star of the peninsula

"The news was only released on the 7th. I think I overestimated the efficiency of D Agency."

During afternoon tea time, Chen Chen saw the news about Park Min-young reported by D agency. The content was roughly consistent with the information he gave them, except that it contained a lot more things that people could call evidence.

Please note that this is what people think, not real evidence, and D Company cannot get that kind of thing.

"Not bad." Shirley also glanced at the news and responded, "He deliberately hid himself because he didn't want to be discovered. Dispatch still found him, which is considered capable."

"If you think about it from this perspective, it's not a problem." Chen Chen exhaled, "It doesn't matter. Once this news comes out, our matter is completely over. It's time for that invisible rich man to worry."

"How much of a headache?"

Shirley asked curiously.

"It depends on how many people he involves." Chen Chen said casually: "The more people he involves, the more headache he has."

"Humans love to play the game of collective punishment. Knowing that Jiang Zongxian made his fortune by doing bad things and is still doing bad things, people will feel disgusted with all those who are involved with him and consciously boycott them."

"When the benefits decrease or disappear, those who originally surrounded Jiang Zongxian will leave."

"The act of leaving brings trouble in itself, plus some people might come back and step on you in order to clear themselves, the double blow is definitely enough to cause headaches."

"The most important thing is that collusion between officials and businessmen is almost certain." Chen Chen emphasized that "as long as officials are involved, no matter what the final result is, it will inevitably turn into a long-term struggle involving a large number of people."

"Oh, think about it," Chen Chen laughed sinisterly, "If the people wearing black hats fight each other, who will be the first to suffer?"

"It should be this businessman Jiang Zongxian. But it is also possible that he is very important, so important that many people want to protect him, just like..."

Shirley didn't finish her words, but everyone should know who she was talking about.

"The areas covered by Jiang Zongxian's business empire are not that important." Chen Chen shook his head. "He is not very threatening, so the danger level is not that high. It's just that he will bleed heavily, whether it's managing relationships or protecting himself."

"Well, that's right."

Shirley nodded and said nothing more, not knowing where her thoughts were drifting.

Chen Chen did not disturb her and quietly sorted out the various documents in his hands.

C headquarters is at the point where it is short of scripts again, and Suzy, Kim Hyang-gi, and Seohyun are all waiting to be fed.

Although Netflix can be left to develop freely, Chen Chen still hopes to do his best when he can.

Speaking of Netflix, Chen Chen suddenly remembered that he still had a copy of "Suriname" from Netflix.

Normally, "Suriname" had been completed by then and it was time to decide when to broadcast it online, but the appearance of Chen Chen broke common sense.

Chen Chen brought "Squid Game" to Netflix and persuaded them to put all their energy into this TV series instead of other TV series.

Then "Suriname" was put back into Netflix's script library, and finally marked by Chen Chen and fell into his hands.

Honestly speaking, if C headquarters produced "Suriname", it might not make any profit or even lose money, because its commercial operation capabilities are not on the same level as Netflix.

But losing money from filming TV series has never been a problem. Artists can just make the money back by earning it elsewhere. The key is to have TV series to film and that the TV series is popular.

"We need to call the screenwriter over to have a chat and see if there is anything that can be done with the character. It would be great if we could change the gender of the main character to a female one."

"Who says things like drug trafficking and crime can't be done by women?"

"But that would require a lot of changes to the script." Chen Chen finally retracted the idea. "People are already resentful of the script being held back for so long. If I continue to do this, I'm afraid they'll explode. Let's just forget it."

"What is that person mumbling about?" Shirley heard Chen Chen mumbling something but couldn't hear it clearly, so she asked.

"Nothing, I'm just thinking about a script." Chen Chen checked the time and stood up. "But let's talk about the script after I'm done with this period of work. Tomorrow's concert is the key right now."

"Oh, right." Chen Chen suddenly sat back down, looked at Shirley and asked with a smile: "Do you want to go to SMART with me? For such a big matter, I actually need Representative Cui to help me take charge, and it's also a good opportunity to deal with Representative Li across the street."

"It's fine for me to go hang out with my sisters, but forget about work." Shirley shrank her head on the spot. "I feel suppressed there and feel uncomfortable all over."

