Actor: Thank you.

The following morning, Zhang Yuan received a call from his assistant.

"Okay, go ahead."

"You don't need to report to me anymore; I'll protect her privacy."

"You don't need to tell me about her affairs."

"Remember, you are her friend, not my employee."

Zhang Yuan said.

He also reflected on his actions.

Indeed, everyone is different, because of their innate personality and their upbringing.

In short, you must give the other party sufficient respect.

Even if it's too late to say these things now, it's always better to mend the fence after the sheep are lost than to remain stubbornly ignorant.

He's been training his assistant to massage people lately because he knows they're prone to neck problems.

It was a way of compensating myself, helping her get through a difficult period.

The assistant said they planned a mountaineering trip to Australia to see the legendary Big Red Rock.

The assistant was confused, but Zhang Yuan roughly understood that it should be Dahongyan.

This object is located in central Australia, standing nearly 350 meters tall with a circumference of almost 10 kilometers.

However, this thing is not actually a mountain; theoretically, it is a giant iron ore exposed on the surface of the earth.

It has a red appearance because of its extremely high iron content.

He wondered if climbing the mountain to get here was a waste of time.
But then I thought, Australia has great natural scenery, kangaroos, wombats, koalas... The natural ecology here is different from other continents, after all, it is an independent large island.

She loves nature and animals, and although she eats them every day, she also occasionally enjoys playing with live animals.

It's a great place for a relaxing trip; the sunshine and beaches there are just as good as Los Angeles.

He told the other party to be careful and even asked Teacher Guo for their contact information in Australia.

Teacher Guo has an overseas tour in Australia and knows many people, including the mayor of Melbourne and members of the Sydney council. At least he has someone to help him if something unexpected happens.

After worrying about everything, he repeatedly reminded his assistant to be careful before putting down his phone.

A strong sense of emptiness suddenly washed over me.

He got up and took one out of his key pouch.

It's the key to the front door of Sisi's villa.

She held it in her hand and stared at it blankly for a long time before turning around and going back to her bedroom. She opened her underwear drawer and placed it in the corner compartment under the drawer lining.

"Organize the clothes?"

At this moment, Cheng Hao came out of the bathroom, having just changed into her yoga clothes, and was about to exercise with the team.

Production is physically demanding, so we need to prepare in advance.

Her voice, her scent as she drew near, dispelled the gloom of emptiness that had settled in Zhang Yuan's heart.

"Yes, get ready to go out."

"Let's find some foreigners to fight with bayonets," Zhang Yuan said with a grin, his spirits lifted.

"Stop saying such scary things." The older sister gave him a disapproving shove.

"It's their territory after all, so keep a low profile."

"Keep a low profile?"

"Am I not low-key enough usually?" Zhang Yuan casually pulled clothes out of the closet and put them in his suitcase.

“I know white people better than you do, especially white capitalists.”

"Being low-key in front of them is a sign of weakness."

"Weakness is not in my nature."

"I just hope you can come back safely. I heard it's quite chaotic over there, with people shooting randomly all the time."

“That’s true.” Zhang Yuan didn’t deny it: “Brother Long came out a couple of days ago, and I told him to rest for a few days.”

"He's the perfect person to come with me; he'll be much safer."

Zhang Yuan understands capitalists well; they are calculating when they do things.

It's not like this is enough to kill me.

"You stay home and rest well, I'll be right back."

Zhang Yuan said confidently.

"Watch how I teach this foreigner a lesson."

"Let them know what it means for gossip to be a fearsome thing."

Meanwhile, the assistant was helping Lazy Sheep tidy up the house.

"It's alright, I can fix my clothes myself. You're a guest, not here to work," she politely declined the other person's help.

I tidied up that pile of ugly clothes myself.

As she flipped through the pages, her movements suddenly paused.

I picked out a bright red sweater with a Christmas reindeer on it from the pile of clothes.

She held it in her hands for a long time, a strong sense of emptiness welling up inside her.

I turned around, intending to throw the clothes into the old clothes basket, waiting for them to be collectively discarded after a while.

But when it came time to let go, I hesitated.

Some time later, she carefully folded the sweater, opened the wardrobe, took out all her spring and summer clothes, and then carefully pressed the red sweater to the bottom.

Then I carefully placed the other clothes on top, closed the drawer, and stared at it for a long time.

At the same time, Zhang Yuan made a phone call to Brother Gou before leaving home.

"Brother Dog, time is of the essence."

"I don't know what other concerns you have, but you need to think this through."

“I also have to go abroad for a while now. You’ll have to make a decision when I get back, or it will be too late.”

"If an illness is left untreated for too long, it will kill people, and the same goes for this matter."

Zhang Yuan simply confronted him over the phone.

