I became famous in the entertainment industry by burning incense

Sui Lingfang naturally thought it was acceptable to agree.

If she felt something was wrong, she wouldn't have come to the capital in person to ask Jinli; she could have just explained it over the phone.

She explained, "Although both King Pak Fook Jewellery and Tian Kung Jewellery have the word 'jewellery' in their names, their business scopes are quite different. King Pak Fook mainly deals in gold jewelry, while Tian Kung Jewellery focuses on jewelry."

Even if some accessories overlap, in the public's eyes, these two are not competing brands, so there won't be any problems with public opinion.

Regarding the non-compete agreement you signed with Tiangong, it doesn't prohibit you from endorsing gold-related brands, so the non-compete agreement won't be triggered.

“The most important point,” Sui Lingfang said with certainty, “is that Jinbafu Jewelry has a very stable reputation in the public eye and has never had any negative news, so I am inclined to let you take on the endorsement.”

"You have national recognition, and they are also well-known national brands. Cooperation between the two parties is mutually beneficial."

Moreover, in order to secure this partnership, Kim Pak Fook Jewellery offered an incredibly lucrative ten-year endorsement contract.

Sui Lingfang made the final decision: "We have absolutely no reason to refuse."

Jinli nodded: "I don't know anything about endorsements, you guys can handle that."

Morning Light Entertainment lacks experience in film and television dramas because it has never been involved in this field before.

We have very little experience in business cooperation and need Mr. Xiao's help.

But they have a lot of experience in endorsements.

The "experience" here doesn't refer to their extensive experience in negotiating endorsements, but rather to their rich experience in investigating the compatibility between brands and celebrities.

Jinli hadn't made a comeback before, but she did have endorsements, just not many, and they weren't some unknown brands.

After she became famous, Chenxi Entertainment took even better care of her image, fearing that accepting any endorsement would lower her commercial value. They chose endorsements for her with a "better to have none than to have bad ones" attitude.

Based on this, Chenxi Entertainment had already gained Jinli's trust.

Sui Lingfang: "Then I'll ask the legal department to push forward the contract. Are you in a hurry for this endorsement? If not, I plan to work with Kim Ba-fu to work out the specific details and terms."

Jinli smiled and said, "No rush, I'm not short of money."

She seemed to have thought of something and said, "If nothing unexpected happens, I'll have another investment coming in."

The investment Jinli mentioned was the one million yuan she casually invested in "Virtual Face" last year.

The investment for a typical short drama doesn't need to be this large. She took 100 million, and Qi Guanmingzhu also took 100 million, bringing the total investment to 200 million.

The director dared not slack off and filmed both horizontal and vertical versions.

The horizontal-screen version, a high-quality short drama, has been launched on Bilibili, and the company not only recouped all its investment but also distributed additional profits.

A few days ago, Pearl called her to talk about this, and also said that the vertical short drama "False Face" will be released to the market this week.

Compared to high-quality short dramas with horizontal screens, people are actually more optimistic about the sales of "Xu Yan" in the vertical screen short drama category.

After all, in the current short drama genre, it's not an exaggeration to say that "vertical screen is king".

There are simply too many vertical-screen short dramas, which have almost taken over the entire short drama market, and the revenue-sharing model is also more transparent.

Jinli had seen the quality of the horizontal short dramas, and she believed that as long as the vertical version wasn't edited haphazardly, it should be a hit.

Next, "The False Face" was launched on an auspicious day, and as she expected, it became a huge hit as soon as it premiered!

Moreover, this kind of hit product was an unexpected hit.

The two lead actors attracted a wave of fans on the horizontal screen short drama, and their personal accounts also saw a rapid increase in followers.

On every social media platform, they encouraged their fans to pre-order the vertical version.

The vertical screen version immediately topped the trending charts on its first day of release, thanks to the number of pre-registrations it had accumulated.

Furthermore, because the early plot of "The False Face" is very melodramatic and full of scheming and intrigue, it is very suitable for streaming in various places.

Therefore, some short drama companies used it for online streaming, and the number of views for "False Face" soared again, making investors a fortune once more.

Jinli, who was in Qingbei Lane, didn't hear her classmates discussing the short drama.

However, she occasionally sees ads for this show when she opens video apps, and those third-party companies are quite generous with their ad placements.

Of course, since the third-party company spent money to promote the content, they were hoping that "Virtual Face" would make them money, so a revenue-sharing agreement was signed separately.

Even though the revenue share was reduced, the online traffic was an unexpected source of exposure, and she and Mingzhu considered the money as a substantial side income.

