Chapter 5: Xiaomi Heavy Industry, First Time Entrepreneurship

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Protagonist:

Lin Yi

The guest room was simple, but not messy — the kind of utilitarian order unique to science majors.

What should be there was there; what shouldn't be there was nowhere to be found.

Lin Yi hadn't waited long in the guest room before the guest room's door was pushed open from outside, and a middle-aged man who looked about forty, wearing a white down jacket, poked his head in from the doorway:

"Mr. Lin, Boss Lei requests your presence."

Lin Yi picked up his briefcase and stood, striding with steady steps, following behind the middle-aged man.

He glanced around from time to time.

After all, on the later internet, this place was the legendary Huaguo Mountain.

This was where all the chaos began; he had to take a good look.

The two stopped before a door at the end of the corridor; the middle-aged man raised his hand and knocked, and upon hearing a "come in" from inside, he gently pushed the door open, stepped aside, and gestured for Lin Yi to enter.

Lin Yi passed the middle-aged man and walked into the room, and the door was shut the moment he entered.

The room was pitch black, only faint specks of light coming from the opposite wall.

That seemed to be a window.

By that faint glimmer, Lin Yi, his eyes adjusted to the darkness, could barely make out the room's layout.

Cabinets lined both sides, and directly opposite stood a desk, its surface empty, spotlessly clean.

In front of the desk sat an empty chair.

Behind the desk, a human-shaped figure sat indistinctly.

Just then, the room's lights suddenly switched on — orange-yellow light that left the room still dim.

But it let one barely see the face of the person opposite.

Behind the desk, Lei Jun sat with legs crossed, right hand pinching a wilted red rose, gently toying with it.

At the same time his eyelids drooped, gaze locked on that red rose, as if it were the most dazzling treasure in the world.

His whole bearing appeared lazy, exuding a big-shot aura.

Seeing this, Lin Yi couldn't help rolling his eyes.

This was obviously an imitation of that famous gangster movie The Godfather.

He wasn't in a rush either; he simply walked over quietly, sat down on the chair, and quietly watched the person opposite put on an act.

He wanted to see who would crack first.

So the two in the room said nothing — one admiring the red rose, the other watching someone admire the red rose.

After ten-odd minutes, it was still Lei Jun who cracked first, shifting his gaze from the red rose to Lin Yi:

"If you want to borrow money, you should go to your relatives, go to a bank, go to a loan shark — why come to me? I'm a poor devil, no money."

"You have money!"

"I don't have money!"

"No, you do!"

The person opposite wore a determined expression, looking dead certain that he had money.

It made Lei Jun suspect whether he owed this person money.

But he thought back and forth, pondered for a long time, even wondered about parallel spacetime, and still couldn't figure out where he might owe the other party money.

He simply stopped dwelling on the issue, waved the hand holding the red rose lightly: "Let's move past this topic — why would you think I'd lend you money?"

"I don't care what you think; I care what I think!"

Lin Yi quoted Cult Leader Huang's greasy line, then let out a breath:

"I think we should talk about something a bit more normal!"

At these words, Lei Jun across from him froze, really wanting to ask whether what he'd just asked wasn't a normal topic.

But his gaze shifted and he saw the other's confident expression.

He pursed his lips, turned around, placed the rose on the desk, and clasped his ten fingers together:

"Then... how much do you want to borrow?"

Having asked this, a faint smile appeared on Lei Jun's face; he was preparing to start a venture again, and at the same time wanted to learn a bit about investing.

If this young man could persuade him, the money lent out could entirely count as an investment.

The next second, he saw the person opposite extend his right hand, then spread five fingers.

5 million?

Should be more than that!

Back when that pig farmer asked me for financing, I only put in 10 million, but then that guy turned around and raised 10 million USD.

That guy's company is now thriving; if I'd been willing to put in more back then, he'd be my high-end employee now.

What a pity.

If this young man's idea is good, even if he only asks for 5 million, I can raise it to 50 million for him.

These thoughts flashed through his mind one by one, and then Lei Jun heard a firm, steady voice ring out from opposite:

"500 million!"

The next second, the Godfather imitator could sit still no longer — he leapt up from the leather chair:

"How much did you say?!"

After jumping up, he realized he had been undignified again, and plopped back down; the playful smile on his face vanished, leaving only an icy expression.

He placed both hands on the desk, clasped his fingers tightly, and asked word by word:

"Young man, do you know how much 500 million is?"

"I do!" Lin Yi's expression remained calm as he lightly tapped his head:

"Calculated at the benchmark interest rate of 2.25% announced by the central bank on December 23 last year, the annual interest on a 500 million yuan time deposit is 11.25 million."

"And because of the financial crisis, interest tax has been suspended, so you can receive the full 11.25 million."

"But considering 500 million is a large sum of money, most banks have large-sum deposit agreements."

"The interest rate can be set at 3% to 5%; we calculate at the midpoint of 4%, which is still 20 million."

"If you go through private lending channels, if you're ruthless enough, you can charge 24%; if you're even more ruthless, you can go straight to 36%."

"If calculated based on your hometown's salary, an ordinary dual-income family's monthly income is around 4,000 to 5,000."

"Calculated at 5,000, a family would need 100,000 months without eating or drinking to save this amount."

"I know exactly how large this sum is, which is why I came to you."

"At this point, there may not be many people who could lend me such a large sum, and you are the most likely one."

After listening to Lin Yi's long speech, Lei Jun raised his hand and lightly applauded; the sound of applause echoed in the dim room.

As the applause faded, his voice followed: "Then, Mr. Lin, how much interest are you willing to give me?"

"24%, or 36%?"

"No interest! Because I'm only borrowing for 15 days!" Lin Yi spoke outrageously; after speaking, he stared at that kind, narrowing his eyes as he continued:

"I know you are confused about the future of the company you founded, and what I have in my hand can help you."

"This is the basis for my daring to come here empty-handed to borrow money from you, and my certainty that you will lend it."

While speaking, Lin Yi opened his briefcase, took out his Master's Degree Certificate, Degree Certificate, and graduation photo from the school from the briefcase.

He placed them on the table and gently pushed them across to Lei Jun.

"The road you will take next will be harder than Zhuoyue Network."

"Do you still want to repeat Zhuoyue Network's mistakes?"