Chapter 1

2009.

Hanedong Province, Jingzhou City, Hanedong University.

"Brother Qian, wake up quickly, you're going to be late for class! Today is the vice president's class, and he will take attendance!"

Pei Qian woke up from his sleep, rubbed his eyes, and was still puzzled about who was calling him.

Didn't I rent a one-bedroom apartment? Who came into my room?

When he opened his eyes, a long face almost filled Pei Qian's entire field of vision.

"Ma Yang?"

Pei Qian was stunned, almost thinking he was dreaming.

"Hurry up, I've already woken you up. If you miss the attendance, don't blame me." Ma Yang's long face quickly left Pei Qian's field of vision as he turned and hurriedly walked out of the dormitory.

Wait, dormitory?

Pei Qian instantly woke up, sitting up from the bed in one swift motion.

University dormitory, six-person room!

He was still on the lower bunk by the door, and he remembered that in winter, the door didn't close properly, leaving a small gap that always let in the cold wind. For this, Pei Qian had complained a lot back then.

The two remaining roommates were also packing their things, about to leave.

"Hurry up, Brother Qian, run a bit faster, you can still make it. Otherwise, we won't dare to answer for you during attendance, and if the vice president catches you, it will be bad." These two roommates also hurriedly left the room.

Pei Qian couldn't help but slap himself a couple of times.

Ouch... my cheeks hurt!

Is this really from when I was in university?

The vice president's class... and taking attendance... that means it's the first year...

2009?

That means I've gone back ten years?

Pei Qian was a bit anxious for a moment but quickly accepted this reality.

After graduating from university in 2013, he had worked in two industries, changed jobs at several companies, encountered extremely unreasonable leaders, and experienced the cutthroat politics of the workplace.

In short, he was just a corporate drone.

Encountering something like time travel was a stroke of luck, and being able to go back ten years and start over was something many people would dream of!

Pei Qian was wide awake, sitting up from the bed.

What should I do next?

Should I report this to the Time Management Bureau?

Will I be killed on the spot to cover up the evidence?

Or... the first thing to do after time travel is to go to class?

What a joke!

The memories from ten years ago were already quite vague, but Pei Qian still vaguely remembered that in his first year, he skipped many classes, including the vice president's, but he didn't fail the vice president's class.

The vice president said he would take attendance, but he never actually did.

Instead, a young male teacher who seemed very friendly never took attendance, but suddenly did so at the end of the semester, and it counted towards the final grade.

"I don't want to take attendance, I just want to get to know everyone."

That's what he said.

Even now, Pei Qian still felt deeply tricked, as he was too young back then and trusted this friendly teacher completely.

At this moment, a transparent light screen suddenly appeared in front of Pei Qian, with lines of text continuously displaying.

[Wealth Conversion System binding host...]

[Binding successful.]

[Host: Pei Qian]

[Please read the system's usage guidelines.]

"What's going on?!"

Pei Qian was startled but then fell into a state of wild joy.

Sure enough, after time travel, there must be a system. This is a golden finger!

Calm down, calm down, this is all part of the routine, nothing to be surprised about.

Pei Qian quickly calmed down and began to observe the text on the light screen.

[Wealth Conversion System]

[Profit/Loss Conversion Ratio: To be determined]

[System Funds: 50,000]

[Personal Wealth: 443]

This is the standard template.

Below the standard template, there was a special area similar to a dialogue box, displaying dynamic information, which should be the "usage guidelines."

[Wealth Conversion Rules:]

[The system will periodically provide the host with a certain amount of system funds, which can only be used for normal business activities and cannot be squandered.]

[After a period of time, the system will settle the accounts. The profit or loss relative to the system funds will be converted into personal wealth at a certain ratio, which the host can freely use.]

[Special Note: To encourage the host to focus on work, the host cannot directly pay themselves from the company account.]

[Next Step: View Detailed Rules]

"Oh, oh? This system is a gold mine!"

"You provide me with funds and even give me a cut? What a great system!"

Pei Qian instantly understood the function of the system.

Here, "system funds" and "personal wealth" are both "money," but they are two completely different concepts.

The 443 shown as personal wealth means that Pei Qian currently has only 443 yuan, which he can freely use.

