Huayu: Reborn in 97, transferring to the Central Academy of Drama's star-studded class

"You mean, there might be a financial crisis over there?"

Jiang Lai sat on the sofa at home, picked up his teacup and took a sip.

Yingjie crossed her legs, but her expression was very serious. "Yes, I stayed there for a few months, and the more I looked, the more something seemed off."

She pulled a stack of documents from her bag and threw them on the table. "Those internet companies, more of them lose money than make money, but their stock prices are getting higher and higher. Some companies can't even explain their profit model, but their stock price can multiply several times on the day they go public."

Jiang Lai didn't say anything, but picked up the stack of documents and flipped through them.

Yingjie continued, "I talked to a few Wall Street analysts, and they said this is called the new economy, and that traditional valuation methods are outdated and we have to use the attention economy to calculate it."

"Do you believe me?" Jiang Lai looked up.

"Believe it for nothing," Yingjie sneered. "There's nothing new under the sun. How did the Dutch tulip mania collapse?"

Jiang Lai put down the documents, leaned back on the sofa, and looked at her.

Yingjie felt uneasy under his gaze. "What are you looking at?"

"It's nothing," Jiang Lai smiled. "I just think, Sister Ying, you're really amazing."

He knew about the dot-com bubble in the US because of his memories from his previous life, but Sister Ying figured it out herself, which is truly amazing.

"Tch." Yingjie rolled her eyes. "I know I'm pretty good. Now, let's get down to business?"

Jiang Lai's expression turned serious. "I already knew about what you're talking about."

Yingjie was taken aback. "You knew all along? How did you know?"

"Don't worry about how I know," Jiang Lai waved his hand.

Yingjie stared at him for a few seconds, then suddenly smiled. "Okay, as long as you know what you're doing, that's good. So, what I mean is, do you want me to do anything?"

Jiang Lai didn't answer; his mind started racing.

He had a vague feeling that something was connecting.

Although he didn't care much about the economy in his previous life, this incident left a deep impression on him.

Between 2000 and 2002, NASDAQ lost 80 percent of its market value, countless companies went bankrupt, and countless investors lost everything.

But on the other hand, for those who have cash on hand, this is an excellent opportunity to buy at the bottom.

"First of all, we must make a fortune from this incident," Jiang said.

"Nonsense." Sister Ying nodded. "Just short the Nasdaq index fund. That's the simplest thing."

"Then, some tech companies can be acquired," Jiang Lai continued, "like Apple."

"Apple?" Ying frowned, trying hard to recall the company. "That company isn't doing so well now."

At this time, Apple was far from the tech giant it would become; it was barely surviving, and its stock price plummeted during this bubble.

"You don't need to worry about that. It's cheap precisely because it's not very good," Jiang said.

"Okay, you decide." Sister Ying made a note in her notebook. Whether it was a profit or a loss wasn't her concern anyway. She turned and asked, "Anything else?"

Jiang Lai lowered his head, thinking carefully, when suddenly his eyes lit up, "And the cinemas!"

Yingjie looked up. "The cinema chains? What do you need those cinema chains for?"

"To serve as a bridgehead."

Jiang Lai sat up straight and his tone became serious. "The biggest problem for movies made in China that want to be exported to North America is not whether they are made well or not, but that they won't get screen time. If we had our own cinemas, it would be a different story."

Yingjie seemed thoughtful. "You mean, using theatrical distribution channels to pave the way for domestic films?"

"Yes." Jiang Lai nodded. "And it's not just domestic films. In the future, for the films we invest in ourselves, the entire industry chain, from filming to distribution to screening, can be integrated."

Yingjie stared at him for a while, then suddenly laughed, "You really are having wild ideas."

"What's wrong?"

Yingjie joked, "Since you're going to buy a theater chain, why don't you just buy a Hollywood film company as well? That would be so much easier and more convenient."

Jiang Lai suddenly sat up straight, his eyes widening with excitement.

Yingjie was startled by his reaction. "No, you actually took it seriously? I was just kidding."

"I'm not joking," Jiang Lai said quickly. "You reminded me."

"What did I remind you of?"

"Those little devils!" Jiang Lai's mind raced. "You know the little devils bought Colombia, right?"

Of course, Yingjie knew that Sony's acquisition of Columbia in 1989 shocked the world and was met with extremely strong opposition in the United States.

