Debuted right after graduating from high school

Fan Wumian will be collaborating with Xingzai on several major projects.

The reason for the personal visit was mainly to give a heads-up beforehand, to ensure that the projects would not have any problems, and to inquire about the progress of the Dragon Ball project.

Upon learning that 21st Century Fox had indeed prepared a script and even made "Son Gohan" the grandfather of "Son Goku," and that the story mainly revolved around a young white American man saving the world, Fan Wumian felt that it was practically a sure thing, and that he could take advantage of the situation later.

If 21st Century Fox executives don't suffer a major loss, they probably won't easily hand over the film and television adaptation rights to "Dragon Ball." As one of the most popular anime works in the world, the related IP is naturally highly valued. With the choice of new actors, the $4500 million production budget that Fox has put forward is already quite high.

Just like with Ang Lee's "Hulk" as a precedent, even if Marvel Studios' "Hulk" wasn't particularly outstanding, it still gave audiences the impression that "the quality was quite good."

When 21st Century Fox messed up "Dragon Ball" and lowered the audience's expectations, it made it easier for Fan Wumian to reshape the "Dragon Ball Universe" according to his own ideas.

He wasn't in a hurry about this.

Even if they can't acquire it, they can still imitate it and commission Marvel to create several comics based on Chinese characters, such as mecha, ancient martial arts, science fiction games, and urban fantasy. The only difference is that they lack the huge audience base of "Dragon Ball".

On the way home after leaving Xingzai's house, Fan Wumian thought about which works in mainland China were suitable for filming and suddenly realized that it was necessary to pay more attention to online novels.

Originally, due to the rampant piracy websites, investing in online novel platforms wouldn't yield much profit, so he gave up some investment opportunities. Now, the situation has changed somewhat.

First, with the imminent widespread adoption of smartphones, the market size of the online novel industry will increase exponentially.

Secondly, even if it's difficult for the novel platform itself to make a profit, it would be quite appropriate to contribute some ready-made adaptation materials to companies such as Mountain King Media, Myth Film Studio, Tudou.com, and Marvel Entertainment.

Third, Fan Wumian has begun to have a certain influence in the international market, which may enable him to start a wave of online novels going overseas and try to make some money from overseas.

Fourth, the sheer size of the online novel readership means that website traffic can generate substantial additional advertising revenue, while also providing high-quality IP sources for downstream businesses such as games and animation, allowing them to profit from peripheral markets.

A whole host of thoughts popped into his head, prompting Fan Wumian to take out his phone and check the current status of Qidian Novel Network on the spot.

Its parent company, Shengda Network, just announced in March this year that it had raised 100 million RMB in funding for Qidian Novel Network. It has already launched derivative platforms such as comics and overseas literature websites, but the revenue data seems to be rather dismal.

Shengda Network Group, which once made a fortune by distributing the game "Legend of Mir," still mainly makes money from games, but its performance continues to decline. It is transforming into an "investment company" and has incubated many internet projects, including a video website and a shopping website that have little presence.

With the idea that a direct acquisition would be ideal, but if an acquisition wasn't possible, then Tencent would "learn from" and allow them to create their own online novel platform, Fan Wumian had Tencent's senior executives take the lead in attempting to enter the online literature field.

Not long after returning home, he quickly put the matter out of his mind, because the general manager of Sanyao Heavy Industry came to visit Fan Wumian, bringing a bunch of gifts.

It's still very hot, so I'm sitting in the living room enjoying the air conditioning and drinking tea.

The general manager of Sanyao Heavy Industry, surnamed Song, talked with Fan Wumian for several minutes. Finally, he stopped beating around the bush and told him:
"President Fan's judgment is indeed remarkable. The Shanghai Composite Index immediately dropped several hundred points right after he reduced his holdings in Sanyao Heavy Industry. In investing, it's normal to buy high and sell low. Our company's foundation is still excellent."

"The reason I came to see Mr. Fan this time is not about reducing my shareholding. Previously, the American Carlyle Group wanted to acquire Quzhou Heavy Industry and then use it as a springboard to help other foreign companies enter the mainland market, but we firmly blocked it. Later, during the online debate, I even proposed to use $4 million to acquire Quzhou Heavy Industry in the name of Sanyao Heavy Industry, which was higher than the offer from the American Carlyle Group. Does Mr. Fan still remember this?"

