Chapter 389

"Guli, come here."

Guli Guli Nazha had been wiping the front desk counter, but upon hearing this voice, she immediately looked up: "Ah, yes, Director Li."

She subconsciously checked the clock on the wall; it was only 9:30 AM.

She followed behind Li Jing and entered a small cubicle.

Once she closed the door, Li Jing said, "Chen Zong has returned to the country, you know that, right?"

"Ah, yes, I... I know." Guli Guli Nazha suddenly became nervous. In fact, she had gone to bed early last night and only saw it when she was scrolling through Weibo on the subway this morning.

But why was Director Li suddenly bringing this up with her now?

"Chen Zong isn't staying in the country for long this time, and he has a lot of things to handle. The company is planning to send someone to stay by his side to help him with some trivial matters..."

Hearing this, Guli Guli Nazha was instantly thrilled.

"Director Qi asked me if I had a suitable candidate, and I recommended you. I just want to ask you now, you..."

Before Li Jing could even finish, Guli Guli Nazha blurted out, "Director Li, I'm willing!"

Seeing Guli Guli Nazha agree so quickly, Li Jing was not surprised.

This was, after all, an opportunity she was giving the other party; only a fool would refuse.

As for the reason:

On one hand, ever since that conversation, the girl had been the first to arrive at the company every day before 9:30 AM to tidy up the front desk and wipe the tables.

It was also because Li Jing felt that for a girl to grow up looking like that, it would be a real pity if she didn't enter the entertainment industry.

And then again, even with looks like that, it would be an even greater pity if she didn't have a benefactor to help her.

Thus, Li Jing said earnestly, "Opportunities like this are rare. You must perform well, do you understand? Try to get Chen Zong to say a word to Director Qi or me before he leaves... do you understand?"

Guli Guli Nazha nodded desperately, "Yes! Director Li, thank you, thank you. I definitely will, I definitely will... as long as I... I will definitely repay you, I swear."

Guli Guli Nazha felt her face must be very red because her whole body had heated up, and her tongue felt like it wasn't obeying her; she couldn't even finish a complete sentence.

Li Jing gave a hum and said, "When you're by Chen Zong's side, you must be observant. You must not look at things you shouldn't, you must not listen to things you shouldn't, and you must forget things you shouldn't know the moment you turn your head. Can you do that?"

Guli Guli Nazha nodded busily, "I can do that."

"I remember you have a driver's license and can drive, right?"

"Yes, I can."

"Chen Zong has given his driver time off. Although, logically speaking, it's Director Qi who drives for him, if it ever happens that you need to drive, can you handle it?"

"I can, no problem."

"Good, that's it then. When Chen Zong and the others arrive at the company later, I'll tell him."

"Okay, thank you, thank you Director Li, thank you." Guli Guli Nazha bowed sincerely at a ninety-degree angle.

Li Jing nodded with a smile and said, "Good luck." After saying that, she left.

Guli Guli Nazha stood where she was, motionless for a moment.

Her chest heaved up and down, then her nose felt sore, her eyes grew hot, and her vision couldn't help but blur.

The hard work of these past few months had finally paid off.

Finally!

Guli Guli Nazha clenched her fists and made a fierce resolution in her heart: no matter what, she could not let this opportunity slip through her fingers.

Otherwise, she would truly never forgive herself for the rest of her life!

Regarding the issue of "No Man's Land" failing to pass censorship, Chen Nuo was actually not surprised.

What surprised him was that even China Film Group couldn't handle it?

Originally, he had wondered if Director Han held a grudge against him and was unwilling to put in the effort.

However, after calling to ask last night, he realized that Director Han couldn't be blamed.

It was just that at the beginning of this year, the state issued a new policy requiring film and television works to "tell China's stories well and spread positive energy."

And "No Man's Land," neither favoring nor slighting, had happened to hit this very point.

