Chapter 296: Our first business venture (Part 2)

On 20 June 2015, the Yanjing International Financial Conference Centre was bustling with activity. Apart from journalists from television stations, major newspapers and online channels from all over the country, representatives from various embassies also came to attend, and in some cases, the ambassadors themselves. The reason was simple: the Yanjing Financial Forum was opening today.

'Today is the first day of the Yanjing Financial Forum, and we can feel the lively atmosphere from the large flow of people at the entrance. As we all know, the Yanjing Financial Forum is a very influential financial summit in the country and even the world. Especially today, as China's economic strength continues to grow, while the global economy is in a downturn, and the global stock market even experienced a major crash a few days ago. It can be said that China's economy is now the only one that is doing well in the world, and the whole world is looking to Chinese financial enterprises to come to the rescue. Under these circumstances, the opening of this financial forum has undoubtedly affected the nerves of the whole world.'

'The opening of this financial forum also coincides with the 70th anniversary of the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan. As far as I know, many leading figures in China's financial industry will attend, including Chen Shu, CEO of Yanjing Development Investment Company, Li Yang, deputy general manager of An Guo Securities Company, Ye Ning, general manager of First Private Equity Fund Company, and Huang Ping, vice chairman of the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

'If China is now the world's economic pacemaker, then these financial representatives are the pacemakers of the Chinese economy. As long as these people can agree on the willingness to save the market, then tomorrow the U.S. stock market will skyrocket. Therefore, this Yanjing Financial Forum is the focus of attention around the world. These financial representatives attending the forum, who control a large amount of wealth, are even more the focus of attention!'

...

The reporters at the door kept expressing their excitement to the camera. Apart from the reporters, there were also representatives and ambassadors of various nationalities and skin colours, all of whom were anxiously waiting for the opening of the financial forum on the other side.

From the looks of these reporters and other representatives of various countries, it was clear how important this financial forum was. Meanwhile, an interview with CCTV was taking place in the backstage lounge.

'Hello Mr Chen Shu, we all know that your Yanjing Development Investment Company is one of the strongest financial companies in the country, and together with several other companies, it forms the strongest defence of China's financial sector, ensuring a smooth transition for the domestic stock market no matter what happens in foreign stock markets. I would like to ask you how you managed to do this. I heard that you set up Yanjing Development Investment Company after returning from Harvard. I would also like to ask you about your entrepreneurial journey.'

Chen Shu smiled when faced with the reporter's interview. His smile surprised the reporter, who couldn't understand why her question had made Chen Shu smile. She was sure she had asked a perfectly normal question!

At this point, Li Yang next to her gave her an answer: 'Actually, young comrade reporter, you just asked the wrong question, because our entrepreneurial endeavours did not begin after we returned to China, but started in the United States.'

Li Yang's revelation surprised the reporter, who immediately asked, 'In the United States? Was it when you were still at school at Harvard? It seems that you really have the bearing of an old-generation proletarian revolutionary, and even though you are abroad, you have not forgotten your original intentions.'

After praising Li Yang, the reporter then asked, 'So I wonder what Mr. Li Yang's first entrepreneurial venture was? Was it the fund company that you co-founded in the United States?'

Chen Shu shook his head slightly and said, 'No. By the time we set up the fund company, we already had a large sum of wealth in our hands. If it wasn't our first business venture, I'm afraid we would have had very little chance of having the money to start the fund company later.'

'So what was your first business venture? As far as I know, you were all elites who studied finance at Harvard at the time, and you even influenced the political situation in the United States at the time. You must have set up a securities company, fund company, or bank, right? In short, it must have been a large consortium!' The reporter was very excited, as if she were about to solve an unsolved mystery.

'I didn't think you would know the name of the finance class,' Chen Shu thanked her for being a little surprised. 'That was a very long time ago, but those who were able to be selected into the finance class back then were indeed the best in China, and I was able to be selected into the finance class back then, which I also consider to be the biggest turning point in my life.'

Chen Shu's words came to an end here, even though the reporter was holding a recording device and was waiting with anticipation for the next words.

Chen Shu then brought the conversation back to the topic at hand: 'In fact, our first business venture back then was not as high-end as you might think. We were just a bunch of poor students. Although we had $10,000 to support our venture, we were unfamiliar with life in the United States and didn't understand the financial rules here. It was impossible to set up any kind of securities company or fund company, let alone a bank.'

Having said this, Chen Shu smiled and continued: 'You probably won't believe it when I tell you that our first business venture that year was just doing some completely part-time work at school.'

Hearing this answer, the reporter froze in her tracks. She stared at Chen Shu with wide eyes, hoping to get more detailed information, but Chen Shu just sat there smiling, as if he had no intention of continuing.

...

Time travelled back to 1990, to the private room of the small Chinese restaurant east of Harvard University, where Zhou Ming and his classmates from the finance class continued the conversation about starting a business.

