How can you ascend to heaven when you are a star?

Chapter 422 Bargaining
Liu Haiyang drove back to the company. Although there was no traffic jam along the way, he felt a tightness in his chest, as if he had choked on a steamed bun.

He had worked at Tianxi Media for nearly twenty years and had never seen an employee as assertive as Zhang Wen. Even celebrities wouldn't dare treat him like that.

Of course, he knew that the other party was not targeting him, but expressing dissatisfaction with the boss, so he wasn't very angry, since getting angry wouldn't do any good anyway.

"Mr. Li." Liu Haiyang walked into the general manager's office, carefully observing the boss's expression.

The boss stared at the documents on the table, his hand gripping the pen tightly, his brow furrowed, seemingly troubled by something.

Liu Haiyang thought to himself that things were going badly. He had come at the wrong time; wasn't he just making things difficult for his boss?
"How's it going? How's the situation on set?" Li Lehua asked without looking up.

"Not good." Liu Haiyang shook his head and said in a heavy tone, "I just met with Director Han and Zhang Wen. Director Han is still angry about the statement. As for Zhang Wen, he said two out of three sentences that were barbed, and his attitude of withdrawing investment has not changed. In addition, his boss, Mr. Wu, gave a suggestion."

"What suggestion?" Li Lehua finally raised her head and looked at Liu Haiyang with curiosity.

"Mr. Wu means he's very disappointed with Tianxi Media's public relations and decision-making abilities, and doesn't want to continue the cooperation. Either he withdraws and the company takes over the project, or the company withdraws and he takes over the project." Liu Haiyang's voice grew softer and softer as he saw his boss's face getting increasingly grim.

"He'll take over? Hmph, does he even know how to run it?" Li Lehua said coldly.

Liu Haiyang didn't respond. He didn't know if Boss Wu understood operations, but he knew that Boss Wu's determination to withdraw from the project was harder than a rock.

Li Lehua pondered for a moment, then asked, "Could we find a way to arrange a meeting with this Mr. Wu? Let's talk to him in person?"

In her opinion, Zhang Wen was definitely involved in stirring up trouble for Mr. Wu's decision to withdraw his investment. She was confident that she could persuade Mr. Wu if she could meet with him.

If you bring two female celebrities along, won't that make Mr. Wu swoon?

“That’s probably difficult,” Liu Haiyang said with a wry smile. “Mr. Wu has entrusted Zhang Wen with full responsibility for this project. I’ve only met him once and don’t have his contact number. So, if I want to see Mr. Wu, I have to go through Zhang Wen.”

Upon hearing this, Li Lehua frowned even more deeply.

Looking for Zhang Wen? It's impossible for him to help her arrange a meeting with Boss Wu.

It seems that the path of persuading Mr. Wu not to withdraw his investment has been completely blocked. Now she only has two options: one is to agree to Mr. Wu's withdrawal of investment, and the other is for the company to withdraw from the project.

In comparison, the second route is easier.

The company invested 30 million in this project. This 30 million is just a drop in the ocean for Mr. Wu, whereas he initially invested 80 million, which was a huge burden for the company.

It's not that the company can't come up with 80 million; to be honest, even two 80 millions wouldn't be a problem. But the company has many artists and projects under investment, and we can't throw so much money into one project. If we lose money, there won't be anyone to share the burden, and the company will go bankrupt.

Moreover, due to Song Haoran's incident, the reputation of the TV series "Perfect Days" has been greatly affected, and many sponsors have stopped negotiations and are waiting to see what happens.

If the show is boycotted by viewers when it airs, there'll be no way to find a grave to cry over.

The risks were so obvious that even if Han Xiaohua was the director, she wouldn't dare gamble 80 million yuan.

“The company has invested a lot of money, manpower, and resources. If we withdraw now, who will bear the losses? This is no small amount,” Li Lehua said.

Even if it means withdrawing, she absolutely cannot let that Zhang guy gain any advantage.

Liu Haiyang understood the meaning behind his boss's words, so he said, "In addition to the 30 million, I think we can make a separate list and have Mr. Wu bear part of it. I don't think he will refuse to pay. After all, if the project continues to be delayed, his losses will be greater than ours."

Li Lehua nodded unconsciously.

This is a good idea; it can reduce investment losses and avoid the risk of the TV series being boycotted.

“Okay, let’s do it this way. Go and compile the list now, include everything that can be counted, don’t miss any details, and then go talk to Zhang Wen,” Li Lehua said.

