National Tide 1980.

"Mr. Zou, what should we do? The contestants and the audience are getting restless. The judges are all saying different things and can't reach an agreement. If this stalemate continues, the competition will be a complete disaster!"

The event organizer and the on-site supervisor ran over together, both covered in sweat. The on-site supervisor's voice was trembling as he reported the situation.

Zou Guodong took a deep breath, suppressing his anger and panic.

He knew he couldn't afford to panic at this moment.

If things go wrong, the reputation of the entire Pierre Cardin China company will be ruined.

Faced with an international industry authority like Ellen Ford, and with the situation about to spiral out of control, he was at a loss for what to do.

Countless solutions flashed through my mind, but each one had its flaws and would bring some degree of side effects.

This made it difficult for him to make a decision.

In the midst of the chaos, the event organizer suddenly spoke up, "Mr. Zou, this is such a major international dispute that it's beyond our control. Shouldn't we consult with Ms. Song and ask her to make a decision?"

As soon as he said this, the surroundings fell silent for a moment, and everyone stared at Zou Guodong's face, filled with anticipation.

As the saying goes, "If the sky falls, there's always a big son to hold it up."

As the top executive of Pierre Cardin, Song Huagui is undoubtedly the backbone of the company.

It's not that she necessarily has the ability to handle such a thorny issue perfectly, or to truly balance international reputation with domestic public opinion.

But as a pioneer in China's fashion industry, and as a woman, she certainly has enough authority to stand shoulder to shoulder with that so-called foreign modeling guru and control the situation, if she personally takes the lead.
Moreover, as long as it's her decision, no matter the outcome, at least no one within Pierre Cardin will object, and the official attitude will be more lenient and supportive.

This should be the optimal solution at present.

But when Zou Guodong heard the suggestion to "ask Song Huagui for instructions," his heart sank.

He wasn't unaware that the current situation was extremely precarious, and that one wrong move could lead to total defeat.

It's not that they don't know that inviting Song Huagui to handle this matter would bring many advantages and benefits.

The problem is that he is not only a subordinate of the company, but also a relative of Song Huagui.

He was the only one in the entire company who knew exactly how bad Song Huagui's personal situation was.

She has never been able to get over the grief of losing her husband. Now she suffers from neurasthenia, often suffers from insomnia, and is completely indifferent to changes in the outside world.

As a result, she became sickly and has been coughing and having a low-grade fever lately. How can I leave this trouble to her to solve?

He really couldn't bear to do it, so he hesitated to agree.

However, this suggestion is not entirely without merit; at least asking for help is not a bad idea.

Song Huagui was unsuitable, and no one else he had met would do. In desperation, Zou Guodong suddenly thought of Ning Weimin.

The person who can always come up with a solution and resolve a crisis at a critical moment.

Although he originally wanted to handle everything on his own, it would be a bit shameful to seek outside help.

But this matter was of great importance, and at this moment, he had no other choice.

"Call me immediately and find Ning Weimin!"

Zou Guodong sternly ordered his assistant, his tone carrying a barely perceptible hint of urgency and dependence, "No matter what he's busy with right now, no matter where he is, find him as soon as possible. I need to speak to him immediately!"

The assistant was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening and quickly turned around and ran out, searching through the contacts as she ran.

The people backstage were also stunned; no one expected that Zou Guodong would prioritize contacting Ning Weimin at this time.

Although Ning Weimin was indeed one of the senior executives of Pierre Cardin, he had never interfered in the model competition.

Besides, he's not even thirty years old yet. While he's not young, he's certainly not exactly mature either.

As the old saying goes, "A young man with no beard is unreliable," so it seemed a bit strange that Zou Guodong, who was almost forty, asked him for help.

Someone couldn't help but speak up, "President Zou, can President Ning... resolve this ideological conflict and quell the public opinion crisis? Business acumen isn't the same as maturity and prudence. Shouldn't we consult President Song instead?"

Zou Guodong shook his head, his eyes showing a hint of anxiety, but also a certain determination.

"There's no time to explain now, let's just do it this way."

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down, and added, "Before contacting Ning Weimin, have the host continue to stabilize the scene, and have the banquet staff quickly increase the amount of free tea and drinks to appease the audience. At the same time, have the head of the judging panel communicate with Ellen Ford again, saying that we can temporarily add an award for her favorite contestant. Try to persuade her, and if that doesn't work, at least buy some time."

Zou Guodong's strong confidence in Ning Weimin stemmed from his growing understanding of him over the years of working together.

