Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 142 Entering the Urn
It would be more accurate to say that Boss Lu was exploring the mysteries of Taoyuan rather than filming in Taoyuan.

Bingbing finished filming his scenes and went to rush to attend other announcements, so naturally he had to do some sweet talk before leaving.

It’s just that Boss Lu’s young and strong body still has oil, while Sister Yu has a light appetite and doesn’t have the same crazy energy as her.

She's not a casual person, she just becomes casual...

Even Mr. Lu would be scared, and once again he had to do it in broad daylight in front of the balcony...

While Boss Lu was balancing work and entertainment, the long-dormant Xiao Yanei quietly set his sights on another shareholder of Hongxingwu.

Cheng Jingfei.

The reason is simple: people with desires have weaknesses. Cheng Jingfei has too many desires and his weaknesses are too obvious.

Hongxingwu is a limited liability company. According to the provisions of the Company Law, unless otherwise provided in the company's articles of association.

In order to acquire shares in Hongxingwu, Xiao Yanei not only needs to obtain the consent of more than half of the shareholders with voting rights, but also has to face the sniping of his mortal enemy Lu Kuan.

Because as the original shareholder, Lu Kuan has the right to obtain the transferred equity first under the same conditions.

No matter how much equity you, Cheng Jingfei, sell to Xiao Yanei, I, Lu Kuan, will have the priority to acquire it at the same price and payment terms, unless you voluntarily give it up.

In this way, as long as Lu Kuan is not short of money, Xiao Yanei will never be able to become a shareholder of Hongxingwu.

However, Zhou Lei, a top student from Huaqing University who works at Vision Entertainment, came up with another idea for the young boss.

They lured Cheng Jingfei into a pig-slaughtering scheme, causing him to incur a huge, fictitious debt, and then used the shares of Hongxingwu to pay off the debt at a price far exceeding the market price.

I believe Lu Kuan wouldn't be stupid enough to actually match his extremely inflated price, right?
This pig-killing scheme only requires a little bit of Liu's father's power.

Jia Xu's vicious plan was appreciated by the lord, and the young yamen official who had been dormant for a long time also made an appointment to meet Cheng Jingfei again.

Cheng Jingfei sat at his desk, looking in astonishment as Liu Zeyu, with whom he had a drink last week, came quietly again.

The famous businessman was naturally upset because Lu Kuan took advantage of the situation at the wrap-up party and defrauded him of 10 points of his shares.

Liu Zeyu and his father are closely related to his main business - real estate. How could he dare to refuse when someone invites him to drink?

He hurriedly stood up to greet him: "Boss Liu, what are you doing..."

Liu Zeyu leaned leisurely on the sofa.

"Mr. Cheng, there was a small mistake some time ago. I came here today to discuss a business matter with you."

Cheng Jingfei became very alert. He didn't believe that there would be such a thing as a free lunch, especially for a young master like him who was so ruthless.

"Mr. Liu, you all have wealthy families. I'm a little short of that for you guys to play with me. Haha, I appreciate your kindness!"

“It doesn’t exist, it doesn’t exist!”

Liu Zeyu waved his hand, motioning Cheng Jingfei to follow him to the map in the office.

He carefully searched the map and pointed at a certain place: "Mr. Cheng, I believe you have heard of this piece of land?"

Cheng Jingfei looked in the direction he was directed with a normal expression, his pupils slightly constricted.

Dazi Township?
Don’t be fooled by its name, this place is a veritable golden business district. It started to appreciate in value since Beijing was confirmed to host the Olympic Games in 2001.

Cheng Jingfei probed, "Young Master Liu, are you talking about the Hualong Residential Complex? Hasn't he already made a move? That person is quite famous in the industry."

Liu Zeyu laughed heartily and said, "We all make money together. If we eat together, we get to eat meat. If we eat alone, the table will be overturned. Who doesn't understand this?"

"You mean..."

Cheng Jingfei's heart beat faster, and the vigilance he had just raised was thrown out of the window.

This is a place that even Pan Soho is envious of!

Liu Zeyu turned around and sat back on the sofa, then said seriously, "This boss is currently short of money and is willing to give up some of his shares. However, it must be to someone he trusts. Only when everyone works together can the business be done well."

"Don't you agree, Mr. Cheng?"

Cheng Jingfei carefully filled his cup with hot tea, his eyes rolling as he asked cautiously, "Is there something wrong with the subsequent transfer fee?"

"That's right! You know my father. He always acts fairly and doesn't pay attention to these messes."

Liu Zeyu blew gently on the tea in his cup. "This is a completely legal and compliant business, but the capital required is too large. It depends on whether you are interested, Mr. Cheng!"

