After breakfast, Emmanuel headed to Suzhou, while Chen Qing, along with the others, made their way to a few top-tier art schools in Shanghai.
This wasn't for interviews.
The recruitment ads had just been published, and the next step was to receive resumes from across the country. After an initial screening, the first round of interviews would take place, followed by a preliminary review to verify the basic information of the applicants. The second round of interviews would then select 1,000 candidates.
Only then would Chen Qing get personally involved.
At that stage, the remaining candidates would be informed of the detailed requirements of the recruitment.
The final list of selected candidates would be confirmed by Simon.
Chen Qing's task today was to hire professors and instructors from these art schools as part-time interviewers. With these sharp-eyed professionals involved, the interview process would easily identify the applicants' dance skills, ensuring that only those truly qualified would make the cut.
In the future, some of these experts might even be formally hired to join the troupe, as an art troupe couldn't rely solely on dancers. A variety of creative and technical talents would be needed to support the troupe behind the scenes.
It was now mid-October on the lunar calendar in China, with more than two months remaining until the New Year.
Chen Qing wouldn't stay in China much longer, as she would soon return to North America. By the time the second round of interviews was complete, she could celebrate the Chinese New Year while wrapping up the rest of the work.
Charlotte Brenita stayed in China with Chen Qing until December 7th, but instead of returning directly to Europe, she flew to North America, with her first destination being Los Angeles.
At Daenerys Studios.
It wasn't until the second day after arriving in Los Angeles that she saw Simon again.
It was December 8th, a Friday, on the U.S. West Coast.
Chen Qing and Lin Su spent two hours reporting on their work to Simon, while Brenita only joined them for lunch.
In the executive dining room at the studio.
After the food was served, Simon looked at Brenita and asked, "So, your trip to China—no need to tell me the general impressions—do you have any specific investment ideas?"
Charlotte glanced at Chen Qing and Lin Su, hesitated for a moment, but then nodded and said, "Regarding education. At various gatherings, I kept hearing people talk about sending their children abroad to study. I did some research afterward and found that Chinese people place great importance on their children's education, so I think there's an opportunity to develop related businesses in China."
After Brenita spoke, Chen Qing squinted slightly.
Brenita hadn't mentioned this during their time together in China, but after thinking about it, Chen Qing wasn't surprised.
After spending these days with her, Chen Qing realized that she and Brenita were very much alike. If she had a similar idea, she wouldn't have been foolish enough to discuss it openly. Instead, she would have prepared a detailed, feasible plan and then presented it to the right person, such as their boss, to maximize her own interests.
Sure enough, when Simon asked for specific plans, Chen Qing saw Brenita nod. "Chen took me to see the high-end community Levison Group is developing in Pudong New Area. I think we could build an international school there, offering multilingual education as a transition. Once students meet the basic age and language requirements, we could arrange for them to study abroad. Switzerland has a well-developed private school system, and I can facilitate the connection."
Listening closely, Chen Qing couldn't help but feel a bit critical.
No pretense at all.
Simon then asked, "Do you think it will be profitable?"
Charlotte nodded. "Absolutely. Education has always been a highly profitable business. Based on my research, Chinese parents are more willing than those in other countries to spend large sums of money on their children's education. Also, from what I've observed during my time in China, the consumption power of China's elite class is on par with that of wealthy Europeans and Americans. If done right, the profits could be substantial."
Simon nodded slightly, smiled, and said, "Since you think it's a good business, isn't opening just one international school in Shanghai a bit too small-scale?"
Charlotte immediately realized that Simon had seen through her intentions.
The truth was that, due to her limited resources, she couldn't aim for anything too large if she wanted to be involved in this project. Unfazed, she responded, "Didn't you advise Chen to start small with the computer company?"
Back at the Woodside villa, Simon had spoken to Chen Qing in Mandarin, which Brenita didn't understand. Chen Qing had mentioned it in passing during their private chats in China.
This made Chen Qing grit her teeth slightly again.
What a schemer!
