Chapter 436: Sending Charcoal in Snowy Weather, Building Friendship

Chen Nuo walked down the gangway.

Tang Nade came up to meet him, opened his arms, and gave him an extremely enthusiastic hug. "Welcome back." After saying this, he handed the fresh flowers in his hand to him.

Chen Nuo took them, looked at the bouquet of garishly colored, extravagantly wrapped tropical flowers, and asked with a smile, "Tang Nade, why are you here?"

"Haha, this is a surprise." Old Tang was truly squinting with laughter. "Ivanka, come here. Didn't you say you missed Chen very much?"

Ivanka, carrying a slightly helpless smile, walked forward under Old Tang's affectionate gaze and gave Chen Nuo a light hug.

Chen Nuo whispered in her ear, "Why?"

Ivanka was clearly prepared, answering almost the next instant: "The bank."

Oh, Chen Nuo understood.

So the debt collectors had come knocking, waiting for him to save their lives.

After separating from Ivanka, Chen Nuo turned to look at the smiling Qi Yuntian. This was not the time for conversation, so the two simply hugged briefly; a thousand words were left unsaid.

Afterward, at Tang Nade's warm invitation, Chen Nuo sat in the stretched Lincoln that the other party had brought specifically for him.

As soon as the car door was pulled open, the rich aroma of champagne mixed with the mellow scent of leather seats rushed toward him.

Once seated inside, Chen Nuo discovered it was a world of its own—this Lincoln was not a standard stretched version, but a meticulously customized private space.

Two rows of leather seats faced each other, with an exquisite bar counter inlaid with obsidian trim in the middle. The counter displayed vintage champagne, brandy, and three types of whiskey from different regions. In a gold-plated ice bucket to the side, several bottles of French Evian were chilling.

Even more eye-catching were the two beauties inside the car.

One was blonde with blue eyes, the other had hair like a black waterfall; both were wearing sexy, ultra-short skirts. Four long, beautiful legs wrapped in sheer stockings were crossed, and beneath their low-cut necklines, fair skin trembled slightly with every breath, their faces wearing professional, sweet smiles.

This feeling—if one said this was specifically for receiving royal guests, Chen Nuo would believe it one hundred percent.

No wonder the old man had chased Ivanka off to another car.

He really wasn't treating him as an outsider.

After the car started, the two beauties sat on either side of him.

The black-haired "Rebecca" on the left was opening a bottle of Evian for him, pouring it into a stemmed glass, and handing it to him with a smile.

Chen Nuo took the glass, whispered his thanks, and then continued to listen to Tang Nade's non-stop speech.

"...My Mar-a-Lago, it is now the top club in all of America, bar none." Old Tang's hands were like a pair of wings, opening and closing, his voice very high-spirited, full of energy.

"When I acquired it back then, no one was optimistic. Not a single person, but I knew it was a treasure, a diamond buried in the sand. Now, it is a diamond."

"Did you watch the news last week? We held a charity gala. Do you know how many people were lining up to attend? Over three hundred! All of them American billionaires with annual incomes of over a billion."

"Congressmen, billionaires, princes, rock stars—everyone wanted to come."

"Our club now has over a hundred super-rich members. They spend a lot of money here every year, a lot, a lot of money—one million, ten million... I don't want to say it like this, but these people aren't smart. They like to spend money at my place, making me richer and richer."

Speaking to this point, he paused slightly, then sighed: "95 million, I really shouldn't have told you this price. If others knew, they would go crazy. Really, this price is too crazy. But I like you, Chen. You are a winner, a born winner. Winners should be with winners."

At this moment, the blonde beauty "Barbara" on his right reached out to refill Old Tang's champagne.

Old Tang raised his glass accordingly.

Chen Nuo raised his glass, clinked it lightly against his, and then tilted his head back and drank it in one gulp.

By this time, he understood what Old Tang had arranged this spectacle for—it was nothing more than wanting him, Chen Nuo, to understand that 95 million dollars was definitely an undervalued price, so he should feel free to lend it; there was no way he, Tang Nade, would default.

But looking at the old golden-haired man's candid expression, Chen Nuo could guarantee: if not for that later event, if this person really had to pay back the money, it would be a miracle. Or rather, if he could actually afford to pay it back, that would be the real rarity.

