The Birth of Shanghai's First Conglomerate

Chapter 139 Comedy Twins
Chen Pingsheng, of course, would not give up on building a large supermarket.

There are many reasons for this, but the main one is that hypermarkets are not just supermarkets; they are more like a collection of traditional department stores.

As for milk tea, we can do some research on it after he has some free time.

He chatted with Tong Zhelan and the others at Tengying Entertainment for an hour before driving home.

Time flies, and a week has passed in the blink of an eye.

After a two-week holiday, all employees of Tengying Entertainment returned to work at headquarters.

Both the online sales, which Tong Zhelan was in charge of, and the production, which Hu Ding was in charge of in Guangdong, have already started operating.

The officially licensed derivative Taobao stores of "The Legend of Hua Qian Gu" have been launched on several major e-commerce platforms simultaneously.

Zhao Liying, who was busy with commercial endorsements and filming in Hengdian, Zhejiang, was also called back by him.

Chen Pingsheng handed her a contract.

"This is a collaboration I discussed a few days ago. It mainly involves developing Hua Qian Gu related products. Currently, production and sales are being handled by someone. Li Ying, you can take a look."

Zhao Liying is very busy.

365 days a year, I'm either filming or on my way to accept a role.

He's definitely a model worker.

"Brother Chen, you called me back just for this? You can decide this kind of thing for me!"

"It's not just about that."

After Chen Pingsheng stood up, he handed her a copy of Fei Yangyang's Series C financing plan.

"Around the end of the year, once The Journey of Flower airs, Boiling Sheep will officially begin its Series C funding round with a valuation of 15 billion. You still have 10.5% of the shares, right? I have some classmates who, if you're willing, can sell them to them at the original price of 100 million."

Zhao Liying smiled broadly; she was genuinely happy.

"Brother Chen, I only invested ten million in Boiling Sheep, and you turned it into a hundred million in less than a year. Do you think I should sell it now?"

"That's up to you."

Chen Pingsheng said, "They originally came to me to buy it. The Series C funding of 15 billion seems high, but it's actually only in the middle. There will be two more rounds, D and E. If these two rounds can be completed smoothly, then the shares you hold will be worth about 2 to 3 million. Of course, there are also certain risks."

"After all, no one can guarantee that Boiling Sheep will be able to successfully complete both rounds of financing for DE."

"If you sell now, you'll have made a real profit of 90 million. It's up to you."

"I believe in Brother Chen."

Zhao Liying said very seriously that she was quite surprised to have earned this money.

At the beginning, she never expected that Boiling Sheep would have such a smooth journey.

Wherever you open it, it'll be a fire.

There are no competitors of the same level in the hot pot industry.

Its reputation for low prices and high quality has earned it great praise from customers.

This is a very positive image for her as a spokesperson.

Chen Pingsheng nodded: "Okay, then you can wait a little longer, there's no need to rush. Once Boiling Sheep goes public smoothly, you'll definitely reap greater rewards when you cash out then."

"Take a look at this contract first. I plan to give you 10% of the profits. If Hua Qian Gu becomes a hit, then earning hundreds of millions from its related derivative products shouldn't be a problem."

Zhao Liying feels that her income at Tencent Film Studio is really too high.

It far exceeds her actual income as an actress. Given her current status, she would only earn a maximum of 12 million yuan for a role.

This is still the best-case scenario, after all, Hua Qian Gu hasn't aired yet, so she's only at the second-tier level.

But the money she actually earned this year far exceeds that of those top-tier celebrities.

Whether it's the situation with Boiling Sheep, the 20 million yuan bonus they received before, or this big contract now.

Brother Chen has never shortchanged her when it comes to making money.

It has actually far exceeded expectations.

"Ding, you have gained 1 Happiness Point from employee Zhao Liying."

Zhao Liying signed the contract without even looking at it, and Chen Pingsheng arranged for her to go to Shanghai.

Tong Zhelan is over there.

She was going to Shanghai to help Tong Zhelan film promotional videos for various official websites.

She, as the main character, was also personally responsible for the official promotion and marketing of those peripheral products.

Celebrities, after all, travel all over the world.

It wouldn't take too long to fly there, and it would be good to get to know Tong Zhelan.

The resources that woman possesses are far beyond what anyone in the entertainment industry can compare to.

If she agrees to help Zhao Liying secure international endorsements, she can easily land several major luxury brands.

That woman has that ability.

Zhao Liying also left him a script, which was a TV series about a foodie character that Chen Pingsheng had always been thinking about.

He used the entertainment industry analysis function to take a look, and it was quite good.

The return on investment is as high as 250%.

The total investment is expected to be 120 million yuan. Three companies have already raised 80 million yuan, and he will make up the remaining 40 million yuan by himself.

Zhao Liying immediately went to Shanghai with the funds and contracts.

Once he left, his Tengying Entertainment business immediately became quiet again.

"Bai Xin".

Calling his secretary over to take care of things every now and then is not his responsibility as the boss.

"Uncle, I'm here."

Bai Xin knocked on the door and came in obediently.