Cheng Jingfei smiled bitterly and said, "Mr. Liu, as a shareholder of Red Star Wu, I personally would like you to invest, but..."

Everyone knows what Liu Zeyu is trying to do, he wants to control Concubine Liu Yi.

But this opportunity is indeed rare.

Cheng Jingfei's brows were knitted together, and he was struggling with his conscience in his heart.

There is no doubt about Lu Kuan's strength. The sudden success of "Whiplash" has completely established his position as a new generation of young directors in China from word of mouth to box office.

Liu Yifei of Hongxingwu also rose in popularity and became popular on the Internet media. Her future development trend is extremely optimistic.

In addition to the unclear metaphysical background of him, Cheng Jingfei certainly did not want to offend him easily.

It’s just that he and Lu Kuan have too many differences in their ideas about the development of Concubine Liu Yi.

For example, endorsements.

After the huge success of "Whiplash", some girls' clothing brands in Hong Kong and the mainland, as well as foreign toiletries brands such as Procter & Gamble, extended olive branches to us.

They offered Liu Yifei an endorsement fee of 100 to 150 million yuan a year, which is already the top level for second-tier domestic actresses.

But Lu Kuan refused it flatly, saying that it would consume her personal brand value.

Bullshit! What's the point of running an entertainment company and not letting artists accept endorsements?

Why does he spend so much money to promote someone?
Another thing is that after the Golden Horse Awards, Lu Kuan didn't know what kind of magic potion he had given Liu Xiaoli, but he insisted on removing Liu Yifei from the list.

Isn't this going in the opposite direction?

There is no movie star from both sides of the Taiwan Strait and Hong Kong who does not head for Hollywood. Liu Yifei's American nationality is a major advantage.

You are so broad-minded, now you want to cut off one of your arms?
He couldn't understand it at all.

Currently, Lu Kuan holds 30% of Hongxingwu’s shares, Liu Xiaoli 20%, Cheng Jingfei 42%, and Zhang Jizhong 8%.

Although he didn't want to offend her, Lu Kuan already showed signs of colluding with Liu Xiaoli, which was very disadvantageous to him.

This can be seen from the change of nationality this time.

Making friends with the young yamenei as external aid can help him to check and balance Lu Kuan's influence.

After all, Liu Xiaoli and Lu Kuan are not on the same page, and she only cares about her daughter.

As long as Liu Zeyu can leverage Huayi to make Liu Xiaoli jealous, he and Liu Xiaoli can decide anything with a combined voting rights of more than 60%.

"Mr. Liu, I've accepted this deal! I hope you'll take care of me!"

Liu Zeyu was very happy. A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. This was a good start.

"No problem, I'll arrange for you to meet with Mr. Guo this week to discuss the matter. To avoid suspicion, I won't be involved in any financial transactions between you!"

Cheng Jingfei grinned so hard that his mouth almost reached his ears: "You're too kind! You're too kind!"

Seeing the young master looking at him with twinkling eyes, Cheng Jingfei also returned the favor and gave him some benefits.

"Mr. Liu, I'm so sorry, I just have something I want to ask you for help with."

"Oh? Please speak."

"Well, Xixi is filming 'Tianlong' in Dali right now. Her back isn't working, so Xiaoli ordered a chair from Peking and is sending it over."

(The news said it cost 3000 yuan to make it custom-made, so it should be this one)
"My company is busy too, you see..."

Liu Zeyu thought Cheng Jingfei was a really wonderful person and agreed without hesitation.

"No problem! It's a small matter! Just leave it to me."

At this moment, countless images flashed through the young yamen's mind.

The young girl was in unbearable back pain and was eagerly waiting. The savior Liu Zeyu traveled thousands of miles south to help her. What a wonderful plot!
Cheng Jingfei had made up his mind not to show up, and no one knew that he had reached this deal with the young yamenei.

If Lu Kuan attacks him again, he will put all the blame on Liu Zeyu.

Just let these two little perverts fight it out!
Liu Zeyu was very satisfied with his well-thought-out arrangements. The man was a pushover, and now he was desperate for the remaining transfer fee. If he could help him get this sucker in, the latter would definitely not expose his plan.

Cheng Jingfei also wanted to share the profits from the huge sum of money he invested.

He wants Concubine Liu Yi, and he wants the money too!

December 2002, 12, Dali Tianlong Film and Television City.

"Aunt Liu, you really ordered a three thousand yuan chair for Xixi? That's too much!"

Liu Tao thought that Liu Xiaoli was just talking a few days ago. After all, this amount of money is enough to cover the expenses of a working-class family for one or two months these days.

