National Tide 1980.

Jiang Hui's view of Ning Weimin was actually somewhat idealistic.

Of course, she had no idea that Ning Weimin, who appeared calm and composed and seemed to be in control of everything, was actually not as good at balancing his career and life as she thought.

It must be said that, despite the saying "the capable should do more work,"

But it is almost impossible for a grown man whose schedule is filled with work to raise a three-year-old girl so well on his own, in the absence of his wife.

The reason Jiang Hui had this misconception was that she got the cause and effect wrong and ignored the most crucial point.

Ning Weimin prioritized establishing his career before starting a family, unlike most people who marry and have children when they have nothing.

Moreover, Ning Weimin now possesses everything far beyond that of ordinary people, completely on a different level, so he cannot be measured by common sense.

First, Ning Weimin's wealth level has reached the super-high level.

Yunyuan Garden is nominally open to the public, but in reality it is almost equivalent to a private garden. Even high-ranking officials do not have such living conditions.

Here, countless staff members can focus on taking care of Xiao Ningze's daily life, including eating, drinking, and toileting, saving Ning Weimin the energy to deal with these mundane matters. Otherwise, if he had to rely entirely on himself, he would inevitably be overwhelmed.

Moreover, Ning Weimin also has trustworthy elders like Kang Shude and Jiang Nianyun, and reliable close friends like Yin Yue, Luo Guangliang, Xiao Tao, and Zhang Shihui in his life.

They all loved Xiao Ningze as if she were their own child and were willing to do their best to take care of Ning Weimin's daughter.

In particular, the two elderly people, with their profound knowledge and insightful understanding, are invaluable teachers. They provided Xiao Ningze with the best companionship and spiritual nourishment, both emotionally and intellectually, as well as in his early education.

This allowed Ning Weimin to completely put aside his worries and focus most of his energy on his career.

Otherwise, where would he get such a carefree and relaxed attitude?
People in this era say that an only child is like a little sun, with the whole family revolving around that one child. Actually, this statement is only truly accurate when applied to Ning Weimin's daughter.

Furthermore, the higher a person stands, the fiercer the storms they often have to weather.

To say just how important Ning Weimin's daily work is, and how weighty the decisions he makes are, is beyond the imagination of ordinary people.

Just like one day in late March 1991, in the general manager's office of Da Chuan Entertainment Company on the 3th floor of Building B, Pierre Carton Building, in the core business district of Beijing, anyone who could hear Yao Peifang, who had already taken charge of Da Chuan Entertainment, reporting his work achievements and discussing the company's future development with Ning Weimin would be quite surprised.

Because the things they discussed on this day were almost related to the future direction of the mainland's cultural and entertainment market.

Moreover, it covers advertising, publishing, popular music, commercial performances, film and television production, variety shows, and more, making it even more specific and practical than the Ministry of Culture's work guidelines for this year.

"Mr. Ning, let me first report to you on the sales of music cassette tapes over the past six months."

Yao Peifang's fingertips swept across the document, and she began her report by starting with the core music section, her tone clear and confident.

"This is currently the main source of profit for Big Ship Entertainment. The two music albums we collaborated on with Taurus Palace have achieved remarkable results. Your wife's Chinese cover album, 'Half a Heart,' not only includes her Chinese cover of the French song 'Venus in the Caravan,' but also covers of several classic Japanese songs, especially 'Easily Hurt Woman,' which received a warm response in the mainland market. In addition, Ms. Deng's personal compilation album and the 'Crazy Rich Asians' movie soundtrack continue to sell well. The revenue sharing for these three tapes in mainland China has been roughly calculated, amounting to about 19 million. After deducting the copyright fees and production costs paid to Taurus Palace, we still have 7.4 million left."

Ning Weimin tapped his fingertips lightly on the table, his face expressionless, and simply nodded slightly to signal her to continue.

"Secondly, regarding artist training, our training program, which we established based on the Japanese model, is now taking shape. I rented a place next to the National Ballet of China as a temporary training location, and we have performance and vocal classes scheduled every day. As for dance classes, we are currently sharing the ballet company's dance studio with Pierre Cardin's modeling class."

Yao Peifang turned to the next page of the document, her eyes brightening. "Currently, we have five signed artists under our wing. Two of them are young people with strong overall abilities. At the end of last year, they already released their own works as singers. One is a man and the other a woman. One is Chen Lin, a 20-year-old girl from Chongqing. She used to sing in nightclubs and has a particularly good voice. The other is Jin Haibo, a 23-year-old from Tianjin. He is a martial arts performer in a Kunqu Opera troupe. Their debut songs are both adapted from Japanese songs selected from the Jinniu Palace Southern Stars copyright library. Chen Lin's work is a cover of 'Flower Blooming Journey' which is a rendition of 'Snowflakes,' while Jin Haibo's work is a cover of 'Summer Fruits.'" They sang "Loving You More Each Day." These two songs were initially broadcast on the radio. The response was exceptionally good, receiving rave reviews and appealing to a wide age range, especially university students. Now, they've gained some fame, and their fees for commercial performances have risen to 4,000 yuan per person per show. If they sing three or four songs together, the price can reach 10,000 yuan. My advice is that these two artists have good potential and deserve further development. I'm thinking of producing a music video for each of them to see if it can be broadcast on television. If things go well, I also plan to plan solo albums for them to solidify their fame.”

