Entertainment mogul: Starting his business with the internet

Chapter 433 Collaborative Film and Television Adaptation

As the autumn wind rises, fallen leaves dance.

By the eleventh of the month, late autumn is approaching, and the new winter is on the horizon.

Inside the elevator of the Tengda headquarters building, Liu Shishi, wearing sunglasses and a baseball cap, was about to press the close button when a male voice came from outside: "Please wait a moment."

She immediately withdrew her hand and instead pressed the open button to prevent the elevator doors from closing.

The man hurried in, slightly out of breath, and said, "Thank you."

I reached out to press the floor button, only to find that the button for the 39th floor was already lit up. I was slightly surprised to find that it was the same floor as mine.

He subconsciously looked at the woman beside him, but she was fully armed and covered up, so he couldn't see her face at all.

The elevator was silent, with only the floor numbers silently changing.

The man who entered the elevator later felt that the woman next to him looked somewhat familiar, but he couldn't remember where he had seen her before.

A short while later, the elevator arrived at the top floor, and the heavy alloy door slowly opened.

Liu Shishi glanced at the man accompanying her, a hint of curiosity rising in her heart. She had seen most of the senior executives of Tengda Group who were qualified to go to the top floor, but this one was a complete stranger.

Lost in thought, I stepped out of the elevator without stopping and headed straight for the access control.

The man followed a few steps behind and was about to take out his phone to ask someone to open the door when the woman in front of him took out an access card from her trench coat pocket.

Liu Shishi, holding her husband's access card, was about to swipe it to open the door when she suddenly remembered something. Her brows furrowed, and she turned around warily to look behind her: "Which department at Tengda are you from? Who are you looking for on the top floor?"

The man was taken aback, then realized that the other party doubted his identity, and quickly explained, "Hello, Miss, I am Wu Wenhui, the president of Reading Group, and I am here to report to COO Wang."

Liu Shishi tilted her head and asked in confusion, "I remember the president of Qidian Chinese Network is Hou Xiaoqiang, isn't he?"

Wu Wenhui was helpless. The other party held a top-level access card to the headquarters, so his position in the company must be quite high, but he seemed to have only a superficial understanding of the affairs.

"At mid-year, Qidian Chinese Network was integrated with several other platforms to form the Reading Group. President Hou has already left Tengda, and I am the new president."

After hearing the explanation, Liu Shishi nodded, feeling slightly relieved. The other person was likely an employee of Tengda, otherwise the security guards wouldn't have let him in so easily.

"come in."

The glass sliding door slid slowly, and Wu Wenhui followed Liu Shishi step by step into the inner room.

The two arrived at the Chief Operating Officer's office. Liu Shishi pointed to the doorplate and said, "President Wu, this is Sister Jing's office."

After saying that, she continued forward, walked to the innermost room, and pushed open the door to the chairman's office of Tengda Group.

As Wu Wenhui gazed at the woman's slender back, a sudden realization dawned on him, and he abruptly remembered her identity.

He slapped his forehead in frustration: "Oh dear, what's wrong with my brain! Isn't that the chairman's wife, Liu Shishi? Thank goodness, I didn't rudely just now."

Inside the office, Song Ci's face lit up with a smile when he saw his wife arrive, and he waved to her.

Liu Shishi took off her mask and sunglasses, her brows relaxed, and she gracefully moved to her husband's side, sitting lightly on his lap, her breath sweet as orchids: "When I came here, I ran into the new president of Qidian. He said he was looking for Sister Jing."

Song Ci wrapped his arms around his wife's slender waist, the delicate scent of her perfume lingering in his nostrils, and casually remarked, "Wu Wenhui, huh? He must be here to report on the adaptation of Qidian's IP into a film or television series."

Liu Shishi asked curiously, "Which novel is Qi Dian planning to adapt?"

"I don't have time to deal with such trivial matters. If you're interested, you can ask Sister Jing later."

To be honest, with the Tengda Group and Devon Manufacturing combined, Song Ci is very busy every day.

He basically doesn't concern himself with things like which novel a subsidiary chooses to adapt for a TV series, since the Reading Group is too small a player in the entire Tengda system and doesn't really rank highly.

"Then I'll ask Sister Jing later." Liu Shishi nodded, noticing a gold-embossed invitation on the table, "Whose wedding are you invited to this time?"

Song Ci gently stroked his wife's soft hair: "It was Huo Qigang and Guo Jingjing's wedding."

Young Master Huo came in person this morning, and Director Wang from the administrative office also spoke on behalf of the Huo family, even mentioning the late Old Master Huo. It seems we can't refuse them.

Liu Shishi rested her head on her husband's shoulder: "Since that's the case, then let's go."

Song Ci shook her head slightly: "The imperial court is holding a major meeting on the 11th, that's the most important thing, I have to stay in Beiping. Why don't you go? We're husband and wife, someone from the family can attend."

