Entertainment 2000: Supporting female stars will bring you a hundredfold return

Chapter 388 Tang Wen's Real Purpose in Harassing People: Ten Years of Fortune? Only One Year
Changfugong, a five-star hotel jointly invested by China Merchants Group and Japan.

The aroma of tea wafted through the small conference room.

Zhang Weiping met with the managing director of Toho Japan, who was coming to China.

Several conversations were held to probe the waters.

Executive Director Dongbao understood his purpose.

Zhang Weiping's backer, Zhang Yimou, is a renowned figure in Asia, so Toho's executive director naturally wouldn't push him away.

However, business is business.

Zhang Yimou is most famous for his art films and his artistic achievements.

Commercially, despite the blockbuster hit "Hero", things are still not stable.

Therefore, Toho is willing to make concessions, such as acquiring the rights to "House of Flying Daggers" which is currently being filmed, at a higher price.

"Ahem," seeing that the other party was indeed somewhat sincere, Zhang Weiping couldn't help but want more: "Profit sharing, what if we cooperate and share the profits?"

"Profit sharing?" A hint of surprise flashed in Toho's executive director's eyes: Wasn't the other party a famous film producer?
How could you make such a request?

Aren't you afraid we'll hide the box office figures?

Does it mean that if Tang Wen and Tang Jun can do it, then so can I?
The managing director of Toho thought for a moment and said, "Mr. Zhang, in principle, we don't do pure distribution work, especially the distribution of foreign films."

Zhang Weiping knew he was talking nonsense.

Forget about protecting Japanese domestic films. When Hollywood films enter Japan, does Toho dare to say a word?
They're practically scrambling to release them.

"Considering that it's a major production by director Zhang Yimou, I think we have a basis for collaboration..."

The little life was full of twists and turns, but things progressed unexpectedly smoothly.

Zhang Weiping promised Dongbao a higher share of the distribution revenue.

Toho wants more of Zhang Yimou's films.

If it were Mr. Wang, the CEO of Huayi, after leaving the house, he might repeatedly consider whether there were any pitfalls that he hadn't considered.

After all, Toho is not only a film producer and distributor, but also owns a large number of cinemas in Japan.

Without any checks and balances, it would be incredibly easy for someone to steal your box office revenue.

Even if you send someone to monitor the whole process and have an auditor check the accounts, you won't find a single problem.

As Zhang Weiping left Changfu Palace, all he could think was: Tang Wen is nothing special; Yi Mou's reputation is indeed useful.

Zhang Weiping wasn't stupid either. The next day, he met with representatives from Disney in Japan and South Korea.

Disney made further demands.

In the Japanese and Korean markets, we can focus solely on distribution and share revenue with Zhang Weiping.

However, the North American rights will be sold to Disney.

Having been courted by two companies, Zhang Weiping walked out of the hotel, looked up at the blue sky and white clouds, and was in a great mood.

When I get back, I'll urge Yi Mou to hurry up and finish "House of Flying Daggers".

We can't let the company's profits be delayed.

In the blink of an eye, several days had passed since Tang Wen left the capital and headed south.

Since his departure, a rumor, whether true or false, has suddenly spread in Beijing's real estate and entertainment circles.

It is said that Xie Genrong, another well-known wealthy man and collector in the capital, had a falling out with Tang Wen.

Tang Wen even went so far as to declare within the industry that no projects in the entertainment sector should accept investments from Xie Genrong and the Huasheng Group.

As for the reason why the two fell out.

It is said that they both took a liking to the same female model at a cocktail party.

Of the two, Tang Wen was a renowned romantic and talented man.

After Xie Genrong became wealthy, he immediately abandoned his first wife and married a woman more than ten years younger than himself, which became the talk of the town.

The two had a falling out because of a fight over a woman.

Reasonable, so reasonable!
This kind of scandalous news has the most market.

With the help of some people behind the scenes, it spread like wildfire in just a few days.

It was even posted online.

Some tabloids also published it.

Someone in the industry is trying to get information from Blue Star.

The people of Blue Star didn't pay much attention at first, until that day, when President Xia Tian specifically reminded them of something at the end of the morning meeting:
"Recently, there have been rumors about Chairman Tang Wen. Please ignore them and there is no need to explain anything."

Eh?
A smart person sensed something was wrong.

Looks like something really has happened.

Otherwise, why would President Xia say such a thing?

The treatment on Earth is famously good.

Tang Wen, a boss who doesn't cause trouble and doesn't make things difficult for his employees, is highly regarded by everyone.

