38: Chapter 38 Registering Xinyuan Capital

At nine o'clock the next morning, Li Xin arrived at Innovation Heaven Building 1508 right on time.

The office was bustling with people and the atmosphere was very lively; the quiet emptiness from when only Yang Hong was there had ceased to exist.

Now there were many more people, and the sounds of keyboards and discussions blended together, truly giving it the appearance a company should have.

As soon as Li Xin walked in, he saw Su Manling sitting in the open office area drawing, and Zhou Mingpeng and Li Xiaona were huddled together discussing code.

Su Manling looked up, caught sight of him entering, and smiled while nodding at him. "Manager Li, morning!"

"Morning, everyone!" Li Xin nodded and walked straight to Yang Hong's office.

Yang Hong was currently in his office looking at the product's backend data.

Discovering Li Xin had entered, he wore a smile, then pushed up his glasses: "You're here? Sit."

Li Xin walked over and sat down: "How is the product performing?"

"The demo is done, and the functions are all complete." Yang Hong turned his laptop around, displaying the product's interface on the screen, "Take a look."

Li Xin took it, looked it over carefully, and slowly said, "It looks pretty good like this!"

The product was called "Linqu," and it was a location-based lifestyle service app.

Users could open the app to see nearby food, merchants, and events.

They could place orders, leave reviews, and engage in social interactions.

The interface was simple, the operation was smooth, and although there weren't many features, all the core elements were there.

"Not bad." Li Xin nodded, "When can it go live?"

"If testing goes well, it can go live next Monday." Yang Hong was slightly hesitant, "But as for promotion..."

"I'll handle the promotion." Li Xin looked at him, "You focus on controlling the product quality. Otherwise, when the app goes live, if users have a poor experience and you can't retain them, all the hard work put in early on will be wasted."

"I know." Yang Hong nodded, "I will keep a close eye on the product side."

"Oh right, there is one more thing." Li Xin mentioned it casually.

"I plan to register an investment company. I've already thought of the name: Xinyuan Capital, with a registered capital of 100 million."

Yang Hong was a bit surprised: "100 million? Where did you get so much money?"

"I earned it in Dubai." Li Xin smiled, "Don't ask about the specifics. I came to you because I want you to recommend someone to me—someone who understands finance, understands investment, and can help me manage the company."

Yang Hong thought for a moment: "I do have a good candidate."

"Who?"

"Li Jiayi."

Li Xin was taken aback: "Li Jiayi? You know her?"

"I don't know her personally, but I know who she is." Yang Hong pushed up his glasses and spoke slowly, "She graduated from Shenzhen University with a major in finance and worked as a finance manager at a trading company after graduation. A classmate of mine worked with her and said she has very strong professional skills, is honest, and has a very good reputation. It seems several big companies wanted to poach her but couldn't."

Li Xin was silent for a few seconds.

Li Jiayi. The girl he had saved in Dubai last time. Later, they added each other on WeChat, chatted occasionally, and met a few times. The impression she gave him was that she was smart, capable, and sensible.

"Do you think she's qualified?" Li Xin asked.

"Yes." Yang Hong said very decisively, "It's just that the corresponding authority and compensation need to be provided properly; otherwise, with talent like this, if the compensation doesn't keep up, it's hard to retain them."

"Compensation is easy to handle." Li Xin stood up, "Then help me arrange a meeting with her. Can we meet tomorrow afternoon?"

"Okay."

Li Xin walked out of Yang Hong's office and made a call to Chen Hu in the hallway.

"Chen Hu, how is the investigation into registering the company going?"

"I've looked into it, Boss." Chen Hu's voice was very clear, "Registering an investment company requires providing proof of registered capital, office address, business scope, shareholder information, and other materials. A registered capital of 100 million requires paid-in capital, which means transferring the 100 million to the company account for capital verification."

"What about the office address?"

"I looked at a few places. The Innovation Heaven Building in the Science Park has an entire floor for rent. The previous company expanded its business and moved to a larger office building. This 800-square-meter floor is just right and vacant. The renovation and layout are still very new, so we can basically move in and start working without needing to change anything. The location is also good, transportation is very convenient, and it's close to your current office. However, the monthly rent is 150,000."

"Rent it." Li Xin didn't hesitate, "Go sign the contract today."

"Understood."

Hanging up the phone, Li Xin stood in the hallway, looking at the Science Park outside the window.

The Innovation Heaven Building had twenty-eight floors, and they were on the fifteenth floor. If they could rent the entire floor, there would be enough space. An investment company needed an independent office and couldn't be squeezed in with the tech company.

At two in the afternoon, Yang Hong sent a message: "Li Jiayi agreed, she will be at the company at three tomorrow afternoon."

Li Xin replied: "Okay," took a casual stroll around the tech company, and then returned to the villa.

At three in the afternoon the next day, Li Jiayi arrived.

She was wearing a white shirt and black trousers, her hair tied in a ponytail, looking very capable.

It was a bit different from when he saw her in Dubai last time—back then she was wearing a floral dress, her hair down, looking like an ordinary tourist.

Now that she had changed into professional attire, her entire aura had changed.

"Li Xin." She stood at the door of the conference room and smiled, "Long time no see."

"Long time no see." Li Xin stood up, pulled out a chair for her, "Sit, have some tea."

Li Jiayi sat down, took the teacup, took a sip, and looked up at Li Xin: "Yang Hong told me that you are looking for me because you want me to help manage an investment company?"

