The Heiress's Game

A few days later, Bai Junze and Gu Yunjin went back to the second branch of the Bai family for dinner.

Bai Junze is the kind of person you know you can't mess with at a glance, while Bai Wenxiong is the kind of person you'd be selling out and still be counting the money for him.

Standing at the top of the stairs, he saw his older brother and sister-in-law enter the room, their faces beaming with smiles, as warm and friendly as the little boy who used to follow his older brother around asking for pocket money.

"Big brother, sister-in-law, you've finally arrived! Dad's been talking about you all morning."

Bai Junze nodded.

Bai Yining skipped down the stairs, her eyes lighting up the moment she saw Gu Yunjin.

"Sister-in-law! You're finally here! That short video account our club made, the one I told you about last time, has surpassed 100,000 followers! The script you helped me check has the highest number of views in the entire club!"

"That's good, keep it up." Gu Yunjin smiled slightly and patted the back of her hand.

Upon receiving this compliment, Bai Yining's smile deepened, and she was about to continue speaking.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Bai Junze sitting to the side drinking tea. She swallowed half of the words that were on the tip of her tongue, and quietly made an appointment with Gu Yunjin to help her look at the new script after dinner. Then she obediently let go of her hand.

Meng Wanqing walked out of the restaurant, wearing a silk apron and carrying a plate of freshly cooked sweet and sour pork ribs.

This is her signature routine; she always cooks one dish herself for every family dinner, no more, no less.

Just enough to make people remember her virtuousness, without actually making herself smell like cooking oil.

She placed the ribs on the dining table, untied her apron and handed it to the aunt, then walked towards the living room with a smile.

"Yun Jin is here, just in time, the food will be ready soon." She walked to Bai Jingchuan's side, sat down on the armrest of the round chair, and naturally put one hand on his shoulder, her posture intimate and composed.

Then, as if she had suddenly remembered something, she turned her head slightly and spoke in a casual tone, "By the way, Yun Jin, there's something I need to tell you."

"What is it, Aunt Meng?" she replied with a smile.

"Several friends in the film industry have been asking me to come here recently."

Meng Wanqing's tone was also casual, "There are a few quite famous directors and producers who heard that you are the boss of Xingyao and are particularly eager to get to know you."

They've already asked several people to help, and I've tried to decline several times, but I really can't refuse anymore. They've been so sincere, so please, just give me the honor of meeting them."

She said this in a soft voice, with just the right amount of embarrassment on her face.

Bai Jingchuan patted Meng Wanqing's hand on his shoulder, "Yun Jin, your Aunt Meng has been in the film and television industry for so many years, she knows a lot of people."

You work in media, so you already have connections with the film and television industry. It's always good to know more people. When it comes to connections, having more options is always better than having fewer.

In Bai Jingchuan's mind, no matter how capable his son is, he is still his son; and no matter how outstanding his daughter-in-law is, once she enters the Bai family, she must abide by the Bai family's rules.

"Dad is right, connections are indeed very important." Gu Yunjin's tone remained gentle and soft.

"However, Aunt Meng and I may have different understandings of networking."

My current focus is mainly on Xingyao's business lines, and I simply don't have the time to expand my social network in the film industry.

Moreover, connections are only meaningful when you're networking upwards.

Gu Yunjin's words were brilliant. What does it mean that "socializing upwards is meaningful"?

The implication is that the people you, Meng Wanqing, introduced to me are not considered "ambitious" in my eyes.

Meng Wanqing's smile remained unchanged. She had cultivated in this family for over a decade; if she could be ruined by a single sentence, she wouldn't be Meng Wanqing.

"She has her own plans for her career," Bai Junze said.

"We've already discussed investing in the film. Yun Jin isn't interested, so let's not bring it up again."

Bai Jingchuan frowned.

"I don't object to you young people having your own opinions."

But Yun Jin is still young, so she shouldn't be too absolute in her actions.

"That dating reality show last time, didn't it lose hundreds of millions? If they had known more people in the industry and gotten wind of it beforehand, they wouldn't have lost so much."

Meng Wanqing sat next to Bai Jingchuan, still maintaining that gentle expression.

Bai Junze put down his teacup.

"Dad, are you teaching my wife how to do things?"

Bai Jingchuan's face darkened, and Meng Wanqing hurriedly spoke, her voice carrying just the right amount of anxiety.

"Old Bai, what are you saying? It's a good thing that the kids have their own ideas. I was just trying to be helpful."

Bai Wenxiong quickly added, "Dad, it's rare for my eldest brother to come home for a meal, so please don't keep him talking about work."

Yining and I have been looking forward to this meal for days. Did Auntie make Buddha Jumps Over the Wall today? Yining, can you smell it?

As he spoke, he gave his sister a wink.

Bai Yining quickly stood up and took Gu Yunjin's arm: "Sister-in-law, let's go eat! I can't seem to get a transition in my new script right, can you take a look?"

