Chapter 455 Textbook Decency

On the top floor of the Tenda Technology Building, in the Chief Operating Officer's office.

Liu Rong sat upright on the sofa, shaking the white porcelain teacup in his hand, and the hot steam blurred the rim of the cup.

He took a sip of warm tea and looked calmly at Wang Jing opposite him, waiting for the COO's final decision on the proposal.

This morning she came to the group headquarters from Tengda Culture specifically to report on the disposal plan for Fan Bingbing Studio's shares.

Yesterday, Zhang Zhao mediated, and when Fan Bingbing and his agent Mu Xiaoguang came to visit, they proposed a rather tempting exchange:

If Tengda Culture gives the important supporting role of Su Yueming in "Transformers 4" to Fan Bingbing to help him rise to a higher level of fame, the other party is willing to repurchase the shares at a 30% premium based on the studio's latest valuation at that time.

This will not only ensure Tengda Culture's profits, but also smoothly resolve the equity issue.

However, "Transformers 4" involved cooperation with Paramount, and Liu Rong did not dare to make a decision on his own, so he came to ask his leader for instructions.

Wang Jing tapped the table lightly with her fingertips, pondered for a moment, and then slowly nodded, "This plan is feasible. Let's cast her as Su Yueming in Transformers 4. Just based on her temperament and image, she really fits the role, and the director shouldn't have any objections."

"Okay, Mr. Wang." Liu Rong agreed quickly, and his heart, which had been hanging for half a day, finally settled down.

After finishing the business, Wang Jing changed the subject and asked with a smile, "By the way, Lost in Thailand has been very popular online these days. How is the box office?"

When mentioning the movie that was released three days ago, Liu Rong's face suddenly lit up with joy, and his tone was full of excitement: "Mr. Wang, the box office of Lost in Thailand is really unexpected!

It earned 43 million on the first day, not only surpassing "Charlotte's Troubles", but also breaking the first-day box office record for domestic films.

In its first three days, the film has accumulated 80,000 screenings, attracted 4.5 million viewers, and grossed 160 million yuan. At this rate, the second billion-yuan film in Chinese film history is about to be born.

She paused and added, "And the number of screens at the end of the year is much greater than when 'The Troubles of Charlotte' was released. Mtime predicts that the box office for 'Lost in Thailand' is likely to exceed 1.2 billion yuan."

"1.2 billion?" Wang Jing exclaimed in shock, a flicker of shock in her eyes. She eagerly asked, "How much did the company invest in Lost in Thailand?"

"We've invested 18 million yuan, representing 50% of the total investment. The company is also solely responsible for promotion and marketing," Liu Rong said, his voice growing increasingly excited. "According to preliminary estimates, the company can make a net profit of 240 million yuan!"

"Okay, okay!" Wang Jing's eyebrows and eyes were filled with smiles. "I didn't expect Tengda Culture to give the group such a big surprise at the end of the year. I'll ask Director Song to commend you for this."

Liu Rong was cheered up after hearing this, and his face lit up.

It is a foregone conclusion that the box office of "Lost in Thailand" will exceed 1 billion yuan, and Tengda Culture's position as a super giant in the entertainment industry has become more solid. Even listed companies such as Huayi and Guangxian find it difficult to compete with it now.

Wang Jing calmed down, looked out the window and sighed softly, "The entertainment industry is really flourishing nowadays, and the box office performance has reached a new level every year.

When I was at Tengda Culture, we were lucky if we could produce a few films that grossed over 100 million yuan a year. Now, we can easily make 1 billion yuan, which is unimaginable.”

Liu Rong also sighed: "When the national cinema reform took place in 2002, the domestic box office for the whole year was only 900 million yuan. This year is the tenth year of the film industry reform, and the total box office in China has exceeded 17 billion yuan.

"Over the past decade, box office revenue has increased 18.5 times, with an average annual growth rate of 40%, which is the fastest rate globally. At this rate, it wouldn't be surprising to see a movie with a box office of 2 or 3 billion in the next few years."

Wang Jing nodded slightly, feeling the booming film and television industry. Then, remembering something, she spoke, "With Zeng Jia's departure and Zhuang Liqi's transfer to Weibo, the two deputy positions at Tengda Culture are now vacant, which is not conducive to work progress.

HR has found candidates, and I've approved them. The two new vice presidents will be taking up their posts in a few days. I wanted to let you know first."

Liu Rong remained calm, having been prepared for this. The group couldn't possibly let her run Tengda Culture alone, and the company's affairs were so complex that she simply couldn't manage them all.

Before she could speak, Wang Jing continued to introduce: "There are two new vice presidents. One is Liu Zhijun, who was promoted from Weibo's operations director and is good at internal operations management.

The other is Wang Qiang, a recent hire at the group. He graduated from Tsinghua University School of Economics and Management and has experience working in listed companies and the film and television industry. He can help you manage front-end projects.”

