Huayu: When the director changed his major

Chapter 345: Signing Artists and Reminiscing the Past

Chapter 345: Signing Artists and Reminiscing the Past (6K)

Zhou Shen?

He was the original singer of the soundtrack "My Only" by Cheng Xi in "The Beginning".

He also sang the song "Big Fish" in the movie "Big Fish and Begonia", which made him famous.

Li Ronghao can tell the truth that signing with Zuibai Entertainment not only brings more film and television resources but also better publicity.

It doesn't bring about any fundamental changes.

Cheng Xi personally likes listening to Li Ronghao's songs. After all, he has also suffered a lot and was once frustrated.

It can express the voices of many people.

Cheng Xi has listened to songs like "Young and Promising" and "Sparrow", as well as later songs like "Black Plum Sauce" many times.

But Cheng Xi knew that before Li Ronghao became famous, he was a songwriter for singers, and he was also very clear-headed. The songs he produced were all second- or third-rate works.

He keeps the really good ones for himself to sing in the future. He is an ambitious person.

So most of his songs already have drafts, and I can't give him much help.

It's okay to sign him, to enrich the artist pool and help the company make money.

But he is famous now, so it may be difficult to get a contract.

As for Zhou Shen, he started out by singing interludes for TV dramas and movies, and after "Big Fish" he sang a series of opening and ending themes.

This is consistent with Zuibai Entertainment, which is a film and television company at its core.

The main reason was that when he debuted, his image was a bit poor and he had no original ability, so many people in the industry were not optimistic about his commercial value.

Extending an olive branch and offering help at this time should be very cost-effective.

"Kong Shuang, as for the singers, you should contact both of them and look at their contracts. I'm leaning towards Zhou Shen."

"Of course, if Li Ronghao's contract is easy to secure, he can be included. The candidates you proposed are indeed good."

Kong Shuang felt relieved when she heard the boss's approval.

The next step is to implement the boss’s wishes and sign the person.

Although Kong Shuang acts like a little lamb in front of Cheng Xi, in the eyes of outside artists, she is really cold as ice.

It's very difficult to talk to.

After all, many artists now want to join Zuibai Entertainment, especially those who care about film and television resources.

The singer's contract was almost arranged, and Cheng Xi flipped through the list of candidate artists.

There is a column called "Model".

"Boss, we have a lot of fashion resources now. Would you like to consider signing one or two models to train?"

"There are already famous people like Xi Mengyao and He Sui, as well as younger people like You Tianyi and Sun Yinhan."

Sun Yinhan originally did not include Kong Shuang in the list, but he remembered that the boss had asked for the newcomer's information before.

So she just catered to her preferences and joined her in.

As for modeling, Cheng Xi currently has no intention of entering this field.

Although the modeling industry is very close to the entertainment industry, it has its own unique way of doing things.

Sign one or two to test the waters, and there's no problem in keeping them around, letting them participate in some activities, shoot some magazines, and be an actor by the way.

Needless to say, Cheng Xi was not interested in the first two who became famous.

Sun Yinhan had already seen it, so he said:

"Ask about Sun Yinhan's contract. She's not involved in the modeling industry for now."

"Okay, boss."

The list of male actors includes Wang Baoqiang, Zhang Yi, Zhang Songwen, Qin Hao, Yu Hewei, Huang Xuan, Zhang Ruoyun, Li Xian, Zhang Yishan, Wu Yifan, Jing Boran, and Liu Haoran.
Damn, even Wu Yifan is here, this list is serious.

But it’s true, this list basically includes people born from the 70s to 97.

Because of Cheng Xi’s requirement for good acting skills, maybe these young actors all had good evaluation scores?
Currently, Zuibai Entertainment has male actors Zhu Yilong, Xiao Yang, Qiao Shan, and Yang Yang. Zhu Yilong is definitely being trained as an actor, while Xiao Yang is being trained as a talented and comedian.

Qiao Shan is trained in comedy and variety shows.

Yang Yang is the training direction of idol dramas.

