Actor: Thank you.

After Shu Chang took Nezha home, she returned as agreed.

The two closed the door, locked it, and continued the process of burning the first incense.

They burned two or three rounds of incense before finally snuggling up on the big bed and starting to talk.

"Brother Yuan, why don't you like my cousin?"

After pondering for a long time, Shu Chang asked the question that had puzzled her for so long.

Zhang Yuan sighed and then answered seriously.

“There are generally two outcomes for child stars.”

"One reason is that they started working too early and grew to hate the industry as they grew up, or their families forced them to study and gradually distanced them from the industry, making them unknown."

Xie Miao and Cao Jun both belong to this category.

These two were incredibly popular when they were kids!

Those are all collaborations with A-list superstars.

Xie Miao was discovered by Wang Jing.

In 92, Li Lianjie's agent, Cai Ziming, was shot in the head and later sought refuge with Yang Dengkui, a powerful figure in Taiwan.

In 93, Old Yang approached Wang Jing, saying he wanted to film "New Shaolin Five Groups," starring Li Lianjie.

And then nothing... script, supporting actors, team, nothing at all.

Wang Jing always takes on jobs that only have a movie title and a lead actor.

Director Wang thought and thought, what is Li Lianjie's status?
He was already a superstar back then!
Of the five Shaolin patriarchs, I still need to gather four more, but no matter how I gather them, they won't be as strong as Li Lianjie.

But Yang Dengkui insisted on making "New Shaolin Five Groups" because he consulted someone who said the film would make money and bring him good fortune.

In the early days, the film and television industry, especially in Hong Kong and Taiwan, was extremely superstitious.

Wang Jing had no choice but to hand over the directing duties to the action choreographer, Sammo Hung, since he was still filming the Li Lianjie version of "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" at the time. He told him to give him a few days to think about the new film.

The result was that Li Lianjie became the dominant figure, and a bunch of children were cast to play the role of the Fifth Patriarch. Suddenly, the story structure and the actor arrangement became reasonable.

It became a situation where the large supports the small, and the small serves to highlight the large.

However, Wang Jing was also cunning; in fact, this plot was copied from the story structure of the Japanese drama "Lone Wolf and Cub".

However, just like "The World's Number One" and "The Little Fish and the Flower Without Flaws" which incorporate many settings from Jin Yong, Gu Long, and even Hong Kong comics, Fatty Wang's specialty is "the Great Shift of Heaven and Earth," piecing together various elements to create something that is at least 70% marketable.

It was this play that selected Xie Miao from the martial arts class at the Beijing Children's Palace.

After that, I filmed several more movies, and I especially liked Xie Miao, the kid with his quick movements and cocky expressions.

After filming "A Letter to Dad", Wang Jing planned to sign a long-term contract with Xie Miao and prepared five or six films for him.

But his parents still intend to send him to school.

In fact, Xie Miao wanted to act, and not long before the college entrance examination, he even took on a TV series called "Prime Minister Gan Luo".

The film is directed by Yu Zheng's "The Rebel Teacher", produced by Kent Tong, and features Ray Lui and Ren Quan as supporting actors. It's a very luxurious production.

The result was a huge loss!

Moreover, because he was filming before the college entrance examination, he didn't do well on the exam, so all his efforts were in vain.

Actually, his acting skills are fine, and his action scenes are still crisp and clean, even the most crisp and clean among the generation after Wu Jing. Otherwise, he wouldn't have become the "top male lead of web dramas".

Many people online are saying, why doesn't Xie Miao seek help and support from Li Lianjie?

Who did Li Lianjie support?
When it comes to people raised by the Dragon King, there have been wave after wave of them.

But if we're talking about Li Lianjie, the number of juniors he's promoted is less than one hand.

He's not that kind of person.

The movie that was a huge flop and even influenced his college entrance exam, "Prime Minister Gan Luo," starring Xie Miao as Ying Zheng, was the second male lead.

And the male lead is another child star, Cao Jun!
Cao Jun's life is almost identical to Xie Miao's.

He was also discovered in the martial arts team of the Children's Palace, but in Shanghai.

After filming "The Lotus Lantern", he collaborated with Shu Chang again on "Chicken Auspiciousness". Then he went to take the college entrance examination, and like Xie Miao, he did not do well on the exam.

