Huayu: Starting with Hijacking from "The Story of a Noble Family"

Chapter 77: Helpless Cai Yinong, once again steals the deal.

Upon seeing Xu Heng, Cai Yinong couldn't help but feel indignant again.

But his expression quickly turned to helplessness, and he sighed inwardly.

When Xu Heng asked for 10 yuan per episode, it really shocked her!

They clearly agreed on 5 yuan per episode, but now the price has doubled!

It's worth noting that the budget they allocated for the male and female leads in this "Chinese Paladin" series was only 2 million yuan, and that was the maximum they could allocate. Any less would have been better!

However, she knew that Xu couldn't be blamed for this, at least not entirely.

If she had agreed to Xu's request earlier, or if she had agreed to Xu's offer of 5 yuan per episode after watching the videotape of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils", she might have gotten Xu Heng to agree to take the role long ago.

Most importantly, given Xu Heng's current popularity and audience recognition, a salary of 10 yuan per episode is definitely not excessive!

After thinking about it carefully, she realized that Xu's 300 million yuan salary plus that girl's salary would require a total of about 600 million yuan.

Given Xu and that young girl's current popularity and status, their salaries are definitely after tax.

Her and Xu Tan's salaries have always been after-tax, while that little girl's salary was initially before tax.

In other words, with an additional investment of 400 million, it would be possible to hire the hottest on-screen couple, who are very popular among young people.

The two actors' appearances and temperaments are very suitable for the male and female leads, so it seems like it's worth taking a gamble.

Moreover, Tangren Media holds a 40% stake in the investment for this drama, while the other two investors each hold 30%, meaning that the other two investors only need to contribute 120 million each.

With Xu Heng and that little girl as the two main characters, this drama will definitely sell well and fetch a higher price.

She then told the other two investors about it, and they quickly agreed.

There's no way around it, the box office and profits of "Our Times," starring Xu and that little girl, were just too amazing. Who wouldn't be envious!

"Director Xu, you won't go back on your word now, will you?"

After some polite exchanges, Cai Yinong couldn't help but make a joke.

Xu Heng's identity is different now, but she is the boss of a film and television company, so it won't have a big impact on her.

However, she definitely values ​​Xu more now and wants to sign Xu Heng even more.

Unfortunately, she knew that Xu Du had looked down on her small company in the past, let alone the current Xu Du—

"President Cai, that's not right. Our initial agreement was to see how things went in the future; there were no promises made between us. How can you expect me to go back on my word?"

Xu Heng said with a gentle smile.

Cai Yinong knew that verbal promises didn't count, and he certainly wouldn't take them seriously.

He is not an untrustworthy person, but he only keeps his promises to those who are equally trustworthy.

Cai Yinong did not refute, she knew that Xu Heng was right.

I don't want to dwell on this issue any longer, because it's pointless.

"The contract is ready, would you like to take a look?"

Cai Yinong added that she came here today specifically to sign contracts with Xu Heng and the young girl in front of her.

The Chinese New Year is just around the corner, and shortly after the holiday, the drama will undergo its second test shoot, and the makeup and costumes will be finalized.

Time is very tight. If we don't finalize the male and female leads soon, it will affect the filming schedule and cost more money!

Xu Heng didn't say anything more. He walked over, took his contract, and started reading it. Tangren had already sent him the contract before.

Chen Qiandie also had the lawyer he brought begin to review the contract.

Feeling a bit bored, Liu Yifei curiously approached Xu Heng.

Liu Xiaoli instinctively wanted to say something, but the contract contents were a trade secret and generally not convenient for outsiders to know.

But after hesitating for a moment, he ultimately did not speak.

Her daughter's relationship with Xu is getting better and better; she must be able to tell.

Fortunately, she has not yet discovered that Xu has any ill intentions towards her daughter, nor has he made any inappropriate moves, including verbal ones, so she really can't stop him from doing anything.

Moreover, in her eyes, Xu is indeed very outstanding, especially now that he has become a film director and has earned at least 20 million yuan from just one film!

Even when she talked about Xu with her daughter's godfather before, she noticed that his tone and attitude had changed!

Moreover, without Xu Heng, her daughter's salary this time would not have been so high!

The salary she received for this one drama has already exceeded her daughter's total income since her debut!

Liu Yifei pursed her lips when she saw the amount of money Xu Heng was owed in his contract.

Her salary for this role is 90 yuan, which is 3 yuan per episode.

Xu's is 300 million, which is equivalent to 10 per episode, more than three times hers!

She wasn't jealous of Xu; she knew Xu's popularity and status far surpassed hers, and his public image was much better. She just felt the gap between herself and Xu Heng was too vast.

Seeing her like this and Xu's reaction, Cai Yinong immediately knew that the relationship between the two was indeed unusual.

She had previously asked Xu if they should sign separate contracts, but Xu said it wasn't necessary to go through that trouble.

It seems that if she really lets that newcomer from the company play the male lead, this little girl in front of her probably won't play the female lead!

After signing the contract and confirming everything was in order, Xu Heng took his leave after confirming the shooting schedule. He knew that Cai Yinong was definitely very unhappy with him right now.

