Entertainment: A whirlwind marriage with a fairy-like mother at the start!

As soon as the car came to a stop downstairs at the Salted Fish Entertainment building, Yu Le hurriedly pushed open the car door.

Since we've decided to film "You Are the Apple of My Eye," we need to act swiftly.

Now that SARS is coming to an end, it is a time when various capital groups are still observing and the market is in a slump.

Entering the market at this time is a typical "bottom fishing" strategy, which not only has a low cost but also allows you to secure a good position.

Upon entering the office, Yu Le plopped down in the boss's chair, spun around, and slapped his hand on the desk.

"Director Liu, give me a number!"

Liu Xiaoli slowly pulled a thick financial ledger from the cabinet, without even glancing at it twice.

"What's the rush? Money isn't going to grow wings and fly away."

She opened the ledger, found the latest page, and pushed it in front of Yu Le.

"Here they are."

Yu Le craned his neck, his gaze sweeping over the densely packed numbers, finally settling on the bolded total in the lower right corner.

Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands...

Five million three hundred and eighty thousand.

Yu Le slumped back in his chair, let out a long sigh, and looked like a deflated balloon.

"We're so poor, we can't even afford to eat."

Liu Xiaoli's hand trembled as she was pouring water, and she almost spilled it.

She put down the kettle, walked over, and reached out to touch Yu Le's forehead, looking at him like he was an idiot.

"It wasn't burned." Liu Xiaoli looked at her like she was crazy. "Over five million! In this day and age, you call that poor? Do you know how many small business owners can't even come up with five hundred thousand?"

"You don't understand." Yu Le waved his hand, looking distressed. "This little bit of money isn't even enough to make a youth film."

"You want to make a movie?" Liu Xiaoli didn't seem to have any intention of questioning Yu Le and accepted Yu Le's decision as a matter of course.

She pulled out a chair and sat down, tapping her finger on the ledger. "Our company looks lively, but the bulk of the profits are hidden behind the scenes. Ringtone payments are split quarterly, and copyright fees are paid in installments. Right now, the only ones that are truly in our pockets are the revenue sharing from Xixi's album and Hu Yanbing's 'Double Side'."

Yu Le scratched his head; he was balding.

This is the pain of not having cash flow.

All I see are accounts receivable, all numbers, but I can't pull out a few coins from my pocket.

"Five million..." Yu Le stroked his chin, his brain racing. "That's more than enough to make a youth film like 'You Are the Apple of My Eye.' No special effects, no big scenes, just a few school uniforms, one school is enough."

"That settles it then?" Liu Xiaoli rolled her eyes at him. "Then why are you complaining about being poor?"

"Publicity, my dear CFO!" Yu Le sat up straight, tapping his fingers on the table. "Even the best wine needs advertising. We're aiming for theatrical releases and competing with those big directors! Without money for publicity, we won't get enough screenings, and even the best film will just be self-indulgent."

Liu Xiaoli fell silent.

Although she didn't understand film promotion, she knew it was a bottomless pit.

"What should we do then?" Liu Xiaoli closed the ledger. "How about... we mortgage that large apartment?"

Yu Le paused for a moment, then laughed.

He reached out and pinched Liu Xiaoli's cheek; it felt smooth to the touch.

"What are you thinking? That's our home, but you bought it. I won't move it even if the sky falls."

He stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the gray sky outside.

"Looks like I'll have to dig into my secret stash."

Yu Le snapped his fingers, turned around, and went out.

……

Securities brokerage office outside Chaoyangmen.

Although the shadow of SARS has not completely dissipated, for gamblers, as long as the earth doesn't explode, the stock market will continue to be speculated on.

The hall was still bustling with noise, and red and green numbers jumped on the electronic screen, reflecting faces that were either ecstatic or desperate.

Yu Le stepped into the VIP room and immediately closed the door behind him.

The frenzied atmosphere of sweat, nicotine, and cheap takeout in the lobby outside was instantly shut out.

He found an empty computer, sat down, and skillfully entered his account number and password.

The screen lit up, casting a pale blue light on his face.

A row of familiar stock codes were flashing, with the most eye-catching one, SINA, standing out bright red and showing a promising upward trend.

During the SARS outbreak, people across the country were confined to their homes, and their only form of entertainment was the internet.

As a portal website giant at the time, Sina's traffic and stock price soared to new heights.

The money Yu Le invested back then has already multiplied several times over.

"Tsk."

Yu Le smacked his lips and tapped his finger on the mouse.

Now that SARS is almost over, the benefits from this wave are almost gone, and there's no point in keeping it any longer.

It's time to reap the rewards.

Without the slightest hesitation, he directly selected Sina's stock, filled the quantity column, and then slammed down the red "Sell" button.

"Confirm sale?"

A pop-up window appeared.

"confirm."

With another tap, the holdings on the screen were instantly cleared to zero.

A string of numbers representing the cash balance was displayed.

Six million eight hundred thousand.

Adding the five million or so in the company's accounts, that's about twelve million, which is about right.

Money is not everything, but no money is absolutely impossible.

Especially in the bottomless pit of money that is the movie industry.

"Done."

Yu Le stretched, exited the trading software, slumped into the boss's chair, propped his feet up on the table, and began to think about his next move.

He had the money, and the script was in his head.

Now, everything is ready, except for one tool... no, I mean, a director.

Making "You Are the Apple of My Eye" doesn't require any internationally renowned directors.

We can't afford to hire a director of that caliber, nor can we afford to serve him.

They're all so arrogant; you talk to them about the market, and they talk to you about art.

You talk to him about box office success, he talks to you about sentimentality.

What Yu Le needs is a talented, energetic, and most importantly... cheap and obedient young director.

A "hand" that can precisely execute his ideas.

His mind began to sift through the names of those brilliant directors from later generations.

Ning Hao.

The name flashed through Yu Le's mind and then lingered there.

Ning Hao hasn't yet made "Crazy Stone," the film that made him famous in the industry, let alone the later blockbusters that grossed billions at the box office.

At this time, he should still be a senior student in the Cinematography Department of Beijing Film Academy. As Liu Qianqian's senior, he is probably still overwhelmed with his graduation project, "Incense".

Talented, ambitious, and most importantly—cheap.

She's practically the perfect tool.