Qiang’s smile stiffened slightly.

"...Too little?"

Even the man pouring tea nearby paused halfway through the motion.

Benny, meanwhile, 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 investments, a mere ¥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 became 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 time, the group fell fully silent.

Because unlike before, Benny’s expression no longer looked like someone 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 repayment ability."

Repayment 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, equipment, and external investment operations," Benny said calmly.

Technically speaking...

None of that was false.

Qiang’s expression became more serious.

A newly established investment company with physical assets and external equity activity...

That actually sounded fairly legitimate.

The men around the table exchanged glances again.

This young man might genuinely have backing.

Meanwhile, Benny continued speaking with increasing confidence.

"Currently, Autumn Investment is mainly facing a temporary liquidity issue during expansion."

Liquidity issue.

The moment those words came out, even Benny himself was briefly stunned.

Why did that sound so professional?

Qiang clearly thought the same thing.

His attitude visibly became 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 became quiet again.

And then Qiang suddenly laughed.

Not mockingly but relieved.

"Hahaha! Boss Benny scared me for a second there."

The tension around the table instantly loosened as well.

One of the men 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 moment, 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 some reason.

Qiang instinctively picked up his tea and took a sip.

For some reason, every time this young man smiled, the atmosphere became 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 immediately 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 became.

Expansion capital.

Even the name sounded beautiful.

Qiang continued: "Of course, newly established companies usually don’t qualify for very high amounts immediately."

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. Investment agreements. Business projections. Future revenue estimates."

"...Oh."

Benny slowly leaned back.

Future revenue estimates...

For some reason, hearing that made him feel slightly guilty.

After all, Autumn Investment currently had:

one office

ten computers

one assistant

one Neo

and a café actively losing money per customer.

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, someone who understood him.

Qiang continued casually: "Especially investment 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 Investment invest in?"

Benny froze for half a second.

Then his mind immediately 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 immediately coughed into his fist. "Ahem... yes. Of course."

Returns, right. Those existed too.

For a brief moment, Benny almost forgot normal businesses actually aimed to make profits.

Qiang reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card before sliding it across the table.

"Come by tomorrow morning with your company documents."

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 something.

"...What if the company temporarily doesn’t have repayment capability?"

The table instantly became quiet.

One of the men 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 mean 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?