Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 251 Recruiting Talented Individuals
Although he lost interest in Wang Zhidong, the two still exchanged business cards after the meeting.

After leaving the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Zhang Yan turned on his mobile phone. As expected, a call came in soon, but it wasn't from Jiang Wen or Liu Xiaoqing as he had anticipated. Instead, it was a long-distance call from Zheng Zhihua from Taiwan.

After a period of collaboration in collecting songs, Zheng Zhihua has decided to switch from UFO Records to Dream Records. Of course, after signing the contract, he will still stay in Taiwan to create music.

This time, he called Zhang Yan to recommend someone to Zhang Yan. If Zhang Yan was interested, he would bring them to the mainland to test the waters.

"This young man is very versatile; he's released three albums, acted in movies, and hosted variety shows..."

"What is your name?"

Ren Xianqi.

Zheng Zhihua explained: "After he debuted in 90, he was quite famous for a time. However, because he went to serve in the military, after he was discharged, his old company was acquired by Rock Records. In the past two years, he has been quite unpopular at Rock Records. He was on the layoff list last year, and he is on it again this year."

When I was collecting songs at the end of July, he happened to help me out. After getting to know him better, I found that this young man had a lot of potential and was also very hardworking and ambitious. It would be a real shame for him to just waste his time at Rock Records, so I encouraged him to come and try his luck in mainland China with me.

[PS: In the original timeline, Richie Jen was on the layoff list for five consecutive years until his song "Too Softhearted" was released.]

This name only has one song on the list, "Tianya" (meaning "the ends of the earth"), but since it's on the list, it means it was popular for a while.

After asking Ren Xianqi about his previous releases and confirming that "Tianya" was not among them, Zhang Yan smiled and said, "Since you recommended him, Brother Zheng, then I'm sure I'll have no problem with it."

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Yan contacted Wang Zhongqi again, asking him to prepare for having an extra person in advance, and then temporarily put the matter aside.

On the way back to the hotel, Zhang Yan unsurprisingly received a call from Liu Xiaoqing. Liu Xiaoqing said that not only Dong Ping had received the news, but the other two minority shareholders were also preparing to come over—Liu Xiaoqing himself was the second largest investor.

After hearing this, Zhang Yan feigned dissatisfaction and said, "What's going on? What's the point of talking about this mess? Is Feng Xiaogang even here?"

Ever since he watched half of the film last night, Feng Xiaogang has been unable to leave. In any case, when Zhang Yan left this morning, he showed no intention of leaving at all.

"Yes, yes, Director Feng has always been here."

"Then let him wait for me at the hotel front desk, I won't go in."

"No, Mr. Zhang, let's talk this over!"

"If you can't even keep a secret, how can I trust you?"

After Zhang Yan finished speaking, he hung up the phone immediately.

Less than three minutes later, the cell phone rang again. This time, when Zhang Yan answered, Dong Ping's voice came through the receiver: "Mr. Zhang, this is Dong Ping from Huayi. I also hope to talk to you in person."

"What about the other shareholders?"

"I should be able to arrive in Beijing by the day after tomorrow at the latest."

“Let’s talk in Tianjin in three days. I still need to arrange the recording of the second season of ‘I’m Crazy for Singing’ and I really can’t afford to delay. It’s good that you guys reach a consensus first to avoid arguing with each other later.”

After a long while, Dong Ping said, "Okay, Mr. Zhang, we'll do as you say."

After hanging up the phone, Dong Ping glared fiercely at Jiang Wen. If it weren't for Jiang Wen, that troublemaker, he and Zhang Yan would be equals in status, so why would he have to compromise like this?

Under his intense gaze, Jiang Wen exhibited a fluctuating mix of cowardice and stubbornness, her mind screaming "Don't kneel!" while her legs trembled involuntarily.

After all, he had truly felt the killing intent when he was attacked with knives and axes yesterday.

