Fooling Huayu for Thirty Years

Chapter 495 Ma Xun Destroys Hua Yi! Whether I drag it out or not, I still win!

"Take down Huayi? Ma Xun, what gives you the right?"

Zhou Zhengyi was a man who had seen his share of storms, and he couldn't be easily intimidated by Ma Xun's few words.

Ma Xun never expected to defeat his old rival so easily with just a few words.

"You ask me why? Very well, it's because of the movie 'Silk.' When Chen Guofu came to the mainland, he approached me first!"

These words were quite powerful, and Zhou Zhengyi's expression changed.

"But what can we do about it?"

In fact, Zhou Zhengyi had already thought of some things, but he still adhered to his principle and could not be intimidated by Ma Xun.

Even now, Zhou Zhengyi enjoys good food, drink, and air conditioning in prison, but he also has enough time to reflect on everything that happened before, and finally, he came to a conclusion.

Ma Xun is a complete fraud!

So, we absolutely cannot let him fool us this time!

But this time it's different.

Ma Xun laughed and said, "Let me tell you in detail. At that time, Chen Guofu did a lot of research. He sincerely hoped that I could invest in this movie."

However, I still wasn't interested. But I did help him out by introducing him to other investors.

"You... but even so, what can you do?" Zhou Zhengyi's state of mind was already unstable at this moment. He was certain that Ma Xun must have done something.

Ma Xun then laughed and said, "This movie called 'Silk' will be released in the near future. However, Huayi is now selling the distribution rights of this movie along with another movie because of huge losses from its previous films."

It's obvious that the Wang brothers just want a quick buck.

That's fine, it's normal procedure. If it were me, I would do the same.

But after all, I wasn't the one who suffered a loss; in fact, I not only didn't lose money, I actually made a considerable profit.

I'm really rooting for these two movies, so I'm buying them—highest bidder wins, of course.

He spoke slowly, but every word he uttered was like a bomb to Zhou Zhengyi.

"Ma Xun, you're ruthless!"

"Oh, Mr. Zhou, what did I just say?"

"Stop pretending. Once you buy it, of course you can check the accounts."

"Of course, after all, this movie is on my payroll. If anything goes wrong, I'll really be the one suffering an undeserved disaster."

"you you……"

That's pretty much everything laid out in the open.

Ma Xun's meaning was clear: he hadn't invested in "Silk" initially, and had instead given it to the Wang brothers. But in reality, this was a trap Ma Xun had set up.

Now, Ma Xun is going to buy this thunder back. It sounds like he's just wasting his breath, but it's actually the killer move!
I bought it back, so it's mine now. I know how this movie was made, how it was invested in, where the money came from, and how it was spent.

I'm going to investigate this thoroughly. Isn't that a matter of course?

But once this investigation begins... a lot of things will definitely be exposed to the light of day!

Obviously, some things cannot be revealed.

Zhou Zhengyi was well aware that he had fallen for Ma Xun's trick again!
Clearly, Ma Xun has been keeping a close eye on the movements of "Silk," meaning he probably already knows what's going on.

This is why Ma Xun came over to talk to Zhou Zhengyi.

So……

"what on earth do you want?"

Zhou Zhengyi glared at him angrily.

Ma Xun remained as still as a mountain.

Zhou Zhengyi couldn't hold back any longer. "You must have a special purpose for coming here. Just say it."

Yes, that's true.

Ma Xun could have acted immediately and waited until Zhang Ziyi got his hands on the two films before starting the investigation.

There's no need to go to Zhou Zhengyi; it's pointless.

However, this is by no means superfluous; it is a necessary action!

Ma Xun finally revealed his true purpose.

“I said at the beginning that I was going to kill Huayi and the Wang brothers, not you.”

Upon hearing this, Zhou Zhengyi felt relieved and understood.

"You mean, if I cooperate with you, you won't harm me?"

Ma Xun laughed and said, "Boss Zhou, you're already in prison, what can I do to you? What I'm thinking is to send the Wang brothers in here. Of course, they can't live with you."

Wow! That's really something!

Zhou Zhengyi frowned slightly after hearing this. "Mr. Ma, I admit that you are indeed a formidable figure. But the Wang brothers are no ordinary people either."

Ma Xun's eyes were full of contempt. "In my eyes, the Wang brothers are nothing but chickens and dogs, not even as good as you."

Hey, they've given Zhou Zhengyi a compliment.

"Don't try to fool me!" Zhou Zhengyi said, indicating that he was no longer the Zhou Zhengyi he used to be, but deep down he was actually a little smug.

That's right, those two idiots, the Wang brothers, are nothing!

