Actor: Thank you.

After filming for several days, the day we had arranged to have dinner finally arrived.

Although producer Huang Jianxin helped make the connections, he did not personally intervene.

That's pretty cunning.

If things don't go well if you're caught in the middle, don't drag me into it.

It's better not to come at all; whether it's good or bad, it's your own business.

Zhang Yuan's reaction after hearing that this guy was unwell and couldn't go was...

what?
I had a one-on-one conversation with someone from the General Assembly Department?

me?

These old guys are indeed cunning and shrewd.

It's like I'm the only one in the entertainment industry, and you've all been sidelined.

Zhang Yuan thought to himself, "This won't do. It's fine for me to talk to my boss, a businessman, but I feel uneasy having dinner with these guys who are former soldiers."

After much thought, I found someone who had connections in both directions.

"Yo yo yo, you're here."

"Please sit down, please sit down." Zhang Yuan was the first to arrive and had prepared the drinks in advance.

Several consultants from the General Armament Department came; some knew Yu Nan's family, and others were related to the equipment that would be featured in the movie.

After the group sat down, he invited them to order.

Not long after, two more people arrived.

"HELLO, long time no see." A girl with round cheeks but a pointed chin waved and greeted him as she entered the room.

A kind-looking middle-aged man followed behind him.

It was Jing Tian and Mr. Lu, who claimed to be her boyfriend.

These two were people Zhang Yuan had thought about for a long time, people he knew who were related to both ends of the same spectrum.

Upon seeing Boss Lu arrive, Zhang Yuan introduced him, and the others who had arrived earlier quickly became acquainted.

Mr. Lu is not only a personal shareholder of Wanda, but also has connections with Poly.

Poly Group is a company with a significant background.

It was established after the military reforms of 84, with the approval of the "painters" (a term referring to senior officials in the military industry), and was jointly formed by the General Staff Department, the General Armaments Department, and Huaxia International Trade Corporation into a super giant in both military and trade.

Since its establishment, the chairman has always been the son-in-law of the old man in the painting circle. He only retired last year and became an honorary director.

Zhang Yuan hadn't asked about the specifics of what Boss Lu did; some things are better left unknown to you.

Just like no one asked what the advisory group had sent him abroad to do.

Some people do business with their brains, while others do it with connections.

Businesses that rely on connections often earn far more money than those that rely on intelligence.

Just like the Jia family in Dream of the Red Chamber, in Puyi's eyes they were just an average family, but to ordinary people they were already a behemoth.

It depends on who you're comparing yourself to.

With these two around, Zhang Yuan felt much more relaxed.

In addition, Jingtian has a lively personality, but is also a bit... naturally naive.

He was carefree when we chatted, and he talked about his recent work without a care in the world.

That got the conversation started.

Let's put it this way: from the time they first met last year until now, Mr. Lu has lost over 100 million yuan on her, just from making movies.

The investment in "The Warring States" was tens of millions of yuan, but after deducting the theater's share of the box office revenue, it couldn't even cover Sun Honglei's salary.

He also invested in a film called "Time Raiders," directed by Lam Chi-chung.

He's that chubby guy, Cong, who used to hang out with Stephen Chow in his early years. Now he's making his own movies and TV series in mainland China.

Just by listening to this director, you know things won't turn out well.

Jing Tian starred in the film, with Boss Lu listed as the producer. He also cast two handsome Taiwanese actors, Wallace Huo and Dylan Kuo, as co-stars.

The result... an investment of 3000 million, box office of 300 million.

They also invested in a romance film starring a Korean actor and Cecilia Cheung, called "Shadow Lover".

The film is produced by Stanley Kwan, who, at the press conference, deliberately made a blatant attempt to conceal his true intentions by saying that he chose Jing Tian for the role not because of her powerful background, but because he felt she was suitable.

The key point is that Jingtian was just laughing along with it, completely oblivious.

That's not all; they also invested in a new version of the 88 classic film "Mom, Love Me Again".

She was paired with Lu Yi, but the director turned out to be a Korean, who was also a music video specialist. Later, the music video for "Little Apple" was directed by this guy.

It hasn't been released yet, but if it can break even, Zhang Yuan will abstain from sex for two and a half years.

Jingtian proudly mentioned how busy she'd been with work lately, to which he could only nod and wish her success, saying, "Maybe..."

In summary, it can be summed up in one word: chaos!

It's not that her private life is messy, it's that her career planning is messy.

When Sisi debuted, Boss Chen sought help from Zhang Min's husband, a professional, to plan her career.

Aside from playing a spoiled young lady in "The Story of a Noble Family," she played ancient beauties in several subsequent dramas, either ethereal or heroic, and her characters were all very positive.

