Actor: Thank you.

"Zhang Yuan, what are you doing...?"

That morning, Cheng Hao, who had just finished rehearsing the play "Sunrise" at the Beijing People's Art Theatre Experimental Theatre, stormed into Zhang Yuan's house.

The founder of Beijing People's Art Theatre was Cao Yu, and this year marks the 100th anniversary of Mr. Cao's birth.

Therefore, the Beijing People's Art Theatre will hold a series of commemorative events.

Cao Yu's work "Sunrise" is an important part of this, and Cheng Hao will play the female lead.

A capable person can do anything.

Good Sister is not only rehearsing stage plays now, but also releasing a new album with Yuehua Entertainment.

Du Hua used to boast, but now that Zhang Yuan has become a shareholder, let's make those boasts come true too.

In addition to these two things, she also contacted film crews and planned to shoot a new movie.

Even though they're all so busy, they still managed to find time to come over and "teach Zhang Yuan a lesson."

Moreover, the Beijing People's Art Theatre is also located in Dongcheng District, so it's close by and convenient to come here.

As soon as I stepped across the threshold, my dear sister called out in a serious tone.

Zhang Yuan, who was driving wooden stakes in the yard, glanced back, said nothing, and then continued doing his work at his own pace.

"Sigh..." Cheng Hao stopped speaking when she saw the hostility in his eyes when he turned around.

She sighed softly, put down her handbag, moved a chair to the yard, and sat down to watch him practice.

Sensing that he seemed to be in a bad mood, she refrained from expressing her initial dissatisfaction.

Moreover, as I watched, my initial dissatisfaction gradually dissipated.

Because, by their very nature, humans are all great sex addicts.

This is an instinct etched into our genes.

The weather in the capital is gradually warming up, and since he is practicing martial arts, he is only wearing a vest and shorts.

Driven by well-developed yet not overly muscular physique, he moved his body with fluid grace.

The thud of the wooden stake being struck, along with the occasional falling leaves from the trees in the yard, added a touch of elegance.

Cheng Hao watched from the side, resting her chin on her hand, and her mood gradually improved.

When going on blind dates, people always say they don't care about looks, as long as the person is good.

In reality, once someone is good-looking, whether they are a good person or not is secondary.

They talk a good game, but their hearts are full of vulgarity.

If you become spouses, and one of you is good-looking, there will be fewer family conflicts. A glance can ease anger.

"Phew... What just happened?" It took Zhang Yuan more than half an hour to stop and rest.

He picked up a towel from the side and wiped away his sweat.

"Come inside and talk. It's windy in the yard, and you've just finished exercising; I'm worried you'll catch a cold," the kind older sister said with concern.

"It's okay, this is halftime, I'll practice again in a bit."

"We're about to join the crew, so even last-minute preparations will be effective."

"Tell me your story. You came in all aggressive and menacing. What's wrong?" Zhang Yuan sat down to catch his breath.

"You want to support Teacher You Benchang's play 'Master Hongyi' and have everyone in the company go see it?"

"I was thinking, why not find an opportunity to book a whole theater and let all my friends go see it?"

"The older generation is worth learning from."

"But when I checked, the account was empty. Where is your money?"

When Cheng Hao discovered this, he thought he had misread it.

Can I return the coins if I don't have any?
Didn't they just sell their shares in Huayi not long ago?

"The investment has been used up. We just need to wait for the final payments from the cinemas and TV stations to come in. Just wait a few more days." Zhang Yuan was unusually calm.

Money is meant to be spent; there's no point in having so much money in your account.

"What kind of investment costs so much?"

“Youku, I am about to become the fourth largest shareholder.”

"Didn't you just leave Tudou.com? How come you've joined another one?"

"I've heard they're fighting fiercely, don't let your efforts go to waste." My dear older sister is always so concerned.

“It’s okay. What you need to think about is the return. This is an investment that is 10 times, 20 times, or even more.”

Zhang Yuan knew very well that Youku would have a market value of several billion US dollars as soon as it went public!
Gu's net worth directly surpasses that of his former employer, Zhang Chaoyang of Sohu.

It only took about a year for it to double in value; even stocks don't rise that much.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

"I don't understand, just say so." Cheng Hao thought for a moment. Anyway, he had basically never lost money on his investments, so he was trustworthy.

This includes the idea that if he sold the stock he bought now, he would immediately become a billionaire.

A key trait of intelligent people is that they understand what they don't know, and therefore listen to advice.

Fools think they know everything and are as stubborn as donkeys.

"Just because of money, you came in making such a fuss?" Zhang Yuan asked, frowning.

"Of course not!" Cheng Hao said, hands on his hips.

“A friend’s child wanted to learn to ride a horse, so I called Sister Qian and asked the horse farm to make arrangements.”

“You can come to me,” Zhang Yuan said, pointing to himself.

Do you know which way the gate to the horse farm faces?

"They just spend money without managing it," the older sister complained.