May has arrived.

By this time, "False Face" had been a hit for a full month before the hype finally subsided.

Qi Guanmingzhu called Jinli again, happily reporting her results this time.

"Because the vertical short drama 'Xu Yan' became a huge hit, it in turn boosted the horizontal short drama market, and we on Bilibili got another 300 million."

As for the vertical screen revenue sharing, we'll see our first revenue share this month, estimated at 1 million, with over 500 million more expected to follow.

Qi Guanmingzhu sighed, "Now I understand why so many celebrities, instead of staying in the spotlight, invest their money."

"I never knew investing could be so addictive! We each invested 1 million, and now we're each going to make tens of millions—a tenfold profit!"

Jinli spoke up to remind everyone: "Film and television dramas take a long time to recoup their costs, have long revenue-sharing cycles, and are prone to losses. Examples of making big profits with small investments are not common."

Qi Guanmingzhu: "I know that after I invested in 'Xu Yan', some friends heard the news and thought I was interested in investing. They have been calling me these days to ask me and try to get me to invest."

There were a few great projects that sounded very appealing to me, but I kept a close eye on things and specifically searched for related case studies.

When I discovered that those projects sounded wonderful but were actually just elaborate schemes, with virtually no chance of getting my investment back—practically no different from a scam—I was shocked. Thankfully, I didn't fall for it.

No one was looking for Jinli.

Anything she did was blocked by Chenxi Entertainment, and not many people knew her private phone number.

In addition, Jinli had been involved in investment earlier than Qiguan Mingzhu. She received personal dividends from many of the film and television dramas she participated in, and Chenxi Entertainment also invested a small amount.

When it comes to scams, Chenxi Entertainment has encountered countless cases; the company is very experienced.

Jinli said with some concern, "If you have any promising investment projects in the future, but you're unsure about them, just tell me."

Qi Guanmingzhu asked curiously, "If I told you, could you help me with my fortune telling?"

Jinli smiled and said, "I can't calculate it, and my calculations aren't accurate, but I can go to the Taoist temple to draw a fortune stick for you. If the fortune stick is bad, then you shouldn't invest."

You can use this method yourself; it's accurate with a 51% probability.

Qi Guanmingzhu laughed heartily, "51% probability? That's fifty-fifty, isn't it? It's really quite mystical."

She didn't take it seriously. A 51% probability sounds about the same as 50%, but in a Taoist temple, it makes a big difference.

That extra 1% is like divine favor, which will have an unexpected effect at crucial moments.

After happily chatting with Jinli about the profits, Qi Guanmingzhu also mentioned that the director was preparing to film a second short drama.

"The story of 'Illusory Face' was a hit, and she wanted to make it into one of the series. The second part is also a similar story with a fantasy style, but this time she won't change people's faces, but rather their brains."

"Brain transplant?" Jinli asked, puzzled. "What kind of brain transplant is this?"

Qi Guanmingzhu: "I haven't seen the script yet, but the director roughly told me his idea. He wants three people in their seventies or eighties to go back to when they were 20 years old."

The story depicts three individuals who, at a young age, possessed rich experience and life lessons, and how they developed their lives. Two of them initially displayed courage, resourcefulness, and a willingness to strive. However, one of them, after achieving a certain level of success, became complacent and no longer wanted to work hard, while the other expanded his business significantly.

The remaining person, believing they knew the future trends, became overly ambitious, setting their goals too high from the start. They failed to act appropriately at the right time, being extremely impulsive, and ultimately achieved nothing.

Based on the narrated plot, Jinli thinks this drama should be quite interesting.

This is very much in the style of "The False Face," where the script is always designed to have a fairytale-like beginning but a cruel ending.

Going back to the past doesn't mean everything will go smoothly or you'll become someone superior.

People's experience is often limited to their past experiences, and if they do not make changes, they will be trapped by their past experiences.

It's like an ordinary person whose experience is limited to that level.

If he could go back in time, he might not get good opportunities if he didn't find a way to escape his social class.

Similarly, having rich experience can only help you avoid some detours in life, but it doesn't mean that your life will become completely different.

Anyone who wants to change their life possesses great wisdom and courage.

After all, you can't expect someone who's been lazy their whole life to go back to the past and change their lazy nature to become incredibly diligent.

If someone is truly determined to change, they can change now, so why look for excuses like "going back" to the past?
Qi Guanmingzhu added, "The director told me that she plans to bring back the original cast to film the movie."

Jinli asked, "Will her budget increase this time?"

