Chapter 528: Chapter 519: Why Are You Still Here?
Itās one thing to chug a beer, but if Director Wang does a shot of Chinese liquor, heāll be in the hospital that night.
This is because he was so happy. After all, before coming here, the film crew was on the brink of disbandment, but just coming here for a meal, hey, it got sorted out. Isnāt that miraculous?
Originally, we just wanted to see if we could discuss a collaboration, maybe make some money on the stock market to cover the crewās expenses. Unexpectedly, we didnāt manage the collaboration but found an investor. Itās truly a case of unintended consequences working out beautifully.
After all, even if the stock market collaboration had succeeded, he wouldnāt have been able to put up much money, and those who had both money and intention didnāt catch a thing. Instead, he, someone on the fringes, gained the greatest benefit. This kind of unexpected turn of events felt wonderful to Wang Fan.
In the end, it took quite a bit of persuading to quash Wang Fanās impulsive desire to chug a bottle of white liquor. Everyone chatted for a while, exchanged contact information, and finally dispersed.
When Wang Fan returned, he felt as if he was floating, almost unable to believe what had just happened. He asked his companion, Han Zhuo, several times for confirmation before finally breaking into a smile.
When he returned to the crew, Assistant Director Yu Gang approached him.
"Brother, itās not working out. We canāt hang on any longer. Without money, our crew is about to disband. Why donāt you go... um, persuade Jing to have another drink with you? Heās been guest-starring for a month, hasnāt asked for pay, and if he could put up some money, it would be reasonable."
The others might not know, but as an assistant director on the crew, he was fully aware that this crew, described generously as a crew, was essentially gathered by persuasion.
Before filming started, Wang Fan spun all kinds of grand tales, promising A-list stars would join, promising easy filming. But upon arrival, not only was there no sign of A-listers, but actors had to wear dozens of kilos of equipment daily, even fainting from exhaustion. The crucial point is, several of Old Wangās friends were persuaded to give up their paychecks.
The most miserable one had been guest-starring for a whole month without pay, leaving Yu Gang thinking that since the directorās reputation was already gone, he might as well shamelessly throw some more spirit into the mix, maybe their crew could still be saved; what if Jing suddenly agreed?
He even had it all planned out: alcohol first, get Jing drunk and muddle him into agreement. By the next day when things were already decided, thereād be no backing out. Worse comes to worst, have him play the lead role; after all, heās guest-starred so many days.
Upon hearing this, Wang Fan laughed: "That wonāt do. Heās not even asking for pay; how can we expect him to put up money?"
"Relax, I have a solution for the money, and not only that, I can add on the pay. Jingās pay can just be forgotten for now. Iām thinking of adding a few special effects, and if worst comes to worst, I can share my portion with him."
At the end of the day, Director Wang didnāt forget to calculate some gain for his good brother.
"Solved? What happened?"
"You donāt need to worry about it. Tomorrow, Iāll get the money, and the whole crew will have a feast!"
Soon after, Director Wang drank himself to sleep, leaving Yu Gang puzzled as he walked out, thinking Director Wang was talking nonsense due to drunkenness.
Meanwhile, Su Qing was sitting on the couch drinking tea prepared by Shen Yi specifically to sober him up.
Though he hadnāt drunk much, he had a low tolerance. In the first half, the ladies pushed him to drink, and in the second half, every now and then Director Wang wanted a shot. By the time he got back, his legs were already wobbling.
At the same time, Tang Nan was complaining to Shen Yi:
"Xiao Yi, your boyfriend now thinks big, investing a hundred million just like that, without restraint. You might not understand, but I, being in the circle, know that domestic sci-fi movies have been a mess these past few years, and this time weāll probably lose. You need to keep an eye on him in the future."
Upon hearing this, Shen Yi showed no particular expression, instead saying calmly: "No problem, if he loses everything, I can always support him. Iām not lacking money."
Young people should naturally let loose and take risks. We have the conditions, and even if he really loses itās considered gaining experience, nothing much.
After the stock market incident last time, Shen Yi shifted her attitude, realizing her man isnāt lacking funds. If he loses, so be it. What young man hasnāt experienced a few setbacks? Even when she started her business, it wasnāt all smooth sailing.
Besides, over time, her young man continued to surprise her. Heās already shown his capabilities, and if she continued like last time, it wouldnāt be supporting him anymore but restricting his development.
Step back and ask, whoās to say that Su Qingās investment this time will definitely lose? What if it earns?
With the worst possibility in mind, youād find that this is hardly a problem.
Tang Nan rolled her eyes vigorously: "You... you two, itās hopeless, youāre both done for. Iām starting to suspect that your brain is fried by love; this isnāt like your previous self. Is love really this all-consuming? How did I not notice before?"
"Precisely because you didnāt get all-consumed, you ended up breaking up!" Shen Yi frankly retorted.
