Chapter 142 Spending Money Like Water
There were lightning and thunder outside, and the rain was still falling.
Except for Zhang Yong and Wang Jing, all the other participants left the office one after another. As the last person left and gently closed the door, the originally crowded space in the office became spacious and comfortable again.
Seeing Song Ci staring at the computer screen intently with a happy smile on his face, he was obviously in a very good mood. Wang Jing smiled and joked, "Boss Song, what's the good news that makes you laugh so happily? Tell me and Boss Zhang to share in the joy."
Song Ci tapped the mouse and keyboard slowly, saving the exclusive photos sent by Miss Liu into the computer.
Reciting poems and writing essays: Shishi, that’s settled. There’s someone else in my office. We’ll contact each other in the evening.
Lion KK: Then you go ahead and do your work, dear. I’ll be waiting for you in Hengdian!
Just now Song Ci chatted with Liu Shishi for a few words and promised her that he would visit the crew of "The Legend of the Condor Heroes" before Peking University starts.
After finishing the QQ chat with his girlfriend, Song Ci collected his thoughts, supported his chin with both hands, and looked at the pair of his right-hand men in front of him.
Zhang Yong and Wang Jing also looked at the boss calmly, waiting for him to speak.
Thinking of Wang Jing's joke just now, Song Ci smiled and explained: "It's nothing happy. I was just chatting with Shishi on QQ. The filming of The Legend of the Condor Heroes, in which she is starring, will start tomorrow. I promised her that I would visit the set in Hengdian in a few days. Let's talk business."
Wang Jing was secretly amazed after hearing this and wanted to go visit the set again. The boss and Liu Shishi were childhood sweethearts and had an incredibly good relationship. Their love for each other was really enviable and it seemed like they were really planning on getting married.
Zhang Yong adjusted his black glasses, looking worried. This year, Tengda Group had too many areas where it needed to spend a lot of money. The boss was ambitious and spent money lavishly, so he, as the company's chief steward, had to tighten his belt and make ends meet.
“Mr. Song, because we are building an office building this year, the construction cost is a huge expense.
Negotiations with the Premier League on purchasing online copyrights were not going smoothly. The other party asked for an exorbitant price, and Sohu and Sina deliberately added fuel to the fire by raising the price. As a result, the cost of purchasing the broadcasting rights would be at least 20% higher than the original budget.
The group is currently under great financial pressure. If it wants to set up a big data research center now, it can only take out a loan or issue bonds.”
Song Ci was confident. He always made plans before taking action. As soon as he opened his mouth, he gave Zhang Yong a reassurance:
"Mr. Zhang, I told you not to worry about the funds. I have made a lot of money in the European and American futures markets recently, more than 200 million US dollars. This money is currently in Shanhai Capital's offshore account. 100 million US dollars is enough to cope with the company's early research and development of big data."
Song Ci did not tell the truth and did not tell the two the real source of funds. Some things were too metaphysical to explain, so he just made up a reason.
Zhang Yong immediately breathed a sigh of relief. His boss's ability to make money was truly admirable. With these 200 million US dollars, he wouldn't have to worry too much about the company's financial situation in the next two years and wouldn't have to worry to the point of losing his hair.
In fact, the financial condition of Tengda Group has always been very good and its debt ratio is low. However, this year it has to buy land, build buildings, and purchase the broadcasting rights for the Premier League, which has made it unable to cope with the situation for the time being.
Zhang Yong's expression suddenly darkened. After thinking for a while, he asked again, "How will this money be deposited into the company's account? Is it considered as your capital increase and share expansion in Tengda Group?"
He and Wang Jing both knew that Tengda Group actually had only one major shareholder, and Shanhai Capital and Sino-Singapore Investment were both shell companies used by Song Ci to deceive the public.
Song Ci had already planned it, and arranged it directly: "Just loan it to the company, and the interest will be calculated according to the general market interest rate."
If Shanhai Capital increases its capital and expands its shares, if Zhang Yong and Wang Jing do not follow suit in increasing their capital, their shares will inevitably be diluted.
Before Tengda Group started financing, Song Ci was reluctant to dilute the equity of his two trusted generals. He had to give up some of his interests to ensure that the two would advance and retreat with him.
"Thank you, Mr. Song!" Zhang Yong smiled and expressed his sincere gratitude.
He came from an accounting firm, so how could he not understand Song Ci's good intentions? This was equivalent to a major shareholder paying money for the company to use for free. It did not dilute his and Wang Jing's shares, but in disguised way increased the value of the shares.
Wang Jing also realized it later. This is a double-edged sword. When the company goes public in the future, it will make a lot of money: "You are so generous!"
