Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 287 Finish this bowl of millet porridge

The 13th floor of the Yingu Building on the Fourth Ring Road in Beiping is the location of the newly established Xiaomi Technology Company.

Although the office space was simple, the new company was full of vitality and had a thriving atmosphere.

At this moment, several employees were gathered together in Xiaomi's office area, whispering and discussing among themselves.

"Am I seeing things? The person who just walked into President Lei's office is Song Ci?"

A young woman with short hair next to him nodded vigorously: "You're not mistaken, he really is the richest man, so handsome!"

"Today is the company's founding ceremony. It is said that all the company's founders and shareholders will be here. I wonder if Song Ci is also a shareholder of our company?"

The girl who had just spoken smiled and said, "The richest man holds 15% of the shares, making him the second largest shareholder of our company after President Lei."

The group exchanged glances, each seeing a hint of surprise in the other's eyes. They hadn't expected the richest man to be a major shareholder of their company; it seemed Xiaomi's future was bright.

In the CEO's office, Lei Jun was warmly welcoming the richest man who had come to show his support.

The small office is simply and plainly furnished, with a slightly worn desk and two rows of ordinary leather sofas as the main furnishings.

"In the early stages of our business, the office environment was rudimentary, please forgive us, Mr. Song."

Song Ci accepted the tea offered by Lei Jun: "A tall building rises from the ground. Mr. Lei uses money wisely, which makes investors feel more at ease."

Lei Jun nodded slightly. He knew that starting a business was difficult, and now he was trying to save money wherever possible. Compared to those European and American tech companies that were born in garages, Xiaomi's starting point was already very high.

Song Ci leaned lazily against the sofa. He and Lei Jun were not only neighbors but also friends. They had a close relationship and were less reserved in front of outsiders.

"Xiaomi's supply chain is fully operational now, right? When will the first batch of phones be available?"

"Thank you very much, Mr. Song! The first generation of the phone is expected to be released in about six months." Lei Jun smiled sincerely. Song Ci had been helping to connect the hardware supply chain of Xiaomi phones and had made great efforts in this regard.

What is the pre-sale inventory level?

"Expected production of 30 units." When he said this number, a hint of nervousness appeared in Lei Jun's eyes, clearly indicating that he was not confident about this target.

"That's too few. Let's prepare 50 units first."

Lei Jun was taken aback. He hadn't expected Song Ci to be so optimistic about the unreleased Xiaomi phone. Setting a pre-sale target of 30 units was already a huge courageous move and a huge undertaking.

"Mr. Song, isn't 50 units a bit...? Shouldn't we be more realistic and take it one step at a time?"

Song Ci neither agreed nor disagreed with Lei Jun's idea: "This is just a suggestion; the final decision rests with you, Mr. Lei."

Smartphones are the future trend, but they are too expensive, often costing several thousand or even tens of thousands of yuan. Currently, there are still many poor people in China, and many cannot afford smartphones.

When the affordable and high-quality Xiaomi phones hit the market, people will realize just how terrifying the demand is in the mid-range market.

Lei Jun, who is always meticulous in his work, neither insisted on his original plan nor rejected the goal proposed by Song Ci. After a moment of thought, he said, "I will carefully consider your proposal, Mr. Song, and conduct further market research."

Song Ci took a sip of green tea and said, "Mr. Lei, there's something I want to discuss with you. I'd like to pre-install WeChat and other Tenda-owned apps on Xiaomi phones."

Lei Jun is familiar with the pre-installation model, after all, pre-installing apps is a common practice for smartphones nowadays: "No problem, but I will not bind the app to the system. In the future, if users do not like the app, they can uninstall it at will."

"That's natural; users have the right to choose." Song Ci smiled confidently. "I believe that once Xiaomi phone users have used Tenda's products, they won't be able to live without them. As for the specific charges for pre-installation, let's calculate it according to the market price."

Lei Jun shook his head slightly upon hearing this: "President Song, I will not charge you for the pre-installed app on the first batch of phones, including the subsequent batches."

Song Ci understood the principle that there is no such thing as a free lunch, and couldn't help but ask curiously, "Then what do you want, Mr. Lei?"

"When the Xiaomi 1 is released, I want it to be featured on Toutiao and Weibo's splash screens." Lei Jun squinted, looking expectant.

He had long coveted the massive traffic generated by the splash screen recommendations on Tenda's apps, as it was a powerful tool that could quickly boost Xiaomi's brand awareness.

After only a brief consideration, Song Ci immediately approved: "No problem, it's a win-win situation, I fully support it."

The two chatted for a few more minutes. Lei Jun checked the time and said with a gentle smile, "President Song, please move over. Let's go next door to attend Xiaomi's founding ceremony."

