Become famous another day.

Li Zhibai had just finished talking with Wu Chi about how to shoot the next scene when he saw Xiao Mo walking hurriedly in the distance.

The reason he noticed her was that when he looked over, she just raised her hand and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, as if she was wiping away tears.

This is... being bullied by Liu Bo again?
Li Zhibai is definitely not a nosy person. Compared with Yan Liang and Lu Yanhe, he is also the least "good guy".

However, there is one thing about Li Zhibai that has been running through his life for more than twenty years from beginning to end, and that is "protecting his shortcomings."

When he was in Fengzhi with Yan Liang and Lu Yanhe, the two of them were unknown. Just because they were roommates with him, basically, if Zhou Pingan dared to deduct the treatment within the team, Li Zhibai would open fire.

As his agent, Lin Suyang has expressed several times that Yan Sui, the assistant, can't keep up with Li Zhibai's current career pace, especially his personality shortcomings, which may even hinder Li Zhibai. However, Li Zhibai has never considered changing his assistant.

But in fact, he is not "loyal", but "protective".

He has an idea of ​​"protecting" those who he considers to be his own people.

Xiao Mo certainly wouldn't let Li Zhibai think that he was "protecting his shortcomings".

But if Li Zhibai didn’t know Xiao Mo, it would be fine. But once they got to know each other and had dealings with each other, he would no longer be a stranger to Li Zhibai.

If there is anything wrong with this person, Li Zhibai will pay more or less attention to it.

If you can, help.

Especially since Li Zhibai knew that Xiao Mo was being "exploited" badly by Liu Bo, and he had also come across the unexpected "recording" program last time.

Therefore, Li Zhibai immediately asked Yan Sui to find out what happened to Xiao Mo.

Of course, at this time, Li Zhibai was actually worried that Xiao Mo would act impulsively and use the recording to do something detrimental to the crew.
-
"Xiao Mo quits?" Li Zhibai looked at Yan Sui in shock.

Yan Sui nodded, "She said she quit and couldn't stand it anymore."

Li Zhibai: "This——"

He couldn't help but frown.

Yan Sui: "She seems to be preparing to go back to her hometown."

Li Zhibai: "This is really..."

"Brother Bai, what was it about you asking me to pass on a message to her last time?" Yan Sui asked.

"I happened to see something by accident. I don't know what it was, but I saw her phone recording something," Li Zhibai said. "I didn't know what she was recording, but I was worried that something bad might be exposed, so I went to remind her."

Yan Sui was silent for two seconds, then said, "If she really recorded some bad evidence against Liu Bo——"

"Liu Bo deserves it," Li Zhibai said bluntly, "However, the last time I asked you to tell her that, I actually wanted to tell her that if she really wants to take revenge on Liu Bo, she should wait until Those Years is released, so as not to affect the movie."

Yan Sui: "But why can't we just change someone to take the photo right now?"

"We don't know what Liu Bo did. If there is substantial evidence, it would be good for us to stop the loss in time. The problem is that there is no evidence. Moreover, if we replace him at this time, how much money will the crew lose? If Xiao Mo accepts, why don't the crew give Xiao Mo some compensation and let Xiao Mo postpone the time to expose Liu Bo?"

Yan Sui: "But under normal circumstances, the crew wouldn't handle this kind of thing so gently. They would usually forcefully eliminate the person who caused the problem."

"What era is this now? How can we solve this problem?" Li Zhibai said, "Shut her up? If you want to shut someone up now, you can just use money or other conditions to do so."

Yan Sui said: "I was threatened by Zhou Pingan before. He said that if I dare to tell others about something, not only will I not be able to develop in this industry, but he will also have ways to make my family and friends live in unrest."

Li Zhibai looked at Yan Sui with some surprise.

"He has said such things to you? Damn." He patted Yan Sui's shoulder, "Such a situation must exist. If you encounter it, you can beat him if you can. If you can't beat him, you can only compromise. This is the truth I learned from Yan He. Anyway, life is long. It is never too late for a gentleman to take revenge."

Yan Sui looked at Li Zhibai with some surprise.

"If Xiao Mo wants to be your assistant at this time, would you agree?"

"Of course not." Li Zhibai did not hesitate.

Yan Sui: “Why?”

"As for her secretly recording, I'm not Liu Bo. I'm just a bystander. I think what she did was quite satisfying. But when she became my assistant, I would wonder from time to time whether she was secretly recording my voice as well. We couldn't form a trusting relationship." Li Zhibai shrugged. "Either I wouldn't know about this, or if I knew about it, I would feel a little uncomfortable."

