Rebirth: My Home Has Become a Gathering Place for Young Women with a "Crazy" Spirit

When Shen Jie saw Wu Yong shielding Qin Lang behind him, his expression changed, and then he looked away.

Qin Lang remained calm and asked Wu Yong in a low voice, "Brother Yong, what is the relationship between Shen Jie and the Zhao family?"

Wu Yong paused for two seconds before explaining, "Shen Jie's wife is Zhao Xiangcheng's distant cousin. A very distant one, but Shen Jie always tells others that he is Zhao Xiangcheng's brother-in-law."

Qin Lang nodded. In that case, many things made sense.

Shen Jie is just a pawn in the Zhao family's game.

Perhaps Shen Jie didn't really want to harm his good brother Wu Yong on his own, but was instead instructed by the Zhao family.

What the Zhao family really wants is Wu Yong's position. That position is crucial; it holds the power of approval. If the Zhao family wants to acquire more projects and land in Liaobei City, they must place their own people in that position.

First, bring Wu Yong down, and then push Shen Jie or other of their own people up. In this way, the Zhao family will have a say in the approval process.

In this game of chess, Shen Jie is a piece, and Wu Yong is also a piece, but now, because of Qin Lang's reminder, Wu Yong has actually jumped off the chessboard.

The Zhao family will certainly not stop there; in fact, they might even eliminate him, the one who has influenced the game.

Qin Lang was a bit of a headache. He had only wanted to help a friend from his previous life, but he hadn't expected to offend the behemoth that was the Zhao family. He was just a small-time content creator and online novelist now; how could he possibly contend with the Zhao family?

Qin Lang looked at Zhao Xiangcheng's table. The old man Zhou Hongyuan was talking to Zhao Xiangcheng. Zhao Xiangcheng nodded frequently. Zhao Zhiheng stood behind him, playing with his phone idly. Occasionally, he would look up and glance around. When his gaze swept over Qin Lang, a sinister look flashed in his eyes, and then the corners of his mouth turned up slightly, revealing a meaningful smile.

Qin Lang could tell from that smile that there was provocation, smugness, and even a hint of... murderous intent.

Qin Lang's heart sank slightly. He withdrew his gaze and said to Wu Yong, "Brother Yong, I'm going to the restroom."

Wu Yong glanced at him and noticed that his complexion was a little off, so he asked with concern, "Are you alright?"

"It's nothing, I'm going to wash my face." Qin Lang turned and walked towards the restroom. As he passed the large round table through the crowd in the banquet hall, his eyes met Zhao Zhiheng's again.

Zhao Zhiheng glanced at him, his gaze... full of meaning.

Qin Lang ignored him and went straight into the restroom.

In the bathroom, he turned on the tap, washed his hands, and looked up at himself in the mirror, his eyes slightly narrowed.

Judging from Zhao Zhiheng's look, Qin Lang knew that there was a high chance that the man would cause him trouble. What should he do?

Qin Lang tried hard to recall all his memories of the Zhao family from his previous life. The Zhao family would be investigated for land bribery in a few years, and the Zhou family would also be purged because of it.

But now the situation has changed. Because of his intervention, Wu Yong jumped out of the chessboard ahead of time. Will this change cause the development of the whole situation to deviate?

Will the Zhao family change their strategy because of this setback, thus avoiding the subsequent investigations?

However, even if the situation doesn't change drastically, the investigation of the Zhao family won't happen for several years. If they really want to retaliate against him, the "perpetrator," he will definitely be powerless to resist given his current strength.

What to do? Should he... strike first? But right now, he has neither power nor influence; to touch the Zhao family would be like an ant trying to shake a tree.

"Sigh..." Qin Lang sighed, turned off the tap, took two tissues from the cardboard box, dried his hands, crumpled the tissues into a ball, and threw them into the trash can.

He couldn't think of any solutions for the time being, so he could only take it one step at a time. He steadied himself and walked back into the banquet hall.

Wu Yong was still standing in the same spot, but there was someone else next to him—the short-haired woman who had been standing by the registration desk. She was talking to Wu Yong, her expression serious, and she was holding a tablet computer.

Seeing Qin Lang approaching, Wu Yong waved to him, "Little Qin, come here, let me introduce you to someone."

Qin Lang walked over, and the short-haired woman turned around. She looked even prettier from the front than from the side. Her features were well-defined, with high brow bones, a straight nose, and lips that were neither too thin nor too thick, painted with a matte mauve lipstick. She looked very capable.

"Qin Lang? The one who makes short videos and animations?" The short-haired woman spoke first, seemingly very interested in Qin Lang.

Qin Lang was slightly taken aback; he hadn't expected the other person to recognize him.

Wu Yong explained from the side, "This is Ms. Zhou Ruoyun, the granddaughter of Mr. Zhou. She works at the Taipei Investment Promotion Bureau and is also my old classmate."

Zhou Ruoyun, Zhou Hongyuan's granddaughter. Qin Lang's heart stirred slightly, but his expression remained unchanged. He extended his hand and said calmly, "Hello, Sister Zhou."

Zhou Ruoyun shook hands briefly and handed over the tablet computer, saying, "Take a look at this first."

Qin Lang looked down and saw a proposal on the screen titled "Draft of the Digital Promotion Project for the City Image of Liaobei City," signed by Zhou Ruoyun herself.

"Isn't this the project that Deputy Director Sun mentioned earlier?" Qin Lang looked up at her and asked.

"Deputy Director Sun's version was edited," Zhou Ruoyun said. "Mine is the complete version. The budget is three million, of which two million is for actual production and distribution, five hundred thousand is for operation, and five hundred thousand is for service fees."

Qin Lang quickly skimmed through the proposal, but after reading it, his brows furrowed slightly.

"There's a problem with the budget allocation for production and distribution," Qin Lang said directly.

Zhou Ruoyun's eyes lit up, and he said, "Tell me in detail."

Qin Lang didn't speak directly, but instead glanced at Wu Yong.

Wu Yong nodded to him, and Qin Lang continued, "Two million for production and distribution sounds fine, but according to your execution plan, you need to shoot a twelve-episode series of short videos, each episode three to five minutes long. With that amount of content, combined with the fees for the internet celebrities and actors you plan to hire, the filming and post-production alone will cost at least one million. The remaining money for distribution, based on current traffic prices on Bilibili and major platforms, can only achieve around five million impressions at most. For a city image promotion project, that's far too low; it won't make a splash."

Zhou Ruoyun listened attentively to Qin Lang's words without saying anything. Her eyes seemed to say, "What good suggestions do you have? Please just say them."

"My suggestion is to reduce the production budget to under 500,000 yuan and use lighter content formats, such as vertical short dramas or vlogs, and a more youthful way of expression. As for actors, there is absolutely no need to hire those internet celebrities or obscure stars. You can find some ordinary people with good looks, which will be more authentic."

"Use all the money saved on targeted advertising. With the same budget, we can achieve at least 20 million impressions, and the conversion rate will definitely be much higher than your plan."

As Qin Lang finished speaking, he noticed that Zhou Ruoyun and Wu Yong were both looking at him, but their expressions were quite different.