Song Ci readily agreed and followed Lei Jun out of the office to the next room, where he met about ten founding members of Xiaomi.

Among those who followed Lei Jun were the former vice president of Google's Engineering Research Institute, the former director of Motorola's R&D center, and the former head of the Design Department at Beiping University of Science and Technology.

These people are all outstanding talents in their respective fields, and they have abundant channel resources. They are capable of fighting in the business world and can be described as a top-notch entrepreneurial team, which makes Song Ci envious.

The ceremony was simple, without any extravagant decorations or complicated procedures. Everyone gathered together, with a pot of steaming white rice porridge in front of them.

Lei Jun stood in the center, beaming: "Since our company is called Xiaomi, let's all have a bowl of millet porridge today as a ceremony to mark the company's founding."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lei Jun stepped forward, personally ladled out a bowl of millet porridge, and faced Song Ci with utmost respect.

"I want to give this first bowl to Mr. Song, the most handsome and successful person in our group. He is the one who strengthened my determination to found Xiaomi. It was also Mr. Song who worked tirelessly to help me get the company's supply chain sorted out."

It's fair to say that without Mr. Song, there would be no Xiaomi company as we know it today, so I'm truly grateful to him. Now, shall we invite Mr. Song to say a few words?

"Great!" The Xiaomi employees cheered enthusiastically, applauding and shouting.

Song Ci accepted the small porcelain bowl handed to him by Lei Jun without hesitation. Dressed in an exquisite haute couture suit, he was handsome, refined, and dazzling.

His gaze swept across the entire room, and he declared loudly, "Having witnessed Xiaomi's elite team, I firmly believe that under Mr. Lei's leadership, Xiaomi will definitely become a great company..."

With elegant demeanor and eloquent speech, Song Ci expressed his expectations for the fledgling company, Xiaomi: "Finally, I would like to make a gentleman's agreement with everyone."

In the near future, both Xiaomi and Tenda will appear on the Fortune Global 500 list.

Lei Jun was slightly taken aback, not expecting Song Ci to have such high expectations for Xiaomi. However, when his gaze fell upon the ambitious and talented entrepreneurial team beside him, he immediately perked up and became full of energy.
"President Song has set a long-term goal for Xiaomi, and I am very confident in it. I wonder if everyone else is confident that Xiaomi can become a Fortune Global 500 company?"

"Yes!" The crowd roared, their voices thunderous and their momentum overwhelming. At that moment, every Xiaomi employee was inspired by Lei Jun's confidence and the inspiring words of Song Ci. Afterwards, everyone shared the millet porridge from the rice cooker, and the fourteen founders took a group photo to commemorate the occasion. The camera captured this simple yet significant moment, and the ceremony came to an end. But Xiaomi's legend had only just begun.

In mid-March, the warm spring breeze gently swept through the bustling city of Donghai, and Liu Shishi, who had been resting at home for nearly a month, returned to the city.

"Ta-da! Sister K, have you missed me?" Liu Shishi tiptoed into the office, wanting to give the female CEO a surprise.

Cai Yi Nong sat upright behind his desk, having already noticed the arrival of the "Number One Sister," and glanced at her sideways.

She feigned a reproach: "So you do know how to come back to the company. If it weren't for the 'iPartment 2' crew pressing you so hard, I bet you'd still be staying at home."

Liu Shishi sat down gracefully at the desk, her movements light and graceful. She sighed softly. Mr. Song's gentle charms were indeed irresistible to this young woman, and she almost considered retiring from acting. Fortunately, she managed to break free from Mr. Song's allure with great willpower.

After joking around with the top female star for a few moments, Cai Yi-nong's expression turned serious as he got down to business: "The New Year is over, it's time to get back to work."

"Okay, I'll go back to the set tomorrow to finish filming the remaining scenes."

Seeing that the lead actress had settled down, Cai Yinong methodically arranged the work: "Besides filming, there are many other important tasks. New Year's advertisements for brands, spring magazine cover shoots..."

"You can arrange the specifics, Sister K. I'll be on standby during this time."

After handing over some urgent tasks, Cai Yinong breathed a slight sigh of relief.

After a slight pause, she continued, "I'd like to hear your opinion on the male lead casting for 'Scarlet Heart.' Your fans recently started a poll on Weibo about the male lead, and it's been very popular. Are you aware of that?"

Liu Shishi nodded slightly: "I've also been paying attention to the voting, but I don't think the top few votes would be interested in this show."

Although fans were enthusiastic about organizing a poll, she believed that the male stars who received the most votes probably wouldn't think much of "Scarlet Heart".

