this man is not calm

Chapter 521 New Year’s Eve
The fact that everyone coincidentally chose to spend the New Year on a luxury yacht in the Southern Ocean was both a coincidence and due to some other commitments.

The Nan brothers made many acquisitions to expand their film and cinema industry in the Western Pacific region, which took a lot of time; the Jin family, on the other hand, had planned a vacation long ago and took the opportunity to contact local authorities and discuss some small investments.

The largest of these are long-term contracts for several large palm oil industrial parks, as well as refining and processing plants, and sizable integrated projects that combine biomass energy with methanol, ethanol, and organic feed production.

The tropical islands of the South Pacific are rich in wind and solar power resources, but development is quite difficult. The biggest advantage of the upstream and downstream industrial chain is that rubber, palm oil and biomass resources are extremely abundant, and the potential for agriculture, forestry, animal husbandry and fishery is enormous.

The rich soil, formed by years of volcanic ash accumulation, coupled with the rainy and hot conditions that allow for "nine harvests in two years," should not be wasted.

A small portion of the biodiesel processed and synthesized locally is shipped directly to Western Europe for sale at high prices, while the remaining green liquid energy is transported back to the north for domestic use.

Currently, China's low-carbon and environmental protection policies are very effective. The tax burden reduction for using biodiesel, green methanol, bioethanol, green ammonia, and green hydrogen is significant. Fuel surcharges and road maintenance fees are waived, and transport vehicles with green license plates can also reduce traffic fees, with discounts starting at 30%, which is quite affordable.

While the passenger vehicle sector is likely not yet cost-effective, the taxi, heavy truck, public transportation commuter, and park shuttle bus markets are already very promising, especially for companies like Jinxi Culture with high demand for freight logistics, which is a perfect fit.

With the current annual production capacity, it can only reach a maximum of three million tons. A large portion of this can be consumed by the company itself. The remainder can be processed into aviation fuel or sold to other companies that need it, and a large profit can be made from it.

The automotive market is still in the process of exploration, but the commercial vehicle and marine markets are still worth considering. Beichuan Electromechanical has accumulated considerable technical expertise. Over the past year of trials, it has gained a lot of experience and learned many lessons, providing a solid foundation for the upgrading and renewal of the next generation of products.

On the other hand, the western Pacific also has considerable oil and coal reserves. While China's traditional energy industry is struggling, there are many gaps overseas that can be filled, which can make up for the shortcomings in this area to some extent.

"By the way, when I was visiting a scenic island nearby, I discovered that the people there also enjoy watching movies, but not in cinemas. Instead, they have outdoor screenings—just a strip of cloth, a simple projector, and an electrical cord. They even have hand-pushed, simple projection carts. It's quite primitive..."

After a pause, Jin Shang seemed to remember something and said simply to the Nan brothers,

"I remember more than ten years ago, there were also those hand-held tractors or tricycles that towed machines to the countryside to show movies to the villagers in the suburbs of Beijing. There should still be some now, but it seems there are not as many as before."

Nan Dabiao responded:

“I used to see them all when I was in school, but it’s been less common in recent years. Back then, conditions in the countryside weren’t very good. There wasn’t much entertainment, and cultural life was very scarce. Let alone every household owning a TV, if even one family in the whole village had a TV, everyone would bring their stools to watch it, and they wouldn’t want to go home from morning till night. In slightly more remote areas, there wasn’t even electricity. In their spare time, groups of three or five would go fishing, shrimp catching, or playing mahjong, and that was all they did…”

Society as a whole is developing rapidly. As home appliances enter thousands of households, more and more adults and children are watching TV. But movies are different. They are only available in cities, and the tickets are expensive. Unless it's a company booking a whole theater or young people going on a date, generally no one is willing to pay to go to the cinema.

Relevant departments occasionally organize film screenings in rural areas, which are essentially public welfare activities. Cultural promotion is secondary. It should be noted that showing movies is a technical job, and it is not easy to train and maintain a large technical team.

"How about this? We can team up to support a film projection team and show open-air movies in densely populated towns every now and then. As for the specifics of execution... I have a lot of collaborations with the Municipal Culture and Tourism Bureau, so we can get them involved, find relevant support funds, and secure some funding. We'll make a profit both financially and in terms of prestige. The main focus will be on key IP films. They're reluctant to spend money on films with big budgets, but free films should be more appealing, right?"

"Can it be done?"

