Chapter 321 - 179: An Opportunity to Make a Killing

Some people had to study for years just to scrape by and land a position.

But Spicy King was different. It had almost no educational requirements.

All you needed were basic literacy and communication skills.

Never mind college graduates; there were plenty of employees who hadn’t even finished high school.

"Everyone’s busy. Don’t mind me."

Qi Sheng smiled and waved his hand, not seeing Yuan Li anywhere in the restaurant.

’It made sense, though. Yuan Li was a very busy person these days.’

When she wasn’t scouting locations for new Spicy King branches, she was busy negotiating with supply chains and meeting with investors.

Every day, outside of her normal sleeping hours, Yuan Li was either making calls or taking them.

It was a good thing Qi Sheng had given her abilities a boost.

Only then could she handle these seemingly hectic tasks with ease.

As for Qi Sheng being a hands-off boss, Yuan Li didn’t have the slightest complaint.

As an employee, working hard for her boss was simply her duty and responsibility.

He Yu from Black Ant and Su Kai from Sequoia were full of praise for Yuan Li’s competence.

They even felt her talents were being wasted.

With Yuan Li’s skills, she could easily be the CEO of a Fortune 500 company.

Spicy King, on the other hand, was just a small company with fewer than 30 locations.

As Spicy King’s popularity exploded, Yuan Li was also frequently hounded by headhunters.

Haidilao, in particular, had missed out on such a valuable talent.

The group’s upper management was practically kicking themselves over it.

As Spicy King established a firm foothold in the Southwest and began gradually planning its expansion, backed by top-tier venture capital firms like Sequoia, anyone with a bit of foresight could see its aggressive momentum.

"Chairman Qi?"

Hearing someone call his name, Qi Sheng turned around instinctively, a smile immediately appearing on his face.

"President He?"

"Haha, what a coincidence! I never expected to run into a busy man like you, Chairman Qi, at Spicy King’s flagship store."

He Yu was also pleasantly surprised. He hurried over and warmly shook Qi Sheng’s hand.

"Are you here on a business trip, President He?"

Qi Sheng remembered that Black Ant Capital’s headquarters was in Shenzhen.

For him to be in Chengdu, there was naturally only one possibility.

"Haha, I’m here this time to see an old friend. He’s also the founder of a company we at Black Ant invested in. How about I take you over to meet him?"

He Yu was so enthusiastic toward Qi Sheng.

It wasn’t just because he had invested in Spicy King.

He also wanted to coax him into becoming a Limited Partner (LP) for Black Ant Capital’s second-round fund.

"That sounds great."

Qi Sheng didn’t refuse. He Yu had a good eye for things.

’Maybe he’ll bring me a pleasant surprise.’

Seeing Qi Sheng agree so readily, He Yu’s impression of him improved even more.

Arriving at a booth, Qi Sheng looked at the short, unremarkable man with glasses sitting before him and waited for He Yu’s introduction.

"Chairman Qi, this is the CEO of Pop Mart, as well as its founder and largest shareholder, Wang Ning."

"President Wang, this is the Chairman of the Banyan Tree Group I often tell you about, Qi Sheng."

As the middleman, He Yu naturally chose to introduce them using their most famous companies.

Compared to the fledgling Spicy King, the Banyan Tree Group was much more renowned.

"Chairman Qi, a pleasure to meet you."

Wang Ning didn’t dare to be casual, quickly extending his hand in a very formal manner.

"President Wang, a pleasure."

Qi Sheng smiled and took a seat opposite the two of them.

"Could you get me a set of tableware?"

As soon as Qi Sheng finished speaking, a waiter immediately brought over the tableware.

"President Wang, are you satisfied with the taste of Spicy King?"

Qi Sheng asked Wang Ning casually while having the waiter mix a dipping sauce for him.

"Extremely satisfied! I’m not exaggerating, this is truly the best Sichuan and Chongqing hot pot I’ve ever had. Bar none!"

It was only after eating this hot pot that Wang Ning understood why his old friend He Yu was so certain.

That Spicy King would definitely replace Haidilao and become the leader of the hot pot industry.

Top-tier taste, top-tier service, top-tier atmosphere.

It was expensive, but worth every penny!

"That’s good. Soon, Spicy King will be opening branches in all third-tier and above cities across the country."

"By then, President Wang, you’ll be able to eat at Spicy King in any of those cities."

Qi Sheng’s tone seemed nonchalant, but it was brimming with understated arrogance.

"Uh..."

Wang Ning was stunned for a moment, shaken by Qi Sheng’s sheer audacity.

Branches of Spicy King in every third-tier city and above across the country.

What an incredibly ambitious plan!

Even Haidilao had only managed something similar.

Running a hot pot chain isn’t that easy.

Quality control, service, pricing... you need a sufficient talent pool to make it all work.

"Haha, President Wang, you’ve tasted Spicy King for yourself. If you wanted to eat hot pot, would you choose Spicy King or Haidilao?"

He Yu rephrased Qi Sheng’s statement as a more vivid multiple-choice question.

"I’d definitely choose Spicy King. The taste isn’t even in the same league."

Wang Ning answered directly without a second thought.

Haidilao’s service is good, but Spicy King’s service is just as good.

For employees, as long as the benefits and pay are good...

...being asked to smile all day is no big deal.

You want the horse to run, but you don’t want to feed it? There’s no such thing.

With Spicy King’s potential, it was only a matter of time before it became the leader of the restaurant industry.

"Chairman Qi, President Wang is also in Chengdu this time to open a new store."

"Pop Mart is about to be delisted from the New Third Board."

"Before they delist, if you have the chance, you could buy a stake."

He Yu meant well; he was very optimistic about Pop Mart.

Qi Sheng had the financial means, so if he could get him to invest as well...

...Pop Mart’s future would undoubtedly be even more promising.

"Invest?"

Qi Sheng smiled and shook his head. "My funds are a little tight right now. Let’s talk about it some other time."

"Ha, that’s true. You have a massive enterprise, Chairman Qi. Spending 680 million to acquire the Hangzhou West Lake Hotel was a huge move."

Afraid that Wang Ning might underestimate Qi Sheng, He Yu quickly mentioned the Banyan Tree Group’s recent major move.

"680 million?"

Wang Ning couldn’t help but glance at Qi Sheng.

He now had a new impression of Chairman Qi: fabulously wealthy.

Pop Mart’s market capitalization on the New Third Board was only 1.5 billion.

This meant Qi Sheng had the financial power to acquire his entire company.

At this thought, Wang Ning’s gaze toward Qi Sheng was filled with nothing but awe and admiration.

Rumor had it that this Chairman Qi was even younger than him.

Yet he was already a bona fide tycoon with a net worth in the billions.

Spicy King alone was valued at 1 billion US Dollars.

That was five times the valuation of his own company!

But what he didn’t know was that this Chairman Qi he so admired...

...was already secretly plotting how to acquire his company.

Qi Sheng, who basically had a cheat code for seeing the future, naturally knew that Pop Mart would one day have a market cap in the tens of billions.

Its current valuation of just over a billion was an absolute rock-bottom price.

He only needed to hold it for two years to get a return of several dozen times his investment.

How could Qi Sheng possibly miss out on such a great opportunity?