Chapter 581: A Family with Sons and Daughters
"Tsk! It's midday, be careful not to sunburn your butt."
When Jennifer Shu came in with the tea tray, she saw two people roughhousing on the sofa and hurriedly said with blushed cheeks.
"Chris, come help me quick."
Chris Liu reached out and called.
"No help for you, the kids are still outside. I'll leave the snacks here; you can eat some when you're hungry."
Jennifer Shu, with a red face, circled around the sofa, placed the tea tray on the coffee table, turned up the indoor temperature, then tiptoed to the door. She glanced a few times, smiled softly, and closed the door firmly behind her.
Turning around, she suddenly saw a face and her heart skipped a beat with fright, as she leaned against the door holding her chest and said, "Auntie, how come you don't make a sound when you walk, you scared me to death."
"What are you looking at? Why so sneaky?"
Auntie Liu asked with a stern face.
"Ha, nothing, Auntie, I just made some snacks, would you like to try some?"
Jennifer Shu changed the subject and asked with a beaming smile.
Auntie Liu didn't take the bait, pushed aside her cover, firmly determined to open the door and have a look. Just one glance upon opening the door and her face turned beet red, her eyes full of filthy sights, and her ears filled with dirty sounds. She looked like she had been poisoned, face flushing and turning pale in turns.
"Tsk, shameless, broad daylight..."
Auntie Liu, keen not to dirty her mouth, swallowed the rest of her words. She gave Jennifer Shu a glare, "They are messing around, and you didn't even try to stop them."
Jennifer Shu blushed and lowered her head.
Auntie Liu knew she was someone who tended to go with the flow, probably couldn't stop them even if she tried, and thus didn't make it hard for her.
Auntie Liu followed Jennifer Shu to the side hall to drink black tea to warm their stomachs and watched an episode of "Empresses in the Palace", always keeping an eye on the opposite room door, which didn't open even when the TV show ended.
Shunan and Liu Jianni woke up from their nap and were brought over by the Filipino maids.
Auntie Liu tuned to the cartoon channel and turned on Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf for them to watch; not until after an episode did the room across open.
Link walked out with a disheveled Chris Liu, whispering something to her ear. Whatever he said made Chris Liu blush and with watery eyes, she shyly lowered her head.
"Ahem!"
Auntie Liu coughed with a stern face.
Chris Liu looked up, blinked her charming phoenix eyes in a dazed way, and upon seeing Auntie Liu, she stomped her foot in embarrassment and turned back into the room.
"Hey, Lina, you're here."
Link greeted.
Auntie Liu wanted to make a few mocking comments, but refrained herself considering Link was the boss and had thick skin. Lighter words wouldn't have an effect, and harsher words would be inappropriate.
She suppressed the urge to critique and started talking to him about work, mainly about the performance of Wanda Film Industry in the past year. Last year, Wanda successfully acquired the second-largest theater chain in the United States, AMC, and was listed on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in January.
At listing, each share was at 486.56 yuan, with a total market value of 18.9 billion. Just over a month, the market value increased to 27.7 billion, and at the current rate, it could break through 100 billion.
Originally owning 11.6% of Wanda shares, Link ended up with 9.02% after the third round of financing, valued at 2.5 billion yuan, equivalent to 380 million US dollars.
Over the past few years, he invested nearly 45 million US dollars in Wanda Film Industry, and the current returns are not quite tenfold yet.
Furthermore, last year in the Huaxia region, 388 films were released for the entire year, generating 29.6 billion yuan in box office revenue, a year-on-year increase of 35.78%. Among these, 80 imported films brought in 13.484 billion yuan, while 308 local films contributed 16.155 billion yuan in box office revenue.
Wanda's annual box office income was 4.21 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 33.1%, ranking first among its peers.
Wanda Film Industry also participated in the production of many films, including "A Step Away," "Beijing Love Story," "The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom," "The Taking of Tiger Mountain," "The Return," "The Hypnotherapist," "Lifetime," "Single Men and Women 2," etc., which had decent box office earnings.
The film company that Chris Liu and Jennifer Shu ran also made a good sum, over twenty million.
Along with the annual dividends from Wanda, about 75 million yuan, roughly 12 million US dollars.
Auntie Liu asked how he was going to deal with this money.
Link thought for a moment and said it could be handed over to Chris for investment purposes, to make TV shows or movies.
Auntie Liu said it was too much and Chris Liu might not handle this money well.
Link chuckled lightly, saying she underestimated Chris; Chris is very smart.
Auntie Liu humphed lightly, unconvinced. If Chris Liu were smarter, how would she be eaten up so thoroughly by Link?
Link thought for a moment and suggested transferring the money to Golden Shell Investment Company in Hong Kong Island for investment.
This year, stocks of several major companies held by Golden Shell Investment on Hong Kong Island have seen significant increases, apart from a slight rise in Maotai, including 5.36% of BYD Auto shares, 5.1% of JD Shares, 0.22% of Ali investment shares, and 10.5% of Meituan, all of which have surged dramatically.
Last July, JD.com was listed on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange in the United States, becoming the first large-scale comprehensive e-commerce platform from Huaxia to successfully list in the US. In over half a year, its market value has grown from over 20 billion US dollars last year to 40.2 billion US dollars.
