Chapter 989: Uncle's Two Bowls of Water

Lao Xiao leaned forward, his voice pressed down until it sounded like a mosquito's hum: "Not to lie to you, President He has really been spending a fortune lately. He's grabbed handfuls of top-tier talent, all poached from across the globe. There are even quite a few who were transferred directly from President Liu Siman's side."

After listening, Ma Rui pulled a wry smile at the corner of his mouth and let out a long sigh: "Sigh... in the end, blood is thicker than water. My uncle has never once mentioned transferring a single person to me from Auntie Liu's side."

Lao Xiao chuckled and waved his hand: "Don't be ungrateful. To develop that communication software, President He liquidated all his assets in Hong Kong and overseas, and even sold off the warehouses in Russia. But as for President He giving you money, isn't it just a matter of how much you want..."

Ma Rui waved his hand, interrupting him: "I was just complaining for the sake of it; I'm not actually holding a grudge against my uncle. He's already been good enough to me as it is."

Lao Xiao nodded and added in a lowered voice: "If you ask me, there's a reason why he didn't spell it out for you."

"What reason?" Ma Rui looked up at him.

Lao Xiao lowered his voice even further: "Think about it, you're just a shareholder, you only hold forty percent of the shares. Would your uncle risk his own capital to support an enterprise where he doesn't even have the final say?"

Ma Rui was silent for a good while, then slowly nodded: "That makes sense."

Just as they were talking, footsteps suddenly came from outside the door, and then the door creaked open—Liu Wei walked in.

Ma Rui hurriedly gave Lao Xiao a wink and urged him in a low voice: "You get back quickly; my cousin isn't very broad-minded, don't be too conspicuous."

Lao Xiao understood, picked up his briefcase, and walked out. He nodded as he passed Liu Wei and slipped out the door as if his feet were greased.

Ma Rui sat back down in his chair, smiled at Liu Wei, and said straight to the point: "Do you know? That best friend of yours has sold you out."

Liu Wei's eyes widened, her face full of astonishment: "Who is my best friend?"

"Isn't Liu Ying your best friend?" Ma Rui countered.

Liu Wei's face darkened: "That person almost got me killed once! I can't afford a best friend like that. But I do need someone to run errands and do chores, so I've just been barely keeping up with her."

Upon hearing this, Ma Rui's expression changed, and he hurriedly leaned in to ask: "What exactly happened? Why have you never mentioned this to me?"

Liu Wei patted her chest, still feeling lingering fear: "One time she came home with me to help me heat up some milk, and she ended up not turning off the gas. If I hadn't installed a gas alarm, I would have been suffocated to death for sure."

Ma Rui was startled, reached out to pull her into a hug, his tone urgent and pained: "Such a big deal, why have you been hiding it from me?"

Liu Wei sighed: "I thought maybe she didn't do it on purpose; what if I wronged her?"

Ma Rui pondered for a moment and nodded: "That also makes sense. But what I wanted to tell you today is that Liu Ying actually leaked our business to Yang Jing. What do you think her intentions are?"

Liu Wei wasn't very surprised; she shook her head and said: "This person can't stay anymore. Last time I went to a restaurant to eat, I saw her getting cozy with that younger brother from Brothers Media. I knew then that she had already turned her heart elsewhere."

Ma Rui frowned: "The few popular actors under you who want to run off to Brothers Media—was she behind that too? How do you want to handle it?"

Liu Wei gave a cold laugh: "I've thought about it. Those few aren't that talented anyway, let them go! There are plenty of newcomers, I don't believe they won't become popular if given the chance. I just can't swallow this anger. These people treat their contracts like waste paper; I want to firmly sue them and make sure they can't film anything properly for a few years."

Ma Rui nodded heavily: "We've been good enough to them. Back when they were in school, we were paying them over ten thousand a month, and they turned their backs on us the moment they got popular. If we don't suppress them hard, our entertainment company will definitely be ruined by them!"

Liu Wei felt more confident: "With those words from you, I can rest easy. I'll go find the best lawyers right now."

