Huayu 2021: Isn’t he in the technology field?

Chapter 152 Industry Status Quo, Crazy Excitement

The scene of Tencent's annual press conference.

On stage, Han Zijie tapped the microphone and flipped through the program booklet with a rustling sound.

"Next, please welcome the creative team of [Ebola Frontline]."

The spotlight swept towards the entrance passage, where Luo Jing and Mao Xiaotong, dressed in matching suits, ascended the steps. Medical-themed posters unfolded on the screen, depicting the vast African savanna.

Yang Wei nudged Jiang Qing with his knee and then leaned closer to him.

"See? This production team went to six countries just for location scouting."

Dilraba was applying powder to the back of her hand when she heard this, she looked up and leaned back slightly.

"I heard that Peking Union Medical College Hospital sent an expert team to assist the team?"

"Absolutely! Even the donning and doffing of protective suits are done according to combat standards."

Yang Wei counted on his fingers.

"If it takes more than three minutes to put on and take off 20 pounds of equipment, it's an instant NG (no good) shot. Mao Xiaotong almost suffered heatstroke while filming."

Cheng Xiao listened intently from the back row, and she discovered that she knew absolutely nothing about these industry facts, while Reba could rattle them off effortlessly.

Sure enough, I'm just too lazy. All I think about when I have free time is playing games and sleeping...

Luo Jing is demonstrating a protective face shield on stage.

"This buckle design is based on the actual equipment used by the medical team sent to Africa in 2014."

As he spoke, the big screen switched to behind-the-scenes footage, showing the actors wrapped in airtight protective suits in 40-degree heat, with the heat waves from the ground distorting the lens.

"This is much more painful than being suspended by wires like we are."

Dilraba sighed softly, her brows furrowing slightly as she looked at the big screen.

Jiang Qing noticed that the back of her hand was abnormally red, probably from being burned by the spotlight.

"We were filming in Sierra Leone."

As soon as the director of "Ebola Frontline" began to speak, more than a dozen mobile phone screens lit up instantly in the second row.

Jiang Qing glanced at an investor sending a WeChat message: "The package price for location shooting in Africa is 3800 million, which is three times more expensive than Hengdian. The pressure to break even is huge."

Reba suddenly turned to the side, covering her mouth and speaking very softly.

"I heard that this drama was specifically requested by the State Administration of Radio and Television, but the platform gave it a low rating, just to complete the task."

"We won't lose money, there are subsidies."

Yang Wei lowered his voice and leaned closer, gesturing with his lips towards them.

"See that bald guy? That's Old Wang from Ciwen. He was summoned for questioning last year for fraudulently obtaining subsidies for patriotic projects."

Before he finished speaking, he saw the man exchanging business cards with the producer of "Girls' School in the Mountains" with a big smile on his face.

Suddenly, applause erupted on stage. It turned out that the creative team of "Ebola Frontline" had come down from the stage. Principal Zhang's documentary footage and scenes from the drama flashed alternately on the big screen, and the creative team of "Girls' School in the Mountains" filed onto the stage.

Jiang Qing and the others turned their attention to that story; almost everyone present knew the real-life inspiration for it.

"We visited the 37th graduating class of Huaping Girls' High School..."

On stage, the director's voice was choked with emotion as the large screen panned across the children's knuckles covered in tape and their frayed workbooks.

The audience remained indifferent, with few paying attention to the stories behind them.

Until a middle-aged man in a bespoke suit chuckled.

A female version of "The Chorus"? How much can a rural-themed film sell for?

"Mr. Wang, you're really out of your depth."

Yang Wei turned to strike up a conversation, displaying his professionalism.

"This film received educational support funds from five provinces; the advertising space on school uniforms alone cost..."

Jiang Qing watched this guy talk eloquently and felt inexplicably gratified.

The child has grown up!

A few minutes later, Jiang Qing, who was listening to Yang Wei speak, was suddenly drawn to the big screen.

The scene of Wu Lei wearing a 90s-style Dacron shirt and assembling computer cases in a computer mall reminded him of his entrepreneurial days in college.

Although he almost never encountered any difficulties thanks to his memories from his previous life and his excellent professional skills, he was genuinely busy back then. The schedule of his university days that circulated online was not exaggerated at all.

