Qiang’s smile stiffened slightly.
"...Too little?"
Even the man pouring tea nearby paused halfway through the motion.
Benny, anwhile, was already deep in thought.
Fifty thousand sounded like a lot initially.
But after calming down and thinking carefully...
Was it really enough?
Just office rent alone had already burned through two hundred thousand.
Computers, furniture, employee salaries, future investnts, a re ¥50,000 suddenly didn’t seem very impressive anymore.
More importantly...
Loans generated interest.
And interest generated losses.
The larger the loan, the greater the operational pressure.
Benny’s eyes gradually sharpened as his thoughts beca clearer.
Qiang coughed lightly before speaking carefully.
"Boss Benny... for startups, fifty thousand is already considered quite decent."
Benny nodded absentmindedly.
"Mm."
Then he looked up again.
"How much can I realistically get?"
This ti, the group fell fully silent.
Because unlike before, Benny’s expression no longer looked like soone casually asking questions out of curiosity.
He genuinely looked like he was evaluating financing strategy.
Qiang slowly leaned back in his chair.
"That depends on collateral, company valuation, cash flow..." he explained cautiously.
Then he added: "And repaynt ability."
Repaynt ability.
Benny almost laughed hearing that.
Repay?
Who said anything about repaying quickly?
No company grew without debt pressure.
At least, that was what he was currently convincing himself of.
Still, he maintained a composed expression outwardly.
"My company recently secured office space, equipnt, and external investnt operations," Benny said calmly.
Technically speaking...
None of that was false.
Qiang’s expression beca more serious.
A newly established investnt company with physical assets and external equity activity...
That actually sounded fairly legitimate.
The n around the table exchanged glances again.
This young man might genuinely have backing.
anwhile, Benny continued speaking with increasing confidence.
"Currently, Autumn Investnt is mainly facing a temporary liquidity issue during expansion."
Liquidity issue.
The mont those words ca out, even Benny himself was briefly stunned.
Why did that sound so professional?
Qiang clearly thought the sa thing.
His attitude visibly beca more respectful.
"I understand."
Benny slowly crossed his arms.
"In short, I need operational capital."
Qiang nodded slowly.
"...How much?"
Benny fell silent.
Truthfully, he had no idea what a normal amount was.
Too little wouldn’t help much.
Too much might look suspicious.
After several seconds of thought, he cautiously tested:
"...One hundred thousand?"
The room beca quiet again.
And then Qiang suddenly laughed.
Not mockingly but relieved.
"Hahaha! Boss Benny scared for a second there."
The tension around the table instantly loosened as well.
One of the n even lit another cigarette with a grin.
"If it’s only one hundred thousand, that’s negotiable."
Benny blinked.
"...Only?"
Qiang waved his hand casually.
"For company operational financing, that’s not considered very large."
Benny’s heartbeat instantly accelerated again.
Not very large?
There were amounts bigger than that?
At that mont, a terrifying new door quietly opened inside Benny’s mind.
He had originally thought the system’s ¥500,000 startup capital was already enormous.
But now...
Compared to actual corporate financing...
It suddenly didn’t seem impossible to go even bigger. Much bigger.
Benny lowered his head slightly.
The corners of his mouth slowly began rising again.
And seeing that increasingly dangerous smile return to the young man’s face...
Qiang suddenly felt an inexplicable chill run down his spine for so reason.
Qiang instinctively picked up his tea and took a sip.
For so reason, every ti this young man smiled, the atmosphere beca a little strange.
Still, business was business.
He placed the cup down and leaned forward slightly.
"If Boss Benny is serious about financing, we can help arrange it."
Benny imdiately focused again. "How?"
"Simple." Qiang spread his hands casually. "Your company is already registered, right?"
"Of course."
"Then as long as the paperwork is complete, we can help connect you with the right people. Operating loans, short-term financing, expansion capital... there are channels for all of it."
The more Benny listened, the brighter his eyes beca.
Expansion capital.
Even the na sounded beautiful.
Qiang continued: "Of course, newly established companies usually don’t qualify for very high amounts imdiately."
That part made sense, Benny nodded thoughtfully.
"But," Qiang added, "there are ways around that too."
Benny looked up instantly.
"Ways?"
Qiang smiled faintly. "Asset evaluation. Investnt agreents. Business projections. Future revenue estimates."
"...Oh."
Benny slowly leaned back.
Future revenue estimates...
For so reason, hearing that made him feel slightly guilty.
After all, Autumn Investnt currently had:
one office
ten computers
one assistant
one Neo
and a café actively losing money per custor.
Its future revenue projections probably looked horrifying.
Still...
Businesses needed confidence.
Qiang tapped lightly on the table.
"Most startups burn money early anyway."
Benny nearly applauded hearing that sentence.
Exactly!
Finally, soone who understood him.
Qiang continued casually: "Especially investnt companies. Early-stage expansion costs are normal."
Benny nodded repeatedly.
The more he listened, the more justified his entire strategy sounded.
At this point, he was no longer even convincing himself anymore.
He genuinely started believing he was operating a proper business.
Qiang suddenly asked: "So what exactly does Autumn Investnt invest in?"
Benny froze for half a second.
Then his mind imdiately moved.
"...Food industry for now."
That wasn’t entirely false either.
Qiang nodded thoughtfully.
"Restaurants?"
"Cafés mainly."
"Hm."
Qiang rubbed his chin slightly.
"The food industry does burn cash quickly."
Benny’s eyes lit up. "Right?!"
Qiang blinked.
"...Yes."
Benny suddenly felt even more validated.
See?
Even professionals agreed.
Food businesses naturally lost money.
This was clearly the correct direction.
Qiang continued: "But if operations stabilize later, returns can still be decent."
Benny imdiately coughed into his fist. "Ahem... yes. Of course."
Returns, right. Those existed too.
For a brief mont, Benny almost forgot normal businesses actually aid to make profits.
Qiang reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card before sliding it across the table.
"Co by tomorrow morning with your company docunts."
Benny picked it up.
Printed neatly across the front:
Zhang Qiang
Business Financing Consultant
Below it was a phone number and office address.
Financing consultant...
The title sounded incredibly professional.
Benny carefully placed the card into his pocket almost reverently.
Then he suddenly thought of sothing.
"...What if the company temporarily doesn’t have repaynt capability?"
The table instantly beca quiet.
One of the n nearby slowly lowered his cigarette.
Qiang stared at Benny for several seconds.
"...Boss Benny."
"Mm?"
"You ARE planning to repay the loan eventually, right?"
Benny blinked, then he quickly corrected himself.
"No, I an temporarily."
Qiang stared at him a little longer before finally nodding slowly.
"That’s normal too."
Benny relaxed slightly.
Qiang continued: "As long as the company continues operating, many businesses roll debt forward while waiting for growth."
Roll debt forward.
Benny silently repeated the phrase in his mind.
Then his eyes slowly widened once more.
Wait.
You could do that too?
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