Employees subconsciously protect their boss in their daily lives.

For example, when chatting with friends at a gathering, if someone says that Tang Wen is a womanizer, they will all be unhappy and will try to argue back.

So when someone asked them again about the conflict between Xie Genrong and Tang Wen, they were very excited.

The employees of Blue Star certainly didn't have a good opinion of "Xie Genrong".

This practically confirms the rumor.

Since meeting Tang Wen that night, Xie Genrong had been keeping track of his news, waiting for the opportunity to meet him again.

Unexpectedly, I hadn't even met Tang Wen a second time.

I heard the rumors first.

A friend asked him when he had a conflict with Tang Wen.

Xie Genrong's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly pressed for an answer.

My friend told me a rumor that he had heard, but with added embellishments.

Upon hearing that the female model they were fighting over was "18 years old and slender," the two nearly came to blows.

Xie Genrong repeatedly denied it: "It's fake, a rumor, a rumor!"

But I felt confused.

Most people would probably just hear about it and forget about it.

But Mr. Xie, being an elite in the fraud world, always felt that something was wrong with this.

After returning home, I called people in the industry and found that four out of the six people had heard this rumor.

"Is someone plotting against me?" After thinking for a while, Xie Genrong came to this conclusion.

As for the other party's purpose, it might be to prevent Tang Wen from investing money in me?

Has someone seen through my true intentions?
Do you know I'm scamming you?

Thinking of this, Xie Genrong broke out in a cold sweat.

But then I thought: No, that's not right!

If someone had investigated me, there would be no need for all this trouble, spreading rumors, or cutting off my financing path.

All you need to do is find some evidence and get someone to report it to the relevant authorities.

That's it, I'm finished.

Having figured this out, Xie Genrong breathed a sigh of relief and slumped onto the sofa, stunned for a long while.

Hmm, this is indeed an opportunity to meet with Tang Wen.

My dear fairy, there are rumors circulating in society that the two of you are at odds. As long as it's not Tang Wen spreading these rumors, he will come out and clarify things.

Xie Genrong picked up his phone and thought of various lines of dialogue in his mind.

Tang Wen made excuses, saying he was too busy, and what he should do if he couldn't drink...

In short, we must get the person out.

The call is connected.

Before Xie Genrong could speak, Tang Wen's cheerful voice came from the other end of the phone: "President Xie, what brings you, such a busy man, to call me?"

You could tell from his voice that Tang Wen was in a good mood.

Xie Genrong breathed a sigh of relief; it seemed he was unaware of the rumors.

"Hey, compared to you, I'm nothing. Well, I met up with a friend from the bank yesterday, and I heard about this at the dinner..."

After hearing this, Tang Wen's voice rose a few octaves, his tone tinged with amusement: "You mean, there are rumors that we got into a fight over a model?"

"Yeah, the rumors are so detailed! I went to see the fashion show that day, and thankfully I didn't drink, or I would have thought I was completely drunk," Xie Genrong said, slapping his thigh.

Tang Wen didn't give him a chance to say more:

"That needs to be clarified. Here's what we'll do: when I get back to Beijing, I'll treat President Xie to dinner. After dinner, we'll arrange for two reporters to take some photos of us and put them on the news, and the rumors will be dispelled."

He agreed, but he wasn't in the capital.

Xie Genrong was both pleasantly surprised and regretful. Suppressing his emotions, he repeatedly praised:

"Brilliant! Mr. Tang is truly brilliant! It just goes to show that rumors stop with the wise..."

Chatted a few more words.

Tang Wen made an excuse and hung up the phone.

Looking at the time, it's a little past 8 PM.

He has been in Jiangnan for several days, and Zhao Cheng arrived today as well, bringing with him more evidence regarding Xie Genrong's loan fraud.

If you don't see the leaders from Jiangnan, hand over the evidence.

Because of this rumor, it hasn't spread too widely yet!
That's right, he deliberately spread the rumors.

That was the only goal he wanted to achieve in the "Xie Genrong" incident.

At this point, Xie Genrong, the person in question, already knew.

It's estimated that the news has spread throughout circles large and small in Beijing.

Without further hesitation, Tang Wen picked up the phone and called Secretary-General Zhang, briefly explaining the whole story over the phone.

That's why I noticed something was wrong with Xie Genrong.

He said it came from the vigilance of his security team.

A bank in Beijing forged over 500 contracts, involving more than 6 million yuan, and is still preparing loans.

