Huayu: King of Kung Fu

Chapter 141 This Win-Win Situation

It's a really annoying thing that Lin Hu, Zhou Xun, and Fan Binbin promoted "Better Days" together.

Zhou Xun is Lin Hu's ex-girlfriend, and the two have a daughter together, while Fan Binbin is his current girlfriend.

When the three of them get together, reporters inevitably ask about their relationships.

After the three appeared together at the premiere in Beijing, they split up for the subsequent promotional activities in the three cities of Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Guangzhou, with each person going to one city.

Lin Hu went to Hong Kong, Zhou Xun went to Shanghai, and Fan Binbin went to Guangzhou.

However, Fan Binbin's influence is somewhat lacking right now, so she pulled in Zhang Guoli, who made a cameo appearance as an old policeman in the movie, to help her out.

Separate promotions not only avoided awkwardness but also saved Lin Hu a lot of time, eliminating the need to travel to four different cities for promotions.

Hong Kong and Guangzhou are very close. After Lin Hu finished his promotional activities in Hong Kong, he crossed the border at Lo Wu and arrived in Shenzhen.

After completing her promotional activities in Guangzhou, Fan Binbin also went to Shenzhen to meet up with him.

Upon meeting, Lin Hu asked, "Did those reporters give you any trouble?"

Fan Binbin said, "It's alright. They asked me if I would be jealous, and I told them that you and Zhou Xun are in the past, and I won't dwell on it. Uncle Guoli also helped me smooth things over, so I managed to get through it."

Lin Hu kissed her cheek and praised, "Good wife, you have such a broad mind."

Lin Hu was extremely satisfied with Fan Binbin in this regard; she was so understanding.

Lin Hu now has only one goal: if Bingbing and Yuanyuan can get along well and he can enjoy the bliss of having two women, then he would truly be more than satisfied.

Fan Binbin found it strange that Lin Hu had brought her to Shenzhen and asked, "What are we doing in Shenzhen?"

Lin Hu said confidently, "I'll take you on a tour of my company."

Fan Binbin was even more puzzled: "Isn't your company in Beijing?"

"The one in Beijing is a film and television company, and the one in Shenzhen is an internet company, which I invested in."

"Oh, what company is it?"

Do you remember my QQ number?

"I remember, 10086."

"Guess why I have such a lucky nickname?"

Fan Binbin suddenly realized that QQ was very popular now, and she was using it too; it turned out that Lin Hu had invested in it.

"Is this company very profitable?"

"When I invested, it was valued at $550 million. I invested $220 million, taking a 40% stake. Now, a year later, it's valued at $6000 million."

Fan Binbin was so shocked his mouth could have fit an egg. He earned so much in just one year?

"It's just a valuation; it's only money if someone buys it."

"Is anyone going to answer?"

"Nonsense! There's a dot-com bubble. Internet companies worldwide are going bankrupt; they're all on the verge of collapse!"

Fan Binbin felt a little sorry for Lin Hu's money and asked, "What should we do then?"

Lin Hu said nonchalantly, "Keep throwing money at it, just keep going!"

In the original timeline, IDG Capital and Li Xiaochao's PCCW invested $110 million each in Tencent, each holding a 20% stake.

By 2001, the $220 million had been burned through.

Just as the dot-com bubble burst, internet companies around the world were in despair, with countless companies going bankrupt.

Seeing no hope, both IDG Capital and Li Xiaochao sought to sell their shares and find buyers.

At this time, Tencent already had 6000 million registered users, QQ had a peak of 180 million concurrent users, and a valuation of 6000 million US dollars.

MIH Holdings of South Africa thought it was worth the risk and invested US$3200 million.

Of the $12.6 million, $12.6 million was used to acquire the 20% stake held by Li Xiaochao, who then cashed out and left the company.

They acquired a 12.8% stake in IDG for US$806.4 million.

The company acquired a 13.5% stake in the founding team for $1133.6 million, which was then distributed among the five founders, including Xiao Ma.