Yan Sui: “Alas.”

Li Zhibai looked at Yan Sui with a smile on his face.

"Why are you sighing?"

Yan Sui: "I just suddenly felt that she had a hard time. She was bullied and wanted to secretly keep some evidence, but this behavior really made it impossible for others to trust her. I suddenly felt that the weaker a person is, the harder it is to maintain dignity, even to protect oneself."

Li Zhibai was silent for a moment and nodded. "You are right, but I don't think it is so absolute. If you ask Xiao Mo to be my assistant, I will definitely not be happy. But if you give Xiao Mo a job opportunity, starting from another position that will not have close contact with me, I will be willing. The unfairness of this matter now is that I am not familiar with Xiao Mo, and I don't know what Xiao Mo's strengths are. I just have some sympathy for her because Liu Bo treats her badly, but I know the side that is not good for her work. If it were you, I would be very familiar with you and know what kind of person you are. Even if someone tells me at this time that you have cheated others before, I will not think that you will cheat me. Over the past few years, I definitely trust that no matter how you are with others, you must be good with me."

Yan Sui: "...What's going on here that makes me feel so touched?"

"It's great to know that I trust you, right?" Li Zhibai said calmly.

Yan Sui wanted to say something but stopped.

"what happened?"

Yan Sui said: "Brother Bai, you are good to me, but, I..."

"Just say whatever you want to say. Why are you hesitating?"

"I also want to have further development." Yan Sui clenched his hands and said.

Li Zhibai suddenly understood.

Yan Sui: "I want to participate in some more important work, not just be an assistant forever."

Li Zhibai sighed.

"What's wrong?" Yan Sui asked.

"Let me ask you, do you think Brother Su Yang and I have never thought about this?" Li Zhibai asked.

Yan Sui was stunned, thought about it, and shook his head.

"Look, you don't even realize that we have been cultivating your ability in this area for a long time. How can I give you more important work?" Li Zhibai said bluntly, "You are a very reliable person. You will definitely do a good job in the work given to you. However, Yan Sui, the work of an agent is not the kind of work that follows a routine."

Yan Sui showed a look of distress.

"You should learn more from Brother Su Yang." Li Zhibai said, "At least you should be able to react first. Brother Su Yang asked you to do so many things. Which of them were not originally required of you but were given to you to train you?"

Yan Sui fell into confusion.
-
Lu Yanhe finished work early today. After returning to the hotel, he slept for a while to calm down. He woke up around nine o'clock in the evening and sent a message to Chen Ziyan: I'm awake.

After a while, Chen Ziyan called.

"You woke up at this time, are you going to sleep again tonight?"

"Go to bed later. My performance tomorrow is at night, so I can rest during the day." Lu Yanhe said, "It's okay to get up later."

"Okay, I've finished reading Jiang Yufeng's script. What do you think?" Chen Ziyan asked.

"I think this story is actually quite...special," Lu Yanhe said. "From a play structure perspective, it's certainly not very complete, but it's one of those very sincere scripts that I rarely see. I can tell from the first glance that this story has been in the author's mind for a long time."

"Yes, as soon as I saw it, I felt that you might be moved."

“But there’s basically no chance of selling high box office sales,” said Chen Ziyan.

"Ah."

"Then what do you think?"

Lu Yanhe said: "If the production budget was only 10 or 20 million, then the loss would be fine, but it's almost 100 million, and maybe in the end, the loss would be so great that we would lose everything."

Chen Ziyan laughed.

"In fact, I would like to suggest that he change the script to a coming-of-age drama." Lu Yanhe said, "If this kind of subject matter is shown in theaters, not many people will be willing to buy tickets to watch it, but if it is a coming-of-age drama, this subject matter will become an advantage."

"But the cost of making a coming-of-age drama may be higher," Chen Ziyan said, "if you want to make it to the quality of a movie."

Lu Yanhe said: "For a movie of this theme, the cost of 100 million is indeed very high, but for a TV series, it should still be a budget figure that can control the risks, right?"

"It all depends on how the show turns out." Chen Ziyan said, "To be honest, I don't think this show can make a profit, even if it does well in the end and has a very high reputation, its literary theme is destined to have a low number of viewers. Of course, maybe its business cooperation is very good if it has a more luxurious cast."

