1978: Female educated youth, don’t want an illiterate husband

Cheng Xuemin, hearing Secretary Li speak so bluntly, no longer held back his politeness!
Since the old factory director was also present, he took the opportunity to say:

"Since Secretary Li says so, then let me first report to you about the selection of the accountant!"

"The factory has recommended two experienced accountants, both veterans of Yanying Film Factory. They are meticulous in their bookkeeping, and I was thinking of asking you to take a look and help me check their work."

Upon hearing this, the old factory director nodded in agreement. Now that they had taken office, it was indeed time to select an accountant.

In this way, their Eastern Depot even officially opened a factory!

To everyone's surprise, Secretary Li simply waved his hand, leaned back in his office chair, took a sip of tea from his enamel mug, and said, "No need for oversight, Director Cheng, you can choose whatever you like!"

"At my age, my eyesight is failing and my mind isn't working as well. Director Cheng, you can decide on the personnel matters. I'll sign and put my fingerprint on them without any problem."

Secretary Li paused, then added with a smile, "Anyway, I'm just here to drink tea and read the newspaper. You're in charge of things at the factory, just don't make me rack my brains."

Is he really going to just wash his hands of the business?
Seeing that Secretary Li's attitude was firm, Cheng Xuemin did not dare to take it too seriously, so he asked the old factory director to call the person over directly.

Since everyone's here anyway, we can just finalize the appointment on the spot!
Before long, two elderly accountants with gray hair arrived, one surnamed Liu and the other surnamed Wang, each clutching their work resumes.

I was reporting to Secretary Li, but it's clear the old comrade isn't paying any attention!

Cheng Xuemin could only let the two of them sit on the sofa and casually asked a few financial questions.

For example, Liu answered questions about how to calculate film distribution costs and how to reconcile accounts with external units in a clear and organized manner. She also mentioned that she had previously helped Yan Film Studio calculate the accounts for "The Herdsman" and had a lot of experience.
It also brought me closer to Cheng Xuemin, since The Wrangler is Cheng Xuemin's original work.

On the other hand, although Accountant Wang also answered the question, her words always seemed to be focused on following the rules, lacking a bit of flexibility.

Cheng Xuemin quickly understood the situation and told the two of them to go back and wait for news.

After the two elderly accountants left, Cheng Xuemin turned to look at Secretary Li, who was sitting to the side drinking tea, wanting to hear his opinion.

Secretary Li didn't even look up, waving his hand and saying, "You decide, you decide, I have no objection."

"Then I'll choose Accountant Liu!" Cheng Xuemin said without hesitation, making the decision on the spot. "Old Factory Director, Accountant Liu it is! Please help me inform them later!"

"Please also help him put in a good word. Our factory is just starting out and there are a lot of things to prepare. It might be a bit of a hassle for him to make a few more trips."

“No problem, I bet you’ll choose Lao Liu, Xuemin! That old guy is really something, and he’s good at getting things done!” The old factory director nodded repeatedly, saying that he would inform Lao Liu to go directly to Cheng Xuemin’s office to report for duty.

After the veteran comrade takes office, the matter of moving offices can no longer be delayed!
Cheng Xuemin invited Liang Xiaosheng and his brother-in-law Feng Jiazhao. Zhu Lin, who was currently free, also came over to help move things and clean.

It took an entire afternoon to finally clean all four offices!

Although Accountant Liu is old, he is indeed very efficient!
The next morning, someone brought over a signboard with a red silk ribbon that read "Oriental Culture and Art Film Production Branch".

Under the guidance of the former factory director, Cheng Xuemin and Secretary Li stood in front of the Red Wall Building and unveiled the plaque for the East Factory together.

The sound of firecrackers lasted for more than an hour!

Almost everyone at Yan Film Studio, whether they could come or not, gathered in front of the small red-walled building, discussing the newly established Oriental Culture and Art Film Production Branch!
Unfortunately, I'm sorry, there are no wedding candies to give out. This isn't a wedding celebration!
However, Cheng Xuemin still paid out of his own pocket to have Accountant Liu go to the department store and buy a lot of peanuts and melon seeds, which were placed on the red table in front so that the Yanying Factory employees who came to support and join in the atmosphere could eat as much as they wanted!
After a lively morning, everyone gradually dispersed!
Then, the old factory director brought back more good news for Cheng Xuemin!

The old factory director, Wang Yang, got out of Cheng Xuemin's car and headed straight for Cheng Xuemin's East Factory!
Yes, that's right!
Cheng Xuemin's car is currently the only decent vehicle in the entire Yan Film Studio!
With his brother-in-law Feng Jiazhao as his cheap driver, the old factory director usually had Feng Jiazhao drive him to the lake or to the ministry.

fair enough!

Anyway, cars need gasoline to maintain them. Cheng Xuemin had many other ration coupons, but gasoline coupons were the only ones that were strictly rationed!

