Chapter 109: 109: Seeking Investment Opportunities

Xu Yang made a call to the manager, who came out and led everyone through the back door, quietly entering the private room.

This private room was specially prepared for distinguished guests, usually not open to the public, and would only become available when a big shot came over.

Since the boss was coming over with friends today, of course they were going to use this room.

Entering through the back entrance was to avoid being seen.

Even though many customers knew that such private rooms existed in the restaurant.

But if they saw Xu Yang and his group enter from the front door, bypassing the queue and swaggering into the private room, it would still have a negative impact.

Quietly going through the back door avoided this problem entirely.

At 7:40 p.m., the group left Jiang Di Lao.

Everyone left thoroughly satisfied.

“President Xu, the service at Jiang Di Lao is truly impeccable.”

“I was skeptical about what people said online about the ultimate service, but after experiencing it myself, I know it’s just as they described.”

“This kind of service, truly, only Jiang Di Lao could pull it off.”

Everyone exclaimed in admiration.

“President Xu, when will you expand Jiang Di Lao to the capital? If it’s there, I’ll eat there often,” Yang Chen asked.

“We have been planning recently; probably after the New Year. We’ll start the expansion plans then, and the capital will be the first stop for our expansion,” Xu Yang said.

“Great, I’ll be waiting. You have no idea, my wife and daughter, they keep pestering me to take them to Jiang Di Lao in Jiangcheng for hot pot. Travelling all the way to Jiangcheng just for hot pot really takes too much time. Once you open in the capital, that won’t be an issue,” Yang Chen said.

As they talked, led by Fang Pengtao, the group arrived at Wan Da Cinema.

Wan Da Cinema was located on the fifth floor of Wan Da Plaza.

Stepping out of the elevator, they saw a middle-aged man in a smart suit waiting there, the general manager of the cinema.

“Mr. Fang,” the general manager immediately greeted with respect.

Although both were general managers, there was a vast difference in their statuses.

“Take us to the screening hall,” Fang Pengtao said indifferently.

“Yes, please follow me.”

The cinema’s general manager led everyone to Screening Hall 5.

Entering Hall 5, you could see many people were already seated inside.

They were media journalists, film critics, and Wu Jing’s celebrity friends, as well as some lucky viewers, all invited by the distributors of “War Leopard.”

Their opinions were critical.

Once the screening ended, word of mouth would spread.

This would greatly influence whether audiences would flock to the theaters or not.

The cinema’s general manager escorted everyone to take their seats in the back row.

The movie ran for 110 minutes.

Once the film ended, the cinema burst into chatter.

“‘War Leopard’ is much better than previous military action films.”

“I don’t care what anyone else says, I’ll definitely recommend it to my friends.”

“Same here, a military action film like this deserves support.”

“Wu Jing has created a work of conscience, bound to become a benchmark in military action films.”

“I think Wu Jing might just make a comeback with ‘War Leopard’!”

“I wasn’t optimistic about ‘War Leopard’ initially, but I have to say, it was a pleasant surprise. Our country needs military action films of this caliber.”

“I must say, it’s very thrilling, there’s not a single dull moment!”

Hearing the comments from the media journalists, film critics, and the audience, everyone showed a smile.

Leaving the screening room, Xu Yang asked, “Mr. Fang, what do you think of ‘War Leopard’?”

Fang Pengtao smiled and said, “Excellent, far beyond my expectations.”

Xu Yang said, “Then, I’ll leave the issues of the movie’s release and scheduling to you.”

“You’re too kind, President Xu,” Fang Pengtao replied with a smile, then turned to Wu Jing. “Director Wu, I’m happy for you being able to produce such a high-quality military action film. Our Wan Da cinema chain will definitely support films like this, don’t worry.”

This was a commitment.

Overjoyed, Wu Jing expressed his gratitude, “Thank you, Mr. Fang!”

The preview screening far exceeded expectations.

With Fang Pengtao’s promise, Wu Jing was even more confident about the movie’s box office success.

The group said their goodbyes to each other.

Xu Yang and Zhao Yuxin first dropped Zhao Hai off at his home, then returned to their own.

No sooner had they arrived home than the telephone began to ring.

Upon checking, Xu Yang saw that it was Tang Zhengqi calling.

Xu Yang was somewhat surprised, wondering why Tang Zhengqi was calling him right after they had just shared a meal and watched a movie together.

“Brother Tang,” Xu Yang answered the phone.

“Little Brother Xu, you’re home, aren’t you? I hope I’m not disturbing you,” Tang Zhengqi said with a laugh.

“I’m home, Brother Tang. We just parted ways not long ago, what’s up?” Xu Yang asked proactively.

“Little Brother Xu, I’ll get straight to the point. I want to invest in your Jing Diving & Fishing with a hundred million yuan. As for the shares, you can decide however you see fit. What do you say?” Tang Zhengqi inquired.

Jing Diving & Fishing was so popular that even he couldn’t resist the temptation.

Once he learned that Xu Yang was the owner of Jing Diving & Fishing, he had thought about investing.

But he had hesitated, unsure whether to broach the subject.

After all, given how hot Jing Diving & Fishing was, they couldn’t possibly be short of cash.

There certainly must be many investors eager to buy in.

After much deliberation, Tang Zhengqi still couldn’t help but make the offer.

Regardless of the outcome, he had at least made the attempt.

If his proposal was accepted, he would surely reap extraordinary returns in the future.

Anyone could predict that so long as nothing unexpected happened, Jing Diving & Fishing was bound to evolve into a colossal hot pot empire.

A hundred billion in market value wasn’t a dream!

The shares of Jing Diving & Fishing were immensely valuable.

If his offer was declined, there would be no regrets either.

“Brother Tang, I’m very sorry, but I currently have no plans to accept investments from anyone,” Xu Yang said, rejecting the offer outright.

Their relationship was good, but not to the point where Xu Yang couldn’t say no.

Besides, he genuinely had no intention of taking on investors.

Even setting that aside, if he were to consider accepting an investment, the investor would have to be a benefit to Jing Diving & Fishing’s development.

If they couldn’t contribute positively and it was merely a matter of personal connections, Xu Yang would not agree to it.

“All right, my apologies for the overture. If there’s any investment opportunity in the future that requires pooling together investors, I hope you’ll think of me and include me in the investment,” Tang Zhengqi said, not overly disappointed since he was prepared for this eventuality.

He casually mentioned this to ensure Xu Yang might think of him in the future, leaving a door open for himself.

“Sure, if there’s a suitable opportunity in the future, we can invest together,” Xu Yang quickly agreed.

After all, he would only invest with Tang Zhengqi if there were a fitting opportunity.

Such matters were unpredictable.

Xu Yang felt no burden on his conscience about it.

Moreover, if a proper opportunity did arise, Xu Yang wouldn’t mind collaborating with Tang Zhengqi.

After all, Tang Zhengqi was Xu Yang’s first friend on Antique Street.

“Then I’ll thank you in advance, Little Brother Xu,” Tang Zhengqi said, a glint of light flickering in his eyes.

Having gotten to know Xu Yang, he was convinced that Xu Yang was a genius when it came to investments.

If Xu Yang could lead him to invest in just one or two successful projects in the future, then this phone call would not have been made in vain.

After a bit more small talk, they ended the conversation.