Actor: Thank you.

Two years ago, in 2008.

A heavy snowfall at the beginning of the year gave birth to the "imitation" film "Lost in Thailand".

A major disaster in the Sichuan region in the middle of the year prompted the authorities to proclaim the slogan "Adversity strengthens the nation."

Instead, it added an extra layer of insurance to the already anxiety-inducing event, the Olympics.

In 2010, before the World Expo, a major disaster struck the Yushu region, once again proving the saying that adversity strengthens a nation.

The Yellow River and the Yangtze River are collectively known as the mother rivers of China.

In fact, the Yangtze River's water flow is more than 20 times that of the Yellow River!
So why are these two ranked together?

Besides flowing through important regions in both northern and southern China, the Yellow River, compared to the Yangtze River, which is like a "kind mother" river, is more like a "strict mother" river.

The water flow is not large, but every few years it will strike the Central Plains with floods.

The resilience and organizational ability of the Chinese nation are closely related to this most demanding mother.

An overly comfortable living environment can cause a nation to lose its ambition.

For example, the Ganges and the Nile.

But even the intensity of the Amazon River, one of humanity's most rigorous fathers, is insufficient.

A strict mother is acceptable, but a stepmother is not; if she's beaten to death, the whole thing is over.

The major disaster that occurred in Yushu in mid-April is actually nothing compared to the disaster in 2008.

One is magnitude 7.1, the other is magnitude 8.0. The earthquake units don't increase by a percentage; rather, for every difference of one unit, the energy increases more than 30 times.

But disasters can't be compared like that.

What is a news story to outsiders is a huge burden to those who experience it firsthand.

When the boss suggested "leveraging existing resources," Yang Siwei and Zeng Jia exchanged glances.

"You mean, doing charity?"

"Donate?"

The two expressed roughly the same meaning.

“Yes.” Zhang Yuan nodded.

"Chinese people despise those who are rich but heartless."

As for the interpretation of benevolence, Confucius said: "To be able to practice these five virtues throughout the world is to be benevolent."

"Respect, generosity, trustworthiness, diligence, and kindness are the five qualities."

"Next are benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness."

That's how the Five-Nut Mooncake came about.

"In short, a kind and helpful person is considered benevolent."

"Now that the country is in trouble, it is our responsibility to donate money and supplies."

At this point, a barely perceptible strangeness appeared on Zhang Yuan's face.

Because while the donation was indeed a benevolent act, a large number of "nouveau riche" emerged in both Sichuan and Yushu after the disaster.

This has cleared Wang Shi's name, who was accused of blocking donations back then.

But times have changed, and things should be considered separately.

We shouldn't refrain from doing things just because there are problems; it's for our own sake.

Besides, there will always be a few scraps that end up in the hands of those who need them, and that's enough.

When doing good deeds, we should judge by the actions, not the intentions.

"Donating money is a must."

"All the artists in our company should donate."

"If you're having trouble, you can donate less."

"But why it's difficult, I'll have to ask you two."

The two agents cleared their throats.

Yes, artists are facing financial difficulties; if they don't ask their agents, who else can they ask?

Therefore, even if it's "difficult," donations must be made; one is not allowed to complain about being poor.

"You should be very familiar with the fact that donations made in the name of a company can be tax-deductible."

"Then it's my personal one."

Zhang Yuan touched his chin.

"The key now is how to donate and how to amplify this matter."

"Zeng Jia, go and contact the people at Vancl."

"Think, go contact Mercedes."

"Both of these companies happen to be in talks about endorsements."

"I have my own plans."

"Let's complete these two procedures first, then we'll talk about the next steps."

"Debunking" the rumors about the "King of Buildings" is the first step.

This indicates that I am not "that" rich.

Donations and publicity are the second step.

This shows that I am not a heartless rich man.

A few days later, at the Beijing International Exhibition Center.

The Beijing International Auto Show is just about to be held.

Zhang Yuan asked Yang Siwei to contact Mercedes-Benz to add some elements to the upcoming spokesperson launch event.

