Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 470 Alliance Against Teng and Public Prejudice (Part 2)

On the first day of the Lunar New Year, at the headquarters of Alibaba Group in Hangzhou.

Inside the office, Ma Jieke stared at the data report in his hand, his face so gloomy it looked like it was about to drip water, and gritted his teeth as he said, "Pearl Harbor has been attacked."

Last night, when WeChat launched its "shake for red envelopes" feature during the Spring Festival Gala, he had a premonition that something bad was about to happen. This morning, he rushed to the office, and upon seeing the estimated data, he still felt dizzy and lightheaded.

Ma Jieke looked serious as he pondered how to deal with the increasingly powerful Tengda, when Cai Zhongxin knocked on the door and entered in a hurry.

As soon as he entered the office, he couldn't wait to ask, "Jack, how did the WeChat red envelopes go last night?"

"Take a look for yourself." Ma Jie shook his head and handed over the report.

Cai Zhongxin hurriedly took it, his eyes quickly scanning it, and his pupils shrank slightly, his face filled with disbelief: "WeChat has added 4800 million new users!"
The total number of WeChat users has almost reached the limit of the number of smartphones in China! Over 12 billion WeChat red envelopes have been sent, and the number of users with linked bank cards has exceeded 6000 million! These figures are terrifying!

Ma Jieke couldn't help but exclaim: "Users have been sending WeChat red envelopes non-stop since last night. The level of enthusiasm is unprecedented. Tengda has won big this time!"
The key point is that the perks they gave to the audience during the Spring Festival Gala were all funded by sponsors like JD.com and Haier; that was a brilliant move.

Cai Zhongxin pulled out a chair and slowly sat down: "Jack, I got some news last night when I was wishing the leaders of ICBC a Happy New Year, and I was just about to tell you."

He paused, then said in a deep voice, "Tengda has reached an agreement with ICBC and will launch a WeChat version of 'Yu'ebao' after the New Year."

“It’s finally here.” Ma Jieke nodded slightly, his expression calm. “I knew this day would come when Song Ci met with the heads of the four major banks before the New Year.”

WeChat's balance pool far exceeds Alipay's; Tenda can't just leave such a large sum of money unused; they'll definitely make use of it.

He then gave a wry smile: "Alipay has been used as a pawn, taking the first wave of anger from the four major banks on behalf of Tenda."

If he still can't see through Tengda's strategy now, he'd be incredibly stupid. From the moment Yu'ebao was launched, Tengda has been pushing things along every step of the way.

Cai Zhongxin sighed: "WeChat Pay is gaining momentum, while Alipay is showing signs of decline."

To retain users, we can only use the returns from Yu'ebao to keep them engaged, but doing so will inevitably infringe on the interests of banks and lead to sanctions. Tenda's move is a calculated, open scheme!

At this moment, Ma Jieke took out his phone and quickly scrolled through WeChat Moments. Last night, in order to personally experience Tengda's Spring Festival Gala activities, he had specially registered a WeChat account, and the content he had inadvertently seen earlier made his heart sink.

“Chongxin, look!” Ma Jieke pointed at a post on WeChat Moments and turned the screen toward Cai Zhongxin. “This is the real threat!”

Cai Zhongxin took a closer look and his brows furrowed suddenly: "This is a 'nine-grid recommendation' for JD.com from WeChat Moments!"

Ma Jieke nodded and put down his phone: "The nine-square grid is WeChat's 'golden advertising space,' a strategic resource of Tenda."

This special opening to JD.com, coupled with the promotional effect of WeChat's red envelope campaign last night, will undoubtedly lead to an explosive growth in JD.com's user base, significantly impacting Taobao and Tmall.

"Traffic, it all comes down to traffic! That's what e-commerce is lacking!" Cai Zhongxin sighed.

"Tengda, relying on its social barriers, controls more than half of the internet's traffic channels. It can easily support or suppress whomever it wants."

There was a moment of silence in the office. Ma Jieke's expression was inscrutable, clearly indicating that he was weighing his options intensely.

After a long while, he slowly raised his head, his eyes filled with determination, and solemnly said, "Chongxin, Tengda is now heavily supporting JD.com, and we cannot let it grow stronger. I have decided to restart the 'Baidu-Alibaba Alliance'."

