Film and Television World Life Record

Li Mu said, "I believe you, so I plan to go with you to see it in person."

Hearing Li Mu say this, Jiang Xiaoguo became less confident, fearing that Li Mu would lose money because of her.

"I was just saying that. I mainly thought they had a tough time, and their spirit is admirable. You'd better not go."

Li Mu smiled and said, "Don't worry, I have my own judgment and I won't suffer any losses."

"Hurry up and eat, we'll go take a look together later."

Jiang Xiaoguo hesitated for a while, then finally nodded.

After having dinner, the two drove over there.

This is an old industrial park. It is not big and looks rather dilapidated. Even though it is the weekend, more than a dozen employees are still crammed into the small space to work.

There were sofas and cots on the open ground next to it, where several employees were resting. It was a very common and typical small startup company.

However, the atmosphere is indeed good; at least the employees are motivated and work hard.

Upon seeing Li Mu and Jiang Xiaoguo enter, a female employee stood up from her chair and said happily, "Ms. Jiang, you're here! I'll go call our General Manager Ding." She then hurriedly ran over to fetch him.

Li Mu turned to look at Jiang Xiaoguo: "It seems they all know you, and they're quite happy to see you."

Jiang Xiaoguo said helplessly, "Last time I came, they thought I was sent by the company to investigate and that there was hope for financing, so they were so happy. I didn't have the heart to expose them."

Li Mu said, "Not bad, they have such high empathy. Did they really believe it?"

Jiang Xiaoguo shook her head: "Maybe they believed me! I didn't want to lie to them. It was their founder, President Ding, who introduced me to them as soon as he arrived. Seeing their expectant eyes, I couldn't bear to say no."

"Looking back now, Mr. Ding must have known that the chances of successfully raising funds were slim, so he wanted to use my arrival to boost morale and allow the company to hold on for a little longer."

As the two were talking, President Ding came over with a happy expression.

"Hello, Miss Jiang."

"Hello, Mr. Ding."

President Ding turned to look at Li Mu beside him, his eyes filled with surprise and hope.

"Miss Jiang, and who is this?"

Jiang Xiaoguo thought for a moment and introduced, "This is President Zhao."

The other party shook Li Mu's hand and said warmly, "Hello, Mr. Zhao."

"Hello, Mr. Ding."

After exchanging pleasantries, Mr. Ding looked at Jiang Xiaoguo somewhat nervously and asked, "Ms. Jiang, what did you say over there? Is there... is there any hope?"

Jiang Xiaoguo hesitated for a moment, then shook her head: "I'm sorry, Mr. Ding! My proposal was rejected, and I couldn't help you."

Mr. Ding sighed deeply, as if he had lost all his strength, and said with a bitter smile, "I knew it... I knew it... In the three years since the company was founded, I have visited countless investment companies and submitted countless financing plans, all to no avail. Only a few, like Ms. Jiang, were willing to come here to take a look and conduct an on-site inspection, but in the end, I was powerless to help them."

“I sold my house, sold my car, and invested all my assets. Now I can say I have nothing left, and this is still the case. It's my brothers who have suffered the most. They've been with me for so many years, receiving only a basic salary and living expenses each month. Now, I still owe each of them several months' wages.”

"It seems I'm really not cut out for entrepreneurship; I should give up."

Li Mu listened quietly, his eyes occasionally glancing around, his face showing no reaction. Jiang Xiaoguo, on the other hand, had slightly red eyes.

"Mr. Ding, although our company has decided not to invest in you, it doesn't mean there's no hope. This Mr. Zhao seems interested after hearing about our company's situation, so I brought him here today specifically to investigate."

Mr. Ding was stunned for a moment, then looked at Li Mu with surprise and excitement, and said, "Mr. Zhao, you are willing to invest in us?"

Li Mu was speechless. Jiang Xiaoguo was a little impatient. This General Manager Ding was equally impatient. As soon as they met, he revealed all the secrets of the company, even saying that it would go bankrupt soon.

If you encounter a ruthless character, you'll be easily manipulated. As long as you keep the company afloat and prevent it from going bankrupt, you'll probably have no choice but to agree to whatever conditions are offered.

