Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 464 Money-Making Weapon
Four days had passed since Song Ci's meeting with the presidents of the four major state-owned banks on January 19th.

As dusk fell, inside the Jingyuan Private Residence.

Song Ci had just finished dinner and was about to go for a walk with Liu Shishi as usual, but she stopped him.

"Yi-yi, my new drama 'Silent Recording' premieres tonight. Will you watch TV with me?"

Song Ci was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and asked, "This drama is airing today? This is your first serious drama, of course I have to watch it!"

Liu Shishi nodded her head, her voice filled with a mixture of anticipation and trepidation: "It will be broadcast during prime time on CCTV-8, but I don't know if the audience will like it."

While holding his wife's slender waist, Song Ci encouraged her, "With your popularity and the consistently reliable production quality of Daylight Entertainment, I think the ratings for 'Silent Notes' will be pretty good."

Liu Shishi turned on the TV, snuggled into her husband's arms, a slight smile in her eyes, and said half-jokingly:

"Screenwriter Song is a well-known hit-maker; he's never failed before. I'm just afraid that I won't act well and will ruin the screenwriter's reputation."

Song Ci gently held his wife's soft hand and said earnestly, "Ratings and such mean nothing to me. As long as you're happy."

As the couple were enjoying their tender moment, several commercials finished playing on the television screen, and the opening theme of "Silent Shorthand" began.

Scenes of the Republican era flashed by, revealing glimpses of the plot, which even piqued the interest of Song Ci, the original screenwriter.

As the main feature began, Liu Shishi sat up a little straighter and began to appreciate the work she had high hopes for.

The opening scene is set in a mountain city in 1942.

Liu Shishi plays Song Hongling, who is pregnant and is attending an important meeting of the Kuomintang's top leadership, serving as a stenographer next to President Chang.

Seeing his wife dressed as a pregnant woman, Song Ci couldn't help but smile: "This is also a way for you to experience what it's like to be a mother-to-be in advance."

Upon hearing this, Liu Shishi frowned slightly and asked softly, "Yiyi, why hasn't my belly shown any signs of pregnancy?"

She hadn't used any protection when she was intimate with Song Ci recently, but she still hadn't gotten pregnant. In addition, there were some negative news about her infertility online, which made her a little worried.

The Song family has trillions of dollars in wealth, and she feels that she must give her husband a son or daughter, otherwise she can't even get past her own conscience.

Song Ci noticed Liu Shishi's nervousness and gently stroked her back to comfort her:
"What's the rush? The chance of a young couple conceiving naturally each month is only about 20%. We're both healthy, so you could get pregnant at any time."

Maybe you're already pregnant, but it's too early to tell yet.

"Really?" Upon hearing this, Liu Shishi's face instantly lit up with a gentle maternal glow, and she subconsciously touched her flat stomach.

But she quickly realized what was going on, and gently punched her husband with her little fist, then said with a coquettish tone, "You're just trying to fool me. I just had my period, how could I possibly be pregnant?"

"That might be next month."

Liu Shishi rested her head on her husband's shoulder and sighed softly, "Yiyi, if I can't have children... sob sob..."

"Stop!" Song Ci quickly covered Liu Shishi's mouth. "I'm in a good mood lately and don't want to hear these discouraging words."

Besides, I'm only 25 years old, and I'm not in a hurry to have children. Shishi, don't overthink it. Just watch TV.

Liu Shishi composed herself, stopped thinking about it, and turned her gaze back to the television screen.

In the drama, Song Hongling uses her pregnancy as a cover to hide confidential information in the prescription for a pregnancy-stabilizing medicine, and takes advantage of the opportunity to get the medicine to contact her superior, Lu Chengyu.

Li Xuejian plays Lu Chengyu, whose ostensible identity is the manager of a department store under the Kong family business. Based on information provided by Song Hongling, he uses medicinal herb purchase orders to cover up the contents of the intelligence. The plot unfolds layer by layer, with each event linked to the next.

Although the spies had some doubts about Song Hongling's identity, they could only monitor her secretly because of her special status.

"This child is the spark of revolution, and also my talisman." As Song Hongling recited her lines, the first episode of "Silent Shorthand" came to a close.

"Honey, how was my acting?" Liu Shishi's eyes sparkled.

"Very good." Song Ci nodded slightly, offering a fair assessment. Liu Shishi's performance in the drama so far has been commendable; she held her own against Li Xuejian in their scenes together, clearly demonstrating the hard work she has put in.

After saying that, he seemed to suddenly remember something and asked with a light laugh, "By the way, when exactly do I appear?"

