A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

Chapter 224 Power
A light rain began to fall in the harbor.

As he emerged from his own Wantong Building, his bodyguard immediately opened an umbrella and came over to hold it for him, but Lin Jianlu simply took it himself and continued walking forward. A large group of people accompanied him to the intersection to cross the street. Once on the other side, he stopped and looked up at the Wantong Building, which was under renovation.

Yes, I can already imagine that the Vantone Building will look much better after the renovation is completed. Lin Jianlu acquired the building at the end of October or the beginning of November last year. The initial renovation design plan was completed at the end of November, but Lin Jianlu was not satisfied. After several revisions, construction did not start until the end of December. The total construction period is expected to be 300 days, and the total investment, including interior and exterior decoration, is HK$4300 million.

Surprisingly, even though renovations are currently underway, many tenants have opted for a 50% rent reduction during the renovation period rather than moving out temporarily.

That's settled then. I'll get it all sorted out by this winter.

Lin Jianlu's decision to come and take a look might have seemed to the staff like a big boss coming to inspect the place, causing them to be somewhat nervous. Even Wu Minghua, who was in charge of the matter, clearly had a serious expression. But Lin Jianlu knew perfectly well that he was just there to make a show of it—first, he couldn't understand the accounts, and second, he didn't understand the renovations. What could he possibly learn from coming here? At most, he just wanted to let the relevant people know not to mess with him, because he was watching!
From the moment we went in until we came out, it took about an hour.

I barely said a word, just walked around, looked around, tapped on the tiles, asked about the glass specifications, and listened to the building's management company manager explain some basic information—in short, it was all very mysterious and unfathomable.

Staring at the building's facade, which was now completely covered by scaffolding, for another half minute, he turned to Wu Minghua and said, "Safety first. Keep a close eye on things and make sure nothing goes wrong."

Wu Minghua quickly nodded in agreement.

So when the green light came on, another group of people crossed the street together, returned the umbrella to the bodyguard, and got into the car.

The inspection is complete.

Wu Minghua quickly asked him, "We're hiring an assistant for you tomorrow, do you want to go and take a look?"

Lin Jianlu replied, "Just give me three sets of information."

"it is good!"

So I left.

As things piled up, Lin Xilei was once again "sent out" by his own decision. Although he had his own assistants wherever he went, there wasn't one he could completely trust and who could perfectly replace Lin Xilei. So, he planned to hire another one and use her slowly, observe her slowly, and train her slowly—in fact, he needed many assistants.

He used to have few things to do and didn't realize it, but now that there are more and more things to do, he has gradually come to understand that Liu Xiaoli is not really an assistant at all; she is more like his head housekeeper in the capital.

They are in charge of general affairs, but they cannot effectively connect superiors with subordinates.

Sylvia Chang is now essentially her own assistant in America, with extremely high authority and power. Moreover, she is not only her own assistant, but also the agent for others, mainly her two girlfriends. In fact, she also acts as the agent for all Chinese artists who aspire to make it in America.

Besides her, Lin Jianlu also needs an assistant in Hong Kong and Taiwan to manage her entertainment affairs. Or rather, this position is not so crucial; it can simply be her manager in Hong Kong, while also taking care of some personal relationships and business connections in Taiwan.

There is still no one to choose from for this.

Most of the functions of this position are now being handled by Ge Fuhong.

But she was Lao Qiu's woman. No matter how good their relationship was, and no matter how much Ge Fuhong valued her future benefits and was willing to serve her wholeheartedly, she was still an outsider. Many things could be entrusted to her, but in this regard, she still needed an assistant to contact her, just like Lin Xilei had done before.

Then, I arranged for Wu Minghua to help me recruit this person.

An assistant who specializes in handling a range of business matters, including investments, real estate, and stocks.

Wu Minghua was originally hired for this position, but Lin Jianlu later realized that he needed to set up a company in Hong Kong to manage his series of real estate and land investments in an organized manner, so he entrusted Wu Minghua to set up the company. As a result, the position became vacant again.