Seeing that Jiang Xiaoguo and President Ding were both looking at him expectantly, Li Mu smiled and nodded: "I heard about it from Xiaoguo and became interested, so I came to take a look."

Mr. Ding said excitedly, "Mr. Zhao, thank you so much. The place is simple, let me show you around."

Li Mu smiled and said, "Alright, thank you for your trouble!"

As he spoke, Mr. Ding led the two into the hall, kicked a few cots and sofas, signaling the people on them to get to work. Then, Mr. Ding said apologetically, "I'm sorry, I knew you were coming, but I wasn't prepared. It's too messy inside."

He pointed to the group of people from earlier and introduced them, saying, "Those guys were working overtime on algorithms yesterday and stayed up a bit late. They're just taking a nap here. Don't mind them."

Li Mu said, "It's nothing, it's a startup! That's how it is. You guys are working really hard and your enthusiasm is excellent, which is rare."

Mr. Ding said happily, "Thank you for your understanding, Mr. Zhao."

Li Mu waved his hand: "No need to be polite. Where are your products? Can I try them out?"

Mr. Ding readily agreed, “No problem, Mr. Zhao, this way please.”

"This is our product prototype, which is basically mature and will be released soon. Unfortunately, the company is out of funds and can't even do any publicity or promotion."

Li Mu tried the red stubble, which was quite novel and fun, and the results were good. Although it was a bit difficult to monetize, the market potential was still quite large.

Nodding in approval, he said, "Not bad, very interesting. Although we can't find a way to make a profit right away, the product is indeed a good product."

Mr. Ding immediately stood up excitedly, staring at Li Mu with a nervous expression, and said, "Mr. Zhao, are you planning to vote for us?"

Li Mu smiled and said, "I have that idea."

Mr. Ding was overjoyed. He rushed to the lobby like the wind, jumped onto a table, stood in the center of the crowd, and excitedly waved his arms, saying, "Brothers and sisters, I have great news to tell you all! Our financing is secured! We're about to get the money! We can continue working!"

The employees below went wild, cheering and many hugging each other excitedly.

After barely suppressing his excitement, Mr. Ding pointed to Li Mu and introduced him, "This is our investor, Mr. Zhao. Please welcome him."

Li Mu nodded and smiled at everyone.

Immediately, another round of thunderous applause erupted.

Mr. Ding continued, "It's been three years. The company has been established for three whole years, and we finally have hope of securing funding. Here, I want to thank all the brothers and sisters who have accompanied me over the years. Without you, there would be no me, and no Hongcha."

"I guarantee here that as long as I have food to eat, everyone else will have something to drink. After the financing is successful, we will use the funds and shares to pay off all the back salaries we owed us, so that everyone can have a good New Year."

Another roar, like a mountain collapsing and a tsunami, erupted from below!

After several rounds of celebration, everyone's mood finally returned to normal.

Mr. Ding said apologetically to Li Mu, "I'm sorry, we've been waiting for this day for so long, everyone is so happy and excited. Mr. Zhao, Ms. Jiang, please excuse the commotion. This way, please, let's go to the office to talk!"

Li Mu laughed and said, "It's nothing, this is true character. With such a group of motivated employees, I believe Hongcha has a bright future."

Mr. Ding nodded vigorously: "I definitely won't let you down."

Next, the two sides entered the substantive negotiation stage. Hongcha had been established for three years but had not been able to raise funds. President Ding's expectations for the company's valuation were also getting lower and lower. For example, in the financing plan recently sent out, the valuation of Hongcha was only ten million.

This is the initial valuation, not the final one. As long as they can secure funding and prevent the company from going bankrupt, Mr. Ding would be willing to accept even a valuation of ten million, even at a drastically reduced rate.

Li Mu had no intention of continuing to lower the price. Even if it were easy to do so, considering that the valuation of the red-cut fruit would continue to rise, it would be pointless to haggle over such a small amount.

After talking for a while, Li Mu readily agreed to President Ding's valuation of ten million for the red stubble, which surprised President Ding quite a bit. He was prepared that the valuation could be lowered if Li Mu was willing to bargain.

