Chinese Entertainment Intelligence King

Chapter 372 The Exorbitant Price of "New Three Kingdoms" and Young Master Yan Also Arrive
Yi An, Chairman's Office

Yan Li, who was working overtime, also watched today's "Lu Yu's Appointment" and pointed out some flaws.

For example, it has a slightly over-the-top feel, isn't polished enough, and sounds too much like a slogan. A more natural approach would be better.

To be honest, Yan Li had a pretty good impression of Lu Yu. Although some of the questions he asked were a bit "stupid," they softened the seriousness of the interview and made the atmosphere more relaxed.

Many journalists and hosts interviewing business tycoons always seem to be holding their breath, afraid of making a mistake, as if they are about to have a high-level meeting.

There are also some journalists who are always plotting or creating explosive news, which can be quite manipulative and confrontational.

This approach unconsciously makes the guests nervous and serious, even wary and defensive, causing their speech and behavior to become conservative and formal, and thus they can't talk about anything serious.

Regardless of Lu Yu's interviewing skills, her interviewing style is more down-to-earth, the topics are relatively simple, and she doesn't put pressure on the guests; it's like a casual chat.

Yan Li personally quite enjoys this kind of interview, and if needed in the future, he can chat with Lu Yu again.

Yan Li's phone vibrated and buzzed. He opened it and saw a series of text messages.

The content and reasons vary, but the meaning is the same: they want to give Yan Li, this lonely bird, a nest…

Yan Li couldn't help but feel a headache coming on; there were too many nests and not enough birds, he couldn't keep up with the workload!

Forget it, let's draw lots!

Yan Li tore off a piece of paper, wrote a few lines, crumpled them up, and then randomly selected one.

"Hmm, it didn't shake much just now, so it doesn't count. Let's try again."

"Uh, this note is obviously too small, it's inaccurate."

"..."

After drawing three times, Yan Li finally got a satisfactory answer, guided by fate.

He swore that it had absolutely nothing to do with Xu Qing posting the erotic photos.

This is Yan Li's first time visiting Xu Qing; last time, he directly invited her to one of his strongholds.

To Yan Li's surprise, Xu Qing's house was quite ordinary.

It can't be called ordinary; it's a pretty good house for the average person, but for someone of Xu Qing's stature, it's just average, even a bit old.

"I bought this in the 90s, so it must be about fifteen or sixteen years old now."

Xu Qing was wearing a bathrobe, her hair still a little wet. She had taken a shower before Yan Li arrived.

"Living here to reminisce?"

Yan Li asked, and Xu Qing shook her head: "One is that they have no money, and the other is that they are trying to avoid trouble."

“When I was famous, I didn’t earn that much. Of course, money was worth a lot back then, but I was young and didn’t have any plans to build a business. I just wanted a place to live and then I spent money on various things.”

"You know what happened next. Once she got involved with someone, she didn't care about these things anymore, and as a result, all of them got into trouble."

“Although I kept some money, they had too many problems, and I was also having a hard time. I sold many houses and things, and I’ve been living here for two years now.”

"..."

Xu Qing doesn't shy away from her past; it's no use trying to hide it anyway, as Yan Li already knows everything that's public.

She couldn't control Yan Li, and Yan Li wasn't jealous of her.

"That sounds pretty tragic."

Yan Li gave his assessment, and Xu Qing shook her head and laughed, "It's not that bad. I still have some savings, and I own more than one house. Now that I've made a comeback, I'm earning money. I've even started looking at new houses, multi-million dollar mansions."

Despite experiencing many ups and downs, Xu Qing maintained a good mindset.

Moreover, she has been famous for so many years and has been associated with powerful figures. Although her net worth cannot compare to rising stars like Fan Bingbing, she is not someone that ordinary celebrities can easily exploit.

"Cattle."

Yan Li gave a thumbs up, and Xu Qing laughed, "That's still not as impressive as you. You're already aiming to become the richest person in China."

"Just bragging, wanting to be one doesn't necessarily mean you can be one."

"I think you can definitely do it."

Xu Qing lit a women's cigarette and offered it to Yan Li, who shook his head and pulled her closer, his fingers gently tugging at the neckline of her pajamas.

"No, you're lying about this?"