The process remains the same as the standard process.

Taking advantage of the auto show, Mercedes-Benz unveiled the new C-Class, as well as an AMG version of the C-Class.

They also officially announced that he would become the brand's new spokesperson.

These are no different from ordinary brand activities.

The key is the addition of a charity segment at the end.

During this period, people will be asked about their views on the disaster in any situation.

It's better to bring it up proactively than to be asked.

"Now, on behalf of Mercedes-Benz and Daimler Group, Mr. Michael, President of Mercedes-Benz China, would like to extend our greetings to the disaster-stricken people in Yushu, China."

The foreigner stepped forward, held up the microphone, and uttered a string of standard phrases like respect, condolences, and moments of silence.

None of that matters; real money is what matters.

"Next, Mr. Mike will represent the Mercedes-Benz brand to donate 500 million yuan to the China Red Cross Society."

"In addition, our brand ambassador, Mr. Zhang Yuan, will donate 300 million yuan to the China Red Cross Society."

The two men each held up large printed checks so the reporter could take a clear picture.

"I feel very sorry for what the people of Yushu have suffered."

"I can only do what I can to provide them with some financial assistance."

"So I plan to donate all of my endorsement fees this time."

Zhang Yuan donated the money in his own name, independently of the company.

It must be possible to make it clear that he has made donations under his personal name, that money was donated under his name.

Because reporters really do investigate!
Donating under a company name will make the donation untraceable, thus constituting "fraudulent donation."

The details must be done well.

Mercedes was indeed a bit stingy, which Zhang Yuan had been quite unhappy about.

But being stingy at this time may not necessarily be a bad thing.

Releasing his "sky-high endorsement fee" would actually be detrimental.

Being able to endorse Mercedes-Benz was already enough to make his peers envious, but then they saw that he donated the money.

Many of their peers realized this.

"Is this all for the purpose of buying a luxury mansion?"

There are plenty of smart people in the entertainment industry; it's obvious at a glance.

The problem is that while these "smart people" understand this, very few are actually willing to spend the money.

The most "unlucky" one was Zhou Xun.

This incident from two years ago has resurfaced, and the reporter pressed him on whether he had made the donation this time.
Hua Yi quickly covered her mouth, telling her not to talk nonsense, or she would be attacked again.

Otherwise, given Xun Ge's temper, he might say something outrageous.

Some people even came to hate Zhang Yuan because of this.

You're setting your sights so high, starting with 300 million.

What should we do?
They are reluctant to part with their wealth, scrambling to make money but backing down when it comes to donating it.

Many fellow artists, when interviewed and asked about their views on donations, made sarcastic or sarcastic remarks.

Of course, Zhang Yuan didn't take out a notebook to write down each name...

At the same time, the two agents also took a series of actions online.

The property certificate for the "small apartment" was posted online, and rumors began circulating that Zhang Yuan bought the apartment at a special price.

It's definitely not 15 yuan per square meter as rumored online.

Because netizens are calculating based on the highest price, 15 yuan per square meter, for a 1200-square-meter house, it is rumored that he spent nearly 2 million yuan to buy the house!
He was truly innocent this time.

The data was exaggerated by online trolls, but the actual number is only 1/10 of the rumored figure.

In addition, he donated another 300 million, which made the situation seem much better.

But it's only slightly better.

"Damn, being an actor is so lucrative!"

"Exactly! A single house costs tens of millions! I'm so angry!"

"Doesn't anyone care about housing prices in Shanghai?"

"As expected, what Tianya KK said was true."

"I'm so angry. I used to really enjoy watching Zhang Yuan's movies, but seeing how much he earns makes me feel uncomfortable, even having to calculate the cost of eating meat buns."

Comments expressing "hatred of the rich" are emerging one after another.

The traditional performing arts industry has long recognized this phenomenon: female performers who sing drum ballads or Peking Opera female roles earn a lot of money, and the audience, especially male audience members, are always happy.

Just like how no matter how much a female streamer earns, the top donor is happy, and even happier if the more he earns, the happier he is.

