Chapter 526 The Birth of a New Giant

The storm of the Prism Project is intensifying, like a super hurricane forming over the Atlantic Ocean, sweeping across the entire Western world with unstoppable force.

Newspaper front pages, TV news, and online hot searches are filled with questions and criticisms of the United States and the NSA, and the cornerstone of trust is crumbling.

But all this has nothing to do with Song Ci for the time being.

Thanks to precise planning and the efforts of Tenda Technology's public relations team, WeChat was successfully removed from the list of suspects of "suspected of cooperating with surveillance" and the direction of public opinion was shifted.

The NSA is currently preoccupied with dealing with a barrage of questions from its European allies and has no time to bother with WeChat.

For Tenda Technology and Song Ci, this hurdle was basically passed.

As for the hearing in a few days, Song Ci was not very worried.

With public opinion so surging, those calculating congressmen know how to judge the situation best and will not go against the boiling public opinion at this time and put themselves in the spotlight.

In addition, at this moment, senior Chinese officials are on a state visit, which concerns the future economic, trade and strategic relations between the two countries.

After weighing the overall situation, even if the masters are unwilling, they will take the current situation into consideration and restrain themselves.

Song Ci's schedule for the past two days was extremely full. In addition to attending various official talks and meeting with American business representatives, he also took time out to visit WeChat's North American branch in Silicon Valley to comfort those employees who were also under tremendous pressure.

In this situation, this opportunity is rare. He doesn’t know when he will be able to set foot on North American soil again.

…

In China, Hengdian Film and Television City.

It was noon and the sun was shining brightly.

Compared to the scorching heat outside, the luxurious RV parked in a secluded corner of the set is a completely different world.

The cool air from the air conditioner blows out slowly, blowing away the sticky summer heat.

Liu Shishi sat at the dining table and enjoyed her lunch happily.

Today's food intake is obviously much more than the previous two days. Several exquisite small-kitchen meals are delicious and appetizing, which arouses appetite.

The worry that had been lingering in my heart and making me lose my appetite disappeared, and my appetite naturally returned.

He happily put a piece of tender veal into his mouth with a silver fork and chewed it slowly, but his eyes couldn't help but fall on Cai Yinong who was also eating next to him.

She tilted her head and asked softly, "Sister K, is there something wrong with you?"

Cai Yinong has been looking conflicted for some time, but Liu Shishi was distracted a few days ago and didn't bother to ask about it.

Now that I have finally gotten some relief and have some free time, I can't help but notice Sister K's abnormality, and doubts surface in my mind again.

"Yeah." Cai Yinong nodded, put down his chopsticks, picked up a tissue and wiped the corners of his mouth.

Seeing that Sister Yi was obviously in a good mood at the moment, with a relaxed look between her brows, she thought she would take the opportunity to talk about something that had been suppressed for two days.

"Shishi, there's something I need to tell you first so you can be mentally prepared."

"Go ahead, Sister K." Liu Shishi scooped another spoonful of the light winter melon soup, her tone calm and relaxed.

After witnessing her husband's strategies and tactics on the international stage and his confrontations with top powers, she felt that her vision and perspective had been greatly broadened.

Looking back at the fame and fortune in the domestic entertainment industry, it seemed like these gains and losses had become trivial matters, no longer worth her making a fuss or getting emotional.

Seeing that Yijie reacted calmly, Cai Yinong felt relieved and said carefully, "It's about the Magnolia Awards.

The organizers discussed this with me and "Silent Shorthand" received five nominations this time, which is really impressive.

They said that only one of the Best Actor and Best Actress awards could be given. Alternatively, another option is to give up the Best TV Series award.”

"What's the reason?" Liu Shishi put down the soup spoon, her voice still steady, without any emotion.

Cai Yinong carefully observed Yijie's expression and continued to explain: "Silent Shorthand received five nominations: Best TV Series, Best Director, Best Screenwriter, and Best Actor and Actress.

If they win all of them, it would be an unprecedented Grand Slam, but this is obviously unrealistic.

Since the establishment of the Magnolia Awards, there has been no precedent for any drama to win all five major awards.

Although "Silent Shorthand" has achieved great success in both word-of-mouth and ratings, and is a phenomenal work this year, to be honest, its artistic status and public recognition are not as good as those of classics such as "Bright Sword" and "The Disguiser".

Among the five major awards, the ownership of Mr. Song's Best Screenplay and Mr. Kong's Best Director awards are relatively stable and not easy to deal with.

