304: Chapter 304 Fang Hongsheng's Surprise

She asked with a curious look, "Boss, what kind of gift is it?"

Chen Fan smiled and lightly scraped the tip of her nose with his finger. "You'll find out when the time comes."

Hearing this, Qiao Linlin didn't press further. She knew Chen Fan's temperament too well—if he didn't want to say something, no amount of asking would get it out of him. She simply kissed him on the cheek, stood up from his lap, looked down to straighten her top and skirt that Chen Fan had messed up, tucked her hair behind her ears, and restored her capable and decent appearance.

Walking to the door, she glanced back at him with a slight smile on her lips. "Then I'll be waiting. Don't forget, Boss."

Chen Fan leaned back in his chair and waved his hand at her. "I won't forget."

After the door closed, Chen Fan leaned quietly in his office chair, thinking about Tencent's investment in his mind.

Although he didn't know if Tencent would ultimately agree to a valuation of 10 billion, Chen Fan wasn't actually forcing it.

Even without this investment, Fanyu could continue to develop normally at its own pace. With monthly revenues of over two hundred million, healthy cash flow, and a clear product line, he didn't need Tencent's money to survive.

But if he had this money, that would be a different story.

The reason he wanted this money was because he had always harbored an idea in his heart—manufacturing mobile phones.

But back then, he had no money or capital, and couldn't even scrape together the startup funds, let alone compete with manufacturers who had already established a firm foothold in the market.

Now, however, if he had those one-point-something billion from Tencent, Chen Fan could consider getting into mobile phones.

Back in 2011, smartphones were just starting to emerge. Xiaomi had only released its first phone a few days ago, while Huawei wouldn't start making smartphones until 2012 after Big Mouth took charge of the consumer business. Right now, they were still making white-label phones in cooperation with telecom operators.

As for OV, they would also enter the smartphone industry at the end of this year, so entering the market now was not late at all.

Moreover, Chen Fan had an advantage they lacked, which was that he knew the future development trends of mobile phones. He knew which direction phones would take in the next few years, and most importantly, he had a cheat.

The wealth store refreshed with a new item every month. Although the items refreshed over the past few months weren't anything good, since it had refreshed battery technology before, it might refresh phone-related technology in the future. Therefore, Chen Fan was very confident in his ability to make good phones.

Now it all depended on whether Tencent would invest according to the valuation Chen Fan had stated.

Chen Fan remembered that he still needed to inform Fang Hongsheng about Tencent's investment, since he was the company's vice president.

So he picked up his phone and sent Fang Hongsheng a message: "Come to my office once you're done with your work."

A few minutes after the message was sent, there was a knock on the office door.

Fang Hongsheng pushed the door open and walked in. He walked over to the desk and sat down. "Mr. Chen, you wanted to see me?"

Chen Fan nodded and leaned back in his chair. "Senior, people from Tencent came to the company this afternoon."

Hearing this, Fang Hongsheng leaned forward slightly. He knew that Tencent's investment department was coming, as Wang Jing had reported it to him before, but he didn't know Tencent's intention. So now that Chen Fan brought it up, he realized this matter was probably much more important than he had thought.

Chen Fan said calmly, "They came to discuss an investment."

Fang Hongsheng's eyes instantly lit up, and he sat up straight. "Tencent wants to invest in us?"

"Yes." Chen Fan set down his teacup, his tone unhurried. "They offered an 8 billion valuation and want a 20% stake."

Fang Hongsheng was stunned for a moment. "Mr. Chen, did you agree?"

"No. I quoted 10 billion for 10%."

Fang Hongsheng froze, a flash of surprise crossing his eyes. A 10 billion valuation—for a company that had just been established for a year to have such a high valuation.

He instantly recalled the terms Chen Fan had offered when he first joined the company. After working for a full year, he would get a 1% option, and converting this 1% option into shares would require purchasing them at the agreed price of 5 million back then.

And now, according to Chen Fan's own quoted valuation of 10 billion, this 1% share would be worth 100 million. Even if Tencent ultimately only agreed to 8 billion, it would still be worth 80 million.

Turning 5 million into 80 million—a sixteenfold increase.

He calmed his emotions, looked up at Chen Fan, and asked, "So what did Tencent say?"

Chen Fan leaned back in his chair, his tone calm. "They said they need to go back and report, then wait for news. Zhou Zhengyang himself is willing to push for it, but the final decision still requires approval from the higher-ups."

Fang Hongsheng nodded and fell silent for a few seconds, as if digesting this information. "Then what if Tencent ultimately doesn't accept the 10 billion valuation?"

"It doesn't matter if they don't accept it. Our company isn't short on funds right now. Based on our current development trend, it will be easy to reach a ten-billion market value if we go public in the future."

Hearing this, Fang Hongsheng nodded and didn't say anything more.

Although he didn't show it on his face, he indeed hoped this investment deal would go through. The higher the company's valuation, the greater the value of his 1% option. This was the most realistic matter.

However, even if Chen Fan was unwilling to go public, he also believed Chen Fan could bring the company's market value to over ten billion after going public. After all, ever since he joined, Chen Fan had always been someone who created miracles.

Looking at his hesitant expression, Chen Fan smiled and said, "Senior, you're thinking about your 1% option, aren't you?"

Having his mind read, Fang Hongsheng smiled somewhat awkwardly.

"Don't worry, Senior. Your 1% option will definitely be based on the price agreed upon back then. You won't get shortchanged."

Upon hearing this, the expression on Fang Hongsheng's face visibly relaxed, and the curve of his lips widened a bit. "Haha, then thank you, Mr. Chen. It seems I didn't make the wrong bet back then."

Chen Fan leaned back in his chair, his tone carrying a hint of teasing. "Senior, don't celebrate too early. Get the money together first. 5 million is not a small sum; you'd better quickly think of a way."

Fang Hongsheng said, "Don't worry about that. Even if I have to take out a loan and sell my house, I will scrape together this 5 million."