How can you become a star without money?

Chapter 210 Chosen Ones
The takeover bid for Chengtian Entertainment is, for most people, a source of amusement or gossip.

Because this company was constantly being manipulated by its major shareholder, Wu Kebo, who, through all his maneuvering, ultimately destroyed himself.

But for Yang Zi, it was absolutely devastating news.

Because he had previously lent 2 million yuan of company money to Chengtian in his personal capacity as money to acquire Tianhuo's shares and invest in the film and television city, Wu Kebo could openly ask for the debt back when he was still the CEO of Chengtian Entertainment.

But now, Chengtian has changed hands and is in Wang Yao's hands.

That money might really become an unsolved case, especially since the daily announcements have already reduced the debt ratio to the safe line of below 50%, leaving him with no chance to even resort to legal means to collect the debt.

Meanwhile, Juli's "White Snake" is still waiting for the rice to be cooked.

Yang Zi was so worried that his hair was turning white, but he finally came up with a solution despite the pain.

"You secretly lent out the money? Now you can't get it back and you want me to ask for it?" Huang Shengyi was stunned when he heard this news.

The company only had 2.5 million in its accounts, and Yangzi arbitrarily lent out 2 million. He was incredibly audacious. Did he really think the company belonged to him alone?
The major shareholder of Juli is not the couple, but Wang Tianyun, who was the vice president of Shanghai Film Group and the father of Wang Yuan, the producer of "iPartment". Juli received so much help when it was established because of Wang Tianyun's backing. Yang Zi only provided cash and was responsible for management and operation.

Wang Tianyun and others trusted Yang Zi's abilities very much, so they entrusted him with almost all the power. Now that such a big hole has appeared, Huang Shengyi felt more and more that there was something wrong with Yang Zi's mind.

“It was originally part of the company’s strategic investment. If Chengtian’s acquisition of Meishe had been successful at that time, the 200 million yuan would have become worth at least 2 billion yuan, and we would have also obtained some shares of Chengtian Film City,” Yang Zi explained.

"It's called 'Skyfire Film City' now," Huang Shengyi sneered.

The news of Chengtian Entertainment's suspension of trading, restructuring, and name change has been announced, and it has been the subject of much discussion in the industry recently. Tianhuo Media started as a small modeling agency and now controls a listed company with assets worth 20 billion yuan.

Its meteoric rise to become a leading company on par with Huayi and Bona naturally caused a huge sensation in the industry.

In contrast, Juli, which has received much attention since its establishment and is trending on social media every few days, has achieved nothing after nearly a year. When it finally got a reliable project, the CEO lent out all the money, and it's still uncertain whether it can even start.

That really does prove the saying true.

Man proposes, God disposes.

If a person isn't capable, they really can't accomplish anything.

"Never mind what they call them, they owe us money anyway. It's only right to pay back debts. As the CEO, you're telling me to go and collect it, so go and collect it. What's with all the nonsense?" Yangzi felt a little displeased as he looked at the other party.

The initial admiration and awe in Huang Shengyi's eyes had long since vanished, replaced only by disdain and speechlessness.

"You didn't consult me, the CEO, when you borrowed money, but now you remember my position? Yangzi, I've always wanted to ask you, what do you consider me? Partner? Wife? Or employee?" Huang Shengyi changed his usual cold demeanor and spoke in a deep voice.

Yang Zi was startled upon hearing this. Although the two had been in a cold war and arguing for the past few months, even to the point of considering divorce, they had never openly discussed this conflict of opinion.

Because once this kind of thing is brought up for discussion, it means that one party is indeed prepared to adjust the relationship.

"Nonsense, of course it's my wife and family. Otherwise, with a company as large as Juli, would you just get 10% of the shares for free? Would you get all the limelight?" Yang Zi rebuked coldly, trying to scare Huang Shengyi away.

This trick used to work quite well; whenever he lost his temper, Huang Shengyi would automatically give in.

But this time, it seems to have worked incredibly well.

Huang Shengyi slightly raised his chin, his gaze calm: "10% of the shares is what I deserve as a top artist. Besides, given our marital relationship, you also have a share of that 10%. How can you say it's all for me? People online say that a wife's reputation is a husband's glory. The more famous and popular I am, the more you benefit from it, don't you?"

