Chapter 1581
The Old Man's Intention
After employing a strategy of subduing the enemy without a fight, Xiaoming was able to sleep peacefully for a night.
I was still very moved when I woke up.
"I'm still too kind," he remarked as he brushed his teeth.
However, if Brother Xiaoming is oblivious and continues to "go his own way," then don't blame me for being ruthless.
He simply didn't want to fall out with them, nor did he want to escalate the conflict with himself and the people behind him.
"I need to confirm this... Ugh." He spat out a mouthful of saliva and pondered.
It is best to be cautious in everything you do.
I invited these two people to have dim sum again.
Xiao Ming emphasized on the phone that he had to pay the bill himself this time.
Zhang Yuan quite likes Cantonese breakfasts, mainly because the portions are small and it's not easy to gain weight from them.
Celebrities also have to pay attention to their appearance.
Upon meeting, Zhang Yuan was overjoyed.
Xiao Ming looked a bit dejected, lacking his usual upright demeanor.
It can be basically concluded that his plan has worked.
Compared to Huang Xiaoming, who still didn't know what had happened and just suddenly felt inferior, Yang Tianbao felt that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.
She knew it must be related to Zhang Yuan, but even though she was there the whole time, she couldn't tell.
"Brother Xiaoming, let me tell you the truth." After eating a few black truffle shrimp dumplings, he put down his chopsticks and felt that they were not as good as ordinary shrimp dumplings.
"The film industry is a small market, only a couple of hundred billion a year. Even if the market grows larger in the future, it will still only be a few hundred billion."
"So many people are eating this food. Putting aside everything else, you definitely can't beat me or your former employer."
Xiao Ming nodded, his smile a little awkward, but he still listened very attentively.
My brother has one good quality: he listens to advice.
And they know what's good and what's bad.
"I've heard that you're very successful with your investments."
At this point, Xiao Ming paused for a moment.
His greatest success to date is that he has managed to siphon off a large portion of Huayi's business, giving them more shares than he, the top dog, has ever done.
The more he thought about it, the more heartbroken he became. What should have been his source of pride had made him feel ashamed in front of others.
Look at how that person's brain works!
I need to listen carefully to the "expert opinions".
"Oh dear..." Zhang Yuan waved his hand.
Xiao Ming thought he was being modest.
"You heard right."
Huang Xiaoming: ...
"I have something to tell you, so take out your phones," Zhang Yuan said.
The two of them obediently took out their bags and placed them on the table, somewhat puzzled.
Zhang Yuan glanced at them and, sure enough, both were iPhone 4s.
"What do you think is the best mobile phone brand on the market right now?"
"apple."
"Samsung!" the two answered in turn.
Next, we come to the same old trio: Sony, Nokia, and Motorola.
Yang Tianbao was quite fashionable, having added an HTC and a Blackberry, which became popular because of Obama's black hat.
"You're all right."
“But there’s a problem.” Zhang Yuan raised a finger: “Is one of these a mainland Chinese brand?”
“We have a market of over a billion people, but the mobile phones that are popular on the market are all foreign brands.”
"Just like cars, all the cars on the road are foreign brands."
"Do you think there will come a day when our brand can be sold nationwide and also make inroads into the high-end market?"
Don't be fooled by the fact that this will be commonplace in 10 years.
We can't afford to fall behind by 10 years!
In just 10 years, the Chinese people's perception of their country's manufacturing industry has undergone tremendous changes.
From the sentiment of "good things have to be imported, foreigners are still the best" at that time, to "as long as you dare to give me money and market access, I dare to fight for you... I'm just kidding, I'll fight even if you don't give me any" ten years later.
From Queen Victoria of Britain using powerful ships and cannons to pry open the gates of the Qing Dynasty to sell opium, to the opening of the doors to free trade between the Chinese and the British, only a little over a hundred years have passed.
He told Xiaoming this, but the other party didn't believe him.
Let alone whether he believes it or not, most people wouldn't believe it at this point.
Just like in the movie "Let the Bullets Fly," Jiang Wen drags her partner Ma Ke out from under the bed.
"This guy is 8 years old?"
"Nobody believes me, and I don't believe it either."
Zhang Yuan himself was a little dazed. Who would have thought that in just 10 years, BYD would be able to compete with Toyota and Honda?
Huawi Energy Apples.
TikTok, on the other hand, completely crushed a host of Western apps.
At this point, you won't need to promote culture or the system; Western Confucian scholars will naturally help you debate the classics.
The internal strife is even fiercer than the external strife. Any Western brand that comes to the Chinese market will know what the "East Asian monster room" is like; it's all going crazy.