Yan Li was dissatisfied. He had turned down many temptations to come here, and Xu Qing couldn't go back on her word.

Xu Qing bent down and sat on his lap: "I can't exactly wash it while wearing it, can I? We're in the bedroom, so I'll listen to whichever one you like."

"I want to see what you're wearing."

"Row."

Xu Qing agreed to everything, and Yan Li looked at her bathrobe again, slightly tempted.

"This outfit is also nice."

There's a kind of simple yet slightly worldly feeling about them, similar to a respectable young woman who's just started her career or a newly graduated technician.

Xu Qing blew smoke rings in his face: "Then let's wear this for now, and we can change later."

Yan Li raised an eyebrow. This older sister was still somewhat reserved on the set of "Let the Bullets Fly," but she has let loose since returning to the capital, showing a variety of ways to get what she wants.

Although her combat strength wasn't particularly high, the taste was undeniably delicious, which was why Yan Li was willing to seek her out.

...

The following day, just as Mr. Jia had predicted, Huayi Brothers' stock price rose significantly after Yan Li publicly promoted it, and the increase was not small.

However, compared to Huayi Brothers' stock market performance, Yan Li's most talked-about moment on "Lu Yu's Appointment" was his statement that his "small goal" was to become China's richest man before he turned forty.

He single-handedly defined the phrase "small goal," and once again inspired netizens to imitate him in a self-representative manner.

For example, I could set a small goal: to become the richest person in our village before I turn forty, and the richest person in our apartment building before I turn fifty.

Then it was developed and used in various ways, turning into all sorts of funny and absurd imitations, such as defeating America, getting a raise of 200, confessing your love to your neighbor aunt, and so on.

Most people either support Yan Li's small goal or just watch the spectacle.

There were also those who mocked him, but they were quickly ridiculed back by Yan Li's supporters.

After all, no matter how arrogant Yan Li is, his words are based on real facts and are not just wild fantasies. Those who mock him are often questioned about their income and then dragged down.

Ultimately, this forced many people to start playing the ideological card, believing that Yan Li's thoughts were vulgar, full of the stench of money, and that he had been alienated by capitalism and had no free soul.

Yan Li himself didn't take this criticism to heart at all. When asked, he replied, "Yes, yes, yes."

They pursued unbridled freedom, but lacking that level of understanding, they could only silently endure the pain and emptiness of wealth.

There's no way to play this game. Yan Li himself admits that he's vulgar, and incredibly so. He's greedy for money and lustful. What can you do with him?

Some people think that Yan Li's actions set a very bad example, while others think that Yan Li is genuine and dares to act.

In fact, Yan Li's thinking was very simple: he was already being praised high enough, and if he was praised any more, he would become a saint.

Saints often meet tragic ends!
Yan Li doesn't mind others praising his abilities, as it benefits his business, but his personal morality is another matter. He has never been a saint, nor has he ever wanted to be one.

Therefore, Yan Li is now intentionally lowering his public image, especially regarding his personal conduct. Without making any major mistakes or causing widespread resentment, the lower his public image, the more benefits he will receive.

For example, lust and greed are flaws that are acceptable to the general public and are basic human traits for most people.

Therefore, people were not so resistant to him, and even felt that Yan Li was very real and developed a liking for him.

After all, many people dislike stupidity but not wickedness, and a truly capable villain is often more popular than a useless person or a hypocrite.

Rather than engaging in verbal battles with his haters, Yan Li values ​​leveraging Huayi Brothers' listing to advance Yi An's IPO process.

Huayi Brothers is already listed, and some other companies are also preparing for listing. It is better for Yi'an to go public sooner rather than later.

Yan Li's plan is to finalize the deal in the first half of next year, but this would make it more difficult to list on the A-share main board, and some investors and securities firms also believe that the ChiNext board is more suitable for Yi An.

These circumstances led Yan Li to change his mind and decide to list Yi An on the Growth Enterprise Market (GEM), which greatly accelerated the listing process for Yi An.

At the same time, Yi'an is also cooperating by releasing various positive news.

On November 10th, Yi An held a celebration banquet for "The Message".

Because both soldiers were filming, Yan Li, Gao Qunshu, and others smashed the ice sculpture symbolizing 3 million.

