blueteamnovel Chapter 76 Even if you win by doing nothing, you still have to work first.
Chapter 76 Even if you win by doing nothing, you still have to work first.
The Santana merged into the traffic on Jianguomenwai Street. Zhou Weidong gripped the steering wheel and glanced back in the rearview mirror.
"Let's find somewhere to eat lunch first, and then you'll come with me to see the office space this afternoon. You should also come along and give me your feedback."
The two found a small restaurant nearby, ate a bowl of noodles, and didn't talk much. After finishing their meal, Zhou Weidong started the car and drove west.
The first place was on Fuwai Street, in a gray-white office building, about 50 square meters, divided into two rooms, with windows facing north, so the lighting wasn't very good.
The woman in charge was in her early thirties, quick-witted, and explained everything in detail. Zhou Weidong went inside, looked around, stood by the window, and shook his head at Li Si'an when he came out.
Li Si'an understood what he meant—too small.
The second one is near the Lianxiang Bridge on the North Third Ring Road. It's a large place, over 100 square meters, a spacious open-plan layout. But the surrounding area is full of electronics markets, and the area downstairs is noisy and chaotic, with bicycles blocking half the road.
Zhou Weidong frowned, didn't even go inside, just glanced at it from the corridor and left.
The third one is on Xizhimenwai Street, behind the Beijing Exhibition Center, in the annex of the Beijing Exhibition Hotel.
Old Liu, who was in charge of renting out this floor, was in his fifties. He wore black-rimmed glasses and spoke slowly and deliberately, with the air of someone who had come from a state-owned enterprise.
He led them up to the second floor. The stairs were terrazzo, and the wooden handrails were worn smooth and shiny by the years.
"This place is a foreign trade business. They just moved out, and the office furniture is still here; they haven't had time to move it out yet."
Old Liu pushed open the door. It was a large, square room with windows facing south, directly opposite the spire of the Beijing Exhibition Theater.
Sunlight streamed in through the window, carpeting the floor in gold.
The room contained a few desks, filing cabinets, and chairs. Although there wasn't much, everything looked usable. The walls were freshly painted white, and the floor was covered with a light gray carpet; everything was quite clean.
Zhou Weidong walked around the room and looked out the window.
The spire of the Beijing Exhibition Theater gleamed with a dark red light under the sun. The courtyard was quiet, and the ginkgo leaves were half yellow, with a few fallen to the ground.
"This place is fine," Li Si'an said.
Zhou Weidong didn't reply, but turned to Lao Liu and asked, "What's the price?"
Old Liu gave a number. Zhou Weidong frowned. "Too high."
"This location is right here, on Xizhimenwai Street, next to the Beijing Exhibition Center, with convenient transportation. The price isn't high."
Zhou Weidong thought for a moment. "Can the management fee be waived?"
"Management fees are unavoidable," Old Liu said. "But I can cover the utilities. For the first three years, all utilities will be free and included in the rent."
Zhou Weidong was taken aback. "Completely free?"
"Yes. You sign a three-year contract, and the property management company will cover the water and electricity costs."
Zhou Weidong glanced at Li Si'an. Li Si'an thought for a moment—three years of free water and electricity bills adds up to a considerable sum, but the key is that it saves her the trouble of paying every month.
Zhou Weidong had figured it out and nodded.
"Okay. It's settled then."
The lease agreement was signed that afternoon for three years. No need to buy furniture or wait for renovations; we can use it right away.
Old Liu took three keys out of the drawer and placed them on the table.
"Three of them, all for the main gate."
Zhou Weidong took two, then pushed the remaining one to Li Si'an. "You take one. Tomorrow, find someone to come over, tidy up the house, wipe the dust, and put things away."
Li Si'an took the keys and put them in her pocket.
Old Liu saw them downstairs. Zhou Weidong shook hands with him and said, "Thank you for your trouble." The two then left the Beizhan Hotel.
Standing in the courtyard, Zhou Weidong lit a cigarette and took a puff. "The furniture is already there, which saves trouble."
"It just looks a bit old," Li Si'an said.
"So what if it's old? As long as it works."
Zhou Weidong flicked his cigarette ash. "After you've finished cleaning up tomorrow, I'll go check if anything's missing. We need to install a phone and hang up a sign; we can't let people spend ages looking for the place and never find it."
Li Si'an nodded.
The two got into the car, which turned off the quiet alleyway leading to the Beijing Exhibition Center Theater and merged into the traffic on Xizhimen Outer Street.
Zhou Weidong gripped the steering wheel and spoke after a long while.
"Anzi, we need to find an accountant quickly."
Li Si'an leaned back in her chair and glanced at him.
"It's not just about bookkeeping." Zhou Weidong paused for a moment.
"Mr. Zhao said the $10 from Motorola will arrive in about a week. How should this money be transferred—to the company account or your personal account? If it's transferred to the company account, the company needs to have a foreign exchange account and register with the State Administration of Foreign Exchange."
"Even if the money is transferred to your personal account, the bank still needs to provide an explanation. Someone has to handle all the legwork."
Li Si'an thought for a moment. "Let's transfer it to the company account. That way I won't have to go through the procedures at the State Administration of Foreign Exchange myself."
"That's what I think too." Zhou Weidong nodded.
