MMB Chapter 3: Probing Before Signing the Contract
Chapter 3: Probing Before Signing the Contract
"What's the plan?"
As soon as Lin Chen stepped into Flower Fruit Mountain, Sun Wukong jumped down, landing lightly, truly worthy of being called the Great Sage.
The monkey wasn't wearing golden armor and a cape today; it had changed into a tracksuit and a baseball cap on its head, and it actually looked quite convincing.
"Here it is." Lin Chen patted his backpack and added, "I have both paper and digital versions. If you find reading difficult, I can also dictate it to you."
"Stop your nonsense with me, Old Sun." Sun Wukong rolled his eyes, walked to a stone tablet by the mountain path that read "Blessed Land of Flower and Fruit Mountain," and sat down. The inscription was quite old. "Let me make this clear: if you come up with some flimsy, unconvincing plan, I'll teach you a lesson with my golden cudgel."
Lin Chen smiled, not in a hurry to take the plan, but instead took out his phone from his pocket, swiped a few times, and handed it to Sun Wukong.
"Great Sage, please look at this first."
Sun Wukong glanced at him and took the phone.
The screen displayed an account on a short video platform, with a skull as the profile picture and the account name "Dark Night Haunted House Immersive Experience Hall." Sun Wukong clicked on it, and the first video was a before-and-after comparison: the first half showed a dilapidated haunted house with peeling walls, cobwebs hanging like rags on the props, and an old man selling tickets at the entrance dozing off; the second half showed the same venue with full lighting effects, NPCs in professional costumes, and a queue that circled three corners from the entrance.
"I did it." Lin Chen pointed to himself. "A month ago, this haunted house was losing 1.2 million yuan a year, and the owner was planning to sell the land to a developer. I made a renovation plan for him. Currently, the average daily visitor flow is 800 people, the ticket price has increased from 30 to 98 yuan, and there are still queues."
Sun Wukong didn't speak, his finger continuing to scroll down. The second video was an interview, in which an NPC dressed as a zombie said to the camera, "President Lin said our core product isn't horror, it's immersion. What is immersion? It's when you go in and forget you're in a haunted house, you think you're actually in a zombie movie." The third video was a screenshot of data, showing that annual revenue had gone from a negative 1.2 million to a monthly income of 2 million.
Sun Wukong put down his phone, looked up at Lin Chen, and his eyes suddenly lit up.
"How much did you invest in that haunted house?"
"Zero." Lin Chen shrugged. "I didn't have any money, so I used an operational equity investment model. The boss provided the venue, I provided the plan, and we split the profits 50/50 after recouping the costs. But I controlled all the core operational processes and wanted to renegotiate the split to 40/60, with me getting 60%. In the end, he kicked me out."
"You're ruthless. No wonder they kicked you." Sun Wukong snorted, but there wasn't much dislike in his tone.
"If I'm not ruthless, where will I get the money to pay off my debts?" Lin Chen smiled, a hint of self-deprecation in his smile. "I'm just like you, Great Sage. I'm an entrepreneur with over four million in debt, and you're the Victorious Fighting Buddha who owes eight hundred thousand in monkey food every month. Neither of us should look down on the other."
Sun Wukong's tail wagged even faster. "Then why are you still in debt?"
"He was kicked out before he even got paid, but I still have control over the core resources and operational processes. I'll make him beg me to come back..."
"Alright, alright, stop with the nonsense." Sun Wukong tossed the phone back to Lin Chen, leaned against the stone tablet behind him, and said, "Where's your plan? Show it to me."
Lin Chen took a folder out of his bag. Instead of handing it directly to Sun Wukong, he opened it himself and spread the pages out on the ground.
"The development plan for Huaguo Mountain Scenic Area consists of 48 articles and is divided into three phases."
Sun Wukong leaned closer to look, his brows gradually furrowing.
The first phase, infrastructure construction: road repair, water and electricity provision, construction of a visitor center, renovation of the internal circulation of the Water Curtain Cave, and construction of the Huaguo Mountain viewing boardwalk. The estimated construction period is six months. The investment budget... Lin Chen tapped the numbers on his phone... Three million.
The second phase involves content development: an immersive Journey to the West experience project, including but not limited to a realistic recreation of the Monkey King's former residence, a monkey troop interaction area, a VR experience and riding experience of the Somersault Cloud, an interactive installation of the Golden Cudgel, and a light and shadow show at the Water Curtain Cave. The project is expected to take three months, with a budget of five million.
The third phase, brand operation, includes nationwide promotion, a short video matrix, cooperation with OTA platforms, development of travel agency channels, and hosting the Huaguoshan Cultural Festival. The brand is expected to expand its reach within six months, with a target annual visitor count of one million.
When Sun Wukong saw the third page, his expression was one of extreme surprise. He read it aloud word by word: "Estimated annual revenue... 200 million to 300 million, net profit... 60 million to 100 million."
"That's a conservative estimate," Lin Chen said, sitting on the ground and looking up at Dasheng. "If managed properly, it could reach 500 million in the second year. And look here."
He pointed to the last page with his finger; it was a table outlining the profit-sharing scheme.
"Sanjie Cultural Tourism, that's the new name I came up with, hehe! That means I'm in charge of all investment, operation, marketing, and management. Huaguoshan Scenic Area Management Committee, which is your side, is responsible for site usage rights, security, experience content support, and monkey troop management. Revenue sharing: 50/50."
Sun Wukong's brow twitched.
