Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 904 Those who wish take the bait

"one million?"

Upon hearing this number, Yang Kangnian's hand trembled, his chopsticks fell onto the table, and his legs felt weak.

If it weren't a well-insulated bamboo chair under his butt, but a bench instead, he might have already slid under the table by now.

Seeing this, Chen Fan couldn't help but feel a little smug.

Excellent, this is exactly the effect I wanted!

However, this shock was just the beginning; even more explosive things were yet to come.

He remained outwardly calm and said casually, "One million is just an estimate. The final cost will definitely depend on the actual filming."

"One million isn't enough? Do we need more funding?"

Yang Kangnian stared wide-eyed, his face full of disbelief, and asked Chen Fan, "I heard that when we made 'Love in the Clouds and Lakes,' the Shanghai Film Studio only spent 70 yuan. How come your promotional video cost more than a movie?"

He paused for a moment as soon as he finished speaking.

He previously thought it was a waste to spend 70 yuan to make a movie, but now he says he "only" spent 70 yuan.

Are we getting a little too cocky?
Chen Fan picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and said calmly, with an air of utter disbelief, "A movie is a movie, and a trailer is a trailer. The actors in a movie are all professionals; they rehearse many times before they can get it right on camera in one take. Can you guarantee that the general public can do that on camera in one take when filming a trailer?"

Yang Kangnian frowned, sensing that something was wrong, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

After a while, he sighed and said, "I have no problem with you filming a promotional video, but Yunhu can't possibly pay for all of this million, can they? Yunhu ultimately belongs to Jiangnan Province, and within this province..."

Before he could finish speaking, Chen Fan looked up at him and asked with a strange expression, "You mean... the province should also contribute a portion?"

Yang Kangnian nodded. "Ah. Shouldn't it?"

Chen Fan clicked his tongue and said, "Uncle Yang, you may not have understood what I meant."

He gestured and laughed, "This million is just for filming Yunhu. But this promotional video of mine is about much more than just Yunhu."

Yang Kangnian blinked repeatedly, paused for two or three seconds, and then said, "You're the general manager of Yunhu Tourism Company, and you're promoting other places?"

Chen Fan smiled slightly and said, "That's not how it works. Let me put it this way: if I only made one promotional video for Yunhu and begged my uncle to broadcast it on an American TV station, how many people do you think would be interested in Yunhu?"

Yang Kangnian frowned, looking at him with confusion, "No, what exactly do you mean?"

Chen Fan laughed and said, "It's very simple. Yunhu Lake alone is not enough to arouse the interest of foreign tourists, or even make them want to take a second look."

Therefore, we need to unite more forces and use a broader theme to attract the attention of foreign tourists, making them interested in our place, watching the promotional video, and ultimately being drawn in and developing the idea of ​​visiting. Only then can we consider it a success.

Yang Kangnian frowned even more deeply. "Is this really necessary?"

Chen Fan smiled slightly and snapped his fingers.

There was no movement.

He snapped his fingers again, but still nothing happened.

He immediately put down his chopsticks, rushed outside the tent, and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Xiao Bian, where the hell have you been?"

Bian Huifang rushed over from a short distance away, shouting, "Coming, coming!"

She ran to Chen Fan, "I'll go..."

Chen Fan waved his hand, "Alright, alright. Is Ma Jiajia here?"

Bian Huifang nodded quickly, pointed to another tent ten meters away, and said, "They've been in that tent since we arrived this morning. They even brought lunch to them. They haven't come out at all."

Chen Fan: "Please ask her to come over."

After saying that, he turned around and went into the tent.

Meeting Yang Kangnian's puzzled gaze, Chen Fan smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'll find you a witness."

Yang Kangnian raised an eyebrow, said nothing, and picked up his chopsticks again to start eating.

Less than two minutes later, Ma Jiajia lifted the curtain and came in. "President Chen, you wanted to see me?"

Chen Fan pointed to the chair next to him, "Sit."

After she sat down, Chen Fan said, "Um, Mr. Ma, I have a question for you."

Ma Jiajia nodded gently, "Yes, please ask."

Chen Fan turned to Yang Kangnian and smiled, then turned back to look at her and asked, "When you were in America, did you know about Yunhu?"

