Huayu 1999: Starting with nothing but getting something for nothing

Fan Xiaotian stood alone in the shade at the entrance of the residential area. Yang Che and his group of four looked at him and saw that he had a parted hairstyle common in this era, a fair and thin face, and was dressed in a white short-sleeved shirt, khaki casual trousers, and leather shoes with holes. He was dressed in the typical attire of a scholar.

Without waiting for Wang Yuan's introduction, Yang Che extended his hand and said sincerely, "President Fan, I have long admired your contributions to modern Chinese literature. I am Yang Che."

These words made Cheng Er and Wang Yuan, who were standing next to him, very uncomfortable.

Fan Xiaotian paused for a moment, and suddenly his impression of Yang Che improved greatly. He abandoned his scholarly demeanor and quickly grasped Yang Che's hand, saying, "Not at all, not at all."

Yang Che wasn't just making empty praise. When Fan Xiaotian worked at the Zhongshan magazine in the early 80s, he was constantly discovering and supporting new literary talents and publishing works by some writers who were not yet famous, such as Yu Hua, Su Tong, Liu Zhenyun, Bi Feiyu, and Mo Yan.

He was also one of the leading figures of "avant-garde literature," not only publishing a large number of avant-garde literary works himself, but also calling on writers to embrace diversity and experimentation in literature....

Yang Che then introduced Cheng Er and Ning Hao to those beside him, and the group turned around and went back to the studio, chatting as they walked.

Of course, Cheng Er and Ning Hao did not participate in the discussion; they were merely tools used by Yang Che to express his regard for Fan Xiaotian.

Fan Xiaotian was very happy throughout the journey.

Yang Che also concluded that this person had a typical scholar's personality inside and out, which made him too easy to bully, or rather, even easier to cooperate with.

Back in the studio's meeting room, only Yang Che and Fan Xiaotian remained.

After the two sat down across the conference table, Yang Che spoke first: "President Fan, I have a general understanding of 'Spring Pig'. Neither of us are good at beating around the bush, so I'll get straight to the point. We can go to the bank this afternoon to transfer the 200 million. I want actual shares, which is 25%."

Fan Xiaotian was stunned for a moment. From the moment they met until they entered the house, Yang Che had always acted like a talkative "junior." How could he suddenly make such an outrageous demand?

He hesitated for a moment before saying, "You can't calculate it like that. Jiangsu TV and Zhejiang TV invested from the beginning, but they aren't actual shareholders. They both have to give 20% to the creative team, and the show is already halfway through filming."

This means that Yang Che's investment of 200 million yuan and taking 16% is a reasonable return as a pure investment.

Yang Che didn't reply immediately, but instead took out a few sheets of paper from the folder and pushed them over.

"Mr. Fan, this is a theme song I composed called 'Good Springtime.' It has both lyrics and music. You can find Wu Tong, the lead singer of the Reincarnation Band, to sing it, and you can also give him the arrangement."

Of course, I don't expect to consider myself a member of the creative team for this song, and I won't use phrases like "providing timely help" to justify it.

I have my reasons for wanting 25%, Mr. Fan can take a look at this document.

Fan Xiaotian looked at Yang Che's confident and determined face, then at the new page he had just pulled out, and took it to read.

The book was titled "Tiered Pricing Model for TV Drama Ratings." Fan Xiaotian frowned, looked up at the young man who made a very good impression, and seeing his gentle smile, he couldn't help but look down again.

大意就是《春光灿烂猪八戒》一家电视台首轮总价只要250万。定个基础收视率15%，在15%收视率的基础上增加1%价格价格增加20%，上不封顶。

If the viewership doubles, reaching 30%, then the acquisition price would be 1000 million.

The first round can sell to four companies, which is 4000 million.

That's right, it's another performance-based agreement.

One trick is all you need to succeed!

Yang Che didn't write about the second round, nor did he mention the copyright issues related to the videotapes. In short, according to his estimate, the final revenue of the "Spring Bright Pigsy" project would be at least 6000 million.

Fan Xiaotian read it twice, each time more carefully than the last. After putting down the document, he reached out to Hua Zi on the table.

Seeing this, Yang Che smoothly and effortlessly offered him a cigarette, lit it, and pushed him towards the ashtray.

After thanking him, Fan Xiaotian chuckled self-deprecatingly and said, "Mr. Yang, are you really that confident in 'Spring Bright Pigsy'?"

The implication is that he himself wasn't that confident.

This made Yang Che once again marvel at the pure hearts of today's creators, and how they have developed the habit of speaking politely without showing their emotions.

Indeed, even our beloved Kai Ge gets furious these days when the host says things like "if the box office isn't good"...

Yang Che smiled:

"President Fan, I risked a shortage of film budget to scrape together 200 million yuan to invest in this TV series, and it's not out of sentimentality."

Today, society is in a period of economic transformation, and the public has a huge demand for relaxing, stress-relieving, and anti-authoritarian entertainment content. Looking at the market, there is a severe shortage of films and television dramas that combine entertainment and intellectual depth.

I've finished reading the script for "Spring Bright Pigsy". The mythological and humorous plot can attract children and teenagers, while the exploration of human nature and the love story can attract adult audiences. It can completely cover all age groups, making it a family-friendly TV series.

I heard from Wang Yuan that the filming was strictly in accordance with the script, and that people often burst into laughter while filming.

Given all these factors, how could this drama possibly have low ratings?

Mr. Fan, even if you think my conditions are harsh, you can use my approach and this method to find other people to vote for you...

Before Yang Che could finish speaking, Fan Xiaotian's face flushed red with embarrassment and anger. He shouted, "President Yang, please take back your words. I will never accept such an insult."

Yang Che quickly stood up, his tone extremely sincere: "President Fan, you've misunderstood, you've misunderstood. Okay, it was my petty thinking, but I really didn't want such a good drama to not be filmed smoothly. I'm sorry, young man, for being so abrupt."

As he spoke, he gave a slight bow, which made Fan Xiaotian a little flustered, so he also stood up and bowed slightly.

"No, no, I just overreacted."

The two exchanged a smile, and for a moment, they seemed to have developed a mutual appreciation and friendship despite their age difference.

Yang Che cursed himself inwardly, thinking he was a terrible person. This man was a gentleman, and he wondered if his trick of deceiving him had gone too far.

Bah! If they really bet on the ratings with the TV station, even if the TV station regrets it and reneges in the end, Fan Xiaotian and his team will still earn much more than before if they both compromise.

So how could I be deceiving them? It was just a white lie, a good person wielding a demonic sword, yes, that's it.

Since two TV stations are partnering, it seems like the other TV stations won't renege on their promises, haha.

It can only be said that Yang Che is still "young-minded". In a business setting, how can he be ashamed?

Moreover, he had a very accurate judgment of Fan Xiaotian's character, so he should be proud of himself.

P.S.: A reader reminded me not to name the protagonist's company after staple foods, and I wholeheartedly agree. Unfortunately, I'm terrible at naming things, so please leave a comment if you find this helpful.

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