388: Chapter 382: Buy Shares 388: Chapter 382: Buy Shares Tian Mingjian, Bai Xiaohang, and others returned to the Regent Hotel around nine in the morning.
After partying all night, Tian Mingjian, a model of a good man, didn’t stagger against the walls, but his exposed skin below the neck was covered in several hickeys.
It seemed that their group hadn’t just partied, they had partied all night.
Chen Hai didn’t participate in such activities, but he could understand them.
After all, during the Wang Dehui incident, Tian Mingjian, Bai Xiaohang, and the others had killed twenty or thirty people.
Killing so much, finding some women to vent might ease their psychological pressure.
As long as his subordinates weren’t forcing anyone, he considered such consensual interactions trivial and never interfered.
Tian Mingjian brought Chen Hai quite a few items like pork buns and shrimp dumplings.
The other guys didn’t come over to Chen Hai’s room.
Even Tian Mingjian, after delivering the breakfast, stayed only a while before leaving.
These guys had probably exerted themselves too much last night and hadn’t yet recovered from their exhaustion.
After returning to the Regent Hotel, they went back to their rooms to rest.
The Wang Dehui matter was completed perfectly, and the advertisement shooting was just waiting for Fatty Wang to finish the post-production, marking the job as done.
For the next few days, there seemed nothing to do, so whatever his men wanted to do was fine by him; Chen Hai wouldn’t interfere.
His only requirement for his subordinates had always been simple: as long as they didn’t mess up the main tasks, everything else was acceptable.
Now, Chen Hai could virtually live on air and dew, and his need for food was more habit than necessity.
Sitting on the sofa, eating the breakfast Tian Mingjian had brought him, the film playing on the large TV screen in front of Chen Hai had shifted from The Deer and the Cauldron Part One to Part Two.
After confirming that Zhou Xingxing was a rare film genius, he had called to arrange a meeting here to discuss Starlight Company.
With yesterday’s lessons, today’s Zhou Xingxing should not mistake the place for somewhere else like the Regent Hotel!
However, his lodging was quite some distance from Chen Hai’s.
After finishing all the food Tian Mingjian had brought, Chen Hai waited another twenty minutes or so, when finally he heard the doorbell.
This time, Chen Hai didn’t delay.
As soon as the doorbell rang, he quickly walked to the door and opened it.
“Mr.
Chen…” The person at the door was undoubtedly Zhou Xingxing, who still seemed a bit nervous and constrained facing Chen Hai.
“Xing, don’t just stand there, come on in!” Chen Hai said with a smile, much warmer than he had been the day before.
After inviting Zhou Xingxing to sit on the couch in the living room, he was incredibly courteous and made him a cup of hot tea.
“I watched these videotapes you left all night without sleeping.”
“I admit, in the realm of filmmaking, you are truly a rare talent.”
“I have absolutely no objections to investing in, and buying shares of, your Starlight Company!”
“I invited you over because I want to know exactly what kind of share entering involves,” Chen Hai said straightforwardly.
Hearing this, Zhou Xingxing hesitated.
After a moment of silence, he added, “Mr.
Chen, regarding the conflict with Yongsheng Company…”
Zhou Xingxing was quite sincere and not good at being politically correct.
Since Chen Hai had agreed to invest in his Starlight Company, Zhou Xingxing felt it was best to disclose the current situation of his company first.
Frankly, with Zhou Xingxing’s reputation, his company could have found many investors.
But whether those people could resolve his conflict with Yongsheng Company was another question!
From certain sources, he had learned that Chen Hai seemed to have a very powerful background.
Tenth Brother Xiang from Yongsheng Company seemed to have suffered under Chen Hai and not only dared not retaliate but also tried to appease him in every possible way!
An influential boss from the Mainland, and unlikely to stay long in Xiangjiang, meant he probably wouldn’t interfere much after investing.
Though Starlight Company would lose some shares, the control would still firmly remain in Zhou Xingxing’s hands.
Such an investor would be the most suitable for Zhou Xingxing to bring into Starlight Company.
However, before he could finish speaking, Chen Hai interrupted him.
“I had already called Tenth Brother Xiang before you came here.”
“He won’t trouble you anymore.
If you wish to collaborate with them, they’re very welcoming; if not, they won’t force you!”
“Additionally, I had someone discuss the release of your new movie with Tycoon Lei.”
“He promised me that his Golden Princess cinema chain would give your film the best treatment.”