Then there are a group of male actors from the Mahua series, but most of them are also comedies.

There is indeed a lack of actors who can shoot serious dramas.

So Cheng Xi thought for a while and put a cross under Wu Yifan, Zhang Yishan, Jing Boran and others.

I gave a light hook to Wang Baoqiang, Qin Hao, Zhang Yi, Yu Hewei, Zhang Ruoyun, Liu Haoran and others.

Even though Wang Baoqiang mostly plays comedies, when it comes to acting he is one of the top performers.

After the list of male actors was roughly finalized, he wrote a few lines:
Actress:

Yang Zi signed the contract; child stars Guan Xiaotong and Zhao Jinmai followed suit; Ouyang Nana, Li Qin, Chen Duling, and Zhu Xudan are interested in collaborations.

Cheng Xi wanted to write the names of a few more female stars, but it was only the beginning of 15 and many of them were still in school and had not yet made their debut.

For example, Zhang Jingyi, Bai Lu, Ju Jingyi, Yu Shuxin, Zhang Ruonan, Wang Churan and so on. Cheng Xi wants to sign these people, not just because he wants to be shy.

Although these famous artists may be of different ranks, they are basically the best who emerged from competition.

So if we sign it, with Zuibai Entertainment's current resources, it can't be too bad.

They are all masters who can make money for themselves.

But I couldn't find any information on them even when searching on Baidu, so it's impossible that I've ever heard of their names.

If you write it down directly, it will clearly tell others that you have foresight.

Just wait and see, they will slowly emerge on their own.

You can make a decision based on the actual situation of Zuibai Entertainment.

After writing down his requirements, Cheng Xi handed the list to Kong Shuang and said:
"Just do as you're asked."

"Okay, boss."

After saying that, Kong Shuang went out with Cheng Xi's instructions.

Now, Cheng Xi's pen can definitely change a person's destiny.

Especially for people in the entertainment industry.

Write a name, and this name can be seen by more people.

This feeling of dominance can sometimes be addictive.

No wonder many people say that "power is the best aphrodisiac."

After Kong Shuang went out, she immediately returned to her office.

Looking at the names on the list, I couldn't help but envy these people.

If you can attract the boss's attention, you must have some skills and shining points of your own.

I know most of these names, and I even have contact with some of them.

She really wanted to figure out her boss's intentions and see where he saw their potential.

Is it really just about looks?

Many people outside say that our boss chooses female artists based on their looks, but this time there is a child star, Yang Zi.

And you can praise her just by looking at her face?

These people are taking things for granted.

This list seemed to have magical powers, allowing Kong Shuang to study each name as if it were a treasure.

See what they have in common.

If you are familiar with something, just write down its characteristics; if you are not familiar with it, search for some information.

But gradually, she frowned.
Li Wentao was still in the office.

The report was about Zhihu. Cheng Xi did not seek absolute control over the mouthpiece channel.

Because to be honest, these are all Internet companies, and their operating methods are completely different from those of entertainment companies.

Take ByteDance for example. The cost of purchasing Nvidia chips in the later period is equivalent to that of several Zuibai Entertainment.

This shows that the Internet is currently burning money.

Those are the big players competing.

Whether it is Meituan, Didi, or Pindaodao, any of them who want to enter the Internet industry now have to burn huge amounts of money, in the hundreds of billions.

If Zuibai Entertainment enters this industry now, it will be dragged down to death.

Moreover, we have no experience in managing Internet companies. If we intervene rashly, it is likely to cause counterproductive effects.

It would be better to intervene in advance during the A and B rounds of financing.

Just seek to become the second or third largest shareholder.

Let them continue to manage it themselves, and Zuibai Entertainment can just wait for the rewards.

It’s similar to what the three major manufacturers do, they have investments in all walks of life.

Anyway, if you invest in 10 and one survives, it's a big profit.

What Cheng Xi wanted was to control the core business of the entertainment industry himself and then participate in entertainment-related matters.

