Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 161 Wu Jing: I want to call Huayi...

On the fifth day after Chen Xiu went to Pengcheng, the investment destination for "Wolf Warrior 2" in Beijing was finally decided.

Inside the president's office of Huayi in Shunyi.

"Impossible! There's no way to have the best of both worlds."

Wang Zhonglei leaned back in his chair and said sternly to Wu Jing on the other end of the phone, "You either choose Huayi or Datang Pictures. It's a choice between two options. There's no room for pleasing either side."

"Mr. Wang, can't we discuss this further?"

"No need for discussion, make a decision as soon as possible! When is the earliest you can sign the contract?"

"...Tomorrow then. I still have some things to take care of today."

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhonglei sensed that Wu Jing was planning to do something underhanded.

However, normally speaking, unless someone is completely out of their mind, Wu Jing shouldn't offend Huayi, after all, Huayi is the industry leader...

With that thought in mind, he stopped worrying about what Wu Jing was dealing with.

"OK, find some time tomorrow to come over and we'll finalize the contract."

After saying that, Wang Zhonglei hung up the phone without waiting for Wu Jing's reply.

The matter was handled with considerable arrogance, but Huayi has been a leader in the industry since its listing in 09.

Wang Zhonglei, the company's de facto leader, has become quite arrogant in recent years due to the flattery he receives from those around him.

He has long forgotten the hardships and struggles of the early days of starting his business. Now he enjoys the life where his word is law in the entertainment industry and no one dares to say no.

Therefore, it's not surprising that Wang Zhonglei acted so arrogantly at the "Detective Chinatown" box office celebration party last week, and reacted so strongly after being ridiculed by Chen Xiu.

He wanted to use his investment in "Wolf Warrior 2" to show Chen Xiu that the entertainment industry is different from the internet industry.

Money doesn't work here!

……

On the other side, Wu Jing, whose phone call was hung up on by Wang Zhonglei, also looked somewhat displeased.

He thought about how he had been in the industry for so many years, and even though he had never become a big star, he still had a certain status in the industry, yet he was treated so casually by Wang Zhonglei.

The other party's arrogant attitude was really unpleasant.

However, Huayi's status in the entertainment industry is not something that can be shaken by a single artist.

Thinking of this, Wu Jing suddenly had a brilliant idea: why not accept the investment from Datang Pictures and give up Huayi?

The moment the idea crossed his mind, he silently rejected it.

Although Datang Pictures has Chen Xiu, its scale is still too small. Even with the help of Wanda and Tencent, the three are not a unified entity and may not be able to compete with Huayi Brothers, unless Datang Pictures can become larger...

"Alas, when the city gates catch fire, the fish in the moat suffer!"

Wu Jing kept repeating this sentence. After struggling with it for three days, he finally understood Wang Zhonglei's purpose in investing in "Wolf Warrior 2". He wanted to snatch the project from Chen Xiu in order to prove something.

Caught in the power struggle between the two big shots, Wu Jing, whose movie "Wolf Warrior 2" hasn't even been released yet, is just a minor character.

Reluctantly, Wu Jing got up and left his family's Dengfeng Culture Company.

Wei Feng invited him to lunch today, and he should go and give him an answer regarding the investment in "Wolf Warrior 2".

As Wu Jing drove towards his destination, he kept thinking about this matter.

If Datang Pictures' attitude was also arrogant, he wouldn't have to be so conflicted.

For the past three days, Wei Feng called him every time, always in a very friendly manner, and they only talked about their interests and hobbies, without discussing any work-related matters.

This friendly attitude made Wu Jing actually lean more towards Datang Pictures, but he didn't want to offend Huayi...

"If all else fails, how about we sell some of our shares and sign a nominee shareholding agreement with Datang Film & Television, without Huayi knowing? That way, everyone's happy?"

The idea popped into Wu Jing's mind, and his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

Despite his rough exterior, he was meticulous and felt that this approach would solve all the problems.

Even though Wu Jing was very confident in "Wolf Warrior 2", he would never have imagined that the film's box office would create a miracle. Giving up a portion of his investment share was not an unacceptable thing for him.

"Just do it!"

Wu Jing silently recited a sentence in his mind, then stepped on the gas and sped to the lunch location.

When Wu Jing arrived at the hotel, parked his car, went up to the private room, and knocked on the door to wait, the door was opened inwards, and Wei Feng appeared behind the door with a big smile.

"Director Wu, you're right on time!"

"President Wei, why did you come out in person?"

"You are a distinguished guest, it's not inappropriate for me to greet you."

"hehe."

Wu Jing chuckled twice, unsure how to respond.

Given that Wei Feng was the deputy general manager of Datang Film Industry, it would be impossible for Wu Jing to say that he felt nothing at all when Wei Feng treated him with such enthusiasm and courtesy.

Especially Wang Zhonglei, this negative example; I just hung up on him on the phone...

Seeing the emotion on Wu Jing's face, Wei Feng didn't ask any questions. He simply took Wu Jing's hand and led him into the private room.

"When we were chatting on the phone the day before yesterday, we talked about how you like to drink Maozi (a type of Chinese liquor) and how you got your father-in-law drunk?"

"Sigh, this is kind of embarrassing to talk about..."

"In Brother Xiu's words, you're a man of strong character! So we can't be too formal with each other. I haven't prepared anything special today, just two cases of iron-capped Maozi. You can drink to your heart's content later, and someone will keep you company."

"Oh?"

Wu Jing glanced at Wei Feng curiously, wanting to ask, "How can we enjoy ourselves to the fullest?"

