The Rise of Chinese Entertainment in 2008

Inside a private room at an upscale club, the obese Shen Tianbao exhaled from his cigar and said, "Do you think what Liu Sanxi said is reliable?"

"It smells awful, why do you have to smoke this foreign stuff?" Peng Hui fanned himself with his hand, looking disgusted.

"What do you know? This is called taste."

Shen Tianbao took a deep drag of his cigarette and exhaled a puff of smoke with a blissful expression.

"You..." Peng Hui's face turned ugly.

"alright!"

Xiang Bai smoothed things over, saying, "It's only a few million at most. With Sanxi as guarantor, what's there to worry about?"

Peng Hui's expression softened upon hearing this, and he glanced at Shen Tianbao: "That's true. Some people are always talking about taste. After spending a few years abroad, they forget who they are and still act like petty people."

"Bang!"

Shen Tianbao kicked the coffee table in front of him, sat up straight, pointed at Peng Hui, and shouted, "Hey Peng, who are you calling petty in such a sarcastic way?"

"So what's wrong with you?" Peng Hui retorted without backing down.

"court death!"

Shen Tianbao stood up angrily, and Peng Hui also stood up.

"Give me some face!" Xiang Bai stepped between the two.

"Old Xiang, it's not that I'm disrespecting you, but listen to what he said!"

Shen Tianbao sneered, "Is it wrong for me to ask?"

"What's wrong?"

Just then, Liu Sanxi pushed open the door and walked in with Gu Ning. He was stunned when he saw the tense scene before him.

"Fatty Shen, what are you doing here?"

Shen Tianbao's face darkened upon hearing this: "Liu Sanxi, your mouth is still as foul as ever after all these years!"

"Haha, you haven't changed at all in years, still as fat as ever!"

Liu Sanxi laughed and looked at Xiang Bai and Peng Hui, guessing what had happened. He said, "Xiang Bai, why are you stopping them? Let them fight."

"How about we go outside first and wait for you guys to finish?"

"snort!"

Shen Tianbao and Peng Hui snorted and sat down.

Xiang Bai said irritably, "Stop stirring things up. Is this the genius director you were talking about?"

Liu Sanxi called him, saying that a talented director's film needed investment and asked if he was interested.

"Ha ha…"

Shen Tianbao laughed and said, "He doesn't look even twenty years old, but he's quite good-looking. Could he be your kept man?"

"Fatty Shen, if you don't want to vote, you can get lost!" Liu Sanxi's smile vanished upon hearing this.

"Hehe, then I won't keep you company. A few million may not be much, but I can spend it on a few girls and have some fun."

Shen Tianbao got up, stubbed out his cigar in the ashtray, and left.

Liu Sanxi didn't try to stop him, coldly watching him leave, then smiled and pointed to Gu Ning, introducing him: "Gu Ning, my classmate. Don't let his youth fool you, he recently directed a short film, and Director Tian from the Directing Department of Beijing Film Academy praised him highly, saying he has the potential to be a great director."

He personally contacted the Berlin Film Festival jury and submitted his short film for consideration.

Upon hearing Liu Sanxi's introduction, the disdain in Xiang Bai and Peng Hui's eyes lessened somewhat.

They invest in the film and television industry and have some knowledge of some big names in the industry.

Tian Zhuangzhuang may not be as famous as Zhang Yimou or Chen Dashi, but her status in the film industry is quite high.

The fact that he praised her proves that Gu Ning's abilities are up to par.

"Don't let Gu Ning's background in photography fool you. You know Ning Hao, the guy who shot the stone before? He also studied photography, but his short films weren't even good enough to be shown at international film festivals. He won an award at a small domestic film festival, and his first film was a huge success."

Liu Sanxi said, "My brother is much more capable than Ning Hao."

Gu Ning blushed slightly upon hearing this.

"Since Director Gu is praised by Director Tian and you are willing to vouch for him, then I'll vote."

Xiang Bai said, "Tell me, how much do you need?"

"The total investment is ten million, but you are each allowed to invest a maximum of two million, each holding fifteen percent," Liu Sanxi said.

"That doesn't seem right?"

Peng Hui frowned and said, "If ten million is invested and two million is invested, shouldn't that account for 20%?"

