You call this entrepreneurship?

Chapter 400

Qin Shaoyan had heard about subsidy fraud in the animation industry, but this was not news.

As long as there are policy subsidies, subsidy fraud will follow like a shadow, and no industry or profession can escape it.

From electric cars and chips to culture and art.

It is not as easy to do things honestly as to cheat for subsidies.

Those with big connections cheat people out of big money, and those with small connections cheat people out of small money.

For example, the movie "The Story of Leifeng" is said to have cost 30 million yuan, but the finished film is obviously a student internship work.

Government subsidies come without regard for quality, even to the point of ignoring plagiarism.

Because there is no standard for identifying "plagiarism and counterfeiting", plagiarism and counterfeiting incidents occur frequently.

For example, after "Window of the Soul", which is known as the first large-scale moral education animation series in China, was broadcast on CCTV, it was discovered that the animation storyboards paid tribute to "5 Centimeters per Second" in large numbers.

There are also a large number of scenes that are exactly the same, reaching 25%. It is such a copycat cartoon that was not only broadcast on CCTV, but also won the Bronze Drum Award, the highest literary and artistic award in a certain province.

Because the animation support policies in various places are roughly the same, 3D animation often receives double the reward compared to 2D animation.

Animation companies choose to produce more 3D animations and fewer 2D animations. In order to reduce production costs, a large number of low-quality domestic 3D animations have appeared.

There are even many cool operations, such as using classic old animations as a reference and directly transforming them into 3D animations according to the plot and storyboards of the animations.

In this way, the animation staff only needs to look at the original animation and copy the movements. With this advanced management system, the annual output can reach more than 1.2 minutes.

For example, "High Speed ​​Rail Man" is known as the Chinese version of "Iron Train Man"

These shoddy and even plagiarized works all rely on subsidies to make profits.

Because as long as it can be broadcast on TV, it means being able to make money from the government.

In order to be able to be broadcast on TV stations, they will sell them to TV stations at extremely low prices and then rely on government subsidies to break even and survive.

Many cartoons have to pay money to the TV stations if they want to be broadcast on TV.

Subsidizing the TV station may appear to be a loss, but the animation company may receive rewards from the central government or local finances. If the production cost is low, the animation company will not only not lose money but will also make a profit.

In 2004, after the introduction of relevant encouraging policies, the length of domestic animation reached 2.18 minutes that year.

In 2005, the length of domestic animation reached 4.27 minutes.

In 2006, the length of domestic animation reached 8.23 minutes.

In 2007, the output of domestic animation reached 186 films, with a total duration of 10 minutes.

In 2011, the total length of Chinese cartoons reached a peak of 26.12 minutes, making China the world's largest animation producer.

Since 2014, the production of cartoons has dropped sharply due to the reduction of subsidies by local governments.

A total of 138579 minutes (equivalent to about 2310 hours) of domestic TV animation was produced nationwide, a year-on-year decrease of 32.31%. This is the lowest output since 2009 and only about half of the highest output in 2011.

Doesn’t the administrative agency know that some people are cheating on subsidies?

Of course they knew about it, and they turned a blind eye to such things.

On the one hand, there is a lot of collusion and transfer of interests here.

On the other hand, just like investment psychology, with so many companies in the industry, it is impossible for all of them to be fraudulent. There will always be one or two that work seriously.

For example, the IP "Boonie Bears" was born in 2012, and the first Lunar New Year animated film in the series was released in 2013.

After that, one animated feature film was produced every year, and a total of 2024 features were produced by 11, with a very good production level.

"Boonie Bears" even gave birth to a title "Wall of Masterpieces", and only movies whose box office during the Lunar New Year period exceeds that of "Boonie Bears" can be considered good movies.

What Qin Shaoyan wants is a classic IP like "Boonie Bears", which is carefully produced, of high quality and can last forever.

Qin Shaoyan looked at Mingyue who was still eating the cookies and asked seriously, "What do you think about this matter?"

Mingyue tilted her head and thought for a while, "Of course I want my money and salary back."

Then Mingyue said with a bitter face, "But I guess there is no hope. Yang Li is a scoundrel. No wonder others call her Yang Baopi."

Qin Shaoyan frowned, "How come this person has stayed in this company for so long when his character is so terrible?"

"She wasn't so obvious before." Mingyue sighed, "Back then there wasn't much work, and we didn't work overtime so hard. Since the Chinese New Year, our work intensity has been increasing."

"Then why don't you resign?" Qin Shaoyan was a little puzzled.