It is indeed a bit extravagant to just use it to buy a chair.

Liu Xiaoli fanned her daughter as she was reading a script and said with a smile, "Xiao Liu, you actors have it so hard."

"Look at Xixi. She has to get up at 6 o'clock every morning to do morning exercises, perform during the day, and study drama theory at night. How can she survive without regular rest?"

Liu Tao and other crew members praised Liu Yifei's hard work, especially Hu Jun, a drama actor from the People's Art Theatre who graduated from the Central Academy of Drama.

He admired the girl's diligence and perseverance very much, and sometimes he would go to her to communicate and give her advice before she got up to exercise in the morning.

Liu Yifei's thoughts on the script were interrupted by her mother. She said angrily, "Sister Ah Zhu, don't believe my mother. I told her not to buy it. It doesn't matter where you sit."

Liu Xiaoli smiled and patted her daughter who was trying to disrupt the show. Hu Jun, who had just finished his last scene, came over in costume to take a break.

"Hello, Teacher Hu!"

Concubine Liu Yi greeted him very politely.

"Hello, Teacher Liu! Your speech at the Golden Horse Awards was so powerful! It was fantastic!"

Hu Jun is one of the most famous actors in the play. He took the lead in praising, and naturally there was a lot of flattery from the audience.

Su Chang laughed and said, "Xixi is amazing! If it were me dealing with that situation, I'd probably be trembling with fear!"

"Me too. When I was getting off the stage, I was so nervous that my back was wet. My mom had to cover it with a shawl."

Everyone in the pavilion was chatting and laughing, and Concubine Liu Yi asked Mr. Hu how to perform a few lines.

Suddenly she heard Zhang Jizhong calling her from a distance, and a lot of people from the crew suddenly rushed in.

Liu Tao had good eyesight and saw from a distance a young man with slicked-back hair, wearing trousers, a white shirt, and sunglasses, walking towards him with Zhang Jizhong.

Behind him were a few people carrying a strangely shaped red chair.

The young man wearing sunglasses was probably in his early twenties, and he was accompanied by a shorter middle-aged man. Isn't this Wang Xiaolei from Huayi?

The three of them walked side by side, but the youngest man in sunglasses walked in the middle. Zhang Jizhong and the middle-aged man politely led him in.

The film crew or the entertainment industry is a place with strict hierarchy.

Take the pavilion where the main actors had just rested, for example. The minor supporting actors would never step beyond the line. Liu Tao felt a little curious about the excessively young man in sunglasses who was walking between the two of them.

Liu Xiaoli had already seen Liu Zeyu with his nose in the air, and the custom-made chair carried by four people behind him.

She was also a little angry in her heart. She asked Cheng Jingfei to have someone bring the chair over, but she didn't let him find this playboy who couldn't be gotten rid of!

She glanced at her daughter, whose face was ashen, and recalled the embarrassment of being scolded in person by Lu Kuan at the wrap-up party that night.

Two days ago, Liu Zeyu learned from Cheng Jingfei that Liu Xiaoli had customized a chair for her daughter. He readily covered all the expenses and even went to her door to present the treasure.

In order to show off his prowess in front of others, he also brought in Wang Xiaolei from Huayi.

Zhang Jizhong smiled and joked to the man next to Liu Zeyu, "Xiao Lei, why did you personally send Young Master Liu over to visit the set? Are you worried that I won't be able to entertain him well enough?"

Liu Zeyu waved his hand and said, "No, no, this is my first time getting married. I'm afraid that if I don't understand something, it will affect your work, so I specially asked Brother Lei to come with me."

"Look, it's Young Master Liu who's tactful in what he says and does. Why are you, a bearded fellow, coming up here and bullying me?"

The three of them burst into laughter. Zhang Jizhong was somewhat caught off guard by this situation and was wondering in his mind whether he should inform Lu Kuan.

One is the son of a noble family, and the other is a genius director and little god. He doesn't want to offend either of them.

Only when Liu Zeyu got closer did he see Concubine Liu Yi holding a script in the pavilion. She was dressed in a simple and elegant outfit as Wang Yuyan, looking beautiful and charming. She was already a beauty at the age of 15.

Young Master Liu took off his sunglasses and showed a smile that he thought was handsome. "Princess Yi, I heard that your waist is not good, so I sent you a chair at Aunt Liu's request."

Concubine Liu Yi glanced at her mother without saying anything, feeling very disgusted with Liu Zeyu.

She gently closed the script and politely declined: "Thank you, Mr. Liu, it's my mother who's making a fuss. There's no need for such extravagances for filming a movie."

