1978 Synthetic Writers

Chapter 550 Maximizing Losses
"Should we seek someone more capable?"

Jiang Xian stood there stunned for a moment. "You mean, you're going to resign?"

“Yes.” Fan Yu nodded, inexplicably unable to look Jiang Xian in the eye, his gaze fixed on the air beside him.

He was just a graphic designer at "Haima," without any official position; he was just an employee earning money.

Therefore, when he says "resign," he doesn't need to think too much. If he can't work on this production, he can just find another one.

In Fan Yu's view, "Stories from the Editorial Department" was destined to be a mess, and in the end, nothing would be accomplished. Continuing to waste time with this production team would be a waste of time, so it was better to move on as soon as possible.

"Are you really going to resign?" Jiang Xian asked again, his tone seemingly carrying a hint of wanting him to stay.

Upon hearing this, Fan Yu immediately realized that Jiang Xian was out of options. The fact that he had to ask even a graphic designer to stay meant that the TV series "Stories from the Editorial Department" was definitely doomed.

"Director Jiang, I really can't do your job. Besides, the people under you have too much of a temper."

Seeing Fan Yu's sarcastic remarks, Zhang Yimou couldn't sit still any longer. "Who are you calling short-tempered? Just name him directly. Stop playing these games. Boss, do you think I'm short-tempered? I just saw that a few books weren't put away properly and asked him to rearrange them, but this kid refused, saying it was too much trouble. If you're so lazy, why are you a graphic designer? Let this kind of person go wherever he wants. Don't worry about him."

"Is that so?"

Jiang Xian turned to look at Fan Yu again.

"."

Fan Yu was speechless. Zhang Yimou's accusations were indeed true. It wouldn't be accurate to say that Zhang Yimou was putting on airs on set, since asking him to set up the scene was within Fan Yu's job scope.

Ultimately, it all boils down to Fan Yu not wanting to continue. He's been planning his escape these past few days, and today, coincidentally, this incident happened, so he decided to make a big deal out of it and use it as an excuse to stir up trouble.

"I won't ask you to be the judge and see who's right and who's wrong today. Anyway, I'm not doing this job anymore. I can't do it, and I don't want to do it anymore." Fan Yu crossed his arms, looking almost like a rogue.

"Are you really going?" Jiang Xian asked again, confirming, "Are you sure? Young people shouldn't act impulsively; they should think things through carefully."

"You don't need to try to persuade me anymore."

Fan Yu waved his hand impatiently, "I've already made up my mind."

"Then I must tell you this: if you quit, your name will no longer appear in the production staff credits."

"."

Fan Yu almost burst out laughing.

Even if a TV series that can't be broadcast makes it onto the production credits, who will watch it?

"Okay, if you don't want to show up, then you don't have to."

"Never back out?"

"no way."

"alright."

Jiang Xian sighed, seemingly regretful, "Then Zhu Hong, take him to complete the formalities."

"To complete the formalities? Now?" Zhu Hong asked, her expression inquiring.

“Wait a while, it’s fine. Aren’t you going to announce something to everyone?” Jiang Xian said calmly.

On the other side, Zhang Yimou also noticed the regret on Jiang Xian's face. In his opinion, Jiang Xian must not want to give up such a good art director, which is why he looked so regretful.

He also understands that the crew has lost many members during this period, and now if another person leaves, the crew may be paralyzed or even on the verge of disbanding.

Perhaps Fan Yu is not worth taking seriously, but the blow he dealt to the morale of the entire crew should not be underestimated.

"Sigh, what a mess this is." Zhao Baogang sighed, then came over and patted Zhang Yimou on the back. "Judging from the boss's expression, he must be feeling terrible. You should go and talk to him about this. His behavior is a blow to our morale in the eyes of the rest of the crew."

"Uh-huh."

Zhang Yimou agreed wholeheartedly. He put down the camera and had only taken a few steps toward Jiang Xian when he saw Zhu Hong suddenly clap her hands three times.

"Comrades, I've come to share some good news with you."

"good news?"

Faced with this sudden turn of events, Zhang Yimou was somewhat bewildered. "What good news?"

"CCTV has bought the broadcasting rights to the first three episodes of our 'Stories from the Editorial Department,' and it won't be long before the first three episodes of our 'Stories from the Editorial Department' are broadcast on CCTV during prime time."

"boom!"

