Chapter 181: Business Start and Hapless Wizards
After the game against the Lakers, the Knicks had two days of rest. The little senior sister was very busy recently and rarely stayed at home. Several projects of Hantangfeng Capital, which was registered before, had been initially completed and effective.
Octazen, a company with only two people, was very inconspicuous. Their main achievement was contact input software development. This was one of the companies in the investment list that Lian Dao gave to the little senior sister at that time. Lian Dao invested $500,000 and acquired 45% of the shares because he knew Facebook would acquire it in February 2010 to increase their viral advertising campaign. Other companies Lian Dao invested in through rebirth memory were also short-term holds, to be sold once acquired by larger firms.
Currently, the shares he held for a long time were 10% of Facebook's shares, including 5% non-dilutable shares drawn from the system. Another promising company was Airbnb, known in Chinese as Airbnb, established in 2008 and not very well-known. It was popular in the New York rental market due to their quality of service. Their novel customer expansion method involved renting a $5,000 high-end camera and taking free photos of renters' houses in New York. This led to reservations increasing two to three times, doubling local revenue by month's end. They replicated this in Paris, London, Miami, and other places.
Airbnb's scale was small, with few contracted photographers, but it would grow into a unicorn in U.S. home rental sales, reaching a $47 billion market value by 2022. They were releasing news of A-round financing of $7.8 million to expand, attracting Sequoia Capital's attention. Sequoia Capital, a giant in the investment world, backed Chinese firms like Jingxi, Ali, Ant, Jingxi Financial, Jinri Toutiao, shared bicycles, Hungry Takeaway, and Di drop. Their current layout in China was less extensive, but Lian Dao aimed to compete, targeting stakes in Sina, Ant, Hungry Takeaway, live broadcast platforms, short-video platforms, and more.
Hantang Capital lacked the strength for Airbnb's financing, but Guo Nianguo's relationships secured their spot. Sequoia Capital's inclusion of Hantang intrigued Lian Dao, as capitalists rarely share profits. He later learned, when Airbnb entered China, that Sequoia valued his influence. These capitalists' ability to predict an enterprise's development over ten to fifteen years was quite scary, even to a reborn Lian Dao.
While the little senior sister managed company affairs, Lian Dao rewarded her hard work with a homemade Bazhen cake and a table of dishes. Guo Yuwei returned home, smelled the food's aroma, dropped her bag, and kicked off her high heels. Barefoot, she ran to the dining table, closed her eyes, and sniffed the food intoxicatedly. Without washing her hands, she grabbed a piece of crispy chicken, her face radiating happiness.
Lian Dao, bringing dishes from the kitchen, saw her slovenly appearance. "Don't wash your hands first? How is it? I prepared it for you. Is it delicious?" he asked, his tone doting.
Guo Yuwei nodded vigorously, stuffing food in her mouth. Her charming melon-seeded face swelled, the cold, gorgeous businesswoman now a foodie girl. Lian Dao poured her juice, saying, "Slow down, no one will grab you."
"It's been a long time since you cooked for me," she said inarticulately, cheeks puffed.
Lian Dao realized she meant he hadn't cooked in a while. Embarrassed, knowing he was lazy, he joined the food battle to cover it up. After the feast, the nanny cleared the table, and Lian Dao brought cut fruits. Guo Yuwei lay on the sofa, touching her slightly protruding belly—not pregnant, just overeaten.
"It's all your fault, it's time to lose weight again!" she said, head on Lian Dao's lap.
Lian Dao's face filled with question marks. "Why didn't you think so when you ate? Now you blame the cook," he teased, feigning upset.
The little senior sister laughed, finding him cute. "I'm kidding! Here's a reward," she said, kissing his face. Lian Dao kissed her back passionately, moving to carry her to the room.
"No, I just finished eating," she protested.
"It's okay, just exercise after dinner. Aren't you afraid of gaining weight?" he replied.
She realized he was joking about weight loss, but it was too late. The little senior sister became a cabbage dialed out of the foreign gang, swept into his arms.
During the Knicks' rest days, the Wizards faced trouble. They put head star Gilbert Arenas on the trade block, eager to deal him after he drew a gun to celebrate before a game. The pistol door incident had already pressured NBA executives, and Arenas' defiance enraged them. President David Stern suspended Arenas and Javaris Crittenton until the season's end—50 games for Arenas, 38 for Crittenton, totaling 88 games missed.
Crittenton's career suffered. His talent wasn't elite, and no team wanted a locker-room time bomb. The Wizards' management struggled to trade Arenas, as other teams rejected their offers. They proposed trading Arenas to the Knicks for Gallinari or Holiday, willing to take Eddie Curry's bad contract. Knicks management declined, valuing their improved locker room and playoff hopes. Trading young talent for a declining, injury-prone Arenas was unthinkable, even to shed Curry's deal.
The Knicks wanted to offload Curry's contract, but no team would pay over $10 million for a water fountain keeper. They planned to buy out his contract at season's end to strengthen the 2010-2011 roster, their focus fixed on future glory.