Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 526 The Birth of a New Giant

The storm surrounding the Prism program intensified, like a super hurricane forming over the Atlantic Ocean, sweeping across the entire Western world with unstoppable force.

Newspaper front pages, television news, and online trending topics are filled with doubts and criticisms of the US and the NSA, and the foundation of trust is crumbling.

However, all of this is temporarily irrelevant to Song Dynasty poetry.

Thanks to precise planning and the efforts of Tenda Technology's public relations team, WeChat was successfully removed from the list of suspects "alleged to cooperate with surveillance," and public opinion shifted its focus.

The NSA is currently overwhelmed with a barrage of questions from its European allies and has no time to bother WeChat.

For Tengda Technology and Songci, this hurdle was essentially a narrow escape.

As for the hearing a few days later, Song Ci was not too worried.

With public opinion so turbulent, those shrewd congressmen know best how to assess the situation and will not go against the boiling public opinion at this time, putting themselves in the eye of the storm.

Furthermore, at this moment, a high-level Chinese official is on a state visit that concerns the future economic, trade, and strategic relations between the two countries.

Considering the bigger picture, even if the officials were unwilling, they would still take the situation into account and restrain themselves.

Song Ci's schedule was extremely packed these past two days. In addition to attending various official talks and meeting with American business representatives, she also took time to visit WeChat's North American branch in Silicon Valley to comfort the employees who were also under tremendous pressure.

In this situation, the opportunity is rare, and he doesn't know when he will be able to set foot on North American soil again.

……

In China, Hengdian World Studios.

It was noon, and the sun was blazing overhead.

Compared to the sweltering heat outside, the luxury RV parked in a secluded spot on the film set offered a completely different experience.

A cool breeze from the air conditioner gently blows out, dispelling the sticky, sweltering heat of summer.

Liu Shishi sat at the dining table, enjoying her lunch happily.

Today I ate significantly more than the previous two days. Several exquisite homemade dishes, with perfect color, aroma and taste, whetted my appetite.

The anxiety that had been weighing on her mind because her husband's company was embroiled in an international scandal finally subsided, and the worries that had kept her from eating or drinking dissipated, and her appetite returned naturally.

He happily used his silver fork to put a piece of tender veal into his mouth, chewing slowly, but his gaze couldn't help but fall on Cai Yinong, who was also eating next to him.

She tilted her head and asked softly, "Sister K, is something wrong?"

Cai Yinong has been looking conflicted lately, but Liu Shishi was preoccupied and didn't pay attention to it until recently.

Now that a weight has been lifted from my heart, I have some free time, but I can't help but notice K's unusual behavior again, and my doubts resurface.

"Hmm." Cai Yinong nodded, put down his chopsticks, and picked up a tissue to wipe the corner of his mouth.

Seeing that the eldest sister was in a good mood and her eyes were relaxed, he thought he could take this opportunity to talk about what he had been holding back for two days.

"Shishi, there's something I need to tell you first, so you can be mentally prepared."

"Go ahead and say it, Sister K." Liu Shishi scooped up another spoonful of light winter melon soup, her tone nonchalant.

After witnessing her husband's strategic maneuvering on the international stage and his ability to contend with top powers, she felt that her vision and perspective had broadened considerably.

Looking back at the gains and losses of fame and fortune in the domestic entertainment industry, they all seem to be insignificant matters, no longer worth her making a fuss or causing emotional fluctuations.

Seeing that the eldest sister's reaction was quite calm, Cai Yinong felt a little relieved and carefully chose his words, saying, "It's about the Magnolia Award."

The organizers and I have been informed that "Silent Notes" has received five nominations this time, which is quite impressive.

They stated that only one of the Best Actor and Best Actress awards could be given out. Alternatively, another option was to award the Best Television Series award instead.

"What's the reason?" Liu Shishi put down the soup spoon, her voice still calm and composed, revealing no emotion.

Cai Yinong carefully observed the expression on the female lead's face and continued to explain: "The Silent Records received five nominations, including Best TV Series, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor and Best Actress."

If they could win them all, it would be an unprecedented Grand Slam. But that's clearly unrealistic.

Since its inception, no TV series has ever swept all five major awards at the Magnolia Awards.

Although "Silent Notes" achieved both critical and commercial success and was a phenomenal work this year, to be honest, its artistic status and public recognition are still not comparable to timeless classics like "Bright Sword" and "Lurking".

