"Little John, have you gained Huang He's trust yet?" After returning home, his desk phone rang as scheduled. It was a newly replaced encrypted phone, and the Jiangnan Group would certainly not be able to eavesdrop on their conversation. Little John was also very familiar with the voice on the other end; it was the old man's secretary.
"I think so!" Little John nodded.
"Oh, how did you gain Huang He's trust? He's a suspicious fellow."
"It's simple. I confessed everything to Huang He, including my identity as a spy, your planned arrangements for me, your existence behind the scenes, and even the existence of that old gentleman. I told Huang He everything!" Little John said.
"What!" The secretary's voice seemed to distort instantly. Just as he was about to explode in anger, Little John continued, "However, I didn't tell him about this phone, nor did I tell him that you are Goldman Sachs behind the scenes, nor did I tell him that my objective is to get him to acquire HBO. Instead, I told him that I am just a mole planted in his company, tasked with reporting his every move to you, so that you can make targeted counter-plans against Jiangnan Group's development!"
"Oh..." The secretary's voice changed again, becoming hesitant. Little John then added, "Sir, as you said, Huang He is an extremely suspicious fellow, and gaining his trust is not an easy task!"
"Moreover, we seem to have some 'pig teammates'. After my assets were seized, they immediately sold my house and all my assets. To be honest, if you weren't Goldman Sachs, and my life was in your hands, I would have truly wanted to betray you," Little John said without mincing words.
"Cough, cough, the order to sell your property was suggested by your president, and I approved it!" The secretary coughed and said, "Your president said that as per normal company operations, these assets should be sold immediately to convert them into cash. Otherwise, it would be a loophole and would only arouse Huang He's suspicion, so they were sold immediately. I was planning to explain everything to you during this call and inform you that we have prepared a luxurious mansion worth 8 million US dollars for you in downtown New York as a reward for your successful mission!"
"I realized that later, but please, for future matters like this, make sure to inform me immediately, or at least discuss it with me. Otherwise, I really cannot guarantee that I will make the correct decision next time," Little John said.
"Alright, I promise there won't be a next time. Remember, your mission is to get Huang He to make the decision to acquire HBO. We await your good news!"
Little John hung up the phone and looked at the person in the shadows, saying, "Mr. Huang, I have entrusted my life and fortune to you this time!"
"No need to be so dramatic. I guarantee you won't die!" Huang He walked out of the shadows, smiling heartily. "As long as you keep acting, they will never harm you. As for when you have to reveal yourself, you can go to China anytime. Once you are in China, I will guarantee your safety!"
"Then my..."
"Don't worry, I will give you the 20 million US dollars in cash that you want, without any deductions!" Huang He said crisply. Little John's face lit up with a smile.
What was 8 million dollars for a house compared to 20 million dollars in cash?
---
The next day, Little John officially became the Vice President of Los Gatos Television. Before he could even meet his new employees, this Vice President immediately flew to New York with two secretaries to begin negotiations with the Cable Television Network Alliance located in New York.
The outcome was, as expected, a clear rejection from the Alliance. They flatly refused Los Gatos's wish to join the entire television network to cover the entire country. The reason given was also quite simple: to join the cable television network, one must be a member of the Alliance, and the Alliance was no longer approving new members, so Los Gatos could not obtain the Alliance's authorization.
However, this was within expectations. Thus, Little John immediately traveled to the headquarters of ABC Television in New York, attempting to negotiate with them to open a path to access the cable television network.
Upon meeting, Little John directly played his trump card, stating that his television station was willing to share the broadcasting rights of "The Journey of the Immortals" with ABC Television and would pay 50 million US dollars annually for network usage fees.
Frankly speaking, ABC Television was almost persuaded at that moment. The terms were too generous. After all, they only needed to relax their stance slightly to allow Los Gatos's television signal to enter, and they would gain so much benefit for free – it was pure profit!