"She is withholding my bonus and will delay paying it to me for a quarter." Mingyue said aggrievedly, "I worked hard to earn it. I can't bear to give it to her."

"I will go to the company every day to ask them for money, and also post on the campus website to expose their shamelessness!"

"Well, these are useless." Qin Shaoyan didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "They dare to do this, obviously they are not afraid of these."

"I know it's useless, but I have to try it." Mingyue waved her fist, "I want to warn my juniors not to fall into the fire pit again."

"Forget it, let me handle this." Qin Shaoyan smiled, "What are your plans next? Do you want to consider my previous suggestion?"

"Well, I haven't thought about it yet. I don't think I'm qualified to be a boss." Mingyue frowned and answered hesitantly, "I have already sent my resume to other companies. I'll hone my skills first."

"Okay, let's deal with the issue of your bonus being deducted first." Qin Shaoyan sighed.

Before he could finish his words, the office door was suddenly pushed open a crack. Zhang Pingyi looked in stealthily, "Oh, Mr. Qin, you have a guest. I'll talk to you later."

"..." Qin Shaoyan looked at the door that closed again and said nothing. He turned his head and looked at Mingyue, "Give me a brief introduction to the company."

Mingyue sorted out her thoughts and began to briefly introduce the company's situation.

This company called Suoyin Animation has more than 50 employees and only two bosses, one is Huang Zong and the other is Yang Li.

The company initially outsourced animation, but started making its own animations last year and now has three projects in production.

"Oh, they can actually make three at the same time?" Qin Shaoyan was a little surprised, "This small company has strong production capabilities."

"In fact, they are all plagiarized Japanese, European and American animations. A lot of work is outsourced to senior interns to save costs." Mingyue explained.

"Oh, then what job are you responsible for?" Qin Shaoyan continued to ask.

"I am responsible for the original drawings and storyboards." Mingyue replied.

"Then what about your say in the project?" Qin Shaoyan asked.

"Well, I actually managed the entire project." Mingyue was a little distressed, "But I'm afraid that project can't be continued. It was the first time I managed it myself."

Just as Qin Shaoyan was about to say something, there was a knock on the office door, and then Xiao Chen poked his head in, "Boss, Fan Xiaoqian and Teacher Hong Fei from the game company are here, do you want to meet them?"

"..." Qin Shaoyan was speechless and asked, "Who else wants to see me?"

"Well, Mr. Kou from Qvod is here too, as well as the film and television company..." Secretary Xiao Chen smiled awkwardly.

Qin Shaoyan waved his hand and said, "Forget it, let them all go to the conference room for the meeting."

"Are you all going?" Secretary Xiao Chen was stunned. "Yes, Zhang Pingyi, Fan Xiaoqian and Hong Fei, as well as Kou Hongfei and Xia Lian, and also call our legal department." Qin Shaoyan stood up, "I have something important to discuss with them."

……

Soon, all the executives from Qin Shaoyan's department gathered in the conference room. They sat on their chairs curiously and watched Qin Shaoyan walk in with a gloomy face.

Everyone's heart tightened. Boss Qin's face didn't look very good, and they didn't know what had happened.

Everyone exchanged glances and found that there was no bad news recently?
Qin Shaoyan walked to the main seat solemnly, but did not sit down. He looked around the audience and said expressionlessly: "Everyone, I have a difficult problem to solve now."

Everyone immediately sat up straight and listened carefully to Mr. Qin's speech.

"There is an animation company that specializes in outsourcing and defrauding subsidies. This company owes my friend salary and bonuses." Qin Shao saw everyone's weird expressions and immediately emphasized, "This is a very good friend of mine, you all should be serious."

"This company owes my friend a total of nearly 18,000 yuan in bonuses."

The people below looked at each other, wondering if they had heard it wrongly.

Is 18,000 yuan worth Mr. Qin's attention?

We thought it was 180 million.

"Why are all the civil and military officials in the court silent?" Qin Shaoyan knocked on the table in dissatisfaction, "Who among you has a solution? Tell me and there will be a prize."

"This..." Hong Fei suggested, "How about I ask a few artists to talk to the boss of that company?"

"Forget it. Doing this will easily make people misunderstand that we are gangsters." Qin Shaoyan waved his hand.

Fan Xiaoqian suggested: "Then we can rely on public opinion. We can post on the campus network and other forums."

"It's useless. Besides, it takes too long to take effect." Qin Shaoyan rejected this plan.