The 50,000 is the system's funds. According to the system, this money can only be used for business activities, such as starting a company.

After a period of time, whether making a profit or a loss, the corresponding part will be converted into personal wealth at a certain ratio, and Pei Qian can spend it freely!

"Exciting! Let's check the detailed rules."

Pei Qian continued to click on the light screen to view it.

[The host must engage in normal, reasonable, legal, and technically sophisticated business activities.]

[The following behaviors are considered violations, please note.]

[Profit Category:]

[1. Large-scale real estate purchases, property speculation.]

[2. Purchasing digital currencies, participating in Ponzi schemes, illegal fundraising, and other illegal activities.]

[3. Speculation, reselling goods, and disrupting market order.]

[... (Click to expand the remaining 97 violations)]

[Loss Category:]

[1. Charity or transferring company assets to others.]

[2. Procuring, hiring employees, renting office space, and purchasing office supplies at prices far above market rates.]

[3. Slack work, extremely low efficiency, and failing to create any value for a long time.]

[... (Click to expand the remaining 97 violations)]

[Supplementary Clause: The host cannot reveal or hint at the existence of the system or the challenge to anyone in any way.]

[The system has the final interpretation of violations.]

[Next Step: Randomly Generate Profit/Loss Conversion Ratio]

"The rules are really strict."

Pei Qian reviewed the 200 violations, and several plans that had come to mind were one by one rejected.

Real estate speculation, purchasing digital currencies, and other activities were all prohibited by the system.

Normal investment and financial management were allowed, but with the usual annual return rate, it would be hard to meet Pei Qian's needs.

The 200 detailed violations not only restricted the "profit" activities Pei Qian could engage in but also restricted the "loss" activities he could engage in.

In short, all shortcuts were forbidden.

Pei Qian continued to click on the light screen and moved to the next step.

[Randomly generating profit/loss conversion ratio...]

[Profit conversion ratio: 100:1, Loss conversion ratio: 1:1]

"Hold on, this ratio...?"

Pei Qian carefully looked and found that this seemed a bit buggy.

The loss conversion ratio is a bit high, isn't it?

If he loses all the system funds, he can convert it into personal wealth at an equal ratio!

Losing money is also a gold mine!

"Randomly generated such a good conversion ratio? I must be a lucky king!"

"Unfortunately, the profit conversion ratio is a bit low, but it doesn't matter. Losing money is much easier than making money!"

Pei Qian felt his luck was exploding!

[Final Step: Please name your company (click here to input)]

Pei Qian thought for a moment and used his mind to input: Tengda Network Technology Co., Ltd.

The name means "flying high and prospering."

In other words, he hopes Tengda will quickly go bankrupt!

["Tengda Network Technology Co., Ltd." registered successfully.]

After completing the final step, the text on the light screen disappeared, returning to the initial state of the panel.

[Wealth Conversion System]

[Host: Pei Qian]

[Profit conversion ratio: 100:1, Loss conversion ratio: 1:1]

[Next settlement time: 14 days later]

[Note: One week before settlement, if there are any products not yet released, the settlement date will be postponed, with the delay time determined by the system.]

[System Funds: 50,000]

[Personal Wealth: 443]

Pei Qian checked the meaning of this note.

One week before settlement, Pei Qian cannot have any products not yet released.

This is reasonable.

Without this rule, Pei Qian could invest all the company's assets into production the day before settlement, making the system funds zero, which would be a loophole.

With this rule, Pei Qian must put all his products on the market and generate profits or losses one week before settlement, and this step cannot be skipped.

"One less loophole, but it doesn't matter."

"So, the next step is to make the system funds of 50,000 become 0, and then make the personal wealth of 443 become 50,443."

"Isn't it just about losing money within the rules? I don't think it's difficult." Pei Qian was full of confidence.

Start a company normally, create value, and develop products.

Then, as the company's boss, Pei Qian just needs to slightly deviate from the right path and lead it down the wrong road.

Isn't that it?

Successful startups are few and far between, but failed startups are a dime a dozen. Which is easier is obvious!

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PS: Welcome everyone to leave comments actively in this chapter. I will select some highly praised comments to write into the book and give credit!