning.
"Useless!" Mu Yan slumped back into his boss's chair, rubbing his temples. "Li Li is quite the talent to portray 'repeated defeats' so vividly!"
After Mu Yan's anger subsided considerably, Han Yulu asked seriously, "President Mu, Geng Zhi invited you and Zhu Xiaohu together this time. What do you think his true intentions are?"
"I can't figure it out completely," Mu Yan shook his head, his face gloomy, "but this kid is very slippery and full of tricks. We must not underestimate him."
"I think the boss overestimates him," Han Yulu said with a smile. "He might be good at organizing events and marketing, but when it comes to capital operations and behind-the-scenes scheming, isn't he just a sitting duck to President Mu and President Zhu?"
Mu Yan, sensing a hint of smugness in Han Yulu's tone, thought she was seeing another Li Li, and frowned slightly. "Yulu, what do you think?"
"I think he's either too naive, or he's trying to get you and President Zhu to drive up the price, but it's still stupid," Han Yulu commented. "Our President Mu eats more brains than rice, so he's definitely not afraid of this."
Mu Yan's lips twitched. He felt that Han Yulu's words sounded a bit awkward, as if she was scolding him.
"Let's go." Without further thought, he stood up. "Let's go to the airport and fly to Shanghai. We'll see what happens tomorrow."
In Shanghai, at night, Geng Zhi's negotiations with the Ma family and Zhang Xuhao's negotiations with Zhu Xiaohu were taking place almost simultaneously.
At the Jiaotong University Academic Activity Center Hotel in Shanghai, Zhu Xiaohu was sitting opposite Zhang Xuhao, Kang Jia, and Wang Yuan, discussing the current business of Ele.me.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, Zhu Xiaohu got straight to the point with a beaming smile: "Xuhao, I've been busy with an overseas investment project and only had some free time a couple of days ago. My team and I have carefully worked through your model. How's the data going lately? Daily orders—it should be around 800, right?"
In fact, before this meeting, Zhu Xiaohu had already quietly conducted a simple survey around Jiaotong University. He found that the number of orders from Ele.me was significantly higher than the last time he came.
Moreover, the renaming of "Fan Jisong" to "Ele.me" made him silently give Zhang Xuhao's team a big thumbs up.
Zhang Xuhao sat upright and said in a calm tone, "Thank you for your concern, Mr. Zhu. Orders have increased recently, with the daily average exceeding six hundred orders. This is mainly due to the stable contribution from Shanghai Jiaotong University, while the orders from Fudan University are still in the development stage and the volume hasn't fully picked up yet."
Zhang Xuhao exaggerated the numbers slightly, but didn't dare to exaggerate too much.
Only six hundred?
Zhu Xiaohu was slightly disappointed, as this fell far short of his expectations, but his smile remained unchanged.
"Yeah, a steady approach is good; a more solid foundation is better." He nodded, casually scribbling a few lines on his notebook. "The repurchase rate data should be up by now, right?"
Konka chimed in, "The repurchase rate has indeed increased in the past two weeks, with regular customers placing orders an average of more than three times a week."
"That's good. It means the model has been pretty much proven successful in a single campus," Zhu Xiaohu asked casually. "Next, do you have a plan regarding funding and personnel for replicating the third and fourth campuses?"
Zhang Xuhao and Kang Jia exchanged a glance before he smiled and said, "The plan has always been there, the problem is the money—"
He paused briefly, then continued, "We have indeed recently been in contact with some investment institutions that are extremely optimistic about the campus model."
Zhang Xuhao specifically emphasized the words "extremely optimistic".
Zhu Xiaohu raised an eyebrow, and the smile on his face faded slightly.
"Oh? Any real progress?" Zhu Xiaohu continued to probe, half-jokingly. "Xuhao, you're not just using me as a backup plan, waiting to drive up the price, are you?"
Zhang Xuhao waved his hands repeatedly, forcing a wry smile, "President Zhu, you're joking. You're a senior who has always taken good care of us, and we've always respected you. It's just—"
Kang Jia quickly chimed in, seizing the opportunity to speak again: "Mr. Zhu, to be honest, one venture capital firm has already gone through the process very quickly and sent us their term sheet, which we are currently having reviewed by our lawyers."
Zhu Xiaohu's eyes narrowed suddenly. He put down his pen and his tone became more serious: "You've already sent out the term sheet? That's quite efficient. Which one? A domestic or foreign fund?"
Zhang Xuhao seemed somewhat embarrassed, glancing at Kang Jia and Wang Yuan: "Well—Mr. Zhu, we're not really comfortable with the specific organizational information—"
Wang Yuan seemed unable to hold back any longer and blurted out, "It's a Hong Kong-based fund called Arctic Capital. It seems to have been established for a short time, but their work style is very decisive and efficient, and communication with them is very smooth."
While introducing Arctic Capital, Wang Yuan was also implying that Jinshajiang Venture Capital was dragging its feet.
"Arctic capital?"
Upon hearing those four words, Zhu Xiaohu subtly contracted his muscles and unconsciously repeated "O".
Several pieces of information he had learned earlier flashed through his mind: the same investment institution was simultaneously eyeing the Ele.me project and the straightforward "Jiaotong University Matchmaker" student project?