The news was like a huge rock thrown into a calm lake, instantly creating countless ripples.

CCTV?! Prime time?!

Zhang Yimou stared at Zhu Hong's face in disbelief, as if trying to find a trace of a joke in her expression. Then, the corners of his mouth involuntarily turned upwards, eventually forming his signature big smile that showed his teeth.

"It really happened?!" In his excitement, he couldn't find any other words to express himself.

Ge You, who was lazing around in the corner, suddenly jumped up from his chair, almost tripping over the stool beneath his feet. "My God!" he blurted out. "Teacher Zhu, could you say that again? Is this really CCTV?"

"Didn't they say it couldn't be broadcast?"

Liu Bei stared at Zhu Hong in disbelief. "They said it couldn't be broadcast before, and I didn't even dare tell my family. How come it's suddenly allowed again?"

"Yeah yeah."

"Is it true, Ms. Zhu Hong? Is it really happening on CCTV?"

"Oh my God!"

"Am I dreaming?" Similar exclamations arose one after another.

The two oldest actors on set, Lü Qi, who played Editor-in-Chief Chen, and Zhang Tong, who played Liu Shuyou, looked at each other and saw immense excitement and relief in each other's eyes. Their lips trembled, and they were speechless for a moment, only nodding vigorously and repeatedly saying, "That's great! That's great!"

During this period, the entire crew of "Stories from the Editorial Department" has been feeling depressed for too long. Because of the inability to broadcast the show, they couldn't even muster the energy to film.

The ban by the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television has always been a heavy burden on everyone's mind.

However, as soon as Zhu Hong said those words, the entire crew instantly seemed to be injected with stimulants, their faces beaming with ecstatic joy. Some patted each other on the shoulder, while others jumped up and down excitedly.

Whether it's the director, actors, screenwriters, art director, or production assistants, at this moment, a tremendous sense of accomplishment bound everyone together. This was a goal the team had been looking forward to for a long time, and now it had finally been achieved. Everyone's face was filled with pride and excitement.

On the other side, looking at the scene before her that resembled boiling lava, Zhu Hong's face broke into a wide smile.

She pressed her hands down, trying to quiet everyone down, but her voice was drowned out by the huge commotion. She decided not to speak further and simply stood there, looking around at every incredibly excited face, savoring the immense joy she had ignited for the entire team. At the same time, she exchanged a slightly happy glance with Jiang Xian; the meaning in their eyes was very easy to understand:
The effect was far more spectacular than expected!
It's no wonder these people were excited. You could say the crew of "Stories from the Editorial Department" was a "League of Disappointed People," with most of its members being "disappointed" individuals, essentially "individuals" in the film and television production field.

These people aren't like film studios or TV stations. Forget about their productions getting on CCTV; most of the time, they're lucky if they even have anything to film, or their productions just won't get broadcast. They can only do some low-level filming jobs.

This time, following Jiang Xian's lead, they actually got their hard-earned TV series broadcast on CCTV. How could they not be happy?

After all, one's name is to be clearly written in the production staff list, and when taking on jobs in the future, this qualification is something that can be proudly mentioned.

Of course, there is one exception.

Fan Yu stood there in a very strange posture, his body straight, his hands behind his back, his neck slightly tilted forward, looking like a hunchbacked old man. However, his jaw was wide open and his eyes were wide open, completely unbelievable.

what?
I just resigned a second ago, and you're telling me this the next second?

Fan Yu was stunned.

What's the difference between this and quitting the Long March when you're just one step away from it?
Victory was within reach.

As a result, he withdrew from the camp.

You said if he had done it earlier, he would have suffered less; if he had done it later, he would have been able to share in the spoils of victory.

What's the result now?
He endured a lot of hardship, but received no reward whatsoever.

That's maximizing the losses!
So what if he's a clown? Nothing special.

Fan Yu stood there, feeling as if his whole body was on fire, and quickly searched his mind for a way to remedy the situation.

He wanted to make amends, but he was worried about the opinions and gossip of the other crew members. After all, you just said you were going to resign and quit, but as soon as Jiang Xian announced that CCTV had bought the broadcasting rights, you changed your mind again.

In China, such people are generally called "fence-sitters" or "opportunists."
The key point is that today's scene is particularly comical.

In less than a minute, he changed his face twice.

