Chapter 1337: The Businessman's Approach

In fact, in the eyes of many top executives at Future Group, including Liang Jingyu and Ye Jing, Zhao Fusheng, their boss, was simply too formidable.

Often, Zhao Fusheng rarely spoke casually, but a single word from him could enlighten them, and he almost never made mistakes, as if he were a meticulously logical robot.

Actually, they overestimated Zhao Fusheng. The reason he mostly kept silent was that years of life experience had cultivated in him a good habit: never make any decision lightly before being absolutely certain.

No matter what, he would carefully consider everything before making up his mind to act.

And once he decided to do something, he would persist to the end and complete it diligently.

After all, times had changed; he was no longer alone. When it came to assets worth hundreds of millions, making a snap decision would be sheer madness.

Even though Zhao Fusheng knew the future direction of many things, he dared not easily conclude that his decisions were always correct.

Because the uncertainty of the future was the greatest variable.

"Old Liang, your idea was influenced by Lee Soo-man, right?" Zhao Fusheng looked at Liang Jingyu and asked bluntly.

After all, they were his own people; it was better for him to say certain things than for Liang Jingyu to realize them later.

Liang Jingyu was startled, then nodded, but his expression remained unchanged as he said seriously, "Chairman, I know this proposal might seem inappropriate to you, but I really think it's a good approach."

Zhao Fusheng laughed and waved his hand, "No, no, don't misunderstand. I'm not disagreeing with the idea; I just think you might have been misled by that old fox Lee Soo-man."

"Huh?"

Liang Jingyu was taken aback, somewhat surprised.

Clearly, he didn't understand what Zhao Fusheng meant.

Zhao Fusheng explained with a smile, "South Korea still has many restrictions on foreign artists. For example, if you train a few trainees there, they might have to wear masks when performing on stage, or might not even be allowed to perform at all. I think no one has told you this, right?"

Liang Jingyu was dumbfounded, staring at Zhao Fusheng, "Chairman, you're not joking, are you?"

Zhao Fusheng nodded. In fact, he knew this because he had once seen an interview with Han Geng recalling his experiences. When Han Geng debuted in South Korea, he had to wear a mask on stage due to this restriction and couldn't participate in many performances. So Zhao Fusheng remembered it vividly.

Liang Jingyu was stunned. He really hadn't expected that South Korea had such regulations.

Clearly, Lee Soo-man hadn't mentioned this.

From Liang Jingyu's reaction, Zhao Fusheng knew he had been fooled by SM Entertainment.

But that wasn't surprising. Both Lee Soo-man and Kim Young-min were old foxes in the entertainment industry. Liang Jingyu might be a talent when it came to investment, but when it came to such cunning, he was far inferior to them.

Kindness is not a sin; Zhao Fusheng had always firmly believed that.

Thinking this, Zhao Fusheng looked at Liang Jingyu, "Don't listen to SM. We are shareholders with our own channels in China. Why should we be manipulated by them? So you don't need to consider their opinions at all. Just acquire a few small entertainment companies locally in South Korea, recruit trainees, train them, and then negotiate with TV stations for cooperation. The three major TV stations in South Korea are the largest. With your domestic film and television resources as a foundation, they will be willing to negotiate with you."

Then Zhao Fusheng smiled, "Don't forget, South Koreans are eager for cultural export."

Liang Jingyu remained silent. He understood every word Zhao Fusheng said, but what struck him was why he hadn't thought of all this before.

As Zhao Fusheng said, although Future Group's strength in South Korea was not comparable to large entertainment companies, as long as they were willing to spend money and cooperate with talent scouts and small companies in various regions, they could still find some promising talents.

"Also, when selecting people, remember: strength is secondary. Girls must be beautiful, and boys must be handsome. That's the most important thing." Zhao Fusheng looked at Liang Jingyu and instructed seriously.

Ye Jing frowned beside him, hesitated, then spoke up, "Chairman, we're selecting singer-stars, not a beauty pageant. If we only focus on looks..."

