Huayu: I'm reborn, but you still force me to be a scumbag?

Chapter 445 Becoming the Gravedigger of News Corporation

"Brother Linghu, where is this? Who lives here?"

After holding it in all night, Gulnazar finally asked the question.

A year ago, she definitely wouldn't have dared to do that, but things are different now. The trio has traveled all over the country together for so long that the poker-faced leader has become more like a clown, and the boss has gone from a high and mighty deity to a human being with emotions and desires. The Uyghur girl is naturally curious and active, so she has become bolder.

What's so hard to ask? We know perfectly well how many women the boss has and what their daily life is like, okay?
However, the poker-faced man in the driver's seat didn't pay any attention to her, only glancing at her in the rearview mirror.

Gulnazar was a little unsure whether this person knew or not. But she was more inclined to believe the former, after all, this person had been with the boss for much longer than her, and was very tight-lipped, able to keep everything a secret, truly a silent devil.

She stopped asking questions and her gaze swept over the underground parking lot, which she hadn't had time to examine closely the previous night.

To be honest, this place is really not good—it's dilapidated, damp, and has an inexplicable sense of cheapness. It's even worse than the newly opened residential complex that Michelle visited last week.

How could the boss's mistress live in a place like this?
Ah... could it be a deliberate attempt to mislead people?

Yes, yes, that must be it. Who would have thought that the famous Chen Nuo would choose such a run-down place to meet his lover? It's just like something out of a spy movie—cunning, so incredibly cunning.

"Are you in a daze again?"

The car door was suddenly pulled open, and a man wearing a mask and a baseball cap got into the car and said something.

Gulnazar quickly snapped out of her daze and smiled sweetly, "No, no. Good morning, boss. Did you sleep well last night?"

"Not good. Linghu, let's drive."

The car slowly started moving.

Chen Nuo wasn't lying; he hadn't slept much last night, and his eyes were a little sore. He closed his eyes as soon as he got in the car to rest, and asked, "We're going abroad again in a few days. Have you found a house yet? Where are you and Michelle planning to buy? If you're going to buy, you should hurry up and do it."

"Uh, I've looked at two properties. One is in Wangjing, and the other is in Beiyuan. I'm still undecided..."

Before Gulnazar could finish speaking, Chen Nuo interrupted her: "Definitely buy in Wangjing. When buying a house, location matters, don't you understand?"

“Uh…” Gulnazar also thought that made sense.

That apartment in Wangjing is in a Poly development. It's a small unit, only 66 square meters, but the layout is quite good—one bedroom and one living room. Crucially, it's conveniently located, has good property management, and the developer is reliable. The problem is—cough.

Chen Nuo opened his eyes, looked at her, and immediately understood, asking, "Are you short of money?"

Gulnazar smiled shyly and nodded.

Chen Nuo's lips moved, and it was clear that he wanted to say something, but in the end he kept his mouth shut.

……

……

When Chen Nuo saw President Han again, he found that the man, who was in his sixties, had lost all his original energy and looked much older as he lay in the hospital bed.

Chen Nuo felt a pang of sympathy upon seeing this.

Honestly, who would have thought?
They had dinner and chatted together the night before, and he suffered a stroke the next day?
The phrase "entrusting one's son to another" almost became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Fortunately, there were family members at home, and the hospital wasn't far away. The ambulance arrived quickly, and the patient was taken to the hospital promptly. After a consultation with specialists, the initial diagnosis was a mild stroke, without extensive vascular blockage or serious complications. With three to six months of systematic rest and recuperation, most bodily functions should recover.

However, it's unlikely that things will completely return to their original state; there will almost certainly be some aftereffects. Currently, it seems to be the face.

As they were talking, the door to the VIP ward opened, and a tall nurse wearing a mask pushed in a cart, saying, "Mr. Han Sanping's family member... Ah!"

The nurse looked at Chen Nuo's face and exclaimed, stopping abruptly at the door. After a couple of seconds, she continued, "Um... I'm here to check Mr. Han's blood pressure and change his IV drip." Her voice instantly became soft and sweet.

Chen Nuo nodded slightly, stepped aside to make room, and even moved the table next to the hospital bed a little to give the nurse more space to work.

After looking around, he realized he couldn't be of much help, so he said to Mrs. Han, "Then I'll be leaving now. Aunt Liu, Sister Han, if you need any help later, just let me know... Mr. Han, please get some rest."

Han Sanping, lying on the hospital bed, twitched her eyelids and tried to force a smile, but ultimately, due to the slight paralysis on the left side of her face, her smile looked somewhat distorted.

He was about to leave when he ran into Zhang Pingmin, the deputy director of the broadcasting bureau, who was also visiting him in the hospital. Zhang Pingmin insisted on taking him to a quiet corner of the hospital and chatting for about half an hour before he was able to leave.