Although a lot of money was lost later, this incident itself illustrates that it is feasible for foreign capital to acquire Hollywood companies.

Yingjie's expression also became serious.

Jiang Lai stood up, spun around twice, and suddenly uttered two words, "Warner!"

Yingjie squinted at Jiang Lai, "Why do I have the feeling that you want to go against the Japanese in Hollywood?"

Jiang Lai shrugged and sat down. "You're right."

He thought about how many movies Hollywood exported in his previous life contained elements of Japanese culture, which made him feel particularly uncomfortable. Although the proportion of Chinese culture was also increasing, Hollywood had distribution companies! They had already won at the source.

Ying smiled and said, "I suddenly remembered something. The film you made, 'Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,' was originally intended to be invested in by Columbia Pictures, but you snatched it away."

Jiang Lai was taken aback. "Is that so?"

"Otherwise, why do you think Jiang Zhiqiang was so polite to you?" Sister Ying rolled her eyes. "That old guy was really annoyed by what happened in Colombia."

Jiang Lai laughed, "Then we have to do it even more."

Don't be too happy yet.

"Sister Ying poured cold water on this idea, saying, 'Warner isn't Columbia. Sony had a lot of trouble acquiring Columbia back then, and you want to buy Warner now?'"

"I never said I'd buy them all at once," Jiang Lai waved his hand. "Let me finish."

He picked up his teacup, took a sip, and sorted out his thoughts.

"Aren't AOL and Time Warner going to merge? Let's take a small stake in them first, and then proceed slowly."

"Wait a minute!" Ying interrupted, looking at him suspiciously. "I only heard about this over there. You already know about it before the event even started?"

"Ahem!" Jiang Lai coughed twice, pretending to cough. "I have my own channels, don't worry about it."

Yingjie pouted, "Then continue."

"Well, I estimate that even if those two companies merge, their valuations will still fall due to this bubble. We'll make our move when it hits its lowest point."

"Then how do you know when it's at its lowest?" Yingjie asked.

"Don't talk." Jiang Lai glared at her, annoyed. He couldn't answer that question.

Ying patted her mouth and made a zipping motion.

Jiang Lai continued, "Besides, I don't necessarily have to acquire the entire Time Warner. Acquiring Warner Bros. will suffice. We can handle the IP separation, keep the film company as the film company, and we don't need the news and cable television networks."

Ying blinked, looking at Jiang Lai with the cute, obedient look of a baby, which made him feel a chill.

Why aren't you saying anything?

Yingjie pointed to her tightly closed mouth, and Jiang Lai said speechlessly, "Alright, alright, go ahead and say it."

Yingjie crossed her arms and said, "Don't forget one thing. There's an organization over there called the Foreign Investment Committee. It's not what it used to be."

Jiang Lai was certainly aware of this. This agency was specifically responsible for reviewing foreign acquisitions of American companies, especially those involving national security. As a landmark company in the American cultural industry, Warner would face considerable difficulty in being acquired by foreign capital, especially since he also wanted to acquire Apple.

He thought for a moment and asked, "Do you have any thoughts?"

As if she had been prepared, Sister Ying said directly, "Setting up a company in the Cayman Islands and holding it with a multi-tiered shareholding structure will make the shareholding structure much more complicated and increase the difficulty of transparency."

Jiang Lai scratched his head. "It means a white glove, I guess."

"Pretty much." Sister Ying nodded, "But it would be best to have a local American company as a cover."

Jiang Lai's mind started working again.

If it's a US-based company...

He suddenly thought of someone.

He immediately whispered something to Sister Ying.

Yingjie asked with some skepticism, "Is this person reliable?"

"Whether he's reliable or not, you'll only know after talking to him. Besides, he's not helping for free; just give him some shares and that's it."

Jiang Lai calmly took a sip of tea. "We can hold shares through his company, or simply acquire his company and use it as a shell company."

"Okay." Yingjie closed her notebook. "Then I'll fly to New York first to get a feel for the situation. I need to plan ahead for shorting the index."

"Thank you for your hard work, Sister Ying," Jiang Lai said with a smile.

"Don't give me that." Sister Ying stood up, grabbed her bag, and stormed out the door.

Jiang Lai sat alone on the sofa, looking at the night sky outside the window.

The new millennium is almost here.

Many things are just beginning.