readease Chapter 231 Leeks
Chapter 231 Leeks
The door to the private room slammed shut, shutting out the lights in the corridor outside.
The spacious VIP box was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Su Youpeng, Zhao Daye, and Chen Duling, who was huddled in the corner, stared at the tightly closed door.
Su and Zhao are both shrewd people who have been through thick and thin in the world of fame and fortune. Who could not tell that Li Feng’s anger when he lashed out at his secretary was actually directed at whose face?
"Damn it..." Su Youpeng loosened his tie, his face turning pale and then flushed. He finally couldn't hold back any longer and broke down. "This is too arrogant! If you don't like someone, just say so. Do you have to embarrass them like this?!"
Compared to Su Youpeng's indignation, Zhao Daye, sitting in the main seat, paused for a few seconds before covering his mouth and giggling.
"Big Eyes, are you crazy? They treated us like beggars and you can still laugh?" Su Youpeng looked at her like she was a lunatic.
"Youpeng, if you can't even handle this little bit of grievance, how will you become a great director in the future?" Zhao Daye replied nonchalantly.
What's a few words of scolding? She and that driver swindled such a huge fortune from Lao Xu overseas, and that money was all illicit.
Would she dare spend this money without first getting it listed on the stock market?
Moreover, she is very well-informed; Jack Ma is currently making plans to enter the entertainment industry.
She's set up the stage in advance, so there will be plenty of people eager to take over when the time comes.
"Wait a minute, Big Eyes," Su Youpeng said, sitting up straight as he realized what was happening.
"Didn't you say you were only looking to attract film investment? How come this company suddenly has to do a bet?! Four and a half hundred million over three years, what if we lose? We'll have to pay with our lives?!"
"Tell you in advance? If I had told you, would you have been able to stay calm?!" Recalling how Su Youpeng was haggling with Li Feng just now, Zhao Daye was furious.
"You really think that a mere 60 million yuan youth film can make a big shot like Li Feng take us seriously? You even said you wanted to cut the budget! What do you take Li Feng for?"
After being scolded by Zhao Daye, Su Youpeng felt a little guilty, but still anxiously asked, "That 450 million bet is too outrageous! How could we possibly make a profit?"
"Don't worry, I'll take care of this." Zhao Daye finally revealed his true intentions.
"Even if we lose the bet in the end, I'll pay half of it. I won't let you suffer a loss. Besides, this is nothing!"
"Next week, I have a dinner with Mr. Ma from Hangzhou."
"With Li Feng's 5 million, I can probably pry another 5 million from Alibaba!"
"The rest is up to me to figure out how to operate in the stock market."
Su Youpeng looked at her with suspicion, but his mind was already racing with his own calculations.
Haofeng contributed 5 million yuan, and Alibaba contributed another 5 million yuan.
With these two giants pouring in 10 billion yuan, given the nature of the stock market, the valuation of Erben Film Studio, a mere shell company, could easily be inflated to over 30 billion yuan with their eyes closed!
My 20% stake is a solid 6 million yuan!
When the lock-up period for the stocks expires, I can cash out at a high price and leave. Even if I lose everything in the betting agreement, I'll still have a large sum left after losing half of it!
Once he understood this, Su Youpeng's resentment at being humiliated by Li Feng immediately vanished.
What's the value of face? Money in your pocket is what truly matters.
"You're still the best! Come on, Big Eyes, this is my toast to you!" Su Youpeng raised his glass, and the two continued their unfinished meal.
As for Chen Duling?
Zhao Dayan glanced at her, thinking to himself, "It seems President Li doesn't like vegetarian food. If he doesn't like it, he doesn't like it. I'll take him to see Boss Ma next week."
"If Lao Ma doesn't like it either, then take it to those investors in Shanxi to see. There are always some people in this circle who like this style."
……
late at night.
Inside the secondary bedroom of Jinling Zijinshan Manor.
Secretary Zhang Yuxi listened outside the master bedroom door for a while, and only after confirming that Zhao Liying, who had been chosen for the night, was alright, did she return to her room and collapse onto the bed.
She took out her phone and called Zhang Xinyu, who was in Hong Kong.
"Sister Xinyu..." As soon as the call connected, Zhang Yuxi's voice carried a hint of grievance and anxiety, "I got scolded by the boss twice today... Did I do something wrong?"
After listening to her report on today's events, Zhang Xinyu chuckled softly.
"Nothing went wrong in the general direction, so you don't need to be so nervous."
Zhang Xinyu, speaking from experience, advised: "When your boss scolds you in front of outsiders, you have to obediently accept it. You need to learn to distinguish whether your boss is genuinely angry with you or using you as a scapegoat to slap others in the face."
"It's just a veiled attack; you are that mulberry tree, and that's your duty as the chief secretary."
"I understand, Sister Xinyu." Zhang Yuxi nodded, then remembered something else.
"By the way, sis, Zhao Daye brought a girl named Chen Duling over tonight. She's quite pretty, but the boss didn't seem to like her and didn't mention it when he left."
Zhang Xinyu's tone immediately became more serious on the other end of the phone.
"Never mind whether the boss likes it or not!"
"Since they've come to Haofeng's door seeking help and handed over the gifts, you have to accept them on behalf of your boss!"
Zhang Xinyu said earnestly, "Whether the boss uses them or not is his business, but if one day the boss suddenly remembers this type of person and finds out you didn't have them under your control, then that's your dereliction of duty!"
Upon hearing this, Zhang Yuxi broke out in a cold sweat and repeatedly thanked him, "Thank you for reminding me, Sister Xinyu! I almost messed things up! I'll call Zhao Daye first thing tomorrow morning and get that girl's contract!"