Let's rehire.

For someone with no foundation, the process of rising to power is actually a process of cultivating confidants and insiders step by step—after spending a long time together, they gradually know each other's background and can be trusted.

…………

As the car moved slowly, Lin Jianlu leaned back in his seat, staring blankly out the window.

The longer you stay in Hong Kong, the more you have to admit that while Hong Kong certainly has its prosperous and glamorous side, once you leave the main commercial areas, its everyday life and local atmosphere are exceptionally strong, with small shops, teahouses, cafes, flower shops, and so on lining the streets everywhere.

I once saw a comment online complaining about the narrow streets and alleys of Hong Kong, and it's true. Apart from a very few main roads that have been widened and can still be considered main roads, the vast majority of streets in Hong Kong are much narrower than those in mainland China.

But how should I put it, Lin Jianlu is now gradually starting to like the local atmosphere here.

It feels different from the capital city now, but once you get used to it, you'll like both because they're full of life and make you feel like you're living in a vibrant atmosphere.

If he had to choose, Lin Jianlu would say that the capital city today is still his favorite, followed by Hong Kong in the late 1990s. On the contrary, the capital city twenty or thirty years from now, with its wide roads and towering buildings, and the city appearing exceptionally exquisite, grand, and magnificent, has gradually become less appealing to him—he feels that the city has lost its lively atmosphere.

Perhaps it's because the roads are so wide—but even so wide, there are still traffic jams all the time!
Sigh, I don't understand!
After staring blankly for a while, Lin Jianlu suddenly came to her senses. Damn it, why was she thinking about this?
I'm a capitalist now!

I've achieved freedom of residence; I can live wherever I want!
If I want peace and quiet, I'll stay in a villa on the hillside or a large courtyard house next to the Forbidden City. If I want a lively atmosphere, I'll stroll around these small streets—I don't need to drive, and I don't have to worry about traffic restrictions!

"Stop! I want to buy a bouquet of flowers!"

The car stopped immediately, and the bodyguard cars in front and behind also stopped. Lin Jianlu got out of the car, but waved her hand and refused the bodyguard's umbrella. She walked into a flower shop on the side of the street in the light rain.

"Ah, you are... ah..."

Shh! Buy flowers and I'll give you an autograph, but don't shout!

A few minutes later, he came out with a bouquet of flowers and got back into the car.

So when Gong Li personally ran over to open the door, a huge bouquet of flowers was handed to her. She was overjoyed, and the other guests in the room immediately started to cheer.

Today, Gong Li specially organized a card game, which in a way meant for old friends to get together. The main reason is that Gong Li really wants to settle down here—but I didn't expect Maggie Cheung to come too.

I even spotted Wang Jiawei and Zhang Min.

Wow, how come there are so many people here?

Gong Li's belly was already swollen, but she still subconsciously wanted to squat down to get slippers for Lin Jianlu, but he grabbed her arm and pulled her back. While she was changing her shoes, Gong Li said, "I was just saying I wanted to invite some people over to play mahjong, and it seems everyone's pretty free, so they all came. It's okay, we have two mahjong tables!"

Lin Jianlu went over and greeted them one by one.

He even hugged Maggie Cheung and asked, "Didn't you go to Paris?"

She laughed and said, "I just got back the day before yesterday. I was going to meet up with some friends for tea today, but then I got a call to play cards, so I came over to play cards and also to see you."

There was something strange about what he said, and all the smart people around noticed that something was wrong.

But Lin Jianlu didn't care and pinched her cheek.

So, they played cards.

There were extra people, but no second table was set up.

Wang Jiawei, Maggie Cheung, and Wang Fei accompany Lin Jianlu in a fight.

Liu Jialing, Naying, and Zhang Min watched from the sidelines. The hostess, Gong Li, was happily preparing to serve at the card game. This time, Wang Fei didn't need to give her a signal. Naying proactively pressed Gong Li down into a chair, seemingly quite familiar with her. "My dear sister, your belly is so big. Who would dare ask you to serve them? Hurry up and sit down, I'll do it!"

