Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 276 Retaining the Title of Richest Man
"Good morning, Chairman!" "Good morning, Chairman Song."

Early in the morning, in front of the elevator at the headquarters of Tengda Group, a group of employees greeted the big boss with bows.

Song Ci, dressed in a sharp suit, looked incredibly handsome, as if he radiated light, and smiled and nodded in response.

In the crowd, Weibo President Liu Yan suddenly stepped forward, his voice tinged with excitement: "Chairman Song, congratulations on retaining your title as the richest man in mainland China."

Upon hearing this, Song Ci's composed face faltered slightly: "What's going on?"

Liu Yan explained with a smile: "Chairman Song, just now, the Hurun Research Institute released the 2009 Rich List, and you, with a net worth of 1100 billion, far surpassed other rich people, retaining your title as the richest person in mainland China. The news has already become a trending topic on Weibo."

Upon hearing this, the Tengda employees immediately erupted in excitement, with exclamations and praises filling the air.

Some people even reflexively pulled out their phones to check the trending topics on Weibo.

Several bold and quick-witted employees immediately offered their congratulations.

"Congratulations, Chairman! Under your leadership, the group will surely thrive and achieve even greater success."

"Chairman Song, you are truly amazing. From now on, your title will be the 'Billionaire Young Master'."

Song Ci waved his hand, looking modest: "It's just empty fame, I never care about such things." However, he couldn't suppress the smile on his lips, clearly in a very pleasant mood.

The heavy elevator doors slowly opened, and Song Ci stepped into the elevator. As the heavy alloy doors slowly closed, everyone immediately started chattering.

A young and beautiful female employee cupped her face in her hands, her eyes sparkling with admiration.
"I feel like Chairman Song is even more handsome now. He just smiled at me. Sigh, Chairman Song is so handsome and rich, I wonder which little vixen he got."

A young woman nearby immediately teased, "If you like her, just go for it! You might just become the chairman's wife!"

Upon hearing this, Liu Yan glanced at the two daydreaming girls and mercilessly refuted their suggestion:
"You guys really dare to dream of becoming the boss's wife. That's impossible. Chairman Song is very fond of his fiancée; he's quite devoted."

"Mr. Liu, have you met the chairman's fiancée? What does she look like?" The two girls who had been talking earlier suddenly became curious and couldn't help but ask.

A gentle and beautiful face flashed through Liu Yan's mind in an instant, and he nodded slightly: "I have seen her, and she is far superior to you."

One of the girls muttered to herself, "Isn't it only natural that he'd be better than us? With a face like President Song's, he should at least find someone whose looks match his."

"That's outrageous. A net worth of 1100 billion is a billionaire, putting him a whole level above other billionaires."

A male employee, holding his phone, interrupted the conversation of several girls with his loud exclamations.

An employee next to him, who was also browsing the Hurun Rich List on Weibo, looked shocked and couldn't help but shout in agreement:

"That's really a bit exaggerated. Wang Chuanfu, who is in second place, only has 350 billion, which is less than half of Chairman Song's net worth. The difference is too big."

"Among the top ten richest people, six are from the real estate industry. It seems that the real estate market is booming this year. At this rate, housing prices will probably continue to rise."

"No way, housing prices are going to rise even more!" a young man exclaimed in surprise. He was a migrant worker in Beijing, trying his best to save money to buy a house, but his savings rate was obviously not keeping up with the rising housing prices, and his dream of buying a house was becoming more and more distant.

"Chairman Song previously advised all employees to buy houses as soon as possible. It seems the chairman was right after all. Brother, the company has a loan policy, don't hesitate, hurry up and buy one."

"Nonsense! If Chairman Song didn't have foresight, could he have led us to surpass others and make Tengda the number one internet group in the country?"

"Haha, luckily I listened to advice and gritted my teeth to take out a loan to buy an apartment in 05. Back then, the price in my neighborhood was 1 yuan per square meter, but now it has risen to 3 yuan per square meter. I'm so rich."

A long-time employee enthusiastically shared his home-buying experience, now that housing prices have soared, giving him plenty of confidence.

"I regret it now. The money I had back then is only enough to buy a toilet now. Housing prices in Beiping are rising every year. When will it ever end?"

As everyone chatted and lamented how increasingly unaffordable housing prices in Beiping were, Song Ci had already arrived at his office on the top floor of the building.

After carefully reviewing the Hurun Rich List, he picked up the phone on his desk and notified Zhang Yong and Tang Jun, the newly appointed president of the WeChat department, to come to his office.

A short while later, Zhang Yong arrived in a flurry, his face beaming with joy. As soon as he entered the office, he took the initiative and said, "Chairman Song, you're a super-rich man with hundreds of billions in assets, are you going to treat us to dinner tonight?"

