211: Chapter 211 Starting a Business Together

They were comrades who had shouldered guns together, so their relationship seemed naturally closer.

After that, Fan Shengmei asked him when he would be free to come over for a housewarming, which gave him something to look forward to.

Fang Sijin was now a little rich woman and wasn't as hard on herself as before.

Fan Shengmei pulled her aside, explained the pros and cons, and she agreed immediately.

She personally went to pick out two apartments with good locations, layouts, and renovations.

On Friday night, Chen Cheng went to the new apartment Fan Shengmei had rented.

Chen Cheng sent a message, and Fan Shengmei quickly tidied up, checking in the mirror to see if anything was amiss.

She practiced her smile in the mirror before walking to the door to watch the monitor, waiting to open it.

Chen Cheng walked to the door, and before he could knock, it opened.

Fan Shengmei flashed a bright smile, "You're here."

Chen Cheng's eyes lit up when he saw her outfit.

She was wearing a black deep V-neck dress, and the pale skin visible in the middle of the V was very eye-catching.

Her black hair hung down naturally, and her face was exquisitely made up.

Chen Cheng smiled slightly and walked in.

Fan Shengmei closed the door, knelt in front of Chen Cheng, brushed back a strand of hair that had fallen in front of her eyes, lifted his feet, and changed his shoes.

Chen Cheng raised an eyebrow, watching her meticulous and serious manner, and was very satisfied with her service.

After changing his shoes, Fan Shengmei led Chen Cheng to the dining table to sit down.

Chen Cheng glanced around; it was the popular LDKG (Living room, Dining room, Kitchen, Gallery) integrated layout that had been trending in recent years.

The dining table was a rectangular marble table.

On the table were four meat dishes, one vegetable dish, and a soup.

Looking at the presentation, it was clear that Fan Shengmei's cooking skills were not bad.

As soon as Chen Cheng sat down, Fan Shengmei went to the bathroom, brought over a small basin, and stood in front of him.

Chen Cheng smiled slightly; with such good service, she probably wanted something.

Chen Cheng smiled as he washed his hands in the basin and wiped them with the towel on the edge of the basin.

He didn't pay attention to Fan Shengmei and picked up his chopsticks to eat.

Fan Shengmei walked back and sat down with a radiant smile, pouring wine for Chen Cheng while asking, "How does it taste?"

Fan Shengmei was quite confident in her cooking.

It was a skill honed since childhood.

Come to think of it, sometimes, certain childhood skills could be quite hurtful.

Chen Cheng smiled at her and nodded faintly, "Your cooking is good."

Fan Shengmei smiled slightly and raised her red wine glass, "Let me toast you."

Chen Cheng didn't refuse, raised his glass, and clinked it against hers, "Congratulations on taking another step forward in Shanghai."

The path of advancement for urban workers: sharing an apartment > living alone > buying a house and a car.

Regardless of the means, Fan Shengmei had reached the second step today, and it was clear she was excited inside.

"Thank you. Actually, all of this was given by you."

Chen Cheng took a sip of the wine Fan Shengmei had bought with her credit card, looked at her with a smile, and said, "You deserve it."

Fan Shengmei offered an awkward smile. She had sacrificed her reputation and her body, knowingly becoming the other woman to get this, which wasn't exactly something to be proud of.

Since she had chosen this path, she didn't want to regret it.

She picked up her chopsticks and served Chen Cheng some food, "Try this fish. It's the first time I've cooked such an expensive fish; I don't know if I did it right."

Chen Cheng glanced at the leopard coral grouper on the table; she had really spent a fortune on this meal.

He smiled slightly, "Just say what's on your mind. In a relationship like ours, where you know my length and I know your depth, there's no need to be so polite."

Fan Shengmei's expression stiffened, but she still forced a smile, "Sigh."

"Ahem~" She cleared her throat, "I've resigned."

Hmm?

Chen Cheng was surprised for a second, but quickly recovered and calmly picked up some food.

Fan Shengmei continued, "I've found a few business startup projects and wanted you to help me evaluate them."

After speaking, Fan Shengmei nervously observed Chen Cheng's expression.

Chen Cheng smirked; this was the real purpose of today.

"Tell me about them."

Fan Shengmei immediately beamed, "Alright."

"The first one is vertical community e-commerce, focusing on mother-baby and pet communities, achieving precise sales through private traffic operation."

"The second one is a new retail convenience store, choosing locations in communities or office buildings, combining fresh food and instant delivery to improve floor space efficiency. This risk is slightly higher; initial investment, store location, and supply chain are all risks."

Chen Cheng was surprised; he hadn't expected Fan Shengmei to actually have a knack for business.

Private traffic had just started to emerge, and she had already caught the scent.

Combined with a future community group-buying opportunity, if she secured the supply chain, it would be hard for either of these businesses not to succeed.

