Return to 88: Starting from Marrying My Sister-in-law

Yin Mingyue hurriedly passed through the moon gate and saw her older sister Yin Mingzhu and younger sister Xu Siqi holding their sleeping son Fanfan and talking in hushed tones by the pond, which was shaded by weeping willows.

Seeing her approach with flushed cheeks and slightly disheveled hair, the two tacitly stopped talking.

Feeling a little flustered by their stares, Yin Mingyue tugged at her sleeve and asked, "Have you chosen your photos?"

Yin Mingzhu raised her eyes, her gaze sweeping meaningfully over her sister's slightly wrinkled collar.

"The photos have definitely been chosen, but... little sister, does your stomach still hurt?"

The two women thought the mother was actually menstruating, but it turned out she was just trying to get rid of them, the two third wheels.

Isn’t it infuriating?
Of course!

If the company hadn't just started out, and if that jerk hadn't been so cold to her, requiring her sister to whisper in his ear, she wouldn't be so polite now.

Yin Mingyue clutched her sleeve with her fingertips. After hearing her sister's words, she was somewhat at a loss. Suddenly, she was interrupted by the whimpering of the baby in Xu Siqi's arms.

She quickly took the child, using the swaddling clothes to conceal her thoughts, "Did your older sister just say she wanted Siqi to come to your company?"

Not knowing how to answer, she changed the subject.

“Great, I’ve decided to hire her as a co-founder of our company with 10% of our shares.”

Yin Mingzhu bluntly stated her point, then turned to her younger sister Yin Mingyue and said, "Does my sister think it's inappropriate?"

Yin Mingyue opened her mouth.

She knew her older sister must have guessed what she and Lu Yang had just done in the room, so she was still angry. But... if her husband found out that her sister wanted to steal Siqi away, would he be angry?
I didn't make things difficult for her.

At this moment, Xu Siqi, who was behind Yin Mingzhu, tugged at her sleeve, shook her head and said, "I haven't agreed yet, Sister Mingzhu. I've thought about it and I still feel it's not appropriate."

Money or not is not important.

Is it really better to be a shareholder in a newly established company than to be the chairman's secretary to a lousy boss?
not necessarily!
Besides, she couldn't bear to leave that lousy boss!

No one can take away her position as the chairman's secretary. What if she leaves and another vixen comes along and bewitches the boss?
She doesn't want anyone to follow in her footsteps, to escape the path she's walked, the umbrella she's held, and the happiness she's finally found.

Seeing that her younger sister hadn't said anything, but her best friend was actually contradicting her, Yin Mingzhu's expression stiffened, and she said somewhat displeasedly, "Was my offer too low?"

10% is already quite a lot.

If there are any more, and something unexpected happens in the future, she might lose control of the company.

Xu Siqi hurriedly waved her hands and said, "No, no, sister, don't misunderstand. I didn't think your price was too low, but... but..."

She glanced at the proprietress secretly.

Seeing that Yin Mingyue was also looking at her with curious eyes, she finally mustered up her courage and said, "Since Sister Mingyue is here, then I'll be frank. As the chairman's secretary, I have too many confidential documents of the company. If I resign and leave without saying a word, the boss will not agree, and the company will not allow it either. So... so Sister Mingzhu, I appreciate your kindness."

In reality, she had absolutely no access to any company minutes or documents.

As the chairman's secretary, she travels all over the country with Lu Yang every day, so she knows more about Lu Yang's private affairs.

Except for the part about her aunt, which was deliberately erased by Lu Yang, the chairman of the board.

She wasn't given a chance to get in touch.

The reason for saying this was entirely without reason; he was just making up an excuse to appease the twin sisters beside him.

Yin Mingyue chimed in, "Oh, I see. Then it really won't work. We can't let you go."

As she spoke, she looked at her older sister, Yin Mingzhu, and said, "Sister, why don't you find someone else?"

Whether it's true or false, at this moment she will stand on the side that benefits her husband.

My sister is trying to steal my husband's girlfriend without his consent. If I support her, what if my husband finds out and gets angry?
Yin Mingzhu never expected that simply suggesting her best friend come to help at her company would not only lead to her best friend's disagreement, but also her younger sister's opposition.

Thinking back to a few days ago, my sister had also rejected me in the same way.