This way, you can not only give full play to your own advantages, but also unite more people and expand your influence.

In addition to Zhihu, there are also Xiaohongshu, Kuaishou, ByteDance and others, and Cheng Xi wants to find opportunities to invest in them.

Weibo now needs to have a capital of tens of billions to become a major shareholder, so it is better to spend a small amount of money on these newly developed companies.

Spending a few billion may achieve better results than investing in Weibo.

"Boss, Zhihu is short of money right now. We just completed our B round of financing and are now looking for investors for our C round."

“I think it’s a good opportunity to make a move.”

Cheng Xi nodded and asked:

"Do you have a rough idea of the investment amount and shareholding ratio?"

"Their current equity structure is Zhihu holding 65%, Sinovation Ventures holding 20%, and Qiming Venture Partners holding 15%. The current valuation is 10 billion yuan, and they are preparing to raise 5 million yuan and transfer 22% of their equity."

"After the transfer, Zhihu holds a 51% stake."

“Which investors are interested now?”

"Sequoia Capital, Baidu, and Penguin Capital all have interest, but there may be disputes over the financing amount and equity ratio."

Penguin and Baidu are really everywhere, and now they come to Zhihu again.

Before Honor of Kings was launched, Mr. Huang, the person in charge of LOL, also found me and wanted to acquire it.

After I rejected it, I guess they are now working overtime to launch their own MOBA mobile game. I just don’t know how their progress is.

Cheng Xi has no intention of taking up the entire 5 million yuan in financing. It would be best if he could cooperate with Penguin this time.

In the business world, there are no eternal enemies, only eternal interests.

The Penguin system can provide significant support for Zhihu's development. It would be difficult to do it on your own without an Internet background.

So Cheng Xi said:

"So, let Hong Tao arrange a meeting with Zhihu's Zhou Yuan sometime. We can participate in the Series C investment, but we must strive to maximize the amount and equity ratio."

"Okay, boss, I'll arrange it soon."

"By the way, remember last time I told you to keep an eye on Kuaishou?"

"Remember. Boss, you also asked Jin Chen to register a Kuaishou account to promote Jin Chen Dance."

Jinchen Dance is the dance she performed in Subject 3. Cheng Xi had seen it on Kuaishou. It is considered a popular dance.

There are still many people imitating it now.

It can be seen that the trend of short videos has already taken off.

Should I invest in Kuaishou or Douyin?

Cheng Xi was thinking about this problem.

If Cheng Xi wants to invest in both, he doesn’t have enough financial resources now.

Cheng Xi is bound to get involved in the short video field, as it turns out that he makes a living by Douyin.

In terms of knowledge in this field, I am definitely above everyone else.

It would be a pity not to go.

Moreover, short videos represent the direction of the future.

Kuaishou is now looking for investment and has already launched its short video business.

But Douyin hasn’t come out yet, and ByteDance’s focus is still on Toutiao.

In addition to the billions invested in Huayi stocks, Cheng Xi now has 800 million yuan in Moutai.

Now it has almost doubled. The last time I looked at it, it was 15 billion. I think it will go higher if the bull market continues.

The money invested in Zhihu can be directly used from the Zuibai Entertainment account.

If you want to invest in Kuaishou or ByteDance, you can use Moutai’s money.

Use the money from Huayi stocks to buy the building.

If you don’t have enough money at that time, you can just directly raise funds or take out a loan. It’s not a problem.

With Zuibai Entertainment’s current strength, it is definitely a high-quality bank customer.

"Wentao, besides the Zhihu information, please also provide me with detailed information on Kuaishou and ByteDance, including their valuations, financing history, shareholder structure, products, future plans, etc."

"Be as detailed as possible."

Upon hearing this, Li Wentao hurriedly and carefully wrote down all of Cheng Xi's instructions.

He has become accustomed to the young boss's high energy and some wild ideas.

But facts have proved that these wild ideas are extremely practical and have brought Zuibai Entertainment considerable benefits every time.