Secretary-General Zhang took the series of sensitive words very seriously.

He immediately arranged to meet with Tang Wen.

Late at night, in the Jiangnan Provincial Government office building.

Secretary-General Zhang accompanied the leader as they reviewed the evidence and watched some secretly recorded audio and video materials.

The evidence is conclusive.

The leader looked displeased.

After processing the incident, he looked at Tang Wen with admiration in his eyes.

He was praised quite a few times.

This made Director Tang feel a little embarrassed.

Secretary-General Zhang understood the implication and asked, "President Tang, the leadership will definitely report this matter to the capital. What are your requests? Please feel free to speak."

Tang Wen quickly waved his hand: "I have no demands, or rather, my demands have already been met."

"Oh? Tell me more."

This is not the time to try to be clever.

You must never hide your thoughts.

Tang Wen laughed sheepishly: "Hey, I'm not afraid the boss will laugh at me for saying this, but my net worth has been exposed."

"Haha, we've heard about it before, lots of people are talking about it!"

Tang Wen shook his head helplessly:

"My lord, you should know that I have always been kind to people since I started out, and I have never really established any authority. Plus, I am still young, so I don't think anyone is afraid of me."

Coincidentally, now that Xie Genrong has been found to have problems, I spread a rumor in Beijing's social circles before I came here.

A hint of surprise flashed in the eyes of the secretary-general and the leader.

The former spoke up: "The rumors aren't saying that you two are at odds or have a conflict, are they?"

"The leader has a discerning eye!"

"So you're trying to use his head for your own purposes!" the secretary-general thought to himself, "Brilliant!" He then asked, "Is that all you're after? Aren't you going to do something more practical?"

Tang Wen honestly replied, "This is already quite realistic." Xie Genrong was, after all, a famous entrepreneur and tycoon, and there had just been rumors of a falling out between him and Tang Wen.

The relevant authorities dealt with it shortly afterward.

Even if he were to come forward and say that it had nothing to do with him, the shrewd people in the capital wouldn't believe him.

Secretary-General: "Don't you own a real estate company?"

"Yes, there is." Tang Wen understood what the secretary-general meant and explained, "If land is needed, I will arrange for normal bidding."

There are too many hidden tricks in the real estate industry, so I set up a firewall.

If the company needs to cultivate relationships or handle public relations, it doesn't allow internal staff to get involved.

This aspect has all been outsourced at a cost.

After the first round of conversation, the leader looked at Tang Wen with even greater satisfaction.

That evening, Tang Wen successfully got a late-night snack at the provincial party committee canteen.

During dinner, the conversation turned to the United States.

Tang Wen mentioned that the area was heavily involved in real estate and finance, and that this development model was bound to have disastrous consequences...

Wait until he takes his leave.

Back in the office, the boss casually remarked, "Xiao Tang is a smart young man."

The Secretary-General understood immediately: "In the future, I may ask for his opinion on some matters."

Unfortunately, Tang Wen was unaware of this assessment.

Otherwise, I would definitely have a huge celebration when I got home that night. Getting Xie Genrong under control was worth indulging a little.

The price was that Tang Wei slept all day.

The following day, Tang Wen visited the secretary-general again.

The conversation turned to payment issues between JD.com and Tencent.

The initial development of Alipay involved cooperation with banks in Jiangnan.

It's just a branch.

But this action should not be underestimated.

This directly laid the initial foundation for the rise of Taobao and Alibaba's transformation into an e-commerce empire.

Online payment is an innovation that needs the endorsement of bold individuals.

The Secretary-General is naturally decisive.

Tang Wen immediately notified Tencent and JD.com that their CEOs should send teams to discuss the matter as soon as possible.

Penguin is alright; he has some connections in Shenzhen and can get things done locally.

JD.com is now facing a dilemma.

Liu Qiangdong had already asked Tang Wen to find a solution.

After the two teams arrived and the handover was completed, Tang Wen and Tang Wei went to the Hengdian film set to check on the preparations for "House of Wax".

Director Jaume Collet-Serra has arrived in Hengdian from the United States and has stayed there for a few days with his translator.

Being unfamiliar with the place, he wasn't needed much.

Basically, Tang Wei and his small team were in charge of overseeing set construction and preparing for filming.

Upon seeing Tang Wen, Jummi Hiller could not hide his excitement.

He went on and on about what he had seen and heard:

"Boss, this place is completely different from what I imagined. The accommodation is very clean, the food is delicious, the breakfast restaurant has coffee, and the most amazing thing is that you don't have to tip at all!"
I filmed some scenes with a DV camera and then showed them to the young actors.

