Chapter 559 - 292: The Big Shot’s Hobby! Targeted by the Big Shot
After the government began promoting new energy technologies and issuing related policies, many different technological paths emerged.
The current mainstream approach was the lithium titanate battery technology being developed by Ms. Dong. Even Wanda Wang and Face-blind Dong had each invested 3 billion in her, and she had entered the automotive industry with great fanfare.
However, his research revealed that lithium titanate batteries seemed to have too many issues, and Ms. Dong was getting a bit hasty.
He had planned to spend a year thoroughly researching new energy technologies before making any plans.
However, he wasn’t sure if his judgment was correct. After all, smartphones and cars were two completely different industries. He was diving headfirst into a new field and couldn’t be certain he was right.
It was also possible that Ms. Dong would succeed in the end, proving him spectacularly wrong.
For some reason, he suddenly thought of Mr. Chen. He had benefited greatly from their last in-depth conversation, and the man clearly had strong opinions about new energy vehicles.
So, he really did want to talk to him about it now.
Just as the thought crossed his mind, his phone rang. He picked it up, saw the caller ID, and couldn’t help but smile.
’Speak of the devil?’ he thought.
He immediately answered the call. "Mr. Chen, I was just thinking I had something to discuss with you, and here you are calling. Should we call this telepathy?"
"Uh!" Chen Jincheng was taken aback for a moment by Boss Lei’s enthusiasm.
’Telepathy, my ass.’
’Something’s definitely up with this big boss.’
So, he asked, "President Lei, what was it you wanted to talk about?"
Lei Xiaojun said immediately, "Mr. Chen, you must be aware of Ms. Dong’s new energy vehicle project. Even Wanda Wang and Face-blind Dong invested three billion in her. The public is very optimistic about her project right now."
"What are your thoughts on Ms. Dong’s project?"
Chen Jincheng hadn’t expected Boss Lei to ask about this.
He actually knew quite a bit about it. As for his opinion? It was, as the netizens from his past life had mockingly put it, a pile of crap.
In fact, after Boss Lei’s own car manufacturing venture succeeded, her project became the textbook example of what not to do.
As for why Ms. Dong’s project was so widely mocked, one reason was that she herself was an easy target for ridicule. Another was her arrogance when entering the auto industry; she was blindly overconfident, and the project started with a bang but ended with a whimper.
Even after her lithium titanate batteries were determined to be uncompetitive in the market, she stubbornly forged ahead.
Before he’d traveled through time, when Boss Lei’s car venture had succeeded and he was at the height of his glory, Ms. Dong had been in the audience, watching him with a complicated expression.
A photo was taken of the moment, and netizens captioned it: "What Ms. Dong imagined for herself."
’Boss Lei asking this question must mean he’s already started working on his car project, right?’
In his original world, Boss Lei had investigated for a year before officially launching the project in 2021. It was now November 2018; adding in the year of investigation, he was more than a year ahead of schedule.
’Looks like this is my butterfly effect at work.’
Still, he couldn’t just tell President Lei that Ms. Dong’s project was a pile of crap doomed to fail, could he?
After all, she currently had the backing of Wanda Wang and Face-blind Dong.
So, he said, "President Lei, I’m aware that Ms. Dong is getting into the car business, but I haven’t looked into it in depth. I can take some time to study it and get back to you with my thoughts."
"Excellent. Mr. Chen, you should come to Beijing in the next few days to chat with me," Lei Xiaojun said, eagerly extending the invitation.
That took Chen Jincheng by surprise.
’Isn’t Boss Lei being a little too enthusiastic?’
However, he hadn’t forgotten the reason for his call. "President Lei, going to Beijing is no problem. But I actually called today because I have a business proposition I’d like to discuss with you."
Lei Xiaojun said with a smile, "Mr. Chen, please, go ahead."
Chen Jincheng explained, "President Lei, my Company MCN is planning to establish a film department and has its eye on LeTV’s film and television division. The acquisition will cost around three billion, but I’m short on capital. I was hoping to secure some financing from you for my Soda brand."
Lei Xiaojun said in surprise, "Spending three billion to acquire the LeTV Film and Television division just to start a film department? Mr. Chen, knowing you, you must be planning something big, right? Would you care to elaborate?"
Chen Jincheng was taken aback.
’Weren’t we supposed to be talking about the Soda?’
’Why does it feel like Boss Lei is more interested in his acquisition of the LeTV Film and Television division?’
He tapped his head. How could he have forgotten?
This Boss Lei was also very interested in the film industry, much like he was keen on being an internet celebrity. Or perhaps, like Boss Ma, he had initially wanted to be a movie star and only later became an internet celebrity.
Boss Ma had invited a host of martial arts stars to appear alongside him in the martial arts film, *Money is Kung Fu*!
Boss Lei had also invested in and filmed a biographical short film—the one that went viral online, where he excitedly shouts, "I got the funding! I got the funding! 100,000 yuan!"
On top of that, he had also made cameos in other movies.
In 2021, Boss Lei had even invested in a film company—Shengcang Film and Television.
That company had invested in quite a few films, such as *Lone Agent*, but due to a lack of professional expertise, none of them made much of a splash.
Later, when short-form dramas became popular, he had the company pivot its market strategy to produce them. Boss Lei had even stated publicly on more than one occasion that he was hooked on short-form dramas, saying that watching them was like "opening up a new world" and was "very exciting."
Although Boss Lei had repeatedly claimed that investing in film was an attempt to explore a new path for Rice by integrating it with the entertainment industry, everyone knew full well that, just like Boss Ma wanting to be a kung fu star, it was simply Boss Lei’s personal hobby.