He nodded to Liu Yifei and Liu Xiaoli again, then went back to his room, glancing at the system panel as he went.

Name: Xu Heng Age: 20

Skills: Cooking (Lv.4), Programming (Lv.3), Singing (Lv.3), Martial Arts (Lv.2), Directing (Lv.2), Acting (Lv.2), Screenwriting (Lv.2), Composing (Lv.2), Recitation (Lv.2)

Current target for hijacking: Li Xiaoyao, the male lead in the TV series "Chinese Paladin". Remaining skill points: 2

Remaining interception points: 1

Yes, he snatched the male lead role in "Chinese Paladin" through the system. Although he was confident he could have gotten the role even without the system, he would have received a slightly lower salary.

But given his current popularity, the show's success after airing will definitely be better than in his previous life. Since there were no other better options, he simply snatched the role.

After snatching the director Chen Yushan from "Our Times" last time, I still had 1 point left to snatch the film. This time, I used 1 point to snatch the film.

There were 1 point left, but 1 more point was added in the new year, so there is still 1 point left.

After using the interception point, he was still given three interception options: Li Xiaoyao, the male lead in the TV series "Chinese Paladin," Yang Guo, the male lead in the TV series "The Return of the Condor Heroes," and the TV series "The Little Fish and the Flower Without Flaws."

The male protagonist is Hua Wuque.

He didn't want to film "The Little Fish and the Flower Without Flaws," and the start date for "The Return of the Condor Heroes" was still a long way off.

Furthermore, if he really wanted to film it, he was confident he could land the role of Yang Guo on his own, and Huang Xiaoming couldn't possibly be richer than him.

In addition, he gained 1 skill point each when the premiere of "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" ended and when the box office of "Our Times" reached 801 million, but he did not rush to use them.

At the same time, he did consider investing in the "Chinese Paladin" series, or even not taking a salary and simply considering it an investment.

However, the return on investment for TV dramas is too long, often requiring one or two years to break even.

Including filming and production time, it would take at least two to three years to break even, even if the sales are good.

He still remembered the Legend of Sword and Fairy from his previous life; it seemed that it couldn't be broadcast on satellite TV at first.

Unlike "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils," which deliberately sold its shows to local TV stations before satellite TV stations, this show simply couldn't pass the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television's (SARFT) review for satellite broadcasting, so it wasn't until 08 that it was finally able to air on a satellite TV station.

In other words, this "Chinese Paladin" series may not have truly broken even until 08, or at least it will not have been able to start making a big profit until 08.

It's only 2004 now, which means it will take at least four years before we can start making a profit.

Even 20 years from now, this show may still generate some revenue.

But these profits might not be as much as he would make by buying a few more houses now, and he would have to keep getting payments from Tangren, and there's even a high probability that Tangren would think he owes Tangren!

In her previous life, Cai Yinong went to great lengths to get Liu Yifei to play Zhao Ling'er.

As a result, after "Chinese Paladin" became a hit, Tangren Media wanted to use this as a reason to sign Liu Yifei.

Liu Yifei refused to sign a contract, so Tangren relentlessly smeared her reputation. How could she possibly be willing to cooperate more deeply with Tangren?

There's also the system's interception feature, which has a 100% success rate, but there's a prerequisite: the system's demands can't be too unreasonable.

For example, if he had directly asked for 100 million per episode, Tangren Media definitely wouldn't have agreed, and they wouldn't have been able to come up with that much money.

In other words, as long as his demands are not excessive and fall within a reasonable range, they will not affect the success rate.

Given his previous popularity and status, a salary of 10 per episode is absolutely reasonable, and Tangren Media can afford it, and it will definitely be after tax.

Unlike before, when I wasn't famous, I was no longer only qualified to receive pre-tax pay.

He certainly doesn't need to save money for Tangren, and neither does Liu Yifei!

The next day, the 17th, Xu participated again in the promotional activities for "Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils" in Guangzhou in the afternoon.

The event's format was similar to the previous press conference in Beijing, with the main purpose of announcing that the drama would be broadcast on the Southern TV Film and Television Channel on the first day of the Lunar New Year.

After the event, Southern TV arranged a dinner, which Xu Heng and Liu Yifei attended once again.

After this "farewell dinner," all activities and work before the Lunar New Year came to an end, and Xu Heng was going home.

With only four days left until Lunar New Year's Eve, Liu Yifei will still go to her maternal grandmother's house in Jiangcheng with her mother to celebrate the New Year this year.

Two days later, on January 19th, the 1th day of the twelfth lunar month, Xu Heng returned home. This time, even more neighbors came to see what was going on after hearing the news.

Last year, in the eyes of these neighbors, Xu Heng was just a big star, and they were more interested in joining in the fun and seeing something new.

But this year, in the eyes of these neighbors, Xu Heng is not only a big star, but also a real "big shot", which makes him even more reserved!

At this time, the box office figures for "Our Times" in its third week had already been reported.

The box office reached 485 million in a single week, and the total box office in mainland China reached 5575 million in 19 days of release!