Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 90 Lurker Zhang Ruoyun
In an office building in Xicheng District, Zhang Ruoyun excitedly recounted her two-week life on the set in her father's office.

"Dad, you don't know, that last beam of skull light shining down from Teacher Feng's head was amazing! So that's how movies are shot!"

Zhang Jian said with a smile, "As long as you can learn something, that's fine. I heard you even found a teacher."

"Yes, his name is Huang Bo. Although Mr. Huang has a bit of an individual appearance, his acting is very good. Director Lu always praises him."

Zhang Jian was quite satisfied with this matter facilitated by his "ex-wife".

There is a rule of "exchanging children to teach" in the trade of learning a skill. No matter how much a child flaps his wings within the sphere of influence of his parents, he will never be able to become a soaring eagle.

He looked at his watch and said to his son, "Dad will have a guest later. Go upstairs and see how TV dramas are edited and learn from them."

Zhang Ruoyun had been working very hard on the set these past few days. She rubbed her eyes and said, "Dad, you got up too early this morning. I'm going to the bedroom inside to get some sleep. I'm so tired from working on the set lately."

Don’t ask why the boss’ office has its own bedroom. It is normal for leaders within the system and business owners to have a secret bedroom with a double bed, dragon and phoenix chairs, etc.

"Well, go ahead and don't make any noise."

After about two minutes, Zhang Jian stood up with a smile on his face as he looked at Liu Zeyu who pushed the door open.

"Mr. Liu! Nice to meet you. I'm sorry for not welcoming you in person."

The person who came was Liu Zeyu, wearing a well-fitting high-end suit. Putting aside other things, the style and appearance of the entertainment company boss were outstanding.

Zhang Jian was not fooled by his cool and capable temperament and uninhibited smile. This kind of son of an official was the most difficult to deal with.

Unlike the children of the rich courtyards in the old city, they all have their roots in the imperial city, and when there are conflicts and needs, they can discuss and reason with each other.

Young masters like Liu Zeyu do not have the idea of ​​settling down and developing gradually. They take advantage of the situation wherever they go and usually do things without considering the consequences.

"Mr. Zhang! I've heard a lot about you!" Liu Yanei sat down on the single sofa, crossed his legs, and shook the watch chain that had slipped off his wrist.

"Mr. Zhang, I've heard your Mengzhou Club is a great place to exercise. If you're welcome, I'll bring some of my father's friends over to join in the fun next time."

Zhang Jian had a kind face and said politely, "That's what I've been looking forward to, Mr. Liu! As the saying goes, building a nest attracts the phoenix. If you and the other leaders don't come, this club will be unworthy of its name!"

"Hahaha, Director Zhang is so good at speaking."

Liu Zeyu thanked the secretary who handed him the teacup in a very gentlemanly manner. His eyes swept across her round buttocks and he gently blew the floating leaves in the boiling water.

When Zhang Jian heard him addressing him from Mr. Zhang to Director Zhang, he knew the main point of the drama was about to begin.

Liu Zeyu calmly put down his teacup and sighed pretentiously, "To be honest, Director Zhang, I came here to do business with you."

"Mr. Liu, please speak." Zhang Jian pretended not to know.

"It's a bit embarrassing to say this, but Mr. Zhang, since you are an insider, I won't be shy about it." Liu Zeyu said with a pretentious self-deprecating smile.

"I have a little sister from my uncle's family who just got admitted to the Beijing Film Academy this year. I want to do my best to pave the way for her. After all, you know how difficult it is for new actors in this industry to make it."

Zhang Jian understood the meaning of the music and gave a thumbs-up, smiling: "Boss Liu, a beautiful lady is a perfect match for a gentleman. It seems to be a beautiful story of a gentleman's deep love, haha!"

"Mr. Zhang, let me get straight to the point. Please give me the adaptation rights for 'Chinese Paladin'. The price is negotiable."

This is not the tone of a business man that Liu Zeyu uses. This is usually the tone of a young master who is used to forced buying and selling.

Zhang Ruoyun in the room was startled by what she heard and sat up in fear.

