Chapter 6

Shen Zhenghui got straight to the point, "Investing in China's comic industry now is undoubtedly a losing proposition. Even if we can maintain a core group of loyal fans, it won't be enough to grow and develop the industry. Japan's animation industry is already very mature, and with China's piracy issues, nearly free foreign products directly impact the domestic market. So from the beginning, we need to broaden our horizons and assume that comics themselves won't make money."

Aheng and Li Hong exchanged a glance, suppressing their dissatisfaction and frustration, and continued to listen to Shen Zhenghui.

"According to the input-output model, cultural products, as a special type of commodity, if the production scale is not large enough, they won't generate sufficient returns, and the related industry won't accumulate enough capital to expand," Shen Zhenghui continued.

"But I think someone has to do it for domestic comics," Aheng said. "Moreover, China is not short of young people who are passionate and idealistic about domestic comics. If we keep working on this market, it will eventually develop."

"That's a different topic," Shen Zhenghui said with a squint. "But people have to eat." He raised his hand to stop Aheng and Liu Xin, who wanted to argue. "Listen to me first, then you can speak."

Liu Xin looked somewhat disgruntled, and Aheng pursed her lips in disdain.

Li Hong listened most attentively, as she was in charge of business development and had a clear understanding of the harsh reality.

Shen Zhenghui continued, "I don't deny that certain external factors might have a positive impact on China's animation industry. However, to survive and maintain the core of domestic comics, we need to look beyond just comics. We should focus on comics as the core and use related industries as leverage to drive the development of the comic industry."

"Do you mean animated series?" Li Hong quickly caught on to Shen Zhenghui's idea.

"Not just animated series," Shen Zhenghui said, spreading his hands.

"Could it be movies?" Liu Xin asked, getting excited.

Aheng sneered, "That's impossible. We're already struggling to maintain our comic publications."

"This isn't about whether it's possible. If all problems were just about money, they wouldn't be problems. And do I look like someone who makes empty promises?"

Liu Xin glanced at Aheng's angry expression and quickly chimed in, "You do look a bit like one!" She then complained, "Have you even checked how much it costs to produce one minute of animation? And movies? How much would that cost? You might as well invest in a comic magazine."

As Liu Xin ranted, Aheng's expression softened. Liu Xin's words reflected the company's most pressing need: a formal platform for publishing to sustain operations. Shen Zhenghui's talk about animation and movies seemed too distant and unrealistic.

"See, you're losing patience again," Shen Zhenghui stood up and paced around the room, then suddenly changed the topic. "What do you think will be the most important thing in the cultural industry ten years from now?"

"What?" Liu Xin asked, confused. "What's the most important thing? That's a bit random."

"Let's say the publishing industry, mainly the cultural industry," Shen Zhenghui said, spreading his hands. "What do you think is the core competitiveness for developing the cultural industry?"

"Platform?" Li Hong asked tentatively.

Shen Zhenghui turned to Aheng.

"Excellent author resources," Aheng answered after some thought.

Shen Zhenghui looked at Liu Xin, "You don't need to answer."

Liu Xin pursed her lips, "I think it's mainly capital."

"You're all right, but without capital, you can't build a platform, and without a platform, you can't attract excellent authors," he said, sitting down again. "Actually, if you use capital to monopolize the platform, it will definitely be profitable."

The three of them exchanged glances. Aheng couldn't hold back any longer, "Can we get to the point? I have a lot of work to do!"

"We need to work hard, but we also need to look ahead," Shen Zhenghui chuckled. "Okay, I'll get to the point. If we ignore capital, platform, and author resources, and assume we have these conditions above average, the most important thing in the future will be copyright."

"Copyright?" Aheng laughed, "You're talking about copyright in China?"

"I know that's one of the reasons why you're struggling, but there are two ways to look at it. Cheap piracy, in a sense, spreads the influence of cultural works."

"So what if it doesn't bring in money? Authors are starving," Aheng huffed.

"That's why I said from the beginning, don't expect comics to make money right now. But if we focus on the copyright of comics, we can generate revenue from other channels."

"Still animation and movies?" Liu Xin was starting to feel exasperated.

Shen Zhenghui glared at Liu Xin, "How will your father's company end up in your hands?"

Liu Xin huffed, "I'm not going into construction!"

