Global Film Emperor

Chapter 440: It is easy to change the country, but it is difficult to change one’s nature

Magic City.

"Hello, Mr. Li."

Rongchuang Group's headquarters and Qian Shijia Entertainment are in the same city, but not in the same district. Compared to Qian Shijia, which occupies only one floor in a landmark building in a bustling area, Rongchuang Group's headquarters are much more impressive. It has 34 floors, which is not very tall, but it is very wide. It has a mall-like structure, and the area of ​​one floor is twice that of other commercial buildings.

In the words of the former chairman, building such a tall building is useless, as it will be more than enough. It would be more practical to build a wider building so that employees have more private office space. If there is any space left over, then it is a waste. Rongchuang is a real estate company, so it has a lot of land.

The construction company under its umbrella seems to have taken the old chairman's casual boast as gospel, and the series of commercial buildings it built afterward were not very tall, but rather as wide as possible. As a result, in terms of visual impact, Rongchuang's commercial properties are much more impressive than other commercial buildings. Their short and stout shapes can still become landmark buildings, exuding an air of wealth and arrogance.

Of course, the rent will definitely be higher than other commercial buildings. They won't build high-rises because they need to recoup the difference from the tenants...

Even though this landmark building looks incredibly wealthy and has a futuristic exterior design, it's not a place Lee Sun-kyun particularly likes to come to. Or rather, he used to like coming here because it was his home. He would wander around inside as if he were strolling in his own mansion, and watching the company employees who came and went in a hurry but didn't forget to greet him always made him feel like a young master from an ancient high-class mansion, and these people were his servants.

Of course, he wouldn't really act like a pampered young master. What kind of society is this? It's an era that emphasizes equality for all. He still has to respond to his employees and can't look at them like a dog, like a young master from ancient times.

In addition, he wasn't that much of a playboy. Or rather, he was shrewd from a young age. Apart from liking to sleep with girls, especially celebrities, he really didn't have any flaws.

Over the years, he has basically never made a losing deal in the business world. He can find a way to profit from any business and generate a lot of cash for the group.

Besides the entertainment industry.

This industry is too tempting, especially for those who are very interested in money and sex. It's really hard to control yourself. As long as you stand high enough, it's hard not to be tempted when a woman with an aura of glamour is chatting and laughing with you. The entertainment market looks very naive, but the rules and regulations are full of loopholes. It's hard to control yourself from reaching into the gray industry chain to make a fortune.

So Rongchuang Group's first entertainment company went bankrupt. He was the one who did it. He had had enough of those so-called goddesses who looked glamorous on screen but smelled of seafood in dark rooms when they took their clothes off. They were boring.

Secondly, the company's reputation in the industry was ruined, and no one would cooperate with him anymore. He couldn't do the truly profitable business himself, so he withdrew, and the company went bankrupt.

But instead of losing money, he made a fortune. Making a quick buck and leaving has always been his style. Moreover, he had keen insight and pointed out a clear path for Rongchuang, which urgently needed to develop other industries.

Cinema chains.

In an era when the film market was still immature, he acquired a large number of cinemas, which would be worth many times more now. Therefore, he is a hero of Rongchuang. As a person who has made great contributions to the group, he likes to stroll around the headquarters.

But now, he doesn't like it anymore.

Because now it's his father sitting in the chairman's seat, not his grandfather who never liked his quick-money-making style, yet he's managed to nearly ruin a subsidiary that the group hoped would have long-term development.

It's strange sometimes, but people can always readily admit their mistakes in front of those who dislike them, yet they find it difficult to handle the responsibility of taking responsibility in front of those who have high hopes for them.

Even the best can make mistakes. He had previously helped the group extract a huge amount of cash and guided the group to acquire a large number of cinemas, which was his capital. This mistake could only be considered a decision-making error, and it wasn't a complete disaster. It couldn't be called a waste of money at all. But he just didn't know how to face his father, who would never get angry about this and would only teach him to avoid making the same mistake again.

He nodded to the receptionist and headed straight for the boardroom elevator. He didn't need an appointment at all, and the receptionist naturally didn't stop him. She had never heard of a son needing an appointment to see his father.

Upon reaching the top floor, the secretary has her own office, which is quite large, big enough to fit two pool tables. However, the enclosure is made of glass, allowing her to easily notice visitors.

Upon seeing that it was Li Shanjun, she calmly stood up, bowed slightly to the Crown Prince, and greeted him, "President Li."

"Hmm, where is Chairman Li?"