That will definitely dispel their doubts.

Seeing that there was nothing to worry about here, Tang Wen stayed here for half a day and set off for Hong Kong that evening.

Filming for "Grand Theft Auto" has been underway for almost two weeks.

Tang Wen did not show up.

The crew often joked about this when they chatted.

Without him, Ning Hao lacked confidence, and the others were not convinced, resulting in slow progress in filming the dialogue scenes.

The action scenes were not bad. Zhang Jin is not very old and doesn't have much experience, but this time the action team was the Yuen Clan.

Zhang Jin had worked in Yuan's troupe and had a mentor-student relationship with Yuan Heping. He also had good relationships with the other members of the team.

Martial arts groups are known for their strong sense of loyalty and camaraderie.

Seeing him become a martial arts director at such a young age, the Yuan Clan felt a pang of envy.

I also like to treat him to a meal sometimes.

But when it came to actually filming, there were no obstacles; everyone was focused on making a good film.

Besides Zhang Jin keeping a close eye on things, the decline of Hong Kong's film industry is also a factor.

Tang Wen is a bigwig in the industry and a well-known director.

If the final product doesn't meet his expectations, it will negatively impact the reputation of the Yuen Clan in mainland China.

Their martial arts instructors don't know any other skills besides this.

Ruining a movie is like ruining your own livelihood.

Another martial arts assistant director, Wu Jing, was running between the two locations.

He was filming the role of the cold-blooded second male lead, "Guihai Yidao," in the TV series "The World's Number One."

Wu Jing is still young and has decent looks, so playing a cool second male lead shouldn't be a problem.

Whenever he has free time, he flies to Hong Kong to study the movements with Zhang Jin.

Ning Hao, Wu Jing, and Zhang Jin are all in a stage where they want to improve and work hard to learn.

They shared a lot in common, and the atmosphere within the crew was quite harmonious.

After work, the three of them would often take turns treating each other to a drink.

July, Hong Kong at night.

The temperature is not high, but the humidity is very high.

It's easy to feel stuffy and irritable.

The three of them went to their usual food stall, ordered a dozen beers, and opened the bottles.

He picked up the bottle that was emitting cold air, tilted his head back, and blew it down.

Zhang Jin said a few words to the boss in Cantonese.

Soon after, mantis shrimp, stir-fried razor clams, and clay pot vegetables were served one after another.

The three of them were also hungry, so they took out their chopsticks and were about to start eating.

Suddenly, Wu Jing paused, exclaiming in surprise, "Director Tang?"

"Is this all you want to eat? Let's add a Typhoon Shelter Crab and a Mini Stir-Fry King..." Tang Wen shouted the last part in Cantonese.

He took off his sunglasses and pulled over a plastic stool to sit down.

"Mr. Tang, I thought I was seeing things! How come your Cantonese is so good?" Wu Jing quickly opened a bottle of beer and handed it over.

Tang Wen took it and drank a sip; the icy sensation was refreshing and invigorating.

As for Cantonese proficiency, it comes naturally after one's Mandarin proficiency reaches a master level.

When Ning Hao saw him, he breathed a sigh of relief and slumped down, as if his previous sitting posture was just a forced effort.

With Tang Wen's arrival, we now have a pillar of support.

His arrival in Hong Kong could not escape the notice of the ever-present paparazzi.

On the way back to the hotel that evening, they were ambushed by reporters.

"Mr. Tang, how did you earn 50 billion in just a few years?"

"Mr. Tang, why didn't you stay at Wang Zuxian's house this time? Have you broken up?"

"Your old rival, Li Zekai, has seen his net worth shrink significantly. What do you think? Do you feel that you have surpassed him?"

"..."

Has Li Zekai's net worth shrunk?
Tang Wen casually answered two questions and, with the security team clearing the way, entered the InterContinental Hotel.

Security is tight here; paparazzi won't be able to sneak in.

After taking a shower, he went online to check on news about Li Jiacheng's second son.

"Yingke's stock price plunges again; Li Er Gongzi is no longer as carefree as before."

"Yingke shares plummet, Li Zekai breaks up with his girlfriend."

"..."

Li Zekai remains in the spotlight, with news about him flooding the internet.

However, there's basically no good news.

The Li family did not split up.

The majority, or almost all, of Li Zekai's net worth comes from PCCW stock.

PCCW's operational pressures are immense.

