After the divorce, I started to transfer

Chen Feng had a fairly good impression of Peng Xiaotong. Although she had some ulterior motives, they were within the normal range and were understandable.

After all, for a girl like her, born in the mountains of Southwest China, the burden of her family of origin is heavy from birth. She has never been to university, and she didn't even graduate from high school. Coming to a big city on the coast, it is really difficult to make money and get ahead.

She was a bit cunning; she had proactively contacted Chen Feng to inform on him, which meant she wasn't doing anything bad, but rather doing something right or even righteous.

She made Chen Feng owe her a small favor, and then took the opportunity to find a decent job through him.

This time, she took the initiative to thank him in person, which was to be expected, but it was clearly also part of a little scheming. Her goal was simply to get Chen Feng to know her and leave a good impression on him.

This is only human nature, and besides, he genuinely came to thank him from the bottom of his heart, so what's wrong with that?

Not long after Peng Xiaotong left, Chen Feng also came out of the office, intending to go back.

Then, Ren Ziyu sent a message saying that a director named Li Feihong had come to recommend himself. He had previously directed several decent films and television dramas. Two of his films were successfully released, with a combined box office of over 100 million yuan. Of his seven television dramas, four were successfully sold and broadcast, with moderate ratings and a slight profit. However, the other three failed to pass censorship, resulting in a complete loss.

Ren Ziyu felt that he had some ability, but she wasn't sure and wanted him, as the boss, to personally oversee the process.

Chen Feng really wanted to refuse; the company wanted him, the boss, to do all the work as soon as he joined.

But after all, he was still at the company, and it was a rare opportunity for him to come all this way. And Ren Ziyu was talking about serious company business.

Chen Feng hesitated for a moment, but still agreed and asked him to bring his men to his office.

He was almost at the company entrance when he had no choice but to walk back.

Back in his office, Chen Feng had just sat down in the executive chair behind his desk when there was a knock on the door. He called out somewhat helplessly, "Come in."

Then, Ren Ziyu led the director Li Feihong, who had volunteered his services, into the room.

He looked to be around fifty years old, with thick black-rimmed glasses, a big beard, and a bald head. The little hair he had left was already half white. He wore blue jeans with a dark red long-sleeved T-shirt. His outfit was somewhat fashionable, but also a bit unconventional.

His face had a rugged look, as if he had experienced many hardships, and his whole demeanor suggested that of someone who was involved in artistic creation.

Chen Feng had never heard of this person before and had no impression of this director at all.

"Boss, I've brought the person over."

Ren Ziyu walked ahead, talking to Chen Feng as she went, and stopped not far from the desk.

Then she turned around and introduced, "Boss, this is Director Li Feihong. Director Li, this is our boss, Chen Feng."

"Hello Mr. Chen, it's an honor to meet you. I didn't expect you to be so young, I really admire you."

Li Feihong was clearly not a very eloquent person, and his expression was slightly unnatural when he said these words of flattery.

But he still tried to speak, and when he walked to Chen Feng's desk, he bent down slightly and reached out his hand to shake hands with Chen Feng.

Chen Feng naturally stood up, shook hands with him across the desk, and said politely, "Director Li, you're too kind. Please have a seat."

"Thank you."

Li Feihong glanced at the sofa against the wall, hesitated for a moment, and then chose the chair not far away—a stainless steel, bow-shaped leather chair, not the kind with casters. Although it was soft and comfortable, placing it in front of the large executive desk, only a meter away from the desk, with some empty space around it, made him feel like he was being interrogated.

This wasn't Chen Feng's instruction to arrange the chair this way; there wasn't this chair here before, only the sofa next to it.

It seems that this bow-shaped leather chair appeared in his office the last time I came here.

Chen Feng roughly guessed his purpose, so he didn't bother to have him moved out, since he only came to the company a few times a year anyway.

But clearly, this chair has been used twice since he arrived at the company today. If Chen Feng had kept Peng Xiaotong to chat a little longer, it would have been used three times.

"If I may ask, which of your previous films and television dramas is the most famous?"

Chen Feng genuinely didn't know this director before, so he was even less aware of which films and television dramas he had directed.

The embarrassment on Li Feihong's face vanished in an instant, and he laughed, "I have filmed a total of nine films and television dramas before, including two movies and seven TV series. If I had to say which one is the most famous, it would probably be the movie 'Haicheng Past.' This movie had an investment of 8 million yuan and a box office of more than 40 million yuan. The word-of-mouth was also quite good."

"The Story of Haicheng?" Chen Feng was slightly surprised because he had seen a video explanation of the show before, which was about five or six minutes long. He had watched the whole thing, which was quite unusual for him, and he still remembered it.

