During the summer vacation of her sophomore year, just when Lin Ruoxuan fully expected to rely on her existing success to usher in a larger scale of business expansion, Xu Yunzhou suddenly said:
"Prepare to sell; find a suitable buyer to take over and sell all your shares in 'Xuanxuan's Tea'."
Lin Ruoxuan almost bounced up from the chair in front of her desk, still grasping the concept design plan for a new store she was drawing:
"Why?! Daddy System, our momentum is fierce right now, the brand value is increasing day by day, every store is continuously profitable, and the cash flow is very healthy!"
"Because your vision has been obscured by the prosperity before your eyes."
Xu Yunzhou's voice was steady as always,
"The ceiling of the milk tea business model is within reach; in essence, it remains a clumsy channel business. Besides, cheap substitutes will sweep through like a plague of locusts in the future. Your stage shouldn't be trapped within the narrow confines of a tea cup."
"Cashing out now is to accumulate capital for a grander chessboard."
As he spoke, he pulled up a detailed technology trend map and key node analysis spanning 2010 to 2025 that he had prepared long ago. The clear path was like the notes of a transmigrator looking down upon history:
"Look carefully, this is the battlefield you should truly throw yourself into and conquer in the future—""2010-2012: The eve of the mobile internet explosion; smartphones will reshape the world"
"2013-2015: Popularization of 4G networks, birthing entirely new business formats like live streaming and mobile games"
"2016-2018: The arrival of the golden age of short videos and content entrepreneurship"
"2019-2021: The practical application of artificial intelligence; smart hardware welcomes an explosion"
...
Lin Ruoxuan hurriedly reined in all her confusion and resistance, picked up a dedicated notebook, and rapidly recorded these prophecies from the "future."
To her, it was perfectly normal for Daddy System to bring era information that was several versions ahead of time.
It was just that looking at those astronomical numbers in her personal and company accounts that had long since made her numb, she couldn't help but mutter softly, carrying a trace of bewilderment:
"Tyrant, what exactly are we making so much money for? This money... we couldn't finish spending it in several lifetimes, even dozens of lifetimes..."
How could Xu Yunzhou speak frankly that this was ultimately to complete that damn game task and send you to the throne of the virtual world?
He was silent for a moment, and chose to respond with a more oppressive and "educational" method:
"Asking this kind of question proves that your current vision and cognition are far from worthy of controlling this magnitude of wealth. Comfort is the tomb of ambition!"
"Starting today, read two business, history, or philosophy books I designate in depth every week, from 'Built to Last' to 'Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow'. Submit a deep reflection and related practice note of no less than three thousand words every week."
"I will review it personally. If you try to brush it off..."
He paused, the threat self-evident:
"You know the consequences."
Lin Ruoxuan's shoulders instantly collapsed, her pretty little face scrunched up as she wailed mournfully:
"Understood, wuwu... Tyrant, you have no humanity... I'll read, I'll tie my hair to the beam and prick my thigh to read, okay..."
(TL: "Tie one's hair to the beam and prick one's thigh with an awl" [悬梁刺股] is a classic Chinese idiom referring to historical scholars who used these painful methods to keep themselves awake while studying late into the night.)
Even though Lin Ruoxuan's heart churned with myriad reluctance to part—after all, "Xuanxuan's Tea" was a child she built from scratch with her own hands, pouring in countless efforts—her almost instinctive absolute trust in "Daddy System" made her forcefully suppress all doubts and nostalgia.
When she raised her eyes again, the bewilderment and exhaustion in the depths of her eyes had been replaced by sharpness and decisiveness.
She was no longer that green young girl who needed to hide under the System's wings to seek guidance, but a helmsman who could precisely steer in the torrent of capital and dared to cut off her own wrist like a brave warrior.
(TL: "Cutting off one's own wrist like a brave warrior" [壮士断腕] is an idiom meaning to make a painful, resolute sacrifice in the short term to save the bigger picture.)
She decisively released the news through specific channels that she intended to transfer the controlling stake of "Xuanxuan's Tea" entirely.
One stone stirred up a thousand ripples.