The acquisition of Hong Kong Telecom saddled them with huge debts.

This resulted in a huge loss of HK$77 billion last year.

To make matters worse, at the beginning of this year, Hong Kong's local telecommunications industry was fully opened up, and the number of competitors suddenly increased to 14.

Increased competition led to a decline in profits.

Experts predict that PCCW will suffer huge losses this year.

This led to a further decline in the stock price.

That's not all. Two months ago, unable to withstand the pressure, Li Zekai resigned from his position as CEO.

Meanwhile, PCCW's parent company in the UK suddenly sold off all of PCCW's shares...

A series of blows, coupled with the lingering effects of the previous dot-com bubble burst.

PCCW's stock price plummeted to just over HK$5.

It's worth noting that at its peak, it reached HK$140 per share.

The shrinkage rate reached an astonishing 96.5%!
According to Hong Kong media estimates, Li Ka-shing's net worth will be affected, causing him to fall out of the top ten richest people in Hong Kong.

Specifically, it should be between 7 and 8 million US dollars.

Hong Kong journalists are known for their efficiency.

With a click of the mouse to refresh the page, Tang Wen saw his own message without a word.

The media unearthed old news from last year about him and Li Zekai, nicknamed "Little Superman"—"Mainland Director Goes Head-on with Little Superman Over Black Pearl."

"Hong Kong media will rub salt into the wound."

He opened a bottle of mineral water and started drinking it, then casually clicked on a webpage.

The editor mocked Superman again.

In fact, Li Zekai's net worth had already shrunk last year.

However, the problems we encountered were not as serious as they are now.

Tang Wen recalled the words he had uttered, words that filled him with shame: "Ten years east of the river, ten years west of the river."

cough cough.

I still feel embarrassed thinking about it now.

It's been about a year, from last year to now, right?

Li Zekai's net worth is now less than 8 million US dollars, and it seems that he has indeed made a comeback.

But what's the point of that?
The opponent wasn't defeated; I stumbled.

Tang Wen searched Li Jiacheng's assets and found they totaled 78 billion US dollars!
Suddenly I felt energetic.

$78 billion, I wonder how long it will take to surpass that?

ten years?

Ding dong.

The message from the on-duty security personnel diverted Tang Wen's attention.

Huo Wenxi came to visit.

A few minutes later, the two met in the suite's living room.

"Long time no see." With no outsiders around, Huo Wenxi dropped his pretense and stared intently at Tang Wen's chest and abdomen.

When facing acquaintances with whom he had been completely honest, Tang Wen's shirt was unbuttoned.

After exchanging only a few words, the woman said she was hot.

Then he went straight into the bathroom.

"So fast?"

Less than ten minutes later, she came out, soaking wet.

"As long as you're not fast, that's fine!" After all, she was a mature older sister, and she didn't hesitate to use bold and risqué language.

Before Tang Wen could say anything more, her knees had already touched the carpet.

Okay then.

Since things have come to this, let's enjoy ourselves first.

After Tang Wen and Wang Zuxian made their relationship public, he stayed at Wang Zuxian's villa in Hong Kong.

No matter what, Huo Wenxi shouldn't go to Wang Zuxian's house to snatch her away, right?

So, she hadn't had a full meal in a long time.

The Outlaws crew.

Early in the morning, the large number of reporters who arrived startled Fei Xiang and the other lead actors.

They immediately contacted Ning Hao and Zhang Jin.

"What happened?"

"Won't the work stop?" Wu Xing was even more worried, because if the work stopped, there would be no money to be made.

A martial arts instructor stepped forward, offered a cigarette, and sat down with an older reporter for a smoke, casually inquiring about the situation: "Who are you here to interview?"

"A big spender from mainland China! Everyone says he's worth 5 billion, is that true?"

"You mean Director Tang Wen?"

"That's right, he arrived in Hong Kong last night."

No wonder so many reporters came.

This morning, Tang Wen woke up late and ate breakfast in the car.

He casually flipped through a few newspapers that the female bodyguard had brought him.

Many articles compare him to Li Zekai, focusing on one of belittling Li and praising Tang.

The style of Hong Kong newspapers is that their mouths are always like they've been poisoned.

Tang Wen looked at Zhi Le and opened the new newspaper:

Director Tang boasted that he would surpass Li Zekai in ten years; now, one year later, it seems he has already done so.

His eyes froze.

Subtitle: Director Tang tells Little Superman: Fortune changes every ten years!

Tang Wen's smile froze.

(End of this chapter)