How is this different from Chekhov's "chameleon"?
Although Director Jiang felt extremely ashamed, in order not to "get nothing at all," Fan Yu still shamelessly tried to call out Jiang Xian's name, wanting to apologize to him and see if there was any way to make amends.

"Ah? What's wrong?"

Jiang Xian looked up at him upon hearing the voice, "You haven't left yet?"

"."

Upon hearing Jiang Xian's words, Fan Yu's words caught in his throat again, leaving him unable to utter a single word. He truly experienced what it meant to have "a fishbone stuck in his throat."

"Director Jiang, I... I did act impulsively just now. Could you please..." After hesitating for a long time, Fan Yu finally stammered out this suggestive sentence.

Little did she expect to be met with Jiang Xian's utterly impolite tone.

"Can it be anything?"

"Uh, that's it."

"speak out."

Jiang Xuan smiled and said, "Tell me."

"."

Upon hearing Jiang Xian's words, Fan Yu no longer had the courage to speak. To ask him to tell everything would be no different from being slowly sliced ​​to death.
Zhang Yimou, who was standing nearby, saw this scene clearly, and just imagining himself in Fan Yu's shoes made him feel like he was going to be driven crazy with anxiety.

As an outsider, he finally realized what was happening.

Jiang Xian's reaction just now showed that he wasn't reluctant to part with Fan Yu at all.

That was just playing around, treating Fan Yu like a toy. He knew that CCTV had bought "Stories from the Editorial Department," yet he still deliberately acted that way. Wasn't that a test for Fan Yu?

Unfortunately, this kid chose the dead end that Jiang Xian had set up.

Looking back now, Zhang Yimou realizes that he and Zhao Baogang lacked foresight; they had just thought Jiang Xian couldn't bear to see Fan Yu leave.

Actually, Jiang Xian had already completely given up on this kid before announcing the results.

Now, why would they give Fan Yu another chance just because he apologized and admitted his mistake?

After all, this kid doesn't really know he's wrong.

He knew he had lost out.

After much hesitation, Fan Yu finally decided to swallow his pride and apologize to Jiang Xian, acting like a grandson, almost kneeling down and weeping uncontrollably.

This scene was witnessed by the entire crew, which meant that even if Fan Yu succeeded in staying with the crew today, he would be recognized as the clown by everyone in the crew from now on.

However, Jiang Xian was still quite "cruel," not even giving him the chance to be the clown.

“I just asked you to confirm three times, and you said you wouldn’t do it. Things shouldn’t happen more than three times. How can you go back on your word now? Back on the Long March, you weren’t willing to be our good comrades and enjoy the fruits of victory. How can you come here and take a slice of our cake?” Jiang Xian criticized mercilessly.

"I"

Fan Yu was filled with regret, constantly thinking, why did he have to explode today? If he had endured just one more second, he wouldn't be begging Jiang Xian to let him stay without any dignity.

But now, all that's left for him is to admit his mistake, so Fan Yu continues to plead.

"Director Jiang, please give me another chance, please."

"OK OK."

Jiang Xian maintained a ruthless attitude.

He's still sensible. He gave you a chance just now, but you didn't do it.

That child must not be allowed to live.

Moreover, "Stories from the Editorial Department" is just the beginning; the "Seahorse" franchise will continue to expand significantly in the future.

Those veterans who weathered the most difficult times with "Seahorse" are at least reliable in terms of character. In the future, these people will be valuable "original shares" and can be entrusted with important responsibilities.

Fan Yu was still not giving up. Xu Chenhui was no pushover either. He had disliked the kid since the beginning of the day. Now that the boss had spoken, and seeing that he was still making a fuss, he simply dragged the guy off the set like a dead pig to get rid of him.

This little episode was quickly forgotten by everyone who was immersed in the joy of "Stories from the Editorial Department" being approved for broadcast, and even more so, during prime time on CCTV.

"Wow, prime time."

Ge You scratched his forehead. "It should be the same time slot as when 'Plainclothes Policeman' aired. Does that mean we're getting the same treatment as 'Plainclothes Policeman'? I just don't know if it will be as popular after it airs."

"."

No one said that Ge You's words boosted others' morale while diminishing his own, after all, the success of "Plainclothes Policeman" was evident to all.

Now that "Stories from the Editorial Department" is set at the same time as "Plainclothes Policeman," it's natural to feel a desire to compete with it.

(End of this chapter)