Liu Xiaoli looked at her daughter's obviously cold face and felt helpless, but she didn't want to let the situation get out of hand in front of Zhang Jizhong and everyone present.

He hurried over and said with a smile, "Thank you, Mr. Liu. It's really troublesome."

After all, Liu Zeyu was a man who was used to seeing big scenes following his father, so he asked his followers to dismantle the chairs and put them on the ground, acting quite ostentatiously as if he were presenting a treasure.

Liu Tao watched with envy from the side, and could only sigh that people have different destinies. Some people don't know how to appreciate what they have, while others can't even enjoy the delicious food they want.

Hu Jun and Lin Zhiying, who was leaving the theater, were no strangers to this kind of scene. Throughout history, political and business celebrities who supported actors all behaved in this way.

Giving away just a chair worth several thousand is already a low grade.

Seeing Liu Yifei standing calmly in the pavilion, Liu Zeyu turned to introduce the middle-aged man who came with him.

"Xixi, this is Mr. Wang from Huayi. I'm here to introduce you to Mr. Cheng. Come and meet me."

Wang Xiaolei smiled and said, "No need, no need. We met in Venice. Yifei is also a very good actress with a bright future!"

Liu Xiaoli cannot let her daughter act willfully this time. The Beijing circle behind Huayi is quite powerful. At least she is not qualified to act arrogantly in front of a company like Huayi.

In the first decade of the new century, the entertainment industry was full of powerful factions. After the Mango TV mentioned above officially became a force in entertainment capital by relying on the reform of local TV stations, the four poles of entertainment culture in China were basically formed: the Hong Kong and Taiwan circle, the Northwest circle, the Hunan Army, and the Beijing circle.

Let me say a few more words here. At this time, Shanghai had not yet formed an entertainment industry force that was particularly united and capable of producing a fixed number of works.

For example, Sun Li, a representative of Shanghai actors in later generations, started her career with TV series such as "Jade Guanyin" and "One Meter of Sunshine" in the Beijing circle, and became completely popular after starring in "The Legend of Zhen Huan" directed by Zheng Xiaolong in the Beijing circle in 2010.

Where there are people, there are rivers and lakes. Of course, there are more detailed small circles in these major mountains, and they are also intertwined with each other. I will not go into details here.

After receiving her mother's advice, Liu Yifei knew that now was not the time to throw a tantrum, so she walked up to Wang Xiaolei and greeted him, then said nothing.

Liu Zeyu had experienced Concubine Liu Yi's temper last time, so he didn't force her. He asked his attendants to put the chairs in the waiting area, told Zhang Jizhong that he would not disturb her, and left.

Wang Xiaolei and Liu Zeyu planned this meeting under the pretext of visiting the set, so of course they had to save face.

Then a truck of ice water, drinks, mosquito repellent and sunscreen products was delivered, and in the evening, it was arranged that all the main and supporting actors would have dinner together. Naturally, the actors were eager to have the opportunity to meet the Huayi boss.

The filming order returned to the set, and the cast and crew followed the routine and finished filming the morning's scenes.

"Mom, you didn't call him here, did you?"

Liu Yifei and her mother returned to the hotel to rest, and her little face was still tense.

Liu Xiaoli said hurriedly: "It's all a misunderstanding, Xixi. I don't know where he knew this."

Liu Yifei thought about it, but there were some things she didn't say. She knew it was not easy for her mother to raise her since she was a child. At that time, her last name was An. She sat on the back of Liu Xiaoli's bicycle every day and ran around to various theater troupes to watch her mother perform on stage.

When she was a little older and went to the United States, Liu Xiaoli had another unsuccessful marriage. However, she protected her daughter very well. It was not until Liu Yifei decided to return to China to become an actor that she contacted Cheng Jingfei, an old friend of the An family, to plan a star path for her daughter.

Concubine Liu Yi instinctively resisted these petty intrigues and had no interest in contacting people or things that she disliked or did not appreciate.

But she knew how to be considerate of her mother and couldn't bear to complain about her even a little.

For Liu Xiaoli, the choice she faces now is extremely delicate.

One is Lukuan, a new and promising company with unlimited potential.

One is a combination of the local Yanei and the domestic entertainment giant Huayi. At present, Cheng Jingfei seems to be leaning towards this side.

The two sides seem to be at loggerheads.

And the target was her daughter, Concubine Liu Yi.

All the gifts given by fate have been secretly priced.

If Liu Xiaoli had read Zweig's "The Queen of Guillotines", she might have realized that the entertainment industry is not the smooth road it seems.

If you make a wrong move, you lose everything!
(End of this chapter)