She was furious. "Fine, since Sisi doesn't care about this 10% stake, then pretend I didn't say anything."

After saying that, she turned and left without waiting for Xu Siqi to explain anything further.

She finally realized that the two women behind her were on one boat, while she was on another. They were not on the same boat and could not possibly travel together.

Yin Mingyue and Xu Siqi, who remained where they were, looked at each other, wanting to chase after her to explain, but considering their best friend's (older sister's) personality, they both sighed and shook their heads.

"Never mind, I'll explain to her tonight after she calms down."

That's what I was thinking too. How about tonight... I sleep with Sister Mingzhu? Sister Mingyue, the boss is back now and staying in the courtyard house. There's no reason for you two to sleep in separate rooms. You don't need to insist on dragging Sister Mingzhu to your room. How about this, you leave Fanfan with me, and I'll take care of Fanfan for you tonight.”

"This……"

Yin Mingyue hesitated for a moment, but her eyes lit up as she said, "Wouldn't that be too much trouble for you?"

Although she verbally declined, her actions betrayed her true feelings; she was already looking forward to spending time alone with her husband that evening.

Xu Siqi, against her conscience and forcing back her heartache, forced a smile and said, "It's okay, I really like Fanfan, it's not hard at all."

She had thought it through. Her boss was actually someone who couldn't stay at home. He liked to travel all over the country. The time he actually spent at home with his wife was probably less than the time he spent with her, the chairman's secretary. If she wanted to stay with her boss forever and continue to have such a wonderful relationship, she had to learn to be accommodating and generous, and not wear her jealousy on her sleeve.

and also……

We must not harbor any thoughts of monopolizing the lousy boss.

This could very well backfire and cause me to lose Brother Lu Yang—no, I mean, that stinky boss, that stinky boss, stinky boss, stinky boss, stinky boss… I’ve given you my body, a perfectly good young woman, and you can’t even curse me to my heart’s content!

Besides these thoughts...

She had another thought in mind, but it was something she couldn't tell anyone. Like Sister Mingyue, she was also wary of Sister Mingzhu, and of her best friend.

I have a feeling that if Mingzhu and Mingyue sleep in the same room, especially in the master bedroom, something bad is bound to happen in the long run.

"I'm sorry, Sister Mingzhu."

She silently apologized in her heart.

……

A week passed in the blink of an eye.

Lu Yang originally thought he would get a reply soon, but he waited a week before he received a call from Brother Jie.

good news!
The other team was willing to accept his 1000 million investment.

bad news!
After discussing the proposed cooperation method and several conditions for several days, the other party's internal team decided to slightly modify the cooperation method.

And it was also Brother Jie who communicated with Lu Yang.

How to change it?
it's actually really easy.

The team was very envious of Lu Yang's 1000 million yuan and decided to accept it, but they didn't want to give him shares in the movie.

Because at this point, the film was already halfway through production, and all the original shares had already been distributed. If the production team were to accept Lu Yang's investment midway through, given that they had sufficient funds, they would have to give up a portion of the shares from Jie Ge's own company, Zhengyang Pictures, to Lu Yang.

And there's another important point here.

The total budget for the entire film "Fist of Legend" was only HK$28 million. If Lu Yang were to suddenly inject HK$10 million at this time, and all of it were transferred to Lu Yang through the shares of his own Zhengyang Film Company, it would be equivalent to kicking him out, leaving his own company, Zhengyang Film Company, with a very low shareholding.

This is something his own team cannot accept.

So at this time, someone came up with a crooked idea: why not just buy out the copyright of the movie "Fist of Legend" in the mainland market and sell it to Lu Yang's Century Group in one go? The copyright includes the theatrical distribution rights and VCD distribution rights in mainland China.

It sounds like we've lost out.

However, upon closer examination, this film cannot be released in mainland China, and the VCD piracy market in mainland China is so rampant that even if the genuine DVDs enter the mainland market, they will not sell many copies and may not even break even. It would be better to just sell it as a package deal for 1000 million.

Earning 1000 million in pure white is like picking up money off the ground, why not?

If such conditions are accepted by Lu Yang, the mainland businessman, and this cooperation is facilitated, then all the investors in this film will be very satisfied.

Because nothing has been done yet, the movie hasn't even been finished filming, and we've already recouped more than 3/10 of the cost.

