Chapter 102: Chapter 101: Painting Grand Promises
"Because the film investment cycle is short, the capital required isn’t high, and the returns are quick. It’s more suitable for honing your abilities."
Upon hearing Gu Bai’s words, Xiao Qiang quickly raised her head and looked at Gu Bai.
"The reason for appointing you to head the film investment department is to cultivate your skills. Mr. Shao is simply too cautious. At the company’s infancy, we needed someone steady to steer the ship, but now that the company is in a growth phase, that caution doesn’t offer as much advantage.
I won’t make empty promises to you.
The film investment department is a platform I’ve set up for you to showcase your talents. As long as you do well, I’ll provide you with an even bigger stage in the future."
Gu Bai admitted that he was partly being persuasive.
But most of what he said came from the heart.
Because from the outset, the investment focus of creating Black Swan Capital was placed on the cultural and entertainment industry. This film investment department was just a test run, but even as just a trial, Gu Bai allocated a special fund of 2 billion, which clearly showed his emphasis.
Xiao Qiang wasn’t a fool. On the contrary, she was smarter than most people, having earned an MBA from Harvard Business School at a young age, and being able to intern and work at world-renowned capital giant, Redwood Capital, says it all.
She could clearly tell Gu Bai was painting a rosy picture, but she still couldn’t help feeling tempted.
Sometimes understanding is one thing, but whether you can refuse is another. There’s no denying, Gu Bai’s words hit Xiao Qiang’s deepest desires.
She was still young and wanted nothing more than a platform to prove herself. Now, Gu Bai was telling her he could provide such a platform. How could Xiao Qiang refuse?
"Thank you, President Gu, for your trust. I will do my utmost to generate profits for the company."
Listening to Xiao Qiang’s words, Gu Bai smiled with satisfaction.
This is exactly the type of employee a boss loves, the kind that can generate profits for the company—those who are of real value, unlike those who only pledge loyalty yet are useless when it counts.
"I’ll assign you a few tasks first. If you can complete these tasks successfully, I’ll grant you autonomous operational authority for investments below 30 million, requiring only post-facto reporting without needing prior notification."
"Please instruct, President Gu."
Gu Bai pushed several movie titles, which he had written on paper earlier, over to Xiao Qiang.
"Red Sea Operation"
"I Am Not a God of Medicine"
"The Richest Man in Xihong City"
"Detective Chinatown 2"
These were the top-grossing domestic films in 2018, as Gu Bai recalled.
"What are these?"
Xiao Qiang asked Gu Bai with curiosity.
"These are films that friends in the entertainment industry informed me are in project stages. Your task is to become an investor in these movies, investing as much as you can. Don’t worry about being criticized for monopolizing investments. As long as they dare to offer, it’s fine for our company to provide full investment."
Gu Bai wasn’t afraid of being labeled a monopolist. If he truly decided to step into the entertainment industry, it would be with the stance of a beast, aiming to shake things up!
Unlike other industries where money alone might not grant you access.
The entertainment industry is different, being an industry where capital is truly king.
If you have enough money, you can completely disregard rules and trample over them at will.
Gu Bai now plans to invest in several movies, officially entering the scene, with future goals of acquiring theater chains, talent agencies, and becoming a producer himself, creating a completely Black Swan Capital-controlled ecosystem in the entertainment industry.
In his previous life, Gu Bai only wanted to be a small director, but in this life, he aims to be the indisputable giant in the entertainment world.
Although Xiao Qiang didn’t understand why Gu Bai was so optimistic about these films, since the boss ordered it, she naturally chose to execute and immediately accepted the tasks.
Gu Bai spent half an hour discussing specific details with Xiao Qiang before kneading his brow and stopping.
"That’s all for now. Push these projects through in the next couple of days. From now on, the entire Black Swan Capital will prepare to move."
"Well, President Gu, if there’s nothing else, I’ll take my leave."
Gu Bai also stood up and walked out of the meeting room with Xiao Qiang.
Running a company is both mentally taxing and exhausting.
After just a couple of hours of meeting, Gu Bai felt his energy significantly drained. He headed straight to the most prominent General Manager’s office, but midway, he thought of something and instructed Xiao Qiang: "Tell the reception to send Ms. Shan, who’s waiting in the lounge, to my office."
Xiao Qiang promptly agreed.
...........
A few minutes later, Gu Bai was leaning back in his office chair with his eyes closed for a brief rest when a knock on the door sounded.
"Come in."
Shan Fengling pushed the door open and entered.
"Please sit."
Gu Bai opened his eyes, glanced at her, invited her to sit, and then closed them again.
"President Gu, I’m curious if you have any interest in investing in our ’Huafeng Dimension’."
As soon as she sat down, Shan Fengling got straight to the point.
After several hours of waiting, she was starting to get impatient, although she dared not show it on her face.
Gu Bai opened his eyes, first staring at her face for a moment, then chuckling, "Did you bring the company’s evaluation report?"
"I’ve already submitted it to your front desk."
"Hold on a moment."
With that, Gu Bai directly called the investment department.
"Who was responsible for the ’Huafeng Dimension’ company evaluation report? Have them come to my office."
After getting the response from the other end of the call, Gu Bai hung up.
"I’ll have to trouble President Shan to wait a bit. I don’t usually drink tea. What would you prefer, coffee or wine?"
He pointed to a side display stocked with a variety of wines.
Among them were both red and foreign wines, each bottle of considerable value, mostly meant for decoration and observation, but perfectly fine for a casual drink.
"Thank you for the hospitality, President Gu. I had quite a bit already in the lounge."
Gu Bai shrugged his shoulders without pressing any further.
A few minutes later, a young man in his thirties knocked and entered.
"You were in charge of the ’Huafeng Dimension’ evaluation?"
The young man nodded quickly in acknowledgment.
"Then read your evaluation report out loud for me."
The young man glanced at Shan Fengling and then looked back at Gu Bai.
"It’s fine. President Shan is the person in charge of the company. You can speak freely."
Upon hearing this, Shan Fengling’s heart sank. From Gu Bai’s current demeanor, the likelihood of her web company getting investments seemed less than 1/10. If he had any intention of investing, he wouldn’t display such a nonchalant attitude.
As Shan Fengling expected,
Gu Bai indeed had no intention of investing in her site. Even the casual remark he made last night was merely a formality. He hadn’t anticipated that she would take it seriously and actually wait here all day. It seemed she was truly at a dead end.