Losing Money to Become a Tycoon: Starting with Games
Chapter 467: I'm Not That Bad Either
After thinking it over, Chen Kangtuo concluded that this must be because President Pei did not want his own thinking to influence others.
Every investor had their own hidden trump cards. If Chen Kangtuo took full control and arranged everything for them—site selection, planning, everything—then they would just lie back and do nothing. Who would still bother thinking? Who would still bring out their real abilities?
President Pei's move must be aimed at fully mobilizing these investors' initiative, letting everyone contribute as much as possible.
This was all interpreted through the Tengda Group spirit.
Chen Kangtuo felt that the truth was probably very close to his own deduction.
But… he couldn't say any of this out loud, because President Pei had specifically instructed him not to.
As a result, Chen Kangtuo found himself in a dilemma.
Seeing the changing expressions on his face but still getting no response, Li Shi also felt somewhat discouraged.
It seemed that reasoning with him—whether through logic or emotion—wasn't going to work either.
He didn't know how President Pei managed his subordinates. Every one of them was utterly loyal, strictly obeying orders like they were absolute commandments.
Truly exceptional leadership.
The situation seemed to have reached an impasse. Should they just disband and reconvene another day?
Obviously not.
Li Shi had no choice. He clapped his hands.
"Alright, everyone quiet down!"
"Given the situation, we're all on the same boat. Everyone has to rely on themselves—no one is allowed to hide their ideas! Anyone who slacks off or freeloads and causes everyone to lose money will never be allowed to participate in Jingzhou's investment circle again!"
"Start thinking!"
Seeing Li Shi getting serious, the investors finally accepted reality.
At first, many of them had come with the mindset of coasting and enjoying the benefits. During the discussion, they had plenty of hidden motives, hoping to push all the hard thinking onto President Pei while maximizing their own gains.
But now that President Pei was gone and Chen Kangtuo wasn't speaking, the heavy responsibility had no owner.
With Li Shi losing his temper, everyone finally realized their situation.
If they didn't contribute now, this money really would go to waste.
Li Shi spoke first.
"I'll start. I plan to open a horror-themed restaurant, designed like a prison. Each private room will be a cell, and the waitstaff will be dressed as pretty female guards."
"Guests will be 'handcuffed' with fake restraints upon entering and escorted to their cells. There will be no ordering process—dishes will be served based on the number of guests and dietary restrictions. The food will be themed as dark cuisine, and drinks can be packaged as blood in IV-style bags."
"Additionally, we can have periodic escape-artist performances as entertainment during meals."
"As for the location… here."
He pointed to a spot on the map.
Everyone had different expressions—some nodded, some frowned—but no one spoke.
Clearly, some had doubts about the location, but weren't sure if they were right, and didn't dare to voice them.
Li Shi looked around.
"If no one objects, then this project is finalized."
Still no one spoke.
Li Shi sighed helplessly. It seemed he really couldn't rely on these people.
Just as he was about to move on to the next proposal, a coughing sound suddenly came from the side.
"Ahem… ahem…"
Everyone turned to look.
It was Chen Kangtuo, covering his mouth, his expression looking extremely strained—as if he were constipated.
It was clearly not a real cough, and he seemed to want to say something.
Everyone waited for him to continue. However, after several seconds of silence, he still didn't speak.
Li Shi was a bit confused, but then suddenly had an idea.
"Oh! You mean this location isn't good?"
Chen Kangtuo gave a polite smile.
One investor immediately said:
"I think so too! Although this place has decent foot traffic, it's too close to the entrance. Who eats right after entering? We should move it further in, after visitors are tired from playing!"
Li Shi nodded and pointed to another spot.
"How about here?"
Once again, Chen Kangtuo made that strained, speechless expression.
Another investor said:
"I think this is too far inside, and it's not good for the future expansion of the haunted house."
Li Shi once again changed the location.
"Then this spot should be fine."
This time, Chen Kangtuo showed a smile.
"Good. Then the restaurant location is finalized!"
Li Shi's voice was much louder this time, full of confidence.
With one successful example, everyone's enthusiasm was also fully mobilized, and they began proposing their own projects one after another.
