Reborn Action Star: Starting in Hollywood

Chapter 560 Betty's Briefing

In response to Lin Yuan’s greeting, “Golden Thigh” Betty came over.

"What's wrong? You deliberately distracted us and now you're calling me over?" Betty asked with a smile.

He had just sent the other person away, and now he was asking for help. Even an old playboy like director Eastwood would be too embarrassed to speak.

So Lin Yuan said, "The director made a mistake that every man would make, and I need your help."

Betty understood immediately. She covered her mouth and smiled as she asked Lin Yuan, "All men make mistakes? Including you? Forget it, if you don't make mistakes, why would I care? Who did the director offend?"

"Paris Hilton." Lin Yuan said.

"Is it her?" Betty's eyes flashed with contempt.

Not to the director, but to Paris Hilton.

In the eyes of a top white, rich and beautiful woman like Betty, a woman like Paris Hilton who has no ambition, a decadent private life and a beautiful body is no different from a walking corpse, so naturally she doesn't take her seriously.

"Did it provoke revenge from Latses, the grandson of the Greek shipping magnate?" Betty asked.

Lin Yuan nodded, explained the information he had just received from the old director, and also expressed his own thoughts and plans.

After listening to Lin Yuan’s introduction, Betty said: “If we want to expand our mineral business in Africa, we really need to consider owning a shipping company, so I support your plan.

I also know that Greek shipping companies seem to have some major financial problems, but they haven't been clearly reflected in the financial statements yet. I wasn't very interested in this area before, but it's not too late to pay more attention to it now.

I plan to have the company's professional team conduct a financial due diligence on Greek Shipping, then issue a short-selling report to target their stock price, and then try to acquire the company."

"Is there a good chance of success?" Lin Yuan asked.

"The chances are not very high. After all, this is a Greek shipping giant and a star enterprise in Greece. Once it falls into a crisis, it will most likely get support from the Greek government and other shipping companies. If the Greek side insists on keeping the benefits within the family, we may not be able to get a piece of meat." Betty said.

Lin Yuan was not surprised at all when he heard Betty's answer.

In the business world, money doesn't always matter.

Truly valuable assets are often not something you can buy with money.

Greek Shipping has 33 cargo ships of various sizes with a total deadweight tonnage of more than 350 million tons. In addition, it has controlling stakes in two excellent ports in Greece and equity stakes in more than a dozen overseas ports.

If you ignore the increasingly deficit-ridden internal affairs and only look at the appearance, it is definitely a powerful super shipping company.

Even if such an enterprise encounters major financial problems or is on the verge of bankruptcy, it will not be the turn of foreign companies to reap the benefits.

It's no wonder that even Betty said that she wasn't very confident. If it were left to Lin Yuan himself, he would have no idea how to start.

"Man proposes, God disposes. Let's give it a try. How confident do you think we are?" Lin Yuan asked.

"Fifty percent. If it fails, we can get a few helpers to make it ninety percent." Betty thought for a while and said.

"..."

Hearing this answer, Lin Yuan was speechless.

Fifty percent is still not a big deal?

And how can you still ask for help if you fail?

After asking people, it suddenly became 90%?

Lin Yuan knew too well what "90% sure" meant. It was just a polite way of saying "90% sure" often meant success was certain.

"Fifty percent confidence is already very high, what about ninety percent?" Lin Yuan asked.

"Simply shorting the stock price wouldn't completely destroy Greek Shipping, but if we combine it with investment and financing restrictions, it would be much easier," Betty said with a smile. "We at Morgan Stanley can easily target the company's credit rating and financing channels, cutting off Greek Shipping's external financial support."

Lin Yuan nodded. Wall Street in the United States is the center of world finance, and the dollar tide provides the most important source of financial capital.

As the core of Wall Street, Morgan Stanley naturally has a huge influence on the entire capital investment and financing system.

As long as Morgan Stanley takes action, cutting off external transfusions for Greek shipping will not be a problem at all.

But as we all know, internal factors determine external factors. If Greek shipping's own operations and financial conditions are good, then even if external transfusions are cut off, its foundation will not be shaken.

