Super Zoo-Chapter 740 - 722: 500 Million is Still Not Enough
In just one week, two things had happened.
The night that the legal team representing Taoyuan Film and Television and the company's direct head, Cai Liming, moved into the Long Wu villa, another team of lawyers also arrived at the residence.
Suming spared no expense this time, was bold in strategy but absolutely cautious in tactics, employing all the legal and economic talent of the group. The whole legal team's expertise covered economics, politics, criminal law, civil law, western legal systems, and more—they were comprehensive. Along with the team leader Liang Sicheng and the company representative Cai Liming, there were nine people in total.
This wasn't a street fight, but rather a negotiation, and the size of the nine-person delegation was ample, also demonstrating Suming's seriousness and sincerity.
However, the 'legal team' that arrived later seemed quite inferior by comparison, consisting of just a local Xiangjiang lawyer accompanied by two assistants.
The boss of this team, and one of the three parties involved in this investment, was the current leader of Shenghe, A Le.
Downstairs, a host of lawyers and professionals were drafting legal documents and discussing the details of the collaboration, while the three bosses were upstairs in the small living room, drinking and chatting.
Long Wu could call 'A Le' without issue; whether it was age or seniority in the underworld, Long Wu, a nineties gangland figure, stood a good cut above the current leader of Shenghe. Suming, however, could not do the same and addressed him as 'Brother Le'.
'Brother Le' was just over forty years old, dressed in a simple jacket, jeans, and with neatly trimmed short hair, presenting a spirited appearance. When he opened his mouth, he did so with a friendly yet uncontrived smile, appearing completely unrelated to the so-called societies, more like a small to medium-sized businessman in an ascending phase of his career.
After the meeting, Brother Le casually mentioned the recent 'misunderstanding' at You Guge, which Suming did not take to heart. They laughed it off, and the matter was entirely put behind them. Long Wu closed the door and, speaking candidly, said, "We're all our own people, so I'll just say it straight. This film is a rare opportunity, certain to be profitable. However, we're currently under five hundred million, and it's very likely more investment will be needed. You two should be prepared."
Suming nodded subtly. The investment was huge, and both he and Long Wu were eager to shorten the production time to recover the investment. This required overseas special effects and actor teams to cooperate, to work overtime as domestic crews do, even to the point of risking life and limb.
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Lives can be risked, and not just those of foreigners, but importantly, the money has to be enough.
Brother Le frowned slightly, "Ten, I won't be part of the follow-up investment."
Long Wu's eyelids flicked up slightly, and he asked indifferently, "Why not? You got into the game, and now you're telling me you can't hold up?"
In fact, this huge investment was not just a strain for Brother Le; both Long Wu and Suming were under great pressure, having staked nearly all their liquid assets and were seriously strapped for cash.
"Ten, our situations really are different," Brother Le began before hesitating and casting a glance at Suming. Long Wu said, "Suming's one of our own too. We're doing legitimate business here, there's nothing that can't be discussed."
Brother Le gave Suming an apologetic smile and finally nodded, saying dejectedly, "Xinji is a father to son business, only those surnamed Xiang can take the reins. Huaxia Star might be a listed company, but you, ten, have the final say there. Shenghe is different, though—I, as the boss, can only serve for two years, and I have just three months left in my term. Let alone after three months, when my word carries no weight, even now the investment of eighty million is viewed as too risky by many respected brothers in the company. Times have changed, and Shenghe's funds are increasingly tight; that eighty million is almost all the lawful income we have."
Suming understood now. Brother Le was currently the boss of Shenghe, able to allocate company funds for the movie, but after three months, when the term changed and a new boss was elected, he would no longer have the power to decide on continuing the investment.
Even if the next boss was willing to invest, from Brother Le's perspective, it was not something he wanted to see—after all, who wants to share their money with another person?
"The rules of your Shenghe..." Long Wu shook his head with a smile, "Is there any chance of staying in power?"
"Wow, Le, are you sending me to my death?" Le chuckled bitterly, "During the handover, with such immense pressure, not even the big-time operators dared to hold onto their roles continuously. Who would dare now? Whoever does that, the entire gang would beat them down. What a complete disaster! Back in the day, when I was a triad member, I thought Shenghe was a million times better than Xinji. Why? Because during elections, everyone had a chance to rise up. But once someone got elected, they started envying Xinji. Why? Because everyone wants to be the emperor forever."
It seemed that Le really was in a tough spot and just like a crosstalk performer, ranted to himself for a while.
"Let's not talk about that. It's almost twenty years since the handover, and getting involved in gangs for side hustles is more harmful than beneficial," Long Wu waved his hand and looked at Suming, "Le can cap it at eighty million Hong Kong dollars on his side. I can probably chip in another thirty to forty million at most. How much do you think you can manage?"
"Twenty to thirty million is relatively easier for me, any more than that, I'm not so confident," Suming contemplated before answering.
"Hmm," Long Wu frowned slightly.
By common standards, a big-budget production like this would suffice with two to three hundred million US dollars in the West, and Xiangjiang's film production costs are less than a third of that in the West. The prep fund of five hundred million Huaxia currency should be enough. However, the three people present all hoped for quick returns. A hefty investment that would require several years to recoup would be unbearable to anyone.
It's the same old saying, Xiangjiang can accelerate the progress, but this movie is aimed at the international market, and a bunch of foreigners will be involved. To make them speed up, you'd have to pay them enough to make them spew.
How does that saying go again? With money, you can make ghosts grind your mill.
For now, there wasn't any particularly good solution, and none of the three wanted to bring in new partners and split the money further. Fortunately, with the five hundred million as a foundation, they hadn't yet reached the point of desperation where additional investment was necessary.
First, get the film crew up and running.
When Le was leaving, he even made a special call to the nominal boss of Ji Xiang at the moment, asking Ji Xiang to personally visit Suming and offer an apology with tea. Suming just smiled and waved it off, saying it wasn't necessary. These lower-level gangsters were obsessed with face; once an issue was resolved, there was no need to bring it up again and risk complications.
The first matter didn't seem like a big deal, just three bosses touching base with a meeting and no immediate problems. But all three felt an intangible economic pressure.
The second matter was the opposite. Perhaps in the long run, it was something to celebrate, but from the perspective of the parties involved at the moment, it was a huge tragedy.
Song Lulu left for the mainland alone, leaving Hou Longtao by himself in Xiangjiang.
Before she left, Song Lulu told Hou Longtao that she wanted to take a break for some time to think calmly about their relationship.
The two of them were publicly a married couple, but in reality, they were just cohabiting and had not registered their marriage.
When couples say they 'need some time apart to cool down,' it usually means they're heading for a breakup.
This happened the day after Suming came to the villa for a business talk. Hou Longtao, not willing to give up, called Song Lulu four days later.
In an ordinary café in Kowloon, Suming, Lin Mu, and Hou Longtao were sitting together, with a crispy bun with condensed milk, a 'Yuenyeung' coffee-tea mix, and two iced lemon teas on the table before them.
"What did she say?" Suming slurped on his iced lemon tea and asked Hou Longtao.