Right from the start, Lin Jianlu didn't ask anyone else, but immediately asked Liu Jialing, "Did they still cast you in 'Flowers of Shanghai'?"

Liu Jialing immediately stood up and replied, "Yes, President Shi called me and said you agreed, so I took the job. But... the script is still being revised many times, and we don't know when filming will start!"

"Hmm... Sit down! Why are you standing up!"

So Liu Jialing sat back down.

The second question for Wang Fei was, "Is my daughter in Hong Kong or in the capital?"

Wang Fei replied, "I'll stay here with her and not go back often. I'll take her back to school when she's a little older."

"Oh, good, that's good. It's still more reliable to study in the capital."

After chatting for a few more minutes about her new album, she turned to look at her partner, Wang Jiawei, and said, "Wow... you're pretty good, Lao Wang. I'd never heard of you being a card player. You're really good at it!"

Wang Jiawei laughed, "Don't flatter me, I'm here to win money. I won't let you down!"

Lin Jianlu immediately retorted, "Ha! Then today I'll make sure to beat you!"

The player before him was shrewd and didn't play his cards, making the game particularly difficult. Lin Jianlu lost at the beginning and lost three rounds in a row.

Wang Jiawei won over 10,000 yuan in three rounds and was all smiles.

Wang Fei was extremely unconvinced and kicked Lin Jianlu under the table, saying, "You were so competitive when you beat us back then, come on!"

Lin Jianlu waved her hand, "Get out of here! Do you think I don't want to win?"

Everyone laughed.

Old Wang was a very cunning card player, arguably the most cunning opponent Lin Jianlu had encountered since arriving in Hong Kong and being forced to practice card playing – he quickly cornered her to the point of near ecstasy.

I couldn't help but reminisce about the wonderful time when Wang Zuxian sat on my back.

Gong Li sat for a while, and seeing that no one was smoking, he got up and brought two ashtrays, placing one diagonally opposite each other. "You guys smoke, there's an exhaust fan in the room, the smoke won't bother me!"

So the group of heavy smokers immediately let loose.

While playing cards, Wong Kar-wai suddenly said, "I'm preparing a film, would you like to act in it?"

What movie?

"A story about the 1960s..."

"Stop! No need to say anything more, I'm not making your film!"

"Why? If you're willing to take my role, I'll just let you off the hook!"

"Screw you, thank you for your kindness... I won! Haha, a self-drawn pure suit! Pay up, pay up!"

So Wang Fei reluctantly took out the money, while Maggie Cheung smiled. Wang Jiawei was the most indifferent; the money was right on the table, so he counted it out and handed it to Lin Jianlu, while asking, "Why won't you take my role?"

Lin Jianlu was no ordinary person; she bluntly retorted, "Why? Don't you know yourself? Your show takes one or two years to film. How much money do I get for one or two years of my time?"

"You're not filming all the time. You can film for a while and then go about your other business!"

"Give me a break, I'm not going to put up with this!"

Wang Jiawei was also helpless. He turned to Zhang Manyu and winked. Zhang Manyu laughed and quickly waved her hand, "I'm here to lose money. Don't ask me to be a persuader. I can't convince him! He can convince me!"

Wang Fei and Na Ying both laughed in unison.

Wang Jiawei helplessly shrugged.

In fact... it's not simply a matter of him filming slowly; it's that Lin Jianlu would never actually film his shows—it's purely a matter of profit. No matter how amazing his shows are, it doesn't matter.

Simply put, Wong Kar-wai is a director who doesn't rely too much on the Hong Kong market. His films have always received good reviews in Hong Kong, but in terms of box office revenue alone, every single one of them has lost money.

He makes money by selling copyrights from Europe and America.

Even though his art films are very popular in Europe and have won many awards, the overall market size is still very small. He has eaten up the whole cake, leaving almost no room for the outside Hong Kong industry to get a piece of the pie. So, in fact, his reputation in the Hong Kong industry has always been poor.