Now there are big problems within Greek shipping. If external support is cut off, that would be the last straw that breaks the camel's back, triggering a chain reaction of all the problems.

"Once we get started, I'm 100% confident we can drive Greek Shipping directly to bankruptcy. I have no concerns about that," Betty said. "But the next step is uncontrollable: whether the Greek government will approve our acquisition plan. So I think the chances are only %."

Lin Yuan smiled and said, "Even if the Greek government doesn't approve the acquisition plan, we've at least made a fortune by shorting the stock price, and we've also helped the director resolve the crisis."

Director Eastwood nodded vigorously. If Greek shipping was on the verge of bankruptcy, how could the third-generation leader Latsis have the mood and financial resources to cause trouble for himself?

Then this emotional crisis will naturally be resolved.

In Lin Yuan's opinion, the worst-case scenario is that he can make some money and solve the director's problem at the same time, which already makes him quite satisfied.

Betty shook her head and said, "Since we've already made our move, how can we return empty-handed? If the Greek government doesn't approve, I can call for help and still achieve my goal, but I'll have to share a little more of the profits, which makes me a little sad."

"The Greek government has rejected the acquisition, and you still have a way to force the acquisition? What other magical tricks do you have?" Lin Yuan asked in surprise.

"Let's start with marine insurance. Normally, it's difficult to refuse to insure Greek shipping companies, as it would damage their business reputation. But if they're caught up in a bunch of scandals and financial crises, then refusing to insure them becomes justifiable," Betty said.
"The largest marine insurance companies are all owned by the Boston and DuPont consortiums, making them our allies. By simply giving up their interests, we can achieve our goals."

After hearing Betty's explanation, Lin Yuan immediately understood.

For large shipping companies, the core of the shipping business does not depend entirely on orders, but is instead more restricted by shipping insurance.

It is almost common sense that shipping is a high-risk industry.

In ancient times, the high risks of overseas trade meant that profit margins often started at 300%, and the profits on certain routes could even exceed 2000%, making it a very profitable business.

In modern times, with the protection of high-tech means such as navigation satellites and meteorological satellites, the risks of sea transportation have been greatly reduced.

But it is still affected by extreme climate and "man-made disasters".

Therefore, every time a shipping company sets sail, it must purchase necessary marine insurance for the ship to ensure that it can hedge risks and avoid losing everything when a crisis strikes.

Marine insurance is a must!
Marine insurance is a must!
Marine insurance is a must!
If you naively believe that "man-made disasters" are just a low-probability event, and you can choose whether to buy or not, so as not to be so unlucky, and you want to save this part of the money...

Then I'm afraid you will immediately feel how unexpectedly high the probability of "man-made disasters" is!
Perhaps the ship was hijacked by pirates who appeared out of nowhere or illegal armed forces from African countries as soon as it set out to sea.

As for how these pirates and illegal armed personnel got the intelligence and where they got the speedboats and weapons, don't think too much about it, because you won't be able to figure it out.

This is not just an insurance contract, but also the purchase of a talisman for global navigation.

This is the protection fee that all shipping companies must pay if they want to go out to sea. If they don’t pay the protection fee, something bad will happen!
If you ask these marine insurance companies, where does they have such a strong deterrent power that forces shipping companies from all over the world to bow down?

Then take a look at these insurance companies. They all have American consortium backgrounds, and their close ties with US naval bases in various places will give you an idea of ​​the confidence of these insurance companies.

In this era, the US Navy controls the world's major shipping routes, and naturally has the capital to collect "protection fees".

As Betty said, the largest marine insurance companies are backed by the DuPont Consortium and the Boston Consortium.

There is no need to say much about the Boston Consortium, a consortium that originated in the political center of the United States.

The DuPont Group's original and core business is... various ammunition, mainly explosives, and its relationship with the military is naturally obvious.

Therefore, they can eat the protection fee cake.

Once several marine insurance giants simultaneously refuse to cover Greek shipping, the credibility of the shipping company will be instantly destroyed, causing the risk level of Greek shipping to increase sharply.

Shippers will no longer dare to entrust their goods to Greek shipping, which will cause the Greek shipping business to collapse completely and the company's prospects to become completely bleak.