Ma Rui said with full confidence: "I have an idea. This time, we won't go public domestically."

Liu Wei was stunned, her face full of confusion: "Isn't getting the company listed as soon as possible your dream? Why did you suddenly change your mind?"

Ma Rui lowered his voice mysteriously: "I want to completely turn our pure entertainment company into a technology company. Look at Hong Kong right now; the valuations for tech stocks are terrifyingly high. Listing here, the market cap would be a few billion at most, but if we go to Hong Kong, we might be able to hit tens of billions."

Liu Wei frowned: "But for QicQ, we only hold 40% of the shares. Can we really raise the valuation that high just by relying on that?"

Ma Rui waved his hand: "You don't know yet, but before Lao Xiao left, he got some inside information from He Zheng. My uncle pointed out two paths for him: one is to develop the payment function for his training software, and the other is to do video communication. So we'll focus on the entertainment function, which happens to avoid overlapping with them."

Liu Wei was still a bit worried: "But will President Ma listen to our arrangements?"

Ma Rui smiled dismissively: "He'll naturally listen to good advice. If that doesn't work, we'll just go it alone. Once we're listed in Hong Kong, the capital will come pouring in, and by then, no one will be able to stop me."

Liu Wei thought for a moment and reminded him earnestly: "Although Liu Ying was planted by Brothers Media, she also made one thing clear to us—they have quite a few wealthy people backing them now. You should go to your uncle's place and explain your thoughts in person, so he doesn't have any misgivings about you."

Ma Rui nodded, his expression solemn: "You're right to remind me. My uncle is back, and I haven't visited him yet. However, I have to bring Yang Jing with me..."

Liu Wei glared at him, "I don't care."

In the No. 95 Siheyuan, He Yuzhu was teasing his little granddaughter He Doudou. When he looked up and saw Ma Rui and Yang Jing entering one after the other, he hurriedly placed the child in his arms gently on the ground.

His gaze swept over Yang Jing, and he asked with a smile at the corner of his mouth: "Are you expecting?"

Yang Jing was stunned, her face turning red instantly, and she hurriedly took over the conversation: "Nothing can escape your eyes. We came here today specifically to tell you about this."

Upon hearing this, He Yuzhu was so happy that the corners of his eyes crinkled. Without a second word, he took out his phone and called Chen Xueru, He Zheng, and He Jia one by one, urging them to come back for dinner immediately.

Ma Rui sat down to the side and said: "Uncle, I just acquired 40% of the shares of QicQ. How do you think I should handle this?"

He Yuzhu smiled and said slowly: "That part can only be used as a gimmick. The core technology isn't in your hands, so you mustn't dump too much money into it."

Ma Rui immediately replied: "Uncle still has the better vision. I've been hiding this from everyone in the company; I just want to use this chicken to lay my own eggs. Also, our company doesn't plan to list domestically; we want to try Hong Kong..."

He Yuzhu's eyes lit up, and he praised: "You're the one with the quick mind. Your brother can only bury his head and do one thing steadily. In this regard, you're better than him."

Ma Rui asked again: "Uncle, I heard that Brother Zheng has hired quite a few Experts?"

He Yuzhu smiled and waved his hand: "Don't be impatient. What they are doing is laying the foundation. Your advantage is to wait for others to pack the foundation down, and then you build the house on top. You should still focus on the Entertainment Circle. When the time is right, I will arrange people for you; many technologies are still in the Laboratory stage..."

Ma Rui nodded, realizing at once that his uncle hadn't forgotten him. He asked happily: "Then when is the best time to make a move on that short video thing you mentioned?"

He Yuzhu counted on his fingers: "Eight or nine years at the earliest! You can lay the groundwork in advance, but if it's too early, you'll easily become cannon fodder. The waves in front are always slapped onto the beach by the waves behind."

He Doudou followed along in a milky voice: "The waves in front are slapped onto the beach—"

Everyone in the room burst into laughter upon hearing this.