Chapter 70 The Thorn Bird Held Up by One Man

……

"By the way, is my ticket booked?"

"It's booked! Fly to New York tomorrow at 10 a.m."

"That's good!"

"Boss, do you really need me to go with you?"

Guo Shouyun nodded.

"With the box office explosion of "Smart: Ghost Shadow", the attitude of **** will definitely be loosened, you have to stay and help me keep an eye on it! This short-term loan worth $120 million is related to the key to the next development of the matrix, and it must be determined as soon as possible. ”

"Understood!"

Despite her disappointment, Wendy Solo also understood the importance of the loan, so she nodded solemnly.

"By the way, Villefort Studios' 'Counter-Strike' is on the market, right?"

"It's been a week since it was released on August 28th!" Wendy nodded.

"How's it going?"

"Very ideal. No, it should be said that the boss you have acquired a baby!" Wendy's expression was full of excitement, "According to the data fed back from Gabe Newell, in a week, the sales of Counter-Strike genuine discs exceeded 180,000 copies, and it is still rising rapidly, according to this trend, it will definitely be able to exceed 3 million copies by the end of the year!"

"Three million copies, at a price of $60 for a genuine game disc, is $180 million in revenue. After deducting channels, costs and advertising, Villefort can get about 45%, that is, 81 million, and after deducting corporate income tax and some local surtaxes, there will be 50 million US dollars left! Compared with the previous investment of 15 million, we have indeed made a lot of money!"

Guo Shouyun smiled and nodded.

That being said, he doesn't believe that the famous and long-lasting Counter-Strike in his previous life only sold 3 million.

"Boss, your investment vision is as accurate as ever!" Wendy Solo's eyes revealed a hint of admiration.

The gaze of the beautiful secretary undoubtedly made Guo Shouyun extremely useful in his heart. Of course, he didn't forget what he should have explained.

"In addition to the loan negotiation with ****, you can help me do one more thing!"

"Please ask the boss!"

"The New York Times report completely exposed me to the public, and in order to avoid being harassed by the outside world, and at the same time to protect my personal privacy and security, you found me a trustworthy bodyguard. He must have served in the special forces, be proficient in the use of various weapons, have a family of his own, have no bad record during his service, and have no history of smoking, alcoholism. In a word, I don't mind spending money, but I need loyal and reliable bodyguards with outstanding abilities!" Guo Shouyun said in a deep voice.

Originally, there was no need to be in such a hurry, he could wait for Hua Lei to finish the family affairs with peace of mind, and then bring him to his side. But the New York Times report completely disrupted his original plan, forcing Guo Shouyun to prepare in advance.

Although the current American society is not as chaotic as it will be more than a decade later, Guo Shouyun does not want to risk his own life to try the 1 percent probability.

"Understood, do you want to prepare a few more candidates for you?"

"Yes!"

Guo Shouyun nodded, of course he didn't mind having a few more objects to consider.

……

New York, the largest metropolitan area in the United States, is the center of the world economy. This is not the first time Guo Shouyun has come. However, in the past, he was only for the purpose of participating in competitions or traveling, but this time he came with the goal of 'drawing salary from the bottom of the kettle'. Of course, before that, as the boss of the 'Thorn Bird', he also had to take a look at his company.

"Bruce?"

Walking out of the airport exit with his luggage, he soon found Christopher Ritter in the crowd who had come to greet him.

"Bruce Guo?!"

Guo Shouyun was just about to walk over, when a voice full of joy sounded in his ears, almost like cheers. Before he could calm down, he saw five or six girls about fifteen or sixteen years old 'hula' all around him.

"Bruce, I'm a big fan of your Fifty Shades of Grey, sign me!"

"And me, I've watched 'Fifty Shades of Grey' five times. ”

"Bruce, you're so handsome. Do you have a girlfriend, how about thinking about me?"

Although it is a good thing to be adored by beautiful little girls, when surrounded by a large number of little girls, he feels more like torturing himself.

Guo Shouyun's brain is about to be blasted by these extroverted girls!

Seeing that the people around him were gathering more and more, Guo Shouyun hurriedly took the pen that he didn't know who handed him over, and then quickly left a few of his signatures on their small notebooks, and said 'Thank you for your support, goodbye', and fled with her luggage. It wasn't until I got into Christopher's car, cut off the view from the outside, and left the airport that I was relieved.

"It's horrible!"

Glancing at him, Christopher couldn't help but smile and said, "How did something that others couldn't ask for, come to you, and it feels like a life and death escape?"