"Now, after being sidelined for so long, the Carlyle Group in the US has chosen to withdraw its application to acquire Quzhou Heavy Industry. Now, the higher-ups are actually asking us if we want to acquire and restructure Quzhou Heavy Industry. Some of their technology, markets, and talent are exactly what we need. The problem is the funding for the acquisition, which we, Sanyao Heavy Industry, need to solve ourselves."

Fan Wumian suddenly realized that someone had come to "beg for alms" again.

Some time ago, he sold all his shares in Sanyao Heavy Industry to Xinhua Insurance Group, cashing out a total of over one billion RMB.

Since the Shanghai Composite Index broke through 5000 points, a turning point suddenly appeared. Under his instruction, Xinhua Insurance Group has been continuously reducing its holdings of Sanyao Heavy Industry shares.

Although some shares have been sold, due to the high percentage held, not all have been sold yet. Fan Wumian still holds approximately 4.1% of Sanyao Heavy Industry's total shares, a value that has evaporated by about 15% compared to the stock's peak. Therefore, Fan Wumian is also an insider regarding Sanyao Heavy Industry's acquisition of Quzhou Heavy Industry, making it reasonable for Manager Song to come to him for negotiations.

After careful consideration, Fan Wumian spoke:

"The reason I reduced my holdings in Sanyao Heavy Industry was simply to temporarily hedge against risks and give an explanation to other shareholders and customers. Once the stock price returns to a reasonable level, I will likely increase my holdings again."

“The acquisition of Quzhou Heavy Industry is very beneficial to Sanyao Heavy Industry, but since the American Carlyle Group has chosen to withdraw, why should we continue to pay a premium of 4 million US dollars? That is worth more than 33 billion RMB.”

How much money can you currently withdraw from your company account?

It was another juicy piece of meat delivered right to his door, making Fan Wumian so tempted to take a bite.

As an upstream industry in the real estate and infrastructure sectors, it is believed that it will not be long before Sanyao Heavy Industry's orders are so numerous that even with workers working three shifts a day, they will still be unable to keep up.

Affected by the subprime mortgage crisis, the US dollar has been depreciating all the way during this period, and the RMB exchange rate has reached a new high since the exchange rate reform, with 1 US dollar only being able to exchange for 7.52 to 7.55 RMB.

Fan Wumian's forex traders have collectively earned him over $9000 million, and he has already paid out millions of dollars in commissions as required. The leverage in the forex market is much higher than in the stock market; he only regrets not investing more recently.

Manager Song explained:

"We have already made it public that if we change our minds because Carlyle Group cancels the acquisition, it will be difficult to explain to the outside world. This fund is mainly used to repay debts and upgrade and adjust Quzhou Heavy Industry's product line. The higher-ups finally agreed to try to make this happen. If we mess up the negotiation, it will be even more of a loss, and we will have to face Quzhou Heavy Industry as a competitor in the future."

"Moreover, Quzhou Heavy Industry's performance has increased significantly this year. They are busy with infrastructure construction and residential development everywhere. Compared with imported engineering equipment, our products have a particularly high cost performance. They can also save customers money on subsequent maintenance and repairs. The price of $4 million is reasonable."

"If this deal falls through, Quzhou Heavy Industry will likely raise funds elsewhere, and then we won't have the chance to acquire it again. Our company can only scrape together about 10 billion RMB, which will be needed for R&D, building factories, and expanding the market—all of which require money."

"."

Fan Wumian laughed out of speech, saying:

"The total cost is over three billion, but you can only come up with one billion? You're not going to have to come up with the rest from me, are you?"

Manager Song's lips curled up, clearly indicating that this was his plan, and he added:

"According to policy regulations, private placements are generally offered at 20% of the average share price over the previous 20 trading days. This means that Mr. Fan has the opportunity to acquire a large number of Sanyao Heavy Industry shares at a 20% discount. Isn't this a win-win situation?"

Fan Wumian said with certainty:

"Even a 20% discount is too high. I estimate the Shanghai Composite Index will gradually decline to below 2000 points. How about we sign an agreement where I lend you 2 billion RMB first, and then convert it into Sany Heavy Industry stock by this time next year?"

Manager Song hadn't expected this at all, and shook his head, saying:

"It's not easy to do. Even if I have no problems, the China Securities Regulatory Commission might not approve it."

This matter concerns the gains and losses of hundreds of millions of RMB, and Fan Wumian was unwilling to give in easily. He sighed and said:

"That's a problem. You can use Quzhou Heavy Industry as collateral to get a loan from the bank. I can only provide bridging funds at most. We can't just knowingly throw our clients' money into a losing proposition." (End of Chapter)