Cai Zhongxin hesitated, but ultimately swallowed back the words of advice that were on the tip of his tongue.

Tenda has already built a super closed-loop ecosystem of "social + content + payment", and has almost monopolized all core tracks.

Other companies that want to survive can only band together for warmth, but each has its own interests to consider, so such alliances are only expedient measures and are ultimately difficult to sustain.

"To break through the current situation, we must build an anti-Tencent alliance with 'traffic + data + scenarios' as the core."

Ma Jieke spoke solemnly and without hesitation, immediately opening his phone's contacts and dialing Li Yanhong's number from Baidu.

The call was answered quickly, and a strong voice came through the receiver: "Mr. Ma, Happy New Year! What brings you here today, contacting me on your own initiative?"

Ma Jieke didn't mind Li Yanhong's teasing and chuckled in response: "President Li, Happy New Year! It's just that Tengda's red envelope craze has swept all the way from Beijing to Hangzhou. The north wind is blowing south, sweeping across the whole country!"

Li Yanhong was silent for a few seconds before speaking: "Mr. Ma, please speak frankly."

Ma Jieke's expression hardened, and he went straight to the point: "President Li, Alibaba plans to resume placing keyword ads on Baidu with hundreds of millions of yuan in revenue!"

They will also embed traffic entrances from Taobao and Tmall into Baidu search pages, with landing pages redirecting to 'Etao.com', forming a traffic relay station.

In his vision, Alibaba would act as a "traffic wholesaler," taking over Baidu's search traffic and then distributing it to small and medium-sized sellers, thereby cutting off JD.com's search traffic source.

As a seasoned businessman, Li Yanhong never acts without first gaining something, so she immediately retorted, "Then what can Baidu gain?"

Ma Jieke had already prepared his price: "Baidu search privileges allow access to Alibaba's content, thereby obtaining valuable consumption records."

“Not enough.” Li Yanhong seized the opportunity to raise the price. “We need to bundle Alipay and Baidu Wallet together, so users can use Baidu Wallet to pay when shopping on Taobao…”

Before he could finish speaking, Ma Jieke vehemently refused, "Impossible!"

E-commerce payment scenarios are the foundation of Alipay's survival and the core of Alibaba Group's mobile payment business; there is absolutely no way Alipay will share even a fraction of them.

Li Yanhong said quietly, "Mr. Ma, if Alibaba doesn't show some sincerity, I'm afraid it will be difficult for us to continue our cooperation."

"Mr. Li, let's change the terms." After much deliberation, Ma Jieke decided to be frank. "I have a piece of advice for you: Baidu should just give up on mobile payment!"
WeChat Pay is supported by social networking, Alipay has e-commerce as its backing, but Baidu simply lacks corresponding application scenarios. Even if they pay several times the price to acquire customers, success is not guaranteed.

Instead of wasting a lot of money, it's better to choose a niche market to break into. Currently, food delivery and ride-hailing are promising sub-sectors.

After a long while, a slightly weak voice came from the phone receiver: "Thank you, Mr. Ma. I will consider it carefully."

The negotiations seemed to have reached a stalemate.

Just as Ma Jieke was pondering what conditions he could use to persuade Li Yanhong, the other party took the initiative to make a new request.

"Mr. Ma, Baidu can package its search traffic to Alibaba, but in the field of cloud computing, we hope to cooperate with Alibaba. Baidu plans to enter the cloud service market."

“Okay.” This time, Ma Jieke did not refuse.

Tenda Group's cloud computing technology is among the world's best. If Alibaba wants to catch up, it needs to cooperate with large companies like Baidu, which have accumulated technological expertise, in order to achieve innovative breakthroughs.

“Great!” Li Yanhong was overjoyed and extended an invitation, “When would you be free, Mr. Ma, to come to Beiping? We can discuss this in person.”

Ma Jieke mentally calculated the schedule: "See you at the end of the month."

The national conference will be held in Beijing in March. As a member of the consultative conference, he was supposed to go to Beijing to attend the conference, and he also had to visit several leaders a few days in advance. He was ready to leave at the end of the month.

"I will definitely prepare a warm welcome."