As Simon calmly cut into his steak, the table fell silent for a moment. After a brief pause, he said, "Discuss this with Chen and draft a formal proposal. Since it's your idea, you can take a 30% share. Whether that 30% comes from your personal investment or your family's business is up to you. I just want to see results. My suggestion is to aim big but avoid creating a unified system because elite education has never been about mass production."
When Simon finished speaking, Chen Qing immediately understood, but Charlotte appeared confused. "Simon, I don't quite understand. What do you mean by 'aim big but not unified'?"
Simon gestured for Chen Qing to explain.
Smiling slightly, Chen Qing said, "It means using one team to launch many projects, but on the surface, there shouldn't appear to be any direct connection. Specifically, we can establish different levels of international schools in various cities across China, each connected to private schools in different Western countries. For those willing to pay $1 million, they'll receive $1 million worth of services. For those with only $100,000, they'll get what $100,000 can buy."
Upon hearing this, Charlotte thought for a moment, and her worldview began to crack a little. Her initial idea was to provide high-quality education services while also making a profit. She had even envisioned connecting the planned Shanghai school with the prestigious private school in Geneva, funded by her family, where she had studied as a child.
Chen Qing, on the other hand, approached the whole thing purely as a business.
A massive business.
Different levels, different prices, different services.
Invest $1 million or more, and you'll receive top-tier education. But with only $100,000, who knows what kind of substandard school you'll end up in? Education, after all, is something that affects a child's entire life.
Noticing Brenita's hesitation, Chen Qing switched to Mandarin and said to Simon, "Boss, I think we could do this without her and keep it all for ourselves."
Before Simon could respond, Brenita, suspicious and a little wary, looked at Chen Qing.
Then, Simon casually translated, "Chen said we could do this without you."
Brenita's expression immediately turned into a glare.
Chen Qing gave Simon a look of mock exasperation, then lowered her head to focus on her meal.
Simon chuckled, then turned serious again and said to Brenita, "After spending time together, I believe the two of you have gotten to know each other well. You should have realized by now that you're not only alike but also complementary. Chen excels with people, and you excel at handling affairs. If you work together openly, you could achieve great things."
Charlotte Brenita wasn't impulsive. Hearing this, she hesitated briefly but then nodded in agreement.
Simon glanced at Chen Qing.
Chen Qing quickly extended her hand to Brenita. "Sorry about that. I think I understand what you were thinking earlier. But business is business. If you really went about it the way you originally planned, it wouldn't have been big, and it wouldn't have made much money. You don't really understand what those people sending their kids abroad are truly after. In any case, I hope we can work well together in the future."
Charlotte graciously nodded, though not before giving Lin Su, who had been quietly eating, a sidelong glance.
Noticing Charlotte's gaze, Chen Qing didn't bother hiding her thoughts and said, "I've always wanted to get along with Lin too, but aside from the bedroom, it's been tough for us to work together. We're just too different."
This time, it was Lin Su's turn to glare at Chen Qing, her face slightly flushed.
Ignoring the playful rivalry between the two women, Simon asked, "How's the National Wind Art Troupe coming along?"
The two hours before lunch had been focused on formal work, while this was more of a side project.
Chen Qing replied, "The ads have been published, and before we returned, the recruitment team had already started receiving resumes and conducting the initial screening. I've also invited a group of professionals from Shanghai's top art schools to serve as interviewers. The first round of interviews will likely begin in about two weeks. We plan to set up four interview locations in different cities across China, and I'll return there for that. As for the support team, those professors and lecturers involved in the interviews are quite interested in staying on in backstage roles. If everything goes well, after the Chinese New Year, you can personally finalize the list of selected girls."
Simon nodded and said, "I recently composed a piece based on Cai Wei from the Book of Songs. I've also done some sketches for costumes and choreography. You can take them with you when you leave. Consider it a final test for both the dancers and the support team."
"The one you sang last time?" Chen Qing asked.
"No, this time I only selected four lines from the lyrics. I just made a rough draft and will leave it to the
people you've chosen to refine it."