Qi Guanmingzhu said, "No, she said she would still take two million to shoot two versions."

As a short drama, a two million yuan investment is already much more than the industry standard; many short drama production teams only invest a few hundred thousand or three or four hundred thousand yuan.

Jinli glanced down at the tablet, which displayed photos of the male and female leads at recent events.

Her health has improved a lot recently.

However, she has already reached the limit in terms of ability, and she has also developed the "twice the result with half the effort" approach to the maximum extent.

Since she couldn't improve the quality, she gained some additional abilities.

Most of these abilities were ones she already possessed, but they had faded away because she hadn't used them much, and now they've reappeared.

At a glance, one can immediately see the difference in the facial features of the male and female leads.

They have burning ambition and aspirations, and their spirits are high.

Jinli asked, "Since you want to use the original cast, will the male and female leads also be the same ones?"

Qi Guanmingzhu: "I think so. Moreover, the male and female leads are very popular. With them continuing to participate, the next step can be guaranteed."

Jinli said, "The director probably didn't talk to the male and female leads. Now that they've become famous and their value has increased, it's impossible for them to still take their previous salaries."

Qi Guanmingzhu paused for a moment, "I didn't ask about that, but you reminded me."

Last time we gave her two million, and she spent it all where it was needed. This time, if the actors' salaries are to increase, and if we continue with the director's filming style, it might not be enough.

In fact.

Jinli's intuition is very accurate.

After talking with her, Qi Guanmingzhu immediately asked the director.

The director is currently working with the screenwriter to refine the script, hoping to use the original cast. This is because they already have a tacit understanding from their previous collaboration and know what kind of story she wants to tell.

Only after hearing Qi Guanmingzhu say this did she realize that she needed to coordinate her schedule with other people.

At this point, the director still believed that she could bring back the original cast.

After all, the huge success of "The False Face" has already proven that she has excellent taste and filming skills.

The staff were alright; they didn't have fixed teams, and they would go to whichever group had work to do.

Upon hearing that the director was going to film a new drama, they all expressed their willingness to join the crew.

However, the director encountered a tricky situation with the male and female leads.

One reason is that the male and female leads have become incredibly popular, attracting the attention of many short drama directors who want to collaborate with them on new projects.

Therefore, their schedules are already full for the next three months.

According to them, the agency will continue to get them roles in dramas, trying to fill their schedules for the entire year, so that they can seamlessly join new projects until the Lunar New Year next year.

However, because they became famous for filming the director's movie "False Face", the male and female leads also wanted to work with the director and were willing to coordinate their schedules.

But another problem arose that troubled the director.

Regarding the salary, it can no longer be set in the same way as before.

The director also expressed his understanding.

Now that they're popular, their value has changed, they've gained popularity, so a raise is only fair.

But what he couldn't accept was that the two actors' salaries had increased 100 times compared to the past.

She used to pay them 2000 yuan a day.

2000 yuan may seem like a small sum for a lead actor, but the filming of "False Face" took a long time. Unlike other short dramas that are only filmed for a week, this one was filmed for a month with meticulous attention to detail!

Now, both the male and female leads have stated that the company offered them 20 yuan per day.

The director was stunned when the price was announced.

Is this still a short drama actor?

This price is comparable to that of a second-tier male celebrity with some popularity in the Chinese entertainment industry!

If we film for a month, calculated as 30 days, wouldn't that require six million?
Six million per person, twelve million for two people, what's the point of making a short drama?
They can even make TV dramas now!
Calculating by the day is absolutely not an option!

But the male and female leads were determined to stick to this point and refused to budge on the 20 yuan offer.

The director inquired with their respective agencies, and the agencies all agreed that they were currently accepting roles at this market rate.

The director just thought it was impossible.

The short drama was filmed in seven days, which is 140 million RMB. Both of them are popular figures in the industry, so their actor salaries alone amount to 280 million RMB.

Besides the salaries of the male and female leads, other expenses such as venue costs and staff salaries... each production costs at least five million.

With this kind of investment, why bother making short dramas? You might as well just make a low-budget web series.

The director complained to Qi Guan Mingzhu, who then called Jin Li a few days later, sighing:

"You were right. We probably won't be able to secure a two million investment; the actors' salaries are too high."

She explained the situation, and Jinli, recalling the faces she had seen of them before, said:

"They're playing hard to get. 20 is just the quoted price, not the actual price. But they refuse to lower their price, they're sure the director can't do without them."

They probably believe the show's success is due to their excellent acting, not to a good script or a good director. (End of Chapter)