If we're talking about background, the big brother I'm sworn brothers is the real big shot!
Zhou Zhengyi's slight changes were, of course, also noticed by Ma Xun... Very well, he finally fell for it.

"Brother Zhou, let me be frank. This time, I only intend to deal with the Wang brothers. I won't touch you or your money. After all, you can still enjoy air conditioning, while I'm not that stupid to find myself another formidable opponent."

This was another compliment, but it also revealed Ma Xun's true purpose!
I, Ma Xun, have no interest in getting involved in Zhou Zhengyi's affairs. This time, I just want to take down the Wang brothers.

From the moment Ma Xunyi came in until now, the whole conversation has revolved around this central idea.

Zhou Zhengyi finally understood, so...

"If you insist on investigating, and you find out the truth, won't my wife also be imprisoned?"

Finally, Zhou Zhengyi also put forward his conditions.

Ma Xun understood; it meant protecting Sister Mao.

In reality, Zhou Zhengyi protecting Mao Jie is protecting himself, because his money is currently outside the country and mainly controlled by Mao Jie.

In fact, Ma Xun himself was helpless about this matter. After all, in the original timeline, Zhou Zhengyi actually paid off all the money he owed outside during the years he was in prison.

In other words, his money is still circulating outside, so there must still be someone protecting it.

Actually, this is why Ma Xun insisted on coming here. If he hadn't come and had started fighting right away, he would have just given himself another formidable opponent.

Now, Zhou Zhengyi wants Ma Xun to come up with a solution.

How to do?
How can we deal with the Wang brothers without getting involved with Sister Mao?

Ma Xun said, "Why don't you just give me some evidence about the brothers?"

What the hell!

That was a really good move!

Anyway, I, Ma Xun, am going to deal with those two guys. If you can give me evidence against them, then I won't investigate this "Silk" anymore.

Zhou Zhengyi really didn't expect that Ma Xun would come up with such a plan.

This really made him struggle with his decision and hesitate.

Ma Xun then delivered a decisive blow.

"You can consider it, I'm not in a hurry."

Let's go.

How can this be called a game-winning shot?
Zhou Zhengyi suddenly said, "Wait a minute, Mr. Ma, you're really amazing."

Did he make the decision?
Ma Xun smiled and said, "I'm really not in a hurry. You can take a few more days to think it over."

Zhou Zhengyi said, "Of course you're not in a hurry. The Wang brothers aren't like you. They're as anxious as ants on a hot pan right now. Otherwise, why would they package two movies together to sell?"

As long as you stall, you'll win.

And by then, if those two guys collapse, it will probably implicate me as well.

Mr. Ma, you're quite the schemer.

That's right!

Ma Xun was in no hurry, but the two brothers were definitely anxious. The longer this matter dragged on, the higher Ma Xun's chances of winning would be.

Not rushing is the best strategy.

Once Ma Xun wins, even if the Wang brothers don't do anything to attack Zhou Zhengyi, Ma Xun won't need to talk to Zhou Zhengyi anymore.

If everything is handled strictly according to official procedures, Zhou Zhengyi will definitely lose.

That is, Sister Mao will be implicated.

and so……

"I'll give you something that can take down those two guys!"

"Then I won't look up that bullshit 'Silk'."

After they finished speaking, they nodded to each other. Then, Ma Xun left the prison.

Actually, there was no one else in this room at all.

In other words, their chats are known only to themselves.

Don't forget, Zhou Zhengyi is a prisoner who can enjoy air conditioning.

……

Hong Kong.

The auctions for the two Huayi Brothers films are still ongoing.

However, the current offer is already quite conservative.

"3610 million!"

In reality, everyone knows very well that when the price exceeds 3000 million, this deal needs to be approached with caution.

Everyone here knows the current state of the film market.

Therefore, although the price of 3000 million was announced early on, subsequent price increases were quite small.

However, Zhang Ziyi seemed determined to succeed.

No matter who offered what price, she always added 100,000 to the end.

This method is a bit excessive.

But there was nothing anyone else could do.

Moreover, it has now exceeded 3600 million, which is quite a high price.

The Wang brothers felt a little awkward, after all, Zhang Ziyi was just an actress.

The brothers are the real bosses, and even Zhang Ziyi, that woman, couldn't save "The Banquet."

While we can't blame Zhang Ziyi entirely for the failure of "The Banquet," can we say she bears no responsibility at all?
Now, this little wench is really getting the upper hand over them!
But there's nothing they can do; the Wang brothers really need money right now.