In this situation, even the Greek government had to bow its head and accept the reality that foreign investors were acquiring Greek shipping.

This move can be said to be a "nuclear explosion attack" in the shipping field.

In the subsequent war between Russia and Russia, the United States also adopted sanctions against Russia's oil export business that exceeded a certain price by refusing to provide marine insurance.

If it were not for the support of the mysterious forces of the two Eastern powers, Russia might not be able to withstand this sanction, and its oil exports might be completely strangled.

Therefore, any means that have no effect on Russia will naturally be an unbearable burden to use on a company like Greek Shipping that is already strong on the outside but weak on the inside.

Betty said there's a 90% chance of it being done, but I can only say she's being too modest.

Director Eastwood was even more dumbfounded.

In his original plan, the old director just wanted Lin Yuan to come forward and help him communicate with Latsis to see if the matter could be reconciled.

He was even willing to pay a little money to comfort Latsis's wounded heart.

Unexpectedly, Lin Yuan's answer was:

I don't want to solve problems, I want to solve the people who create them.

This... is really... so enjoyable!
Director Eastwood swore in his heart that if he were a woman, he would definitely fall in love with a man like Lin Yuan.

"Then let's do it this way. The funds needed for short selling are about 50 billion US dollars. We will each contribute half and split the profits equally. If the DuPont Consortium and the Boston Consortium need to join in, then 4% of the shares of the acquisition company will need to be given to them." Betty said.

Lin Yuan nodded in agreement, and the matter was settled.

When things were confirmed, Lin Yuan was not in high spirits, but on the contrary seemed a little depressed.

"What's wrong? There have been so many things happening recently, are you feeling tired?" Betty keenly sensed Lin Yuan's emotions and asked carefully.

Lin Yuan found a chair in the camp, sat down, and said, "I'm just a little uncomfortable. I feel like my life has become visibly more complicated recently."

This was not a feeling Lin Yuan had today, but something that had been bothering him for the past six months.

In the past, Lin Yuan only needed to work hard to make good movies. Apart from making movies, he could at most facilitate some strategic partnerships like Samsung. As for other matters such as film promotion, release, and domestic company operations, Mr. Eisen and Tianxian helped Lin Yuan solve them.

But as Lin Yuan became the world's richest man and continued to move up step by step, his life could no longer be simple.

Originally, he just came to Congo to shoot a movie, but Lin Yuan added the task of seeing if he could seize Congo's strategic minerals.

He was then involved in the assassination in Kano, the slavery and absenteeism incident at Samir Company, and even today he had the goal of acquiring Greek shipping.

It's like when you're playing a game, you originally just want to concentrate on completing the main quest, but as the main quest progresses, countless side quests keep squeezing in.

The rewards from these side quests are quite generous, making it difficult for you to not take them.

This feeling made Lin Yuan feel both painful and happy, much like playing a CRPG like Baldur's Gate 2, with too many unexpected events intruding into his life. Betty understood this feeling, and she stepped forward, hugging Lin Yuan as he sat in the chair.

Lin Yuan immediately felt his head sinking into two soft masses. A faint fragrance filled his nostrils, calming his heart in an instant.

Seeing this scene, the old director turned around and left quietly. His problem had been solved perfectly, and it would be tactless to stay here and act as a light bulb.

As the old director left, Betty said softly, "It's normal for you to feel a little uncomfortable because things have become more complicated recently. Your career has reached a bottleneck, and you're now in the process of comprehensively expanding and laying the foundation."

This means that you will soon cross this stage and truly own a consortium. Once you cross this stage, you will find that the world will suddenly become clear.”

"Thank you for your guidance. I'm not being pretentious. I just feel a little irritated occasionally." Lin Yuan rubbed his face on the two soft lumps.

Betty smiled and held his head, stroking it gently: "You need more people to help you."

"I can't find so many suitable talents at the moment. You also know that I got rich too quickly and lack enough professional management talents." Lin Yuan said helplessly.

It is indeed as he said, it only took Lin Yuan 4 years to go from a low-level supporting actor to become the world's richest superstar.

One of the difficulties that comes with the rise of a nouveau riche is the serious lack of a core team.