Before he could ask, the two had already arrived at the large table in the private room. Xiong Ben, who was sitting in his seat like a small mountain, also stood up and reached out his hand to Wu Jing after seeing the two.

"Director Wu, hello, I'll have a drink with you today."

"Eh? Mr. Xiong, you..." Looking at Xiong Ben, who was a third wider than himself, Wu Jing turned his questioning gaze to Wei Feng, and then received a confirming look.

After exchanging greetings, the three of them took their seats. As Wei Feng began to order, Xiong Ben had already filled two beer glasses with baijiu (Chinese liquor).

"Director Wu, shall we drink straight away, or shall I have a few drinks first?"

"No one can beat me when it comes to drinking!"

After saying that, Wu Jing picked up his wine glass and downed it in one gulp.

Xiong Ben didn't hesitate at all; he picked up a full glass of wine and drank it down without spilling a single drop.

Upon seeing such a hearty way of drinking, Wu Jing, who was already a lover of wine, immediately brightened up, feeling that even if he didn't eat anything and just drank, this meal would still be worthwhile.

Setting down his wine glass, Xiong Ben asked, "Another round?"

"Come!"

They downed two large glasses in one gulp.

With their drinking style, a 500ml bottle of Maotai would only last for a few cups.

Then, Xiong Ben, being the taciturn type, would basically stop talking once he started drinking.

After Wei Feng finished ordering, the waiter brought the dishes over, and the two drinking buddies had already downed four bottles of Maotai!
“Uh~~”

Wu Jing, who was flushed and drunk, let out a burp reeking of alcohol. Looking at Xiong Ben, whose face didn't even turn red, he immediately felt that he had met his match today.

What Wu Jing didn't know was that Wei Feng's conversations over the past three days were all aimed at understanding his preferences and then catering to them to advance their relationship.

Just as Xiong Ben took out the remaining two bottles from the box of thatch on the ground, unscrewed them, and prepared to continue drinking.

Not wanting to actually get drunk, Wu Jing raised his hand to stop him: "Brother, where are you from? How can you drink so much?"

"My hometown is Inner Mongolia."

"No wonder. Why don't we talk business first and then drink later?"

"sure!"

Wei Feng appeared smoothly from the side, took over the conversation, and then patted Xiong Ben on the shoulder.

"Big Bear, let me talk to Director Wu about business first. You can drink with him later."

"it is good."

Xiong Ben nodded and stood up, giving his seat to Wei Feng to talk, while he went to the side and quietly ate his food.

Looking at Wei Feng sitting down, Wu Jing, who was three parts drunk, spoke without restraint: "I thought you were planning to get me drunk before we talked about serious business, Mr. Wei."

"That was my original plan, but after thinking about it carefully, I still think it's better to be more sincere."

"sincere?"

Wu Jing kept repeating these two words, deeply feeling the rarity of this quality in the entertainment industry.

"Mr. Wei, I've come up with a proposal regarding the investment in 'Wolf Warrior 2.' Would you like to hear it first?"

"Please say."

"Huayi has always insisted on choosing one of the two options, but I can give up 5% of the total investment from my own share, as long as Datang Pictures signs a nominee shareholding agreement with me."

"This solution is indeed the best of both worlds, but please forgive me for not being able to accept it."

Wei Feng shook his head in noncommittal refusal.

This situation was not unexpected for Wu Jing.

"Does Mr. Wei think this share is too small?"

"Yes! Besides that, there's another thing I don't quite understand. 'Wolf Warrior 2' is your project, so why are you concerned about Huayi's opinion?"

Wei Feng's question startled Wu for a moment, and then a stubbornness surged up on his face.

"I don't care about their opinions! The main thing is, this whole thing has nothing to do with me. It's a conflict between you and Huayi. Why should I have to make some kind of choice between two options?"

"well said!"

Wei Feng clapped his hands twice and guided, "Since you don't care about Huayi's opinion, you can choose the investor according to your own wishes. Why do you have to give up your own investment share?"

“If I were to choose based on my own wishes, I would definitely choose you guys, but those two brothers from Huayi are notoriously stingy and cunning... When it comes to making movies, it's all about cooperation and mutual benefit!”

A hint of concern appeared in Wu Jing's eyes. If he were still alone, he could certainly act impulsively.

However, with a wife, a family, and a two-year-old son, Wu Jing, with his tender feelings for his children, inevitably felt a little less heroic and naturally had more things to consider.

Upon hearing Wu Jing admit that he was concerned about Huayi, Wei Feng's lips curled into a smile.

"If Wolf Warrior 2 accepts investment from Datang Pictures, even if Huayi Brothers tries anything underhanded, Brother Xiu will step in to resolve it."

"Didn't President Chen just have a falling out with Huayi? Why is he stepping in to resolve it?"

Have you seen today's trending topics on Weibo?

"No."

"I suggest you take a look."

Wei Feng raised his hand, a hint of mischievousness creeping into his smile.

Wu Jing took out his phone, opened Weibo, and then clicked on the search bar, where he saw the top trending topic.

"Chen Xiu and Pony Ma are working out at a hotel; Tencent Pictures announces it will soon participate in Datang Pictures' Series A funding round..."

Clicking into the entry and reading the full blog post confirmed that Tencent does indeed intend to invest in Datang Pictures, and I saw a photo of Chen Xiu and Pony Ma together.

Wu Jing's gaze gradually hardened, and she said to Wei Feng, "I want to call Huayi..."

"Please."

(End of this chapter)