Seeing his capable assistant looking radiant, Song Ci knew why he was like this: "Today it shouldn't be me treating, it should be you and Sister Jing treating me, Lao Zhang."

Zhang Yong sat down at the desk, looking quite excited: "Then I'll treat you today, and Mr. Wang will treat you tomorrow."

Just then, there was another knock on the door.

After receiving a response, Tang Jun pushed open the door and entered. He glanced at the two leaders and said respectfully, "Congratulations, General Manager Song and General Manager Zhang."

Before receiving Song Ci's notification, he had also been paying attention to the rich list. The chairman, needless to say, had been on the list multiple times and had been the richest man for several consecutive years, and was already a legend in the eyes of many.

But what's most encouraging is that the group's CEO Zhang Yong and COO Wang Jing are also on the list, which is sure to excite the executives of Tengda Group.

Song Ci, with a stern expression, pointed to the seat in front of the desk and said seriously, "Sit down. Mr. Tang, there's no need to be envious. If you win the WeChat battle, you'll have everything."

Upon hearing the big boss's resounding promise, Tang Jun was overjoyed, but soon felt immense pressure; the battle ahead would be difficult.

"The penguins have made their move, you know?"

Tang Jun, with a serious expression and ramrod straight back, cautiously replied: "I have already tried the newly launched WeChat from Tencent, and it is very different from QQ in style."

It's essentially an instant messaging app developed entirely for smartphones, and it's a formidable rival to WeChat, each with its own unique features!

Song Ci, who had also downloaded Wechat, couldn't help but exclaim: "It's quite innovative that Tencent has become the dominant player in the domestic instant messaging field."

If the other party simply copies WeChat, I'm certain Tencent will lose this competition. However, if they innovate and introduce new features, things can change, and we must be cautious with every step from now on.

Leaning back in his executive chair, Song Ci frowned. The clash between the two major internet giants in China could result in total defeat if one wrong move was made.

Tang Jun knew that the opponent was tough, but he was still very confident: "Don't worry, President Song, I will keep a close eye on the market dynamics. At present, WeChat has a first-mover advantage, and there is still a big gap between WeChat and us in the short term."

Song Ci repeatedly urged, "I transferred you from TT Video Network to the WeChat department as president because I value your meticulousness. WeChat is crucial to Tengda Group, so you must not slack off in the slightest." Tang Jun repeatedly assured him, "I know the importance of it and have been closely monitoring WeChat."

After thinking for a moment, Zhang Yong suggested, "President Song, now that we can't hide it on WeChat anymore, why don't we launch a full-channel promotion and seize the market in one fell swoop?"

Song Ci, with a clear mind, shook his head: "It's not the right time yet. Tencent is only just starting to exert its strength. How can we reveal our hand now?"

When Tencent achieves data interoperability between QQ and Wechat, that will be the time for us to commit all our resources and fight to the death.

Wechat is no match for WeChat right now. Let's play it safe and stick to our original plan: first, use mini-games to attract users.

Tang Jun reported at the opportune moment: "I have already discussed with General Manager Jiang of the mobile game department that we will launch several mobile mini-games such as Temple Run tomorrow to quietly drive traffic to WeChat."

Zhang Yong also repeatedly instructed: "President Tang, the chairman has worked very hard for WeChat. He should do everything he should say and do to the best of his ability."

The group has already strived for perfection in its plans; now it's up to your department's execution. Don't blame me for being ruthless if anything goes wrong.

Overwhelmed by immense pressure, Tang Jun quickly stood up from his chair and bowed slightly: "Chairman Song, President Zhang, please rest assured, from today onwards, I will be stationed at the company and I am determined to win this battle."

Song Ci waved his hand: "There's no need for that. Just pay more attention to everything."

He understood Tang Jun's determination, but he didn't want his subordinates to put too much pressure on him. Everything in excess is bad, and the war with WeChat was bound to be a protracted one. Maintaining a good mindset and sufficient energy was equally important.

Since the launch of WeChat, Tencent and Tencent have been locked in a fierce battle, each doing their utmost to attract users to their respective apps without resorting to their ultimate trump cards.

Time flies like water, and before we know it, it's the end of October.

In this slightly chilly late autumn season, a major event has captivated the entire entertainment industry: Huayi Company went public!
In the president's office at Tangren's headquarters, Cai Yinong stared intently at the news reports about Huayi's listing on the computer screen, his eyes focused and tense, afraid of missing any news.

Across from the desk, Sister Yi yawned, looking listless.

She played games until 3 a.m. last night and was severely sleep-deprived. The new mobile games released by Tenda are indeed quite addictive, and you lose track of time while playing them.

