this man is not calm

Chapter 394 The finishing touch

For large companies that are in their growth phase, many small problems will be covered up as the business prospers. This does not mean that the troubles do not exist, but it can give the boss more time to solve them.

Nowadays, among the company's regular businesses, the revenue from MP3 players and PHS together accounts for almost half of the entire group's revenue, and the remaining more than one-third is the sales of bulk items represented by home game consoles and white appliances.

With the current level of marketing, it is not easy to achieve this.

With money, many things become easier to do.

As the most critical issues have been resolved, the construction of large data centers has also entered the fast lane. The site has been decided long ago and the hardware order is a bit large. Under the premise of striving for economic affordability, domestic server solutions are also acceptable.

The local government will help solve the three connections and one leveling, and once the construction conditions are met, a professional team hired by the company will enter the site.

As for the large-scale investment projects around the Bohai Sea, mainly power stations, seawater desalination and marine chemical industry, they have also begun to enter the substantive promotion stage.

After communicating with all parties, the basic framework has been determined. What remains are the specific operational matters, which do not require Jin Shang to be concerned about every detail.

After synthesizing opinions from all parties and conducting in-depth investigations, Jin Shang also understood what kind of large-scale project was about to be launched.

There is no doubt that most of the factories related to marine chemicals are basically businesses with meager profits and weak explosive growth, but very stable businesses.

Soda ash is the bulk of revenue, and most of the profits depend on it. Other by-products can only be beneficial supplements.

For example, potassium sulfate is a very precious potash fertilizer, which is usually extracted from solid minerals and produced through chemical means.

Unfortunately, the distribution of potash mines is too concentrated. More than 80% of the world's proven reserves are concentrated in three or four countries. China, with 5% of the resources, accounts for 15% of the output. It is really a case of trying too hard to make any further progress.

Even so, the annual output of nearly four million tons of potash fertilizer can still only meet about half of the domestic demand.

In other words, the gap in agriculture alone is more than four million tons, not to mention the demand in areas such as medicine and the military.

As long as important materials such as potassium sulfate can be produced, there will be no worries about sales.

The potassium content in seawater is very low. Not to mention now, even in another twenty years, all seawater potassium extraction projects around the world will be either scams or victims of huge losses.

The theoretical cost of preparing one ton of potash fertilizer by Haihua is around RMB 3,200. Taking into account various losses, the price is estimated to be more than RMB 4,000 to have a certain economic value. However, the current international price of potash fertilizer is less than RMB 2,000 per ton.

It can be seen that simply wanting to use seawater to extract potassium sulfate will result in huge losses.

But if it is a comprehensive chemical project, it doesn't matter. Soda ash, bromine and fresh water are the main target products. Potassium sulfate, a by-product that adds icing on the cake, has an annual output of only 10,000 to 20,000 tons. Even if it is increased tenfold, there will not be much profit.

By the same token, the loss is not that big. Anyway, the bitter brine with extremely high salt content is actually residual wastewater. It is extremely troublesome to handle and cannot be discharged directly. It is better to reuse it in a comprehensive way.

Currently, the output is only at the 10,000-ton level, and there is no guarantee that it will become an important production base in the future.

Given the current domestic situation, the population is gradually growing and the demand for fertilizers will also increase. Only when the agricultural foundation is solid can we safely develop industrial modernization.

After sorting out his thoughts, Jin Shang could finally relax and do some easier work.

The 26th was Monday. There was a brief regular meeting in the morning. After arranging the work, Jin Shang took a rare break from his busy schedule and slacked off in the lounge on the top floor of the office building.

After lunch, Jin Shang had a nice nap. He leaned lazily in his chair, watching videos on the computer and enjoying some of the more popular TV series and movies recently.

To be honest, even if there was no Jinxi Culture, the catfish established by Jin Shang, although the current domestic film and television entertainment projects are not particularly rich, there are still many excellent works for everyone to entertain.

In the field of spiritual and cultural life, this life is no worse than the previous one, and may even be slightly better.

What Jin Shang is watching right now is an urban workplace sitcom that was innovatively produced by a certain established film and television production company, imitating the ideas of "I Love My Family" and "Home with Kids". Jin Shang originally just wanted to take a casual look, but the more he watched, the more he became addicted.