"So... President Han actually benefited from this misfortune?"

When Qi Yuntian arrived at the company, he was so surprised by the news he had heard from Deputy Director Zhang that his eyes widened instantly.

Chen Nuo understood perfectly, because he felt the same way when he first heard about it.

I originally thought that after this incident, President Han's fake medical retirement would definitely become a real medical retirement.

But as the conversation went on, it seemed from Director Zhang's words that the higher-ups were actually planning to retain General Manager Han's position and arrange for his deputy to temporarily take over the work. General Manager Han would then continue to lead China Film Group after being discharged from the hospital.

This really surprised Chen Nuo, leaving him completely baffled and wondering how such a change could have occurred.

"Could it be that one of President Han's powerful backers pulled some strings? Did they take this opportunity to play the sympathy card?" Qi Yuntian scratched his head, looking bewildered.

Chen Nuo shrugged: "Who knows? Probably. It's a good thing for us too. After all, right? It would be a bit strange to have a strict and impartial person come up. By the way, have you arranged for someone to pick us up this afternoon? Luo Rui said there are more than ten of them, so they need to send a bigger car."

Qi Yuntian nodded and said, "I know, it's already arranged, two cars have been sent over. Now that the company has money, I plan to upgrade all the vans used by our artists, and then assign one or two more assistants to each person."

Chen Nuo nodded: "Okay."

For the past two years, the company has been struggling financially.

Even Fan Binbing only drives a 2007 Alphard. Other celebrities like Liu Yifei, Zhao Liying, Zhang Xinyu, and Ning Hao, aside from Liu Yifei who also uses an Alphard, often only drive Buick GL8s or Honda Odysseys. To be fair, this wasn't a big deal before, but now that many film and television companies are either going public or receiving investment, and celebrities are traveling with increasingly extravagant entourages, it all seems a bit shabby.

It was okay when there was no money before, but now, Huanxin has 150 million US dollars in cash from the returns of "Inception" that has not been touched, plus 160 million RMB in dividends from "No Man's Land", plus more than 20 million US dollars in copyright fees for "No Man's Land" that he paid to the company after receiving dividends, as well as the artist's share of the profits from the agency contract.

All things considered, Huanxin Company currently has approximately 2.2 million RMB in liquid funds in its RMB account and about 1.7 million USD in its overseas USD account as reserve funds.

Hardware features like cars and assistants really need to catch up.

After agreeing, Chen Nuo casually asked, "Have you placed your order for that Bentley Mulsanne?"

Qi Yuntian laughed and said, "Hehe, it's settled. I just transferred the deposit before going to work."

Chen Nuo smiled and said, "I'll borrow the car for a few days when it arrives."

"Ha ha ha ha……"

Seeing Qi Yuntian smiling so happily, Chen Nuo felt joyful as well.

Qi Yuntian has always loved cars. He still vividly remembers how excited Qi Da was when they first borrowed Chen Kexin's G-Class to travel in Shanghai. Later, when his father bought him a BMW 740Li, Qi Yuntian would always insist on driving it, tirelessly picking him up and dropping him off in Beijing.

After this dividend payout, Qi Da finally achieved initial financial freedom, and buying a luxury car worth several million to splurge was only natural. However, he was still reluctant to spend the money and didn't buy a better one, so he bought a Mulsanne instead.

Chen Nuo himself wasn't particularly materialistic, and frankly, he envied Qi Yuntian's simple happiness. It also reminded him of his own private jet, due next year—the wait was truly agonizing.

After chatting idly for a while, Chen Nuo pulled himself together and got down to business.

How many employees does our company have in total now?

Qi Yuntian thought for a moment and said, "There are probably more than 60 people in total, including everyone?"

"I heard from Li Jing that she discussed with you about expanding next year?"

"Yes, the recruitment plan was finalized at the beginning of the year, and we will probably need to recruit about forty more people. The publicity department, production department, artist management center, legal department, and business cooperation department are all short-staffed."

"Next year, besides 'Wolf Warrior,' our company plans to independently invest in one or two theatrical films, plus a TV series. Zhao Liying is just one step away from becoming a top-tier actress, and Li Jing and her team are also in talks with Yu Zheng's studio to see if they can collaborate on their next project. As for Zhang Xinyu, I think we can give her another push and see if there are any suitable scripts for her to try again in the film industry. My mom says her face is actually quite suitable for movies, but her foundation is too weak, and she hasn't received any professional training. We sent her to Zhang Songwen's studio for a few months before, and Zhang Songwen's feedback is that she's doing quite well. I just want to see if there's any hope for her."

