My absurd experiences in North America over the years

On September 17, the day before Li Fu flew to New York to meet Jackson, the long-awaited film Hacksaw Ridge was released simultaneously in more than 9 theaters across North America.

He did not attend the Los Angeles premiere; Gadot walked the red carpet and later gave interviews to several media outlets.

The television stations and newspapers under the Forum Media Group did not deliberately amplify the reports; they simply issued press releases according to standard procedures.

However, people on Twitter have already been sharing Gadot's behind-the-scenes footage and training clips on set, and the number of views exceeded eight million on the night of the premiere.

The first day's box office figures were tallied up in MGM's offices the following morning—fourteen million dollars.

This number isn't astonishing for a top-tier war film, but considering the production costs and marketing scale, it has far exceeded expectations.

More importantly, it received positive word-of-mouth feedback, with a theater rating of A, a Rotten Tomatoes score of over 93%, and audience ratings that remained at a high level.

Critics focused on the realism and narrative style, with many mentioning Gadot's performance in their reviews.

Most people believe that her portrayal of the nurse in the film combines the sharpness of a soldier with the warmth of an ordinary person, and her presence makes the film's perspective more complete than simply focusing on the protagonist.

In his column, veteran film critic Roger Ebert wrote at length, "Gadot's portrayal of the nurse is the most surprising part of the whole movie for me. Her character does not deliberately emphasize her gender, nor does she force an emotional storyline. Through her perspective and the plot, the audience sees a complete picture of war, rather than a propaganda speech. The action scenes are also amazing."

The Hollywood Reporter called it "another shot of the bloody battlefield."

Entertainment Weekly considers this to be Gal Gadot's most brilliant role to date, and says she is perfectly suited for action films.

Variety magazine's headline was very direct: "War movies are finally no longer just for men."

……

Gadot's agent was thrilled, believing it could be the most positive feedback she'd received in her career.

Of course, the main selling points of the film are still the growth story of the protagonist Desmond Doss and the cruelty and madness of the Japanese fascists during the war.

These resonated strongly with the audience.

In an interview, director Gibson and screenwriter Robert said that Gadot's role was added at the last minute before the film was greenlit, and the success of the role should be attributed to the ideas and character framework provided by the investors.

The investor is MGM, and MGM's investor is Li Fu.

For the first time, the outside world witnessed Li Fu's unique vision and operational capabilities in the film industry.

Based on the opening day performance of Hacksaw Ridge, industry insiders estimate that the total box office of Hacksaw Ridge may eventually be between $400 million and $500 million, which is considered a huge blockbuster compared to the investment of tens of millions of dollars.

Compared to its $1.8 million box office when it was released in 2016, this represents a significant leap forward.

The reasons for this include a more complete storyline and the involvement of the Forum Press in the publicity, but more importantly, the ongoing public discourse surrounding the right wing of Japan has not stopped in the past few months.

The Tea Party's attacks on the Democratic Party almost always include the claim that the Democratic Party sacrificed the interests and honor of WWII veterans for the sake of so-called diplomatic priorities, and that it attempted to cooperate with the Japanese right wing to deceive the public and curry favor with the Japanese government.

All of these factors subtly encouraged audiences to go to the cinema to watch the film.

Li Fuyi initially made this film to gain an advantage in the war of public opinion; making money was naturally an unexpected bonus.

If it can gross $5 million at the box office, that's enough to put it in a very high position on the annual list for a war film.

Of course, for him, the significance of this film has gone beyond its box office performance.

The film successfully demonstrated Li Fu's judgment as an investor in MGM and established a strong, unshakable impression in Hollywood that he was capable of success in any field.

The next morning, Li Fu arrived in New York.

As the car crossed the Queens Bridge, he glanced out the window at the East River; he was back again.

3 p.m., Manhattan, JPMorgan Chase headquarters.

Jackson's office had a wide view, with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the Hudson River and the Statue of Liberty in the distance.

When Li Fu entered, Jackson was standing by the window making a phone call. When he saw Li Fu come in, Jackson gestured with his chin toward the sofa, indicating that he should sit down first.