"That's how it is, Mr. Lu... What do you think? Of course, if you don't agree, that's okay. I'll think of another way. I'll communicate with my team again."

"I'm being very careful on the phone," Brother Jie said cautiously.

He was terrified that this outrageous idea from someone on his team might displease the young mainland billionaire.

After all, if it were him, he certainly wouldn't accept such harsh conditions.

How big is the mainland Chinese cinema market?
With a total box office of less than two or three billion yuan for the whole year, only those ranking in the top 10 of the annual box office have a chance to exceed 10 million yuan in box office revenue. In order to break even, the movie "Fist of Legend" needs to earn at least 30 million yuan in box office revenue in the mainland market.

It's so hard.

It has already ranked among the top three mainland Chinese films of last year, according to his understanding.

And this doesn't even include publicity and distribution, which is a huge expense. Publicity and distribution in mainland China will definitely be separate from those in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Moreover, if this contract is a buyout, their production team certainly won't help with publicity and distribution in mainland China for free. All of this money will have to be paid by Mr. Lu on the other end of the phone.

"Okay, we'll do it your way. I'll give you face, Brother Jie, and we can sign this contract."

Lu Yang agreed readily.

"No, Mr. Lu, you may not be very familiar with the revenue sharing of movie theaters in mainland China. Why don't you reconsider?"

Lu Yang agreed readily, but Brother Jie didn't dare to agree too readily. He was afraid that if Lu Yang, this young billionaire, lost money, he would cause trouble for him.

It needs to be made clear.

Lu Yang was momentarily stunned. He really didn't know much about the revenue sharing ratio of cinemas these days. He knew a lot about it from his later life, as it was available online. He remembered that after various expenses, including cinema commissions and special film funds, the film distributors could still get a little over 33%, which was not bad!

"Tell me, tell me, I really don't know much about this. It's okay, if the money I get isn't enough to break even, I'll accept the loss."

He clearly never intended to recoup his costs through theatrical releases. His goal was to build brand awareness for his two products, the Little Genius Learning Machine and the Subor VCD player, and launch a comprehensive, carpet-bombing advertising campaign, leveraging CCTV's television commercials and the exclusive broadcasting rights for the Asian Games, to differentiate himself from other brands.

This is a great way to get a lot done with a little money!
How could they possibly disagree with signing this contract that seemed like a losing proposition?
Brother Jie didn't understand Lu Yang's thoughts, and patiently explained to him over the phone: "...That's how it is. This year is a transitional period for mainland cinemas from a unified purchase and distribution system to a revenue-sharing system. I can't give you a precise allocation figure right now, but in general, you should only be able to get about 30% of the total box office revenue. There are also some other additional expenses, such as taxes and the promotion and distribution of mainland films. If the total box office revenue is less than 3500 million, you may lose money, Mr. Lu. Would you like to reconsider?"

He was still thinking about Lu Yang.

Upon hearing this, Lu Yang made a decision without even thinking, saying, "So it's pretty much what I was thinking, not much different. Okay, I understand. Let's do it your way. When do we sign the contract?"

Lu Yang repeatedly assured him that even if the box office was not good, he would not blame him, would still treat him as a friend, and would seek to cooperate with him again in the future if there was an opportunity.

Brother Jie finally breathed a sigh of relief.

The mainland is his birthplace, and he may eventually return to his roots. Perhaps one day, when the economy here develops, he will also move back to the mainland to develop his career. Therefore, he has always tried to make friends with these mainland business tycoons as much as possible, and he tries to get along with them without offending them.

“That’s great, Mr. Lu. Could you wait two more days? I’ve already set up a few scenes here, and it would be a shame to take them down. I want to finish filming these two days’ worth of scenes as soon as possible, and then fly over to the mainland to sign the contract with you. Is that alright with you?”

"No need, don't trouble yourself, Brother Jie. I'll go to Hong Kong. It's been a few years since I've been there, so I'll take this opportunity to visit."

"Really?"

Brother Jie said with delight, "That's wonderful! Thank you so much, Mr. Lu. I can't accept this..."

He thought Lu Yang was giving him face and flattering him, but actually Lu Yang was thinking of Sister Du. Since Sister Du was planning to move to Hong Kong to develop her career, although he didn't know when it would happen, he was determined to go and clear some obstacles for her. At the very least, he had to help his woman arrange a place to stay. (End of Chapter)