On the contrary, the actors, big and small, all highly praise him and are very willing to work with him—because working with him can really win awards and reputation, and elevate them to the status of acting masters.

Through his wife, he owns Spring Light Pictures, and he also has a joint venture with Liu Zhenwei, Jet Tone Films. These two companies are the main investors in his series of works. Since his films mainly rely on participating in European film festivals, winning awards, and selling copyrights, he usually brings in a French film company to invest in his films, which also involves profit sharing. In this way, he makes his living from this one line of business.

Nowadays, let alone the fact that he often takes a year or even several years to shoot a movie, even if he were a quick shooter and could finish a film in three months, Lin Jianlu would never work with him—even if Media Asia Films got involved, what share would they get? And he himself wouldn't accept a role in his film for just three to five million Hong Kong dollars, would he?
Even if I don't mention that I work for a major Hollywood studio like Warner Bros., where I already earn $15 million plus a share of the box office, just to be on the side, I'd still give you at least $10 million in salary, right?

Can you afford it?

He doesn't dare to exceed HK$30 million in budget for his films, because there's a high probability of losing money if he does! Even if he wins an award and becomes a huge hit, after selling the rights to Europe, America, and Africa, and then having them distributed in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia through a Hong Kong film company, the total global revenue is capped at US$20 million!
The box office revenue from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia combined is about 30 to 50 million Hong Kong dollars. He can earn about 10 million from that. The box office revenue from other regions is, frankly, irrelevant to him. He just sells the distribution rights and gets 300,000 dollars here and 500,000 dollars there. In the end, he accumulates an income of four to five million to six million US dollars.

Ultimately, he only earns about 30 to 50 million Hong Kong dollars for each film he makes. Once the production cost exceeds 30 million Hong Kong dollars, the pressure on him to break even becomes unimaginable!
As for saying you can win an award or something... give me a break, that's just fooling people!
I, Lin Jianlu, have never relied on winning awards to make a living since my debut!

I initially focused on business, trends, and aesthetics, but now I've shifted to a more capital-driven approach!
After four rounds, Wang Jiawei had lost over four thousand yuan. He got up and asked for a replacement.

Wang Fei started winning money, winning less than four thousand yuan. She was having a great time when she had no choice but to get up.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out that almost all of Lin Jianlu's winnings of over ten thousand yuan came from Zhang Manyu. Finally, it was time to switch players, but Zhang Manyu didn't seem to care, asking, "Huh? Four rounds already?"

Zhang Min waved his hand, "I'm not good at playing cards. Whoever wants to continue can keep playing!"

Wang Fei plopped back down. Liu Jialing also pressed Wang Jiawei back down. On the other hand, Lin Jianlu and Zhang Manyu left the card table, and Naying unceremoniously sat down next to them. In the end, Liu Jialing also sat down.

Gong Li specially brought a plate of grapes to Lin Jianlu, so Lin Jianlu ate the grapes one by one, chatting and watching the game with Gong Li and Maggie Cheung.

Wong Kar-wai is going to film a romance drama set in the 1960s. Well, no surprise, it's definitely a romance drama. That's his signature style. In fact, after just hearing Maggie Cheung and Wong Kar-wai briefly talk about the basic plot, Lin Jianlu could already guess which one it was. It was undoubtedly "In the Mood for Love"—Maggie Cheung had already agreed to take the role.

It is said that when Wong Kar-wai had this idea, the first person he decided on was Maggie Cheung.

It's no secret that he has an exceptional fondness for and admiration for Maggie Cheung. He has mentioned this many times in interviews at film festivals, award ceremonies, and the release of new films. Starting with "As Tears Go By" in 88, many of Wong Kar-wai's early films that brought him fame featured Maggie Cheung as the leading actress.

88's "As Tears Go By", 90's "Days of Being Wild", and 94's "Ashes of Time".

It seems like "In the Mood for Love" is coming soon—but, well, it would be quite fast if it could be done in two years!
After chatting for a while, Lin Jianlu finally turned to look at Zhang Min and asked, "Is that 'Storm Riders' finished filming?"

