Chapter 88: Park Jiyeon's

2025, golf course, practice area.

On a lounge chair, Lin Xiuyuan was watching Li Juli, who was earnestly instructing YoonA on her swing not far away, with a look of boredom.

He turned his head to pick up a bag of biscuits beside him, tore the packaging open with a "crackle," stuffed a piece into his mouth, and chewed it with a crunching sound.

The crisp chewing sound quickly attracted the attention of the two ladies.

YoonA, who had been standing tall with a focused expression, instantly deflated; she turned back and looked at him with a smile, "Xiuyuan-xi, you didn't eat anything again today, did you?"

Likewise, Li Juli also looked at him, "Are you very hungry?"

"I just woke up, so I am a bit hungry. Why don't you two keep playing? I'll head over to the restaurant to grab a bite and come back."

Lin Xiuyuan didn't stand on ceremony with them and stated his thoughts directly.

It was precisely this casual and frank attitude of his that made the two women opposite him appreciate him all the more.

And so, they both laughed.

"Let's go together. We've been playing for a while now, let's go take a break."

"Mm-hmm, I was just thinking I wanted to have something to drink, too."

After a simple cleanup, the three of them headed to the clubhouse restaurant together.

Afterward, apart from Lin Xiuyuan ordering a main course, the two ladies only ordered some delicate cakes and desserts.

They chatted while eating, the atmosphere relaxed.

YoonA held her coffee, glanced at Lin Xiuyuan, who was still burying his head in "sweeping away the leftovers" beside her, and teased, "Xiuyuan, there are no outsiders here. Tell us the truth: is your Tavern failing, and you don't have money to eat anymore?"

"Huh? No, it's not that. I just didn't have time, I just woke up."

Lin Xiuyuan, chewing on beef, explained with a wry smile.

Hearing the answer, YoonA pursed her lips and smiled, "I was worried that your Tavern, where one can drink without spending money, had gone out of business. Then I would have one less place to hang out."

"Not to that extent. Drinking a bit of alcohol won't make it go out of business."

As for the liquor and such, Lin Xiuyuan hadn't even realized that the prices were so low before he started stocking them.

Even the genuine products he sourced weren't very expensive.

Not to mention some unscrupulous bars that use tap water and chemical mixtures; those are even cheaper than cheap.

At this moment, Li Juli became a bit curious too, "Xiuyuan, actually I'm quite curious too. You say your bar doesn't open its doors to guests and only hosts members, and members can enter for free—can that actually make money?"

"Of course. I just don't charge for the drinks usually, but members still have to pay membership fees to join."

Lin Xiuyuan, who took a sip of water to swallow the beef, satisfied the curiosity of the two women beside him.

But this also sparked another question, "How much is the membership fee?"

Looking at YoonA, who had asked the question, Lin Xiuyuan thought for a moment, "There's no set rule, but it definitely makes money. The amount doesn't really matter."

And why wouldn't it? The Tavern was "donated," the two Apartments over there were obtained for free, the car was free, and as for the rest, Dalongzai and Xiaozhiyan were even participating in person.

If this isn't making money, what is?

"You really are Buddhist-like."

YoonA shook her head and laughed.

This was a term she had learned from Huaxia, and she always felt it suited the young man before her perfectly.

Casual, yet not lacking in shrewdness.

"At least I'm still working hard and toiling away, unlike this beauty beside me who goes shopping and eating every day. It makes me extremely envious just looking at you."

Lin Xiuyuan glanced at Li Juli, who was scraping at her cake opposite him.

"Hm?" Li Juli raised her eyebrows, "Are you talking about me?"

She then smiled lightly, "Aren't you a fan of Zhiyan? What, haven't you seen our 'death schedules' back in the day? We were so tired then that we could only catch up on sleep in the car. So, being able to eat and shop so easily now is something we earned through hardship."

YoonA added with a smile, "Besides, Unnie isn't just eating and playing now; she's also doing some investing."

"Mm."

Li Juli nodded.