He didn't finish, but the implication was clear: if it turned into a beauty pageant, they might as well just stand there and sell their faces.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head, "You have to understand, we're planning to create idol groups. Whether handsome or beautiful, the audience must like them at first sight. Think about it: if an idol group doesn't appeal to the audience, will they listen to their songs or buy their albums? If someone has exceptional singing skills, we can promote them separately as a singer. But for idol groups, remember: singing ability only needs to be passable; looks are the most important."

Liang Jingyu nodded, "The Chairman is right. Members of idol groups don't sing very difficult songs."

That was true. After all, if a song was performed by group members, each person only had a few lines; there wasn't much opportunity to showcase their singing skills.

Seeing that Liang Jingyu understood, Zhao Fusheng nodded with satisfaction.

For an idol group, having one or two members with good singing skills was enough; as long as the rest weren't too terrible, they wouldn't be criticized. The biggest advantage of a group was that even poor singing could be masked by the group's overall brilliance.

Unless it was someone like Yang Chaoyue, whose singing was exceptionally bad, but even she had her strengths that attracted fans.

Idols are not powerhouse singers or actors; idols are traffic stars.

Actors and singers can become stars or superstars, but a star is not necessarily a pure actor or singer. The most obvious examples are the young idols: they are stars, but their acting and singing skills...

Well, let's talk about what Jia Ling looked like when she was thin.

The general direction was set; the specific cooperation details would be handled by Liang Jingyu and Ye Jing. But Zhao Fusheng felt a bit pleased thinking that some future Korean idol groups might be cultivated by his own company, wondering what that would be like.

...

...

Ye Jing and Liang Jingyu took their leave. Zhao Fusheng had planned to call Jiang Wen to arrange a dinner, but unexpectedly, Jiang Wen had already made plans, reportedly with the 'Samo'大哥 from Hong Kong.

Zhao Fusheng had a decent impression of that guy; relatively speaking, he took care of those around him. The stuntmen in the Hung Family had insurance, and even when they left, they parted on good terms. Compared to a certain大哥 who liked playing online games, Hung Samo was not bad.

After all, he was genuinely in the entertainment industry, while the other later became a political figure.

Of course, everyone was smart and had their own interests; some things were just left unsaid.

Before the handover, Hong Kong stars actually had a tough time. Despite their glamorous appearances, they didn't earn much money.

Think about it: Andy Lau, one of the Four Heavenly Kings, after years of acting, almost went bankrupt because of his company Tianmu. Ultimately, it was because he hadn't made much money before.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Hong Kong was rampant with gangs. Often, they would force actors to make films at gunpoint. Getting a meal was already good; as for payment, they might give you a red envelope. High salaries? Dream on.

Why did Stephen Chow love money so much? Why did Tony Leung take any bad film?

Simply put, during their heyday, they really didn't earn much.

Even companies with backgrounds like Win's couldn't avoid this, because when profit was at stake, many went mad.

But now it's better. With the decline of Hong Kong cinema, many Hong Kong practitioners have come to the mainland to develop. Although there are some unspoken rules here, the overall environment is decent.

After all, public security in China is good. If any gangster dared to force someone to make a film at gunpoint, the police would teach them a lesson in no time.

"China has no mafia."

That old man's words had settled the matter.

But recalling the many Hong Kong films he had seen, Zhao Fusheng was quite interested in that 'Samo'大哥. So he said to Jiang Wen on the phone, "Is it convenient for me to come over? I'd like to meet him too."

Jiang Wen was startled, "You want to meet Hung Samo?"

He paused, then laughed, "Why do you need to come in person? I'll mention it, and tomorrow I'll bring him to visit you."

This was no joke. Zhao Fusheng's status was different now. Hung Samo might be a big shot in the Hong Kong entertainment circle, but in front of Zhao Fusheng, he was nothing.

That was the power of capital.

There was a natural hierarchy between a star and a successful businessman.

But Zhao Fusheng didn't think that way. He was simply interested in Hung Samo as a person and didn't intend to collaborate with him; that was Ye Jing's job.

So Zhao Fusheng smiled and said to Jiang Wen, "No need. It's just a private meeting. I watched a lot of his movies when I was a kid."

Jiang Wen blinked, finally understanding Zhao Fusheng's intention: this guy wanted to meet his idol.