Liu Shishi refused repeatedly: "I'm not going alone. The Huo family is a top-tier wealthy family in Hong Kong. There will definitely be political and business celebrities at the wedding. I don't like dealing with old foxes in the officialdom. It would be bad if I offended someone."

Song Ci turned his head and gently kissed her forehead, softly comforting her: "Don't worry, on the 11th, all the important officials will have to come to Beiping for a meeting."

Her husband left it at that, but Liu Shishi understood his unspoken meaning: even if some politicians attended the wedding that day, their influence couldn't compare to that of her husband, the richest man in the country, and other business people were not worth her attention.

"Why don't you go for me? The He family will definitely go. You can invite Chaolian to spend two days in Hong Kong."

"Alright," Liu Shishi reluctantly agreed, then asked, "It's their wedding, what should we give them? We can't just come empty-handed."

"For a lavish wedding, guests will only bring auspicious items like jewelry and jade. I'll have my secretary prepare the gifts, so you don't need to worry about it. Just enjoy the wedding banquet and see if there's anything we can improve on."

When her wedding was mentioned, Liu Shishi's eyes lit up with interest: "Then I'll go and join in the fun."

In the next office, Liu Rong, president of Tengda Culture, and Wu Wenhui, president of Reading Group, reported to Wang Jing, COO of Tengda Group in charge of the entertainment division, about their joint adaptation of a male-oriented novel from Qidian Chinese Network.

Wu Wenhui began to explain the plan: "President Wang, 'Joy of Life' is a bestseller on Qidian Chinese Network and has a huge readership."

I've discussed it with Mr. Liu, and we plan to film this novel in three parts. We'll start with the first part, and if it's well-received, we'll move on to the next two.

"Each episode costs 8 million to film, and there are 46 episodes in total, so the production cost alone is as high as 368 million. Adding 40 million for marketing and distribution, the total investment is 408 million!" Wang
Jing looked at the budget report in her hand, her brows furrowed, and she felt a sense of pressure. The cost of a TV series of more than 4 million yuan was unprecedented in the entire entertainment industry.

Seeing the hesitation on Wang Jing's face, Wu Wenhui became somewhat anxious.

The adaptation of novels into films and television series may have limited significance for Tengda Culture, but it is crucial for the entire reading group.

He needs a successful adaptation case to boost copyright revenue for the entire online literature industry.

If the TV series "Joy of Life" is successful, Reading Group can achieve explosive growth in revenue by licensing adaptations to film and television companies, forming a compound revenue model of "copyright sales + subsequent revenue sharing." Wu Wenhui glanced at Liu Rong beside him, seeing that she was calm and composed, and could only continue to persuade her: "President Wang, Reading Group, in conjunction with Tengda Culture and Toutiao Video, can form a closed loop of 'IP source - production - broadcast'."

If the adaptation of "Joy of Life" achieves satisfactory results, it can drive traffic to Toutiao Video and convert some of Qidian Chinese Network's paid readers into video platform users.

At the same time, film and television adaptations will inevitably attract a large number of non-online novel readers to contribute back to the original work, which is a mutually beneficial situation.

Wu Wenhui has ambitious plans. If he can successfully adapt the content into a film or television series, he will transform Qidian.com from a text consumption platform into an IP ecosystem engine.

It can not only bring considerable short-term benefits, but also reconstruct the entire value assessment system of online literature, sublimate the vitality of text IP through film and television adaptation, and continuously increase its value in cross-media narrative.

Seeing that Wu Wenhui's tone was quite agitated, Wang Jing raised her hand to signal him to calm down, then turned to Liu Rong: "What is your opinion on the adaptation of 'Joy of Life', Mr. Liu?"

“I support Mr. Wu’s idea in principle. However, how much of this 4 million yuan investment can Reading Group afford?” Liu Rong said calmly. Deep down, she was unwilling to get involved in the adaptation of “Joy of Life” into a TV series.

The cost of 4 million yuan is too risky. Even if the show becomes a huge hit, it will only be icing on the cake for Tengda Culture.

Tengda Culture has a strong foundation and has been accumulating copyrights since its inception, boasting the largest script inventory in the industry.

The film and television industry is booming and making money is easy, so Tengda Culture really doesn't need to take such a big risk.

However, this matter involves the coordinated development of the entire entertainment ecosystem, and is related to the two sister companies, Reading Group and Toutiao Video. Directly refusing would seem to disregard the overall situation.

Upon hearing this, Wu Wenhui looked troubled. It was already November, and based on the performance of the first ten months, Qidian Chinese Network's revenue in 2012 would not exceed 400 million yuan, and its profit would be less than 80 million yuan.

Next year, he also plans to carry out in-depth reforms to Qidian, which requires a lot of funds, making it difficult to invest too much in "Joy of Life".

After careful consideration, he tentatively suggested, "Besides providing the copyright, Singularity can invest 2000 million."

Liu Rong was so angry that she laughed. Zhou Juan on Toutiao Video was crying poverty and saying she wouldn't give a single penny.