Yang Zi stared wide-eyed, looking somewhat incredulous.

Did Huang Shengyi really say something like that? What kind of things do you learn online?!

"What do you mean? You've grown wings? Don't forget, I'm the one who rescued you from the slave contract in the Bitter Kiln. Without me, you'd still be playing minor roles under Zhou Xingxing." Yang Zi said, suppressing his anger, his expression gloomy.

"If I were an ordinary girl with no value, would you still save me?" Huang Shengyi laughed angrily, her eyes full of disappointment.

Yang Zi frowned, opened his mouth but didn't know how to refute.

“I’ll help you get the money back, and we’ll consider ourselves even. Otherwise, with such a huge hole in our pockets, you won’t be able to explain it to Boss Wang and the others. But I have a condition: divorce.” Huang Shengyi’s expression was cold, and his gaze was as if he were looking at a stranger.

"Are you sick in the head? Are you addicted to being dramatic? I sent you to collect the debt to test your abilities. Can't I cover a 2 million hole myself?" Yangzi scolded.

"Then you can make up for it yourself, but I still want a divorce, and the family property must be divided." Huang Shengyi curled the corners of his mouth.

"Are you serious?" Yangzi perked up instantly at the mention of his family fortune.

Yang Zi's histrionic personality disorder led him to trick her into marriage under the guise of love. Although they didn't sign a prenuptial agreement, which is a must for wealthy families, he secretly transferred assets after the marriage. For example, he exchanged valuable real estate for various antiques, paintings, and beads. However, a considerable amount of assets were not completely transferred.

If Huang Shengyi really wants to get a divorce, he will likely lose a large sum of money. At least half of the 30% stake held by the two of them may be taken away.

This is unacceptable to Yangzi.

"If you have anything to say, go talk to my lawyer." Huang Shengyi smiled and turned to leave.

"Huang Shengyi, if you dare to do anything reckless, I can destroy you, believe it or not," Yangzi growled from behind.

"It doesn't matter. As long as a woman is financially independent, she will eventually win it back." Huang Shengyi smiled coldly and turned to leave.

Her desire to divorce Yang Zi was not impulsive. She consulted lawyers and sought advice from many netizens on MSN. She eventually learned that she could get at least tens of millions of assets after the divorce. The shares of Juli alone were worth more than 30 million. If Yang Zi really had shares in their family, he might get even more.

In addition to the returns from her previous investment in "Fairy Robe", she is well enough to live comfortably for the rest of her life. Even if Yang Zi really ruins her acting career, she can return to the offline stage and occasionally participate in Wang Yao's project investments. Her carefree and unrestrained life suddenly has something to look forward to.

"Damn it, the internet is really harmful!" Yangzi roared.

Huang Shengyi left home and drove straight to Skyfire Thames Town.

She rented a villa here. She slept here because she stayed up too late filming a variety show. She married into the Yang family all alone back then, and now she leaves all alone. It's a sad story. Finally, she opened MS and posted a status update.

'Huang Shengyi V: In the end, he carried it all alone.'

Wang Yao wasn't stupid; he naturally knew the attitudes and thoughts of Hu Mei and the people behind Kanpianer.com. Therefore, he took the initiative to relinquish his power and step down to the second line.

Firstly, the development of the website has passed the point where it needs him, and he really doesn't have that much energy anymore.

Secondly, the development of online ticketing platforms has limitations. A market value of 10 billion is already the limit, but merging with Tianhuo Entertainment now would be a loss. Wang Yao plans to push forward the next round of financing as soon as possible and cash out at a high price.

When the group-buying war among thousands of websites kicks off at the end of the year, giants will inevitably enter the online ticketing market to compete, because online ticketing is crucial to the group-buying industry. Back then, Meituan won the group-buying war by developing Maoyan and securing online ticketing, which allowed it to reverse the situation and defeat Lashou and Wowo.

When industry giants enter the fray, Kanpian.com will face a new round of competitive pressure. Its purely online ticketing business, lacking substantial financial and traffic support, may not be able to withstand the giants' onslaught. Wang Yao can then seize the opportunity to push for acquisitions. Buy low and sell high, riding the wave of opportunity.