"Sister K, is there any new information?" Hu Ge hurriedly walked into the office and asked anxiously after sitting down next to Sister Yi.

Cai Yinong dragged the mouse, his eyes glued to the constantly refreshing information on the screen, and began to introduce it:
"Huayi has listed on the ChiNext board, with an issue price of 28.58 yuan per share, issuing a total of 42 million shares and raising approximately 12 billion yuan. Trading will begin soon."

"The market has opened, and Huayi's stock price is rising so fast!" Cai Yinong's voice suddenly rose, and his expression froze instantly. He was stunned as he watched Huayi's stock price soar like a rocket.

Huayi's stock price surged immediately upon opening, and continued to soar, with the constantly jumping numbers stimulating the nerves of every investor and person in the entertainment industry.

"How is that possible? What an astonishing increase! It's already 63 yuan per share. Are listed film and television companies really that popular with investors? "

Listening to Cai Yinong's mutterings, Hu Ge did a quick calculation and was also shocked. From 28 yuan to 63 yuan, Huayi's stock price doubled in a short period of time!
"So, Huayi's IPO was a great success?" Liu Shishi remained calm. Her man was now a multi-billion dollar tycoon; the IPO of a film and television company was nothing to him.

Cai Yinong was in a state of turmoil, and the Tangren listing plan that he had discussed with Hu Ge and Li Guoli some time ago came to mind.

"It's an unimaginable success. The entire entertainment industry must be thrilled. The first private film and television company has successfully gone public, and the second and third companies will surely follow."

Hu Ge looked excited. With such a successful case as Huayi Company, Sister K probably couldn't sit still anymore and would definitely start to implement Tangren's listing.

Rumors had circulated within the industry that Feng Xiaogang, Huang Xiaoming, and others had internally subscribed to Huayi's shares. At this time, Huayi's stock price soared, and their net worth increased several times over.

Seeing the excitement on the top executive's face, Liu Shishi remembered what Lao Hu had talked to her about last time, so she asked the two of them, "Is Tangren also preparing to go public?"

Upon hearing this, Hu Ge inwardly exclaimed: "Well done, Shi Shi!" She was speaking her mind.

After all, the First Sister is the second largest shareholder of Tangren Media, and her influence in the company is greater than mine. Moreover, with the richest man backing her up, it is more appropriate for her to say some things than I can.

Cai Yinong gazed at Liu Shishi's calm face, then turned his gaze to the excited "Big Brother," and sighed inwardly.

She couldn't fathom Liu Shishi's thoughts, but Hu Ge's ideas were written all over her face; it was likely that the entire core of Tangren shared the same thoughts as Hu Ge.

Hesitation only leads to trouble. Cai Yi-nong hesitated for only a moment before quickly making up his mind and solemnly nodding to the two pillars of Tangren Media:

"From today onwards, Tangren Media's primary goal is to go public. Alas, with Huayi's successful IPO, the entertainment industry will be deeply integrated with the capital market, and things will get complicated from now on."

"Sister K, only with capital injection can the industry scale be expanded. From now on, everyone will rely on their own abilities."

Hu Ge was quite optimistic. He felt that with himself and Liu Shishi in the company, plus Tangren's leading position in period dramas, going public would not be difficult.

"I hope so." Cai Yinong sighed again, his gaze lingering on Sister Yi once more: "Shishi, I was busy following Huayi's IPO and didn't have time to ask you why you came to the company today?"

When she wasn't filming, the leading lady would usually spend time with her man and enjoy leisure time. Recently, Liu Shishi hasn't been filming either, and surprisingly, she's come to the company instead.

Hu Ge returned to the company because she was concerned about Huayi's listing. As the wife of the richest man, she obviously wouldn't care about this matter.

Liu Shishi blinked and said playfully, "The TV series I invested in is about to air, so I came over to help with the promotion."

Cai Yi-nong tried hard to recall: "It was that urban comedy film, what was it called again?"

"iPartment!"

"Yes, I remember now. Your studio has an investment of five million. Do you need the company to help with promotion?"

Liu Shishi nodded her little head repeatedly: "Yes, otherwise what would I do at the company? Lao Hu, you also need to help me promote it, post more on Weibo, and mobilize my fans."

Hu Ge chuckled, always ready to oblige, and gave an OK sign, readily agreeing: "No problem, I'll post on Weibo every day starting today."

Liu Shishi gave a thumbs up: "Old Hu, you're really a good friend."

Although Cai Yi-nong didn't think that "iPartment" would have high ratings, she still wanted to give her full support since the show's host had personally come back to the company for it. So she agreed: "I'll arrange for the PR team to release a press release in a bit."

(End of this chapter)