Although he also worked hard to discover and promote a group of talents such as Meng Tao, Director Nolan, Director Eastwood, Director Cohen, Director Johnston, etc. to help him manage Linyuan Pictures.

But outside of Linyuan Pictures, he is seriously lacking in management talent.

Liu Yufei has been trapped by various domestic affairs in China for many years and cannot get away. Now there is the development of Africa and the shipping business to be expanded, which must make Lin Yuan feel powerless in management.

Therefore, Lin Yuan felt a little annoyed after Betty helped him finalize the plan to swallow up Greek shipping.

Betty smiled and said, "Besides the four of us, don't you have many close female friends? I believe they are all completely devoted to you. Why not use them?"

"It's not suitable, right? They are all actors and don't have the professional skills needed to manage a company. We can't let outsiders command professionals, right?" Lin Yuan did not deny that he had other confidantes, but expressed his concerns.

"Wasn't Sissi just a freshman in college before? As a singer, isn't Taylor Swift also quite good at managing your film distribution business? Gakki has even just come of age, but have you ever worried about their abilities?" Betty said with a smile:

"In fact, for most people, as long as you give them the opportunity to hone their skills and don't put too much pressure on them all at once, and gradually increase the power in their hands, they can grow into your outstanding assistants.

For your core team, loyalty is far more important than ability. If professional execution is required, you can delegate it to professionals, but a loyal supervisor is essential.

You knew you had to do this before, why did you suddenly forget it now?

I believe you haven’t forgotten, but you are worried about our feelings.”

Betty guessed what Lin Yuan was thinking; he was indeed worried.

As for Liu Yufei, Taylor Swift, Betty Boop and GAKKI-chan, they all established inseparable close relationships with Lin Yuan by chance, and also played a considerable role in Lin Yuan's career.

As Lin Yuan's first love and official girlfriend, Liu Yufei is naturally the absolute core that cannot be shaken.

There is no need to say much about Betty, she has become Lin Yuan's golden thigh.

Taylor Swift's own singing achievements and earning ability are top-notch, and because of her identity, she can seamlessly take over Mr. Eisen's resources, which is an indispensable link.

GAKKI, who looks the weakest, is also an effective executor of Lin Yuan's Japanese business and Lin Yuan's most hardworking assistant.

These four women recognize each other's value and existence.

But if Lin Yuan wants to introduce more female confidantes into his industry, he has to take the feelings of the four girls into consideration.

After all, his family business was also built up thanks to his four daughters. Playing around outside and bringing women home are completely different.

Lin Yuan nodded and said, "You have already tolerated me too much. It is really inappropriate for me to go too far."

Betty gently stroked Lin Yuan's head and said, "You also know my background. I have seen too many things like this since I was a child.

My father, grandfather, other family elders, and uncles and aunts who are old friends, almost every man I know, has a lot of women.

not a single one!

How many women do you have? Not even a fraction of theirs.

This may be one of the reasons why I rejected men in the past."

"I'm sorry, I'm just an ordinary, vulgar man." Lin Yuan put his arm around Betty's waist.

"No, never say that. You are my superhero. No man can compare to one of your fingers." Betty said softly, "As I said just now, if you were not a man who also makes mistakes, how would I have a chance?
Although you are a playboy, you are not promiscuous. You disdain to do things that are driven by physical desire and try to possess women. You have your pride.

Haha, although I think this is a little bit hypocritical, but it is very cute."

"I..." Lin Yuan was about to speak when he was interrupted by Betty.

"Just do it with confidence. We have been observing Annie, Gao Yuanyuan, and Jia Jingwen. They are all very good girls. Not only are they beautiful, but they also know their limits and are sensible. We will feel more at ease to have them help you," said Betty.

"You guys?" Lin Yuan asked, "Have you discussed this?"

Betty nodded and said, "It was Gakki who discovered this problem, so she first contacted Xixi to discuss it, and then informed Taylor and me.

We all agree that you need more help. So today, I'm here on behalf of the four of us to reassure you. Right, Gakki? "

At this time, GAKKI also walked to Lin Yuan's side.

