The Rise of Chinese Entertainment in 2008

"Where is this place?"

Gu Ning looked around, somewhat puzzled.

You'll find out soon enough.

Liu Sanxi smiled mysteriously and said, "Get out of the car first."

Gu Ning got out of the car with Liu Sanxi, still puzzled. A middle-aged man in a suit greeted them with a smile.

Liu Sanxi stepped forward and exchanged a few words with him, after which the middle-aged man smiled and led the two inside.

"Please get in the car, both of you."

After entering, there were several sightseeing vehicles parked on the left side of the entrance. The middle-aged man invited the two of them to get into one of them, gave the driver some instructions, and then the driver started the car.

The interior of this antique-style building complex resembles a residential community, with many quaint courtyards scattered haphazardly.

The landscaping inside is excellent, but the streetlights along the way are very dim.

A few minutes later, the sightseeing bus stopped in front of a small courtyard. The middle-aged man stepped forward, opened the door, and invited the two inside.

The courtyard was brightly lit, and although it looked to be over 100 square meters, the overall layout really resembled an ancient courtyard.

At the end of the courtyard is a row of houses. Entering the main hall, there is a screen with a pine and crane symbolizing longevity standing at the entrance.

Only after going around the screen can you see the scenery inside. In the center is an eight-immortal table, with a grand master's chair on each side at the head of the table, and a tea table in the middle.

All the furniture in the hall is in the style of the Ming and Qing dynasties, with exquisitely carved patterns.

"Serve the dishes as I instructed before."

"OK."

The middle-aged man smiled and said, "The tea master and dancer will be here shortly. Please, gentlemen, enjoy your tea and the dance."

After saying this, he bowed slightly and turned to leave.

"Is this a place to eat?" Gu Ning asked in surprise.

"What else did you think?"

Liu Sanxi laughed and said, "I haven't been to this place many times. I used to come with my dad. This time, I stole his gold card."

"This is truly an eye-opener. I never even knew there was such a place in the capital."

Gu Ning looked around; he had never known such a place existed in the capital in his previous life.

"Come with me."

There were two rooms on each side of the hall. Liu Sanxi called out and led Gu Ning into the room on the left.

The room was quite spacious, with only a tatami mat against the wall near the door, a low table on it, and a futon on each side.

"Please sit down."

Liu Sanxi changed into slippers at the door, got onto the tatami mat, and sat down on one of the futons.

Gu Ning followed suit and sat down opposite him.

"Sizzle~"

Just as Gu Ning was about to speak, a gentle female voice suddenly came from the doorway: "Distinguished guest, is it convenient for us to come in now?"

Liu Sanxi replied, "Come in."

The room door was pushed open, and a woman in her thirties led four girls who looked to be eighteen or nineteen years old into the room.

Importantly, all five were dressed in ancient costumes, while the young woman's clothing was relatively normal.

The girls were all wearing strapless ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) with a layer of gauze over them, their graceful figures appearing and disappearing in the air.

"Greetings, gentlemen."

The young woman, leading four girls, performed a curtsy.

"Just follow the normal procedures," Liu Sanxi said, waving his hand.

"yes!"

The young woman immediately began preparing with the four girls.

Soon, classical music filled the room, and the four girls danced gracefully to the music.

The young woman lit a plate of sandalwood incense and smiled, "What would you gentlemen like some tea?"

"Black tea, please," Liu Sanxi said.

Upon hearing this, the young woman bowed and withdrew to make tea.

"You're so engrossed in watching, could it be that you've fallen for someone?"

Seeing that Gu Ning was staring intently at the four dancing girls, Liu Sanxi leaned closer and said with a smile, "Apart from the tea master, you can talk to any of these four girls you like privately. As long as they agree, you can take them with you."

Gu Ning snapped out of her daze and asked, "When you say 'agree,' do you mean money?"

"Anything is fine with them, as long as they're willing."