"I just woke up from my afternoon nap. Please come in. The chairman mentioned it to me. Would you like something to drink?"

"No need, give me the wet wipes."

The secretary is pretty, but not exceptionally pretty. No large company would hire an exceptionally beautiful woman as the chairman's administrative secretary. Beauty is meant to create a stereotypical impression, but excessive beauty will only make her a decorative vase or a mere "boss's little secretary."

So Li Shanjun didn't look at her. Even if she were just an ordinary beauty, or even if she fell from the sky, Li Shanjun wouldn't give her a second glance. This has nothing to do with whether he's old enough to still have sex. Moreover, he has always only had one night with women he can control. Playing with pretty faces is his creed in bed.

The secretary brought over the wet wipes that were always kept in the drawer, waiting for him to fix his hair and tie. When Li Shanju beckoned, she held out the wet wipes to him, and he took out a few to wipe the corners of his eyes, forehead, ears, mouth, hands, fingernails, and the dust on his body.

This is something he has to do before meeting his father and discussing business at the company. It has remained unchanged for over twenty years and has become a professional habit. He cleans all the places in his seven orifices that are prone to accumulating dirt and grime, and does not spray perfume. He only allows the faint fragrance of wet wipes and clothing to emanate. When meeting important people, the other party's first impression of you will be absolutely different from that of an ordinary meeting. Even if you are wearing the same clothes and have the same hairstyle, you cannot tell the difference unless you look closely.

Three minutes had passed by the time everything was done. He let out a breath, asked his secretary to dial the chairman's hotline, and as soon as she hung up, he immediately pushed open the door and strode into the chairman's office.

"dad."

"Well, sit down."

Now that there are no outsiders, there's no need for such formality. Chairman Li is dealing playing cards, which is his personal hobby. He shuffles the cards, places them on the table with the numbers facing up, and stacks them in pairs until all the cards are dealt. Then he puts the cards away from the smallest to the largest, restoring them to their original, unopened state. He repeats this process over and over again, but this hobby has absolutely nothing to do with gambling.

Seeing Li Shanjun enter, he glanced up and placed an Ace of Spades in the deck of Aces, making a total of four. Li Shanjun sat down without speaking. Only after Chairman Li had finished matching all the cards and put them away in the drawer did he hear Chairman Li's second sentence.

“I already understand the problem, you don’t need to repeat it. I know this is something you find difficult to talk about. I just need to know whether Lu Ze personally entrusted someone to handle this, or whether he didn’t say anything, but his connections were strong enough that his subordinates just did it for him.” “He probably didn’t say anything.”

"How do you want to solve it?"

“An apology is definitely useless now. I can’t contact him either. The only thing I can do now is to try to smooth things over with his network of contacts and ask the theaters to give him more screen time when his movie is released.”

"Haven't you considered confronting him head-on?"

"Sure, but unnecessary. Everyone has their own connections. If we keep bumping into each other, it will make things difficult for the group's future publicity. He's using our problems as a job, and we're using our connections to cause trouble for him. He doesn't have any leverage to deal with us. Besides, their overseas operations are better than their domestic ones. If the Cultural Bureau keeps demanding rectification every few days, we can't stand it. It will have a big impact on investment promotion, advertising, real estate sales, and cinema operations. It's not worth it."

This is a very simple question, one that a company CEO in his forties should be able to analyze and answer immediately. There are only two possible outcomes: first, losing money; second, losing even more money. So this is nothing to be pleased about for Chairman Li. He didn't even smile; he just nodded slightly. This was the answer Chairman Li wanted. He was just afraid that Li Shanjun would act impulsively and try to compete with others based on his entire fortune.

Don't assume that the cultural sector has little impact on the real economy. Companies that struggle to even promote themselves have virtually no chance of making a profit. Furthermore, the real economy is heavily indebted, and if it suffers losses year after year, it can easily cause stock prices to plummet, leading to even greater losses and creating a vicious cycle.

And all they have to do is point out the flaws in your advertising, whether they exist or not. And these flaws are very likely to exist, since which company doesn't exaggerate or conceal something in its advertising? Honest and straightforward advertising simply won't attract consumers.

Most importantly, even if they themselves have connections and incredibly strong backing, they still can't help Rongchuang, because those in charge of commerce and those in charge of culture are not on the same page at all. The people involved in culture are all banded together, much like those in charge of sports.