Seeing that Wang Yuan had said it, Zhang Xuhao could only pretend to be embarrassed and nod to confirm: "Yes, President Zhu, it's Arctic Capital."
"Oh—I haven't heard much about them." Zhu Xiaohu quickly regained his composure, commenting with a slightly scrutinizing tone before asking, "How did you manage to get in touch with them?"
"It was through the introduction of a teacher from the school's science and technology innovation park," Zhang Xuhao answered without hesitation.
"A new fund—its aggressive style means it might be unprofessional and risky," Zhu Xiaohu commented casually, then asked, "What were their valuation and investment amount?"
Upon hearing this, Wang Yuan cursed inwardly: Bullshit! Ten times more professional than your Jinshajiang Venture Capital!
"I'm sorry, Mr. Zhu," Zhang Xuhao said with an apologetic smile, "I really can't say that, it's against the rules."
"You've already signed TS?" Zhu Xiaohu asked, his brows furrowing slightly.
"Not yet, we're still reviewing the terms," Zhang Xuhao said. "But we had a lawyer take a preliminary look, and there aren't any major issues with the framework."
"Hmm." Zhu Xiaohu responded vaguely, "Actually, before officially signing the term sheet, it's reasonable for entrepreneurs to contact several investment institutions and compare their terms."
He still wanted to extract more information.
"Mr. Zhu, I'm sorry about this."
"I understand, I understand." Zhu Xiaohu nodded, his smile seemingly more amiable, but a hint of urgency flashed deep in his eyes.
His brain was working at lightning speed:
A new fund is making such a quick move, simultaneously eyeing two early-stage projects—Ele.me, which I've been following for so long, and whose model is about to be successful and bear fruit. Is it going to be snatched away halfway?
No!
Zhu Xiaohu quickly suppressed his chaotic thoughts, put on a calm expression again, and spoke slightly faster: "Since Xuhao and you have already made your choice, then I won't beat around the bush. Based on your current 600 daily orders and campus model, Jinshajiang Venture Capital can offer you a more favorable investment plan."
Zhang Xuhao and Kang Jia's faces clearly showed a mixture of surprise and anticipation.
Even Wang Yuan, who had previously expressed some reservations about Zhu Xiaohu, couldn't help but look at him nervously.
If—if Jinshajiang's terms are really much better than Arctic Capital's, then choosing Zhu Xiaohu might not be a bad idea.
Zhu Xiaohu noticed the change in the three men's eyes, and with a firm resolve, he calmly offered his terms: "In this round, Jinshajiang can invest US$50 for a 25% stake. We can start the internal process today."
$50, equivalent to more than 350 million yuan, is 70% higher than the 200 million yuan Zhang Xuhao had previously hoped for!
For a student program with only 600 orders per day, this is indeed a very sincere, even slightly aggressive, offer.
Zhu Xiaohu was determined to win.
The air in the conference room fell silent for a few seconds.
The expectation on Zhang Xuhao's face slowly receded like the tide, replaced by a complex expression that mixed gratitude and disappointment.
"Thank you very much for your recognition and sincerity, Mr. Zhu. However—" He carefully chose his words and continued, "The valuation and resource support offered by Arctic Capital are indeed more in line with our development needs for the next stage."
Konka quickly added, "Moreover, their investment philosophy of 'technology for good' aligns perfectly with our dreams."
Zhu Xiaohu was slightly taken aback.
In an instant, confusion, disappointment, and anger welled up in my heart.
Is $50 too little? It's much more than what you asked for!
You're only delivering 600 meals a day right now, and your business model isn't even fully operational yet! Just how high a price did Arctic Capital offer to make you so determined?
He really wanted to raise the price a bit more and test Arctic Capital's offer. But reason told him that Zhang Xuhao wouldn't tell him, and it would look too bad if he pressed for details.
After hesitating for a moment, he ultimately didn't ask.
Oh well, if we don't succeed this round, there's always the next round, and there will be other opportunities in the future.
Zhu Xiaohu forced a professional smile and stood up. "Alright. Investment is about fate and timing. It seems that this time, Jinshajiang was a step behind."
"Thank you for your appreciation, Mr. Zhu. We look forward to future opportunities for cooperation."
Zhu Xiaohu stood up and patted Zhang Xuhao on the shoulder: "This offer is valid for the short term. If there are any changes later, feel free to call me. I still have high hopes for your Jiaotong University team."
"Thank you, Mr. Zhu!"
Zhang Xuhao and the other two stood up and politely shook hands with Zhu Xiaohu one by one.
After seeing Zhu Xiaohu off, Zhang Xuhao, Kang Jia, and Wang Yuan exchanged glances.
"As expected, Arctic Capital is still the most reliable!" Wang Yuan couldn't help but say.
Meanwhile, as Zhu Xiaohu stepped out of the Academic Activity Center Hotel, a gust of cold winter wind hit him, making him shiver, but his mind remained unusually clear.
The situation was more complicated than he had imagined.
Arctic Capital has already snatched Ele.me away right under his nose. If the same institution were to steal the straightforward "Jiaotong University matchmaker" tomorrow—wouldn't he have gained nothing in the end?
No, absolutely not.
In any case, we must win over the "matchmaker" from Jiaotong University in tomorrow's negotiations!
PS: There's more today, the Ma family comes out to confront the criminals >