I'm really good at this.

Zhang Hong had a dream that night.

He dreamed that Lin Muqing invited him to her birthday party.

He went.

But at the banquet, he was looked down upon by everyone, even though he was not the king of soldiers, god of war, or immortal doctor who had returned to the city.

So he failed to show off and embarrass himself, and instead slunk away like a dog amidst the laughter of the crowd.

Then, the dream ended.

After silently finishing a cigarette, he hummed "Young and Promising" as he got dressed and washed up.

Then he quietly opened the door, quickly slipped downstairs, and rode his beloved magenta scooter towards the Second Hospital.

Upon arriving at the hospital, he met Director Sun Zheng, who had been transferred out of the ICU, in ward 404.

The bald, handsome old man was making the nurse who was giving him an injection in the back of his hand laugh.

When he saw Zhang Hong arrive, he simply nodded.

After the nurse finished giving him the injection and ran away with a red face, he winked at Zhang Hong and said, "Xiao Zhang, you also think the nurses at this hospital are pretty good, right? Let me tell you, the requirements for nurses at this top-tier hospital are that they must be young women with a bachelor's degree from a 211 university or above, and they must be at least 1.65 meters tall. There are quite a few pretty ones among them."

Zhang Hong rolled his eyes: "Director Sun, when are you going to get out of bed? I still have a lot of things to do that I need you to do."

Sun Zheng suddenly felt bored: "So you're planning to become a capitalist and exploit your employees now?"

After Zhang Hong helped raise the backrest a little, Sun Zheng nodded in satisfaction and continued:

"You mean what happened yesterday? I've heard them talk about it." He picked at his ear. "So what if they're withdrawing their investment? Just treat it as practice for fun. And just call me Uncle Sun, there's no need for us to be so formal."

Five million was nothing to him; he really didn't care much.

As long as he can cultivate Zhang Hong, a successor he is particularly satisfied with, then the five million will be well spent.

"Alright, Uncle Sun. What I want to talk to you about now is the TV series." Zhang Hong took out the script and handed it over. "Uncle Sun, did you write this script?"

"No." Sun Zheng casually put the script aside and started peeling a banana. "Didn't you write this script yourself? How could you have forgotten about it?"

Zhang Hong: "..."

So this terrible script was written by my past self?

That's it?

And he's a top student at the film academy?

Could it be that the female teacher who admitted him was attracted to his good looks?

Seeing Zhang Hong staring at him, he took out another banana from the bedside table: "Want one?"

"No need, thank you." Zhang Hong waved his hand before saying, "Uncle Sun, do you think I did something wrong by talking back to that pretty boy?"

"No, not at all." Sun Zheng slowly ate his banana. "But I'm really curious to know what your thoughts are. You know, Jimei Culture is one of the strongest in the industry. I was quite surprised when they said they wanted to invest in your film."

"I don't really have any particular thoughts. After all, you have to be strong yourself to succeed." After a pause, Zhang Hongcai said, "I just feel that those who are in a superior position should treat others as human beings. Those who are in a subordinate position should treat themselves as human beings. If you don't even treat yourself as a human being, how can you expect others to treat you as one?"

This has always been his way of doing things.

However, he was lucky. His colleagues, superiors, and bosses in his previous company were all good people, and after all, everyone valued ability more.

You need to be strong yourself to succeed. If you have the ability, then being a little arrogant won't be a big deal to others.

But if you're not good enough but still act arrogantly, that's called bluffing.

In Zhang Hong's view, many popular celebrities in the entertainment industry are just bluffing.

Why are you acting like a diva? Why are you so arrogant?

Because they know they are rootless and adrift, they will do this in order to demonstrate their strength.

On the contrary, the truly powerful industry leaders all seem approachable.

Since everyone knows their status, they don't need to use this method to promote their position.

Sun Zheng gave a thumbs up: "As expected of you, you're always so outstanding. That's why I knew you were no ordinary person the moment I saw you."

