Chapter 197: Go and realise your dreams, Steve Jobs

Zhou Mingcheng and Jobs had left the headquarters of Apple Inc. before it got dark, which meant they had been there for the whole day.

But the day was well worth it for Zhou Ming, because when he came out, he already had a cooperation agreement with Apple. Of course, this agreement was only a draft agreement. On the one hand, Zhou Ming was only the vice president, and in theory was not qualified to sign such an agreement. On the other hand, Ming also wanted to go back to the lawyer to strictly review the agreement, so as to avoid any traps set by the other party in the agreement.

With the agreement in hand, Ming Zhou and Steve Jobs did not rush back to Palo Alto, but instead went to a nearby restaurant for dinner. Obviously, once the partnership with Apple was settled, the next step was Jobs' side of the bargain.

They sat down together in a private room. Ming Zhou could tell that Steve Jobs wasn't in a particularly high mood, but of course it wasn't because they were eating Chinese food. In fact, Steve Jobs had been depressed ever since Apple's headquarters building had suffered another setback in front of John.

In response, Zhou Ming poured a glass of wine for Steve Jobs and said to him, 'Mr. Jobs, in fact, you also helped me a lot today, and in the end, I still got the cooperation agreement I got it. If nothing goes wrong, I can sign the agreement once I take it back to discuss it with the CEO. Overall, it's more or less what we expected.'

But Steve Jobs shook his head and said, 'However, I did not play my due role in this negotiation. You, Mr. Ming Zhou, did everything yourself. I am really ashamed! And there's one more thing, Mr. Zhou Ming, I'm afraid you don't know. The projects they offered you to collaborate on were all projects I initiated when I was still at Apple, but I never imagined that they would all be... thrown out.'

Zhou Ming glanced at Steve Jobs. Although Steve Jobs had deliberately toned down his words, Zhou Ming could easily guess what he was trying to say: those collaborative projects were all thrown away as rubbish by Apple.

'I think I can understand how you feel, but it doesn't matter. Maybe those projects were really epoch-making? Maybe in my hands I can prove that Mr. Jobs, you have the most forward-looking vision.'

Zhou Ming said to Steve Jobs, and he didn't say this just to comfort him. He really felt a sense of forlornness. Although Zhou Ming had long known that Apple's de-Jobsification at this time was serious, he had never imagined it would be this serious.

It was a bit extreme to throw out everything with the Jobs stamp on it like it was rubbish, but it was great news for Jieke. From Zhou Ming's future future experience, Steve Jobs' foresight is still very forward-looking, so even if Ming Zhou doesn't need to understand the specific content of these projects, just the name Steve Jobs is worth his ten million.

However, Steve Jobs, who had just been fired from Apple, did not know this. He could only smile awkwardly and say, 'Maybe.'

Zhou Ming couldn't say much on this subject either, and had to change the subject, saying, 'Okay, Mr. Jobs, let's forget the unpleasantness at Apple, and now it's time to talk about our deal.'

Faced with this question, Jobs was a little confused: 'Our deal?'

'Of course. We agreed that you would help me forge a partnership with Apple, and I would invest in your new project.' At the end, Zhou Ming deliberately asked, 'Mr. Jobs, you haven't forgotten our deal, have you?'

Jobs shook his head and said, 'Of course not. I not only did not help in the negotiations with Apple, I almost even ruined them. Under these circumstances, how can I possibly be qualified to talk about this deal?'

'But without Mr. Jobs, I probably wouldn't even be sitting in the same room as the people from Apple,' Ming said.

Jobs looked at Ming in awe. There were some glistening tears in the corners of his eyes. He was truly moved by Ming. He had originally been driven out of Apple and was a little disheartened. His cooperation with Ming was just a matter of each getting what they wanted, but he never imagined that Ming would be so righteous as to go to such lengths. Jobs believed that if it had been anyone else, they would have stopped mentioning the deal if they were in the same situation as Apple in the negotiations.

This sincerity could not but move Steve Jobs. Steve Jobs said with a slight choke in his voice, 'Mr. Zhou Ming, you are truly the most sincere partner I have ever met. Your selflessness and integrity are so evident that I can believe your future will definitely be very brilliant!'

Steve Jobs' words made Ming Chou feel a little embarrassed, because he was not as noble as Steve Jobs had described. On the contrary, he just hoped to retain Steve Jobs through this deal After all, his project could only be brought to its best effect if it was in his own hands. But he never expected to have touched the softest place in his heart and moved him so much.

'I hope so too,' said Ming casually, 'but Mr. Jobs, I'm curious about the project you want for 10 million. It's not Toy Story, is it?'

Upon hearing Zhou Ming's question, Jobs was shocked. He looked at Zhou Ming with disbelief, as if he had seen a demon, and muttered, 'How did you know this name? This should be a secret, right? Has it already been leaked? But how is that possible?'

Zhou Ming was embarrassed and helpless at Steve Jobs' shock, because he had not expected it either.