If Kanpianer.com can't understand the situation and temporarily abandons its mobile expansion, Wang Yao will turn around and find a group-buying website to invest in, so that Hu Mei and the others can see what it means to either advance or retreat.

People only learn to behave when they are beaten.

After a busy week of tender offers, Wang Yao finally had some free time to inspect the business of the Beijing branch.

The web series department is basically providing materials to iQiyi in a routine manner. There are no particularly big hits, but the average number of views for several programs can be guaranteed to be over 50 with the help of Baidu traffic.

The offline store exploration model of "What's Up Today" has brought a catfish effect to the group buying industry. Now, it can collect more than 10,000 yuan a week just for offline store exploration sponsorship fees. It has also started from small street shops and explored slightly more well-known chain brands.

The talent agency also specially recruited a group of artists with potential "big eater" talents, preparing to cultivate them in the direction of food broadcasting and restaurant exploration. Relying solely on the "Laughing Brothers" to eat is simply not enough. Qiao Shan and Xiu Rui, as the main creators of the show, have already gained 30 pounds in less than two months. If they continue to eat, they may have to take insulin while eating.

The cast of Kaixin Mahua has expanded fourfold, supporting the rehearsal and polishing of four plays simultaneously. With the help of the company's professional internet packaging, the number of fans on the Kanpianer website has exceeded 500,000. Many viewers from other places who watched the rehearsal clips requested a tour.

Although this model will likely result in little to no profit this year, it would be worthwhile even if it leads to losses, as long as it can support talent development and a fan base.

Finally, there's the Marketing and Cultural Creativity Department. Tianhuo has established cultural and creative branches (marketing accounts) in three major first-tier cities, with nearly 2000 full-time and part-time writers. They produce an average of 6,000 to 10,000 posts per day and provide press releases and materials for hundreds of contracted models and artists.

Currently, the daily exposure of Tianhuo's artists accounts for almost 40% on major social media platforms. Whether you open Weibo, Tieba, Renren.com, or even Penguin Space, there are posts about Tianhuo's artists. Otherwise, Sina would not have quietly limited the traffic and increased the price for Tianhuo.

In order to improve the content quality of Ms International, Wang Yao even poached Ma Ling, the COO of Nanjing Daily, with a high salary, to specifically cultivate a female-oriented content creation team and content.

Finally, there was the casting for "Dance for a Thousand Years".

With the assistance of Berna, all the main mentors were in place, and talent show venues were set up in three first-tier cities: Beijing, Shanghai, and Shenzhen. The three mentors led teams to select contestants in the three cities respectively.

The mentor in Beijing is Wang Yabin, an actress who became a household name with "Country Love". She is essentially a pure dancer and is one of the most important representative dancers in contemporary China and internationally. She is also one of the main creative leaders of the dance choreography for major national galas.

The casting venue was the Geological Theater, which has since been renamed the Mahua Theater.

Since the announcement of the nationwide selection of dance troupes for "Dance for a Thousand Years", the Mahua Theater has received two or three local song and dance troupes every day to participate in the auditions. After the renovation of the Mahua Theater, there are only four theaters left, one large and three small. Even if all three small theaters were given to the "Dance for a Thousand Years" production team, it would still not be enough.

When Wang Yao arrived, there were still hundreds of people queuing in the temporary rest area set up outside the theater, which shows the current development of the song and dance troupe.

"Mr. Wang." Miao Miao was already waiting at the door when she heard that Wang Yao was coming.

"I just came to check on things, so as not to interfere with your work," Wang Yao said with a smile.

"I'm just helping Teacher Wang and the others manage logistics." Miao Miao smiled sweetly. Since the project was established, she has visibly become happier and no longer looks anxious.

Miao Miao showed Wang Yao around the theater, and then took him to the audition theater where Wang Yabin was. The venue, which could accommodate 300 people, was almost full of a dazzling array of dance students in the front row.

A dance troupe is performing on stage, with background music that blends traditional poetry, folk instruments, and modern arrangements in a unique "ancient style" style.

Although it is a dance drama, the background music is extremely important. Wang Yao not only collaborated with major folk music colleges to collect suitable background music, but also acquired two ancient-style websites, Fenbei.com and 5sing.