"It's someone else's business that people like it. For me, being famous is really not something to be happy about!" Maybe it has something to do with his love of writing, Guo Shouyun likes to be quiet. As soon as there were many people, he had an inexplicable sense of anxiety in his heart.

"You're not used to it at first, but it'll be fine after a while!"

Guo Shouyun shook his head slightly. Because of the influence of education and living conditions in his previous life, as well as the traditional Chinese culture for 2,000 years, living under the spotlight is not his pursuit, and hiding behind the scenes to control the overall situation is the ideal state he expects. However, he is not going to say this to Christopher, there is a fundamental difference in philosophy between the two sides, and the more he talks, the greater the difference.

"By the way, how did you talk to Milou?"

Guo Shouyun changed the subject.

"Merrill Lynch's ability is very good, and I have already called me yesterday to tell me that the other party has agreed to sign a contract! The acquisition amount is 25 million US dollars, and we have obtained all the assets of Milou Press, including the copyright of their 137 bookstores and 27,823 sets (volumes) of books in Australia, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea!"

"What is the company's revenue now?" Guo Shouyun asked after nodding.

So far, you've sold 9.17 million copies of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, 7.56 million copies of Pirates of the Caribbean, 3.87 million copies of National Treasure, and 1.87 million copies of Spirit: Ghost Story, and thanks to the film's influence, sales have been growing rapidly recently. "The Hangover" also sold well because of its humor and lighthearted content, accumulating sales of 1.18 million copies in four weeks. Of course, the most profitable is "Fifty Shades of Grey", which sold 10.45 million copies in 14 weeks, and is still selling at an astonishing rate. Its sales are simply incredible. I've never seen that book sell so well. Rowling's Harry Potter wasn't so popular when it came out!"

Looking at Christopher with surprise and a hint of disbelief in his expression, Guo Shouyun couldn't help but smile. The sales volume of "Fifty Shades of Grey" in the next two years was 40 million sets, and now it is only now! However, Guo Shouyun was a little surprised that "Pirates of the Caribbean" could sell so well, but thinking about the popularity of the movie, everything is not difficult to understand.

"I'm proud of the popularity of your books. No, it should be a hit, and the total revenue of Thorn Bird Publishing has exceeded $1.2 billion in the past four months since its establishment. After deducting your royalties, channels, printing costs, logistics costs, etc., Thornbird can get 18% of the gross profit, which is about $220 million. After deducting corporate income tax and some state surcharges, there is $130 million left. In addition, the fifth part of Rowling's Harry Potter has been written, the layout and binding have been completed, and it will be published soon. By the end of the year, Thornbird's net profit will definitely rise by another $200 million. If everything goes according to plan, we will surpass Haber Collins in profits in 2000 and squeeze into the top 10 in the world!"

When he agreed to Guo Shouyun to join Jing Thorn Bird, although he thought that he would make money, he didn't expect to be able to create such dazzling results in such a short period of time. With a 25% stake, as long as the revenue of Thorn Bird Publishing can stabilize for a few more years, and when the company goes public, he will be a billionaire without a doubt.

Of course, if you want to achieve this goal, the key is to rely on the cash cow around you - Bruce Guo. As the New York Times said before, he alone supported a world-class publishing house. This huge energy shocked Christopher Ritter, and he was willing to give everything he had to hold this thigh that was destined to get thicker and thicker.

"Now that I have money, in addition to expanding the company's sales channels and copyright library, I can't ignore the development of new authors, and if Thornbird wants to become an influential publishing giant in the industry, it can't just rely on me and Rowling!"

"Don't worry, Bruce. I'm not one to just sleep on your credits!"

"That's good!" Guo Shouyun smiled, and after glancing at Christopher beside him with flickering eyes, "What I told you before, how did you think about it?"

"Bruce, do you have to invest it all? After all, the development of the company also needs money!" Christopher hesitated.

"Funds for company development, even funds for mergers and acquisitions, employee benefits and salaries, printing costs, etc., can be met with short-term business loans. I believe that with the revenue data of Thorn Bird, it is not difficult to get a loan! And the rate of return obtained by taking out the funds from our actual revenue to make an asset management plan is definitely higher than the return on putting it in the bank or buying short-term treasury bonds. ”

"Of course, I understand that the company's revenue needs to be invested wisely, but if I don't keep some cash, in case of an emergency...!"

Guo Shouyun interrupted him, "Christopher, I understand your worries, I won't use all this money for high-risk investments. Besides, who says we don't have cash? Now we have to make tens of millions of dollars a week! And I'm going to bring a steady stream of new works to the company. ”