Chapter 1851 Full of Confidence

"Don't let your mind wander."

Zhao Fusheng looked at Ye Jing and slowly said, "I'm just here to invest. We won't become allies with anyone. I'm not interested in politics; I only like making money. Money is a good thing. The only difference lies in what the person using the money does with it, isn't that so?"

Ye Jing was startled, looking at Zhao Fusheng with some surprise, not expecting him to have such thoughts.

So this guy was purely here for investment?

Or, as he himself said, just using money to pave the way.

Ye Jing understood Zhao Fusheng's meaning. He was merely relatively optimistic about the Xue family, so he took out this money to do them a favor.

That way, at least, he wouldn't leave a bad impression.

As for anything else, it seemed Zhao Fusheng had no other intentions at all!

It had to be said, some differences were not just in thinking but also in the people themselves.

At the very least, Ye Jing felt that if he were in Zhao Fusheng's shoes, he absolutely couldn't handle it so effortlessly.

This guy was practically playing with fire!

But on second thought, this seemed to be the best approach.

After all, as Zhao Fusheng said, he wasn't very interested in politics.

And politics and business, in modern society, were simply inseparable.

"As long as you know what you're doing."

With that thought, Ye Jing nodded to Zhao Fusheng: "To be honest, I was just worried you'd get too deeply involved."

Zhao Fusheng laughed and waved his hand: "I haven't gone mad. How could something like that be something we can touch?"

Ye Jing also smiled and nodded: "The matter of Lü Buwei definitely has no chance of happening nowadays."

Lü Buwei of the Warring States period was considered a standout among merchants. In his time, he pushed Zi Chu, the father of Qin Shi Huang, onto the throne—a peak achievement for a merchant.

The idiom 'a rare commodity worth hoarding' originated from this.

But the problem was, not everyone had Lü Buwei's ability. Even Lü Buwei himself ended up with his family destroyed and his own death.

In today's China, such a situation was even more impossible.

Ye Jing understood this truth, and naturally, Zhao Fusheng did too.

That was why the two of them had just expressed that sentiment.

After discussing that matter, they naturally turned to work. Zhao Fusheng asked Ye Jing, "Old Jiang plans to inspect the scenic area in Western Sichuan this time. What are your thoughts?"

"My idea is that this scenic area should not only be suitable for filming period dramas but also modern ones," Ye Jing said to Zhao Fusheng. "You know, with the development of film and television production nowadays, a filming base that can only handle certain genres probably won't be very attractive."

Zhao Fusheng thought for a moment and understood Ye Jing's meaning.

It seemed Ye Jing was quite ambitious.

"You mean we should build our own film and television base?" Zhao Fusheng looked at Ye Jing and asked slowly.

Ye Jing nodded: "Not just one. We don't need to reach the level of Hengdian, but we can consider making this base the largest in the Southwest region. What do you think?"

A so-called film and television production base, in layman's terms, is a movie factory.

Such a place is highly functional, capable of handling pre- and post-production for the film and television industry, shooting movies, TV series, even variety shows, and doing editing, etc.

To put it bluntly, in this place, a film or TV drama can go through the entire process from nothing to completion.

Of course, in the end, this model was something Hengdian had already moved on from. Future Film and Television, to put it plainly, was just imitating them.

"Alright."

Zhao Fusheng considered it and finally nodded. Clearly, he was also satisfied with Ye Jing's suggestion.

Zhao Fusheng knew very well that the development of any industry requires a process.

Even the later box-office hit 'The Wandering Earth' wasn't smooth sailing at the start. The development of sci-fi films in China wouldn't have reached this level without a series of pioneering directors and actors learning from Hollywood.

Legend has it that Andy Lau played a very important role in this. He supported many young directors at the time, who later threw themselves into the big pit of sci-fi films.

Ahem, to put it bluntly, Andy Lau lost a lot of money.

Zhao Fusheng didn't have Andy Lau's level of selfless dedication. At most, he would offer some support. As for losing or making money, he considered it his contribution to the development of the country's film industry.

Righteous and noble, Zhao Fusheng!

No problem!

……

……

"After the New Year, it's going to get busy again."

After finishing their business, Zhao Fusheng and Ye Jing sat there and started chatting about gossip.

After all, Ye Jing was in charge of Future Films, and he naturally knew many things that Zhao Fusheng didn't. Occasionally, when he brought them up, it really surprised Zhao Fusheng.

"It's good to be busy."

Hearing Zhao Fusheng's words, Ye Jing smiled and said to him, "What are your plans for Marvel?"

Plans?