Director Han Han Sanping, having been woken up by him in the middle of the night, didn't have any temper and said quite sincerely on the phone, "I really have no way. This film also has over 20 million from our China Film Group; it's impossible for me not to take it to heart. Now, for this matter, we can only rely on your face, Little Chen, to force our way in and see if we can handle it as a special case. Otherwise, no matter how much it's edited, I estimate it still won't be able to be released."

Hearing this, Chen Nuo had originally prepared to act without delay, planning to go the next day after getting some rest.

As it turned out, before he had even woken up, he received a call from the company saying that Director Yu from Huawei had arrived, having traveled thousands of miles just to see him.

After hanging up the phone, the woman beside him had already been woken up by his voice; she opened her eyes groggily and asked, "What's wrong? Is something up? Are you leaving?"

Chen Nuo gave a hum, "Yes, something's up." As he spoke, he began looking for his clothes.

The woman flipped back the quilt, hugged his waist, buried her head in his lower abdomen, and murmured, "Once you leave like this, it will be a long time before we can see each other again."

Chen Nuo didn't really feel much.

After all, the great affairs of the world are such that long periods of division lead to unity, and long periods of unity lead to division.

Including last night, he had originally planned to go home to sleep, but Tong Tong Liya was going to Hengdian to film today and had been packing quite late last night; she happened to see the news that he was back and waited for him until 3 AM, so he had no choice but to come over and attend to her.

He stroked the woman's hair and said, "Go and film well. This is your first time playing a female lead; seize the opportunity."

Chen Nuo didn't know if Tong Tong Liya had filmed "Beauty World" in the previous life, but this time, being able to win the female lead role amidst the competition from Yang Mi and Liu Liu Shishi was likely thanks to the blessing of "Let the Bullets Fly."

This could also be considered changing fate.

Tong Tong Liya didn't respond.

Without warning, she directly brought out the technique she had just learned, like a kitten licking milk.

However, her movements were still not very practiced, and there was a slight, painful sensation of teeth.

Chen Nuo looked down at her bare back. Her skin, in the morning light leaking through the curtains, glowed with a faint honey-colored luster, so delicate it seemed as if it could be pinched to release water. The dimples of Venus were slightly sunken, and together with the exposed cleft, they formed a curvaceous arc.

His fingertips unconsciously slid down her hair, touching that warm skin.

Originally, his morning reaction hadn't subsided, and now it became even more intense.

Chen Nuo thought to himself, Huawei hadn't reached the level of "far ahead" yet, so it probably wouldn't matter if he made Director Yu wait a bit, right?

If it were anyone else who made Yu Yu Chengdong wait for over an hour, Director Yu certainly wouldn't be in the mood to have lunch with him.

But this time.

The U8800 was advancing triumphantly in the European and American markets; in just over 10 days, Huawei North America had already requested to restock twice. It could be said that in the low-to-mid-end market, they had bitten off a huge chunk of Nokia and Motorola's market share.

At the internal meeting a few days ago, everyone who participated in this decision, from him to Li Li Yaoming of the Marketing Department, had been fiercely praised by Director Ren.

It could be said that it was a moment where their Consumer Business Group had greatly raised their heads within Huawei.

Who was all this thanks to?

"Sorry, sorry, I was delayed by traffic on the way. Director Yu, hello."

What made Yu Yu Chengdong feel even better was that the moment they met, the other party recognized him directly without needing an introduction.

Feeling the importance Chen Nuo placed on his side, Yu Yu Chengdong smiled even more brightly, "Chen Zong, hello, hello. I've long admired your name and have wanted to meet you for a long time; now I've finally gotten my wish."

"Haha, Director Yu, you're too polite. Why don't you introduce your colleagues from Huawei first?"

"Good, this is..."

After the two sides met and exchanged greetings, Chen Nuo saw that it was getting late and invited the other party to have a harmonious working lunch at Huanxin.

After eating and returning to the conference room, the two sides officially began to talk, and only then did Chen Nuo learn that Director Yu had come with such a grand entourage not for anything else, but to invite him to be the global product ambassador for the U8800.

