Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 326 Dragging Others Down, Counterattack Ineffective
Chen Shouzhe is currently filming Journey to the West. The filming itself isn't too difficult, but the makeup process takes a very long time.

Imagine spending three hours on makeup and an hour removing it, plus a lot of movement during the shoot, and the weather being very hot.

To protect the actors' health, Chen Shou installed air conditioning throughout the entire room; otherwise, the actors wearing sweaters under the lights would easily suffer from heatstroke.

Wang Baobao has a lot of scenes, and he also has to film on location. After filming in the studio, he also needs to film outdoors. In the hot summer, this is quite a challenge for the actor.

"Director Chen, there's a phone call."

Xiao Fang had Chen Shou's phone; it couldn't always be off, what if something important happened?

When Xiao Fang saw the incoming call information on her phone, she thought for a moment and decided to let Chen Shou see it.

"Who?" Chen Shou asked without turning his head, staring at the monitor screen.

“Wang Zonglei!” Xiao Fang said.

The people around, including Wuershan, looked over but didn't say anything. They were probably wondering what Wang Zonglei wanted with Chen Shouzhe.

It's a bit puzzling that Huayi is currently in such a mess, so why would they have time to call Chen Shouzhe?

"Bye."

Chen Shou said casually.

"Yes!"

"and many more."

Chen Shouzhe stopped Xiao Fang.

"I blocked him."

"Ah, yes!"

Xiao Fang took her phone and went to do it.

Chen Shouzhe continued filming, and Wuershan and the others didn't say anything, assuming that Wang Zonglei had come to Chen Shouzhe for help.

Inside Huayi, Wang Zonglei's first call was hung up, and he couldn't get through on the second call onwards.

"I can't get through to them on the phone. Is it switched off?" Wang Zonglei asked.

"I guess they've been blocked," Feng Xiaogang sneered.

"Fine, very well, kicking someone when they're down, he's kicking someone when they're down." Wang Zonglei trembled with anger and sneered, "His goal now is to drag us down with him. Since that's the case, then no one will be happy. I don't believe that he earns so much every year without any tax issues."

"Go ahead and do it, drag him down with you," Wang Zongjun said fiercely.

“Okay, if all else fails, we’ll just use his past to deflect attention from trending topics.” Wang Zonglei nodded.

Feng Xiaogang sat to the side. He knew what Wang Zonglei was talking about. Chen was keeping his daughter company. Bringing it up would immediately make headlines, which could suppress the current troubles of Huayi.

Since blood has already been drawn, there's no need to say more.

On June 6th, the incident continued to escalate, but public opinion shifted, initially targeting Huayi Brothers, and soon began to target other artists.

In particular, it was said that Chen Shouzhe, as a leading company in the film and television industry, has huge problems with taxation.

Moreover, dozens of influential figures simultaneously exerted their influence, resulting in a variety of financial reports.

The report directly points to Chen Shouzhe's Shouzhe Film Industry, which is not listed on the stock exchange, and his overseas company connections, suggesting that Chen Shouzhe's tax evasion is extremely serious.

Two new trending topics immediately appeared on Weibo: Chen Shou was accused of tax evasion and his film company had huge tax problems.

Faced with overwhelming accusations, Chen Shouzhe did not respond. After discussing it with Zhong Lifan, Chen Shouzhe issued a statement.

They wanted to compile a list of all the influential figures and sue them. However, these so-called influential figures were very agitated, especially many who claimed to be in the financial sector, and continued to attack and defend the film industry.

It's obvious that Chen Shouzhe's company has huge tax problems, and there may even be shady dealings involved; otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to come up with 154 billion to acquire Wanda Pictures shares.

[The source of 154 billion is unknown. I've calculated that even with the revenue from Shou Zhe Film Studio, Chen Shou Zhe couldn't possibly earn that much.]

[Shouzhe Film Studio is also suspected of using dual contracts, with the published actor salaries including a "B portion."]

[We request the national tax authorities to investigate the tax issues of Shouzhe Film Industry and Chen Shouzhe personally.]

There's also a large group of online trolls manipulating the comments. It's organized and premeditated. Even some fans who like Chen Shouzhe are quickly distorted by them and begin to doubt Chen Shouzhe.

The comment section was quickly taken over by online trolls, with many wavering netizens joining in the attack and insults against Chen Shouzhe.

They demanded a thorough investigation into Chen Shouzhe's tax issues, aiming to bankrupt him.

Anyone with eyes can see that this is a slanderous act against Chen Shouzhe. They don't know who exactly it is, but some people would be happy to see Chen Shouzhe get into trouble.

Influential figures continued to attack Chen Shouzhe on Weibo and major news platforms, but what awaited them was no longer an announcement from Shouzhe Pictures.

Instead, it came from the official Weibo account of the State Taxation Administration, and was released the very next morning.

[Recently, we have received numerous reports, and the tax authorities have launched a tax investigation into Shouzhe Pictures and its chairman, Chen Shouzhe. The investigation statement is as follows:]
Shouzhe Film Industry is registered in the capital city, pays its taxes annually, and has no history of tax evasion.

Chen Shou's personal tax records were also investigated, and no tax evasion was found.

His overseas income has no tax issues, and an investigation into Chen Shouzhe's acquisition of Wanda Pictures revealed no tax problems.

A statement from the tax authorities was a slap in the face to those influential figures, who immediately began frantically deleting their social media accounts.

However, the film studio had already locked onto them and begun the legal process.

Shouzhe Film Industry posted a picture of a business card with tax payment records.

This is a prestigious award given by the tax authorities to companies with good tax credit, essentially telling other companies that this company has good credit.

Suddenly, public opinion reversed. People were convinced that there was nothing wrong with protecting the film company and Chen, and that they even had a business card with tax payment receipts issued by the tax authorities.

Chen Shouzhe also posted on Weibo.

This is clearly a smear campaign deliberately targeting me and my company. I am currently filming a movie, and paying taxes is the duty of every citizen. I also hope that all my friends in the entertainment industry will abide by the law. If there is any tax evasion, please make up for it as soon as possible.

Secondly, I want to say to those who are deliberately smearing me: I will investigate this matter thoroughly until the mastermind is brought to justice. I have plenty of time.

"I told you there would be no problem, Director Chen is a well-known 'Wolf Warrior'."

"So many influential figures suddenly appeared overnight, and their comments are full of paid trolls. It's obvious that this was premeditated."

"You wouldn't believe it, there are absolutely no tax issues, and it's even a top-rated company."

"I support Director Chen suing them; I've been annoyed with them for a long time."

"What big V's? They're just marketing accounts and paid trolls."

The Wang brothers never expected the public opinion to turn around so quickly. Many companies in the film and television industry took notice, and they never expected that Shouzhe Film Industry and Chen Shouzhe were so clean that even the tax authorities couldn't find any problems.

On the contrary, their own company has quite a few problems, after all, the film and television industry is already accustomed to being rife with corruption.

This tax issue won't be resolved quickly, since the damage has already spread throughout the entire film and television industry. It's not just Chen Shouzhe who's affected; all other companies have been implicated.

On Monday the 11th, the bureau held a meeting, which was attended by all the prominent figures in the film and television industry.

Chen Shou had no choice but to stop his work. He was specifically asked to go by his superiors. He could have refused before, but this time Tong Gan called him personally and he had no choice but to go.

(End of this chapter)