Internet moguls are being held hostage by the entertainment system!

Chapter 359: Preparing for "Joy of Life", Penguin's Second Negotiation
After Chen Xiu and Ma Yun's joint live stream, the counterfeit goods controversy on Douyin Live subsided very quickly.

After the business image was reshaped, the progress of live-streaming e-commerce merchants is also proceeding in an orderly manner.

After saying goodbye to Reba and Meng Ziyi, Chen Xiu focused on her acting career.

Time flies, and it's now May 28th. "The Xuanwu Gate Incident" has come to its final scene.

On set, Qiao Zhenyu, who plays Li Jiancheng with a mustache, and Aruna, who plays Li Yuanji and whose appearance is completely different from handsome, are surrounded by a group of armored soldiers.

They were sweating profusely, looking around in horror, each muttering words like "impossible" and "how could this be?"

The leader of this group of soldiers was Ding Haifeng, who played Yuchi Gong. Although Wu Song's fierceness could not compare to the spirit of fighting a real tiger back then, he could still fool people with the help of makeup.

"Your Highness, Prince Qi, how have you been?"

Ding Haifeng, riding on horseback, stared wide-eyed, his lion-like beard trembling as he spoke, as if he were about to lead a group of men to charge at him at any moment.

Beside him was Bai Yu, also on horseback, dressed as a civil official, playing the role of Changsun Wuji.

"The King of Qin has arrived! You two, why don't you dismount immediately!"

As Bai Yu finished speaking, the soldiers began to orderly make way.

The clatter of hooves approached, and Chen Xiu, wearing a golden crown, soft armor, carrying a quiver, and holding a hard bow, rode in from the outer circle.

Looking at the pale-faced Qiao Zhenyu and Aruna, Chen Xiu frowned and smiled, "Brother, fourth brother, did you ever expect this day to come?"

"Second Brother, what is your intention in leading troops into Xuanwu Gate without authorization?"

Aru shouted, her voice trembling with fear, while constantly looking around, trying to find a few soldiers that the King of Qin couldn't mobilize.

But there's no such person...

Chen Xiu drew his bow, nocked an arrow, and began to aim.

Qiao Zhenyu had completely given up resistance and was ready to close his eyes and wait for death, while Aruna was riding a horse at full gallop, trying to escape.

"Cut! OK, that's a pass!"

Lu Yang's voice came through the loudspeaker to everyone, announcing the successful completion of the two-month-long filming mission.

According to the "Biography of Yuchi Jingde" in the Old Book of Tang, after Li Shimin killed his elder brother, he still had to personally ride a horse to chase after Li Yuanji. On the way, he tripped over a tree branch and was almost strangled to death by Li Yuanji with a bowstring. Fortunately, Yuchi Gong came to finish him off...

The reason for this dangerous situation is still the fault of the Sima family father and son, after all, no one wants to become the second Cheng Ji.

The scenes of chasing Li Yuanji and almost being killed in retaliation were filmed this morning, and this scene is the real final scene.

Chen Xiu dismounted, shook hands with the gathered actors to say goodbye, and then returned to the dressing room to remove his armor and wig.

Just as he arrived at the dressing room, an unexpected person was already waiting there.

"Mr. Chen, hello!"

"Ruoyun, weren't your scenes already finished filming?"

Chen Xiu looked at Zhang Ruoyun with a puzzled expression, wondering why he had returned to the film crew.

Zhang Ruoyun said with an awkward smile, "I came here specifically to see you today."

"Is there a problem?"

"I have officially terminated my contract with my father's company and am currently in contact with Director Yang to discuss signing a new contract."

"You have no problem contacting Yang Ming! He is the director of the artist management department and can represent Datang Pictures to communicate with you."

Looking at Zhang Ruoyun's embarrassed expression, Chen Xiu understood that he wanted to hear some promises from her.

Feeling good about wrapping up filming today, Chen Xiu chuckled and said, "I can only say that the timing of your joining is very suitable. As for the rest, let's talk about it after you sign your agency contract."

"Thank you, thank you, Mr. Chen."

Zhang Ruoyun nodded repeatedly with delight, thinking excitedly to herself: I made the right choice! Finally, I don't have to be sucked dry by the old man anymore!
Chen Xiu nodded slightly, walked past him, and entered the dressing room.

……

That night, the rest of the crew and the director celebrated the wrap-up in the large private room, while Chen Xiu, Gong Yu, and Sun Zhonghuai chatted about other things in the small private room next door.

Looking up at them, Chen Xiu went straight to the point: "Filming for 'The Xuanwu Gate Incident' has wrapped up. What about the project I mentioned to you last time, co-producing 'Joy of Life'? What are your thoughts on that?"

"..."*2
Gong Yu and Sun Zhonghuai exchanged glances, their expressions quite different.

With the launch of kiwifruit, Gong Yu had a strong desire for high-quality projects, and he became even more proactive in responding to Chen Xiu's invitation to cooperate.

"Mr. Chen, if we're going to cooperate, how would we like to proceed?"

"The same approach remains: focus on high-quality products, broadcast simultaneously on television and online platforms, and ideally, distributed in overseas markets."

"I mean, will you be playing an important role in it?"

"will not!"

Chen Xiu looked at Gong Yu with unwavering determination, without any hesitation.

