Huayu Chunqiu, starting from being adopted by a fairy mother

Chapter 413 Big Breasts, No Brains
"Big boobs, no brains, what a moron."

Liu Jing muttered to himself.

He simply didn't believe that these bizarre actions could have been orchestrated by Yang Mi.

As long as he's still around, Yang Mi won't be able to cause any trouble. At most, she might get a little cocky and start acting all high and mighty. At that point, don't hesitate to suppress her decisively, otherwise, who knows how high she might go.

Of all the women, he was most confident in suppressing Yang Mi. He compared himself to the Buddha, and Yang Mi to Sun Wukong, who couldn't escape his palm.

Liu Jing suspected Zeng Jia was behind it all; that woman was quite cunning. As for Zhao Ruoyao, he didn't care at all.

He only knew the name because Yang Mi mentioned it often. He didn't even know how to spell the name.

"Having big breasts is good, but being brainless isn't necessarily good. Yang Mi is a shrewd girl; she hasn't left the ivory tower yet and hasn't experienced enough setbacks. Once she fully enters society, she'll understand everything." Bai Bing heard clearly and responded promptly.

"You're right." Liu Jing patted his assistant's pretty face. She has big ambitions, and you're no simpleton either.

You seem to be the same age as Yang Mi, and you seem to have only graduated last year. You speak so maturely, as if Yang Mi were a senior.

"I'm not right either, I'm just a nobody. I don't have Yang Mi's real talent. My appearances at events are all forced." Bai Bing lowered her head, somewhat dejected.

"We're talking about serious business," Liu Jing said helplessly.

“Oh, this matter is probably related to Zeng Jia. Mei Ya provided a lot of assistance to Yang Mi in this operation.” Bai Bing had the same guess.

While speculating, Liu Jing was still fidgeting in his boss's arms, his anger flaring up.

"Ugh! Get off my lap first, I need to call Qianqian." Liu Jing was annoyed. "Can't they just let me live a peaceful life?"

“Yang Mi is just smearing her, and Qianqian may not care, but the name of this ‘Yangfeng Operation’ is really too much.” Bai Bing pouted and stood up. Suddenly, she remembered the phone call that night, and her eyes lit up with a wicked idea.

"Yang Mi's agent is no pushover," Liu Jing sneered.

"Among agents, how many are easy to deal with? Wang Jinghua just started her own business, and Chang Jihong is also eyeing the opportunity to leave Xinbaoyuan. Huo Wenxi has her artists completely under her control, Qiu Likuan has connections in both the legal and illegal worlds, and Li Xiaowan takes advantage of everyone and then refuses to admit it. Leaving aside these veterans, Yang Tianzhen from Tangde, despite her young age, is ruthless and vicious. Li Xue is an easy-going person, but she's a painstaking spender for her sister. All the easy-going agents have already been blown out by the wind. After the storm, those remaining are all ruthless." Bai Bing chuckled.

Liu Jing glanced at him sideways. "You're no pushover either, and you're extremely fuel-consuming, since the ratio of oil to water has to be proportional."

Xiao Bai chuckled dryly, her large eyes fixed on her boss as if filled with deep affection. "Many people say I am gentle and virtuous, beautiful and generous, of noble character, intelligent and wise, and of noble heart..."

"Not a single word about kindness," Liu Jing said, pursing his lips.

"Uh..." Bai Bing blinked, speechless.

Liu Jing dialed the number twice before Qianqian answered.

"What are you busy with?"

"Plant coriander! March and April are the perfect time to plant vegetables," Sisi replied.

"Coriander?" Liu Jing was surprised. The internet was in an uproar, and you still had the mind to grow vegetables? You're addicted.

On second thought, this is so typical of Sisi.

Looking down, I realized this was very much like an assistant.

Bai Bing grinned mischievously, her eyes full of provocation, and her hands were also getting restless.

"Cilantro, scientific name is Coriander, you're so low-class, you don't even know that?" Sisi perked up, she had a chance to become a teacher.

"I don't know as much as you do." Liu Jing didn't want to argue; just pretend I didn't know.

Last time you called me low-class because you didn't know Armani sold perfume. Whether they sell perfume or not is none of my business; I don't even use Armani. If you hadn't told me, I would have always thought it was just a brand.

