Chapter 935: Those Who Come for Money

He Zheng rubbed his hands together and gave a cheeky grin: "Dad, if I'm going to do trade, you'll have to give me another hand."

He Yuzhu was holding a teacup; he raised his eyes to glance at him and scolded with a smile: "I was wondering why you were all smiles the moment you saw me. So, you came here for money?"

"How could that be!" He Zheng plopped down onto the sofa and slapped his thigh in protest: "You don't know, my telecommunications company burns through money like it's paper. If I don't scrape together some extra income, I really can't hold on!"

He Yuzhu took a slow sip of tea and nodded: "Fine, go draw it from your Aunt Zhao Ying later. I earned a bit this time."

"How much is 'a bit'?" He Zheng's eyes lit up, and he leaned forward halfway.

"Two billion." He Yuzhu set down his teacup, his tone indifferent: "US dollars."

He Zheng gasped, his eyes nearly popping out of their sockets: "Then... just give me five hundred million US dollars will do!"

"Get out!" He Yuzhu scolded: "Five hundred million People's Currency at most. You've learned to be a greedy lion, haven't you?"

"Can you negotiate the price?" He Zheng said with a cheeky grin.

"You're doing border trade with Russia; there are huge risks. Their policies change at the drop of a hat," He Yuzhu said.

Before the words had even landed, He Yushui burst in with Ma Rui in a flurry.

As soon as He Yushui entered, she didn't even catch her breath before blurting out: "Brother, I just came from Uncle's place. His health isn't doing well!"

"Isn't it just diabetes?" He Yuzhu frowned: "Is it worth being this scary?"

Shen Guizhi chimed in from the side, her face showing lingering fear: "Your uncle has diabetes plus the A-flu this time; he was sent straight to the ICU. If I hadn't rushed over with that medicinal liquid you left behind, I'm afraid it would have been really touch-and-go."

He Yuzhu's expression darkened, but then he relaxed: "I'll go see him in a day or two. But since he's drunk that medicinal liquid, it shouldn't be a problem for him to hold on for another ten or eight years."

Upon hearing this, Shen Guizhi hurried over, eyeing him with half-belief: "Are you serious? Your father had a cold a while back and wanted a bottle too, but I didn't let him. Yushui said that stuff is extremely precious."

He Yuzhu waved his hand and smiled: "If Dad wants to drink it, let him. Our family isn't short on that one bottle."

"Your father just had a common cold; it's not worth wasting such good stuff." Shen Guizhi was stubborn, but anyone could hear the calculating tone in her words.

He Yuzhu was amused and shook his head: "Mom, you're just too good at managing the household. Our family earns so much money, what for? Isn't it just to have money to fall back on when something happens to the family?"

He Daqing had been holding back a bellyful of grievances on the side. Once he heard his son say this, he immediately perked up: "Your mother is so stingy with me! If I had really caught the A-flu, I'm afraid I would've been on my way out with those three old guys, Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui!"

He Yuzhu was doubled over with laughter and waved his hand: "Dad, then you shouldn't be doing heavy labor anymore. Just move your mouth and give directions; don't spend all day cooped up in the kitchen getting smoked and scorched."

He Daqing felt warm inside, but he muttered: "I know, you guys are just afraid I'll get tired."

He Yushui changed the subject, her face full of joy: "I'm officially announcing something today—Ma Rui is getting married in two months! I have to throw a big banquet this time, otherwise, all the gift money I've sent out over the years will be a huge loss!"

Ma Rui quickly followed up, smiling at He Yuzhu: "Uncle, you have to clear your schedule."

He Yuzhu nodded, but then changed the subject, squinting at Ma Rui: "After you get married, hurry up and have a child."

The smile on Ma Rui's face stiffened, and he stammered: "Uncle, I... I'm so busy right now I don't know which way is up, where would I find the time to have a child?"

He Yuzhu glanced at him sideways, his tone indifferent but carrying an unquestionable force: "Is Yang Jing unwilling to have one?"

"No! It's really not that!" Ma Rui waved his hands in a panic, his face turning red.

"Then what are you afraid of? It's not like I'm asking you to give birth!" He Yuzhu's one sentence left Ma Rui speechless.

Ma Rui's face was burning, and just as he didn't know how to respond, He Yushui twisted the knife: "I'll be retired in a few years, just in time to help you look after the child. When I get any older, I won't have the energy to help."

Ma Rui quickly changed the subject, straightened his expression, and asked seriously: "Uncle, I recently ran into a group of people who are pestering me to build a film studio. Do you think it's worth it?"