At the beginning, most of the ideas were ghost-themed concepts—such as a haunted hotel, a ghost costume store, a ghost magic toy shop, a ghost merchandise store, ghost-themed desserts and snacks, ghost tour buses, and so on.
But as the brainstorming continued, once everyone grew tired of the ghost theme, some began proposing ideas in the opposite direction.
For example, opening a very warm maid café to soothe visitors' traumatized hearts, where guests with haunted house tickets could receive maid encouragement and heart-shaped healing drinks.
Or setting up a "healing fountain" in the plaza. It would look like an ordinary fountain, but the water would be warm. Visitors would be told that washing their hands with the healing water could dispel ghosts and heal psychological trauma.
Soon, one after another idea was proposed and finalized after discussion.
Chen Kangtuo stood to the side, continuously expressing his opinions through facial expressions.
He had studied the Fright Hostel project for several months and had his own thoughts about its layout, zoning, and supporting facilities.
Whenever a clearly problematic idea appeared, he would immediately signal it through his expression.
After careful consideration, some investors would then realize the issue and point it out decisively.
After several rounds of this process, the plans gradually became more refined.
At the same time, the investors were not constrained by Chen Kangtuo's thinking patterns and were able to conduct full brainstorming sessions, coming up with what they believed were optimal solutions.
The entire discussion went much faster than expected.
After just over three hours, the floor plan was already filled with notes. President Li and the others had completely divided up the surrounding area of the Fright Hostel, assigning optimal locations for various supporting facilities—restaurants, hotels, snack shops, toy stores, and more. Everything was fully arranged.
Of course, this was only a small part of the old industrial zone.
The overall plan was largely finalized.
Looking at the clearly structured and detailed blueprint, one investor couldn't help but sigh:
"It's hard to imagine that this plan was made by us in just over three hours!"
Li Shi smiled helplessly and said:
"Hmph, if President Pei hadn't used this clever method to push you all a bit, could you really have come up with these plans?"
"Weren't you just planning to casually open some random shops and call it a day?"
Everyone felt a little ashamed.
It did seem to be the case.
If President Pei had taken full control from the beginning, they probably wouldn't have bothered thinking at all.
Of course, it wasn't that President Pei taking full control would be bad—but one person's ideas are ultimately limited. President Pei was busy and couldn't possibly devote all his energy to these plans, and he also couldn't accurately know what resources each investor actually had.
By doing things this way, all the investors brought out their own resources, racked their brains for ideas, and then had Chen Kangtuo oversee the final check. Only then could resources be maximized.
All the investors couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief—the plan was looking more and more reliable.
Good thing they had passed President Pei's test!
If they had left halfway and missed such a good project, they would really regret it for the rest of their lives.
Standing to the side, Chen Kangtuo also showed a faint smile.
Mission accomplished!
Under the strict requirement of not interfering with the investors' thinking process, he had helped finalize a reliable plan.
This way, the quality of the supporting facilities would also be guaranteed.
Originally, Chen Kangtuo had thought that President Pei would invest the 40 million into the supporting facilities to fix the weak points.
But President Pei's approach was different: keep the 40 million invested entirely into the Fright Hostel itself to ensure the highest possible experience for every visitor; meanwhile, let President Li and the other investors handle the surrounding supporting facilities, giving them a share of the benefits and fully mobilizing their enthusiasm.
In this way, both the Fright Hostel itself and the surrounding infrastructure were elevated far beyond what a single-sided approach could achieve.
Chen Kangtuo couldn't help but feel a sincere sense of admiration.
To have already found the perfect solution—as expected of President Pei!
Of course… I'm not bad either.
If I hadn't worked in Tengda Group's game department for so long and deeply understood President Pei's imaginative way of thinking, I never would have figured this out, let alone completed President Pei's hidden instruction.
Having successfully solved another of President Pei's "riddle" today meant he had moved one step closer to President Pei's way of thinking.
That realization made him genuinely happy.
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Tn: I updated the story once a day, but if you want to see more chapter of this story ahead of time, please go to my Patreon.
Latest Chapter: Chapter 536: Still Going with the "Bare Walls" Style[1]
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[1] https://www.patreon.com/HannibalNotBarca/posts/losing-money-to-164800513?collection=1399284
[2] https://www.patreon.com/HannibalNotBarca/posts/losing-money-to-164800513?collection=1399284