But for now, Chen Nuo only wanted to say one thing: Don't worry, Brother Tang, I have confidence in you. If you really need a mouthpiece, I can certainly blow your horn for you.

But this situation suited his intentions perfectly.

48 million dollars was not a small sum; although he could take it out, he was not a philanthropist. Even if he were, he wasn't an American philanthropist. Even if he were an American philanthropist, he couldn't be philanthropic enough to reach Tang Nade.

If he was willing to lend such a large sum of money, then he had to pursue the maximization of benefits.

And what was the maximized benefit?

On this matter, Chen Nuo thought long and hard, and finally arrived at an answer:

Friendship.

Don't look at these two words as if they sound so common that even the old man at the entrance of the vegetable market would know them.

But in reality, to reach this conclusion, Chen Nuo could be said to have racked his brains. This past month, apart from roadshows, he had spent almost all his energy on this matter.

Without boasting, he could say this had definitely reached the realm of "seeing mountains as mountains again."

Anyone who understands America and Western culture slightly should understand one thing: business is business.

In official matters, Americans talk about return mechanisms, not friendship. For example, if you donate a sum of money to a candidate, and after they are elected, they open a door of convenience for you within their authority—no problem, it's reasonable and fair.

But if you expect a senator, a governor, or even a... to help you based on some "friendship" outside of political promises? That is wishful thinking.

Yet, Old Tang... he felt that talking about friendship outside of human favors with this person was not entirely impossible.

This judgment was not Chen Nuo's wild fantasy, but an impression pieced together bit by bit based on interviews and news reports he had seen in his later life, what he had heard and seen, plus his personal contact in this life.

It was absolutely unique in the world.

Because in the whole world, only he would seriously study a "real estate businessman" and "reality TV star," and only he would know that beneath Old Tang's shell of greed, lust, and loose talk, there was a mob boss who valued "loyalty" extremely highly.

This point was expressed vividly when he later held power—appointing cronies, promoting family members; those who remained loyal to him even when he was in crisis often received heavy rewards.

This was a kind of gang logic.

In this way, he was easier to be swayed by "friendship" than traditional American elites.

Of course, it is not easy to build a true friendship with such a top-tier old fox. But the current situation of "sending charcoal in snowy weather" was indeed a god-given opportunity.

It was absolutely worth the bet.

After finishing the water in his glass, Chen Nuo composed his expression and said earnestly: "Tang, I understand what you mean, but you might not understand what I mean... How much Mar-a-Lago is actually worth has little to do with me. Do you know why? Tang Nade."

The old man was a bit puzzled: "Why?"

"Because it is your heart's blood, your beloved." Chen Nuo looked at him calmly. "No matter what, I will never take it from your hands. Just as the Trump Tower will always be surnamed Trump, Mar-a-Lago will also only ever have one owner, and that is you. Only you are worthy of owning it."

These words... they were worthy of being the classic quote from the best-selling book "Three Hundred Best Lines for Picking Up Girls" ranked number one in Xinhua Bookstore in the future. With just a slight modification—changing 'bag' to 'manor'—it achieved a very good effect.

Tang Nade was moved on the spot. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but Chen Nuo, who had entered performance mode, had his mind filled with countless golden sentences he had read in books. With a mighty and imposing wave of his hand, he stopped the old man from speaking and continued in a deep voice:

"Actually, I am helping you not because of these material things, but simply because of one thing. That is, I love... the friendship between us. In fact, I have always regarded you as my best friend in America."

About an hour later, the motorcade stopped in front of Chen Nuo's Palm Beach villa.

He got out of the car, first said goodbye to Ivanka, who had gotten out of the car behind, with a cheek-kiss, then turned back to shake hands with Old Tang. The two agreed to meet at Mar-a-Lago at nine tomorrow morning to sign the loan agreement. After saying this, Chen Nuo waved goodbye to Old Tang and the others before returning to his own home.

As soon as he entered the door, Qi Yuntian asked with a face full of curiosity: "What did you talk to him about? Why did that old man look so strange?"

Chen Nuo really didn't want to recall the things he had just said. Although the effect was significant, making Tang Nade's face show a strange expression and changing the way he looked at him, for him, it was simply a form of mental torture.

