Chapter 514: The first factory? The second factory?
In mid-May, as summer deepened, Hengdian Film and Television City seemed to be placed in a huge steamer.
Although it is not as hot as July, the sun is scorching and the heat is rising at noon.
"In this awful weather, wearing this is torture."
Yuan Bingyan wiped the sweat from her forehead with a tissue while complaining softly, while her other hand tugged at the collar of her heavy Ming Dynasty palace dress made of brocade.
At this moment, she and Hu Bingqing were hiding in Sister Yi's spacious and comfortable RV, enjoying the coolness brought by the air conditioner.
The car was filled with the faint scent of gardenia, forming two completely different worlds compared to the scorching heat outside.
Liu Shishi sat lazily by the window, her fair fingers casually swiping the screen of her mobile phone.
On Weibo's hot searches, terms such as "Nominated for the 19th Magnolia Awards", "Five nominations for "Silent Shorthand", and "Liu Shishi nominated for Best Actress three times" are prominently displayed.
Yuan Bingyan and Hu Bingqing surrounded the elder sister, talking sweetly and praising her with endless compliments.
"Senior Sister Shi, 'Silent Shorthand' is truly amazing. With five nominations, it's definitely the biggest winner of this year's Magnolia Awards!"
"Sister, you're definitely going to win the Magnolia Award for Best Actress this time! You already have the Golden Eagle Award, and if you win the Magnolia Award, you'll have both!"
Listening to the flattering compliments, Liu Shishi's lips curled up slightly, just like a ripple on a calm lake when a breeze blows across it.
Yesterday, May 15th, the Magnolia Award nominees were announced.
"Silent Shorthand" won five nominations in the categories of Best TV Series, Best Director, Best Screenwriter, Best Actor and Best Actress, and it was the talk of the town.
This is her third time being nominated for the Magnolia Award for Best Actress, but she unfortunately missed the trophy the first two times.
This time, thanks to this phenomenal work with both high ratings and good reputation, the outside world's voices are almost overwhelmingly in favor of her.
Even she herself felt more confident after carefully analyzing the situation of her competitors.
This time, there is indeed no opponent with overwhelming advantage, and the opportunity seems to have really come.
"Knock knock knock." The knock on the door broke the cozy tranquility in the RV.
Assistant Su Xiaoxiao heard the voice and looked out the window. Then she turned back with a hint of surprise on her face: "Senior Sister, it's Teacher Hu Ge and Chen Yao."
When Liu Shishi heard this, a hint of surprise flashed across her autumn-water eyes. It was a bit unexpected that Lao Hu and Yaomei appeared together.
While wondering, she stood up gracefully, her gorgeous clothes fluttering, and said in a gentle voice: "Open the door, let's get out of the car."
The RV is her private resting place on the crew. It's okay for a few familiar girls from the crew to come here occasionally to enjoy the air conditioning and chat, but it is against the rules to let men in.
The first sister walked lightly, and Yuan Bingyan and Hu Bingqing followed her out of the car.
The moment the car door opened, the sharp contrast between the scorching heat outside and the coolness inside the car made people frown slightly.
"Old Hu, what brings you, a busy man like you, here? Is the roadshow for 'Partners' over?"
Liu Shishi looked at him with a smile. Hu Ge had a relaxed and comfortable smile on his face and looked energetic.
"I just finished the last promotion and can finally take a breath. Since I'm close by, I came back to visit." Hu Ge smiled brightly and spoke in a cheerful tone.
The box office performance of "Partners" far exceeded expectations and received good word of mouth, which allowed him to gain a firm foothold on the big screen and naturally made him feel very happy.
Liu Shishi turned her gaze to the quiet and pretty girl beside her and said softly, "Sister Yao, is everything going well on the set of Joy of Life?"
Chen Yao stepped forward, bowed slightly, and answered obediently: "Thank you for your concern, sister. Everything went smoothly. The director and the seniors in the crew took good care of me.
Fan Ruoruo's scenes were all finished yesterday. I came here today with Teacher Hu Ge mainly to say goodbye to you. Tomorrow I have to go back and prepare for the college entrance examination.
She had already successfully passed the Beijing Film Academy's art exam, and now only had to take the cultural exam. With only three weeks left until the Gaokao, she had to race against time.
Yuan Bingyan and Hu Bingqing listened, their eyes filled with envy and complexity. Ever since Chen Yao signed with Tangren and gained the favor of the top actress, his resources were simply enviable.
Before officially entering university, he had already played important roles in major productions such as "Xuan-Yuan Sword" and "Joy of Life", and his starting point in his acting career was much higher than theirs.
"The college entrance exam is a major event in life. Go back and study hard. With your intelligence and hard work, you will definitely be able to do it."
Liu Shishi patted Chen Yao's slightly thin shoulder encouragingly, then turned sideways and made a "please" gesture.
