My Virtual Girlfriend-Chapter 338: Starting Preliminary Research on the System (4000 words)

Chapter 338: Chapter 338: Starting Preliminary Research on the System (4000 words)

Chen Yan also belonged to those with a strong drive to act, so once the idea occurred to him, he immediately took out his phone and found the number for Dong Hongtu, the chairman of Fenghua Group, which he had saved a few days before.

The phone rang for a good fifteen seconds before Dong Hongtu picked up.

It sounded like he was quite busy on the other end, with a lot of noise coming through.

"Hello? Is this President Chen?"

He spoke with a hint of apology, "I’m sorry about that. I got held up with something just now, hence the late response."

Chen Yan had a good impression of Dong Hongtu; in his opinion, this was a businessman who possessed a certain shrewdness but was also quite straightforward. And during their conversations, it was clear he had substance—far more reliable than his son.

Even though Fenghua Group seemed to be in some sort of crisis, Chen Yan still felt that with his connections and strength, he would probably pull through.

Therefore, Chen Yan didn’t let it go to his head that he was the client and didn’t come across as arrogant, but instead said very politely, "It’s fine, it’s fine. I didn’t wait long."

He paused, then said, "The reason I’m calling you is that I wanted to ask about your group’s financial crisis. Have you managed to get through it yet?"

The topic had come up during the last office handover, so Chen Yan’s question wasn’t out of the blue.

Hearing Chen Yan’s question, Dong Hongtu let out a bitter laugh and said, "Not yet. It’s quite a mess right now."

After listening, Chen Yan said, "Well, I might be able to lend you a hand."

"In the past few days, I’ve given it some thought, and I’m actually quite interested in the Fenghua Building. So I wanted to talk with you about it. Would now be a convenient time for you?"

At Chen Yan’s words, Dong Hongtu’s spirits were visibly lifted on the other side of the phone, and he quickly replied, "Yes, yes. I’m actually in the building right now, shall I come to see you?"

Chen Yan said, "That’s fine. I’m on the 16th floor. I’ll wait for you at the elevator entrance."

After they agreed on a meeting, they hung up the phone.

And after the call ended, Dong Hongtu, who had been looking quite glum, now had a face full of joy.

As chairman of Fenghua Group, he alone knew just how dire the group’s straits were.

In the real estate industry, the vast majority of companies operate with high leverage and high debt ratios.

That’s just the nature of the business. So, when first developing his company, he followed suit, mortgaging like mad, taking loans, grabbing land, then mortgaging again, taking more loans, and seizing more land.

While this allowed his company to grow rapidly like a snowball, it also led to an extremely high debt ratio, making it heavily dependent on cash flow.

These past years, he had been constantly trying to reduce the company’s debt ratio and bring down the risk.

But as the industry developed, sometimes it carried him along, and he couldn’t stop.

As a result, before he could lower his debt ratio, trouble struck.

Last year, one of his projects was sabotaged by a rival, which caused a large amount of cash to be tied up in that project.

As cash flow tightened, it affected the development of his other projects, further impacting cash flow.

And as the projects and cash flow suffered, it reverberated with the bank’s risk control department. Add to that his rivals’ underhanded tactics, his new round of loans was constricted.

The entire enterprise was now struggling even more.

And with a significant amount of funds locked in there, the daily interest alone was terrifying, making it impossible to resolve internally.

To revitalize the entire business, he had no choice but to scrape funds from wherever he could, trying to borrow and raise money to tide over this difficult period.

Initially, he considered asking for help from the Qin Island Billionaires, borrowing money to overcome this adversity. But, thinking that borrowing from banks was debt and borrowing from the billionaire circle was still debt, both with very high interests, he realized it would be of no help to his current predicament.

So, after hesitating for two months, he decided to make a clean break. Instead of borrowing, he chose to sell assets.

And the most convenient asset to sell was obviously his headquarters building.

After all, it was the company’s own property, quite valuable, yet unprofitable.

But as it turned out, months went by and no one showed interest.

With no choice, to enable faster company turnaround, he temporarily mortgaged the building to the bank, drawing cash to solve the most urgent problems.

When mortgaging it, he also mentioned that if anyone was interested, he was willing to sell directly.

And after months of waiting, his enterprise hadn’t seen a turnaround; it was still struggling.

Meanwhile, his headquarters, mortgaged to the bank, garnered no interest and he was paying a high interest every month.

This exaggerated the already difficult situation of the entire group.

It wasn’t until later that Chen Yan came along and purchased two floors of the office building.

He was the only buyer in a year.

That’s why Dong Hongtu valued Chen Yan so much.