"Gu Ning provided the script and is also the director; these costs need to be factored into the investment. We can't expect him to work for us for free, can we?"

Liu Sanxi said impatiently, "There are plenty of people who want to invest. If you hadn't kept asking me, and Gu Ning and I are buddies, you wouldn't even have a chance."

After some hesitation, Xiang Bai and Peng Hui finally agreed.

Gu Ning: "..."

He knew these coal bosses were generous, but he didn't expect them to be this generous.

Liu Sanxi simply mentioned it, and the two agreed to each invest two million without even reading the script.

Thinking of the guarantee Xiang Bai had mentioned earlier, Gu Ning looked at Liu Sanxi.

Liu Sanxi didn't mention this when he came.

The fact that the two agreed so readily, almost hastily, was clearly because of Liu Sanxi's guarantee.

Liu Sanxi gave Gu Ning a look, signaling him to be quiet.

"Okay, it's settled then."

Liu Sanxi said, "Now that we've finished talking business, let's have some fun. It's my treat today."

"You'll definitely be the host when you organize a party."

Without any hesitation, Peng Hui called in the waiter, ordered some wine and snacks, and then said, "Call all the prettiest girls here."

"Gentlemen, please wait a moment."

The waiter smiled, agreed, and left.

"Gu Ning, come and sit down!"

Liu Sanxi gestured for Gu Ning to sit down and whispered, "Relax a bit in a bit."

Gu Ning was speechless. Did they really think he was a novice? It wasn't like he hadn't participated in these kinds of situations before.

"Director Gu, if you ever need money for the film, just ask. We may not have much else, but we have plenty of money." Peng Hui patted Gu Ning on the shoulder casually.

"With Mr. Peng's support, there will definitely be opportunities for cooperation in the future."

Gu Ning smiled and responded, but didn't take it seriously.

If his movie flops, there will be no possibility of further cooperation.

A short while later, the waiter brought over the drinks and snacks we ordered, and then a group of girls dressed in flamboyant attire walked in.

"Hello, bosses."

These women looked to be as young as eighteen or nineteen, and the oldest was no more than twenty-five.

Their outfits were all unique and varied in style.

She looks and has a good figure.

Xiang Bai and Peng Hui looked at Liu Sanxi, who waved his hand and said, "You two choose first."

"Then we won't stand on ceremony."

The two of them each chose two.

"Old Gu, it's your choice."

"You go first."

Upon hearing this, Liu Sanxi simply picked out two for Gu Ning.

"Hello, handsome."

Two women approached Gu Ning and sat down on either side of him, smiling as they said, "Handsome, my name is Yuanyuan, and this is Qingning."

"Yuanyuan?"

Gu Ning put her arms around the two of them and smiled, "We'll have to try to see if it's round or not."

"Why don't you give it a try, handsome?"

Yuanyuan moved Gu Ning's hand, which was around her waist, upwards, and Gu Ning gave it a squeeze without any hesitation.

…………

Two hours later, the party ended, and Xiang Bai and Peng Hui, who were drunk, stayed at the club.

Gu Ning and Liu Sanxi were still somewhat sober. He pulled Liu Sanxi into a taxi and left.

"Great job, Lao Gu. I was worried you wouldn't be able to relax. Looks like you go there quite often." Liu Sanxi said, rubbing his head.

"It was just a charade."

Gu Ning shook her head and asked, "What did you vouch for for them?"

"You don't think I'm guaranteeing their movie will be released without losing money, do you?"

Liu Sanxi laughed and said, "If that's really the case, I might as well just vote myself. What's the point of vouching for them? If I were to vouch for them like that, do you believe I wouldn't vote for a single penny?"

Gu Ning thought about it carefully and realized that it made sense. If someone told him that he could make a profit without any risk, he wouldn't believe it either.

"For them, making or losing money is one thing, what they fear most is being scammed. That Peng Hui, he invested in a TV series before, and as soon as the money was transferred, the investor disappeared."

Liu Sanxi laughed and said, "I guarantee they will be able to release the movie, otherwise I will compensate them for their investment. Whether they make a profit or a loss is none of my business."

"Don't worry, we definitely won't lose money," Gu Ning said confidently.