"Don't all crowd in front of the car door to bask in the sun. If you have anything to say, go sit under the rest shed and talk slowly. Xiao Su, go get some iced drinks."
The group moved to the rest shed, and Hu Ge walked side by side with Liu Shishi. "Shishi, congratulations in advance. I think you're a sure winner of the Magnolia Award this time!"
Upon hearing this, Liu Shishi's pretty face was filled with smiles, but she quickly restrained her expression and shook her head in a reserved manner: "Don't talk nonsense. It's hard to say until the final result comes out."
Seeing this, Hu Ge just smiled knowingly and said no more.
In his opinion, Liu Shishi was nominated three times, which is a normal thing; her work "Silent Shorthand" is of high quality, popularity and depth, and has received strong social response.
Privately, everyone in the circle knows it, and the organizers also have to take into account the influence of the richest man. If the "wife of the richest man" is allowed to run for the championship repeatedly, it will not look good.
Everyone chatted and laughed as they moved to the rest shed. Assistant Su Xiaoxiao swiftly brought a box of iced mineral water and drinks, and cut open an iced watermelon.
After a few mouthfuls of sweet watermelon, the heat gradually subsided, and the topic shifted from trivial matters on the set to recent news in the film and television industry.
Hu Ge recalled the recent financial news he had read and couldn't help but sigh softly, his voice filled with envy: "Have you been paying attention? LeEco's stock price has been going crazy recently!
Boss Jia welcomes all celebrity shareholders, and LeTV now has more than 30 celebrity shareholders."
Three days ago, LeTV held a high-profile press conference and officially launched its first smart TVs X60 and S40.
It claims to deeply integrate LeTV's vast film and television resources with hardware, realize "content + hardware" bundled sales, and build a "LeTV ecosystem."
Upon hearing this, Liu Shishi raised her eyes and glanced at Hu Ge with a half-smile, saying with a hint of amusement, "Why, seeing others making a killing by buying LeEco stock makes you want to try it?"
"No, no." Hu Ge quickly waved his hands, scratched his head and explained, "I was just expressing my feelings. Boss Jia's eloquence is truly amazing.
At the press conference, he was moved to tears when he spoke about the dream of "breaking boundaries and ecological transformation". It sounded quite impressive, and it's no wonder that he attracted so many star investors.
After hearing this, Liu Shishi curled her lips, and her bright face showed undisguised disdain.
"Ecological backlash? Changing the world? That's quite a boast. LeEco Video isn't even as good as my husband's subsidiary, Toutiao Video. I don't know where they get the confidence to shout such big slogans."
After a pause, his voice became even more condescending and indifferent. "Those celebrities who invested in LeEco were either truly ignorant and fooled by the so-called 'dream', or they had other motives."
Hu Ge smiled and didn't respond.
As the wife of the richest man, Liu Shishi has the confidence to look down on Boss Jia's empty promises given her wealth and resources.
But for most celebrities in the entertainment industry, Boss Jia, who owns a video platform and can provide film and television resources and investment opportunities, is a capital tycoon.
At different levels, the perspectives on issues are naturally very different.
When talking about the skyrocketing share price of LeEco, Hu Ge suddenly had an idea, as if he remembered something important.
He grinned, revealing a look of anticipation and embarrassment, and lowered his voice to ask, "Shishi, some time ago I asked you to help me inquire about Mr. Song. Do you have any news?"
Liu Shishi was picking up a bottle of water when she paused, a look of confusion crossing her face. "What's the matter?"
"Moutai! Moutai stocks!" Hu Ge reminded hurriedly, with a hint of anxiety in his tone.
"Oh! That's what you're talking about!" Liu Shishi suddenly realized, put down the water bottle, and replied easily, "I asked, and my husband said, 'Just keep it, it will still increase.'
Since he said that, you can consider selling it in a few years, there is no need to rush. "
"Great! Thank you so much! I'm so sorry to bother you. Please also thank Mr. Song for me!"
When Hu Ge heard this, he was immediately delighted. The heavy stone in his heart finally fell to the ground, and his smile was particularly bright.
He is a personal beneficiary of this "value investment". As early as 2009, he was fortunate to receive guidance from the richest man and invested 10 million in Moutai shares.
Since then, my mood has been a bit like that of American stock investors: living in fear of continued rising stock prices every day, feeling both happy and nervous.
Last year, affected by policies such as restrictions on "three public consumptions", Moutai's stock price experienced a significant correction, which really made him nervous for a while.
But a few months later, the stock price stubbornly rose back up again, and was about to break through the previous high and set a new high. That "feeling of happy fear" came back again!
Now that I have received the "golden advice" from the richest man, I have completely given up the idea of selling off my holdings at high prices. I have even started to consider whether I should take advantage of the differences in the market and find opportunities to increase my holdings and directly hold a large position!