Seeing this, Liu Xiaoqing took the initiative to smooth things over, saying, "Boss Dong, although President Zhang's attitude is rather cold, the fact that he suggested we go to Tianjin in three days means that he is still interested in investing in the film."

"Humph~"

Dong Ping snorted coldly and gritted his teeth, saying, "If a different director were to make this, eight million would be more than enough!"

Jiang Wen couldn't stand these words. He moved half a body behind Liu Xiaoqing and retorted, "No one else could have achieved this effect!" Dong Ping glared at him but didn't refute him. Jiang Wen's finished film was indeed good; otherwise, he wouldn't have invested twice.

I just didn't expect Jiang Wen to spend so much money, nearly 7 million yuan was spent and half of the project was completed [there is still more than 1 million yuan left in funds].

I should have chosen a more reliable director to invest!

Liu Xiaoqing tried to smooth things over again, saying, "Alright, alright, now is not the time to argue about this. Let's go downstairs and wait for President Zhang."

Jiang Wen and Dong Ping were both unwilling, but had no choice but to comply.

Once downstairs, Dong Ping started smoking one cigarette after another. It wasn't until he had smoked his fourth cigarette that Zhang Yan finally arrived.

Zhang Yan hadn't originally planned to get out of the car, but seeing a large group of people making a big fuss to welcome him, while Feng Xiaogang was left behind, he hesitated for a moment before finally pushing open the door and getting out.

Then he cupped his hands to the crowd and said, "Everyone, I'm not targeting anyone in particular. My money didn't grow on trees. Let's talk business. Given the current situation, no one would dare to fall into this trap so easily."

Upon hearing this, Dong Ping sighed and cupped his hands, saying, "President Zhang, I misjudged you this time. If we can get through this, I, Dong, will never forget your help."

Upon hearing this, Jiang Wen could only clasp his hands in a fist and say, "Although pursuing art is..."

Halfway through his sentence, everyone looked at him.

Jiang Wen shrank back and changed her tune, saying, "But I was indeed a bit too presumptuous. Don't worry, I will definitely learn from this lesson and keep the filming budget within a reasonable range!"

Dong Ping didn't believe this at all, but she was afraid of scaring away her lifeline, so she kept her head down and didn't say a word.

Liu Xiaoqing also sighed, "As the producer, I also bear a great responsibility. If Director Zhang needs to replace me, I have no objection at all."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yan immediately pressed further, "What if my conditions include replacing the director if necessary?"

"This won't work, absolutely not!"

Jiang Wen immediately jumped up, her face red and her neck thick, and shouted, "I single-handedly built this production team up. If it were me, none of you could have managed it!"

Zhang Yan ignored him, bowed to Dong Ping, and then gestured for Feng Xiaogang to get into the car.

Old Feng reluctantly sat in the passenger seat, fastening his seatbelt while muttering to himself, "Didn't they say they wanted me to be the middleman? I wanted to wait until they owed me a favor before watching the rest of the film."

So that's what he was planning. No wonder he was walking at the very back earlier.

"What's the rush? There will definitely be opportunities in the future."

After Zhang Yan finished speaking, he prepared to drive away.

Suddenly, Dong Ping lunged forward, clinging to the car window and gritting his teeth, saying, "President Zhang, I support your opinion—this bastard needs to be put in a noose before he'll work honestly!"

If changing directors were really that simple, he would have liked to hang Jiang Wen right there in front of the hotel.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yan smiled and shook hands with Dong Ping through the car window: "President Dong, I hope we can have a pleasant cooperation."

He started the car only after Dong Ping stepped back.

Feng Xiaogang turned his head to look at the hotel getting further and further away and asked, "Besides this one targeting Jiang Wen, what other conditions are you planning to offer?"

"At the very least, I should put in less money and take in more shares, right?"

Zhang Yan smiled and said, "Of course I won't take advantage of them. I will definitely compensate them in other ways. After all, a win-win situation is the best way to cooperate."

(End of this chapter)