Grill 23 & Bar, Boston Seaport District.
At the long oak dining table, the players who had just completed a 43-point massacre in the opening game were now feasting without any regard for appearances.
While Lin Qi was in the restroom, Artest secretly added half a glass of eaux-de-vie to his Bordeaux wine.
When Lin Qi returned, he gulped down the red wine, and his throat instantly felt like it was on fire.
Within minutes, Lin Qi's cheeks began to flush, and his tie had been loosened. He held the half-empty wine glass, his eyes filled with a rare, dreamy look.
"Ding, ding, ding."
Lin Qi picked up the silver knife and fork and gently tapped the rim of the wine glass.
All the players immediately stopped what they were doing and turned to look at Lin Qi, whose condition was clearly not right.
"Guys... I'd like to take advantage of this bit of alcohol to talk to you about some real-world issues." Lin Qi stood up and walked unsteadily around the long table.
" Chris Paul, you just signed a big contract. Kevin, your next contract won't be small either. You guys are rich now, right?" Lin Qi sneered, swirling his wine glass. " Massachusetts ' tax rate isn't low. Take a cut from both state and federal taxes; that'll take almost half of your salaries."
"And that's not all. Your agents take a cut, and you still have to buy luxury cars for those poor relatives you have no connection with. The money you actually have in your hands, the money you can spend comfortably, is less than a third of what's on paper!"
Lin Qi walked back to the main seat and let out a burp reeking of alcohol.
"So, if you don't want all the money you've earned from all those tough times to go down the drain, remember these points perfectly!"
Lin Qi pointed at Garnett, his tone extremely stern. " Kevin! Don't think you can just sit back and do nothing just because you're on a max contract. Don't let those lousy 'financial managers' around you manage all your money! You're too sentimental; someone calls you 'brother,' and you hand over all your secrets. You either entrust your money to the top-tier trust banks, or you keep a close eye on things yourself! Otherwise, you'll get scammed sooner or later!"
Garnett paused for a moment, then nodded thoughtfully.
Then, Lin Qi's gaze swept over Chris Paul Pierce, his finger practically poking Pierce's nose. " Chris Paul! Control your lower half! You're such a repressed pervert. You seem honest most of the time, but once you're at a nightclub or a game, you forget who you are. Don't end up with a bunch of illegitimate kids! Look at ' Reign Man ' Sean Kemp, a contract worth hundreds of millions, and now he's using it all to pay alimony. Do you want to work at McDonald's's after you retire?!"
Pierce swallowed hard, feeling a cold sweat break out on his back.
"And Chauncey Billups!" Lin Qi turned to Billups, "Don't touch that damn underground gambling! Don't think you're so smart, that you can count cards at the table. In Las Vegas, high-paid black athletes like you are the perfect ATMs for those con artists!"
The private room was completely silent. No one dared to utter a sound.
"Well... boss, what should we do?" Stephen Jackson asked somewhat nervously. "We don't know anything about finance."
"This brings us back to the main point I wanted to make tonight."
Lin Qi leaned back in his chair, loosened his tie, and spoke in a low, mysterious tone.
"Starting this year, regardless of whether your annual salary is one million dollars or ten million dollars, I require each of you to set aside one million dollars from your salary every year, without fail. If players on minimum salaries can't afford that, they should contribute thirty percent of their income."
"I bought shares in two companies with all my funds."
The first one was called Amazon.
The second company is called Nvidia.
Inside the VIP box, the players stared at each other in bewilderment.
" Amazon? Isn't that a website that sells books?" Gary Payton couldn't help but say.
"Now is the time to buy at the bottom!" Lin Qi slammed his hand on the table, the alcohol making him somewhat excited. "As for Nvidia, they make computer chips! The future world needs computing power! This company's potential is ten thousand times higher than you imagine!"
Lin Qi looked around, his tone becoming extremely serious.
"Buy only these two stocks every year! Don't sell them for five years. Don't pay attention to their price for ten years. Wait twenty years... until you guys retire, then open that account."
"Then you'll find that the meager salary you earn in this arena is nothing compared to the number in that account... it's not even a fraction of it!"
Amidst the players' utterly stunned gazes, Lin Qi smiled and raised his glass.
"Come on, guys... cheers to your future billions!"
the next day.
The midday sun shone through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the luxury apartment, so brightly that Lin Qi could barely open his eyes.
He rubbed his temples, which felt like they were about to explode, and sat up in bed. The nausea from the hangover made him feel vomit.
"Damn it... how much did I drink last night?" Lin Qi muttered in bewilderment. " Bordeaux red wine, when did it become so potent? I actually blacked out?"
"You're not just drunk, you almost had alcohol poisoning."
A cool and sexy voice came from the side.
Lin Qi turned his head and saw Beth Finneran, wearing a silk robe, leaning against the headboard, holding a glass of honey water to help with hangovers, looking at him with a half-smile.
"When I picked you up last night, your players treated you like Jesus, helping you into the car," Beth teased, handing Lin Qi a glass of honey water. "I've never seen you like that. You were like a drunken gypsy witch, pouring out your troubles to everyone, even starting to tell fortunes."
Lin Qi's heart skipped a beat. He took the water glass and asked, "What... what did I say?"
"You yelled at Garnett, saying that his loyal-brotherly nature would eventually lead to him being swindled out of his money by his financial advisor. You even pointed your finger at Chris Paul Pierce, warning him not to have a bunch of illegitimate children because of his womanizing ways, ending up like Sean Kemp, bankrupt and having to pay alimony."
Beth recalled the scene from last night and couldn't help but laugh out loud, "The funniest thing was that you forced them to swear that they would put down a million dollars every year to buy Amazon and that Nvidia stock, saying they would be billionaires in twenty years..."
Lin Qi froze, his hand holding the water glass hanging in mid-air.
Oh no! He spilled the beans while drunk and accidentally spoiled the future.
Fortunately, Beth didn't think of it as "predicting the future." She simply attributed it to Lin Qi's accurate analysis of the players' personalities and his business acumen.
Lin Qi gave a wry smile, tilted his head back, and drank the honey water in one gulp.