"Is Mr. Jiang interested in [Sailing]?"

Reba noticed his lingering gaze and asked with interest.

"It's just reminding me of some past events."

Jiang Qing smiled and replied casually.

He figured that if he brought up this topic, the female celebrity in front of him would keep talking about it until the very end.

Reba noticed his perfunctory attitude, gave him a resentful look, and then turned away.

Jiang Qing pretended not to see it, focusing intently on the stage, which prompted Yang Wei to pat him several times.

This scene, witnessed by Cheng Xiao in the back row, suddenly made her feel like she could do it again!
Jiang Qing doesn't seem to be completely captivated by Dilraba!

Great, keep it up!

She was secretly cheering Jiang Qing on!
After Wu Lei and Hou Minghao stepped down from the stage, Han Zijie looked around at the audience and his expression suddenly became much more serious than before.

"Next, I will introduce to you a project that is of utmost importance to Tencent over the next three years. Please take a look."

A sudden commotion broke out at the scene, and Jiang Qing, seeing his serious demeanor, also felt a surge of curiosity.

When Wang Jiawei's sunglasses appeared on the big screen, even the investors in the back row who were playing on their phones looked up.

The 30-second trailer for "Blossoms" is like a flowing oil painting. Hu Ge's monologue in Shanghainese makes the air thick and sticky, and Wang Mojing's frame-by-frame shots make everyone on set seem to be transported back to that era.

Jiang heard two producers whispering behind him.

"The cost of one episode is enough to shoot half a web movie. Wong Kar-wai is burning money as always."

"But with the hype, advertisers are lining up to throw money at it. It's hard for the combination of Wang Sunglasses and Hu Ge not to be a hit."

"Who says it's not..."

Seeing that Jiang Qing was watching intently, Yang Wei smiled and leaned closer.

"Our platform has high hopes for this project. To ensure a high degree of authenticity, all the actors are from Shanghai. Shanghai Film Studio even built a special film and television base for it. Wang Mojing also invested heavily in recreating the Yellow River Road from the story. I have seen some clips, and it is indeed very good."

Now that you mention it, I can take a look when I have some free time.

Jiang Qing nodded slightly, a look of understanding on her face.

"It's a pity I arrived at the film and television department too late, otherwise I would definitely have participated in this..."

Yang Wei got more and more excited as he spoke, and Jiang Qing didn't interrupt him. She would occasionally respond with an "uh-huh" to show that she was listening.

Reba secretly eavesdropped on their conversation and saw that Jiang Qing was clearly cooperating with Yang Wei, giving her a deeper understanding of their relationship. Judging from this, it seemed that this President Jiang valued Producer Yang, his college classmate, quite a bit. She'd heard that his participation in Peach Blossom Village was also because of him; this was definitely something to pay attention to.

Her eyes sparkled, and she subtly curved her red lips into a smile.

"We've been preparing for this project for seven years."

After discussing "Blooming Flowers," Han Zijie's voice suddenly choked up.

Jiang Qing raised an eyebrow, thinking that he was indeed in charge of film and television business.

His acting skills are impeccable.

When the words "Wencheng" appeared on the big screen, Jiang Qing saw Reba's back suddenly straighten up, as did many of the actors present.

Excerpts from Yu Hua's novels scrolled across the screen, and Jiang Qing recalled the well-worn copy of "To Live" in her home in Luyang.

He read "To Live" in college. At that time, he slept five or six hours a day, and his only pastime was to read a couple of pages of the book with coffee at dawn.

He had naturally also read "Wencheng".

The suffering depicted on the pages of the book suddenly transformed into a valuable intellectual property, giving him a bizarre sense of detachment.

Yang Wei then tugged at his sleeve.

"Look at the nine o'clock direction!"

Jiang Qing followed his gaze and saw a middle-aged man, probably in his fifties, whispering to a senior executive wearing a penguin badge in the dim light diagonally ahead.

"Those were leaders from the State Administration of Radio and Television and the deputy general manager of our film and television department. They were discussing the trends in censorship approvals for the second half of the year."

Yang Wei lowered his voice.

"The quota for period dramas may be reduced to 15%, similar to the yogurt spill incident of Youth With You 3. At that time, talent shows were suspended. Now, because of the proliferation of period dramas with varying quality, period dramas will also be subject to regulation."

