laughable to think that both a city party secretary and an ambassador would revolve around a small city's trivial matters.But ultimately, this trivial matter won because at least for one moment, it m...Volume 5: Towards a Happier Beyond Chapter 19: Army Group

Su Can didn't respond to the woman beside him, but his gaze fell on several men in front of him. One man wearing glasses and looking very scholarly was sitting on a sofa, talking with a man around thirty who had a cigarette in his mouth. The man smoking the cigarette had one leg crossed over the other and waved his hand now and then, acting rather arrogant.

Su Can found that he seemed familiar with the bespectacled man but couldn't quite recall where he saw him before. Suddenly it clicked—wasn’t this person one of the judges on a certain popular TV show in the future He was the CEO of a record company and had been introduced as an expert panel member.

Su Can didn’t remember what the man said when he appeared on television, but his expression at that time was still vividly etched in his mind—his eyes almost bulging out. Unlike before, this person now seemed somewhat more humble, a very peculiar feeling.

Although Su Can didn't know who among the celebrities attending the summit were notable figures, he recognized some of them. For these people, 2002 was either their most prosperous period or when they had just debuted. They served as landmarks, and Su Can would be a witness to all this.

"That's Liu Zhensheng from Safu Investment; he’s the general manager for China and a well-known figure in Shanghai's business circles. Our family has interacted with him before. Do you want to meet him"

Ye Huishang mistook Su Can's expression as interest in the smoking man, so they walked over together. Ye Huishang introduced them: "Uncle Liu, this is a celebrity, Su Can, one of the founders of BooL Inc., and Wang Weiwei’s friend."

Receiving that introduction, Liu Zhensheng stared at Su Can, seemingly struggling to accept his identity. It was natural for him to be surprised; after all, Facebook's fundraising in Silicon Valley since Chinese New Year had drawn significant attention from internet companies and venture capitalists across Northern and Southern California. The fundraising event around Palo Alto was bustling with excitement, making it the focal point of Silicon Valley. When people heard about BooL Inc., they were undoubtedly shocked.

Seeing Su Can, Liu Zhensheng naturally felt unfamiliar but then stood up to shake hands warmly once he realized who Su Can was, his enthusiasm rising several notches.

The bespectacled man beside whom Su Can recognized immediately turned pale when Liu Zhensheng shifted all his attention to Su Can and walked away disappointedly. In response, Liu Zhensheng merely nodded coolly, leaving the other party looking extremely displeased.

"Who’s that" Su Can asked, watching the dejected bespectacled man's back.

"It's nothing, a musician who graduated from Tsinghua University started a music company and is currently short on money. They think that just having an idea and some bookish enthusiasm means we should naturally invest in them That's absurd. We're not going to talk about him."

Su Can’s thoughts flowed smoothly, his memories were reactivated, and he immediately remembered the name of the bespectacled man's company—Upper Stage Records. This was a publicly traded company valued over one billion yuan. It seemed that this record label had produced many first and second-tier pop artists, making it a leader in the music industry. Later on, they made significant achievements in digital music, which is why the bespectacled man looked so successful back then but now seems to be experiencing setbacks.

Now that he remembered these things, looking at the bespectacled man’s back seemed like seeing a silly character.

Ye Huishang didn’t disturb their conversation and returned to her circle of wealthy young ladies. After exchanging pleasantries with Liu Zhensheng for a short while and meeting several acquaintances, Su Can used it as an excuse to leave the rest area and found the bespectacled man again. He approached from behind and patted him on the shoulder; both men nodded superficially upon seeing each other.

Su Can extended his hand: "Su Can. Are you"

The bespectacled man naturally recognized Su Can, shook hands with him, and handed over a business card: "Zhao Hao, nice to meet you. You're the founder of that network, right Quite young."

This was merely polite conversation. In his later life, Zhao Hao wasn't necessarily acquainted with everyone; he certainly wouldn’t notice Su Can now given his concerns about his company's future development. Su Can didn’t think it was strange, took the business card, and smiled: "I heard you graduated from Tsinghua University."

"Class of '06. Are you a junior"

"No, I attend Nanjing University."

Zhao Hao looked visibly surprised as he sized up Su Can and shook his head: "My apologies, Nanjing University is producing quite the talent these days."

Su Can smiled awkwardly and changed the subject: "I noticed you were speaking with Mr. Liu earlier. Did your conversation not go well"

Both men sat down; Zhao Hao took out a cigarette, which Su Can politely declined. He lit up for himself and said, "It's quite a long story. I made some money in the jewelry business and now want to start a project—launching a music company. As you know, I’m acquainted with people who are influential in the music scene in Beijing, we often meet up for drinks. Recently, I invested in an album by one of my good friends—the version of "Old Wolf," do you know him After the album was released and made money, I felt that a career in music could be successful. Moreover, I like being a businessman myself. The company is launched, but having just a structure isn’t enough—you need investment to operate it. If I gave you 100,000, how would you handle things"

Gazing at Zhao Hao, who was still in a state of shock and daze, Su Can continued, "In 1996, Bertelsmann from Sun Microsystems gave two young men a $200,000 check and said, 'I don't understand what you're talking about, but I'll give you this money first. Six months later, tell me what you've been doing.' Compared to that quote by Bertelsmann, mine is even more classic."