The compensation offered was 5 million US dollars, just to film a 2-minute commercial.

Guli Guli Nazha, who was taking meeting minutes on the side, felt her hand shake unconsciously upon hearing this.

She widened her eyes, subconsciously calculating in her mind: 1 US dollar is about 6.5 RMB, so 5 million US dollars is... 32.5 million RMB!

A 2-minute commercial, filming for a few days? Three days at most? Making 32.5 million in three days!

She remembered when she first became a model, she only made 500 for a day of filming, and half of that was taken by her agent.

She secretly looked up at Chen Nuo.

She saw him looking calm, but a hint of a smile suddenly appeared at the corners of his mouth; it wasn't a smile of happiness or pride, but the kind of smile one has when finding something quite interesting.

At this moment, Guli Guli Nazha's heart rate accelerated. In fact, just like Dilraba, she had grown up in Xinjiang since she was a child and was used to seeing those handsome men with high noses and deep eyes, so she had quite a high immunity to handsome men.

But at this moment, she bit her lip and lowered her head, pretending to continue recording, yet her heart could never calm down.

When he heard the words "5 million US dollars" and "2-minute commercial," Chen Nuo was stunned for a moment.

He endured and endured, but in the end, he really couldn't hold it back and laughed.

It wasn't just Guli Guli Nazha; everyone in the conference room, whether it was Li Jing, Qi Yuntian, or the Huawei entourage, was left confused by his laughter, not knowing where the punchline was.

Thinking it over, there could only be one reason: he thought it was too little.

No matter how grateful Yu "Big Mouth" was to Chen Nuo, his face couldn't help but darken a little. Even if he thought it was too little, there was no need to mock him to his face without any regard, right?

He suppressed his temper and said reluctantly, "Chen Zong, if you feel the price isn't appropriate, we can discuss it slowly."

Chen Nuo waved his hand and said with a smile, "No, this is quite a lot of money. Director Yu, I'm sorry, it's just that I remembered something and found it quite funny."

Hearing him say this, Yu Yu Chengdong couldn't help but ask, "Oh? What is it? Can you share it? Does it have anything to do with us?"

Chen Nuo laughed, "I don't know either; it might be a coincidence. In any case, before I returned to the country, I heard a friend of mine mention that he recently accepted an advertisement for a mobile phone manufacturer in our country, also a product endorsement, which is currently still confidential."

"But I have a good relationship with him, and we talked about this on the phone. Hmm, very coincidentally, the product endorsement he accepted was also 5 million US dollars for a 2-minute commercial. Haha, Director Yu, that's why when I heard it just now, I felt like you were copying and pasting from each other; haha, it's quite interesting."

At this moment, Li Li Yaoming, who had come with Yu Yu Chengdong, shouted in his heart: Holy crap, that's right, it's over, it's over, it's over!

Yu Yu Chengdong looked at Li Li Yaoming, who had suddenly lowered his head, and how could he not know what was going on? His face instantly turned black.

Huawei hadn't hired an ambassador of this level before, so it was inevitable that they would refer to the practices of some industry peers.

But to copy it exactly and then be caught and exposed on the spot?

That was too embarrassing!

But Chen Nuo wasn't prepared to leave his guests in an awkward position, so he immediately chuckled to smooth things over, saying, "Actually, this is a small matter."

"However, I still have to thank you and Director Yu for your kindness, and I think we should cooperate next time. There are two reasons. First, you just did product placement in the Oscars, and if I accept your endorsement here immediately, there might be some controversy in public opinion."

"Second, although the U8800 is not bad, I am looking forward to your better products."

After the meeting ended and they left the Huanxin company.

Li Li Yaoming looked at Yu Yu Chengdong; although nothing had been negotiated, Director Yu's expression was still acceptable, so he felt a bit uneasy and took the initiative to confess, "Director Yu, it's my problem; I did indeed get it from a friend..."

Before he could finish, Yu Yu Chengdong interrupted, "Which manufacturer is it, and who did they hire?"

