Huayu: Starting from joining the mainstream entertainment industry in 96

Chapter 20: The King of Distribution (Seeking Monthly Tickets)
The noise in the small square continued until nearly 10 p.m. before gradually dissipating.

The grayish-white embers of the burned mosquito coil were scattered in the cracks between the bricks, mixed with crushed cigarette butts and a few pieces of draft paper covered with numbers that had been left behind.

The air still carried the smells of sweat, smoke, and cologne, along with an indescribable, restless hope.

Chen Yu, along with a few girls who had come to help temporarily, were still counting and checking the thick stack of registration lists under the dim streetlights and flashlights.

Their rosy faces showed both fatigue and excitement.

As my fingers traced familiar names, each followed by a number of copies, I could almost hear the arguments about the future within those families and the pulse of their final decisions.

After seeing off the last few veteran employees who held his hands and repeatedly urged him to "make it a success," Wang Sheng's voice was so hoarse that he could barely speak.

"Brother Sheng, have some water to calm down," Chen Liang said, handing over a bottle of soda.

Wang Sheng tilted his head back and took a few gulps; the cool sweetness barely suppressed the burning pain in his throat.

"The preliminary statistics are in," Chen Yu said, walking over with a summary list in hand, her voice trembling with barely suppressed excitement. "President Wang, the number of registered subscriptions... has exceeded 1,100!"

Wang Sheng took the list and quickly glanced at it under the light.

The names are densely packed, followed by numbers, ranging from one to five.

The vast majority of them were families he knew who worked in technical positions and lived in tenement buildings.

Master Zhang from the lighting workshop contributed five shares, Engineer Zhou from the recording workshop contributed three shares, Grandpa Liu from the set design workshop contributed two shares... and even several retired masters like Grandpa Qin, whose children and grandchildren do not live in the factory, also contributed their retirement savings.

This means that, in just one night, more than 2.2 million yuan in cash was theoretically raised!
Of course, after the banks open tomorrow, some people will definitely hesitate or back out, and the actual amount received will definitely be discounted, but this number has already far exceeded Wang Sheng's most optimistic expectations.

This is more than just money; it represents a heavy weight of trust and expectation, almost mortgaging the savings of half of the factory's technical workers' families. This list is more like an invisible net, tightly binding him and Shengying Media together with the most fundamental and largest technical force of Beijing Film Studio.

Starting tomorrow, when Wang Sheng goes to any workshop to borrow something or ask for help, it will no longer be the kind of "request for assistance" that requires him to smile and offer cigarettes; instead, it will become "his own business."

Because they also invested their money in this.

"The registration rate for technical positions is almost over 80%." Chen Yu added with shining eyes, "Many families are planning to withdraw their fixed deposits early... As for management positions, there are also more than a dozen households that have registered, but most of them are just observing and only registered one or two times. I guess they want to test the waters first."

Wang Sheng nodded, not surprised by this.

Those in management positions are better informed, have more concerns, and are more accustomed to observing and calculating.

They may have seen an opportunity, but their long-standing sense of superiority and the distance between them and the frontline technical workers made it difficult for them to make a quick bet like their neighbors in the tenement building.

……

Everyone returned to the office.

Wang Sheng, whose voice had recovered, said a few words: "Priority should be given to ensuring that technical staff purchase the goods. Chen Yu, you should now organize the list according to the registration order and number of copies. When collecting the money tomorrow, be sure to issue receipts and complete the relevant procedures."

"understand!"

Chen Yu nodded.

Wang Sheng then added, "Once the money arrives, we will purchase equipment and expand the training scale. Liangzi, you have become familiar with the training process these past few days. I will write a detailed training plan for you later, and you will be responsible for the subsequent personnel training."

"Yes!"

The group responded with a resounding "yes."

"Alright, you guys go back and rest. I'll stay here with Chen Yu and the others to work out the list."

"..."

……

Boom boom boom!
There was a gentle knock on the slightly ajar office door.

"Please come in."

Wang Sheng, engrossed in writing the training plan, said without looking up.

He assumed it was Chen Yu and the others who had just finished compiling the list and had returned.

These past few days, Chen Yu has been staying at Chen Liang's house, not leaving the factory area, which makes him much safer.

Although the security department was violent, they did a very good job of security, which was one of the reasons why Wang Sheng stayed at the Beijing Film Studio to work.

The office door was pushed open.

A young man, about twenty-five or twenty-six years old, with a rather round face, wearing a slightly dusty gray jacket, walked in.

"Excuse me, is Mr. Wang Sheng here?" The person's voice was gentle, with just the right amount of politeness.

Wang Sheng raised his head and looked at the other person.

He was a complete stranger; he wasn't a child of a factory worker, nor was he any of the workshop employees he knew.

Judging from his demeanor and attire, he seemed like an office worker, yet possessed a composure and experience that surpassed the typical office person who simply sat sipping tea and reading newspapers. "That's me. And you are?"

Wang Sheng stood up, somewhat puzzled.

The young man immediately put on a warm but tactful smile, quickly stepped forward, and extended his hand: "Hello, Mr. Wang, I apologize for bothering you. I am Yu Dong, the deputy head of the distribution department of the factory. I just returned from a business trip and heard about your situation. I went to your house to look for you, but you were not home, so I came to pay my respects."

Yu Dong?

Wang Sheng pondered for a moment.

Take another look at the other person's face.

He does indeed look very similar to Yu Dong, the founder of Bona Film Group, one of the big names in China's private film industry, and known as the "King of Distribution".

Unexpectedly, he was still working at the Beijing Film Studio at this time, holding an important position, and he was so young.

