Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 441 Perfect External Aid
The next morning, Zhou Tao took the train alone and left early.

This incident deeply humiliated her, and she even refused to return to the capital with Tao Hong.

When Zhang Yan saw Tao Hong and her sister off, he specifically told Tao Hong to be careful, since Zhou Tao was never someone to be trifled with.

Zhang Yan didn't know if Tao Hong took it to heart, but he was indeed a little too concerned and even told his wife, the "Empress," about it when he got back.

Chen Hong laughed until her stomach hurt after hearing the whole story, and it took her a while to recover.

"Actually, there's no need to worry too much about this."

She casually flicked Zhang Yan's navel three inches below his navel: "As long as Zhou Tao hasn't strayed from your path, it will be difficult for her to retaliate in kind—after all, you're biased and definitely won't cooperate with her."

Zhang Yan sighed and shook his head, saying, "Her path isn't this; it's about tangible benefits."

His relationship with Zhou Tao was distorted from the beginning; more accurately, it was an affair. So it's not surprising that it gradually turned sour later on.

Checking the time, Zhang Yan informed his parents and then took Chen Hong to the Economic Development Zone Management Committee.

This time, the main purpose was to negotiate with the Golden Eagle Awards organizing committee to temporarily add a Hong Kong Island TV drama award – of course, it would be too deliberate to only include Hong Kong Island, so nominally it is Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

Because the meeting concerned the ownership and future of the August 1st Film and Television Base, the management committee attached great importance to it. Although Vice Mayor Ye did not personally preside over the meeting, he sent his secretary to co-chair the meeting with a deputy director of the management committee.

However, the members of the Golden Eagle Awards organizing committee were visibly uncomfortable when they met with Zhang Yan and Chen Hong face-to-face.

The dream come true with "The New Dragon and Phoenix," which is a strong contender for awards this year. Logically, the organizing committee should not have contacted them in advance.

But nowadays in Tianjin, how can one talk about the entertainment industry without mentioning Yuan Meng, Zhang Yan, and Chen Hong?
Upon hearing Zhang Yan's proposal to establish a temporary "Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan" award, the organizing committee chairman frowned even more deeply: "There are only half a month left until the draw. Isn't adding an award at the last minute a bit too hasty? How about we wait until next year..."

"Mr. Chairman."

Zhang Yan interrupted him and said seriously, "The reason we set up this award on short notice is actually to create a communication platform for the optoelectronics industry and the Hong Kong and Taiwan film and television industry."

As you should also know, the Sino-US negotiations are nearing their end. Whether or not to open up to Hong Kong films, and to what extent, requires a preliminary agreement from the Optoelectronics Group.

Upon hearing that it was a political task, the organizing committee looked at each other in bewilderment and had no choice but to passively compromise.

After all, the Tianjin municipal government and the TV station did allocate money to the organizing committee. The saying "He who eats another's food is bound to do his bidding" always holds true.

However, some people still raised some questions: "But we are not very familiar with the Hong Kong dramas that have aired this year, and we don't know which TV series are eligible for nomination."

"You can rest assured about that."

Zhang Yan patted his chest and said, "I have already contacted Hong Kong through an intermediary. They will send over ten popular dramas that aired from July last year to the end of June this year so that we can familiarize ourselves with them in advance."

The middleman was, of course, Long Wu.

After settling the important matters, the chairman of the organizing committee suddenly brought up Zhang Yan's speech at the Broadcasting Academy: "Mr. Zhang, if variety shows are really that important, should we add an award in this area to the Golden Eagle Awards?"

"Not yet."

Zhang Yan shook his head and said, "There are only two or three variety shows that are well-known, so it's not very meaningful to make a selection now—we should wait until most provinces have broadcast them on satellite TV."

Although not completely rejected, the organizing committee was not happy with the two consecutive rejections. Although they did not show it, the atmosphere in the meeting room became much colder.

