Chapter 179 - 152: Zhengran, Why Are They Calling You President Lin?

Chapter 179: Chapter 152: Zhengran, Why Are They Calling You President Lin?

She was shaking Lin Zhengran by the arm so hard he felt like his brain was turning to mush.

The mouse in his hand was wobbling unsteadily.

Jiang Xueli was still firing off a barrage of questions, the words tumbling out all at once:

"Why is everyone calling you President Lin? Why do you have your own office? What do you mean by a ’parent company’? And you’re training them? Why is Wang so respectful to you! Hurry up and tell me what the hell happened!"

Lin Zhengran let out a long breath, slowly raised his hand, and amidst the violent shaking, gave Jiang Xueli a sharp flick on the forehead.

Crying out in pain, Jiang Xueli jerked her head back, finally calming down a bit.

She stopped shaking him.

She clutched her forehead. "Ow, that really hurt! What was that for?"

Lin Zhengran turned to look at her. "What are you panicking about? You made my head spin. Isn’t it obvious? I’m now one of the people..." Lin Zhengran searched for the right words. "..."

"...in charge here. I’m one of the heads, along with Wang and Jiang Jingshi. That’s why they call me President Lin."

"Huh?!" Jiang Xueli forgot all about the stinging pain on her forehead.

"What do you mean, ’in charge’? Are you saying that this company..." She spread her arms wide, her gesture almost comically dramatic. "This huge company! This luxurious company! You have a stake in it?! You’re a boss now?! The kind of boss who gets dividends based on shares every year?!"

Lin Zhengran nodded. "You could say that. From now on, I’ll get a share of all the money the company earns."

"For real?! But where would you get the money to start a company? Don’t you need a ton of money for that?!"

Regarding the money, Lin Zhengran had actually had a serious discussion with Jiang Jingshi about this very issue.

After all, Jiang Jingshi was basically footing the entire bill, and the sums involved were enormous.

The money Lin Zhengran had on hand was a drop in the ocean compared to Jiang Jingshi’s wealth. He was only contributing his own expertise, but Jiang Jingshi had insisted on giving him a majority stake. In return, Lin Zhengran had made her a promise.

Lin Zhengran had been the one to propose it, promising that he would increase the company’s profits by at least sixty percent within six months.

He had started to say what would happen if he failed, but he never finished the sentence.

Jiang Jingshi had covered his mouth with her hand, guessing what he was about to say.

"Don’t say it, Zhengran. Don’t say anything that works against you. Since I believe in you, I believe in you completely. When you trust someone, you don’t doubt them. If there are losses, I’ll bear them myself. You’re still the boss. If we earn money, we earn it together."

For Lin Zhengran, making money was simple as long as he had a platform. The six months he’d mentioned was a conservative estimate; he wouldn’t even need that much time. The promise was more of a gesture to repay Jiang Jingshi for her incredible faith in him.

However, the sheer extent of Jiang Jingshi’s trust had taken even Lin Zhengran by surprise.

So, after hearing her words, Lin Zhengran had simply replied, "In that case, I won’t say anything else. Just wait and see in six months, Jiang."

Jiang Jingshi had smiled gently and nodded.

Lin Zhengran answered the present-day Jiang Xueli, "I didn’t put up any money, just myself. I promised Jiang Jingshi that I’d increase the company’s profits by more than fifty percent within six months. That’s how I became an investor."

Jiang Xueli was even more shocked. "More than fifty percent?! So how much does the company make in a year right now?"

Lin Zhengran asked, "Are you asking about one division or all of them?"

"What do you mean?"

"Zhengshi Company operates as a parent company. You just asked me what that meant, didn’t you? Well, this is it. Currently, Zhengshi Company has three subsidiaries."

"They are Zhengshi Sports, Zhengshi Music, and Zhengshi Live Stream. We’re at Zhengshi Music right now. So, were you asking..."

"Wait a minute!" Jiang Xueli’s eyes went wide, her voice practically deafening. "Zhengran, are you telling me this company is just a subsidiary?! There are two other companies?! And a parent company on top of all that?!"

Lin Zhengran couldn’t resist flicking her on the head again, making her yelp.

Lin Zhengran explained, "Keep your voice down! It’s a good thing this is a music company with soundproof glass, otherwise your shouting would be the death of me. Yes, this is one subsidiary, and there are two others. That makes four companies in total."

"Doesn’t that make your promise incredibly hard to keep?!"

"You think I can’t?" he said with a laugh. "I wouldn’t have made the promise if I didn’t already have a plan."

Jiang Xueli looked into Lin Zhengran’s eyes. Even though the promise sounded a little outlandish... she trusted him completely.

Following his lead had never steered her wrong.

Suddenly, Jiang Xueli broke into a smile. "So if you pull it off, how much money will you make in a year, Zhengran?"

"How should I know? It’s based on dividends. If I fulfill my promise within six months, we’ll split the profits based on our shares from then on."

Jiang Xueli took a moment to piece everything together. "Okay, I get it. So that’s why you’re going to be training everyone later. Because this company is going to be yours. Does that mean my boss is going to be you from now on, Zhengran?!"

"Mhm. We can come here for training from now on. But I’ll still train you one-on-one, while the others will be in a group session. After all, I’ve been training you personally since you were young; you’re different from them."

’For a music company to turn a profit, it really only needed to focus on developing three or four—or even just one or two—key groups or singers. Spreading resources too thin would actually make it harder to earn money. That’s why, in the future, Lili by herself might end up earning more than half of the company’s profits.’

Jiang Xueli was about to say something else, but just then, Pan Lin walked in from outside carrying a tray of freshly brewed tea. "President Lin, Lili, your tea is here."