Chapter 936: Urging for Children

The meeting room was quiet for a moment, then, like boiling water, the entire place erupted.

Everyone's eyes lit up; the radiance was impossible to suppress, as if they had been lit by lamps.

Some subconsciously clenched their fists, their knuckles cracking; others lowered their heads, their eyeballs darting rapidly as they calculated with a clatter in their minds exactly how much the shares in their hands might be worth.

But regardless of the reaction, the corners of their mouths all curled upward involuntarily, impossible to hold down even if they wanted to.

Yu Zhiwei was the first who couldn't hold back, his voice tight: "Ma Rui... your uncle—Chairman He really thinks that highly of us? Two hundred million, just like that, to buy our shares?"

"Why would I lie to you?" Ma Rui lifted his chin, high-spirited, his whole being exuding the smugness of a scholar who had achieved success. "The money will arrive soon! My uncle even personally declared—from now on, if the company lacks funds, he will lend it to us at an interest rate lower than the bank's, giving us as much as we need, acting as our strongest backing! Even my cousin has limits when asking him for money, but for us, there are none..."

Liu Wei chuckled after hearing this, adding half-jokingly: "Well, that's great; our company is about to have another batch of multi-millionaires."

Ma Rui laughed too, a bold, reckless laugh: "That's right. But starting today, the goal needs to change—for the next two years, put the overall company IPO on hold. The most urgent task right now is to make the cake bigger for me. Concentrate our strength on three things: First, increase the television production volume for me, from three to five shows a year to a minimum of ten. Second, increase investment in artist management; as long as stars and big names are willing to sign with us, the terms will be better than our peers, and we will provide more opportunities. Third, the cinema chain is the main event; I will monitor this personally, striving to open fifty cinemas within three years."

As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Jiadong frowned. He waited until Ma Rui had poured out everything before speaking slowly: "Ma Rui, our artist management company is already losing money; if we sign even more actors, isn't that just throwing money away?"

Ma Rui curled his lips, his eyes flashing with the ambition of a careerist: "We have money in our hands now; in this climate, are we afraid of not finding good projects? Once we grab good projects, can the artists stay idle?"

Chen Jiadong pondered this after hearing it, then nodded, accepting the explanation.

Zhao Weiguo, however, couldn't sit still. He stood up abruptly, his voice urgent: "Ma Rui, you previously said you would let me list the studio, machine room, and equipment leasing business separately; does that still count?"

Ma Rui waved his hand: "I said the overall listing is postponed, not that it isn't happening. If you still want to go the listing route, I have no objections; follow the procedures as they should be followed."

Zhao Weiguo hurriedly explained: "It's not for any other reason; it's mainly because when I buy equipment, I have to buy the best. Only with good equipment will film crews fight to rent it, and only then can our revenue go up. But buying equipment is a money-eating tiger; you can't play the game without a large amount of capital."

Chief Accountant Liu Yuan took over the conversation, her tone crisp and decisive: "Zhao Weiguo, you can take the equipment you bought and mortgage it to the bank, then use the money from the mortgage to buy new equipment; you can't just stare at the parent company's working capital."

"But the interest is terrifyingly high!" Zhao Weiguo said anxiously.

"Running a company is different from daily life; which company doesn't have debt?" Liu Yuan replied unhurriedly.

Ma Rui nodded: "Zhao Weiguo, listen to the Chief Accountant. As for your listing, continue to push it forward."

Zhao Hu spoke up at this moment, his voice loud: "I've inquired around, and quite a few companies are holding their breath, waiting to go public. If they go public first and a large amount of capital comes in, they will compete with us for projects, cinemas, and artist management. I think our pace toward listing shouldn't stop."

"What you say makes sense." Ma Rui paused. "However, my uncle said that in a few years, there will be adjustments to the policies for private film companies going public. It won't be too late to list then."

Liu Yuan asked: "Then should we clarify this to the company? That our parent company is temporarily not listing?"

Ma Rui nodded, his tone firm: "My uncle's meaning is that once we make the cake bigger, those securities companies will come knocking on our door themselves."

The meeting room was silent for two seconds, then thunderous applause broke out, clattering and banging, almost lifting the roof off.