He had a cameo role in "Silent Notebook". When he visited the set of the film "Jinling", everyone urged him to appear on screen and play Song Hongling's husband.

This character works at the East China Sea Railway Bureau and is also a member of the underground Communist Party. He was separated from his wife in the early stages due to the war.

After the victory of the War of Resistance against Japan in the later stages, he stayed in Donghai to work, and he and Song Hongling, who returned to Nanjing, still saw each other less and less, and could only relieve their longing through occasional phone calls and letters.

However, he only had one scene in the entire series, and most of his scenes were dubbed.

Thinking of her husband's cameo appearance, Liu Shishi's lips curled into a beautiful smile: "I specifically asked Director Kong, and he said it's a long way off! You'll only appear in the final episode, 'A Million Soldiers Crossing the Yangtze River'."

"Remember to remind me about the finale."

"Is Mr. Song so impatient to see himself on screen?"

Song Ci's smile deepened: "After all, it's my first time on camera, so I'm a little excited. Do you think this counts as my official debut?"

"I won't allow you to debut!" Liu Shishi leaned closer and planted a hickey on his neck. "If my husband's face debuted, wouldn't he be bewitching all the young girls? Here's my mark on you!"

Song Ci was both angry and amused. Even though Miss Liu and he had been married for a long time, she still occasionally got jealous like this.

The couple's affection deepened amidst their playful bickering, and soon the second episode began.

Wan Qian's character, Lu Xingyao, inadvertently discovers that her father may have a special identity, but does not investigate further.

In an accident, Song Hongling and Lu Chengyu's superior sacrificed himself to protect intelligence, and the two lost contact with the organization.

When Kuomintang officer Jia Zhiqian (played by Wang Kai) was investigating the cause of death of an underground worker, he turned his suspicions toward Lu Chengyu. Therefore, he deliberately approached Lu Xingyao in an attempt to extract information from her.

The plot is full of twists and turns and is very suspenseful. Liu Shishi watched it with great interest: "I didn't realize it when we were filming, but the finished product is really good."

At this moment, she had more confidence in the ratings of "Silent Notebook" and felt that the show had the potential to be a huge hit.

As the end credits rolled, the two-episode premiere quickly came to an end, and it was already past nine o'clock in the evening.

Song Ci casually praised the drama series, then got up to stretch his limbs: "I'm going to exercise."

"Mmm!" Liu Shishi responded, taking out her phone to check online reviews of the series. The next second, her eyes widened in surprise, and she exclaimed softly, "It's trending right after it finished airing!"

The top trending topics were clearly visible:
1. The first episode of "Silent Records" aired.

2. Liu Shishi's first leading role in a serious drama.

3. Liu Shishi, pregnant stenographer

. . .

Seven out of the top ten trending topics were related to "Silent Memoirs"! The entire list was practically dominated by topics related to the film!
Liu Shishi was overjoyed and excitedly clicked on the first topic; the comment section was already bustling with activity.
"Shishi's acting was really good. The pregnant woman look was surprisingly fitting, and she had an iron will hidden beneath her delicate appearance!"

"'Spy Rose'! There are no bullets, no leaping across rooftops, just a pen and a prescription to transmit intelligence. Silence speaks louder than words. It made my palms sweat."

"I'm blown away by this female perspective! Finally, a drama series focuses on the female revolutionaries who silently dedicated themselves and even sacrificed themselves in the cracks of history and in special positions! Their intelligence work was equally thrilling and invaluable."

"Completely different from hardcore male-centric spy dramas like 'Lurking' and 'Cliff,' yet it's in no way inferior! 'Silent Records' has opened up a new track!"

"The details are meticulous, the plot is cleverly designed, Li Xuejian is as steady as a rock, and Shishijie's acting skills have also made great breakthroughs. It is a very good drama and deserves a five-star rating."

. . .

The comments section was mostly positive, with only a few criticisms interspersed occasionally. Liu Shishi ignored them, after all, she wasn't a hundred-dollar bill, how could she please everyone?

At this moment, she was overwhelmed with emotion. The affirmation of her acting breakthrough and the praise for the female perspective and unique narrative style in the play were like a warm current, instantly dispelling all her previous unease.

Just then, the cell phone on the coffee table suddenly rang, and the name "Hou Hongliang" appeared on the screen.

Liu Shishi took a deep breath to calm her excitement, swiped the screen and answered: "Hello, President Hou."

"Mr. Liu! 'Silent Shorthand' is a huge hit! A massive, phenomenal success!"

On the other end of the phone, Hou Hongliang's voice was so loud it almost pierced the receiver, filled with uncontrollable ecstasy and excitement.

