But Jill's problem was the same as in his previous life: lack of money!
While the Popovich family wasn't short on cash, Jill was!
Although Popovich had covered Jill's university tuition, ensuring he wouldn't be burdened by student loans, settling down in a big city like Los Angeles required money for rent, a car, and food.
Jill had originally hoped to sell his script for a good price and achieve his dream of establishing himself in Los Angeles in one go, but He Ximeng had thwarted his plans with a single blow.
Seeing He Ximeng's persistence, Jill found it difficult to insist on selling the script.
But how could he improve his current "impoverished" state?
Just as Jill was racking his brain, He Ximeng "timely" offered a "small suggestion": sell all rights to the script in advance!
According to the agreement between Jill and He Ximeng, they each owned 50% of the script.
Selling this ownership directly to a film company wouldn't fetch much money now. More importantly, it could mean missing out on huge future profits!
Since that was the case, and sticking to the principle of keeping benefits within the family, it would be better to sell privately first, selling his shares to interested friends...
Jill listened, stunned, and complained, "The problem is, I don't have any rich, foolish friends around me..."
"How can you say you don't?" He Ximeng kindly reminded Jill, "The intern from Nike I introduced to you last time, who is now Duncan's and my agent, John, the bachelor, is very interested in your script..."
He Ximeng specifically emphasized John's bachelor status.
However, Jill seemed to pay no attention to whether John was single, only caring about how much money John was willing to pay and how much equity he should sell to him.
He Ximeng suggested Jill not sell too much, 5%-10% would suffice. Because every bit of equity sold now was a massive loss from a future perspective.
As for the resale price... He Ximeng calculated that John had certainly spent his commission for this year at the Oregon nightclubs. However, Duncan's contract had just been finalized, and John had recently received approximately $200,000 in commission. This money, which was supposed to be John's living expenses for the next few months... well, why not contribute it to Jill...
"For 5% equity, you want $200,000 from him!"
"200,000?" Jill's voice suddenly rose, startling He Ximeng.
"If you think it's too little, you can give him a little less equity..."
"No, no, no! I mean, does he have that much money? Can 5% equity fetch $200,000?" If sold this way, the script would be worth at least $4 million! And the highest offer from those two film companies was only $1 million...
"It's fine! This is still a bargain for that kid! Just ask for as much as you can!"
Encouraged by He Ximeng, Jill contacted John. John was already wondering how to approach Jill and, without a second thought, agreed to contribute all his $200,000 to acquire 5% of Jill's script ownership, in order to win Jill's favor...
What is called spending lavishly? This is spending lavishly.
After Jill put on a brave face and acted like a big spender, John turned around and asked He Ximeng for money! Under the guise of "advancing his salary"!
What John said wasn't entirely untrue. Besides being He Ximeng's agent, drawing a fixed commission percentage from He Ximeng's salary each year, John was also He Ximeng's financial advisor, managing almost all of He Ximeng's investments and wealth.
They agreed that once money was made, He Ximeng would give John a share.
Now, a year has passed. The Nasdaq index has steadily risen. He Ximeng's funds, initially $50,000, gradually increased with Nike's $4 million endorsement fee from the first year, plus his own $1 million salary for the first year... With the effect of leverage, even after taxes, his assets have doubled! This means He Ximeng's net worth has unknowingly reached the tens of millions of dollars... By all rights, it was reasonable for John to ask for a portion of the profits in advance as his salary!
Compared to the poverty of his previous life, He Ximeng's fortunes had taken off early in this life. Consequently, John, his close friend, had also escaped the constraints of his family early and achieved financial independence through his own efforts!
He Ximeng couldn't help but sigh: "It's true that players make money much faster than coaches..."
Coaches have fixed salaries, at most with some bonuses for exceeding expectations in performance.
But players are different, especially outstanding players. Their salary is only one part of their income! Commercial endorsement income after becoming famous can easily surpass their annual salary and become the main source of income.
And He Ximeng, backed by the Chinese market, has limitless financial prospects...
With He Ximeng, who had limitless financial prospects, acting as a matchmaker, Jill's sister, who had never been very fond of John, finally began to re-examine this glib and flirtatious rogue...
A good woman is most afraid of a persistent suitor! John's methods were likely something Jill's sister couldn't resist for too long...
After completing these matters, He Ximeng's main activities during the summer, apart from practicing basketball, were still practicing basketball.
The Lakers' management was also not idle during the summer of 1997! Although there were no major moves, there were constant small adjustments.
First, they traded rookie Knight to the Celtics for the swingman Rick Fox!
Fox was already contributing 15.4 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and 2.2 steals, with 0.5 blocks per game last season for the Celtics, making him a very balanced player on both offense and defense.
Fox's reason for transferring to the Lakers was rather peculiar!
It wasn't because of a high salary. If Fox hadn't chosen the Lakers' contract and instead signed and traded away from Boston to Los Angeles, the contract the Celtics originally offered would have been slightly larger.
Nor was it because of his team status. Because last season, Fox was already the captain and core small forward for the Celtics.
Fox chose the Lakers because he wanted to use the Lakers as a springboard to enter Hollywood... In other words, Fox had always harbored a dream of becoming a star... He was fully confident in his appearance...
Perhaps he wasn't the best-looking man on this planet who played basketball, but he was definitely the most handsome among the men who played basketball...
Fox's arrival posed a significant threat to Kobe's starting position.
If Fox hadn't come, based on his outstanding performance in the playoffs last season, Kobe would likely have been promoted to the starting lineup.
But with Fox's arrival, Coach Harris would likely have to reconsider the starting shooting guard selection.