When Xiaoma Benteng raised funds, its highest valuation exceeded 35 billion yuan.

It's impossible now.

The company's equity structure is quite complex, with Big Dog Brother personally holding only 3% of the shares.

The two companies that participated in the angel and Series A rounds hold a 25% stake.

Zhong Lifang, who previously worked at Phoenix TV and is now the company's vice president, is the one who helped the company complete multiple rounds of financing. She owns 4% of the shares.

The Series B and Series C investors, led by China Construction Bank, hold approximately 30% of the shares.

China Construction Bank alone holds 15% of the shares and has a betting agreement with Xiao Ma.

The remaining nearly 45% of the shares are held by Little Pony Joy, which is the company that changed its name from the advertising company in its early years.

This means that Dog Brother and his family together hold less than 50% of the shares.

Now, CCB Investment is demanding that they repay 6.5 million yuan in debts incurred after failing to meet the performance target.

Zhang Yuan stated that he would help cover the delay and repayment of this money and take over 15% of Jianyin's shares.

But I think that getting 15% for 6.5 million is definitely not in line with the current situation. Even if we are friends, we have to stick to the facts.

He stated that he would invest through financing, with the funds earmarked for this purpose. The financing cost would be the 15% equity stake, plus 7% of the shares in Dog Brother's holding company.

I want 22% of the equity for this 6.5 million.

That means if I value your company at 30 billion, it's already an astronomical premium.

"Brother Dog, to be honest, I can definitely wait for you to go in and then 'collect the corpse'."

"By then, Xiao Ma will definitely not be worth 30 billion, not even 20 billion."

In addition to these, he will also allow film companies from both sides of the strait to invest in the company through strategic investment, with a financing target of 5.5 million yuan and a financing price of 25% equity.

"Let the company invest first, the valuation will definitely be lower, then I will invest, and that's when the valuation I give will be reasonable."

"You can discuss with them who will take the financing share for the first batch of companies, who will provide it, and how they will provide it."

"I believe that in the face of an uncertain future, many early investors are willing to relinquish some of their funds."

"So that means..." Dog Bro understood.

I can help, but after such financing and dilution, can I maintain my current absolute control?

impossible.

Whether it can maintain its status as the largest shareholder in the de facto sense.

Not necessarily.

It is highly likely that Zhang Yuan, along with Liang'an Film Industry, will become two of the top three shareholders, which means that Zhang Yuan will become the actual head of the company.

This means he plans to use a total of 12 billion to establish dominance over Xiao Ma. Although it's not exactly "picking up a corpse," it's still a huge cut he's made, a bloody sacrifice to pay off his debts.

"Brother Dog, I know you'll feel uncomfortable hearing this."

"After all, it's a company I built from scratch, and no one would feel comfortable hearing that."

"But you should be clear about two things."

"Firstly, at this moment, I am genuinely willing to save you. I'm not joking, and I'm not taking advantage of your misfortune. There will only be one other person like me."

"Secondly, even though you've paid a high price now, once the company successfully goes public, the value of the remaining shares you hold will still be much higher than it is now."

"Where there's life, there's hope."

"I can sign a post-IPO preferred stock repurchase agreement with you, guaranteeing that you can regain control of the company in the future if you wish."

However, it comes at a great cost.

He hadn't said it yet, but the other party understood.

This is the price I pay for helping.

"And to be very honest, I want control of the company so that it can be listed on the stock exchange."

"The company's shares are dispersed, and everyone has their own opinions, which is very detrimental to the listing and operation."

"Only when I am in power can I truly make the pony gallop."

Zhang Yuan made a boastful promise.

"I'll make Xiao Ma a publicly listed company before you even get out!"

After hearing his words, Dog Brother felt both excited and frustrated.

What excited him was that he was willing to believe Zhang Yuan's words.

Frustratingly, he could only believe Zhang Yuan's words.

Believe it or not, there's only one way out.

At this moment, no one is willing to spend billions to help themselves.

Zhang Yuan also explained his plans to him in detail: "When I take office, I will definitely make reforms, and I will make sweeping reforms."

But who gets the change depends on who objects.

Brother Dog, you'd better give them a heads-up beforehand and tell these guys to behave themselves.

I'm just as loyal as you, but the difference is, when I lose my loyalty, I'm much more ruthless than you.

From now on, Xiao Ma will not have the Han University gang or the Secretary gang, only Shajiabang.

I lined up and took my place before I arrived.

Those who don't choose sides beforehand will have no side to choose from later!

After he fully explained everything to the other party, he set a timeline for them.

If I don't make a decision after I get back, this is off, there's no room for discussion.

We can still be friends. I'll visit you often in the future, and I'll treat you to a welcome-back dinner when you come out.