He deliberately changed the subject and said: "Nothing much. It's you who have been working hard lately."

Seeing that he didn't want to say more, Qi Yuntian stopped asking. He sat on the sofa and smiled: "How have I been working hard? It was nothing more than sitting and arguing with the people at Warner, and I wasn't even the only one who went. You are the one who has really lost weight. When you go back to the country and your parents see you like this, I'm afraid they'll throw a fit again. That movie... do you really still want to film it? Why don't you reconsider?"

At this time, Guli Nazha and Ling Hu walked in carrying several large suitcases.

Seeing this, Chen Nuo said: "Let's pack the things tomorrow. It's getting late, everyone is tired, let's rest early."

"Okay, Chen Zong." Guli Nazha replied.

She glanced at Qi Yuntian on the sofa, just in time to meet his gaze. The two people's eyes met in the air for a moment.

Guli Nazha's heart skipped a beat; she hurriedly lowered her head, turned, and walked away, her mind already beginning to edit a dog-blood mini-drama of "a beauty causing trouble and brothers turning against each other."

Qi Yuntian watched her back disappear around the corner of the stairs and said with a half-smile: "Is she good to use? Can she be promoted to a permanent position?"

Chen Nuo nodded: "Indeed smart, and she understands the rules; she can be cultivated. It's the end of the year, tell Li Jing to give her a bigger year-end bonus."

"How much?"

"According to Tang Qing's standard."

"In US dollars or RMB?"

"What do you think?"

"US dollars, I guess, we aren't short of it now anyway."

"Hahahaha."

The laughter that Chen Nuo had been holding back since he first saw Qi Yuntian finally burst out.

Having traveled around the world for nearly a month, compared to a month ago, the biggest change in him was not his weight, but the US dollars he could control.

Why was he able to casually take out 48 million dollars to lend to Tang Nade?

That was because—

The first global revenue-sharing meeting for "Inception" had just concluded. Warner finally accepted a 10% distribution fee, which could be considered giving face to the future "Batman 3."

Thus, all participating parties received their first round of earnings.

As the largest shareholder of the film, holding 45% of the shares, and also the one who invested the most, the Huanxin Company had already recouped its initial investment of 110 million dollars.

And the lion's share of the profit distribution also naturally went into Huanxin's account.

The balance of Huanxin Company's overseas account had already exceeded 300 million dollars.

And this was only the first round. As of today, the global box office of "Inception" had exceeded 2.4 billion dollars. In the next two weeks, the revenue shares from the Japanese market and the second-run North American theaters would also arrive one after another.

Conservatively estimated, in two weeks, there would be 550 million dollars lying in Huanxin Company's account.

Even after deducting employee expenses, legal fees, and various bonuses, at least 500 million would remain.

More importantly—this was not over yet.

At this revenue-sharing meeting, Huanxin Company, this "new recruit in the global film circle," finally witnessed with its own eyes what the money-making ability of a "Hollywood blockbuster" was.

Compared to the one-off deal style of income from domestic films, the "follow-up income" here was simply like a printing press.

Among them was the streaming licensing income from North America and globally. Warner was currently negotiating exclusive broadcasting rights with platforms like Netflix, HBO, and Disney+, which was expected to be a big contract bringing in about 80 million to 100 million dollars over the next 5 years.

North American and overseas television broadcasting rights were expected to be 30 million to 50 million dollars.

And after that, there were Blu-ray and DVD sales. Although times were different now, for a blockbuster film like "Inception," many veteran movie fans were still willing to buy a disc to collect, so there was still a market. The total estimated income was 20 million to 30 million dollars.

Finally, there are the licensing revenues from airlines, cruise ships, and hotels; while this long-tail income is not flashy, it is extremely stable and is estimated to contribute around 10 million USD.

In short, over the next five to seven years, the shareholders can expect a total of 140 million to 190 million USD in revenue to arrive.

Of this, the portion belonging to Huanxin Company is approximately 63 million to 85 million USD.

In other words, from today on, even if Huanxin does nothing—even if it shuts its doors—it can still sit back and collect 90 million to 120 million RMB in profit every year.

For those domestic film and television companies that struggle to produce one film a year and have to rely on pulling strings just to fight for screen time, this is simply a fantasy.