In his eyes, Ning Weimin was truly brilliant. Whenever he encountered a problem, he could always come up with a way to break the deadlock that ordinary people would not think of, and he had never disappointed anyone.

The reason why cracking down on counterfeits was so difficult before was because of his ingenious ideas.

Besides, they were all working for the same company. He had not only become a shareholder of Pierre Cardin China, but also acquired Pierre Cardin Japan, becoming a true boss. Isn't that enough to explain the situation?
It's no wonder that Zou Guodong's dependence on Ning Weimin turned into a kind of superstition.

Moreover, the very existence of this model competition is due to Ning Weimin's idea. Even if Ning Weimin's idea was flawed and the competition was ultimately ruined due to mishandling, so what?

To put it bluntly, even if Zou Guodong wasn't entirely confident that Ning Weimin could break the deadlock.

But at this moment, Ning Weimin had become his only option.

Zou Guodong could accept the risk of trying anything, even if it seemed hopeless, both emotionally and psychologically.

Even if things completely collapse, he'd rather it be Ning Weimin's fault, but he wouldn't allow it to happen with someone else.

The biggest difference is that the person making the decision is Ning Weimin.

…………

Just as the organizing committee was urgently deploying delaying tactics, the dispute among the judges continued.

Domestic judges refused to sign off on the results, citing "unfair scoring." Other foreign judges tried to smooth things over, but Ellen Ford remained firm, insisting that her scores were valid.

The head of the judging panel did indeed convey Zou Guodong's suggestion to Ellen Ford, but she refused to accept even this compromise.

This middle-aged woman seemed to have become a paranoid old witch, treating her own arrogant will as the only truth in the world, demanding that the competition organizing committee unconditionally implement it. As time passed, the content of the debate and related information gradually leaked out, and the contestants began to make a fuss.

Chen Juanhong, whose name was ranked lower, stood backstage, clutching her skirt with a complicated expression, enduring the scrutinizing gazes of doubt and suspicion from those around her.

Qu Ying, who had thought the championship crown was about to be placed on her head, had red eyes, held back her tears, and endured great grievances.

Even the audience, who had calmed down somewhat because of the free tea and drinks, became restless again.

As countless people verified the authenticity of the information, the uproar grew louder and louder. The national television station's live broadcast camera was fixed on the host's awkward smile, and they began to consider whether to interrupt the broadcast and suspend the commercials.

The entire event was plunged into an unprecedented crisis.

Zou Guodong had arrived at the entrance of the multi-functional hall. He stood there, looking towards the stage and then frequently glancing towards the direction where his assistant had run to make a phone call. His heart was burning with anxiety.

They were just hoping that Ning Weimin would have news soon, and that his assistant would come back to report.

Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. He stood there waiting for more than ten minutes without any news, and he was so anxious that he felt like his blood vessels were about to burst.

…………

Actually, it's no wonder that Ning Weimin made Zou Guodong anxious; it was just bad timing.

In reality, Ning Weimin is currently busier than Zou Guodong.

The things he's busy with are far more important than the internationally competitive modeling competition.

As May arrives and the weather becomes pleasant, people's willingness to travel increases, and the commercial atmosphere in the entire capital city becomes more vibrant.

In addition to continuing to oversee the construction of the aquarium and the improvement plans for the Beijing amusement park, Ning Weimin, who was stationed in Beijing, also had to integrate resources and provide guidance to his subordinate enterprises, resulting in an ever-increasing workload.

At the same time, the torrential rains and floods in the Jianghuai region also prevented him from remaining uninvolved.

Because he didn't want to attract attention, in addition to donating one million RMB in his personal capacity, he also donated 20 million RMB in the names of the various companies he invested in.

Even so, he still felt it wasn't enough, so he went to Huo Yanping and anonymously gave him 30 million RMB, asking him to hand over the money to the relevant departments for disaster relief.

Even so, he didn't get any credit. Some people in society, with nothing better to do, actually linked the aquarium project to the floods in the south.

It is said that this aquarium called Dragon Palace angered the Dragon King, which is why the heavens sent down heavy rain in anger, as if this historically predetermined natural disaster was caused by his aquarium.

So, having no other choice, Ning Weimin, who felt the pain Fei Xiang had once experienced and was afraid of being labeled a "jinx," could only temporarily allocate another five million RMB from the aquarium's construction funds for another donation. He also took the opportunity of Children's Day to promote the importance of aquariums for children in the newspaper and disclosed some of the venue design plans in order to quell public resentment.

That's not all; significant progress has also been made in the development of cultural copyright in China.