"And don't interrupt!" she continued, "Sister-in-law Qian told me that Brother Qian is going to come here again to watch those movies that can't be shown?"

Zhang Yuan: …

"This isn't the first time you've done this."

"I remember a few years ago you went to Japan to film a movie... it was Initial D, and you brought back a bunch of dubious DVDs, and blamed them on Brother Qian."

Zhang Yuan: …

He really asked me to bring it!

"Last time, after the small cinema near Houhai was renovated, you invited a group of people to watch a movie. Don't think I didn't know."

"You're here again? Are you trying to corrupt Brother Qian?"

"He still needs me to guide him!" Zhang Yuan was astonished.

It's good enough that Brother Qian didn't lead me astray.

I haven't gotten into the hobby of raising mixed-breed birds, keeping birds like mynas and thrushes, or cricket fighting. That's already pretty good.

“It’s always his request; I’m just fulfilling my friend’s needs.”

"And this time it's really a serious movie!"

"So, you're saying that the time before was indeed inappropriate?" Cheng Hao revealed an expression that said, "I guessed right."

Zhang Yuan realized he had been tricked.

"I'm not going to talk to you about this. You know how strict the law enforcement is right now?"

“Especially things related to Huang.” The good sister pointed her index finger at his head.

"I know, I know..."

Cheng Hao wasn't just making things up.

Because a "major event" recently occurred in the capital.

The essence of heaven and earth... no, the entire celestial realm has been raided!

This once nationally renowned club has completely collapsed under a special operation!

This place was incredibly prestigious during its peak, known for having four top courtesans.

In 05, there was also a famous case of a courtesan's murder, after which her cash estate alone amounted to tens of millions.

Ten million in cash in 05.

These courtesans are charged 5000 in tips just for a chat, not to mention the rest.

This place is exactly like the ancient Jiaofangsi (a government-run entertainment district).

It's too high-end, so Zhang Yuan has never been there.

But upon hearing that the place had been investigated, Zhang Yuan immediately informed Brother Qian of the bad news.

"Brother Qian, where are you going to spend the money you earn from performing crosstalk in the future?!"

"How fresh!" Brother Qian wasn't angry at all, and even automatically played the straight man: "That's all my hard-earned money!"

It was around this time that he made plans with the other party to see a movie, and the copy of "Love in a Puff" arrived.

Because it was this matter that Qian's wife found out about, and then it reached Cheng Hao's ears.

Women really do talk about everything in private... Zhang Yuan had a headache.

"Stop doubting me, I have my own plans," Zhang Yuan replied irritably.

Cheng Hao didn't press him further, but simply hoped he would stay away from those messy things.

"You seemed to be in a bad mood earlier, what's wrong?"

Ultimately, she still cared about him, which is why she asked about what had just happened.

"Heh!" Zhang Yuan snorted coldly.

The older sister reached out and stroked his arm, waiting quietly for him to speak.

"Speaking of which, it's related to the matter in the Heavenly Realm!"

This story begins with a phone call from Stephen Chow.

Yesterday, Zhang Yuan received a call from Zhou Xingchi, who spoke with a Hong Kong accent and was very polite as he discussed Zhang Yuqi's case. Zhou said he could reduce the compensation to just HK$500 million.

Just return 500 million...

Zhang Yuan ignored him, knowing that this wasn't the point.

As he had hoped, the other party then brought up the topic of his new work.

It's all about negotiating terms.

The other party made it clear that he knew something: Hua Yi was also in contact with him, wanting to invest in his new work.

Actually, it's not just Huayi, but also Guangxian, Orange Sky, and even Big Dog Brother are in contact.

However, these companies are not as strong as Huayi.

The main competition now lies between him and the Wang brothers.

Stephen Chow mentioning the other party is paving the way for him to set his own price.

Even though Zhang Yuan was mentally prepared, he was still startled by the man's gaping maw!
He owns all the IP development rights for the works, plus an initial budget of 8000 million, which has to be transferred first.

In addition, there's 3% of the film's box office revenue and 5% of its overseas copyright revenue.

Furthermore, when it comes to box office revenue sharing, he has to take it first.

After listening to Zhang Yuan's explanation, he realized that he was now begging on his knees.

Basically, he gets half of the profits, and all the long-term profits go to him.

The previous movie, "CJ7," was like that.

Although it didn't make much money at the box office, it made a lot of money by releasing toys and animations afterward.

But most of these profits went into Stephen Chow's pocket; otherwise, how could he afford to drink bottles of wine that cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars?

Knowing that he had this kind of personality, Zhang Yuan was only annoyed, but not too angry.

He directly countered with a question.

"You said Huayi is also talking to you."

"Do they agree to these conditions?"

"He is him, and you are you." Stephen Chow wasn't embarrassed at all.

"The company doesn't belong to me alone; there are other shareholders."

"If I report your conditions and they turn against me during the meeting, then I won't be able to continue discussing this matter."