The two chatted for a few more minutes, discussing how to divide up territory and join forces to fight against Tengda in the ride-hailing and food delivery businesses, before ending the call.

Cai Zhongxin listened to the entire conversation between the two and couldn't help but chuckle: "This Li Yanhong used to scoff at cloud computing, but now that Tenda Cloud Computing has jumped to second place in the world, he can't sit still anymore and wants to leverage Alibaba's strength to make a move."

With the traffic support from Baidu, Ma Jie felt a little relieved, his brows relaxed, and his tone became more confident: "I have never been against technological cooperation."

In the business world, there are no permanent allies, only permanent competition. In cloud computing collaborations, whoever benefits depends entirely on their own capabilities.

“That’s right, who will profit depends on each company’s methods,” Cai Zhongxin echoed, then immediately changed the subject, “Jack, how about we consider joining forces with Penguin as well…”

Before he could finish speaking, Ma waved his hand and said, "No need! If Alibaba and Baidu join forces, Tengda might not take it seriously; but if they join forces with Tencent, they will definitely be targeted by Tengda."

Social networking is Tenda's most valued competitive advantage; anyone who dares to touch it will be seen as a thorn in its side.

Currently, Tencent's WeChat dominates the mobile market, while Tencent's QQ dominates the PC market, maintaining a delicate balance. There's no need for us to get involved.

“I understand.” Cai Zhongxin thought for a moment and understood Ma Jieke’s concerns. Social networking was Tengda’s Achilles’ heel, and at the moment, Tengda was at its zenith. No company in China dared to easily touch its sensitive nerve.

At the same time, at Baidu's headquarters in Beiping.

Li Yanhong put down her phone, looked at Wang Jin, the Baidu Vice President of Technology, sitting opposite her, and said with a light laugh:
"It's like finding a needle in a haystack, only to have it come to us effortlessly. With Alibaba's support, the company's cloud computing technology should be able to achieve a breakthrough soon."

Upon hearing this, Wang Jin breathed a sigh of relief, the pressure on his shoulders immediately lessening considerably. Since Tenda released its annual report at the end of last month, Baidu officially decided to fully enter the cloud computing field, with him taking the lead and overall responsibility.

However, cloud computing is not something that can be developed at will; it requires extremely deep technical accumulation. Tenda Group has been working in this field for eight years to achieve its current success, while Baidu has neither technical reserves nor relevant talent in this area.

Just when he was troubled and at his wit's end, he didn't expect that Baidu could reach a cooperation with Alibaba and receive support in the field of cloud computing, so he wouldn't have to worry too much about the initial stage.

"Mr. Li, I've been thinking about cloud computing lately and have done a lot of market research. I have some ideas."

"Tell me quickly." Li Yanhong sat up slightly, her expression becoming focused.

Wang Jin organized his thoughts and explained in detail: "I have found that whether it is Tenda or foreign companies such as Amazon and Microsoft, the application of cloud computing is currently concentrated on enterprise users, and the field of personal cloud services has been generally neglected."

"Individual users!" Li Yanhong's eyes lit up. "You think there's a market for personal cloud services?"

"Yes!" Wang Jin's response was resounding. "Individual users actually have a very strong demand for cloud services."

For example, documents edited on a computer can be automatically synced to mobile phones and tablets, and offline viewing is also supported;
Photos, videos, and contacts on your phone can be backed up to the cloud in real time, preventing permanent data loss due to device loss or replacement.

The essence of personal cloud services is to gradually penetrate into the entire chain of users' digital lives, starting with storage.

Whether you're a working professional, a student, a family user, or a creator or developer, you can't do without these kinds of services.

After listening to his subordinate's analysis of personal cloud computing application scenarios, Li Yanhong fell into deep thought.

After a long pause, he spoke with a hint of regret: "Competing in a different market segment might not be a bad way out."

Tenda has been deeply involved in the enterprise cloud field for many years and holds a leading position throughout Asia. Baidu, having entered the market too late, indeed finds it difficult to compete. Specializing in personal cloud services might truly open up a new market segment.

Having made a decision, he immediately declared, "Wang Jin, we'll go with your plan. The company and I will fully support you. We'll provide the funds and personnel you need, and we hope you can achieve results as soon as possible."

