Chapter 102: Purchase of Property and Spring Festival Gala Performance

The office of Factory 798 is located in their previous factory office building.

Coming here during the day, it doesn’t look as dilapidated as it does at night, but it’s still quite deserted.

Their factory office is located in the main office building. The gate looks quite grand. There are several old-fashioned red brick office buildings, all in the same Soviet style.

However, the office building looks grand from the outside, but it is actually empty inside, with many offices vacant.

Liu Zhou and his group arrived at the factory director's office on the top floor of the main office building, where three people were already waiting for them.

Through Zhang Chen's introduction, Liu Zhou also learned that the three people were the director, senior official and executive deputy director of Factory 798.

Although the factory closed down and the workers were laid off, because of the current trend of this kind of thing in the country, even though they still had their ranks, they were not reassigned to new positions so quickly.

Even so, they are still much luckier than those workers.

However, they have a big advantage that factories in other places do not have, that is, they are located in Beijing.

As the capital began to develop more and more, the land and factory buildings of their factory gradually came into play.

They thought they were just collecting rent and then giving the workers some extra compensation, but they didn't expect to welcome a big customer this time.

When they heard that a popular writer or a well-known director wanted to discuss cooperation, their minds suddenly became active, as if their factories could play a greater role.

When they saw Liu Zhou coming in, the three factory leaders immediately smiled. When they saw the popular actress Zeng Li following behind him, their smiles became even brighter.

After a few simple greetings, the director of Factory 798 said directly:
"Mr. Liu, I heard that you want to buy our office building and factory?"

"Yes, I think it's quite nice there, and the space is large enough, which is very suitable for my company's headquarters."

"As a company headquarters, you don't need such a large space, right? Mr. Liu, can you tell me about your plan for that place?"

Liu Zhou could also see that they were cautious about selling the factory and land, and said seriously:
"Director Wang, I now have two companies under my name, one is a drama troupe and the other is a film studio.

I don’t know if you watch plays or not. Our drama troupe currently has several plays being performed at the Capital Theatre. They have a significant influence and have even been invited to perform in Shanghai.

So recently we are preparing to expand the drama troupe on a large scale. In addition to the personnel, I am also planning to build a special theater for my own drama troupe's drama performances.

You should also know that I am also a director. I have invested in and released two movies, and the results are pretty good, so I am also ready to improve all the functions of the studio.

And that place will serve as the headquarters of my two companies.

Not only that, if I have other art-related companies in the future, the headquarters will also be located here. For future development, a larger place is also needed.”

After hearing what Liu Zhou said, the three of them nodded. They had investigated him before and knew that Liu Zhou was not lying.

In fact, they have already held a factory committee meeting on the matter and are inclined to sell it, but some issues still need to be confirmed with Liu Zhou in person.

"Mr. Liu, there is no problem in selling the factory to you, but there are still some things I want to clarify with you."

Hearing what Director Wang said, Liu Zhou suddenly felt happy and said with a smile:

"What's the matter, Director Wang?"

"First, after you purchase the factory and land, you cannot carry out any degree of commercial development, and large-scale reconstruction is not allowed."

"No problem." Liu Zhou replied simply.

He had never had this idea in the first place and had never thought about getting involved in real estate. He just wanted to use it as the company's headquarters.

"Second, after your company's headquarters is located in our 798 factory area, it cannot be relocated within years. This needs to be written into the contract."

"can!"

"Thirdly," Director Wang paused and said, "We hope to publicize the news that you have settled here."

Hearing this, Liu Zhou couldn't help but laugh. Isn't he just trying to use his fame to rent out the property?
It seems that they are quite smart. When they saw a famous person like me coming here, they immediately thought of whether they could use my fame to make use of other factory buildings in the factory area.

Liu Zhou didn't care about this at all. He thought that the other party's agreement to sell the factory to him was a return of favor, so he simply agreed.

Perhaps if factory leaders had taken the initiative today, Beijing’s 798 Art District could have been built earlier.

Seeing that Liu Zhou agreed to all their requests so readily, the three factory leaders also smiled.

"In that case, we can prepare to sign the contract." Director Wang said with a smile.

"Director Wang, I have another question to ask you." Liu Zhou suddenly asked.

"Mr. Liu, you say."

