Huayu: The Big Players Behind the Scenes

Hahahaha!

"I, Zhuang Huai'an, am back!"

Inside Company 39, Zhuang Huai'an laughed loudly, which drew a reproachful rebuke from Liu Yifei beside him.

"Brother, after all that showing off all day, it must feel awful to be locked up in a dark room, right?"

"Tch, it's just a little bit of weathering."

Zhuang Huai'an looked behind the screen, waved, and said, "Long time no see, everyone! I won the revival match!"

Seeing him grinning foolishly, Liu Yifei was also quite happy, but thinking of the power of the Crane-Crab Venerable, she cautioned him, "You were lucky this time, but you should be more careful with your words and actions in the future."

"Absolutely!" Zhuang Huai'an smiled. "It's also because our company's business capabilities are too strong. Whether it's the film or television industry, we have absolute dominance. Under such circumstances, it's reasonable for our competitors to be jealous and report us."

But don't worry, I've changed the company name. Its full name is now the 999th Film Production Company, or 39 for short!

"999 is good too," Liu Yifei agreed. "Isn't 999 the highest purity of gold?"

Zhuang Huai'an smiled without saying a word. Actually, he wanted to change it to 95, but... this name was even more enviable than the previous one.

Let's leave it at that for now.

November 20, 2006

The Ministry of Culture has officially issued an official document: [Notice on Launching the "Revitalization Plan for Chinese Intangible Cultural Heritage Crafts"].

The document specifies that the first batch of pilot projects includes four items: Beijing filigree inlay making technique, Suzhou traditional kingfisher feather inlay technique, Chengdu silver filigree making technique, and Guizhou Leishan Miao silver ornament forging technique.

Led by the Intangible Cultural Heritage Department of the Ministry of Culture, and in conjunction with Zhuang Huai'an's investment company as a social capital partner, the project is being jointly promoted.

On the day the document was issued, Zhuang Huai'an convened an internal meeting at the company.

The conference room was filled with all the key personnel of Company 39, as well as three craftsmen representatives, Bai Jingyi, Dao An, and Yang Guangbin, who were stranded in Beijing.

Without much small talk, Zhuang Huai'an stood in front of the projection screen, holding a remote control and laser pointer, and got straight to the point:

"Ladies and gentlemen, starting today, the Intangible Cultural Heritage Crafts Revitalization Plan is officially launched. Let me first explain our overall framework: three centers, one fund, and one brand."

He pressed the remote control, and the pre-prepared PowerPoint presentation appeared on the screen.

"Three centers: the Beijing Filigree Inlay Heritage Center, the Chengdu Silver Filigree Heritage Center, and the Guizhou Leishan Miao Silver Ornament Heritage Center. Due to the special nature of the materials used in kingfisher feather inlay, there is no independent center for the time being; it will operate as a specialized studio within the Beijing center."

"One fund: the Intangible Cultural Heritage Crafts Revitalization Fund, with an initial size of 50 million yuan, of which I personally contributed 30 million yuan and the Ministry of Culture matched 20 million yuan. The fund will be used for workshop construction, equipment purchase, apprentice subsidies, artisan social security, exhibitions and promotion, and will not be used for profit-making investments."

As Zhuang Huai'an introduced the event, he secretly observed the expressions and reactions of the crowd, continuing:

"I named a brand 'Chengyi,' which means to inherit and carry on the craft."

All products from the pilot projects will be uniformly branded as "Chengyi," with the high-end custom line using "Chengyi·Zhenpin" and the everyday cultural and creative line using "Chengyi·Life." Brand ownership belongs to the fund, and profits will be used to support craft protection.

After speaking, Zhuang Huai'an sat back down at the head of the table, looked around at everyone, and said gently, "These are my personal thoughts. Do the three masters have any questions?"

Bai Jingyi was the first to speak: "President Zhuang, where should we set up the central office in Beijing? My old studio is too small; it can't accommodate many people."

"Master Bai, I bought a 2000-square-meter old factory building in Songzhuang, Tongzhou. It's more than enough to convert into a workshop."

Bai Jingyi thought for a moment, then nodded and said, "Okay, I'm familiar with that area. I'll follow your arrangements!"

Dao An then asked, "Mr. Zhuang, what about the Chengdu Center?"

"Master Dao, I've found an old courtyard in Qingyang District, not far from Kuanzhai Alley. Your studio can move there, and the original place can be kept as an experience store."

Dao An nodded in satisfaction.

Then, Yang Guangbin raised his hand somewhat hesitantly: "President Zhuang, conditions are quite harsh in Leishan. It's hard to recruit apprentices. Most young people have gone out to work; nobody wants to stay in the mountains to make silver jewelry."

"Master Yang, I've also thought about this issue."

Zhuang Huai'an had already prepared a plan. He held up one finger and said, "Apprentices at the Leishan Center will be paid according to city standards, with a base salary of 2000 yuan, including room and board, social security, and sales commissions on the products they produce."

This income level is top-tier in Leishan, comparable to working in a factory in Guangdong. Furthermore, we've partnered with the county vocational high school to offer a silver jewelry forging program, providing targeted training that leads directly to employment at the center upon graduation.

Upon hearing this, Yang Guangbin's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly asked, "Really? A base salary of 2000?"

"Really." Zhuang Huai'an nodded with a smile. "Moreover, the center selects two to three outstanding apprentices every year to go to the centers in Beijing and Chengdu for exchange and learning, with all expenses covered, so that young people in the mountains can also go out and see the world."

"That's wonderful!" Yang Guangbin exclaimed, his hands trembling with excitement. "President Zhuang, you're saving a legacy for our Leishan Silver Jewelry!"

"That's to be expected."

Zhuang Huai'an said earnestly, "Craftsmanship is made by people. If you can't keep the people, you can't keep the craftsmanship. Keeping people is more important than anything else."

Aunt Wang Cuiying glanced through the schedule, pondered for a moment, and then spoke:

"Mr. Zhuang, of the 5000 million fund, 2000 million has already been used for the construction of these three art centers. The remaining 3000 million needs to cover apprentice salaries, social security, and promotion. It seems like it won't last long?"

"I only need 3 years,"

Zhuang Huai'an spoke calmly to the crowd, "Within three years, the fund will not require profits. We just need to retain our staff, design and develop more styles that blend ancient and modern elements, and refine our craftsmanship."

Meanwhile, during this period, leveraging the influence of the artists from Ma Dou Media, we will promote the project as much as possible. As long as orders come in, Cheng Yi can completely generate its own revenue. At that time, the fund can start rolling over to support more projects, and...

He paused slightly, "This is just the initial scale. If it works well and generates profits, people will naturally be willing to follow up with further development."

Capital is like a great white shark; once it smells blood, it can't resist.

That's fine too. The real target group for so-called luxury goods has never been ordinary people.

The meeting lasted three hours and only a preliminary framework and budget were drafted. It will take some time before the actual implementation can proceed.

After the event, the young couple returned to their office.

Liu Yifei was somewhat puzzled. "Brother, although your plan is very good, I always feel like you don't really love these crafts?"

Zhuang Huai'an smiled without saying a word, "Of course, it's to save up for your dowry... cough, to gild your image!"

Intangible cultural heritage.

For a nation, it is a cultural symbol.

But for these master chefs who are still persevering, it's just a means of making a living.

Coincidentally, Zhuang Huai'an needed this symbol to protect himself, and he also had plenty of money to support these industries, so they hit it off immediately.

Whether you love it or not is another matter.

It's unwise to generate electricity solely out of love; a win-win situation is the only true principle.