This is the woman I'm supporting!
But that doesn't work for male celebrities.

Unless you reach the level of the Four Great Dan Actors, such as Mr. Mei and Mr. Xun, everyone who hears their names speaks highly of them, and the state pays them extremely high salaries, absolutely recognizing their talent.

If an artist of the next lower tier earns a fortune, most audiences will be unhappy. "They're just actors, why should they get so much?"

Female viewers might be able to accept it, but generally speaking, women are not as wealthy as men.

Zhang Yuan understands this principle. His donation now is to "prove" that he did not buy a 2 million yuan house, which can only put his fans at ease.

Even though Zeng Jia brought up his donations and child adoptions from 08, the effect was still minimal.

Their public image has clearly suffered.

In addition, the nail that sticks out gets hammered down, and many of his colleagues were also resentful of his large donations.

It is currently in a state of "internal and external pressure".

We can weather this storm, but there will be losses.

Reputation is extremely important to celebrities.

Yang Siwei and Zeng Jia also discovered this problem.

Those who love you will be tolerant.

Someone who doesn't love you will find fault with you and ignore your strengths.

Therefore, Zhang Yuan summoned the two of them to his home again to discuss the matter.

"You did a great job, you all met the requirements."

"It seems you've become quite adept at these things."

He was quite pleased; the two of them were clearly much better than when they first arrived.

The two of them themselves felt that these things were nothing to worry about.

"Don't relax too much."

"Because right now I'm the only one with a problem."

"If several artists need to be dealt with in public relations, it will be much more complicated when you are surrounded by enemies."

Zhang Yuan then told them that he did not know the details of the matter.

"Last time we talked about the right timing and the right location."

"What we need to deal with now is the people!"

"Now that you've all discovered that the current methods are only treating the symptoms, not the root cause, what's next?" Zhang Yuan asked.

The two knew that their boss must have a trick up his sleeve and was deliberately testing them.

This isn't the first time. Although being "interrogated" like this, just like being called on by the teacher to answer a question in class, makes me anxious.

But they also found that they are now much better at handling problems than before.

The two offered a bunch of suggestions, which were nothing more than continuing the donation and charity approach.

"We've tried all the direct methods." Zhang Yuan didn't comment after hearing this, he just said calmly.

"If that doesn't work, we have to resort to negative methods and change course."

"I have a question for you all, what do you think of Huang Xiaoming?"

"This..." They didn't know why their boss suddenly brought up artists from other companies.

"Just tell the truth, about your career."

"They're doing very well; they've acted in movies and TV series."

"As for movies, there aren't many blockbusters, but with Hua Yi's talent, we'll definitely arrange some for him in the future."

"In the TV drama industry, he has reached the first-class level, especially after 'Shanghai Bund' and 'The Deer and the Cauldron'."

"And he also released an album, which sold quite well," Yang Siwei said, listing the details with great familiarity.

Zhang Yuan nodded repeatedly.

Actually, that's not all. Brother Xiaoming is also going to "reward" himself with a movie called "Summer's Desire".

Xiao Ming and Peter Ho, two of the most lovable characters, appeared together on camera.

This began Huang Xiaoming's destiny of rewarding himself with an idol drama for every serious drama he filmed.

Zeng Jia is still cunning, pretending that she doesn't know anything about the artists from other companies.

He gave her a sarcastic look that seemed to say, "You seem to know a lot about other companies."

But before she could speak, Zhang Yuan spoke first.

"Zeng Jia, you haven't said a word. Do you have absolutely no understanding of your fellow artists?"

Zeng Jia: ...

She tried to outsmart me... Zhang Yuan was too lazy to argue with her.

Where there are people, there is a social dynamic. Their "internal strife" was one of the reasons why she brought the two of them here.

Therefore, no one was blamed.

"Indeed, Huang Xiaoming is doing quite well, just like you said."

"He's already the top dog in Huayi."

"But what if you compare me?" Zhang Yuan looked up at the two of them.