"Haha, many people think that cilantro is the scientific name, but actually it's coriander. Coriander is the formal botanical name, first appearing in the 'Compendium of Materia Medica.' Cilantro is the common name..." Xixi flipped through the vegetable encyclopedia next to her. With a book in hand, she could be a teacher too.

"Uh-huh……"

Liu Jing stroked his assistant's ponytail, listened to Qianqian's explanation, and nodded repeatedly, "You're right."

"Have you finished filming? When are you coming back?"

"Um, tomorrow's flight."

Why are you making a phone call right now?

"I suddenly miss you."

Xiao Bai couldn't stand it anymore. "You scumbag! When you say that, think about what I'm doing for you."

"Tch! You must have something on your mind. You wouldn't be calling at this time if you didn't. Are you trying to plead for Zhang Tianai?" Qianqian grinned, not believing it at all.

"What's wrong with her? What did she say?" Liu Jing asked, looking completely bewildered.

Xiao Bai gave a thumbs up, saying, "This acting is amazing! The tone and expression are textbook perfect."

She took a deep breath and decided to reward her boss properly.

"Ugh, I have to go now, Yang Mi called. She never calls unless something's really important. Bye-bye..."

Fifteen minutes later, Liu Jing returned to the next private room alone.

Chen Jiashang was writing furiously when he looked up and asked, "Have you finished dealing with things? You have things to do first, I'm not in a hurry."

"Hmm, it's very clean." Liu Jing remarked, impressed by his assistant's increasingly impressive skills.

"Uh, you cleaned it up so thoroughly, you didn't kill anyone, did you?" Chen Jiashang joked.

Many were killed!
Liu Jing chuckled twice and quickly changed the subject, "Old Chen, Disney is filming 'Alice in Wonderland,' are you going to make an Eastern version of Alice?"

“These are two stories,” Chen Jiashang emphasized.

"Okay, I look forward to your script coming to fruition." Liu Jing didn't reject it; there was no point in rejecting it anyway, as the other investors would definitely agree.

"Painted Skin" broke box office records, and Chen Jiashang was riding high. Even with a blank script, there were still a lot of people vying to invest.

After he finished playing Wang Sheng, a bunch of scripts came his way, and he could name his price.

There was another company that asked for an 80 million yuan fee, and even 100 million yuan was not out of the question.

Liu Jing wasn't worried about *Painted Skin* losing money. With the foundation of *Painted Skin*, even a bad film wouldn't be a complete flop. "With the release of *Painted Skin*, there's a surge of interest in *Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio* in the film industry. There are many classic stories in *Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio*. After adapting *Painted Skin*, there are still many classic stories we can work with, such as Ying Ning's conflict between morality and nature, Lu Pan's heart-swapping, Lian Cheng's vow of eternal love, the cricket's critique of society, A Xiu's illusory love, A Bao's incompatible human and demon, Jiao Na's profound love, Xiao Cui's reward for good, Xi Fangping's praise of resilience, Si Wenlang's condemnation of corruption, Nie Xiaoqian's deep love between a human and a ghost, Xin Shisi Niang's battle between a human and a fox, the Taoist priest of Laoshan who reaps without sowing, Gongsun Jiu Niang's cycle of life and death, and the romantic He Hua San Niangzi..."

Chen Jiashang became increasingly excited as he spoke, pushing the manuscript he had just written to Liu Jing. "You want to start a film factory, right? We have the foundation of 'Painted Skin,' so why not start with 'Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio'? Every story in 'Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio' can be developed into a film. Chunqiu has a filming base, a costume and props industry chain, a production team, distribution channels, special effects and animation companies, so many artists, and professional screenwriters. They need 100 million yuan to produce 'Painted Skin,' but if we were to handle it, the cost could be reduced by 30%, or even half. Their production cycle is one to three years, but we can completely compress it to within a year."

Chen Jiashang felt a sense of longing. During the most glorious period of Hong Kong and Taiwan films, the production cycle was usually six months, and rarely exceeded one year.

Now we have ample funds, advanced technology, and abundant facilities, but the production cycle is getting longer and longer.

