Chen Cheng handed the wine opener to Ji Nanjia, set down the decanter and the wine glasses, and then went to slice some ham.

After a bit of bustling around, he returned to the living room to find Qiao Xichen and the others already chatting with a movie playing.

Chen Cheng looked at Goudan, who was kneading in Xu Yan's arms, and his mouth twitched.

Once humans and animals can communicate, even the most ordinary things start to feel a bit different.

Anyway, Chen Cheng hadn't adjusted to it yet.

Chen Cheng plopped down next to Qiao Xichen.

Qiao Xichen had changed into a homey short-sleeved shirt and shorts. She leaned her head against Chen Cheng's shoulder and asked softly:

"How long does this need to breathe?"

"Hmm..." Chen Cheng thought for a moment. "Normally, two hours is best."

"But since it's just us, we don't need to be so particular."

As he spoke, Chen Cheng picked up the decanter to pour the wine. Ji Nanjia's eyes widened, and she hurriedly reached out to stop him. "Hey—Chen—no rush, no rush."

"This is a top-tier wine. Opportunities like this don't come twice. I have to savor it slowly~"

Chen Cheng laughed. "Come over whenever you want to drink. I'll give you a bottle to take home later."

Ji Nanjia waved her hand. "Oh, I couldn't possibly."

"How about we talk about the Great Flu?"

"I've really been feeling quite stressed lately."

"Sure, let's talk about it."

Chen Cheng could also see that Ji Nanjia was indeed quite stressed.

She worked in event planning.

With the current market situation, crowded places like bars and KTVs weren't allowed to open, and large exhibitions and offline conferences had come to a standstill.

What was there left for her to plan?

The fact that her company could hold on for over half a year and she still had the mind to think about buying a house was all thanks to the savings she had accumulated in previous years.

A fawning smile immediately appeared on Ji Nanjia's face. "President Chen~ Chairman Chen~"

"As a professional stock investor, your judgment of the economic situation is definitely better than mine."

"Help me analyze this: should I keep running my company?"

"Hmm..." Chen Cheng pondered for a few seconds, weighing his words.

"Have you made a transition?"

"Yeah. In April, when I realized things were wrong, I started trying to do online events."

"Things like online press conferences, online summits, online live streams, and cloud exhibitions."

"But looking at it overall, the income still isn't covering the expenses."

"This year, business demand from old clients has dropped significantly."

"The competitive pressure for new clients is also very high."

"In these past six months or so, I've lost all the profits from the previous two years."

"For the past two months, I've been using my own money to keep it afloat."

Chen Cheng raised an eyebrow, not at all surprised that Ji Nanjia was already dipping into her savings.

"The advice I can give isn't anything new."

"Increase revenue and cut costs."

"You can terminate the lease on the office and move to a smaller one."

"I think there's no problem with moving the office directly to your home."

Ji Nanjia clicked her tongue and swallowed. "Is it that serious?"

What she really wanted to ask was Chen Cheng's assessment of the Great Flu.

If she couldn't figure out the rest on her own, she might as well stop working.

What she was confused about now was being unable to judge how long the flu would last.

If she terminated the lease and dismissed her employees...

...and then the flu went away, wouldn't she be left high and dry?

From Ji Nanjia's perspective, Chen Cheng had achieved financial freedom through stocks, lived in such a big house, and bought a ferrari for his girlfriend.

His judgment of the economic situation was definitely far superior to hers.

If it weren't for this reason, she wouldn't have actually come to Chen Cheng's house to 'taste wine' today.

Chen Cheng nodded. "Yes, it will indeed be quite serious."

"Since the flu didn't disappear after summer arrived in the Northern Hemisphere this year, it's already a very clear signal of a pandemic."

"My judgment is that there's a high probability everyone will catch it once, then develop antibodies and coexist with the flu."

"The advice I can give you now is... well... don't force large-scale events, don't bet on the flu ending immediately. Transition first, then seek growth."

"In terms of specific operations, you should strengthen the online transition of your existing business. You could also try agency operations for new media."

"Convert short-term business into long-term cash flow."

"Currently, since offline gatherings are impossible, the windows for both private and public enterprises to voice themselves and market have shifted to online on a large scale."

Chen Cheng smiled as he spoke. "Crisis is opportunity."

"Now is a prime opportunity for various industries with rigid models to undergo a reshuffling."

"..."

Having already had some wine and possessing the benefit of foresight, Chen Cheng spoke incessantly about the economic situation.

He was basically bragging his head off.

At the end, Chen Cheng glanced at Qiao Xichen, who was looking at him with adoration. After a moment's thought, he said to Ji Nanjia:

"If you're bold enough, you could try an ice and snow cultural tourism project."

"Hotel businesses like ski resort homestays will see explosive growth."

Qiao Xichen, nestled in his arms, suddenly looked up. "Didn't you say not to bet on when the flu will end?"

Chen Cheng smiled and reached out to flick her nose. "Silly, you have to calculate the timing."

"Ski resorts are usually in the middle of nowhere. If you want to build homestays or hotels, you have to acquire land and construct buildings yourself."

"The whole process takes about a year."

"It will be just in time for the hype of the Winter Olympics at the end of next year."

"Calculating the time, by the Winter Olympics, the flu will have been around for two years."

"No matter what, after enduring for another year, things should start looking up."

Qiao Xichen's eyes darted around. "Then why is it three years to look up?"

Chen Cheng exhaled and said calmly, "In this situation, both imports and exports are affected, which impacts economic operations too much."

"Five years is the limit for the economy."

"Any longer, and we'll fall into the abyss of a Great Depression."

"In fact, if we don't make it through after three years, we'll have to face some unavoidable choices."

Ji Nanjia fell into a long silence.

Chen Cheng glanced at the bewildered Xu Yan, smiled, and continued:

"Human demand is like a spring; the harder it's compressed, the higher it bounces back."

"Once we get through this darkness, the demand for travel will see explosive growth."

"In the market segments, combined with the economic contraction and our country's growing middle class, high-end consumption will shift downward. Four-star and mid-to-high-end hotels will become the mainstream."

"Or rather, the ones with the best profit potential will be mid-to-high-end hotels, not ultra-luxury ones like five-star hotels."

As he spoke, a smile played on Chen Cheng's lips, and he joked to Ji Nanjia:

"If President Ji wants to transition into the hotel business, I'll have our Qiao Xichen partner with you."

These words seemed to be helping Ji Nanjia and pleasing Qiao Xichen.

In reality, Scum Cheng was paving the way for Zhu Zhe.

If Ji Nanjia followed through and actually invested in a ski resort hotel and built a management team...

...then when Zhu Zhe returned to the country, Chen Cheng could acquire one or two mid-to-high-end hotel brands. Once integrated, it would be enough for her to manage.

This move of killing three birds with one stone was something Scum Cheng had truly mastered.

Oh wait, he also forgot about Xu Yan, who was already listening in a daze.

This move was actually killing four birds with one stone.

This girl's head was empty; she hadn't really taken anything in. Right now, she was looking at Chen Cheng with such adoration that her eyes were almost dripping with moisture.