Huayu Chunqiu, starting from being adopted by a fairy mother

Chapter 346 Best Agent

The argument between Lao Zhang and Lao Zhang didn't prevent Cheng Long from signing Lin Peng, the closing ceremony from proceeding as scheduled, or the nomination for the Hundred Flowers Awards.

The closing ceremony marked the end of this Olympic Games.

Just as Liu Jing had expected, the entertainment prize money he received this time was not much, only 221 million.

"221 million? How could it be only? Liu Jing, Liu Jing, when did you become so greedy? Have you forgotten the days more than ten years ago when you were the little prince visiting the set for a few dozen points of entertainment atmosphere? More than two million is not a small amount; it's equivalent to directing a movie with a box office of 22 billion." Liu Jing muttered to himself as he quietly left the Bird's Nest.

He hung up the phone with his assistant and sighed again, "A box office of 22 billion, equivalent to 300 million US dollars, only Hollywood movies have that kind of ability. It will probably take another seven or eight years for domestic films to break 1 billion. If we want to upgrade quickly, we still have to look to Marvel."

Liu Jing thought of "Iron Man," because of this movie, Marvel went from being on the verge of bankruptcy to seeing the light of hope again.

To finance the film, they borrowed money, raised funds, sold everything they owned, and went all out to make "Iron Man." Marvel also had a backup plan, collaborating with Universal to produce "The Incredible Hulk," with the two films scheduled for release one after the other this year.

The Incredible Hulk had a production cost of $1.5 million and a global box office of $2.63 million, resulting in a loss for the film. The superhero rights were regained, but it looks like they'll be shelved for the foreseeable future.

Iron Man had a production cost of $140 million and a global box office of $5.85 million. Its net profit was a staggering $200 million, giving Marvel enough funds to repay its loans and proceed with the production of other superhero films.

Iron Man 2 has been greenlit and is currently in pre-production; Marvel is excited and full of ambition. Recently, Xiaobai went to the US to attend a meeting in place of his aunt.

Liu Jing had always believed that the investment back then was a mistake. Now it seems the system was right, but unfortunately, the system will never reveal secrets again.

He didn't gain much entertainment value from "Iron Man," but his aunt had gradually acquired some shares over the years. Especially during the period when Marvel was on the verge of bankruptcy, Avi Arad proposed privatizing and delisting Marvel. Qin Shi happened to have money and took the opportunity to acquire a considerable number of shares.

My aunt now holds 25% of the shares, making her Marvel's second-largest shareholder, second only to Avi Arad's 30%. It's not that she doesn't want to acquire more, but rather that the other shareholders are unwilling to sell; they still have high hopes for Marvel's future.

Liu Jing also has a role in this film, essentially as a member of the special effects team, and he spent some time there with a learning attitude.

Iron Man brought Liu Jing 200,000 yuan in entertainment value. If he had more shares and a more important status, it would be almost equivalent to the closing ceremony of a half-event.

It's common for a Hollywood movie to gross billions of RMB, while it's rare for a domestic movie to gross even a few hundred million RMB.

The next upgrade will boost entertainment revenue by 100 million, equivalent to 100 billion in box office revenue. China's annual box office was around 26 billion in 2006 and around 35 billion in 2007, representing a growth rate of 35%.

At this growth rate, assuming 30% of films can achieve an entertainment value, it will be 2017 before any significant upgrade is achieved.

Including TV series and other programs, it can be done one or two years earlier.

If Hollywood factors are added, the upgrade speed can be significantly accelerated.

Thinking about this, Liu Jing decided to pay more attention to that area and, incidentally, add some Chinese elements to Marvel Comics.

beep beep...

A few honks interrupted Liu Jing's thoughts; his assistant had come to pick him up.

Bai Bing went abroad to attend a training course and also represented her aunt at several meetings. Her English is excellent, and she studied international law. She didn't let her professional knowledge go to waste because of her role as an agent.

As Liu Jing's right-hand woman, Bai Bing was highly regarded by her aunt after graduation.

