Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 395 The Boss is Unhappy

March 20th, the season of spring breezes.

The 2012 Global Mobile Internet Conference grandly opened at the National Convention Center in Beiping.

Song Ci, founder of Tenda Technology Group, a global leader in the mobile internet industry, was invited to give a speech.

This grand event brought together internet industry giants, government officials, investment institutions, and media representatives.

Song Ci not only showcased Tenda Group's groundbreaking technological achievements in cutting-edge fields such as mobile payment and cloud computing to the attendees, but also sparked heated discussions among the audience with his forward-looking strategic vision.

As the first day of the conference concluded, Song Ci was preparing to return to Jingyuan with Lei Jun. Just as they stepped out of the multimedia hall, they were blocked at the exit by a large group of reporters, and had no choice but to give an interview.

"Mr. Song, hello. I'm a reporter from CCTV. We just learned about Tenda Group's layout in the mobile internet field at the meeting. What are your views on the future development trend of this industry?"

Facing the CCTV camera, Song Ci responded calmly and clearly: "After the early nurturing and growth stage, with the gradual improvement of technology and ecosystem, the mobile Internet is expected to enter a stage of rapid development next year."

The commercialization of 4G networks and the widespread adoption of smartphones will promote the maturity of the mobile application ecosystem. In the future, instant messaging (IM) social networking, mobile payment innovations, and the rise of live video streaming will all bring about rapid and dramatic changes to the world.

Following this, a reporter from People's Daily asked: "Chairman Song, what suggestions do you have for the transformation and development of the physical manufacturing industry in the mobile internet era?"

The richest man responded succinctly: "In this new era, with its new opportunities, traditional manufacturing industries need to adapt to the times, strengthen the application of the industrial internet, and accelerate their digital transformation."

. . .

As the interviews progressed and the atmosphere became more relaxed, a reporter from the *Beiping Daily* suddenly posed a pointed question.

"Mr. Song, as a leading enterprise in the domestic entertainment industry, Tengda Group has seen its artists frequently cause controversy and trend on social media due to differing opinions on hot topics, thus occupying public resources. What is your opinion on this?"

The scene fell silent instantly, and all the reporters couldn't help but scrutinize the brave female reporter from the Beiping Daily.

Asking about entertainment gossip at a mobile internet industry conference, and even getting right up to the richest man in the face to ask him, is incredibly audacious!

Song Ci remained calm and composed, replying, "I'm sorry, I'm not quite aware of the situation you're referring to."

That concludes today's interview. If there's a chance, we can discuss the development of mobile internet in more depth tomorrow. Please make way for us.

Sensing the somber atmosphere, the reporters tactfully made way. Escorted by bodyguards and security personnel, Song Ci nodded to everyone and calmly left the conference center.

On the way back, Lei Jun and Song Ci rode together and Lei Jun couldn't help but exclaim, "President Song, today's Tengda technology demonstration was truly amazing and eye-opening."

The pride of Song Ci cannot be concealed. Years of meticulous planning and annual R&D investment of billions of yuan have finally forged Tenda's unshakeable technological leadership in the mobile internet field.

Numerous core technology patents have built a solid barrier for the company to compete globally.

After exchanging pleasantries, Lei Jun earnestly asked, "President Song, Xiaomi is currently focused on mobile phone consumer terminals, and its product line is somewhat singular."

Apple, Samsung, Huawei, and other industry giants are all diversified conglomerates. I'm planning to develop a second product line, but I'm undecided on the specific direction. Could you give me some advice?

After careful consideration, Song Ci bluntly stated: "The home appliance sector is worth a try. In the mobile internet era, the new model of smart homes and the Internet of Things has great potential."

"A word to the wise!" Lei Jun nodded thoughtfully. He had indeed considered Xiaomi's foray into the home appliance industry before.

However, with the three giants Haier, Midea and Gree so strong, he still had no idea how to break through the encirclement. At this moment, Song Ci's point of view was like a ray of sunshine breaking through the clouds, giving him inspiration to break the deadlock.

As soon as Song Ci returned home, his phone vibrated; a WeChat video call invitation from his wife popped up.

"Honey, are you home?"

In the video, Liu Shishi smiled, and her exquisite Republic-era clothing made her look gentle and charming.

Song Ci chuckled: "I really like this outfit. Bring it back another day."

Understanding her husband's ulterior motives, Liu Shishi gave him a charming sidelong glance and obediently agreed, "Okay."

The couple chatted casually for a while, and Song Ci remembered the questions the reporter had asked her before, so she changed the subject: "Shishi, what's the latest situation with Ying Xiaotian and Bian Xiaoxiao? How did it get involved with Tengda?"

