Kuang Ping had never experienced such a unique investment.
"Most investments, while not necessarily grand, this is truly my first time discussing investment in a real rural area."
On the way from Shanghai to Yicheng, following Cheng Hao's address, after obtaining contact information, Tan Jincheng sent Li Yaohui to pick up Kuang Ping in the county town and arranged accommodation for Kuang Ping and his assistant.
They arrived at five in the afternoon. Tan Jincheng's original intention was for Kuang Ping to rest for a night and meet in the county town the next day.
However, since Kuang Ping had traveled so far, a little more travel wouldn't hurt.
So, he followed Li Yaohui to Tan Jincheng's house for dinner, a half-hour drive from the county town, through the township, and then to the countryside.
Kuang Ping came from a good family, born in Yangcheng, and studied at a well-known university in the United States.
He had never been to such a small county town or a real rural area, and it had a unique charm.
"There's not much to offer, but it's fresh. I hope Mr. Kuang doesn't mind."
"I apologize for the intrusion, and I appreciate Mr. Tan's hospitality." A table full of dishes moved both Kuang Ping and his assistant.
Rural people are hospitable. Knowing that Tan Jincheng had guests coming, his grandfather slaughtered their old hen without needing to be told, and his grandmother went to the fields to pick vegetables.
For Kuang Ping, who was accustomed to delicacies, a table full of local specialties was certainly not precious, but he could feel the warmth, and it made the two, who hadn't eaten well on the road, feel hungry.
Tan Jincheng spooned a ladle of chicken soup into each of their bowls:
"You two, have a bowl of chicken soup to warm your stomachs first. This chicken was just butchered this afternoon and wasn't fed any feed. It tastes really good."
Kuang Ping and his assistant exchanged glances and laughed:
"Then I won't be polite, I am a bit hungry."
"Don't be polite, treat this as your own home. Let's eat first, then talk about business."
Before meeting, Kuang Ping's impression of Tan Jincheng was one of arrogance. Several times he expressed investment interest, but Tan Jincheng avoided him, not even giving him contact information. Today, he only sent a driver to pick him up.
Come on, he's an investor after all, a certain level of respect should be shown, right?
However, after meeting, Kuang Ping's impression of Tan Jincheng changed somewhat. A large table full of dishes clearly couldn't have been prepared in a short time.
Additionally, two tables were thoughtfully prepared. This table was for himself, his assistant, Tan Jincheng, and his girlfriend, making it convenient for discussion.
After a bowl of chicken soup, Kuang Ping said somewhat awkwardly:
"How about we combine the two tables? It would be more lively?"
To be honest, he had never experienced such a scene. Elites returning from abroad were eloquent when it came to business, but he knew nothing of rural etiquette.
If his assistant hadn't reminded him, he would have forgotten to prepare gifts before coming; it was Mid-Autumn Festival, after all, how could one visit someone's home without bringing gifts?
"No need, no need. My grandparents don't speak Mandarin well, and my parents need to take care of my sister while she eats. This is perfectly fine."
Tan Jincheng then poured wine for Kuang Ping and his assistant. Although Tan Jincheng wasn't a great drinker, a meal without wine isn't a proper meal, so a few drinks were acceptable.
The assistant quickly stood up and said:
"Thank you, Mr. Tan, but I'll be driving later, so I won't drink."
"It's alright, guests are always welcome. I'll have my driver take you back to the hotel later; of course, if you can't drink, don't force it, I'm not much of a drinker myself."
The assistant looked at Kuang Ping, who nodded.
After three rounds of drinks, the relationship seemed to have instantly drawn a little closer. Kuang Ping said half-jokingly, half-seriously:
"Mr. Tan and Ms. Gu, you two are enjoying a leisurely National Day holiday in the countryside, but you've turned the internet upside down!"
Before coming, Kuang Ping had learned that Tencent, upon discovering the launch of Happy Farm, quickly conducted tests, and the results were not good for Tencent.
A large group of game developers who were already on holiday were quickly recalled, and these people must be cursing as much as he was.
Compared to QQ Zone, Xiaonei.com was the most impacted. QQ Zone, Xiaonei.com, plus the rapidly popular Kaixin.com, were currently the first tier of social networking sites. The internet has always been a winner-take-all market.
QQ Zone has traffic from QQ, with deep foundations, and securing a place in the market is almost certain.
And Kaixin.com has traffic from MSN, and has now launched Happy Farm, which has great potential to become popular, and can also carve up the market. If this continues, will Xiaonei.com still have room to survive?
But what Kuang Ping admired most was that Tan Jincheng had registered domain names and trademarks containing the word "Kaixin" (Happy), completely blocking imitators from trying to piggyback on the "Kaixin" name.
Don't ask him how he knew; just say he hadn't thought of it before and hadn't checked the trademark registration applications at the National Trademark Office.
Actually, what Kuang Ping didn't know was that Tan Jincheng, that trickster, had also registered QQ Farm and QQ Ranch, but not under the name of Orange Technology.
Under the name of his father-in-law, Gu Hongshun, he bought a plot of land in Yiwu, set up an agritainment business, planted a few vegetables, raised a few chickens, and made it look legitimate. The categories included agriculture, agricultural product processing, and so on.
Before registering, Tan Jincheng had checked; although Tencent had registered many QQ-related trademarks, most of them were concentrated in information services, i.e., internet-related attributes, and these agricultural categories had not been registered.
This move was actually quite shameless and non-compliant. If a lawsuit really were to happen in the future, facing the Nanshan Invincible, there was a high probability of losing.
However, Tan Jincheng didn't care; this was intentionally done to disgust opponents during future competition.