Ali is preparing for listing, with media predicting around the second half of the year, in August or September, at a current market value of 242.6 billion US dollars.
BYD also has been doing well with a current market value of 18.8 billion US dollars.
Meituan, supported by Ali's traffic, became the top group-buying website with a market value of 4.2 billion US dollars.
Adding in Dolphin Bay Entertainment and other real estate companies.
The current total assets under Golden Shell Investment Company in Hong Kong Island are approximately 4.6 billion US dollars, a 54% increase from last year.
Last year, the investment company's dividends and other income amounted to about 120 million US dollars.
Link is preparing to use this money to invest in internet companies like Chopstick Hands and Douyin, seizing the opportunity to become their angel investor while these companies are newly established.
According to the current market trends, in another ten years, the assets under Golden Shell on Hong Kong Island will increase at least tenfold.
"Daddy, this one for you."
The endearing Liu Jianni held up a small pastry, blinking her big eyes, and called out obediently.
"Jianni is such a good girl."
Link looked at the child, even more delicate and adorable than Chris Liu when she was young, feeling somewhat guilty and reluctant. He hugged the little one, "Lina, Jenny, how about I take Jianni and Schubert to the United States for a few years to play, and when they're older, we can come back for school?"
"No way!"
Before he could finish, Chris Liu, who had changed into a dress and was wearing a light down jacket, walked in, took Liu Jianni from his arms, and glared at him with her bright phoenix eyes, "You also have kids at home, why would you take them there?"
"Jianni and Schubert are my children too. I hope they can grow up with me. I think children will turn out to be more mature and courageous when raised by their father."
Link rubbed Schubert's short hair and looked at Liu Jianni, blinking her big eyes in Chris Liu's arms.
"If you can't bear to be apart from me and SingSing, can you bear it? If you want to see them, just come to Huaxia more often when you have the time. You have a plane, so it's very convenient."
Chris Liu held little Jianni, wiping the sugar powder off the child's cheeks with her hand.
The older and the younger ones are both equally adorable.
Link shook his head, "You are filming and don't have time to take care of Jianni. I might as well take her to the United States. When you have time, you can come to see her there."
"Aren't you also going to film? I only have two works this year, and the rest of the time I'm at home playing with Jianni."
Chris Liu pursed her lips, with a determined expression on her cheeks.
Link didn't want to argue with her, and he couldn't bear to part with the two little ones. He made a pact with Chris Liu and Jennifer Shu that he would take time each year to come to Huaxia to spend the festive seasons with the kids, and they would also bring the kids to the United States for vacations when they could.
He would buy a villa in their favorite city, allowing the kids to stay there frequently. This would broaden their horizons and be beneficial for their growth.
Chris Liu has a United States passport, making it very convenient for her to go there.
Jennifer Shu looked somewhat tempted and looked at Chris Liu for a decision.
Chris Liu looked at the little one squirming in her arms and nodded in agreement.
Aunt Liu looked from Link to Schubert and Feifei, a trace of helplessness in her eyes, but also some comfort.
What made her helpless was that she originally thought the relationship between Link, Schubert, and Feifei was just a fling that would end after a while and they would stop contacting each other. However, the subsequent developments took her by surprise.
First, Schubert got pregnant quietly. After the family found out, she insisted on giving birth even if it meant being a single mother.
At the time, she advised her and warned Feifei to be careful not to fall into the same trap.
Later, Feifei also got pregnant and refused to have an abortion despite persuasion, guarding against her as if guarding against a thief.
Then it turned into the current situation, where the family lived together in a large quadrangle courtyard. Link would come two or three times a year, staying for ten days to half a month, doing so for three consecutive years.
This was also what made her feel comforted.
Originally, when she heard about Feifei's pregnancy, she had prepared herself for Feifei to become a single mother, just as she was, as if it were a hereditary fate that couldn't be escaped.
She also prepared herself for the possibility that Link would abandon Feifei and the child.
But later, Link didn't do so. He still kept in touch with Feifei and Schubert, no matter how busy he was, he would still find time to see them every year. He also invested a lot of money to support Feifei and Schubert's careers, giving them a generous material cushion.
In the last year and this year, Link even took Feifei to attend business negotiations and formal work meetings, effectively giving Feifei an official status.
Now the high circles are almost all aware of their relationship.
Backed by Link, one of the top forty wealthiest men in the world, no one dares to trouble Feifei and Schubert at work.
Even if some people look down on this kind of relationship inwardly, they don't dare show it when they meet and are instead very attentive.
In this respect, aside from spending too little time at home, Link does better than many husbands in other areas.
Moreover, he takes good care of both Feifei and Schubert, cherishing them and respecting their opinions, which he also does well.
The only pity is that Link is too philandering, having another family in the United States.
Aunt Liu shook her head in regret.
"That's settled then. Nannan, little Ni, do you want to go to the amusement park?"
Link asked.
"Amusement park!"
Liu Jianni raised her little hands, struggling to get down from her mother's arms.
"It's cold outside, why run out there?"
Chris Liu held onto the little one and gave him a white look.
"The sun is out at noon, if you dress warmly, it won't be cold."
Link held onto little Ni, while Schubert was too engrossed in watching cartoons to want to move, but glanced at him and still got up to follow him outside.
Chris Liu propped her cheeks, watching Link lead the little ones into the sunny courtyard, her lips curving into a slight smile.