Actor: Thank you.

Zhang Yuan and Angie Chai had a big argument.

Because of the investment and profit sharing, the other party said he was too domineering and young and didn't know the rules.

Zhang Yuan sent the recording of the call to Jiang Zhiqiang.

Not long after, Angie Chai called him again, this time much more politely.

When a third party introduced the "achievements," the other party quickly became kind and benevolent.

"But they still expressed their dissatisfaction with the conditions proposed by Zhang Yuan."

Zhang Yuan requested a 5000% stake in the total investment of NT$7 million, and also demanded distribution rights and copyrights in all regions except Taiwan.

Only a sufficiently high profit could satisfy his conscience.

"Well then, Miss Cai, I'll be frank with you."

"I will not change this condition."

"If you think it's not suitable, then don't make the film."

"I won't invest, it's not allowed, your film can't be made."

"You're threatening me!" the other person shouted again.

“I don’t have the guts to threaten, but I do have the guts to make money through threats, and I’m very bold about it!” Zhang Yuan said frankly.

“You’re not the only one in mainland China; there are many film and television companies.”

"At worst, I'll find someone else to collaborate with."

"of course can."

"But I also want to remind you."

"You can find someone else, but this film can't be made."

"Even if we filmed it, it can't be broadcast."

"Even if it can be broadcast, it won't be any better."

"There are so many parts to a film, and if there is even one mistake, the whole thing will be ruined."

"Think about it."

Zhang Yuan's idea was to make a fortune and then step back to rid the people of a scourge.

I'm suitable for either one.

After listening to his words, Angie Chai felt a sense of familiarity.

In the early years, film and television bosses in Taiwan and Hong Kong all had this kind of attitude.

Should we take the picture or not?
It's almost time.

Crying, even crying counts as time.

She had a vague understanding of why Zhang Yuan, at such a young age, was able to lead such a complex film and television company.

In fact, Zhang Yuan is not usually so assertive; he is "gentle and refined" like most readers.

This domineering image was intentional.

The purpose was to sow discord between him and Angie Chai.

The other party angrily hung up the phone again.

Zhang Yuan guessed that he had gone to call in more people and pull strings.

Not long after, he received a call from Liu, the editor-in-chief of CCTV.

"You've gotten yourself into trouble again, haven't you?"

"Oh, I've found you here?" Zhang Yuan greeted the man with a smile.

It did surprise him.

"They weren't found, they were 'cursed' into it."

The "godmother" knows some people from CCTV.

Editor-in-Chief Liu said irritably.

Every TV station is divided into several factions.

The faction that the godmother knew was the old one.

There was a veteran actor named Huang Zongluo, who was very famous.

He was a top veteran of the Beijing People's Art Theatre, and his photo was displayed on the wall, in the front row.

The godmother found Huang Lao's son.

Editor-in-Chief Liu holds a higher position than him, but he also has connections.

Moreover, they belong to different factions, and they fear that others might use this as an excuse to make a fuss.

"Everything is negotiable."

"You don't know, I've been bullied!" Zhang Yuan started wailing.

"Stop." But it was no use; the man immediately stopped him.

"You're already doing well if you don't bully people, stop talking nonsense."

"Alright, what the leader means is that we shouldn't be afraid of trouble, but we shouldn't cause any trouble either."

"You managed to keep things calm."

"Ah..." Zhang Yuan understood and handled the situation discreetly.

Furthermore, there are explanations behind this low-key handling.

Did I manage to keep things calm, or did I manage to calm the other party down?

It seems the leaders are aware of some of the problems, but they are deliberately turning a blind eye.

Whether it's due to various obstacles or simply that the timing isn't right, it's unclear.

"I understand, and I will show a cooperative attitude."

We also chatted about the TV series "Beijing Love Story," and we'll try to get it aired on CCTV.

Quiet down, Zhang Yuan bit his nails as he pondered.

This matter is more complicated than he thought, and it seems that he was right not to refuse the investment in this film.

Chaos is the ladder of progress.

The question is who will act as the stepping stone.

I think these people from Taiwan look a lot like steps.

I just didn't expect that the other party's relationship was in their "home base".

This is rather troublesome; it seems this matter won't be easy to discuss.