Seeing Hu Ge so excited after hearing the news about Moutai, even his eyes brightened up a little, and Liu Shishi couldn't help but feel a little curious.
She was not interested in specific stock investments, but judging from Hu Ge's reaction, she must have made a lot of money.
Then he casually asked, "By the way, how much has your Moutai stock increased since you bought it?"
Hu Ge chuckled, his face showing unconcealed pride and excitement, but in front of Sister Yi, he tried to remain restrained.
"Taking into account the cash dividends and stock conversions over the years, the total paper profit has probably quadrupled."
He then hurriedly emphasized, "It was all thanks to Director Song's guidance back then. It was truly golden advice!"
"It has quadrupled?" Liu Shishi was slightly stunned. She quickly calculated in her mind that it has been just over four years since 2009, and the annualized rate of return is close to 100%!
Even in the capital market where myths frequently appear, this is considered a miraculous return.
Although she is not short of this money, she is still a little surprised by the speed of wealth appreciation behind this figure, and can't help but sigh at her husband's ability to make money.
On the side, Yuan Bingyan and Hu Bingqing, although they did not know how much capital Hu Ge had invested and the exact time of purchase,
But the number "four times", coupled with the other party's uncontrollable joy, can already explain everything.
The two looked at each other silently, and saw strong envy in each other's eyes, as well as a hint of eagerness.
I couldn't help but wonder whether I should find a way to find out if I could catch this wealth ride.
Chen Yao, the youngest, has a relatively simple mind and does not have so many complicated investment ideas.
After listening to my older brothers and sisters talking about "high-end" topics like LeTV and Moutai, I remembered the interesting topics I saw while surfing the Internet recently. I couldn't help but blink my big eyes and interrupt out of curiosity.
"Senior Sister, it seems like the Pharmaceutical Factory, Peach Factory, and Pants Factory are all making big moves right now. Many netizens online are curious and looking forward to it. When will the Magnetic Factory release its big move?"
"Magnetic Factory?" Liu Shishi was stunned, her face full of confusion, "What pharmaceutical factory, peach factory, pants factory? Yaomei, what code are you talking about?" She has been concentrating on filming these two days to catch up with the progress, and is a little behind the new memes on the Internet.
Seeing Sister Yi's bewildered expression, Chen Yao couldn't help but chuckle and quickly explained, "Sister, have you not been online recently?
These are the 'brand nicknames' given by netizens to some of the most popular video websites. They are very vivid!
LeTV Video is called the "Pharmaceutical Factory," iQiyi is called the "Peach Factory," and Youku is called the "Pants Factory." They're all named after the shapes of their platform logos or the homophones of their names. Isn't that funny?
Hu Ge added with a smile: "LeEco has just announced that it will manufacture TVs and develop a large-screen ecosystem.
The next day, iQiyi officially announced the full acquisition of PPS. This was a powerful combination that immediately made up for the shortcomings of the client and directly brought the user scale to the top of the industry.
Youku has also been busy, launching a major 'multi-screen integration' revamp, unifying the interface and underlying architecture for PC, PAD, phone, and TV, claiming it aims to improve user experience.
He then concluded, "The pharmaceutical factory, the peach factory, and the pants factory have all been very active recently, causing quite a stir.
So netizens are waiting to see what response strategy the "super headline video" recognized as the strongest, also known as the magnetic factory, will come up with, and they are all looking forward to it releasing a big move!
"I've been so busy with my filming schedule these past two days, working non-stop from morning till night, that I just fell asleep as soon as I got home. I really haven't paid much attention to the news."
Liu Shishi seemed to be lost in thought. She had flown back to Beijing specially on Mother's Day to reunite with her family. She had only stayed at home for a short day before rushing back to the crew to catch up on the filming progress. She was really working non-stop.
Hu Bingqing also interjected, "Sister, the industry is now talking about a 'one super, three strong, four factories coexisting' structure, and the magnetic factory is the focus of everyone's attention."
Liu Shishi pulled out her phone, intending to browse the relevant news, and asked with interest, "So how did our Toutiao Video get the name Magnetic Factory? It sounds quite unique."
Chen Yao explained with a smile: "At the beginning, some people wanted to call Toutiao Video 'Touchang' or 'Tiaochang', but everyone thought it sounded bad and a bit weird.
It just so happens that Mr. Song’s name contains the character “ci”, which is homophonic to “ci”.
"Magnetic Factory, Magnetic Factory, it's catchy and has an attractive meaning, as if it can attract good things. Gradually, everyone started calling it that."
After hearing the whole story, Liu Shishi raised the corners of her mouth slightly, revealing a slight smile of pride: "So that's how it is.
Magnetic Factory! Hmm, that's quite interesting. It sounds much more stylish than a pharmaceutical factory or a trouser factory."
(End of this chapter)
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