Zhou You was also very excited. The increase in shares was secondary; the most important thing was gaining Zhang Yiming's friendship. Only then could he maximize his returns in the future.
No matter how powerful the current three giants were, ByteDance would be just as powerful in the future.
Although his shares would be continuously diluted as later rounds of financing came in, according to the 10% share dilution per financing round, he would proportionally reduce his stake each time. Based on six rounds of calculation, Zhou You would still have over ten percent of the shares. Considering the company's delayed IPO, he could cash out a small portion in the final financing round.
At a valuation of $300 billion, Zhou You would have at least $30 billion in income, which converted to Chinese yuan would be one or two hundred billion. With that kind of wealth, Zhou You truly didn't need to do anything else. Compared to this investment, all his other ventures were just pocket change, so he didn't care at all.
This visit yielded even more than the last one. That evening, Zhou You treated the entire staff to a big dinner at a nearby restaurant. As the sole investor at this point, if he wasn't going to win people over now, when would he?
That evening, Sun Li also came over to join the meal.
These people would all become millionaires and billionaires in the future.
Seeing Zhang Yiming still driving that beat-up old car, Zhou You couldn't help but say, "Brother Zhang, come with me tomorrow. I'll give you a car. Driving this thing around every day doesn't reflect the image of our great future company."
"No, I really can't. You've already given so much, Boss Zhou," Zhang Yiming said, genuinely embarrassed.
"Don't be polite, and don't call me Boss Zhou. I'm just a university professor. Either call me Teacher Zhou or just my name, otherwise it feels too formal. Besides, the car isn't for you—it's for the company's image. If you don't grow and expand, how can I recover my subsequent investments?" Offering help in times of need was the way to maintain their bond.
"Fine, I won't call you Boss Zhou, and you don't call me Boss Zhang either. I'm a few years older, so let me take the liberty—call me Ming Ge," Zhang Yiming said after a few drinks that evening, no longer so reserved.
That's why alcohol was a medium. With people you weren't that close to, a few drinks down and you'd start calling each other brothers—it was the perfect way to bridge the gap.
"Alright, I admire you the most, Ming Ge. You never give up on entrepreneurship, fighting harder with each battle. I wish you great success this time," Zhou You said, also a bit tipsy from happiness.
"You Di, you call me Ge, I call you Di. I admire you too, bro—you're generous and impressive," Zhang Yiming slurred slightly, having had a bit too much to drink.
The evening ended with everyone satisfied and happy.
Sun Li hadn't drunk, but she didn't have a car either. Zhang Yiming insisted on having someone drive them, but Zhou You waved it off and took a taxi with Sun Li.
Zhou You's decision to buy Zhang Yiming a car was both a spur-of-the-moment idea and a way to get Sun Li a car too. Although driving wasn't always convenient in daily life, not having a car did limit certain situations.
Later, even though car rentals became very developed, hailing a taxi in bad weather grew increasingly difficult. Surge pricing was the norm, and worse still, sometimes if the fare wasn't high enough, drivers wouldn't even come.
This greatly affected the riding experience and could ruin a perfectly good day.
That night, Zhou You felt a bit dizzy. Sun Li helped him into the house, undressed him, and got him into the shower, enjoying the full automatic service.
The next morning, as soon as Zhou You opened his eyes, he smelled a fragrant aroma.
He sat up, put on his shoes, and walked to the living room. The dining table was covered with snacks: soy milk and fried dough sticks, spicy soup, congee, youtiao, and some side dishes.
Sun Li arranged them as she explained, "I woke up late too, so I quickly bought some from the shop downstairs. Try them—they're all flavors from our hometown."
"Alright, as long as there's food, you know I'm not picky. You worked so hard last night and still got up to buy me breakfast. You've really been good to me," Zhou You said, feeling that Sun Li had changed a lot. In front of him, aside from her initial spirited and proud demeanor, she was now more and more like a gentle woman.
But Sun Li was only like this around him. To outsiders, she was still that independent, spirited woman who walked with an air of confidence.
After brushing his teeth and washing his face,
Zhou You sat down at the table. "Later, come with me to the 4S store. I'll buy a car for both Zhang Yiming and you. Sometimes it's inconvenient without one."
This time, Sun Li didn't refuse. She had experienced the inconvenience the night before—if she had a car, she could have just helped Zhou You into it directly. Instead, they had stood at the intersection for a while.
"Alright, but mine doesn't need to be too expensive. Just something for daily commuting," Sun Li mentioned.
Zhang Yiming was already waiting downstairs early in the morning, as Zhou You had strongly insisted. He was afraid Zhang Yiming might back out. Although he had agreed at the dinner table the night before, Zhou You worried he might change his mind after waking up.
But Zhou You used the excuse of not being familiar with Beijing's situation to strongly urge him to come pick them up and go together.
Zhou You got in the car and directly said to Zhang Yiming, "Head to the Mercedes-Benz 4S store."
He definitely couldn't buy another Volvo this time. Since it would be used for business trips, a Mercedes would make a better impression.
Besides, Zhou You wanted to experience the different driving feel of various cars.
Having bought cars many times, Zhou You had never encountered a dismissive salesperson until he visited the Mercedes-Benz 4S store in Beijing, where he got a slight taste of it.
When the three of them arrived, the store was busy. Seeing them pull up in a beat-up car, no salesperson came forward to greet them.
Zhou You didn't care—it wasn't worth getting upset over such a trivial matter. Zhang Yiming was even more indifferent; buying or not didn't matter much to him, and not buying was better since he still felt a sense of indebtedness.
Sun Li had no strong opinions either. Zhou You preferred SUVs for their higher visibility and safety. He had done a quick search beforehand and decided that buying something too expensive wasn't suitable. A car around 500,000 yuan would be just right.
The Mercedes-Benz GLC fit the bill perfectly—reasonable price and available in stock. Zhou You had Zhang Yiming and Sun Li test drive it.
Both liked it. In the end, Zhang Yiming chose a black one, and Sun Li picked a blue one.
After selecting, they called over a salesperson, swiped the card, paid, and left.
While they were buying the cars, Zhou You went to check out the Mercedes-Benz G-Class. It looked imposing, but the interior ride was just so-so, and the comfort wasn't great.
At first, Zhou You was very interested and considered buying one. But now, after driving so many cars over time, he no longer had a strong desire for vehicles. Later, when his villa was built, he might buy one to keep there and occasionally play with.
At this time, license plates in Beijing were just as hard to get as in Shanghai. Zhou You had initially planned to have the 4S store handle it, but Zhang Yiming volunteered, saying he had connections.
That worked out perfectly—Zhou You was relieved of the hassle.
Just as Zhou You was swiping his card to pay, a *ding* came with a text message.
He opened it and saw over 12 million yuan had been deposited—his dividend from *A Bite of Delicacy*.
He had just spent over 10 million, and now he was back in the black.
Thank you all for your support. I'm giving it my all today, aiming to release five chapters!