Chapter 801: 796. Increasing Influence (Seeking Subscriptions and Monthly Tickets)

Zhang Ran looked around at everyone, his expression turning slightly more solemn. "Everyone, you may all know that I personally am very optimistic about the internet industry. To boast a little, I have played a small part in the current state of the internet in Huaxia."

As soon as Zhang Ran finished speaking, Li Da smiled and said, "Mr. Zhang is too modest. Who doesn't know now that those internet enterprises were all guided by your hand? Without you, they probably wouldn't exist."

"That's right, we all know this. Mr. Zhang's vision is truly sharp, and his grasp of the future is something we can only look up to."

Listening to these people's praises, Zhang Ran did not feel smug; he did not say these things for the sake of their flattery.

"The internet industry is the major trend of the future; this is something no one can change, and it will certainly be a focus in the future.

But what I want to say is, no matter how the world develops, no matter how fast society changes, there is one point that no one can change.

That is the manufacturing industry. These things are the cornerstone supporting the development of a society. Without manufacturing, even the most high-end things are just castles in the air.

Everyone sees the prosperity of the internet industry now, seeing them go from worthless to a market value of tens of billions in just a few years, but what you haven't seen is that in this, one slight carelessness could lead to a total loss."

"And although the manufacturing industry does not have such an ability to create wealth, it wins by being steady and solid, and it is something no one can replace."

Zhang Ran said these things to help them settle their minds, and at the same time, he was telling everyone that he, Zhang Ran, would also continue on in this industry, rather than using everyone and being done with it.

Zhang Ran's words made the hearts of these people settle down. The reason they were gathered together now was, in fact, because of Zhang Ran.

Plus, with Zhang Ran taking the lead, many things became much easier to handle.

Especially in these few days in South Africa, they felt the benefits of being gathered together; this was a feeling they had never experienced before.

These people had actually come to South Africa to inspect before, but the treatment they received compared to now was like heaven and earth—there was no comparison.

Furthermore, they had also heard that Zhang Ran's influence was not just in South Africa, but also involved other parts of Africa.

According to some news they knew, Zhang Ran seemed to be hiding an armed force here in Africa. Although they didn't know if it was true or false, they were still willing to believe it.

One must know that Africa is actually seen by many as a treasure trove, with a large population, a weak economy, and very rich resources of all kinds.

It can be said that opportunities are everywhere here, but it is precisely because of the terrible public security here that many people choose to shy away.

If someone could protect their safety here, many people would be willing to do business here.

And now, the only ones with the ability to do so domestically seem to be the State-owned Enterprises; others can only watch this treasure trove and drool.

There might be some other reasons for this, but the root cause is actually that they cannot afford the losses.

It doesn't matter if the State-owned Enterprises lose a little, but if they were to lose a large sum of money, the entire company would go under immediately.

Now that there is such an opportunity to latch onto Zhang Ran's thigh, everyone is willing to put in the effort.

Furthermore, all of their branch companies here have set aside ten percent of their shares for Zhang Ran, all to tie Zhang Ran to their chariot.

Zhang Ran originally wanted to refuse, but after thinking about it, he accepted it in the end, though Zhang Ran also offered two choices.

One was for him to invest the corresponding capital for the shares; this way, Zhang Ran would not interfere in the company's operations, but he would need to audit the accounts at any time.

The other was to pay a nominal amount to get so many shares, but Zhang Ran would not care about anything afterward, and if they encountered matters that were difficult to handle, and it was caused by their own personal reasons, Zhang Ran would not intervene.

This situation seemed to be the opposite; usually, one would have to pay more to get shares without paying money, but with Zhang Ran, if he pays money to get shares, Zhang Ran will help; if it's a free gift, Zhang Ran will not help instead.

This left many people confused, but some people realized it instantly; it was actually very simple: Zhang Ran did not trust them.

He was afraid they would use his name to do some not-so-good things.

So, for the final choice, everyone chose to pay money to get the shares, though it was said to be the corresponding capital, in reality, it was less than half a percent of the actual capital.

No one would be stupid enough to really let Zhang Ran pay that much money; that would not be a favor, but actual business.

In this way, these people gained Zhang Ran's protection and could be a little more at ease doing business here in the future.

Likewise, Zhang Ran also gathered these people together; although they couldn't be said to be on the same boat from now on, if Zhang Ran had matters, they would also put in the effort.

At the same time, this could also be considered an extension of Zhang Ran's influence, expanding the influence of the Zhang Family by another notch for the future.

These were all invisible benefits, and at the same time, it was a win-win situation, and everyone was very happy.

And this cooperation of Zhang Ran and the others also attracted the attention of the Huaxia side; the country was very supportive of entrepreneurs like them who were willing to go out.

After all, many of Huaxia's manufacturing industries are already in a state of saturation and need to expand outward; while competing internally has some benefits, it also largely results in a certain waste of resources.

"Mr. Zhang, I would like to ask, if we want to expand our company to other parts of Africa, do you think it is possible?" Some people exchanged glances, and finally, one person asked in a somewhat fawning manner.

As soon as this was said, everyone looked at Zhang Ran, wanting a definitive answer from him.

Zhang Ran thought for a moment and said, "There is nothing impossible about that, but it is best to do a good job here first; I haven't fully established connections in other places yet.

It will take some time, and the situation here changes too fast. Many of my previous connections are gone now, and while some are still there, it will take some time to restore contact."

Zhang Ran did not hide it from them and said these things directly. Finally, he also said, "Of course, if you want to expand now, I have no objections, and I can let some people provide protection, but I cannot guarantee whether something will go wrong in the end; I can only say I will try my best."

This was Zhang Ran finding work for Li Cheng and the others, letting them form a Security Company to handle these things, and incidentally helping to secretly expand Zhang Ran's influence here.

At the same time, if Li Da and the others really spread their branches here and open factories, it would simultaneously expand Zhang Ran's influence.

By then, it would be more convenient for Zhang Ran to do many things. The problem Zhang Ran is considering now is not how to work hard to make money, but how to increase his influence and stability.