Zhao Fusheng was stunned for a moment, then smiled and shook his head: "What plans could I have? Disney is eyeing us eagerly, wanting to become a major shareholder. Just let them have it."

"Huh?"

Ye Jing was somewhat surprised and looked at Zhao Fusheng with confusion: "Are we just going to hand Marvel over like that?"

Obviously, he didn't understand Zhao Fusheng's meaning. Although acquiring Marvel had cost a lot of money back then, looking at it now, that money had clearly been well spent, and there was even potential for higher profits. If they chose to let go now, wouldn't that be a boon for Disney?

Zhao Fusheng shook his head: "It's not handing it over; it's making the choice that benefits us the most."

This was his true feeling. After all, compared to Disney, Future Films had no real advantage in Marvel's development. Aside from boosting box office revenue in the Chinese market, it was no exaggeration to say that the Hollywood film industry behind Disney was more beneficial to Marvel's growth.

In his previous life, it was only after Disney acquired Marvel that the entire Marvel franchise embarked on its path to revival.

Under such circumstances, Zhao Fusheng wouldn't stand in the way of Disney joining Marvel's board of directors.

He would rather have a smaller share of the equity, as long as it was more valuable.

In other words, what use was the status of a major shareholder with equity worth three billion US dollars? Zhao Fusheng would be perfectly happy being a minor shareholder with equity worth ten billion.

Of course, Zhao Fusheng couldn't say this so bluntly to Ye Jing. The truth often hurts, so he had to be indirect and express it in another way.

Sure enough, after hearing Zhao Fusheng's words, Ye Jing frowned and remained silent, lost in thought.

Zhao Fusheng smiled. He knew that Ye Jing must have understood his meaning.

He was a smart man and naturally knew that for a film company, the higher its value, the higher the value of its shareholders' equity.

It was like Facebook. When Zhao Fusheng held thirty percent of the shares, the company was valued at one billion dollars. Now, although Zhao Fusheng's shares had dropped to twenty percent, Facebook's valuation had exceeded ten billion dollars.

It was the simplest math problem, even a middle school student could figure it out, let alone Ye Jing.

After a long moment, Ye Jing looked up at Zhao Fusheng and said, "I'm just afraid Disney might pull something..."

"Pull something?"

Zhao Fusheng sneered, "We're not involved in operations or management, and we have voting rights. What right does he have to pull something? If he really pisses me off, I'll sell my shares to Sony. Guess if Disney would explode on the spot?"

Sony?

Ye Jing was stunned at first, then burst into laughter.

He was a calm person, rarely showing emotions, but upon hearing Zhao Fusheng's words, he couldn't help himself. He laughed for a long time, then pointed at Zhao Fusheng and said, "You bastard, you're too wicked! Who else would screw people over like this?"

Sony and Marvel—one was a comic company, the other a film company. After Sony acquired Marvel's Spider-Man and Wolverine, Marvel's resentment toward Sony was off the charts.

After Disney took over Marvel, if Zhao Fusheng really sold his shares to Sony, the bosses at Disney and Marvel would probably be furious.

Zhao Fusheng shrugged, "So, it's best if Marvel and Disney don't try anything funny. Otherwise, I'll just pack up and go back to China to do my business, and they'll have to face their old nemesis. Hah, do they think I have no temper?"

Ye Jing was speechless but had to admit that if Zhao Fusheng did that, he would definitely make money. As for what happened next, it had nothing to do with him. Who cared?

Though reluctant to admit it, Ye Jing knew this was really a good way to deal with Marvel and Disney.

"That's all in the future."

Zhao Fusheng waved his hand at Ye Jing and said, "And believe me, even if Disney goes crazy, they wouldn't dare do that. If they still plan to enter the Chinese market, they can't afford to offend us to death."

Ye Jing nodded, "That's true."

On this matter, he and Zhao Fusheng could reach a consensus.

The reason was simple: in the minds of Chinese film industry professionals today, they had all realized that China's film and television industry, or rather, China's entertainment industry, was entering a fast track of rapid development.

The rapid development of the internet brought about the acceleration of information dissemination, which was undoubtedly a boon for the film and television industry. In the past, people could only watch TV and occasionally movies. Under such circumstances, the development of the film and television industry itself had huge limitations. Investing in a movie or TV series could easily lead to total loss.

Under the same conditions, it was better to do something else than invest in the film and television industry, which had long cycles and uncertain returns.

But now, with the growth of the internet, economic development, and the improvement of people's living standards, China's film and television industry was about to usher in an era of dividends.

And this was the true confidence of Chinese filmmakers.