Think about how many entrepreneurs have invested in football over the years? Would they dare to get involved in football if they didn't have connections? And what happened in the end? Didn't they all lose everything and have to withdraw with their noses in their mouths? When you invest your money, everything is peaceful and friendly, but if they really want to mess with you, no matter who you beg or plead with, you'll see if they even give you a second glance.

The same principle applies to the cultural industry. If you invest money in the cultural industry, you will definitely receive strong support. But if you offend some powerful figure, not only will they not be able to promote their own artists, but you will also have difficulty getting a piece of calligraphy from a master in the future. They will be guaranteed to go bankrupt and leave within two or three years.

Both father and son knew how difficult it was to deal with people involved in the cultural field. They thought it was better to resolve conflicts than to let them fester, and both tried to apologize and build up their relationship with Lu Ze. However, they also knew perfectly well that Lu Ze was far from finished. So, after much deliberation, Li Shanjun finally gritted his teeth and made this difficult decision.

"Dad... I quit, Qian Shijia."

"Have you decided?"

"The root of all the problems lies with me. This movie won't be released, and 350 million yuan has already been poured in. The company's operations are already in serious trouble. If it gets stuck a few more times, Qian Shijia will go bankrupt sooner or later."

"Didn't you ever think about just letting it go to waste?"

“I think the real money-making opportunities in the cultural industry are yet to come. In the future, the revenue won’t just be a few hundred million or a billion, but tens of billions wouldn’t be surprising. With control of the cinemas and the company, it could become the main source of the group’s profits. As a director of the group, I don’t want the profit channels of the cultural industry to be cut in half, nor do I want Qian Shijia to collapse like this. All the mistakes are mine, and I am willing to resign to take responsibility.”

"Alright, let's transfer Jia Yunping there as vice president first. You guys take care of the project coordination, and you can rest for now. Have you thought about what to do next?"

"I'll stick to things I can enjoy doing, like financial projects. I'd like to continue with angel investing or trusts."

This is all his old profession, a holy land for making quick money, his battlefield, so Chairman Li completely trusts him in making this decision.

“Okay, take a few months off first, then come back and take over Meng Changxiang’s position. He’s currently in talks with headhunters, so you can take over once he leaves.”

This is how appointments are made in family businesses. They are not hasty, but they are not very rigorous either. The abilities of each heir are kept in mind by the person in charge. If he has the ability, he is given the position. There is no need for much consideration. This is much easier than the appointment of executives without a background.

Once you reach a certain age, gain the respect of others, and achieve some success, you can easily become the leader of a company. This feeling... is like a max-level player leveling up a new character.

Of course, the premise is that the alt account becomes an elite under elite education, but... isn't that how it should be?

"Well... Dad, I'll go now?"

“Okay, go back to the company and list out the projects first. Make a training plan for all the trainees and artists under your command. Jia Yunping will be there around next week. Let him take care of those people for now. You can continue to manage the finances. Once the funds are back in the group, you can hand them over to him. Also, come home for dinner tonight. Your mother hasn't seen you for more than two months. Even though you're in Shanghai, you're never home.”

After finishing his business, the conversation turned to family. At over forty years old, it was impossible for him to still be pampered like a giant baby for over a year and five hundred months. However, Li Shanjun was still single, which always made his mother unhappy. Every time he came home, she would urge him to go on blind dates, which was why Li Shanjun didn't want to go home.

He didn't want to marry a sexy and beautiful woman who was just a pretty face, fearing she would go to a brothel while he was making money. He also didn't want to marry a smart woman who was plain-looking but came from a prominent family, because he didn't want to play any more games with his wife. More importantly, he was worried that he might not be able to get an erection when it came time to have children.

Perhaps things will turn out the other way around. An average-looking wife might cheat on him, while a beautiful woman puts on a clumsy show of tenderness to cover up her desire to make more money. But that would be even more terrifying.

Suppressing the urge to refuse, he nodded and accepted the family dinner that evening. After saying goodbye to his father, he quietly left the chairman's office.

Chairman Li picked up the phone, dialed the dedicated line, and after the person in charge greeted him, said, "Xiao Jia, come to my office."

He took the deck of cards out of the drawer again. They were soggy from being shuffled so many times. He took one out by hand, pinched it between his thumb and forefinger, and easily shaped the Ace of Spades into a U-shape. Finally, he threw the deck of cards, along with the Ace of Spades, into the trash can. Then, he took out a new deck of cards from the drawer, muttering words completely unrelated to the deck.

"It's easier to change mountains and rivers than to change one's nature..."

"..."

(End of this chapter)