Of the five awards, the winners of Mr. Song's Best Screenplay and Mr. Kong's Best Director awards are relatively stable and not easy to decide.

The only room for adjustment lies in the remaining three awards: Best Drama, Best Actor, and Best Actress.

Liu Shishi instantly understood the unspoken meaning in Cai Yinong's words, as well as the organizer's so-called "balancing act".

Awards are never just an arena for artistic competition; they are also the result of a pie being divided among various forces, personal relationships, and interests.

Previous universally recognized classics have not achieved a grand slam, and "Silent Shorthand" naturally cannot set a precedent, otherwise it would break the "rules".

However, the organizers were wary of Liu Shishi's current status and position. She was not only a top female star but also the wife of the richest man, and they were afraid that she would be dissatisfied and cause a disturbance.

So they used Cai Yinong as an intermediary to give her a heads-up, while seemingly "accommodating" her by offering her a choice.

But is this choice really up to her?

Thinking of this, Liu Shishi's lips curled into a slight smile, tinged with mockery.

After a moment's hesitation, he said, "The organizers' little scheme is infuriating. Director Kong is nominated for both 'The Family of Wenzhou' and 'Silent Notes,' so there's no way to get him!"

My husband won Best Screenplay. To be honest, for someone of his stature to accept this award is an honor for the Magnolia Awards!

Winning Best Television Series is the culmination of the collective hard work of everyone in the cast and crew, both in front of and behind the camera. I couldn't bear to give up this collective honor for an individual award, and I would feel I would be letting everyone down.

"The remaining best actor and actress..." She paused, looking conflicted. "The teacher is highly respected, has acted his whole life, and his pursuit of art is admirable."

He's obsessed with winning Best Actor, and he deserves it. How could I possibly compete with him for it?" She sighed softly again, "Sigh! The Magnolia Awards' actions are really hypocritical, pushing all the pressure and the difficult choices onto me."

Cai Yi-nong also looked helpless; how could she not understand the key to this?

The organizers were afraid of offending Liu Shishi and the powerful capital she represented, and also afraid that winning all five awards for "Silent Shorthand" would break the industry's long-standing rules.

At the same time, they are even more afraid of being criticized by the audience and the media for blindly catering to capital and traffic, thus losing the authority and credibility of the awards.

The balance in this is too difficult to maintain.

Liu Shishi's gaze fell upon the bright sunlight outside the window, as if she could pierce through time and space and see Song Ci's figure calmly dealing with things in a foreign land.

Compared to the international business battles and political maneuvering her husband faces, worrying about the gains and losses of this award does seem... a bit petty.

Take a deep breath and exhale slowly, as if dispelling the slight displeasure in your heart, and your mood returns to calm.

"That's enough!" The top female star turned around, looked at Cai Yinong, and showed a relieved and somewhat proud smile on her face. "Awards are nothing to me."

We already have several Best Actress trophies at home. If we don't win this time, so be it; there will be other opportunities.

"If it weren't for having to accept the Best Screenplay award on behalf of my husband, I wouldn't even want to go to this awards ceremony."

Hearing this, Cai Yinong felt relieved and nodded quickly: "Okay, I understand what you mean. I will pass it on to the organizers."

"Oh, right, Sister K," Liu Shishi suddenly remembered something and quickly asked, "Since I've given up the Best Actress award, who does the organizer plan to give it to?"

"Judging from their tone, the Best Actress award will be given to Song Dandan."

"Teacher Song Dandan?" Upon hearing this, Liu Shishi's expression relaxed. "Giving the Best Actress award to Teacher Song is fine! As long as it's not given to that jerk Hu to disgust me."

Cai Yinong understood perfectly; it seemed that the leading lady was still resentful about losing the Best Actress award at last year's Magnolia Awards to Song Jia, who was considered a "sidekick actress."

"Ah!" Assistant Su Xiaoxiao suddenly exclaimed, startling the two of them.

"What's wrong, Xiaoxiao?"

"Senior Sister, look at Weibo!" Su Xiaoxiao waved her phone, her voice rising slightly with excitement, a look of shock on her face. "Chairman Song is trending again!"

"Trending again?" Liu Shishi's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that the Prism scandal has resurfaced and another unexpected event has occurred?
The husband, Song Ci, and his Tengda Technology are at the center of a vortex, where any slight movement could trigger a massive upheaval.

He quickly picked up his phone, his fingertips trembling slightly as he unlocked the screen.