With the chairman's full support, Wang Jin was instantly invigorated: "President Li, the first step in developing cloud computing is to set up large-scale data centers, which is a heavy asset investment."

My plan is to first deploy 10,000 servers in Yangquan..."

Li Yanhong raised her hand to interrupt him: "Since I promised to give my full support, I won't go back on my word. Just submit a report on how much funding you need, and I'll approve it immediately."

Wang Jin was overjoyed. Although the company sometimes lacked execution and had a vague strategic positioning, Li Yanhong, as the helmsman, had no shortage of the necessary courage.

After discussing the personal cloud service, Wang Jin was about to get up and leave when Li Yanhong suddenly asked, "Now that WeChat Pay and Alipay have become a duopoly, do you think it's still necessary for Baidu to develop mobile payment?"

Wang Jin glanced at the chairman, unsure of his true thoughts, and hesitated for a moment, not daring to speak rashly.

"Don't hold back, tell me your thoughts," Li Yanhong urged, adding, "I want to hear the truth."

After a moment's hesitation, Wang Jin cautiously suggested, "Mr. Li, I personally suggest abandoning Baidu Wallet."

"What's the reason?"

Seeing that Li Yanhong's expression remained normal, Wang Jin gritted his teeth and decided to speak his mind for the sake of the company's development: "President Li, there are many reasons. First of all, the company entered the market too late and has already missed the first-mover advantage."

Secondly, compared to Tencent and Alibaba, Baidu lacks core transaction scenarios. Alipay is tied to Taobao's e-commerce transactions, while WeChat Pay relies on social red envelopes and offline QR code payments, both of which have natural high-frequency scenarios to support them.

Li Yanhong felt a mix of emotions. Ma Jieke had just said something similar to him, but hearing it from his subordinate now brought a completely different feeling.

Follow-up question: "Are there any other reasons?"

“Yes,” Wang Jin replied. “Baidu’s products are mainly for information consumption, so it’s difficult for users to establish a trust relationship between ‘search accounts’ and ‘financial payments’.”

In addition, some of the company's products, such as iQiyi, Tieba, and financial products, have separate accounts, and the data cannot be integrated.

Alipay and WeChat Pay allow users to manage their money across multiple scenarios using a single account; nobody would use a search app to manage their finances!

Wang Jin felt this was a rare opportunity, so he decided to explain it more thoroughly.

He has always believed that the company's development of mobile payment is a waste of resources. Mobile payment is essentially an ecosystem war, and Baidu's attempt to achieve a breakthrough in one area is simply unmatched.

A flicker of struggle crossed Li Yanhong's eyes. Despite her inner resentment, it ultimately turned into a heavy sigh. After a long silence, she asked again, "Between food delivery and ride-hailing, which do you think the company should enter?"

Wang Jing thought quickly and analyzed cautiously: "Food is the most important thing for people. From the perspective of business importance and ecological moat, developing food delivery is better."

However, Tenda has been investing in this area for a long time. To compete with Tenda's Jinri Youxuan, we need to be prepared for a protracted battle and invest massive subsidies.

While the ride-hailing business faces various challenges, including regulatory issues, the major companies are currently on a level playing field. With proper operation, any company could potentially stand out.

"Thank you, your advice is very helpful and I have benefited greatly from it."

Li Yanhong's expression was enigmatic. Today's conversation had indeed deeply affected him, forcing him to re-examine Baidu's future development path.

The second day of the first lunar month, the 10th.

Wang Zhongjun, who rarely shows up at the company early in the morning, made an unusual appearance at Huayi Company early this day.

The first thing he did upon arriving at the company was to have his younger brother, Wang Zhonglei, come to his office immediately.

"How are the box office results for 'Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons'?"

Wang Zhonglei couldn't hide his joy and responded excitedly: "That's amazing! After taking over the time slot from 'Lost in Thailand' on the 5th, it easily set a new record for the highest-grossing opening day for a Chinese-language film with 7685 million yuan."

It then surged ahead, grossing 2.2 million yuan in three days and 4.3 million yuan in four days. It's sure to break 5 million yuan today, and the total box office is projected to exceed 12 billion yuan!

