CHAPTER 217: CHAPTER 59 WU XIAOLI: BROTHER SUN, YOU’RE GOING TO BE A FATHER.

「A week later.」

At Xingdian Media. This was the short-form drama division that had previously spun off from XinLi Media.

Its current General Manager, Sun Dacheng, was introducing his direct boss, Sun Dasheng, to the company’s new office. The office was located just below XinXin Media, Ouyang Jiani’s live-stream sales company, on the 27th floor of the Starlight Building’s Block C. Ambitious and determined to make a name for himself, Sun Dacheng had leased the entire floor.

While greeting the staff, Sun Dasheng asked Sun Dacheng, who was beside him, "How is the recruitment going? With such a large office, don’t tell me it won’t even be full."

As soon as President Sun asked, Sun Dacheng quickly stepped forward and said with an obsequious smile, "The recruitment is still in progress. We expect to hire a hundred people for behind-the-scenes roles, ten full-time screenwriters, and a dozen actors to sign and train exclusively, plus some other logistical staff. Conservatively, the company will have a workforce of over 150 people."

"Hmm, according to your plan, this is a fairly large company, even among film and television businesses. Besides short-form dramas, do you have any other plans for the future?"

Sun Dasheng asked this because using such a large staff and operation just to film short-form dramas felt like a serious waste. If his younger cousin truly had no talent—a hopeless case, like mud you couldn’t plaster on a wall—he would have just let him go bankrupt. That way, he could rack up even more experience from the failure. But placing this Sleeping Dragon in the right position and seeing him shine so brightly was something he hadn’t anticipated.

It was a credit to Sun Dacheng’s own ability that he had managed to catch the wave of short-form dramas and make a fortune. Therefore, Sun Dasheng decided he would help him succeed and give him a push.

Sun Dacheng scratched his head, looking a bit sheepish. "Nothing gets past you. I was thinking of deepening our roots in short-form dramas while slowly expanding into web series, and eventually breaking into traditional TV series and movies."

"You’re quite ambitious."

"Heh heh... After all, I’ve always understood one thing: you can’t put all your eggs in one basket. If the short-form drama market ever goes south and the company has no other projects, we’ll be in big trouble."

Sun Dasheng was impressed by his cousin’s growth in such a short time.

He patted the other’s shoulder. "Keep up the good work. If you’re ever short on money or people, your brother will be there to fully support you."

After saying that, he turned and gestured to his secretary. "That reminds me, here’s a share transfer agreement. Go ahead and sign it."

Sun Dacheng took the document and glanced at it, then quickly waved his hands in refusal. "Brother Sun, if it weren’t for you, I’d still be farming back in my hometown. I could never have achieved what I have today. I can’t possibly accept these shares. What kind of person would that make me?"

"Come on, just sign it. It’s only five percent, a small token of my appreciation."

"If you don’t take these shares, how can you expect your subordinates to accept theirs? If the company doesn’t have a few executives holding shares, how can it attract talent and grow? Look at my other companies. Have I given out shares in them? Don’t you understand why I’m specifically using share ownership as an incentive for this company?"

His cousin’s words hit home instantly. All those years of multilevel marketing classes hadn’t been for nothing; his ability to read between the lines was first-rate.

His cousin clearly had great confidence in their company’s future growth, which was why he was offering shares to attract talented people. His other companies were all 100% owned by his investment firm. Any executive who dared to cause trouble and ask for shares would probably be gone the next day. Of course, the high salaries his cousin offered were more than fair to those professional managers.

For instance, now that he was the General Manager of this media company, he had already crossed the threshold of a million-yuan annual salary.

Now that his cousin was also offering him shares, he was instantly filled with fighting spirit. Just a couple more years of hard work to make the company bigger and stronger, and won’t I become a multimillionaire? A billionaire, even?

Back in the day, that was truly... unthinkable, just unthinkable!

When he was still farming back home, his boldest dream was just buying a lottery ticket in town and hoping to win five million. Now, a mere five million was nothing in his eyes.

After touring Xingdian Media, he declined Sun Dacheng’s offer to see him off and took a trip upstairs to XinXin Media.

Inside, everyone was bustling about, full of energy. The employees’ vitality alone was enough to tell him that this was a company like a rising sun, full of vigor and on an upward trajectory. Employees walking by who recognized him would stop to greet him before immediately getting back to their work.

Sun Dasheng nodded in satisfaction.

Looks like my little apprentice has quite a knack for management.

In the General Manager’s office.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" a slightly tired female voice called out. "What is it?" she asked without lifting her head, still busy working on her computer.

"Manager Ouyang, you look tired. You should remember to rest well amidst all the work."

"Master, you’re here?" Ouyang Jiani looked up in pleasant surprise.

She knew who it was just from the sound of his voice. She immediately pressed the intercom button on her desk. "Xiao Zhou, bring me a cup of tea. Use the best tea leaves."

Then she stood up, walked over to Sun Dasheng, hooked his arm, and pulled him to sit on the couch in the reception area.

"Master, you finally came to see your apprentice! You haven’t visited for so long, I thought you had forgotten all about me."

"Our Manager Ouyang is such a strong woman. When did you learn to play coy?" Sun Dasheng didn’t fall for her act.

After all this time, he knew her personality well. When things seem this out of the ordinary, there’s always a catch.

Sure enough, after the secretary brought in the tea and left, Ouyang Jiani spoke.