At this moment, Chen Hong smiled and said, "Actually, with the establishment of awards for Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, we also plan to invite the top singers from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and the mainland to perform live, and strive to make our Golden Eagle Awards the most popular awards ceremony in the mainland."

This is like giving a slap followed by a sweet treat.

The two actors, one playing the good cop and the other the bad cop, had planned this all along the way. Several members of the Golden Eagle Awards organizing committee, known for their strong sense of integrity, advocated that the more the awards were rooted in Tianjin, the higher the standards and stricter the requirements for the "Dream Realization Award" should be. They even suggested that the "Dream Realization Award" should not be given out in the first three editions to demonstrate the fairness and integrity of the Golden Eagle Awards.

Therefore, Zhang Yan deliberately acted aggressively today, while Chen Hong played the peacemaker to avoid things backfiring and a complete breakdown in relations.

As expected, upon hearing about the substantial support provided by the Dream Fulfillment Project, the chairman of the organizing committee softened his tone again, but still pressed for details: "How will the expenses be calculated? Our organizing committee cannot accept funding from participating organizations."

"Don't worry about that."

Chen Hong smiled like a spring breeze: "The singers who fulfilled their dreams will not participate in this year's gala, and the other singers also voluntarily applied for free performances in order to support the development of the television industry."

With Yuanmeng's current influence in the mainland music scene, he could easily pull in a bunch of singers for free by making some kind of deal. Although it's not quite the same in Hong Kong and Taiwan, finding a couple of representatives wouldn't be a problem.

At this moment, Zhang Yan spoke up again: "But the backup dancers are provided by Yuanmeng, so there shouldn't be any problem, right?"

"Backing dancers?"

The organizing committee members looked at each other, wanting to refuse, but when they thought of the scene of singers from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and the mainland gathering at the Golden Eagle Awards, they couldn't bring themselves to say no.

…………

While Zhang Yan and Chen Hong were slowly simmering the Golden Eagle, Zhou Tao had already returned to his residence in Beijing.

Although what happened this time was not enough to leave a deep impression on her, she would never just swallow her anger like this.

On the train, she was thinking about how to get revenge on Tao Hong—although Zhang Yan was an accomplice, taking revenge on Zhang Yan would harm her own interests, so Zhou Tao could only ignore it for the time being.

However, taking revenge on Tao Hong doesn't seem to be an easy task—because the two are about to start doing business together, and if they completely fall out with Tao Hong, it will also affect their profits.

Therefore, she could only resort to fighting without breaking the alliance, and take limited revenge on Tao Hong.

However, limited retaliation cannot guarantee that Tao Hong will not seek revenge in return. If Tao Hong retaliates even more severely, she will be the one who suffers in the end.

This conclusion greatly discouraged Zhou Tao.

With her physique, looks, intelligence, and skills, how did she end up in such a passive situation?

The problem with her was that she had something in mind, while Tao Hong didn't value the benefits Zhang Yan could offer. One was anxious and indecisive, while the other was carefree and easygoing. Coupled with the difference in their martial arts skills, it was quite normal for her to lose to Tao Hong.

Growing angrier at home, Zhou Tao finally had an idea: perhaps he should find outside help. After all, one man can't fight four women. If he could physically subdue Tao Hong, wouldn't he be less worried about her retaliating?
But finding the right person isn't so easy.

First, she must be someone in this 'circle,' or someone willing to join it, since their relationship is shady and they can't risk too much for revenge.

This means that the other person's looks and figure must be above average, otherwise how could they possibly get into this circle?
In order to physically suppress Tao Hong, this person also needs to be strong, preferably able to stand in front and act as a human shield.

Finally, one must control the other party to a certain extent, or grasp their weaknesses—if the other party is also hostile towards Tao Hong, that would be even better.

uh~
After listing all these conditions, Zhou Tao actually thought of a perfect outside helper, someone she originally regarded as a competitor or even an enemy.

Yang Lan!

The problem is that Yang Lan, our foreign aid, is actually abroad, so we can't rely on her since she's so far away.

Are there any other candidates?

(End of this chapter)