At the same time, Yan Li also announced another piece of good news: the new Three Kingdoms was officially scheduled to be released in the first half of 2010.

Shortly after, a "source" revealed that the first-run broadcast rights for "New Three Kingdoms" were sold to four satellite TV stations in Beijing, Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Shandong provinces, at a price of 200 million yuan per episode, for a total price of 1.6 million yuan.

This news caused a sensation throughout the film and television industry.

As mentioned earlier, TV drama prices have been rising in the past two years, and the price of a million yuan per episode is gradually becoming the mainstream price for popular dramas.

But television stations aren't exactly innocent either; they spend tens of millions of dollars at a time, putting them under immense pressure, so they're also trying every possible way to compete with the rapidly developing market.

Many TV stations have started producing their own dramas to save costs.

For example, Zhejiang TV invested in the Yongle version of "Journey to the West", and Hunan TV produced popular shows such as "Ugly Girl Invincible" and "Meteor Shower".

If your price is too high, I won't buy it!
This approach, to some extent, resisted market growth, at one point suppressing some popular dramas to below one million yuan. Those low-budget dramas without distribution channels were even forced to accept prices from several years ago, resulting in meager profits or even losses.

But there's nothing we can do if the TV station won't buy it; we can't just leave it stuck with us. We have no choice but to lower the price.

In this confrontation, even Yi'an, which claims to be the leader in television distribution, made some concessions.

But after a brief period of rationality, the TV station is now finding it hard to control itself again.

While self-produced dramas save costs, there are still too few truly competitive ones; otherwise, TV stations would have already started producing and broadcasting their own shows.

Moreover, if a self-produced drama flops, not only will you lose money, but you will also waste time and energy and have to deal with the division of responsibility.

Therefore, foreign-broadcast dramas cannot be replaced, especially for ambitious TV stations, which will have to compete for popular projects in the market.

At the same time, the rise of online video has also put some pressure on television stations.

Not only do they have to fight against TV stations, but they also have to fight against the internet. If the content isn't good, the ratings won't be impressive.

Especially for projects like the new Four Great Classical Novels that attract nationwide attention, the more sluggish the market, the fiercer the competition becomes, because TV stations have money and will fight tooth and nail to get them.

Instead of gambling on self-produced dramas or those popular dramas with uncertain prospects, it's better to go all out and fight tooth and nail for "New Three Kingdoms".

Moreover, for such high-priced projects that cause a sensation in the industry, many responsible persons cannot make the decision on their own. It requires a collective vote from the senior management of the TV station to approve it. In this way, even if it goes wrong, the responsibility cannot be placed on any individual.

In addition, Yi An also considered that the pressure of exclusive premiere was too great, so she arranged for four satellite TV stations to broadcast it together.

In this way, although the viewership ratings are shared, the risks and costs are also reduced.

Ultimately, with Yan Li's personal push, the premiere rights for "New Three Kingdoms" sold for a record-breaking price per episode and total revenue.

Following this, Tudou.com announced that it had purchased the exclusive online streaming rights to "New Three Kingdoms" for 18 yuan per episode, totaling approximately 1500 million yuan.

This price is also a record-breaking astronomical price for the online streaming market.

It's worth noting that the two giants, Tudou and Youku, only spend tens of millions of yuan annually on film and television copyright acquisitions.

Spending 1500 million yuan to buy the rights to "New Three Kingdoms" is a huge gamble for Tudou.com.

A senior executive at Youku said in an interview that Tudou's move was unwise, but Tudou executives quickly contradicted him.

Youku also participated in the bidding for the exclusive online broadcasting rights of "New Three Kingdoms", once offering 16.5 yuan per episode, but ultimately gave up not because of the high risk, but because they did not have the money.

Leaving aside the verbal sparring between Tudou and Youku, the combined revenue of 1500 million and 1.6 million alone amounts to 1.75 million.

The game "New Three Kingdoms," with an investment of less than 1.4 million yuan, broke even and made a profit of more than 3000 million yuan.

However, that's not all. Yan Li admitted on Weibo that "New Three Kingdoms" was imported to Japan for $12 per episode, which is more than 6500 million yuan, breaking the record for the highest price ever paid by a mainland Chinese product overseas.