Li Li Yaoming immediately said, "OPPO, Leonardo DiCaprio."

Yu Yu Chengdong nodded in realization, "No wonder."

Li Li Yaoming said shamefully, "Director Yu, it's all my fault..."

Yu Yu Chengdong shook his head, "Forget it, it has nothing to do with you. It's that they look down on us. Let's go, let's go back. Next time we come, we must make them look at us with new eyes!"

The Huawei group left.

To be honest, Chen Nuo understood from this why Huawei would be so successful in the future. Why America wanted it to die so badly, yet it still wouldn't die.

Not to mention anything else, just look at their efficiency in doing things and the scale of their actions; how many companies can achieve that?

5 million US dollars, without even blinking an eye; it was clearly a gift to him.

Whether he would agree was one thing, but this approach, at the very least, made people feel comfortable.

If there were a similar situation again, he would naturally be willing to help out again.

As for why he refused.

The two reasons he mentioned were not wrong; if he signed with Huawei, it would spread, and there would inevitably be some gossip, and the U8800 phone was really too trashy; he really felt he had no face to endorse it.

And there was another key point he didn't mention.

That was that he had previously been photographed by some paparazzi using an Apple phone, so Apple had sent over some news saying that Jobs was preparing to meet him.

Because of this, even if he were short of money, he would definitely have to delay for a while.

What's more, he wasn't short of money. Although Apple's stock price had fallen a bit in the past two months due to Jobs' health problems, 5 million US dollars still didn't catch his eye.

"It's almost 3 o'clock now, so should I contact the people at the SARFT? Tell them we're coming over right away?" Qi Yuntian asked.

Chen Nuo nodded, "Okay, contact them..."

Before Chen Nuo could finish speaking, a colleague from the Public Opinion Department suddenly pushed open the door and said, "Chen Zong, Director Qi, just in, a big earthquake has occurred in Japan. Do we need to discuss how to respond?"

Qi Yuntian asked in surprise, "A big earthquake? How big exactly?"

"It's said to be a magnitude 9."

The conference room went quiet for a moment.

Qi Yuntian nodded, "Okay, we know. You go out first."

"Okay."

The colleague went out, and the conference room door closed. Li Jing immediately said, "Magnitude 9, such a huge disaster; out of humanitarianism, Chen Zong's account must respond, otherwise, it will definitely attract criticism."

Chen Nuo nodded, "You go handle it, post it now. I'll make a few calls."

In 2011, the Great Kanto Earthquake in Japan occurred as scheduled; the resulting tsunami and nuclear leak incident continued to affect the whole world even more than ten years later. The nuclear wastewater issue made the Japs' mother...

Forget it.

But at this moment, Chen Nuo, as a person from Sichuan, still felt a sense of sympathy and wanted to call his friends over there to send his regards.

However, the calls were not easy to get through; it took about an hour of effort to finish making the calls.

The Japanese islands were currently in a state of panic; after all, the fifth-largest earthquake in recorded history had suddenly occurred, who could handle that? Chen Nuo felt some sympathy for this, and also had some desire to be on the scene to see it with his own eyes.

Sigh, in short, the complex mentality of the Chinese people was reflected in him again.

Takeshi Kitano, Tomokazu Miura, Hirokazu Kore-eda, Gongze Huili Miyazawa, etc., and also the Tokyo International Film Festival Chairman Saburo Ono.

Some got through, some didn't, so he could only send a text message.

For his call, those who received it were very excited; Gongze Huili Miyazawa cried loudly on the phone, and Takeshi Kitano's voice was also choked with emotion.

Finally, when he got through to the twins Ayaka and Ayaka, they were sobbing uncontrollably on the other end. This forced Chen Nuo to promise that after he finished his business in the country and before going to the United States, he would definitely make a detour to Japan to see them.

Come to think of it, it had been a long time, and it was indeed time to offer some comfort.

After he finished his calls, he turned his head and found that the conference room was already empty; Qi Yuntian and Li Jing had probably gone out to get busy. After all, Huanxin was now a big company, and in the face of such a level of event, they had to keep a close eye on official media and respond at any time.

