Writing Web Novels In America-Chapter 184 - 182: Alliance and Manipulation

In reality, people who often read books gradually form their fixed aesthetic tastes.

Those who love "The Count of Monte Cristo" are more likely to choose "The Three Musketeers" over "Pride and Prejudice" when picking their next book at the bookstore.

Moreover, under Wang Jian’s deliberate guidance, the novels’ tendencies and themes on the website became even clearer.

For the same work, some people scoff at it, while others regard it as a classic.

But one day, when someone comes with "Wuthering Heights" to criticize "Robinson Crusoe" for its lack of detailed romantic expression,

What will the fans of the ill-fated "Robinson Crusoe" do?

"Ha, so many male users are going to read ’Harem Boleyn’s Story,’ and female users to ’Extreme Heavenly Demon’?" Wang Jian chuckled and shook his head, "That’s tough on them."

"Heh," Tom sipped his coffee and casually responded, "You have to have some arguments for a debate, right?"

"I really don’t know what these people are thinking; they’ve been arguing on Twitter for three days now."

"As long as they still have money to subscribe, let them argue however they want," Wang Jian replied.

"But the authors have given some intense feedback."

"?" Wang Jian lifted his head in confusion and looked at the other person.

"In the review section of ’American Gods,’ many are asking why there are no African gods."

"In the review section of ’Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,’ many women are questioning why a female author’s novel still has a male protagonist."

"Are they not supporting the feminist movement?"

"Neil Gaiman and J.K. Rowling are both reacting with their editors."

Uh...

Wang Jian drank his coffee, slightly taken aback, and switched over to the website’s backend.

"Let’s just send them the subscription data. US Dollars... should soothe these writers’ emotional wounds, right?"

Tom nodded and handed over a newspaper.

"What about this? Do we need to send a legal notice?"

Wang Jian took it, puzzled, seeing that it was two newspapers.

"The First Lady dives into the feminist movement, she is the symbol of the rise of American women!"

"Real estate tycoon, Donald, rated as ’Leader’?"

"These gossip tabloids..." Wang Jian tossed the newspapers onto the table, tapping his fingers lightly.

"They used to reprint news from major newspapers, and now they’ve started copying directly from Twitter."

"Sipping coffee, playing on the computer, and you get the news," Tom said with a touch of scorn, "these journalists must be really happy."

Wang Jian pondered for a moment, then looked at him, "We... just need to clear ourselves of legal responsibilities."

"These newspapers should still help maintain further attention."

"Right, let Dorsey put ’This opinion only represents the individual’s stance and is not related to Twitter’ on the website homepage."

"The rest..." Wang Jian shrugged his shoulders, indifferently: "After all, it’s democratic United States, we definitely need to protect freedom of speech!"

Just then, Chen Shijun hurried into the office.

"Wang, the final negotiation with PayPal is almost upon us."

Wang Jian nodded, took one last look at the backend data of the website, and then stood up with a smile.

"We have to thank the First Lady and that real estate tycoon for their cooperation."

"This PayPal..." he put on his coat, walked to the door, "essentially, it can be considered a gift from these two prominent figures."

Tom and Chen Shijun exchanged looks and simultaneously curled the corners of their mouths.

The three of them walked out of the office building, laughing and talking, and even the eight floors of stairs seemed less lengthy.

...

In Manhattan, in the Morgan Stanley reception room,

Elon Musk was sitting with his eyes closed, quietly contemplating matters.

After the final negotiation of the day, PayPal as an online payment tool, could now complete the cycle of banks, insurance companies, and terminals.

However, as the founder, could he only secure 10% of the shares?

He picked up his coffee and took a gentle sip.

Citibank could bridge the financial institutions, while the project leader from Morgan Stanley promised that his investments in eBay and Amazon would support PayPal payments.

So... was there still a need to appease the literary website wangwen.com?

Musk thought about the communication results with Citibank and Morgan Stanley, his eyes narrowing slightly.

"Wang, thank you for introducing me to financial institutions like Goldman Sachs."

"However, now please quietly bow out like an angel investor from Bell Labs."

"Goldman Sachs indeed has great influence, but under the pincer assault from Citibank and Morgan Stanley, it could probably only protect its own interests."

