Exciting 1979!

Chapter 310 DreamWorks and Transformers!

Today we just had a brief discussion about our intentions at the theater, and everyone is sincere about cooperating.

The formal cooperation will need to be discussed in a formal setting, and Wei Ming and Weber agreed to meet at the company tomorrow.

The successful performance of each musical requires a large investment of funds and countless rehearsals, and involves a large number of people, so it must be done with utmost care.

On the way back to the hotel, Wei Lingling looked at Melinda, seemingly wanting to say something but holding back. Melinda, on the other hand, didn't feel comfortable saying certain things in front of Wei Lingling.

"Xiaoming, come in with me for a moment." After going upstairs, the aunt called Wei Ming into her room, wanting to have a chat about the bonds of blood.

"What are your plans with Melinda? Are you planning to get back together? Do you have any plans to get married? Are you really comfortable entrusting such an important company to her management?"

Wei Ming shook his head: "We have no plans to get back together. After all, neither of us can give up the country we grew up in for the other, and she has no plans to get married. She grew up in a single-parent family where she didn't know her father's identity, and she's influenced by her mother to reject marriage. As for me..."

Wei Ming paused for a moment: "I think I long to start a family."

His hesitation was a summary and reflection on his past life. Since he had been given a second chance, it would be meaningful to live a different life.

“As for handing the company over to her, I’m definitely not that comfortable with that, so I hope the two of you can run the company together.”

"Do you think I'm idle?" Wei Lingling crossed her arms, seemingly not wanting to add extra work to her schedule.

Wei Ming quickly grabbed Wei Lingling's arm: "Auntie, you understand the law, and she understands stories. The two of you working together is a perfect match. Besides, I'm not asking you to work for free. I'll pay you a salary, or you can get a cut from every copyright transaction. These are all negotiable."

"Do you think I'm short of money?" Wei Lingling said dismissively.

"Then tell me, how can I help your nephew who's my blood relative?" Wei Ming said coquettishly.

Wei Lingling suppressed a laugh and thought for a moment: "If only you could help me create a toy that sells as well as the Rubik's Cube."

Because her previous contract with Macmillan Publishers involved "Rubik's Cube? You Can Play It Anywhere," Wei Lingling gained her first direct understanding of the sales of this globally popular puzzle game.

Now that she wants to expand her toy factory, she needs to have a flagship product, so she wants to make the most of her nephew's clever mind.

"Well, I'll think about it later," Wei Ming said, looking troubled.

“Then you can think about it first. Once you figure it out, I can provide legal support for your company for free, and being the North American head won’t be a problem,” Wei Lingling said. “As for now, you should go next door and see your Melinda. She probably has something to say to you too.”

"Alright, Auntie, you should rest first."

Wei Ming then went next door. No one was in the living room; Melinda was taking a bath in the bathroom.

"You finished talking to your aunt, what did she say?"

"A top student, he seems a bit disdainful of our petty squabbles." Wei Ming naturally took off his clothes and got into the bathtub as well.

Melinda: "What if we go all out?"

"Who?"

"You, me, Wei Lingling!"

"How?"

Melinda said, "Actually, before today I had thought about starting my own business, working in the publishing and media industry."

Wei Ming was surprised: "The publishing industry is not a high-profit industry. It requires a large investment and low profits. Moreover, it requires foresight. Who gave you the audacity to set up your own business?"

“It’s you guys,” Melinda said, hooking her arm around Wei Ming’s neck. “Your talent, your aunt’s wealth, plus my extensive professional experience and connections. My mom and my grandma are both senior publishing editors.”

"My talent is obvious, but how did you come to see my aunt's wealth?"

"Can't you tell?" Melinda asked in surprise. "When we first met, she was wearing earrings from the classic collection of the luxury brand GRAFF, worth no less than £100,000. And this collection isn't sold separately; besides earrings, there must also be necklaces and rings, which would add up to an astronomical price. A girl like that must come from a very powerful family; she must be either rich or powerful, or both."

Wei Ming recalled that his aunt's earrings were indeed quite pretty and sparkly, but he didn't expect them to be so valuable; he thought they were made of plastic.

