Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 315 Various Aspects of Company Life [Part 2]

Here at Nortel.

Yuan Li craned her neck to look in Zhang Guoli's direction, her gaze towards the two Central Academy of Drama girls a mixture of disdain and envy.

If there weren't so many people around, she would definitely have gone up to Director Zhang and tried to build a relationship with him, but in front of so many people...

Yuan Li is only a sophomore in college, and she's not yet the kind of woman who can walk the red carpet in a see-through outfit.

Xu Jinglei, standing next to her, simply looked on with disdain. Anyone with eyes could see that the most outstanding part of "The New Dragon and Phoenix" was the script, and Zhang Guoli was just a tool.

Those two foolish women went to Zhang Guoli to curry favor; wasn't that like going to the right temple but burning the wrong incense?

Just then, the big stars who were standing in front of the carport talking loudly suddenly seemed to receive some kind of instruction and walked over in unison.

Xu Jinglei subconsciously turned around and saw Zhang Yan and Chen Hong appear. Her gaze then became fixed on Zhang Yan's face.

As people came forward to greet the two of them, Wang Luyao clung to Chen Hong and whispered something in her ear, making Gai Lili, who was sitting in the crowd, feel very uncomfortable.

If she had known this would happen, she should have come with the singer. Now that she's mixed in with a bunch of newcomers, it would seem a bit contrived for her to go and talk to her old classmate.

Fortunately, Chen Hong noticed her quickly, so she patted Wang Luyao's arm, signaling her to invite Gai Lili and Cao Ying to the front row.

Gai Lili sat in the first row, while Cao Ying, feeling that her status wasn't high enough, sat in the second row, next to Richie Jen, who had just released an album not long ago.

Seeing Ren Xianqi rubbing his hands as if facing a formidable enemy, Cao Ying, who had already become familiar with him, gently nudged him and asked with a smile, "It's just a meeting, why are you so nervous?"

Ren Xianqi chuckled awkwardly and explained in a low voice, "When I was in Taiwan, I would be criticized by the company every time I attended a meeting, and I would also face the risk of layoffs at the end of the year, so I got used to it."

"Haha~"

Cao Ying covered her mouth and laughed: "Your new album is doing so well, and the title track 'Thousand Paper Cranes' is being sung everywhere. What's there to be nervous about?"

Ren Xianqi smiled but didn't respond to the comment.

He was half nervous and half excited. Although he hoped to make a name for himself after coming to the mainland, he never expected to become famous in just a few months.

Ren Xianqi is most grateful to Zheng Zhihua, and secondly to President Zhang who went against the odds to let him sing "Thousand Paper Cranes" - no wonder everyone says that President Zhang is a talent scout in the music industry, he really understands me!
Xu Wei, standing next to Ren Xianqi, seemed somewhat distracted.

He was thinking about how to suggest to the company that he release his album a month earlier, in order to alleviate his financial crisis.

Among the singers in the Dream Come True group, Xu Wei's income is considered to be below average, but his expenses are almost on par with Han Lei, the top singer in the company.

Moreover, he not only spends money, but also likes to invest it. He has invested more than a million yuan in his friends' businesses, and so far he has not seen any return.

Recently, he tried to appear wealthy by opening a restaurant with a few people from the beer association, but instead of being broke, he ended up with a mountain of debt.

Recently, some friends have been urging him to secretly do gigs, but firstly, the prices they offered weren't high, and secondly, with the album release imminent, Xu Wei didn't want to clash with the company, so he could only try to bring forward the album release date.

He now deeply regrets not listening to Wang Jinghua's advice, but among singers who achieve fame and success at a young age, how many can resist the urge to squander their wealth?
Not to mention that he is extremely concerned about his image, and when he is in the middle of something, he won't listen to any advice.

If only my wife hadn't gone to military academy, I could still have her by my side...

"Hiccup~"

Just then, Tengge'er in the back row suddenly burped. Xu Wei smelled the alcohol and couldn't help but turn around to look at him, thinking to himself that this guy was really brave and not afraid at all.

When Tenggeer saw him turn around, he chuckled, took out a few colorfully wrapped candies from his pocket, and handed them to Xu Wei, saying, "I have low blood sugar, so I ate a few chocolates with liqueur fillings."

Okay, I overestimated him.

Xu Wei sat up straight, thinking that issuing a loan was a temporary measure and couldn't solve the immediate problem. So his gaze shifted back and forth between Han Lei and Han Hong in the front row, finally settling on Han Lei. He planned to ask Han Lei for money after the meeting. Although Han Hong was easier to talk to, she was a close confidante of President Zhang. If she knew, it was equivalent to President Zhang knowing.