Lu Yanhe: "If Linghe were to do it, you would think the risk would be too high, right?"

"Yes."

Lu Yanhe: "Then how about we do it together with a few platforms? Share the risk. In this way, even if there is a loss, the extent of the loss can be smaller and within our tolerance range."

"Yan He, I think that if it is not necessary to film it, you don't have to film it." Chen Ziyan said, "Even if it is a very good story and you like it very much, if the profit prospect of a project is not great, everyone's enthusiasm for doing this project will be greatly reduced."

Lu Yanhe: "It would be a shame if we didn't shoot it."

"Then let him reduce the cost." Chen Ziyan said, "There is no saying that it must cost 100 million to make this movie. There are expensive ways to make movies, and there are cheap ways to make movies. To be honest, we have no obligation to pay for Jiang Yufeng's movie dream. We can't support him when we know that it is very likely to lose money."

Lu Yanhe was persuaded by Chen Ziyan.

"Well, I'll find time to reply to Jiang Yufeng later." Lu Yanhe said, "Either reduce the production budget, or just forget it."

Chen Ziyan: "Look at Wu Chi. When he was filming Those Years, he was very clear-headed and would never spend money that was not worth it. He applied for three additional budgets, and the reasons for each additional budget were all from the perspective of making the movie better. They were meaningful, and everyone felt that the additional budget was necessary. Jiang Yufeng's script cost so much money to produce, but it was actually nothing more than satisfying his desire to restore that era one-to-one. If it is not restored one-to-one, can it not be filmed?"

Lu Yanhe suddenly thought of a piece of news he had seen before.

When director Chen Da of "Farewell My Concubine" was shooting a new film, he wanted to hang red lanterns all over a street to recreate a grand scene, but in the movie, it was just presented as one shot.

His wife, Ms. Chen, who is also the producer, thought that this was a shot that was costly and had little practical use, and she firmly rejected it.

Movies, if you want to spend money, there are plenty of places to spend it. The pursuit of quality and art is endless.

But when making a movie, you have to settle the accounts.

Chen Ziyan's final words completely extinguished Lu Yanhe's idealistic flame.

"For every movie you made, including Love Letter, you tried so hard to control costs, calculated carefully, and never spent a penny more. Why are you so tolerant of someone you don't know so well, just because he just wants to make a good movie seriously? Don't you think you should be more tolerant of yourself?"

Chen Ziyan's words were like a sledgehammer, hitting Lu Yanhe.

Lu Yanhe suddenly became enlightened.

It's not anything else, but knowing that there is a high probability of loss, you still invest, and the final result is probably regret -

It's not like he really doesn't mind. If he really didn't mind, he wouldn't have been nagging so much.
-
Jiang Yufeng sighed.

Although he had guessed such an outcome a long time ago, when Lu Yanhe really told him that although he liked the script very much, he felt that the production budget was too high and the possibility of losses was high, so if the budget could not be reduced, he and Linghe did not intend to invest, Jiang Yufeng still felt regret and helplessness from the bottom of his heart.

His smile was somewhat bitter. Lu Yanhe actually felt a little sorry at this moment, but he quickly suppressed it.

"Teacher Jiang, have you ever considered writing this story into a long play?" Lu Yanhe asked.

Jiang Yufeng looked puzzled.

"Change it to a long-running drama? Will the market improve if it is changed to a long-running drama?"

Lu Yanhe said: "If it is adapted into a long-running drama, the subject matter will have much less restrictions on the market. To be honest, the current film market is very risky. We all know that the cost of every movie I make is kept very low because no one can guarantee that the box office will be a big hit every time. The risk of a TV series is much smaller. I believe that so many people have read your script, and no one is pessimistic about your script itself."

Jiang Yufeng pondered for a few seconds and nodded.

"If it is adapted into a long-running drama, of course, it is still not the most mainstream subject matter on the market, but this is exactly what the drama market needs most now - all platforms hope to obtain high-quality and innovative content." Lu Yanhe said, "Moreover, such a special era background is not common in dramas, not to mention the narrative mode of this biography type, which must be very attractive to good actors."

Jiang Yufeng said: "I don't know how much production budget it would take if it were to be made into a TV series."

"Who helped you calculate the budget for the previous movie?" Lu Yanhe asked.

"A friend of mine, a producer who has worked with me many times, made a preliminary calculation based on my ideas and the script," said Jiang Yufeng.