Given this expected outcome, Gong Yu could only nod dejectedly and made no attempt to change it.

"Mr. Chen, let's talk about the investment ratio and production team of 'Joy of Life'!"

Sun Zhonghuai suddenly spoke, his tone carrying a sense of urgency.

Chen Xiu and Gong Yu, noticing something amiss, looked at him with puzzled expressions.

Seeing this, Sun Zhonghuai could only cough awkwardly and say softly, "I have some things to attend to later and need to speak with President Chen privately. Let's get straight to the point." "No problem!"

Gong Yu then took over the conversation and placed the kiwi in a prominent position.

"Let's have iQiyi handle the production team this time. We've collaborated with Daylight Entertainment many times, and their production standards are top-notch in the industry."

"I think the New Classics Media team is more suitable."

Sun Zhonghuai offered a different opinion, recommending New Classics Media, a wholly-owned subsidiary of China Literature, which was itself prepared for adapting novels into films and television series.

China Literature's parent company is Tencent, and Sun Zhonghuai's recommendation of New Classics Media can be considered a form of cooperation within the group.

Gong Yu was naturally unhappy about this and insisted on using the midday sun.

His reasoning was that the previous collaboration between the three companies, "Qin Wang Po Zhen Qu," was a huge hit, so Tencent wanted to leave iQiyi out of the sequel production. Who knows if the same thing will happen again with the collaboration on "Joy of Life"?

Sun Zhonghuai would, of course, say he wouldn't, even if he did.

Seeing the two arguing back and forth, Chen Xiu said directly, "Why don't we determine the scale of the production first, and then determine the script and production team?"

"Okay, whatever Mr. Chen says."

"That's okay with me too."

The advantage of a three-person negotiation is that when two of them disagree, the third person can stop the dispute.

Without considering the production team, the three quickly reached a consensus on the cost, determining that "Joy of Life" would be an S-level production, with a production cost of no less than 500 million per episode.

After discussing the money, the script was handed over to Datang Pictures.

While acknowledging responsibility, Chen Xiu also emphasized her rights in the project: "The main actors in 'Joy of Life' will be artists from my company. Neither of your two companies has artist management, so there shouldn't be any problem with that, right?"

"No problem!"*2
Gong Yu and Sun Zhonghuai said in unison.

They agreed so readily not only to give Chen Xiu face, but more importantly, because the artists that Datang Pictures found were all cheap and good, much more reliable than those artists on the market who quoted wildly high prices!

Just as the three were finalizing the cooperation details, Sun Zhonghuai gave Gong Yu a wink.

Seeing this, Gong Yu also remembered that Sun Zhonghuai had said he wanted to talk to Chen Xiu alone.

"You guys chat first, I'll go keep them company for a bit."

Chen Xiu and Sun Zhonghuai got up to see him off. After Gong Yu left and the door closed, the two looked at each other again.

Seeing Sun Zhonghuai hesitate and remain silent, Chen Xiu smiled and said, "Now that it's just the two of us, just say what you want to say!"

"Mr. Chen, Martin asked me to tell you that Tencent is preparing to suspend resource investment in Weishi."

"For projects that consistently fail to provide positive feedback, cutting losses in time is also a strategic victory."

"Martin would like you to consider our latest requirements."

Sun Zhonghuai awkwardly touched his nose, thinking to himself: As the defeated party, how should I approach making demands of the victorious party without a fight?
Hearing his words, Chen Xiu was not surprised: "What are your requirements? Tell me first."

"We hope to lead Douyin's next round of financing..."

"Is it no longer required to make specific, individual investments?"

"Yes! We should lead the investment."

"I reject."

"Ok?"

Sun Zhonghuai looked up in surprise, staring blankly at Chen Xiu, his expression one of astonishment and surprise.

He thought to himself: "When Tencent initially demanded to become Douyin's second-largest shareholder, I could understand your refusal; during the last negotiation, Tencent requested a private placement in a round of financing, which you also refused; how come you can't even lead the investment now? Doesn't Douyin need to find investors for its financing? Doesn't Tencent's money count as money?"
"Mr. Chen, why?"

"This is the result of our internal meeting. Besides the conditions for leading the investment, does Martin have any other requirements?"

"Um... he hopes Douyin can guarantee that it will not participate in the development of mobile games."

"You can rest assured that we have no plans to enter the mobile game industry in the short term."

Chen Xiu readily agreed to any unimportant conditions.

But this was not the result Sun Zhonghuai wanted... Out of professionalism, after some hesitation, he still tried to negotiate a little.

"Mr. Chen, won't you reconsider Douyin's next round of financing?"

“I will seriously consider it, but Douyin currently has no plans to conduct the next round of financing, so I cannot agree to such a request. If you tell Martin this, he will understand.”

Sun Zhonghuai nodded reluctantly, thinking to himself: Since you're so familiar with my boss, why don't you two chat privately on WeChat? Why use me as a mouthpiece? Is it fun?

The negotiations ended in failure.

When Chen Xiu and Sun Zhonghuai had composed themselves and were heading next door to attend the wrap party, Luo Shikan suddenly came over and delivered some news.

"Boss, there's some really explosive news on Weibo and Douyin."

"what news?"

"..."

Listening to Luo Shikan's whispered message, Chen Xiu's eyes lit up slightly, thinking to herself: I've finally got my chance!

(End of this chapter)