Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 165 Bai Lu's Gratitude, Year-End Meeting
February 7th, the 2th day of the twelfth lunar month.

Looking out the car window at the crowds of people dragging their luggage into the airport like ants returning to their nest, Chen Xiu turned to look at Meng Ziyi, who was reluctant to leave.

"Then I won't see you in."

"Okay, remember, after you finish work, you have to come visit me on set in March!"

Sister Meng pursed her lips, shook Chen Xiu's arm with both hands, and confirmed the visit agreement with him for the fifth time.

"The Legend of the Condor Heroes" has many action scenes. Meng Ziyi, one of the main actors, had to join the crew on the third day of the Lunar New Year to begin a 20-day martial arts training. Chen Xiu was busy until the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month before returning to Shanghai for the New Year.

Therefore, after a week of reunion, it's time for the two to part ways again for the time being.

Chen Xiu reached out and helped the silly beauty pull up her mask, then squinted and nodded, saying, "Don't worry, I remember."

"Okay, I'm off then!"

Before opening the car door, Meng Ziyi pulled down his mask again and leaned over to kiss Chen Xiu.

After successfully launching the sneak attack, the silly beauty happily jumped out of the car and followed the crowd into the airport gate.

After watching Meng Ziyi disappear through the gate, Chen Xiu turned and had Xiong Ben start the car, heading straight back to Datang Film Studio.

In the past week, besides spending time with Meng Ziyi, he also had to check the "Wandering Earth" project proposal brought by Guo Fan, and then attend Douyin's first annual meeting to confirm next year's development plan... He was very busy.

Fortunately, after finishing today's work, he can fly back to Shanghai for the Chinese New Year tomorrow at noon.

Back at Datang Film Studio, Chen Xiu was about to go to the office to confirm the documents needed for today's meeting when he bumped into Bai Lu at the office door.

Judging from her bright, surprised eyes, it seems she came here of her own volition...

"Hello, boss!"

Bai Lu waved to Chen Xiu, her smile so wide it revealed her upper and lower teeth. She seemed a little embarrassed about being there.

Chen Xiu stared at her clear aligners for a moment and asked, "Why are you still at the company? Aren't you going home for the New Year?"

"My flight is tonight. I heard from General Manager Yang that you have a meeting today, so I'm waiting for you here."

Bai Lu is straightforward and speaks frankly. When talking about why he came here, he didn't care about being embarrassed.

Her straightforward personality does make people feel more relaxed.

With this thought in mind, Chen Xiu smiled and said, "You still haven't said why you came here to wait for me. Is it for work-related matters?"

"It's not about work!"

Bai Lu waved both hands and said nervously to Chen Xiu, "Boss, I just wanted to thank you in person."

"What are you going to thank me for?"

Chen Xiu looked at Bai Lu with surprise, never expecting her to give such an answer.

When asked this question, Bai Lu was taken aback for a moment before explaining why he had come.

"I just wanted to say thank you. When the company was signing new employees, I thought I was going to be rejected, but then Director Yang told me that it was you who chose me..."

"Would you mind if we went inside to talk?"

Chen Xiu pointed to the office door, feeling that it was a bit inappropriate for the two of them to be chatting there.

With the meeting time approaching, he still needed to check the documents and didn't have much time to listen to Bai Lu's thanks. However, he didn't want to send her away directly, so going in to chat while checking the documents was the perfect solution.

Faced with the invitation, Bai Lu glanced warily at the door, swallowed hard, and nodded in agreement.

Chen Xiu didn't think too much about her thoughts. She simply pushed open the door, went straight to the desk, and began to check the documents that Zhong Lifang had handed over.

"Don't close the door. If you have anything to say, come over and continue! I can watch and listen at the same time."

"oh oh."

Bai Lu took his hand off the doorknob and walked lightly to the side of Chen Xiu's desk.

After stopping, she glanced at Chen Xiu's profile and asked, "Boss, is it okay if I say it like this?"

"Well, tell me."

Chen Xiu nodded slightly, but her gaze remained fixed on the document in her hand.

Now that Bai Lu was less nervous, he spoke much more coherently.

"Director Yang told me that it was you who chose to sign me, giving me the opportunity to become a star, and then I wanted to thank you in person."

After saying thank you, Bai Lu stopped where he was.

After a while, when she was sure she had nothing more to say, Chen Xiu frowned slightly and turned her gaze to the silly girl's face.

"Gone?"

"Yeah, that's all. I just wanted to thank you."

"So, if I hadn't called you in just now, you could have finished speaking in the next second?"

"Yup!"

Seeing Bai Lu nodding straightforwardly, Chen Xiu shook her head helplessly, feeling that she had really asked her to come in, since she could have just waited a little longer.

"I thought you came to me in such a serious manner to discuss terminating your contract!"

"Terminate the contract? I've never even considered it."

Bai Lu looked at Chen Xiu in surprise, shook his head like a rattle drum, and declared his determination: "Boss, as long as you don't terminate my contract, I'm willing to work for you for the rest of my life!"

"Why?" "Well... when I was filming in Qingdao last year, I talked to Tan Songyu, who was in the same production, a few times. She said that I signed with a good company, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to get the second female lead role given my qualifications."