Of course, the Wang brothers were well aware that Zhang Ziyi didn't have much money. Despite being called an international superstar, she definitely couldn't come up with 3000 million yuan right now.

Many celebrities are like this, including those in Hollywood.

Yes, these celebrities are very glamorous, always decked out in luxury goods, and their pay is indeed extremely high.

But it's important to understand that while they earn a lot, they also spend a lot.

The reason why we often hear stories of big-name celebrities going bankrupt is because they actually don't have much money at all.

If we use some theories to explain it... these celebrities don't actually own the means of production; to put it bluntly, they're just highly skilled workers.

Unless these celebrities rise to become part of the capital, they will only ever be high-level employees.

Therefore, this young woman was definitely bidding on behalf of someone else.

This situation is quite common, even ubiquitous.

At real auctions, the big shots usually don't show up; they're almost always represented by agents.

So, what's this so-called Pegasus Company behind this young woman...?

Pegasus?

Pegasus?
The Wang brothers felt something was strange for some reason.

Pegasus is the same word as the constellation Pegasus in English.

But the key lies in this horse...

However, even though they had bad feelings, there was nothing the Wang brothers could do now.

Especially now, no one is bidding anymore.

3610 million, that's a good price. It should at least allow them to hold on for a while longer.

This quick money could really save the brothers from their predicament.

Let's withstand the pressure from the banks first.

So...

"Okay! Deal! Ms. Zhang Ziyi offered 3610 million. All box office revenue and copyright proceeds from the two films, 'Perhaps Love' and 'Silk,' will go to Ms. Zhang Ziyi!"

Chen Guofu's statement was a definitive one, but in reality, there was no real evidence.

However, the meaning is the same: both films were sold to Zhang Ziyi.

Of course, she was definitely attending on behalf of some bigwig.

But as long as you have money, that's all that matters.

According to the rules, the first step is to sign a contract and then pay a deposit.

Zhang Ziyi took out a blank check and filled in the amount.

Wow, that's really awesome!

This time, 30% will be paid, which is a little over ten million.

However, when the check was delivered to the Wang brothers, they were completely dumbfounded!

Everyone knows the amount on a bank check, but the bank account number still needs to be written on it.

So, this account can be either a company's or an individual's.

It's clearly written on this check now...

Ma Xun!

The Wang brothers were completely dumbfounded, no, they were even extremely shocked!

When this situation arose, Chen Guofu naturally came over as well.

He was very curious. What was wrong with his two bosses? The checks had already arrived, which was practically equivalent to them receiving the money.

And then he looked at it... Ah! ?!

Chen Guofu was also dumbfounded!
It was actually Ma Xun?
He... he can't do it!
That won't do. We absolutely cannot sell these two movies to him!

The three of them had just realized what was happening when they looked at Zhang Ziyi again.

She's gone.

He turned back with a smile and said, "The check has been sent, and we're just waiting for you to deliver the goods."

I also learned Cantonese Mandarin.

This is so infuriating!

No, it's not that I'm angry, it's that something really bad could happen!

Zhang Ziyi has already taken the contract and left, what can be done?
Should we get it back, or tear up the contract?

But there are many big bosses present at this event!

What are those three doing with Zhang Ziyi, such a big celebrity?
If they resort to violence, that would be a real problem.

The Hong Kong media must be overjoyed!

The Wang brothers and Chen Guofu were frozen in place, completely unprepared for any eventuality.

Yes, who would have thought that Ma Xun would come and buy these two movies?

What to do, what should be done, what exactly... never mind, let's go back and think of a solution first!

Not bad, they already have a solution as soon as the 'auction' ends.

"Let's just not ship the goods to him!"

"Yes, we're not giving him the movie!"

"Is this okay?"

The Wang brothers' idea seems pretty bad.

But what other options are there right now?
They had originally planned a celebratory cocktail party, but now they were in no mood to celebrate at all.

But if they don't ship the goods to that side, meaning they don't give Ma Xun the distribution rights to these two films, then they won't get the money they're supposed to make.

The key question is, where is this check?
For a moment, the Wang brothers were truly in chaos.

They even considered dragging it out.

Yes, that's it, dragging it out and wearing Ma Xun down... But that really won't work.

They are the ones who can't afford to wait!
This this……

For three consecutive days, the Wang brothers and Chen Guofu had been unable to come up with any solutions.

They considered various countermeasures in the hotel.

But by the fourth day, they were doomed, with no way out!
Someone knocked on the door, and they couldn't refuse to open it.

Because the person who came was...

"We are from the Hong Kong Economic Crime Investigation Bureau..."

The Wang brothers and Chen Guofu looked like they'd eaten shit...

(End of this chapter)