However, they were all a little at a loss when faced with the initial preparations proposed by Zhou Ming. Li Yang's words were very representative: 'Teacher, I understand that 10,000 US dollars is actually a lot, but we have been studying finance, and we only know things related to finance. To start a business with 10,000 US dollars, we really don't have a clue. It's okay if we use this 10,000 US dollars to speculate in the stock market, and I am confident that my classmates will definitely make money!'

Li Yang's tone was very apologetic, as if he had let Zhou Ming down. The others also looked at Zhou Ming with embarrassment.

Zhou Ming smiled and said, 'In fact, there is no need for anyone to feel embarrassed. I raised this today because I want to discuss it with everyone. If we pool our ideas together, there will always be an executable plan.'

'Teacher, I support you!' Ye Ning said first, 'Teacher, I remember that at our school, there are always many people selling snacks from carts at the entrance. It doesn't cost much, but the business is very good. I think our first business venture can also be done this way.'

Before Zhou Ming could say anything, Chen Shu, the monitor, spoke first: 'Ye Ning, your idea is indeed very good, but there is another problem. We are in the United States, not China, and this is Harvard in particular. We do not have the right to have a mobile stall. Once we do, not only will the car be confiscated, we will also be fined at least 2,000 US dollars, and you may even be expelled from school as a result. This is not feasible.'

'Since mobile stalls are not feasible, let's just choose a fixed stall,' said Li Yang, vice monitor. 'My family is in business, and I think we can rent a storefront on the Harvard campus and sell clothes, shoes and socks. This will avoid unnecessary trouble and the cost is not high. We can also make a lot of money.'

Chen Shu, the monitor, added: 'Renting a store can indeed avoid some unnecessary trouble, but as far as I know, the clothing business is generally concentrated, because it is necessary to choose a place with concentrated foot traffic, so as to ensure maximum customer exposure. However, on the Harvard campus, the dormitories are scattered, and there are not many students in each dormitory building, so it is difficult to ensure that we have a large sales volume. Without sales, there is no way to talk about our income.'

'Indeed, then monitor, do you have any good ideas?' Li Yang asked.

Chen Shu shook his head and said, 'No, I just think we should do something that has a very low cost, but a considerable profit, and that won't cause any unnecessary trouble, while also ensuring a steady flow of customers.'

'Where is there such a project?' Ye Ning said, 'It's easy to do and profitable. If there really was such a good project, someone else would have done it long ago, and we wouldn't even be in the running. After all, this is Harvard, the gathering place for the world's smartest people.'

Chen Shu thought for a moment and said, 'Well, how about we do catering? My biggest impression from coming here is that Western food is hard to eat. We can move a Chinese restaurant onto campus. With the charm of our Chinese food, we can definitely sell it very well.'

'Class President, I'm not pouring cold water on you, but I don't think your suggestion is feasible either,' Li Yang said. 'Not to mention that we haven't investigated how much the Americans accept Chinese food, the most crucial point is that the restaurant's priority is the food. We don't even have a chef yet, so how can we open a Chinese restaurant?'

At this point, the restaurant owner came in and said, looking around, 'What are you all talking about? You're all so happy, so I'll cheer you up too. I'll give each of you a poached egg today.'

Everyone thanked the boss, and Chen Shu asked the boss, 'How long have you been running this restaurant here? Do you think we could open a Chinese restaurant on Harvard campus?'

The boss was a little surprised: 'You want to open a restaurant on Harvard campus? I advise you not to, because these Westerners fundamentally reject the way we eat Chinese food with chopsticks. Maybe it's their prejudice, or maybe it's because we don't pay attention to hygiene, but they also think Chinese restaurants are very unrefined and the hygiene conditions are not reassuring.'

'So that's why your Chinese restaurant is here?' Zhou Ming suddenly asked.

The boss nodded helplessly: 'Yes, I'm not afraid of being laughed at if I tell you. Originally, I also planned to open a restaurant on the Harvard campus, but the business really couldn't be sustained, so in the end I had to move here. There are more Chinese people nearby, so the business can just barely continue.'

At the end, the boss waved his hands uselessly and said, 'Never mind that. You asked this. Are you planning to open a restaurant on the Harvard campus?'

Zhou Ming nodded and said, 'That's right. I wonder if you have any good suggestions?'

The boss hesitated for a moment and then said carefully, "I do have an idea, I just don't know if I can say it.'

'There's no need to hold back, boss, just tell us!" Li Yang, who was outspoken, said first, and the other finance students all clamoured to speak as well.

Zhou Ming also said, 'Boss, you know that we are all new to the United States and don't know anything about it. Since you have been running this store for so long, you must know a lot more than we do in all aspects. Your words will definitely give us great inspiration. Please help and tell us what you think.'

The boss then made up his mind: 'All right, since you all said that, I will share my immature thoughts with you elite students.'