Indecisiveness leads to disaster.

Given the current situation, it would be better to withdraw from this project and save on public relations costs.

"Okay, Mr. Li." Liu Haiyang breathed a sigh of relief. Finally, he had a direction and didn't have to take the blame for this project.

“Oh, right.” Li Lehua suddenly thought of something and added, “Let’s get the legal department involved too. Attach the legal basis to the list and tell them that we’re not asking for exorbitant prices. Don’t let them think we’re easy to manipulate.”

"Understood." Liu Haiyang turned and left the office.

Li Lehua got up and walked to the window, looking outside with a gloomy expression.

Although leaving the project was somewhat forced, getting out of this quagmire sooner is a wise choice.

Due to the excessive costs of filming in the early stages, the remaining funds are insufficient to guarantee normal promotion in the later stages. If new investment cannot be introduced in time, even if the production is completed, it will not fetch a good price, and there will still be losses.

"Zhang Wen, Zhang Wen, I want to see how you're going to operate without Tianxi Media."

Li Lehua sneered.

She was considering whether, after withdrawing from the project, she should cause some trouble for the other party, such as continuing to hype up the production team's shameless behavior of supporting bullies, thereby increasing the online boycott of the TV series...

Liu Haiyang is very efficient. He completed the list in just one day and rushed to the film set on the day filming wrapped.

Because it was the last day, the entire crew was in high spirits. Even director Han Xiaohua was no longer so serious. He had a smile on his face as soon as he appeared in the morning. If you didn't know better, you would think that director Han had a twin brother.

"Teacher Zhang, may I speak to you in private?" Liu Haiyang found Zhang Wen, turned his head and pointed to the side, indicating that they should find a secluded place to talk alone so as not to disturb Director Han's filming.

Zhang Wen glanced at Liu Haiyang and guessed that he must have decided whether to withdraw from the project or not, so he followed him to a corner of the film set.

"Mr. Liu, what's the matter?" Zhang Wen asked.

Liu Haiyang didn't waste any time and went straight to the point: "Teacher Zhang, in order to support Bailu's transformation, the company invested a lot of manpower and resources in addition to the 30 million yuan in funding. Here is a list. If you and Boss Wu agree to pay to make up for our losses, then the company will choose to withdraw from this project."

After saying that, he took a list out of his bag and handed it over.

Zhang Wen was secretly delighted; things were indeed different from what he had guessed. However, he did not show his joy on his face. Instead, he frowned, giving the impression of dissatisfaction.

He took the list and looked at it; it was incredibly detailed, even more so than a supermarket receipt.

From staff wages to props needed for filming, everything related to Tianxi Media was listed, down to the single digit.

Zhang Wen glanced at the final total price, then closed the list and looked up at Liu Haiyang, saying, "Mr. Liu, did you find everything on this list with a microscope? Why are you listing all sorts of things? Are you trying to make a killing when you exit?"

Liu Haiyang was prepared and said helplessly, "Teacher Zhang, you're wronging me. Every item on the list is verifiable. As you know, the company mobilized a lot of internal resources for this project. Now that we're withdrawing, we naturally have to recover these costs. We can't let the company suffer losses, can we?"

"Losses? Who will foot the bill for the negative impact the company has had on this TV series?" Zhang Wen asked.

"This..." Liu Haiyang was at a loss for words. He had only been focused on calculating the company's investment and hadn't considered the impact of the Song Haoran incident on the project.

If we're being really serious, it should definitely be included.

However, the negative impact is difficult to quantify in terms of specific monetary amounts.

"Furthermore, many of the actors in this TV series were arranged by the company. How are their salaries calculated? At least half of that money goes to the company. We could have found some more suitable actors and spent less money," Zhang Wen added.

"Uh……"

Liu Haiyang's forehead was already beaded with sweat.

Actually, the company didn't value this TV series project at first, nor did it plan to put any actors in it. It was only later, when they heard that Zhang Wen and Bai Lu had invited Han Xiaohua, a famous director in the TV series industry, that they had the idea of ​​keeping the benefits within the family and promoting their own people.

“Although the company has decided to withdraw from the project, the TV series will still continue to be produced and broadcast. Once it receives rave reviews and makes the actors in the series popular, how will we calculate the extra profits it will bring to them and Tianxi Media?” Zhang Wen continued, his eyes becoming increasingly sharp.

Liu Haiyang was frozen in place.