"It seems the third Chinese film to gross over a billion yuan is about to be born!" Wang Zhongjun exclaimed with delight, laughing loudly. He then asked with concern, "How's the screening schedule?"

"It accounts for more than 40% of the screenings, with an average of one screening every 50 minutes."

"Good! Good! Good!" Wang Zhongjun said "good" three times in a row. After his excitement subsided a little, he instructed, "Maintain this number of screenings. The box office of 'Journey to the West' may well surpass that of 'Lost in Thailand'."

An additional 2000 million yuan will be allocated to publicity and promotion; press releases need to keep up with the hype; don't hesitate to buy trending topics!

"I've already given the order to get it done!" Wang Zhonglei said, equally smug.

The box office success of "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" has led to multiple consecutive limit-up days for Huayi Brothers' stock price, sweeping away the gloom caused by the losses from "1942".

Overjoyed, Wang Zhongjun changed the subject: "By the way, how was the contract with Stephen Chow handled?"

"We reached a temporary agreement before the Lunar New Year, but the contract hasn't been signed yet. I've asked the finance department to use the excuse that they won't be working during the Lunar New Year to delay it."

Wang Zhonglei narrowed his eyes, his mind racing with calculations.

According to Stephen Chow's proposed profit-sharing plan, based on a total box office of 12 billion, Huayi Brothers would have to pay an additional 8800 million in revenue on top of the base share of 8000 million.

If that's the case, then Huayi has been busy for so long, isn't he just working for Stephen Chow?

Ultimately, money is the ultimate motivator. Wang Zhongjun hardened his heart and said, "First, we need to stabilize things with Stephen Chow and drag out this golden period of the Spring Festival film season. We absolutely cannot let this affect the box office revenue during this time."

"I know what I'm doing!" Wang Zhonglei quickly agreed, but then his face showed hesitation. "But doing this would undoubtedly offend Zhou Xingxing completely. What if..."

Wang Zhongjun snorted coldly: "What if what? At worst, we'll just turn against each other! Contracts are meant to be broken off."

Without a contract, how can Stephen Chow compete with Huayi Brothers? With the waning capital of the Hong Kong entertainment circle? Huayi Brothers are definitely going to take this 8000 million!

Now that his elder brother had made his decision, Wang Zhonglei no longer hesitated. He was also reluctant to give up the 8000 million. Although Stephen Chow was famous and had many fans, in the eyes of capital, he was nothing more than that.

Time flies, and the Spring Festival holiday is over in the blink of an eye. People shed their holiday laziness and return to their daily busyness.

The entertainment industry was equally bustling, with multiple film crews starting production simultaneously.

The highly anticipated 4 million yuan blockbuster "Joy of Life" started filming in Hengdian. Following closely behind, the film adaptations of Han Han's transformative work "The Continent" and "My Old Classmate," one of Tengda Culture's youth trilogy, were also launched.

In addition, projects from major film and television companies, such as "Palace 3: The Lost Daughter" and "Swords of Legends," are also in full swing.

Clearly, driven by the two billion-yuan blockbuster films "Lost in Thailand" and "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons," the entire film and television industry is experiencing a surge in popularity.

In late February, the spring chill still lingered. At dawn in the East China Sea, the crew of "The Continent" was already busy at work.

On set, the staff were all doing their jobs, and director Han Han was focused on adjusting the camera positions and lighting.

On the side, the three lead actors, Qiao Zhengyu, Hu Ge, and Zhao Liying, were all ready with their makeup done, waiting for the director's order to begin filming.

Hu Ge glanced at Zhao Liying beside her and saw that she looked perfectly normal. She couldn't help but admire her inwardly: This person is truly strong-willed.

In the past two days, with the start of filming for several new dramas, the entertainment industry's publicity campaign has become increasingly intense, with all kinds of materials and press releases flooding the market.

Previously, a fan of Yang Mi mistook Zhao Liying for Yang Mi, to which Zhao Liying responded on Weibo, "Can't you even recognize your own idol?"

These words immediately triggered an attack from Yang Mi's fans, who accused her of "trying to piggyback on the fame of a top celebrity."

Zhao Liying is now a top-tier actress. Backed by Tengda Culture, she pays great attention to protecting her fans. Her fans, known as "Fireflies," naturally wouldn't stand idly by while their idol was attacked, and immediately launched a counterattack.