He was ultimately rejected by all the top universities and ended up studying at the School of Visual Arts at Fudan University.

Those familiar with universities in Shanghai will know that this school is just using the name of Fudan University and has little to do with the real Fudan University; it is a private college.

This is the problem with child stars: they can't let go of either, and ultimately they please neither.

Zhang Yuan glanced at Changchang.

If I hadn't stopped her and helped her, she would have been pressured by her family to apply to a non-performance-related university, seeking stability and a safety net.

Parents have different perspectives.

Can Shu Chang's family's vision compare to Liu Xiaoli's?
One of them has hardly ever left Beijing, while the other has traveled all over the world.

The roads they paved were completely different.

Therefore, if your parents are in politics, you can listen to their advice when taking the civil service exam.

If your parents are in business, then you can listen to their advice when doing business.

However, if the parents themselves are just low-level workers in society, then their advice is basically of little reference value.

The worst thing for a person is arrogance, especially when it comes to something they don't understand.

However, when parents are with their children, they are prone to developing an inexplicable desire to control them, insisting that they do things according to their "sudden inspiration".

Parents at the bottom level often lack the ability to cover for their children's mistakes, so the outcome is often not good.

"Another type is those who grow up in the world of fame and fortune, and become very pragmatic after being influenced by it."

Yang Mi was this type.

These types of people are often quick-witted, ambitious, and know what they want.

Little Nezha is actually on this path too.

Generally, female child stars have a longer career than male child stars.

Many boy stars are cute when they are young, but their looks fade once they grow up.

Even if your looks aren't ruined, a grown man in his thirties or forties like you can no longer play the role of a young master or a cute little boy.

As long as a child star doesn't grow up to be ugly, she can remain beautiful from childhood to adulthood, but the more troublesome thing is to change her career path.

Filming kissing scenes and bed scenes might be unacceptable to longtime fans who have watched the show since childhood.

"Which type do you think your cousin will become?" Zhang Yuan asked, gently stroking Changchang's forehead.

"Can't you just stay popular all the time and excel in both your studies and acting?"

"Don't always project your own situation onto others." Zhang Yuan flicked her forehead with his finger.

In the entertainment industry, those who excel in both academics and acting are extremely rare, if not nonexistent.

Yang Mi and Guan Xiaotong, both child stars, scored over 500 points on tests, making them the "most powerful brains" in the entertainment industry.

The reason why someone like Chen Duling scored over 600 is because she wasn't originally in this circle.

Just as Xixi said she was the ugliest in her family, Yang Mi also said that her family was the dumbest because her uncle was a professor and doctoral supervisor in the mathematics department of Tsinghua University.

Otherwise, who came up with the "Mi" in her name?

"I'm afraid she's too agile and might cause trouble."

“Look at how she acted just now, daring to follow you in the dead of night.”

“I gave her such a generous red envelope, and she still dared to accept it.”

"Is this something an average child would dare to do?"

"Being smart and bold is a good thing, isn't it?" Changchang said with a smile. "Besides, I'm here to keep an eye on things."

Zhang Yuan thought to himself, "This is what I'm afraid of."

Shu Chang's personality weakness is obvious; she is too easily exploited.

"You take care of her because you are related to her."

"But you two aren't related by blood. What if that kinship disappears one day? Would you still help me?"

"Of course I'll help her, if she needs it. After all, I've watched her grow up since she was little," Changchang replied without hesitation.

"Okay, then on the other hand, if the kinship is gone, will people still recognize you?"

"Don't always think so badly of people." Shu Chang understood what he meant, but didn't want to hear it.

She then fell silent for a moment before changing the subject.

“You said before that you had eaten with Wang Jing.”

"Yes, we need to discuss the project after the New Year."

"Aren't you and him enemies?"

"There are no enemies. I invest money, he makes the film, and we all make money. Whether we have any grudges or not, we can put that aside."

"Yes, that's your best quality." Shu Chang looked straight at him and praised him.

"As long as there's money to be made, other issues don't matter as long as they don't cross the line."

"Yes, only when you can make money can you do more meaningful things; everything else is just fleeting."