"Thank you for your support, Mr. Wang. I will definitely form a good team with you two." Liu Rong quickly expressed his opinion. He knew in his heart that this internal and external configuration was obviously carefully considered.

"Do a good job." Wang Jing encouraged, stood up and walked to the desk, picked up the landline and dialed a short number.

"Hello, Mr. Wang, what can I do for you?" a voice came from the other end of the phone.

"Jane Ning, has Director Song returned to the company?" Wang Jing asked. Song Ci was attending the 4th Annual Conference of Chinese Business and Media Leaders these two days and was not in the company.

"Just got back. Wu Yi is reporting on his work. If you have anything to do, you can go see him in half an hour."

"I see." Wang Jing replied, then asked, "Did Director Song say when he'll be on vacation?"

"It should be the day after tomorrow. He has postponed all his schedules from the 30th of this month to the 3rd of next month to focus on wedding preparations."

"Okay, go ahead." Wang Jing hung up the phone and turned to Liu Rong, saying, "We'll go see Director Song in half an hour. By the way, I heard Yang Mi's contract is expiring. Are they not renewing it?"

"Yes."

"Everyone should part ways in peace, and this matter must be handled properly." Wang Jing solemnly warned.

"Director Song's wedding is in a few days. Celebrity fans can be quite extreme these days. We need to prevent Yang Mi's fans from causing any trouble or spreading rumors. We'll try to resolve this within the next two days."

"I understand." Liu Rong quickly agreed. He had already made up his mind to finalize this matter today.

In the office next door, Song Ci was looking down at a document, his fingertips occasionally pausing on the edge of the page.

Across from him, WeChat President Wu Yi had a serious expression on his face, his tone carrying a certain urgency: "Mr. Song, the essence of Yu'ebao is that Alipay automatically transfers the balance in user accounts to the Tianhong Zenglibao money market fund.

When users operate on the Alipay interface, the transfer of funds is considered to have completed the fund subscription. The process is as simple as online shopping, and the threshold is surprisingly low, with a minimum purchase of 1 yuan.

After saying that, Wu Yi stole a glance at Song Ci and saw that the chairman's face was calm and he seemed not to care about the situation of Yu'e Bao. He had no choice but to continue reporting:

"Currently, Yu'e Bao's annualized rate of return is 4%, calculated daily and using a compounding model. The daily earnings are automatically credited to the principal, and interest continues to accrue the next day."

"The redemption rules are also relaxed, with T+0 real-time redemption. Funds can be transferred to Alipay or bank cards at any time, and can be used for payment, transfers, and consumption."

Song Ci put the document down and chuckled, "Alipay has really invested heavily this time. If you put 100,000 yuan in the bank, not to mention the interest on a current account, a fixed deposit for a year would only be 3,000 yuan. But if you put it in Yu'e Bao, the starting interest is 4,000 yuan, and you can withdraw it whenever you want."

"Mr. Song, the problem is that Yu'ebao has only been online for three days, and the number of users has exceeded 500,000, and the scale of funds has reached 1.5 billion!" Wu Yi's tone became more anxious.

"At this rate, the scale will reach 200 billion in less than three months. Shouldn't we also launch a similar product for WeChat Balance right away?"

Song Ci waved his hand, calmly soothing him, "Water doesn't compete for the lead, it competes for its constant flow." Yu'ebao's hasty launch was clearly due to Alipay's panic caused by WeChat's red envelopes.

I'm pretty sure it hasn't been registered with the regulatory authorities, which will inevitably lead to a lot of trouble down the road. There's no rush for WeChat Balance, let Alipay test the waters first."

Seeing the chairman's confident look, Wu Yi felt a little relieved and added, "At present, the major banks have not reacted much to Yu'e Bao. I guess it will take a while for the situation to ferment."

Song Ci's lips curled up into a meaningful smile. "It's not hot enough yet. I'll have Liu Yan arrange to push the news of Yu'e Bao to the top of Weibo's trending searches."

Since this is the first internet money fund in China, we need to let more people know about it.”

Wu Yi was stunned for a moment, then realized that the chairman was adding fuel to the fire and putting Alipay on the fire.

Once this trending search came up, Yu'ebao would instantly spread throughout the entire financial circle and be closely watched by major banks.

Song Ci leaned back in his boss's chair, his tone becoming more determined: "It's only a matter of time before Alipay is jointly sanctioned by banks, but the emergence of Yu'ebao can be regarded as the official opening of the curtain on Internet finance.

It will force banking reforms, promote interest rate liberalization, and usher in an era of digital inclusive finance.”

"I plan to discuss this with major banks after the Spring Festival. The WeChat balance wealth management product is tentatively scheduled to launch in late February. You should be prepared first."

Wu Yi immediately became excited and eager to try: "Don't worry, the technical side has been prepared long ago, and the product can be launched at any time.