This Weibo post immediately topped the trending topics list.

Earning 65 million yen in Japan is completely different from earning nearly 200 million yen in China.

The domestic film and television industry has been calling for exports overseas, but very few works have actually gone global and achieved sufficient success.

The last film to be a huge hit in Japan was "Red Cliff," and even "New Three Kingdoms" should be grateful to "Red Cliff." Without the new wave of Three Kingdoms fever it sparked in Japan, "New Three Kingdoms" would hardly have been able to sell for this price.

It hasn't aired on TV yet. If it does start airing on Japanese TV and generates some buzz, it might just be featured on the evening news.

1.75 million + 65 million, that's 240 million. "New Three Kingdoms" can directly announce a profit of over 100 million.

However, Yi An felt that the project still had great potential. In an interview, the chief producer of "New Three Kingdoms" stated that their total revenue from "New Three Kingdoms" was over 3.5 million yuan, with a profit of about 2 million yuan.

This is not a pipe dream; the new Three Kingdoms also has a lot of copyright and revenue points.

For example, Hong Kong's TVB has announced that it is negotiating with Yi An to purchase the Hong Kong rights to "New Three Kingdoms". Considering the popularity and scale of this drama, it is very likely to break TVB's record for importing mainland dramas.

Executives from Taiwan's CTiTV and another television station also expressed interest in the drama and said they would consider it further.

The record-breaking prices for "New Three Kingdoms" not only brought the series a lot of attention and popularity, but also made many people see Yi An's profitability.

Compared to movies, the production and distribution of TV series are actually Yi An's strengths in generating profits.

This year alone, Yi An has produced and distributed more than 100 popular dramas. If we include some less successful dramas, the total transaction amount is likely to exceed 100.

Even if we only consider the proceeds from the issuance, Yi An earned nearly 100 million.

It's worth noting that Huayi Brothers' publicly disclosed annual report showed that its total revenue this year, up until its listing, was only a few hundred million yuan, with a profit of less than 8000 million yuan.

Yi An's distribution department alone is enough to suppress Huayi Brothers.

Of course, if we consider the company's total profit, Yi'an might not be as profitable as Huayi Brothers, because they've invested far too much money in the cinema chain. Other departments earn tens or hundreds of millions, while the cinema chain costs hundreds of millions or even billions.

The money was spent, but the cinemas, market share, and market value were also recovered.

Moreover, cinemas are profitable, and once things are on track, Yi'an has become a good source of cash flow, with some land and real estate also having room for appreciation.

The financial report shows a loss, but the potential is limitless, the future is bright, and Yi'an is destined to win.

...

November 13th is Yan Li's 11th birthday.

Birthday wishes have become popular on Weibo, and many friends and celebrities have tagged him.

It was only then that Yan Li realized that there were quite a few celebrities who shared the same birthday as him.

Popular actress Hu Jing, Song Jia who rose to fame after "Crossing the Guandong", Hong Kong heartthrob Shawn Yue, Japanese heartthrob Takuya Kimura, famous comedian Hong Jiantao, and the most popular mainland actor Huang Xiaoming.

Because there were so many popular figures, Weibo was exceptionally lively that day.

However, compared to public well wishes, Yan Li received far more private congratulations, keeping his phone constantly busy.

After declining his friends' invitations, Yan Li rested for a day and spent his birthday peacefully at home.

Comrade Lao Yan personally took charge of cooking, preparing all of Yan Li's favorite dishes, while Zhang Hong chatted with Qin Lan and Dong Xuan.

Fan Xiaopang didn't come back; she was filming in Sichuan Province, and it would be troublesome for her to come over. Yan Li told her not to come, since they would be attending the Golden Horse Awards together soon anyway.

"It's so peaceful here, someone's not around."

After Zhang Hong was called out by Lao Yan to help, Qin Lan stood up, stretched slightly, and sighed contentedly.

With the annoying Fan Xiaopang gone and her pregnancy taking center stage, Qin Lan was in an exceptionally good mood.

Dong Xuan smiled and glanced at Yan Li: "Aren't you afraid someone will report you?"

"Go ahead and sue her. Let's see if she dares to touch me."