During the time Ning Weimin was away from Beijing last year, Yao Peifang had already followed his orders and signed a commercial cooperation agreement on cultural copyright with the "King of Fairy Tales" magazine and Zheng Yuanjie himself.

Dachuan Entertainment paid 350,000 RMB to the "King of Fairy Tales" magazine and 1 million RMB to Zheng Yuanjie himself to buy out the commercial copyrights of all the fairy tale characters in Zheng Yuanjie's works.

At the same time, in exchange for a 20% stake, Da Chuan Entertainment, together with Fairy Tale King magazine and Zheng Yuanjie himself, established a joint venture.

In the future, they will use "Fairy Tale King Children's Products Development Co., Ltd." as their business entity to carry out subsequent commercial development and in-depth cooperation on cultural projects.

In mid-June 1991, the day of the final of the Splendid Oriental Model Contest was actually the day that Fairy Tale King Children's Products Development Co., Ltd. officially started commercial operations.

Pipilu, one of the most representative characters created by Zheng Yuanjie, enters children's real lives in a unique way.

On this day, the first Pipilu specialty store in the country opened at No. 161 Beiheyan Street in Beijing.

Besides selling the "King of Fairy Tales" magazine and related works by Zheng Yuanjie, the store's main products are toys, clothing, and school supplies bearing the images of Pipilu, Luxixi, Shuke, and Beta as trademarks.

To enhance the visual appeal and appeal of these products, and to enrich their variety, Ning Weimin utilized a significant amount of his exclusive resources.

Ning Weimin commissioned Sanrio Inc. to redesign the entire set of images of these famous characters and related merchandise through the Japanese company Daitoku Shosha, which spent tens of millions of yen.

Moreover, since China's light industry was just starting out at that time, some of the figurines, toys, and even toothpaste were made in Japan.

Therefore, these products have novel forms and packaging, and are quite aesthetically pleasing and creative.

On the opening day, the children who came to the store fell in love with it at first sight and all chased after it like crazy, but it was a hardship for their parents' wallets.

That's not all. Thanks to Ning Weimin's guidance, Dachuan Entertainment's functional planning for its franchise stores was decades ahead of its time.

This Pipilu specialty store has a total area of ​​150 square meters. In addition to the shelves displaying goods, it also has a toilet, a rest area with cushions, educational toys and booths, and a bar area that offers coffee, milk tea, beverages, pastries, snacks and ice cream.

Children and their parents can comfortably rest, eat, drink, and play in this area.

It's easy to see how popular such customer-friendly stores are with parents and children.

In addition, Zheng Yuanjie himself also gave a preview of the store's opening on the last page of the month's "King of Fairy Tales" magazine, and printed a hand-drawn map of the store's location.

On the opening day, he himself appeared here and signed autographs for all the young readers and customers in the rest area.

Needless to say, the store was packed with people that day, so crowded that it was hard to move inside, and long queues formed outside the store.

But that's not the most important thing. The most important thing is that he is using this as an opportunity to play a much bigger game.

It's worth noting that not long ago, Keiko Matsumoto visited the Shanghai Animation Film Studio on behalf of Ning Weimin. During the visit, she expressed his hope that both sides would cooperate to develop the animation industry, send personnel to Japan for training and study, and establish the first comic book magazine in China.

The Shanghai Animation Film Studio is now in decline. They have great trust in Ning Weimin, who is willing to invest real money in them, and are very excited about his vision for the future. They see him as a lifeline and his suggestions as a hope for revival. Therefore, the studio leaders attach great importance to it.

During Children's Day, after discussion at a meeting, the factory leaders decided to send a delegation to Beijing to meet with Ning Weimin in person to see if some projects could be implemented as soon as possible.

And just in time, the opening of the Pipilu specialty store happened to coincide with this.

So on this day, Ning Weimin personally accompanied these key members of the Shanghai Animation Film Studio to the opening ceremony, and also took the opportunity to meet with Zheng Yuanjie to finalize the filming projects for several animated films.

So it's no wonder Zou Guodong couldn't find Ning Weimin. At this very moment, he was sitting at a table in the Beijing Hotel with his guests, listening to Zheng Yuanjie's whistling.

This guy has a loud voice, especially when he talks about the wildly imaginative ideas in his works. He gets so excited that he keeps babbling on and on, drowning out the sound of the cell phone in Ning Weimin's bag.

In the end, it was only thanks to the pager in Ning Weimin's bag that, besides ringing, it also started shaking, finally attracting Ning Weimin's attention. (End of this chapter)