Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 457 Prepare in advance
The fans were naturally overjoyed at the wedding of the top female star.

While sending heartfelt blessings, everyone spent three consecutive days organizing raffles and sending red envelopes in the group chat, creating a lively and festive atmosphere.

"Isn't today my sister's homecoming banquet?"

"Yeah, yeah, you're really good at keeping us in suspense! Post more wedding photos and videos, those few aren't enough!"

"Honestly, my sister's parents-in-law are so good-looking, no wonder they were able to give birth to such a handsome man as my brother-in-law."

"Except for the uncle, who's a little lacking, my sister's family is absolutely gorgeous!"

"Speaking of which, Zhao Liying is doing well; she even got to be Shishi's bridesmaid. I recently saw some fans on Weibo, so I should at least give them some face."

"When Ma Feng and his family saw Shi Shi in her phoenix coronet and wedding gown, they were probably incredibly jealous."

"Miss, do you have any fresh materials on hand? Why don't you post them so everyone can see? @SuXiaoxiao"

A big fan asked the top female star's assistant, not expecting much of a response, but to their surprise, Su Xiaoxiao directly sent a video to the group chat.

Fans were overjoyed and immediately clicked to take a closer look.

The video is a clip from the wedding ceremony, with soft, melodious music playing under the dazzling crystal chandeliers.

Song Ci and Liu Shishi stood on the main stage in the center of the banquet hall. At this time, the two had changed out of the scholar-official robes and phoenix coronet and embroidered robes and put on light modern dresses.

Song Ci's deep and magnetic voice rang out first, simple and sincere: "Find the sun where there is no wind, and be the warm sun where you are cold."

Liu Shishi turned her head slightly to meet her husband's gaze, her voice clear as a spring: "Life is full of ups and downs, you are always too naive. For the rest of my life, I only want you."

The couple had great chemistry, singing the chorus together with their voices intertwined.

The calm and inclusive nature of Song Dynasty poetry complements Liu Shishi's clear and gentle beauty, much like vines entwining a tall tree, creating a harmonious effect that stirs the heart: "For the rest of my life, the wind and snow will be you... and wherever my eyes fall, it will be you."

The two held hands tightly, a simple gesture that spoke volumes, symbolizing their commitment to walking hand in hand through thick and thin, in good times and bad, in wealth and poverty.

The song lingered, its melody echoing long after the last note faded.

The audience erupted in applause, and the newlyweds, basking in the glow of love, beamed with joy. At this moment, classical solemnity and modern romance blended perfectly, marking the beginning of their lifelong journey together.

The fan group instantly erupted in excitement:

"My sister's husband's gaze is so adorable! It's way too sweet!"

"We have to record this song! Shishi and brother-in-law, hurry up and record this song separately!"

"Shishi's marriage is simply the most ideal example of marrying for love. I really don't know what to say except to envy and offer my blessings."

"These are photos from Shishi's homecoming banquet today." (Image.JPG)
Su Xiaoxiao then posted several more photos of the outfit worn by the top sister on her homecoming.

"Sister, your little yellow dress, paired with those two little flowers in your hair, looks so beautiful!"

"It's lively and playful, with a fresh and sweet vibe."

"Haha, Tangren's Taobao store actually has the same product! I've already placed an order!"

The fan group was already a sea of ​​joy, while on the other side, Liu Shishi and Song Ci finished their homecoming banquet and returned to Jingyuan together.

The butler had been standing at attention and waiting. As soon as the two entered, he stepped forward and said, "Sir and Madam, all the gifts have been sorted and stored properly. Some of the more valuable items have been sent to the bank vault for safekeeping."

"You've worked hard." Song Ci nodded slightly.

The wedding received many gifts, including gold jewelry, jade, antiques, and calligraphy and paintings. It took two whole days just to count and register them.

On the living room sofa, Liu Shishi noticed her husband constantly flipping through a document and curiously leaned over to ask, "What's this? You haven't put it down since you got back."

Song Ci closed the document and explained with a smile, "It's an island title deed. Yong Ge and Jing Jie are so thoughtful; they bought an island in New Zealand together as a wedding gift for us."

"An island?" Liu Shishi's eyes lit up, and she immediately took the document and flipped through it. "Pakatoa Island in New Zealand, priced at 4000 million US dollars, is located in the Hauraki Gulf on the eastern part of New Zealand's North Island."

“The island has 24 beachfront cottages and 38 hillside villas, and it also has complete facilities such as a golf course and tennis courts. It’s a great place for a vacation and relaxation. Why don’t we go there for our honeymoon?” Song Ci suggested.

"No!" Liu Shishi shook her head, her tone slightly insistent. "Since it's our own island, we can go anytime."

You promised me you'd take me to see the Northern Lights in Iceland, to see the Great Migration in Africa, to go diving in the Maldives, and to ski in the Alps...