I originally wanted to use my connections with Taiwan to scare them.

He meant that the local gangs were very rude!

He recognized a few unemployed people from Taiwan.

But now that his boss has told him not to cause trouble, he can't do that.

I've decided to put it aside for now and see how the other party reacts.

He would no longer appear in person, and would instead have Zeng Jia contact the other party on his behalf.

Besides, he has things to do and doesn't have much free time.

He "snatched" the crew of "Lost in Thailand".

As it's my own film, I should take care of it.

Just like with his previous films "Crazy Stone" and "Crazy Racer," Xu Zheng and Bao Qiang were cast in cameo roles.

They're completely free; they don't pay anything.

It was truly "zero pay".

Because "zero pay" is generally just a saying.

There's no pay, but there are bonuses, red envelopes, travel expenses, and reimbursement for accommodation, travel costs, and meals.

Zhang Yuan counted on his fingers on the plane.

Not only did he have no money, but he also had to pay for his own transportation and travel expenses; he was truly a "victim."

I got off the plane in Wuhan.

Normally I would head straight to the film set, but today it's even better—the airport is the film set.

He was the one who helped me make the contact, and he managed to borrow an Air China counter and a security checkpoint.

There was also an aircraft undergoing maintenance, which was used for filming.

The filming content includes the opening scene of takeoff and return, and the reunion of the two main characters, Niu Geng and Li Chenggong, at the end of the film.

Like "Lost in Thailand," this film, "Lost on Journey," features two male leads.

"Lost in Thailand" also added Brother Bo, who is considered the main antagonist. Actually, in both "Lost in Thailand" films, Xu Zheng was the male lead, while Bao Qiang was the second male lead.

Because the main storyline was initiated by Xu Zheng's character, and he was also the first to appear on screen.

Even so, viewers still felt it was a show with two male leads.

That's what makes Baoqiang so amazing!

He doesn't try to steal the spotlight, but his character portrayal is brilliant.

When he was no longer in "Lost in Hong Kong", the balance between the two male leads was completely broken.

Just like Chen Sicheng's "Detective Chinatown," if you put anyone else with Liu Haoran, they would either steal the spotlight or be unable to carry the show.

Only Baoqiang's arrival was just right.

This movie is a typical "road movie," it's all about being on the road.

The formula for road movies is that the protagonist travels along the way, encounters events and people along the way, and ultimately gains and loses something along the way.

There are quite a few actors.

Huang Xiaolei and Zhang Yunyi both have roles scheduled.

But the main characters, besides Xu Zheng and Baoqiang, are the two women.

Li Chenggong's wife and mistress.

Zhang Yuan arranged for Zhang Tianai to play the role of a mistress; her naturally alluring appearance was suitable.

The role of the wife is played by Zuo Xiaoqing, who is acquainted with Xu Zheng's wife and has the nickname of "literary goddess" in the imperial circle.

This "artistic goddess" is no ordinary person.

She has a gentle and refined demeanor, is very calm and intellectual, and possesses a charm that is as serene as a chrysanthemum.

But actually, she's quite flamboyant.

Like Tao Hong, she was chosen by Jiang Wen to star in "In the Heat of the Sun".

Tao Hong was selected from the synchronized swimming team, while she was chosen from the rhythmic gymnastics team.

Then, Cheng Daoming, Wang Zhiwen, Sun Honglei, Duan Yihong...

Back then, Jiang Wen personally picked her up and took her to and from school.

She has intricate connections with famous figures across the old, middle-aged, and young generations of the imperial circle.

She is also a "super cool fan" in the imperial circle.

Like Xu Jinglei, being artistic is just an outward appearance; only the person in question knows whether their heart is restless.

Moreover, Zhang Yuan felt that she wasn't the most beautiful type, but she was able to attract so many people.

Maybe those artsy types, or those who pretend to be artsy, just like this kind of thing.

Zhang Yuan is more "common"; his standards are either good-looking or have a cleavage.

Artistic stuff, you can't see it when the lights are off.

Actually, the role of the wife could have been played by someone else, but Zhang Yuan didn't change it.

Because Zuo Xiaoqing has now become involved with a famous and wealthy businessman, and they are not far from getting married.

Look at the Buddha's face without looking at the monk's face.