So after a month, it's barely enough!
Fortunately, the old factory director still had a lot of gasoline coupons that he hadn't spent, so now all of the two people's gasoline coupons were put into Cheng Xuemin's car!
The old factory director benefited from Cheng Xuemin's connections, which made his travel easier, but in doing so, Cheng Xuemin's monthly gasoline vouchers actually increased a bit!
"Xuemin, the screening at China Film Group officially ended this morning. The print counts for 'Tai Chi' and 'Romance on Lushan Mountain' have also been released. Guess how many copies were sold?"

The old factory director rushed into Cheng Xuemin's office and went straight to the point, asking Cheng Xuemin a question in return.

Cheng Xuemin's heart skipped a beat. The screening at China Film Group was over?!

Look at the old factory director's reaction!

The number of copies of "Tai Chi" and "Romance on Lushan Mountain" sold this time should be quite high. "Tai Chi" goes without saying; the whole nation has been eagerly anticipating it.

Even if it's a Lushan Love, it's bound to break the previous Wrangler record!
The old factory director wanted to guess, but Cheng Xuemin was too lazy to guess. He smiled and said, "Old factory director, stop keeping us in suspense. The results should be pretty good, after all, they've all gone international."

"You rascal...you're just so boring!" Old factory director Wang Yang had been waiting for Cheng Xuemin's guess, but since the guy wasn't taking the bait, he could only say directly, "But you're right!"

"Because 'Romance on Lushan Mountain' went to the Bolin Film Festival and was the first domestic romance film, it sold 380 copies! This directly broke the previous record of 305 for 'The Herdsman,' which made that old man Xu Sangchu extremely happy!"

Three hundred and eighty?

Cheng Xuemin nodded. This result was within his expectations. The subject matter of "Romance on Lushan Mountain" was fresh enough at this time. It was the first domestic romance film!

Moreover, I heard that Ding Daming and Hu Jian originally wanted to cut the kissing scenes in the film!

This has attracted a lot of attention and heated discussion. People feel that since reform and opening up have begun, we should liberate our minds and not just make some model operas!

But before Ding Daming and the others could make a final decision, they left.

With the example of his predecessor Ding Daming, Director Zhou, who came from Shanghai, was brought in and was sure to take decisive action. He immediately decided not to cut anything and to release the film in China exactly as it was sent out to compete!

This decision instantly garnered praise from film companies across the country, and it was only natural that the number of copies of "Romance on Lushan Mountain" broke the record set by the Wrangler!
Moreover, with the added prestige of an international film festival, it's bound to sell well, regardless of whether it wins an award or not.

After all, everyone wants to see what the first film selected for submission looks like!

Therefore, Cheng Xuemin was not surprised at all and simply nodded.

It was clear he didn't show much surprise, which made the old factory director, Wang Yang, anxious: "You kid, why aren't you excited at all? Three hundred and eighty copies! In the past, we wouldn't have even dared to dream of that!"

"Old Director, you haven't mentioned 'Tai Chi' yet. I'll get excited with you later!" Cheng Xuemin joked with the old director, saying, "Your face is so rosy, 'Tai Chi' must be selling even better, definitely better than Director Xu from the Shanghai Film Studio, right?"

"Well, I really need to guess first. It'll have to be at least... five hundred?" Cheng Xuemin stretched out a hand, grabbed it, and said with a smile. "Five hundred?" Old factory director Wang Yang burst out laughing, his hands trembling with excitement, and said, "Xuemin, you're still too conservative!"

"Let me tell you, six hundred and fifty! Our Yanying Film Studio's 'Tai Chi' sold six hundred and fifty 35mm copies! It's a miracle in the history of modern Chinese cinema!"

Upon hearing this, Cheng Xuemin was stunned!

Six hundred and fifty copies? That many?
You should know that in his previous life, he remembered that four years later, "Shaolin Temple" only sold 450 copies.

Now, only two years after the reform and opening up, the domestic film market has not yet fully opened up, yet "Tai Chi" has sold 650 copies?

This is even more intense than "Shaolin Temple"!
"Don't just stand there like an idiot!" Old factory director Wang Yang patted him on the shoulder, his tone full of pride, and continued, "Six hundred and fifty copies! At cost price, that's a considerable sum!"
This morning I went to China Film Group, and you wouldn't believe the looks on their faces! They looked like they'd swallowed flies, absolutely awful!

Cheng Xuemin snapped out of his daze and subconsciously asked, "How could China Film Group be bad? They sold so many copies of 'Tai Chi,' they made a fortune off it, and they're not even giving us a friendly look?"

This is really wrong!

Although they did have a grudge against China Film Group, the money from the 650 copies all went into China Film Group's pockets!
They've gained so much benefit, yet they're not even giving them a friendly look?

But then the old factory director, Wang Yang, sneered and leaned closer, saying, "Make a fortune? They won't get a single penny!"

"The higher-ups have decided that all the money from the sale of the Taiji film, no matter how much, will go to your Eastern Depot. They cannot keep a single penny!"