"No need to be polite. You have contributed to the success of Tengda Group. Just keep working hard to make the company bigger and stronger."
Song Ci smiled and nodded. It was good that the two of them understood his intention. Each share corresponded to a responsibility. If you want others to work hard for you, you can't be too stingy. There are many ways to make money, so there is no need to be so fussy about these things.
Zhang Yong and Wang Jing thanked him repeatedly with gratitude. Song Ci waved his hand to stop them from talking politely, and continued with what Zhang Yong had just said:
"Lao Zhang, if the Premier League doesn't appreciate our kindness and asks for an exorbitant price, we can change our target. Serie A and Bundesliga are not bad either. Among the five major European football leagues, the Premier League is the most famous, but it is not the only choice.
The company can change its target and release the news to scare the British. It is estimated that the Premier League will be anxious by then. Among the domestic portals, who else can afford this huge copyright fee except us?
Sohu sponsored the Olympics, so it certainly doesn’t have the money to broadcast the league. NetEase is focusing on spending money on games, and Sina, which is half dead, certainly can’t come up with tens of millions of dollars.”
Zhang Yong nodded. What the boss said made sense. However, the Premier League was originally the company's established goal. Since the chairman agreed to change the partner, his job would be easier. By letting the five major football leagues compete, he could lower the price.
"I understand what you mean, Mr. Song. Send someone to contact the other four major leagues immediately."
Song Ci nodded, "Yes, we don't have to fight the Premier League to death. There is one more thing. I saw that Yang Junfeng submitted the plan for the second college beauty pageant held by Toutiao.com this year to me for approval. You can make the decision on such a small matter, and you don't need to report it to me again.
Moreover, I think that this kind of routine project that has been going on for two or three years does not need to be reported to you or me. It can just be reviewed by Yang Junfeng through the internal procedures of Toutiao.com.”
Zhang Yong said with emotion: "I will talk to Lao Yang later. He is a cautious person. After all, the school beauty contest was a project you personally promoted before, so Lao Yang and his subordinates will inevitably pay more attention to it."
"There's no need for that. We still need to be efficient within the company."
Zhang Yong seemed to remember something and continued to report: "Speaking of which, for this school beauty and school hunk selection contest, Yahoo is working with Zhejiang Satellite TV and Huayi Media Company to launch an amateur talent show called Yahoo Star Search in September.
We hold beauty pageants in colleges and universities, while they hold talent shows among the general public. They are deliberately trying to compete with us and steal our attention.”
Song Ci was curious when he heard it, "Yahoo Star Search, it's only online in September?"
He remembered that one of the representatives of the 85 flowers, Zhao Liying, made her debut on "Yahoo Star Search" and entered the entertainment industry after being spotted by Feng Xiaogang, but this program should have been held in May!
"It's in September, the same time as our selection contest, so it will probably steal some of the show's attention."
Song Ci thought it was the butterfly effect, and said to Yahoo Star Search with disdain: "Don't worry about them. Yahoo is doomed to fail in the local environment and will never be successful in China."
If Zhao Liying hadn’t made her debut in her previous life because of this show, probably few people would remember “Yahoo Star Search”.
Song Ci asked a few more questions, all related to the department that Zhang Yong was in charge of. The two asked and answered each other, and Wang Jing could not get a word in, so she could only listen quietly.
After talking for a long time, Song Ci felt dry in the mouth. After drinking a few sips of tea, he refreshed himself and continued to ask:
"I was on vacation in Germany a few days ago, and Liu Xiangdong from JD.com contacted me, saying that JD.com wanted to start a round of financing. I was abroad at the time and had a reverse time difference, so I asked him to contact you first.
After returning to China, I have been busy with the group's half-year meeting for the past two weeks. I forgot to ask you, what is the specific situation with Liu Xiangdong? "
"I am reporting. JD.com is growing rapidly and wants to start a round of financing to continue to expand the market."
Zhang Yong paused for a moment, stared at Song Ci, and said word by word: "Also, Liu Xiangdong wants to set up a warehousing logistics!"
"Brother Dong still hasn't forgotten his logistics. It's strange to say, he seems to have a deep obsession with logistics."
Zhang Yong sighed. He did not agree with JD.com engaging in logistics now. He shook his head helplessly: "Yes, Liu Xiangdong has told me more than once that he has always wanted to engage in logistics. I have also been persuading him that the time is not right.
However, this year the state revised the Postal Law, adjusted the scope of postal monopoly, and expanded the scope of general services to include, in addition to letters, printed materials under 5 kilograms and parcels under 10 kilograms. This made him completely unable to sit still. "
Song Ci looked solemn. This was related to the future development of JD.com. It would have more than 500,000 employees in the future and would be the largest private enterprise in China. He had no choice but to pay attention to it. "What is the current valuation of JD.com? How much does Liu Xiangdong want to raise?"
