Chapter 046: Shareholding Restructuring

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Luvei—an English name Liu Jing gave himself—was considered quite “lowbrow” by Sissi. After all, to make it in Hollywood, one needed a name like “Jackie Chan,” “Jet Li,” “Chow Yun Fat,” or “Michelle Yeoh.” The invitation was written in English, which posed no challenge for Liu Jing, who held a professional level eight proficiency. Yet, the content of the invitation genuinely surprised him. Out of thousands of children, he had been selected by the production team.

A little over a month ago, with the summer holidays ending and the new school year about to begin, the company’s business department suddenly contacted Zhou Wenqiong to arrange a role for Liu Jing in a Hollywood film and set up an audition. Liu Jing was astonished; Yongsheng was so powerful that they could secure him a role in Hollywood.

“Home Alone” was very famous—not just any ordinary film. The first installment cost $18 million to make but grossed over $500 million, setting a Guinness World Record at the time for the highest-grossing comedy with such a small budget. The second film earned $358 million worldwide. With these two as a foundation, the third installment’s box office wouldn’t be bad either.

In the past year and more, Liu Jing hadn’t earned much entertainment industry credit. If he became the lead in the third film, even with just $300 million in box office revenue, how much credit would he receive after the film wrapped? Ten thousand, fifty thousand, a hundred thousand, two hundred thousand… Liu Jing was ecstatic, already overwhelmed trying to calculate the sums.

But when he and his aunt arrived at the audition site, he was completely dumbfounded. He wasn’t the only one auditioning—dozens of children were there, and he was the only Chinese child. Upon further inquiry, he became even more frustrated; this wasn’t the only group auditioning. Several rounds had already taken place, and who knew how many more were to come. It turned out the company had only secured an audition opportunity, not the role itself.

Since he was already here, he figured he might as well make the most of it. Liu Jing always took his work seriously and didn’t slack off, even when he knew the odds were slim. After the audition, he put the matter aside.

“Is the director blind? Or did the company bribe him? Why pass over so many foreign kids and pick me, the only Chinese one?” Liu Jing scratched his head, unable to understand.

“Don’t belittle yourself. Our Mu Tou is known in America. To them, you’re just another foreign kid,” his aunt said happily, feeling proud.

“My little fame isn’t worth much to them,” Liu Jing replied self-deprecatingly, knowing his own standing well.

“Many filmmakers from Hong Kong have broken into Hollywood in recent years. Jackie Chan and John Woo have made names for themselves. They probably saw that too. Besides, after makeup, you look no different than the other kids. It won’t affect your screen presence.”

“Why didn’t they just keep Macaulay Culkin, who acted so well?” Liu Jing was still puzzled.

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“He’s sixteen this year—too old for the role. Plus, there were other issues. The production team passed on him early during preparations,” his aunt explained. Having worked as an agent for several years, she knew quite a bit about Hollywood.

“Why?” Liu Jing asked curiously.

“After the first film, he became a star. During the second film’s shoot, his parents threatened Fox Studios, refusing to act unless they were paid more. The third film was supposed to follow immediately but was delayed for years because of that. His parents treated Macaulay like a cash cow, taking him on endless money-making gigs. Last year, his parents fought a bitter divorce and custody battle—which was less about custody and more about money. Macaulay was smart; he announced his retirement from showbiz and recently got engaged to Rachel Miner. Like that great master once said, a tragic story of a gifted child wasted,” his aunt sighed deeply, thinking about Liu Jing as she told the story.

Liu Jing thought of himself too. “Teacher An and Sister Li are pretty good, but of course, Auntie is the best.”

“Ha ha, Mu Tou, your words are getting sweeter,” his aunt laughed heartily, feeling very pleased.

Back at home, Liu Jing was surprised to find not only Zhang Min but also two men present. One was Boss Chen; the other was a stranger to him.

“A computer? Where did this come from?” Liu Jing’s eyes lit up. At a time like this, nothing else caught his attention like this machine.

