Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 420 Affordable Luxury
Zhang Yan has really become famous this time.

Previously, his fame was mostly limited to the entertainment industry. Ordinary people may have heard of Yuanmeng, Chen Hong, and that Chen Hong's husband is the boss of Yuanmeng, but they are relatively unfamiliar with the name Zhang Yan.

It wasn't until this concentrated media coverage of his feud with Wang Shuo that many people finally connected the name Zhang Yan with Yuanmeng's boss, Chen Hong's husband.

This surprised many people.

Based on the stereotypes about nouveau riche in the 90s, they instinctively assumed that the boss of Yuanmeng must be fat and ugly, and they imagined a beautiful flower stuck in cow dung, or even a pear tree with a crabapple tree.

When I saw the photo in the newspaper, I discovered that he was not only tall, strong, young and handsome, but also a 'cultured person'.

This has given many people a different kind of filter when it comes to Dream Realization Company and its boss, Zhang Yan—after all, good looks are everything.

Of course, this idea is mostly held by women.

However, there are always dissenters in the world. Shortly after the special report "The Old King Takes His Curtain and the New King Ascends the Throne" was published, another report, "Wang Shuo to Zhang Yan - Falling from the Cliff into the Abyss," was published.

The article expresses deep regret that if Wang Shuo is a slick and superficial writer whose articles lack depth, then Zhang Yan is an incompetent and immoral opportunist, a typical example of how bad money drives out good in the cultural industry.

They also heavily criticized Zhang Yan for taking advantage of AIGUO's success while using the international awards he "stole" to seek personal gain, calling him a typical despicable two-faced person.

After hearing about this, Zhang Yan found the article, reposted it, and read it. He first looked at the author's name and found that it was a new work by Sun Sang, the presiding judge of the summer camp.

Let's look at the source again, a certain place in Beijing...

uh~
This is truly a powerful combination of all the necessary elements.

Zhang Yan crumpled the newspaper into a ball and threw it into the trash can. He then looked at the time and saw that it was already noon. He got up and stretched his limbs, preparing to go to the office across the hall to find Chen Hong to have lunch together.

When they opened the door, they saw Chen Hong holding documents and about to knock.

Upon seeing the format on the paper, Zhang Yan raised an eyebrow and asked, "Is this another offer to collaborate on a film?"

Since the critical and commercial success of "In the Heat of the Sun," individuals and organizations have been actively seeking collaborations with the company.

Chen Hong is currently lacking energy and can't handle too many things, so Zhang Yan simply let her take charge of this matter. In the past two weeks, they have received more than a dozen scripts and several companies have expressed their intention to cooperate.

Most of the scripts are mediocre, with only a very few being true masterpieces.

Unfortunately, even masterpieces aren't necessarily suitable for fulfilling dreams. For example, a few days ago, Chen Hong received an anti-corruption script that was incredibly thrilling. If it were filmed, it would definitely be a huge hit.

But Zhang Yan not only dared not film it himself, he didn't even dare to recommend it to Yan Xiaoming—so it's not entirely unfounded for public intellectuals to mock him as a government-appointed mosquito man.

Chen Hong handed the script to Zhang Yan and explained, "He's a director from Shanghai. He only has experience co-directing before, but this script is quite interesting. It's a business war theme that's never been seen before in mainland China."

"Business war?"

Zhang Yan flipped to the first page of the review form and looked at the title of the drama: "Walking with a Millionaire, that's an interesting title. What story is it about?"

"It tells the story of a group of people with their own agendas who follow Lu Lin, a millionaire who made his fortune by luck, to Liaodong Bay to collect jellyfish—a story of hooligans, road bullies, corrupt officials, troublemakers, unscrupulous merchants, the rise of the grassroots, and the fall of the nouveau riche. According to Chang Jihong, all sorts of ingredients are piled up just right."

Hearing that Chang Jihong liked the script, Zhang Yan said, "Then I'll take a closer look later—let's go downstairs and have some dinner."

As he spoke, he stuffed the script into his briefcase.

Chen Hong gestured for Assistant Lin to step forward and take the bag, then teased, "Even Li Songqiang goes out with a little brother carrying his bag these days. Only you, the big boss, are so unconventional."

Zhang Yan laughed and didn't respond to the comment. As a man with many little secrets, it was hard for him not to appear eccentric.