"As for Fan Binbing and Liu Yifei... the company is preparing to tailor scripts for them. We are currently working with them to select scripts and see whether to make movies or TV series, or collaborate with big directors. We have already received quite a few scripts and are looking for suitable ones."

Chen Nuo rarely discussed business matters with Fan Binbing and Liu Yifei in private, so he really didn't know what they were thinking on this matter. He couldn't help but ask, "What do they mean now?"

"Fan Bingbing's message is that she's willing to do anything to make money, but she wants to stay close to home and not go far away. You understand why. In short, I think she seems to have no desires other than money now. As for Liu Yifei... she still wants to win awards."

Chen Nuo thought for a moment and then asked, "What do you think?"

Qi Yuntian said, "I think it's possible..."

Chen Nuo interrupted, "Don't give me a perfunctory answer, tell the truth."

Qi Yuntian said helplessly, "I'm just telling the truth. What do you mean? Tell me."

Chen Nuo said, "I don't usually get involved in these company matters. I think you shouldn't worry about my relationship with them. Just do what you normally would. Like what you just said, those two women's demands are just nonsense to me. If you ask me, it should be the other way around."

"Conversely... Fan Binbing goes to compete for awards? Liu Yifei goes to make money?" "Yes."

"Uh……"

After a moment of silence in the office, Qi Yuntian nodded, gave a thumbs up, and said, "That makes sense. Brother Nuo is indeed insightful."

Chen Nuo waved his hand and said, "Brilliant idea my ass. This is called objective reality. But don't say I said it... just say it was arranged by the company."

"Haha, I understand."

Qi Yuntian laughed, and Chen Nuo laughed along with him for a while before continuing, "You mean, after the recruitment is completed next year, our company will have a total of about a hundred people?"

"That's right, it might be slightly more than that."

Chen Nuo mentally calculated for a moment, then said, "The number of people should be fine. There's something I'd like to discuss with you. I'm thinking of setting up a housing fund within the company..."

Chen Nuo was talking about the inspiration he had received from Gulnazar.

Based on his understanding of the Chinese real estate market, 2011 could be considered the last window of opportunity to buy property in the core areas of Beijing, such as Xicheng and Haidian districts.

After this year, buying a house in Beijing will become increasingly unattainable for ordinary people, until it becomes completely out of reach and beyond their wildest dreams.

Now that he knew this, Chen Nuo wanted to do something.

Of course, he wasn't a saint; he was just a normal person with a renewed perspective, a bit lecherous, a bit selfish, a bit opportunistic, and also a bit compassionate. So, he thought of helping his brothers out within his power and where his hands could reach.

“When we distributed profits, we set aside a total of $150 million, of which $100 million was reserved for the production costs of ‘Eagle Catches Chickens.’ But now it seems that we won’t need that part.”

"My initial idea is that if our employees plan to buy a house soon but lack the down payment, we can lend them some money."

"You can discuss the specific implementation plan with Li Jing and get the opinions of our company's legal team. I think the general direction is to grant different credit lines based on each person's work ability, position, and years of service, with a repayment period of 3-5 years. Of course, if he continues to work for our company, this loan can be offset against his year-end bonus..."

After rambling on for a while, Chen Nuo finally got to the gist of his thoughts. Then, he glanced at Qi Yuntian, suddenly laughed, and said, "Hello? Please, stop making that face. Think about it this way: with this condition, your recruitment plan after the New Year will definitely be easier, don't you think?"

After a while, Qi Yuntian's word "right" sounded as if it had been squeezed out from a crack in a rock, extremely stiff.

Haha.

……

……

Netflix and his team arrived at Huanxin Company shortly after 2 p.m.

Although he hadn't adjusted to the time difference yet, Reed Hastings, the leader, was still in high spirits. Upon meeting Chen Nuo, he followed Western etiquette and gave him a big hug at the door of the newly renovated office, saying with a big smile, "Haha, Chen, I knew it."

Chen Nuo ignored his exaggerated enthusiasm and simply said in a normal tone, "Reed, welcome to China."

"Thank you, thank you so much. To be honest, even though I've only been off the plane for an hour, I think I've already fallen in love with this place. OMG, I have to say, this place is really different from what I imagined. Those bastards at Fox, what kind of stuff do they show every day?!"

From this one sentence, Chen Nuo could tell that this person had come from afar, determined to reach an agreement. He estimated that the negotiations would be easier than expected.

He then looked at Lorraine Eisner. The woman had clearly touched up her makeup before coming, and now she was radiant with a smile.

Chen Nuo noticed that most of the young male employees of Huanxin Company around him—these guys who were in front of female celebrities every day—were attracted to her.

This shows that Rory Eisner's looks are truly stunning when she takes care of herself.

Looking at her expression, Chen Nuo said helplessly, "Laugh if you want to."