So he basically has unconditional trust in Cheng Xi.

Li Wentao himself probably hasn't realized this yet.

After Li Wentao came out, he was thinking about how to do what his boss had just told him to do.

When I looked up, I saw Kong Shuang approaching.

"Mr. Li, I have something to ask you!"

"Okay, come to my office."

After arriving at the office, Kong Shuang told Mr. Li about her confusion.

It turned out that it was Cheng Xi who checked and crossed out the names on the artist list, and she understood it.

But what exactly does the arrangement for the artists and female artists for whom there are no written instructions mean?

It’s no wonder that Kong Shuang didn’t take it seriously. Any slight discrepancy in the way things were done would affect her future.

Li Wentao took the list and looked at it, then thought for a moment and said:
"Those without instructions are to monitor the situation and coordinate efforts, and those with ticks are to strive for it."

"As for the female artists, Yang Zi meant that they must be signed. You may not know this, but Yang Zi and the boss are good friends. They had their first meal together in college."

Li Wentao said this to help the boss clear obstacles and let his subordinates pay attention to the situation when negotiating contracts.

This is Reba’s roommate.

Li Wentao certainly doesn't want to cause trouble for others. Physical things are necessary, and convenience will be provided if possible.

Otherwise, it would only hurt each other's face and the loss would outweigh the gain.

Seeing Kong Shuang nodded, Li Wentao said:
"Following up means not being in a hurry, but considering signing it when there is an opportunity and the cost-effectiveness is high. You can pay attention to it now."

"Many of the artists on the list are under contract, so it's not easy to reach an agreement, but the ones the boss ticks will be followed up promptly."

"And cooperation means that the boss thinks you're useful, but doesn't want to sign up for the company. It's a personal hobby that won't affect work. Do you understand?"

When Kong Shuang heard this, she understood everything and started to flatter him.

"Mr. Li, you truly are the boss's most trusted confidant. You know exactly what the boss is thinking."

"I really learned a lot this time. If there is anything I don't understand in the future, please give me some guidance!"

Li Wentao smiled, knowing that Kong Shuang was not blind to these things.

It also means to come in and report more to yourself and get closer to yourself.

It seems that she is not following Zhang Yunhui's path, but wants to follow my path.

So I told her a few honest words with the intention of giving her some advice.

After all, I was present when the report was made, so this matter must be done well.

A week later, Yang Zi's contract was signed.

When he arrived at Zuibai Entertainment that day, he also knocked on Cheng Xi's office door.

"Hello, boss. I am finally fighting alongside you now!"

When Cheng Xi heard Yang Zi calling him boss, he smiled and said:
"We are old classmates, so let's not be so formal."

"Well, I've made an appointment with Reba and Baixue, as well as Jingbang and Gezi. It's rare for us to fight side by side, so let's get together."

In fact, Reba had already made an agreement with Cheng Xi to organize a gathering and give Yang Zi some attention.

Cheng Xi didn't refuse. He just took the opportunity to reminisce about his freshman year while everyone was there.

Liu Jingbang stayed at Zuibai Entertainment to work, and Wang Ge was a graduate student at the Film Academy.

Before, there were 9 people gathering together, but now only 5 people can gather at most.

After everyone sat together and had a few drinks, it seemed like we were back to the past.

Back to the college cafeteria where they often gathered.

"Come, let's toast to our five years of revolutionary friendship!"

"cheers!"

Of course, gatherings are full of reminiscing about the past and missing the ignorant days.

Compared with the past, no one can believe that only five years have passed.

Such a big change has taken place in everyone.

Especially Cheng Xi, he has actually come so far.

Maybe in the past people could still joke and say wait for me, walk slower.

I’m afraid my brothers will drive a Land Rover or something.

But now everyone’s achievements are orders of magnitude apart, and the jealousy and competitive spirit among friends has disappeared.

Instead, everyone was reminiscing about the funny things that happened in the past that made them embarrassed.