"These factory buildings and land are state-owned assets. Is it legal for you to sell them to us?"

Liu Zhou didn't want this to be their private behavior. If the higher-ups didn't recognize the sales contract, there would be a lot of trouble.

There will be a lot of such things happening now and in the future, and he doesn't want to get into such trouble.

"Of course, you can rest assured about this. We will ask the relevant department in Beijing to issue a certificate."

"If that's the case, then I have no problem."

At this point, Director Wang paused for a moment and said:
"Mr. Liu, we have discussed this matter with the relevant departments above and there is no problem, but there is one thing I need to make clear. You also know that the urban area of ​​Beijing has been expanding outward, and demolitions are being carried out everywhere.

In addition, Beijing will be bidding for the Olympic Games next year. If the bid is successful, urban construction will be accelerated. We cannot access the most advanced information in Beijing. If our factory is also within the demolition range, then we will be helpless.

If this happens, we can return the money to you and you just need to pay us the corresponding rent, but we will not compensate you for the losses caused by this."

Liu Zhou saw that they were indeed sincere. Knowing something about later generations, he certainly knew that this area had not been demolished, otherwise there would not be the 798 Art District.

So Liu Zhou readily agreed to this.

After both parties reached an agreement, Director Wang asked someone to prepare the contract.

Since it is a purchase, the area calculation is different.

If you rent it, you only need to count the usable areas such as the office building and the factory area. The vacant land is free and can be used at no charge.

If you buy it, all the areas will be taken into account, including the office building and factory, plus the vacant land. The total area of ​​that area is nearly 3,000 square meters.

The purchase price is also calculated according to the housing prices in this area. The housing prices in Beijing have been rising steadily in the past two years, but this place is still outside the Fourth Ring Road after all, and the housing prices are not too high, only more than 3,000 yuan per square meter.

After all the calculations, it would cost a little over 10 million to buy this place.

Zhang Chen couldn't help but be a little shocked when he got this price. The three factory leaders smiled, then looked at Liu Zhou with a little concern, afraid that he would not buy it because the price was too high.

Liu Zhou signed his name on the contract without any hesitation.

Only 10 million for more than 3,000 square meters? That’s too damn cheap!
Think about it, the housing prices in Beijing in later generations were often tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands per square meter, this was simply a bargain.

Although this piece of land cannot be developed commercially, if it remains here for more than ten years, its value will not be less than two or three hundred million.

It is true that building houses can make a lot of money, but Liu Zhou never thought of making money in this way.

After all, doing so is too unskilled, and Liu Zhou could get a greater return by investing the money from hoarding houses in other places.

Therefore, Liu Zhou has never hoarded houses except for the basic needs. He does not have any obsession with houses, and he simply cannot live in all the houses in his family.

After signing the contract, Liu Zhou immediately transferred three million to the factory as a deposit.

Later, the factory seemed to be more anxious than himself, and completed all the procedures in less than half a month.

After Liu Zhou transferred the remaining amount, the nearly 3,000 square meters of land and the buildings on it belonged to him.

After getting the property certificate, Liu Zhou called Zhang Chen and Zeng Jia over and asked them to find a designer to design and renovate the place.

This project is not small. Not only does it require building a theater, but it also requires planning for various functional areas.

Although the factory building is only one story, the ceiling is very high, more than six meters, and can be divided into two floors to expand the usable area.

Although we don’t need such a large space now, the scale of the company will always expand in the future. It is better to design and decorate it first to avoid starting construction later, which will be too troublesome.

After arranging all these things, there are less than two days left until the Chinese New Year.

At this time, Liu Zhou had also finished writing "The Yellow Skin Tomb" and sent the manuscript to Qu He.

When Qu He heard the news, he smiled and told Liu Zhou that this was the best New Year gift he had ever received.

Time passed quickly and it was New Year's Eve. Liu Zhou and his family sat in front of the TV early.

Liu Zhou had previously told his parents that he would not be going home for the New Year this year, but he did not expect that they would come directly to Beijing with his grandfather.

Liu Zhou was of course very happy about this. He had wanted to take them around the capital, but the winter in the capital was too cold and they really couldn't adapt.

So in addition to buying New Year's goods, we went to Tiananmen Square. For my grandparents and my parents, Tiananmen Square is a very sacred place, and its position in their hearts is more important than the Great Wall.