"It's okay, you can tell me."

Zhang Yuan: …

Why do I feel like he's even more shameless than me?

“No problem, I can bring it up, but you need to think it through. If my side rejects it completely, then you'll only have to talk to Hua Yi’s family.”

"Once the words are spoken, there's no going back."

"Oh dear, you're so young, why are you acting so hesitant and timid?"

"Alright, alright, I'll give in a little, for the sake of our old acquaintance."

Zhang Yuan cursed inwardly, "I gave you a way out, and you're blaming me now."

After some discussion, the box office revenue share was reduced from 3% to 1%, plus tiered bonuses.

Box office revenue exceeding 100 million: 10 million bonus; exceeding 200 million: 30 million bonus; exceeding 300 million: 30 million bonus.

Stephen Chow's films have only grossed a little over 3 million at their highest.

The Chinese film market has not yet experienced a "major inflation" in box office revenue, and he is quite conservative in his self-assessment.

I never expected "Journey to the West: Conquering the Demons" to sell over a billion copies!

We'll take 2% of the copyright revenue and split the rest equally with future IP development.

Zhang Yuan saw that it was almost done.

Even so, this is already considered top-tier salary for a Chinese director.

So when he compiled the plan into a document and sent it to the shareholders of the film companies on both sides of the strait, an unexpected situation occurred.

China Film Group felt it was a bit much, but not unacceptable.

But the Hong Kong business owners were absolutely furious!

They know Stephen Chow too well; they've collaborated with many people, only to part ways on bad terms in the end.

Therefore, they already had a problem with Stephen Chow, and even had a "psychological trauma".

Now that you see these terms, you still want me to invest?

Some people even used vulgar language, and others called Zhang Yuan to say that he had been scammed.

Such a strong reaction was unexpected and something felt off.

I called Jiang Zhiqiang to inquire.

"These conditions were already very difficult to meet."

"Moreover, Xingxing is often incoherent, so she will definitely change."

"Everyone finds him annoying and doesn't want to work with him."

Stephen Chow's reputation is indeed not very good; he has already offended everyone in Hong Kong who could be offended.

In the next few years, we will gradually offend everyone on the mainland as well.

"But I'm quite optimistic about the benefits he can bring."

“As long as the movie makes money, giving him more money is not a problem.”

"Sigh." Boss Jiang sighed, "As a young person, you are indeed ambitious and capable of great things."

"But we're all getting old and prefer stability."

"and……"

"Just tell me, what's wrong?"

"The reaction from Starlight Media is very strong; they are unwilling to invest in Stephen Chow's films."

"To be precise, it's not just Stephen Chow; they don't want to invest in any high-cost projects."

"Because Xingmei has encountered some problems."

The owners of Xingmei are the Tan brothers.

Zhang Yuan met his younger brother Tan Hong.

This is the person in charge of Xingmei's daily affairs.

But Tan Hong also has an older brother named Tan Hui.

And this Tan Hui is the owner of TianXX!

Jiang Zhiqiang explained the matter to him in detail.

The raid on the club was just a symptom.

In reality, it was the entire business faction of these two brothers that went bankrupt!
Xingmei was originally quite assertive because she could not only make money through the club, but also build relationships.

Now that they've been completely uprooted, their family has lost everything.

My brother has already gone in to work for the government.

Already in a terrible mood, Tan Hong was the first to curse when she saw this proposal.

Actually, their family was short of money.

Therefore, the source of Zhang Yuan's bad mood was not Stephen Chow, but the opposition within the organization.

"What should we do then?" Cheng Hao asked from the side.

I never expected that this social incident would be related to my own family.

"How about we put Stephen Chow aside?"

"No, once I've made up my mind, I'm determined to do it."

"Okay, then I support you." Cheng Hao firmly expressed her stance upon seeing this.

"So, what are you planning to do about it?"

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No need." Zhang Yuan's gaze was resolute.

"All we have to do now is wait!"

"If all else fails, I'll just invest everything myself and not involve them!"

He knew that Star Media was later acquired.

The acquiring party is the renowned Hong Kong New World Group.

That is, the Cheng family, one of the four major families in Hong Kong!

So there's definitely no solution right now. We have to wait until they've finished dealing with things on their end, and then see if the Zheng family is willing to invest together.

The problem is that the younger of these two is ruining my plans, which is annoying!
"What's even more annoying is that Huayi called me too," Zhang Yuan said with a pout.

The implication was that I shouldn't get cocky just because I recently made a fortune.

Because this money was still obtained from Huayi.

The other party believed that if he used this money to fight against them again, the money would ultimately come from their own pockets, which angered the two brothers.

When I get angry, I lose my temper.

He found it quite troublesome.

Because when people get angry, they escalate things further; when the snipe and the clam fight, the fisherman benefits, and Stephen Chow would be laughing his head off.

As a result, Zhang Yuan is now in a delicate situation of being pressured both internally and externally... (End of Chapter)