At this moment, Han Lei also felt the eager gazes behind him, but he did not intend to turn around. After all, as the company's top male artist (singer only), he was already used to the envious or admiring looks from others.

At this moment, Zhang Guoli also took his seat in the first row, leaving only Zhang Yan, Chen Hong, Wang Jinghua, Wang Zhongqi, and Zhang Weining on the stage.

These five people are also the company's nominal top management.

Zhang Yan took the microphone and tested the sound before getting straight to the point: "Our company, Yuanmeng, is a private enterprise, so there's no need for official jargon. I've gathered everyone here today mainly to announce a few things."

First, the company plans to start production on three TV series this year: the long-awaited "A Messy Life" and the martial arts drama "Gan Shijiu Mei" which Shandong TV is preparing to co-produce with us.

Another youth idol drama currently in preparation focuses on the various farces that occur when college graduates enter society after the abolition of job assignments.

Shandong TV just finished filming "The White-Browed Hero". Although the script for "Gan Shijiu Mei" has been written, due to funding issues, filming was originally scheduled to begin only after "The White-Browed Hero" aired.

As a result, when Zhang Guoli led a team to Shandong for promotion a while ago, he casually mentioned that Yuanmeng planned to invest in a martial arts drama. The two hit it off immediately and decided to jointly produce "Gan Shijiu Mei".

As for the final youth idol drama, it was tailor-made for the new young actors. After all, once you've brought them in, you can't just leave them idle.

The actors in the audience were overjoyed to hear that the company was preparing to produce three films at once.

If this happened ten years from now, it would be laughable for such a large company to produce three films a year. But now, in mainland China, people take their time and produce high-quality work. Even CCTV might not be able to produce three films a year.

Making this dream come true is already an unprecedented feat.

Upon hearing the name "Gan Shijiu Mei," both Gai Lili and Wang Luyao's eyes lit up.

Gai Lili was first nominated for the Hundred Flowers Award for her role in the martial arts film "Broken Throat Sword," while Wang Luyao considers herself to have also become famous for acting in martial arts dramas.

So the two of them coincidentally set their sights on "Gan Shijiu Mei". After all, the name itself suggests a female-centric drama, and at least it should be similar to "The New Dragon and Phoenix", with the male and female leads having equally prominent roles.

As for the singers in the front row, most of them didn't care about it—only Richie Jen seemed a little eager to try.

At this point, Zhang Yan announced the second thing: "The other thing is that the number of people who have fulfilled their dreams has increased so much. Although most of them are still in school now, the problem of employee accommodation will become prominent in a year or two."

Therefore, I plan to build two new employee dormitory buildings near the August 1st Film and Television Base. One building will mainly consist of two-bedroom apartments, and the other will mainly consist of three-bedroom and two-living-room apartments, as well as four-bedroom and two-living-room apartments. The former will be provided free of charge to our company's employees, while the latter will be sold internally at 80% of the market price.

Zhang Yan hadn't actually planned to build employee dormitories so soon, but unfortunately, after the August 1st Film and Television Base became popular, the nearby land immediately showed signs of appreciation.

The area around the office building where the dream came true was considered a feng shui treasure.

The night before last, the leaders of the development zone specifically asked Zhang Yan if he still wanted the land. If not, the good plots of land nearby would be allocated to others.

Helpless, Zhang Yan had no choice but to bring forward the planned employee dormitory building.

Upon hearing the news, the artists' reactions took a dramatic turn. The singers in the front row were all very excited, while the younger actors in the back mostly remained indifferent.

However, some were interested. For example, Wang Xuebing raised his hand and asked, "Mr. Zhang, can we, the students of the Class of '90, buy it? And can we pay for the dormitory building in installments?"

"The house will be officially put on the market next summer."

Zhang Yan has no intention of selling off-plan properties, and he doesn't lack the funds: "By then, we should have a better idea of ​​whether you 90s students will stay or leave—if the actors who have signed contracts can get loans from the bank, the company certainly won't refuse installment payments."

After a pause, he encouraged them, "Our company always values ​​efficiency. I estimate that all three TV series will be released by then. Just because you can't afford them now doesn't mean you won't be able to afford them later."

He paused, then added, "Otherwise, what right does our company have to call itself 'Dream Fulfillment'?"

(End of this chapter)