"Yes, you are the best in my heart," Shu Chang praised again.

Seeing her expression and attitude, Zhang Yuan wondered if she was planning to burn incense a fourth time.
But then he immediately followed suit.

"I'll go settle the bill with Director Li Gongda."

"This time, we recovered more than 50 million yuan from 'Magic Phone,' 'Lotus Lantern,' and 'Lotus Lantern Prequel.'"

Hearing this, Zhang Yuan was almost moved to tears.

After several years, I finally saw a payment from Li Gongda!

"There's still over ten million tied up with CCTV, it'll probably take another year to pay out." Shu Chang frowned, clearly having a headache.

"It's good that I got most of it back. I'm finally out of the woods. I've been short of money lately."

"Yes, it's just right."

"The Legend of Nezha was profitable and received good reviews."

"Especially Juanjuan's portrayal of Nezha was very popular."

Ok?
Zhang Yuan noticed that Changchang's eyes had become cunning. "You said it yourself, as long as you can make money, nothing else matters."

"Look, she can make money for you."

Snapped!
Zhang Yuan slapped her buttocks hard, making her let out a soft moan.

"You're pretty good at shutting me up with my words."

"You said it yourself."

"We'll talk later. You need to report on your work first, or you'll get beaten up again." He temporarily steered the conversation away from the topic.

"The Deyuan Society's business is very good, and it's getting better every year."

“Especially commercial performances.” Shu Chang picked up her small backpack, took out some documents, and put on her glasses.

"The revenue from commercial performances exceeded 10 million yuan, and the share of the profits was over 6 million yuan."

“However…” Shu Chang frowned.

"Just say what you want to say."

"The commercial performance is operated by a performance company based in Beijing. The revenue split is 4/6, with them taking 4%."

"But Mr. Guo's wife owns shares in this company and is the second largest shareholder."

"There are also many clothing, catering, and outdoor entertainment businesses."

"Actually, if you include everything, Deyuan Society's total turnover exceeds 3000 million."

"But the revenue we can share is less than 2000 million."

"It's alright, it's only a few million in total. You don't need to say anything, just keep an eye on things and know what's going on."

"Okay, the money we recovered is less than 700 million."

"The situation is similar with the Happy Twist drama troupe. Although business is getting better and better, the amount of money we can get has not increased much."

"It's only 3 or 400 million."

"No rush, just keep an eye on it. It's all small change." Zhang Yuan said calmly, "It's not time to clean up yet."

"Didn't you realize that these two companies are actually similar?"

"what?"

"They are all theater performances, and they all need to be represented by performing arts companies."

"So it doesn't matter how much they cause trouble."

"Once I have some free time, and once they've both grown bigger and established their own performing arts companies and channels, I'll combine all the performances from these two companies, and we'll immediately form a large company that can shake up half of the national theater performance market."

"This company will be big enough to qualify for an IPO."

"So no matter what they do now, it's all for small amounts of money."

"But you need to figure out all the financial records and make backups. I'll need them later."

“I understand… but what if they resist?” Changchang nodded in reply.

"Especially that guy from the crosstalk club, he's your senior apprentice."

"It's alright, we'll talk about it later."

"Once I have overwhelming strength, these will no longer be problems."

"And I will also give them enough benefits."

"How much money do you make selling tickets all year round? You can make so much money just from stocks after the company goes public."

"They will understand."

Shu Chang then carefully reported back to the documents.

Last year, TV dramas sold well, and "Lurking" was a huge hit, with major TV stations vying for it.

We recovered more than 3000 copies of this film alone.

Meanwhile, the revenue from the sugar figurines also came from the Legend of the Condor Heroes.

But as always, Mr. Cai spent his money as soon as he had it, and the dividends from his 3% stake in the company were less than 1000 yuan.

Yu Zheng's TV series, including "The Imperial Palace of the Qing Dynasty," "The Last Princess," and "Rose River," have all performed very well.

Yu Zheng is similar to Wang Jing in some ways; they are both quick shooters and can make money.

As for whether it is "borrowing" or not, and how artistic the work is, it is a different matter.

Then don't ask. If you do, you'll be labeled an "outsider," "you don't understand," "making money is the most important thing," and "we're all just trying our best to live"...