That's true.

Chen Xiu echoed, stared at Bai Lu for a moment, and then went back to checking the documents.

"I appreciate your thanks. If you really want to thank me, then study your acting skills, practice your lines, become famous quickly, and make money for the company!"

"oh oh."

These straightforward words left Bai Lu nodding in a daze.

After standing for a while, just as she was wondering whether she should take her leave, Chen Xiu stood up from her chair.

"Sorry to keep you waiting! Let's go out together."

"oh oh."

The two left the office, said goodbye to each other, and Chen Xiu turned and walked towards the conference room, while Bai Lu patted his chest with a slightly flushed face.

……

Inside the meeting room, Chen Xiu sat in the main seat, Zhong Lifang stood up to give a report, and Wei Feng and Yang Ming sat down to the side.

"...The Series A financing negotiations with Wanda and Penguin Pictures have been basically finalized. The amount is 300 million RMB, and 10% of the original shares will be offered. However, since Ye Ning has resigned, Wanda is still in the process of adapting to the new management structure. The financing is expected to start at the end of February."

Upon hearing Zhong Lifang's report, Chen Xiu nodded knowingly, and then inquired about the company's cash flow situation.

"There are many new projects that need to be started this year. Will there be any funding issues?"

"Confirmed projects include 'The Untouchable' co-produced with iQiyi, 'Eternal Love' invested in by Juku Pictures, 'Wolf Warrior 2' by Wu Jing, 'The Wandering Earth' co-produced by China Film Group and Guo Fan Studio, and 'Qin King's Battle Song' produced in-house."

Zhong Lifang recounted this year's projects in detail, and then went on to analyze the funding situation.

"Currently, the company has 5500 million yuan left in its accounts, which is enough to cover the investment costs of 'The Untouchable,' 'Three Lives Three Worlds,' and 'Wolf Warrior 2.' But after calculating this, the company is out of money."

"The 6000 million yuan for 'The Wandering Earth' will have to wait for the funds after the financing ends, or for the box office revenue sharing of 'Detective Chinatown'. The production cost of 'Qin Wang Po Zhen Qu' has not yet been determined."

A simple calculation reveals that a small goal is gone.

Film productions have a long payback period. Although "Detective Chinatown" has already finished its theatrical run, the box office revenue sharing will have to wait for several more months.

The projects I just mentioned won't be launched until next year at the earliest, and investments won't be realized until next year either. Among them, "The Wandering Earth" won't be available until 19.

However, considering that he could have a 30% stake in "The Wandering Earth," Chen Xiu was quite patient with the wait.

"We'll wait for the script to be completed before calculating the production costs for 'The Song of the King of Qin'."

At this point, Chen Xiu paused for a moment and asked Zhong Lifang, "When does Kiwi plan to start producing 'The Untouchable'?"

"They originally planned to start filming at the end of the year, but due to our involvement, the filming schedule has been moved up to March."

"The project proposal says that Gong Yu invited Master Han to supervise the production?"

"Correct!"

Seeing Zhong Lifang nod in confirmation, Chen Xiu immediately turned her attention to Han Sanping.

If this big shot were to serve as the producer of "Qin King's Battle Song", some problems would be much easier to handle. Gong Yu probably had this idea in mind, which is why he invited the veteran to come out of retirement.

The TV series "The Reign of Zhenguan" from ten years ago was also a project spearheaded by Han Sanping...

Chen Xiu's lips slowly curled up as she looked at Zhong Lifang and asked, "Besides these confirmed projects, are there any other questions?"

"Many companies have called to inquire when we will start preparing for the sequel to 'Detective Chinatown,' and according to your suggestion, my response has been to postpone production."

"Nothing else?"

"Gone."

Chen Xiu gestured for Zhong Lifang to sit down and murmured, "For the sequel, we need Chen Sicheng and Xiao Yang to write the script first. Xiao Feng, write down the script requirements and tell them later."

Wei Feng, who was sitting to the side, immediately took out his pen and looked up at Chen Xiu.

Chen Xiu thought for a moment and said, "The script requires that it not be too vulgar or low-IQ. It needs more suspense elements and more than two new characters to lay the groundwork for the later story. If they have no inspiration, tell them to watch Conan. That's all."

After saying that, Chen Xiu asked Wei Feng to repeat it to confirm that it was correct.

Finally, Yang Mingqi explained the artists' development, the recruitment of agents and artist assistants, and the new talent signing arrangements for September of this year.

This year-end meeting has now come to a close.

"Mr. Chen, wishing you a Happy New Year in advance!"

"You too."

"Boss, Happy Chinese New Year."

"You are happy too."

After greeting Zhong Lifang and Yang Ming, Chen Xiu glanced at her phone, which had been vibrating incessantly since earlier.

Besides the message from Meng Ziyi reporting that he was safe at home, another message appeared that surprised Chen Xiu so much that she was stunned for a moment.

Seeing this, Wei Feng, who was waiting nearby, asked, "Boss, what's wrong?"

"Hmm, it's okay. Tell Big Bear that we need two more people for dinner."

(End of this chapter)