Of course, Wei Lingling herself couldn't afford it; it was a gift from her great-aunt Wei Ming on her coming-of-age ceremony.

Melinda deduced from this: "If she can afford such expensive jewelry, your real background must be extraordinary. And in business, background is certainly very important, both in China and abroad. Later, I witnessed her strong professional abilities, and that's when this idea came to me."

“First of all, I’m sorry to disappoint you, but my aunt and I come from very ordinary families. We just have a few wealthy relatives,” Wei Ming said, changing the subject. “But I’m very interested in your proposal.”

Originally, Melinda only planned to set up a company to handle overseas copyright development and simply earn some foreign exchange. But Melinda had bigger ambitions and decided to start a media company.

With such an IP, everything from publishing to film and television development, as well as the creation of subsequent derivative products, is taken care of, and it can even bring Wei Lingling's toy factory onto the bandwagon.

He actually knew quite a bit about popular toys, but it's difficult for a single type of toy to become a bestseller.

For toys to sell well, apart from ingenious ideas like the Rubik's Cube, most need to be supported by a story, which inevitably relies on animation, film and television, and even game development.

Upon hearing Wei Ming's words, Melinda knew that her relationship with Wei Ming might be about to change. From now on, they would not only be exes, but also comrades-in-arms.

After soaking for a while, Wei Ming stood up and said, "I'm going to get to work."

His strength wasn't in management or business, but in creation. As for Melinda's abilities, he didn't know if they were reliable. Wei Ming was most at ease with his aunt, Wei Lingling. After all, she was a successful businesswoman in her previous life, with education, ability, connections, and many brilliant business success stories.

So now his first task is to get his aunt on their bandwagon.

"Isn't this just a creative, globally popular toy?" Wei Ming pulled out his ever-present paper and pen from his bag and began working.

Melinda watched Wei Ming writing furiously without disturbing him; a man working diligently is the most charming.

Today, Wei Ming and Melinda both opted out of work. Wei Ming worked very late, and when he got back to bed, he hugged the sleeping Melinda and fell asleep immediately. In his dream, he saw aliens.

The next day, after waking up, Wei Ming disregarded the flag he was holding high, grabbed his manuscript, and ran to the next room to knock on the door.

"Good morning, Xiaoming," Wei Lingling said, yawning.

Wei Ming went straight in and closed the door.

"Auntie, what's the most popular doll toy in America right now? I mean the ones boys play with." "Boys?" Wei Lingling, who had done some research, thought for a moment and replied, "It's probably Gijoe, Hasbro's."

GIJOE, also known as "G.I. Joe," was later made into a series of Hollywood movies, the first of which was called "G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra." These toys were all the rage in the United States in the 70s, but began to decline in the 80s. Hasbro was eager to launch more interesting and novel toys to empty boys' wallets.

So in 83, Hasbro happened to see two toys, "Diaclone" and "Microstar Superman," launched by the Japanese toy company TAKARA, at a toy exhibition.

Their defining characteristic is their ability to transform, freely switching between doll toys and cars.

Hasbro keenly recognized the market potential of this type of toy, so it partnered with TAKARA to introduce the toy to the United States, where it was redesigned and repackaged and launched under the name "Transformers".

Upon its release, the toy became an instant hit, attracting orders from distributors across the country. Hasbro then launched an animated version to further boost its popularity.

Later, the animated series "Transformers" was introduced to China in the 80s, which is the "Transformers" familiar to a generation.

Wei Ming first showed Wei Lingling a picture of a big red truck. She was completely confused. Were they selling toy trucks? Even battery-powered car toys weren't uncommon in the US. Langning Toy Factory had even done similar OEM manufacturing.

Then she saw Wei Ming's second picture, which was a red robot that looked very tall and powerful.

Robots are also a popular type of toy in the US market, but there are so many companies making them that the competition is fierce.

Seeing Wei Lingling's confusion, Wei Ming smiled slightly: "Can't you see the problem with these two pictures?"

"Hmm?" Wei Lingling compared them, and suddenly her brows furrowed. "This robot is transformed from this truck?"

"Smart!" Wei Ming praised, then added, "It's called Optimus Prime, the leader robot of Cybertron. He also has many subordinates and a mortal enemy, who in turn has many subordinates. I collectively call them Transformers."

