Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 244 The Crocodile Hidden Underwater
Previously at the Shanghai International Film Festival, Chen Shouzhe met with executives from Tencent, and since then, Shouzhe Pictures has maintained a good relationship with Tencent.

When the person approached Chen Shouzhe, he didn't think much of it, assuming it was just a normal business collaboration.

Unexpectedly, a big shot showed up. It definitely wasn't Pony Ma, but a big shot from Tencent's investment department.

The surname is Liu.

"It's been a long time since I've seen Mr. Liu." Chen Shouzhe quickly walked in and shook hands with him.

The other person stood up, extended his hand and shook hands with him. He was accompanied by four other people, all dressed in suits and fully armed.

"Director Chen, it's been a long time. It's been two years, hasn't it?" Liu Zhi said with a smile.

“Yes, it’s been two years. The last time we met was in Shanghai,” Chen Shou nodded.

"Director Chen has a really good memory." Liu Zhi held Chen Shouzhe's hand tightly. If he hadn't done his research, he would never have imagined that the young man in front of him had an investment acumen that was in no way inferior to his own.

On the surface, he is a director who owns a very profitable film and television company. However, compared to the massive internet companies, Chen Shou's company is definitely not enough, and he can only make a living in the film and television industry.

However, as Tencent spent money across the country to build its own big data network, they discovered that Chen Shouzhe was involved in several unicorn companies.

A thorough investigation revealed that Chen Shou had invested the money he earned in the film and television industry over the years into these companies. He not only invested in liquor but also in several e-commerce platforms. One of these e-commerce platforms is already doing quite well, and Tencent is also interested in acquiring it.

Even when they entered the Series B funding round last year, they discovered that Chen Shouzhe was actually a major shareholder.

A few years ago, a short video platform emerged. This March, Tencent completed a new round of financing, raising $3.5 million. Tencent is not the only one; it joined other companies in this round.

It turned out that once inside, they discovered that Chen Shouzhe had already invested in the company during its Series A funding round five years ago, and then joined in the Series B round in 2015, providing significant support in terms of film and television traffic.

Chen Shouzhe has invested in both a shopping company and a short video company.

They recently decided to invest in another short video company, and this one seems to be of even greater importance to them.

They were turned away; the other party was arrogant and showed no fear of Tencent, rejecting their investment.

In order to secure the investment, Tencent did several months of work and eventually discovered that in addition to the founder holding a large number of shares, there was another major shareholder, and yes, it was Chen Shouzhe again.

The company calculated that if these companies could successfully go public, combined with the current value of Chen Shou's companies, his net worth could reach hundreds of billions.

The fact that a person under thirty years old could build a fortune of hundreds of billions from scratch left everyone at Tencent stunned.

No one expected that Chen Shouzhe was the real hidden investment tycoon. They also found out that Chen Shouzhe had invested in many companies, some of which failed, while others were lucky enough to succeed, bringing him huge returns.

Considering what some people said before, Chen Shou had tens of billions of yuan in liquid funds, it seems that he doesn't have much left now, as he has invested it all out over the years.

"Mr. Liu, did you come to see me because you have a project to collaborate on?" Chen Shouzhe asked with a smile. "Director Chen, I wanted to ask if you have any investments in Toutiao?" Liu Zhi knew that Chen Shouzhe was not a person who liked beating around the bush, so it was better to tell him the purpose directly.

“Toutiao… Back then, because I was afraid of being manipulated by some media outlets, I invested in several portal websites, but now there are only a few left.” Chen Shou immediately understood why Liu Zhi was looking for him, and recalled that his initial investment was indeed the right one.

Although they are different worlds, the paths to development are basically the same. One portal website has succeeded and started making short videos, which is doing quite well now.

He initially invested in over a dozen companies, but only two have survived. Of course, he continues to inject capital into these two short video companies, as the amount of funding he raises is decreasing. To maintain his market share, he has no choice but to increase his investment.

So Chen Shou has been adding money to his portfolio over the years; otherwise, where would all the US dollars he earned from abroad have gone?

Xiao Xiaomeng has already turned a profit and can earn money to buy equipment on its own. Chen Shou's film income from overseas is basically all used for investment.

Liu Zhi and his group of five looked at each other in surprise. They hadn't expected this reason. Because they lacked a voice, they had invested in many news portal websites. They hadn't expected him to be so lucky, with two of them succeeding and becoming potential stocks that even Tencent was wary of.

"A chance encounter can lead to unexpected success; Director Chen is really lucky," Liu Zhi said with a smile.

"Haha, it's just good luck. I never expected them to grow so big. Everyone outside says I'm so rich, but they don't know I'm actually very poor. Now, Chairman Wang of Guangxian keeps contacting me every few days, asking if I want to buy his company's stock. The problem is, I don't have any money right now, so I can only watch." Chen Shou laughed and spread his hands.

Little did Liu Zhi know that his eyes lit up when he heard Chen Shouzhe's words, and he immediately said, "Director Chen is short of money right now?"

"No, I don't need the money," Chen Shou said, shaking his head.

"Uh...didn't you just say you wanted to acquire a stake in Enlight Media? We at Tencent will cover the difference." Liu Zhidao said.

"No, no, I just don't have that much liquid capital. If I said I needed money, it wouldn't be Tencent coming to my door, it would be all the major banks. They ask me every day if I need money, I'm getting so annoyed with them," Chen Shou said, waving his hand hurriedly.

"Director Chen, if you really need money, Tencent can lend it to you, and we'll waive the interest for three years," Liu Zhi said hurriedly.

"Interest waiver?" Chen Shou looked at Liu Zhi in surprise. He knew that Tencent was rich. The two richest companies in China were both in the mobile payment business. Since the red envelope campaign in 2014, Tencent had already had a huge amount of liquid funds.

In his view, acquiring Enlight Media's stock would cost at most 10%, requiring a maximum of two billion. Even if Tencent held onto it interest-free for three years, it would still be profitable for them, as they could benefit from other sources.

Chen Shouzhe naturally knew what the other party was up to. Interest-free loans were indeed tempting, but there's no such thing as sudden, inexplicable concern in the world; there must be an ulterior motive.

“Yes.” Liu Zhi nodded: “I naturally believe in Director Chen’s ability to make money. Your company has several movies to be released this year, and there are also movies overseas, so it certainly won’t be delayed for too long.”

“Chairman Liu, I cannot accept rewards without merit. If you need any help from me, of course, investing in Shouzhe Film Industry is out of the question. I will not give up a single share of the company,” Chen Shouzhe said.

"It's not about protecting the film industry, it's about..."

(End of this chapter)