Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 5 Investment
Wang Jing congratulated him with a smile, "I haven't had a chance to congratulate you yet, Top Scholar. Shishi, please sit down. Don't be shy here. What would you like to drink, tea or coffee?"

"Tea, thank you." Liu Shishi stood quietly to the side, a little shy.

Wang Jing instructed her secretary, "Tian Tian, ​​go pour another cup of tea. This young lady is Liu Shishi, President Song's sister."

Jiang Tiantian worked quickly and efficiently, pouring a cup of tea before politely smiling and saying, "Ms. Liu, this is your tea. Mr. Wang, if there's nothing else, I'll head out now."

Wang Jing was meticulous in her work. "Tian Tian, ​​tidy up that big office next to mine. From now on, that will be President Song's chairman's office. After I finish reporting, remember to ask President Song what kind of furniture or accessories are needed for the office."

"Okay, Ms. Wang." Seeing that Wang Jing waved her hand and didn't say anything more, Jiang Tiantian turned around and left the office, closing the door behind her so that the leaders could talk.

Song Ci sat down on the leather sofa in the office. Seeing that Liu Shishi was still standing somewhat reservedly, she quickly waved for her to sit next to her.

"Shishi, please sit down. Relax. You and Sister Jing are old acquaintances. Listen to what I'm about to tell Sister Jing. Consider it your first lesson as her new secretary."

After glancing at Wang Jing, Liu Shishi shyly prepared to sit next to Song Ci, looking adorable and well-behaved!
“Shishi will be helping out at the company for the next two months. Jingjie, please take good care of her.”

After Liu Shishi sat down, Song Ci formally began to explain the purpose of his trip, asking Wang Jing, "Now that the company's staff is gradually being assembled, how do you plan to carry out your work as general manager?"

Upon hearing her boss bring up work, Wang Jing immediately gathered her thoughts and said seriously, "Apart from the administrative management department, the company currently has five major operational business departments: advertising planning, copyright acquisition, online marketing, project investment, and special effects. There are also film and television production and artist management departments that are under construction."

The company has been established for nearly six months, and currently only the advertising planning department is profitable; all other departments are operating at a loss. Copyright acquisition and special effects, in particular, are major money-burners and are unlikely to be profitable in the short term. The company's cash reserves are already quite low.

Song Ci nodded: "Don't be afraid of losses. We need to have a long-term vision. The company can afford to lose money for now. Sister Jing, you should continue to increase the acquisition of film, television, and music online copyrights. As for special effects production, we should hurry up and recruit talent in this area, offering excellent compensation."

I picked up my teacup and took a sip of the fragrant green tea. The subtle bitterness made my thoughts about Song Dynasty poetry clearer.

After a moment's thought, he said, "How about this, Sister Jing? Let's separate the copyright acquisition and special effects production from Tengda Culture and establish two separate subsidiaries with independent financial accounting. I can allow the new special effects company to not be profitable for the first three years. As for working capital, I will inject another ten million into the company."

Since his rebirth, Song Ci has seized every opportunity to make money. In addition to his novel royalties, he earned over 50 million yuan from World Cup betting in 1998 and 2002 and from domain name reselling. Add to that the money he made by commissioning brokers to buy NetEase stock at rock-bottom prices, and he's undoubtedly a multi-millionaire.

However, he invested most of the money in the stock market in his parents' names. Some of it was in US stocks, and some was used to buy shares in companies such as Shuanghui Foods. As far as I remember, the stock price of Shuanghui Foods has increased tenfold in the past few years, so it's not the right time to cash out yet.

"What's the progress on film and television project investments?"

Wang Jing continued her report: "I found a project these past few days, and we're almost done negotiating. It's 'Chinese-Style Divorce,' produced by Golden Shield Film & Television. I've read the script; it deals with a sensitive topic of marriage right now, and the ratings should be good. Golden Shield is almost ready, but they're lacking investment. I'm planning to get involved; it'll be the company's first investment project." Song Ci knew about "Chinese-Style Divorce." From what she remembered, the show should have already aired. It seems the butterfly effect caused the delay in its release.

"The Past Life" stars Chen Daoming and Jiang Wenli. This TV series is a deep exploration of the marital status of Chinese people, closely related to contemporary issues. After its broadcast, "The Past Life" caused a certain social reaction and is indeed an excellent work that leaves a deep impression.

"Since you're optimistic about it, then invest," Song Ci said, giving Wang Jing a definite answer without asking about the specifics of the project.

He didn't inquire too much about the project, not because Song Ci knew that "Chinese-Style Divorce" would be a success; he would have had the same attitude for any other TV series.

At the company’s inception, Song Ci promised to delegate full authority and trust his employees. As the first project invested by Wang Jing in exercising her powers as general manager, Song Ci would not interfere with the success or failure of any project under five million yuan.

In two or three years, with the advent of smartphones, Wang Jing will need to focus her energy on mobile internet. Aside from a few key projects, she'll need to handle most other aspects of Tenda Culture's operations. Of course, according to company regulations and procedures, financial auditing is essential.

Seeing that Song Ci didn't ask about the details, Wang Jing understood his meaning and continued to report: "There's also a TV series called 'The Generals of the Yang Family,' produced by Huaxin Film and Television, with a considerable investment."

They cast Su Youpeng from Taiwan and Chae Rim from South Korea as the male and female leads, and even brought back Zhao Yazhi, who had been retired from acting in Hong Kong for eight years. That's really impressive!

I heard that Huaxin Film & Television had already reached an agreement with Tianzhong Culture to jointly invest in and produce the film, but recently, for some unknown reason, a falling out occurred between the two companies, and the project has stalled. Huaxin Film & Television has then announced that it will be looking for a new partner.

Song Ci analyzed, "It's nothing more than a matter of interests. A long-established film and television company like Tianzhong Culture naturally wants to promote its own signed artists when investing in and producing dramas. With Huaxin putting together such a lineup, how can Tianzhong Culture promote its artists? It's inevitable that there will be some wrangling for a while."

However, Tengda Culture currently does not have an artist management business. "The Generals of the Yang Family" is quite suitable for us. If we are purely investing in Huaxin Film and Television, they should welcome us.

"Let's finalize this project as soon as possible. If Tianzhong and Huaxin reach an agreement, we won't have a chance to get involved. With such a big-name cast, the ratings are sure to be good. Tianzhong Culture won't last long."

Seeing that Song Ci had also approved of the project, Wang Jing nodded and said, "Okay, I also think highly of 'The Generals of the Yang Family'. I will discuss with Huaxin Film and Television as soon as possible and try to finalize the investment."

"Besides these two investments, what progress has been made on the company's self-produced film and television projects? The company's production department has so many people working now, they need to get things moving."

Upon hearing Song Ci's question, Wang Jing looked distressed and replied, "The company's production team can be gradually completed by August, but the company has just been established, we don't know any directors, and we don't have any good scripts, so we can't start any self-produced projects."

Knowing Wang Jing's difficulties, Song Ci considered it for a moment and said, "I'll take care of the script problem for now. I can write a few scripts for the company as a temporary measure. We also need to recruit screenwriters."

(End of this chapter)