Two or three years can pass from the initial idea to its release. What was once a great concept has now become a clichéd and overused trope.

"A movie factory? Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio?" Liu Jing was also intrigued, tapping his fingers on the table as he fell into deep thought.

If this succeeds, it will be more than just a movie factory; it will be a star-making factory, and it can also drive the development of upstream and downstream industries.

Since the release of "Painted Skin," related merchandise has been incredibly popular, generating profits even higher than the box office revenue. Lu Yi Workshop acquired several toy factories, producing merchandise non-stop, which is even more profitable than their main business.

What excites Liu Jing even more is that this is a channel for a continuous stream of cultural and entertainment activities.

"We can try one or two stories first. If they work, we'll continue. If not, we'll call it a day." Chen Jiashang could tell that Liu Jing wasn't interested in "Painted Wall" but also that he was interested in the Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio universe.

If this works out, Chen Jiashang will never lack work again and will be able to control enormous resources.

A person's status is not determined by their titles, but by how many resources they can control.

The chairman of the Hong Kong Film Awards is nowhere near as prestigious as the person in charge of this project.

"Old Chen, many stories in 'Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio' involve ghosts and monsters, so they can't be adapted for the big screen," Liu Jing said with some concern.

"The core of *Liaozhai* has never been about ghosts or demons, but rather using the guise of ghosts and monsters to expose the class oppression of the feudal era, the greed of human nature, and the hypocrisy of feudal ethics. Pu Songling's writing about ghosts and demons ultimately boils down to writing about people, his insight into human nature. When we adapt it, there's no need to emphasize the image of the ghost; it can be transformed into a demon, into a person with special abilities, it could be a dream within a dream, a psychological effect, or a fantasy like the murals on the wall." Chen Jiashang was prepared, and then changed the subject, "*Liaozhai* also has a market in Southeast Asia and Japan and South Korea, so we can film two versions of the same story. In the mainland market, the ghost can be changed to a fox demon, while the overseas version will still feature ghosts. During filming, we can just change the costumes and styling, and film another take."

"That's an idea." Liu Jing's mind immediately wandered, and he thought of even more.

In the Southeast Asian and Japanese/Korean markets, no other company has an advantage over Golden Harvest.

Spring and Autumn could also obtain land from the government to build a Liaozhai film and television base, and incidentally receive some subsidies.

The park is closed when filming takes place, but open to the public during off-peak seasons, where admission fees are charged and the park can be rented out to other film crews.

Lu Yi Workshop produces Liaozhai-themed merchandise; this is a long-term business.

"Actually, with the success of 'Painted Skin' as a precedent, preparing another project would be met with overwhelming support. It's just that by selling investment shares, the premium can offset some of the costs. I'm confident that the cost of the second film will be even lower than that of 'Painted Skin'." Chen Jiashang took a sip of tea.

"Old Chen, write a feasibility report and send it to me as soon as possible. I'll give it to Sister Min." Liu Jing slammed his hand on the table, startling Chen Jiashang so much that he spilled his tea.

"Great! There's hope for the revival of Hong Kong cinema!" Chen Jiashang exclaimed excitedly. These older generation filmmakers all took it upon themselves to revive Hong Kong cinema, only their methods and approaches differed.

This matter is settled. As long as we can persuade this young master, Chunqiu will definitely be on the receiving end.

People say that Li, Min, and Wen are in charge, but Chen Jiashang, as a deep partner of Jiahe, knows that this young master is the one in charge.

Chen Jiashang was the second director to be paired with Golden Harvest, while Wang Pangzi was the first.

This is different from a regular contract; instead, Golden Harvest and the director established an independent company, with Golden Harvest holding a 40% stake.

Jiahe provides its partners with resources, funding, channels, and supply chain support, while only supervising without interfering in the company's operations, granting them maximum freedom.

We share the profits and the risks. The relationship between the two parties is no longer a simple contractual one, but a deep bond.

"Old Chen, if you want to industrialize the 'Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio' film industry, then you need to control costs. The production cost of each film should be reduced to around 20 million yuan to make it worthwhile; otherwise, the investment risk is too high, and mass production will be impossible," Liu Jing reminded him.

