Pirates began to dominate the Chinese entertainment industry.

"Boss, how about we get someone else?" Xiao Zhao asked tentatively.

In his view, it wasn't that Wang Baoqiang was indispensable.

The company is short of money right now, so there's absolutely no need to hire such an expensive actor.

Moreover, Wang Baoqiang didn't seem particularly funny in "Blind Shaft" and "A World Without Thieves." He had a simple and honest image, and looked rather dull. Could he really pull off this comedy film that the company is trying to save?

"Alright, I understand. I'll contact them." Ji Yun had no intention of giving up.

People just haven't seen Wang Baoqiang be funny yet. He's a true comedy icon. He's funny even without trying to be funny.

Besides, it's not that easy to replace someone. Wang Baoqiang's career has been incredibly successful; his early path to success is almost impossible to replicate. This has resulted in him being the only one of his type in the industry, with no one to replace him.

It's only possible if there's a nationwide audition; there are bound to be geniuses among the ordinary people.

But where are the conditions for that now? Even if you find one, the newcomer has no reputation, and you have to train them from scratch. For a film and television company owner, that's not worth it at all, especially since the other party hasn't offended you.

The third installment of the "Lost in..." series has a new cast, and its reputation has plummeted. Although it still made a lot of money, Ji Yun is going to make it into a series, so she can't afford to lose big for small gains.

The "Lost in..." series cannot do without Wang Baoqiang, just as Li Yunlong cannot do without the Italian cannon.

"I'm so sorry, boss—" Xiao Zhao said with a guilty tone.

"It has nothing to do with you. He's super famous now. Even if he hasn't gotten arrogant, the people around him have. You'd better hurry up and pack your things at the company. We'll have to move sooner or later."

Ji Yun hung up the phone, pondered for a moment, and then dialed the number of Wang Baoqiang's agent, Song Zhe, which was in her contacts.

After a few rings of the ringtone, the other party answered, "Who is this?"

"Hello, I'm an investor in 'Lost in Thailand,' and I'd like to invite Mr. Wang to play the lead role. The salary is negotiable."

Halfway through the conversation, the person on the other end of the phone seemed impatient and wanted to interrupt, but upon hearing that the fee was negotiable, they fell silent for a moment, then said coldly, "You know how popular Baoqiang is right now, his price isn't cheap. Besides, for a small company like yours, there's no point in even negotiating if the fee isn't sufficient."

"I understand my disadvantages, but we have Tangren Media as a co-producer, so you don't need to worry about the filming—"

"Just tell me, how much?" The agent's tone became even more impatient.

He seemed only interested in hearing about the paycheck; the production team and the company were completely unimportant to him.

That person is truly unlucky to have such an agent.

However, this is not entirely a bad thing for Ji Yun.

"How about 60?" Ji Yun asked directly.

"That's too little. A company like yours should be at least 100." Song Zhe asked for an exorbitant price.

Currently, Wang Baoqiang and Xu Zheng are in similar positions, both with high national recognition. One is in a slump but has been popular for a long time and has many works, while the other is at his peak but his popularity is short-lived.

The two are almost evenly matched, with salaries ranging from 50 to 70. However, Ji Yun was originally willing to pay more to secure the latter as the director of the second film.

This doesn't mean that others are foolish, have too much money, or don't understand the market.

Song Zhe actually doubled the amount right off the bat.

They really treated him like an outsider and ripped him off.

"Mr. Wang is indeed very popular right now, but our small company has limited funds—"

"That's your problem."

"...How about this, Mr. Song, we separate?"

"Separate? What do you mean?" Song Zhe suddenly fell silent, also a little confused about the situation.

"It's about separating you and Mr. Wang. We're willing to offer Mr. Wang a fee of 30 yuan—"

"30?! Are you kidding me??" Song Zhe said angrily.

"Of course not. This 30 is Mr. Wang's film fee."

However, I would also like to invite Mr. Song to join our production team as an artistic advisor. The fee is 10 yuan, no actual work required; this is a personal stipend for you.

Ji Yun directly drew a big pie in the sky.

Thanks to the sensational sex scandal that would later rock the nation, Ji Yun knew that this man was greedy and lustful enough that he completely placed his own interests above those of the signed artists.

