Chapter 466: Swinging the Hoe and Digging the Wall

After confirming that it was indeed Xia Yu, the group of people were eager to step forward and show their faces. They were excited at the thought of any potential good fortune that might come their way. However, seeing the current situation, they felt it might not be appropriate to disturb Xia Yu's pleasant mood.

The young man named Rong Zai, in particular, realized that his friends were subtly encouraging him to take the lead. He felt a bit awkward about this.

Could he really say he didn't have the courage to approach?

"Hey, Xia Yu, they're all standing up and looking this way. It seems like they want to come over," Li Qian said casually after glancing over.

Upon hearing this, Xia Yu looked toward the group again and his gaze suddenly sharpened, showing interest.

"Xia Yu, what's going on?" He Chen Qiong asked curiously, noticing the change in Xia Yu's expression.

"I see some acquaintances from the TV station," Xia Yu replied with a faint smile, a glimmer of interest in his eyes.

He recognized Zhang Guorong among them, and another was Zhou Runfa when he was younger. Xia Yu hadn't expected Zhang Guorong and Zhou Runfa to know each other and to be on good terms.

As for the other two, Xia Yu found them somewhat familiar, likely seen on TV in his previous life, but he couldn't recall their names.

"Oh, I don't know them," He Chen Qiong said frankly.

Xia Yu was initially surprised but then realized it was normal that He Chen Qiong didn't know them. Zhang Guorong hadn't yet become famous, and Zhou Runfa hadn't starred in the acclaimed drama "The Rise of the Band."

That's right!

"The Rise of the Band!"

This was a flagship drama of TVB, a brilliant gem in Hong Kong entertainment. Upon airing, it swept through Hong Kong and quickly gained popularity across Asia. In the future, it would be remade five times!

Even with Xia Yu's vast resources at Universal TV, he might not be able to compete against such a culturally significant product. Universal TV could potentially lose out!

Fortunately, this drama hadn't been produced yet, but considering the timeline, it would soon be in production.

Knowing the value and potential impact of this drama, Xia Yu certainly wouldn't ignore it. The best approach was to acquire "The Rise of the Band" for himself.

In doing so, he would need to bring Zhou Runfa over from Universal TV, as well as the director Zhao Zhenqiang who was working on "The Rise of the Band."

With this in mind, Xia Yu waved at Zhang Guorong, who, upon seeing this, immediately became excited. He quickly spoke to his friends and then jogged over to Xia Yu.

"Hello, Chairman!"

"Hello, ladies!"

Zhang Guorong gave the two women a brief glance before returning his attention to Xia Yu. Despite the stunning beauty of Li Qian, he knew better than to ogle her, as she was the Chairman's partner.

"Rong Zai, gathering with friends by the seaside? Looks like you're in a good mood!" Xia Yu said with a smile.

"Yes, Chairman. A few friends and I came to the seaside today because the weather was nice. We didn't expect to run into you here," Zhang Guorong explained with a smile.

"It seems we're fated to meet. How have you been finding it at the company recently?" Xia Yu asked with concern.

Zhang Guorong's eyes were full of gratitude as he replied sincerely, "It's been great. The company and the leaders have taken good care of me. Thank you for your support, Chairman!"

Seeing Zhang Guorong's grateful expression, Xia Yu nodded in satisfaction and said casually, "The most important thing is for you to do your best and not let me down."

"Chairman, don't worry. I won't let you down!" Zhang Guorong said quickly, his high emotional intelligence helping to strengthen his relationship with Xia Yu.

With such emotional intelligence, it would be hard not to stand out!

"Who are your friends?" Xia Yu asked, glancing at the three people who were attentively watching them.

Zhang Guorong was momentarily taken aback but then seized the opportunity to help his friends. He introduced them, "They're all from the entertainment industry. The one with glasses is Huang Baoming, a screenwriter. He wrote the scripts for TVB's 'The Legend of Wong Fei-hung' and 'Forced to the Top.' He's quite talented."

"The one with a beard is Lin Zixiang, a singer who has released an English album."

"And the young man with the square face is Zhou Runfa, an actor who has already appeared in several TV dramas. He's more famous than me."

"They're all from TVB, but my relationship with them is purely as friends."

"It's good to have more friends!" Xia Yu said with a smile, dispelling Zhang Guorong's lingering concerns.

"Seeing that your friends want to come over, should we invite them over?" Xia Yu asked.

Zhang Guorong was pleasantly surprised and excited, realizing that the Chairman was so open-minded. He quickly completed his friends' request.

"Chairman, they were just thinking of coming over to greet you but were hesitant. I'll call them over now; they'll be very happy!"

"Go ahead!" Xia Yu instructed.