The small company on stage was in a precarious situation, yet it would eventually become a listed company worth over 100 million yuan, blazing the trail for digital music. However, none of them knew that Su Can's keen foresight, which could only be gained through years of experience and unique insight as an investor, was just a glimpse into his previous life—specifically, the traces left by a popular talent show on an entertainment channel.

Looking at Zhao Hao, who was staring blankly with wide eyes, Su Can gave him an innocent smile. Years later, Zhao Hao would still feel shivers down his spine when recalling that smile; it felt like being locked in the gaze of a wolf that had spotted its prey.

"This is Su Can. You might not recognize him now, but he's one of the founders of FaceBook. Do you know about Facebook It's worth $4 billion and extremely popular in America!" Zhao Hao introduced Su Can enthusiastically to the four people before him. At this moment, Zhao Hao was far from being the person who didn't even know what Facebook was or if his company would survive until tomorrow.

The people in front of him were all Zhao Hao's friends and fellow alumni from Tsinghua University; they ranged from 29 to 35 years old. This age group was relatively young, with both career achievements and energy at their peak. Each had their own companies but faced the same problem: lack of funds. They had gathered today specifically for fundraising, and such investors like Liu Zhensheng did not interest them much. After Zhao Hao's introduction, one person among the four stood up in surprise.

"So you're Mark Zuckerberg" A man named Sun Zhiyi asked in astonishment.

The term "Zuckerberg" left Su Can feeling uncomfortable. However, it was true that Facebook had been founded by this duo; there were even stories about how they were crowned kings at their high school prom, and American media had confirmed these tales through interviews with alumni.

Su Can later learned that Sun Zhiyi had created a website called Zhonghua Bo Wang. Upon hearing this, Su Can was once again stunned—today he had already been surprised multiple times, but one more wouldn't hurt. This site pioneered the concept of blogs and was yet another promising project.

Next, Su Can met three other founders: Yang Qidong from Guangxin Communications, a company that initially received $200,000 in investment for developing wireless broadband technology, signal processing technology, and IC design. This was cutting-edge research, representing the future direction of development.

"Embedding Java ME platforms in mobile phones is becoming a trend. My team and I are working on developing games for this system. Although it might be easier to make quick money with other applications, that's not our goal."

Su Cen's current position as the founder of ACBB has brought him numerous conveniences. He told Zhao Hao that he had come today in the role of an angel investor to fund projects in need of capital, which delighted Zhao Hao immensely and led him to introduce Su Cen to a group of fellow entrepreneurs who were equally eager for funding. Young age was seen as a symbol of vigor and enthusiasm; moreover, Su Cen was wealthy, which was the most critical factor.

Therefore, Zhao Hao and his清華校友隊伍不惜展開他們有史以來最流利的口才和說服力，希望蘇燦能夠敞開錢袋子。

The Tsinghua alumni indeed lived up to their reputation. Looking at these people, Su Cen thought that he had found something valuable today. Although their companies were currently weak and not yet recognized by others, Su Cen, coming from the future, knew about the trends and potential value of these companies.

Su Cen sized up each person and categorized them in his mind as small or large pies, a full dish, fatty meat, and various other types.

He thought that it wouldn't be easy to digest, but fortunately, he could take things slowly. By allocating personnel from his major industries to assist these companies, they would operate smoothly under his supervision, forming a formidable force. It seemed like he had indeed found something valuable at this summit.

"You are too attached to your own technology and proud of your products. This is an error that everyone needs to reflect on." Su Cen waved his hand to suppress everyone's eagerness to speak and said, "It’s like a chef forcing me to eat their dish and insisting it's delicious."

Everyone smiled somewhat awkwardly; Zhao Hao scratched the back of his head, thinking he had started a new chapter in his life today. The excitement was overwhelming, but he couldn't afford to scare off Su Cen, who seemed like an idol.

"I will consider your companies. Let's discuss investment plans gradually. I also need your operational plans, as this is not just about treating guests and sharing a meal. We can move forward slowly, but I assure you that each of your projects will be considered. Don't worry whether or not I can handle it; the operational model of Facebook goes beyond social networking, and investing in promising industries aligns with our principles."

With this promise from Su Cen to consider their funding proposals, everyone's spirits soared, some even turning red with excitement, unsure whether to stand or sit. In fact, Su Cen's unusual behavior had already attracted Ye Huishang’s frequent glances. She couldn't figure out what Su Cen was planning by getting so excited along with the group.the departing bus. He knew that right now her home was still a forbidden zone for him, but there would come a day when he could strengthen himself and challenge this禁區。(Note: The word 禁區 is left untra...