Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 79 Final Box Office

"What's wrong with you? What's wrong with you?"

Yang Mi's eyes widened when he saw the whip marks on Chen Shou's back.

"It's nothing, let's sit down and talk."

Yang Mi knew that Chen Shou was beating her because of her, so she was very uneasy and unconsciously placed her hand on her abdomen.

"You have two choices now. One is not to have the child. After all, it's in your belly. My choice is not important. Your choice is the most important. If you don't want the child, I will still give you subsequent compensation. At least I will guarantee you two movies."

After you give birth, I doubt you'll have time to care for the child, so I'll send the baby back to my parents' house to be looked after. You'll still be the child's mother, and I'll try my best to provide you with the resources you need.

Yang Mi's purpose in getting pregnant was to bind Chen Shouzhe to her, to make her say how much she liked him. But that wasn't really true; women are attracted to strength. She chose to sacrifice herself back then to take a gamble, and now it seems she made the right one.

That's why she placed even more bets, using her own advantages to continue betting on Chen Shouzhe.

Chen Shouzhe's conditions weren't considered harsh by her, since marriage was impossible and she didn't want to get married. Once married, she would be completely tied to Chen Shouzhe, and his feelings for her would inevitably lead to trouble sooner or later. She would only gain the status of a director's wife, but would lose a lot of freedom, which would be a loss for her.

Treating marriage as a business may be shocking, but reality is far more fantastical than fiction, given that surrogacy is common, even openly, within the industry.

“I will have the child, and I want to raise the child,” Yang Mi said softly.

“Then I will not admit that I am the child’s father, and you will disappear from the entertainment industry completely. Even if you win, you know about Xiaolongnu’s affair, and I cannot let you drag me down with you,” Chen Shou said, shaking his head.

Yang Mi's face turned ashen. When a man gets ruthless, what does it matter if it's his own son? Besides, she had taken it upon herself to have a child, and it's only two months old now. She can have an abortion. In addition, she has offended Chen Shouzhe. Even if the public sides with her, it won't affect Chen Shouzhe much. In fact, she will be influenced by public opinion to say that she is immoral and that she is the one who hooked up with Chen Shouzhe.

After all, she had climbed up to Chen Shouzhe in terms of status and had also escaped the ban by relying on Chen Shouzhe. Anyone who wasn't a fool could see that she was ambitious and wanted to be tied to Chen Shouzhe.

"But after all, it's the child I carried for ten months and gave birth to. You can't take away my right to be a mother," Yang Mi said, her eyes red as she stared intently at Chen Shou.

Chen Shou went to the balcony to smoke, and after a while he turned to Yang Mi and said, "If you want to take care of the child after it is born, there is a middle way."

"any solution?"

“After the baby was born, I left him with my master. My master’s wife just had her second child last year, so she can take care of him. If you want to see the baby, you can go to Daxing. It’s close by and it’s less troublesome.”

"Let your master's wife take care of the child..." Yang Mi thought it was a good idea, as it strengthened her bond with Chen Shouzhe and allowed her to see the child herself.

"Okay, after you give birth, you can leave the baby with your master and mistress."

Yang Mi also felt that this method achieved her goal and could also bind Chen Shouzhe, killing two birds with one stone.

She made the right bet; Chen Shouzhe is a soft-hearted person.

The matter has been settled, and the atmosphere has naturally improved a lot. However, as her pregnancy becomes more and more obvious, she needs to hide away for a while until she gives birth to the child herself.

Chen Shouzhe also breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn't be ruthless enough to do what Cheng Long did, who could gloss over a mistake that any man would make with a simple "nothing is ever done"—that would be too cruel.

No matter what, he's his own child, he can't just sit idly by and do nothing.

Yang Mi did not stay overnight. She wanted to take advantage of the fact that her condition was not obvious to finish up the things at hand, and then focus on her pregnancy.

"Kung Fu" is still showing in theaters, which is the height of her fame. Taking advantage of the current high prices, she wants to expand her studio and ideally make it a listed company. She used to think this would be difficult, especially after Zeng Jia and the others left.

In terms of methods, she is certainly not as good as Zeng Jia, but she now has a powerful backer. As her backer grows stronger, coupled with the child in her belly, it is not impossible for her to achieve her ambitions.

In the end, "Kung Fu Hustle" still couldn't get the key to be extended. The higher-ups wouldn't give it to them. If "Kung Fu Hustle" were to be released during the Spring Festival, other movies wouldn't be able to compete. Besides, this movie wasn't related to China Film Group or those other companies, so naturally they had to do their best to stop it.

Han Sanping has stopped taking charge. When Chen Shouzhe and Zhou Xingxing, along with the other five production companies, went to him, he only said he would talk to his superiors, but in the end, the deadline was still not granted.

After a month of release, it broke through 2 billion yuan at the box office, reaching an astonishing 22.61 billion yuan. Including overseas box office, it grossed 100 million US dollars in Southeast Asia and 1.78 million US dollars in Europe and America, for a total box office of 500 million US dollars.

