Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 305 The Baton

In August, Beiping was bathed in clear blue skies.

The blazing sunlight streamed unhindered into the chairman's office of Tengda Group, illuminating the entire office area brightly through the glass curtain wall.

Song Ci sat behind her desk, paused in her work, stopped taking notes, slowly closed her Montblanc pen, straightened her back, and looked directly at her most trusted right-hand man.

He had just received a report from Zhang Yong and Wang Jing regarding some matters of the group during his vacation.

"The group's growth momentum in the first half of the year far exceeded that of its peers. Yong Ge and Jing Jie, thank you for your hard work." Song Ci's voice was calm and gentle, carrying a hint of sincere praise.

The two said in unison, quickly and modestly, "It's all thanks to your excellent leadership."

Song Ci waved his hand gently. He said that Tengda's current scale is certainly due to his foresight and sound decision-making, but Wang Jing and Zhang Yong also deserve much credit.

"Brother Yong, have you finished compiling the group's financial report for the first half of the year? I'm planning to launch a new round of financing later this month."

Zhang Yong's expression turned serious, and he said solemnly, "You should have taken care of it during your vacation. I'll have Chen An submit it to you for review later."

Song Ci nodded slightly: "I have no worries about the financial statements. The group's operating data for the first half of the year is impressive enough. A little more or less in valuation is actually not a big deal."

The key point is that for this round of financing, I plan to prioritize foreign capital investment. Tenda wants to go global and become a top-tier multinational corporation, and that will inevitably require some overseas support.

Zhang Yong and Wang Jing understood the chairman's meaning. Since its overseas launch last year, WeChat has quickly made a name for itself in the mobile instant messaging market with its minimalist and straightforward style.

It has maintained a dominant market share throughout its rapid growth. Coupled with continuous innovation and the introduction of novel features such as voice messaging, social networking, and message in a bottle, it has gradually distinguished itself and become the leading mobile instant messaging (IM) software.

Currently, WeChat has nearly 6 million users worldwide. To put this in perspective, global smartphone shipments are only 8 million, while WeChat and WeChat have close to 6 million users.

This is an extremely alarming statistic, meaning that WeChat has already achieved a dominant position in this field, demonstrating a significant Matthew effect where the strong get stronger.

Zhang Yong sighed softly as he recalled the recent troubles his overseas company had gone through: "We do need to find some help!"
In recent days, Facebook has launched a media offensive, accusing WeChat of violating user privacy. Zuckerberg publicly questioned Tenda's data security at a hearing, putting significant pressure on the North American branch.

Wang Jing also looked worried and sighed, "The EU is also getting restless. It's so difficult to establish a large multinational corporation."

Song Ci had long since made up his mind, and his eyes were filled with fearlessness: "The difficulty of the situation was expected, wasn't it!"
The key issue is in North America, which is why I insist on hosting servers overseas and having foreign executives manage overseas branches, in order to avoid giving the Americans a reason to take action.

However, as WeChat grows and expands, its overseas branches alone cannot sustain themselves for long, so they need to find some strong partners to help with public relations issues.

Fortunately, the US isn't a monolithic entity; various capital groups have their own interests, which gives us the opportunity to survive in the cracks.

We need time. When WeChat truly grows into a giant, they will be hesitant and afraid to act rashly. In short, the road to international cooperation is long and arduous.

After the three giants of Tenda finished discussing business, the atmosphere in the office gradually relaxed, and the topic inevitably turned to the hot topics on the Internet a few days ago.

"President Song, when I first saw Liu Rong take the movie down, I thought you were going to blacklist Xu Jinglei?"

Wang Jing looked on with curiosity, wondering why Boss Song, who was always decisive and ruthless, would suddenly change his attitude and easily let the matter go.

Song Ci chuckled and teased, "Sister Jing, how come in your eyes I'm the kind of person who always shouts for violence and has no magnanimity when something happens?"

"That's definitely not it. But I guess it's nothing more than the usual social niceties. I'm just curious what connections they ultimately made?"

Wang Jing blinked. Director Li of Beiping TV had also approached her on someone's behalf, but because it involved Liu Shishi and the relationship was too delicate, she didn't dare to get involved rashly.

Song Ci nodded: "It is indeed about human relationships and social customs, but if you want others to talk to you about human relationships and social customs, you must first have the strength to call for war."

"That's true. If it weren't for President Song's strength and status, the other party wouldn't have given up so easily."

Zhang Yong chimed in, recalling what Weibo CEO Liu Yan had reported to him, and took the opportunity to ask, "President Song, how should our subordinates handle similar situations involving Madam in the future?"

Upon hearing this, Song Ci thought for a moment and instructed, "From now on, any accounts on Weibo that mindlessly criticize or insult Shishi will be immediately banned upon discovery."