Ma Jiajia blinked and immediately said, "I know. Yunhu is an important town on the Yangtze River. It was established thousands of years ago and is one of China's famous ancient cities. It has thousands of miles of fertile land and tens of thousands of acres of lakes. It is a famous land of fish and rice. It is also located on the banks of the Yangtze River and was a strategic location fought over by military strategists in ancient times."

In modern times, due to a certain treaty, it was designated as a treaty port city by the Qing Dynasty, becoming one of the earliest industrialized cities along the Yangtze River. Later… well…

Chen Fan was stunned. After waiting for her to finish rambling, he quickly asked, "How do you know so much about this?"

Ma Jiajia said matter-of-factly, "Of course it's because of you. If it weren't for you, Young Master, in Yunhu, who would know about this place?"

Hearing this, Chen Fan finally breathed a sigh of relief, wiped non-existent cold sweat from his forehead, and grinned, "So, before you knew me, you didn't know Yunhu?"

Ma Jiajia pursed her lips and smiled, "I do know the name Yunhu as an ancient town along the Yangtze River, but I don't know the specifics. What I just mentioned was something I specifically looked into after the Master decided to send me to the mainland to assist you.

Chen Fan blinked. Actually, there's not much difference between assisting and cooperating, so let's not say that next time.

He turned to look at Yang Kangning and saw him frowning and looking down, clearly deep in thought.

Turning back to Ma Jiajia, Chen Fan asked, "So, do you think Yunhu is well-known abroad?"

Ma Jiajia immediately shook her head, "Almost none."

She then explained, “Apart from a small number of Chinese who insist on attending overseas Chinese schools, it can be said that no one knows about Yunhu. Moreover, even among Chinese, their knowledge of Yunhu is limited to the location of a few ancient battles mentioned in history textbooks, and they know nothing else about it.”

Chen Fan nodded and then asked, "If I make a promotional video about Yunhu and broadcast it in the United States, do you think the audience would be interested?" Ma Jiajia's eyes widened instantly. "You want to make a promotional video for Yunhu?"

Then he frowned, "That might not have a good effect."

Before Chen Fan could speak, Yang Kangnian couldn't help but ask, "Why?"

He paused for a moment, then said, "I mean, why do you say that? And why are you so sure?"

Ma Jiajia smiled confidently and said, "I started working for the Zhou family's company after graduating from university at the age of 22. I started as a market researcher and spent ten years working my way up to the position of manager of the market strategy department of the commercial company."

Eight years later, he became one of the heads of the market research department for the entire Zhou family group. While his understanding of American consumers might not be top-tier, it was certainly not unfounded or baseless.

She realized that the young master probably wanted to shoot a promotional video to be broadcast in the United States, and now they might have disagreements about the focus of the video's production.

He then looked directly at Yang Kangnian and continued, "Western countries have a very shallow understanding of China. They only know one name and that China defeated the UN forces on the northern battlefield. They know nothing else, not even where China is on the map."

Even those who are interested in Eastern culture only know a handful of people, such as Confucius, Qin Shi Huang, and Wu Zetian.

Oh, there's another movie star, you might not have heard of him in mainland China, his name is Bruce Lee. His movies were quite popular in the United States, but unfortunately he passed away from illness in 73.

As for cities, Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou have a certain level of recognition, and other places... oh, and Hong Kong too.

She shrugged as she spoke, "Apart from that, basically nobody knows."

Chen Fan glanced at Yang Kangnian, who was deep in thought, then turned to Ma Jiajia and asked with a smile, "Then, what about the Yangtze River?"

Ma Jiajia immediately blurted out, "I know that."

She spread her hands and said, "Although it was only mentioned briefly and did not involve any content related to culture, economy, or society, many people know about the Yangtze River, even if it's just a name or that it's a very long river."

I can only say that, compared to Yunhu, the Yangtze River undoubtedly holds a far greater appeal for Western audiences.

Chen Fan smiled and nodded with satisfaction. "Okay, I've finished asking. You can go about your business now."

Use it and throw it away, that's how ruthless we are.

Ma Jiajia showed no dissatisfaction. After nodding and smiling at the two of them, she got up and left.

After she left, Chen Fan lit a cigarette and smiled at Yang Kangnian, "Uncle Yang, you don't think I conspired with her to lie to you, do you?"