However, the revenue sharing varies from place to place, and several publishing companies need to calculate it. Chen Shou has already arranged for the finance department to handle the details, starting with the domestic revenue.

The 24% share would amount to around 300 million. He didn't spend a penny and received 300 million. With the 50 million given to him by Wanda and Bona, plus the additional copyright ownership, Chen Shouzhe could get even more.

Bona Film Group distributed the film, earning over 100 million RMB after deducting 60 million RMB in costs. Wanda Cinema received around 100 million RMB. Stephen Chow received slightly less than Chen Shouzhe, as his film didn't have zero costs. However, his director and actor salaries were calculated at 10%, reaching 100 million RMB, which made him incredibly wealthy. This is why he wanted to continue collaborating with Chen Shouzhe.

Two years ago, he was swindled out of 80 million by Huayi, but now he has earned it all back here, which has given him renewed confidence in mainland companies, provided that he avoids Huayi.

Emperor Entertainment received roughly the same amount as Stephen Chow, but their costs were higher, involving real money.

Five families were eating meat, while the others could only watch longingly. Those who had mocked them and those who hadn't gotten on the bus were now filled with regret.

Chen Shouzhe was receiving a distinguished guest at Xiaoxiaomeng's place.

"When I went to the United States to buy a company, I ended up spending hundreds of millions of dollars to buy just a shell. Looking back now, I realize that was a desperate and reckless move. If I had taken a more cautious approach, things wouldn't be like this now."

As Zhong Lifan walked around Xiaoxiaomeng Company, she saw the busy staff and her eyes were filled with envy.

She resigned voluntarily, which was a way of preserving her dignity.

Xiao Ma was originally a family business, and now that the leader who could keep things in check is gone, it hasn't been long before they've started seizing power.

As Chairman Li's most trusted confidante, Zhong Lifan was naturally not suitable to stay at Xiao Ma. It would be better for her to leave voluntarily, which might save face for her and prevent her from being kicked out and losing face.

Many people have their eyes on Zhong Lifan, and various companies are extending olive branches. Among them, Huayi made an ambitious acquisition invitation to Chairman Li last year.

If Xiao Ma could have managed to go public with Huayi, he might have been able to struggle a bit and avoid the current situation.

Originally, the company failed to go public and lost the bet, but as long as Chairman Li was still around, Xiao Ma could still run. But now that Chairman Li is gone, Xiao Ma is like a horse with a broken leg.

Once a horse's leg is broken, Chen Shouzhe, who grew up on a horse farm, knows all too well that the horse is already dead and cannot be saved. Rather than letting it struggle in pain, letting it be free is the best outcome.

Chen Shouzhe had met Zhong Lifan several times and had heard many people in the industry talk about her, so he knew that she was very capable.

While Tao Le is not bad either, his energy is limited. Only an excellent manager can help the company move towards a better future.

Especially after Little Dream was established, although Guo Fan was helping him manage it, Guo Fan was an ambitious person who wanted to be a director, not a company manager.

Chen Shouzhe still felt that the company needed someone with sufficient expertise in the industry to join and complement Tao Le.

Chung Lai-fan is undoubtedly the most suitable candidate at present. Besides, the company cannot rely solely on movies; it needs to pursue multiple avenues.

“Xiao Ma is taking too big a step, wanting to gain more wealth through going public. Going public has its pros and cons, and I have never thought about taking my company public,” Chen Shou said.

“If you don’t go public, won’t your employees have any complaints? Nobody wants to be paid a salary for life,” Zhong Lifan said.

“Tao Le said the same thing before, so I will distribute dividends to them and pay them out as year-end bonuses at the end of each year. At least with me here, the company can keep running,” Chen Shou said.

“You’re not planning to go public because of your godfather’s connections, right?” Zhong Lifan said.

"You know about my godfather's company?" Chen Shou asked in surprise.

“If you were my future boss, how could I not know about your past? Deyun Club started out as a makeshift operation and still operates in the traditional way. Your godfather, Guo Degang, is a shrewd man. If things continue like this, no matter how many successors he trains, they will all leave. Once he gets old, the whole team will fall apart.”

So he wanted to restructure his opera troupe into a modern company, but he also wanted to preserve the traditions of the troupe, with himself as the troupe leader and control the shares of the entire company.

This will undoubtedly offend many of the veterans who worked alongside him, especially those who believe they have the ability and the right to acquire shares.

That's why so many people left Deyun Club, and even after they left, they hated Guo Degang and cursed him for being greedy.

“Yes, but do you know why my master doesn’t leave?” Chen Shou said with a smile.

“Yes, I’m also curious why your master doesn’t have any shares. If your master wanted to, he could even take more,” Zhong Lifan asked curiously.

“If you take shares, you’ll be deeply tied to the company. You’ll have to work your life away for the company’s development. My master isn’t that kind of person. He prefers freedom. Whether he has shares or not is not important. He’s already received the salary he deserves. Why should he work himself to death to increase the company’s revenue? Besides, if he leaves me and stays with the film industry, what value will this company have?”

(End of this chapter)