"Tomorrow?" Zhang Xinyu felt somewhat helpless towards this trusted minister who had entrusted her with the care of the young emperor.
"Now! Immediately! Attack right now!"
"A pretty young girl like that, just one day later, she might be sent to someone's bed by Zhao Daye tonight."
"Don't you know the boss is a germaphobe? If someone touches it, how are you going to explain it?!"
Zhang Yuxi quickly sat up in bed: "I understand! I'll call right now!"
After hanging up the phone, Zhang Yuxi didn't dare to waste a second and quickly dialed Zhao Daye, who was still at the dinner party.
……
Early the next morning.
A relatively unremarkable financial term quietly climbed to the bottom of Haofeng's Weibo trending topics:
Zhao Daye and Su Youpeng jointly established Erben Film Industry, with Haofeng Group providing substantial financial backing!
Despite its low ranking, the news quickly spread across financial news sections and major stock forums.
"Holy crap! Haofeng's got his hands on a shell company for film and television?!"
"Everyone, look at the announcement from Erben Films! Their debut film is Alec Su's first feature film, *The Left Ear*, and Zhao Daye is both the producer and executive producer!"
"That's not all! I heard that the filming schedule for the next year includes three movies, led by director Chen Kexin's 'Dearest,' plus two TV series! That's a full-fledged production capacity!"
Soon, even more exciting insider information was released by insiders.
"Brothers! Breaking news! Besides Haofeng, it's rumored that Jack Ma from Alibaba is also interested in getting into the entertainment industry! He's even going to invest in Erben Films!"
This caused an uproar among the seasoned investors in the stock market!
Haofeng plus Ali?!
Two of China's top internet giants are simultaneously endorsing a shell company?!
"This isn't even good news, this is practically feeding them!"
"A company backed by two industry giants is bound to see its stock price surge by at least a dozen limit-up days after trading resumes!"
"Stop talking, the funds are ready! We're just waiting for it to resume trading after its backdoor listing with Tongda. I'll go all in as soon as the market opens!"
Countless retail investors and speculative funds stared eagerly at the screen, sharpening their knives, afraid of missing out on this wealth-creating feast that was destined to skyrocket.
......
December has arrived.
The temperature in Nanjing plummeted, but preparations at Haofeng Film & Television were in full swing.
The annual Haofeng Weibo Celebration is about to begin. This year, without Li Feng's personal appearance, Lao Han, the director of the film and television department, will take the lead and be fully responsible for the overall coordination of the entire event.
Without any additional instructions from Boss Li, the suspense surrounding the "King" and "Queen" at this year's Weibo Night could have been declared over long ago.
On the female star side, Liu Shishi has consistently outperformed Yang Mi and Liu Yifei, whose exposure has greatly decreased, in terms of both popularity and fan support during this period, making her the undisputed Queen.
The situation with the male celebrities, however, feels somewhat surreal.
The title of the new Weibo King will most likely fall to Luhan, who just returned from South Korea not long ago!
There's no way around it, EXO is just too popular in the country, to the point of being completely unreasonable!
As the year draws to a close, in the real-time poll of the top four celebrities, two of the top four are actually young idols who returned from EXO!
Hu Ge is still struggling to maintain his third-place position thanks to the die-hard fans and casual followers he accumulated in his early years.
As for Haofeng's top player Yang Yang, he surprisingly became the perennial goalkeeper, always stuck in fourth place.
Although Yang Yang is handsome enough, in the eyes of those fangirls who are keen on data manipulation, fighting and ranking, EXO's exquisite Korean-style packaging and delicate appearance are probably more in line with their appetite for spending money.
This kind of metaphysical pursuit of aesthetics and popularity is difficult to define with a unified standard.
……
Inside a private room at a high-end restaurant in Nanjing.
As a small group among Haofeng's male protégés, Yang Yang, Zhang Ruoyun, and Chen Xiao naturally get together whenever they have the chance.
The male artists under Haofeng's long-term contracts are limited to a handful of people, excluding the TFBOYS members who haven't grown up yet.
Lu Ha has a rather independent personality and likes to hang out with Xue Zhiqian and the other musicians. Perhaps deep down, he still aspires to be a singer.
As for the remaining Li Moufeng and that EXO guy... their nightlife is truly incredibly colorful.
They really aren't afraid of the fines, which include 100 million in damages for bad conduct and 200 million in penalties for breach of contract, and they come up with all sorts of new tricks every day.
However, everyone has their own ambitions. In this circle, since others dare to gamble with their future, Yang Yang and his two companions naturally keep their distance.
"Yang-ge, come on, let's have a drink."
Zhang Ruoyun raised her glass and clinked it against Yang Yang's, saying with some regret, "Judging by this trend, this year's King should be Lu Han's. But if you ask me, next year's position is definitely yours, Yang-ge!"
Chen Xiao nodded repeatedly, flattering him, "Exactly! Brother Yang has a solid foundation. Those K-pop idols are just for novelty; in the long run, Brother Yang is the more reliable one!"
Yang Yang picked up his wine glass and took a sip, not really caring about these empty titles.
He picked up a piece of food, smiled, and shook his head: "What King or not, it's all just empty titles. Whether we become popular or not, in the end, it's all up to Boss Li. Whoever the boss wants to become popular, that's who will become popular. As long as we focus on filming and avoid causing trouble for the boss, that's better than anything else."
At this point, Yang Yang's expression became slightly serious as he recalled some recent controversies.
"But speaking of which, that Zhao Daye is really no good person."