She hurriedly stood up, but when Lin Jianlu waved her hand, she sat down again, looking very reserved. "Filming is finished. My role wasn't very big to begin with. Once the scenes filmed in Hong Kong are finished, my filming is done. I don't need to go to the mainland."

Lin Jianlu nodded.

Actually, last night, when he was holding Zhou Huimin in one arm and Zhou Haimei in the other, he was thinking that Zhou Huimin still harbored resentment about their falling out back then, and that she still had a better relationship with Zhou Haimei.

However, it seems that Zhang Min has a decent network of connections.

At least, their relationship is probably limited to the time they worked together on the TV series "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils: The Legend of the Condor Heroes". The fact that Gong Li thought of her when he was hosting a dinner in Hong Kong shows that their relationship is not bad.

While they were playing cards, Wang Fei suddenly asked, "By the way, Mr. Lu, I saw a newspaper report a few days ago saying that you bought an entire building in Central, and that Sister Qingxia and the others also bought buildings. Is that true? You bought an entire commercial building?"

Lin Jianlu smiled, but for some reason, at that moment, he suddenly realized that as soon as Wang Fei asked the question, everyone in the room turned to look at him—well, it seems that everyone really advocates buying a house!

"Yes, I bought a building and will collect some rent."

"Wantong Building? They said you spent hundreds of millions on it."

"Hmm, less than four hundred million Hong Kong dollars."

Wang Fei fell silent, and the room fell into a quiet silence, broken only by the sounds of cards being drawn and played. The atmosphere suddenly became strangely silent.

Then Wong Kar-wai suddenly asked, "I'm thinking of having your Media Asia Films handle the distribution of this new film. I wonder if that would be a good idea?"

"Alright! If I handle the distribution of your film, I can basically guarantee a profit. You can contact Boss Zhuang or Sister Nansheng later."

"Okay! Then why don't you invest some money to support me?"

Ha! You're not short of investment!

"Let's all do it together! I also really enjoy making friends."

"Great! Just contact Huanya about how much you need. I agree."

So the conversation ended, but the next moment, Wang Fei suddenly asked, "By the way, Mr. Lu, I overheard them talking about how Win's Entertainment is recently blacklisting Stephen Chow. What's going on?"

As she spoke, she looked up and glanced at Zhang Min.

Ah……

It's no news that Win's Entertainment has blacklisted Stephen Chow—turning my head to look, I saw Zhang Min looking somewhat embarrassed. Sigh, in fact, Wang Fei is quite shrewd too!
He took a cigarette from Wang Jiawei, lit it, and almost choked because he hadn't smoked in a long time. After taking a couple of puffs, he replied to Wang Fei, "None of your business! Watch your cards!"

Na-young burst out laughing, and Liu Jia-ling laughed along with her.

Wang Fei didn't dare to talk back, shrugged, and said in a slightly coquettish tone, "Just curious! You must know the inside story!"

There's absolutely no inside story.

People are always looking out for themselves. Anyone who becomes famous, no matter how much they earn, will feel that their income is not commensurate with their contributions, so they will go solo!
Stephen Chow started investing in companies in 94, but his first investment, "A Chinese Odyssey," resulted in a complete financial loss. He withdrew his investment, but he wasn't giving up. In 96, he started another company called Star Overseas Limited. The name is interesting; it seems to be a sign of weakness, indicating that he wouldn't compete with others in Hong Kong. Then, with "The God of Cookery" in 96, his new company became a huge success. It didn't matter if he lost money; people would laugh at him. But once he made money, it proved that Stephen Chow was still Stephen Chow, and Win's Entertainment would have nothing to laugh about anymore.

The problem is that Stephen Chow himself was careless in his words, giving the Xiang family an excuse to take action—during the promotion of "The God of Cookery," he was tricked by a reporter and actually admitted it directly.

With the return imminent, bro, you're giving an interview and exposing someone's secrets? That's outrageous!

So, anyway, there were supposedly assassination orders and industry bans.