Lu Yanhe: "If you can keep the production cost of the series under 12 million and make it into more than episodes, I can help you raise funds and produce the series. But if it exceeds that, the same problem remains. At the current purchase price of the series, it will be difficult to make a profit."

Jiang Yufeng understood.

He nodded.

"Thank you. I'm not considering making it into a TV series for now. I still want to make a movie."

Lu Yanhe nodded to show his understanding.

"it is good."

Jiang Yufeng asked: "If I can find an investor, would you be willing to act in it?"

Lu Yanhe hesitated for a moment, but still shook his head.

"Why? Didn't you say that you like this script very much?" Jiang Yufeng asked.

Lu Yanhe smiled and said: "This is from the perspective of a screenwriter and producer. As an actor, this role is a bit unsuitable for me."

Jiang Yufeng was a little surprised when he heard this.
-
"Sure enough, Lu Yanhe also rejected Jiang Yufeng."

At this time, someone came over with a form and asked him to sign it.

He waved his hand, signaling the man to come in.

He responded with "hmm, hmm" while looking at the amount on the list. After confirming it, he signed his name. As the producer of "Dingfeng No. 1", he had to sign several such lists almost every day, otherwise, the finance department would not give him the money.

This is also a feature of Longyan's crew management system.

The person Longyan arranged to the position of producer is somewhat different from the producers of other film and television dramas.

After the others left, Wei Chang continued to talk to Huang Tai: "However, Lu Yanhe's evaluation of his script is still quite high. I suggest that he change it to a long drama script."

Mrs. Huang: "Does Jiang Yufeng have this idea?"

"He still wants to make movies," said the chief.

Mrs. Huang: "It seems that his project will continue to be shelved."

Chief of Guards: "Yes, but he probably hasn't given up either."

"Let him do whatever he wants." Mrs. Huang asked, "Lu Yanhe hasn't made any movement in this period of time. Did Jiang Yufeng pass on the message?"

"Jiang Yufeng said he did." The guard smiled, "It seems that Lu Yanhe didn't believe it."

Mrs. Huang was silent for a moment.

The silence immediately made the captain stop smiling.

He realized that he shouldn't have said that in such a joking way.

Lu Yanhe's stubborn attitude probably made Mrs. Huang feel a little troubled.

"Okay, let's not talk about this for now. Have people from Shijin contacted you recently?" Mrs. Huang suddenly changed the subject.

"Shi Jin?" The guard's tongue tightened and he immediately said, "No, why did they contact me?"

Mrs. Huang: "They have recently contacted several people in Longyan and wanted to poach us."

"Haha, maybe I haven't caught their eyes yet." said the captain of guards.

"If they contact you, you might as well try to find out what conditions they offer," said Mrs. Huang. "These local tycoons use their money to destroy places wherever they go, disrupting the order that has been established with great difficulty. It's really shameful."

The captain didn't say anything.

"After the project of Dingfeng No. 1 is completed, you will continue to serve as the on-site producer of the sequel to Burning Fire. Are you ok with that?" Mrs. Huang suddenly said.

The guard was stunned for a moment, then he said, "Of course it's OK, but won't Old Huang have any objections?"

Lao Huang is the on-site producer of "Burning Fire".

"He's going to make a movie based on Shang Yongzhou's character," Mrs. Huang said.

"That's it."
-
Mrs. Huang has come to the crew.

Not only did she come herself, she also brought snacks and drinks, bringing benefits to the entire crew.

Everyone cheered.

Mrs. Huang had a warm, bright and friendly smile. She greeted many people, many of whom she could directly call out by name and greet.

This is a common operation of Mrs. Huang.

When she and Mr. Huang founded Longyan, the company management model was not as elite, systematic and institutionalized as it is now. It was more like the traditional one where a group of people worked together to achieve success. It was more humane and valued human relationships.

Later, the company expanded slowly with more and more people. It seemed that the company's system became more and more standardized and it had the management model of a large company, but in many details, the "patriarchal" management style could still be seen.

Lu Yanhe knew that since Mrs. Huang was here today, she would definitely come to see him.

So, in front of everyone, he and Mrs. Huang were like "acting", greeting each other warmly and checking out each other's news, as if the two of them were acquaintances who had collaborated on several projects and there was no strangeness at all, and of course, no barriers between them.

After all the face-saving things were done, Mrs. Huang came to Lu Yanhe's lounge.

Just the two of them.

Only at this point did their conversation really get to the point.