Moreover, his quiet temperament does indeed suit the image of a wife.

Tons tons tons tons...

Upon arrival, he saw that the machine was already powered on.

The famous scene of Niu Geng drinking milk is unfolding.

Baoqiang is a big shot, this is real footage!
He picked up a bucket of milk and poured it down his throat.

Zhang Yuan felt sorry for him just watching.

Milk is not water; drinking it all at once can be very uncomfortable and can easily cause vomiting.

Furthermore, because China is an agrarian civilization, it has not consumed many dairy products for thousands of years, resulting in a large number of Han Chinese being lactose intolerant.

Drinking so much, Baoqiang will probably be in a rush when he gets back to the hotel.

"belch!"

"pass!"

After Baoqiang drank more than half a bucket, the director yelled "Cut!"

"But I can't do a second one either," Baoqiang said, clutching his chest.

The story of this play has two backgrounds, one large and one small.

The broader context is the infamous 08 snowstorm, which everyone is familiar with.

During the Spring Festival of 2008, more than 40 passengers were stranded at railway stations in Guangdong Province alone!
The Dunkirk evacuation only involved 40 people.

The British have touted this as a source of national pride.

Countless public intellectuals say that Britain's policy of not abandoning its soldiers is an advantage of its system.

But they can abandon their allies!
Moreover, it's a "fine tradition" that they abandon every time.

This is not a systemic advantage.

For 11 consecutive days, 40 people were stranded at railway stations in Guangdong Province. Under the protection of 4 People's Liberation Army soldiers, the elderly, the infirm and disabled received treatment and medicine, while the rest of the people were provided with rest areas and food. The people were then evacuated in an orderly manner after the railway was reopened. No crimes or stampedes occurred.

That's what you call institutional advantages.

After all, only the Chinese people in the world treat soldiers like family.

This is just one example of the railway stations in Guangdong Province.

That year, countless people across the country were stranded at train stations, airports, and highways.

Because of this incident, China accelerated the construction of high-speed rail.

During the filming of this drama, the train journey from Changsha to Shijiazhuang took more than 24 hours.

And because of this, the infrastructure boom was further amplified, and in less than 5 years, the high-speed rail journey for the same distance only took 4 hours.

There's also a little background information.

That's Baoqiang's character, Niu Geng, who works at a dairy farm.

He embarked on his journey to collect a debt.

The dairy farm couldn't pay wages, so the factory manager gave him an IOU for 5 yuan and told him to collect the debt himself.

My coworker said there's still an 8 yuan IOU, why not take the larger one?

Niu Geng replied that the group of us were only owed a little over 2 yuan in total, and it would be unfair to take so much.

Such a small incident established the character, leading to so many seemingly "saintly" but actually kind and virtuous actions later on.

The reason why dairy farms were given IOUs and couldn't get their money back was because of another major event that shocked the whole country in 08.

This refers to the milk powder scandal.

This brings us to the fact that island nations do have a "systemic advantage".

Look at Morinaga Milk Industry in Japan; after years of problems, the group's son-in-law was even shot in the street as an apology...

These two major events that occurred in 08 form the basis of the story of the movie "Lost in Thailand".

Because it incorporates real-life events, it creates a particularly strong sense of immersion.

"Big brother, you're here!"

Although they had "separated" from each other, Baoqiang was still incredibly enthusiastic when he saw him, and immediately gave him a hug.

Xu Zheng also stepped forward to shake hands.

Zhang Yuan touched his wig.

It was something I "borrowed" from Director Feng.

It's the same high-quality British-imported wig that Ge You wore in the movie "A World Without Thieves".

I took it and made some changes.

Because if you buy this now, you'll have to wait at least 3 months, and it will cost tens of thousands of yuan for a set.

Save if you can.

A business owner should know how to manage money; wouldn't it be better to use the saved money to provide employee benefits?

"It's rare for us to get together again, how about we have a drink?" Xu Guangtou suggested.

"Take a sip!"

Both of them are heavy drinkers; they get excited just talking about it.

Zhang Yuan nodded in agreement, going along with their wishes.

Meanwhile, the photos that Zhang Yuan had Yang Siwei release had already had an effect.

Because Zhang Weiping saw it… (End of Chapter)