HuaYu: A Great Director Starting with Dream of the Red Chamber

"Hey, no!"

Li Yan quickly grabbed her hand.

It has to be said that this young lady's attitude of regarding money as dirt is both endearing and lovable.

If it were someone with a darker heart, she could have swindled them out of even their underwear.

"What's wrong?" Jing Tian asked, puzzled.

"You have the money to film it? Didn't you spend all your money on the bonus? No problem, I'll talk to him!"

Li Yan took her phone and placed it on the table, then said with a sense of relief:

"Contacting General Manager Lu now is a last resort."

Why?

"Think about it, even if he gives you the money now, it's only because of you, right?"

"Then who's in charge of the production crew? It'll definitely be the people he sends. Just like you were on 'The Great Biography of Sun Tzu,' not only did you have nowhere to complain, but you were also worried about making them pay you money..."

Upon hearing this, Jing Tian immediately felt a deep sense of empathy and nodded frantically.

"That's so true! That production manager is such a pain. He's always interfering in everything, which puts a lot of pressure on me and makes me incredibly anxious!"

Li Yan then continued:

"So, we need to change the game. I'm asking you, do you have any secret savings?"

"Yes, I haven't spent much of my New Year's money from childhood, or my acting fees."

"Approximately how many?"

Jing Tian honestly counted on her fingers:

"Let me think... it's probably around four or five million, I haven't calculated it in detail."

"Cough cough cough..."

Na Zha, who had just picked up a piece of duck neck to eat, dropped it on the ground because her hand trembled. Da Ju, who had been watching her for a while, suddenly darted out, grabbed the duck neck, and ran away.

Four or five million...hidden savings?!

She touched the card that had just received her two thousand yuan living allowance and felt like she had been hit with a critical strike.

Li Yan was also taken aback. Goodness, Jing Tian, ​​this little rich girl, is really well-off.

These days, five million yuan can buy several apartments in Beijing...

Stay calm, we can't let our image crumble. After all, we're Hollywood directors who've seen it all!

He nodded calmly.

"Okay, that's enough! Five million, plus mine, is enough to prop up this market. This time, we'll be the dealer."

"Be the dealer?" Naza listened intently, even forgetting to continue gnawing on his duck neck.

Li Yan drew a circle on the stone table with a fork and began to explain to these two novices the "harvesting" techniques of the film and television industry:

Do you know how the money for a movie is made?

Jing Tian blinked: "Isn't it just spending money to make the film, then releasing it in theaters, selling tickets, and splitting the profits?"

"Wrong! Utterly wrong!"

Li Yan stretched out his finger and shook it:

"Take our show for example. I estimate that the actual filming cost, if kept to a minimum, would be around ten million. That's the production cost."

"As the ones who organize this, we can start by using five million to set up the production team, such as casting an award-winning actor as the male lead."

Jing Tian nodded: "And then?"

"Then, we can take this half-finished product to the investor, who is your Uncle Lu."

"At this point, we can't report our costs as ten million; we have to report fifteen million, or even twenty million. This extra money is our premium, or our service fee."

Jing Tian's eyes widened: "You've already earned five million before even filming?"

"This is just the beginning!"

Li Yan shook the palm-leaf fan in his hand and drew an even larger circle:

"When Mr. Lu got this 20 million project, he was the 'first producer.' To share the risk, he would go to the 'co-producers.'"

"At this point, a project originally valued at 20 million could be inflated to 30 million, or even 50 million, through resources such as marketing and distribution, and theater rights!"

"Then it's cut into several pieces, sold at a premium of 100 million yuan to other coal bosses, real estate developers, or other companies that want to make a name for themselves in this circle."

"By the time we get to this point, our movie might not even have started filming yet, while the big bosses have already recouped their costs and are even making a profit."

"As for whether the movie does well at the box office or becomes a big hit, does that matter? That's for those who bought in at the bottom and retail investors in the secondary market to worry about!"

"Of course, if the box office is a huge hit, we, as the bookmakers with original shares, will make even more money!"

Naza was completely dumbfounded, feeling like his brain was overloaded.

So, when you make movies, you don't make money from the box office, you make money from the investors?

Jing Tian was also stunned. Although it was a bit convoluted, she still understood some of it:

"So...you mean, the earlier you get in, the more you earn?"