“Well, artist development is a long-term investment. Since there’s been a positive response, we’ll proceed according to your plan.” Ning Weimin’s tone was calm, still revealing little emotion.

Yao Peifang hesitated for a moment, but still voiced her concerns, "Then... should the MTV be produced domestically, or should we fly to Japan and ask Taurus to help us? Domestically, it's cheaper, but the quality isn't good. Although the Japanese team is professional, the production cost is much higher."

“I know.” Ning Weimin looked up at her, his tone firm. “Here’s what you do: see if you can identify a few people with strong professional skills. We can sign long-term contracts with them and have these people participate in the entire process, learning filming from the Japanese. If possible, a slightly higher production cost is fine. I’ll say it again: don’t skimp on necessary expenses. I don’t plan to make money from this company for the first three years.”

Upon hearing this, Yao Peifang's eyes widened suddenly, her face showing undisguised amazement.

She originally only wanted to solve the MTV production problem for the two artists in front of her, but she did not expect Ning Weimin to go straight to the long-term plan of "cultivating a dedicated team" as soon as he opened his mouth. She also did not expect him to downplay the huge cost investment so lightly.

You should know that, according to Ning Weimin's plan, it would cost at least several million yuan, and all the money earned from the music tapes might end up in that.

In this day and age, a few million is enough to support the budget of several domestic films.

Ning Weimin was actually willing to spend money on a filming team that was not yet fully formed. This boldness and generosity really exceeded her expectations. It can only be said that he has lofty goals and is not swayed by short-term gains.

After a brief moment of surprise, Yao Peifang smiled with delight. Ning Weimin's attitude gave her even more motivation, and she then followed up with additional suggestions.

"Mr. Ning, your idea is too far ahead. If we can build our own dedicated team, we can control everything from artist music videos to film and television clips, which is indeed worry-free and professional. However, regarding the cost issue you mentioned, I have an idea—we can cooperate with several large audio-visual companies in Beijing and take on some of their outsourced filming jobs. Many audio-visual companies have music video production needs now, but either hiring foreign teams is too expensive, or the quality of domestic scattered teams varies greatly. We can take advantage of the opportunity to train our team to take on outsourcing. Firstly, it will allow the new team to quickly accumulate practical experience, and secondly, the outsourcing income can also share some of the costs of equipment purchase and personnel training, so that the company does not have to bear huge expenses alone. In the end, it is much more cost-effective."

Ning Weimin listened, a look of appreciation also flashing in his eyes.

"That's a good idea, killing two birds with one stone. It solves the team's initial practical problems and also offsets costs. Let's do it your way. You can decide on the specific partners and outsourcing quotes based on the situation."

Besides agreeing with Yao Peifang's suggestion, he immediately added, "However, I also have a suggestion. In addition to cultivating artists in the conventional way, you could also consider trying something innovative and breaking through, such as cultivating a boy band or group. For example, you could imitate the Japanese boy band Shonentai and create a boy group. You probably know the Little Tigers from Taiwan, right? They are a product of imitating Shonentai. Now they are not only very popular in Taiwan, but also extremely popular in mainland China. No junior or senior high school student in Beijing doesn't like them. Moreover, schools don't suppress or restrict students' idol worship like they do with other Hong Kong and Taiwanese stars. I think this kind of trendy, fashionable, sunny, healthy, and energetic boy group has great commercial value in the future. This Taiwanese Little Tigers will definitely be a huge hit. We should also quickly create a local boy group so that we can compete with them for the favor of the youth population." Yao Peifang's eyes lit up at first, but then he hesitated.

"Mr. Ning, your idea is indeed good. But... the situation in our country probably doesn't allow for this. After all, here, we believe that all other professions are inferior, only studying is noble. Most children this age are still in school, and most parents have very conservative views. They are definitely not willing for their children to become artists so early, worrying that it will affect their studies. To be honest, this is difficult. At most, I can only start with opera and dance schools, but I may not be able to find suitable ones."

"That's a problem."

Ning Weimin pondered for a moment, then quickly came up with a new idea. "Here's what we'll do. Remember this, but don't rush it. Once the aquarium opens or the Beijing amusement park is renovated, we might be able to do it. I'd like to use our facilities to organize a music competition open to the public, primarily for university students. It won't be limited to singing, folk music, Western music, or even dance. As long as it's expressed through popular music, I think everyone can participate. It's just a matter of having more tracks and more prize money. I don't care about that. The main thing is that university students are the right age, their parents are more accepting, and we can use the competition to discover a group of promising new talents, which will be perfect for selecting and building a talent pool for our group."

