Reborn in the Hong Kong entertainment industry in the 1980s

“Although there are risks in developing in the mainland, the rewards are greater, so it’s worth taking the risk,” Hu Xiaoxiao said.

Hu Xiaoxiao was confident that, in addition to observing the situation, she could see something deeper: the fortune there was profound, unlike any other place.

Tan Yinglian relied solely on her business acumen. "Indeed, even with the risks, I decided to take the plunge."

However, as a businesswoman, she has to consider the current situation in addition to macro-planning. She cannot put all her working capital into one project, otherwise the consequences would be unimaginable if the cash flow were to break.

Partnering with others might mean earning less if the business is profitable, but it also means losing much less if there are losses.

"Does Aunt Tan have any suitable partners?" Hu Xiaoxiao asked.

Tan Yinglian said, "I'm considering it. It's easy to find a partner, but it's not easy to find a suitable one. Generally, partners will demand more management control, but I want to keep the operational control in my own hands, which makes it difficult to find one."

Having multiple managers in a company makes decision-making inconvenient. Therefore, Tan Yinglian wanted to find someone who would simply invest money, not manage affairs, and receive annual dividends.

Hu Xiaoxiao was very interested. "Aunt Tan, what do you think of me?"

"You?" Tan Yinglian looked at Hu Xiaoxiao in surprise, completely unexpected. "The investment amount is not small, and there is a risk of loss."

She knew Hu Xiaoxiao was a good earner, having made a lot of money after becoming famous, but she didn't know exactly how much wealth Hu Xiaoxiao had. Plus, seeing Hu Xiaoxiao spending money so extravagantly every day, she didn't think Hu Xiaoxiao could save much money at all.

Hu Xiaoxiao was not one to flaunt her wealth, so Tan Yinglian knew very little about Hu Xiaoxiao's assets.

Hu Xiaoxiao asked, "How much do you need?"

Seeing that Hu Xiaoxiao was genuinely interested, Tan Yinglian said, "It depends on the investment ratio. To keep the operating rights, I'll offer a larger share..."

Tan Yinglian told Hu Xiaoxiao a number.

“No problem, I’ll invest in this project.” Upon hearing the amount and thinking about her savings, Hu Xiaoxiao immediately decided to invest in the project.

She had previously made a profit from the Sanren Society, and after returning the money to Xie Zhiheng, she invested some of it in the garment factory, leaving her with some money.

Sure enough, Shengshi Entertainment's finances are doing extremely well, and she has already received dividends this year.

By scraping together what we could, we could definitely raise enough money.

If she had spent all her money, well, her show "The Invincible Flower of Hong Kong" became a hit again, her market value soared, and she couldn't keep up with the commercial offers. She's already mentored several of her artists, and she gets a share of the profits from their commercial activities.

Tan Yinglian was genuinely surprised. She had assumed that Hu Xiaoxiao had spent all her money investing in the clothing factory, but she hadn't expected her to have such a large sum. "I really didn't realize that. I thought you had spent all your money on jewelry."

Hu Xiaoxiao almost never wore the same piece of jewelry twice at any event, and given her undisguised love for jewelry and her status as a major client of jewelry companies—moreover, Hu Xiaoxiao was always very generous with her donations to charity events, like a money-giving child—Tan Yinglian always assumed that Hu Xiaoxiao was the type to spend as much as she earned.

In some ways, Hu Xiaoxiao is indeed the type of person who spends as much as she earns. If she invests in the chain supermarket this time, her bank account will be almost empty.

Hu Xiaoxiao, arm in arm with Tan Yinglian, laughed and said, "I'm now investing all the money I would have spent on jewelry and clothes into Aunt Tan's account. Whether I have money to buy nice clothes in the future depends on Aunt Tan."

"Don't worry, even if we lose money, no one else will lose money. Aunt Tan has nothing, but she has plenty of nice clothes and jewelry. You can come and choose whatever you like." Tan Yinglian then sighed, "It's really a case of being blind to one's own strength. Why didn't I think of discussing cooperation with you?"

"I'll endorse the supermarket, which will save me a lot of advertising costs."

“That’s great. You’re very popular in mainland China now. Many people idolize you, and there are stickers and posters of you for sale everywhere. When I went to investigate last time, your songs were playing in the streets and alleys.”

After discussing the details of the collaboration, Tan Yinglian suddenly asked, "I heard that you donated a sewage treatment system to Dafang Community, is that right?"

Dafang Community is the area near Tiancui City, where several villages live.

The last time Hu Xiaoxiao passed by there, she saw sewage flowing freely and garbage strewn everywhere in the village. She made a sum of money and donated it to the community to buy garbage disposal equipment.

"Yes, that's true. What's wrong?" Hu Xiaoxiao asked.

"Since you've done such a great service to the Dafang community, have you ever thought about running for district councilor?"

Hu Xiaoxiao was slightly taken aback and looked at Tan Yinglian.

Tan Yinglian took Hu Xiaoxiao aside and said frankly, "Xiaoxiao, fame and wealth alone are far from enough. To keep these things and possess fame and wealth forever, you need power to consolidate them. Xiaoxiao, are you interested in fighting for power?"

Hu Xiaoxiao understood what Tan Yinglian meant. After thinking for a moment, she said, "To be honest, I have limited energy and I also have to film. I'm not good at handling these things, so I'm afraid I won't do a good job."

"You silly child," Tan Yinglian couldn't help but laugh, saying, "What does it matter if you're not good at it? Just hire an agent who's an expert in this area to help you solve the problem. If you try to do everything yourself, how many things can a person accomplish in a lifetime?"

Tan Yinglian then pointed to the guests attending the banquet today and said, "Look at the guests here. They all have at least three or four titles and positions. Do you think they do every job and every task themselves? If they did, where would they find the time to attend a banquet and relax? You don't need connections; you can afford to hire people."

Hu Xiaoxiao is not stupid; on the contrary, she has a very strong learning ability.

With Tan Yinglian's guidance, she suddenly understood everything and her eyes lit up: "Aunt Tan, I know what to do."

She doesn't know how to manage the company, but she has assistants and secretaries who are responsible for handling her daily affairs. She only needs to review and approve them.

She hired Dong Peiyu to handle various affairs for her, allowing her to focus on acting instead of having to deal with various commercial activities on her own, as she had before.

If this applies to entertainment work, then it applies to other jobs as well. As long as she can grasp the general direction and make decisive decisions on important matters, she can definitely handle it.

Tan Yinglian offered a few more words of advice: "To put it another way, even if it's not for any other reason, having power in your hands will allow you to do what you want to do better. If you have a kind heart, and also power, then you can do even more of the things you want to change, wouldn't that be twice as effective with half the effort?"