When Wei Ming introduced Optimus Prime and Transformers, Wei Lingling's eyes started to light up.

As a new immigrant who has lived in the United States for many years, Wei Lingling knows how developed the car culture is in the United States. It is a place where you can't go anywhere without a car. Every teenager's most desired coming-of-age gift is a car, even if it is second-hand.

Therefore, the toy car market in the United States will always be huge.

Americans, who don't have much history, like dinosaurs and aliens in addition to cars, and this toy even incorporates aliens into it.

"Brilliant! Brilliant!" Wei Lingling exclaimed. "How did you come up with that idea?"

Wei Ming: "When I got to Hong Kong, I saw so many cars on the street, so I got the idea. Yesterday, you pressured me, and that's how I came up with this idea for the car man. I even made up a story background for them."

Wei Lingling laughed and said, "Haha, that's why people have to push themselves a little, otherwise they won't know how much potential they have."

Wei Ming also laughed: "After I finish writing this story and draw the other Transformers, I can authorize Langning Factory to develop and produce them."

"What about the licensing fee?" Wei Lingling asked.

Wei Ming: "Aunt, you decide. You don't have to give it to me. I have no objection. I have never met my great-grandfather, but I have heard him say that his patriotism is as clear as day. Uncle Wei Lang was also a loyal martyr who died under the Japanese gunfire. Consider this a gift for my great-grandfather."

Wei Lingling nodded in satisfaction: "Don't worry, we definitely won't take your money for nothing. We're not like some people."

Wei Ming had no way to respond to that.

He changed the subject, saying, "This Transformer is quite technically challenging. I'll draw the intermediate form from car to robot later so you can understand the principle of transformation."

Perhaps Japan's TAKARA has already started its research and development, so the Langning factory has to speed things up. If they still can't get it working next year, they might as well just buy the technology patent from Japan.

Wei Lingling exclaimed in amazement again: "You can even draw how to deform things?"

She thought Wei Ming only had an idea, but she didn't expect him to have such a detailed concept.

Wei Ming: "I lost a lot of hair last night. I racked my brains trying to earn you money to go up the mountain."

"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on your copyright company for you."

Wei Ming shook his head: "It's not just a copyright company anymore, but the prototype of a media company."

"what?!"

"We'll discuss this in more detail when we meet Melinda. We'd like to invite you to start a business together, but you don't need to do anything at the beginning, just provide legal support. You can focus on developing and expanding Langning Toy Factory."

Wei Lingling digested this for a moment and then exclaimed, "You come from a socialist world, and now you're going to start a media company? Tsk tsk tsk."

Wei Ming laughed and said, "We encourage entrepreneurship here now, and I'm just responding to the call of the times. It's just that this kind of company isn't suitable for the domestic market."

However, they didn't have much time to talk about starting a business. They had an appointment with Webber in the morning to discuss the musical "The Lion King".

As for this media company, which is still in its infancy, we can only talk about it during the breaks in the negotiations.

Melinda doesn't have enough experience in the publishing industry yet, so she can't resign for the time being. She needs to finish publishing Wei Ming's new works before she can quit.

Meanwhile, Wei Ming was also gathering strength, preparing to present several heavyweight gifts for the birth of the new company.

Melinda wanted the headquarters to be located in the UK, while Wei Lingling wanted it to be located in the US because the market there was larger.

In the end, the two compromised and placed the matter in the British Cayman Islands in the Americas, which would satisfy both sides.

In 78, the British government, in the name of the Queen, issued a tax exemption decree for the Cayman Islands, stipulating that companies registered in the Cayman Islands that had been registered for less than 20 years were exempt from all taxes except for a very small stamp duty.

In addition, companies are not required to submit shareholder information to the authorities and only need to pay a maintenance fee of $700 per year.

Thus, the prototype of a tax haven emerged.

So, during their time in London, the three of them negotiated with Weber and his company to discuss the details of the cooperation, while also preparing to open a company in the Cayman Islands.

Finally, when Wei Ming signed the contract with Weber, the company had already been hastily established, and Wei Ming named it "Dream Factory".

A factory that creates dreams for children and helps adults realize their dreams...

(End of this chapter)