Yao Peifang's eyes lit up as she listened, and she exclaimed with genuine admiration, "President Ning, this is a great idea! It's just like a model competition. And I remember that Japanese film companies used this method of holding competitions to discover many promising performing talents. Yes, that's how Yamaguchi Momoe debuted. Moreover, this approach not only solves the problem of selecting candidates but also enhances the reputation of both the amusement park and the competition—a win-win situation."

Ning Weimin smiled faintly, glanced at his watch, and gestured to her.

"Alright, let's proceed with artist development and new talent discovery along this path. Just keep that in mind, and we can move on to the next topic."

"Okay, Mr. Ning."

Yao Peifang nodded in agreement, only then realizing that Ning Weimin's time was precious and that she didn't want to waste any more words on something that was already decided.

She then closed the artist training-related documents, picked up another stack of materials marked "film and television projects," and resumed the seriousness she had shown during the report, smoothly shifting the topic to the next section.

"Next, I'll report to you on the recent achievements and progress of the film and television sector. Although its profitability is not as outstanding as that of the music sector, it is still progressing steadily overall."

Ning Weimin leaned back slightly in his chair, maintaining a listening posture. "Yes, go ahead."

"First, there were 'The Bodyguard' and 'Taken', both produced by Fog Studios last year. After being introduced to the mainland, these two films performed as well as expected, even exceeding expectations."

Yao Peifang glanced at the data on the document and reported clearly, "China Film Company is very satisfied with this. The data they provided shows that more than a thousand copies were sold, covering cinemas in most provinces and cities across the country. According to preliminary calculations, we have already recovered more than two million yuan in costs for Fog Film Studio. Although it can't compare to the production cost and we didn't get much, this result is already a real blockbuster in the current mainland film market."

Upon hearing this data, a barely perceptible hint of satisfaction flashed in Ning Weimin's eyes, and he nodded slightly.

“Indeed, Alain Delon and Tomokazu Miura’s appeal has not disappointed. But we don’t need to give them this money. Since we’re just starting out, let’s consider it their contribution. You can keep the money as promotional expenses, and I’ll put in a good word with them later.”

That's the advantage of working with your spouse – it's so convenient to switch from one hand to the other.

It's all the couple's money anyway, it's just a matter of a word.

However, Yao Peifang really didn't expect to be able to leave such a sum of money to supplement the company's working capital.

As the head of Big Ship Entertainment, she was as happy as if she had found money, and agreed very readily.

"In addition, the film 'Earn Ten Million' starring Chen Peisi has been completed and was officially released at the end of last year."

Yao Peifang continued, "The box office performance of this film is mediocre, not as outstanding as 'The Bodyguard,' but its advantage lies in its controllable costs. Although it won't make a lot of money, it certainly won't lose money. Based on the current number of copies sold, it is estimated that it will eventually make a profit of about 400,000 to 500,000 yuan, which is a safe break-even profit project."

"It's better to be cautious. Film and television investment is inherently risky, so there's no need to pursue blockbuster success for every film."

Ning Weimin said dismissively, "Peis is a creative talent. I only hope that he can make films that meet his own standards and have a certain level of quality. Commercial success is secondary. You don't need to put too much pressure on him to achieve results."

"You're right. I'll keep that in mind."

Yao Peifang nodded in agreement, then turned to the next page of the document and added, "I just mentioned the situation with imported films. The situation with imported TV dramas is also going well. Because of the positive reception after its broadcast on Beijing TV and the national channel, many local TV stations are now approaching us wanting to lease 'The Black Leather Notebook' for broadcast. The Japanese drama 'Woman's Staircase,' produced by Wu Studio, has already aired on two TV stations in Beijing and Tianjin, and its ratings are also quite high, but the reviews are rather mixed..."

At this point, Yao Peifang's tone became more complicated. "It's the first time that everyone has seen Tomokazu Miura play a villain. Many viewers feel that this drama has ruined his previous image as an honest, kind, and good man, so it's quite controversial."

Ning Weimin couldn't help but laugh upon hearing this, and joked.

"This further illustrates the necessity of this drama. Our audience is still too naive. Haven't you heard the saying, 'The more handsome a man is, the more dangerous he is, and the more likely he is to be a womanizer?' Let our female compatriots see more characters with such contrasting personalities, which can be considered a preventative measure to prevent them from being deceived by scumbags in the future. I wonder how many innocent girls we can save with this action."

Yao Peifang sensed the teasing in his words, but didn't respond. She simply said "Ah," then looked at him and smiled without saying anything.

After Ning Weimin finished speaking, he chuckled to himself for a while before realizing something was wrong from Yao Peifang's strange gaze.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"It's nothing. I just feel that you are quite experienced."

What? You're saying that as if he's a scumbag?

Ning Weimin was about to explain himself, but Yao Peifang changed the subject, making it difficult for him to argue.

What kind of mess is this? (End of Chapter)