The distribution department was an extremely special and important department in the state-owned film studios in the mid-90s.

During the planned economy era, films were subject to a unified purchase and distribution system. Film studios were only responsible for production, while distribution and screening were handled entirely by China Film Corporation.

However, with the advancement of film system reform, film studios began to be pushed into the market and required to be responsible for their own profits and losses, making distribution capabilities a key factor in determining their survival.

Whoever can sell the films produced by the factory, whoever can turn the copies into money, is the factory's god of wealth.

The people in the distribution department are the "firefighters" and "pioneers" who spend all year running around to theaters, provincial and municipal film companies, negotiating profit sharing, and chasing payments.

They were knowledgeable, well-connected, bold, and quick-witted; they were among the first in the factory to truly engage with and understand the market.

It was also during this period that one of the few departments at Beijing Film Studio was still able to maintain relatively high bonuses and extra income.

Yu Dong, as the youngest deputy section chief in the entire factory, is definitely one of the best.

"Section Chief Yu, hello, hello, I've heard so much about you."

Wang Sheng warmly shook hands with Yu Dong and said respectfully, "Please have a seat. Our conditions here are simple, please don't mind."

"Mr. Wang, you're too kind. Just call me Yu Dong." Yu Dong smiled as he sat down, his gaze quickly and naturally sweeping across the simple yet warmly atmosphere of the office. "I've truly long admired your reputation. As soon as I returned to the factory, I heard about the 'big news' you'd made. Raising two million to contract the Purple House business—that's quite a feat! It's truly admirable!"

His compliments were just right, without sounding insincere.

"Yu Ke... Brother Yu, you flatter me. I was forced to do this, just small-scale work to make a living," Wang Sheng said modestly, but in his mind he was quickly calculating Yu Dong's purpose.

Yu Dong smiled, leaned forward slightly, and lowered his voice, making it sound even more sincere: "President Wang, let's not beat around the bush. I came here today for two reasons: first, I really wanted to get to know you, such an influential figure; second, I also saw the enormous potential of your project."

He paused, then looked at Wang Sheng with bright eyes: "The wedding market, especially the professional, high-value-added video services you've targeted, has a very promising future. Your move is both accurate and ruthless. The Purple House channel is just the beginning. Once the model is established, with the technical expertise of the Beijing Film Studio and your operational capabilities, replicating it nationwide will not be difficult."

Wang Sheng remained calm and said, "Brother Yu, you overestimate me. Right now, it's just theory on paper, and there are still a lot of difficulties ahead."

“Difficulties will always exist, but opportunities wait for no one.” Yu Dong said firmly, then changed the subject: “Mr. Wang, let me be frank. I’d like to invest some money and join your project. I wonder if it’s still possible?”

Wang Sheng thought to himself, "Just as I expected," and put on a perfectly feigned look of embarrassment: "Brother Yu, as you can see, the fundraising just finished, and the shares have basically all been taken by the factory's employees, young and old..."

“I understand.” Yu Dong indicated his understanding, then took a bulging brown paper envelope from his briefcase and gently placed it on the table, his tone sincere: “Here is 100,000 yuan in cash. I know the rules, 2000 yuan per share. I don’t want more, just this price. Do you think you could give me 50 shares of the profit-sharing rights?”

100,000 in cash!

Wang Sheng's eyelid twitched.

“Brother Yu, this…” Wang Sheng looked at the envelope, not touching it immediately, and pondered, “The quota is indeed very tight…”

“President Wang,” Yu Dong interrupted him, her smile unchanged, but with a hint of shrewdness and confidence in her eyes: “Rules are rules, but people are flexible. Although I am in a management position, I am also a formal employee of Beijing Film Studio and meet the subscription requirements. As for the share… I believe that some families will change their minds at the last minute, or have limited subscription capacity.”

He paused, then offered his real bargaining chip: "Moreover, I think my investment might bring more than just this 100,000 yuan. The distribution department is always on the go, and they have connections in cinemas and cultural and publicity systems across the country. If you want to expand your 'wedding movie' model beyond Beijing to other major cities in the future, perhaps... I can provide some unexpected conveniences? That's much more valuable than just money, don't you think?"

Although the film market was sluggish at the time, the distribution sector held the power of life and death over whether a film could be released, in which theaters it could be shown, and how many screenings it would receive.

People in the distribution department need to frequently interact with film companies, cinema managers, and cultural and publicity staff who manage screening units in various regions.

Favors, kickbacks, channel fees... all sorts of gray income are emerging one after another.

As a deputy section chief, Yu Dong was young, promising, and quick-witted. In this position, he naturally accumulated a deep network of connections. This is an important reason why he was later able to found Bona Film Group and, after marrying the daughter of the CEO of Jinling Film Company, quickly gained a foothold in the Chinese film industry by leveraging his wife's family connections.

Wang Sheng looked into Yu Dong's confident and insightful eyes and suddenly smiled.

He reached out, not to take the envelope, but to grasp Yu Dong's hand again.

"Brother Yu, what you said really resonates with me. Shengying Media needs the support of visionary and resourceful colleagues like you to develop. I've decided to reserve 50 profit-sharing rights for you. I'll have Chen Yu add your name to the list tomorrow!"

Yu Dong's face instantly lit up with a smile, and he gripped the hand tightly: "Great job, Mr. Wang! Working with you will definitely lead to a bright future!"

　Wow! No wonder my book's collection count nearly doubled today! Turns out, it's because a flight attendant recommended it! Thank you, flight attendant, you're awesome! Please give me some recommendation votes! And if you have any monthly tickets, please save them for me too. This book is still going through the contract signing process, and paper contracts are such a hassle.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)