Chapter 1209: A Film and Television Base?

The will to survive, once awakened, can be incredibly powerful.

Even Zhao Fusheng and Chen Shijie hadn't expected that, in order to stay alive, Sun Qian would inadvertently help them out.

At that very moment, in a restaurant near Wangfujing, two foreigners were feasting, their mouths greasy. Beside them sat Chen Shijie with a calm smile.

“Jay, your Chinese food! Zhen bang!” James looked up and gave Chen Shijie a thumbs up. Clearly, the restaurant Chen Shijie had brought them to today had satisfied them.

Chen Shijie smiled. “You're welcome.”

To be honest, he didn't know who he was meeting today. He had only seen a contact signal in a car outside the clubhouse, so he casually stepped out for a stroll. He believed that as soon as he left the clubhouse, a colleague would come to make contact.

“You two eat; I'm going to the restroom.” Seeing that the time was about right, Chen Shijie stood up and said to James.

James nodded, not suspecting anything unusual.

They had been inside for a while; there were no suspicious people in the restaurant, and since the restaurant was chosen at random, there was no need to worry about it being a contact point.

In fact, he had greatly underestimated the great descendants of Yan and Huang.

Or rather, in James's eyes, all Chinese people probably looked alike. He didn't notice that at the same time Chen Shijie entered the restroom, another man in a chef's uniform also walked in.

“Make it short!”

Standing before Chen Shijie was none other than Cao Jianguo. He held a piece of paper with writing on it: “Your plan is too risky. When Mr. Li enters the country, we can't guarantee we'll intercept all the funds. If he pulls any tricks, the operation will definitely fail. So your task is to cooperate with him in entering the capital. After he transfers all the money to Future Investment, then we make the arrest!”

Cao Jianguo seemed to know that Chen Shijie was wearing a bug and couldn't speak freely, so he didn't give Chen Shijie a chance to talk.

Chen Shijie frowned, about to say something, but Cao Jianguo waved his hand and took out another piece of paper: “Also, no matter what, the most important thing is to protect yourself. Zhao Fusheng and I have already discussed it; he will set a bait for Mr. Li to lure him in.”

After Chen Shijie finished reading the two notes, Cao Jianguo patted him on the shoulder and walked out.

From start to finish, the two didn't exchange a single word.

Chen Shijie stood there, not moving for a long time, his expression shifting. After a long while, he let out a deep breath.

He was truly moved.

Not to mention the sacrifices made by his old classmate Zhao Fusheng, the fact that Cao Jianguo, a dignified deputy director, had come specifically to make contact with him was enough to prove that in the eyes of his superiors, he was still being watched.

It is said that a man of wealth should not sit in a dangerous place. Although he had been undercover abroad for years, Chen Shijie knew very well that Cao Jianguo's status was far from ordinary. A deputy department-level cadre in his thirties with an outstanding family background—such a person, barring accidents, would surely rise to high positions in the future.

All he needed was impressive achievements.

And this time, as long as they caught Mr. Li, it was only a matter of time before Cao Jianguo was promoted to director.

Under such circumstances, Cao Jianguo was still considering Chen Shijie's safety rather than the success or failure of the case. It would be false to say Chen Shijie wasn't moved.

…

…

Zhao Fusheng didn't know that Chen Shijie and Cao Jianguo had already met. He was still worried that Chen Shijie might act rashly. If his identity were exposed, all his previous efforts would be wasted, and even the $15 million bait would be like a meat bun thrown at a dog—gone forever.

With nothing to do, Zhao Fusheng sat at home, turned on his computer, and started watching variety shows.

In this era, the Korean Wave from South Korea had begun to gradually expand its influence in China, most notably through variety shows like X-Man and Love Letter.

Ten years later, China would start mass-copying Korean variety shows. Programs like The Masked Singer, Go Fighting!, and Running Man, seemingly original, were actually based on templates that Korea had already used up.

Zhao Fusheng didn't have strong feelings about this. He was just an ordinary person who loved his country but wasn't rigid.

What Koreans could do, we could do too.

As long as we could innovate.

When anything new appears, it is immature and crude. Only through constant refinement in the river of reality can it shed its outer dirt and reveal its true face.

Zhao Fusheng didn't plan to interfere with domestic variety show production for now, as the timing wasn't right under the current circumstances.

Whether artistic creation or filmmaking, timing often matters. As the saying goes, the right time, the right place, and the right people—that's the principle.

Was Wolf Warrior 2 a good movie? Undeniably, yes. But if it had been released in a different slot, it might not have grossed over five billion yuan.

Dong Peng's City of Rock was also a decent film, but due to poor scheduling—clashing with Mahua FunAge's Never Say Die and the bad reputation of his previous film—it ruined what should have been a good box office.

“Looks like I should set up a film and television base.” Zhao Fusheng, watching a group of Korean stars performing in ancient costumes, suddenly had an idea.

You see, even in later years, although variety shows could amass huge popularity for stars, films and TV dramas still had a better effect on their careers.

Or more precisely, no matter when or in which country, the influence of movie stars is usually the highest, followed by TV stars and singers.

Of course, this isn't absolute; it varies in different countries.

For example, in the US, singers and movie actors have similar status, but TV actors are slightly lower. The main reason is that America can export culture through music and film, so singers and movie stars have greater influence.

In South Korea, the hierarchy of movie stars, TV stars, singers, and comedians is rigidly defined. Lower-level entertainers don't even qualify to speak to higher-level ones.

In China, however, the divisions aren't so clear. To be honest, even the gods probably can't figure out the Chinese entertainment industry.

But the film and television base industry, in Zhao Fusheng's view, could be profitable if done well.

Of course, it involved many complexities. Zhao Fusheng knew that even though Future Group was already quite strong, they couldn't easily start the project; they needed to navigate many obstacles.

These obstacles weren't just bureaucratic but involved many other aspects. Zhao Fusheng would need to think carefully.

“Hmm, I could bring Xue Yuanfang in on this.” Zhao Fusheng thought to himself.

Only he knew how powerful the Xue family would become in the future. Bringing Xue Yuanfang into this business would likely ensure success.

After all, how profitable the Hengdian Film and Television Base was, was obvious to all.

Although the investment would certainly be large, in Zhao Fusheng's view, you have to give to get. He might not necessarily build a base surpassing Hengdian, but at least he could expand Future Film's scope.

With that in mind, Zhao Fusheng opened his phone, dialed Ye Jing, and shared his idea.

On the other end of the line, Ye Jing was bewildered. He looked at Zhao Fusheng helplessly, suddenly feeling that his boss's mind was too active. Just a few days had passed, and now he wanted to build a film base. Didn't he think the scale was too big to handle?

But after a moment's thought, he realized that Zhao Fusheng's idea was actually feasible.

How did that guy's brain work?