140: Chapter 140 I Want to Invest and Join

Late at night.

Three drunk men walked arm-in-arm, stumbling toward the depths of the alley.

"*Hiccup*～" Brother Crow waved his hand broadly. "Little brother, it's rare for you to return to Shenzhen. Tonight, let's find a club, get a foot bath and a massage to sober up, and then go eat some other kind of roasted chicken..."

"A foot bath and massage are fine, but I'll pass on the chicken; I'm too full," Shen Weiyue replied with a smile, still maintaining a bit of clarity.

"We'll see about the eating later. First, let's go sing, then get a foot bath. I have something to discuss with you in a bit." Brother Crow told Little Jiang to call and book a room, looking like a total pro.

In this era, the service industry in Shenzhen was in full swing.

The place Little Jiang found was quite upscale, offering foot baths, root baths, and back-kneading massages—a complete, professional service package.

After eating who knows how many fruit platters, Shen Weiyue felt his sobriety returning and asked, "Brother Zhang, what is it you wanted to discuss with me?"

Project Manager Zhang Yaoyang was lying on a mat while a young beauty who looked like a movie star leaned over him to give him a massage. The sheer gauze she wore was practically transparent, making the scene incredibly sultry.

"I'm very interested in that online store you mentioned. Are you short on funds? I can invest a small amount, and you can show your older brother the ropes." Brother Crow said, closing his eyes contentedly.

Shen Weiyue didn't answer immediately, instead pondering in silence.

Was he short on money? It didn't seem like it.

At this point, the online store was already up and running with low costs, and it was operating perfectly fine.

If he were talking about the group-buying lifestyle project he was currently developing, then he certainly needed money, but a hundred or two hundred thousand wouldn't be of much use.

That's right, Shen Weiyue assumed the "small amount" Brother Crow mentioned was around one or two hundred thousand.

"Sss..." Brother Crow let out a sigh of comfort.

Shen Weiyue was roused from his thoughts to see that the beauty was now sitting on Project Manager Zhang Yaoyang's back, having switched to a more sultry massage technique.

Before he could speak, Little Jiang chimed in, "Boss, I can't take it anymore. I'm heading upstairs. You two go ahead and chat."

Without waiting for Brother Crow's permission, he put his arm around the beauty and went upstairs.

Shen Weiyue knew that these clubs had rooms specifically for customers to rest in; Little Jiang certainly wouldn't be getting any rest once he went upstairs.

Once the door was closed, Shen Weiyue asked Project Manager Zhang Yaoyang, "Brother Zhang, isn't your project going well? Why did you think of getting involved in my line of work?"

"After the country released the four trillion stimulus package last year (referring to 2008), our civil engineering industry did indeed see a spring, but pouring concrete is not only tiring, the pressure is immense too."

Project Manager Zhang Yaoyang pointed to his hair and laughed at himself, "Especially in my position—the safety pressure is real. Look at this, I'm not even forty yet, and the sides are already completely white."

"Actually, everyone in our industry has a premonition that civil engineering won't prosper forever. Once this wave of opportunities is exhausted, there won't be as many roads to build or houses to construct, and the industry will have to cut half its workforce."

"As the saying goes, 'If a man takes no thought about what is distant, he will find sorrow near at hand.' Your analysis of e-commerce while we were drinking tonight really struck a chord with me. I think your analysis is spot on; this is a brand-new opportunity to get rich, and I want a piece of the pie."

"A little higher. Yes, press in a circular motion, and apply some oil..."

Brother Crow patted the masseuse to have her increase the pressure, then said to Shen Weiyue, "I don't understand e-commerce, but you definitely do. Young people have many ideas, unconventional methods, and are quick to accept new things. I'll provide the money, and you can take me along to make some profit. Isn't that simple?"

"How about it?"

"That's... well, the thing is, I was just messing around with it at first, and I haven't really thought about how to handle it if someone suddenly wants to invest..."

Shen Weiyue patted the masseuse's hand, signaling her not to press randomly and to just stick to massaging his shoulders.

The beautiful masseuse pouted in disappointment; she was really taken with this client tonight and wouldn't have minded even if it were free.

It was a pity this handsome guy seemed to have strong principles.

Shen Weiyue thought for a moment and asked, "Brother Zhang, how much are you planning to invest?"

"How about one million? If that's not enough, two million is fine too..." Project Manager Zhang Yaoyang replied without hesitation.

"Holy crap, you're that rich?" Shen Weiyue was shocked.

Damn it, this was 2009.

A project manager in his thirties could just casually pull out millions?

Back when he was in his thirties, his total net worth didn't even add up to a million. Comparing people really just makes you angry.

Brother Crow laughed heartily and said mysteriously, "The civil engineering industry, you know how it is. It's hard to explain in detail, but the market has been good these past two years."

"If that's the case, then I need to plan this out properly. If we're going to do it, let's do something big. We'll go directly down the path of research and development combined with sales..."

A flash of inspiration struck Shen Weiyue, and he decided to advance his plans for developing accessories like screen protectors and phone cases. The massive smartphone market was about to open up anyway, and now was the perfect time to enter early and seize the initiative.

"Here's the plan: I'm staying here for two more days. Tomorrow, I'll think it through in detail and write up a rough outline to show you. If you really decide to join, then we'll do this together."

"Do it! Of course we're doing it! I want to invest right now; I can't wait!"

Brother Crow laughed heartily, reached back and delivered a crisp slap, then flipped over and wrapped his arms around the beautiful masseuse, eliciting a shriek from her.

"Little brother, are you heading upstairs?"

"No need. I'll just get my shoulders massaged, eat some fruit to sober up, and catch a movie. Don't worry about me, Brother Zhang, go do your thing."

"Alright then. Don't be shy if you need anything; I'm footing the bill for tonight!"

Project Manager Zhang Yaoyang's hand slid down the female masseuse's back, squeezing as he walked straight out the door and upstairs.

After he left, the female masseuse assigned to Shen Weiyue started having ideas again, using every trick in the book to tease him.

But at this moment, how could Shen Weiyue have the heart to play games with her?

Women would only affect Director Shen's speed of thinking.

Shen Weiyue frowned and glared at her. The female masseuse was so scared she didn't dare say another word, feeling that the look in this young man's eyes just now was terrifying.

That kind of aura was something she had only ever seen on big bosses.

"Just massage my shoulders... Actually, forget it, massage my temples. Don't speak; I need to think about some things."

Shen Weiyue commanded indifferently, and the female masseuse obediently knelt over.

She knelt behind him, letting him lie comfortably in her lap, and then gently and skillfully massaged his head, not daring to make a sound.

Shen Weiyue closed his eyes and began to think about expanding the online store; a flurry of thoughts immediately surged through his mind.

Development path, flagship products, marketing methods...

Countless threads intertwined in his mind like a spiderweb, but having been a government leader in his past life, accustomed to handling complex, tangled affairs, Shen Weiyue quickly unraveled the threads and determined his strategy.

Once he spent an hour or so tomorrow writing up a rough project proposal, the matter would be settled.

He really hadn't expected to gain so much from coming here during the National Day holiday.

What he expected even less was that an ordinary project manager could actually come up with such a large sum of capital.

If it weren't for the fact that the group-buying software hadn't been launched yet, Shen Weiyue would have even considered swindling him for some angel investment.

This guy—could he possibly be able to come up with more than two million?