"Chinese Paladin"? Isn't that the reward my stepmother promised Director Lu?
He tiptoed down to the bed and put his ear to the door to eavesdrop on the conversation outside.

The young high school boy, who is inexperienced in the world, has a simple sense of right and wrong. Thanks to Lu Kuan's care in the crew, he feels that he is a part of the team. He spares no effort to participate in role-playing from odd jobs to guest appearances, and gains a certain sense of participation and identity.

Zhang Jian was also secretly figuring out the intricacies of this matter.

After the deal between Liu Bei and Lu Kuan was reached, Yong Yu Le requested that the adaptation rights of "Chinese Paladin" be valued at 100 million yuan to be used by the company to offset part of its debt to Zhang Jian.

To be fair, the price Yongyue asked for is very high.

"Chinese Paladin" is the first game-adapted TV series in the industry. Before that, no one knew the huge profit prospects of this IP, nor did they know whether such a new theme of fairy tales could be accepted by the market.

Liu Bei wanted to give Lu Kuan face by making things evenly distributed, but Zhang Jian didn't think so.

He is a qualified businessman. He feels uncomfortable when he suffers a loss and never gets enough of taking advantage!
He had no interest in the script's overly alternative and groundbreaking subject matter, and he also insisted on lowering the valuation of Yongyue Le Company without any concessions.

After all, the lower the purchase price, the higher the profit he can make from selling it to Lu Kuan.

I guess this is the difference between literary actors and businessman directors.

The situation was at a stalemate for a while. Wang Yongle was an old gambler. Now he was not afraid of those who wore shoes even though he was barefoot. He would rather be auctioned off than agree to sell the adaptation rights of "Legend of Sword and Fairy" at a low price.

Judging from Liu Zeyu's tone, Zhang Jian obviously didn't know that the adaptation rights of Yongyuele had not yet changed hands.

He immediately decided to reach a transfer agreement with Wang Yongle regarding the rights to adapt "Chinese Paladin" to offset some of his debts, and then "select the best candidate" between Liu Zeyu and Lu Kuan. "Mr. Liu, I'm going to the bathroom. Please sit down."

Zhang Jian asked his female secretary to add more tea and turned to walk into the bedroom.

Glancing at his son sleeping soundly on the bed, Zhang Jian quickly dialed the phone: "Contact Wang Yongle, agree to his asking price of 100 million, and sign the contract as soon as possible."

The sound of the toilet flushing was heard, and Zhang Jian came out wiping his hands.

"Mr. Liu, as far as I know, your company has just been established. Are you planning to produce the adaptation yourself after purchasing the rights?"

Liu Zeyu smiled and said, "Don't worry about that, Director Zhang. I've contacted a film and television company in Shanghai, the same company that produced The Book and the Sword."

Zhang Jian nodded in understanding. He was also a TV drama director and had been immersed in the industry for a long time. He knew that Liu Zeyu was talking about Tangren Film and Television.

The subject matter and tone of the adapted "Legend of Sword and Fairy" are indeed in line with the consistent style of Tangren's works.

In the first decade of the millennium, the initiative for establishing most film and television dramas was still in the hands of screenwriters who had transformed from writers and film and television companies. Different TV drama producers were good at different themes because of differences in their main directors, screenwriters, and acting teams.

The TV dramas produced by Beijing-based film and television companies such as Huayi and Mengzhou Film and Television are mostly military-themed. Later works such as "Soldier Assault" and "My Captain, My Regiment" are the result of in-depth cooperation between Huayi and screenwriter Lan Xiaolong.

Zhang Jian's Mengzhou Film and Television Media has representative works such as "Snow Leopard", "Black Fox" and "Li Jian".

Hairun Film and Television, founded by Liu Yanming and Haiyan, mainly adapts novels by Beijing writers such as Haiyan, Wang Shuo, and Ma Weidu, from the earliest "The Story of the Editorial Department" and "Desire" to the later "Never Close Your Eyes" and "Jade Guanyin".

In the 90s and the beginning of the new century, "Haiyan Drama" was an absolute star-making machine, making a number of stars famous, including Lu Yi, Sun Li, Xu Jinglei, and Tong Dawei.