Killing time is secondary. The key is that Jin Shang can use it to see what his domestic counterparts are thinking and what the current situation is.

Surfing the Internet is also one of the important channels for Jin Shang to "keep in touch with the ground". As the company grows bigger and bigger, he as the boss becomes busier and busier, and it becomes more and more difficult to go deep into the front line to understand the current situation.

At present, Jinxi Culture is considered one of the leaders among domestic cultural enterprises. It has been quite famous in the past two years, but it is not without competitors.

In the entertainment industry, "borrowing" and "imitation" in the creative field are all too common. Companies and sister units have so many projects advancing at the same time, and there are many people who follow suit.

Even with the "foresight" and "golden finger" to protect him, Jin Shang did not dare to underestimate the wisdom of his peers.

In the past year, Jinxi Culture has produced fourteen films and nine TV series, which is a huge deal considering the current industry downturn. Its total scale ranks among the top five in the country.

However, despite the large number, big productions actually account for less than half of them.

Of the fourteen films, six failed to hit the cinemas and were released directly on videotapes and DVDs. Of the remaining eight theatrical films, only two made a profit at the box office, while the rest all suffered losses.

The situation for TV series is even worse. Among the nine TV series that were all broadcast on "Star", only one made a small profit after the third round of broadcasting rights were sold, and none of the others could make a profit by being broadcast on TV stations.

Fortunately, Jinxi Culture has many profit channels. It can make back its investment with profit through offline videotapes, image licensing, film and television soundtracks, toy peripherals, etc., but the cycle is a bit long.

It would be fine if movies were not profitable. Only big productions, big directors and big stars can hope to make a profit from the box office if costs are controlled. All other businesses are losing money.

The TV series produced by Jinxi Culture have all had good ratings, and none of them are particularly bad. TV stations, advertisers and audiences also like them very much.

The reason why it doesn’t make money is that the production cost is too high.

Take the second round of "Legend of White Snake" as an example. The cost of special effects is calculated by the second. After shooting dozens of episodes, the cost has already skyrocketed. With the current domestic consumption level, its true value cannot be sold at all.

If you want to make money, you can only rely on offline peripherals and embark on a long road to make a profit, hoping to recover your investment in a few years.

What Jin Shang cares most about is word of mouth and IP value-added.

As long as "The Legend of White Snake" is recognized by the audience, it is only a matter of time before it makes money. Investing more money now will not be a waste.

As high-quality dramas such as "The Legend of White Snake" began to emerge, the production costs of domestic counterparts also rose sharply.

After eating fine bran, the common people who have gained knowledge can no longer eat brown rice. The previous opportunistic and shoddy TV dramas are becoming less and less popular. And this is just the beginning. There are many special effects blockbusters and TV dramas with excellent effects such as "Journey to the West" and "Investiture of the Gods", which will sooner or later make this industry flourish.

In a relaxed and happy mood, the door of the lounge was knocked and then pushed open, and my girlfriend Li Xuan walked in with iced juice.

"Sure enough, I'm being lazy and watching TV series again."

"I've been busy with so many things, what's wrong with enjoying myself?"

After taking the drink and taking a few sips, Jin Shang responded with a refreshed look.
"This is also a trial of our own products! The video software is still not easy to use, there are many problems, and the film library is insufficient!"

Compared with those super film and television giants that have been around for nearly a hundred years, Jinxi Culture, which has only been established for three years, has too few copyright resources. Even if it spends money to buy some, it is still not enough.

To put it bluntly, online videos are still just a humble gimmick nowadays. Serious TV series and movies don't even want to sell their copyrights, let alone exclusive broadcasting rights. Even powerful film producers won't even talk about it.

No matter what industry you are in, top-quality resources are scarce, and buying them may not necessarily work.

"Last year, we invested 110 million in film and television production, and earned 70 million from box office and broadcast rights, which means we lost 40 million. Our company is almost becoming a famous Shancai boy in the industry."

"It's not that simple to calculate. All in all, we can probably still break even."

I won’t go into the details. The character posters related to “The Legend of White Snake” sold for over 10 million yuan, with the cost being almost negligible. The adaptation licensing fee was over 7 million yuan. The novels and comic books were very popular, and the offline business department made a lot of money.

In addition, the actors in the drama became very popular, and their announcement fees skyrocketed, easily reaching tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands, making a lot of money.