"Yes." Li Xin smiled and nodded, "I plan to register an investment company called Xinyuan Capital with a registered capital of 100 million. Now I just need a general manager to help me run this company. Yang Hong recommended you to me, saying your professional skills are solid and you are reliable."

Li Jiayi put down the teacup and was silent for a few seconds: "100 million in registered capital... That is not a small amount. Are you sure you want me to do it?"

"Sure." Li Xin didn't hesitate, "I've looked into your resume. You graduated with a major in finance from Shenzhen University and worked as a finance manager at a trading company for three years; your professional skills are undeniable. Plus, your reputation is very good—people like you are exactly what the company needs."

Li Jiayi thought for a moment, looked up, and said in a crisp tone: "Okay, thank you for giving me this opportunity. But before that, I have a few thoughts I'd like to discuss with you first."

"Go ahead."

"First, I hope you can give me sufficient autonomy in personnel and financial approval; this will make daily operations easier and efficiency will be much higher."

"That's natural, no problem."

"Another thing, I want to build the core team myself. Investment analysis, legal, and finance are very critical areas; each position needs at least three people. If the people aren't right, things are hard to run smoothly."

"Okay."

"Third..." Li Jiayi paused, smiled a bit embarrassedly, "Regarding salary, you won't let me down, right?"

Li Xin laughed: "A monthly salary of 50,000 plus a year-end bonus. The bonus will be determined by the company's performance; it definitely won't disappoint you."

Li Jiayi looked at him, was silent for two seconds, and then reached out her hand: "Then thank you, Boss."

Li Xin shook her hand: "Welcome aboard."

Li Jiayi's hand was soft but held firmly, with just the right amount of strength. Her eyes were very bright; that was the look of certainty only smart people have when they encounter a real opportunity.

"When can I start?" she asked.

"Anytime." Li Xin smiled slightly, then stood up slowly, "Let's go, let's take a tour of the company together and see how the office environment is. To be honest, I haven't been there yet either."

The two walked out of the Innovation Heaven Building and headed towards another office building nearby. Chen Hu was already waiting downstairs, holding a lease contract in his hand.

"Boss, the contract is signed." Chen Hu handed over the contract.

Li Xin took it, glanced at it, and nodded: "Take Manager Li upstairs to take a look."

The three of them took the elevator to the twentieth floor.

The elevator door opened to a spacious lobby. The floor was paved with marble, and the company sign was hanging on the wall—"Xinyuan Capital"—the four characters were made by someone Chen Hu found overnight.

Behind the lobby was an open office area that could seat twenty or thirty people. On the left were three independent offices, and on the right were the conference room and pantry. The floor-to-ceiling windows faced south, offering a view of the entire Science Park.

Li Jiayi walked around the office area, stood in front of the floor-to-ceiling windows, looked at the city outside, and took a deep breath.

"This office is better than I imagined." She turned around and looked at Li Xin, "But are you sure you want to rent 800 square meters? Right now, there are only the two of us in the company."

"There will be more." Li Xin smiled, "You are responsible for hiring, and I am responsible for providing the money. Within three months, I want to see Xinyuan Capital fully staffed and running."

Li Jiayi nodded: "Okay. Then I'll start hiring tomorrow."

"No rush." Li Xin took a bank card out of his pocket and handed it to her, "There is 100 million in here, which is the company's startup capital. First, go to the bank to open a corporate account and transfer the money in. Then go to the Administration for Industry and Commerce to register and get the business license."

Li Jiayi took the bank card, her hand trembling slightly—not because of nervousness, but because of excitement.

100 million in startup capital, a monthly salary of 50,000, an 800-square-meter office. This was the turning point in her career.

"There is one more thing." Li Xin looked at her, "After registration, keep enough operating funds for one year in the company account. I have other uses for the remaining money."

"What use?"

"Buy stocks."

Li Jiayi was taken aback: "Buy stocks? What stocks?"

"Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Tencent, Alibaba." Li Xin looked at her, "I want to buy a bit of each of these companies."

Li Jiayi frowned: "These companies all have huge market capitalizations. Buying in now, it will be hard to have excess returns in the short term. Are you sure?"

"I'm not looking at the short term." Li Xin said, "I'm looking at the long term. In five or ten years, the value of these stocks will increase several times over."

Li Jiayi stared at him for a few seconds, then nodded: "Okay. You're the boss, you call the shots. But I want to remind you, stock investment has risks. Even with these big companies, stock prices will fluctuate."

"I know." Li Xin smiled, "That's why I won't put all the money in. Let's take 200 million USD to test the waters first."

Li Jiayi gasped: "200 million USD? Where did you get so much money?"

"I earned it in Dubai." Li Xin looked at her, "Don't ask about the specifics. You just need to help me operate it, transfer the money into the securities account, and then place the buy orders."

Li Jiayi was silent for a moment, then nodded: "Okay. I won't ask. But I do have a suggestion."

"What?"

"If the market has large fluctuations, you cannot blindly increase your position, nor can you panic sell."

"That's no problem."

The two shook hands.

When Li Xin walked out of the office, he looked back. Li Jiayi was already sitting in the general manager's office, making a phone call, her voice clear and professional.

"Yes, I am Li Jiayi, the general manager of Xinyuan Capital, and we need to recruit..."

Her back was straight, her shoulders steady.

The corners of Li Xin's mouth lifted slightly, and he turned and stepped into the elevator.