"Bingo!"

Li Yan snapped his fingers and gave her a gratified look:

"If you go to Boss Lu and ask him to invest the full amount, then you're just a little girl asking for pocket money. I'm just a director who does the work, so we still have to be mindful of his feelings."

"But if we invest this five million first, and once we've got the business up and running, we can go find Boss Lu and have him be the first to take over. We can sell him a share at a premium, and that'll make him rich!"

"That way, your five million investment will immediately become ten million. Not only will you get your film salary, but you'll also make a quick buck from Director Lu, without stopping him from making money!"

"To put it simply, we're exploiting Boss Lu, while Boss Lu is exploiting others!"

"puff……"

Jing Tian almost spat out the iced cola she had just drunk.

Make money off Uncle Lu? Harvest Uncle Lu's韭菜 (a metaphor for exploiting others)?

This idea... is absolutely thrilling!

She used to spend Uncle Lu's money, and Uncle Lu was happy to do so, but he always felt that it was money from an elder to a younger person, and people would always complain about it.

If she could even help him make money, wouldn't that mean she's grown up? That she can stand on her own? That she's a strong woman?

"Will...will this work?" Jing Tian was tempted, but still hesitated. "Uncle Lu is so shrewd, would we really take advantage of him?"

"Why not?" Li Yan asked, his face full of righteous indignation.

"This is legitimate business practice! Besides, Mr. Lu was looking for projects to promote you, but look at the junk he's chosen! You've wasted money, suffered a lot, and ruined your reputation."

"We provided him with such a great script and such a great team, and we even made him famous! It's only natural that we charge him a premium!"

"This is a win-win situation, isn't it?!"

Jing Tian was completely fooled by Li Yan, feeling as if she had transformed into the Wolf of Wall Street, her blood boiling with excitement.

"Let's do it!"

She slammed her hand on the stone table, her heroic spirit soaring to the heavens:

"I'll go back and raise the money! Five million, and if that's not enough, I'll sell a few more bags! It's all yours!"

"I want to be the dealer! I want to profit... cough, I want to make Uncle Lu rich too! I want him to know that I, Jing Tian, ​​am also a business genius!"

Startled by the shout, the orange cat meowed, glanced at the few neurotic humans, and, with the stolen duck neck in its mouth, darted up the wall in a few quick movements.

Li Yan clapped his hands with a smile: "President Jing is so generous!"

"Also, it's best to wait until we're almost done with preparations before you talk to Mr. Lu."

"I get it! It's like holding the emperor hostage to command the feudal lords! No, it's about waiting for the right price!" Jing Tian thought he was very cultured.

She didn't even bother eating anymore, pulled out a wet wipe, hastily wiped her hands, and excitedly stood up:

"I'm off, I'm going back to get the card now! I'll transfer the money to you tomorrow! Li Yan, you better do a good job, I believe in you!"

After saying that, she picked up her bag and stepped out of the courtyard gate in a few steps, forgetting to say "goodbye".

It wasn't until Jing Tian had been gone for quite some time that Nazha swallowed hard, glanced weakly at Li Yan who was about to lie back in the rattan chair, and whispered:

"Director, were you... just trying to fool Sister Tian Tian?"

Although she didn't quite understand the convoluted conversation, her woman's intuition told her that the naive and wealthy older sister seemed to have fallen into a trap.

Li Yan turned around and shook his head confidently:

"Nonsense! How can you call it fooling around when it's about the director?"

"If I don't do this, her five million is just sitting there, maybe she can buy a few bags at most! If she votes for me, this time next year, I'll give her a Best Supporting Actress nomination, plus a few million in bonuses."

"Once that unreliable Lu Zheng puts a label on her as 'the unpromotable Da Tian Tian,' who knows when she'll be able to turn things around."

He thought for a moment, then said to Naza very seriously:

"Don't you think I would actually cheat her out of money?! I just want to make money honestly and help her along the way."

Naza nodded as if he understood, blinked, thought for a long time, and then suddenly asked:

"Then... can I invest my savings in you later? I also want to help others get rich."

Li Yan chuckled and reached out to pinch her smooth cheek:

"You, wait until you've mastered reciting tongue twisters before you talk to me about these multi-million dollar deals!"