He casually spoke of the cruelest industry rules, yet it made Dilraba in front of him and Cheng Xiao behind him feel a chill run down their spines.

"Producer Yang, is this news really true?"

Dilraba tucked a few stray hairs behind her ear and turned to look at Yang Wei.

Yang Wei immediately put on a smile when he saw that it was Dilraba who was asking him the question.

“I wouldn’t lie about what Teacher Reba said; it’s probably true.”

He said it with certainty.

"Looking at it this way, we need to be more careful in choosing scripts from now on."

Dilraba looked troubled.

"Teacher Reba shouldn't have to worry about this problem, right? There are probably too many of your scripts to look through."

Yang Wei knew her situation very well and joked with a smile.

"That's how it is now, but the industry is changing so fast these days, who knows when we might be swept aside by the rising stars."

Reba looked worried, her eyes glancing at Jiang Qing intentionally or unintentionally.

"The Yangtze River's back waves push the front waves forward, which applies to every industry. Except for a very few special cases, everyone can be replaced."

Jiang Qing smiled and took over the conversation, looking at Reba.

"Someone like Dilraba is good enough to attract many female celebrities."

Their eyes met, and Reba suddenly smiled.

Although it wasn't the answer I wanted to hear, it just proved that Jiang Qing wasn't the kind of person who would be blinded by lust and want to get me into bed, right?
After all, he had been so proactive before, and many people would have taken the opportunity to curry favor, but Jiang Qing did not.

This is good, and it aligns with my understanding of him.

In comparison, what kind of people did I know before?
Pooh!
Look at him! A world-class AI genius, a double PhD from a prestigious university, the founder of a tech company at only 26 years old, with a net worth of over 10 billion, and outstanding looks. Isn't he even more of an idol drama male lead?
This is the kind of man I'm willing to put my heart into!

"President Jiang is right, I was too greedy."

Dilraba tilted her head, revealing a knowing expression.

Jiang Qing was about to speak again when she was suddenly drawn to the commotion on the stage.

On stage, Han Zijie invited the five new beauties from "Ode to Joy 3" to come up on stage, and because of Yang Zi, he was quite curious.

As he looked around, he saw a group of people walk onto the stage. Five actresses dressed in formal attire stood at the front at Han Zijie's signal. Apart from one short-haired girl who was of average appearance, the other four had their own unique features, like plum blossoms, orchids, bamboo, and chrysanthemums.

"Does President Jiang like watching Ode to Joy?"

Reba noticed Jiang Qing's reaction and tentatively spoke up with a smile.

"No, that's not it. I haven't watched this show."

Jiang Qing turned her gaze away from the stage and casually replied.

"I just happen to know Yang Zi, so I'm a little curious."

He then added a sentence.

Dilraba raised an eyebrow slightly and raised her hand to smooth her long hair.

"Is President Jiang very familiar with Teacher Yang Zi?"

I met him when I visited a friend on set; we're acquaintances.

Jiang Qing glanced at her strangely, feeling that she had been acting strangely ever since Yang Zi was mentioned.

"Oh, I understand."

Dilraba nodded knowingly, her smile instantly becoming much more genuine, and then turned around.

Jiang Qing was a little confused and turned to look at Yang Wei beside her, only to find that the guy was smirking.

"what's the situation?"

He was somewhat puzzled.

"You don't know this, do you? Yang Zi and Dilraba are notoriously at odds. They're often compared to each other, so... hehe."

Yang Wei whispered the reason to him, and Jiang Qing finally understood what was going on.

So you just touched a nerve?

Meanwhile, Dilraba, who was sitting in the front row, realized that she had been a bit too sensitive and secretly regretted it.

Jiang Qing clearly doesn't know much about the entertainment industry, so why should I act like I care so much?
She watched the interaction on stage, and her gaze suddenly lingered on one of the people on stage.

Then, her eyes darted around, and a sly smile flashed across her face.

Leaning back slightly, she turned her head and gave Jiang Qing a meaningful look.

Jiang Qing gave her a strange look and leaned closer.

"Does President Jiang know why Ms. Liu Yifei left her seat early?"

Jiang Qing followed her gaze to the stage, her eyes lingering on one of the figures.

Ok?
What do you mean?
(End of this chapter)