Only the company's very pretty front desk receptionist was still there.

Actually, he had noticed her before.

This girl was obviously also from Xinjiang; he felt a bit familiar with this exotic, pretty face, but he really couldn't remember where he had seen it before, the same feeling he had when he first saw Ni Ni.

This was all because in his previous life, he really rarely watched idol dramas and rarely paid attention to the domestic entertainment industry. Guli Guli Nazha was beautiful, but her recognizability was still not as high as the other one.

"Are you new?"

"Hmm!" Guli Guli Nazha nodded fiercely.

"What's your name?"

"Gulnazar Baihetiyaer. Chen Zong, you can just call me Guli."

"Gulnazar..." Chen Nuo recited it, and if he still couldn't react now, he would truly be a pig, "You're Guli Guli Nazha!?"

"Yes, Chen Zong."

Tsk tsk, Chen Nuo hadn't thought that one day Guli Guli Nazha would be able to be his driver. It seems Brother Linghu could really stay in Long'an for a few more days and spend more time with his wife and children.

And her skills seemed quite good; at least driving the Cayenne that Porsche gave him was steady and secure.

Sina headquarters, this was his second time coming here since signing the contract.

Dealing with Huawei the day before, and coming to Sina the next day. Always dealing with these tech companies. His own film's business hadn't progressed at all, and Chen Nuo was also resigned to it.

He didn't know, however, that when he arrived, the Sina Weibo shareholders' meeting had actually been going on for half an hour.

Without a doubt, Charles Chao did it on purpose.

In the conference room, the atmosphere was already somewhat tense.

Charles Chao sat in the main seat, his face calm.

The shareholders had been arguing about the issue of Alibaba's investment in Weibo for nearly 40 minutes, and they still hadn't reached a consensus.

"I still feel the valuation given by Alibaba is too low!" Zhang Mingyuan of Sequoia patted the table, his tone carrying obvious dissatisfaction, "Weibo's user base has now exceeded 500 million, with daily active users exceeding 70 million, and the valuation is only 2.5 billion US dollars? Alibaba is clearly suppressing the price!"

Li Li Ruolan, sitting opposite him, sneered; she was the representative of China Renaissance, and China Renaissance, this leading investment bank in China's new economy sector, was precisely the matchmaker between Weibo and Alibaba.

"Director Zhang, you are too optimistic. Weibo has many users now, but what about the profit model? Advertising revenue only accounts for 18% of Sina's total revenue, which is only 60 million US dollars a year. Alibaba is willing to give 2.5 billion; that's already very sincere. You want 4 billion? Believe it or not, they'll turn around and leave."

"I don't like hearing Director Li say that," Wang Zhiqiang of FountainVest Partners interjected, "Weibo's potential is right here! Alibaba knows better than anyone how valuable user data is to e-commerce. They are suppressing the price now, nothing more than wanting to take advantage. If we loosen our grip, how can we negotiate terms later?"

"Potential is potential, reality is reality," Li Li Ruolan retorted, "You know the speed at which Weibo is burning money. Last year's operating costs alone were 120 million US dollars, and this year it will have to double. Alibaba's investment can at least bring capital and technical support to help us fight Tencent. Don't forget, Tencent is eyeing us like a tiger!"

"Fighting Tencent is correct, but we can't sell it cheaply!" Zhang Mingyuan raised his voice, "Director Chao, say something! You're the CEO; you have to make the decision on this!"

Charles Chao sighed pretentiously, looking caught in a dilemma, "I understand everyone's meaning. Valuation is indeed a problem, but strategic cooperation is more important. Alibaba's e-commerce resources and data capabilities can help Weibo find profit points faster. However, I also agree with Director Zhang's opinion; 2.5 billion is indeed low. I communicated with Alibaba before; they can raise it to 3 billion US dollars at most, but the premise is that we have to give up more control."