Although Chen Feng hadn't watched the entire movie, he thought it was pretty good just from the movie review.

Without a doubt, this is a rather excellent film.

No wonder Ren Ziyu thinks he's capable.

“I remember this movie,” Chen Feng continued. “I watched a narration of this movie on Douyin about last year, and I still remember it. It was about a boy and a girl who were childhood sweethearts, until the girl’s whole family moved away when she was 12, and the two lost contact. Then, in their twenties, they reconnected through the internet and developed feelings for each other. But because the girl was abroad and the boy was in China, they both suppressed their feelings for each other in the end.”

It wasn't until they were both in their thirties, after the girl had married abroad and traveled to China with her husband, that she reunited with the boy. A subtle affection rekindled between them, yet they restrained themselves, their feelings filled with deep tenderness. Even when the girl returned to her home country, the boy didn't try to stop her, and the girl didn't choose to stay; it was simply too difficult for them to sever ties again. Li Feihong had been prepared for Chen Feng to have never seen or even heard of his film, but Chen Feng's ability to recite the entire plot in one breath left him flattered and, of course, delighted.

"Mr. Chen, I am truly flattered that you could describe the plot so clearly. Thank you so much."

Chen Feng smiled and said, "This movie is very good. It's very well made. Although there are no intense plot conflicts, the emotions are full yet restrained, and it has a great lingering effect. Otherwise, I wouldn't still remember it so clearly even though I watched the movie review almost a year ago. I will watch the whole movie when I have time."

"Thank you. The screenwriter of this film is a woman. She herself has had similar romantic experiences, only the male and female roles were reversed. At first, because her film was an art film, many companies and directors were hesitant to take it on. I saw her script by chance, liked it very much, and took the initiative to contact her, wanting to buy the rights to make it. At first, she actually refused."

The reason was that I'm a man, and an older one at that. She thought I couldn't possibly direct such a delicately emotional film; she wanted to work with a female director. Plus, my past directing experience wasn't particularly impressive, and I couldn't offer a high price, so she didn't agree. But I loved the script so much that I kept pestering her for over two months, finally agreeing to let her work as assistant director before she finally agreed. It turned out my script selection was spot on. An 8 million yuan investment yielded over 40 million yuan at the box office, and after deducting marketing costs, it still made a profit of nearly 10 million yuan. For an art film, that's a success.

Chen Feng nodded and said, "I remember this movie was released two or three years ago. What other works have you made since then?"

Upon hearing this question, Li Feihong's expression immediately became awkward again, but he still smiled wryly and said truthfully, "Two years ago I made another movie, which was released last year, and then I lost money."

Chen Feng looked at Ren Ziyu beside him, who immediately understood and said, "Two years ago, he made a romantic comedy called 'Fake or Real,' with an investment of 40 million and a box office of more than 60 million. He lost money."

Li Feihong continued with a bitter smile, "The film industry is very realistic, especially the movie industry. If you lose money once, it's hard for anyone to want to work with you again. I was originally a contracted director with Lixin Film and Television, but because this movie caused the company to lose about five million, they froze me and didn't give me a second chance. More than two months ago, I couldn't take it anymore, so I had a big fight with them, hoping to part ways amicably, but they wanted me to pay a penalty of exactly five million. So, I sued them. From last year to two months ago this year, it's been exactly one year. During this year, they haven't given me any work at all, only paying me the minimum wage every month. Last month, the court mediated, and I consulted several lawyers. In order to terminate the contract as soon as possible, I had to pay a penalty of 50. Now I'm a free agent."

Chen Feng asked with some curiosity, "What was your minimum wage back then?"

Li Feihong said, "Back then, I had made a name for myself after filming 'The Story of Haicheng,' and they contacted me to sign me. They promised me an annual salary of 300,000 yuan, but later my film failed at the box office, and they only paid me 3,000 yuan a month. It's my fault for being too careless and too confident when I signed the contract, thinking that my second film would definitely be a box office hit. So I didn't write down the 300,000 yuan annual salary that they verbally promised. But what they did was too insulting, otherwise I wouldn't have been so angry that I sued them."

Chen Feng nodded in agreement. This was indeed very insulting. The other party was a director with some fame. Even if the movie he made lost money, he couldn't be blamed for everything. Didn't the company participate in the selection of the script and the actors?

The promised annual salary of 300,000 yuan was reduced to just over 30,000 yuan. The difference is too big and it seems very stingy. It would be strange if a company like this could grow big.

Li Feihong continued, "Over the past year, I've learned a lot and put together a new script. It was co-written with Miao Liuliu, the screenwriter of 'Haicheng Past,' and we revised it many times before finally finishing the draft last month. We both have great confidence in this script."