This time, he didn't assign Liu Yan to take action because he wanted to test Tangren's emergency public relations capabilities, but he wouldn't let this kind of thing happen again.

"I understand. I will take care of Liu Yan."

Speaking of Weibo, Song Ci's gaze naturally turned to the trending topics page that had just opened on the computer screen.

"Most of the trending topics are about Feng Xiaogang's new movie. With the box office success of 'The Great Earthquake,' Huayi Brothers' stock price must have skyrocketed."

Wang Jing and Zhang Yong exchanged a glance, both beaming with joy. They were both beneficiaries of the box office success of "Aftershock".

Wang Jing replied excitedly, "That's right! After 11 days of release, 'The Great Earthquake' has already grossed 4 million yuan and is heading straight for 6 million."

Huayi's stock price has hit the daily limit for four consecutive days, and it's expected to rise further. Thanks to your guidance, Mr. Zhang and I bought a lot of Huayi stock last time and made a considerable profit.

"The film and television industry has been booming for the past two years. You can hold Huayi shares for a while before selling them."

"It can still go up?" Zhang Yong was shocked. Huayi was just a film and television company with annual revenue of only around 10 billion yuan, which was less than that of Tengda Culture. But its current market value was close to 150 billion yuan. According to the price-to-earnings ratio, it was even more exaggerated than that of Internet companies.

“Huayi’s market value can at least double.” Song Ci glanced at Zhang Yong and thought to himself that this was nothing. Even though Tengda Culture was currently ahead of Huayi, its market value of 40 to 50 billion yuan in a few years was still achievable.

A small company like Huayi can have a market value of over 30 billion yuan, which made Zhang Yong want to persuade the chairman to list Tengda Culture independently to raise money.

However, considering the overall strategic framework of the group and the coordination and collaboration between different sectors, they ultimately refrained from doing so.

Song Ci continued browsing the trending topics: "What's going on with Zhang Jingchu? Four out of the top ten trending topics are about her. Did she pay for it?"

Although Weibo operations are not under Wang Jing's management, Tengda Culture will keep her informed of any news, allowing her to stay somewhat informed about recent events in the entertainment industry.

"Zhang Jingchu has indeed been quite high-profile lately. With the release of 'Aftershock,' she already has a high level of popularity, and she also spent money to stay on the trending topics."

"Actors should let their work speak for itself. Young actors need to gain more experience and hone their acting skills."

Song Ci looked at what Zhang Jingchu said to reporters at a media conference and said with disdain: "Recently, the careers of the four actresses and two actresses have not been going well. She thinks she can stand out? Does she think the post-85 generation of actresses doesn't exist?"

"85 Flowers?" Wang Jing asked with interest when the chairman uttered a new term, "President Song, what does 85 Flowers mean?" Song Ci was taken aback, and then realized that at this point in 2010, it seemed that people did not yet have a clear understanding of the concept of 85 Flowers.

He then explained: "My Shishi, as well as Liu Yifei, Yang Mi, Wang Luodan, and Lü Yi, these popular young actresses were all born around 1985, so I collectively call them the '85 Flowers'."

They were the strongest competitors to the previous generation of "Four Dan and Two Bing" (a group of four top actresses and two top female performers), and Zhang Jingchu's development momentum couldn't compare to theirs.

Wang Jing thought that, just as the chairman said, the current landscape of female stars in the Chinese entertainment industry, apart from the "Four Dan and Two Bing" (referring to four top actresses and two top female stars), indeed has the brightest future for several female stars born around 85.

Since the beginning of the millennium, the "Four Dan and Two Bing" (referring to four top actresses and two top female stars) have gradually emerged in the Chinese film industry, consistently occupying the strongest first-tier actress lineup and becoming the most sought-after figures in the entertainment circle. They are undoubtedly the industry leaders.

But in the second half of 2010, the gears of fate seemed to begin to turn quietly, and all six A-list actresses experienced bad luck.

First, there's Zhang Ziyi. Affected by the "fraudulent donation" and "ink-splashing" incidents, she fell into a public opinion trough, brands terminated their contracts, endorsements were snatched away, her foreign boyfriend broke up with her, and her international influence was severely damaged.

After Zhou Xun's contract with Huayi Brothers expired, she chose not to renew it and instead focused on running Dong Shen Film Industry, which she co-founded with Chen Kun.

However, the new company is in dire need of development, and its status has been downgraded since leaving Huayi Resources. Although it is a benchmark for acting skills, its commercial value needs to be broken through.

After the disappointing box office performances of his films "Mulan" and "14 Blades," Zhao Zhetian is preparing to try his hand at directing.