"What a useless little thing." Chen Chen stood up and left. "Forget it, I'll go alone. You go to the concert venue and watch the rehearsal. There are people you know there."

……

The artists took a large number of staff away for concert rehearsals, and S.H.I.E. seemed a little quiet for a while.

"You came."

Waiting in the advisory room was Lee Soo Man, who was already drinking tea at the coffee table very naturally.

"It's not a good habit to touch other people's things." Chen Chen sat down opposite him and poured himself a cup without hesitation. "Doesn't SMART have the habit of giving New Year gifts to important employees? Why didn't I receive any?"

"Maybe the person in charge missed it. It's okay. I'll make it up to you right away." Lee Soo Man took a sip from the teacup and sighed, "Hey, your tea is really delicious. It's better than mine."

"No, this tea is not as good as President Li's." Chen Chen smiled and shook his head, "You think it tastes good because it's someone else's. Other people's things are naturally more fragrant, aren't they?"

"That makes sense." Lee Soo Man laughed, "This is part of human nature!"

"Alright, alright, let's get down to business." Chen Chen interrupted him, "Let's check the accounts. How much sponsorship did SMART and C Headquarters receive for this concert?"

The current business is to divide the money, a kind of annoying division of money, a division of money that was calculated by Lee Soo Man.

Of course it would be best if whoever gets the sponsorship should eat the food themselves, but this is also the most unlikely way to divide the money and it doesn't make sense.

During the most critical period, Chen Chen and Li Chengzhu focused their attention on completing the concert, because what they wanted was for the concert to be successful, and no one paid attention to whether it could generate revenue.

But even if you don't pay attention, there are plenty of people who do. As a result, Lee Soo-man took advantage of the loophole in the profit-sharing and fixed the ratio at 60:40.

C headquarters took 60% with Cube Entertainment and Starship Entertainment, and S.H.I.P. took 40%.

Originally, Lee Soo Man wanted to make it a 50-50 split, but he was afraid that Chen Chen would just overturn the table, so he made it a 60-40 split that seemed fair.

Well, relatively fair.

From the perspective of the quality of the artists, it is reasonable for SM Entertainment to take 40% when the number of people is much smaller, because their level is there, their reputation over the years is there, and their traffic and popularity are also there.

What is unfair is that C headquarters has been gaining momentum recently, and the quality and quantity of sponsorship it has attracted are not comparable to those of the slightly decadent SMART company.

When the numbers become very large, the 40% that SM Entertainment got for free seems exaggerated, and Lee Soo-man made pure profit.

"Here is the list." Lee Soo Man handed over the folder that had been on the table.

"What about C headquarters?"

Li Xiuman just saw Chen Chen took the thing but didn't see him give it to him, so he asked.

"Oh, wait a moment." Chen Chen stood up as if he had suddenly realized something, went to the printer nearby and printed out a few pages of information and handed them to Lee Soo Man, "Here it is, keep it and read it slowly."

"Nothing to hide?"

Lee Soo Man asked.

"Oh?" Chen Chen sat down and stared at Li Xiuman with interest. "You ask this question to mean that SMART is hiding something?"

"No, no, no, I'm worried about you." Lee Soo Man said with a smile, "I'm afraid that you are too young and are hiding something that doesn't need to be hidden, and you will suffer the consequences in the end."

"I see." Chen Chen smiled back, "Thank you for your kindness, thank you very much."

"..."

The atmosphere was so awkward that it couldn't be more awkward, and both of them felt a little bored.

"Will you be backstage at the concert tomorrow?"

Chen Chen picked up a random little thing to break the atmosphere.

"No, I'm old and can't hang out with you young people." Lee Soo Man took a sip of tea slowly. "Will President Chen go tomorrow?"

"It's a shame to miss such a big event." Chen Chen was very interested. "Looking back at the history of Korean idols, this kind of idol quality is rare."

"That's true." Lee Soo Man nodded in agreement. "The audience will be in for a treat with this level of lineup."

"A-Pink just returned to Cube Entertainment, and SISTAR also returned to Starship. Their participation also adds a lot of color to this concert." Lee Soo-man joked, "Could it be that when C headquarters took action, they were planning for this day?"