On their way downstairs, Zhang Yan received another call from the garment factory, saying that the samples were ready and asking when it would be convenient for him to inspect the goods.

"No, no, no, you don't need to send it over—I'll have someone go to the factory to inspect the goods later, and then we can schedule a time, okay? Okay, it's settled then."

Seeing Zhang Yan hang up the phone, Chen Hong, protecting her lower abdomen, asked, "Have you decided on a name for this clothing brand yet?"

"Not yet." Zhang Yan countered, "What, do you want to help them choose one?"

“Sure, how about we call it ‘Sanfang’? It’s a brand created by three young women in their prime.” Chen Hong said, unable to help but laugh.

Zhang Yan rolled his eyes speechlessly, thinking to himself that this probably didn't mean 'the mistress and Zhang Fang'.

When they arrived at the company cafeteria, many employees were already eating. When they saw the boss and his wife arrive, no one reacted much.

Zhang Yan had specifically instructed that meals were the most important thing, and subordinates did not need to greet their superiors in the canteen. So, at most, everyone would nod to the two of them as they passed by.

After the couple had ordered their food, they went to the quietest and cleanest table in the corner—although they weren't cooking separately, this table was implicitly reserved for them.

Zhang Yan ate quickly, finishing two bowls of rice. Seeing that Chen Hong was still eating slowly, he grabbed his mobile phone and called Zhang Fang again.

Hearing that the clothing samples had been made, Zhang Fang asked excitedly, "Brother, what do you think should be the name of our brand?"

Zhang Yan glanced at Chen Hong across from him and said decisively, "I can design the trademark for you, but you can come up with the name yourself."

"This……"

Zhang Fang thought for a moment and then decisively said, "Didn't you say that we're a 'light luxury' brand? Why don't we just call it 'light luxury'? The 'light' can mean 'light' or 'light' for young people. In short, it's a light luxury brand for young people!"

This is actually quite interesting.

While using a product category as a brand name might seem a bit too straightforward, the concept of an "affordable luxury" category doesn't actually exist yet. If this concept can be promoted, then "affordable luxury" clothing, as the pioneer, will likely become the benchmark for this category.

It was agreed that several 'shareholders' would come to Tianjin to inspect the goods over the weekend. After hanging up the phone, Zhang Yan told Chen Hong about the brand name and its meaning.

Chen Hong fiddled with the last bit of salad on her plate and said with a smile, "No wonder everyone says you have brilliant ideas. With this new concept, if you run it well, you'll definitely make a name for yourself."

"I never expected her to use this name."

As Zhang Yan spoke, he stood up and said, "Do you have anything to do at the company this afternoon? If not, I'll take you home for a nap."

Chen Hong's office is a mirror image of Zhang Yan's, so it naturally also has a lounge and a bathroom.

However, as she got further into her pregnancy, she inexplicably developed a problem sleeping in unfamiliar beds and couldn't rest well when she was out.

After temporarily handing the Mercedes-Benz keys to Assistant Lin, Zhang Yan and Chen Hong left the Yuanmeng Building together.

The two chatted about this year's Golden Eagle Awards on the way.

Although "The New Dragon and Phoenix" is the most popular TV series this year, its time-travel setting and frivolous and exciting plot have made it unpopular in terms of awards.

Even with Liu Zhenyun's subtle foreshadowing to enhance the depth and Yu Hua's emotionally charged segments to elevate the artistic conception, the film still failed to win any awards at the Magnolia Awards in June and the recently concluded Feitian Awards.

On the contrary, Zhang Yan won the Best Screenplay Award with Feng Xiaogang for "A Native of Beijing in New York"—reportedly because of its unique approach to ethnic integration.

So now the only thing we can count on is the Golden Eagle Awards, which have been incorporated into Tianjin.

"Won't some people question whether we're operating behind closed doors?"

This involves the artistic aspect, especially since she has a chance to win an award, so Chen Hong became a little overwhelmed by concern.

"Which award ceremony has ever gone unchallenged?"

Zhang Yan scoffed, "Just you wait and see. In the future, there will definitely be far more people who remember 'The New Dragon and Phoenix' than those TV series that won the Feitian Award and the Magnolia Award!"

Chen Hong was still somewhat conflicted, but considering that this would be her only chance to win Best Actress if she didn't make a comeback, she couldn't bring herself to object.

(End of this chapter)