"Mr. Musk, it’s time to head to the meeting room," a staffer whispered in his ear.

He smiled at the young woman and walked confidently toward the meeting room.

...

Meanwhile, Wang Jian, sitting in the meeting room, looked around a bit perplexedly.

Apple’s negotiation representative, Tim Cook, wasn’t in the meeting room?

"Wang, Apple has already sold 10% of the PayPal shares to Citibank," Lehman whispered.

Alright...

It seemed that Apple had been eliminated by Wall Street.

Wang Jian nodded to Lehman.

"Hehe, don’t worry," Lehman patted Wang Jian’s shoulder for reassurance, "behind you stands Goldman Sachs Investment."

A few minutes later, PayPal’s founder, Elon Musk, walked to the center of the meeting room.

"Clearly being dissected, yet how does he still give off the vibe of a gladiator returning from battle?" Tom muttered softly.

"We’ll be like this in the future too," Wang Jian said to Tom, "Twitter’s IPO will also require us to make concessions to Wall Street."

"The same?" Chen Shijun also joined the conversation.

"Didn’t you say Twitter doesn’t have a clear profit model, and we need to drag financial institutions down with us?"

Hearing this, Wang Jian almost choked on his breath.

Indeed, as a digital media outlet, Twitter and as an online bank, PayPal, were quite different.

Media organizations emphasize influence, and as for profits...

Besides the famous Playboy, which media organization hasn’t lost money?

Thus, Wang Jian’s attitudes toward Twitter and wangwen.com were also different.

But... how could he say that here?

Wang Jian looked around at the representatives of the financial giants and gestured to Chen Shijun to keep quiet.

"Ladies and gentlemen, after several days of deliberation, PayPal has made its final decision," Musk took out a stack of documents and handed them to a staff member.

The staff member then distributed the documents to everyone present.

Wang Jian took the documents and started reading.

Then, he rubbed his eyes.

There was no mention of wangwen.com?

So... he had been played!

He held the documents and looked toward Lehman.

Lehman also wore a shocked expression.

"You are infringing on Goldman Sachs’s interests!" Lehman stood up, shouting angrily.

"As far as I know, Goldman Sachs also holds shares in wangwen.com, right?"

"Everyone can see the potential of PayPal," murmured a representative from Citibank. "All three of our institutions have contributed to building PayPal’s channels."

"Don’t you think Goldman Sachs took a bit too much?"

"Indeed, if the terminal sites can hold shares, then shouldn’t Morgan Stanley’s investments in eBay and Amazon also share the profits?"

Morgan Stanley’s representative added, "If Goldman Sachs agrees that eBay and Amazon receive the same benefits as wangwen.com."

He shrugged, "Then Morgan Stanley would also support wangwen.com’s equity participation request."

Musk watched everything unfold before him, a smile playing at the corners of his mouth.

"Why should this Asian author extract benefits from us just because he’s part of the internet elite?"

"Striking at the last minute, even with all its tactics, Goldman Sachs might not have enough time to use them."

Lehman looked at the representatives from Citibank and Morgan Stanley, then turned to Elon Musk.

"Have you all been in communication already?"

"Heh," laughed the Citibank representative. "On Wall Street, unless you sign the final documents, those profits aren’t guaranteed."

"Lehman, go back and ask your father if that statement is correct!"

"Why do you think you already have those profits in hand?"

"Just because you’re a partner at Goldman Sachs?"

The Morgan Stanley representative cleared his throat, attempting to smooth things over.

"The banking payment channel for PayPal is already complete; you know how much we have sacrificed for this."

"Lehman, we acknowledge Goldman Sachs’s interest and also hope for their respect."

"If you, representing Goldman Sachs, reject this proposal," he stood up, staring directly at Lehman.

"Then you are infringing on the interests of Citibank and Morgan Stanley."

So, was this an attempt to push him out of the game?

Wang Jian watched the unfolding scene in the meeting room, finding his own clarity.

He saw the conflicted expression on Lehman’s face, remembering that he was soon to be promoted to a mid-level partner at Goldman Sachs.

After about two or three minutes, Lehman’s expression began to fade.

At that moment, Elon Musk delivered the final blow.

"Mr. Lehman, if wangwen.com cannot participate in the shares, then the agreed 15% shareholding."

"Will be equally divided among us four."