For money, they'd even do illegal things.

Moreover, Ji Yun's proposed solution is reasonable and legal.

This is a common tactic used in the industry to address the future chaos of exorbitant celebrity salaries after they violate the salary cap:

They give you a title that doesn't live up to its name, and then give you a huge salary.

For example, Huang Sanshi later used the trope of holding multiple jobs in the TV series "A Little Reunion".

Just looking at the salary of 3660 million, it's already a lot.

But there were other questionable practices. He took another 50 yuan as a literary planner, another 660 million yuan as a producer, and another 1960 million yuan under the guise of script development.

It appears to be 3660 million, but it's actually 6330 million!

In reality, he did nothing; the team did all the writing.

This content was written in the prospectus of a listed company and has been reviewed by the authorities.

They are not afraid of the outside world finding out, and even if they do, they are not afraid, because no one knows what exactly happened on set or what kind of art they directed.

For Song Zhe, the agent's share of the film and television fee is generally around 10%. That means he can get 50 yuan out of the artist's 5 yuan film and television fee.

But now Ji Yun directly gave him 100 yuan, based on the 10 million yuan salary.

In addition to Wang Baoqiang's 30, there's still another 3 to be distributed.

The two combined amount to a contract worth 130 million.

As for how he persuaded Wang Baoqiang to join at a low price, that's Wang Baoqiang's business. I'm sure his deception skills are quite sophisticated.

"Is this compliant with regulations?"

At the crucial moment, Song Zhe hesitated.

His tone was a mixture of fear and excitement.

"Of course, you only need to comment on the outfits and attire of Mr. Wang and the other lead actors."

Ji Yun said in a relaxed tone.

"A few words, 10 yuan. Would Mr. Song be willing to come and give us some guidance?"

"...I will seriously consider it. However, I think Baoqiang would really like this kind of story about the Spring Festival travel rush, and he would definitely be willing to participate in such a film. Please take care of me in the future, President Ji."

Song Zhe spoke in a light tone, as if he was only responding because "Baoqiang likes it".

"Of course, this film was tailor-made for Mr. Wang."

"Okay, Mr. Ji, send me a copy of the contract when you have time, and I'll get it for him to sign." Song Zhe suddenly whispered, "Remember to send me a separate copy."

"No problem! Private contact," Ji Yun said with a smile.

He then exchanged a few polite words and hung up.

When the call ended, Ji Yun checked her expenses.

Wang Baoqiang's original budget of 70 yuan has now been reduced to 30 + 10 yuan, saving another 30 yuan.

It's somewhat like they benefited from Wang Baoqiang having a terrible agent; at worst, they can just make him another movie later.

Okay, let's go with "Detective Chinatown".

After eating and drinking her fill, Ji Yun lay down to rest.

Prepare to get plenty of rest and sleep soundly until the next day.

The next few months will be spent running around and living a hard life.

Traveling all over the country, filming day and night...

However, this is the norm for film crews.

Ji Yun closed her eyes, her consciousness gradually fading.

Silence fell again.

------

"Buzz buzz buzz~" The phone vibrated wildly, ignoring its owner's life or death.

At some unknown time, Ji Yun was woken up again.

It was still daylight outside the window.

He picked up his phone helplessly. The screen showed 3 p.m., and it was a call from Liu Shishi.

"Um?"

Why would she call herself at that moment?

He lay on the bed, pressed the answer button, and held the phone to his ear, "Senior Sister, what's wrong?"

"Ji Yun, the bank loan collectors are here!" Liu Shishi said anxiously in a low voice on the other end of the phone.

"You're here? Where are you?" Ji Yun was completely confused.

"Your company?" Liu Shishi said in a matter-of-fact tone.

"How did you know? No, what are you doing at my company?" Ji Yun was even more confused.

"I didn't have much to do this afternoon, and I was just killing time, so I came to see if there was anything I could do. It just so happens that I'm here. Sister Li went to greet you, and asked me to give you a call."

"...Okay, I'm coming over now."

Liu Shishi hurriedly stopped Ji Yun from coming over, saying with a worried tone, "Oh no, no, I called to ask if you wanted to hide for a bit. The people at the bank looked so serious."