Debuted right after graduating from high school

Chapter 701 40.5 billion US dollars

Since we met.

Fan Wumian and Gao Yuanyuan did not have many interactions.

The main problem is that she has a rather serious personality, so it wasn't very easy to get along with her. We often lacked common topics and couldn't connect with each other.

Since this actress switched jobs to work for him, she has received scripts tailor-made for her, such as "Finding Mr. Right" and "Story of Yanxi Palace". Both have now been filmed and are in post-production.

To avoid future issues related to historical nihilism, which could lead to the forced censorship and removal of the hard-won TV series, Fan Wumian has made advance modifications to all his works, adopting fictional story backgrounds.

Take, for example, the previously invested drama "The Legend of the Imperial Palace of the Ming Dynasty," which was suspected of being a case of false advertising.

Although both are called "Da Ming", after the fictional story background was changed, it became a completely different story. Many viewers who are not familiar with history can hardly detect the problem, but this helped the show to slip through the loopholes and escape censorship.

The same goes for "Story of Yanxi Palace". The female lead travels back to ancient times and is forced to become a palace maid. She takes revenge immediately when she is bullied. She is ruthless and decisive, and the pace is very enjoyable.

Many TV dramas that depict characters swallowing their anger often force a happy ending, leaving viewers frustrated.

The younger generation has begun to control the remote control at home and particularly enjoys watching works invested in by Fan Wumian. They have already cultivated a large enough audience base, so it's time to create more works that young people like.

Whether it suits the aesthetic tastes of the elderly is not within his consideration.

The main issue is that the interests of the TV station and Fan Wumian's own interests sometimes cannot completely overlap. He cares more about the number of paid members on Tudou.com, attracting traffic and monetizing artists, and enriching the video website's film library.

The meager allowance from the TV station was barely enough to make ends meet, and the procurement price was tightly controlled by relevant departments, resulting in a relatively low overall price.

For example, the show "Crossing the Guandong," which claimed a total investment of 4000 million RMB, was only paid 66 RMB per episode by CCTV for the national premiere rights and permanent broadcast rights. This price was lower than the production cost, and the investors mainly made money by selling the second and third rounds of broadcast rights.

Becoming allies makes all the difference. Having tasted the sweetness of Tudou.com's soaring valuation, CCTV helped Tudou.com negotiate the transfer agreement for the online copyright of "Crossing the Guandong", at 7.5 yuan per episode, for a total price of 390 million yuan.

After meeting Gao Yuanyuan, the two went crazy from afternoon until dark.

A little after 7 p.m., in the newly built main house of the courtyard, Gao Yuanyuan, sounding troubled, said to Fan Wumian while getting dressed:

"Mr. Fan, I'm afraid we can't continue like this. You're still young and can afford to wait, but I'm already 27, and I'll be 28 in two months. If I meet the right man, I might get married."

Fan Wumian blinked, slightly surprised but not too surprised, and simply teased:

"Why didn't you say so earlier? I didn't make things difficult for you just now, did I? Don't say I took advantage of my position as the boss to bully you."

Gao Yuanyuan smiled and patted him lightly, then, worried about straining their relationship, added:

"I just had this thought; I haven't met the right person yet. I'm especially happy to see you today. Just a heads-up, if I don't meet the right person, I might come back to you."

Fan Wumian reached out and took her hand, smiling as he said:

"I wasn't at my best just now, but suddenly I feel like I'm good again. Shall we start over? Since you want to start a new life, why not create more beautiful memories?"

Gao Yuanyuan only considered it for a second or two before decisively agreeing:

"I think this is a great idea. How about we eat something first to replenish our energy?"

People always realize the value of something only after they've lost it.

After Gao Yuanyuan left that evening, Fan Wumian felt a little empty inside. The next day, he was busy all day dealing with all sorts of trivial matters.

In the dead of night, as if possessed, he contacted Gao Yuanyuan and sent her a text message that read—

"My memory is suddenly a bit blurry, not clear or vivid enough. Why don't you come back and fill in the gaps?"

A few seconds later, the other party replied.

"Okay, then let's say goodbye properly. I'll pack up and come to your place in about an hour." Another day passed.

Gao Yuanyuan brought up that she had cut her hair short, and Fan Wumian asked to see it in person, to which she readily agreed again.