"No honking, didn't you know? Pay your fine now." Liu Jing sat in the passenger seat, immediately sprawling out like Ge You.

The closing ceremony finally ended, and his tense nerves relaxed. Back in his car, he completely unwinded. He vowed that if such an international event were to happen again, he would absolutely refuse to participate.

"How much? Hundreds of millions?" The assistant rolled her eyes, realizing that her boss had changed quite a bit since they last met.

He used to be a mature and virtuous young man, but now he's a sunny and cheerful big boy.

She didn't find it strange; after six months of preparation for the opening ceremony, some changes were to be expected.

"Have a couple of drinks with me tonight," Liu Jing said lazily, as if he had already sailed past countless mountains.

There was a banquet that evening, but he didn't attend; he decided to leave after finishing his business.

He had too much work piled up, but he had capable assistants and thousands of people in the company to back him up, so it didn't affect his work too much.

As the mainstay of New Pictures, Zhang Yimou's company has been almost shut down since preparations for the Olympic opening ceremony began.

"Should I organize a get-together?" Bai Bing started the car and chuckled softly.

"Yuanyuan is back?" Liu Jing asked in surprise.

"She's practically a nanny now, dumping all the work on Xiao Jiao. After get off work, she runs to Sister Min's place to help take care of the kids. She's really good at sucking up to people," Bai Bing complained, finding it unbearable that she was neglecting her duties.

"Her play is about to be released, right?" Liu Jing asked, puzzled.

"Give me a break! She's inconsistent. If she were one of my artists, I would have shut her down long ago. She talks about honing her acting skills, but I think she's just honing her talking skills," Bai Bing said irritably.

"You've been with her so many times, didn't she already give you her management contract?" Liu Jing sighed. "Oh, Da Meiyuan, when are you going to improve your acting skills? We've known each other for almost ten years, and you're always talking about learning and attending training sessions, but your progress doesn't match your attitude."

He felt he couldn't count on it anymore; last time he won a professional-level performance course, he gave it to Little Lion. Next time, he'd prioritize Gao Yuanyuan.

The courses and skills are not given to the recipient for immediate use. Instead, when the recipient subsequently learns the relevant knowledge, they seem to have divine assistance, possessing exceptional talent, grasping concepts instantly, and progressing rapidly.

On August 13th, the nomination list for the Hundred Flowers Awards was released, leading to a major argument between the two Zhangs. Liu Jing didn't know the specific reason and didn't want to get involved in New Pictures' messy affairs.

He was initially curious, but Zhang Weiping treated him like a thief, and he instantly lost interest.

"Under the City Wall" has not yet been released in the country and did not participate in this year's Hundred Flowers Awards.

"Curse of the Golden Flower" received a Best Supporting Actor nomination, but won nothing else.

A total of seven awards were given out, and "Assembly" received all seven nominations, making it one of the biggest winners. The nominations included Best Film, Best Director (Feng Xiaogang), Best Actor (Zhang Hanyu), Best Actress (Shu Chang), Best Supporting Actor (Deng Chao), Best Supporting Actress (Luo Haiqiong), and Best Newcomer (Yuan Wenkang).

Films with a patriotic theme are popular, especially in mainland China; "The Sacred Flame" received a nomination.

Liu Jing estimated that the box office was so high that it would be unreasonable not to give her a nomination, so Jing Tian received a Best New Performer nomination again after the Golden Horse and Hong Kong Film Awards.

Like "Curse of the Golden Flower," "The Warlords" only received one nomination, which is truly unfortunate.

The more glorious the Hong Kong Film Awards were this year, the more dismal the Hundred Flowers Awards were in mainland China.

However, Liu Jing was pleased to receive a Best Actor nomination after defeating Li Lianjie during the nomination voting stage.

The candidate voting started on April 16, 2008, and ended on July 31, lasting three and a half months. More than three million votes were received.

Around that time, "Under the City Wall" won the Grand Jury Prize at Cannes, and many viewers went to see it specifically because of Liu Jing.