By the way, Mr. Song, the name Yu'ebao has been used by Alipay first. Could you please come up with a name for our financial product?"

Song Ci casually responded, "Since it's the funds in WeChat's wallet, let's call it Zero Money Pass."

As dusk deepened, in the restaurant of Jingyuan Villa, warm yellow light spread over the dining table, reflecting the warm luster of porcelain cups and plates.

Song Ci was eating quietly when he saw his wife fiddling with her phone beside him, a look of worry on her face. He put down his chopsticks and asked softly, "Shishi, what's wrong?"

Liu Shishi pushed the phone in front of her husband and sighed softly, "Mimi's contract with Tengda Culture has expired and will not be renewed. It has just been officially announced."

Song Ci looked down at the screen, and Yang Mi's latest blog post was lying quietly in the center of the page.

"Dear honey, all friends who care about Xiaomi:

At this moment, the lights outside the window resemble the starlight beside me when I signed my name three years ago. In 2010, I officially joined Tengda Culture. In the blink of an eye, 1,095 days have passed, and now it's time to say goodbye.

Yes, the most important acting contract in my life has successfully expired today.

From "Palace" and "Temptation of Going Home" to "Charlotte's Troubles", Tengda Culture handed me heavy opportunities and helped me stand up from the shaky entertainment industry.

For the past three years, I've been like a sponge, desperately absorbing water, and like a weed growing in the wind, but weeds always have to move on to the wilderness beyond.

Before my contract expired, I had many conversations with the teachers at Tengda Culture. There were no arguments, no calculations, only open palms and blessing smiles.

So, please don't worry about us, this is not cutting, but the seeds will naturally fall off the branches after they mature.

Tengda Culture will always be the unforgettable "first chapter" of my acting career. But now it's time for me to hold the pen of this new story.

At this moment, I want to say to the bees: Thank you for your companionship. Let's continue our journey together. We share a past, each with its own future, but our hearts remain unchanged.

Finally, I have three wishes: First, I wish Tengda Culture great success; second, I wish all our partners happiness and health; third, I wish... (Shh, the third wish is hidden in the play, wait for me to reveal it with a new character.)

On the snowy night of December 28, 2012

Song Ci read through it word by word and nodded gently: "A peaceful termination, with both sides maintaining dignity, is a good idea."

As he spoke, he clicked on the link at the bottom of the page, and Tengda Culture's official announcement immediately unfolded:

"Snow falls in the capital, bells ring melodiously. At this moment, we are pleased and sad to officially announce that the three-year contract between Tengda Culture and Film and Television Company and Ms. Yang Mi has successfully terminated. After friendly consultation, the two parties have decided not to renew the contract.

. . .

Ms. Yang Mi's growth trajectory is a perfect example of Tengda Culture's commitment to "cultivating people through their work." We are grateful for her dedication over the past three years and admire her courage to push boundaries even at the peak of her career.

The termination of this contract is not a severance of ties, but the farewell of an old friend as the young eagle spreads its wings. From now on, the companions become watchmen, and we will meet again on a higher mountain.

From now on, Ms. Yang Mi will start a new journey as an independent actor. Tengda Culture solemnly promises:

Unconditionally cooperate with all work handovers to ensure that its subsequent development is not hindered; the income from the works that have been filmed will be strictly fulfilled as agreed; both parties will still have opportunities to cooperate in the future.

As a parting gift, I have only three wishes: first, I wish you a smooth career and may you produce new works that amaze the audience; second, I wish you may your original aspirations remain forever and may laughter and tears become the drama of life; third, I wish you may stay healthy and may the wind and frost of Hengdian never invade your skin.

The snow tonight is as pure as it was when we signed the contract three years ago, just like the background of this encounter. A clean meeting and an upright farewell are enough.

"Come to think of it, Mimi is the first artist to terminate her contract with Tengda Culture." Liu Shishi took back her phone and swiped through netizens' comments.

"I've seen artists send lawyers' letters after terminating contracts, and I've seen companies buy black search terms to slander each other. This is the first time I've seen two parties write short essays about each other with hidden Easter eggs."

"I can only say that Boss Song is a respectable man, and the people under Tengda also adhere to the principle of parting ways amicably. After three years of cooperation, it ended peacefully."

"Open and aboveboard, majestic and grand, Tengda Culture truly deserves to be a giant in the entertainment industry, a place of respectability!"

Another fan commented: "Wow, thank you Tengda Culture for nurturing and caring for my sister over the past three years, allowing her to gradually become a top-tier actress in the entertainment industry. I hope we will have the opportunity to continue working together in the future."

Song Ci glanced at these comments, and suddenly his mind became clear. It seemed that Yang Mi had already discussed it with Tengda Culture. This tacit cooperation was just to calm the fans' hearts and avoid any trouble, occupying public resources, and making people laugh.

(End of this chapter)