Fenbei is a website created in 05 by lyricists who created new lyrics for the soundtracks of martial arts games such as "The Legend of Sword and Fairy" and "JX Online". The website features 'opera singing + classical poetry'.

The well-known leading team in the ancient style music circle, Mo Ming Qi Miao, debuted on this platform. Currently popular niche ancient style singers such as He Tu and Dong Zhen have also participated. The ancient style music circle is indeed a very niche circle at present, so the cost is extremely low. The total cost of the website plus hundreds of signed songwriters is less than 20 million.

Since most of them were enthusiasts who created music out of passion, Wang Yao signed them all after the acquisition and provided them with a platform to release songs on MS. The combination of a stable base salary and a platform for showcasing their talents was irresistible to these enthusiasts, most of whom were still students.

The plan is to use this exclusive signing model to attract a large number of traditional Chinese style enthusiasts from Tieba to the MS platform, and eventually cultivate a traditional Chinese style market.

Dance dramas mainly rely on light music, which requires professional composers and can only be completed through professional folk music colleges.

However, to spread the dance drama, we cannot rely solely on visual displays. Instead, we need these enthusiasts of traditional Chinese style to write lyrics. Even if the lyrics are affected or melodramatic, they will have a more direct effect on most netizens.

Wang Yao doesn't expect to create a hit song like "Mangzhong"; something on par with "Qingjin Tianxia" would be fine.

Wang Yabin's interviews were very efficient, basically taking 3 minutes per group. Then, he would call on a few outstanding candidates to stay and watch the performances of the other candidates. After the first round of screening was completed, the remaining candidates would be randomly grouped for the second round of screening.

It has a thrilling feel to it, like the selection of elite soldiers in ancient armies.

Dance is a form of sports, and its essence is to bring visual and spiritual impact to the viewer by pushing the 'human limits'.

Although dancers are graceful, watching them bend every part of their bodies to extreme angles and poses creates an unexpected shock that stimulates the body's adrenaline.

Moreover, those who can remain in the song and dance troupe under such circumstances are basically the elite of the elite, each with their own unique skills.

While visually pleasing, it can indeed easily distract one's attention.

"They're all very strong," Wang Yao remarked after reviewing several interviews.

"They are all dancers with more than 20 years of experience. They are top-notch in both talent and experience. Unfortunately, there are too many elites in this industry and too few stages. In the end, those who can leave their mark are basically prodigies." Miao Miao smiled bitterly.

Wang Yao stroked his chin. Among these people, it is estimated that most of them will flock to various live streaming platforms in the future to make a living.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Wang, there were quite a few people being interviewed today." After finishing the last round of interviews, Wang Yabin quickly took a moment to come up and greet Wang Yao.

"Teacher Wang, don't worry about me, you all go about your business," Wang Yao said with a smile.

Wang Yabin has an average appearance, even somewhat plain. Wang Yao was deeply impressed by her when he watched "Country Love" as a child, after all, her excellent figure and temperament cannot be hidden. After changing into the clothes sponsored by Yunshang, she became even more eye-catching.

"Thank you, Mr. Wang, for giving me the opportunity to participate in this project. It is of great significance to our dance industry," Wang Yabin said with a soft smile.

Previous dance programs all used the name of dance to promote stars, but "Dance for a Thousand Years" is different. It truly provides a stage and opportunities for dancers from the grassroots.

"Thank you all for adding luster to the show. Everyone should work together to make the show better so that there can be a next season," Wang Yao said officially.

"I will do my best." Wang Yabin nodded. "Um, may I ask if it's convenient for you later, Mr. Wang? My master asked me to arrange a time for him if I see you."

Wang Yabin came from Benshan Media. Although he did not formally become Zhao Benshan's apprentice, they addressed each other as master and disciple. After all, now that they had entered Shanhaiguan, Zhao Benshan still held some authority.

“I’ve been too busy lately. I did want to visit Professor Benshan before. Is he in Beijing?” Wang Yao raised an eyebrow slightly.

“Yes, the No. 2 Grand Theatre in Beijing opened last month, and he’s been in Beijing recently. He even came to see me the day before yesterday,” Wang Yabin said with a smile.

"Then can you help me make an appointment with him? I'm free today and tomorrow." Wang Yao nodded.

(End of this chapter)