“Hahahaha, you said it yourself.” Luo Rui burst out laughing, walked over, leaned close to him, and the two pressed their cheeks together. Then Luo Rui whispered, “Although it seems like he helped me, I still have to say, fuck Murdoch.”

Chen Nuo smiled immediately, patted her back gently, and said, "Thank you."

Just as Chen Nuo had expected, the atmosphere was exceptionally harmonious for the next half day, with professional matters left to the legal teams of both sides to discuss. His "negotiation" with Reed Hastings took place in his office, where the two chatted casually, getting to know each other and building trust.

So how do we build trust?

Clearly, the Netflix team had coordinated their statements beforehand—they knew who was currently the number one person on Chen Nuo's blacklist.

"I have always hated News Corp., hated Fox, hated Murdoch, that vicious Australian capitalist."

"Chen, have I ever told you that my original purpose in creating Netflix was to kill cable television, especially that piece of junk like Fox News that monopolizes the discourse?"

"Oh? Really?" Chen Nuo cooperated by showing a slightly surprised expression.

“Really,” Reed Hastings said earnestly. “That year I subscribed to cable TV in San Francisco for a year, and the service was terrible. I was forced to watch Fox News garbage every day. I thought to myself, this media hegemony will be overthrown sooner or later, so I might as well do something myself.”

"Netflix may seem small now, but I can guarantee that we are on the right track. We represent the future of content distribution. As long as the content is good enough and the platform is free enough, users will naturally choose us, not those old media outlets that are high and mighty."

"The more monopolistic and rigid News Corporation becomes, the faster it will die."

"Chen, let's start now, starting with this TV series, and do all this together, okay? Let's be the gravediggers of News Corporation together."

Chen Nuo stared at Reed Hastings as he said those words.

Finally, from an actor's perspective, he was somewhat surprised to find that at least 30% of the man's impassioned speech was genuine.

Holy crap, Reed Hastings is an idealist? A Don Quixote of the new century?
Who the hell would believe that?
Chen Nuo laughed and said, "Reed, what you said sounds very good. I think I'm interested."

Once everyone is interested, the conversation will naturally progress quickly.

The next morning, both parties reached an agreement on the most crucial terms of their cooperation: remuneration.

Netflix has indeed shown great sincerity.

Chen Nuo's personal salary and executive producer's salary are consistent with what Hastings proposed in Palm Beach: the treatment only top actors receive—$200 million per episode, plus a 5% profit share.

Huanxin Hong Kong, as the production company, participates in the entire production process of the series as the "general producer".

According to the framework provided by Netflix, the production budget for the series will be fully paid by Netflix, with the cost per episode controlled between US$450 million and US$500 million, and Huanxin Hong Kong will be responsible for overall coordination and allocation.

In addition to full reimbursement of production costs, Huanxin Company will receive a management fee of 12% of the total production budget as a fixed income for the production service provider.

In addition, Huanxin Hong Kong will also participate in a 5% share of the platform's profits after the series is launched.

This was also the contract Netflix offered to Kevin Spacey and David Fincher. The difference is that the company behind "House of Cards" was Media Rights Capital from the US, while this time it's Refurbished Hong Kong.

However, all of these contracts were signed on the condition that the legal representative of Huanxin Hong Kong was Chen Nuo.

In this way, actor Chen Nuo, producer Chen Nuo, and company legal representative Chen Nuo each received a clear and specific share of the profits from the project in their respective roles.

In other words, Reed Hastings used money and benefits, along with idealism and the slogan of shared hatred, to firmly bind Chen Nuo to this chariot, making it impossible for him to jump off, and forcing him to be fully committed in the process.

With the core cooperation terms finalized, all that remained were the minor details. Both legal teams spent two days meticulously reviewing and revising each clause to ensure all legal details were accurate.

Over the past two days, Chen Nuo took Hastings sightseeing around Beijing, visiting the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and the Summer Palace. Fortunately, it was winter, and everyone was dressed warmly with sunglasses and scarves, so they were quite safe, unlike last time when they were recognized.

Since Hastings and his team had already booked their return flights to the United States for December 2nd, and time was tight, both teams worked overtime overnight on December 1st to finalize all the formal contract documents.

Finally, in the conference room of Huanxin Company that night, Chen Nuo and Reed Hastings picked up their pens together and solemnly signed their names on the last page of a thick stack of documents.

This is a moment of great significance for Chen Nuo personally, Huanxin, and even Netflix.

But at this moment, Chen Nuo's phone screen had already received several unread text messages urging him to read them.

When are you coming?

"Not yet?"

"Changchang is starting to blow out the candles."

"Then we won't wait for you, let's start eating."

"???"

What time will you finish on your end?

"Never mind... don't come."

(End of this chapter)