Bai Lu got scammed, but I became a superstar through e-commerce.

The myth of a 100 million yuan profit from an online movie is still circulating in the industry, but Qingxiao knows better than anyone that this myth will never be repeated.

It's not that the market has disappeared; it's that Tianmen Films approved all the profitable online film projects at once.

At the same time, it signed long-term strategic cooperation agreements with several platforms such as iQiyi and Youku, and Tianmen Films locked up most of the A-level recommendation slots and revenue sharing resources of the platforms every year.

For others entering this market now, it's no longer a blue ocean; it's the leftovers after Tianmen Film & Television has completely devoured them.

This time, he wants to replicate the crazy profit-making path of online movies, but on a much larger scale.

Qingxiao summoned all the heads of Tianmen Film and Television's content development department, legal department, and production coordination team to the conference room.

A densely packed schedule was projected onto the screen, listing the project names, estimated costs, target platforms, and release dates of twelve web series.

Afei stood beside the curtain, holding a laser pointer, his expression still reeling from the numbers he had just heard.

"President Qing, have all twelve web series projects been approved?"

"All projects have been approved. According to the State Administration of Radio and Television's regulations for key online dramas, there are two filing processes. First, a planning filing is done, requiring a synopsis of more than 1500 words and an introduction of the ideological content of more than 300 words. The video website then submits these to the provincial bureau for filing. After obtaining the planning filing number, an online filing is done, and only after obtaining the program filing number can the drama be officially launched."

Qingxiao pushed a stack of documents he had organized the night before out of his briefcase.

"Here is the 'Online Drama Planning and Filing Information Registration Form' for each drama series. The synopsis has been written, and the application form for filing and publicizing the production of the TV series has also been filled out. The Ministry of Justice is simultaneously registering the copyrights of all twelve scripts with the Copyright Protection Center. Before both filings are completed, the IP cannot be registered by anyone else."

The people from the film and television department took the thick stack of documents, flipped through a couple of pages, and their expressions changed.

The head of the production coordination team scanned the schedule from beginning to end, his voice a little dry: "President Qing, the total investment for these projects exceeds 10 billion, right? Where will the financing come from?"

"I've already planned out the financing channels. Tianmen Films has 60 million yuan in profits accumulated from online film revenue sharing, and SUNSA's annual net profit can be continuously invested."

"For projects that Tianmen Film & Television cannot invest in, we will pursue equity financing, with Huaxia Vision, Mango TV, and Asia Pacific Pictures each taking one or two projects. The third batch of four projects will be financed through platform prepayment and revenue sharing, plus bank loans. iQiyi and Youku are interested in signing A-level revenue sharing agreements for historical suspense and sweet romance dramas. The platforms will prepay part of the production costs, and the remainder will be reinvested using the revenue sharing from already launched projects. The twelve dramas will be scheduled in stages according to their filming cycles, with staggered payment periods, so the financial pressure in a single quarter is completely controllable."

"In addition, I will continue to initiate financing and investment activities that are integrated with business development."

Two days later, Qingxiao summoned Bai Lu to his office.

Twelve scripts were neatly arranged on the table, each with its title and genre label printed on the cover. Bai Lu sat down and flipped through them one by one, stopping when he got to "The Mystic Nine".

"I like Yin Xinyue." She held the script to her chest. "The young lady of the Xinyue Hotel is extremely intelligent, dares to love and hate, and has a servant and a stick-wielding servant by her side. She's not the kind of vase waiting for the male lead to rescue her. Her relationship with Zhang Qishan isn't the kind of tragic love like Sanqi's, but rather a partnership of equals fighting side by side. After this, I don't want to act in any more tragic love stories."

She patted the cover of "Human Fireworks" and said, "I'm also in this one. It's a dual narrative of food and suspense, with the female lead gradually getting involved in a murder investigation. She has both the tenacity of a craftswoman and the courage of a detective. This character is multi-layered."

"What about the others?"

"I don't want these anymore. You can use them to work with other directors and actors."

Bai Lu stood up, hugged the two scripts to his chest, and stopped at the door as if he had thought of something.

"President Qing, there are rumors online that I'm a 'resource-backed' actor who got the role by bringing my own funding. Does that mean it's true?"

"You didn't bring your own investment to the production. You brought your husband. This time, I'm going to make your dream of becoming a star come true."

Bai Lu smiled and said, "Then how will I repay you when this young lady's dream comes true?"

You can look into the phrase "to repay someone with one's body".

"Dream on, huh."

Bai Lu smiled shyly, closed the door, and went out.

From the corridor outside, I could hear her greeting her colleagues. Her colleagues were saying that Sister Bai had gotten another good notebook. She was humming a song as she walked, and her footsteps gradually faded away.