Other nominees for Best Actor include Zhang Hanyu (Assembly), Chen Kun (The Knot), Guo Tao (Crazy Stone), and Damian Lau (Tokyo Trial). Louis Koo, Jackie Chan, Andy Lau, Chu Ki-lung, Li Lianjie, Stephen Chow, and Chow Yun-fat were not nominated.

Without the hype from Cannes, it would be really difficult for Liu Jing to get a nomination.

Gao Yuanyuan received a Best Actress nomination, not for "The Sacred Flame" or "The Warlords", but for "Rob-B-Hood".

Liu Jing felt that these nominations were simply a joke.

Gao Yuanyuan was nominated for Best Actress at the Golden Horse Awards for her role in *The Sacred Flame*, but ultimately lost to Zhang Min. She was nominated for Best Actress at the Hong Kong Film Awards for *The Warlords*, and won the award. This time, however, she's nominated for Best Actress at the Hundred Flowers Awards for *Rob-B-Hood*, but Liu Jing thinks she's likely to be a runner-up. Li Bingbing's acting in *The Knot* is indeed superior to Gao Yuanyuan's; everyone can see that.

Another big winner was "The Knot," which won seven awards and received nominations, with Vivian Hsu and Li Bingbing both receiving Best Actress nominations.

Shu Chang is likely to be a runner-up as well; her acting is truly excellent, but her age is a problem. The Chinese entertainment industry is very seniority-based, so Li Bingbing will most likely win Best Actress this year. Without an exceptional performance, beating out the established actresses won't be easy.

When Zhang Weiping saw the list that day, he laughed in anger, while Liu Jing genuinely laughed.

If he hadn't been nominated for Best Actor, Liu Jing wouldn't have wanted to participate.

The Huabiao Award is a government award, the Golden Rooster Award is an expert award, and the Hundred Flowers Award is a public award. Nowadays, the three major film awards in China's entertainment industry are becoming increasingly similar.

The Hundred Flowers Awards were even more hasty; "Invisible Wings" was nominated for Best Film even though it hadn't been released in theaters.

Liu Jing could predict all the awards without even waiting for the September awards ceremony; there was almost no suspense.

With the Hundred Flowers Awards held every two years, films like "Curse of the Golden Flower" and "Rob-B-Hood," released two years ago, are already outdated, and winning an award wouldn't be very meaningful. If the Hundred Flowers Awards weren't nominated, audiences would have forgotten about these films from two years ago.

There were many flaws in this year's Hundred Flowers Awards, and Liu Jing believes the only highlight was that he received a Best Actor nomination.

“These ladies, who can I possibly manage? They’re all incredibly difficult to please. They’re nominally my artists, and all I get is a commission from their management. Who listens to me? They all treat me like a servant.” Bai Bing sighed, then continued, “Boss, don’t expect Gao Yuanyuan to improve her acting skills. You’re absolutely right, acting skills aren’t very useful for her. A lot of the scripts that are handed to her aren’t for her acting skills; they just want her to be a pretty face.”

"He talks about performing in plays all the time, but he's all talk and no action," Liu Jing muttered.

"When she comes back, you can give her a good test and see if her skills have improved," Bai Bing chuckled.

Snapped……

Liu Jing slapped her thigh hard, the sound loud and reverberating. "You want to be like her, some kind of language master?"

"You..." Bai Bing took a deep breath. It's not her own thigh, so it doesn't hurt, right?
"Drive carefully." Liu Jing closed his eyes to rest.

"Hmph! I was planning to organize a game to celebrate, but now that's not possible." Bai Bing huffed.

"MiMi is back?" Liu Jing asked in surprise. Of all the people he had worked with with his assistant, Yang Mi was the most likely to return.

"Sister Chang'e wants me to help her get the role of Li Ningyu. That's putting me in a difficult position. I'll just tell her I want to drink, and she'll come running over like a puppy. Then I can drug her a little, and the game will be won. Actually, it doesn't have to be drugged. Just say you want a friendly match, and she'll definitely be cleaned up and automatically..."

Bai Bing couldn't continue speaking and was slapped by the boss again.

