Chapter 1505
Awkwardness
Two days later, he received the contract from the dark-skinned girl.
"People can't teach you everything, but you can learn something in no time," he said with a sneer as he tidied up the documents.
I was originally curious to see just how amazing the other person was.
Let's see what that rich kid who runs a bar is really made of.
Turns out he was just a nobody.
He chickens out at the slightest pressure; he's a complete waste.
The other party noticed that after just one meal, the number of people going from 37 to 28 had increased, and if it dragged on any longer, it would be 19.
What happens after 19?
There's nothing left to do, nothing left to talk about.
The man was worried, the woman was making a fuss, and that's how they got in touch with him.
Once you figure out who has the initiative, things become much easier.
As the program continued, he asked Huang Xiaomao to explain the situation of the dark-skinned girl to the other two.
There's a target here, which can help the other newcomers stay alert.
If you want to mess with me, at least wait until you're more independent.
Putting these matters aside, he took a car and went out to participate in the event.
Zhang Yuan seemed somewhat uneasy throughout the journey.
Today I'm going to attend the press conference for the release of the film "Qian Xuesen".
"Brother Zhang Yuan, why do you seem a little nervous?" The assistant looked at him through the rearview mirror.
“You don’t understand. For men, there are a few things in the world that are the most embarrassing,” Zhang Yuan replied after taking a deep breath.
"Shake your watch, push your car, and flick your pen."
"They're all just making a fool of themselves in front of others."
"Actually, there's something even more embarrassing."
"That is to meet with a former lover."
After speaking, Zhang Yuan pondered the word "once" repeatedly, unsure if it was appropriate.
The assistant nodded, indicating that he understood.
They even summarized it.
"So you're saying you're afraid of Sister Cheng Hao?"
Zhang Yuan: ...
When we arrived at the press conference, it was a high-profile event, with a group of high-ranking officials from China Film Group and Beijing Film Studio, as well as people from the cultural department.
While preparing backstage, he saw Cheng Hao, who was wearing a sun hat and had her hair neatly styled in a bun.
"Hey..." He didn't even know how to greet him.
"You seem to be doing well lately."
The other person, however, seemed quite at ease, smiling as they sat down next to him.
"good."
"What are you busy with?" Cheng Hao asked, taking out a small folding mirror and tidying her appearance.
"Filming, of course. I just finished one, and it's been a real headache," Zhang Yuan replied, putting aside his emotions.
It's as if they're talking to a friend.
"The two female leads are quite a handful."
"Also, I've recently seen some industries developing well, and I'm thinking of investing in them."
"How are things going on your end? What have you been busy with lately?"
"I'm about the same." She closed the mirror and turned to look directly at him.
"We're rehearsing plays at the Beijing People's Art Theatre, and we also have some TV dramas to film outside."
"I still need to spend the rest of my time teaching new students at the Central Academy of Drama."
"That's great, you can make money, have a stable career."
"Yes," the other person replied casually.
Then there was a silence that lasted for a minute.
This is what he fears.
Because "the worst thing is when the air suddenly becomes quiet".
Zhang Yuandong touched and looked around.
His hands were either scratching his earlobes or rubbing his thighs.
When a person is embarrassed, their body gets very busy.
He even remembered the little magic trick he'd gotten from Jay Chou.
I just didn't feel comfortable using it.
Cheng Hao glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, and almost burst out laughing when she saw his expression.
But I managed to hold it in.
"Hey!" Zhang Yuan suddenly looked up, finally managing to come up with a topic.
"I've been thinking about whether I should go to school to improve myself."
"As a professional teacher, do you have any good suggestions?"
"It's up to you," Cheng Hao replied gracefully, crossing her arms.
"Should I go to business school, get an MBA, or attend a performing arts school?"
"Several major drama schools also offer management-related majors."
"It depends on the individual; I can't give any specific advice."
"Oh……"
Zhang Yuan also secretly glanced at the other person, like a thief.
If those women from The Voice of China saw her like this, she'd probably lose all the authority she'd worked so hard to establish.
