Chapter 664: Bursting the Economic Bubble
Chapter 664: Bursting the Economic Bubble
In Little Days, the stock market plummeted, followed by a massive collapse in the real estate market. Many people who had painstakingly bought homes found themselves holding worthless assets overnight. During this time, the police station received a skyrocketing number of suicide cases, reflecting the dire situation.
Lu Jiaxin fell silent upon hearing this news.
Nie Zhan asked, "What's wrong?"
Lu Jiaxin replied, "In Little Days, an entire nation treated the financial market as a fast track to success and rushed in recklessly. In the end, they were chewed up and spit out, left with nothing but bones."
Many people in the future would blame the 'Hiroshima Agreement' for this disaster, but that wasn't the sole reason. Three other countries had signed the same agreement and didn't face similar fates. The root cause was their arrogance. They became so conceited that a common saying among the people was, "Sell Tokyo, and you can buy America." But they forgot that their rapid economic growth over the past two decades had been fueled by America.
Nie Zhan said, "We've made a lot of money this time. Shouldn't we withdraw and stop shorting the market?"
Having profited over 8 billion green dollars by shorting the Nikkei 225 index, he felt it was time to call it quits while they were ahead.
Lu Jiaxin disagreed. "The Nikkei 225 index will continue to fall. Leave 3 billion green dollars with me, and I'll keep 1 billion. We'll keep shorting the market."
Compared to their massive gains, losing all 4 billion wouldn't be a significant setback.
The two then discussed the economy of Harbor City. To Nie Zhan's surprise, the bursting of Little Days' bubble economy hadn't affected the stock market in Harbor City.
An idea occurred to Lu Jiaxin. "Those companies from Little Days have been on a buying spree in Harbor City over the past few years. Now that their domestic economy has collapsed and their businesses are bankrupt, they'll definitely sell off their properties here. We'll buy them all up."
The thought of using the money they'd made from Little Days to buy up their assets was exhilarating! Suddenly, a new idea struck him. "What if I buy up the copyrights and merchandising rights to their manga and anime?"
Little Days had achieved tremendous success with their manga, and those IPs were incredibly valuable. The idea of owning the copyrights and collecting royalties was tempting.
Nie Zhan smiled and asked, "Can you manage all that?"
Lu Jiaxin felt confident. "I'm just worried they won't sell. Being in the industry, they should understand the limitless potential of those well-known manga."
The idea had sprung from their massive profits, but she quickly dismissed it. Instead of buying their copyrights, it would be better to create their own programs.
Lu Jiaxin said, "I want to organize a singing competition. What do you think?"
Nie Zhan asked, puzzled, "Wanjia Film and Television produces movies and TV series. Why would we need to hold a singing competition for casting?"
Lu Jiaxin smiled. "Producing only movies and TV series is too one-dimensional. We should diversify. This singing competition, if done well, could become a phenomenal program."
Nie Zhan understood immediately—another flash of inspiration had struck her. "If you have an idea, go for it. Just assign it to the people below you; you only need to provide the funding."
Most of Lu Jiaxin's ideas turned out to be profitable ventures.
Lu Jiaxin said, "We'll need to partner with a television station. Wanjia Film and Television can't pull this off alone. But I'll leave the details to Tian Pengyu. I'll just convey my thoughts to them."
Due to her busy schedule, Lu Jiaxin didn't even write outlines anymore. Whenever she had an idea, she would call the screenwriters and share her thoughts, leaving them to work out the details. Her name wasn't listed in the credits as a screenwriter for these works. People in the industry needed fame to boost their earnings, but as the boss, she had no such concerns.
Lu Jiaxin and Nie Zhan returned to Harbor City on the twelfth day of the first lunar month, but Jiaxin took her time off until the Lantern Festival before returning to work. Her first stop was Wanjia Film and Television.
This time, instead of calling Tian Pengyu to the office, she went to the conference room, where the two vice presidents and two screenwriters were present. One vice president oversaw the planning department, while the other managed the film and television production department. They were Tian Pengyu's capable assistants, handpicked by him from other companies.
Su Heyuan had previously advised Lu Jiaxin against delegating too much authority, warning her that given enough time, Tian Pengyu might try to usurp the company. Such incidents were common, and he didn't want Jiaxin to suffer because of it. However, Lu Jiaxin remained unconcerned. As long as she and Nie Zhan were financially stable, Tian Pengyu wouldn't dare attempt anything, or he'd risk losing his peaceful life forever. Nonetheless, as long as he performed well, Lu Jiaxin had no intentions of treating him unfairly. In addition to a generous annual salary and bonus, he had also been granted a 10% stake in the company.
Lu Jiaxin shared her idea about organizing a singing competition: "The top three contestants will receive focused training from the company, with the goal of transforming them into Southeast Asian superstars."
Tian Pengyu smiled and added, "Boss, we should be aiming to create global superstars."
Lu Jiaxin chuckled and replied, "It's difficult enough to achieve success in the global market because the appreciation for the beauty of Easterners is quite different from that of Westerners."
Not only were there aesthetic differences, but they also faced rejection and suppression. However, this was to be expected. After all, the pie was only so big, and it was understandable that others would resist newcomers trying to claim a share.
Tian Pengyu wished he hadn't opened his mouth.
Lu Jiaxin continued to elaborate on her idea: "Come up with a proposal within three days. If I approve it, I'll give you 10 million as seed money for this project. If it goes well, I'll consider investing an additional 10 million."
Usually, seed money was enough, and subsequent funding could be generated through advertisements, broadcasting rights, and merchandise sales. Despite her substantial wealth, she wasn't going to throw her money around recklessly.
Tian Pengyu couldn't contain his excitement, as the ample funding meant they could organize a grand event: "Boss, for this project, we should collaborate with ATV."
Thanks to Nie Jingting, they enjoyed a good relationship with ATV. In recent years, all their television series had been aired on ATV, and the partnership had been mutually beneficial, bringing positive reviews to ATV as well. Of course, ATV's generous offers played a significant role too; after all, the highest bidder usually won.
Subsequently, Tian Pengyu reported on the company's performance and achievements in the previous year, as well as the filming plans for the current year. With the addition of the singing competition, they would be busy again. But being busy was a good sign, indicating that the company was thriving. It was only stagnant companies that had time to twiddle their thumbs all day.
When Lu Jiaxin heard that they planned to film "Justice Bao" this year, she smiled and asked, "Why didn't you show me the script after it was written?"
In her previous life, "Justice Bao" had been a blockbuster hit, adapted from the classic novel "The Three Heroes and Five Gallants." Since it was based on a renowned ancient novel, they could do the same. However, to retain a sense of familiarity, she intended to invite several actors from her past life to reprise their roles. While there might be some minor changes to the plot, they wouldn't be significant.
Tian Pengyu felt helpless and explained, "Boss, didn't you say that you wanted to rest these days and not be disturbed? I was planning to send it to you today."
It was normal for a boss to take a vacation, as everyone needed to relax sometimes. But who else took a 20-day break like their boss? Aside from their boss, he had never seen such a capricious leader. Well, their boss certainly had the credentials to be capricious.
When Lu Jiaxin left, she took with her a thick stack of scripts.
(End of Chapter)
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