Watching his wife count off on her fingers as if reciting a familiar story, her eyes filled with anticipation for the future, Song Ci reached out and embraced her slender waist, placing a gentle kiss on the top of her head.

"I'll go with you. We have a long life ahead of us, let's take it slow."

Liu Shishi snuggled closer to her husband, cuddling tenderly for a while before looking up and asking, "Are you going back to work tomorrow?"

"Yeah, there's a lot going on at the beginning of the year. Let's go on a proper honeymoon after we're done with this busy period, okay?"

Liu Shishi smiled and nodded, reaching out to wrap her arms around his neck: "Alright, my man, of course, important matters come first!"

On January 4, Song Ci returned to Tengda Group after her honeymoon and resumed her work.

Inside the office, he was reviewing a pile of documents when his secretary, Jian Ning, pushed open the door and entered, followed by a middle-aged man.

"Chairman Song, Engineer Xiao has arrived."

Song Ci looked up and stood up: "Engineer Xiao is here, please have a seat. Jian Ning, make Engineer Xiao a cup of tea."

"Thank you, Chairman." Xiao Jianguang, Chief Technology Officer of Tenda Group's Cloud Computing Center, sat down at his desk somewhat awkwardly.

Although he was already a top technical backbone of the group, he had not met with this big boss many times, and was inevitably a little reserved.

“Engineer Xiao, the last time we met was when the leader was inspecting the area,” Song said in a friendly tone, her eyes filled with concern. “You look even thinner these days.”

"Working is important, but you also need to take care of your health." In his eyes, these top technical talents are invaluable assets to the group.

Xiao Jianguang straightened his expression and replied, "Don't worry, I actually feel more energetic after losing weight. It's just a pity that I'll probably gain it all back after the New Year."

After a few pleasantries, Song Ci got down to business: "Engineer Xiao, I've invited you here today because there's something I need to discuss with you."

"Please speak," Xiao Jianguang immediately sat up straight, his expression becoming focused.

"In June 2011, the 12306 website launched online train ticket sales. Now that smartphones are widely used, the railway department plans to develop the 12306 APP."

Song Ci slowly explained, "The development of this app will likely be open to bidding from software companies nationwide. I hope we can prepare in advance and make sure we win this contract."

Xiao Jianguang's expression hardened, and he immediately pressed, "Chairman Song, when is the bidding process approximately? How long is the development cycle?"

Song Ci lowered his voice slightly: "I have definite information that after March, the railway department will be split into railway bureaus and the China Railway Corporation, implementing the separation of government and enterprise. This work will be carried out by the newly established railway company, the bidding should be in April, and the APP must be launched before the Spring Festival travel rush begins in December."

"Railway restructuring?!" Xiao Jianguang exclaimed in surprise, his heart pounding with shock. He never imagined that such a behemoth would be split up.

"Just keep this to yourself; there's no need to announce it to anyone," Song Ci instructed. "The cloud computing center can start preparing the tender for the app development."

Xiao Jianguang nodded and replied, "Understood."

"This ticketing system app is a very large-scale and highly complex system, and its development difficulty is far beyond that of ordinary internet applications," Song Ci added. "I will coordinate with whichever departments you need to cooperate with."

Xiao Jianguang lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then looked up with a determined look in his eyes: "Chairman Song, I'm not bragging, but the core of the development of the 12306 APP lies in the support of powerful cloud computing technology."

If Tenda can't secure the deal, no other company in China can, not even Alibaba. Our only real competitor is ourselves.

He is very confident in the company's cloud computing technology capabilities. Currently, only Amazon can rival Tenda Group globally, and there is no domestic company that can match it.

Song Ci reminded him: "Xiao, it's good to have confidence, but Alibaba has also built up some technical foundation in the field of cloud computing in the past two years. We still need to be on high alert and not let our guard down."

Xiao Jianguang remained confident: "Chairman Song, the cloud computing center previously conducted a concurrent stress test specifically for the Spring Festival travel rush."

During the Spring Festival travel rush, 12306's daily page views can reach 800 billion, and at its peak, it processes 1000 ticket issuance requests per second. This traffic is dozens of times that of Alibaba's Double Eleven.

This level of pressure requires the system to have millisecond-level response capabilities, and currently, only our company in China can achieve this.

Song Ci nodded, thought for a moment, and then said, "Extremely high concurrency processing is only one of the core challenges. The computational complexity of train seats is also of paramount importance."

A train that stops at 17 stations requires managing over 400 different ticket combinations. Selling a short-distance ticket necessitates simultaneously updating the availability of tickets for all subsequent routes, resulting in an exponentially increasing computational workload. All these details must be meticulously considered.

Xiao Jianguang calmly replied, "What you're talking about is essentially a matter of dynamic inventory management and data consistency. This can definitely be handled during APP development, don't worry."

"Then I'll leave this matter to Mr. Xiao. Also, security and anti-cheating measures must be watertight."