Except for grandpa, my parents seldom watch the Spring Festival Gala. But this year because of Zeng Li's show, the whole family waited for the Gala to start early.

At this time, in the corridor leading from the backstage to the stage of the Spring Festival Gala, Zeng Li, who was dressed in a red palace costume, had a slightly pale face due to nervousness.

The Spring Festival Gala is broadcast live in front of hundreds of millions or even billions of Chinese viewers in front of their televisions.

That kind of suffocating psychological pressure cannot be overcome just by saying so.

Over the past ten years of the Spring Festival Gala, there have been many actors who have suffered emotional breakdowns before going on stage, and the recorded broadcast is a precautionary measure against this situation.

Even a Spring Festival Gala regular like Zhao Benshan cannot be completely emotionless before going on stage, let alone a Spring Festival Gala newcomer like Zeng Li.

After Zeng Li entered university, she almost always stayed in the ivory tower of campus. Whenever she took roles, they were all from Liu Zhou's own crew, and he protected her in every aspect.

Although she is very famous, she keeps a low profile. Except for the previous scandal with Liu Zhou, which caused her to receive a certain amount of public criticism, she has never participated in any major public events.

Now the first big stage is the Spring Festival Gala, and the pressure involved can be imagined.

Although she had practiced the song to perfection, she was still shaking with nervousness before going on stage.

Following the director's cue to go on stage, Zeng Li took a deep breath and walked towards the stage.

There were no dancers in her performance. She was the only one singing on the stage. However, the stage was filled with mist and Zeng Li, dressed in red, looked ethereal.

As soon as this costume came out, it shocked the audience in the audience and in front of the TV.

"Zeng Li is so beautiful!"

"I don't know who would be so lucky to have a woman as beautiful as her."

"Love it, love it. Why didn't I realize Zeng Li's ancient costume was so beautiful before?"

Many viewers couldn't help but make similar exclamations, and most of them were amazed by Zeng Li's beauty.

The version Liu Zhou wrote for Zeng Li was the version of the great devil Tan Jing in later generations.

So the first two lines of Kunqu opera that Zeng Li sang were eye-opening, as no one had ever heard such a novel form of song.

"I think this is opera. It's really talented to integrate opera into the song."

“The lyrics have an ancient feel, but I can’t really put into words what the feeling is.”

"In troubled times, I can't help but watch the flames of war burning the mountains and rivers. Although I am in a low position, I dare not forget to worry about my country. It's really well written!"

As the emotions of the song progress, the chorus begins.

“People walked by the stage and could not see the old color;

The people on the stage sang, a heart-breaking farewell song;

......"

As soon as Zeng Li started singing in operatic voice, the audience immediately got goose bumps.

Especially with the MTV on the big screen at the back, Zeng Li in red was singing opera calmly on the stage, and the invaders in the audience were fleeing everywhere in the raging fire, but they had nowhere to escape, and finally they were buried in the sea of ​​fire together.

Seeing this, some sentimental people couldn't help but shed tears, and many viewers also had wet eyes.

China has suffered too much in the past one or two hundred years. It is the blood of the martyrs that have created the current peaceful times and good life.

This period of history is engraved in the bones of the Chinese people, and patriotic sentiments are what touches people's hearts the most.

No one spoke at this time, just quietly listening and watching Zeng Li singing on the stage.

All over the country, Zeng Li's classmates, Liu Ye, Yuan Quan, Zhang Ziyi, Hu Jing and others watched her performance attentively.

Her mother, sister, teacher, and her fans, including those who knew Zeng Li or not, were also quietly watching this woman singing passionately.

However, some people always focus on something different. One of the reporters from the Beijing News said silently:
"I remember the lyrics of this song were written by Liu Zhou, these two must be having an affair!
If she wasn't his girlfriend, how could Liu Zhou praise Zeng Li so much?

There is some news to be written after the New Year! "

As "Red Ling" came to an end, the audience felt a little lost.

However, Liu Zhou's family immediately became busy. Liu Zhou's parents began to prepare meals for New Year's Eve, and Liu Zhou immediately drove to the studio to pick up Zeng Li to take home for New Year's Eve dinner.

(End of this chapter)