"Recently, I realized that the pressure on your shoulders is getting heavier, and what I can do has reached the limit, so I took the initiative to contact Sister Xixi." GAKKI said.

"Thank you, I am really lucky." Lin Yuan expressed his gratitude from the bottom of his heart.

"We never have to say thank you to each other," Betty said.

"As long as you are happy, I will be happy." said GAKKI.

Lin Yuan smiled and hugged the two of them, then took their hands and walked towards the cafeteria: "Don't be so pretentious, let's go get some ingredients and go back to cook. I'll make dinner tonight, so you can taste authentic Chinese food."

"Great! I haven't eaten the food you cooked yet." Betty said in surprise.

"You cook and I'll help you." GAKKI-chan expressed her support attentively.

The three of them walked away hand in hand, leaving behind a harmonious back view.

……

……

Lin Yuan cooked dinner himself, and tonight's dishes were mainly Sichuan cuisine.

He unexpectedly found a lot of chili peppers and peppercorns in the cafeteria kitchen, which made him overjoyed. It was obviously the result of GAKKI's careful preparation.

Lin Yuan first made a mapo tofu, this dish was for GAKKI sauce.

Interestingly, Japanese people who can’t eat spicy food often find that their favorite Chinese dish is Mapo Tofu.

The eight characters of numbness, spiciness, hotness, fragrance, crispness, tenderness, freshness and liveliness perfectly describe the charm of this dish!
What’s even more rare is that there are green garlic sprouts, which makes this spicy tofu dish perfect.

The dish made for Betty was Kung Pao Chicken.

Needless to say, this dish suits the American taste very well. The modified version of Kung Pao Chicken, "General Tso's Chicken", is simply the most favorite "Chinese dish" of Americans.

Finally, Lin Yuan made himself another pot of boiled beef.

Three simple dishes, paired with an ice-cold Coke, make a perfect dinner.

The three of them kept saying how delicious the meal was.

Men who can cook get extra points!

After the meal, GAKKI began to clean up diligently.

Lin Yuan stood up alone and walked out.

"Lin Yuan, where are you going? Take me with you?" Betty called him.

Lin Yuan turned around and touched Betty's head: "I'm going to see Sulu. The smell over there is strong, you'd better not go."

"It's okay, I'll accompany you. I'm willing to go with you wherever you go." Betty reached out and held Lin Yuan.

So Lin Yuan stopped insisting and pulled Betty towards the elephant enclosure.

"Didn't you just meet Sulu this afternoon? Why do you have to go in the evening?" Betty asked.

Lin Yuan said: "Elephants are very intelligent animals. If you want to build a deep enough relationship with them, just one afternoon meeting is not enough. Before the filming begins, I need to spend more time with them in the next few days and train them to master the skills necessary for filming.

Otherwise, if it goes wrong, I might..."

Lin Yuan didn't finish his words, but Betty understood.

It seems that filming with Sulu is not as dangerous as Lin Yuan's scenes of jumping from airplanes, waterfalls, and tall buildings, but the actual depth of danger is even more so.

After all, Sulu is too heavy. A spray of water from its nose is equivalent to a full-strength attack from a fighter like Bruce Lee, enough to injure Lin Yuan.

If it accidentally stepped on Lin Yuan or bumped into him...

That weight of more than 6 tons is no joke. No matter how much stronger Lin Yuan's physical fitness is than that of ordinary people, he is still like paper in front of Sulu.

According to Lin Yuan's plan, he would test Sulu's trunk strength tonight and try to teach it some practical ways to use its trunk.

Then, based on Sulu's knowledge, try having it use its trunk to attack with a stick.

When Lin Yuan came to the elephant enclosure, Sulu saw him immediately in the light of the torches at night.

"Woo~woo~"

Sulu raised his trunk, shouted happily, and trotted briskly in the elephant pen.

"crunch~"

Lin Yuan opened the elephant enclosure door and immediately protected Betty behind him, waving his hands vigorously and shouting:
"That's enough! That's enough! Don't welcome me like this! I can't bear it!"

Sulu, who was so excited, started to welcome him with shit and piss flying everywhere.

The pungent smell rising into the sky represents its infinite passion.

(End of this chapter)