"Isn't your father close to Mayor Xu?" Shen Zhenghui asked. Deputy Mayor Xu was in charge of construction, and Liu Xin's father, Liu Dekai, was naturally familiar with him.

Liu Xin blinked.

"I heard you have a good relationship with Mayor Xu's daughter," Shen Zhenghui continued, and everyone in the room turned to look at Liu Xin.

Liu Xin blinked in confusion, "So what?"

"Mayor Xu and Minister Wu have a good relationship. Do you know what Minister Wu is in charge of?" Shen Zhenghui asked, tilting his head.

"Is Minister Wu the Minister of Propaganda?" Li Hong asked, surprised.

Shen Zhenghui nodded, "Better yet, Minister Wu rose to his position from the editor-in-chief of Haitian Publishing House. So what we need to do is find Mayor Xu, then find Minister Wu, and get the Propaganda Department's approval to publish a comic magazine under Haitian Publishing House." He looked at Liu Xin with a disdainful expression, "You should be doing this."

The atmosphere in the room suddenly became lively, and Liu Xin faced Aheng and Li Hong, whose eyes were now burning with enthusiasm.

"How easy do you think that is?" Liu Xin muttered.

"Of course, to impress the Minister of Propaganda and the Deputy Mayor, talking about developing domestic comics is just talk. They might think kids should read books, not comics. So we need to tell them this," Shen Zhenghui adjusted his posture. "Our comic magazine will mainly be published in Hong Kong, aiming to cultivate domestic comic artists and enter the Hong Kong market. With the comic magazine as the core, Jinhong will not only build a comic kingdom but also an animation kingdom. We plan to establish an animation industry park in Pengcheng, develop animated series to resist Japanese and Hong Kong imports, and export these to Hong Kong!"

Everyone in the room was taken aback.

Shen Zhenghui pointed to his temple, "When soliciting submissions for the comic magazine, we need to specify that Jinhong Company has the rights to adapt and produce animations. Using this platform, we can attract a large number of excellent domestic comic works. If one out of ten can be adapted into an animation, we'll make a profit."

"How is that possible? How can we produce animations, and who would buy them? Look at what happened to the Shanghai Animation Film Studio," Li Hong, who had extensive business experience, was not easily convinced.

"That depends on your persuasion skills!" Shen Zhenghui looked at Liu Xin. "The comic magazine can be self-sustaining, and if the city can subsidize the animation production..."

Liu Xin shook her head, "I can't do that."

Finally, the moment of truth arrived. Shen Zhenghui stared at Liu Xin, "Why don't we invest together?"

"How much can you invest?" Liu Xin was skeptical. "This sounds really difficult!"

Shen Zhenghui did a quick calculation. He needed money to invest in Tencent and to start the company. He had already partially cashed out from the stock market, and he could afford to put in ten million. "Let's start with ten million!"

Li Hong, Aheng, and Liu Xin all stood up, "How much did you say?"

"The ten million won't all go to comics. At least five million will be used to build facilities and buy equipment. Later, we can get a loan from the bank, maybe fifty million, which won't be a problem."

Li Hong and Aheng's eyes turned green with envy.

Liu Xin was wary and skeptical, "You really want to invest ten million?"

Shen Zhenghui stared at her, "Not just me, you need to put in money too!"

"I don't have any money!" Liu Xin spread her hands. "My allowance is already invested here."

"Tell your father you want to start a business and ask him for money," Shen Zhenghui waved his hand. "You have a lot to do. Mayor Xu's daughter and Minister Wu's daughter, you need to bring them into the company as directors. I'll give them shares."

Aheng and Li Hong suppressed their excitement and a hint of resentment.

Li Hong even looked at Liu Xin with hopeful eyes.

"Are we really going to do this?" Liu Xin looked both intrigued and hesitant.

Shen Zhenghui clapped his hands, "Let's discuss the share distribution!"

Li Hong and Aheng both felt a sense of crisis. It was clear that if Shen Zhenghui invested ten million, the company would no longer belong to them. They would go from being the owners to employees.

Liu Xin was also nervous. She might have realized, or might not have realized, that her idealistic life was about to change. The future might involve using any means necessary to achieve her ideals, or perhaps those ideals would be abandoned along the way.

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