This should be included too?
Is this kid a calculator reincarnated? How can he calculate so well?
According to the other party's calculation, the company will not only not receive any extra compensation for withdrawing, but will also have to pay a portion of the money back to the other party.

"Teacher Zhang, what do you mean..." Liu Haiyang asked tentatively.

Zhang Wen tore the list into pieces and said firmly, "Thirty million. If you agree, sign it; if you don't, just keep dragging it out."

"But wouldn't that mean the company has invested so much for nothing?" Liu Haiyang said with a bitter face.

He was fine with using the equipment and props, but the thought of hundreds of staff working for nothing for half a year made him very uncomfortable.

"Mr. Liu, let's be honest, is the chance of this TV series making money or losing money more likely?" Zhang Wen asked.

"I guess the chances of losing money are higher," Liu Haiyang stammered. He really wanted to say the chances of making money were higher, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.

“If Tianxi Media withdraws, Boss Wu will not only have to give you 30 million, but also another 30 million to guarantee the subsequent publicity. In total, it will cost 60 million. How many people would invest so much money knowing that they will lose money? You can’t have all the benefits, can you? Given the current situation, it’s already very good that you can stop the losses in time,” Zhang Wen said coldly.

"Let me think about it some more." Liu Haiyang reached out and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

He has been persuaded, but he cannot make the decision on this matter himself and needs to report to his boss.

“Okay.” Zhang Wen nodded. “I said last time that we have plenty of time, no rush. At worst, we can just keep waiting.”

Liu Haiyang gave an awkward laugh, then quickly walked to the side, took out his phone, and called his boss.

Soon, the call was connected.

"Hey, what's going on?"

"Mr. Li, I just took the compiled list to Zhang Wen, and he said that Mr. Wu is only willing to offer 30 million..."

Immediately afterwards, Liu Haiyang recounted all the reasons Zhang Wen had just given, even adding his own embellishments, because he wanted to end this tug-of-war as soon as possible and didn't want to remain caught in the middle.

Here, Zhang Wen constantly berates me, and back at the company, I still have to be mindful of my boss's attitude.

He is so difficult!

Sitting in his office, Li Lehua clenched his fists tightly, his arms trembling slightly from the force.

She never dreamed that Mr. Wu would be so shameless, not wanting to contribute a single penny more than the 30 million.

Doesn't this mean I'm essentially getting her employees and equipment for free for six months?

I have never seen such a shameless person.

Not only Mr. Wu, but also that Mr. Zhang. She had reason to suspect that Mr. Zhang was the mastermind behind it all. Mr. Wu was just an outsider who had never even been to a film crew. What did he know?
"Liu Haiyang, tell Zhang Wen that anyone who wants to take advantage of me for free is dreaming!" Li Lehua said viciously.

Upon hearing this, Liu Haiyang felt an urge to cry. He had already witnessed Zhang Wen's toughness, and now even the boss's attitude was so tough. Wouldn't this go on forever?

"Mr. Li, do you mean we should keep dragging this out indefinitely?" Liu Haiyang asked.

“Yes, if they don’t compensate for the amounts on the list, we’ll just keep dragging this out,” Li Lehua said.

"Mr. Li, are you sure? If this drags on, we won't even be able to recover the 30 million. The end of the year is approaching, how are we going to explain this to the shareholders?" Liu Haiyang couldn't help but remind him.

Li Lehua's heart tightened. These words were like a bucket of cold water poured over her head, instantly calming her down considerably.

She is indeed the boss, but the company also has many shareholders, who are not only investors but also her backers.

If a project loses money due to poor judgment, no one will blame her. But if a project loses money because of her stubbornness, these shareholders will certainly not forgive her easily.

She has to compensate these shareholders with the exact amount of money she loses.

Most importantly, she will lose the trust of the shareholders, who will then plant their own people in the company. At that point, she will not only lose a lot of profits, but also a lot of power.

hateful!

"boom!"

Li Lehua slammed his fist on the desk, a ferocious look appearing between his brows.

However, despite her anger, she ultimately chose to compromise for her own benefit.

"Let's do as he says," Li Lehua said through gritted teeth, but her voice betrayed a hint of helplessness.

The opponent can afford to wear her down, but she can't.

Upon hearing this, Liu Haiyang immediately breathed a sigh of relief, finally able to escape from this trouble.

"Okay, I'll prepare the agreement right away."

After he finished speaking, fearing that his boss might change his mind, he immediately hung up the phone.

This protracted battle is finally coming to an end.

……

(End of this chapter)