Originally, Ming would have said that this Toy Story was just a random movie that Jobs worked on outside of Apple. Ming mentioned it casually because it was the only project that Jobs worked on outside of Apple that Ming knew about. in fact, Ming just wanted to lighten the mood a bit, but he never expected to hit the nail on the head. This also left Ming a bit dumbfounded: his memory, shouldn't this movie have been released in 1994 or 1995? How did Jobs know about it now?

Then Steve Jobs' words revealed the answer. Steve Jobs sighed and said, 'It seems that Mr. Zhou Ming is indeed not an ordinary person. Since you already know, I will not hide it from you anymore.'

'After I left Apple, I looked for new projects to invest in, and I finally found an animation studio that I call Pixar Animation Studios.

Jobs continued, 'Although Pixar is currently just a subsidiary of a film company, helping with special effects or editing short films, I believe that with Pixar's technical attitude and capabilities, it can definitely independently produce an animated film that will be recognised by the market! Toy Story is just such an animated film project!'

Jobs became more and more excited as he spoke, 'Toy Story is about a toy cowboy and a toy space ranger in a family with a lot of toys from a wealthy family. The cowboy was the child's favourite toy in the past, the cowboy was the child's favourite toy in the past, and the space warrior was the toy the child brought back and liked even more. The cowboy was afraid that the space warrior threatened his position as boss, so he wanted to get rid of the space warrior, but due to an accident they both fell out of the window.

'So Cowboy and Space Ranger encountered all kinds of things on their way home, including a neighbour's toy sadist and stray dogs on the street. Then Cowboy and Space Ranger gradually turned enemies into friends in countless adventures.'

Jobs continued, 'In fact, this cartoon exaggerates things that we encounter in our daily lives. I believe it will absolutely amaze anyone. Wow! There are so many rich and wonderful things around us? It also teaches children about friendship and tolerance, and helps them understand that jealousy is a terrible emotion...'

Jobs was talking enthusiastically, but as he went on, his mood sank. Finally, he let out a heavy sigh and said, 'Toy Story was an animation project I started as soon as I took over Pixar after I took over Pixar. It's been four whole years now. In that time, I've led the studio's 100-plus employees in constantly refining and re-creating the entire story. I believe it's a very complete and interesting story.

At this point, Jobs suddenly changed the subject with great pain: 'But he was never able to actually complete it and bring it to market.'

'Because you lacked the corresponding funds?' asked Zhou Ming.

Jobs nodded and said, 'Yes, I lacked a lot of money. You know, a movie is 90 minutes or longer, and every minute of it needs to be crafted with care. Especially an animated movie like Toy Story film, I have to ensure the artistic quality of every frame. This requires a lot of work, not just painting, but also computer-generated special effects, and all of this requires a lot of financial support.'

'Is it the machines and software for making the animation?' Zhou Ming asked.

'This is one thing, but every second of an animated film requires the support of a lot of drawings, which in turn requires quite a lot of storage equipment and software with sufficient support. The rental of equipment and optimisation of software, as well as labour costs, is a considerable expense. But in addition communication with the cinema circuit, as well as post-production and publicity costs, etc., all of which require huge investments.'

Jobs sighs again here, and chides himself, 'This was something I hadn't thought of. I originally thought making an animated film was very simple, so I took on the work of Pixar Animation and prepared two million dollars in start-up capital. But it wasn't until the work really started that I realised how naive I had been. Two million dollars can only produce the opening credits for an animated film.'

'In is actually Mr. Jobs's high standard, because in my opinion, a budget of two million is enough to complete an animated film of seven or eight hours.

Jobs immediately retorted emphatically: 'But this is a delicate animated film that requires meticulous artistic craftsmanship, not the kind of shoddy mass-produced animation!'

After saying that Jobs immediately realised that he shouldn't have lost his temper with Zhou Ming. So he apologised to Zhou Ming and continued, 'Maybe I'm being too demanding. Anyway, this animation has been on and off for the past four years it has been constantly being made and stopped. Pixar Animation Studios has spent more time completing the special effects for other films. The production of Toy Story will only continue if the results are completed and the company can operate normally without incurring losses.

' what is the progress of the Toy Story production? Can you tell me?' asked Zhou Ming curiously.

Jobs hesitated hesitated for a moment and then said, 'It's already half done. But all the sketches and storyboards have been completed. As long as there is sufficient funding, I am confident that my animation studio can complete it within a month!'

'So this is also your dream, right?' Ming asked again.

'Yes, I have wanted to make an animated film since I was a child, and I will work hard to make it come true!' Jobs said firmly.

'A childhood dream?' Ming Zhou said to Steve Jobs, 'Well, then, I think I'll invest.'

Jobs was stunned . He stared at Ming with wide eyes, as if he still couldn't believe it. Ming then said to him, word by word, 'I said I'll take care of the next investment in Toy Story, and you go realise your dream, Steve Jobs!'