However, public opinion inexplicably turned one-sided, with a series of negative reports about Zhao Liying being exposed:
First, she was accused of falsifying her academic credentials, and then someone dug up clips of her past appearances on variety shows, accusing her of having poor character.

Even worse, screenshots of her everyday drinking posture and her actions during breaks on set were taken and used to mock her for being "uncultured" and "ill-mannered."

Zhao Liying noticed that Qiao Zhengyu and Hu Ge were glancing at her from time to time, looking like they wanted to say something but hesitated, so she took the initiative to ask, "Senior brother, Teacher Hu, is there something you need?"

Qiao Zhengyu and Hu Ge exchanged a glance, and Qiao Zhengyu spoke first to comfort her, "Liying, don't take those things on the internet to heart, the company will handle it."

Hu Ge quickly chimed in, "Yes, the innocent are innocent. Don't take the haters' words to heart. Don't let their foul language affect your mood."

"So you're talking about the whole internet attacking me!" Zhao Liying's face lit up with a carefree expression, her tone firm and powerful. "I can't control what others say, but I'm good at silencing them."

Upon hearing this, Hu Ge immediately gave a thumbs up, showing new respect for the seemingly delicate female celebrity in front of her.

Zhao Liying remained calm, as if she wasn't the one being attacked online, and chuckled lightly without fear: "My agent talked to me a lot yesterday."

With the rise of social media, "controversial fame" seems to have become the key to gaining popularity. New female stars looking to elevate their status often seem to have to endure a barrage of public criticism; this is probably the current state of the industry.

Hu Ge and Qiao Zhengyu were deeply moved upon hearing this, never expecting Zhao Liying to see things so clearly.

"As a rural girl with no formal training and low education, my ability to make a name for myself in the entertainment industry is a violation of the rule of 'resource inheritance,' so it's not surprising that I've become a target of public criticism."

At this point, Zhao Liying couldn't help but sigh.

She knew very well that most of the actresses who could establish themselves in the industry graduated from the three major academies: Beijing Film Academy, Central Academy of Drama, and Shanghai Theatre Academy.

Even if they are not well-off, they are still graduates of arts and media-related colleges. I am the only one with a vocational school diploma in electronic information engineering, which inevitably makes me a target of envy.

Qiao Zhengyu and Hu Ge both tacitly agreed with her.

Zhao Liying is currently being attacked by the entire internet, which ultimately stems from prejudice. Many people in the industry are holding their breath, wondering how a grassroots person could have climbed to where she is today.

Zhao Liying took a deep breath, but her eyes showed a kind of tenacity: "Right now, I don't have any representative works that I can talk about, so I can only temporarily 'not have time to pay attention' to those voices."

But I believe in one thing: effort itself is the most powerful counterattack against malice.

Looking at the determination on her pretty face, Hu Ge suddenly had a thought: perhaps in the future, she would become his ex-girlfriend's strongest rival.

The landscape of the four actresses born in 85—Liu, Yang, and Zhao—seems to be subtly changing.

Seeing that Zhao Liying's mood had become low as she spoke, Qiao Zhengyu quickly changed the subject: "Have you heard about 'Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons'?"

Hu Ge nodded: "Zhou Xingxing and Huayi have fallen out, and the movie is still showing in theaters when they've already taken it to court."

Zhao Liying looked curious. She had spent the Spring Festival in her hometown and wasn't well-informed, so she quickly asked, "Senior brother, tell me quickly, what exactly happened?"

Qiao Zhengyu explained: "The total investment in 'Journey to the West' was 1.06 million yuan. Huayi, as the mainland distributor, paid an initial deposit of 8800 million yuan."

Therefore, in reality, the production companies represented by Stephen Chow's Bingo Group only need to bear the risk of 1800 million.

Zhao Liying was even more puzzled: "Based on the current box office performance of 'Journey to the West,' shouldn't the producers and distributors have made a fortune?"

“Huayi made a huge profit,” Hu Ge added. “Huayi first collected 12% of the gross profit as a distribution agency fee, and then agreed with the production company that if the net profit exceeded 2000 million, they could take 70% of the net profit.”