Dong Songting, who is in charge of the company's legal affairs and also the director of Junde Xinheng, said cautiously, "Let's use legal means. Leave this matter to our law firm, and we will definitely win."

"That will take forever." Qin Shaoyan was very dissatisfied, "I want it to work quickly."

It is said that it is never too late for a gentleman to take revenge, but it takes a villain from morning to night.

Qin Shaoyan wanted to take revenge tomorrow.

Zhang Pingyi, who had been silent all this time, suddenly said, "Let's try some unconventional methods."

Qin Shaoyan was stunned. "What unconventional means?"

"I think we can combine everyone's suggestions," Zhang Pingyi explained. "Give the company some trouble, such as a contract dispute? Instead of going to court directly, we can use this dispute to stir up public opinion and find a few reporters to block the door."

"Huh?" Qin Shaoyan looked at Zhang Pingyi with some surprise.

He didn't expect that Master Zhang Tian could come up with such an idea.

Zhang Tianshi, ah, Zhang Tianshi, you have become a bad person.

"Master Zhang, this is a good idea." Qin Shaoyan nodded, "But I made some improvements. This matter requires the cooperation of President Kou and Director Xia."

Kou Hongfei and Xia Lian immediately straightened their backs and said, "We will definitely cooperate with you fully."

"Also, invite a few directors from Sohu and Yiku." Qin Shaoyan thought for a moment, "Call Edward as well, he is most familiar with this job."

Everyone was stunned. Why was Edward called over? It seemed like something was wrong.

Qin Shaoyan gave a meaningful smile.

……

the next day.

A convoy of several luxury cars slowly stopped in front of a company in Sanjianfang, and a blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigner got out of the lead car.

Surrounded by his entourage, the foreigner looked up at the company sign in front of him and observed it.

Then several men in suits and ties got out from other cars, looking very impressive.

Several people and foreigners gathered together, pointing at the company in front of them and discussing something in low voices.

At this time, Yang Li was standing inside the office. She had noticed this group of people a long time ago. Out of curiosity, she went to the window to see what was going on.

But she soon discovered that this group of people seemed to be pointing fingers at her own company.

Could it be that they are coming for his company?

Before Yang Li could think for long, she found that the group of people walked directly into the company.

Yang Li panicked when she saw this scene. She immediately picked up her phone and called her boyfriend Huang Zong, "Come back soon. There are a bunch of people coming to the company, including foreigners."

After hanging up the phone, Yang Li hurriedly came out and asked, "Hello, who are you?"

The leading foreigner glanced at her without saying anything, and the attendant next to him immediately introduced her, "This is Mr. Edward Damon, the Vice President and Operations Director of the American YouTube website."

"This is Mr. Kou Hongfei, CEO of Qvod.com, this is Mr. Gong Yu, Senior Vice President of Sohu, and this is the Director of Yiku.com..."

Yang Li was already confused at this time. She stared blankly at the people in front of her, and her brain didn't process for a long time.

Edward spoke a string of English words, and his attendant translated them, "We are here to find a strong animation company to cooperate with."

Kou Hongfei continued, "We are looking for a company that can provide high-quality animation products for our website and sign a long-term contract."

Yang Li's eyes lit up at this time, "Welcome, welcome, please come in and take a seat."

"Our company is a very powerful animation company. The animation products we produce have been broadcast on many TV stations, and we also have cooperation with CCTV."

As Yang Li spoke, she invited everyone into the company.

It’s a pity that her office is a bit small and can’t accommodate so many people, so she can only introduce the company’s information to everyone in the office lobby.

Edward and others listened to Yang Li's introduction while looking around the company's environment.

Yang Li had never seen such a scene before and sweat broke out on her forehead. At this time, her boyfriend Huang Zong hurried back and took over the reception work.

Huang Zong spoke eloquently to Edward and others without any stage fright, and praised the company with full confidence.

Edward shook his head after listening to this. "Your company is too small, with only more than 50 employees. You simply cannot complete such a large project."

Huang Zong was not anxious at all and immediately said: "This is just one of our companies. We have three or four more companies of similar size!"

"No, no, it's still not enough." Edward shook his finger. "We need a lot of works. We need at least eight companies of this size."

"No problem." Huang Zong said confidently, "We can recruit new people at any time."

Edward nodded in satisfaction. "OK, if that's the case, then we can still consider it."

……

In a car outside the animation company, Qin Shaoyan raised his wrist to check the time, and said to Mingyue beside him with a smile, "It's your turn now."

(End of this chapter)