“However, I don’t know much about the specifics of the revenue-sharing model, so you’ll have to go there and discuss the details with the Golden Princess folks yourself.”
With a wave of his hand, Chen Hai smiled as he interrupted Zhou Xingxing and explained.
Tycoon Lei of the Golden Princess and Hou Donggui had a good relationship.
As a master of the Mysterious Sect, he had dealt with many wealthy individuals from Xiangjiang.
Now, although he had lost all his powers, the contacts he had made were still intact.
It wasn’t just Tycoon Lei of the Golden Princess; Sir Shao of Shao’s, Tycoon Zou of Jiahe, and Hou Donggui also knew each other.
When Chen Hai called Hou Donggui to ask about his cinema chain, Hou Donggui immediately recommended his best relation, Tycoon Lei, to Chen Hai.
For Tycoon Lei, the Golden Princess cinema chain was merely a side business, his main business was undoubtedly with the Kowloon Bus Company.
Over the past few years, the Kowloon Bus Company had been declining.
With only a year or two left until 1997, Tycoon Lei had always been considering whether to expand into the Mainland.
After hearing from Hou Donggui about Chen Hai’s connections with the Ye Family, he was incredibly enthusiastic.
During the phone call with Chen Hai, he nearly became brothers with Chen Hai.
The matter of showing Zhou Xingxing’s new movie in the Golden Princess cinemas was a minor issue for Tycoon Lei.
Upon hearing this from Chen Hai, Tycoon Lei didn’t hesitate and agreed immediately.
“Thank you, Mr.
Chen, thank you, Mr.
Chen…” As soon as Zhou Xingxing heard from Chen Hai about all he had done, he was first stunned, then visibly pleased.
He had just sat down when he quickly got up again, bowed deeply, and paid his respects to Chen Hai.
“Why so formal?
Xing, sit down and we’ll talk!”
“What I did for you isn’t really a big deal.
It’s just a few phone calls!”
“Since I’ve decided to invest in your Starlight Company, of course, I should show my sincerity first, don’t you think?”
Chen Hai also quickly stood up and gestured for Zhou Xingxing to sit down while smiling and speaking.
“Mr.
Chen, you already know the current situation of Starlight Company.”
“The company only has tens of thousands in liquid assets, and the most valuable thing we have is the yet-to-be-released Journey to the West movie.”
“That film is actually split into two parts…”
Zhou Xingxing sat back down on the sofa and after a brief silence, he began to explain to Chen Hai.
But his explanation was in vain.
Before he could finish speaking, Chen Hai waved his hand and interrupted him: “Let’s keep it simple, Xing.
Just tell me how much I need to invest and how much of a stake I can have.”
Using divination, Chen Hai knew that Xiangjiang’s cinema industry would only shine for a few more years and then decline.
Investing in a film company in Xiangjiang at this time was not much different from joining the national army in 1949.
Knowing this outcome, Chen Hai was still willing to invest in the Starlight Company, mainly because he valued talent.
If he just wanted to make money, wouldn’t it be less trouble and effort to use the investment money to buy a quadrangle in the Capital City?
Hearing Chen Hai speak like this, Zhou Xingxing was stunned and hesitated for a moment.
Then he gritted his teeth and tentatively said, “Mr.
Chen, if you put five million into Starlight Company, I’ll give you a twenty percent stake.
How about that?”
“Agreed.
If you need it, I can call the bank right now and have them transfer the five million to the Starlight Company’s account!”
As soon as Zhou Xingxing finished speaking, Chen Hai waved his hand grandly and nodded in agreement.
Then, pausing slightly, he once again spoke up, adding, “The money doesn’t matter to me.
I’m primarily investing in you.”
“In my view, your name, Zhou Xingxing, is worth at least a hundred million.”
“Just five million for a twenty percent stake in Starlight Company is an incredible deal for me.”
“Just focus on making good movies in the future.
If you run into any trouble, call me!”
“I don’t care how much money these five million can make.”
“I just hope that, twenty or thirty years from now, I can still see films personally starring you…”
These words from Chen Hai had no pretense; they were genuinely his heart’s thoughts.
Having watched movies all night, he felt that some of the films would undoubtedly be terrible if anyone else were the lead.
But when the lead was Zhou Xingxing, he seemed to have the Midas touch, turning a terrible film into an outstanding one.
Just based on this, saying that Zhou Xingxing was a once-in-a-century film genius was absolutely not an exaggeration.