Bai Xue: "I still remember Jingbang and Gezi. They were stunned when they saw Yang Zi for the first time. The food was in their mouths. Now I think about it, I can't stop laughing."

At this point, Liu Jingbang and Wang Ge both laughed.

Liu Jingbang: "Don't talk about me. Who could have known that the classmates Cheng Xi mentioned were so beautiful? To be honest, I'm considered pretty good. Even Cheng Xi was stunned when he saw Reba that time!?"

Yang Zi: "Yeah, now I want to ask Cheng Xi why he didn't feel anything when he saw me, but was so surprised when he saw Reba. To be honest, did he have his eyes on our Pang Di at that time?"

When Cheng Xi heard this, he actually remembered the scene of that meeting.

In the cafeteria, it was said that Bai Xue and Qin Shiyue were her classmates.

Unexpectedly, Yang Zi followed behind.

I looked towards Yang Zi and saw Reba directly.

That was also the first time the two met.

But the shock was really great.

Because it was Cheng Xi's first experience of changing the timeline with his own hands.

He almost thought it was a parallel world.

"I was so young at the time that I had never seen such a beautiful girl from the Western Regions."

Reba heard everyone talking about her at this time, and looked at Cheng Xi with a faint smile on her face.

Maybe it was only when we were not famous that we felt so carefree when we were together.

"Also, when Director Cheng first started filming, he was short of money."

"There's even a souvenir of our guest appearance in Wan Wan."

"The food in the cafeteria has changed now, that."

Seeing everyone happy, Reba suggested:

"Shall we take a photo together?"

"sure!"

"It is a must!"

Wang Ge: "I'll ask the waiter to take a picture for us."

The waiter already knew that this was a party for big stars like Cheng Xi, Reba, and Yang Zi.

After all, their restaurant is very famous and public figures and celebrities often visit it.

So apart from being excited, he didn't behave in any particularly inappropriate way.

After all, they are all professionally trained waiters, so they shouldn't be so unprofessional.

"Eggplant~"

"click"

"Let's have another one, thank you."

"Is Boss Cheng handsome?"

"handsome!"

"Isn't Reba beautiful!?"

"nice!"

After everyone got together, they ran to the KTV and screamed and howled.

In addition to playing Werewolf, this was also an activity they often did after dinner.

It can be said that although everyone is in the entertainment industry, their singing is really worse than each other.

After the gathering, everyone drank a lot.

Cheng Xi arranged for people to get them all there safely.

Of course Reba went back with Cheng Xi.

At this moment, she gently nestled in Cheng Xi's arms and whispered:
"Brother, thank you."

Cheng Xi knew that Reba was talking about signing Yang Zi, and said with a smile:

"Signing with Yang Zi's company is not a loss. In the end, it still makes money for me."

"Brother, I still like the feeling of being on campus. Although I'm making progress in my career and feel very fulfilled, I'm a little tired."

"I really hope I can still go to school like you."

Cheng Xi saw that Reba looked a little tired, and touched her head distressedly:

"It's normal to be tired. After all, you're in a period of growth. How about giving you a break in the near future?"

"Never."

"I promised my brother that I would become a top star and stand shoulder to shoulder with him! And you promised me 'My Love from the Star', you can't break your promise!"

It turns out she was still thinking about this.

At that time, Cheng Xi promised that if her acting skills were good enough and she became a top star, he could start working on "My Love from the Star".

I didn't expect that I would remember it so clearly.

"Don't worry, I'll keep this script until the top-tier actress' acting skills are perfect!"

After Cheng Xi finished speaking, Reba smiled.

Slowly, I fell asleep.

In the dream, she and her brother were standing side by side, gazing into the distance.

"Good morning, brother!"

"Good morning baby!"

The first ray of sunlight in the morning shines into my eyes.

Cheng Xi looked at Reba who had already washed up and was teasing himself beside her.

Yesterday I felt so sorry for her that I wanted to give her a day off.

I didn't expect that I would be full of energy when I woke up this morning.

It seems that he lacks energy and really cannot become a top star.