"Why wouldn't I want to! I even mortgaged the house my mom gave me! A 50/50 split is fair, right, Brother Sun!"
Sun Wukong didn't speak! But a bitter feeling welled up inside him! He had been so pressured by debt collectors that he dared not go home at night, yet he hadn't even considered mortgaging his house. Now, for the sake of Flower Fruit Mountain, he was actually willing...
Seeing that Sun Wukong hadn't spoken, Lin Chen said, "Then I'll continue. Brother Sun, I've proposed two positions for you. The first is the Security Director of Huaguo Mountain Scenic Area, with an annual salary of... this amount." He held up a hand.
"Five hundred thousand?"
Five million.
Just as Sun Wukong was about to speak, Lin Chen added, "The second position is the Chief Experience Officer of the scenic area, with an annual salary of three million. Both positions can be held concurrently, for a total annual salary of eight million, plus a personal bonus of one percent of the scenic area's net profit."
The air suddenly became quiet.
Sun Wukong's expression was complex, a mixture of shock and doubt. He opened his mouth, and finally hissed.
"You mortgaged a house and got that much money? You're not just bragging to fool me, are you?"
"That's definitely not enough," Lin Chen admitted frankly. "But I have a plan, a team, and a resource pool I've accumulated in the startup circle. I'll find people to invest, in the name of Sanjie Cultural Tourism, using the future revenue of Huaguo Mountain as collateral."
Sun Wukong sneered, "Aren't you afraid you won't get any investment and will blow up yourself first?"
"Yes, I'm scared." Lin Chen stood up, brushing the dust off his pants. "But I'm even more afraid of waking up tomorrow morning and seeing the news saying 'The Monkey King sold his golden cudgel to pay off his debts.' That scene is too heartbreaking; I can't bear to look. You are also a hero in my heart!"
Sun Wukong's fingers tightened slightly as he pressed them against the profit-sharing plan.
"Why should I, Old Sun, believe you? You're not going to change your mind at the last minute like with the previous projects, are you?" Sun Wukong raised his head, his golden pupils reflecting Lin Chen's image. "Besides, who knows if that haunted house you built was really yours or just made up?"
"I even mortgaged my house, I didn't leave myself any way out!" Lin Chen unlocked his phone, found the address of the haunted house, and said, "This shop is still open, you can go and see for yourself, or have your monkeys and monkeys ask around. Although I'm very poor right now, I have a decent reputation in that circle, and I never cheat my partners."
Sun Wukong didn't answer the phone. He looked down at the plan spread out on the ground, his expression shifting slightly. From scrutiny to calculation, and then a hint of hesitation as he weighed the pros and cons.
Lin Chen didn't urge him. He knew that this deal was more than just a job for Sun Wukong. In a sense, it was the first time the Great Sage Equaling Heaven was negotiating a partnership with a mortal as a worker. Status, face, trust—none of these were easy to let go of.
After about two minutes, Sun Wukong finally spoke.
"Have you ever thought about this?" he said in a low voice, "The real estate in Flower Fruit Mountain isn't under my name, Old Sun."
"I know." Lin Chen nodded. "This land is nominally under the jurisdiction of the Heavenly Court and is directly under the jurisdiction of the Four Continents Immortal Mountains. The ownership is not in your hands. But as long as you say 'I agree to develop it,' the Heavenly Court will not stop you."
"How do you know you won't stop them?"
"Because they're broke." Lin Chen smiled. "The Heavenly Court has cut salaries, and even the gods can't afford to stay. So when someone offers to help them revitalize an idle asset, they're overjoyed. I added a clause to the development plan: they'll pay the Heavenly Court 5% of their revenue annually. That's called a 'bribe.'"
Sun Wukong was silent for a moment, then chuckled.
"Your mind... is definitely different from others."
"That's definitely different. I can't say about other things, but when it comes to being smart, I, Lin Chen, am absolutely not modest!" Lin Chen proudly smirked.
Sun Wukong stood up, folded the few pages of paper, and stuffed them into his tracksuit pocket. He turned his back to Lin Chen, looking at the clouds and mist below the cliff.
"Come over again tomorrow. Let me, Old Sun... think about it some more."
"That profit-sharing plan... were you serious about the '50/50' you wrote?"
Lin Chen turned his head and saw Sun Wukong standing on the edge of the cliff with his back to the light.
"It's even more real than the Golden Cudgel," Lin Chen said.
Sun Wukong snorted and didn't say anything more, but his tail swayed unconsciously again, just like a cat when it's in a good mood.
Lin Chen quickly descended the mountain. He knew that he had already passed most of this hurdle.
The rest depends on whether, when he comes again tomorrow, this monkey can overcome the title of "Great Sage Equal to Heaven" in his heart and choose to be a "Security Director".
Lin Chen took a deep breath, took out his phone, and sent a message to the investor he hadn't contacted for three months: "Mr. Li, I have a project, a hundred times bigger than the haunted house. Want to chat sometime?"
He sent it. He put away his phone and strode towards the city center.
Behind him, in the mist of Flower Fruit Mountain, a monkey dressed in sportswear was squatting on the edge of a cliff, looking at the few pages of the plan over and over again three times.
After reading it for the fourth time, Sun Wukong pressed the paper to his chest, looked up at the sky, and muttered under his breath, "Back when I was causing havoc in the Heavenly Palace, I never thought of partnering with mortals to open a shop..."
But he couldn't stop smiling.