It's estimated that Stephen Chow was quite frightened, so he quickly went back to continue filming Win's Entertainment's movies. He claimed it was to repay a favor, but in reality, it was all Win's Entertainment's money that led to "Lawyer Lawyer" and last year's "The Lucky Guy". As for his own Star Overseas Ltd., there have been no productions for two consecutive years.

However, now that he has returned to the family, it seems that the Xiang family is no longer willing to do anything too illegal or disorderly. So Stephen Chow has been tempted again. It is said that he has been quietly preparing to start a new movie in his own company since the second half of last year. But not long ago, around March, Mrs. Xiang suddenly made a statement in the industry, saying that Stephen Chow is ignorant of the rules and is greedy and ungrateful.

Stephen Chow was immediately too scared to move again—Lin Jianlu wasn't afraid, and that was all.

Frankly speaking, the Xiang family's influence isn't simply a matter of accumulated power over many years. They still wield considerable influence, especially now that Hong Kong is under the rule of "Hong Kong people governing Hong Kong." They were only cautious for a while, but since the Lunar New Year, perhaps sensing that the higher-ups genuinely intend to keep their promise and not interfere in Hong Kong's governance, they've become bolder again. For those in Hong Kong's entertainment industry, the Win's Entertainment brand remains incredibly powerful. At least for someone like Stephen Chow, who has no affiliation and only wants to be independent and pocket all the money he earns, it's a piece of cake.

So, recently, things have been turbulent again, with rumors circulating in the industry that Win's Entertainment is really going to take action against Stephen Chow. It is said that employees at his Star Overseas branch are constantly resigning, and his preparations for his new film have suddenly come to a standstill.

But actually, the problem isn't that serious. To put it bluntly, the Xiang family is still somewhat apprehensive and outwardly fierce but inwardly weak. They had already asked Wang Jing to subtly convey their thoughts on Lin Jianlu's opinion of Zhou Xingchi. What opinion could Lin Jianlu possibly have? He had no opinion at all.

If you're talking about Stephen Chow's movies, his acting skills, his creativity, and his serious attitude towards film, then I admire him and give him a thumbs up. But if you're just talking about Stephen Chow's character, what's there to say? It's generally acknowledged throughout Hong Kong that Stephen Chow is indeed mean and ungrateful. Having met him a few times, I can say that he's not exactly aloof, but perhaps because he was too poor in the past, he is indeed quite stingy after becoming famous and making money, and he's very worried about anyone trying to profit from him.

For example, if he invites someone to make a cameo appearance or play a small role, and the person comes to support him, he will politely say that they don't need to pay him, and he really won't pay them. He just uses his face to show his face, which is a waste of goodwill. However, if someone invites him to make a cameo appearance, he will not go. As a result, he has a very bad reputation among his friends.

He had previously invited Lin Jianlu to act in his movies, but Lin Jianlu neither agreed nor disagreed, only saying that they would talk about it when a suitable opportunity arose. However, since Lin Jianlu invested in Media Asia Films, he has never mentioned it again. He probably guessed that since Lin Jianlu is such a big star now, if he were to get him to act in a movie, Media Asia Films would definitely have to be involved in the investment.

In short, Lin Jianlu told Wang Jing that he and Stephen Chow were friends, but they had never worked together.

So the Xiang family then began to make pronouncements and sharpen their knives.

This is probably the inside story Wang Fei wanted to know—just two nights ago, Aunt Thirteen said that there are rumors circulating in the industry that the Xiang family is going to make a move against Stephen Chow. She asked you, and you didn't protect Stephen Chow.

Oh dear... Lin Jianlu didn't even bother to pay attention to these things.

Only Wang Fei, who considers herself to have a particularly good relationship, would ask such questions regardless of the occasion.

…………

Everyone had lunch together and drank some wine. Then, Wang Jiawei got up to say goodbye, while Wang Fei called everyone to go back and fight again.