The brokerage business accounts are not consolidated to the parent company, so a nominal loss does not mean that you have really been taken advantage of.

In the long run, it will definitely be a big profit, but it doesn’t look good at the moment.

Few people come to Jin Shang's personal lounge, and Li Xuan would not go upstairs just to bring him a drink and say a few words.

"Put these aside for now. Jinxi Video will be listed in less than two months. Now is the silent period, so it's not suitable to make a big move. However, the company's special effects myth series was recently broadcast, which really had a big impact..."

"Did someone ask you to ask if you can get the original shares?"

"Yeah! I didn't know so many people cared about us before, but now there are so many people who want to get close to us."

Li Xuan sighed helplessly,
"Even though they know we can't give in, some people still want to try their luck."

These days, there are obviously more people coming to my house for unknown reasons.

Jinxi Video and even its parent company Jinxi Culture are large enterprises that invest very generously in "making pie". The good things are ready. Once they are successfully listed, it will be a super wealth-creating effect, and it is a guaranteed profit. It will attract many people, which is understandable.

"It's not like I didn't give you a chance. If you miss it, you won't have it again."

Jin Shang sneered nonchalantly, not worrying at all that he would offend others and arouse their jealousy.

The tiger skin of our ancestors has not been stripped off yet, and there are still very few people who have the courage to rob them openly; those who have the ability do not even look down on these melons and dates.

"If you're not interested, I won't tell you. It's not a big deal anyway."

Li Xuan also changed the topic somewhat nonchalantly.
"These days, a group of fresh graduates and interns have started to work, and there are many more people in offline life. But... there are many people available, should we strengthen pre-job training? It's really difficult for them to start working directly."

"Human resources are not doing a good job?"

Li Xuan replied:

"The comprehensive course is still in its infancy, so there are many things that need to be adjusted. I heard that Zhao Rongzhen and Wang Yan are also facing a lot of trouble."

“With so many people, it’s difficult to manage.”

Jin Shang sighed helplessly,
"The growth rate of employees' abilities can't keep up with the growth rate of the company. Of course, it's not that they can't be used, but it's a bit messy. It will be fine in the future. Let's wait and see. If it doesn't work, I will intervene myself. At present, my key job is to sit at the center and ensure that Jinxi Video is successfully listed and raise more money."

"Go public! I didn't expect that we would be able to push our subsidiary into the secondary market so soon."

I thought it would be successful, but I didn’t expect it to be this successful, and I certainly didn’t expect it to be so fast.

Once it can really raise more than 5 billion yuan, it will be like adding wings to Jinxi Video.

The fourth largest chain store distributor in the country, the largest retail bookstore in central China, the film and television disc rental and sales system with the most stores in the north, emerging online video, the low-key P2P data transmission based on the Internet cafe alliance, virtual tokens for online payment, etc.

The Jinxi Coin, which has gradually spread throughout the subsidiaries and grandson companies of the "Jinxi Group", has gradually begun to show some signs of being a general equivalent. At least on the data island centered on Jinxi culture, the Jinxi Coin is simply too easy to use.

Privately, Jin Shang tried to promote Jinxi Coin as a way to supplement employee benefits, and the progress was quite smooth.

Jinxi Coin Subsidy can not only be exchanged for coupons, but also used to directly purchase movie tickets, recharge phone bills, redeem value-added services, membership discounts, etc. in Jinxi Mall, which has practical value.

Therefore, employees are not opposed to this kind of "welfare".

There were even people who half-jokingly suggested that the bonuses should be paid directly in Jinxi currency. Jin Shang just perfunctorily responded and did not listen. He even strictly guarded against such arguments and would not allow them to cause too much commotion.

In certain circumstances, tokens can indeed be used as if they were real money, but if we go further, it would be "offside".

Under Jin Shang's intentional control, Jinxi Coin has become the "lubricant" for communication among multiple departments of the company, playing an extremely important role.

These... are all good things, but if you are not careful, they can easily backfire.

"We'll see after it goes public. It's still a bit messy right now, so we'll sort it out slowly in the future."

In the offline life under Li Xuan's control, Jinxi Coin is the most commonly dealt with. Jinxi Coin is basically involved in the issuance of various tickets.

(End of this chapter)