Anyway, even if he lost a lawsuit against Tencent, he would become famous, which was equivalent to free publicity.
As for the reason, Tan Jincheng had long thought it through: his father-in-law's daughter was named Gu Qingqing; Qingqing, registering with the initials QQ was perfectly fine.
Currently, only Gu Qingqing knew about this. Although her father, Gu Hongshun, had set up this farm at Tan Jincheng's request, he didn't quite understand its true purpose.
Anyway, the couple had nothing to do, and they had some friends from previous businesses. Making money from the agritainment was irrelevant; it was just a place for friends to gather.
However, after Kaixin.com became popular online and Orange Technology was frequently mentioned, Gu Hongshun, who invested 3 million, also became concerned about the development of Orange Technology, often looking for news related to Orange Technology online.
With a valuation soaring to over 100 million in just a few months, his 3 million investment turned into 30 million. Gu Hongshun was stunned.
Gu Hongshun also paid attention to the news of the three major competitors. Linking it to trademark registration, Gu Hongshun, who had run a factory, might not understand all the tricks, but he understood business competition tactics.
This future son-in-law could make a business so big; he was far from as gentle as he appeared. This behavior was quite scoundrel-like.
Lying in bed that night, he analyzed it with his wife, and Li Jinzhen was dumbfounded.
"It can't be, right? Are you thinking too badly of Tan Jincheng? Didn't he say the trademark was registered using Qingqing's initials?"
"Listen to his nonsense. He considers that QQ company's products as competitors; would his idea be so simple? Do you think his money fell from the sky?"
He had used small business tricks before. Now that he understood the ins and outs of Kaixin.com, how could he believe Tan Jincheng's previous explanation?
He had truly believed it before, thinking it was to be good to Qingqing and give his father-in-law something to do. He was quite touched at the time.
He never expected this kid to even fool his father-in-law.
"It should be impossible. Happy Farm didn't even exist back then, how could Tan Jincheng have thought so much?"
Li Jinzhen still didn't believe it.
Gu Hongshun was too lazy to argue with her. Who told you it didn't exist? After having this suspicion, he asked his niece, and this Happy Farm had already been developed; it was just kept under wraps and not launched.
Anyway, for a mother-in-law, once she approves of her son-in-law, everything about him is good.
But truthfully, this kid was really good to his daughter. He actually didn't need this 3 million investment back then; the 30% stake was practically given to his daughter.
Gu Hongshun, of course, knew why it was given. Wasn't it to match their status?
Now he even took his daughter back to his hometown to meet relatives and elders. It seemed all those online rumors were false.
——
The next day.
Tan Jincheng took Kuang Ping and his assistant to the Golden Basin Lake Six Households Island, a well-known and unique spot in the county.
"This place is said to have been home to six households from Jiangsu Province who made a living fishing up the Yangtze River and eventually settled here, so it was named 'Six Households.' Of course, there are more than six households now."
Tan Jincheng introduced it to Kuang Ping amidst the thumping sound of the diesel ferry.
The lake water was clear, the surface calm, lotuses fragranced the air, and a few three-story residential buildings on the small island in the center of the lake were completely isolated by the water. The only way to get out was by boat.
"Do the people on this island live here permanently and can only leave by ferry?"
"Yes, it has always been like this. But this season is the high water season, so it looks even more spectacular."
"It's truly beautiful, I've never seen such a sight."
Kuang Ping exclaimed.
His assistant, who had a digital camera with him, was also captivated by the scenery. He was clicking away, as was Gu Qingqing.
"What a magnificent landscape! It seems I really should get out and travel more."
"Who says otherwise? Life isn't just about the mundane present, but also poetry and distant horizons."
"Oh? Mr. Tan, that's well said, I'll write that down."
Last night, neither party discussed investment. Kuang Ping was like a friend visiting for the first time, simply chatting. Today was the main event.
Kuang Ping initially thought Tan Jincheng was being unreasonable, pulling him from an air-conditioned hotel to some agritainment resort to talk business. Now, seeing such scenery, he felt it was worth it even if no deal was made.
The sights and sounds of this trip to Yicheng were indeed different from meetings in cubicles and coffee shops in big cities.
When the dishes were served, the farmhouse cuisine, prepared with ingredients from the lake such as lotus seeds, lotus roots, gorgon fruit, fish, shrimp, and wild duck, earned high praise from everyone.
There was no drinking today; alcohol would spoil the beauty of such fresh and delicious ingredients.
There were no other guests in the courtyard; Tan Jincheng had reserved the entire place for the day.
After dinner, they sat in the farmhouse courtyard, enjoying the breeze and the lake view. Wild ducks occasionally glided across the water; it was incredibly pleasant.
"It was worth it, Mr. Tan. Even if we don't reach a deal this trip, I've made a friend in you. It wasn't in vain."
"What does that mean, Mr. Kuang, are you not planning to invest?"
"Oh? Mr. Tan has thoughts on investment?"
Tan Jincheng spread his hands:
"If I didn't have thoughts, why would I bother? I'm here bringing my girlfriend to meet my elders."
"Hahaha, indeed I was presumptuous. How does Mr. Tan want to cooperate? How will the specific valuation be calculated?"
Kuang Ping laughed heartily.
After their initial understanding last night, his impression of Tan Jincheng had greatly changed. Tan Jincheng was not the arrogant person he had imagined; on the contrary, he was very humble and hospitable.
He still had this ability to judge people.
Otherwise, how could he be an investor?
His previous reluctance to engage with investors might simply have been to wait for Happy Farm to launch, aiming for a higher valuation for Kaixin.com.
"That depends on what Mr. Kuang can offer me; as you know, I'm not short on money."
(End of Chapter)