Chapter 8 I Have a Dream

  "But to be honest, I'm a bit worried..." Song Tang said, looking at the crowd. The expressions of these people were somewhat tense, because they thought that what Song Tang was worried about might be salary issues and employee layoffs, which could very well happen after the boss's change.

  Concerned about themselves, each of them stared intently at Song Tang.

  George had already received some notice from Song Tang, so he didn't take it seriously, but when he saw many employees anxiously paying attention to Song Tang, he couldn't help but admire that this new boss was very capable despite his young age. At least his ability to grasp the conversation was excellent. Unconsciously, he had already grasped the rhythm and atmosphere of this meeting.

  "Don't worry, I'm not looking to cut salaries or lay off employees. My concern is that you're not working hard enough and there are too few staff members. I want to make Da Tang a big company, with a reputation that echoes throughout Hollywood. There are only eight major companies in the industry, and my goal is to join their ranks, and even surpass them. Can you do it?" Song Tang said confidently.

  Everyone was silent, but their eyes obviously had some intense colors. No one didn't want to be the first, no one didn't want to stand out from the crowd. Song Tang had already ignited the flames in their hearts.

  At this time, Song Tang stood up from his seat and looked around with a nearly calm tone of voice: "Ladies and gentlemen present, I'd like to ask you all a question."

  Pausing for a moment, Song Tang asked: "Does anyone of you know why our company is called 'Datang', and what it represents?"

  As soon as Song Tang's words fell, the employees on the scene began to make some confusing voices of discussion, but more shook their heads in ignorance.

  Song Tang sat in his own position, took a sip of tea, put his hands behind his head, looked up at the magnificent and luxurious ceiling of the hall, and said with a dazed expression: "You don't know that this is normal, because you don't understand our Chinese culture at all, nor do you understand the long history of our Chinese nation."

  Hearing Song Tang's words, the employees present, although angry at Song Tang's disdain, had to admit that what he said was true, and besides, their new boss was sitting above.

  "On the other side of the ocean, this beautiful and rich land has inherited a civilization of five thousand years. About 1,500 years ago, a dynasty called "Tang" rose on this land, with vast territory, prosperous culture, and reached the peak of excellent culture of the Chinese nation for thousands of years."

  As Song Tang's plain yet emotional explanation went on, the conference room fell into an unusual silence, with no one speaking and everyone being deeply immersed in his words.

  His rise let the whole world know that in the distant East, there was such a prosperous Han and Tang Dynasty. At this time, the Great Tang had the most advanced technology in the world, with the best human culture, and the Tang army was invincible, conquering everything it touched, winning every battle.

  "It can be said that the Tang Dynasty reached the pinnacle of human civilization at that time, it made all nations pay homage, and every Han Chinese person felt proud and honored to be a descendant of the Han and Tang dynasties, while the emperors of the Tang Dynasty were even called "Heavenly Khan" by the world."

  Although Song Tang's words were filled with plainness, all the employees present were infected by this plain language. Song Tang's speech made these not very understanding of Chinese culture proud Americans full of longing in their expressions.

  At this time, the venue was silent, and everyone seemed to be still immersed in Song Tang's plain but wonderful description. Song Tang did not immediately disturb the nostalgia of the employees present, because at this time Song Tang himself was also immersed in memories.

  "After a while, Song Tang continued: "Because our company is called Datang, we should strive to be the best. I want to surpass Hollywood's eight giants in the next few years, or even decades."

  "For this goal, we all have to work hard, I have plenty of funds here, just worry that you don't have the ability to take it. You can say that I'm rich and arrogant, because I plan to increase investment in film production, recruit some excellent talents in the industry, and..."

  "I think the current salary of our company is a bit low, but you want me to give you reasons for a raise! The gathering of more excellent talents will inevitably accelerate competition. In the 21st century, the main competition is talent competition. At that time, you should know what to do!"

  At this point, Song Tang paused for a moment, allowing the employees present to digest his words. He took a sip of the already lukewarm tea water.

  "What Chairman Song means is that everyone must continue to work hard, for the company's rapid development. As long as our business can achieve a certain level of improvement, then everyone's salary will also increase accordingly." George was very considerate and helped Song Tang add some footnotes on the side.

  The power of money is indeed boundless, everyone's eyes are extremely bright, and morale has been greatly boosted! Seeing the performance of the employees present, Song Tang secretly rolled his eyes, damn it, saying more doesn't work as well as a single sentence "raise salary", people in capitalist society are really not that noble, they only care about money!! But it doesn't matter, as long as their performance can be improved, Song Tang won't hold this little bit of money against them.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, you are all old friends of our Datang Film Industry. Many of you have witnessed the establishment of Datang Film Industry. Perhaps our company's hardware equipment is not as good as those Hollywood giants, and the funds we invest are not as much as other film and television companies."

  Song Tang's loud speech slowly evoked the memories of the employees present, when they were once young and passionate about film and television, joining this newly established company with a fiery spirit, but it can't be denied that at that time, they had more courage to take risks than now, although only two years have passed.

  "But I believe all these are temporary, later on, we will have money and good scripts. As long as everyone is willing to work hard, I believe we will definitely succeed. Perhaps there will be many setbacks and difficulties along the way, but how can you see a rainbow without experiencing wind and rain? In our China, there is an ancient saying that says it very well: where there's a will, there's a way. Here, I'd like to ask all of you a question: do you want to witness greatness?"

  "Think, think!!"

  At this time, the emotions of the audience had been fully mobilized by Song Tang. Even George beside him couldn't help but sigh that his little boss was a real character, not only steady in personality, but also knew how to grasp people's hearts. For a moment, George was also desperately shouting and waving his arms with all the employees present.

  As Song Tang spoke to this point, he saw that the emotions of all the employees present had been fully mobilized, and a faint smile appeared on his face. Song Tang raised his hands to signal everyone to stop shouting, and continued: "Every person has their own life trajectory, maybe it's like sand, maybe it's like a river, maybe our lives are like a small blade of grass, a tree. But every one of us must have a great dream. As Martin Luther King said:

  I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

  I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

  I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a desert state sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

  I have a dream that one day my four little children will live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character.

  I have a dream today.

  I have a dream that one day the state of Alabama, whose governor's lips are presently dripping with the words of interposition and nullification, will be transformed so that little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

  I have a dream today.

  I dream of a day when the valleys rise up, the high mountains lower down, the rugged and winding roads become smooth paths, the holy light reveals itself, shining brightly upon humanity.

  "This is our hope."

  When Song Tang spoke in his low, magnetic voice, the words of Martin Luther King Jr. seemed to bring the great American leader's magnificent speech on the black liberation movement to life before everyone's eyes. As they recalled those thrilling words and Martin Luther King Jr.'s courage in pursuing his dreams, people unconsciously clenched their fists.

  Song Tang saw this situation and hurriedly continued: "Here, I also have a dream. I hope our company's films will spread to every corner of the world, surpassing the eight major Hollywood studios. I want everyone in the world to...

  I am proud to be an employee of Datang. For this dream, it may take many years, but no matter what setbacks and difficulties I will encounter, I will not give up, this is my commitment to every employee. However, in this process, it is not the greatness of one person that can succeed, we are a collective, I need everyone's joint efforts.