"Impossible!" Zhang Mingyuan shouted, "We absolutely cannot let the wolf into the house!"

Li Li Ruolan sneered, "Director Zhang, if you are so stubborn, we will be swallowed by Tencent sooner or later! 3 billion is already not bad, and Alibaba can bring traffic and monetization capabilities. If you insist on 4 billion and miss this opportunity, what will Weibo do? Burn money until it goes bankrupt?"

Zhang Mingyuan said angrily, "Li Li Ruolan, stop alarmist talk here! Weibo was built by us with hard work; why should we let Alibaba take advantage?! I tell you, we will absolutely not agree."

The atmosphere in the conference room became increasingly tense; the two domestic investor representatives, Zhang Mingyuan and Li Li Ruolan, each had their supporters, and the two sides were deadlocked, while other foreign institutions sat firmly on the sidelines, almost never expressing opinions.

This was the norm at Sina's shareholders' meeting over the past week.

If it were before, Charles Chao would have been driven to distraction by the arguing, but now, he just looked at his watch from time to time, not looking anxious at all.

At 10:34 AM, a secretary wearing a pencil skirt suddenly pushed open the conference room door, and Charles Chao's eyes instantly lit up.

After the secretary nodded to him, Charles Chao gave a light cough and said, "Alright, everyone be quiet for a moment. Today we have an important shareholder present; he hasn't attended the previous meetings, so why don't we listen to his opinion first this time."

"Director Chao, who is it?"

"Who didn't come?"

"Hasn't it always been these people?"

"That's right, everyone is here."

"No one is missing."

"Holy crap! Is it Chen..."

Zhang Mingyuan suddenly shouted.

He only said half the sentence, yet the entire conference room immediately went quiet.

Subsequently, a greater clamor immediately boiled over.

"Chen Nuo is coming today?"

"Director Chao, why didn't you notify us in advance?"

"No way? Really? Is it really him?"

"Hasn't he never come to attend before?"

"Fuck, look at Old Chao's look; no need to ask, he must be the reinforcements he brought!"

Finally, someone's words woke the dreamer; everyone looked up and saw Charles Chao's calm and collected look, and everyone reacted instantly. Isn't that right? Chen Nuo is coming today; who would believe it has nothing to do with him?

But the problem was, Old Chao had been vague for the past two days, and he hadn't stated which side he was on.

If Chen Nuo was the reinforcements, then whose reinforcements was he?

The gazes of Zhang Mingyuan and Li Li Ruolan intertwined in the air.

Two minutes later,

The secretary from before, along with another office manager, suddenly pushed open the door.

A young man wearing a gray trench coat walked in together with two Weibo executives everyone knew, Peng Peng Shaobing and Wang Wang Gaofei.

Charles Chao took the lead in standing up and applauded, "Come, everyone welcome Chen Zong."

At this moment, the two groups of people in the conference room, regardless of which institution's investors they were, even the representatives of the two foreign institutions, Dimensional Fund Advisors and T. Rowe Price, who had never spoken, all stood up at this time, smiling and starting to applaud.

Actually, it wasn't because of his fame, nor was it because of the 5%+5% shares in his hands that made him the largest individual shareholder of Weibo.

This applause was for the person who, over the past two years, had used the Spring Festival Gala, the Oscars, and every one of his own Weibo posts to attract countless traffic, allowing them to step-by-step trample a seemingly unreachable strong enemy under their feet,

For the super-duper-duper-duper-duper-duper-duper-V who was the first to break through 10 million followers and, during this Oscar feast, because the topic volume was too large, even caused the operations department to have a flash of inspiration and create the brand-new social function of Sina Super Topic.

Guli Guli Nazha followed at the end, witnessing this scene with her own eyes.

In the spacious and modern conference room, the long conference table was filled with documents and laptops, and the projection screen on the wall still displayed pages with dense data.

When she saw it for the first time, she felt awe almost instinctively.

This is the headquarters of Sina Weibo.