With a cost of 4 million, Wu Wenhui only contributed 2000 million. How could he even say that? He's clearly trying to fleece Tengda Culture. There's no such thing as a free lunch!

Wang Jing was also somewhat displeased upon hearing this. It was ridiculous that Tengda Culture would bear more than 90% of the costs in a collaboration between three subsidiaries.

She founded Tengda Culture, which was established even earlier than Tengda Technology. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to call it her "own son," so naturally she wouldn't allow such a thing to happen.

He immediately put on a stern face: "Mr. Wu, if your grand plan to adapt the film into a movie requires Tengda Culture to bear all the risks, I advise you to give up this idea as soon as possible."

Wu Wenhui knew that if Qi Dian didn't show some real sincerity, Wang Jing and Liu Rong would definitely not agree to adapt "Joy of Life".

After a moment's thought, he gritted his teeth and said, "President Wang, President Liu, Reading Group has only been established for a short time, and its foundation is indeed a bit weak. We really don't have much working capital."

How about this: Qidian pledges the copyrights to 75 bestselling books as collateral to borrow 80 million yuan from Tengda Culture, to be repaid in two years with interest. This project requires an investment of 100 million yuan.

I'll talk to Mr. Zhou again and try to get Toutiao Video to contribute 100 million yuan. Then, with Tengda Culture contributing another 200 million yuan, we can get "Joy of Life" off the ground.

After speaking, he looked at Liu Rong with anticipation. Nowadays, the dozen or so subsidiaries under Tengda Group are all independently accounted for, responsible for their own profits and losses, and the accounts between the sister companies are clearly settled.

If the other party still doesn't agree, he'll have no choice but to mortgage the copyright to the bank.

Seeing that Wu Wenhui had gone this far, Liu Rong sighed, "Alright, as long as President Zhou is willing to put up 100 million, Tengda Culture will invest in the 'Joy of Life' project."

Seeing Wang Jing nod slightly, Wu Wenhui breathed a sigh of relief. With the COO's approval, he could then pressure Zhou Juan to invest.

Wang Jing hesitated for a moment, then said, "It would be better to report to Chairman Song first. You all come with me." Four hundred million was no small sum, and it involved three subsidiaries. After much deliberation, she still dared not make a decision on her own.

As soon as she finished speaking, Wang Jing gracefully stood up and led Wu Wenhui and Liu Rong out of the office.

Just as he was about to knock on the door, Wu Wenhui suddenly interrupted, "Mr. Wang, your wife is inside. I saw her when I came in."

Wang Jing was taken aback, not expecting Liu Shishi to come to the company today, and her knocking on the door immediately softened.

"Come in."

After receiving permission, Wang Jing led the two of them through the door. There, Liu Shishi was sitting on the chairman's seat of Tengda Group, while Song Ci stood to the side, looking more like a male secretary.

The three greeted the couple, and Liu Shishi greeted them with a smile: "Sister Jing, how is Hao Hao doing lately? President Liu, it's been a long time. President Wu, it's nice to see you again."

When her beloved son was mentioned, Wang Jing's face showed a touch of maternal tenderness: "The little guy is very strong."

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Song Ci pointed to the sofa in the reception area and said, "Let's sit down and talk about what's on our minds."

After everyone was seated, Wu Wenhui quickly reported the whole story to the chairman again.

After listening, Song Ci immediately stated: "Let's test the waters with 'Joy of Life'. The implementation of the big entertainment strategy requires full-stack IP development, and we must take this crucial first step."

Wu Wenhui's anxiety finally subsided: "Thank you for your support, Chairman Song."

Song Ci leaned back on the soft sofa and casually asked, "How many platinum authors does Qidian have right now?"

Wu Wenhui listed them off with great familiarity: "As of October, Qidian Chinese Network has a total of 29 platinum authors. These people account for half of the total income of all authors on the website."

Song Ci praised: "Excellent! The 'Platinum Author' system has strengthened the platform's content competitiveness through the brand operation of top authors. You just mentioned that you plan to reform Qidian next year, could you tell me about it?"

Wu Wenhui seized the opportunity and explained in detail: "Chairman Song, I plan to launch the paragraph comment function next year, so that readers can mark comments on any paragraph of the novel."

By analyzing reader preferences through comments, authors can adjust character design, plot, and even the ending in a timely manner, thereby strengthening the communication and interaction between authors and readers.

At the same time, the reward system will be restructured, changing fan points to reader points, and systematically establishing honorary titles from apprentice to leader to meet the status requirements of the reader community.

"That's a great idea!" Song Ci agreed. "In addition, we should pay attention to mobile applications."

Hou Xiaoqiang, that guy, actually prevented Qidian Chinese Network from developing a mobile app just to promote that garbage Cloud Bookstore. It's utterly absurd.

Qidian now occupies half of the entire online literature market, and Reading Group must pay close attention to its development.

Wu Wenhui quickly replied, "You are absolutely right. I will organize the detailed plan and then report it to you and President Wang in detail."

(End of this chapter)