Upon hearing this, Lehman started calculating in his mind.

15% divided by four, is that around 3 point something percent of PayPal’s shares?

And if controlled by the website, 15% of PayPal’s shares and 30% of the website shares...

Then, would Goldman Sachs’s interests also be preserved?

Lehman turned to Wang Jian, his expression somewhat sheepish, "Wang, I’m sorry."

"Judas!" Tom looked at Lehman, hissing the word through clenched teeth.

Chen Shijun looked around at everyone present, his eyes also dimming.

Fuck, this bunch of hyenas!

Wang Jian also gritted his teeth in frustration.

For the sake of acquiring 15% of PayPal’s shares and dealing with the upcoming tax season, how much effort had he put into quickly making money!

For this, he even increased the pressure on Twitter’s servers to manipulate the discourse about the First Lady and the real estate magnate!

Wait, manipulating public opinion?

A bolt of lightning seemed to flash across Wang Jian’s mind.

The tussle between Wall Street and Hollywood for control over public opinion, the historical inability of Wall Street to seize that control played scene by scene in Wang Jian’s mind.

For financial giants, which was more coveted—money or public opinion?

For Twitter, the funding on the website was no longer sufficient, and it was in desperate need of a substantial capital infusion.

So, what was Twitter to him?

It was a tool for manipulating public opinion!

Wang Jian stood up, smiled, and said, "Since everyone is not welcoming us, we have no choice but to leave."

"After all," he continued, "Twitter has recently attracted various groups and the opinions are quite a headache."

"By the way," Wang Jian patted Lehman on the shoulder, seemingly casually, "we need to hurry up with Twitter’s valuation. We are all looking forward to its IPO."

"Also, since everyone here is a financial expert, may I ask a question?"

"If one financial institution is a shareholder in another company, does it automatically have to become the underwriter for its IPO?"

"And, I see some companies with two or even three underwriters. How does that work?"

"In front of all of you, I am a financial novice," Wang Jian said with a bitter smile, shaking his head, "I always feel that the power of underwriters is too great!"

"They can not only appraise companies but also hold a share of their equity."

"This issue really gives me a headache."

"Oh, right." He stopped talking to himself.

"Today is PayPal’s investment negotiation; I drifted a bit off-topic."

"Lastly, I wish everyone a smooth cooperation, and may PayPal grow stronger."

As Wang Jian walked away, the conference room fell silent.

"Twitter?" the Morgan Stanley representative muttered to himself.

"Public opinion?" the representative from Citibank wondered aloud, a thoughtful expression on his face.

Lehman’s expression turned even gloomier.

Elon Musk, watching the atmosphere in the conference room, felt tense.

"Ladies and gentlemen, let’s sign the contract first. PayPal still has to cater to its online users."

"Ah," the Morgan Stanley representative stood up, "I forgot to inform everyone, eBay and Amazon still have some technical issues."

"For now, they probably can’t support PayPal payments," he added.

"Yes," the Citibank representative added, "We...need to enter into an understanding with VISA."

"After all, in a way, PayPal has infringed on this partner’s interests."

Lehman stood up, his face dark, looking at everyone.

"I really need to discuss the current situation with the senior management."

"Heh, the main reason is that our partners are too unreliable."

"So..." the Citibank representative summarized, "Shall we talk another day?"

"Mr. Musk, I am very sorry for your trip from Silicon Valley to New York," the Morgan Stanley representative said earnestly, "Morgan Stanley will cover all your expenses in New York."

This...

I...

"Do I lack such a small amount of funds?" Musk glanced at everyone, his face turning steely, and walked out of the conference room.

Sitting in a car headed to Flushing, the expressions on the faces of Wang Jian and his companions were no better than Elon Musk’s.

"Wang, do you really want to break with Goldman Sachs?" Tom asked softly.

"Break?" Wang Jian shook his head, "On what grounds?"

"It’s just that Musk gave me a bit of inspiration."

"If Twitter is fully underwritten by Goldman Sachs, then it remains to be discussed whether this thing is Goldman Sachs’s or the website’s."

"Look at Apple. A single institutional major shareholder can completely drive out the company’s founder."

"And Twitter doesn’t have a stable profit model."

"Tom, do you want to be Steve Jobs?"

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