Another day passed, and she said she left her bank card in Fan Wumian's courtyard house. She came over to retrieve it late at night, but didn't leave the house all night.

A blink of an eye.

The seventh day since arriving in Yanjing.

It wasn't until Fan Wumian looked in the mirror and noticed that his lips were slightly pale and lacked color that he finally realized something was wrong.

I suspect that Gao Yuanyuan set me up.

It's speculated that she tried to back down but failed, and then regretted breaking up with him.

We said goodbye a long time ago, but we never really separated. The sounds of our "breakup" continued every night.

Treating every single time as if it were the last, both sides felt incredibly aroused.

If things continue like this, the international speculators who were almost driven mad failed to take him down, and Fan Wumian will soon kill himself. He finally understands why most ancient emperors died young; too much romantic entanglement can easily turn into disaster.

Some new changes have occurred in the last few days.

Bosera Funds and the Mainland Mountain Bandit King Fund have resumed accepting subscriptions from fund investors. In addition, they issued announcements promising not to reduce their holdings and cash out in the short term, which was interpreted by the outside world as a signal that "the market is about to recover".

Fan Wumian didn't say anything more, only posted a few Weibo posts related to the entertainment industry. At the same time, he also sought cooperation with banks in mainland China and Hong Kong to prepare to swallow Marvel Entertainment, Jaguar Land Rover, and Aston Martin in his own name and in the name of Xinhua Insurance Group.

The total transaction amounted to $40.5 billion, of which he only contributed $2.5 million in his personal capacity, using loans to privatize and delist Marvel Entertainment.

The car business was handed over to New China Life Insurance Group, which paid a one-time payment of US$10 billion, with the remaining funds provided by loans from the Bank of China.

After all, it involves more than $40 billion.

Those who helped push the deal forward behind the scenes certainly didn't have the ability to control everything; they simply used their connections and channels to clear some obstacles for Fan Wumian.

Marvel Entertainment's board of directors was already considering accepting the conditions for privatization and delisting. Ford Motor Company had also long planned to sell Jaguar, Land Rover, and Aston Martin, which were three money-losing companies. It was just that they gave Fan Wumian a discount of about 8.5% on the intended price, which was actually only two or three hundred million US dollars cheaper.

Behind the three to four hundred billion US dollars of international hot money in the A-share market are the figures of many Wall Street oligarchs. With their enormous power, it would be easy for them to remove Fan Wumian, this obstacle, and stop him from causing them any more trouble.

After all, dealing with Marvel Entertainment or Ford Motor Company is much easier than dealing with Fan Wumian, as both companies are already under the control of Wall Street forces.

Manager Qi, who was in charge of negotiations, specifically asked a senior executive at Marvel Entertainment and learned that Merrill Lynch, which had provided Marvel with a loan of four to five hundred million US dollars, was threatening to withdraw the loan.

Ford Motor Company had its stock price target lowered by rating agencies, and The New York Times devoted a full page to criticizing Ford's management, saying they were short-sighted and should cut several loss-making brands as soon as possible.

Upon hearing the news, Fan Wumian felt a sense of absurdity, like someone who had bought a special pass to an amusement park from a scalper, only to find out upon entering that it allowed him to cut in line, and the scalper himself was arguing on his behalf.

The methods were a bit crude, but Marvel Entertainment, which had been giving Fan Wumian a headache for a long time, was indeed dealt with this time. A memorandum of understanding has been signed, and a suspension application has been submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. The teams on both sides are discussing the specific details, and the process is going very smoothly.

The same thing happened at Ford Motor Company. After announcing its plans to sell Jaguar Land Rover and Aston Martin, its stock price surged 15.6% that day.

This made Fan Wumian a little suspicious that the bookmakers behind the emails had also taken advantage of the situation to go long on Ford, winning twice in a row.

When he stopped reducing his holdings and cashing out, the gloom in the A-share market seemed to vanish, and all sorts of "positive news" flooded the market again, pushing the Shanghai Composite Index from over 3400 points to nearly 3700 points in just three trading days.

Despite his displeasure, Fan Wumian truly let it go.

Due to Wall Street's betrayal, the subprime crisis was accelerated. Even if a bubble appears in the A-share market, it is estimated that it will not reach the terrifying 6000-plus points. Excluding the bubble, the actual losses of investors will certainly not be as great as in the previous life.
(End of this chapter)