Zhang Yong answered without hesitation: "JD.com's current pre-investment valuation is around 400 million yuan, and Liu Xiangdong wants to raise 15%, about 7.5 million US dollars."
Song Ci silently calculated in his mind that because of the resources allocated to Toutiao, the largest portal website in China, JD.com's current development progress is much better than the same period in the previous life, and the valuation of 400 million yuan is also similar.
Without any hesitation, he made the decision: "Agree to Liu Xiangdong's request. Tengda Group can lead the investment."
Seeing Song Ci's decisive response, Zhang Yong thought that it was just as expected. The chairman had always been optimistic about Liu Xiangdong and would definitely support his decision. However, he still elaborated on his own point of view:
"Mr. Song, you support him in logistics, but if you want to develop logistics, you must build storage centers in major cities across the country, plus material transportation tools. These are all heavy assets, and at least tens of billions of dollars of investment is definitely not something JD can afford now!"
Song Ci showed a confident look on his face and chanted softly: "'Good wind helps me soar to the sky.' The current policy development is a great opportunity for the development of logistics.
The national economy is developing rapidly, market demand is growing, and logistics, as an important link between production and consumption, has huge potential.
Coupled with the booming e-commerce industry, the logistics industry is ushering in an unprecedented golden period. Of course, you have to eat one bite at a time, and you can’t expect to achieve success overnight.”
There was a determination gleaming in his eyes. Logistics is the core of e-commerce business. Just because Tengda Group is not engaging in e-commerce now does not mean it will not engage in e-commerce in the future. If it wants to develop Pinduoduo and live streaming to sell goods in the future, logistics will be the core lifeline.
After that, he lowered his head and pondered for a moment: "We will not only support JD.com in logistics, but Tengda will also invest in and support a private express delivery company."
The Internet is an industry where the winner takes all, and if you are slow to move forward, all steps will be slow. The four major express delivery companies in China have only just started up not long ago. If Tengda's main business was not e-commerce, it would definitely follow the example of Alibaba in its previous life. These express delivery companies would all invest in it to gain a certain voice. It is still necessary to focus on supporting one of them now in order to prepare for a rainy day.
Zhang Yong found that he seemed to have underestimated the chairman's ambition. Although the logistics company needed huge funds for development, once it was on the right track, tens of thousands of employees would be supported, and any local leader would have to pay attention to it. Thinking of the boss's ability to make money, he accepted it calmly:
"Mr. Song, if you want to support Liu Xiangdong in logistics, I will fully cooperate with you. I will also investigate and find another express delivery company. The big data center cannot spend 200 million US dollars for the time being. It is a waste to keep the money in the account. I will help you spend it as soon as possible."
"Spend money like water!" Song Ci shook his head helplessly. In just a few words, 200 million US dollars were gone. If he didn't have a way to make money, Tengda would have to raise funds if it wanted to develop.
Once financing is completed, even if control of AB shares is maintained, making major decisions will not be as easy as it is now.
After communicating with Zhang Yong, Song Ci looked at Wang Jing again: "Sister Jing, what important things have you done recently?"
Wang Jing is mainly in charge of the group's internal affairs and the affairs of the three subsidiaries. As he is planning to graduate early from Peking University in the next academic year and has a heavy workload, he has to sort out the company's affairs in detail during the summer vacation.
Wang Jing waited for a long time, and finally it was her turn to report: "I don't have any important matters recently, and the three subsidiaries are developing very well.
It is expected that the profit attributable to the parent company this year will not be less than 80 million. There is good news, Director Jiang of CCTV Art Center was promoted to deputy director last week.
An unexpected little surprise, Song Ci smiled and said: "It is indeed good news."
He has dealt with Jiang Tao several times and their relationship is pretty good. Now that the other party has been promoted to deputy director of CCTV, he is considered an important connection for him in the propaganda system. This kind of connection may not be used all the time, but may be of great use at a critical moment.
"Well, you can communicate with Minister Ma first to see if Director Jiang has time recently. We can invite him to dinner. I have plenty of time during the summer vacation." Song Ci still attends some necessary social events nowadays. It is unavoidable given the national conditions.
"Minister Ma has also been promoted. He has taken over Jiang Tao's position as the new director of the Arts and Culture Center."
Song Ci was stunned when he heard this: "Minister Ma is also an old acquaintance, good news, then we must eat this meal!"
Wang Jing smiled and said, "I'll arrange it as soon as possible and let you know when the time is."
(End of this chapter)
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