However, remembering the old man behind them, ABC could only express their regrets and refuse. Over the next ten days or so, Little John basically communicated continuously with the five major television networks, hoping to leverage his connections to break through at one television station and resolve the crisis currently facing Los Gatos.
It was evident that Little John was working extremely hard, giving his all, but there was still no effect. He even voluntarily returned to CNN, shedding all pretenses, to negotiate with his former superiors and colleagues. The entire industry expressed great admiration for Little John's dedication.
Of course, they did not know that when Little John negotiated with his old colleagues privately, they were not discussing the issue of opening up the network at all. The president of CNN was not as sarcastic towards Little John as they might have imagined. On the contrary, the two were holding cups of coffee, chatting amicably, with smiles on their faces.
"Little John, your actions over the past ten days have greatly satisfied that old gentleman. I'm just not sure how things are going with Huang He?"
"Huang He's mood is very bad. He finally admitted he was wrong. He originally thought he could open up a market just by willing to spend money!" Little John frankly revealed all of Huang He's secrets.
"How much money is Huang He prepared to spend at most?" the president asked curiously.
"He just raised my authorized limit to 250 million US dollars yesterday!" Little John shrugged his shoulders. "In other words, if you, Mr. President, are willing, and agree to let our television station into CNN's cable network now, then CNN will receive 250 million US dollars in cash right away."
"..." The president swallowed and then seriously considered the matter and the results he would achieve by doing so. Finally, he shook his head with a wry smile, "Forget it. Although I really want to agree these days, I still want to live to enjoy this money!"
"Then do you plan to continue making such futile efforts?" the president continued to ask.
"I believe the timing is right. Huang He's emotions are on the verge of collapse. As long as I fail one more time and then smoothly propose the suggestion to acquire HBO Television, even if Huang He can't translate it on the spot, he will definitely seriously consider this proposal!" Little John said.
"See, I told you this is not an impossible task, but something that can be achieved with effort!" the president smiled. "Time Warner released news about the possibility of selling HBO more than ten days ago."
"It's still a bit late, feels a bit forced!" Little John sighed.
"It doesn't matter. Time Warner had already hinted at it three years ago, but no one bought it then, and it was dropped. Bringing it up again this time won't raise any suspicion!" the president said.
"Okay!" Little John nodded, then picked up a teacup from the president's desk and threw it directly to the floor. Before the president could react, it shattered into pieces. The sound was so loud that even the staff from Jiangnan Group and CNN at the door could hear it clearly.
"What do you think you're doing? Are you crazy?" The president was startled and asked in a panic.
"Doing nothing. Given our relationship, if we hadn't reached an agreement, would I be able to walk out of here so harmoniously? I have to smash something to express my anger!" Little John smiled.
"Then you're done smashing, you can get out!" the president said, looking heartbroken.
"It's not enough. I think everything on this table can be smashed too!" Before the president could react, Little John suddenly swept everything on his desk onto the floor.
"Little John, you've really gone mad!" the president questioned with even greater anger, but Little John didn't answer. He immediately threw something at the president's face.
"You scoundrel, don't you know that house was chosen by me and my wife? It's my most cherished memory of her, and you sold it! You scoundrel, I'll beat you to death!" With that, Little John pounced on the president and began beating him until both their secretaries rushed in, and Little John was taken to the police station, where Jiangnan Group intervened to arrange for his bail.
However, the president's sacrifice was not in vain. After leaving the police station, Little John proposed the acquisition of HBO Television to Huang He, who stated that he would consider it carefully!
Upon hearing this news, those hiding in the shadows finally revealed smiles. However, they did not know that in the office building of Los Gatos Television, brand new Wuxing servers had been silently installed, and all debugging work was underway. Simultaneously, a shipment of network TV boxes had arrived at a US airport via air cargo. While all opponents' attention was focused on Little John's ten-day negotiation journey, Los Gatos Television had gradually completed its preparations and was about to usher in the era of the first digital network television in human history!