Investing in Penguin and Settling Down in Kyoto

Chen Yong was very happy after Zhou Yan and Fang Mengya reached a cooperation agreement.

Chen Yong is different from Zhou Yan. Their company has a deep cooperation with Hong Kong, and the premiere of "Young Justice Bao" was also broadcast on Hong Kong's HD Jade Channel.

He didn't want to offend Mrs. Xiang.

Zhou Yan and Chen Yong were talking about "Young Justice Bao".

"Has the role of Pang Feiyan been cast yet?" Zhou Yan suddenly thought of Fan Binbin.

"No," Chen Yong said, startled, and shook his head.

"Let me know when you audition."

"What? Did a friend recommend it?"

"Yes, you might know Fan Binbin," Zhou Yan said without hiding anything.

"It's her," Chen Yong thought, recalling what had happened some time ago.

It was quite a big deal.

This greatly increased Fan Binbin's popularity.

"Okay, I'll let you know when the time comes," Chen Yong agreed.

After the three parted ways, Zhou Yan returned to the hotel alone.

On the way, Zhou Yan called Fan Binbin and told him about Fang Mengya.

"She should be going to Kyoto in a couple of days. You can host her then," Zhou Yan reminded her.

"Okay, when are you coming back?"

"It will take some more time," Zhou Yan said, not wanting to go back.

"Our birthday is in two weeks," Fan Binbin couldn't help but remind her.

Zhou Yan paused for a moment.

This year's birthday is particularly meaningful, as it marks his and Fan Binbin's coming of age.

After this birthday, he will turn eighteen.

According to the law, he/she is fully liable for the act.

"I'll head back ahead of time," Zhou Yan promised.

"Okay, I'll wait for you," Fan Binbin said with a smile.

……

Zhou Yan spent a few days in Guangzhou, enjoying Cantonese cuisine and learning about Guangdong culture.

A few days later, Zhou Yan arrived in Pengcheng.

At this time, Shenzhen was designated as a "Special Economic Zone" and ushered in rapid development, which can be described as "changing with each passing day".

Zhou Yan personally went to Tencent's headquarters to discuss cooperation.

The penguin of today is not very famous and cannot be compared to the internet behemoth of later generations.

Compared to each other, they are like fireflies and the bright moon.

Zhou Yan knew this was an opportunity, a once-in-a-lifetime chance to change his destiny.

Once this investment is successful, he can completely slack off and live a life of leisure.

Of course, this is also not in line with his personality.

When the receptionist at Tencent heard that Zhou Yan had come to invest, she was overjoyed and immediately relayed the good news to the leadership.

Zhou Yan also met the legendary "Little Ma" here.

At this time, Pony Ma was not yet the internet mogul he would become in later years, someone Zhou Yan looked up to.

He was wearing glasses, was refined and easygoing, and smiled like a lucky cat.

When Little Ma and other leaders looked at Zhou Yan in front of them, the smiles on their faces immediately froze.

They couldn't believe that the person who wanted to invest in their company was so young.

Fortunately, Brother Ma and his team did not judge Zhou Yan by his appearance and led him to the conference room.

On the way, several senior executives of Tencent were whispering to each other at the back.

"You must be kidding, this guy is so young."

"I also feel it's a bit frivolous."

"Don't rush to conclusions, let's observe first."

"Our company isn't a big company, so even if it were a joke, they wouldn't come to us."

"We don't have much money left, so we have to seize every opportunity."

……

The group deliberately slowed their pace and spoke in hushed tones.

Upon entering the conference room, Zhou Yan made an outrageous demand: he wanted to invest 8 million RMB in exchange for 30% of Tencent's shares.

The penguin, of course, refused immediately.

Zhou Yan was not discouraged and was willing to give the penguin a chance to consider it.

He knew that Penguin was short of money at the moment.

Without further funding, Penguin will face extinction.

A genius who doesn't grow up isn't a genius.

Internet giants that haven't grown into giants aren't really giants.

There are many internet companies like Tencent, but how many of them have actually grown into successful companies?

The rise of a behemoth is inevitably marked by countless bones beneath its feet.

Zhou Yan was more composed than Little Ma, and he knew the situation with Penguin.