We chatted on and off for a while, and finally the event started.
The main cast members went on stage in order to be interviewed together.
"The work we created is a work that bears historical responsibility."
"All the plot points in the film are based on real historical records."
"Much of the content was even just unbanned, and it was only after being approved and reviewed by relevant departments that it could be shown to the public," director Huang Jianxin said candidly.
Watching from the side, Zhang Yuan felt that this rhetoric was somewhat similar to the promotional methods used for the later film "Operation Jiaolong".
It can't be considered wrong.
"After filming was completed, we showed the rough cut to Ms. Jiang Ying, the widow of Mr. Qian Xuesen."
"The other party also offered their opinions and praise, and expressed their approval of the image of Mr. Qian that we created."
"This is thanks to our two leading actors."
The director gestured towards the two of them.
The two of them stood up and bowed together.
"It is a great pity that Ms. Jiang Ying passed away recently due to illness, which is a great loss to the Chinese education community."
"She didn't live to see the film's release."
"I hope that when the audience watches the film, they will remember these great predecessors who made contributions to the nation."
The director and producer did a great job of setting the tone for the press conference.
Zhang Yuan didn't dare to bend over; he sat upright the whole time.
However, there are always some unreliable reporters who ask unreliable questions.
"May I ask if Zhang Yuan and Cheng Hao are here?"
"You two worked together many years ago. This time you play lovers or husband and wife. Did any sparks fly during filming?"
Zhang Yuan felt it was difficult to answer.
During the filming, she and I were constantly "colliding".
There were no sparks, but plenty of splashes.
"We're not blacksmiths, so how could we spark anything?" Cheng Hao replied jokingly, picking up the microphone.
"We are all very professional actors and we don't mix work and life."
“Yes, I admire Cheng Hao’s professional skills and have learned a lot from her,” Zhang Yuan replied, picking up the microphone as well.
"You can't say that. We have some differences and conflicts in our performance philosophies," Cheng Hao quickly added.
"But it's all for the sake of completing the work better." Zhang Yuan quickly added, understanding that there was more to the other person's words.
"Then whose idea is correct?" the reporter pressed.
Zhang Yuan squinted at it.
This is definitely someone who's here to cause trouble...
"Let's seek common ground while reserving differences, and mainly listen to the director." He said with a smile and put down the microphone.
Cheng Hao glanced at him again.
After the press conference, they didn't say anything boring like "let's chat sometime" or "let's have a meal together."
After a brief farewell, they each got into their respective cars and left.
On the way home, the assistant turned around again.
"Brother Zhang Yuan."
"Ok?"
"Sister Cheng just said that we should get together sometime and she'll treat me to dinner."
Can I go?
"Go if you want to, you've known each other for so long."
"But you look like this now..."
"How am I?" Zhang Yuan leaned forward.
"I was just afraid you wouldn't like it."
"Am I that petty?" He raised his hand and slapped his assistant on the head.
It's quite hard, and I can vaguely hear the sound of metal cauldrons clanging.
It would be a waste not to learn Iron Head Kung Fu.
"Eat and drink as you please. You and she are from the same hometown, so it's fine to eat out and go out."
"Just don't leak company secrets."
"Is your private life considered a company secret?" the assistant asked.
"That's top secret!" Zhang Yuan yelled into his assistant's ear.
The awkward atmosphere after the meeting lingered in my mind, and I couldn't sleep well that night.
I still didn't dare to look directly into my own heart.
The next day, Zhao Dandan took a day off and went out to eat.
He decided to give Brother Long a day off as well, and drove himself to a startup base in the HD district.
This is Meituan's current office location.
At this time, Meituan had not yet purchased its own office building in Chaoyang District, nor had it established offices in other locations.
With Chen Rui's introduction, he was led directly into the general manager's office by the assistant upon arrival to meet with the other party. He was pleased not to be kept waiting for a long time.
Hello, it's an honor to meet you.
He greeted a man who was short, had a buzz cut, and had a thinning amount of hair on top.