Xu Jinglei, as an early representative of actresses in the Beijing entertainment circle, has extensive connections and resources, but has few film and television works. In the past two years, she has gradually moved behind the scenes, but her latest film has encountered many setbacks and even almost got pulled from theaters, indicating a lack of momentum for future development.

The careers of the four actresses are all in a slump and have reached a bottleneck. The situation of the two actresses is also similar, with neither being much better.

After winning the Golden Horse Award for Best Actress for her role in the film "The Message," Li Bingbing officially joined the ranks of powerful film actresses. Through her connection with Deng Wendi, she plunged into Hollywood, attempting to make a name for herself on the international stage, but her prospects were not optimistic.

As for Fan Bingbing, she starred in several films such as "Sacrifice" and "East Wind Rain," but the box office results were disappointing, and the reputation of her works was polarized. She began to dominate the screen with her "Fan Ye" persona and red carpet marketing, with controversy and traffic coexisting.

All six are pillars of the Chinese entertainment industry, but their careers are now facing a turning point and they are beset by difficulties.

Meanwhile, rising stars like Yang Mi, Liu Shishi, and Wang Luodan are striving to catch up, each holding several highly anticipated dramas awaiting release.

The entertainment industry seems to be undergoing a transformation, with a generational shift among top female celebrities on the horizon.

Time flies like an arrow, and several days have passed in the blink of an eye. Soon it will be August 10th.

The highly anticipated film crew of "Building a Great Cause" quietly began filming at the Huairou Film and Television Base in Beiping.

Liu Shishi ended her leisurely vacation and headed to the film set full of energy. Upon arriving with two assistants, she found the set bustling with people.

The entertainment industry's big names and stars can be seen everywhere at this moment, either studying the script carefully or gathering in groups of three or five for lively conversation.

After meeting with Han Sanping and Huang Jianxin, the two heads of the production team, Liu Shishi wandered around the set.

"Brother Chao! Long time no see, how have you been?"

After walking a few steps, another old friend appeared: "Brother Yuan, how's filming going on the set of 'Revolutionaries Are Always Young'?"

"Brother Sanshi, how is Sister Li doing lately?"

Tangren's top female star has a wide network of connections, and she greeted acquaintances she met along the way.

Just as Liu Shishi was exchanging a few words with Huang Sanshi, the husband of former star Sun Li, she caught a glimpse of two familiar figures out of the corner of her eye.

"Senior Brother Qiao, Luo Dan!"

"Master..." Qiao Zhengyu saw the approaching First Sister and subconsciously wanted to call out her name, but he quickly stopped himself. After a slight pause, he respectfully greeted her, "Greetings, Madam."

Hearing Tengda's top member call out "Madam," Wang Luodan was surprised and slightly opened her mouth. Her heart was filled with mixed feelings. All her jealousy and reluctance turned into a deep sense of helplessness, and she could only follow suit and call out, "Madam!"

When Liu Shishi heard the two address her like that, she stopped abruptly, then smiled warmly and said, "No need to be so polite. Mr. Song isn't here, so let's just address each other as before."

Qiao Zhengyu, after all, was the senior of the same school as the top female star and a leading artist of Tengda Culture. After a few polite words, he readily agreed and resumed the previous way of addressing her.

Wang Luodan hesitated for a long time before softly saying, "Senior Sister!"

The moment the word "sister" came out of her mouth, Wang Luodan felt all her past resentment and competitive spirit vanish like the wind.

Knowing Xu Jinglei's example, she had no choice but to bow down to reality and humbly submit to the top star.

The two men's cautious demeanor made Liu Shishi feel very awkward, but she could understand their mentality. After all, they were both employees of Mr. Song, and they couldn't really be assertive in front of the boss's wife.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, the top star and her assistant went to find a heavyweight figure in the entertainment industry.

After searching for a long time, the group finally found their target in a simple rest shed.

"Hello, Teacher Li, I am Liu Shishi. I play your daughter in the drama. Please give me your guidance during the filming."

Li Xuejian, who was focused on reading the script, slowly closed it upon hearing the sound.

Looking up, I saw a pure, beautiful, and energetic girl standing in front of me. I recognized her at a glance as Liu Shishi, who played Ms. Yang in the movie.

Li Xuejian carefully examined the popular junior and nodded slightly, his eyes revealing scrutiny and appreciation.

The little girl radiated youthful energy, giving off a clean and pure feeling. Her delicate and gentle face was very endearing to the elders.

"Hello Shishi, let's all work hard together when filming in the future."

As the hoarse voice reached her ears, Liu Shishi observed Li Xuejian discreetly.

The other person was dressed in a simple, clean white short-sleeved shirt with a bright red badge pinned to his chest. His kind smile was like a breath of fresh air, radiating a sense of composure and magnanimity from within.

(End of this chapter)