Lin Xia has been closely following the latest developments in the incident these past two days. Liu Shishi knows the ins and outs of the matter very well, and when her husband asked, she recounted the whole story in detail:

"...Among these people, Du Chun is the most active, and he even has nothing better to do than argue with netizens online, with comments like 'Ying Xiaotian beats people up when he fails to pick up girls!', 'I won't make things up without investigating!', and 'Do we dare to speak without watching the video?' appearing one after another."

Song Ci frowned slightly: "But what does this have to do with Tengda?"

He listened for a long time but couldn't make heads or tails of it. The only thing that could be considered somewhat related to Tengda was Wang Luodan's support for Bian Xiaoxiao, which was barely a connection.

"One by one, there's more to come! A large number of celebrities have posted articles denouncing Ying Xiaotian, especially Du Chun who is jumping up and down in a frenzy."

Yang Zi couldn't stand it anymore and posted a blog post accusing Du Chun of kicking his former good brother when he was down before the truth of the matter was even clear.

As a result, because Wang Luodan voiced her support for Bian Xiaoxiao, and Zi Mei sided with Bian Yingxiaotian, the two somehow started arguing online. Wang Luodan criticized Zi Mei for not speaking up for the victim, despite being a woman herself, and instead siding with the perpetrator.

Zi Mei countered that Wang Luodan, Du Chun, and others were too arbitrary in their actions, drawing conclusions based solely on Bian Xiaoxiao's one-sided account without any evidence. Both sides stuck to their own versions of events, arguing fiercely.

Song Ci retorted angrily, "They're just making trouble out of nothing. They're just bored and have nothing better to do!"

Seeing that her husband's expression was not good, Liu Shishi couldn't help but worry for her friend: "What's worse is that some radical netizens are attacking Zi Mei."

Li Ying couldn't stand it anymore and stood up to the netizens, defending Zi Mei and publicly confronting Wang Luodan. Then, Lü Yi suddenly and inexplicably liked Wang Luodan's Weibo post.

Wang Luodan, Lü Yi vs. Yang Zi, Zhao Liying!

Now things are really messed up. Netizens are spreading rumors that Tengda Culture is rife with internal conflicts and divisions, and they're flocking to the Weibo accounts of Mimi, Wang Kai, and others, demanding to know whose side they've chosen. Song Ci, barely suppressing her anger, asked: "So what's the truth of the matter?"

“My dear husband, don’t be angry.” Liu Shishi shrugged and winked playfully. “I don’t know either! Yang Zi, who has the key video, is unwilling to release it.”

"This is outrageous! This is something that has absolutely nothing to do with the company, yet in the end, the whole internet is making fun of Tengda!" Song Ci shouted angrily.

However, he quickly composed himself, and even though he was angry, he wouldn't vent it on Liu Shishi. Instead, he spoke softly to the beauty on the screen:
"Shi Bao, I heard from Lin Hao that the Confucius Temple and Qinhuai Lantern Festival is still going strong at the end of March. I'm going to Nanjing in a few days, let's go for a stroll together!"

Now, under Wang Fengying's management, Dewen Manufacturing is gradually getting on track, and the next step is to prepare for the purchase of land and the construction of a factory.

Upon hearing the news, Lin Hao's father, on behalf of the Nanjing government, repeatedly invited him to visit Nanjing. Leaders at all levels in Jiangsu Province and Nanjing also used their connections and made phone calls to extend warm invitations.

Unable to refuse the kind invitation, he decided to go to Nanjing in person and visit the set of "Silent Notebook".

Liu Shishi smiled and nodded happily: "Then I'll wait for you! I'll let you have a good look at my Republic of China-era outfit then, I guarantee it will amaze you."

Around 7 p.m., in the president's office of Tengda Culture, Liu Rong, who was working overtime, rubbed her sore shoulders and was about to shut down her computer and leave work.

"Ding!" Suddenly, the phone that was placed to the side made a sound. Liu Rong unlocked the screen and found that it was a WeChat message sent to her by the chairman's secretary.

Jian Ning: "President Liu, I'm sorry to bother you so late! But this happened suddenly, and Chairman Song is very unhappy. Please handle this matter properly as soon as possible." Immediately afterwards, she sent a website address.

Liu Rong's heart tightened. She quickly reopened her computer, entered the website address into her browser, and soon a news webpage popped up. It was the official account of the Beiping Daily on Toutiao.com, and it had just posted a new video.

After clicking play, Song Ci's figure appeared on the screen, and it was clear that he was being interviewed by a group of official media outlets.

Then a reporter from the *Beiping Daily* asked the chairman: "Mr. Song... you frequently appear on trending topics, occupying public resources. What is your opinion on this?"

"This will only cause me trouble!" Liu Rong gritted her teeth inwardly. She knew exactly what Jian Ning meant and quickly replied, "Secretary Jian, please report to Chairman Song for me. I promise to handle this matter within a day."

Jian Ning replied immediately: "Thank you, President Liu! The Weibo account has already suppressed the heat of the matter. Chairman Song doesn't want to see any more topics about internal company conflicts and divisions that waste public resources tomorrow."