The other industries related to electricity and intelligence are even more outstanding in terms of comprehensive strength, unmatched by any other in the world.
The West still wants to play with AI and computing power?
The United States is still using the telephone poles built by President Luo back then. Japan is so small, and the voltage and frequency in the east and west are not uniform, with various types such as 50HZ, 60HZ, 100V, 200V, and 220V.
What kind of stupid country is qualified to play with high technology?
Without ultra-high voltage technology, we can't even manage electricity; what's the point?
But the Chinese people today simply don't believe it.
They only know that the country's large-scale infrastructure construction is "a waste of manpower and resources" and that building villages is destroying the original landscape.
So Xiaoming didn't believe it, and Yang Tianbao, who grew up in Hong Kong and had also spent time in Japan, was even less convinced.
Once the ideological imprint of Western power is engraved, it will be distorted into the notion that the West will always be powerful.
Whether he believes it or not is irrelevant; he may not understand technical matters, but he certainly does understand money.
"Take a mobile phone company I invested in, for example. It has been established for two years and its rough valuation has already exceeded 10 billion yuan, even before it has any plans to go public."
"Ah!" Brother Ming was greatly shocked: "Then how much did you earn... I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked that."
"It's nothing," he said kindly, indicating that he didn't mind.
"Based on my expectations and plans, and the development of the mobile phone market in the next few years."
"I think reaching over 100 billion is no problem."
"My investment should be worth tens of billions by then."
"From Anyang!" Upon hearing this number, Xiaoming even blurted out his hometown dialect with its distinctive oyster accent.
Yang Tianbao stared wide-eyed, finding the number hard to believe.
Zhang Yuan thought to himself, "I've been keeping this under wraps, afraid you wouldn't believe me, so I deliberately lowered the number by one digit..."
"It's actually quite interesting," Zhang Yuan suddenly laughed.
"Do you know where the money I invested in this mobile phone company came from?"
Xiao Ming shook his head.
“I sold some of my shares in Uku.”
"And the money I used to buy Uku shares was..." He laughed before he could finish his sentence.
Xiao Ming's face hardened; it was the shares of Tudou.com that his boss had bought from him in exchange for.
In the end, it was Huayi who took the blame for everything.
He left Huayi and was able to use the funds he had to invest and make a lot of money.
I've also come out, and I'm going to use these funds to make a lot of money.
Xiao Ming quickly gave him a sincere look.
"So what are your next plans? Does this mobile phone company need investors?"
“Companies that have already achieved success don’t need small amounts of capital,” Zhang Yuan said calmly, taking a sip of tea.
Xiao Ming thought he could raise tens of millions, but then he thought, oh right, this is just small change for me.
"Later, when there's an opportunity and a suitable startup."
"Then you must take me with you."
"Don't forget your brother!"
Seeing his earnest gaze, Zhang Yuan even considered buying him some melon seeds. "If something so good really happened, could I bring you along?"
Of course, I didn't mean to cheat you.
I was just using you as a pawn.
After chatting with the two, Zhang Yuan only scratched the surface, painting a huge picture before leaving without elaborating, leaving the two eager to try it out.
He made some preparations, rested, and changed into a custom-made suit before attending a high-end banquet invited by Huang Baiming.
The address is inside a high-end restaurant, and the entire place was booked out.
The organizer was the Lin family; Huang Baiming was able to bring people because of their marriage ties.
These kinds of social gatherings exist both domestically and internationally, and they are usually in the form of dances or cocktail parties.
Divided by age group, there are groups mainly composed of big bosses and middle-aged and elderly people, as well as groups mainly composed of young people.
Today's event was a mixed one, with quite a few young people participating.
This kind of gathering is where people from the same social class get to know each other and socialize.
Without connections, you can't get in.
For example, even though Huang Xiaoming and Yang Tianbao are both celebrities, they couldn't even get tickets to today's show.
After he entered, he didn't know anyone. He grabbed a glass of wine and glanced around.
Some men and women were looking at him and whispering among themselves.
He clearly recognized himself.
But I'm here today to handle some business, and I'm too lazy to fawn over these rich kids.
You have wealthy families, I have my own money, how can we be the same?
Being an artist is just one of my disguises and identities, but being a spoiled rich kid is your only label.
"Here you are." Huang Baiming entered with a smile, dressed in a white suit, looking every bit the gentleman.
His smile remained unchanged, and his cheekbones were quite prominent.
However, the person accompanying him had a somewhat gloomy expression.
That is Xin Zhilei's agent, Liang Ting.
"Mr. Huang, Ms. Liang, it's a pleasure to meet you." Zhang Yuan took the initiative to clink glasses with them, and everyone took a sip.
