Chapter 100: Team and Base

Chapter 100: Team and Base

Meng Xiaozhou was preparing to go through the onboarding process when he received the call from Chen Feng.

He was startled by Chen Feng’s request and found it difficult to understand.

But he didn’t respond with harsh words. Instead, he negotiated with the company he was about to join to postpone his start, bought a plane ticket on the spot, and flew to Hanzhou.

In the cafe next to Caiwei Cottage, piano music drifted melodiously, and waiters in tuxedos moved among the tables.

Chen Feng took small, occasional sips of the tea in front of him.

He wasn’t really accustomed to drinking coffee.

Ou Junlang held his coffee cup with both hands, his eyes glued to the notebook in front of him, muttering under his breath.

He was still practicing his song.

Fatty didn’t live like a proper rich kid at all. To perfectly meet Chen Feng’s standards, he was giving it his all.

In Ou Junlang’s life philosophy, he lacked nothing, except finding what he truly wanted to do.

He knew that if it weren’t for Chen Feng, his dream of making music would have probably been shattered long ago, so now he cherished the opportunity especially.

Chen Feng had praised him a lot today, but Ou Junlang only remembered one sentence: “You can do even better.”

The cafe door opened, and a man in a suit and gold-rimmed glasses walked in. It was Meng Xiaozhou.

“Waiter, a cup of Blue Mountain. Thank you.” Meng Xiaozhou sat down and said in a puzzled tone, “Mr. Chen, are you seriously not joking with me?”

Chen Feng said, “Of course not. I’m serious.”

“If you, Mr. Chen, are just giving me a chance to repay a favor, I would still prefer to provide financial compensation and assistance. I have a complete career plan for myself. Huateng controls the latest 5G technology and is a pioneer in our country’s participation in the next era of modern information competition. Personally, I really want to contribute to Huateng. My overseas work experience and connections are my advantages. I am also very familiar with overseas economic rules and relevant laws and regulations. Huateng needs me.”

Chen Feng was taken aback, remembering the recent heated online discussions about the competition between Huateng and Qualcomm in 5G technology. He hadn’t expected Meng Xiaozhou to be someone with such lofty ideals and patriotic sentiments.

“And if Mr. Meng doesn’t go, can Huateng find a suitable replacement?”

Meng Xiaozhou took the coffee from the waiter’s tray. “Probably, but I have more faith in my own abilities.”

“But on my side, there is no better replacement besides Mr. Meng.”

Meng Xiaozhou shook his head. “Forgive my bluntness. Although your music composition ability, Mr. Chen, is a once-in-a-century talent, and joining your company to start a business together might even result in higher personal income… No matter how good a song you write, your contribution to this era, to the country, to the future of humanity, is still insignificant.”

Chen Feng understood now.

Meng Xiaozhou’s true thoughts were exposed.

This was that pure executive mindset.

This viewpoint was highly prevalent among top-tier successful people, yet usually deeply hidden. It was only revealed honestly in front of particularly trusted individuals.

Meng Xiaozhou looked down on the entertainment industry, believing at his core that entertainers undermined the nation.

Chen Feng smiled.

He thought to himself.

You young people, thinking you’ve seen through worldly vanity and understand the world, but what do you actually know?

Just me keeping this darn Fatty beside me from returning to the Ouhe Group is already benefiting all of humanity and leaving a legacy for generations, okay?

Chen Feng faced two choices: one was to forcefully bind Meng Xiaozhou with a debt of gratitude, the other was to tap into his sentiments and show him that art is not as useless as he thought.

Chen Feng chose the second method, telling him about the power of music, and then faced Meng Xiaozhou’s refutation.

Meng Xiaozhou didn’t believe it.

Right then, Chen Feng’s WeChat chimed. Zhong Lei sent a trial demo recording, precisely “Baptism of Fire”.

“The single production is about 90% complete. I originally wanted to go straight to formal recording, but Wanyue suggested I let you listen first.”

Chen Feng looked back at Meng Xiaozhou. “I said music can provide spiritual strength, even enough to change an era. You don’t believe me. Then listen to this song first.”