When she saw the top trending topics, the woman's tense nerves suddenly relaxed, and she breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that it wasn't what she had worried about.

But in an instant, intense curiosity replaced the tension from before.

On Weibo's trending topics list, tags such as "Fortune Global 500", "Tengda Technology on the list", and "Song Ci, the youngest creator of a Fortune Global 500 company" were prominently displayed.

I subconsciously clicked on the top trending search term.

The page redirects, and a detailed news report appears before your eyes.

It turns out that just recently, Fortune magazine released its 2013 list of the "Fortune Global 500" companies.

The entry threshold for this year's list was an annual revenue of US$232 billion. A total of 96 companies from China (including mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) made it into this list that symbolizes the highest level of global business.

Of particular note is Tenda Technology Group, which made its debut on the list and ranked 285th with a total revenue of US$378.3 billion and an astonishing net profit of US$129.4 billion!
"Fortune 500?!" Cai Yinong, who was also looking down at his phone, had disbelief written all over his face. He subconsciously repeated the word as if to confirm its authenticity.

In her mind, companies that can be ranked among the "Fortune 500" are either Western brand giants with decades or even centuries of history, such as General Electric and Siemens.

Or they are large state-owned enterprises with strong financial resources that are vital to the national economy and people's livelihood, such as State Grid and Sinopec.

Although Tenda Technology is powerful and an undisputed leader in China's internet industry, and wields significant influence in the entertainment industry, it always feels more like a "newly rich" company.

After all, the rise of the entire internet industry is relatively recent, and it is full of uncertainties due to rapid iteration.

However, at this moment, the vivid numbers on this authoritative list unequivocally herald the arrival of a new era.

Revenue of $378.3 billion!

Cai Yinong clicked his tongue in amazement. This was probably even larger than the total annual market size of the entire Chinese film and television industry!
This is a difference in dimension, a direct impact felt by traditional industries in the face of new-era tech giants.

Unlike Cai Yinong's shock, Liu Shishi was initially taken aback, but her heart was quickly filled with a surge of joy and boundless pride.

This is the Fortune Global 500! Every name on the list is a legend in the business world, a giant that has left an indelible mark on the history of global business development.

And now, the company founded by her beloved husband, her family's company, has also become one of them!

The eldest sister's eyebrows curved into crescent moons, her smile radiant, as she patiently continued to examine the details below.

According to Bloomberg, given Tenda Technologies' impressive performance and huge growth potential, top global investment institutions, including Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, Japan's SoftBank Group, and the Central Bank of Norway, have raised their valuation expectations for the company to $3000 billion!
This valuation not only broke the record for the highest valuation ever recorded for an unlisted technology company globally, but also made Tenda Technology the world's most valuable startup.

Meanwhile, the world's three major authoritative rating agencies, Standard & Poor's, Moody's Investors Service, and Fitch Ratings, have all given Tenda Technology an "AAA" credit rating, which is the highest affirmation of the company's financial health and debt repayment ability.

Below the article, under the related Weibo topic, netizens' comments are rapidly updating:
"In less than ten years, from zero to 285th in the world, Tenda has demonstrated what exponential growth means. Song Ci is still too authoritative!"

"That's outrageous! A valuation of $3000 billion! Once it goes public, won't its market capitalization surpass Apple and become the world's number one?!"

"How can Tenda compare to Apple? A valuation of $3000 billion is absurd! Everyone knows that most of its profits come from gaming. Food delivery and cloud computing are burning through cash like crazy. If any of its businesses fall short of expectations in the future, this bubble will burst immediately!"

"Little black-hearted!" Upon seeing this comment, which clearly carried a pessimistic tone, Liu Shishi couldn't help but spit lightly, her delicate eyebrows furrowing slightly, as if her own precious treasure had been slandered for no reason.

I casually browsed through a few more popular comments, most of which were meaningless jokes, and I immediately felt bored. The perspective of ordinary netizens ultimately misses the mark.

On a sudden impulse, I remembered a few days ago when high-level officials visited the United States, I met a financial blogger with the ID "Chuanliu Buxi" who was known for his professional and in-depth analysis.

The article I wrote, "Decoding the US Business Delegation," left a deep impression on her. I wonder what his thoughts are on Tenda's inclusion in the Fortune 500?
So, with great anticipation, the top influencer clicked on the search box, entered the ID, and entered the Weibo homepage of "Chuanliu Buxi".

(Something came up today, so only one update. Three updates tomorrow.)

(End of this chapter)