After waiting a minute or two, Jackson hung up the phone and came over, sitting down on the single sofa opposite Li Fu.

The head of the private banking division was an old friend. Without much small talk, he got straight to the point: "I've carefully reviewed Morris's proposal."

Li Fu leaned back on the sofa. "What do you think?"

"200 billion...ten years...Great Lakes logistics network," Jackson shook his head and laughed, "To be honest, when I first saw it, I thought the head of the research team you sent was a madman blinded by idealism."

An investment of 200 billion is something few companies in the world are qualified to undertake.

Li Fu expressed his understanding, saying that he was also confused at first.

Jackson picked up the tablet on the coffee table, swiped a few times, and turned the screen toward Li Fu. "Your initial budget of 2.3 million is a bit low. The figures for land and civil engineering are fine, but the cost of connecting the dedicated railway line will at least double."

He estimated that the interface costs at Norfolk Southern and the port area renovation costs would be even higher, with the final actual implementation cost potentially exceeding 3 million.

Li Fu remained silent, listening quietly.

Jackson continued, "However, the locational advantages around the Great Lakes are real. The intersection of Interstate 75 and I-80/90, the Port of Toledo, and two major rail lines create a true combination of road, rail, and water transport conditions that you won't find anywhere else in the United States."

If they can negotiate the interface between the railway and the port, the hub will be worth far more than $4 million.

As a senior executive at JPMorgan Chase, Jackson certainly has no shortage of business acumen, and he saw the commercial value inherent in it.

"So, are you interested in investing with me?" Li Fu asked.

Jackson leaned back. "Given our relationship, I'll be frank: JPMorgan Chase can participate in the first phase with a 40% stake, and the equity will be allocated accordingly. However, each subsequent phase of the project will require separate financing."

He also put forward a precondition: Forrest Capital needed a complete and well-researched feasibility report, and Morris's thick proposal needed further refinement before it could be shown to the railroad company and the port authority.

Only after this aspect is agreed upon can the cooperation details be put on the table.

This is, after all, a total investment of $20 billion. If JPMorgan Chase contributes 40%, the total investment will exceed $8 billion.

If it had been anyone else, not Li Fu, Jackson would have refused the collaboration long ago.

He also lacked the authority to approve such a large-scale investment.

Before Li Fu arrived in New York, JPMorgan Chase held an emergency internal meeting this morning, chaired by Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon.

Surprisingly, the most discussed topic at the meeting wasn't the project proposal, but rather Li Fu himself.

This is probably the strangest business meeting in JPMorgan Chase's history. The feasibility analysis of the project itself is far less important than the analysis of the person leading the project. If this gets out, it will probably become a laughing stock.

However, JPMorgan Chase has become accustomed to it.

All of Li Fu's capital operations were conducted through JPMorgan Chase. JPMorgan Chase was also the financial advisor for mergers and acquisitions. They knew better than anyone what Li Fu had done.

To date, Li Fu has ventured into various industries more than once, from record companies and film and television companies to sports teams and media giants. He has always been successful and often puts forward ideas that are ahead of their time.

The Tribune newspaper's transformation from bankruptcy and restructuring to its current foray into the streaming media field is a prime example.

He can even design movie characters...

In short, from JPMorgan Chase's perspective, Li Fu was extremely versatile, very generous, and often able to predict future situations. At one point, there were internal suspicions that he was a prophet from the East.

Unfortunately, religious countries often attribute "miracles" to prophets.

Ultimately, after much analysis, even though the proposal had some flaws and the overall investment seemed too large, it was still believed that Li Fu would most likely succeed, and JPMorgan Chase would suffer a great loss if they missed out.

Most importantly, it might cause them to lose Li Fu's trust.

Forrest Capital is currently arguably JPMorgan Chase’s most important client and partner.

To mitigate risk, they decided to invest in each project separately, so that if things ultimately failed, the losses could be minimized.

Li Fu was unaware of the contents of JPMorgan Chase's internal meeting, but after a moment's thought, he concluded that Jackson's demands and cooperation methods were reasonable.

In business partnerships, who wouldn't want to minimize risks as much as possible?

