Chapter 80: I Need a Professional Team

Of course, Xu Heng did not immediately go to find that wealthy woman. Some things cannot be rushed, especially regarding film investment and production, which require long periods of careful deliberation.

Before leaving, Xu Heng instructed Liu Yiyan to give her contact information to her senior, saying that if the senior was sincerely interested in directing this film, she should come to Jinling to discuss it with him in person.

Liu Yiyan asked curiously why he was currently in Modu and didn't go to meet the senior himself; wouldn't that be more convenient?

But Xu Heng shook his head and said meaningfully that when discussing cooperation with others, one must always place oneself in a position of advantage. If he took the initiative to find that wealthy woman, it would mean he was at a disadvantage, and logically, he would have to make concessions regarding film investment. By letting the wealthy woman come to him, he could first test her level of interest in the script, and second, it would allow him to project a more dominant presence in investment negotiations.

One must give the impression that "I can make this film even without you, and cooperating with you is just me doing you a favor." This way, the possibility of the other party making exorbitant demands is much lower.

Liu Yiyan's brain could not grasp the twists and turns of business at all, so she just nodded continuously, as if she understood everything Xu Heng said.

On the afternoon of the 9th, after Xu Heng finished the remaining procedures for establishing the company, he rushed back to Jinling. However, he did not immediately return to his dormitory because he still had many things to handle; in this regard, he hadn't lied to Liu Yiyan.

First was the issue of the stock market.

The 2007 bull market was gradually coming to an end, and naturally, Xu Heng would not continue to stay in it and stir up trouble.

He cashed out 95% of his funds from the stock market and converted the remaining tiny bit of petty profit into stocks that would basically not lose money in the future, such as strong, developing enterprises like Penguin and Ali.

Leaving these funds in them was not for the sake of making money. If he wanted to make money, Xu Heng could have invested all his funds into Penguin and the like; a seven or eightfold return in the next ten years would not be a problem.

But a seven or eightfold profit could no longer satisfy the current Xu Heng. He needed this money to make bigger and more profitable investments; the remaining 5% used to buy Penguin and Ali was purely for commemoration.

With his liquid capital back to 20 million, there was much more Xu Heng could do.

He first found a headhunting company and posted recruitment information on major job websites for nearly thirty positions, including illustrators, programmers, and receptionists.

Then, he rented an office on one floor of a commercial building near the university town in Xianlin, totaling 339 square meters. It had a reception area, an office area, and a small conference room. It wasn't large, but it was more than enough to accommodate thirty people working.

Xu Heng used this place as the headquarters for Xianwan Company, preparing to develop and produce the first set of Ultraman Card Series, which would complement the Sanguosha Studio directed by Huang Kai far away in Modu.

They planned to launch the first set of Ultraman cards shortly after the first set of Sanguosha went on sale, to create and drive the popularity of domestic card board games.

Since Sanguosha had the Dragon Edition Legends of the Three Kingdoms as a base template, research and development were relatively simple and didn't take much effort. However, everything for the Ultraman cards was at zero, so Xu Heng had to prepare in advance to ensure the Ultraman card series could follow the release of Sanguosha.

After returning to Jinling, he spent a total of five days busy with the setup of the company headquarters. It could only be said that fortunately, sufficient funds accelerated this process; he used money to smash through all the troublesome links, otherwise, five days would have been far from enough.

The headhunters were also methodically poaching people from major companies. Xu Heng offered them very high service fees, and in order to serve this "gold-daddy" well, the headhunters held nothing back, attacking with almost full force.

In just two short days, they poached several veteran employees and programmers from well-known animation production companies.

Among them was someone who had once served as a lead design artist at a major state-owned animation studio. However, due to various reasons, that studio had gone bankrupt a few months ago. Having not found a new employer, he was spotted by the headhunting company, and after days of persuasion, he was lured over with a "high salary offer" and "year-end welfare bonuses."

Under the headhunter's arrangement, Xu Heng met with this lead designer at Corner Coffee.

The man looked to be in his thirties, had a receding hairline, wore wide-framed glasses, and a brown suit, looking quite scholarly.

"Hello, Boss Xu. My name is Tang Zhi, a graduate of Jingmin University, majoring in Art and Design..."

Xu Heng waved his hand: "Self-introductions are unnecessary. The headhunters have already shown me your resume. I will only ask you three questions. If the answers are satisfactory, the position of lead designer in our company is yours."

Tang Zhi immediately took a deep breath and sat up straight.

Xu Heng looked very young, but unexpectedly, his presence was exceptionally strong, and his way of speaking was very seasoned. In just a few sentences, he turned Tang Zhi from an applicant into a seeker of employment.

"You have participated in the character modeling design for a total of five animated films. Among these five animations, which one are you most satisfied with?"

"Little Goldfish Adventure."

"What is your understanding of domestic cards?"

"Domestic cards are what we commonly call 'picture cards.' The food-toy sales method that spread from the Island Country is the main way cards circulate in our country today. Most of them lack a system and originate from certain animated character images."

Xu Heng nodded. Actually, the first two questions were not important; the last one was the key.

"If I let you turn the Ultraman IP into cards, how much confidence do you have in achieving success?"

"Ultraman..."

Hearing this, Tang Zhi frowned, feeling that things had become a bit subtle.

Ultraman already had a fixed character image and art style. Designing them into cards would just mean adding some background images and character poses. Having a lead design artist from a large enterprise like him do this felt a bit like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut.

But Xu Heng leaving this question for last must have had a reason.

At this moment, Tang Zhi did not connect Xu Heng's company with Ultraman; he just took this question as a common recruitment question to test his courage and confidence. After hesitating for a few seconds, he answered decisively.

"According to the current sales method of cards included in snacks like Raccoon, I have 100% confidence in success."

"No, I mean making Ultraman into a collectible card game like Yu-Gi-Oh!, sold separately. How much confidence do you have in success?" Xu Heng asked with a smile.

"This..."

Even Tang Zhi, who had worked in large enterprises for decades, couldn't help but be dumbfounded when faced with this question from Xu Heng.

Domestic board game cards? In his impression, these almost didn't exist. After all, for most people in Huaxia, the stereotype of board games was just Fight the Landlord or playing Mahjong.

Something like Yu-Gi-Oh... would that work in Huaxia?

Tang Zhi frowned tightly, pondered for a long time, and only then exhaled slowly, saying: "I need a professional team."