Qin Lan rubbed her stomach and yelled. Even when Fan Xiaopang came, he couldn't do anything to her. He definitely couldn't hit her, so he could only scold her. As long as she said her stomach hurt, Fan Xiaopang would back down.

This is a case of using the crown prince to intimidate all the beauties!

Qin Lan suspected that Fan Xiaopang's absence might be due to this reason; he couldn't afford to offend him and risk stepping on a landmine, so he had no choice but to avoid him.

"Don't be so smug. Things change every thirty years."

Dong Xuan offered a word of advice, but Qin Lan waved her hand, saying, "We'll talk about it when we get to Hexi."

Just kidding. If I don't show off while she's pregnant, she'll be out of the picture once the other two are pregnant.

Dong Xuan shook her head and ignored her, but Qin Lan wouldn't let her go.

"Why do you seem to be in a much better mood than last time?"

Dong Xuan asked doubtfully, "Really?"

"Have."

Although she and Dong Xuan didn't meet much—one was pregnant and the other couldn't conceive—they tried to minimize their contact to avoid upsetting each other.

However, when Yan Li was filming "Let the Bullets Fly", she would occasionally catch a glimpse of Dong Xuan while video chatting with Yan Li on the computer, and her state was obviously somewhat depressed and gloomy.

Unlike now, she's become much more cheerful and optimistic, and people haven't even paid much attention to her belly.

Most importantly, Dong Xuan can't get pregnant, so how could they not check her belly?!
"You're pregnant?!"

Qin Lan's voice was complex, a mixture of disappointment, joy, nervousness, bitterness, and relief, which was difficult for outsiders to understand.

Dong Xuan looked disappointed, as if she'd been told what was going on, and pulled out a medical report.

"I originally intended to give it to Yan Li as a birthday present, but I couldn't keep it a secret after all."

Having said that, she looked at Yan Li, who was surprised but acting somewhat exaggeratedly, and asked reproachfully, "Stop acting, did you already know?"

Of course, the system notified him as soon as he hit the target, and he also knew that it was another son.

"I arranged everything at the hospital. How could you possibly hide the fact that you went for the checkup from me?"

Yan Li gave a suitable explanation: "I knew you wanted to surprise me since you didn't say anything, so I had to play along."

"I knew I couldn't hide it."

Dong Xuan had actually noticed something, because she had been unable to conceive and was quite sensitive. Yan Li had been treating her with extra care, but there had been a noticeable change in the past few days. However, she was too happy to pay much attention.

"Alright, whether I knew beforehand or not, this is definitely the best birthday gift I've ever received."

Yan Li coaxed her with a few words, but didn't forget Qin Lan, pulling her over: "You and the child too."

This is true. For Yan Li, the arrival of these two sons this year is extremely meaningful and cannot be compared to any other gift.

Qin Lan was a little jealous, but seeing that Yan Li had performed well and that Dong Xuan had indeed had a tough time, she didn't dwell on it too much. Instead, she started counting on her fingers.

“I conceived in July, and you conceived in November, so there’s a four-month difference between you two.”

Having the eldest and second eldest siblings the same age has both advantages and disadvantages; they can help each other, but it can also easily lead to competition.

The most direct point is that when children are a little older, it's hard to determine a winner in a fight.

"What are you thinking about?"

Yan Li flicked each of them on the forehead: "I'm not even dead yet, and you're already thinking about fighting for the inheritance, huh?"

"Pah, pah, pah, what nonsense are you talking about?"

Qin Lan spat, and Dong Xuan pinched him, saying, "Stop talking about these things. You are you, and the child is the child."

Unlike many mothers who prioritize their children over their husbands, both Qin Lan and Dong Xuan, while valuing their children, still have deep feelings for Yan Li.

Moreover, the two women are incompetent and rely entirely on Yan Li to protect them and their children. How could they possibly neglect Yan Li, the head of the family?

Yan Li was satisfied!
He wouldn't be jealous of the children, but he hoped the family would still revolve around him. At the same time, he wanted the women to be less competitive and, at least, not to instill those dark thoughts in the children from a young age, or to sow discord between fathers, sons, and brothers.