The experience gained from several TV dramas allowed her to establish a public image, which became her capital for establishing herself in the entertainment industry.

Professionals helped her with her debut plan, and her choice of acting roles, advertising deals, and business opportunities all followed a well-designed set of principles.

However, Jingtian did not.

Boss Lu just throws money at things; he has absolutely no planning or anything like that. He's a complete novice.

The roles he played in the movies were all over the place, a jumbled mess.

The directors and teams behind these films are also quite amateurish, with virtually no renowned directors among them.

Actually, many people enjoy Jingtian's style, and it resonates with many.

There are only two paths to choose from: the pure and lively school beauty or the elegant lady in ancient costume.

She's amazing. She's played everything from ancient female warriors to urban beauties, single mothers, modern action, and horror thrillers. You can't figure out what she's trying to do.

He's obviously an amateur when it comes to blood donation.

Mr. Lu also noticed this problem, but at the moment, not to mention him, Wanda is not particularly good at the film and television industry, and its main focus is on the cinema property management that it is good at.

He then thought, "I don't know how, but someone else does!"

This is why Zhang Yuan contacted him today and he brought Jing Dian along.

Zhang Yuan wasn't just asking the other person out for a meal; the mutual warm interaction also served its purpose.

"Eagle King is planning to shoot an action blockbuster recently."

"You can act in a movie with them?"

"I just remembered it, but the investment plan for this film is huge, and I've been hesitating."

"He wanted to use his own subordinates for the female lead, but I didn't think it would work, so we haven't finalized the decision yet."

"Money is not a problem." When Boss Lu saw Jing Dian's excited look, and Zhang Yuan immediately mentioned the budget, it was right in his comfort zone.

He's not afraid of losing money because he can earn it back from other sources.

Otherwise, which business owner could afford to lose hundreds of millions of yuan?

"Okay, let's find some time to sit down and talk again alone."

"I'll arrange a meeting with the director."

"Alright, it's a deal then." Boss Lu was quite magnanimous.

The film Zhang Yuan was referring to is "The Viral Factor," which is also one of Dante Lam's later works that brought him great fame.

At this point, Dante Lam was already suffering from "battlefield PTSD," and his need for action scenes was as endless as Michael Bay's need for explosion scenes.

The high cost of "The Viral Factor" lies in the fact that it consists entirely of outdoor action scenes and involves a large number of overseas scenes.

Dante Lam is somewhat useful, but if this movie is made, it will cost at least tens of millions in losses.

Just when I was worried about not having anyone to teach, a sticky rice cake fell from the sky. And here comes this "unfortunate child" who's never short of money.

My team at least features two well-known male leads and a famous director, which is better than those amateur directors you create yourself.

With someone sharing the costs, at least the losses will be less.

Maybe selling the copyrights will allow them to break even.

He thought this was fine, so he turned his gaze to the other side.

“Mr. Hu, we’ve seen each other quite a bit on set these past few days.” Zhang Yuan raised his glass to a middle-aged man.

This square-faced general assembly consultant always gave him the cold shoulder.

Zhang Yuan suspected that this person might have had a crush on Yu Nan when they were young... but he still didn't dare to ask.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have been so furious.

"I've already inquired about Miss Yu's matter."

“The artists on my side are speaking recklessly, and I have already dealt with it.”

"She will be more careful with her words and actions from now on."

"But when it comes to matters of the heart, I shouldn't say or interfere too much."

"And there's an old saying that it takes two to tango."

"Miss Yu Nan's misfortune was caused not only by women, but also by men."

"It's all the woman's fault. It's unfair. It's a sin for a man to stand by and do nothing, let alone more than just stand by and do nothing."

Zhang Yuqi certainly didn't do anything good, but does that mean Wang Quan is a good person?
It's at least a 50/50 chance, and the bald guy shouldn't pretend to be a good guy.

"Unfortunately, I can manage my own people."

"But who will manage this Director Wang? He's done all sorts of bad things and reaped all the benefits, yet no one punishes him."

Although he treated everyone to dinner, he also had to shift some of the responsibility to others.

By deliberately blaming Wang Quan, they not only shirked responsibility but also generated a sense of shared hatred towards the enemy.

"What's the matter?" Boss Lu was quite gossipy.

"This...can I tell you?"

“We’re all on the same side.” Mr. Hu closed his eyes and turned his head.

He gave a brief overview.

"Isn't this just a stupid mess?"

"This man is really despicable; he got the woman pregnant and then abandoned her."

“We won’t work with this kind of director.” Boss Lu waved his hands repeatedly: “Who would dare entrust a respectable girl to someone like this?”

His words were somewhat in his own favor, which was also the reason why Zhang Yuan had talked to him and made the arrangements first—he had to find a helper at the dinner table first.