"Xiaobai, you should learn some of Yuanyuan's good qualities," Liu Jing sighed.

"What's so good about her? Is she cute? Is she annoying? Does she pretend to be innocent? Is she naive and playful?" Bai Bing asked a barrage of questions.

The assistant wasn't exaggerating; after all, she'd organized countless gatherings and seen it all. Commander Gao presented herself as a capable and efficient white-collar worker in public, but in private, she was a total charmer, with countless ways to please men. Compared to her, Yang Mi was practically a little devil.

“It’ll just be the two of us tonight, no need for any fancy parties. If I really wanted to do these things, I could be a groom every night. People shouldn’t get addicted to these things; they should have higher aspirations.” Liu Jing was starting to miss Da Meiyuan.

"You can go half a month without repeating the same thing." Bai Bing wanted to retort, but after thinking about it carefully, the boss didn't seem to be going too far.

"After I've finished with you, I'll give you a gift." Liu Jing planned to give the tenth "bond" spot to his little assistant. With another two years of experience, it would be time for him to get involved in the production field.

"I can't accept a gift from you right now. It's Xixi's birthday after midnight. You're just pushing me into a pit." Bai Bing quickly refused.

She was touched, and she would accept anything her boss offered, but not on August 25th.

Liu Jing was taken aback; he had completely forgotten about it. This is bad!

Liu Jing was no longer sleepy, so he quickly took out his phone and dialed Qianqian's number. She answered immediately, "Are you done on your end? I was just about to call you."

"Just finished, just came out of the Bird's Nest." Liu Jing breathed a sigh of relief, realizing that's what they were waiting for.

"Have you eaten yet? Do you want me to order some food for you? I'm at Sister Min's place, and Sister Yuanyuan is here too. We're watching TV." Qianqian spoke softly, not at all forceful at this moment.

"Haha, we'll provide meals. Have you finalized the filming plan yet?" Liu Jing asked.

"You only care about work, don't you even ask how Sister Min is doing? Is Xiaoxue asleep?" Qianqian teased.

"Is Xiaoxue asleep?" Liu Jing chuckled awkwardly. If you don't take the initiative to ask, how can I dare to ask?

"She's asleep. I'll wake her up so you can talk to her for a bit." Before Qianqian could finish speaking, Zhang Min shouted, "Qianqian, don't! If you wake her up, she'll cry a bit, and we'll have to comfort her."

"It was just a joke, why did you take it seriously?" Qianqian explained, and Zhang Min's voice gradually lowered as she walked away.

"I prepared a birthday present for you, but I can't give it to you in person now," Liu Jing said regretfully.

"Sure. You can drive now, take the Beijing-Shanghai Expressway, and we can have lunch together." Sisi smiled.

Liu Jing's eyes widened. This...

"Haha, just kidding, you didn't take it seriously again, did you? Your performance at the opening ceremony was the best gift for me." Sisi laughed.

Liu Jing was pleased, then heard Qianqian say, "If you really want to give a gift, don't give anything like a car, a house, or jewelry. That's too tacky. Just give it to me in cash! Oh, right, you don't have much money right now. You got a share of the box office for 'Painted Skin,' right? Give me your salary, and I'll buy some land. But Mom won't approve the money. I should have never let her see the plans."

"That's ruthless!" Liu Jing was impressed. "They're even taking away the money I'm entitled to in the future."

"It's getting late, so it's settled then." Sisi smiled and added before hanging up the phone, "By the way, you don't need to give me the prize money and subsidies you received from the Hundred Flowers Award. Keep it for your spending money."

……

The vehicle continued speeding along the quiet road, the interior of which was even quieter than the road itself.

Bai Bing secretly envied Liu Yifei. It had to be Liu Yifei. She really knew how to handle her boss... tsk tsk...

She didn't dare to say a word; speaking now would only make her the target of her boss's anger. Being alone at night, it was best to be careful.

Bai Bing didn't take the boss back to Baiyujing, but went straight to her own residence.

This wasn't Liu Jing's first time visiting his assistant's place; he came frequently, and it had almost become his second little home.