Yang Kangnian shook his head with a serious expression. "No, there's no need for that. Lying to me won't do you any good."

He looked up at Chen Fan, frowned, and asked, "So your idea is to make a promotional video for the Yangtze River, and Yunhu is just one part of that video?"

Chen Fan smiled and nodded, saying, "Yunhu is too small. Compared to the Yangtze River, the latter will undoubtedly attract more interest from foreign tourists."

He paused for a moment, then continued, "As far as I know, CCTV and a small Japanese TV station collaborated to produce a documentary called 'The Silk Road.' That film was just a simple documentary, not a tourism promotional film at all, but after it aired on the small Japanese TV station, it actually aroused a lot of interest, and the number of people inquiring about and signing up for tours to China increased dozens of times."

These people were heading towards cities along the Silk Road: Luoyang, Xi'an, Dunhuang, Turpan…

He looked at Yang Kangnian and smiled, "I was inspired by this documentary to come up with the idea of ​​making a promotional video. But with Yunhu's influence, it's obviously not enough to attract foreign tourists."

So I had an idea: to use the Yangtze River as the theme, starting from Shanghai and heading towards the source of the Yangtze, selecting some cities to film.

On the surface, it's a documentary showcasing the Yangtze River, but in reality, I'll incorporate scenery from various major cities, turning it into a true tourism promotional film.

And Cloud Lake is the most important part of it; I will dedicate a whole episode to showcasing its unique features.

He took a drag of his cigarette, looked at Yang Kangnian who was deep in thought, and chuckled, "These kinds of films usually don't get many viewers at the beginning, so we need to use Shanghai as a gimmick to attract more viewers for the first episode, since Shanghai has a big reputation."

First, I need to attract viewers. I will use content such as scenery, historical buildings, and ethnic customs to attract viewers who love to travel. As long as I can keep them there, I've already succeeded halfway.

Later on, as more and more tourists come to visit, they will see the Cloud Lake that we have built with substantial investment. ..."

Upon hearing this, Yang Kangnian suddenly raised his head and said seriously, "So, one million yuan is only the filming fund for Yunhu. There are several other regions in Jiangnan Province that may also join the filming. In that case, the province will definitely not provide financial support, and even if it does, it will be a very small share. Therefore, asking the province for money will not work."

However, Yunhu cannot refuse to take this money.

If we trace the source upstream from Shanghai, there are more than twenty regions participating. To stand out from so many regions, especially from major cities like Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan, and Chongqing, Yunhu must make a big bet!
With the best equipment, the best copywriting, and the full cooperation of the administrative office, we will comprehensively showcase the outstanding characteristics of Yunhu, such as its long history, splendid culture, brilliant economy, social stability, and outstanding people, thereby attracting more foreign tourists to come to Yunhu.

Am I right?!

Chen Fan blinked repeatedly, looking at Yang Kangnian with great satisfaction.

Look, they've all learned to answer first! People who can think are indeed the cutest.

He immediately laughed it off, "Yes, yes, that's exactly it."

Chen Fan smiled happily, but Yang Kangnian couldn't laugh. He frowned and said, "Your plan is a bit too big. So many cities. It would require a document from the General Administration to get them to cooperate."

and,……"

He shook his head as he spoke, "Not every place will support your work like I do."

If you have the money, spend a million or two to shoot a promotional video, and one that will be broadcast on foreign television, and I believe many local leaders would be happy to do so.

The problem is that most places are short of money.

Except for a very few places, most areas are poor, so why spend so much money to make a promotional video?
In any case, if Yang Kangnian hadn't personally dragged Chen Fan into this mess, and if Chen Fan hadn't been a close junior of his, he probably wouldn't have paid the money.

Or rather, I'm willing to pay, but not this much. At most, I'll give two or three hundred thousand as a token gesture. Many movies don't even cost two or three hundred thousand to make.

Chen Fan, however, dismissed Yang Kangnian's concerns.

He said with a smile, "Even if the higher authorities issue a document, the local authorities may not fully cooperate. So, issuing orders is not a viable method."

Yang Kangnian looked up at him and asked, puzzled, "So what do you plan to do?"

Chen Fan smiled slightly and said, "Of course, it's like Jiang Taigong fishing—those who are willing will take the bait. Only when they take the initiative will they be willing to spend money like crazy."

(End of this chapter)