Seeing that Chen Cheng didn't react, Fan Shengmei continued, "The third one is beauty products, live streaming sales."

"This is a field I'm relatively familiar with. After I had the idea of starting a business, I thought a lot about what my advantages were and what I understood."

"In the end, I realized that it seems I only really know a bit about cosmetics."

Chen Cheng had to admire her vision; any one of these three directions could break through and make money.

Chen Cheng handed over his glass, signaling her to pour more wine, "Which one are you leaning towards?"

Fan Shengmei poured the wine while thinking quickly, "To be honest, I don't know."

Chen Cheng looked at her expression and guessed she was leaning towards the third one, but wasn't sure it could succeed.

Chen Cheng stopped picking up food, thought about future trends, and looked at Fan Shengmei with eyes gleaming, "Why not do discount snacks?"

"By using a short-circuit economy model to bypass middlemen, directly cooperating with brands or manufacturers, and using cash to buy out the goods, you can achieve independent pricing power."

"Use 'low price, not low quality' to attract students, young people, and family customers."

"Doing business requires considering economic cycles; for many years to come, people will be more willing to pay for cheap goods."

"This business depends on your bargaining power with brands."

"Your second idea, new retail, is just a convenience store, which is also a supply chain business. Once you open up the brand supply chain, you can do that too."

Fan Shengmei stared blankly, seriously considering Chen Cheng's words.

As he spoke, Chen Cheng smiled, "Actually, you could do all three directions you mentioned, but I'm afraid you don't have that much energy."

"Really?" Fan Shengmei's eyes lit up.

Chen Cheng nodded faintly and asked the soul-searching question, "But do you have the startup capital?"

"I..." Fan Shengmei immediately blushed. After all, her purpose today was to wait for Chen Cheng to provide the money.

Chen Cheng couldn't be bothered with empty pleasantries and glanced at the apartment, "How about this, I'll give you two choices."

Fan Shengmei immediately beamed and nodded quickly, "Go ahead."

"You know how much this apartment costs, right?"

When she rented the place, she had checked the housing prices. Fan Shengmei thought for a moment, "100,000 per square meter, 155 square meters, about 16 million."

"First, I give you 5 million, you take it to pay the down payment, and for the monthly mortgage of... about 50,000-plus, you pay that yourself."

Before Chen Cheng finished speaking, Fan Shengmei interrupted, "I choose the second one."

Chen Cheng smiled slightly; he was actually happy that she didn't choose the house.

"Second, it's still 5 million, but I invest in your startup project's angel round for a 30% stake."

Fan Shengmei didn't even think, "I agree!"

Chen Cheng laughed, "You're certainly decisive."

"You provide the money, so it's only right that you hold shares. Besides, I can't guarantee that I won't use your connections after starting the business."

"So it's only natural for you to take this equity."

Chen Cheng raised an eyebrow, "Then why didn't you choose this apartment?"

Fan Shengmei huffed, "The apartment, I want to buy it myself!"

Chen Cheng twitched his mouth; she was full of ambition.

He raised his glass, "Alright, then I wish President Fan immediate success."

Fan Shengmei was full of spirit, "Immediate success!"

With the matter settled, Fan Shengmei happily started eating.

She occasionally served Chen Cheng food while asking for advice on details.

After the meal, Fan Shengmei looked at Chen Cheng with infatuation; this must be the charm of a successful man.

No matter what the project was, he could talk about it logically and clearly.

Guiding you in the right direction, analyzing economic trends for you.

Most importantly, he doesn't just talk big; he actually provides the money.

Fan Shengmei wasn't just "melted" herself; she even dragged her good sister into it.

Yes, before twelve o'clock, Fan Shengmei couldn't hold on anymore and called her good sister, Fang Sijin, from next door.

After some discussion, Fang Sijin was also prepared to join Fan Shengmei's startup project.

Mainly because, having been following Chen Cheng recently, she had nothing to do; as someone who couldn't stay idle, she was truly bored.

Besides, it was a good deal where she could hold shares without spending a penny; Fang Sijin didn't hesitate to take it.

Chen Cheng made the decision: for Xiao Mei Snacks, Fan Shengmei would take 50% equity, Chen Cheng would take 30% in the angel round, and Fang Sijin would later contribute 2 million in investment capital to hold 20% equity.

Fan Shengmei still had a bit of an attitude, but after Chen Cheng dealt with her, she instantly became obedient.

Chen Cheng was like a Mythical creature known for attracting wealth; how could he let Fan Shengmei pay nothing and still be the sole owner?

Assuming Fan Shengmei's first startup succeeded, the subsequent countless rounds of financing would also slowly dilute the shares in her hands.

Before going public, as long as Chen Cheng maintained this stake, he would have absolute say in Fan Shengmei's new company.

Not to mention Fang Sijin, the third shareholder he had personally supported.

If Fan Shengmei didn't listen, he could kick her out at any time!