Zhao Liying did some mental calculations and couldn't help but gasp: "So, Huayi really made a killing! Could it be that Zhou Xingxing was jealous and unwilling to accept that Huayi made so much money, which is why he started this trouble?"

Qiao Zhengyu shrugged: "Who knows! Zhou Xingxing said that the production company and Huayi Brothers later signed an additional revenue supplement agreement, but it was delayed because of the Chinese New Year and was not officially signed."

But Huayi denied it, saying it never happened, and the conflict was thus brought to the forefront.

Hu Ge analyzed: "The key reason why Zhou Xingxing can't beat Huayi is that he has no evidence. All the things he said were verbal agreements. If it really comes to a lawsuit, they can't be used as evidence at all."

“That’s right.” Qiao Zhengyu nodded in agreement. “I guess Stephen Chow himself knew he couldn’t win this lawsuit, which is why he publicly stated that he would never cooperate with Huayi again.”

As they were talking, director Han Han had already adjusted the lights and called out to the lead actors to come on set. The three of them immediately stopped chatting and threw themselves into filming.

Meanwhile, at Devon Manufacturing headquarters, Song Ci and Tang Jun were listening to a report from the think tank and international public relations experts about a systematic plan for obtaining KIST fiber adsorption technology through the Samsung Group.

Public relations manager Liu Hong said with a serious expression: "Chairman Song, President Tang, Samsung holds a patent for a hybrid catalyst filter."

It involves a composite technology of nanofibers and particulate catalysts, which is compatible with KIST's fiber adsorption technology in terms of process.

Furthermore, Samsung Electronics is promoting the use of recycled materials and urgently needs metal recycling technology to form a closed loop.

Tang Jun glanced at Song Ci and urged, "Just tell me the plan!"

Liu Hong didn't dare to delay and quickly said, "Mr. Song can push Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology and KIST to jointly build a 'Joint Laboratory for Recyclable Materials' to get involved in the cooperation under the name of 'jointly developing rare earth recycling technology for electronic waste'."

The Song dynasty poet used a flat tone: "Get to the point."

"Let Samsung take the lead in establishing the China-Korea Circular Economy Fund, with Democracy contributing its demonstration factory as an equity stake. The fund's terms should explicitly require KIST to provide verification support for the underlying materials technologies."

Subsequently, through joint signature by the three parties, an international PCT patent was applied for, and then Samsung's offshore company held the patent usage rights outside of South Korea.

Tang Jun scoffed, "After all that talk, you still think the core is all Samsung? Are they stupid? Do you think they'd let Dewen manipulate them?"

Liu Hong looked troubled; obtaining a technology patent controlled by a country is already incredibly difficult.

"Chairman Song, Samsung Electronics generates 2 tons of electronic waste every year, and KIST's technology can help them reduce recycling costs by 40%."

If Devon is willing to assume all the risks of industrialization and promises to dedicate more than half of the capacity of its first production line to Samsung, while also sharing comprehensive data, it might be able to persuade them.

Song Ci closed her eyes, her fingertips rhythmically tapping the table, clearly weighing the pros and cons: "Is there no other way?"

"This is the safest solution we came up with after combining all the information. Doing so can avoid political risks, bind Samsung with market interests, and also gain mass production capabilities and a channel for continuous improvement."

Tang Jun interjected, "The safest option? Are there any other plans?"

Seeing that Song Ci was also looking over, Liu Hong continued, "Either we lobby the South Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to include this technology in the 'carbon neutral core technology export whitelist'."

Alternatively, they could secretly launch a reverse engineering contingency plan, acquire a South Korean waste management company, replicate the basic process using publicly available KIST papers, and then bypass the patented technology to develop their own.

Tang Jun fell silent. The latter two plans were obviously more outrageous and would be extremely difficult to implement.

All eyes were on Song Ci, waiting for him to make the decision.

Song Ci frowned deeply. Acquiring technology across borders was indeed extremely difficult. After a moment of contemplation, he said, "In that case, let's proceed with both the first and third plans simultaneously."

It's better to rely on yourself than on others; ultimately, we must achieve technological breakthroughs ourselves to gain a foothold. I will personally travel to South Korea to visit the Samsung chairman.

(End of this chapter)