Every woman decorates her house in a different style. Gao Yuanyuan's house is a sea of ​​flowers, while everything on her assistant's side is exquisite.

This exquisite detail is reflected in the furniture, and even more so in the pots, pans, ladles, wine glasses, and banquet dishes.

The assistant took off her business attire, changed into loose-fitting clothes, tied on an apron, and went into the kitchen to get busy.

The refrigerator was well-stocked with a variety of ingredients. Unlike Shu Chang, she didn't want to eat out and always cooked for herself.

The boss wanted to have a couple of drinks that evening, so she first let the red wine breathe, then sliced ​​a plate of cooked beef and arranged it in a pretty way.

Vegetable salad, tomatoes with sugar, and a bag of peanuts for drinking—four snacks to go with the drinks were ready without even turning on the stove.

When the assistant called for dinner, Liu Jing was quite surprised; the speed was impressive.

"Didn't you say you weren't going to play Yu Shu?" Liu Jing held a stack of documents in his hand, including the script for "The Myth" and a list of characters.

Especially for the character Yu Shu, she wrote a lot of reflections and insights, which were clearly prepared for her by the assistant.

"If I get paid, why wouldn't I act? Besides, experiencing acting and understanding the work of actors will help me become a better agent," Bai Bing explained.

"When will filming for 'The Myth' begin? Hmm, they're planning to invite Hu Ge to play Yi Xiaochuan?" Liu Jing asked in surprise.

"We're planning to start filming in October, with an investment of 50 million. Shanghai Film Group will invest 20 million as the main controller, Eagle Capital will invest 10 million as the production company, we'll invest 10 million as the production contractor, and CCTV will invest 10 million as the platform provider. Hu Ge's salary is 150,000 per episode; with him, we can guarantee viewership. Jackie Chan personally invited him." Bai Bing took the red wine out of the ice bucket and continued to explain, "I think this investment model is good; we can take a look. It ties us to the platform provider and guarantees a minimum return."

"How come Lü Su has Yang Mi and Shu Chang? Is this also a time travel story?" Liu Jing only glanced at the script and didn't look at it in detail.

"No, whoever wins the Golden Eagle Goddess award gets this role. Apart from Yu Shu, Lü Su is the most outstanding actress in the entire series." Bai Bing poured a glass of red wine and placed it in front of the boss.

"You guys are so realistic." Liu Jing was speechless.

“Personally, I preferred Yang Mi, but the director thought Shu Chang was more suitable, feeling Yang Mi was too bright and glamorous. Shu Chang's portrayal of Xiao Yu and Shui Sheng was pure, kind, youthful, and gentle, deeply resonating with audiences and better suited the character of Lü Su. Lü Su is a young girl, and Shu Chang's baby face and lively temperament are closer to the role. The director said there's a scene where Lü Su dies from illness while saving Yi Xiaochuan, requiring a strong ability to empathize. Shu Chang is also good at playing madness and can handle extremely tragic scenes.” Bai Bing paused, then continued, “Cheng Long also preferred Yang Mi, but Sister Yuanyuan thought Shu Chang was more suitable. In the end, everyone decided that whoever wins this year's Golden Eagle Goddess award will get the role of Lü Su.”

"Is the director Stanley Tong?" Liu Jing asked with a strange smile.

"No, the director is Jiang Jiajun." Bai Bing's charming eyes were full of laughter as she sat in the boss's lap and brought the wine glass to his lips. "I know what you mean. Yang Mi exposed Tang Jili's good deed. You think he's the director and that his disapproval of Yang Mi is revenge?"

Liu Jing put his arm around her waist, chuckled, and downed his drink in one gulp. "It seems like you're the one who ruined his plans."

"But everyone thought it was Yang Mi," Bai Bing blinked her big eyes, looking very innocent.

The assistant was very good at serving people, feeding them wine and then food. She had already eaten, and her main job was to accompany them for meals, drinks, conversations, and even sleep.