At the subsequent negotiation tables, she wore the exclusive battle attire Xu Yunzhou designed for her, her logic meticulous, her aura fully unleashed.
Relying on impeccable continuous profit financial reports, a clearly visible brand moat, and extremely imaginative market prospects, she engaged in a bloodless yet exceptionally fierce tug-of-war with several capital firms that rushed over upon hearing the news, eyeing her covetously like tigers.
Ultimately, at a jaw-dropping sky-high price, she successfully transferred the controlling stake of "Xuanxuan's Tea" to an industry giant eager to secure a position in the new consumption track, cashing out nearly three hundred million in cash in one swoop.
The moment she signed the final transfer agreement, her fingertips trembled imperceptibly, and a corner of her heart seemed to empty out along with it. Yet her pen still fell like a knife, without the slightest sloppiness.
—She believed him.
She unconditionally believed that the chessboard he laid out was far grander and more magnificent than this corner of a cup-and-saucer empire before her eyes.
This massive sum of funds, almost the moment it arrived in the account, even before it had completely warmed up, was entirely thrown by Xu Yunzhou into that epic capital frenzy stirred up by the four-trillion stimulus policy in 2009.
(TL: Refers to the massive 4 trillion RMB economic stimulus package rolled out by the Chinese government in response to the 2008 global financial crisis.)
The global stock market, gold market, commodity futures, and even the real estate sector that was just showing clues... all became the chessboard where he maneuvered freely.
He guided Lin Ruoxuan to turn and shift within the terrifying waves and rapidly changing global capital markets, completing round after round of dazzling capital harvesting.
Moreover, they were invincible and never missed.
The fund curve in the account climbed upwards crazily at an almost ninety-degree right angle, violating all traditional economic common sense.
When he saw Lin Ruoxuan, following his instructions, beginning to quietly collect "Bitcoin"—which was just born at this time and unknown outside small geek circles—using an almost zero-cost method, Xu Yunzhou stared at that string of familiar characters on the screen and couldn't help but laugh softly:
"They even made this deeply hidden era easter egg! Tsk tsk, the details and production level of this game are truly the conscience of the industry..."
He muttered to himself, completely immersed in the thrill of playing the "prophet,"
"In a few years when the price of this thing skyrockets, this return on investment will probably defy the heavens. The game planners know how to make players feel good."
Time flew by amidst the almost absurdly rapid appreciation of capital.
When the New Year's bell of 2010 struck and brilliant fireworks exploded in the night sky of Jingzhou, Lin Ruoxuan stood in front of the broad floor-to-ceiling windows of her newly purchased penthouse apartment in Jingzhou's core financial district.
Beneath her feet was a flowing, brilliant river of stars formed by myriad twinkling lights and city neon.
She looked at the total assets in her account that had already broken through the astronomical figure of five billion, and a strong sense of unreality and emptiness quietly struck her.
"Tyrant..."
She gazed at the boundless night outside the window, her eyes carrying a trace of huge bewilderment like waking from a dream,
"We've... accumulated so much... what exactly are we going to do next? These numbers, besides proving our success, what meaning do they have?"
On the other end of the screen, Xu Yunzhou tilted his head back and chugged warm beer that had long lost its fizz, already numb to this almost absurd speed of capital expansion that severely mismatched the flow of real time.
After all, isn't looking for realism in a single-player game a mistake?
Feeling good is all that matters.
"Money is never the endpoint, and it never should be."
"It is a lever used to pry open the future you want; even more so, it is fuel, an accelerator for you to build dreams and change the world."
As he spoke, his fingertips tapped lightly on the keyboard in the real world, pulling up a plan he had already prepared and sending it over through the chat box.
The next moment, this blueprint was presented before Lin Ruoxuan's eyes like a holographic projection in an extremely visually impactful form, it was the concept of a massive business empire spanning technology, consumption, and healthcare.
Its scale and ambition were far beyond what that milk tea shop occupying a few square inches in the past could compare to.
Only such a grand narrative and tangible industrial influence could push her onto the true world stage and complete that damn ultimate task.