But I will no longer manage the company or business; I won't get involved in it at all.

This is not a threat. Time is the biggest cost. If I put the money I invest in you elsewhere, I might make a huge profit.

Dog Brother felt that he was exceptionally cold when discussing business, and could throw out any words in a blunt and uncompromising manner, which was quite different from his usual drinking and dining habits.

Let him struggle with it, and hopefully he can seize the opportunity.

Meanwhile, Zhang Yuan and Brother Long headed straight to Los Angeles to prepare for the large-scale chain of press conferences for "G.I. Joe 2" in North America.

As one of the few familiar faces who have remained since the first film, he is a key figure in the artist promotion.

However, before that, Zhang Yuan went to the Universal Pictures office building.

"Brother Long, eat more here in North America, the food here makes you gain weight."

Seeing that Brother Long had lost weight after spending several days in the detention center, Zhang Yuan felt that he needed to eat more.

Detention centers aren't bad places, especially in the capital.

I eat three meals a day regularly, at fixed times and in fixed quantities, but I can't eat large amounts of meat and fish.

The food here is so good that even people with severe high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and high blood sugar can eat their way to healthy levels and come out healthy.

Dog Bro isn't going to a detention center, he's going to a proper prison. With his big build, he'll probably be tall and thin when he comes out.

Zhang Yuan observed from the plane that Brother Long's mental state was alright, unlike Brother Gou who was listless.

It had only been a few days, and he knew his boss would bail him out, so he had something to look forward to.

They arrived at the "enemy camp" chatting and laughing, showing no sign of tension.

"Hi everyone, long time no see."

After entering the conference room, he took the initiative to greet Mike, whom he often saw.

Several members of Universal Pictures' board of directors were also present today.

"The weather in Los Angeles is nice, much better than in New York."

"That place is unusually cold." Zhang Yuan chatted with the other person about the weather in a relaxed manner.

Do you have any wine?

“I prefer brandy, but bourbon is fine too.” Zhang Yuan even offered to drink some alcohol.

He then took a box of cigars out of his bag.

"Is this okay?" he asked as he cut, applying makeup to himself at the same time, treating himself as if he were one of the guests.

Give it back to the rest of the people.

The attitude is, I don't care if you can smoke or drink here, or whether it's appropriate to do these things during a meeting.

But I have my own rules, and my rules are above yours.

You can't stop me, so you'd better accept it. If you don't accept it, you'd better bear with it.

I don't care about this or that, not getting a perm on the spot is already showing you respect.

Smoking a cigar and sipping brandy, he leaned back in his office chair, his gaze sweeping over the attendees.

He exhaled a smoke ring and raised his chin.

These foreigners could sense the provocation and contempt in the eyes of the Chinese.

Do you look down on us?
Zhang Yuan thought to himself, "No matter how hairy you are, you stink if you don't shower twice a day, you spray perfume like it's free, and you're so stupid that you can't even understand high school math."

In terms of assets alone, I don't mean to look down on anyone, but I would say that everyone here is trash.

They're just a bunch of high-level employees. I'd show them extra respect if your chairman came.

So what if you're a CEO? You're just someone who gets a salary and bonuses. If you don't perform well, you can be fired in a heartbeat.

After exchanging some bland remarks, Zhang Yuan raised his hand to interrupt after about ten minutes.

"Alright, alright, enough with the nonsense."

"My purpose in coming here is very clear."

"Whether there will be a next film or not, and whether or not we can use your image rights and past footage, are not important."

"The important thing is that you want to take back my legally owned 25% stake in the Fast & Furious franchise, right?"

“We disagree with you on whether it’s legal,” the Vice Chairman of the Board and Vice President replied.

"As we stated in our email to you, we reserve the right to file a lawsuit in federal court..."

"Alright, save your breath, this kind of thing won't scare me." Zhang Yuan didn't let him finish speaking.

"Let's skip the pointless chatter and get straight to the point."

Zhang Yuan put down his cigar and placed it on the ashtray.

"I agree to your proposal and am willing to sell the film rights I hold."

He said with a big smile.

"That's great!" The vice president was overjoyed to see him agree.

But before he could even enjoy his happiness for a minute, his face fell again.

"I'm just not satisfied with your offer."

"5000 million US dollars is too little."

"So what do you mean?" the other person asked anxiously.

Zhang Yuan sneered inwardly. Didn't they say before that the price of 5000 million was fixed and wouldn't change?

This attitude now proves to be utter nonsense.

If he were truly going to die, he wouldn't have asked for my opinion.

Since you've asked, I won't stand on ceremony.

"I think $1.5 million is a reasonable price."

Upon hearing this, the entire room fell silent. (End of Chapter)