Seeing the chief cloud computing expert's confidence, Song Ci gave him one last piece of advice and said no more. He knew Xiao Jianguang well; he was not one to make empty promises.

After securing the development rights for 12306, he was able to negotiate with the railway company to open a WeChat channel for purchasing train tickets.

WeChat has already integrated utility and phone bill payment functions. Once it also integrates train and plane ticket purchase channels, it will basically cover all high-frequency and essential scenarios for the public, continuously strengthening its ecosystem. At that time, WeChat's position in the mobile payment field will be as solid as a rock.

After seeing Xiao Jianguang off, Song Ci's office was soon visited by COO Wang Jing and WeChat President Wu Yi.

"Chairman Song, the recruitment of partners for the Spring Festival Gala WeChat red envelope campaign has been completed." Wu Yi reported while handing the project materials to the chairman with both hands.

Song Ci took the document, lowered her eyes to flip through it, and asked, "Which companies won the red envelopes during the three prime-time hours?"

Wang Jing explained from the side: "JD.com is at 9 o'clock, Haier is at 10 o'clock, and China Mobile is at 11 o'clock. In addition, JD.com has also bought three months of advertising space in the WeChat nine-square grid."

Song Ci chuckled lightly: "Brother Dong has really gone all out this time."

Wang Jing lamented, "What JD.com needs most right now is traffic; its monthly active users just can't seem to get going."

After Alibaba launched Tmall Supermarket, JD.com's disadvantages became more apparent. We definitely need to continuously drive traffic to compete with Taobao and Tmall.

"Dong Ge's move was brilliant. The combination of WeChat red envelopes during the Spring Festival Gala and the traffic generated by the nine-square grid perfectly complements JD.com's New Year's shopping festival, creating a mutually beneficial relationship."

Song Ci, with a clear understanding of the situation, immediately changed the subject, "President Wang, has the date for the group's year-end performance review meeting been set?"

"It's not finalized yet; we're waiting for your arrangements."

Song Ci calculated the days on his fingers and immediately made a decision: "Let's set it for the last three days of the month."

"Okay," Wang Jing replied. "I'll have the General Office issue a notice right away."

While Song Ci was engrossed in her work, Liu Shishi was also busy. Both of them had their own careers to attend to, and neither of them would hold the other back.

At this moment, the eldest sister was lazily nestled on the living room sofa, making a phone call. Although her voice sounded a bit tired, she looked great.

Her cheeks were flushed with a natural blush, clearly a result of being well-nourished during her honeymoon.

Cai Yinong's voice, brimming with envy, came through the receiver: "Shishi, the box office of 'Lost in Thailand' is terrifying!"

From Christmas to yesterday, exactly ten days after its release, the film has grossed 5.2 million yuan, with a single-day box office exceeding 1.1 million yuan on New Year's Day, directly breaking the record for the highest single-day box office for a domestic film.

The current prediction is that the total box office may reach 14 billion.

Upon hearing this, Liu Shishi immediately beamed with joy.

She has a 30% share in "Lost in Thailand". If the box office really reaches 14 billion, this movie could net her 180 million.

Cai Yinong, though envious, quickly got back to the point: "Shishi, could you come to the company in the next couple of days? There are some things I need to discuss with you in person."

"what's up?"

"The movie 'Silent Notes,' which Daylight Entertainment filmed for you, has a tentative release date. Hou Hongliang and Kong Sheng would like to talk to you about the details and publicity."

Liu Shishi instantly perked up. She had high hopes for "Silent Notebook," and both she and her teacher, Li Xuejian, were hoping to win awards with this drama.

Which channel will broadcast it? When is it scheduled?

"It will be broadcast on CCTV-1 on January 19th as the opening drama of the year."

“Okay!” Liu Shishi’s expression turned serious. “I’ll fly to Donghai tomorrow. We can discuss the details at the company.”

“Okay, then I’ll have Hou Hongliang and Kong Sheng come to Tangren tomorrow afternoon.” Cai Yinong agreed, and then continued, “The second thing is that Xu Zheng wants to talk to you about collaborating on the new film.”

Liu Shishi was taken aback: "Lost in Thailand hasn't even finished its run in theaters yet, and he's already busy preparing for a new film?"

Cai Yinong remarked, "Now he's the second director in the industry to reach the billion-dollar mark, he's incredibly popular, and countless film and television companies are lining up to invest in his films."

The script has already been sent to the company; it's called "Breakup Buddies," and it's his forte—the road comedy.

"Then go ahead and throw it."

“This time the situation is different.” Cai Yinong paused. “Breakup Buddies isn’t like Lost on Journey back then; they don’t lack investment now!”

"I understand." Liu Shishi nodded slowly, fully aware of the situation.

Xu Zheng's movies are profitable, and she has no shortage of investors. They are even willing to involve her, simply because they value her influence on Tengda.

It seems that this movie, "Breakup Buddies," will definitely be a subject of much discussion.

(End of this chapter)