This made the other party's expression improve, and they started cursing Wang Quan'an.

Having a common enemy makes things easier, and these soldiers are all good drinkers, so once they start drinking, they start talking freely.

Boss Lu also drank quite a bit with him and said he was a good guy.

When his subordinates make mistakes, he, as the boss, even helps them smooth things over.

They said he was very savvy and that it was reassuring to work with him.

Zhang Yuan had also thought about this matter.

Of course, he could pretend to be stupid, pretend to be blind, and ignore it.

No need to go through the trouble of organizing a gathering or drinking with people.

He was afraid things might not look good today, so he didn't dare let Cheng Hao come.

He got involved in the process because he was afraid that the connections he had painstakingly built with the Mercedes team would be wiped out by someone using some excuse.

It's terrible to be treated unfairly.

Especially when the two sides are not evenly matched, and you are in a position of absolute weakness.

Everyone knows Lang Lang; he is China's most famous pianist and a top-tier contemporary professional genius on a global scale.

He was discovered by Professor Zhu Yafen of Shenyang Conservatory of Music when he was 3 years old. When he was 10, Professor Zhu felt that she could no longer teach him, so she recommended a professor friend of hers at the Central Conservatory of Music to Lang Lang's father.

Six months later, Lang Lang's father approached teacher Zhu Yafen, saying that his son had been scolded for almost half a year.

That professor from the Central Conservatory of Music not only said that Lang Lang had no talent and that he had never seen anyone play so badly, but also engaged in regional discrimination.

They say Northeasterners are all potato-headed, yet they play the piano.

Tell him to stop playing; he'll never amount to anything, he should go back to his hometown.

Lang Guoren initially thought it was because the teachers were strict, the professors in the capital were highly skilled, and Lang Lang was also amazing. Despite this setback, he did not give up and worked even harder.

But nothing worked; he was still being scolded every day, to the point that both father and son doubted him.

Teacher Zhu Yafen thought to herself, "Something's not right. I can see this child's talent. My friend is more skilled than me. How could he not see it?"

Upon inquiry, it turned out that the reason he was constantly being scolded was quite simple: Lang Guoren hadn't given him a red envelope (bribe).

It's that simple.

If you don't give me a red envelope, I'll curse you and belittle you every day. I'll use such harsh and regional insults, just to vent my anger.

Moreover, Lang Lang's family didn't get the tuition for free; they paid for it.

What is this red envelope?

Just like when you're applying to the Beijing Film Academy or the Central Academy of Drama, you might find a teacher or professor from one of the schools to give your child extra lessons before the exams.

It's called tutoring, but half of it is actually paying "tolls".

The same applies to the Central Conservatory of Music; the number of specially recruited students is limited and controlled by these professors.

You Northeasterner have no sense of propriety at all. You pay tuition and still expect to get into the Central Conservatory of Music Affiliated High School?
Get out of here right now.

After understanding the situation, Teacher Zhu contacted other friends and eventually found Lang Lang's mentor, Professor Zhao Pingguo, who was also at the Central Conservatory of Music.

The mentor and student complemented each other. When Professor Zhao took over, he felt that the student had been wasting his time at the Central Conservatory of Music.

They took him directly to participate in top youth piano competitions around the world, making Lang Lang a world-renowned child prodigy before he even reached adulthood.

The Central Conservatory of Music was not a good match for him at all, and he became Professor Zhao's most famous student.

In the future, Professor Zhao will always be referred to as Teacher Lang Lang.

This illustrates two points.

Every profession has its villains; the noble ones are always people, not professions.

Secondly, the saying "gold always shines" is mostly just feel-good platitudes.

In fact, let alone gold, even if you were a powerful flashlight, if I covered you up completely, not a single ray of light would leak out.

Lang Lang's father once threatened him with jumping off a building and fake poison to make him practice the piano properly. This happened when Lang Lang first went to Beijing and encountered this unscrupulous teacher.

A child with weaker mental fortitude would have collapsed long ago under the pressure from both the teacher and the father.

When it came to Zhang Yuan's side, he dared not gamble that these consultants were all top-notch people.

Don't be fooled by your current achievements; someone might deliberately make things difficult for you, whether it's a cotton shoe or a red-hot iron shoe, who knows?

What might ultimately harm you is your "achievements".

Zhang Yuan: I've lived my whole life on thin ice, can I still figure skating?

I still want to have some fun, so I can't afford to mess things up over small things.

Put on an apologetic act, and casually get to know each other a bit.

It seems the result is not bad.

As for Zhang Yuqi, he decided to see if that woman would ever shut up.

If she behaves herself, the ban will be lifted in two months.

If you don't behave, hehe... (End of Chapter)