"Uh, a little over a billion."
Zhou Wang had no choice but to answer truthfully.
In fact, he was actually downplaying it a bit, as just his 0.17% stake in Douyin alone was worth over two billion.
Although Zhou Wang didn’t have much cash, in terms of assets, he had indeed entered the ranks of the top-tier wealthy.
However, the old man’s expression became strange. He looked at Zhou Wang again, "You’re not over twenty-five yet, right?"
"In two months, I’ll be exactly 22."
"Hmm."
The old man nodded and said no more.
Zhou Wang then proactively asked, "Sir, are you retired from the military?"
"No, I’m heading to the battlefield tomorrow..."
The old man shook his head.
"Huh?"
Zhou Wang was shocked. After all, if he wasn’t mistaken, this old man was at least over sixty years old, yet he was going to war tomorrow?
"Aren’t you curious where I’m going to fight?"
The old man said with a chuckle.
"Can you say?"
Zhou Wang cautiously asked immediately, though he was very curious internally, he knew that this kind of thing usually had to be kept confidential.
"Of course I can say."
The old man nodded, "My plan is to lead the team to take Taiwan tomorrow, land on the Peninsula the day after, and directly conquer Sakura the day after that, aiming for the Pacific Ocean..."
Zhou Wang listened in a daze, unable to stop himself from saying, "Sir, you’re just bragging, aren’t you?"
The old man smiled at these words, gave Zhou Wang a deep look.
"You were the one bragging to me first."
"..."
Zhou Wang never expected that the old man was waiting for him here.
Obviously, he didn’t believe that Zhou Wang had made over a billion from scratch.
However, Zhou Wang also knew that as long as someone had a certain understanding of money, they would know what an asset worth over a billion means. It was normal that the old man didn’t believe him.
This old man had a mischievous sense of humor, actually going around to tease him.
While smiling wryly and helplessly, Zhou Wang didn’t feel the need to prove anything to the old man, but rather said with a smile, "Actually, with a figure like you around, I believe we could do it, it’s just a matter of willingness, don’t you think, sir?"
The old man was momentarily stunned and looked at Zhou Wang with new eyes.
Realizing the meaning, he laughed heartily, patting Zhou Wang on the shoulder, "Young man, you have a way with words. Exactly, it’s only a matter of willingness... A bunch of worthless people!"
The old man said dominantly, and his attitude towards Zhou Wang became more amiable. After chatting for a while, Zhou Wang learned that the old man’s surname was Liu, so he quickly changed the address to "Mr. Liu."
"Zhou Wang, that’s a nice name, ’Zhou Wang gazing over the plain, looking down at the mist and rain’, has a sense of mood!"
Mr. Liu, after learning Zhou Wang’s name, nodded in approval.
"Mr. Liu, those eight words are from the work ’Inscription on Stone’ by Lu Chui from the Southern Dynasty, but I don’t think my parents were that cultured, they probably just thought it sounded nice at the time."
In the laughter and banter between the two, time passed quickly. By eight-thirty, with the enthusiastic announcement of the four hosts on stage, this grand evening gala finally began.
The gala’s standard was naturally top-notch, besides being on Huaxia TV Station, it was also broadcast live on multiple platforms simultaneously. Almost as soon as it began, not to mention the TV station’s viewership, the online viewership skyrocketed past a million and continued to rise.
However, to contemporary young people, most of the programs at such galas tend to seem relatively dull.
In the past, Zhou Wang would also find it boring. After all, galas of such caliber consider not just entertainment value but also educational and cautionary significance.
Only as one elevates one’s own level, does Zhou Wang understand the inevitability of some things.
Don’t overestimate the enlightenment of most ordinary people; constant washing, even if its effect is small, can always plant a seed in the heart.
Just like the flag-raising ceremony we’ve gone through continuously since elementary school, it always manages to awaken our naive sense of national pride...
Moreover, watching live, the overall experience is vastly superior to watching on television, especially for song and dance programs, where the immersive audio effects greatly enhance the overall enjoyability.
What wasn’t quite pleasant were the magic and skit programs, as being too far away made it difficult to capture the details of expressions, and having to look up at the big screen could be tiring.
As time passed, by around nine, when the program reached halfway, Zhou Wang finally heard the two hosts on stage introducing the next segment—
"As one of the instruments with the widest range, the piano has been popular worldwide for over three hundred years. I believe many guests present, as well as audience friends watching this live, have once experienced the auditory feast brought by the piano..."
"Next, let us enjoy a solo piano performance titled ’Moonlight’, brought by a talented graduate student from Huaxia Music College..."
Uncoordinated applause echoed at the scene.
Many people continued chatting, laughing, with almost no one curious about what the so-called "talented graduate student" looked like.
After all, these titles have become quite ordinary these days.
On the live stream bullet screens of various platforms, sparse comments drifted by—
"A talented girl? Any girl who can get into Central Music as a grad student should be considered talented..."
"Feels like she’s probably an unknown newcomer; otherwise, the host wouldn’t introduce her like this."
"Ah, isn’t Ji Fanxing also from Central Music? I thought the solo performance would be him, disappointing!"