402: Chapter 42 Handling with Ease

The kindergarten teacher was a young woman with long hair and glasses.

"Um... please have a seat wherever you like."

The few children who were sniffling ran and sat down in the empty seats.

Just as Shen Yan was staring at the few children who were still crying, the teacher walked up to him and asked, "Excuse me... is there anything else you need?"

Shen Yan turned to look at her, then shook his head, "No, you need to start class, right? Then I'll be going."

The teacher hesitated, wanting to say more.

Then, she asked Shen Yan, "Excuse me, are you this child's older brother or uncle?"

Shen Yan was momentarily stunned before replying, "I am her father."

A look of surprise flashed in the teacher's eyes.

"You... Good heavens! You look so young."

Shen Yan smiled.

"You look very young too, like you just graduated from college."

The teacher was silent for a moment, then replied, "I actually just graduated from school."

Shen Yan: "...Oh, oh, I see."

After a brief silence between them, Shen Yan left the classroom.

After leaving the classroom, he didn't immediately leave the campus. Instead, he found a spot outside the classroom and crouched down to watch Youyou.

Just as he thought, Youyou adapted very well.

No matter what the teacher said, Youyou responded actively and wasn't shy at all.

Seeing that she was truly thriving in the class, Shen Yan finally left with peace of mind.

Actually, he didn't need to go to work that early, but since he was already out, he went straight to the company.

"Why are you at work so early today?"

Hearing Chen Guangke's question, Shen Yan yawned as he replied to Chen Guangke, "I was taking Youyou to her first day of school."

Chen Guangke smacked his forehead hard.

"How could I forget about that!"

"How is Youyou? Did she cry?"

As soon as the words fell.

Shen Yan said with a look of dissatisfaction, "No, not only did she not cry, but she happily went to school."

Chen Guangke: "...Why do I feel like you're quite dissatisfied?"

Shen Yan sighed.

"It's not that I'm dissatisfied, it's just that I feel like a certain step is missing..."

Chen Guangke rolled his eyes.

"Got it, you just wanted to see Youyou being unable to leave you, you old doting father!"

Shen Yan smacked his lips and asked, "Did you find out the time for the auction?"

When the serious topic came up, Chen Guangke's expression turned solemn. He replied to Shen Yan, "I inquired, but it's not definite yet, because they haven't released the exact time, but it should be around the middle of the month."

"The time is tight. Do you have enough liquid funds to buy it now? Do you need me to support you with some?"

Shen Yan raised an eyebrow and asked, "How much can you support me with?"

Chen Guangke held up a number with his fingers.

"This is my salary and bonus from the last year or so. Considering our years of brotherhood, I won't charge you interest."

Shen Yan laughed.

"Oh! Not bad, very generous!"

Chen Guangke pouted, "I am generous, but being generous is useless. My little bit of money is like a drop in the bucket for buying land."

Saying this, his fingers unconsciously started tapping the desk.

"Do you think... we should borrow some funds from the Branch Company?"

Shen Yan refused without hesitation.

"No way. The Branch Company's funds are all meant for the artificial intelligence project."

Chen Guangke clicked his tongue.

"Exceptional times call for exceptional measures!"

"Don't you want to buy that piece of land? If you don't have sufficient funds, how can you buy it?"

"If you ask me, you should temporarily borrow the Branch Company's funds, and then you can transfer them back when the Branch Company needs them."

Shen Yan still shook his head.

"No need."

Chen Guangke sighed, "I still advise you to seriously consider my suggestion. While investigating the news, I heard some rumors that someone else is targeting this piece of land and is determined to get it."

Shen Yan subconsciously asked, "Who is targeting this land?"

Chen Guangke shook his head.

"I don't know. They just said someone is targeting it. It's better for you to be prepared."

After pondering for a while, Shen Yan said to Chen Guangke, "Keep monitoring this news for me. Tell me whatever you find out."

Chen Guangke nodded, "Deal!"

After speaking, he seemed to suddenly remember something and asked Shen Yan, "By the way, how did the discussion about investing in the artificial intelligence project go?"

Shen Yan: "..."

Should he tell him that he had already broken off talks with An Ran?

Between being completely honest and hiding it for a while longer, he chose to be honest, and as expected, he suffered Chen Guangke's angry scolding.

"Are you an idiot from staying up all night? Of course, you agree to such a good deal!"

Hearing this, Shen Yan frowned and said to Chen Guangke, "How is that a good deal? That's a fifty-fifty split!"

Chen Guangke took a deep breath, suppressing the urge to take the folder and give Shen Yan's head a good whack to knock out all the water in his brain.

"Do you know how tricky investors are right now!"

"I've already looked into it. Those investors in the artificial intelligence project are sneakier than the last. Not only do they invest little, but they also demand that their company's name be attached after the project yields results!"

"Besides that, they demand a large cut. As far as I know, most of them ask for thirty or forty percent."

"BUT! Although they ask for less, they invest less too!"

Shen Yan was somewhat curious.

"Do they invest very little?"

Chen Guangke nodded, then sighed again.

"More and more people are starting businesses and running companies now, and those investors are getting smarter and smarter."

"They deeply understand the principle of not putting all their eggs in one basket, distributing the money they have across many different projects."

"If you go to them for investment, at most they will only cover sixty to seventy percent of your project's funding. Beyond that, they will make outrageous demands with many conditions attached."

"Don't think those conditions will be written in the contract. In reality, all those conditions are invisible clauses, just like those people who came to discuss financing with us before—one greedier than the next."

Shen Yan pondered thoughtfully.

"So, the other investors in the artificial intelligence project won't cover one hundred percent of the project's funds?"

Chen Guangke nodded without hesitation.

"Exactly. But this is also related to the strength of the company itself. Most companies developing artificial intelligence projects are already very strong and don't need investors to cover one hundred percent of the depleted funds."

"It is precisely because of this that I say we hit the jackpot."