"Yan He, we have really cooperated many times." Mrs. Huang used this sentence as her opening remark.

Lu Yanhe nodded, "Yes, Mrs. Huang, among all the domestic film companies, Longyan is the one I have worked with the most."

Mrs. Huang: "Can you give me a definite answer for the contract for the sequel to "Burning Fire"? What do you want me to do in order to sign it?"

Lu Yanhe shook his head. "Mrs. Huang, I don't care about these things. My agent is handling these. You can talk to Sister Zi Yan or Wang Biao."

Mrs. Huang sighed.

"Yan He, can we have fewer obstacles between us? Can we just talk openly and honestly?"

"No." Lu Yanhe shook his head. "Mrs. Huang, since you only regard me as a business partner, I also only regard you as a business partner. No one is taking advantage of the other."

Mrs. Huang: "Who said that? Look, besides you, which other actor can get such good treatment in Longyan? We have offered you a salary of more than 10 million yuan for your first big-budget commercial movie. For a real big production, this is rare. We are not the kind of lousy film company that collects money, launders money, and writes checks to actors casually."

Lu Yanhe said, "Mrs. Huang, if I wasn't worth this salary, Long Yan wouldn't have given me this amount, right? Facts have proven that my salary should have brought you at least ten times the return, right? Or even dozens of times?"

Huang Tai was choked for a moment.

Lu Yanhe looked at her. "Until now, you have been talking to me as if I want something. How can we talk? I said that I don't want to sign the sequel contract now, which is completely different from what I want to get in the sequel contract. You probably won't believe it, right? So there is nothing to talk about. Summer insects can't talk about ice."

Mrs. Huang: "Then tell me, what is the real reason why you don't want to sign the contract for the sequel now?"

"Did you explain to me the negative news about me being used to hype up the film during the promotion of 'Burning Fire'? Don't tell me this has nothing to do with Longyan. Although I'm young, I won't be fooled by you on this kind of thing. Don't tell me these meaningless explanations."

Lu Yanhe sighed.

"Your publicity director posted such an innuendo in the circle of friends to ridicule me. Did you do anything about it? Are you really going to use the fact that it was misinterpreted to deal with me?" Lu Yanhe smiled softly, "Especially, using my dissatisfaction with my ranking and pay to stir up trouble between me and my senior brother. Mrs. Huang, let me be blunt. Why should I sign your contract for the sequel now?"

There was a cold light in Lu Yanhe's eyes.

He spoke so bluntly that even Mrs. Huang was shocked.

"Since someone in your company thinks that Burning Fire 2 can be successful without me, then just leave me alone. I wish you success." Lu Yanhe waved his hand gently. "After we finish filming Dingfeng No. , don't send me scripts from Longyan. You can succeed however you want."

Mrs. Huang's expression became extremely ugly at this moment.

She could never have imagined that Lu Yanhe would act in such an arrogant and disregarding manner, like a scalpel, tearing all her attitudes into pieces, making the relationship between them become a bloody mess.

Mrs. Huang: "Yanhe, this is definitely not our intention."

"I don't want to hear your explanation." Lu Yanhe interrupted directly, "Once or twice is a misunderstanding, but if you turn a blind eye to it for a long time, is it still a misunderstanding?"

Mrs. Huang looked extremely unhappy.

"We may not have done some things well in the early stages of our cooperation. We—"

"Please talk to my agent." Lu Yanhe looked at her coldly, "I'm not your old subordinate. You can't use your emotional cards on me."

sharp.

Sharp and sharp.

It can even be said that there is no mercy at all.

The side of Lu Yanhe that he showed today was a side that he had never shown before.

It not only broke Huang Tai's perception of Lu Yanhe, but also completely shattered the psychological assumptions that Huang Tai had made at the beginning.

All preparations were in vain.
-
People always seem to be unable to avoid taking a path that they once resolutely did not want to take, such as becoming cold-blooded and heartless.

However, only when people reach a certain stage will they understand that if they do not allow themselves to become cold-blooded and heartless, their true feelings will be used, squeezed and even manipulated coldly and ruthlessly by others' true feelings in quotation marks.

At this moment, Lu Yanhe felt as if he was standing in a wilderness. The wind was blowing hard and everything he saw was barren.

The ambition of the tribute-paying people made him realize that he had to look down on them with the posture of a god. Otherwise, the ambition of the tribute-paying people would be enough to kneel at his feet in the most submissive posture, starting from his toes, and eat him up completely. (End of this chapter)