The Birth of Shanghai's First Conglomerate

Chapter 125 Finally Wrapped Up

Chen Pingsheng and his family attended Han Fei's funeral.

Unlike in the countryside, in cities, cremation is the only option, and then a small tombstone is purchased to bury the urn containing the ashes.

Aunt Liu Xiuai fainted immediately, but later recovered and fainted again after presiding over her son's funeral.

On the road of entrepreneurship in the sharing economy, Han Fei will not be the first to fall, nor will he be the last.

No one knows who will ultimately win.

In short, Chen Pingsheng's mood has been relatively heavy these past few days.

After finishing things here, everyone went back to doing what they were supposed to do.

On August 9th, five Tengsheng Fresh Supermarkets opened on the same day.

The rooms are all over 500 square meters, and Chen Pingsheng was quite satisfied after visiting them.

The overall layout is clear and tidy, and the addition of vegetables, fish, and meat has not affected it at all.

The main reason is that he hired a lot of people. Before, when he only sold fruit, a shop with about twelve people, including the cashier, was enough.

Now, a single store has more than 30 employees.

There's nothing we can do about it; fresh food stores are open from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

We must have morning and evening shifts.

The employees' working hours are still set at eight hours, so there is no need for overtime or excessive fatigue.

I need shorter periods of time so I can have my own life.

In the days following the opening, he held several meetings regarding the fresh food supermarket.

The main adjustments are to some details, which is expected to be made due to the addition of daily necessities such as vegetables, fish, and meat.

With prices much lower than those in the wet market and a full range of products, his foot traffic is bound to increase significantly.

As he expected, fresh produce such as fruits and vegetables were combined, and although the investment was large, the foot traffic did indeed explode.

In supermarkets, vegetables and fish have always been the biggest draws for customers.

After all, it's something you have to buy every day, so the frequency of purchase is far higher than that of other product categories.

After he finished his visit, he went to Tencent Entertainment.

Everyone said that his Tengying business was about to go out of business, but Chen Pingsheng knew that Tengying was about to have a good thing happen.

Filming for "The Legend of Hua Qian Gu," which took almost a year, has officially wrapped up.

Chen Pingsheng specially held a grand wrap party for the entire crew at the headquarters building of Tencent Entertainment.

He knew from last year that this was the most profitable production crew Tencent Pictures had ever invested in.

It is also a super hit drama that can make Tencent Pictures a top-tier entertainment and film company in China.

Once it airs, Zhao Liying is very likely to become the new top star among the post-85 generation of actresses in China.

She is now officially on par with Yang Mi.

After disappearing for more than half a year, Tencent Entertainment is about to usher in its own glory.

At the wrap party, after Chen Pingsheng stood on the stage, he said:

"A year is neither a long nor a short time, but thankfully our drama has finally been successfully filmed."

"Many people outside say that our Tengying will not be able to continue operating and will even go bankrupt. Today, on this special day, I am officially breaking this rumor."

"Last year, when we were filming this drama, the salary for the female lead was set at 12 million. Now that filming is finished this year, no matter what price Hua Qian Gu fetches in the end, I will personally reward Zhao Liying with 20 million in cash."

Who says he has no money? He just can't find a good production team to invest in him.

The secretary, Bai Xin, was stunned. Not only her, but everyone else was also stunned.

They're already handing out money before they've even sold it for a good price.

Is this some kind of arrogance?

Is it possible for the eldest sister to carry a 20 million yuan cash reward by herself?

Should I ask her to help me carry some? Bai Xin wondered foolishly.

Zhao Liying was completely bewildered, having received no prior notice.

I've never heard of such a thing happening in the entertainment industry before. They're already giving out bonuses before the show has even been sold.

The key is that post-production editing will take some time, and nobody knows what price it will fetch.

The applause was thunderous, and Zhao Liying, who went on stage to accept the award, was so moved that she almost cried.

Of course, Chen Pingsheng wasn't just rewarding her; the whole company had to be rewarded as well.

"Bai Xin, how many people are there in the company besides you?"

"Reporting to the boss."

Bai Xin bowed formally, her expression serious. "Seven people in the legal department, 21 people in the online marketing department, eighteen people in the logistics department, plus the chefs, security guards, and the senior sister's personal team, for a total of one hundred and six employees."

"Okay, everyone except you will receive a prize of 50,000."

"What?"

Why are you eliminating me? What did I do wrong?