In addition to the Beijing circle, there are currently two TV drama production companies in China that are most familiar to the post-90s generation: Zhouyi and Tangren.

Zhouyi’s style is best known for its martial arts, while Tangren established the style of ancient idol fantasy starting from “Chinese Paladin”.

With the help of Wang Xiaolei, Liu Zeyu got in touch with Tangren, who couldn't wait to start planning the project. His full confidence in this local young official meant that Cai Yinong didn't have to worry about obtaining the adaptation rights.

Zhang Jian decided to test Liu Zeyu's sincerity first, and said with a hint of embarrassment: "Boss Liu, if you had asked earlier, we would have definitely offered the adaptation rights. But now we have already agreed to it, so..."

Liu Zeyu sneered in his heart, if you didn’t agree to Lu Kuan’s Wenjie Culture, I would come to intercept it!
The killing move he and Zhang Jianting had conspired against Lu Kuan for the first time was foiled at the last moment, and he had to watch helplessly as Lu Kuan got one step ahead of him and coveted his "forbidden delicacy".

When had the young master ever been so humiliated? He decided to listen to Wang Xiaolei's advice and use multiple channels to take the lead.

The action of spreading rumors among the society about Zhang Tianshuo's younger brothers has been going on for several days. Anyone who gets angry will definitely go straight to Lu Kuan to seek revenge.

Hearing the hint of evasion in his words, Liu Zeyu raised his eyebrows and said, "Mr. Zhang, everything else is easy to talk about, but you must give me some face on this matter."

A hint of anger rose on Zhang Jian's face at just the right moment. He said something asking others to give him face, but he didn't think about whether his words gave others face.

The young master's previous elegant disguise was instantly removed, revealing his hideous true face.

Liu Zeyu is not a person who always uses his power to bully others. Zhang Jian's parents are experts in the field of geological environment in China. There are many university professors and senior government consultants who receive subsidies from the State Council. If he gets angry, he will be in trouble.

"Director Zhang, let's put it this way. I have some good relationships with the two Mr. Wangs from Huayi."

Liu Zeyu gave him a light blow with a stick and then offered him candied dates.

"Director Feng has a commercial film called 'Cell Phone' that's going to start filming after the Chinese New Year. It's in the planning stage. I'll put some connections in place and see if you can get involved."

Zhang Jian's eyes lit up when he heard this. Ever since the amazing masterpiece "Hero" came out, industry insiders and social hot money have begun to take an interested look at the domestic films that are about to be produced.

Investors naturally want to reduce risks as much as possible, so the targets for film investment are very limited. Currently, the only directors who can guarantee domestic box office success are those big directors.

At this point in time, Feng Xiaogang's box office guarantee is even higher than that of other first-line stars.

In 1997, his "Party A and Party B" broke through the siege of Hollywood blockbusters of that year with a box office of 3600 million, becoming the savior of the domestic film market and creating the concept of "Lunar New Year Box Office".

Zhang Jian’s ex-wife Liu Bei is the heroine of “Party A and Party B”. How could he not know the strength of Xiao Gangpao and the people in the Beijing circle such as Huayi behind him?

Seeing that he was frowning, Liu Zeyu was secretly proud of himself. This family-inherited corn and candied date combination technique always worked.

The world is bustling with people pursuing profit, and he couldn't think of any reason for Zhang Jian to refuse.

Zhang Jian was ecstatic. This move would kill three birds with one stone. Not only could he make a considerable profit from the price difference of "Chinese Paladin", he would also have the opportunity to participate in Huayi's film projects, and he would also be able to gain the friendship of the young yamenei.

As for whether it would offend Lu Kuan, he didn't even consider it.

Zhang Ruoyun only half understood what was said inside. She could only tell from the other party's tone that this was the condition Liu Zeyu offered to her father. For a moment, she could not see his expression.

But at this moment, Zhang Jian's silence was deafening, as if the balance of victory would inevitably tip towards the enemy with Lu Kuan.

Zhang Ruoyun knew that she couldn't wait any longer, so she buried her head in the quilt and called Lu Kuan.

(End of this chapter)