He Yuzhu didn't answer but asked instead: "What do you think yourself?"

Ma Rui pondered for a moment and said slowly: "I reckon that film studios aren't that easy to run. The investment is huge, and the later management is even more exhausting... and I always feel that in the future, film shooting will be concentrated in one or two places, not blooming everywhere."

A flash of approval crossed He Yuzhu's eyes, and he nodded slightly: "Your thinking is not bad. For future film studios, Si Jiu Cheng must have one, Pudong must have one, and Hengdian will take one. Most other places will likely be just a flash in the pan."

Ma Rui's eyes lit up suddenly: "Then I have an idea now!"

He Yuzhu picked up his teacup again and asked casually: "How far along is your company's listing process?"

Ma Rui sighed, looking distressed: "The performance is unstable right now, and I don't want to fake the numbers, and the approval process is especially strict... If I really want to list, I can only try with the equipment rental and studio side of things."

He Yuzhu placed the teacup on the table and said decisively: "If you can't list, then you can't. If you're short on money, tell me."

Ma Rui gave a cheeky grin, leaned in half a step, and lowered his voice: "Then... can you lend me two hundred million first?"

When He Yushui heard this, her eyes immediately widened: "Brother, don't lend it to him! He wants to sign a large batch of artists, pay them salaries, and set up a cinema chain! He even said big Hollywood companies do it this way, and no one in the country has ever done it like this!"

He Yuzhu became interested and took a look at Ma Rui: "Did you come up with this yourself?"

Ma Rui straightened his back, his eyes filled with the spirit of a young man: "When I was at the Film Academy, I often went to audit classes in the management department. Professor Zhou lectured on 'Hollywood's Business Strategy,' and after listening, I wondered if I could bring that Hollywood model back to the country."

After listening, He Yuzhu was silent for a few seconds, then slowly nodded: "I don't know much about this industry, but it sounds like the right path. Since you want to do it, go ahead and do it."

He Yushui was still unwilling, frowning: "Brother, do you really think an artist management company can succeed?"

He Yuzhu held his tea, his tone flat yet as certain as if he were speaking of something that had already happened: "In seven or eight years, artists' fees will be calculated in the hundreds of millions."

Ma Rui gasped in shock: "Then filming a TV series will cost hundreds of millions?"

He Yuzhu smiled and didn't deny it. He had seen those astronomical paychecks with his own eyes in his previous life.

"A forty-episode drama, starting at three hundred million," he said nonchalantly.

The teacup in Shen Guizhi's hand almost slipped; she widened her eyes: "Then by that time, money won't even be called money anymore, right?"

He Yuzhu nodded and counted on his fingers: "According to my calculations, by that time, this large Siheyuan we live in will be worth at least three hundred million."

"What?" He Daqing's hand shook, and tea splashed over half the table: "Then... then how much does an average person earn a month?"

"Depends on the person. Company executives earning millions or tens of millions a year is normal. Average people, six or seven thousand," He Yuzhu said plainly.

Shen Guizhi's eyes rolled, and she immediately had an idea: "Then buying Siheyuan, wouldn't that be a huge profit?"

He Yuzhu smiled and shook his head: "It's not that you can't buy, but you have to know when to stop. If you dump billions into it now, the price will immediately double; our family doesn't do that kind of thing. But Ma Rui, if you choose a good location for your cinema, it's best to buy the theater directly; it's better than renting."

Ma Rui nodded heavily, carving every word his uncle said today into his mind.

Two days later. Huarui Film Industry Company conference room.

Ma Rui sat at the head of the long table, with several pages of densely written notes spread out in front of him.

That was the "true scripture" he had brought back from He Yuzhu, every word and every sentence, all organized by him overnight.

He looked around the room, cleared his throat, and when he spoke, his voice carried an irrepressible excitement:

"Fellow shareholders, fellow colleagues—"

"Today, I want to announce news that can truly rewrite the company's destiny—the capital bottleneck that has plagued us for so long has been completely resolved. My eldest uncle injected two hundred million in the first phase. He originally intended to lend it to the company interest-free, but I insisted on giving him twenty percent of the equity. Because this is not just a loan, but his trust in our company. And this money, I will lend to the company in my personal name, and within five years, I will not collect a single cent of interest."

"Everyone, do you know what this means—"

"Our company's valuation has truly and tangibly reached one billion."

As soon as the voice fell, the conference room was like a heavy bomb had been thrown into it, and it instantly exploded into an uproar.