Despite being half-siblings and facing such a large family business, Yan Li couldn't guarantee that the children could get along peacefully and harmoniously.

However, if possible, Yan Li still hopes that his children can be more united and friendly. Even if they fight, they shouldn't go too far, and they should be able to unite to protect the interests of the Yan family in critical moments.

It's not a simple matter; there are plenty of cases where brothers from the same parents have turned against each other.

Fortunately, Yan Li has a system that allows him to prevent and understand certain things. If he had been guided and sorted out from a young age, he wouldn't dare say that the children would work together more effectively, but he could at least minimize or even eliminate some of the things he was worried about.

The children can't relax, and the mothers also need to attend more classes, including those with relatives and friends they frequently interact with.

Often, children don't understand, and mothers may not be thinking about it, but some people can't help but stir things up and cause trouble even when there's nothing wrong with it.

After a while, Comrade Lao Yan and Zhang Hong also learned that Dong Xuan was pregnant, and they were overjoyed.

Fortunately, Yan Li had given him a heads-up beforehand, so he didn't lose his composure too much.

Previously, when Qin Lan was pregnant, she had to be careful about Dong Xuan's emotions; now that Dong Xuan is pregnant, she has to consider Qin Lan's thoughts as well.

Especially now that Qin Lan is pregnant, if she suffers a major shock, it would be no small matter.

“That’s great. Your dad and I will go back to our hometown to burn incense and pray for the Yan family to have a baby.”

Zhang Hong looked at Qin Lan and Dong Xuan's bellies, and although she tried her best to restrain herself, she couldn't help but grin.

Old Yan looked at his son: "Have you chosen a name yet?"

"Still thinking."

Yan Li had been thinking about a name since she started trying to conceive, but she couldn't make up her mind. Fortunately, she still had plenty of time and could take it slowly.

“I called your uncle a couple of days ago, and I do have some ideas.”

Yan Li said, "Please speak."

Qin Lan and Dong Xuan also looked over. Old Yan was their grandfather, so he had a lot to say when it came to naming things, and they had to listen to his opinion.

“Look, the names of my generation and your grandfather’s generation are Hai Jiang He, while the names of your generation are Ren Yi Li Zhi Xin.”

“But these two generations, one is a biological brother and the other is a cousin, so it’s fine for them to be listed together. The next generation is the children of the cousins, so the relationship is a bit distant and there’s no need for them to be listed together. That’s why I told your uncle that we should each start our own lineage.”

Yan Li nodded; what Comrade Yan said made sense.

Needless to say, Yan Li's generation, although they are cousins ​​who grew up together and still have the connection through their grandmother, are not much different from biological brothers.

But the next generation, not only are they no longer related by blood, but more importantly, they don't live together.

Yan Li might only see his older cousin's child once a year, and he'll see the child even less in the future. The child is not even as close as a friend or classmate, so why force a connection?

Comrade Lao Yan continued, "I think it's good to have some connection when choosing names, so that they sound like family members, which is convenient and easy to remember."

“You are a Wuchang (a person with five virtues), so it’s better to name your children according to the five elements. Simply using the five elements (metal, wood, water, fire, earth) doesn’t sound good. So let’s combine three characters to form a new character. For example, the eldest child could be named Yan Xin, the second Yan Sen, the third Yan Miao, the fourth Yan Yan, and the fifth Yan Yao.”

Old Yan got more and more excited as he talked: "Even if we run out of the five elements, it doesn't matter. We still have three sun crystals, three thunderbolts, and three field stones. The girl can be named Yan Rui, which means three hearts, three white Yan Xiao, and three little Yan Xiao..."

As they were talking, Old Yan suddenly noticed the increasingly dark expressions on his two daughters-in-law's faces, and he suppressed his desire to expand the Yan family's fortunes.

"Ahem, that's just what I said later. In reality, the five elements are more than enough."

Yan Li looked at Dong Xuan and Qin Lan: "What do you two think?"

The two looked at each other and said in unison, "That's good."

If the couple has only sons, then their names are Yan Xin and Yan Sen, which are easy to hear and remember.

Of course, there weren't many surprises, and it was even a bit rustic; the praise was purely out of respect for Comrade Yan.

The two women didn't want to be the bad guys, so Yan Li had no choice but to nod: "It's really good, I'll think about it."