The meeting adjourned, and the shareholders walked toward their offices in twos and threes, beaming with joy.

Liu Wei didn't move; she followed Ma Rui back to the Chairman's office.

Ma Rui poured her a cup of tea and asked casually: "What is it? Do you have objections to what I said at the meeting?"

Liu Wei didn't answer; she walked straight to his side, wrapped her arms around his shoulders, and whispered in his ear: "Ma Rui, you are going to be a father."

Ma Rui shuddered as if electrocuted, then suppressed his emotions, turned his head to look at her, his voice deepening: "My mother wants me to marry Yang Jing in two months; what do you want me to do?"

Liu Wei's expression was very calm, as if she had already thought it through: "Don't worry, I won't disrupt your wedding. I just wanted to make you happy. I already told people at the company that I have a boyfriend, and in a few days, I'll say we broke up; it won't get in your way."

Ma Rui stood up abruptly, pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly, his voice muffled: "I have let you down. Whatever you want, I will try my best to satisfy you."

Liu Wei smiled faintly: "I only want you to be fair in the future and treat my child and Yang Jing's child equally. As for the status, I don't value it that much."

Ma Rui raised his hand and slapped himself across the face, a crisp sound: "This matter must absolutely not be known by my mother; if she finds out, she will surely kick me out of the house."

Liu Wei giggled: "I didn't expect that even at your age, you'd still be like a mouse seeing a cat when you see your mother."

Ma Rui sighed, looking helpless: "There's no way around it; she has been incredibly strict with me since I was a child. How would I dare to provoke her?"

Luogu Lane Nursing Home.

He Yuzhu pushed a check toward Wang Xia, his tone casual: "I made some pocket money shorting several major financial groups in M Country this time; consider this my gesture."

Wang Xia looked down at the number, and the corners of her mouth curled up on the spot: "Oh, this time I can open another branch in Haidian District."

He Yuzhu sipped his tea and changed the subject: "I heard that when Liu Haizhong and Yan Bugui died, their children wouldn't even pay the hospital bills? You ended up covering it yourself?"

When Wang Xia heard this, her anger flared up, and she started cursing: "Those children from both families are all bastards! It's one thing to ignore their fathers in the hospital, but they even came up with all sorts of crooked excuses not to pay... I was truly at my wit's end; I couldn't just leave the bodies in the cold storage, could I?"

He Yuzhu asked again: "You are the living Bodhisattva, but didn't Yan Jiefang turn over a new leaf and act quite reasonably? How come he learned from his brothers this time?"

Wang Xia gave a bitter smile: "If there's anyone normal in those two families, it's Yan Jiefang. But this can't be blamed on him; it was all Yan Bugui's own doing. Usually, Yan Jiefang would give money, but Yan Bugui would take it and immediately give it to Yan Jiecheng. It worked once or twice, but after a long time, Yan Jiefang wasn't willing to pay out anymore. Besides, he and Xiaomei are both retired, with a bunch of children and grandchildren, and they are tight on money too; there was really nothing he could do."

He Yuzhu smiled and diverted the topic: "How is your stock trading going?"

Wang Xia's expression relaxed a bit: "I recently gave all the accounts to Fang Deng. That girl is doing quite well; it's enough to cover the expenses of my three nursing homes, but it would be a struggle to add another one."

He Yuzhu put down his teacup and straightened his expression: "I came here today for another matter—you need to talk to Fang Deng for me. That girl is too career-oriented; you need to tell her to get her health in order. The matter of having children needs to be put on the agenda."

Upon hearing this, Wang Xia sighed long and hard, her face full of difficulty: "That child is as stubborn as a mule. I suspect she feels that marrying into your family was punching above her weight, and she feels insecure unless she makes a name for herself in her career. I've worn my tongue thin, but she just lets it go in one ear and out the other. He Xiao is also a spineless one; whatever Fang Deng says, he agrees, not daring to let out a peep."

He Yuzhu pondered for a moment after hearing this: "When you see Fang Deng, tell her my exact words—in this life, a person who can take care of both career and family is truly successful. At least in my family, we hold to this principle."

Wang Xia nodded heavily: "Don't worry, I will convey your words without missing a single character. She might not listen to others, but she will definitely take your words to heart."