Bai Xin was embarrassed.

For someone earning a million a year, 50,000 might not be much, but for the cooks, security guards, cleaning ladies, and ordinary employees, it's a lot.

Fifty thousand is a lot.

Chen Pingsheng only cared about the prize money; he left the rest of the celebration to them.

With his boss around, it's inevitable that people will feel a bit reserved.

"Is the boss leaving now?"

"Why would I stay and drink with you if I weren't going to leave?"

"No, I just want to ask him, I'm so lazy, why can I still get a 50,000 reward?"

"You stupid girl, if you want to ask, go ask by yourself, don't drag us into it."

"Our boss is generous, and that's not something that's only happened recently."

"Besides, look at our senior sister, she took 20 million by herself, what is ours?"

"You're envious? Why don't you go and act in a movie with Senior Sister?"

"I don't have that talent."

There's little work and little competition at Tencent Entertainment, so everyone gets along quite well.

However, I was really worried that the boss would shut down the company, but I didn't expect that not only did he not shut it down, but he also gave them a big bonus.

This is truly a stroke of good luck!

Surprisingly.

Top floor.

CEO's office.

Zhao Liying didn't linger downstairs. She had been busy filming for the past year and a half and hadn't had time to properly meet up with Chen Pingsheng.

"Brother Chen, even Hua Qiangu might not fetch a good price, so giving me 20 million seems inappropriate!"

"Nothing inappropriate."

Chen Pingsheng told her to sit down and then explained:

"Recently, some very bad rumors have surfaced about our Tengying. Although these rumors don't affect us much, they can lower the price of Hua Qiangu."

"Besides, if I give you 20 million now, it will be added to the investment cost. In addition, it will also show the outside world that Tencent has strong confidence in Hua Qiangu."

“With this back and forth, we might be able to sell an extra small amount.” Zhao Liying was completely surprised; she had thought that giving her 20 million was just a reward.

I never imagined there were so many twists and turns involved.

She wasn't very knowledgeable about business, but she could still understand the benefits of doing so.

"Brother Chen, you've really thought this through."

"what is this!"

After sitting down, Chen Pingsheng made himself a cup of tea. "There's something I'd like to tell you."

"Brother Chen, there's no need for us to stand on ceremony. Just say what's on your mind."

"Okay, this is actually a good thing."

Chen Pingsheng said, "Next, I plan to push for Tencent to go public. Before the IPO, I would like to sign an option contract with you, which will stipulate that you can only get the shares after ten years."

"Brother Chen, are you afraid I'll run away?" Zhao Liying's smile was as warm and comforting as ever.

“Things are different now,” Chen Pingsheng said sincerely. “You used to be just a minor actor, but now you’re about to become a top star. There must be countless big companies wanting to poach you. This is my way of reassuring you to stay with our company.”

It is foreseeable that quite a few large companies will want to poach Zhao Liying.

"Don't worry, Brother Chen, I'll always remember the day you invested over ten million and specifically asked me to be the female lead."

Zhao Liying smiled sweetly and sincerely.

"That was the first time in my life that I played the lead role, and I was so excited that I didn't sleep for several days."

Chen Pingsheng smiled and said, "That was also the first time in my life that I invested in a TV series. I'm very happy to have met you."

Zhao Liying extended her hand: "Me too, it's nice to be your neighbor."

Chen Pingsheng nodded: "In that case, let me talk to you about something realistic. Tengying's initial valuation will be 3 billion, and you will be given 5% of the stock options, which will be vested in ten years. Perhaps by then, Tengying will have become the number one in the industry."

"Of course, it's possible for the company to go bankrupt. In any case, Brother Chen hopes you will do better and better."

"Me too."

Chen Pingsheng still felt it was a worthwhile deal to retain a top-tier celebrity by offering equity ten years from now.

To be honest, even parents can't always be relied upon when faced with huge profits, let alone the kindness he showed them in the past.

An unbreakable bond of shared interests is the only way to ensure long-term sustainability.

Only if she does well at Tengying will she truly dedicate herself to staying at Tengying.

Chen Pingsheng chatted with Zhao Liying for a while.

She just finished filming "The Legend of Hua Qian Gu" and doesn't plan to rest.

He's undoubtedly a model worker.

However, for her next script, Chen Pingsheng hopes she will choose one related to the character of a foodie.