The other person was dressed quite casually, and you would never guess that he was the CEO of a company that is now worth nearly 10 billion.
This is Wang Xing.
However, neither the owner nor the external investors are certain whether this 10 billion yuan market value will vanish tomorrow.
The other person was a big-headed man wearing glasses.
The proportions of his head and body are somewhat similar to those of Ma Yun.
This shows that his brain capacity is not small.
This person comes from a well-off family, so he has a wide range of knowledge and experience from a young age.
But he's not bad himself; someone who can be recommended to Tsinghua University's electronic engineering program can't be stupid.
It's not like the "Milk Tea Girl" who takes shortcuts, getting extra points for sports or being specially admitted.
Later, he received a full scholarship to study in North America.
His intelligence goes without saying; his mind is absolutely top-notch.
It was precisely because of his mind and educational background that he was able to attract a group of top talents from Tsinghua and Peking Universities to collaborate with him and establish the company.
Many people say that academic qualifications are devalued and useless.
In fact, what you can gain through academic qualifications is not only job opportunities, but also a certain network of contacts, especially from top universities.
The alumni associations of those top universities almost encompass elites from all walks of life across the country.
"I heard that you and Chen Rui invested in a video website together," the other person said directly.
"He told me about your situation."
"I don't quite understand why you're interested in Meituan."
"I'm not interested in Meituan, I'm interested in you," Zhang Yuan replied directly upon seeing this.
“A mature investor invests in people, not things or events.”
"Because it is always people who can change the world."
"And you are a very experienced entrepreneur."
"Moreover, I am very optimistic about group buying as an online consumption method."
"From a broader perspective, it can also promote national consumption and commercial development, which is beneficial to the country and its people."
The other person put their finger to their lips and stared intently at him.
I haven't fully grasped it yet.
"I know you're an actor. Actors make money easily and quickly."
"But the amount of money needed in the internet industry is astronomical."
“Meituan is currently spending an astonishing amount of money every day. Your investment in Chen Rui’s video company won’t last more than a month with me.”
Engineering guys are just that direct when they talk.
"Here, have some tea."
At this moment, a woman of ordinary appearance, who could hardly be called a beauty, entered the room carrying a cup of tea.
They didn't even knock when they came in.
After placing the tea in front of Zhang Yuan, the woman did not leave the office but sat down directly.
"I've seen quite a few of your movies."
"They also frequently give out movie tickets as employee benefits."
"Could you sign my autograph later?" the other person asked with a kind smile.
"Forget autographs, I'd even take a photo with you," Zhang Yuan replied quite generously.
This woman is Guo Wanhui, Wang Xing's wife.
You can tell from the name that he comes from an ordinary family.
It doesn't sound like a girl's name, and it has a very grand and sophisticated feel.
When people mention "mom-and-pop shops," they often think of it as the stingiest and least classy business model in the world.
Only small restaurants do this.
Large companies should hire a group of professionals who wear suits and ties, and managers should be appointed based on merit.
Only by kicking out all relatives and family members from the company can we be healthy!
This is purely the imagination of ordinary people.
Just like how ordinary people think that big bosses who inherit their fathers' businesses are conservative, feudal, and uncultured, that's why they do it.
Actually, handing it over to outsiders is just foolish!
Anhui merchants, Zhejiang merchants, and Fujian merchants all did business together in groups.
The whole family works together, and sometimes even the whole village or town does it together.
It's better for relatives to stick together and support each other than to dislike each other, be wary of one another, or even betray each other.
Wang Xing is a well-known "mom-and-pop shop" type of manager in the internet industry.
He was responsible for day-to-day operations and financing.
His wife is in charge of personnel, accounting, and logistics.
The traditional model is that the man is in charge of external affairs, and the woman is in charge of internal affairs.
Moreover, they had been doing this since the Renren.com era, not just starting with Meituan.
Because his wife is a talented woman who graduated from Peking University, and both of her parents are professors at top universities.
This relationship also helped Wang Xing attract a lot of talent and resources.