To my surprise, they readily agreed.

Regarding the investment amount, Li Mu directly stated that he would invest a round number, "ten million." After a slight hesitation, President Ding immediately agreed.

Since the other party is so generous and straightforward, why should he be so indecisive? It's just half of the company's shares! Although it hurts, and there's even the possibility of losing control, it's better than going bankrupt and being burdened with a mountain of debt.

Unexpectedly, Li Mu had considered things very thoroughly and generously, agreeing to only require 49% of the shares, while maintaining control of the company.

Li Mu genuinely had no interest in control. He knew that Hongcha would become incredibly popular by chance, and its valuation would skyrocket. He just wanted to speculate and make some pocket money; he had no intention of keeping it for himself.

As a result, both parties were naturally happy. With Jiang Xiaoguo as a witness, Li Mu called in a lawyer and a financial advisor, and in the name of Zhongyou Technology, completed the investment in Hongcha.

With that, the matter was settled, everyone was happy, and all that remained was for the valuation of the red-stubble plant to skyrocket.

Time flies, and in the blink of an eye, Duan Jiabao has been Liang Shuang's agent for some time now. Although it hasn't been smooth sailing and the two have been working on their collaboration, overall they've had a pretty good working relationship.

The two had a clear division of labor: Duan Jiabao was in charge of external business and also worked as a photographer for Liang Shuang, while Liang Shuang was responsible for designing advertising plans and posting on Weibo.

The two worked together seamlessly. Sometimes, Duan Jiabao felt that being Liang Shuang's agent wasn't so bad. After being Ouyang Yushuang's agent for a while, she found that this industry was quite suitable for her.

Liang Shuang was the same. After spending some time together, although Duan Jiabao was a glutton and liked chasing stars, he was quite professional in handling business. His biggest advantage was his good temper; he could be both wronged and still smile happily.

However, their collaboration remained private. Liang Shuang didn't care; she already had a bad relationship with the other two—one was a love rival, and the other had caused her to suffer cyberbullying. Resolving the grudges would be difficult, and she was too lazy to even think about it.

Duan Jiabao is different. She has an excellent relationship with the other two. If her working relationship with Liang Shuang is exposed, how can she face her two best friends?

So, they could only keep it a secret like this.

In the girls' dormitory, taking advantage of Jiang Xiaoguo and Luo Yan's absence that morning, Duan Jiabao carefully approached them.

Liang Shuang glanced at her and said, "You're my manager, why are you acting like a mistress? When are you going to come clean? You can't keep hiding it forever."

Duan Jiabao immediately became distressed: "I just haven't found an opportunity yet. Once I do, I will definitely confess to them immediately."

Liang Shuang snorted: "Whatever, it's none of my business!"

Duan Jiabao was even more troubled. She didn't know how to be honest, and she didn't know if Jiang Xiaoguo and Luo Yan would still be best friends after she confessed. What if the ship of their friendship capsized because of Liang Shuang?

Liang Shuang then posted the edited video.

He then shifted the topic to another: "We've been interacting with Lilya a lot lately, and she often recommends and introduces us to products. We've gained over 100,000 followers and have become quite well-known in the beauty industry. Have you been in talks about any new advertising deals lately? With your popularity soaring, you must have a lot of businesses contacting you."

Duan Jiabao got a little excited when this was mentioned.

"We've already talked to them, and we're also in talks with several other advertising agencies! Our fan base has grown so fast lately, and our influence in the beauty industry has increased significantly. We've already built a loyal fan base, and many brands are willing to collaborate with us."

"Besides, I've done my research. They're all legitimate brands and companies with no negative news, so you don't need to worry about that!"

Liang Shuang glanced at her and praised, "Not bad, you've improved. Keep up the good work. When are we signing the contract?"

Duan Jiabao said, "We're still negotiating. You've gained more followers and influence recently, so your prices should increase. We can't keep using the old prices. We haven't reached a consensus on this yet. Some advertisers are still observing, so I'm working hard to reach an agreement!"