Ultimately, the *Inception* project will bring Huanxin Company a total revenue of up to 600 million USD.

Of this, Chen Nuo can personally claim over 400 million USD. Even excluding the long-term portion, he still has 400 million.

What kind of concept is this?

Last year, *Forbes* reported that Cameron made 350 million USD from *Avatar*, which was sensational at the time and drew global attention.

Yet he has over 100 million more than that!

I really wonder how *Forbes* will write about him next year?

Because it certainly can't be hidden, I suppose we'll just have to deal with it when the time comes.

After being happy for a while, Chen Nuo said with emotion: "We can finally pay out dividends this year."

Qi Yuntian asked: "How much do you want to take out for dividends?"

Chen Nuo thought for a moment and said: "Don't pay back the Bank of China loan yet. For this year's year-end settlement, we have about 600 million USD available. Keep 100 million for the Hong Kong series project, 50 million for the Japan side, and reserve some funds for next year's domestic projects; as for the rest... let's distribute it all."

Qi Yuntian was stunned: "Over 400 million USD? You said distribute it all?"

Chen Nuo nodded: "Distribute it. We haven't paid dividends in years, and it hasn't been easy for anyone. Let everyone take the money this year and have a good New Year."

Qi Yuntian was silent for a long while, his lips moving several times, before finally blurting out: "Holy shit."

Chen Nuo knew why Qi Yuntian had this reaction.

Over 400 million USD, which is nearly 3 billion RMB, all being distributed. According to the proportions, he would get about 2.5 billion, Qi Yuntian about 300 million, Fan Bingbing 100 million, and Liu Yifei 36 million.

This is definitely the rhythm of eating meat in big chunks, drinking wine from big bowls, and when one person attains the Dao, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven.

The 50 million and 20 million that those two women lent initially have now doubled in two years; the return on investment is quite decent.

At this point, surely no one would call him a kept man anymore, right?

"Remember to keep it confidential," Chen Nuo instructed.

Qi Yuntian came back to his senses and nodded earnestly: "I understand. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone, Chen Zong. This act of showing off must be left for you to perform yourself!"

Early the next morning, Chen Nuo signed the loan agreement under the witness of both legal teams.

After the contracts were exchanged, Old Tang stopped talking about how valuable Mar-a-Lago was in front of his children and instead spoke at length about so-called "friendship." Chen Nuo only smiled in response to these remarks.

Looking at the expressions of Don Jr. and Eric, and the attitude of Melania pouring him coffee herself, Chen Nuo knew in his heart—the "heart-to-heart" talk he had in the car had indeed played a role.

Afterward, Ivanka took the initiative to offer to show him around Mar-a-Lago, and Chen Nuo gladly accepted.

I have to say, perhaps it was a change in mindset. Before, he was a guest; now, he could be considered half an owner. Throughout the tour, the more he looked, the more comfortable and fond of it he became.

"Chen, thank you. I really don't know how to express my gratitude..."

When the two walked to the end of a secluded arched corridor, Chen Nuo was intently admiring an old painting on the wall. It was said to be a former collection of the estate's previous owner—once the richest woman in America; although not famous, it had nearly a hundred years of history. Now, this painting... was temporarily half his.

He was enjoying it when Ivanka suddenly stopped, turned her head, and said in a solemn tone: "This time you really helped Donald, you helped our entire family a great deal. If it weren't for you, we... just like my father said, from today on, you are a true friend of our family."

Chen Nuo looked around, and seeing no one was nearby, he reached out and wrapped his arms around her waist...

After a long while, their lips parted, and he whispered in her ear: "Do you know? Actually, this has nothing to do with your father. I just didn't want you to be sad. You know, I have always considered you my best friend in America."

Ivanka's body went limp from the teasing of this scumbag; she pressed her whole body against him, her lipstick smeared, and her collar slightly disheveled. Her eyes seemed to be misting over, as if a flame were burning within: "I know, actually you are also my best..."

"Shh, don't say it. Take me to that place from last time."

"Uh... should we go to the room?"

"No, I like the fresh air. How about you?"

"......I like it too."

The subsequent events naturally followed their course.

Ivanka's actions were even bolder than last time. Behind the row of bushes where they had peeked at the absurd behavior of Bieber and his father years ago, they "revisited the old site," and everything was even more wanton and uninhibited than in memory.