He has absolutely no interest in reviving Hong Kong cinema. He might put new wine in old bottles, but he would never put old wine in new bottles.

However, Golden Harvest is a symbol of Hong Kong cinema, and sometimes it has to raise the banner of revival.

This tactic worked very well; Hong Kong filmmakers who were previously resistant to Golden Harvest gradually accepted the existence of the new Golden Harvest.

"Film shooting and production don't cost much; the biggest expenses are actor salaries, special effects, and subsequent marketing and distribution," Chen Jiashang said with a wry smile, feeling like he was falling behind the times. Previously, tens of millions was considered a big production; now budgets are in the hundreds of millions.

Liu Jingshen agreed, saying that the industry was developing abnormally, and that the trend was becoming increasingly abnormal.

“Old Chen, there’s one more thing. I don’t think it’s appropriate to use ‘Painted Skin’ as an experiment. The story of Nie Xiaoqian is the most widely known, and there are classic examples before it. It would be better to use this film as a test.”

"Taking advantage of the success of 'Painted Skin,' Hong Kong Taiji Film Company is preparing to remake 'A Chinese Ghost Story.' They invited me to direct, but I wasn't optimistic about the project and declined their offer. The version of 'A Chinese Ghost Story' by Ching Siu-tung and Tsui Hark is a classic. For them to create a new story based on an old one, with Joey Wong's Nie Xiaoqian already there, it would be a thankless task," Chen Jiashang shook his head.

"It's indeed a thankless task, and it's better to start from scratch." Liu Jing was quite regretful. When he thought of this project, he had already decided to give the female lead to Yang Mi.

He wanted to use this incident to give Yang Mi a good talking-to. He'd give her a whack, then a treat, and then another whack.

Thinking of Yang Mi, he thought of her again. Why didn't she even call? How are things between you and Qianqian? Did you arrange to meet, or did you plan to fight? How's it going? Just say something.

It's one thing for Sisi not to call, but as the younger brother, he didn't even report to his older brother. That's outrageous! He deserves a beating.

"They plan to invest 100 million yuan and want to invite you to play Ning Caichen, and either Xixi or Fan Bingbing to play Nie Xiaoqian," Chen Jiashang continued to reveal.

"Not interested," Liu Jing refused directly, adding, "Qianqian isn't interested either."

"President Lan said that as long as you play the lead role, you'll get a minimum salary of 20 million, plus a 10% share of the box office." Chen Jiashang was extremely envious. If it were him, he would definitely agree, but if it were Liu Jing, he definitely wouldn't.

"Forget it, ignore them. Old Chen, your project is good, pick another suitable subject." Liu Jing really didn't want to agree; remaking a classic was a thankless task, and he wouldn't do it.

“I will carefully study the subject matter and select suitable stories to test the waters. Now that we’ve finished discussing this, let’s talk about the Hong Kong Film Awards.” Chen Jiashang put away the materials and moved on to the next topic.

"Wait, let me call Bai Bing over. She's been nagging about the Hong Kong Film Awards reforms. Let her hear it today so she won't keep bothering me," Liu Jing called out.

Chen Jiashang didn't care. He said it didn't matter if Bai Bing, Hei Bing, Hong Bing, Fan Bingbing, or Li Bingbing were brought over.

At the boss's call, the assistant came in carrying a laptop.

“Liu Jing, Eagle Group, Media Asia, and Silver Metropolitan Organization have basically agreed to the reform. They also feel that the current system has hindered the development of the Hong Kong Film Awards. They have also put forward conditions: the reform should be carried out step by step, and they do not want to overturn it all. However, Shaw Brothers and the Xiang family strongly oppose it.” Chen Jiashang took a short rest to organize his thoughts before answering.

"Why are they against it?" Bai Bing asked seriously.

“Shaw Brothers is rather conservative. They feel that the Hong Kong Film Awards, after the reforms, are no longer awards for Hong Kong filmmakers and have lost their original flavor.” Chen Jiashang’s expression was strange, as if he had something difficult to say. He coughed twice. “As for the Xiang family, they oppose for the sake of opposing.”

"What do you mean?" Bai Bing paused for a moment, then quickly glanced at the boss. She roughly understood.

(End of this chapter)