Currently, Huang Xiaoming, Qiao Zhengyu, and Chen Kun are among the top vote-getters, all of whom are A-list celebrities in the entertainment industry with thriving careers.

"Scarlet Heart" is a female-centric drama, with the lead actress playing the top role. It's unrealistic for the other actors to give up their roles to younger actresses, considering both commercial value and their status in the entertainment industry.

Cai Yinong explained, "Of course I know that Huang Xiaoming and the others don't think much of 'Scarlet Heart.' What I mean is, if there are any male actors who are ranked lower in the cast, Tangren will extend an invitation to them."

Liu Shishi silently recalled several candidates in her mind: "I don't care, Sister K, just audition normally."

Seeing that the lead actress had no special requests, Cai Yinong immediately made a decision: "In that case, the company will start organizing interviews next week, and filming is expected to begin in late April, by which time your scenes in 'iPartment 2' will have finished filming."

After saying that, he bent down and pulled out a script from a pile of materials on his desk and handed it to his sister: "This is the new script that has been revised according to your requirements."

The screenwriter downplayed the romantic relationships between the female lead and the two princes, focusing instead on her intelligence and her helplessness in the palace, where she was caught in a power struggle. All kissing and intimate scenes were removed, so you're guaranteed to be satisfied.

Liu Shishi happily accepted the script: "Sister K understands me best. I will definitely prepare well."

"Oh, right, there's something else I'd like to discuss with you and get your opinion on."

As Liu Shishi flipped through the script, she casually replied, "Sister K, just say what you need to say. Why are you being so polite with me?"

"Since Tangren wants to go public, it needs to offer some shares to retain talent. Currently, the company's shares are concentrated in the hands of you, me, and Director Li."

This means the three of us will still need to contribute to the equity that the employees are allowed to purchase. Hu Ge didn't have many shares to begin with, so we won't let him contribute this time. Shishi, what do you think?

“No problem, we’ll split the shares for the employees equally among the three of us. Other companies try their best to win over a top executive like Lao Hu by giving him shares. He already has a small number of shares, so there’s no reason for him to give them away.”

Liu Shishi readily agreed. She had already discussed the matter of Tangren's equity with Mr. Song at home.

"It's good that you have no objections." Seeing that the eldest sister understood his good intentions, Cai Yi Nong nodded with satisfaction.

Tangren Media has indeed been kind to Hu Ge, but to keep her loyal to the company, it's not enough to just talk about feelings; you also need to tie her down with shared interests. That's why she didn't touch Hu Ge's shares.

"Sister K, who were the first batch of people to subscribe to the company's shares internally?"

"There are only a few directors and production team leaders."

Upon hearing this, Liu Shishi exclaimed in surprise, "No Old Yuan?"

"no!"

K-sister's answer was concise and to the point. Sister Yi glanced at her and saw that she looked calm, as if she had made the decision after careful consideration.

Considering that Yuan Hong was also a friend, Liu Shishi couldn't help but ask, "Old Yuan is a veteran in the company, it wouldn't be right not to give him a chance."

Cai Yinong was unconcerned about the First Sister's concerns: "There's nothing wrong with it. At least he won't be among the first batch of people to subscribe for shares."

The ratings for "The Weaver Girl" were mediocre, and the audience response was lukewarm. This proved that Yuan Hong's ability to carry a drama was indeed average. As a result, even though she was a long-time employee of the company, she could not create greater value for the company, and her status in her eyes naturally diminished.

The atmosphere was a bit somber. Liu Shishi understood that apart from her and Lao Hu, K-jie would have reservations and sentimental feelings. To others, she was still the shrewd, capable, and decisive CEO of Tangren Media.

Liu Shishi had only asked out of curiosity and wasn't really interested in Yuan Hong's affairs, so she changed the subject: "Where's Lao Hu? I haven't seen him at the company. What has he been busy with lately?"

"She went to perform in a stage play."

"A stage play?" The fact that Lao Hu went there was quite unexpected for Yi Jie.

"Don't even mention it. In 'The Myth,' his acting was completely outshone by Zhang Shi. Netizens said he was just a pretty face, which really upset him. In a fit of pique, he went to the theater to practice his acting skills."

Cai Yinong's words carried a deep sense of powerlessness; the company's top executives were both troublesome individuals.

With the huge success of "The Myth", she was hoping that Hu Ge would participate in more activities, take advantage of this popularity, and land one or two good endorsements to take her career to the next level.

To her surprise, her brother suddenly went to the theater without saying a word, which infuriated her.

"Well, this shows that Lao Hu has ambitions. It's a good thing for actors to pursue acting skills. Sister K, you should support him." Liu Shishi didn't know what else to say, so she could only comfort Cai Yinong like this.

(End of this chapter)