“…” Zhang Hong rolled his eyes. “Uncle Sun, to be honest, with that five million, I’m afraid we can’t even make a sixty-episode TV series.”

Although he was an outsider, he knew about these kinds of things.

Even if all the actors were extras, five million wouldn't be enough to produce a sixty-episode TV series.

Moreover, it's a period drama, so the requirements for props and sets are quite high.

Five million is definitely not enough.

Unless Zhang Hong is planning to produce some kind of unconventional period drama.

But he already disliked those poorly made TV dramas, so if he were to do it himself, he definitely wouldn't plan to do that.

Sun Zheng smiled and said, "Since you put it that way, you must already have some ideas. Tell me about them."

Anyway, he's already invested all five million.

Although it was a considerable amount of money, it wasn't enough to cripple him.

Moreover, the crew members all receive regular salaries, so even if the show is poorly made, it has nothing to do with them.

Why not support Zhang Hong's idea?

You should know that being outstanding in school alone is not enough.

There used to be a PhD in directing at Beijing Film Academy. He had a wealth of theoretical knowledge, but the film he made was utter garbage.

So Sun Zheng thought it was a good deal to give Zhang Hong five million to practice with.

In fact, Zhang Hong did have an idea.

It's actually just like going to work in a company.

There are plenty of people who can raise questions, but those who can also provide solutions are the real talents.

A person who can provide multiple options for the boss to choose from is truly a talent among talents.

Unfortunately, Zhang Hong is precisely that kind of talent.

He took the script from the hospital bed, opened it, and said, "Sixty episodes is too many. If you really don't mind, Uncle Sun, I suggest we keep the number of episodes to ten or twelve, and go for a high-quality drama format."

Sun Zheng became interested: "Tell me about it."

Zhang Hong nodded: "There are several advantages to doing this."

First, we can reduce costs and spend money where it matters most.

Secondly, the budget for each episode can be increased. Spending five million on sixty episodes is different from spending five million on ten or twelve episodes. The cost per episode will naturally be different, so each episode can be made as high-quality as possible.

Thirdly, it also effectively controls the pacing of the drama, ensuring each episode is tightly paced while leaving ample room for plot twists.

This was an option he discovered while watching TV dramas in his previous life.

It's quite obvious that even if a TV series is really good, if it's stretched to dozens of episodes, it will inevitably involve a lot of padding.

The difference between a 25-episode and a 60-episode TV series is truly significant.

Moreover, he discovered from watching TV dramas since he was a child that the fewer the number of episodes, the easier it is to produce a high-quality production.

From watching "The Pacific" as a child to watching the first season of "The Walking Dead".

Then came Netflix's House of Cards Season 1.

Even domestic shows like "Day and Night" and "The Untouchable".

These TV series all demonstrate the power of mini-series.

The fast pace brings a tight and smooth flow.

The plot twists and turns, with multiple reversals, create a dramatic and unpredictable storyline.

This is also Zhang Hong's goal.

Since I said "I can do it too," then I'll give it a try!

If you can't even film it yourself, can't you at least plagiarize?

"What you said makes sense," Sun Zheng agreed.

"but......"

After he finished eating the banana, he casually threw the banana peel into the trash can.

Then, while picking his nose, he looked up at Zhang Hong and said, "You think you can make a high-quality mini-series with a conventional script like 'Clouds Falling into the Mortal World'? Zhang, you're dreaming."

Zhang Hong: "..."

He opened the script and showed it to Sun Zheng, revealing pages filled with his own notes: "That's why we need to completely revise the script, Uncle Sun."

Sun Zheng then took the script and carefully flipped through it.

The above is a mess, basically a complete overhaul of the script.

After a moment, he looked up and said, "That's interesting."

PS: The contract has been submitted for approval, but the contract editor has weekends off, so the contract template should be sent over next Monday for filling out, printing, and sending.

I'll update only once for the next two days, and after I change my status on Monday, I'll update twice a day (5000+ words).

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It updates daily as soon as it's available, so no matter when you open Qidian, you'll see a new chapter.