Song Yanxi always felt that Chen Pingsheng's investment in the TV drama wasn't very reliable.
For one, she viewed the entertainment industry as a high-end cultural sector.
They were just typical lower-class citizens starting a business.
With not much money in hand, quietly throwing five million into the entertainment industry was scary not only because of the uncertainty of making money but also because of the high risks involved.
The matter was so significant that she momentarily forgot that her man had never handled the finances of their fruit shop.
Where did the millions come from?
"Husband, how did you suddenly think about investing in a TV drama?"
The couple was at home helping Little An'an with his homework; he was still at the stage where one plus one equals two.
Whether two plus two equals four or five, he had to count on his fingers, which was a bit embarrassing.
"It's mainly because Liying has been working so hard; it's not suitable for her to always play a maid."
"Just because of that?"
Song Yanxi stared at him with a skeptical look, as if he wouldn't be allowed in bed tonight if he couldn't clarify this matter.
"Of course, it's not just because of that."
Chen Pingsheng explained, "Look, there's a new Didi ride-sharing on the internet, and Mr. Ma from Hangcheng has invested in Kuaidi, these companies just started a few months ago and each is valued at just under a billion. Like Mr. Ma said, traffic is business."
"Although we can't compare with them, we can still learn something. Look at the big movie stars in the entertainment industry, which one of them isn't high-profile?"
"Every one of them acts like they are worth billions, but look at last year, our domestic box office was only 17 billion."
"You know what that number means? It means that the annual box office of the movie industry in Capital City doesn't match up to some internet startups that have only been around for a few years. With such a big market, how can these so-called superstars afford to be so high-profile?"
Uh... The topic strayed so far that Song Yanxi seemed to have not reacted at all.
This was both about Mr. Ma and the total box office revenue of the entertainment industry movies.
Actually, Chen Pingsheng wanted to talk about two principles, one is the current trend of the era.
Mobile internet.
The second one is that the entertainment industry itself isn't very profitable.
A total box office of 17 billion, subtracting the part that goes to cinema chains, the amount that actually reaches the movie companies is just about six or seven billion.
It seems like a lot, but keep in mind this is a national data.
How many film companies and stars in the country are splitting this money?
To put it in an unexaggerated manner, this amount of business is nothing but pocket change for real big capital like Mr. Ma's.
They don't even bother to look at it seriously.
And yet, why are there still so many people rushing to invest in the entertainment industry?
Really, there are two reasons.
One is that there indeed are many beautiful women in the entertainment industry.
To say they are everywhere is not an exaggeration.
The second is because this circle controls the traffic.
That is, the public eye.
He's not looking at the beautiful women, what he's looking at is this public eye.
With a big heart, Chen Pingsheng explained, "Wife, don't think that five million seems like a lot, but imagine if our family could produce a second-tier star, or even higher, if Liying could become a top-tier someday, you say our fruit shop wouldn't be booming wherever we open?"
"Loads of people would be rushing to give us money to open shops."
This wasn't a joke, but something that could actually happen.
Though it sounded like daydreaming, what if it came true?
Excited by the thought, Song Yanxi took a quick shower and bent over to tuck in the duvet at the bedside.
That slim waist and curvy hips.
She had to work hard.
Next door, Zhao Liying was unaware that she had already been set up as the main character, and at this moment, she was still fantasizing about when it would be her turn to be the lead.
...
The next day, when they arrived at the set,
Yang Jiancheng took the opportunity to tell her that he was preparing to be the director for the first time, investing in his own TV drama.
Moreover, she was even being approached to play the lead role.
Zhao Liying was both excited and happy, but also a bit nervous.
"Director Yang, why did you choose me for the lead role?"
It was everyone's first time, so the importance was apparent.
Yang Jiancheng said with a smile, "You don't know yet? I thought he had already told you. Pingsheng invested five million and specifically asked for you to be the lead. Besides you, he didn't consider anyone else."
"Ah?"
Zhao Liying seemed somewhat incredulous.
When she first met Chen Pingsheng, she just felt he was like her, also a North Drifter.
They were both struggling hard to make a living in Capital City.
Willing to do the work of three people alone just to earn a bit more moving fee.
Neither wind nor rain could stop his steps towards making money.
Later, he even opened a fruit store, becoming a boss for the first time in his life.
She could always sense his feelings that night.
It was a feeling interwoven with bitterness and excitement.
Eventually, he achieved success just as he had hoped.
And now, he could even take out a few million to help her, his neighbor and friend, realize her life's dream.
In her view, this was not just about making money.
More so, it really was to lend her a helping hand.
How could she not be grateful? She could remember this favor for a lifetime.
…
Returning to the newly leased office.
The door already had the eye-catching sign for Tengsheng Fruits, but the inside was still empty, inevitably giving one the impression of having money but nowhere to spend it.
His five fruit shops, including partners like Liu Jing and Chen Hao.
All together, they had no more than fifty people.
Now, setting up an office headquarters that could accommodate a hundred people was indeed a bit awkward.
Chen Pingsheng had no money left in his hands.
The second store was expected to start a recharge event on May 1, and the other three stores would also have similar plans around that time in May.
It was then that he could once again make a large amount of money.
As for now, it was time to negotiate partnerships with wholesalers like Old Guo.
That meant centralizing purchasing and distribution.
Further driving down purchase prices and establishing his own large-scale fruit cold storage.
Binding all five stores completely to the headquarters for operations.
In the future, they planned to build more than one cold storage; this one was just for the Beixin'an region.
The first cold storage had an investment target of one million.
It would be enough to accommodate the sales volume of fruits for a week for all five stores.
That would be completely sufficient.
He wouldn't need to provide the funds; Song Yanxi herself constantly managed hundreds of thousands of cash flow on her side.
It was enough to take out a portion for the investment.
The construction of the cold storage began on April 3, after selecting a suitable location and officially commencing work.
Additionally, to complement the use of the cold storage,
Chen Pingsheng also proposed buying a 280,000 yuan, 9.6-meter ultra-large Dongfeng van.
In the future, they needed only this one truck for transporting goods.
First consolidating deliveries to their own cold storage, and then distributing to the stores from there.
The advantages of this approach were clear. Firstly, it could reduce the purchase prices.
Secondly, it could reduce labor costs and enhance efficiency.
After completing this step, Song Yanxi's cash flow was also not much left.
And their fruit supermarket had completely transitioned from operating independently to chain operations.