……

……

Meanwhile, far away in Los Angeles in 2013, there were others talking about investments, also members of Tara.

Having just finished a day's schedule, Zhiyan walked into her Jiudian room and, before even putting down her bag, shouted loudly.

"Unnie, I want to invest. I don't want to be like this anymore."

This sudden declaration left Xian Enjing and Park Hyomin, who were standing to the side, stunned, while the new youngest member stood trembling in the corner.

"Don't want to be like what?"

Watching this little cub who had started bristling again, Xian Enjing smiled and prepared to soothe her once more.

But then she saw her look at her seriously and say, "I want to invest in the food and beverage industry. I don't want to stand in one place anymore and be watched by those people like a monkey. When I get back to Seoul, I'm going to talk to the company."

When she was in Seoul, even when she was being anti-ed by the whole nation, Zhiyan hadn't felt as uncomfortable as she did coming to LA this time.

That gaze that felt like it was piercing through her skin made her whole body go numb.

It caused the idea she had been hesitating about to sprout at this very moment; she couldn't be an idol for long, so if she was going to be something, she would be capital.

Seeing Zhiyan's serious expression, Park Hyomin also knew that this child didn't seem to be joking, so she hurriedly followed up by saying, "Zhiyan-ah, why don't you talk to Juli Unnie before you decide?"

In the entire Tara group, if you were to talk about who had the best eye for investment, it would certainly be Li Juli.

That was why, besides worrying about Zhiyan, Park Hyomin suggested she consult with her first.

"Don't worry, Unnie, this isn't an idea I had on a whim."

Knowing that Park Hyomin was worried about her, Zhiyan smiled at her, then sat back down at the foot of the bed and began to ponder while biting her fingernails.

Actually, she had already discussed this idea with Lin Xiuyuan and the others during a meal a few days ago, though the investment she had in mind at the time wasn't food and beverage, but real estate.

As it turned out, as soon as she finished stating the idea, it was shot down by Krystal.

The reason is simple: there isn't much time left to play the real estate market in Seoul, even though there is still a period of growth where money can be made.

But she was worried that Park Jiyeon wouldn't be able to handle it, and if she got trapped in it, it would be all over.

So she felt that buying property in a good location to preserve value was fine, but if she really wanted to invest, she should try to switch to another channel.

At this moment, Lin Xiuyuan jumped out and grinningly pointed out a bright path for Park Jiyeon.

That was the catering industry.

He even brought up the strategy of a hot pot restaurant owned by a certain male celebrity surnamed Zeng from back home, telling Park Jiyeon that she could learn from this model.

He used the hot pot restaurant opened by a male celebrity surnamed Zeng from back home as an example, explaining in detail that "low cost, high popularity, IP monetization" operational model.

He suggested Park Jiyeon use the fame of T-ara for advertising, act as the face of the brand herself, first attract traffic through popularity, and later slowly expand to successfully complete monetization and exit.

This model of harvesting leeks is much smarter than Jessica's "Small Division Sign," and anyway, the name T-ara is just being used one day at a time now.

As long as Park Jiyeon is careful and doesn't get greedy or act rashly, she can basically retreat unscathed.

When the time comes, she can take the money she earned and invest in the 2025 scripts that Xueli "brought" back, completely transforming herself into capital that controls resources.

That night, Park Jiyeon, having received this "get-rich-quick guide," thought about it for a long time, until today, after being stung by the gazes of those people "watching a monkey."

She finally couldn't hold it in anymore and completely exploded.

At the same time, she was actually also stimulated by the future trends of 2025.

If she doesn't become capital and doesn't make big money, Park Jiyeon is also worried that if she happens to repeat the same mistakes again, she would really just want to die and be done with it.

So, taking advantage of this opportunity and this surge of momentum, she made her decision.

Once she returns to Seoul, she will go to the company for a showdown; she wants to invest and be the boss, but profit-sharing is absolutely out of the question.

She would rather pay advertising fees than share profits; this is her bottom line.

Negotiate, she must negotiate.

(End of this chapter)