“It’s a birthday gift from Zhang Min. I collected it for you,” Teacher An, who also liked it, was busy setting it up with the instruction manual.

“It’s a month early. Why give it so soon?” Liu Jing was puzzled.

“You’re about to shoot in Hollywood. When you come back, you’ll be a worldwide superstar. I had to give you your gift early,” Zhang Min smiled, looking much more prosperous.

“This is a computer? Why does it look like a TV?” Sissi was a bit disappointed. It had sounded so magical when Dad talked about it before, but in reality, it looked quite ordinary.

“Go on, go do your homework. Don’t mess around trying to skip grades. If your grades don’t keep up, I’ll deal with you,” Liu Jing pushed her away, showing no mercy for distractions.

“You’re feeling cheeky, huh? How dare you talk to me like that?” Sissi was furious; she was the boss here, and he was just pretending.

Teacher An gave Liu Jing a sidelong glance. This kid’s tone was even more fatherly than mine.

“Sissi, finish your homework first, then you can play on the computer,” Teacher An patted the girl’s shoulder in consolation.

The little girl snorted but finally returned to her room to do her homework.

In the living room, Zhang Min, Boss Chen, and Sister Li were deep in a heated discussion, while Teacher An and Liu Jing studied the computer in the study, each respecting the other’s space.

Neither were fools; soon the computer was set up, plugged in, and successfully booted.

“Teacher An, go plug in the internet cable quickly. With this, my work will be much easier,” Liu Jing expertly operated the computer, having encountered such devices back in Hong Kong.

The first time he saw a computer, he was amazed and even composed a daily reflection about it.

[Note: Like the inventor of fire, like Cangjie creating characters, like Watt boiling water, like Faraday inducing electricity…]

Then he was even more amazed by how the system praised the computer.

Teacher An watched Liu Jing’s rapid-fire operations, equally astonished. “Liu Jing, you know how to use this?”

“No problem! Want to learn? I’ll teach you,” Liu Jing said with pride, though he was more skilled with game consoles.

“Great! Truly lifelong learning,” Teacher An said eagerly. His ability to embrace new things was still strong.

“Call me master, I... hehe, Teacher An, I’ll teach you for free.” Liu Jing saw Teacher An raise his palm and quickly changed his tone.

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“No respect for your elders,” Teacher An scolded. This mischievous kid dared to apply the same cheeky tactics he used with Sissi on me.

The usually know-it-all Teacher An now behaved like a schoolboy.

Liu Jing took on the role of both teacher and strict master, scolding without hesitation.

Teacher An pretended not to hear, awkwardly tapping the keyboard with great care, more cautious than making moves in chess.

Sissi lay at the study doorway, eyes wide and drooling.

She was imagining, role-playing—the one scolding Dad was her.

Liu Jing paced around the computer with hands behind his back, nodding and shaking his head—he truly looked the part of a schoolteacher.

He multitasked easily, teaching computer basics to Teacher An without much effort.

Most of his focus, however, was on the discussion in the living room.

This year, the country pushed for corporate shareholding reforms. Boss Chen followed the trend and policies, attracting multiple economic groups to transform the company into a joint-stock enterprise.

Sister Li held 10% of the shares, Zhang Min 5%; both were shareholders in the new company.

Their discussion centered on growth strategies, focusing on real estate and new materials, and developing industries such as catering, hotels, and international trade.

“Times always create some and abandon others. Fortune can’t resist the tide. The new era begins this year,” Liu Jing murmured.

“Liu Jing, what does this ‘1’ mean?”

“Teacher An, it means there’s a mine in one of the eight surrounding squares.”

“Liu Jing, which one looks like a mine?”

“They all do.”

“Liu Jing, which one should I click?”

“Any one of them.”

“Dad, click here.”

“Boom... Sissi, game over. Hey? Why aren’t you doing your homework?”

“You ugly brat, your luck is terrible to hit a mine every time.”

“Stupid Mu Tou, I’m just lucky.”

…