"All of it for us?" Cheng Xuemin was even more surprised now, and asked with great surprise and uncertainty, "Didn't we agree that it would start counting from the next installment? How come this time it's already..."

"This is a decision made by Hai Zi and the Ministry!" the old factory director explained.

“Your Eastern Depot has just been established and needs start-up capital. The money from the copy of Tai Chi is just right to serve as start-up capital.”

From now on, your Eastern Depot will be responsible for its own profits and losses. No additional funding will be allocated from above; you only need to submit the full amount of US dollars in foreign exchange each year!

"Remember, it's all about US dollars!"

"The very purpose of establishing your Eastern Depot as a pilot project for generating foreign exchange through film was to earn US dollars!"

Cheng Xuemin was overjoyed. Six hundred and fifty copies of money, all of it going to their Eastern Depot?!
This is this...

How much does it cost?

Anyway, Cheng Xuemin knew that just these 650 35mm copies would cost China Film Group tens of thousands of yuan each!

So the cost of just these 650 copies is 6.5 million!

In addition, there are other small copies of 16mm and 8.75mmd, although the old factory manager did not say how many of these two small and medium-sized copies were sold!
However, according to normal practice, medium copies are generally five times larger than large copies, and small copies are even more, at least ten times the number of 650 copies!
After all, the rural areas are so vast, and the small film copies are all shown by projectionists who go to the countryside. The demand is definitely much greater than that for big screens in the city!

So the portions are large and you'll be full!
With this wave of revenue, their Eastern Depot might rake in nearly ten million!
Damn it, the higher-ups actually made the decision directly and transferred all the money to their Eastern Depot's public account in one go?

"Old factory director, is this true? Have you calculated how much this costs?" Cheng Xuemin quickly did the math in his head and was indeed shocked by the number. He couldn't believe it and confirmed it again.

After all, their Eastern Depot had just been established and only had three people, yet they were allocated tens of millions of yuan in funding all at once!
This...this...even the old factory director's Yanying Factory probably doesn't have ten million in working capital, right?!
"I've definitely calculated it, so you're a real tycoon now, even richer than our Yanying Factory!"

Upon hearing this, the old factory director immediately rolled his eyes, seriously suspecting that this whole thing had directly benefited Cheng Xuemin!
In the end, Yanying Film Studio has not gained any real benefits so far!

"Haha, old factory director, old factory director, don't be so sour! I think Old Wu in the ministry will definitely have something arranged!"

"Besides, the ministry is about to hold a celebration party for Taiji's foreign exchange earnings, and you, the old factory director, will be sitting in the first seat!"

Cheng Xuemin quickly offered a flattering remark, saying, "..."

"You're kidding me!" The old factory director rolled his eyes at Cheng Xuemin and then said, "But you're right, it just so happens that Old Xu and those old guys are all in Yanjing. We're planning to team up again and ask the higher-ups for the distribution rights!"

"We also want to produce and sell our own products, and we also want to issue our own products!"

Uh!
Cheng Xuemin couldn't respond to that, and said sullenly, "Isn't this an experimental field?"

"That's something we issue overseas to generate foreign exchange, and we don't really understand it, so we have to rely on your Eastern Depot to pilot it and explore it!"

"What we want are the domestic distribution rights, not the overseas distribution rights from your Eastern Depot!"

The former factory director, Wang Yang, stated this with absolute certainty.

Cheng Xuemin thought to himself, "It's better to go overseas and grab the distribution rights than to fight for domestic distribution rights."

Because Cheng Xuemin knew all too well!

Two years later, the old factory director and his team did indeed snatch the domestic distribution rights from China Film Group and put them into their own hands, starting to distribute independently and be responsible for their own profits and losses!

After acquiring these money-making rights, their respective film studios were indeed excited for a while.

But soon it was discovered that everything was in chaos!
Because local film bureaus and cinemas simply do not recognize films produced by studios outside their locality.

Even the county doesn't recognize the region, the region doesn't recognize the province, and the province is even less likely to recognize Yanying Film Studio or August First Film Studio!
Across the country, everyone is filming their own movies and videos, and whoever films it can only screen it on their own small plot of land. Nobody can enter anyone else's territory!

If we do this, won't it all end up being a complete mess?

So, after less than two years, the authorities quickly discovered this serious situation and directly reclaimed the distribution rights from China Film Group.

So it's not that we didn't give you a chance, it's just that this is the situation in our country!
Once the restrictions are lifted, everyone will act independently!

Therefore, Cheng Xuemin decided not to get involved in this mess and directly abandoned the domestic distribution rights, instead focusing on overseas distribution and earning US dollars from foreign investors.

Moreover, they encouraged the old factory director and others to make trouble. If they didn't make a fuss and let them cause some trouble, how could Cheng Xuemin turn around and come out of retirement to take over the mess that China Film Group had made?
How could we possibly have the opportunity to unite all the film studios in the country into one force and fight our way out of the country?
……

Please subscribe to the full chapter, vote with monthly tickets, and add this chapter to your favorites! Thank you so much! (End of Chapter)