At this point, the penguins were almost at their wits' end.

How poor were they?

They were so poor that Pony Ma and his team considered selling QICQ, with the asking price dropping from 300 million to 200 million, and finally to 60, which was below their expectations, before someone was finally willing to take it over.

However, at the moment of signing the document, Pony Ma hesitated.

He couldn't bear to sell his hard work, so he continued to borrow money from people everywhere, even to the point of being so poor that he mooched off other people's servers.

You don't know how expensive firewood, rice, oil, and salt are until you're in charge of the household.

Little Ma wanted to give up countless days and nights, but he just couldn't bear to.

He didn't want to give up on his dream.

In its previous life, in November 1999, on the penguin's first anniversary, the penguin only had a little over 10,000 yuan left in its accounts.

Under immense pressure, even in his dreams, Little Ma would wake up in fear of not being able to pay the server hosting fees.

To make matters worse, before this problem was resolved, another troublesome issue arose.

ICQ sent a lawyer's letter claiming that Tencent's QICQ infringed on their intellectual property rights.

Ma was in complete despair and urgently convened a meeting.

During the meeting, Pony Ma heard the words "venture capital" and realized that this was his lifeline.

When the time is right, heaven and earth lend their strength, and the penguin's fate is not yet sealed.

Just then, the central government decided to hold a high-tech achievement trade fair in Shenzhen. After receiving the news, Pony Ma immediately took six versions of his business plan and ran all over the exhibition booths.

Ultimately, it was spotted by IDG and Richard Li's Hong Kong Pacific Century Group, with each investing US$110 million to acquire a 20% stake in Penguin.

While Zhou Yan remained calm and composed, Xiao Ma was suffering terribly.

It turned out that 30% of the shares were sold for eight million.

Let's just wait for the penguins to slowly die out.

How to choose?

……

September and October are the two most beautiful months of the year.

In the past two months, there have been countless couples getting married.

It seems to carry the most beautiful blessings in the world.

After returning from Pengcheng, Zhou Yan visited almost all the high-end residential buildings in HD District within just a few days.

After receiving an advance from Song Yuanfei, besides investing in Tencent, his other goal was to buy a house.

He wants to officially "set up camp" in Kyoto and put down roots.

Housing prices in Kyoto are not high nowadays, generally around 4,000 yen.

In prime locations, there are over 6,000 square meters of housing, such as Huaqing Jiayuan, which were considered high-end residences at the time.

In some remote areas, the price is over three thousand.

High has its own value.

Cheap has its advantages.

But no matter which property it is, as long as you buy it, you'll make a profit.

After careful consideration, Zhou Yan ultimately chose Huaqing Jiayuan.

It has a good location, close to the company, and is adjacent to universities such as Kyoto University, Huaxia University, China University of Mining and Technology, China University of Geosciences, and China University of Aeronautics and Astronautics.

Even if Zhou Yan moves to a different house in the future, this house can still be rented out.

There's absolutely no worry about selling them.

Of course, the price wasn't cheap either. Zhou Yan bought the largest unit, a four-bedroom apartment of 176 square meters, and paid over 1.1 million yuan after discounts.

In addition, Zhou Yan purchased two more parking spaces separately.

This is something we can do without, but we can't be without. We'll buy a car once he gets his driver's license.

On the morning of September 16th, Zhou Yan woke up Fan Binbin, who was fast asleep.

"What's wrong?" Fan Binbin asked Zhou Yan, her eyes still sleepy.

"Get up and wash up, I'll take you somewhere."

"Where?" Fan Binbin asked, feeling a little sleepy.

You'll see when you get there.

"Okay," Fan Binbin didn't ask too many questions.

After the two finished washing up, Zhou Yan took Fan Binbin to Huaqing Jiayuan.

"Why did you bring me here?" Fan Binbin asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Come with me first," Zhou Yan said, taking Fan Binbin's hand as they went upstairs.

"Is he going to visit someone?" Fan Binbin had no idea that Zhou Yan would buy a house here.

Fan Binbin realized something was wrong when Zhou Yan took the key to the room out of his pocket.

"Zhou Yan, don't tell me you bought this house?" Fan Binbin said incredulously.