Li Lao and Zhou Can could really be considered close friends.
Both of them not only shared many common interests but also had very similar mindsets.
They were the kind of people who didn’t sweat the small stuff, disliked showy displays, yet could treat friends with the utmost sincerity.
When Golden Entertainment Interactive Company was established, even if Li Lao had only given Zhou Can a 20% share, that would have been considered bringing Zhou Can along for a lucrative opportunity.
But instead, he gave Zhou Can a 50% share.
Zhou Can had none of the experience in running an entertainment company nor any resources in that regard. From a businessman’s perspective, Zhou Can merely possessed a low-value record of Su Qianqian.
It would be entirely feasible to buy it off him and then sign Su Qianqian to the company under the pretense of helping Zhou Can’s girlfriend.
By doing so, there would be no need to give Zhou Can any shares.
Zhou Can and Su Qianqian would still have to be grateful to Li Lao.
But Li Lao did not do this, he didn’t even engage in the simplest scheming.
With Li Lao’s business savvy, he surely knew how to control Golden Entertainment Interactive Company effectively. When distributing the shares originally, if he had given Zhou Can just 1% less, keeping 51% for himself and giving 49% to Zhou Can, he could have solely controlled the company.
Li Lao treated Zhou Can with the innocence of a baby.
And Zhou Can was equally sincere towards him.
Throughout their time running the company together, Zhou Can never checked the accounts, he hadn’t even looked at the financial reports of Golden Entertainment Interactive. How much they divided in dividends each quarter was decided by Li Lao.
It was precisely this naive type of cooperation that prevented any disputes over interests or any conflicts between them.
Honestly, even close brothers might find it hard to achieve this.
As they say, brothers will fight like tigers, but sons and fathers will join forces in battle.
Too many good friends and close brothers become enemies over disproportionate profits when going into business together. This is human nature.
"Li Lao has always been utterly sincere towards me, what happened to him?"
Zhou Can felt there must be some misunderstanding.
On one side, a good brother, and on the other, a closest girlfriend, both are trustworthy.
"Have you heard of Hu Haikun, the big capital tycoon?"
Su Qianqian didn’t rush into the details.
"I have heard a bit. He’s the head of Changhua Plastics Group, a top domestic enterprise. I’ve heard he’s also invested in real estate and pig breeding. A very successful businessman."
Zhou Can himself was born into wealth, and had general knowledge about some very famous business magnates in the province.
It’s part of a wealthy heir’s essential learning.
Since childhood, his parents taught him that while you don’t need to be obsequious to other magnates, never take the risk of offending any influential figures lightly.
Knowing more about the histories of other magnates could also allow learning from their entrepreneurial spirit.
Hu Haikun belongs to the topmost tier of businessmen in the province.
He would still be widely regarded as a significant business magnate nationally.
"Recently, Hu Haikun approached President Lee wanting to directly acquire Golden Entertainment Interactive, but President Lee declined."
Su Qianqian lifted her slender wrist and brushed back her hair.
Golden Entertainment Interactive, though recently established, had grown tremendously fast and had become a rising star in the industry, attracting the attention of many capital investors.
Hu Haikun’s investment judgment was always excellent.
It is said that every company he invested in made a profit.
That is an incredibly remarkable achievement.
Investing involves huge risks; no one can guarantee they’ll always make money.
In fact, it’s very easy to incur losses.
Hu Haikun managing to profit from each of his investments speaks volumes about his astute business acumen.
Even someone like him wanting to acquire Golden Entertainment Interactive shows the great potential of the company.
Li Lao is a man with ideals and passion.
The founding of Golden Entertainment Interactive wasn’t solely for making money. He had already succeeded in winning the position of President at Tianyu Interactive, yet to care for his sick wife, he chose to give up the wonderful prospects and opportunities to live quietly on Jiangxin Island for several years.
Certainly, he was left with some regrets.
With his pride, he wouldn’t deign to return to work at Tianyu Interactive.
His wish was to make Golden Entertainment Interactive stronger than Tianyu Interactive.
Moreover, he wanted to use the profits from Golden Entertainment Interactive to invest in a pharmaceutical research company to develop a cure for his wife’s illness as soon as possible.
How could he sell a company that carried so many of his dreams and visions?
"I know about this; Li Lao discussed it with me."
At that time, Zhou Can was on General Surgery helping Dr. Liu’s team secure the construction rights for a sub-department, extremely busy. He didn’t have the time for this matter.
He just let Li Lao make the decision on his own.
Whether to sell or keep it, Zhou Can would support either decision.
"These past days, Hu Haikun has been seeking out President Lee again to discuss a partnership. Seeing he couldn’t acquire Golden Entertainment Interactive, Hu Haikun proposed to invest in it. I’ve heard that Hu Haikun intends to push you out and partner solely with President Lee."
Su Qianqian relayed the upsetting news to Zhou Can.
"It’s okay, Brother Lao isn’t like that!"
Zhou Can showed a strained smile.
However, his face inevitably paled a bit.
"Can, since you aren’t involved in this industry, you might not realize how beneficial partnering with Hu Haikun could be. A big capital tycoon has startling strength, with money and resources, including many scarce resources across various fields. If President Lee accepts Hu Haikun’s conditions to cut you out, the development speed of Golden Entertainment Interactive could immediately increase by at least two or three times. Plus, in areas like securing advertisements, promoting corporate artists, auditing music and video releases, organizing concerts, and recruiting new artists, there would be exponential improvement."