Chapter 049: I Want a Good Night’s Sleep

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Auntie sent the partners and guests away with a dark expression.

They had brought not only the news that Marvel Comics was going bankrupt, but also the news that the publishing company was on the verge of a cash-flow crisis.

The two things seemed unrelated, but in fact they were one and the same.

At this time, “Marvel Comics” had not yet acquired the name by which it would later be known in China. People simply called it Marvel Comics.

In 1989, Marvel was acquired for eighty-five million dollars by the capital tycoon Ron Perelman. Under his direction, Marvel went public in 1991. In order to tell a compelling story and win favor in the capital markets, he acquired a large number of toy companies and small and mid-sized publishers.

The story was told beautifully, and Perelman made a great deal of money in the capital markets—but he also saddled Marvel with enormous debts.

To keep the company running, Marvel was forced to sell the adaptation rights to major characters such as the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, Daredevil, and the Hulk.

Now, at last, the story could no longer continue. Marvel’s commercial value had been thoroughly exploited, and the company was about to file for bankruptcy.

Marvel’s stock had plunged from thirty-five dollars and seventy-five cents per share to its current price of two dollars and thirty-seven cents.

Marvel, which understood nothing about capital, had been ruined by the capitalists.

Perelman had not lost money. On the contrary, he had made a fortune from it.

Marvel had its own publishing house, but it still worked with other publishers for certain materials and production needs.

At the beginning of this year, Marvel had entered into a partnership with Auntie’s publishing company and printed a considerable amount of material through them.

Now Marvel’s cash flow had dried up. It could no longer pay its publishing fees, and the publishing company’s own finances were on the verge of collapse.

Marvel owed them publishing fees, while they owed other people money for materials. It was only a matter of time before the whole thing fell apart.

That was why they had come to Auntie—to discuss what to do.

What solution could Auntie possibly have? Instead, Jim had offered a suggestion: put up another sum of money, join forces, and acquire Marvel.

“Take it easy,” Liu Jing said, patting Auntie on the shoulder with an expression of helplessness.

“Are they idiots? How could they let Marvel owe them more than two million dollars in publishing fees? That’s dollars, not yen.” Auntie was frantic by now and wanted nothing more than to hit someone.

“They probably never imagined that the industry leader in comics would go bankrupt. Besides, when you invested, you weren’t expecting much to begin with. Just consider the money tuition fees.” Liu Jing tried to comfort her.

“I invested more than two million afterward,” Auntie said miserably.

“When did you invest that? You did all this behind my back?” Liu Jing’s expression turned solemn. Including her initial investment, Auntie had put three million dollars into the publishing company.

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That was no small sum. Even what he earned from business in a year amounted to only two or three million.

As Liu Jing’s agent, Auntie received a salary from Yongsheng, along with a few commissions. By the end of the year, she could make a little over two hundred thousand.

The publishing company also paid annual dividends, usually somewhere between one and two hundred thousand.

On top of that, Jingxing Films was doing fairly well, and she had invested most of the money she had on hand.

“At the beginning of last year, the company wanted to build its own production line, so I invested one and a half million. At the beginning of this year, it wanted to expand its capacity, so I invested another million.” Auntie muttered, seemingly afraid to meet Liu Jing’s eyes.

“Damn, Zhou Wenqiong, you’re really something. You only own twenty percent of the company, yet you’ve poured three million into it bit by bit. Those partners of yours didn’t scam you, did they?” The more Liu Jing thought about it, the more convinced he became that Auntie had fallen into a trap.

“They probably didn’t. Didn’t Jim just say that the company’s performance was still very good, and that Marvel had simply tied up a huge amount of its capital? Dina said the same thing. The company and Marvel had always settled their accounts promptly. It was only because Marvel became increasingly slow with its payments that it ended up owing several months’ worth of publishing fees. If Marvel can settle its accounts…” Auntie forced herself to explain, but her voice grew quieter and quieter. In the end, she gave a bitter laugh. “But what is there to settle now? They’re about to file for bankruptcy. After working so hard all these years, everything has gone down the drain.”

“It would be better if it had at least gone down the drain with a splash,” Liu Jing sighed.