Can you say that this mom-and-pop shop model is unsuccessful?
If you can't even trust the person next to you in bed, that's the biggest failure!
This not only proves that you are bad at managing your family, but also that you have poor judgment in judging people.
In fact, many leading private enterprises are mostly family businesses.
Geely, Wahaha, Huawei... they're all the same.
When a company falls into chaos, it's usually because outsiders seize power or conflicts arise between relatives.
Of course, this operating model is not without its drawbacks.
The most common example is "interference in politics by relatives of the empress".
Meituan later experienced a similar situation, where Wang Xing and his wife formed their own factions with considerable power, almost causing internal strife within the company.
Don't be fooled by the fact that it's a modern company or an internet company, which sounds sophisticated.
In fact, those twists and turns and the pitfalls that may occur can be found in similar or even identical ways by flipping through history books.
Therefore, Zhang Yuan was certain that some of his arrangements were correct.
Many friends especially mocked him for letting Shu Chang manage the money instead of handing it over to a professional accounting team.
Can outsiders be trusted?
I'd be a fool to hand over all my money to outsiders.
I'll let Changchang handle it; just make sure she doesn't rebel.
If I hand it over to someone else, I need to make sure that the group doesn't rebel, doesn't form a faction to collectively deceive me, and doesn't collude with outsiders.
Even Empress Lü Zhi only dared to rebel after Liu Bang died.
I handed over military power to Han Xin, but he rebelled before I even died.
Because of Meituan's "operational structure," Zhang Yuan was very polite to this lady.
True women hold up half the sky.
"Regarding the issue of capital expenditure, I know that the competition is fierce right now, and everyone is burning through cash." Zhang Yuan took a sip of tea and looked at the two of them with a relaxed expression.
"But that's precisely why I came here."
"You need funds."
"There is no doubt about that."
"The question is, how much do you need?" Zhang Yuan asked earnestly.
"To be honest, there are two things I need to tell you both."
"First of all, there's the funding. I know Alibaba gave you $5000 million last year."
"But this money is not enough."
“I can help your companies out of their immediate crisis, but I admit that I can’t come up with a billion or eight hundred million US dollars.”
"I can't afford it right now, at least not."
"But I can still take tens of millions, even hundreds of millions of US dollars."
Upon hearing his words, the couple exchanged a glance and both raised their eyebrows.
Is making movies really that lucrative...?
Hundreds of millions of US dollars is a lot of money.
"There's a second thing I'd like to confess."
"It's about my interest in Meituan."
"Besides what I said before, that I have high hopes for your abilities, there is another reason."
"It's related to my own experience."
Zhang Yuan feigned pain.
"Not long ago, I had dinner with the CEO of Wanda Pictures."
"Propose a cooperation intention."
"I make movies and invest in movies, and the other party is a theater chain. In my opinion, cooperation is very appropriate."
"But the other party rejected me without any mercy."
"And the implication was that I had to beg the theater chains to give me a living."
"After all, the life or death of a film is in the hands of whether or not it is shown in theaters and how it is scheduled for screenings."
"And they take the lion's share of the profits from a film."
"This is completely different from most developed countries."
“In Hollywood, theaters take at most half, or even only 30% or 40%.”
"But in the country, I, who worked so hard to make movies, ended up begging on my knees."
"I refuse to accept this!" Zhang Yuan said sharply, his tone deep.
"But I see that, just like in the early years, TV stations were incredibly powerful."
"But now, with the rise of internet video platforms, TV stations are speaking much more politely than in previous years."
"Only with competition and restrictions did they learn to speak like human beings," he said indignantly.
"So I think that perhaps internet companies are the only possibility for cinemas to learn to speak like human beings and handle human affairs."
He looked at Wang Xing with utmost sincerity.
"I heard that Meituan is now developing a group-buying business for movie tickets, right?"
This was actually his ultimate goal in coming here.
Meituan is certainly very profitable.
But Maoyan Movies, still in its infancy, is his primary target. (End of Chapter)