Back to 80: My literary life.

Chapter 782: Independence under the Banyan Tree

"Advertising revenue? Dai Jiali and his team have tried it on the website, but compared to the investment in the website, the revenue is almost negligible. Even if the advertising revenue increases significantly in the future, it will definitely not keep up with the speed at which the website burns money."

Shu Bin replied, "As for charging for reading, I think it's impossible to achieve."

"why?"

"Internet access is so expensive now, do you expect netizens to pay for reading novels? I might as well read physical books. And now there is a popular slogan on the Internet: "The Internet itself represents open source and free! If you dare to charge for reading books, the website will go bankrupt in minutes."

oh.
Fang Minghua did not argue with Shu Bin. After all, paid reading was still a few years away, and anyone who mentioned it now would sound like a joke.

After the two finished their meal, Fang Minghua said to Shu Bin, "Since you've already said that, I won't go to the company this afternoon. I'll think about it carefully and then get back to you two."

"Okay, but Minghua, you'd better go to the company. You are welcome to inspect the work."

"Come on. Why should we be so polite? Shengshi Bookstore has been developing under your leadership. What should I read? I want to go around in the afternoon."

"That's fine too. I'll have the driver drive over here and let you take charge."

"Just leave the car here, no need for a driver."

Sure enough, when it was almost time to go to work in the afternoon, the driver drove an Audi. Fang Minghua did not drive around, but went to his old villa on Julu Road to take a look. After dinner in the evening, Fang Minghua made a cup of tea and called Zhao Hongjun who was still in Xijing, and told him in detail the content of the conversation with Dai Jiali and Shu Bin.

"Minghua, what do you mean? Why do I feel that the banyan tree has become a chicken rib, with no meat to eat and a taste to throw away?" Zhao Hongjun asked on the phone.

"No, it's not a useless thing, but a big piece of fat meat. It can not only generate profits, but also provide Shengshi Film and Television with many excellent IPs." Fang Minghua said slowly.

"What is IP?"

"It's Intellectual Property. In simple terms, Rongshuxia will provide excellent online novels in the future, and Shengshi Film and Television can adapt these contents into movies, TV shows, and even animations in the future, forming a perfect closed loop. But..."

"but what?"

"The initial investment in the website is relatively large. If you want to maintain the website's advantages, you have to keep burning money, and it is estimated that there will be no returns within five years. So Shu Bin's worries are unreasonable. He is afraid of dragging down Shengshi Books." Fang Minghua said.

"Shu Bin meant the same thing. The country is now carrying out reforms in the publishing industry and encouraging the development of publishing groups. According to the latest news I have received, Shanghai is establishing the Shanghai Century Publishing Group, which includes eight publishing houses including Shanghai People's Publishing House, Education Publishing House, and Translation Publishing House! It's simply a behemoth! Similar publishing groups are also being established in Yanjing and Guangdong Province. Shu Bin feels a lot of pressure."

"It's understandable. Shengshi Group started out by publishing books. It's not easy to develop into the largest book publishing company in the country in 10 years," said Fang Minghua.

"But Under the Banyan Tree cannot close. This is the future growth point of Shengshi Group, so I want to make this adjustment."

"Make Rongshuxia independent? Make it a subsidiary of the group and be on par with Shengshi Books?" Zhao Hongjun asked on the other end of the phone.

"Yes! We will give you money and people. We must make it bigger and stronger!" Fang Minghua emphasized, and then said, "Hongjun, if you think the investment is too large, the money is too much, and the profit is far away, I will personally invest to buy Under the Banyan Tree!"

"Oh, what? You're not taking me with you now that you're rich? I don't care if you make money in the US, but you can't eat alone in China. Just do as you say and separate Under the Banyan Tree! I'll rush to Shanghai and hold a meeting to discuss this matter. Is Tangtang going back to China soon?" Zhao Hongjun asked. "Yes, she heard me say she was in Shanghai, so she decided to fly directly from San Francisco to Shanghai."

"That's just right. The top executives of Shengshi Group are all here. Let's discuss this matter carefully!"

Two days later, Zhao Hongjun rushed to Shanghai from Xijing, and Song Tangtang returned to China. At the same time, the group's top management held a meeting in Shengshi Building and finally decided to establish Shengshi Online Literature Company as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Shengshi Group.

All the business of the "Rongshuxia" website will be transferred to the company, with Dai Jiali as the general manager and Chen Wanning as the deputy general manager and operation director of "Rongshuxia". The group company plans to invest RMB 2000 million in the next two years to support the company's development.

Fang Minghua naturally would not attend the internal meeting of the group. The strategic direction has been determined, and now it depends on the abilities of these people.

If I have to teach everything myself, wouldn’t that tire me out?

Therefore, the group company has been busy with meetings these days, personnel arrangements, personnel adjustments, financial allocations, and venue arrangements.
Fang Minghua was driving leisurely around the city alone. If his wife hadn't insisted on going back to Xijing with him, he would have left long ago.

This morning, Fang Minghua drove to the ancient town of Zhujiajiao in Qingpu for a stroll, enjoying the picturesque scenery. He also visited the former site of the Zhujiajiao Post Office of the Qing Dynasty with great interest and tasted the famous local tangerine cake and crabapple cake. He returned to the hotel around five in the afternoon.

As soon as I entered the room, I found Song Tangtang and Dai Jiali inside, talking about something.

"Is the meeting over?" Fang Minghua asked.

"The meeting is over, Minghua. Jiali said that he felt a great sense of responsibility and wanted to ask you something." Song Tangtang said.

"Just do it. What's there to ask you?" Fang Minghua replied with a smile and sat on the sofa. Song Tangtang poured her a cup of tea and sat beside her.

"Teacher Minghua, the company now provides money and people when needed. It has allocated a floor as the office space for Shengshi Literature. I am very excited, but I also feel a lot of pressure."

"There will definitely be pressure, but I believe you can do it well," Fang Minghua replied.

"Teacher Minghua, you think too highly of me. I have a question now," said Dai Jiali.

"Oh, you say."

"The articles published on Under the Banyan Tree can basically be classified as pure literature, such as poetry, prose, and essays. But I found that the number of views of these articles is not as high as that of martial arts novels on websites such as Golden Bookstore and Jin Yong Inn," said Dai Jiali.

"Of course. Look at the real world, are there more people who read pure literature or popular novels?" Fang Minghua said with a smile.

"But this involves a question. If Under the Banyan Tree continues to expand in scale, will it continue to focus on pure literature with the current model, or will it move closer to websites like Jin Yong Inn? Will it focus on popular novels such as literature and fantasy in the future, or will it have both?"

After hearing Dai Jiali's question, Fang Minghua took a sip of tea and asked instead of answering directly, "What do you think internally?"

(End of this chapter)