The Birth of Shanghai's First Conglomerate

Chapter 52 Investment and Returns

The project has been found, but things still need to be done.

If you want to adapt a novel into a TV series, the first thing you need to do is contact the author and buy the rights.

This would be a stroke of good fortune for any novelist.

Chen Pingsheng contacted the author of Hua Qiangu through the novel's publishing platform and learned that his work was about to be adapted into a TV series.

The author was even more confused than he was.

I almost choked on it.

Overjoyed, they dared not ask the price, fearing that if they quoted too high a price, they would be rejected again.

Actually, novelists have it pretty tough.

Only one in ten thousand can achieve good results; the norm is to not achieve good results.

Those whose works are adapted into TV series are truly blessed.

Once the drama becomes a hit, the author's other novels will receive attention from the drama community.

It can be said that he became famous overnight and was known throughout the world.

Chen Pingsheng invited her to come to Beijing for a face-to-face meeting, saying that with such a high rate of return on investment, price was not an issue.

Secondly, adapting a novel involves a great deal of specialized knowledge.

Chen Pingsheng believes that having the author himself as the screenwriter will better preserve the original flavor of the script.

After hearing that he had already made contact, Zhao Liying felt relieved.

Anyway, she herself is very optimistic about this script and the role of Hua Qiangu.

There is also a gap in the market.

This adaptation would most likely become a hit, but she never expected it to be that popular.

"Liying, I'm planning to invest 100 million yuan in this drama. You can film this directly after Luzhen finishes filming."

One hundred million, that's an S+ project.

She's a top-tier resource in the industry, but while he's secured the female lead role, the other roles haven't been decided yet.

Let's wait for Yang Jiancheng and the novelist to arrive, and then the three of them can choose the roles together.

With so many female characters in the film, Chen Pingsheng secretly thought that if he wanted to engage in any underhanded dealings...

They'll probably be able to sleep from the beginning of the year to the end.

From the peak of Yang energy, sleep until the peak of Yin energy.

In the entertainment industry, having money really does mean you can sleep whenever you want.

Unfortunately, that wasn't his purpose; his only goal was to make money.

If we do a good job with Tengying, we might even be able to go public in the future.

If he were the founder of a listed company, that would feel pretty good.

After spending 100 million, he only had a little over 30 million left, so he definitely couldn't afford to invest in any big projects.

I can participate in a few more small projects.

Chen Pingsheng prepared the contract and had Zhao Liying sign it first.

His Tencent Entertainment now officially has its first artist.

At noon, the two of them went downstairs to the China World Trade Center for lunch.

After Yang Jiancheng arrived, he talked to him about investing in Hua Qiangu. Yang Jiancheng was the director he knew best, so of course he would consider someone he knew first when there was such a good project.

An investment project worth hundreds of millions is on a completely different level compared to the previous two dramas.

It's very challenging, if this gets made.

He has firmly established himself in the world of directing.

Chen Pingsheng still does not participate in any scriptwriting or filming.

Professional matters should be left to professionals.

On the first day of his Tengying's opening, besides signing Zhao Liying,

They also signed Yang Jiancheng along with them.

We have directors and artists; what we need next is a capable agent and management team.

These things aren't urgent. Agents are generally responsible for finding projects and endorsements for artists and securing various resources.

For now, Tencent's self-projection and self-filming are not really needed.

As for the operations team, let's talk about that after Xiao Zhao becomes really famous.

Behind every big star is a group of people serving them.

From small details like makeup and styling to major decisions like controlling public opinion, everything requires a dedicated person to be in charge.

This meal between the three of them officially finalized Teng Ying's future development direction in the entertainment industry. Chen Pingsheng finally finished his workday at four o'clock in the afternoon.

He also spent an hour cleaning; it seems he'll have to hire a personal cleaning secretary.

On the way back, he turned on the ride-sharing service again.

Whether it was luck or something else, I ended up picking up Bai Xin again. The first thing she said when she got in the car was...

"Uncle, you weren't waiting for me on purpose, were you?"

"What are you thinking? I just happened to be off work and I'll pick up an order on my way home."

"Uncle, you're off work pretty early."

Bai Xin's face was still a bit dirty; a small-time actress like her wouldn't even have the opportunity to work with a professional makeup artist.

Once she's on set, she's lucky if someone can even give her a couple of quick blows.

"If you don't get off work early, how can you enjoy life?" Chen Pingsheng chuckled.

Bai Xin's phone rang; someone had sent her a video.

"Sister Wu."

"Bai Xin, did you take a taxi home? There's a play tomorrow where you play a courtesan. Shall we go together?"

"A brothel? Doesn't that have explicit scenes?"

"What are you thinking? Do you think we deserve any sex scenes? We'd just show up in a bellyband and get killed. Four hundred a day, are you in?"

Bai Xin's eyes lit up. "Come on, save me a seat!"

The two quickly agreed, and it was clear that the other was also a minor character, but the voice sounded somewhat familiar.

Chen Pingsheng asked, "You call her Sister Wu, she wouldn't happen to have the surname Song, would she?"

"How did you know?"

Bai Xin asked curiously, "Song Wu is my senior. I met her when we were both working as extras. Uncle, you don't know her too, do you?"

It's more than just knowing her; isn't she my sister-in-law?
After Song Yanxi bought her a BMW, she basically stopped caring about her.

In the past, Song Wu was as proud as an old hen.

He entered the entertainment industry and never paid attention to it again. Now that he has opened Tengying Entertainment, she doesn't even know anything about it.

"I guess we know each other."

"What do you mean by 'calculate'? Uncle, you seem to have quite a wide network of connections."

"Hehe, I used to be an extra too, so it's normal for me to know a few extras."

"You've even played minor roles?"

Bai Xin immediately became interested and leaned closer to ask him.

These girls in the entertainment industry are indeed young, and their beauty is only slightly less than his wife's.

Chen Pingsheng told her some stories from the past, back when Zhao Liying was just an extra.

They're just very dedicated.

There are two universally recognized inspirational idols in the entertainment industry, one of whom is Baoqiang.

This is truly grassroots.

Another one is Liying, who is still not really famous.

However, he has become an idol for many extras.

Bai Xin also lives in Shijingshan. When she got off the bus, she asked, "Uncle, are you going to the Second Ring Road again tomorrow?"

"Yes."

"Let's add each other on WeChat, and I'll contact you when I get there."

"Fine!"

It's an hour's journey, so picking up a young woman wouldn't be a bad idea.

Chen Pingsheng and she exchanged WeChat contacts, and he hasn't changed his WeChat name for a long time.

The title is "Please Work Hard for the Rest of Your Life," and the profile picture is of a family of three.

Happy and warm.

"Uncle, so you're married?"

"What, you have other ideas about not getting married?"

"Pah, I'm going to be a big star someday, you're such a nice guy, uncle."

"Tch..." Chen Pingsheng chuckled and left, and Bai Xin also left grumbling. The little girl was quite optimistic.

(End of this chapter)