Chen Pingsheng asked her, "What's going on? Didn't we already post a message online saying we could invest in making a movie? Why haven't we received any inquiries?"

Bai Xin laughed awkwardly: "Uncle, isn't it because we rejected all the investors who came to us in the first half of the year? We haven't invested in a single one in the past six months, so who would come looking for us now?"

"They're all flop shows, so I definitely can't invest in them."

Chen Pingsheng said, "I don't care. You have three days to find me some good movie scripts. Your boss wants to invest in a movie."

"what?"

Bai Xin was completely dumbfounded. She was just a lowly secretary; where was she supposed to find movie scripts?

But if the boss gives an order, then it has to be carried out.

Bai Xin went out feeling completely overwhelmed. She secretly posted videos on her WeChat Moments; over the past year, she had added quite a few directors in the entertainment industry as contacts.

Some make movies, but most make TV series.

Sitting in her secretary's chair, Bai Xin edited a short document.

"Notice, notice! Our boss is rich and easy to talk to lately. Anyone with a good movie script who needs funding to film it can come to me. There's no limit to investment; we have plenty of money."

The copy was written, and eight of her beautiful selfies were posted, along with the large logo of Tencent Entertainment.

Ten minutes passed, and while there were many likes, not a single person wanted to invest.

Bai Xin wasn't in a hurry.

An hour passed and still nothing, and she was really getting anxious.

If the boss assigns her a task and she can't complete it, wouldn't she look useless?

Let's just send it to a large group.

The content sent to the group was simple and blunt.

I heard you're short on money for your movie? Well, Tencent Film Studio has plenty of cash on hand, come on over.

Haha... She's really smart; she came up with such a great plan.

This time, more people replied.

Director Zhang: "Who told you I'm short of money? Even if I were broke, I wouldn't be contacting you guys."

Director Li: "Your Tencent Pictures is a fraudulent company. So many people have gone to your boss, but he hasn't invested in a single one."

Director Huang: "Pah! You rejected such a good project of mine. I'd rather die than work for Tencent Film Studio again."

All negative reviews.

The fruits of their labor in the first half of the year are now theirs to reap.

Teng Ge: "Your family is going to invest in a movie? I'm a sketch comedian who plays the lead role, can we invest?"

Ah... a savior!

Whether or not I can vote for her is uncertain; I need to keep my own job first.

Bai Xin knew him; he was a famous sketch comedy actor.

It's the kind of funny.

If she hadn't become the president's secretary at Tencent Film Studio, she wouldn't have had the chance to interact with such top-tier sketch comedy actors.

"Yes, absolutely! As long as you, Brother Teng, are the lead actor, our boss will invest whatever it takes."

Bai Xin thought to herself, "Let's just get them here first."

Teng Ge: "Send me your location, and I'll fly there with my bucket overnight."

Ha... Mission accomplished.

Bai Xin laughed loudly.

The next day, Chen Pingsheng met this famous sketch comedy duo.

Shen Teng (male), Ma Li (female).

He was unaware that both of them had been tricked by Bai Xin.

They are very influential in the sketch comedy world, but they are considered complete newcomers in the film industry.

"Hey Brother Chen, the script we're filming this time is a rebirth story. It's about someone who becomes incredibly successful after being reborn, and only after winning back the white moonlight he once loved does he realize that his wife, who shared joys and sorrows with him, is his true love."

"Brother Chen, doesn't this script sound amazing?"

He didn't know if it was amazing or not; he probably only watched two movies a year.

This is my first time using the movie analysis function, and I hope it will be a great start.

Chen Pingsheng thought to himself in such a simple and unpretentious way.

Movie Analysis: Charlotte's Troubles.

"Target analysis in progress, please wait."

One second, two seconds, three seconds passed...

A row of golden characters reappeared before him.

"Target analysis is complete."

Movie title: Charlotte's Troubles.

Filming period: three months.

Total investment: 50 million.

"Return on investment: 900%"

???

A film with an investment of 50 million is at best a medium-sized production.

A 900% return on investment is 9 times the initial investment.

According to film producers, they typically receive 33% of the total box office revenue after the film's release.

In other words, this low-budget film may ultimately achieve a box office of between 14 billion and 15 billion yuan.

It's a bestseller, an absolute bestseller!

Seeing that he remained silent, Shen Teng suddenly became a little nervous.

First, he must admit that he has no box office appeal whatsoever.

But as long as you're willing to swallow your pride, this boss of Tengying should be pretty easy to fool.

"Brother Chen, such a good script can sell for at least a billion. Investing in it will definitely not disappoint you."

"How much do you want?"

Chen Pingsheng pinched his nose. Bai Xin really did bring him a pair of lucky stars.

We must reward them later.

Shen Teng was a little stunned by his sudden appearance.

"Not much, not much. Fifty million is enough for this movie. If it's convenient for you, you can invest half, and I'll figure out the other half."

"No need, I've invested all fifty million."

"By the way..." Chen Pingsheng asked curiously, "Have either of you ever thought about switching jobs to my Tencent Entertainment?"

(End of this chapter)