Chapter 188: Raising Poison Insects

This meeting is a crucial one for Yutu Production, equivalent to securing a distribution channel and becoming the foundation for Yutu's rise.

This platform connects audiences with movie theaters.

Combined with Yutu Production, it forms a closed ecological loop of production, distribution, theater chains, cinemas, and audiences.

With sustained investment and development, it will create a complete film industry value chain.

If development proceeds smoothly, Yutu will gain a natural advantage and greater say in the movie market.

On December 31, in an office on the 15th floor of Yutu Production, the lights were dim, with only the white screen at the front illuminated.

Meng Jun held a pointer and gestured toward the white screen.

It displayed Yupiaor's growth data over the past few months: how many ticket machines had been deployed, and which theater chains had been partnered with to integrate their ticketing systems.

How many tickets had been sold, how many active users, and other metrics of growth.

And also future expectations, market trends, and a series of narratives.

The attendees were Guangxian's Wang Zhangtian, Wanda's Ceng Maojun, Tencent's General Manager Liu Zhiping, and Meituan's Wang Xing.

These men either leaned back in their chairs or had their legs propped on the conference table, slouching and lounging, their expressions indifferent, all exuding the aura of big bosses.

Only Wang Xing still maintained some discipline—he hadn't yet achieved the dazzling prominence he would later enjoy, nor did he radiate much energy.

After all, it was a startup, with daily anxiety and work—how could he be full of energy? And Meituan currently had many competitors, each stronger than him.

For example, this year, Lashou. com raised 166 million U. S. dollars in funding, with a valuation exceeding 1.1 billion U. S. dollars. Dazhong Dianping raised 100 million U. S. dollars in its C-round financing.

Meituan only raised 12 million U. S. dollars at the end of last year, and its B-round financing in July this year was just 50 million U. S. dollars.

It was not even in the same league as the two.

Let me put it this way: in 2013, 6,246 group-buying websites sprang up nationwide; these six thousand-plus companies slaughtered each other, turning the market into a "river of blood!" This was the legendary "Thousand Group-Buying War!" By 2014, only 213 remained, and ultimately only a handful survived.

Even after 2020, they continued fighting and killing each other—ten years of slaughter, this level of brutality? The film industry is nothing! True enterprises are forged through real, bloody, knife-and-gun battles—no exaggeration.

You could say that in any industry, the level of competition is thousands of times fiercer than in the film industry, especially in mobile phones and the internet.

Yutu's struggles with others are child's play! Fang Hong was also sitting slouched among them, with no posture at all.

He occasionally coughed; though he didn't feel too feverish, his throat remained dry and itchy.

"We've met our future expectations. Thank you all." Meng Jun finished speaking and bowed to those present.

The conference room lights turned on.

"Director Fang has a cold—he's been coughing nonstop." Wang Zhangtian turned his chair.

"I've recently caught a chill and am unwell; I apologize for inconveniencing you all, esteemed executives." Fang Hong pulled out two tissues and blew his nose publicly.

"If you have a cold, rest more," said Liu Zhiping.

"My frail body is a minor matter—I'm just worried about wasting your precious time, and I feel guilty about it."

Fang Hong's words drew loud "ha-ha" laughter from those present—this flattery was so over-the-top no one knew what to say.

But it was actually quite pleasant—they made millions or tens of millions in minutes.

A small goal was just something they casually achieved.

Something like that.

"Let's get to the real business. After we finish, Director Fang can go rest properly—this ticketing platform will need his continued attention." Ceng Maojun, who had been lounging with his legs up, sat up straight.

The others also nodded and sat properly.

They had just been listening casually—they had already decided to invest and take equity.

This round is A-lun Rongzi; Fang Hong won't release too much equity—around 30%, meaning he retains 70% to leave room for future B-lun Rongzi and C-lun Rongzi.

The valuation is low now; selling everything would be a loss.

Fang Hong has invested tens of millions into Yupiaor, poured immense effort into nationwide deployment, and the valuation is around 1.6 billion.

Thirty percent equals 480 million; each investor can contribute 100 to 200 million for their equity stake.

Guangxian invested the most: 200 million, taking 12.5%. Tencent invested 100 million, taking 6.25%. Wanda invested 100 million, taking 6.25%.

Meituan invested an extra 100 million, taking 5%.

Tencent has traffic, Wanda has theater chains, Guangxian has media—all have resources to add, so they're strategic investors and don't need to pay a premium.

Meituan is the weakest here; though it has traffic and channels, it's still a minor player and not the most critical, so it must pay a premium to invest.

These equity stakes are temporary—if you don't invest again in B-lun Rongzi or C-lun Rongzi, your share will be diluted.

After finalizing the basics, Fang Hong looked at those present: "I need you all to sign an exclusivity agreement—you invest in me, and you can't invest in anyone else."

"Director Fang, that sounds a bit dictatorial," said Liu Zhiping.

He didn't even know if this thing would succeed—if it failed, if the competition was lost, he couldn't invest elsewhere? Then Tencent would miss the opportunity.