Gu Yunjin reached out and gently patted Bai Junze's hand, which was resting on his knee, saying, "Let me do it."

"Aunt Meng, Dad, actually, after thinking about what you just said, it's not entirely without reason."

However, I have indeed studied the film industry.

Meng Wanqing's expression shifted slightly; she wasn't sure what Gu Yunjin meant by those words.

"I spent a few days looking into it. After that, I realized that this industry is much simpler than finance."

"The most mainstream money-making model in the film industry now is, to put it bluntly, big IP plus popular stars."

"First, hype it up, create buzz, boost pre-sale tickets, break even in the first week, and then make whatever profit can be made afterward."

"The advantage of this model is its stability. Popular celebrities bring their own fan base, and big IPs bring their own audience recognition."

The combination of these two factors guarantees a minimum box office performance, but its drawbacks are also obvious.

Her gaze swept across Meng Wanqing's face.

"Celebrities have more say than directors, and the will of capital has overwhelmed creative work."

From the initial planning stages to the release of a film, everyone is calculating viewership, return on investment, and performance-based agreements.

No one seems to care whether the script is good or bad, whether the characters are believable or not, or whether the story is engaging or not.

The most important thing in the film and television industry, content, has been completely forgotten.

Audiences paid for tickets and sat in the cinema, only to see not a well-crafted work, but a group of popular celebrities who couldn't even memorize their lines posing in front of a green screen, with dubbing and special effects added in post-production.

This isn't treating the audience like royalty; it's treating them like idiots.

Bai Jingchuan frowned slightly.

"Of course, that's just a superficial issue."

"Aunt Meng should know better than me what's truly fatal in this industry. Dual contracts, tax evasion, inflated costs, money laundering overseas—each and every one of these is a red line for criminal offenses."

Many people have made money in this industry over the years, but few have been able to leave unscathed.

"Aunt Meng, you've been in the film industry for so many years. Of all the producers and distributors you know, how many have truly clean accounts?"

Meng Wanqing's hand, holding the teacup, froze in mid-air.

She's been cultivating herself at this dining table for over a decade; what kind of scene hasn't she seen?

She could handle Bai Jingchuan's temper tantrums and withstand Bai Junze's cold demeanor, but now, holding a cup of tea, she didn't know what expression to use to respond to those words.

How could Gu Yunjin know about the tricks in those dual contracts, the funds that had been transferred several times, and the accounts that even the audit report couldn't find any flaws?

"So," Gu Yunjin said, her tone suggesting she was worried about her friend's future.

"Aunt Meng, to be honest, I advise you to leave the film and television industry as soon as possible."

It's not just the real estate industry that's experiencing a winter; the film and television industry is also on its way.

Instead of pouring money into an industry that's about to enter a downturn, it's better to switch to a different sector.

Before Meng Wanqing could even process her previous statement, Gu Yunjin had already cheerfully thrown out her next sentence.

"For example, how about you invest in stocks with me? Or to put it in a more sophisticated way—invest."

"..." Meng Wanqing moved her lips, but no sound came out.

"I've recently been looking at new energy and semiconductors; the returns are decent."

"It's more stable than making a movie, the production cycle is shorter, and most importantly, it's clean."

"Yun Jin is right," Bai Junze's voice rang out at the opportune moment.

"The business model of the film and television industry is essentially still based on people, on stars, on directors, and on the improvisation of the publicity and distribution team."

Humans are the most uncontrollable factor, as the Randy incident has proven.

But new energy is different from technology; it relies on technological barriers and industrial chain integration. Once it's successfully implemented, it will generate continuous returns.

Compared to the film and television industry, I have more faith in this direction.

Bai Wenxiong was thinking to himself, "New energy? Technology?"

That sounds nice, but Bai Junze's Fortune 500 company has been thoroughly studied and is indeed a benchmark in the industry.

But that was thanks to the resources and connections accumulated by the Bai family over generations; anyone in that position wouldn't have done too badly.

As for the idea that "the business model of the film and television industry depends on people," Bai Wenxiong sneered inwardly.

Brother, perhaps you've been doing this old job for too long and your eyesight has become dull.

The content industry has never been a sunset industry; it's just that the old rules are being reshuffled, and the new rules haven't taken shape yet.

You see a harsh winter, I see an opportunity.

As he thought this, he still wore that obedient expression, and even nodded at the right time, as if he was seriously digesting his older brother's business insights.

Meng Wanqing's face still wore that gentle and dignified smile.

"Yun Jin is so thoughtful. I hadn't thought about these things that much; I just felt that it wouldn't hurt to get to know more people. Since you and Junze have both said so, I won't force you."

She finally understood where she had gone wrong today. She thought she was fishing, but it turned out that Gu Yunjin was waiting for her to take the bait. She slapped the fishing rod across her face.

All this talk about stock trading, investing, and new energy technology boils down to the same thing: I see right through your tricks, so don't try to fool me.