Lin Jianlu played four more rounds, then tallied up his accounts. He had made a net profit of nine thousand yuan today. He then shoved the money into Gong Li's hand, got up, and left—his newest investment company was about to open, and all the preliminary preparations were almost complete, but he himself hadn't been there even once.

Just before leaving, as he changed his shoes, he looked back and could hear Na-young's loud voice coming from the mahjong room on the second floor. But Zhang Min had somehow walked to the top of the stairs and was halfway down when he was looking over, holding onto the handrail.

Lin Jianlu gave her a deep look. She looked away for a moment, but eventually looked back and met Lin Jianlu's gaze timidly. She even smiled suddenly.

She's charming.

…………

In the afternoon, Cai Zhongxin visited the newly established company and was quite satisfied.

Actually, this is a bit against the common sense and rules of personnel management, but Lin Jianlu likes Cai Zhongxin and Wu Minghua quite a bit, so he plans to use them like this for the time being, and then separate the matter when a suitable opportunity arises. The two investment management companies in Hong Kong have Wu Minghua in charge of all the real estate projects in Lin Jianlu's hands, while Cai Zhongxin is in charge of all the financial assets in Lin Jianlu's hands. This is equivalent to handing over most of his wealth to the couple, which would make any normal person worried.

But Lin Jianlu used them quite openly.

The couple each took charge of a section, and perhaps seeing that Lin and Lu had no doubts about them, they were quite at ease with their work.

After chatting for a while, I got up and left.

He only cared about the new company's future direction, and didn't care about the specific details of its establishment or operation—of course, in Cai Zhongxin's case, this would probably be called trusting people without reservation.

After indulging in pleasures outside for so long, I've finally returned home today.

Both Brigitte Lin and Leung Wing-ki were present today. However, it seems that Leung Wing-ki, who had originally planned to go out, decided to stay home after seeing her husband return. She even called Rosamund Kwan to cancel tonight's dinner party. Half an hour later, before dinner, Rosamund Kwan also rushed back.

As soon as she walked in, she started yelling, "Did you guys see the TVB news at noon? That woman, Li Jiaxin, actually said in an interview that Joseph Lau isn't a man. Ha, I think she's courting death. Does she not plan to ask Lau for handbags anymore?"

Leung Wing-ki has become incredibly popular in the last six months, and she's got a lot of charisma. "Maybe she doesn't want to be looked down upon all the time? Does she think everyone's stupid? That they can't understand why she's always taking money from Ah Lau?"

Rosamund Kwan laughed heartily, threw down her bag, pounced on the sofa, straddled Lin Jianlu's lap, cupped his face, and kissed him for half a minute before asking, "Qingxia said you went out to pick up girls yesterday? Who was it? Li Jiaxin?"

Lin Jianlu waved her hand, "Don't talk nonsense! If anyone's going to date someone, it's her who's dating me, not me!"

So all three women laughed.

It's hard to say about other things, but when it comes to popularity and reputation, Li Jiaxin is much worse than Zhou Xingchi.

Just before dinner, I suddenly received a call from Zhao Fengshou. He should be in the capital at this time, in charge of obtaining the necessary qualifications for operations in the mainland.

Lin Jianlu answered the call and heard him say, "President Lin, there's something I need to tell you right away. I just came out of the boss's office. The boss told me that you're quite good at internet-related things, and asked me to ask you about a website in Hong Kong called China.com. Xinhua News Agency has a lot of funding in that website. The boss meant to ask if you're interested... You're good at the internet? When the boss said that, I was a little confused. I've never heard of it! Are you really good at the internet?"

Lin Jianlu was stunned at first, but then he understood the key point and was shocked!
internet?
What have I ever done with the internet? Just buying US stocks, that's all!

Aside from spending a lot of money to buy Yahoo and Amazon stock, what other connection do I have with the internet?
To be fair, he has been suppressing the news from America, even coercing Columbia Records and Sony North America to help him keep quiet. In fact, the news has never been publicly disclosed.

But now, the leadership already knows?

So what? In fact, they've already investigated me thoroughly, haven't they?