Liu Shishi couldn't contain her eagerness: "The ratings are out?"

Hou Hongliang's tone suddenly rose: "Freshly released! The average premiere ratings for the first two episodes exceeded 3%! The peak ratings reached 3.4%! The viewership share was 16%, firmly securing the national prime-time viewership champion!"

Liu Shishi was overjoyed; the viewership rating was 3%, the highest for a drama to start the year! A truly phenomenal start!

When she first saw the trending topic, she guessed that the premiere's performance wouldn't be bad, but she never expected it to be this good! This is almost one of the best results for a premiere drama on CCTV's prime time slot in the past three years.

Hou Hongliang's voice was a little hoarse from excitement, but he still spoke very quickly: "The data from Toutiao Video hasn't all come out yet, but the online viewership has exploded! The word-of-mouth has completely exploded!"

Have you read the comments? They're all praising our unique perspective, the vivid portrayal of female revolutionaries, the ingenious plot, the tight pacing, and the excellent performances of the entire cast!

Especially you, Mr. Liu! You've brought the character of Song Hongling to life! The audience has given you exceptionally high praise, saying your performance has improved tremendously, showing depth and nuance!

He continued to report the good news in rapid succession: "The station leaders are overjoyed, and advertisers are calling non-stop, all urging us to increase our investment!"
"Mr. Liu, your first serious drama has been a resounding success!"

"Okay, okay!" Liu Shishi held her phone, her heart filled with mixed emotions. All the effort, anxiety, and anticipation she had put in before had transformed into immense joy and satisfaction at this moment.

She couldn't help but feel a little proud. Following Longkui, Ruoxi, and Yu'er, she now had another representative work!

With this serious drama as her foundation, she is now the undisputed number one actress on the small screen. Let's see how her rivals' fans will continue to subtly criticize her for only acting in period dramas.

Silent all night.

The next morning, Song Ci went to the company to work overtime.

Inside the office, Jiang Yuwei, president of the mobile game division, was busy reporting: "...Chairman Song, that's the latest operational status of the two mobile games, 'Puzzle & Dragons' and 'Temple Run'."

Song Ci listened to the data and nodded in satisfaction.

As expected of a well-known money-making game in the industry, its monthly revenue reaches a staggering 5000 million US dollars, which is truly a considerable sum.

"Oh, right," he suddenly remembered something, "has there been any result regarding the matter I asked you to do last time?"

Jiang Yuwei straightened his expression and replied hesitantly, "I'm sorry, Chairman Song, the other party completed its financing last January and is not short of funds at present. Moreover..."

Before she could finish speaking, Song Ci frowned and hurriedly asked, "Mihoyo has received funding? How is that possible?"

He clearly remembered that miHoYo had only upgraded from a studio to a game company in February 2012, and the sales of "Honkai Impact 3rd", which was launched in October of the same year, were mediocre.

According to the timeline, they should be developing "Honkai Impact 2" right now, which is a stage where they are short of funds and struggling to make progress.

“Chairman Song, miHoYo did indeed raise funds, and the investor was Madam.” Jiang Yuwei secretly glanced at the chairman.

He thought to himself: This couple is really something. They both have their eyes on the same game company and are vying to invest, but they haven't even communicated with each other yet.

Upon hearing this, Song Ci was stunned, her face filled with disbelief: "Shishi has invested in miHoYo?"

He quickly recalled that his wife had indeed mentioned investing in a game studio last year, but he hadn't paid much attention to it at the time. He never imagined that it would become the famous miHoYo.

He immediately looked puzzled. Although his wife's success was accidental, she had won big in Pop Mart and miHoYo games, and her future net worth would certainly be considerable, probably second only to his own.

Composing himself, he continued, "Since it was Shishi who submitted it, you don't need to worry about it. Take a look at these documents first."

As he spoke, he handed several documents from his desk to his subordinate.

Jiang Yuwei took the documents with both hands and immediately began to read them. "Clash of Clans," "Monster Strike," "Onmyoji," and "Destiny's Will"—these were four game design proposals.

After Jiang Yuwei finished reading, Song Ci instructed, "The mobile game department can establish four studios to develop these games."

The four games he handed over to Jiang Yuwei were all renowned money-making masterpieces from his previous life, consistently ranking among the top in global mobile game revenue charts.

Now that he has gotten there first, it will naturally add fuel to the fire of Tengda Technology's profits.

“Okay, Chairman Song.” Jiang Yuwei gently stroked the cover of the proposal, as if touching a priceless treasure.

The game that the chairman is taking so seriously must be a potential blockbuster that rivals Puzzle & Dragons and Temple Run.

(End of this chapter)