After all, because of a poor decision he made, his group’s situation was increasingly dire. It was almost at the point of being completely drained...

However, in the end, Lady Luck favored him; his only buyer finally showed interest in his building. So, after receiving Chen Yan’s call, he hurriedly ran downstairs, eager to reach an agreement with Chen Yan as fast as possible...

Soon enough, the elevator went up from the 12th to the 16th floor.

When the doors opened, Dong Hongtu saw the person he had been most eager to meet in recent times: Chen Yan.

As soon as he saw Chen Yan, he approached with a beaming smile and reached out to shake his hand.

Chen Yan shook his hand and then led him to his conference room to discuss the sale of the building.

With the powerful tool of the Headphones, Chen Yan easily discerned Dong Hongtu’s bottom line and took control of the entire negotiation.

In the end, the two reached an acquisition agreement for Fenghua Building and the Twin Towers Hotel across from it for five billion.

Fenghua Building was a flagship project of Fenghua Group, with two high rises: one with 18 floors and the other with 12 floors. The 18-floor building was for office use, and the 12-floor one was a five-star hotel.

Previously, Chen Yan’s purchase price for two floors was 75 million, and for three floors, it was 84 million. The price per floor went from 37.5 million down to 28 million.

And now, the price for the remaining 13 floors had dropped even further to 22 million per floor, receiving an additional 20% discount. This totaled to 2.86 billion.

So, Chen Yan pondered for a moment. Considering his "Fixed Asset Cashback Card" had a limit of five billion.

With over two billion left, why not just buy the hotel next door too?

After all, it would be useful for hosting people, or if he ever got tired of staying at home.

Anyway... it was all just giveaways from the system.

So, after some bargaining from Chen Yan, Dong Hongtu finally agreed to the price.

After all, he desperately needed the money.

If he kept dragging it out and couldn’t repay the loans, the bank would auction off his building, and he’d get even less money.

Now with five billion in cash, he at least had breathing room; he could clear the loans for the building and still have three billion left, enough for the group’s cash flow.

Just one successful project, and his whole company could be revitalized!

So, even though the price Chen Yan offered was very low, it barely reached his psychological threshold, and he agreed.

After agreeing he asked tentatively, "President Chen, how do you plan to make the payment this time? Will it be through overseas funds again?"

Upon hearing Dong Hongtu’s query, Chen Yan’s gaze sharpened slightly.

’Again?’

’Overseas funds?’

Chen Yan keenly picked up on these two phrases.

"Could it be... that Dong Hongtu is talking about the accounts from the two transactions I did with him?" Chen Yan asked, maintaining his composure, "No need. We’ll use domestic cash this time."

Dong Hongtu nodded in understanding, smiling, "That’s right. Your company is making too much money now. At the end of the year, the taxes would be hefty. So, it’s better to switch to assets, which will incur much less income tax."

Chen Yan corrected, "It’s not my company’s, it’s my personal money."

Upon hearing this, Dong Hongtu was momentarily stunned. Obviously, he didn’t quite grasp Chen Yan’s maneuver.

If it’s all his own assets, why not avoid some taxes?

What could Chen Yan say...

The system’s requirement was for personal purchases. He could only get cashback when spending his own money...

However, although that’s what he thought, when he spoke, he said, "Well. Paying taxes to the country is my honor."

Hearing Chen Yan’s words, Dong Hongtu was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled and gave a thumbs up, "President Chen really sets an example for all of us."

Chen Yan always felt like he was being mocked...

But he was not in the mood to care about that now; he was still preoccupied with the transactions Dong Hongtu was having with the "system."

He thought that this was an opportunity to glimpse into the overall operation of the system.

So he probed, "Oh right. I almost forgot to ask, about the person who represented me in the last two transactions with you, how do you rate them?"

He added, "If there’s anything unsatisfactory, tell me, and I’ll give them a piece of my mind when I get back."

Chen Yan’s words didn’t raise Dong Hongtu’s suspicions.

He guffawed, "Very good. Miss Su is very polite and decisive."

Chen Yan’s face didn’t show it, but his heart twinged with doubt.

’Miss Su?’

’There’s even a full name?’

’Is this a memory implanted in Dong Hongtu’s brain by the system, or is there really such a person?’

’And what’s the deal with the overseas fund...’

’Could it be that all the transactions were real?’

Chen Yan felt enshrouded in layers and layers of fog.

He seemed to have glimpsed something, but couldn’t analyze it.

Moreover, because he had already used the "Inward Headphones" twice during negotiations today, he couldn’t get more clues.

For a moment, Chen Yan felt irritated.

He looked at Dong Hongtu but didn’t continue the conversation. Instead, he exchanged a few more words and then sent Dong Hongtu on his way.