Comrade Lao Yan was quite pleased with himself. He bragged about it for a while, then went to the kitchen to check on the pot.

Yan Li looked at Zhang Hong: "Mom, what do you think of the name my dad chose?"

"Don't look at me. You two decide. As long as they're my grandchildren, I'll like whatever they're called."

Zhang Hong had no intention of vying for the right to name a child; as long as it wasn't unpleasant to hear, she was willing to accept it.

Yan Li nodded. If it were just Old Yan making the arrangements, then there would be no cause for concern.

Seeing this, Qin Lan also asked Yan Li if he had any preferred names, mainly because she wanted to see if there were any good ones and make a move first.

She even regretted not thinking about this before; otherwise, she would have chosen first. Now that Dong Xuan is another one, it's fortunate that there are only two of them, so the competition isn't too intense.

If Fan Xiaopang were also there, the fight would be much more difficult. Given that woman's domineering personality, she might even snatch a few more to keep for her son.

“I’m not as rough as my dad. I choose auspicious words for the names I give my children.”

"Yan Zhe, wise and insightful; Yan Fang, upright and virtuous; Yan Xi, symbolizing light; Yan Jin, of noble character; Yan Lang, bright and open; Yan Jia, auspicious and praiseworthy; Yan Yan, outstanding in talent and virtue; Yan Chuan, with lofty aspirations; Yan Xiao, soaring through the clouds; Yan Chen, the North Star, noble and grand..."

Qin Lan and Dong Xuan spoke almost simultaneously: "I want Yan Chen."

The name has such a wonderful meaning; it sounds like the perfect successor.

Yan Li shook his head: "This name is a bit too big. I plan to ask someone about it later."

A name that sounds grand is hard to remember. Although Yan Li himself doesn't really believe in such things, it's best to be careful when it comes to the child.

Zhang Hong asked in confusion, "They all sound like boys' names. Aren't there any girls' names?"

"Yes, Yan Tang, Yan Ying, Yan Ling, Yan Ya, Yan Meng..."

Yan Li casually rattled off a few names. Knowing that all the babies would be boys, he didn't put much effort into researching girls' names, and simply picked a few he liked as backups.

Besides two-character names, there are also three-character names.

However, three characters would be a bit messy. Yan Li prefers that if a three-character name is used, one of the characters should be used consistently, so two characters are better.

Qin Lan and Dong Xuan wrote down all the words Yan Li said, and then picked and chose, finding it difficult to decide, as they thought they all sounded nice.

In the end, the two simply selected a few good ones, essentially drawing a shortlist for Yan Li, and then left it to Yan Li to decide.

Yan Li was also troubled and joked, "How about one is named Yan Weibo and the other Yan Yi'an?"

Qin Lan threw orange peels at him, but Dong Xuan's eyes lit up: "Then shouldn't Fan Bingbing's child be named Yan Tudou (Yan Potato)?"

Yan Li: "..."

Your logic is really bizarre!
Zhang Hong said, "Yan Weibo and Yan Yi'an sound awkward, but calling them Yan Wei, Yan Bo, Yan Yi, and Yan An is also fine. It's all our own business, and it lets them know where their good life comes from."

"If you think it's too dry, just add the character '中' (zhong, meaning Chinese). It's Chinese, after all. '中微中博中易中安' (zhongwei zhongbo zhongyi zhongan) sounds good too."

Dong Xuan gave a thumbs up and was the first to flatter her: "Mom's suggestion is good. It's about remembering where you're from, it's meaningful, and it sounds nice too."

Qin Lan wasn't to be outdone: "Our mother has such a broad perspective; she considers both her own family and the larger community, fulfilling both loyalty to the country and filial piety."

Yan Li was speechless. You two have gone to such lengths to flatter your mother-in-law, even sacrificing your son. If you really manage to win her over, it will be hard to make amends later.

Then, Yan Li slapped his thigh and added, "It has to be my mom."

Zhang Hong, flattered, asked, "Then it's settled?"

"Uh... I'll think about it some more."

Yan Li didn't give a clear answer; this wasn't just his son's name, but also the protagonist of the author's next book. He had to be careful…

(End of this chapter)