Although sales were good, the account showed a surplus of over 4000 million.

But they couldn't get much money back.

Like Li Gongda, he invested all the money he earned into another project.

It's very difficult to distribute dividends.

No wonder you were so polite to me.

Zhang Yuan took the business plan that Yu Zheng gave him.

"Locking Up the Autumn", "Beauty's Rival in Palace".

These are the two films he plans to shoot next.

They are all best-selling period dramas!

The director is Wu Jingyuan, the chubby guy from the Legend of Sword and Fairy series, so he's someone Wu knows.

Yu Zheng's Dongyang pleasure was shared equally between himself and Zhao Decai, each owning 3%.

"Director Yu means that he wants you to help smooth out the sales channels of the major TV stations."

"Okay, I'll greet them one by one."

"He wants you to invest some more money..."

"Let him die!" Zhang Yuan replied angrily.

They won't give me a share of the profits, but they still want to squeeze money out of me.

"Fine, let him give me my share of the profits first, and also let me see the project proposal."

"If I really need money, I'll find a way."

"Locking Up the Autumn" is better; it's a period drama set in the Republican era, with a budget of less than 3000 million.

"Beauty's Rival in Palace" is amazing!
A large-scale period drama would cost over 4000 million, possibly close to 5000 million.

Right now, Yu Zheng simply can't afford to give that much money.

This old guy's ambitions are growing bigger and bigger; he's starting to make big-budget films.

Zhang Yuan estimated that all the money he earned from "Lurking" would have to go to "Beauty's Rival in Palace".

Fortunately, movies like "Kung Fu Dunk," "Perfect Imperfection," "Crazy Racer," and "Nightclub" all made money.

After considering everything, Shu Chang realized that her pre-New Year's campaign had been quite fruitful, bringing her back more than a small goal.

He told Liu Tao, the creditor, that he could help the other party pay off 100 million yuan a year, and he wasn't lying.

This doesn't even include the "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf" movie, because it just opened during the Spring Festival season.

The theme song for "Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf" and the copyright for "Blue and White Porcelain" earned them several million yuan a year.

It's still more satisfying to make money while lying down.

However, as soon as the money is received, it has to be spent in large sums again.

Yu Zheng wants money, Wang Jing wants money, and Jiang Wen wants money.

He also owed Meng Guangmei and Hong Kong businessmen a loan of 2000 million US dollars.

The interest from mortgage payments and financing secured by Huayi shares still needs to be set aside.

Liu Tao still needs to help pay off the debt...

“The boss is often just an empty shell; how much of it actually ends up in my mouth?” Zhang Yuan sighed, looking up at the sky.

Being an actor is different from being a boss.

Once the paycheck is in your hands, it's yours.

With the boss's actions of taking in and giving out money, half of Zhang Yuan's small goal, which he had just recovered, was gone on the spot.

The total repayment amount to be paid next year will be as high as 4 million!

This debt ratio would make even Huayi, which hasn't gone public yet, tremble.

But negative assets are still assets, and from this perspective, Zhang Yuan is rich (negative) enough.

For someone like him, the only way to acquire enough capital is to borrow, mortgage, or even cheat.

Unlike those born with a silver spoon in their mouths, who can get huge investments just by talking to their uncles, aunts, and other relatives.

"Brother Yuan, are you under a lot of pressure?" Shu Chang asked, then handed over the documents.

"Big? Of course it's big!"

"So I need your help to relieve the stress."

"Hehehe, okay." Changchang said, taking off her glasses.

"Don't take them off, I want the girl with glasses..."

The two of them got up the next afternoon.

Shu Chang was washing her glasses in the bathroom, while Zhang Yuan planned to watch a few Japanese movies to practice his Japanese for filming.

You can also watch it with Shu Chang and learn Japanese together.

But as soon as I turned on the TV, my phone, which had been charging all night, started ringing.

I picked it up and saw that it was a call from Chen Kun.

"Brother Kun, Happy New Year!" Zhang Yuan said with a smile, making a standard New Year's greeting.

"I'm not okay," Kun Kun replied in a distressed tone.

Ok?
Zhang Yuan was curious. Hearing his attitude during the festive New Year, he wondered if something serious had happened… (End of Chapter)