Next year is a crucial year for Boiling Sheep. Whether it can go public depends mainly on how smoothly its financing plan goes next year.

Actually, Zhao Liying was quite satisfied with Teng Ying, and even admired her.

She only needs to focus on filming here, and Tencent Film will also help her with capital operations.

If "Boys and Goats" really goes public, then she will be more than just an actress.

He even became one of the major shareholders of a listed company, something unthinkable in other companies.

Therefore, she cherished the opportunity that Tengying gave her.

I also really hope to develop it step by step.

Chen Pingsheng felt that she had a very discerning eye when it came to choosing scripts; most of the scripts that others sent over were not profitable.

The products she chooses usually have a decent profit margin.

This can be considered a lucky star.

After Zhao Liying returned to her studio.

Yang Qian also stayed here for a while. After Chen Pingsheng called her up, he said, "I want to set up a public relations department to be in charge of Tencent Film's external relations and the image of its artists."

The main reason Yang Qian didn't go to Chang Fu's live streaming studio was that she felt it wasn't very interesting.

She doesn't really like making money through live streaming right now.

Tencent Entertainment is different; the relationships between various parties in an entertainment company are actually quite complex.

You need someone who is very good at interpersonal relationships to manage the public relations department well.

Yang Qian asked, "You only have Zhao Liying as an artist, I'm afraid that's not enough, right?"

"It's definitely not enough."

Chen Pingsheng said, "Because we independently invested in the drama 'The Legend of Hua Qian Gu,' it suffered several waves of online criticism before. In the future, in addition to TV series, I also want to develop in the direction of movies. An entertainment company that only produces TV series is still a bit less valuable."

"That's true."

Yang Qian nodded: "There isn't a single entertainment company in mainland China that only produces TV dramas that has gone public yet. Even if you were the first to do it, I estimate that the market value would be hard to reach your own expectations. Although movies require a large investment and are high-risk, capital clearly values ​​that area more."

"Investing in movies will depend on future opportunities."

Chen Pingsheng felt that his cheat system hadn't been upgraded in a long time, and he wondered if the next upgrade would unlock the movie's return on investment function.

If that were the case, Tengying would truly take off.

However, the most important thing right now is to sell Hua Qiangu for a good price.

"You can take charge of the public relations department for now. Hua Qiangu will definitely have some TV station staff coming over soon. Once the post-production editing is complete, we'll set an auction date."

The newly established public relations department is primarily responsible for this matter.

Nothing is more important than selling Hua Qiangu for a good price.

Chen Pingsheng then called over Bai Xin and Jiang Yilei.

His decision to give Zhao Liying a 20 million yuan bonus was also intended to send a message to the outside world.

The filming of "Hua Qian Gu" far exceeded expectations, and the boss was very satisfied.

Besides, Zhao Liying's two previous dramas had very good ratings, so she already had a certain appeal.

"Bai Xin, Yang Qian is now in charge of the public relations department and is practically your boss. If I'm not around, try to ask her for advice if you're unsure about anything. If you continue to be so lazy, I'll dock your pay."

"Uncle," Bai Xin said with a pained expression, "what did I do wrong? Can you remind me? Or you can spank me a couple of times."

First they didn't give her a bonus, and now they're planning to deduct her salary.

Bai Xin, don't be too nervous.

"That's right. Now you just need to work with Jiang Yilei and Yang Qian to promote Hua Qiangu."

Chen Pingsheng stopped trying to scare her and took a set of keys from his drawer and handed them to her.

"I drove this car for you. As my secretary, driving a car worth over 100,000 yuan is so embarrassing for me."

"Huh?" Bai Xin felt like she had just ridden a roller coaster.

Was the reason you didn't give her a bonus before just to buy her a car?
She loves Porsche.

"Thank you, uncle."

"Alright, An'an is on summer vacation now and misses you, her tutor, quite a bit. Go visit her when you have time."

"Uncle, why don't you bring An'an over to play?"

Chen Pingsheng said helplessly, "She's recently become obsessed with practicing Mantis Boxing. All she does all day is watch mantises fight or try to imitate their kicks."

"okay."

Chen Pingsheng told them to get to work, "Just park your car downstairs. Don't drive that car that costs over 100,000 yuan anymore. People will think I can't afford to pay you."

It's also a matter of face for the secretary to walk out. Bai Xin grinned foolishly, instantly puffing out her chest with pride.

(End of this chapter)