A week later, Qingxiao compiled all the materials into a complete project proposal and arranged to meet with President Zhou, President Sun, Brother Chen, and Yu Zheng at a local Shanghainese restaurant in Beijing.

Once everyone was seated, Qingxiao asked the waiter to leave first.

He took four bound project proposals out of his briefcase and placed one in front of each person.

The cover features a gold-stamped title: "The 21-Year Web Series Grand Plan – A Comprehensive Layout Strategy for Tianmen Film and Television's Web Series Track."

Mr. Zhou opened the first page, glanced at it casually, and then stopped in his tracks.

He flipped through the pages one by one, and when he got to the total budget section, his finger pressed on the numbers, and his eyes widened in disbelief.

Director Sun pushed up his glasses, flipped back to the first page of the project proposal, and reread it. His finger hovered over the total investment amount, and his voice cracked: "Ones, tens, hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions, tens of millions, hundreds of millions—President Qing, this is—a billion-dollar plan?!"

Brother Chen placed his teacup on the table, his voice low and each word seemingly squeezed from his throat: "President Qing, you said last time that web series had potential, and we thought two or three would be a trial run. You're going to go straight for twelve, over a billion yuan? You're not kidding, are you?"

Yu Zheng leaned back in his chair and remained silent.

To be honest, he was also stunned, but he tried to remain calm.

He had known Qingxiao for several years and knew that the man never joked.

"A 1 billion yuan online drama project."

Qingxiao leaned back in his chair, picked up his teacup, took a sip, and spoke casually.

"Back when I approached you all to invest in my first online film, the total investment was only six million. Mr. Zhou, you said at the time that it was just a small online film, nothing more than a game. Later, 'Huangquan' and 'Dou Sheng Fo' together generated over 70 million in revenue, and 'Demons of Chang'an' raised 20 million from 4.5 million. During the debriefing meeting, you all kept asking me why I didn't include you in the investment."

"I've now finalized all twelve web series. Of the first batch of six, five have already completed script copyright registration and planning filing, and we've obtained the filing numbers. The future profit direction is already clear; it's just a matter of whether you dare to get on board."

"That's a billion yuan! None of us can come up with that amount."

Mr. Zhou closed the project proposal and placed it on the table, pressing his palm on the cover as if afraid it would open on its own.

"It's not that the project is bad—I can understand your project proposal. The scope, cost, and revenue sharing estimates for each series are all calculated very clearly. But the investment scale is too daunting. Our scale is not that big. Each company can only take on one project at most."

Director Sun took off his glasses, wiped them, and put them back on: "President Zhou is right. One billion is beyond our comprehension. It's not that we don't trust you, it's just that our financial structure can't support this scale. Let's start with one unit per company, and then add more investment after the revenue sharing is in place. This is the safest approach."

Brother Chen picked up his strong tea and took a sip, his gaze shifting from the rim of the cup to Qingxiao: "President Qing, you've created a legend in the online film market, over a hundred million yuan—everyone knows that. But haven't you taken a huge step? Isn't there a risk involved?"

"The profit margin is only for one or two years. After filming the first phase and getting paid, you film the second phase, and then after getting paid back, you film the third phase. By then, it's all over."

Qingxiao placed the teacup on the table, a slight smile curving his lips.

"Everyone should do what they can, and I'll figure out the rest myself. Don't ever say that my projects are all small projects again."

"Also, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. After my recent disruption, it will be difficult for the online drama market to make money for the next few years."

Yu Zheng, standing nearby, finally burst out laughing from behind the purple clay cup.

He placed the cup on the tea tray, glanced at the troubled expressions of President Zhou and the others, and then looked at Qingxiao: "Gentlemen, now you know the power of our President Qing, right? You're all terrified!"

Mr. Sun sighed, "In just one year, Mr. Qing has changed so much. I've watched him build a tall building and entertain guests."

For the first time, everyone present suddenly began to look up to Qingxiao from the bottom of their hearts.

In the end, General Manager Zhou took the ancient costume suspense film, Director Sun took the youth romance film, and Brother Chen took the suspense crime film, with each company contributing their own share of the budget.

Yu Zheng put down his purple clay cup and said that Huanyu Entertainment was producing "Story of Yanxi Palace," and he hoped that Qingxiao could give him a chance.

As the party ended, Brother Chen walked last, patted Qingxiao on the shoulder, and said, "Brother, this meal you gave me raised my blood pressure. A billion yuan investment in a web series—I've never seen that amount in a project proposal in my life. From now on, if anyone dares to say that Tianmen Films is a small company, I'll be the first to disagree."

Qingxiao's starting point was simple: it was a sure-fire profitable project, and he would keep as much as he could ultimately profit from it.

Securing a spot in the toilet is more important than anything else.