"OK, we can finance each phase separately. I'll personally negotiate with the railway company and the port authority. Once we've reached an agreement, we'll move on to the next step," he agreed.

Jackson breathed a sigh of relief. He was actually very grateful to Li Fu. Without Li Fu's help in creating the results, he would not have been able to become the president of the private banking division.

"Thank you for your understanding. I'll initiate the internal project approval process first. However, Li, a 200 billion commercial investment will definitely be controversial within JPMorgan Chase. Could you tell me what your investment criteria are?"

He grasped Li Fu's hand, indicating that he needed something to further persuade the board.

Market data, policy signals, or something they can't see or explain, such as mysterious Eastern powers—they believe anything Li Fu says.

If he didn't believe in these things, he wouldn't be in his current position.

Li Fu remained silent for a long time. What could he possibly say?

Could it be that he just wanted to cooperate with CP to start the MAGA movement, and that's why he suddenly decided to make the investment so large?

This is obviously something we can't say! Saying it would be interfering with the election.

His mind raced, recalling the social development trends he had witnessed in his previous life. From 2010 to 2026, the express delivery industry in both the United States and the major Eastern country had grown significantly. This was the potential of the business!

It's basically a sure thing that you can make a profit.

His memory was certainly correct. In China, the number of transactions increased many times over, and in the United States, the number of transactions increased from 96 billion in 2010 to over 20 billion in 2024. The e-commerce penetration rate increased from single digits to over 200%, and the entire market expanded more than double.

The area surrounding the Great Lakes is home to 100 million people, yet it lacks a proper regional logistics hub.

This blank will be filled sooner or later.

"The logistics and express delivery industry is one of the most promising industries in the future. Would you believe me if I said that?" Li Fu could only use this excuse.

Jackson looked at him for a few seconds, then suddenly laughed. "Lee, sometimes I'm really curious about how you build your information channels, but since you've said that, I'll trust your judgment."

Yes, he truly believed it.

The logistics and express delivery industry in the United States is actually constrained by their domestic road infrastructure; no other modern major power relies on trucks as much as they do.

Many people might not realize that many sections of America's railway infrastructure have not been updated for years, and air transport primarily serves passengers, resulting in persistently high air freight costs.

Many sections of the interstate highways still retain the foundation of the old industrial era, and some sections are frequently plagued by disputes between states.

A high-speed rail line has been planned for more than a decade, with funding increasing from billions to tens of billions of yuan, but the stations have not even been built yet.

Except for a few large cities, road traffic in many smaller places is generally not very good either...

These factors have hindered the development of the logistics and express delivery industry in the United States, and it is destined to be less convenient and mature than in China.

Only the area around the Great Lakes has the best logistics and transportation conditions in the United States.

However, it's only relatively good.

It's perfectly normal that Jackson wasn't optimistic about it.

Didn't online shopping in China also go through a process of skepticism, acceptance, and then widespread adoption at the beginning?

Before Li Fu left, Jackson suddenly asked a question at the elevator that had nothing to do with investing in warehousing and logistics centers.

"You just designed the Gadot character on a whim?"

Li Fu paused for a moment, then shrugged, feigning nonchalance, and said, "What else?"

With his hands in his pockets, Jackson said in a half-serious tone, "I just feel that every time you do something, it seems casual, but you're always preparing for more than one thing."

From the public relations battle with Japan, to the Hacksaw Ridge movie, to Gal Gadot's Jewish identity and career, and finally MGM winning back a life-saving reputation after nearly going bankrupt.

He seems to have successfully navigated all four lines at once.

Li Fu smiled and shook his head. "You're probably overthinking it."

He patted Jackson on the shoulder and stepped into the elevator.

Many things are not as the outside world thinks. He is not the kind of genius who thinks ten steps ahead for every one step he takes. Sometimes he is pushed along by the situation.

However, many things are indeed done systematically.

For example, pushing Cole and Lucy to the forefront of politics, and continuing to invest in CP.

How could these things possibly be explained to the outside world?

In a high-end villa complex under the CP Group in the suburbs of New York, Ivanka chose the quietest and most private one as her residence.

She was waiting for Li Fu to come and meet her.