"So, are you here at our company to attract investment, or to sign a contract?" Chen Feng asked directly.

Li Feihong was also very honest and said directly, "Because of a very unpleasant falling out with my former employer, I don't want to sign with any company anymore. Therefore, I hope to collaborate with your company on my new film. It's a low-budget film with a budget of 1000 million."

Chen Feng looked at Ren Ziyu, who frowned slightly and said to Li Feihong, "Director Li, you didn't say that in my office just now."

Li Feihong smiled somewhat awkwardly and said, "I just said that if your company is sincere, I would consider signing a contract, not that I absolutely have to sign with your company. Besides, my last movie caused my former employer to lose a lot of money, and I don't have any new works to prove myself. Would you be willing to sign me? Of course, if the annual salary is less than 30, I will not sign. The specific annual salary will be written into the contract. So, I think we should not sign a contract first. Let's work together on a project first. If it's successful, you can sign me later. If it's not successful, you will save money."

Chen Feng then asked Ren Ziyu, "Have you read the script for this movie? What do you think of it?"

Ren Ziyu shook her head and said, "I haven't seen it yet. He hasn't even told me about the new movie. I thought he was here to apply for a job. Plus, I've seen the movie 'The Story of Haicheng' and really liked it, so I recommended him to you."

Li Feihong quickly said, "My new movie is also a romance film, but it's more commercial than 'The Story of Haicheng.' It's not exactly an art film. If it's well-made, it might not be a box office hit, but it will definitely make money."

After a moment's thought, Chen Feng asked, "I imagine you must have visited other companies before coming to ours, right?"

Li Feihong was momentarily speechless, but still nodded frankly and said, "Yes, I've been to seven or eight film and television companies. Only two of them responded to me. One wanted to buy my script directly, but not let me direct. The other was willing to let me direct, but wanted to sign a performance-based agreement with me. If I made a profit, I would get a share of the profits, but not much. If I lost money, I would have to pay half of it back. I must have been stupid to agree to that."

Chen Feng appreciated his relatively honest attitude and nodded, saying, "Okay, leave the script here first. We'll give you an answer after we've read and discussed it."

Upon hearing this, Li Feihong's face was full of disappointment. He asked with a wry smile, "Can you give me a specific deadline? The previous companies said the same thing, but nothing came of it afterward."

Chen Feng looked at Ren Ziyu, who thought for a moment and then said, "Within a week. I really like the movie 'The Story of Haicheng,' and I believe you are talented, so I'll give you a chance. Give me the script later, and I'll take the time to read it right away. I'll try to give you an answer within a week."

Hearing this, it was clear that he was very sincere, and Li Feihong couldn't help but smile. He stood up and thanked him, "Okay, okay, thank you, President Ren, thank you, Boss Chen."

As he spoke, he took out two pre-printed scripts from his briefcase, handing one to Chen Feng with both hands and the other to Ren Ziyu.

After they both accepted the script, Li Feihong said, "I have a lot of confidence in this script, and I hope you will have the same confidence after reading it. As long as you can invest in this movie, I am sure I can make it well and help you make money."

Ren Ziyu's expression was not very friendly upon hearing this. He said, "Alright, now that we've finished talking, we won't keep you any longer. Please go ahead."

Li Feihong didn't mind, still smiling, and nodded to the two of them: "Then I'll take my leave now, goodbye."

He quickly turned around, strode out of the office, and did so cleanly and efficiently.

After the office door closed, Ren Ziyu shook her head and said to Chen Feng, "I'm sorry, boss. I really thought he was here to apply for a job, that's why I brought him here. Who knew he was here to solicit investment?"

Chen Feng smiled and said, "He just said that he's already sued his former employer. Once bitten, twice shy. It's understandable that he doesn't want to sign a new contract."

"But he didn't explain it clearly to me at first, and I felt like I was deceived by him. However, to be fair, his film 'The Story of Haicheng' was indeed well-made, and he does have directing talent. Although the second film lost money, it still grossed more than 60 million yuan at the box office, so it can't be called a failure. If we can sign him, I would still recommend that the company sign him."

Chen Feng shook his head and said, "It's too early to say all this. Let's wait until you've read the script and if you think it's good, then we can talk about it."

"Okay, I'll try to find some time to take a look when I get back. If I think it's good, I'll let Mengting and Xiaorui take a look too. If they also think it's good, I'll let the production department take a look as well, and then we can all discuss whether it's worth investing in."

Chen Feng waved his hand and said, "No need to be so rigorous. If you think it's good, then invest. After all, it's only ten million, and I trust your judgment. Besides, I actually really like the movie 'Haicheng Past,' so giving it a chance won't hurt." (End of Chapter)