Zhang Guorong quickly ran back to Zhou Runfa and the others, spoke to them briefly, and soon Zhou Runfa and the others approached with smiles.

"Hello, Mr. Xia! Hello, ladies!" They greeted Xia Yu with a bow, their attitudes very sincere.

Xia Yu responded warmly, extending his hand and saying, "Hello!"

Seeing Xia Yu extend his hand, the group was pleasantly surprised. They quickly cleaned their hands and lined up to shake hands with Xia Yu, all forming a very good impression of him.

Who would have thought the stock god was so approachable!

"Zhou Runfa, Huang Baoming, Lin Zixiang?" Xia Yu said with a smile, addressing each person.

"Yes, yes!" The three were astonished and delighted, grateful to Zhang Guorong for his strong recommendation.

"I've heard good things about you from Rong Zai. I think highly of you. Would you be interested in joining my TV station? We're in need of talents like you!" Xia Yu directly extended an invitation.

The invitation left Zhou Runfa and the others stunned, and even Zhang Guorong hadn't anticipated this.

Huang Baoming swallowed nervously, doubting if he had heard correctly.

Fortunately, Zhang Guorong wasn't foolish and immediately gave them a nudge, signaling them to accept.

Zhou Runfa, being perceptive, saw Xia Yu waiting for their response with a smile and immediately said, "Mr. Xia, thank you for valuing me. I would be honored to work for you!"

Zhou Runfa wasn't foolish; although he had gained some fame at TVB, he was sure that Shao Yifu and other TV station executives had little impression of him.

However, with the stock god Xia Yu personally inviting him to join the rapidly advancing Universal TV, the choice was clear without much consideration.

Being valued by a top magnate was like a windfall from heaven. At Universal TV, the treatment would not be lower, as it would be a disgrace to the Chairman if the treatment were poor.

So it was easy to predict that joining Universal TV would offer待遇 far better than at TVB, especially considering Universal TV's potential.

"I'm willing too, Mr. Xia!"

"Thank you, Mr. Xia. I'm honored!"

Zhou Runfa's response also awoke Huang Baoming and Lin Zixiang, who immediately agreed as well.

"Great!" Xia Yu was pleased to achieve his goal so easily and handed out three business cards. The three immediately accepted them.

Then, Xia Yu told Zhang Guorong, "Rong Zai, take them to report to the company. With my business card, first report to Manager Huang and then sign the contract with Manager Chen."

"Yes, Chairman!" Zhang Guorong immediately agreed.

"Continue to have fun!" Xia Yu said, smiling as he glanced at everyone.

"Take care, Chairman!" The four said in unison, now referring to him as Chairman.

As they watched Xia Yu and his group leave, they could no longer contain their excitement.

"Rong Zai, well done! We're colleagues now!"

"Yes, Rong Zai, thanks to you for speaking well of us to the Chairman."

"Rong Zai, no need to say more. Good friends for life!"

Seeing the gratitude from his friends, Zhang Guorong could only smile to mask his own embarrassment. He had only introduced them; who would have guessed the Chairman would be so accommodating?

But he didn't bother explaining; no one would believe it anyway, and it might lead to other problems.

"Let's go and celebrate with some drinks. We'll write our resignation letters later!"

Huang Baoming cheered, and the four returned to their gathering spot, celebrating with barbecue and drinks.

Soon, they saw two burly bodyguards bringing over boxes and setting them down in front of them.

"This is seafood from the boss, a pre-celebration for your new jobs. Let everyone have a taste."

After speaking, the bodyguards turned and left, leaving the four in a state of shock.

"Wow, such big abalone and huge lobsters!"

"Let me see, let me see. Oh my god, they're really huge. The Chairman is so kind. Thank you, Chairman!"

"We've hit the jackpot today. Come on, let's grill them

 quickly. I want to eat lobster!"

After their astonishment, they eagerly began to prepare the seafood.

---

After returning, Xia Yu informed Huang Xizhao about the new hires. He instructed Huang Xizhao to assign Huang Baoming to the editorial department, and to arrange positions for Lin Zixiang and Zhou Runfa as a singer and an actor, respectively, based on their roles.

At the same time, Xia Yu asked Huang Xizhao to recruit Zhao Zhenqiang from TVB and to bring in a batch of talents from TVB to fill Universal TV's positions.

Although Universal TV currently had enough talent, with the current growth trend, even more talent was needed. So, they would poach TVB's talent to not only strengthen themselves but also weaken TVB.

These talents were fundamental to TVB. As long as they had a large talent base, TVB would always have a chance to make a comeback despite any suppression.

Targeting TVB's foundation was the way to fundamentally undermine TVB.

Huang Xizhao set off with high spirits to carry out Xia Yu's orders.

One could imagine that Shao Yifu would be furious once again…