Immediately, Tang Nan was laid flat out, a fatal strike.
Watching President Tang, who was speechless, Shen Yi chuckled, and then turned to Su Qing on the couch: "I say it like this, but whether itās a hundred million or fifty, sixty million, itās still not a small amount. Do you have any views on this film?"
Upon hearing this, Su Qing shifted his focus from the laptop on the coffee table: "Itās an excellent story, logically clear, massively imaginative and expansive. The key is, the author is a top-notch sci-fi writer domestically and internationally. As long as the crewās editors donāt mess around, stick to the original, even with lower-end effects, it definitely wonāt be a bad movie."
Just moments earlier, he searched online for basic information about the novel "Wandering Earth", even found some vloggers whoāve analyzed it, and within ten minutes had a clear understanding. Itās quite shocking.
In modern times, for someone like him who used to be a video blogger, understanding a work isnāt hard. If you donāt have time to read the original, you surely have the time for a ten-minute analysis, right?
Although not very detailed, it was already enough for him.
He wasnāt unfamiliar with the original author of this novel, but he hadnāt read the original work, so he needed to quickly brush up on the related knowledge.
As she spoke, Shen Yi glanced at the information on the computer and quickly understood, "Mr. Liuās work has even made it into textbooks; naturally, heās an outstanding writer."
"Since youāve decided, when do you plan to implement it?"
"Tomorrow, at your company. I can provide the money, but I donāt know much about the other stuff. Iāll have to trouble you to help me out," Su Qing said a bit awkwardly.
"Sure, but if you make a profit, you have to pay me a salary."
"Thatās not a problem, I can even give it all to you."
Although she knew it was a joke, Shen Yi still chuckled, finding it amusing. Then she said to Tang Nan:
"Itās fine to do it individually, but itās better to do it under the companyās name. Youāre in the industry, so you can just keep an eye on things tomorrow."
Hearing this, Tang Nan gave the two of them a sidelong glance: "I donāt care. Heās not my man, so Iām not in charge!"
"Oh come on, arenāt you a shareholder? Youāre already involved, so helping out is only expected," Shen Yi said with a smile.
"Nonsense, when you need me, Iām a shareholder; when you donāt, you want to kick me out of the shareholdersā meeting. Youāre really shameless."
"So are you going to help or not?"
"Fine, Iāll help, okay? Iām really stuck with you two, having to put up with all your love talk and still have to work for you."
He and Shen Yi exchanged a glance and smiled knowingly.
"Oh right, I forgot to tell you, the matter with Huayue Company has been resolved."
Upon hearing Shen Yiās words, the two were taken aback.
"So fast? Itās only been two days!"
"How was it resolved?"
Shen Yi didnāt hide anything since they came back for this matter. She recounted how Huayueās general manager personally came over today, including the compensation and conditions, leaving the two puzzled.
What kind of conclusion is this? A weak start and a weak finish?
"Thereās no need for those expressions. Huayue is about as large as our Baihua. If we really clash, itās not beneficial for either side. Since they chose to admit their mistake and made concessions, thereās no need for us to push further. We canāt just crush them in one strike; if we really start a fight, we might not come out on top, and itās likely both sides would suffer losses," Shen Yi explained when she saw their expressions.
"Isnāt this too easy for them? They tried to mess with us, we fought back, and in the end, just an apology solves it?" Tang Nan was dissatisfied, feeling it was too lenient.
Hearing this, Shen Yi turned to Su Qing and asked, "What do you think?"
It seemed like a question, but she was actually asking for his stance. If he didnāt think it was acceptable, Shen Yi wouldnāt mind helping out her man to settle the score, rather than letting it end so perfunctorily.
But with Su Qingās insight, he immediately knew her intention and shook his head, "Letās leave it at that, itās fine. They tried to fool me, but I didnāt fall for it. We didnāt suffer a loss, so thereās no need to make it a big issue."
As it stands, thereās no need to cause losses on Shen Yiās side over this small matter, especially since Tang Nan and the landlady were also involved.
"Alright, then weāll let this matter rest," Shen Yi said with a smile.
Seeing this, Tang Nan could only sigh. Thereās no helping it; the company listens to others. If she was the one dealing with it, she truly wouldnāt know what to do. If she really had a way, Shen Yi wouldnāt have needed to come back.
After saying this, Su Qing and Shen Yi turned their gaze to Tang Nan in unison.
Feeling their gaze, Tang Nan paused, "Why... why are you two looking at me like that?"
Hearing this, Su Qing responded, "Weāve finished eating, youāve lodged your complaint, and the issue has been resolved. Why are you still here? Didnāt you notice itās already dark?"
"Leave? Why should I..." Before she could finish, she realized why they were staring at her.
"Damn, you two... shameless!"
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