"But if the company receives this money, there needs to be a tax explanation. I'll have Attorney Liu draft an agreement to separate the GG videos from the promotional slogans—the GG video licensing will be paid to the company, while the promotional slogan licensing will be paid to you personally. Clearly separating the accounts will make things easier in the future."
Li Si'an leaned back in her chair, watching the street scene recede outside the window. Company matters, finances, foreign exchange, contracts, press conferences, album releases—one thing after another, all piled up at once.
"Where can I find an accountant?" he asked.
"There are quite a few retired accountants in the cultural bureau system," Zhou Weidong said. "They've done accounting their whole lives, come from state-owned enterprises, are skilled in their work, and are reliable. I'll go back and ask around, and find a trustworthy one."
Li Si'an nodded. The retired accountant from the state-owned enterprise was meticulous in his bookkeeping and tight-lipped, much better than anyone you could find anywhere else.
The car continued westward, and the ginkgo leaves outside the window were half yellow, swaying in the wind.
Back at the music store, Li Si'an pushed open the door and went in; the wind chimes rang once.
Chen Nan was standing behind the counter, using an abacus, the beads clicking and clattering. Hearing the noise, he looked up.
"Hey, what brings you back today? Weren't you in military training?"
"I've taken the day off." Li Si'an put her bag on the counter and plopped down in a chair. "I'm too busy with all this."
Chen Nan pushed the abacus aside. "What's up? Is the album about to be released?"
"Bigger than that." Li Si'an leaned back in her chair. "That Motorola guy—my music video—sold."
Chen Nan was taken aback. "Sold? Sold to whom?"
"Motorola. They bought the rights to the 'GG' video for the Asian region."
"How much?"
"One hundred thousand."
"One hundred thousand?" Chen Nan's eyes widened instantly. "You sold a song for one hundred thousand?"
US dollars.
Chen Nan's mouth was open, and she couldn't close it for a long time.
"US dollars...US dollars? One hundred thousand US dollars?" She threw her pen on the table. "How come they're selling it for so much?"
Li Si'an laughed. "Isn't there a flip phone in my music video? The one on the piano lid. They liked it and thought it matched the product's style perfectly."
And that slogan I wrote—"Motorola, bringing hearts closer"—the headquarters also took a liking to it and wanted to use it as their global slogan. Both, bundled together, $100,000.
Chen Nan leaned against the counter, stared at him for several seconds, and then swiped all the abacus beads back into place with a clatter.
"Anzi, you're not singing anymore, you're becoming a capitalist."
Li Si'an chuckled but didn't reply.
After finishing dinner, Li Si'an pushed away her bowl and chopsticks, said goodbye to Chen Nan, and went out the door.
The night air in early September was exceptionally pleasant. He walked north along the road and arrived at the entrance of the Beijing Dance Academy in about ten minutes.
Li Si'an stood at the foot of the girls' dormitory building, took out her phone and dialed Tang Yun's dormitory number.
"Are you in your dorm?"
Tang Yun recognized his voice. "Why are you here?"
"I'm downstairs."
"Wait."
A short while later, Tang Yun came out of the building, her hair still wet and draped over her shoulders.
"You came all this way so late at night, aren't you tired?"
"Not tired. I took a week off."
"Why are you taking a week off? Isn't the press conference on the 18th?"
"I'm releasing an album soon, and I'm too busy to do military training." Li Si'an paused for a moment, "I probably won't have time to come over for the next few days either, so I made a special trip tonight."
Tang Yun didn't say anything, but reached out and grasped two of his fingers.
Li Si'an grabbed her hand and pulled her half a step closer to him, then lowered his head and kissed her forehead. Tang Yun closed her eyes, her fingers clutching the side of his shirt.
The two stood there for a while before Li Si'an spoke and told her about what had happened in the past two days.
The contract is signed, $9 USD. The press conference is scheduled for September 18th. We'll be broadcasting on CCTV, Phoenix TV, TVB, provincial TV stations in coastal areas, and also in Singapore and Malaysia.
Tang Yun listened and lifted her head from his chest.
"That means it's going to be a hit overseas."
"More or less."
"Didn't Zhou Xun also become popular overseas? She was the leading actress, and her face is much clearer than yours."
Li Si'an laughed. "Of course. Xun-ge'er has made a fortune this time."
Did you tell her?
"Not yet. I've been so busy these past few days, I'll call her later."
Tang Yun nodded, then reached out and squeezed his fingers.
"Alright, go back now. You have so much to do, don't waste your time here."
"No rush."
Tang Yun glanced at him but didn't chase him away again. Li Si'an pulled her back into his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head.
After a while, Tang Yun stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the corner of the mouth. Li Si'an didn't let her face go back; he held the back of her head with one hand and lowered his head to kiss her.
They kissed for a while before separating.
Tang Yun was panting, her face slightly flushed, and she kept her head down, not looking at him.
"You'd better hurry up and leave, it'll be time to lock the door soon."
"You go up first."
Tang Yun turned and took two steps, then turned back. "Remember to call Sister Xun when you get back."
"I've got it."
She waved to him through the glass door and disappeared at the end of the corridor.
Li Si'an stood there for a while, then turned and walked back. The September night wind blew, and the locust tree leaves overhead rustled.