Tencent's investment strategy is to cast a wide net—put a little here, a little there; if one rises, then fully back it.

It's like raising poison insects and waiting to see which becomes the king.

In his past life, Tencent didn't invest in Meituan at first—it was Alibaba that backed Meituan. Only after Meituan began to rise did Tencent oust Alibaba and invest in Meituan.

In his past life, the same happened with Maoyan: Tencent initially backed Yupiaor—i. e., We影—and only merged with Maoyan and took equity in Maoyan after Yupiaor was crushed in defeat.

Even with resources and traffic, they were still beaten down—traffic isn't everything; decision-making matters too.

"I just don't want multiple competitors. If you invest in me but secretly incubate your own or bet on multiple sides, that's a waste of resources," Fang Hong explained.

"If you're truly strong and capable, you shouldn't fear competition," Liu Zhiping said with some force.

That's how big companies and senior leaders are.

Fundamentally, in their eyes, Fang Hong was a beggar.

"Director Liu, not everyone has the resources and capital to burn like Tencent. I understand you, but you must also understand that on this ticketing platform, we are on the same side," Fang Hong said smoothly.

Someone of Liu Zhiping's caliber wouldn't be fooled by him: "I understand your meaning, but Tencent has its own investment strategy—we can't abandon other possibilities just because of you."

Meaning: they wouldn't sign this exclusivity agreement.

Fundamentally, they didn't want to put all their eggs in one basket.

"I need unity and collective effort to make Tu Piaopiao strong and big; if you can't even do this, why invest in me?" Fang Hong changed his previous style and became somewhat forceful.

The other investors, watching the two of them, each wore different expressions.

Wang Zhangtian couldn't compare to Tencent; as Fang Hong said, he lacked the capability and capital to make multiple bets.

So the choice was clear! Zeng Maojun from Wanda was in real estate and wasn't particularly sensitive to online matters; in their eyes, building more cinemas was better than anything else.

Things from the sky are destined to come down, so they didn't care too much—investing one hundred million was just testing the waters.

One hundred million for Lao Wang Zong was just a small goal!

Wang Xing had originally been invited by Fang Hong to pick up bargains, and thus had also entered the cultural entertainment sector.

Fang Hong could see his worth, so naturally he wouldn't hold any major grudge against Fang Hong.

"We will provide the resources we owe and fulfill the contracts we signed. Whether Tu Piaopiao succeeds or not depends on you and your team working in unity—not on the investors."

"We don't understand this field—you're the founder, so you do. Therefore, we investors won't offer opinions; decisions must be yours alone. Whether you succeed or fail, we accept it."

"And if you don't even have this much confidence, how can you expect us investors to feel secure?"

Liu Zhiping had excellent oratory skills—he left Fang Hong speechless.

Their views differed: Fang Hong wanted fewer competitors, while Liu Zhiping was a professional investor.

Investment inherently carries risk; accepting success or failure is nothing unusual—that's what true financial power looks like.

Moreover, Liu Zhiping spoke very reasonably: providing money, resources, and channels is one thing, but ultimately success depends on the founder team's decisions and tactics—that's the decisive factor.

Too many powerful enterprises, even those with massive funding, have been overturned.

Alibaba crushed Youku; QQ crushed MSN—these are all examples of being overturned.

Baidu won by default!

So many investors don't interfere with founder teams' decisions—because too much interference could cause one wrong decision to lose everything.

Because you don't understand better than the founder.

Of course, many founders have also been ousted—like Sina.

The meeting ended this way: Fang Hong conceded and compromised, signing no exclusivity agreement—he still had to fight on his own.

Others contributed money and effort, but the funds wouldn't arrive all at once—they'd be disbursed in installments over several months.

Afterward, Tu Piaopiao officially launched on QQ and Meituan traffic channels, with dedicated access lanes opened for it.

For example, when opening the Meituan app, there would be a movie ticket purchase option that directly redirected to the Tu Piaopiao platform.

This effectively eliminated Meituan's nascent movie ticketing system—the precursor to Maoyan.

Additionally, Wanda's ticketing system would fully integrate with Tu Piaopiao, allowing all cinemas to sell tickets online via Tu Piaopiao.

Guangxian Media's resources—including entertainment news, large-scale events, and concert operations—would also be fully integrated into Tu Piaopiao.

Events and concerts are also ticketed; it's impossible to have only movie tickets—concerts, stand-up comedy, and theater performances would also be expanded.

News was for propaganda channels and entertainment gossip.

This required comprehensive resource integration; with 480 million, they would first integrate all resources for promotion and continue deploying ticketing machines.

This phase was inherently a money-burning phase.

Of course, providing these resources and channels wasn't without conditions: in the next B-lun Rongzi, they would have priority rights.

That meant whether they invested next time depended on their mood—if they didn't invest, only others could; this protected the investors' rights.

After the meeting ended, Fang Hong saw those people off, then returned to his office, where Liu Tianxian was reading a script.

(End of Chapter)