Liu Rong was furious. She opened the group notification sent to Tengda Culture's artists: "Everyone must return to the company for a meeting at 9:00 AM tomorrow. No leave is allowed!"

After sending the message, he then messaged Yang Tianzhen privately in the group, asking her to call each artist and contact them again to ensure that the notifications were delivered.

A reply came quickly in the group. Wang Luodan expressed her predicament: "President Liu, I am currently filming on set, and it is really inconvenient for me to ask for leave. In addition, I need to rush back to Beiping tomorrow morning, and the time is too tight."

Liu Rong was furious and coldly replied, forwarding the link: "Anyone who doesn't come to the company by 9 a.m. tomorrow doesn't need to come anymore! Open your eyes wide and take a good look at this news!"

The president's serious words and firm attitude shocked the artists in the group. No one dared to make excuses to be absent and they hurriedly notified their assistants to book the next flight to Beiping.

At that moment, in her dorm room at Beijing Film Academy, Yang Zi was watching a TV series. When she saw the message in the group chat and realized that the CEO was angry, her heart skipped a beat.

He nervously opened the webpage Liu Rong sent him and quickly saw the news report about the richest man being questioned by reporters, which immediately made him panic.

"It's all over!" Yang Zi cried, her face contorted with regret. If she had known she would cause such a big problem, she shouldn't have gotten involved in this mess.

She's practically invisible in the company now, insignificant compared to the status of top actresses like Wang Luodan and Lü Yi.

He Miao noticed her roommate's unusual behavior and, seeing her flustered and anxious expression, asked with concern, "Zi Mei, what's wrong?"

"I'm afraid I'm finished!" Yang Zi said dejectedly, her voice trembling with tears, as she recounted the whole story. "I've caused such a huge mess, I hope I won't be blacklisted and sidelined!"

He Miao didn't have any good ideas for a moment after hearing this: "Why don't you and Zhao Liying discuss it? You two are on the same side, so you have to work together."

"Yes, yes, find Sister Ying!" Yang Zi hurriedly dialed Zhao Liying's number.

Zhao Liying was still filming a night scene on the set of "Legend of Chasing Fish" when she received a call from Yang Zi. It was obvious that it was about that scandal.

The two discussed it on the phone for a long time, but couldn't come up with any good solutions.

“Zi Mei, we can only take it one step at a time tomorrow! In the end, it was Wang Luodan who started this! She was the one who supported Bian Xiaoxiao and publicly criticized you. We were just trying to protect ourselves.” Zhao Liying’s voice was calm amidst the noise of the film set.

Yang Zi's anxious voice trembled: "Sister Ying, what I fear most right now is the truth. If Ying Xiaotian really hit Bian Xiaoxiao, I'll definitely be cursed by netizens until I quit the internet."

"Don't scare yourself. You've only ever disliked Du Chun's actions, but you haven't openly taken sides. It's right to urge everyone to view this matter rationally and wait for the truth to come out."

After ending the call, Yang Zi's mood grew increasingly heavy. He Miao, who was beside her, exclaimed, "Zi-mei, the video has been released!"

"What video?" Yang Zi was preoccupied and didn't react for a moment.

"It's the video from the 'Gunfire' crew. It's trending on social media!"

Yang Zi hurriedly opened Weibo and found that the video that Ying Xiaotian couldn't get and that Yang Zi didn't want to release had been released by a reporter from Toutiao.

Looking at trending topics is like facing Pandora's box; I hesitate to click on them.

After a long while, urged by He Miao, he tremblingly opened the link and nervously started watching the video.

In the video, it is clear that Ying Xiaotian and Bian Xiaoxiao first had a verbal argument, then Bian Xiaoxiao became agitated and seemed to have cursed at Ying Xiaotian, and then Ying Xiaotian pushed Bian Xiaoxiao!

Seeing this, Yang Zi held her breath nervously, her heart pounding in her throat, afraid that she would see Ying Xiaotian make a move at any moment.

Fortunately, although the two tugged at each other a bit and there was some physical contact, and there were obstructions in the footage, it was clear that Ying Xiaotian did not pull Bian Xiaoxiao's hair, and the claim that he hit her was pure nonsense.

Following the surveillance video was footage of reporters interviewing several crew members. All the crew members confirmed that although the two parties had an argument, Ying Xiaotian did not physically assault anyone. The truth of the matter has finally come to light!
"Thank God!" Yang Zi's tense nerves instantly relaxed, she let out a long sigh, and slumped into the chair.

She thought the video was just in time. Now that the truth has been revealed, she is at least on the side of justice and no longer has to live in fear. Tomorrow's company meeting will be a headache for Wang Luodan and Lü Yi!
(Chapter 2 will be a little later)
(End of this chapter)