Chapter 198 Laying Out the Future

Lin Chen slurped the last mouthful of noodles into his mouth.

A bit of soup dripped down the corner of his mouth; he casually grabbed a tissue from the table.

He wiped haphazardly, not caring that his fingertips were still stained with a bit of oil.

"Also, besides the investment in miHoYo, keep a close eye on tech companies founded in recent years. Dig them all up for me."

He leaned back against the chair and tapped his fingertips on the table.

His tone was casual yet carried an unquestionable certainty.

"Don't just analyze their current industry potential; you have to calculate clearly whether they are worth investing in for the next five or ten years."

Li Sisi sat opposite him, clutching a notebook.

Her pen hovered over the paper, not daring to move, as she listened with a serious expression.

Lin Chen looked up and casually mentioned a few names:

"For example, ByteDance, Xiaomi Group, as well as Yuanjie Technology and Qunhe Technology—focus on those."

"We aren't just doing financing and investment for mature companies; we have to do startup investments as well."

He leaned forward slightly, his eyes shining brightly.

That was the confidence unique to a reborn person who held the codes to the future.

"Those companies are just starting out and need money the most. Investing now means the lowest cost, and the profits later will be astronomical."

Li Sisi finally couldn't help but speak up, her voice tinged with doubt:

"Are you planning to cast a wide net?"

"What if we invest in the wrong ones..."

Lin Chen glanced at her and saw her brow furrowed.

Seeing her uneasy look, he couldn't help but chuckle.

"What are you thinking?"

"Every investment and every round of financing has to be personally audited by me. Would I just throw money away?"

He laughed inwardly; how could Li Sisi know?

He wasn't guessing blindly; he had come with the memories of his past life.

Those companies that would later have market values in the hundreds of billions, increasing several hundredfold—weren't they the ones just emerging these few years?

Sinking a few million into them now would yield returns of hundreds of millions or even billions in a few years or a decade. It was practically like picking up money.

Of course, he hadn't forgotten bitcoin.

That stuff really brought in money fast, but he was clear-headed enough to know not to put all his eggs in one basket.

The lessons from his past life were too profound. There were two Chinese billionaires who held a large amount of bitcoin.

They later went to Country M and were immediately detained and restricted from leaving.

In the end, they were forced to donate a massive amount of wealth before they could escape.

At the thought of Country M's robber logic, Lin Chen's gaze turned a bit colder as he thought to himself:

One must always be on guard, especially against those profit-driven guys. I absolutely cannot be careless.

He stood up and tugged at the corner of his shirt.

"Alright, I have to head back to school. Any later and I'll be late."

"As for the company matters, just follow what I said."

"Hire people first; put ability as the top priority."

"As for company management and employee compensation, let's follow the standards of first-tier big cities."

"A monthly salary of ten thousand for ordinary employees, plus the five insurances and one housing fund. There will also be bonuses at the end of the year."

"What?"

"A monthly salary of ten thousand for ordinary employees?"

"It's only 2014. Most white-collar workers in Star City only earn five thousand a month."

"You're straight up doubling it!"

"Yeah. Without high pay, how can we have excellent employees willing to work hard?"

"Oh right, prioritize those who are pretty."

"Hehe!"

Li Sisi gave him a white look.

He paused and then added,

"Focus on settling one target first, then cast the net into different companies. Take it slow, no rush."

"Also, we can look for some investment and financing intermediaries to collaborate with."

"They surely have news on many startups in urgent need of funds. Let them help with the connections. If it succeeds, paying a bit of a consulting fee doesn't matter; it'll save us a lot of trouble."

Li Sisi nodded quickly, recording everything he said in her notebook.

"Don't worry, Brother Chen, I've noted it all down. I'll definitely get it done properly for you."

Lin Chen waved his hand, said no more, and turned to leave.

Right next to the courtyard gate was a small convenience store.

Feeling a bit thirsty, he paused his steps and walked in.

"Ma'am, a bottle of mineral water, please."

The shopkeeper lady was leaning over the counter playing on her phone. Hearing the voice, she looked up.

As soon as she saw Lin Chen, her eyes instantly lit up.

A warm smile spread across her face, and her gaze was glued straight to his face.

Lin Chen was handsome and had a tall, upright build. Every time he came to buy water, she had to take a few extra looks.

"Oh my, Handsome Guy, I finally get to see you. You haven't come by to buy water in a while!"

The shopkeeper leaned in closer while getting the water.

Those two lumps of flesh on her chest swayed back and forth with her movements.

"Do you want some bread?"

"I remember the last two times you got mineral water and bread!"

Without waiting for Lin Chen's answer, she took two packaged breads on her own.

She stuffed them into Lin Chen's hands.

"No charge, the bread is free for you."

"Look at you, young man, you're so handsome. You must be hungry."

She gripped Lin Chen's hand tightly and didn't let go even after stuffing the bread in.

Her fingertips even intentionally rubbed back and forth on the back of his hand.

The flirtatiousness in her eyes was almost overflowing. That look of being smitten...

Lin Chen understood it at a glance.

He felt a wave of awkwardness and his lip twitched.

He quickly gave a light tug, pulled his hand out, and used as tactful a tone as possible:

"Thank you, big sister, but I've already had breakfast. No need."

To be honest, those two lumps of flesh on the shopkeeper were indeed somewhat attractive.

But looking at her thick-waisted and broad-shouldered build, Lin Chen instantly lost all interest.

He wasn't here to take that kind of advantage, and besides...

This shopkeeper's enthusiasm was just too much to handle.

Seeing him pull away, a flash of disappointment crossed the shopkeeper's face.

However, she didn't force it, only continuing to mutter:

"Take it even if you've eaten. What if you get hungry during the morning?"

Lin Chen smiled and waved his hand. His fingertips quickly swiped his phone to scan the code for payment, while he grumbled under his breath:

"This shopkeeper is a bit too enthusiastic. She's probably trying to use a little favor like two pieces of bread to make a move on me."

He pocketed the mineral water and didn't stop walking, adding in his mind,

"Next time I'll definitely switch to another shop for water to avoid being pestered again."

Indeed, every bit of energy right now was extremely precious.

There were so many 'fish' in his fish pond waiting for him to make moves.

How could he have time to deal with this kind of insignificant flirtation?

After paying, he walked quickly out of the convenience store and raised his hand to hail a taxi by the roadside.

He gave the school address and leaned back in the passenger seat.

When the taxi stopped at the School Gate, Lin Chen glanced at his phone. Great, it was already eight-thirty.

Feeling a surge of panic, he paid the fare, grabbed his mineral water, and dashed toward the teaching building.

His steps were incredibly fast, the wind blowing the hem of his shirt, as he muttered "don't be late, don't be late."

After a mad dash, he finally reached the classroom door. Just as he was about to raise his hand to push it open...

"Ring..."

The school bell suddenly blared, sharp and urgent, making his hand pause in a startle.

"Phew... Good, good. I made it just before the bell. Not late."

Lin Chen breathed a sigh of relief and patted his chest, feeling secretly lucky.

"Otherwise, I'd definitely be teased to death by that black-stockinged Liu Minting. That woman's tongue is incredibly poisonous."

Just as he pushed the door open, a cool and playful voice drifted over:

"Oh, our God of Stocks, you're finally on time for my class?"