IDG retained a portion of the shares, but didn't hold onto them. A few months later, they sold them to Pony Ma's founding team, cashed out, and made more money than Li Xiaochao.

It's worth noting that MIH only acquired existing shares and did not inject new funds into Tencent.

After the change of ownership, market confidence in Tencent increased significantly, credit channels were opened up, and Tencent secured a loan of $200 million.

This money was burned for several more months, and by the end of the year, the Mobile Dream Network was running smoothly and started to generate profits, so it could produce its own revenue and was no longer short of money.

If Li Xiaochao and MIH are willing to invest another sum of money and hold on for another three months, they might not cash out and leave, and all the money MIH South Africa earns will be theirs.

Li Xiaochao later stated on several public occasions that he left too early and deeply regretted it.

Lin Hu brought Fan Binbin to the SEG Plaza, where Xiao Ma and several founders greeted them downstairs.

At this time, Tencent's office had expanded to 300 square meters and had about 100 employees.

However, the office environment was still rudimentary, with open-plan workstations and no separate offices for senior executives; the five founders and employees sat in the same hall.

When Lin Hu arrived at the company, Xiao Ma introduced him to the employees as an investor, which immediately caused a huge uproar.

While everyone applauded enthusiastically to welcome Lin Hu's arrival, they also whispered among themselves.

Wow, so handsome!

"So he's the big boss?"

"I love watching his movies the most."

"Is that Jin Suo next to him? She's so beautiful!"

Fan Binbin has filmed several TV series in the past two years, and even played the female lead in "Like Fog, Like Rain, Like Wind". However, in people's minds, she is still Jin Suo.

As a female celebrity, the role that people remember most vividly is that of a maid, and she is unhappy.

However, "My Fair Princess" was so popular that it's not easy to shake off its popularity.

Lin Hu was very approachable, greeting everyone with a smile, taking photos, and signing autographs.

After playing for more than an hour, Xiao Ma and the others went to the building's public conference room.

The founders briefed Lin Hu on the company's development, explaining that they were now devising various methods to raise funds.

For example, there are restrictions on number applications, making it very difficult to register a number.

The only way to apply is by calling the 168 voice information hotline, which costs two yuan per call.

They also launched premium QQ numbers, which are charged monthly at a fee of two yuan per month.

However, this only alleviates the pressure. The broadband fee alone costs several million every month, which is not enough to cover the expenses.

Lin Hu knew that once the Mobile Dream Network was operational by the end of the year, he could make a fortune every day, but he didn't say it.

Lin Hu didn't offer any suggestions to Xiao Ma; there was no need.

He has invested in more than just Tencent.

Last month, he went to North America to promote "Fast & Furious" and spent $1200 million on a shopping spree.

Of that, 200 million was used to buy shares in a pig farm, representing approximately 6% of the shares.

The remaining 500 million will be used to buy Amazon, and the remaining 500 million will be used to buy eBay.

These two companies are currently worth hundreds of millions of US dollars. Lin Hu only invested a few million, so his shareholding is negligible.

These are listed companies; you can simply buy them directly on the stock market without any negotiation or transaction involved, and nobody really cares.

The market is in a state of panic right now, with everyone selling off their shares. If you buy now, you'll make a profit.

No man can get rich without windfall gains, and no horse can get fat without night grass. Compared to the arduous task of making money by filming movies, it's much more satisfying to profit from the stock market.

However, fame is sometimes more important than money.

Having fame is like having a halo.

Wherever you go, you're greeted with thunderous cheers. Although there are troubles too, it's actually quite addictive.

Lin Hu still enjoys his status as an international superstar.

Knowing that Tencent would become profitable by the end of the year, Lin Hu talked with several of Tencent's founders and readily invested $200 million.

After this capital increase, his shareholding rose to 41.94%.

After the original shareholders absconded and the South African group entered the scene, it and the founding team each held 50% of the shares.

Now, Lin Hu is the one paying for everything from start to finish, and the founding team actually holds significantly more shares than in the original timeline.

This is a win-win situation!

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