The only room for adjustment is in the remaining three awards: Best TV Series, Best Actor, and Best Actress."

Liu Shishi instantly understood the unspoken meaning in Cai Yinong's words, as well as the organizer's so-called "balancing technique."

Awards have never just been an arena for art, but also the result of dividing the cake after various forces, personal relationships and interests have been gambled.

None of the previously recognized super classics achieved a Grand Slam, so Silent Shorthand naturally cannot set this precedent, otherwise it would break the "rules."

However, the organizers were also wary of Liu Shishi's current status and position. She was not only a top actress, but also the wife of the richest man. They were afraid that she would be dissatisfied and cause trouble.

So they used Cai Yinong as a middleman to give her a heads-up first, and at the same time gave her a seemingly "convenient" choice, allowing her to choose for herself.

But is this choice really up to her?

Thinking of this, Liu Shishi's mouth curled up slightly with a hint of mockery.

After a moment's silence, he said, "The organizer's calculations are really infuriating. Director Kong is nominated for both 'A Family in Wenzhou' and 'Silent Shorthand', so he can't move!"

My husband won the Best Screenwriter award. To be honest, it is a great honor for the Magnolia Awards for him to receive this award!

Winning Best TV Series is the result of the collective hard work of everyone on and off the stage. I wouldn't be able to bear the thought of giving up this collective honor for a personal award, and I wouldn't be worthy of everyone's efforts."

"The remaining Best Actor and Best Actress awards..." She paused, looking caught between a rock and a hard place. "The teacher is highly respected and has been acting his entire life. His pursuit of art is admirable.

He's been dreaming of winning the Best Actor award, and he deserves it. How could I possibly compete with him for that?"

He sighed softly again: "Ah! Bai Yulan is really being both responsible and insolent, pushing all the pressure and difficult choices onto me."

Cai Yinong also looked helpless. Didn't she understand the trick?

The organizers were afraid of offending Liu Shishi and the powerful capital behind her, and were also afraid that "Silent Shorthand" winning all five awards would break the rules that the industry has followed for many years.

At the same time, they are more afraid of being criticized by the audience and the media for blindly catering to capital and traffic, and losing the authority and credibility of the award.

The balance here is so difficult to strike.

Liu Shishi looked at the bright sunlight outside the window, as if she could penetrate time and space and see Song Ci calmly responding in a foreign country.

Compared with the international business wars and political games her husband faces, worrying about the gains and losses of this award does seem... a bit petty.

He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, which seemed to dispel the slight unhappiness in his heart and his mood returned to calm.

"Forget it!" Sister Yi turned around and looked at Cai Yinong with a relieved and somewhat proud smile on her face, "The award means nothing to me.

I have Best Actress trophies at home. It doesn't matter if I can't win it this time, there will be other opportunities in the future.

If I hadn't had to accept the Best Screenplay award on behalf of my husband, I wouldn't have wanted to go to this awards ceremony."

Cai Yinong felt relieved when he heard her say this and nodded quickly: "Okay, I understand what you mean. I will pass it on to the organizer."

"Oh, Sister K." Liu Shishi suddenly remembered something and asked, "Since I'm giving up the Best Actress award, who are the organizers going to give it to?"

"From what they say, the Best Actress award will go to Song Dandan."

"Teacher Song Dandan?" Liu Shishi's expression relaxed upon hearing this. "It's fine if the Best Actress award goes to Teacher Song! Just don't give it to Xiao Hu Ka and disgust me."

Cai Yinong understood it in his heart. It seemed that Yijie was still upset about losing to Song Jia, the "Pendant Female Lead" in the Magnolia Award competition last year.

"Ah!" Assistant Su Xiaoxiao suddenly exclaimed, startling the two of them.

"What's wrong, Xiaoxiao?"

"Senior Sister, check Weibo!" Su Xiaoxiao raised her phone, her voice rising slightly with excitement, a look of shock on her face, "Director Song is trending again!"

"On the hot search again?" Liu Shishi's heart skipped a beat. Could it be that the Prism incident has arisen again and something unexpected has happened?

Her husband Song Ci and his Tengda Technology are at the center of the vortex, and any disturbance may trigger a huge wave.

He quickly picked up the phone, unlocked the screen with a flick of his fingertips.

When she saw the top entries on the hot search list, Yijie's tense heartstrings suddenly relaxed and she breathed a sigh of relief. It turned out that it was not what she had worried about.

