CHAPTER 384: CHAPTER 224: EACH WITH THEIR OWN SCHEMES

To be honest, Chen Feng and Cai Zhixin weren’t very familiar with each other; their interactions before were due to real estate dealings. Now he actually said he would lend twenty million to Cai Zhixin, and everyone present was stunned.

Co-investing in a project to make money can be understood, but just lending him twenty million out of the blue was hard for everyone to comprehend.

Cai Zhixin was also momentarily stupefied, forgetting how to react.

But Tao Yaoyang was the first to snap back to his senses, and he smiled as he asked, "You’re indeed generous. But how exactly do you plan to lend this twenty million? What’s the interest rate?"

Chen Feng calmly looked at Cai Zhixin and asked, "That depends on how long Zhixin plans to borrow it for."

Cai Zhixin finally regained his composure, and he quickly said, "It’d be best if I could borrow it for a year. You know, these official projects sometimes take a bit longer to pay back."

Chen Feng nodded and said, "A year is fine. My interest rate isn’t excessive; just repay two and a half million after a year, how is that?"

A twenty million loan with a five million interest for a year is really not much. In the private sector, it already counts as a low interest rate.

Tao Yaoyang chuckled and asked, "Do you need any collateral?"

Chen Feng shook his head and said, "No collateral is needed, just you, Brother Tao, acting as a witness on the loan contract."

Tao Yaoyang glanced at Cai Zhixin and saw his pleading face, then laughed and nodded, "Okay, I’ll be the witness."

"Thank you, Brother Tao! Thank you, Chen Feng! You are definitely a friend I want to keep. If there’s anything in the future, feel free to call me."

With a face full of delight, Cai Zhixin said this while pouring himself a glass of juice, then stood up and raised it towards Chen Feng in a toast gesture, saying, "Chen Feng, I toast you with this glass of juice; thank you once again. I’m drinking it."

With that, he drank the entire glass of juice in one gulp.

They hadn’t ordered wine earlier, only this house-made juice from the restaurant was on the table, and it was deliciously sweet and tangy.

Chen Feng wasn’t pretentious either, and seeing this, he picked up the juice in front of him, stood up, and smiled, "You’re too polite. I’m not lending it to you for free; I’ve calculated the interest. I’m drinking too."

Picking up the glass of juice, he finished it, not saying much more, then sat down again. This attitude made Cai Zhixin feel even more satisfied and grateful inwardly.

He was rather at a dead end now; after his divorce, his father had almost cut off his financial support, leaving him to fend for himself, surviving only on some savings and property he had accumulated before.

Additionally, after a few missteps in the stock market, his assets had rapidly shrunk, and he thickly laid face sought help from Tao Yaoyang, an old acquaintance he’d once worshipped for guidance who found him a profitable project and then sold a house to scrape together funds.

But Tao Yaoyang had already told him that while he could find the project, running funds were up to him to procure. Thus, with Tao Yaoyang’s approval, he planned to pull Chen Feng, the gold investor, into the fold.

Previously, selling Tao Yaoyang the house was just a side matter and naturally also a test of Chen Feng’s financial strength.

Seeing Chen Feng buy his house without batting an eye, it certainly proved his robust financial resources, and considering he was an outsider without much foundation, they were certainly willing to bring him into their circle.

They didn’t intend to fool Chen Feng because, in today’s society, collaboration and mutual benefit are emphasized instead of eating alone.

Especially when you can’t fully understand the other party’s true intentions, collaboration generally aligns with everyone’s interests better. After all, those who eat alone rarely have a good end.

Moreover, Chen Feng was financially strong, even if it seemed he had no substantial foundation on the surface; who knows what’s behind him?

Nowadays, whoever has real money often has several important relatives, friends, or patrons behind them.

So, with a big investor like this, it’s best not to offend them if possible.

Furthermore, he isn’t a fool; he’s not easily swindled. Additionally, Tao Yaoyang was considering bringing in funds for his fund, so it’s evident that he certainly doesn’t want to upset Chen Feng, the big investor, at this moment.

So, it was also Tao Yaoyang’s plan to let Chen Feng enjoy some benefits while helping Cai Zhixin secure the project and thereby allow Chen Feng to witness his influence.

Once Chen Feng tasted the advantages this time and owed him a favor, it’d be much simpler next time to pull him into his fund company.

This was Tao Yaoyang’s plan from the beginning.

As a second-generation business owner, he’s accumulated significant wealth over the years with "bare-handed efforts", not solely relying on familial connections; his primary advantages have been his capability, boldness, caution, and strategic thinking while also not being too greedy, understanding the concept of benefit sharing.

This way, his business can be long-standing and stable, without enemies everywhere.

Cai Zhixin was unaware of Tao Yaoyang’s intentions to attract funding from Chen Feng for his fund, thinking all along that big brother was entirely helping him this time, feeling extremely grateful.

As for whether Tao Yaoyang would also lend him twenty million, Cai Zhixin didn’t pay much mind. Because this project mainly requires a significant initial investment with substantial upfront funding and won’t need much capital later on.

Should funds lack in the later stages, it wouldn’t be likely for Tao Yaoyang, as the introducer, middleman, and behind-the-scenes beneficiary, to stand by idly and definitely wouldn’t.

Besides, in those times, he would have a legitimate reason to seek his father’s assistance, who would undoubtedly help since he is his kin.

Chen Feng also refrained from tactlessly asking Tao Yaoyang whether he was also lending twenty million to Cai Zhixin.

It’s straightforward logic: if an outsider like him is lending twenty million to Cai Zhixin, why wouldn’t Tao Yaoyang, as Cai Zhixin’s big brother, lend as well? Especially since he just sold a house and cashed in twenty-two million.

The meal concluded with satisfaction on both sides.

At least Tao Yaoyang and Cai Zhixin were very content.

By now, it was night and the banks had closed, inconvenient for large transfers.

Therefore, Chen Feng arranged with Cai Zhixin to meet at the bank tomorrow morning.

The meal ended around nine o’clock at night.

Finally, when leaving, the owner of this private restaurant personally came to greet them, so Tao Yaoyang wisely introduced Chen Feng and got him a membership card here.

Getting a membership card here requires an introduction from an existing member and spots are limited.

The annual membership fee starts at 200,000. Regular members 200,000, VIP members 500,000.

Regular members can reserve banquet seats a week in advance, VIP members three days prior, while Supreme members can reserve anytime. Tao Yaoyang is a Supreme member, though they no longer have capacity for Supreme memberships now.

Chen Feng couldn’t help but critique the membership system here inwardly. However, having tasted the cuisine here, compared to other places, it’s vastly superior in both class and flavor.

Additionally, this historical architectural compound is said to have been a prince’s residence before and is a protected cultural heritage site; ordinary people aren’t allowed inside. Such is its status and class.