"No, it just happened to happen." Chen Chen followed up on his joke, "Personally, I really hope that the complete Girls' Generation can appear. Not the remaining Oh! GG, but the complete group."

"It's too difficult." Lee Soo Man still smiled, "After the members have developed to a certain level, it is difficult for them to be willing to return to the group. This is the case for everyone."

"What do you mean?" Chen Chen was quite interested. "Does President Li have any experience to teach me?"

"It's not experience, it's just that I've experienced a lot." Li Xiuman shook his head modestly, "I just said it casually, and President Chen just listened casually. There is no need for us to discuss this matter."

"For individual artists, when they return to the team, they have to be responsible not only for themselves but also for the team. How can it be as enjoyable as just being responsible for one's own personal activities?"

"About benefits. Haha." Lee Soo Man smiled, skipped this and continued, "The further the group goes, the harder it is to bring benefits to individual members. Most of the time, it's just a constraint."

"Well, it's a reasonable guess, but this rule only applies to groups above the first-tier level." Chen Chen nodded, "Weaker guys still need to stick together for warmth."

"Weaker guys." Lee Soo Man tapped the table with his fingers. "You, C Headquarters, and I, Stupid Company, if we raise a group like this, it would be a failure."

This... Chen Chen didn't want to respond to this, as he felt that if he did, it would hit many targets.

"Who can predict the future?" Chen Chen shrugged his shoulders in a nonchalant manner. "I'm going to retire soon anyway, so I can't control such things."

"She's still so young, and her personal opinions should be respected." Lee Soo Man changed the subject, "Congratulations to C Headquarters for avoiding a possible plot."

"You mean the Park Min-young incident?" Chen Chen pretended to be stupid. "I thought about it later. It might not be a calculation. It's possible that she really chose C headquarters as an actor."

"It won't work even if it's true." Li Xiuman was amused by Chen Chen. "Don't play dumb with me. You know very well what will follow after accepting Park Min-young."

"Given the consistent character of C Headquarters, we will never take the initiative to get involved in such risks. If we are accidentally involved, we will immediately and resolutely cut off the cause and effect, just like what you are doing now."

"Of course, me too." Lee Soo Man tried to get closer, "We have a lot in common."

Knowing Chen Chen's cautious personality, Park Min-young's entry into C headquarters means that C headquarters has overlooked all the information behind her.

This means that Jiang Zongxian most likely let Park Minying cooperate with C headquarters with resources, and C headquarters acted as a money laundering tool without knowing it.

These are all speculations, but as long as there is a one in ten thousand chance of coming true, Chen Chen will definitely nip it in the bud. This is why a relationship that only involved a handshake turned from a beautiful signing into a ruthless return.

"Ha, chatting with you is really tiring." Chen Chen exhaled, "Do you have anything else to do? If not, I'm leaving and going home to rest."

"Go slowly, I won't see you off."

Lee Soo Man did not stand up, but simply nodded his head.

……

Bae Joo-hyun was rehearsing for her concert, so naturally there was no one at home.

Throwing his clothes on the ground, Chen Chen washed his face, changed into pajamas and immediately lay down on the sofa. No one cared about him now.

"Well, you said."

Li Xunxi called, Chen Chen frowned but still picked up the phone.

"I came to ask when you are free so that we can arrange a dinner."

Li Xunxi's words were very humble but his meaning was very clear. He was here on behalf of KakaoM to urge progress.

"How about the day after tomorrow?" Chen Chen answered casually, "I'm too tired to have a concert tomorrow. I want to take a day off the day after tomorrow and then continue working."

"The day after tomorrow, the 10th." Li Xunxi was overjoyed and agreed immediately, "No problem! Can we arrange it for dinner? I'll text you the specific location!"

Li Xunxi doesn't care whether the specific time is the day after tomorrow, the day after tomorrow, or the day after the big day after tomorrow. The biggest gain for him is to get an exact date from this phone call.

"Okay." Chen Chen made a small request, "Before we eat, please send me a copy of the contract we are going to sign. Headquarters C needs to review it in advance."

"No problem, everything is ready, I can send it to you now!" Li Xunxi was very positive, "Then, let's meet the day after tomorrow, I'll send you the documents."

"Ah."

...(End of chapter)