"In this competition between Shu Chang and Yang Mi, Yang Mi initially had the upper hand. Later, Qianqian quietly intervened, and Shu Chang caught up. Before the Hundred Flowers Awards nominations were announced, the two were evenly matched. Although Shu Chang has higher national recognition, she is not good at managing her fans or maintaining the platform. Yang Mi is different; she is very good at managing her fans, better than anyone else. Her fans are ten times more powerful than Shu Chang's. In addition, Tangren and Mango TV have a good relationship, so the Golden Eagle Awards organizing committee is quite optimistic about Yang Mi and believes that her commercial value is higher." Bai Bing explained the battle that her boss was most concerned about while serving her boss food and drinks.

Liu Jing sighed, no wonder the emperor didn't want to hold court early in the morning. If there were a few more people like Bai Bing serving him, he wouldn't want to go to work tomorrow either.

"Shu Chang is very confident," Liu Jing said with a smile.

"Her nomination for Best Actress at the Hundred Flowers Awards has given her a significant advantage. Otherwise, it would have been very uncertain who would have won. After the Hundred Flowers Awards nomination, Shu Chang had the upper hand. Now? Shu Chang is almost a shoo-in; the dress is already prepared." Bai Bing frowned, feeling a bit pain from her boss's mischievous grip. "You want to eat me before I've even finished my meal."

"Oh? What happened?"

"Boss, have you forgotten? Rong Xinda posted those posts praising Yang Mi, not to help her win an award. Tang Ren has a good relationship with Hunan TV, so Rong Xinda can also influence the organizing committee's choice."

"Rong Xinda," Liu Jing murmured.

"Boss, don't worry, I'm keeping an eye on them. I have good news for you: their adaptation of 'Dream of the Red Chamber' is likely to be a complete disaster, falling far short of expectations. They say Sissi suffered a Waterloo, but I think they're about to suffer their own Waterloo." Bai Bing said with a grin.

"Okay! Mimi didn't win the Golden Eagle Goddess award, so you can get her two acting roles..."

"Boss, she's not one of my artists."

"You two are sisters who share the same bed, even closer than the artists and their managers."

"In the end, you're just being biased and feeling sorry for Yang Mi."

"I feel sorry for you too..."

……

While chatting with his assistant, Liu Jing didn't forget to build a bond with him.

[Chen Dong meets the bond requirements. Should we set him as a bond?]

Of course, the tenth one was originally intended for Tong Liya.

With a thought, a mysterious connection welled up in Liu Jing's mind.

Before he could even look at Bai Bing's information, another message appeared.

[Chen Dong's favorability has reached 90 points; his bond skill is being generated.]

Liu Jing was stunned, and couldn't help but hug his assistant tightly, "Xiao Bai, you..."

The last one like this was Sissi. As soon as the bond is established, the bond skill is generated immediately afterward.

After the opening ceremony, Xixi picked him up and took him home; after the closing ceremony, his assistant picked him up and took him home.

Liu Jing fell into deep thought. Could there be some kind of predestined connection here?
There's definitely no predestined connection; feelings develop over time—that's probably the best explanation.

"What's wrong with me?" Bai Bing asked, puzzled.

"It's nothing. From now on, you'll be with me for the rest of your life."

"I'm switching jobs tomorrow."

[The "Best Agent" synergy skill has been generated. Please check your inbox.]

[Best Agent: You can get a small amount of entertainment value from the films and TV series her artists star in.]

"Fuck..."

Liu Jing was shocked and quickly checked the assistant's information.

[Bond: Chen Dong]

[Level: Level 1]

[Fame Value: 36]

【Favourability: 93】

[Entertainment Atmosphere: 0/93000]

[Synergy Skill: Best Agent - You gain a small amount of Entertainment Energy from the films and television dramas produced by her artists.]

"Aren't you going to eat? Shall we start now?" The assistant stood up, preparing to take off her few remaining clothes.

"Holy crap." This wasn't an exclamation of shock, but rather speechlessness.

"Don't worry. As long as you still want me, I will never switch jobs, and this job will always belong to you. You can stay here as you please."

"..."

(End of this chapter)