Chen Nuo felt a slight pang of conscience for a moment. In the end, for the sake of maximizing benefits, even if little Barron asked, he would still say the little boy was his best friend.

But when she pressed against him, moving in rhythm, and rubbed against him with drowning gasps, that bit of hypocritical guilt quickly vanished into thin air.

Donald took the money Chen Nuo had wired and flew to New York to handle banking affairs, while the others remained at Mar-a-Lago. Chen Nuo took the opportunity to give himself a vacation, thoroughly experiencing the life of a top-tier club VIP.

Going out to sea with Eric, taking walks with Melania, playing golf with Don Jr.... the days were leisurely and fulfilling. He deeply realized that Donald wasn't bragging; besides the top-tier hardware, the software at Mar-a-Lago was equally on point. The 95 million USD valuation was indeed an underestimate.

If it weren't for the fact that Old Tang brought back a guy surnamed "Ai" upon his return, Chen Nuo might have stayed a few more days. But the other party acted like they were brothers and insisted on introducing them, wanting to be his good brother, so Chen Nuo could only find an excuse to return home to escape.

As it turned out, Brother Ai insisted on lending him his private jet to send him back to China.

This... he really couldn't find any reason to decline, so after strictly forbidding anyone from taking photos on the plane, he boarded that later very famous aircraft.

I have to say, the plane was truly a great plane; no wonder Clinton, Andrew, and those people liked to ride in it, and he liked it too. Especially the flight attendants, who were very professional, immediately reminding him of "Rebecca" and "Barbara" in that Lincoln car.

Chen Nuo would bet that these people were absolutely trained in the same system and the same place. As for where... his ability to imagine was limited, and he could only associate it with a certain island.

He was suddenly tempted; when his private jet was delivered, should he also hire such a professional flight service team?

Actually, thinking about it carefully, it might not be out of the question. He would be saving people from a sea of misery.

On November 2, 2011, Chen Nuo quietly returned to his long-missed motherland.

He arranged this return to be extremely low-key; not only was there no word to the outside world, and the paparazzi at the airport were completely unaware, but even the company employees had no clue. Except for Li Jing, he hadn't even told Liu Yifei.

As a result, the moment he landed in Shanghai, he heard a shocking piece of inside information from Li Jing's phone call:

——Han Sanping, the chairman of China Film Group who had dominated the industry for countless years, was about to step into the background.

"When did this happen?"

"Just these past two days. I heard it, and it's not 100% accurate, but the news coming out seems to be that he originally had a few more years, but due to poor health recently, he is preparing to retire early."

"......"

As for the "medical retirement" claim, anyone who believes that is a fool.

But why exactly? Was it because of the influence of *Inception*? Or was there some other hidden story?

Although their relationship had faded a bit compared to the beginning, "even if the deal doesn't go through, the friendship remains." Chairman Han had previously arranged work for Zhang Xinyu for him and even said he would treat him to a meal when he returned to China.

The meal hadn't been eaten yet, but the person was about to be gone?

Does that make sense?

Chen Nuo was full of questions, and after thinking it over, he immediately dialed Han Sanping's number.

On the phone, Chairman Han was initially very happy to receive his call, but as soon as he heard the question, he became listless, saying only that it wasn't convenient to talk on the phone, but the original invitation still stood, and he told him to find him for a gathering no matter what after returning to the capital.

After hanging up, Fan Bingbing's voice came from behind him, asking curiously: "Didn't Han Sanping have a falling out with you? Why are you so concerned about him?"

Chen Nuo said: "You don't understand."

He wasn't really that concerned about Han Sanping. He was actually concerned about his world line, the waves stirred up by the butterfly's wings.

Although many things in this world had changed so far, the fact that such major events were happening right around him, and felt beyond his control, still gave him an instinctive sense of crisis.

Should he really go meet Han San, chat, and see what exactly is going on?

Chen Nuo was hesitating,

Fan Bingbing walked up and said: "If you don't tell me, how would I understand? Can't you teach me about things I don't understand?"

Chen Nuo glanced at her, waved his hand, and said indifferently: "I hear the child crying, go soothe the child first."

(End of chapter)