In this kind of setting, no one will force you to drink. Drinking heavily will make people look down on you and know you're just there to freeload.
"Let's get straight to the point," Huang Baiming said with a smile.
Zhang Yuan pricked up his ears.
This old guy usually tries to ramble on and on, he's usually very smooth, but today he's being so direct?
I think it's all a misunderstanding.
"It's good that everyone has talked it out."
“Yes, it’s just a small matter, there’s no need to go to court.” Zhang Yuan looked at Liang Ting: “We’ll resolve this peacefully, and you and the artist will break up peacefully as well.”
"You can't stop an artist from wanting better opportunities."
Huang Baiming nudged Liang Ting.
Mr. Huang had spoken to this person before he came.
He really wanted to mess with you, and I couldn't stop him.
Forget it, those artists don't make any money anyway, might as well give it to him.
Then use these people's lives to exchange for some more tangible benefits.
Zhang Yuan's opinion was that he definitely wanted Xin Zhilei, otherwise it wouldn't sound good to others.
If I can't even handle a minor celebrity, what kind of career am I?
Then I'll give you some conveniences in terms of filming channels in mainland China, especially online platforms.
There are also business resources.
However, if someone in your company wants to switch jobs later, you can't stop them.
I'll give them a chance, and the contract will include some profit sharing for you.
Liang Ting certainly disagreed; you still want to poach my people!
"To be honest, I really want to dig, and you can't stop me."
"It was originally just a normal artist changing agencies, but you had to make a big deal out of it. Did you even consider your own abilities?"
"People strive for better opportunities; isn't it normal for someone to want to work for a big company?"
"Don't let personal relationships with certain people jeopardize your future," Zhang Yuan advised politely.
Can International Dans save you?
Time is running out, and so is my patience.
"Think about it yourself."
He was about to leave after he finished speaking, but Huang Baiming grabbed him.
"Let's all talk this out."
"Let her think about it too."
"Come on, let me show you around and help you change your mood."
I took him to chat with the small groups scattered around.
If anyone knew he was from mainland China and spoke to him in Cantonese, Zhang Yuan would politely greet them and then turn and leave.
If you can't even speak Mandarin fluently, what future do you have?
He knew some people were putting on airs, so he couldn't be bothered with them.
After all, not everyone knows his situation; many people only recognize his appearance.
Some people even complained in Cantonese, "How can someone like this come to a party? They're polluting the environment. I'm never coming again."
He pretended he didn't understand and couldn't be bothered to look at this kind of person.
You don't even have the right to come to my house for dinner.
Upper-class people do vulgar things. Don't be fooled by the respectable appearances and dignified expressions of most people at these gatherings; in reality, most of them are scoundrels and lewd individuals.
These people thought the actor would try to please them by performing tricks, but Zhang Yuan ignored them and then went behind their backs to say things like he was "pretending to be high-minded."
Anyway, people will say whether you're good or not, just like with Naza, no matter how pretty you are, someone will always find fault with you.
"Come here, let me introduce you."
"This is Miss He."
Arriving at a small group of people, Huang Baiming still entered and introduced them one by one.
However, they went into particular detail when introducing a short, young woman with striking features.
Upon hearing that she was a young lady from the He family, and after glancing at her appearance, Zhang Yuan immediately knew which He family she belonged to.
Of course, it's "Zhao Qian He" from Macau!
"Hello." Zhang Yuan shook hands with him.
"I've seen your movies, and you acted very well."
"Thank you." He hears this phrase five or six times a day on average, and he's become numb to it.
People usually talk about big-budget films like "Painted Skin" and "Ip Man".
"Especially the movie 'The Piano in a Factory,' I think the acting was excellent."
"And there's 'Shanghai Dreams'."
But this person mentioned two movies that few people watch.
After nodding his thanks, Zhang Yuan took another look.
They have a large family, and many of the men and women look quite alike.
They all inherited the old man's striking features, after all, the old man's great-grandfather was a Jewish man of Dutch descent.
"Excuse me, I didn't hear your name clearly just now. Could you give me a chance? I'll definitely remember this time," he asked.
"My name is He Chaolian, you can call me Laurinda." The girl smiled, revealing her neat, white teeth.
"Okay, thank you so much for liking my work."
"You young people chat, I'm going to meet some old friends," Huang Baiming said, making an excuse to leave.
Wow!
Zhang Yuan watched the departing figure of that Hong Kong comedy mogul.
He glanced again at the young girl beside him, who clearly showed curiosity towards him.
Ha ha.
It seems someone has ulterior motives.
He said he wanted to talk to me about something, a problem with a woman.
However, this woman is probably not Liang Ting. (End of Chapter)