But in a flash, strong curiosity replaced the previous nervousness.

On the Weibo hot search list, labels such as "Fortune Global 500", "Tenda Technology on the list", and "Song Ci, the youngest founder of a Fortune 500 company in the world" are clearly visible.

I subconsciously clicked on the top trending search term.

The page jumps and detailed news reports appear before your eyes.

It turns out that not long ago, the American magazine "Fortune" announced the 2013 "Fortune Global 500" list of companies.

The entry threshold for this year's competition is that the company's annual revenue reaches US$23.2 billion. A total of 96 companies in China (including mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan) have been included in this list, which symbolizes the highest level of global business.

Among them, Tenda Technology Group is particularly eye-catching. It made the list for the first time and ranked 285th with a total revenue of US$37.83 billion and an astonishing net profit of US$12.94 billion!

"Fortune 500?!" Cai Yinong, who was also looking down at his phone, had a look of disbelief on his face. He subconsciously repeated the word, as if to confirm its authenticity again.

In her inherent understanding, companies that can be among the "Fortune Global 500" are either Western brand giants with decades or even hundreds of years of accumulation and a long history, such as General Electric and Siemens.

Or they are large state-owned enterprises that are related to national economy and people's livelihood and have strong strength, such as State Grid and Sinopec.

Although Tenda Technology is powerful and is the undisputed leader in the domestic Internet field, and has a significant influence in the entertainment industry, it always feels more like an "upstart."

After all, the rise of the entire Internet industry has only been around for a few years, and it is full of uncertainties from rapid iteration.

However, at this moment, the string of vivid numbers on this authoritative list announces the arrival of a new era in an unquestionable way.

US$37.83 billion in revenue!

Cai Yinong was secretly amazed. This was probably even larger than the total annual market size of the entire Chinese film and television industry!

This is a dimensional gap, and it is the impact that traditional industries directly feel in the face of new-age technology giants.

Unlike Cai Yinong's shock, after Liu Shishi's initial surprise, her heart was quickly filled with a surge of joy and boundless passion.

This is the Fortune Global 500! Every name on the list is a legend in the business world, a giant who has left a lasting mark on the history of global business.

And now, the business founded by her beloved husband, her family business, has become one of them!

The sister's eyebrows curved into crescents, and she smiled brightly, and continued to patiently check the details below.

According to Bloomberg, in view of Tenda Technology's outstanding performance and huge growth potential, top global investment institutions including Wall Street giant Goldman Sachs, Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, Japan's SoftBank Group, and the Norwegian Central Bank have raised their valuation expectations for it to US$300 billion!

This valuation not only broke the historical record of unlisted technology companies in the world, but also made Tenda Technology the world's most highly valued startup.

At the same time, the world's three most authoritative rating agencies, Standard & Poor's, Moody's Investors Service and Fitch Ratings, have all given Tenda Technology an "AAA" credit rating, which is the highest recognition of a company's financial health and debt repayment ability.

Below the article, under the related Weibo topic, netizens' comments quickly scrolled and updated:

"In less than ten years, from zero to 285th in the world, Tengda has demonstrated exponential growth. Song Ci is truly authoritative!"

"That's outrageous! A $300 billion valuation! Once it goes public, won't its market capitalization surpass Apple and become the world's largest?"

"How can Tenda compare itself to Apple? A $300 billion valuation is a drop in the ocean! Everyone knows that most of its profits come from gaming. Food delivery and cloud computing are burning through cash like crazy. If any of its businesses fail to meet expectations in the future, this bubble will burst!"

"Little Blackie!" Seeing this comment that was obviously negative, Liu Shishi couldn't help but spit, and her eyebrows were slightly frowned, as if her own baby was being slandered for no reason.

I casually flipped through a few popular comments, and most of them were meaningless memes, which immediately left me feeling dull. The perspective of ordinary netizens, after all, just doesn't hit the mark.

An idea suddenly occurred to me, and I remembered the financial blogger with the ID "Chuanliubusi" who was famous for his professional and in-depth analysis when the senior officials visited the United States a few days ago.

She was deeply impressed by his article, "Decoding the Visiting US Business Group," which he wrote. What are his thoughts on Tengda's inclusion on the Fortune 500 list?

So, Yijie opened the search box with great anticipation, entered the ID, and entered the Weibo homepage of "Chuanliubusi".

(I have something to do today, so I will only update once. I will update three more times tomorrow.)

(End of this chapter)