“Of course you’re better.” Zeng Jia’s words came out much faster this time.

"Whether in the film or television industry, your achievements are greater, and your industry status is incomparable."

"Yes, that's right." Zhang Yuan readily accepted the compliment.

To be honest, there's nothing to hide behind closed doors.

"You see, people are afraid of comparison."

“Thinking, you mentioned the ‘Peaceful Post’ before.”

"Compared to the value of the 'Peaceful Letter,' my house is nothing."

"Actually, it's still a comparison."

"Without mud, there can be no lotus flower!"

"The same principle applies to crisis communication."

"If I want to become a lotus flower, someone has to be the mud."

"Harmony among people, and the hearts of the people, lie here."

Yang Siwei and Zeng Jia exchanged a glance, suddenly struck by a sudden inspiration, and asked him in unison.

"Whom will we harm this time?"

Zhang Yuan: …

"What kind of talk is that?"

What does "harm" mean?

"I, Huayu Hubaoyi, am the timely rain of the capital. Would I harm anyone?"

"Besides, would some people use me to harm them?"

"Your ass isn't clean to begin with!"

Zhang Yuan took out his iPad and handed it to the two of them.

"Oh!"

They understood instantly.

Because what was displayed on the screen was the large face of our beloved Ms. Zhang Ziyi.

Along with the Yushu disaster came not only positive news such as celebrities like Zhang Yuan leading the way in donating money.

There are also negative news stories like Zhang Ziyi's.

The last of the three gates, namely the fraudulent donation scandal, was exposed at this crucial moment!
"Boss, you should have said so earlier."

"If you had told us you wanted to expose her earlier, we would have been preparing long ago." Yang Siwei was a little excited, feeling that it was a reliable plan!
"What, in your eyes, it has to be me who did it?" Zhang Yuan spread his hands, looking helpless.

"Who is that?"

“Take a look for yourselves, who are the founders of her charitable foundation?”

How did this get exposed?

Someone posted the tax return of the Zhang Ziyi Foundation from the IRS in the United States on a domestic forum!
Media reports indicate that Zhang Ziyi promoted the film herself and even solicited donations at the Cannes Film Festival, claiming to have raised $100 million.

The taxable amount is only $45000!

Only after this matter was exposed did someone investigate the Red Cross Society of China.

She claimed to have donated 100 million yuan to the Red Cross, but the total amount of donations under her name was only 84 yuan, which was 16 yuan less.

This amount clearly looks like a price after taxes have been paid.

In other words, Zhang Ziyi made a big fuss about donating money, but in the end, none of the accounts matched up.

"If it broke out overseas first, how could it be my doing?"

They realized that it was most likely that Deng Wendi's eldest sister was angry and was taking revenge.

Moreover, this is a very dangerous matter; in China, "fraudulent donations" are the most notorious and have a terrible reputation.

Tax evasion in the US is a serious crime!

When the IRS comes knocking, Zhang Ziyi will probably be scared out of her wits.

"That's perfect!" Yang Siwei nodded happily.

There's no need to create silt; it's readily available here.

Moreover, Zhang Ziyi is now a "discarded pawn," abandoned by both domestic and international parties.

Even if you mess with her, no one will help you.

In addition... Zeng Jia looked at the boss.

You were messing with Wang Jiawei and her before, and now you've come full circle back to this woman.

You still say you don't hold grudges?
Her brother scolded you, and the price you paid was too high!
"Don't think I'm settling a personal score," Zhang Yuan cleared his throat and explained.

"It was just a coincidence."

"If you look like a target, don't blame others for getting shot."

"If you look like a slut, don't blame yourself for getting fucked..."

"Do you know what to do?"

"Understood, warm her up."

"Help her get some recognition."

The two understood each other.

With this guy around, and with people committing fraudulent donations around, doesn't it make my boss seem all-powerful and righteous?
"Then you guys go and handle it... wait." Zhang Yuan was about to adjourn the meeting, but then stopped him.

"I don't think it's enough."

"We need to add another person..." (End of Chapter)