“Alas…” Auntie sighed along with him, rubbing her chest in anguish.

“You really let your guard down. You didn’t even bother asking about the company’s operations—you just sat around waiting for dividends.” Liu Jing gave her a reproachful look.

“Most of my energy has been focused on Jingxing Films lately. The business here was hectic, so I neglected this side of things. Besides, I’m an outsider—a mere bystander. I never gave it much thought.” Auntie looked bitter. The feeling of being thrown back to square one was not pleasant.

“Serves you right! If you want to be a hands-off owner, you have to be prepared to get cheated.” Liu Jing mocked her.

“I’m already miserable, and you’re still laughing at me. Don’t you have any conscience?” Enraged and embarrassed, Auntie reached out to hit him.

“Stop! Let’s talk this over. At worst, I’ll support you from now on.” Liu Jing hurriedly raised his hands in surrender. Being beaten by this woman in front of so many people would be humiliating—and terrible for the grand, glorious image of her master that he had worked so hard to maintain.

“What do you think about what Jim suggested?” Auntie gave a soft snort, put her troubles aside, and turned to business.

“Your partners may not have scammed you, but that old man Jim is definitely trying to deceive all of you. He sold Warrior Comics for tens of millions, so he has the money to acquire Marvel himself. Why involve you? Obviously, he wants to use you as cannon fodder.” Liu Jing analyzed the matter calmly.

“He was only one of the founders of Warrior Comics. He didn’t own much of it himself. The tens of millions of dollars weren’t all his.” Auntie tried to defend him.

“He wants to use other people’s money to accomplish his own goals. He was domineering back then, and after clashing with Stan Lee and the other writers, he was kicked out of Marvel. He turned around and joined forces with others to try to acquire Marvel, but failed in the end. Now that Marvel is going through bankruptcy and restructuring, look at how eagerly he’s been running around.” Liu Jing sneered.

He had spent ten thousand and one hundred points of entertainment energy on the old man Jim, using Daily Appraisal twice.

Assessment: He possesses extensive experience in the comic-book industry.

Assessment: His eyes are filled with ambition.

That was all Daily Appraisal had revealed, and it was not much help. Liu Jing was extremely displeased. It was the largest expenditure he had ever made.

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Jim had approached not only Auntie’s company, but also numerous sources of funding. He wanted to unite the upstream and downstream businesses, members of the board, and senior management, drive Perelman out, and take control of Marvel.

If they joined him, then once Jim gained a certain degree of power, he would settle their outstanding publishing fees and establish a long-term partnership with their publishing company.

But there was a condition: they had to put up another three million dollars and participate in Jim’s acquisition of Marvel.

If they refused, they could only wait for bankruptcy liquidation and see how much they would ultimately be able to recover.

How could the women not panic? Marvel already owed them several million dollars. Now they were being asked to put up several million more, while also settling their suppliers’ bills. Otherwise, the suppliers would stop providing raw materials and sue them, leaving the publishing house with no choice but to close.

These women had money, but it had not fallen from the sky. That was why they had come to Auntie to discuss their options.

“What do we do now?” Auntie rubbed her temples, her head throbbing. She was at a complete loss as well.

“Take me to the publishing house tomorrow, and then to Marvel. I want to have a look.” Liu Jing pondered. He had no idea what to do either. He could only place his hopes in the system.

If the system offered any guidance regarding the two companies, then naturally they would follow Jim into battle.

If the system gave no indication, then they might as well let the publishing company go bankrupt.

“The publishing house is in Chicago, and Marvel is in New York. Let’s go to the company right now.” Auntie’s spirits lifted. Hearing Liu Jing say that, she suddenly found her motivation again.

“Tomorrow.” Liu Jing waved a hand.

He did not want to go today. If he used Daily Appraisal again, it would cost one million points of entertainment energy.

He had only a little over four hundred thousand points left. He could not afford it.

“I want to solve this as soon as possible.”

“I want to get a good night’s sleep.”

“All right! I’ll sleep with you.”

“Pfft… What are you planning?”

“Wooden head, why are you so frightened? What are you thinking about?”

Auntie’s gaze was dangerous—and filled with wicked amusement.