Even the fact that I hold two US stocks—in fact, only these two US stocks; since entering the American stock market, I haven't bought any others—is already fully known to the higher-ups.

Well……

"What does the leader mean? Are they asking me to take over? What website is it again? China.com?"

"Yes! China.com! I heard from the leaders that they were just asking if you were interested. But we all know that when the leaders ask like this, it means they want you to take over! It's said that Xinhua News Agency has invested a lot of money in it, and the company has also raised a lot of money in Hong Kong and attracted a lot of overseas venture capital. Now the leaders' idea is that, considering that this company is completely controlled by a Hong Kong guy named... I think his name is Ye Keyong, the higher-ups don't really trust him, so they want you to come in and take control..."

Does China.com even exist?

China.com, founded in Hong Kong?
If you ask me about the three major portal websites, even though I was born in the mid-95s in my previous life, I would still be very familiar with them. But I have never heard of China.com.

However, this seems like a task?
"Okay, I understand. But just saying it like that doesn't make sense to me. Come back when you're done, and we can talk when we meet. I at least need to know what China.com is; I've never even heard of it!"

After hanging up the phone, Lin Jianlu couldn't help but ponder.

By bringing Cai Zhongxin over and even setting up an investment company specifically for him, Lin Jianlu's intentions were clearly not just to have him manage her finances.

He sold all 4% of his shares in Hong Kong City Telecom at a good price, and the funds are now tied up in the company—over HK$5 billion. He could get involved with the three major domestic portal websites: Sohu, Sina, and NetEase. Besides, Jack Ma is probably about to launch Alibaba, right? And then there's Tencent and Baidu. In short, although he didn't experience it firsthand, based on his past experiences, around 2000, the domestic internet industry should have been booming, a golden age of innovation and growth, a veritable constellation of stars. Lin Jianlu plans to use this HK$5 billion as a foundation to participate deeply in the industry.

But... what the heck is China.com?

Let me do it?

But all I know is who will win in the future, I don't know how to make an internet company win!

"what happened?"

Rosamund Kwan went upstairs to change her clothes and came downstairs to find the maids already setting out dinner. Lin Jianlu, however, was sitting on the sofa in a daze. Rosamund Kwan looked over, and Lin Jianlu looked up at her, shook her head, and smiled, "It's nothing!"

So they ate, but after the meal, Lin Jianlu didn't spend time with the women. Instead, he ran back to his study on the second floor and started making phone calls.

After calling Cai Zhongxin and then the account manager at HSBC, they quickly found out the basic information about the so-called China.com and Ye Keyong.

Yes, this is a story spanning several years—Ye Keyong and his China.com website actually own the domain names www.china.com and www.china.cn!
Even if Lin Jianlu didn't know anything about running an internet company, he knew perfectly well that those two domain names alone were priceless!

The key question is how Ye Keyong, a Hong Konger, managed to persuade Xinhua News Agency to not only secure a large investment from the agency but also convince the mainland that his China.com website could have its servers located in Hong Kong, while its URL would remain unrestricted on the mainland!
That's absolutely awesome!

As far as Lin Jianlu knows, none of the so-called three major portal websites in mainland China have started the listing process yet. It is unknown when they will be listed in the United States. In fact, they don't seem to have started the process of raising funds and burning money. However, it is said that China.com has raised tens of millions of US dollars from Xinhua News Agency, Hong Kong and overseas venture capital.
Ye Keyong is truly a talented individual!

Lin Jianlu pulled out a pack of cigarettes that had been sitting in the drawer for who knows how long, smoked three in a row, and paced back and forth in the study. Finally, he dialed Cai Zhongxin's number again. "Gather some information about China.com and other domestic internet companies in Hong Kong. Let's find some time to talk about it in a few days."

Cai Zhongxin immediately agreed, "Okay!"

After hanging up the phone, for some reason, Lin Jianlu suddenly became excited—I don't know how to run an internet company, but these days, it seems that portal websites are already very powerful, and if we're just talking about pointing out the direction of development, it doesn't seem that difficult, right?

(End of this chapter)