About ten minutes later, Meng Xiaozhou slowly removed his earphones.

Chen Feng asked again, “Imagine you are a high school senior. There’s a little over a month left before the college entrance exams. You have one last set of practice problems to finish, due tomorrow. But it’s only 8 PM, and you’re already sleepy from fatigue. At a time like this, what good would listening to this song do?”

“Or, imagine you are Elon Musk. The rocket you just launched exploded in the sky. Your new car production line is delayed and can’t start. You’ve spent all the investors’ money and all the pre-sale payments from undelivered orders. In seven days, you have to repay a debt of five hundred million dollars, but no investor is willing to see you now, no one is willing to lend you another cent, and all banks are shutting their doors on you. If you can’t repay the money in seven days, your company will go bankrupt, you will go to jail, and your life’s work will be destroyed. You stand on the rooftop balcony of the Stark Building, a voice in your head constantly telling you to give up, to jump from here, and you’ll have no more worries. You shouldn’t bear such heavy responsibility; death can give you the release you want. At this very moment, you listen once to this song called ‘Baptism of Fire’, symbolizing rebirth from the ashes. What would you think? What choice would you make?”

“Thousands of years ago, when humans had no medium to preserve sound, musical instruments were born. The story of Bo Ya and Zhong Ziqi could be passed down through the ages. Do you really think art is worthless? Can something worthless last for millennia? In ancient times, Liu Bang surrounded Xiang Yu and had Chu songs sung to disturb his morale. Wen Tianxiang wrote the Song of Righteous Spirit, which became the soul of a generation of Han people. In modern times, our “March of the Volunteers”, “The Internationale”, the charge bugle call. Were all of these useless?”

Meng Xiaozhou was stunned.

After a long while, he slowly asked, “So Mr. Chen, your ideal is…”

“That’s right, exactly as you think.” Chen Feng nodded heavily.

“Alright! Since you two trust me, I’ll use one year to give it a try.”

From then on, the main framework of Star Edge Entertainment was formally established.

Chen Feng held 90% of the shares, responsible only for creation.

Ou Junlang invested 20 million, holding 10% of the shares. He was the company’s top artist for now and also responsible for coordinating local relationships in Hanzhou and building the initial framework.

Meng Xiaozhou served as the company’s General Manager, with an initial annual salary of two million, and a total stock option granting him 5% of shares after five years.

Chen Feng wanted to see new changes before his next journey back in time. Now he only had a little over half a month left, so time was tight and urgent for him.

Under Chen Feng’s relentless pressure, the people around him seemed to have pressed the fast-forward button.

One week later, Ou Junlang’s debut album recording was completed.

Star Edge Entertainment selected its location on the 19th floor, Building C, Ouhe Center in downtown Hanzhou City. The 800-square-meter office space was renovated and the entire team moved in.

At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Lu Wei, He Jiaqi, Chen Li, Zhong Lei, senior executives from various electronic distribution platforms like Q Yin and KuGe, Ouhe Group Chairman Ou Guohua, and even many leaders from Jiangnan Province and Hanzhou City attended.

Banners from various units congratulating Star Edge Entertainment on its establishment covered the square in front of Ouhe Center.

From then on, Chen Feng had his own base in Hanzhou.

All his external cooperation matters, including but not limited to song creation, copyright development, and many other items, were all handled by Star Edge Entertainment.

Of course, for his own peace of mind, Chen Feng still would not accept custom music production requests from outside. He would directly provide the songs, and then employees in the company would select suitable partners for negotiation.

This could save Chen Feng’s energy to a great extent, making the monetization of his resources more efficient.

The moment the company was announced as established, Chen Feng also figured out one thing.

Relying on the power of one person to influence a thousand years was too unrealistic.

But if he could have a headquarters in Hanzhou, turning himself into a signal source, then this headquarters would be a signal amplifier, constantly magnifying the butterfly effect released from him personally, ultimately achieving the effect of moving the whole body by pulling one hair.

This was the power of a team.