He planned to wait for a day when he had more opportunities, and then have an in-depth chat with Dong Hongtu.

After getting more clues, he would have Qin Ming look into that overseas fund account...

...

The next few days flew by in a flurry of activity.

Chen Yan’s purchase of the Fenghua Building and Twin Towers Hotel had quickly spread throughout the Qin Island Billionaires Circle.

Opinions on Chen Yan’s acquisition were mixed among the billionaires.

Some said Chen Yan had snagged a bargain. If not for Fenghua Group’s crisis, they never would’ve sold it off so cheaply.

Had Chen Yan paid market price, he would’ve had to spend at least a third more.

Others thought Chen Yan had made a losing deal. After all, both buildings were valuable but seldom on the market. Although they were worth a lot, there weren’t many buyers.

Qin Island was a quasi-first-tier city with a stable circle of billionaires. Each family had its headquarters and didn’t need to buy.

New billionaires either stayed in their place of origin or went to top-tier cities like Tiandu, Deep City, and so on, rarely establishing headquarters on Qin Island. It was good if one appeared every few years. Buyers were scarce.

If they were to mortgage the property to the bank, they’d get at most half of the market value, not to mention the high-interest rates. So they didn’t think it was worth it.

However, if they knew Chen Yan’s thoughts, they’d probably realize they were overthinking it. His money would be fully cash-backed. If that’s considered a loss, then what would count as profit?

But they didn’t know about Chen Yan’s surefire profit so, thinking his spending way was "inappropriate," the Qin Island Billionaires Circle had an even bleaker outlook on the venture capital firm Chen Yan had formed with Zhao Ying, He Mengxue, and Qin Ming.

Just as Young Master Dong, Dong Hongtu’s son, had said: crossing into another industry was difficult, and the venture capital industry was even tougher. The challenges piling on made such a startup incredibly risky, with the success rate being absurdly lower than 1%.

Thus, originally only the second-generation rich kids on Qin Island were waiting for Chen Yan to fail, but now even the billionaires were watching Chen Yan, ready to see him crash and burn.

A few billionaires who were on good terms with the He family even called He Ruixue, advising her to stop her reckless involvement with Chen Yan, who they claimed had become arrogant.

In the end, it was He Mengxue who stood firm against the pressure, refusing to give in.

In fact, she became even more diligent in her preparations.

This not only showed Chen Yan her resilience but also pleased him greatly.

So, when He Mengxue started recruiting, Chen Yan lit a stick of "Divine Summoning Incense".

"Divine Summoning Incense: Upon lighting this incense, your enterprise’s allure to talents will significantly increase. Duration: 3 days."

At a time when no one had high hopes, Chen Yan was eager to achieve some quick results to prove everyone wrong!

Well... that, and to get the business on track quickly, so he could get rid of Brother Ying.

Because... Brother Ying was really becoming a nuisance!

Chen Yan was close to being driven mad by her these last few days!

---

However, if they knew Chen Yan’s thoughts, they’d probably realize they were overthinking it. His money would be fully cash-backed. If that’s considered a loss, then what would count as profit? But they didn’t know about Chen Yan’s surefire profit so, thinking his spending way was "inappropriate," the Qin Island Billionaires Circle had an even bleaker outlook on the venture capital firm Chen Yan had formed with Zhao Ying, He Mengxue, and Qin Ming.

Just as Young Master Dong, Dong Hongtu’s son, had said: crossing into another industry was difficult, and the venture capital industry was even tougher. The challenges piling on made such a startup incredibly risky, with the success rate being absurdly lower than 1%.

Thus, originally only the second-generation rich kids on Qin Island were waiting for Chen Yan to fail, but now even the billionaires were watching Chen Yan, ready to see him crash and burn.

A few billionaires who were on good terms with the He family even called He Ruixue, advising her to stop her reckless involvement with Chen Yan, who they claimed had become arrogant.

In the end, it was He Mengxue who stood firm against the pressure, refusing to give in.

In fact, she became even more diligent in her preparations.

This not only showed Chen Yan her resilience but also pleased him greatly.

So, when He Mengxue started recruiting, Chen Yan lit a stick of "Divine Summoning Incense".

"Divine Summoning Incense: Upon lighting this incense, your enterprise’s allure to talents will significantly increase. Duration: 3 days."

At a time when no one had high hopes, Chen Yan was eager to achieve some quick results to prove everyone wrong!

Well... that, and to get the business on track quickly, so he could get rid of Brother Ying.

Because... Brother Ying was really becoming a nuisance!

Chen Yan was close to being driven mad by her these last few days!