Guli Guli Nazha, a small internet celebrity model who now had 36,000 followers on Weibo, felt in this instant like an employee who scolded the company and the boss every day, suddenly being invited by the boss to visit his big villa; when she saw the three floors, the garden, and the swimming pool, a feeling of trepidation suddenly rose in her heart.

However, immediately, Guli Guli Nazha saw that in such a solemn conference room, those men and women dressed in formal attire with imposing manners suddenly all stood up, and applause rang out.

Although the number of people was small and the applause wasn't loud, compared to the Kodak Theatre, it might be insignificant.

But this applause rang in Guli Guli Nazha's ears, making her heart race and her palms sweat slightly; following behind the man in front, she also unconsciously straightened her chest.

To be honest, Chen Nuo hadn't expected to enjoy such a reception.

Charles Chao only told him before coming that there was an important meeting concerning his vital interests, but he hadn't expected that it looked like they had been arguing for quite a long time!

Then what did they ask him to come for?

After sitting for a while and listening to the viewpoints of the two sides under Charles Chao's moderation, Chen Nuo suddenly realized.

Hesitate?

Sorry, not for a second.

"I think anything below 5 billion US dollars is out of the question," Chen Nuo said seriously.

Absurd?

Everyone present felt it was absurd.

Layman?

Everyone present felt he was a layman.

Realistic?

Everyone present felt it was unrealistic.

If someone else said this, everyone present would definitely burst into laughter and tell him to shut up and get out.

But the person who said this was definitely not someone else.

He was an individual shareholder of Facebook, the world's largest social networking site with a current valuation of 50 billion US dollars and the largest global user base; he was also the owner of the world's largest social account, and just a short while ago, he had stirred up a storm on every social platform in the world, creating a super-user with tens of millions of reposts.

He opened his mouth to say Sina Weibo was worth 5 billion US dollars; who would laugh?

Didn't you see those two foreign institutions looking thoughtful?

Li Li Ruolan hesitated, but still spoke, "Chen Zong, actually we also know it's undervalued, but Weibo's current profitability is still very limited; although advertising revenue is growing, it was only 50 million US dollars for the whole of last year, accounting for 12% of Sina's total revenue, and operating costs are too high; it burned 120 million US dollars last year, and it's expected to double this year. If we insist on raising the valuation now, we might scare Alibaba away."

Chen Nuo nodded with understanding, "Then how long can the money in the account last? Can it last another year of operation?"

Charles Chao said, "It hasn't reached that level yet; we just completed a round of financing at the end of last year, raising 200 million US dollars, and there is 150 million in cash flow in the account, plus advertising revenue and some brand cooperation fees, so supporting it for two or three years is no problem. However, if we want to accelerate expansion, the capital pressure will indeed be relatively large, which is why we are in such a hurry to find strategic investment."

Chen Nuo gave an "Oh," and said, "Then how about this, by the second half of the year at the latest, if we are still short of money, I can personally take out some money to invest. 200 million US dollars should be no problem; at that time, just calculate the shares for me based on a valuation of 5 billion US dollars."

He said this lightly.

But hearing it in the ears of everyone in the room, they all felt a bit unable to sit still.

Honestly, if they weren't optimistic about Weibo, the investors wouldn't be sitting here today. But who the fuck dares to value Sina Weibo at 5 billion US dollars and then take out real money to continue adding to the bet? This is 5 billion! Think about how much the parent company Sina is worth on NASDAQ right now!

Thinking it over, perhaps only a certain reborn old silver coin who lost a ton of money speculating on US stocks in his previous life, and therefore knew very well that in 2018, Sina Weibo's market value exceeded 30 billion US dollars at its peak, would dare to play like this.

After Chen Nuo finished speaking, he continued, "As for NetEase, Tencent... Director Chao, and fellow shareholders, I think we don't need to be so anxious to suppress and fight them. It's too tiring. We should follow Laozi's advice: sit by the river and wait for the enemy's corpse to float by."

PS:

Just learned the last sentence.

2000-word update for monthly tickets.

(End of chapter)