In truth, Simon had adapted a beautiful classical dance from his memory. The piece, Cai Wei, was originally from a stage play about Confucius. The song consisted of just four repeated lines, but it had left a deep impression on Simon. Recently, he had been working on some materials, intending to have his team recreate the dance.
Chen Qing didn't ask any further and agreed. She then inquired, "What about in the U.S.? Where do you plan to place the girls? We'll need to make preparations."
"I have a property in East Hampton. It was initially built to serve as a club, so the house is quite large. The main villa has about a hundred rooms, though only 26 are bedrooms. We'll need to make some modifications to increase that to 50. Since you brought it up, I'll leave that to you."
"Can we pretend I never mentioned it?"
"Sure."
"Fine, I'll do it." Chen Qing resigned herself, then couldn't help but ask, "100 people, 50 bedrooms?"
"Yes. You don't understand?"
"I understand, I understand."
After a bit of playful banter, Chen Qing became serious again, discussing further details with Simon. She then recalled a thought she had last Sunday while having breakfast on the terrace at The Bund 18 and couldn't help but say, "Boss, I realized something."
"What's that?"
"Those girls joining the National Wind Art Troupe... are you planning to treat them like princesses?"
"Yes."
"..."
He admitted it so easily?
Simon glanced at her. "You, and Lin too—aren't I treating both of you like princesses? Not happy with it? Want to be queens?"
Chen Qing stuck out her tongue playfully, looking rather cute.
Understanding what Chen Qing had realized, Simon wasn't going to spell it out himself.
Being a princess is a kind of illness.
Once you get it, you'll always need to take medicine. And the treatment is expensive—most people can't afford it.
After all, the batch of girls Simon had selected earlier from Latin America and Eastern Europe, originally intended to be trained as maids, had, thanks to the high standards of their training, essentially all turned into princesses—ones that were difficult to cure.
After lunch, when Chen Qing tried to sneak away, Simon called her back, making her recite The Ode to the Goddess of the Luo River, The Great Learning, and The Doctrine of the Mean.
Of course, Chen Qing hadn't forgotten about this, but she was still quite reluctant. After finishing her recitations, she playfully complained that Simon was biased for not making Lin Su do the same.
Simon's reasoning was impeccable: Since Chen Qing had already completed her recitations, there was no reason Lin Su couldn't manage just one text. He didn't want to waste his time, after all, since his time was extremely valuable.
Emmanuel had already returned to San Francisco the previous day, and at 2 p.m., the three women said their goodbyes and headed to New York together.
Simon, meanwhile, resumed his afternoon work.
It was December 8th, a Friday, marking the start of another box office weekend.
However, it was the quiet period between Thanksgiving and Christmas, and no major releases were scheduled for today.
Among the films already in theaters, the most notable was the 3D animated movie Beauty and the Beast, which had premiered on November 17th. In its third week, from December 1st to December 7th, Beauty and the Beast saw a larger drop in box office revenue, down 39%, earning an additional $32.27 million.
In its three-week run, the film had grossed $153.9 million.
It was the biggest winner of the Thanksgiving holiday box office.
However, considering a certain blockbuster on the horizon for Christmas, Beauty and the Beast's final domestic box office might not reach the heights of The Lion King from two years ago. It was expected to land somewhere around $250 million domestically. And while its overseas performance was also strong, it wasn't quite matching The Lion King. A global box office exceeding $600 million would already be considered a significant success.
As for other Thanksgiving releases, most had already exited the year-end box office competition.
Although the Christmas season officially started on December 16th, public attention was already focused on Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, set to premiere on December 22nd.
Warner Bros. had recently released the final trailer for the film, subtly hinting at the much-anticipated "Death of Superman" storyline that fans had been speculating about since production began.
Up until now, the plot of Batman v Superman had been shrouded in secrecy, thanks to the production team's tight control. Given the immense popularity of both Batman and Superman, few fans or general audiences expected Superman to actually die in the film.
So, when the final trailer dropped, it sparked intense discussion, raising audience expectations to new heights.
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