"It's not a big problem. To put it bluntly, it's still a matter of inadequate infrastructure. Very few villagers in the surrounding area go to the movies regularly. Is it because they don't like it? On a fine evening, you can just move a stool and watch a movie. It's fashionable and trendy, much better than playing cards, right?"

"That's it..."

After thinking for a moment, Nan Dabiao nodded in agreement.

"Manpower is easy to find; we have a lot of unemployed technical staff, and rehiring a group of retired veterans will be enough. The key issue is the equipment. The machines aren't cheap; even a single film print can cost hundreds of thousands. Besides, movies need electricity, and many remote villages don't have electricity. Even if they do, getting electricity from them is a hassle, and paying them whatever amount is involved..."

"That's easy. I'm a big boss who manufactures electric vehicles in China. I can modify those old-fashioned mobile projection trucks, install a large battery with a capacity of over 20 kWh, add a range extender, and drive them to the countryside to show a movie. That's more than enough. We don't need many, unlike theatrical films which have scheduled screenings. We only need a small number. We can show a movie at this market today and in the next village next year without any delay. Over the summer, a few electric projection trucks can show all the popular movies that have finished their theatrical run in a large area."

"It seems feasible, but the initial investment is quite large."

"We manufactured the machines, equipment, copies, and electric vehicles ourselves. It's not about making money from movie tickets; it's all about promoting and enhancing the value of our intellectual property. It's beneficial without costing us anything, so why not?"

The company primarily selects valuable films and television dramas such as Drunken Fist, Investiture of the Gods, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Legend of the White Snake, and The Great Song Dynasty Mystery to promote and broadcast. With plenty of cheap electricity and fuel available for its own use, this operation simply "exchanges" tangible materials for intangible cultural IP assets, and even increases their valuation.

In the short term, it will definitely be a huge loss, but looking at the context of vigorous development over the next five, ten, or even twenty years, it will definitely be a huge profit.
-
This isn't the first time I've spent the Lunar New Year away from home, but this is the first time I've ever been so far away.

In the past few years, Jin Shang has visited Huang Zhengkuo every year to talk about some private matters. This year, he probably won't be able to make it on New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, so they have arranged to have a casual meal together on the Lantern Festival.

The time zone here is similar to that of Beijing, so watching the Spring Festival Gala on New Year's Eve is comparable in spectacle to the Gala on the eve of the Lunar New Year. However, the programs here are much more formal and far less joyful and relatable than the Gala on the eve of the Lunar New Year. Of course, it has its own advantages, namely the richness of the program. Some of the exquisite operas and folk customs programs are not easily obtained. Fortunately, television sets have become widespread in this era, and even large color TVs are starting to enter thousands of households. Families with slightly better means generally have them, which has brought a golden age to traditional New Year's programs. It will be difficult for any program to surpass the viewership of the Spring Festival Gala on New Year's Eve in the next few years.

Meanwhile, with the arrival of winter vacation, a wave of video game craze gradually began to sweep across the country. From big cities to small cities, from urban centers to suburbs, from bustling streets to small towns, arcades and video game arcades became the main places for teenagers to relax and have fun.

With the release of classic games such as "King of Fighters 1999," "Romance of the Three Kingdoms 2 Power Up Kit," and "StarCraft Plus" on the first day of the Lunar New Year, arcade game cartridge shipments surged. The chilly winds of the Spring Festival could not dampen the enthusiasm of players. At the same time, revenue from game consoles, flashcarts, and licensed peripherals soared, which was truly gratifying.

After five years of dedicated development in the cultural industry, it has finally ushered in a period of explosive growth. This includes the trial operation of the first phase of the main park in western Beijing, which has been completed and opened to the public. Families, young couples, and tourists flocked to experience it, causing long-absent traffic congestion in the suburbs of Beijing.

Even though they were thousands of kilometers apart, emergency satellite calls requesting assistance reached Jin Shang, who coordinated the transportation of supplies, increased bus services and commuter buses to alleviate the anxiety of travelers.

In conclusion, the outcome was positive.

As for the highly anticipated online game "Fengshen", it took advantage of the New Year holiday to update the long-awaited expansion pack "Nezha Conquers the Dragon King", which greatly enhanced its playability. Combined with the promotion of TV series and novels, it set off a small surge in growth.