Liu Sanxi whispered, "They are all models from Moko. If there is a need for models or some film and television resources, it would be easy to take them away."

"No wonder." Gu Ning nodded in realization when he heard Misora.

"What did you say?" Liu Sanxi didn't hear clearly.

"It's nothing."

Gu Ning shook her head and began to enjoy the dance again.

When the music ended, the four women bowed in greeting.

"Come over and talk to us," Liu Sanxi beckoned.

The four women came over upon hearing this.

"You choose first," Liu Sanxi said.

Gu Ning didn't stand on ceremony and pointed to one of the tall girls.

The four of them danced together, and they were all about the same height, but the one Gu Ning chose was slightly taller than the other three.

"Hello sir, my name is Naza."

The girl greeted Gu Ning with a smile and a somewhat reserved expression.

"sit."

Gu Ning smiled.

The reason he was staring at it was because he recognized one of them, Naza.

Judging by her age, Nazar was probably not even seventeen at this time, which is quite different from her later demeanor.

Therefore, Gu Ning was not sure at first, until Liu Sanxi said that they were all models from Moko, then he was certain.

Naza started out as a model for Moko before being spotted and signed by Sugarman.

Upon hearing this, Nazha sat down next to Gu Ning.

"How old are you?" Gu Ning asked.

Na Zha looked somewhat awkward as he said, "I just turned eighteen last year."

"It doesn't look quite like it," Gu Ning said with a smile.

"My face is youthful, so I look younger," Naza quickly explained.

"That's an enviable talent."

Gu Ning smiled but didn't expose her. Instead, she asked, "Have you ever thought about becoming an actor?"

"To be an actor?" Naza looked at Gu Ning with some suspicion upon hearing this.

"It's about becoming a celebrity."

Gu Ning said, "I own an entertainment company, and I think you have a good appearance, so I'd like to sign you."

Artist management is still very lucrative. Many film and television companies don't do artist management because it's difficult to make an artist famous.

There's a saying in the industry: minor fame comes from promotion, major fame comes from fate.

While not entirely accurate, this statement is close enough.

It's common for artists and their companies to end up in court over contract disputes.

The root cause is that the agency promotes a bunch of artists, but only one becomes a big star. The company relies on that artist for most of its profits, so they are reluctant to let him go.

But for Gu Ning, this was nothing.

According to his plan, once he has money, he will acquire a large number of popular film and television copyrights.

These copyrights are certainly difficult for his company to develop on its own. If other companies come to him, he can participate by combining copyrights with investment.

The company will sign some more artists, and arrangements will be made according to the conditions at that time.

Unlike other companies that need to incur trial and error costs, he knows who will become popular, signs them in advance, and with sufficient resources, doesn't need to spend much money.

As for the possibility of terminating the contract in the future, Gu Ning was quite indifferent to it.

Newcomers and relatively unknown artists initially sign long-term contracts.

A ten- or eight-year contract would be enough to bring him substantial profits.

His original plan was that the era of internet traffic was still several years away, so he would first make money and stockpile scripts, and then sign some artists in a few years.

Although Naza was only considered a near-top-tier player at his peak, he had no reason to give up now that he had encountered him.

The other three women looked at Nazha with some jealousy after hearing Gu Ning's words.

Those who can get here must be quite attractive; among models, their income is considered pretty good.

They come here hoping to be noticed by a wealthy person and then use that person's resources to enter the entertainment industry.

Although Moko is jokingly referred to as an escort service, it still operates on the principle of mutual consent; otherwise, it wouldn't have been able to continue existing.

This is what Liu Sanxi said before, that they could take them away as long as they wanted.

"I need to think about it."

Naza becoming a model was just an accident; she came here to get better opportunities and earn more money.

However, she did not intend to remain a model forever; her plan was to audition for a performing arts troupe.

The main reason was that Gu Ning was too young, which made her somewhat unable to believe it.