While the two were talking, Laila's phone rang, relieving her from having to answer Louise's question. "Hello, this is Laila."
"Laila, it's Grandma."
"Grandma?" Laila was surprised because her grandmother had always been quite averse to anything related to technology, even disliking electric rice cookers. If she needed to contact Laila, she usually did so through her grandfather. So why was she calling personally now? And she sounded so happy.
"Laila, can you come back tomorrow?"
Laila certainly wouldn't refuse. "Of course. Is something happening?"
"It's good news!" Her grandmother on the phone sounded very happy. "Your mother is pregnant, and you'll have a little brother or sister next May!"
"(⊙ｏ⊙)" Laila was stunned. This was truly incredible news. At 21 years old, she was going to have a little brother or sister. Considering Janet's age, it wasn't really that old, but no matter how you looked at it, it felt quite novel!
"I got it. I'll take a flight over tomorrow evening. But isn't Mom with Quentin?" Laila asked.
"She's already back, just this morning. She said she wants to see you and mentioned craving a bunch of things to eat." Her grandmother couldn't stop laughing as she spoke. "Do you know, when she was pregnant with you, she had some really strange cravings? She even ate things she didn't normally like. I wonder where all that food went back then."
Thinking about those moments, Laila couldn't help but laugh along. "Take care of her for me. I'll fly over once my work is done for the evening."
After ending the call, Louise quickly asked, "Is it Janet? Is she really pregnant?"
The phone call had been quite loud, and she had heard it clearly while standing nearby.
"Yes, Grandma said I'll have a little brother or sister next May." This was good news! Perhaps it was because it was a child who had come into the picture after she arrived, but she felt a sense of kinship with this one. Who knew how long it had taken for her to become familiar with and accept the Moran family back then, but this little one, still just an embryo, had easily broken down the emotional barriers she had set up.
"That's wonderful!" Louise genuinely felt happy for Janet. What could be better than seeing a good friend find happiness again? "I need to start thinking about what gifts to prepare for the little one!"
"Gifts?" Louise's words reminded Laila, and she nodded. "You're right; I need to prepare a gift too."
It wasn't until a day later that Louise learned what exactly Laila meant by "gift."
Reading the plan in her hand with shock, she could hardly speak a complete sentence. "So, so you're really planning this?"
"Yes, just as it says in the plan. I want to expand the Pirate theme park and simultaneously launch the Harry Potter theme park."
Louise took a deep breath. "Well, I can understand the pirate ship being a theme park, but can Harry Potter work?" The pirate ship, at least, had the popularity of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" film to boost the theme park's popularity. But Harry Potter, even if it's great, is just a children's storybook. Can it really attract visitors?
"Don't worry, by the second half of next year, I'll find a suitable director for Harry Potter. I believe its potential won't be any less than that of Pirates of the Caribbean."
The film's success in the previous life could explain everything. Whether it was Pirates of the Caribbean or Harry Potter, both were golden eggs that made the movie production company earn a fortune. Theme parks based on these two would certainly be popular.
"I need you to find the best designers for me, no matter the cost. I want the theme parks to open before the baby is born in May!"
Louise couldn't help but smile wryly. To be honest, she didn't have much confidence in the Pirate theme park, and it wasn't just because of the overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics. The main issue was the high cost involved.
Compared to the films Laila had made before, the cost of Pirates of the Caribbean was more than double that of all her previous films combined. If it were cheaper, with Laila's reputation and skills, it wouldn't be difficult to turn this bad genre into a profitable one.
Now the problem was the high cost. Plus, the investment in the associated theme park was close to two hundred million. Even if the company had sufficient cash flow, if they couldn't get enough box office revenue, it would still hurt financially.
As for the storybook Harry Potter, even if it was made into a movie, how many children would come to see it? Louise had no confidence in it.
But Laila had already spoken, and even if she had to pinch her nose, she had to go along with it. "I understand. I'll put out a bid for some potential partners. As for whether we can open the theme parks before May, I can't answer you right now."
Laila nodded, familiar with her rigorous work attitude. "Do your best. If necessary, we can open the Pirate-themed park first, and then gradually add the rest."
"That should be no problem then. The main pirate ship is already there, and the remaining facilities won't take much time. But our movie won't be released until June. Will opening the park in May affect anything?"
Laila smiled. "It's fine. By May, I'll have done most of the promotion I need to do, and the opening of the park will also serve as publicity for the movie."
Originally, she had wanted to follow the same strategy as the horror-themed park, using the movie to boost the park's popularity. However, in her previous life, Disney created the movie to promote the Pirate theme park. This showed that the order of events wasn't as important as she thought. What mattered was that Disney didn't care about the movie at the time, while she had always planned to use it to make a lot of money and create opportunities for future work. So how could she not be dedicated to doing the promotion?
"If you think it's possible, then I'm fine with it." Louise nodded without much confidence.
In her opinion, Laila had just turned 21 and was still a big child. She wanted to give her mother and unborn sibling such a "grand gift" which wasn't surprising. A theme park for the child right in front of them—probably only Laila could give such a gift to her siblings.
The phone call from her grandmother allowed Laila to delegate her work to others, and after arranging for others to take over, she boarded a plane and returned to her home in New York.
This time, she planned to leave Claire behind. She was the most suitable person to take care of everyone, and her relationship with Janet was also very good. With her looking after things, everyone could rest assured.
However, Janet was still a bit worried about Laila, but everyone else agreed. After all, compared to Janet, a mature-age expectant mother, Laila, who had already recovered, was the one who worried them less.