The rapidly increasing number of internet cafes is not enough to meet the needs of the vast number of gamers, which has led to the emergence of a large number of "illegal internet cafes" of varying quality. The emerging chaos reminded Jin Shang of the early, unregulated development of the internet that he had experienced in his previous life.

Filling the legal gaps and keeping up with the needs of the times is now urgent. Jin Shang is also considering whether he should work with Hao Qilian to promote the implementation of relevant regulations as soon as possible to eliminate any future concerns.

The information age is developing too fast. Before people have fully adapted to the technological leap brought about by computers, the Internet has begun to change the world. Before the benefits of the PC era have been fully realized, the mobile Internet has eagerly caught up and started to change habits in every aspect of daily life.

Just like the futuristic fantasies that Kim Sang subtly "implanted" in a large number of science fiction novels, comics and films, they still seem incredible today, a magical world that most people think they will never see in their lifetime.

In reality, most of the "side jobs" hidden there were realized twenty years later.

If someone other than Kim Sang were to look back at this point in time from twenty years in the future, they would be suddenly struck by how far humanity has come in the information age, which began at some unknown time. Many things that were considered timeless and immutable have been completely overturned in just a few short years.

People who are rushing forward on this fast track of the times have not yet felt the explosive growth of technological achievements and the changes to their lives after years of accumulation. Instead, they are forging ahead under the impetus of wave after wave.

Correspondingly, Jinshang, which had made arrangements for the holidays well in advance, once again made a fortune.

The most noticeable change is that the PHS (Personal Handyphone System) business, with over 100 million users, saw its SMS revenue reach double digits again on New Year's Eve, remaining flat and slightly increasing compared to last year.

Despite mobile apps dropping out of the market to offer similar services and a surge in the number of New Year's greeting text messages, PHS (Personal Handyphone System) has maintained steady growth, demonstrating that it has truly begun to penetrate into people's daily lives and become an indispensable part of them.

Correspondingly, technological upgrades, equipment replacements, and R&D investment have gradually shifted towards 2G, 3G, and even 4G. Thirty percent of annual profits are allocated to technology R&D, resulting in huge expenses but also significant gains.

After spending an unforgettable Spring Festival in the South Pacific, the family took a private plane, making two stops, and returned to Beijing. Then, Jin Shang and his fiancée Li Xuan went to her hometown of Yunmeng to visit her parents.

It's been a long time since I last visited. This small county in central Hubei hasn't changed much, but the benefits of economic development have gradually spread here. The original rural paths have been transformed into paved asphalt roads, and a large number of national and provincial highways have been resurfaced. High-quality asphalt expressways are now commonplace.

Scattered industrial parks, business districts, and residential areas are beginning to see high-rise buildings, and modern service facilities are gradually taking shape.

Compared to the county town, which is barely connected to the outside world, the changes in the townships below are much smaller. However, you can still see newly built private houses from time to time. Most of them are houses built by people who have earned money while working in other places and have returned to improve their living conditions in their hometowns. The three- or four-story houses that were relatively rare in the past are no longer the exclusive property of local wealthy families. Farmers with a little money are no longer just concerned with having enough to eat and wear, but have also begun to pay attention to the quality of life.

In the fourth quarter of last year, many places launched the "Home Appliances to the Countryside" promotion. Regardless of the pros and cons, many rural families, who would never have dared to dream of buying refrigerators, color TVs, and washing machines, did indeed improve their quality of life.

First, we should address the issue of availability before considering quality. Solving problems for ordinary people should be our top priority. Relieving the suffering of home appliance companies that have been severely impacted by price wars is only a secondary benefit. We cannot deny its positive value because of a little selfishness.

Planetary Manufacturing, a subsidiary of Jinxi Culture, also caught this wave. With its reputation for high-quality, affordable, and durable products over the years, it has won the favor of many users. Originally, they didn't have high hopes and just treated it as a semi-charitable activity to complete the tasks assigned by the authorities. Unexpectedly, they made a fortune. It was an unexpected windfall.

"Having too much money is so hard to spend!"

Jin Shang, who was somewhat worried, used to think that nouveau riche bosses who said such things were just smug and arrogant guys who couldn't stop showing off. But when he encountered similar troubles himself, he realized that having too much cash was indeed quite a headache. He really needed to think carefully about how to efficiently invest these surplus resources where they were needed.

Walking along the country lanes where the snow had not yet completely melted, looking at the rolling tea mountains in the distance, I wondered if there was anything worth investing in here.

(End of this chapter)