Chapter 1377: Well-Intentioned Efforts

In a sense, Zhao Fusheng had always firmly believed that as long as he steadily walked the path before him, his future life would certainly be more worth anticipating.

Leaving Dong Guoxiang with a task to produce the proposal as soon as possible, Zhao Fusheng then left with a smile.

It had to be said that Dong Guoxiang's执行力 was strong, or rather, otaku programmers, when it came to their professional field, could always surprise people in various ways.

"Overall, there's no major problem. In principle, I don't object." Zhao Fusheng said to him after reviewing the plan Dong Guoxiang had submitted.

It was now mid-September. According to Dong Guoxiang's plan, at the latest by mid-next year, that is, the summer of 2006, Future Technology could produce a finished product.

To be honest, although Zhao Fusheng was not optimistic about this plan deep down, he felt that the enthusiasm of these young people deserved encouragement.

For programmers, if their enthusiasm was low, they would naturally lack motivation in their work.

"Then we'll officially start." Dong Guoxiang said excitedly.

Clearly, he was very invested in this matter.

"You can refer to the approach of World of Warcraft." Zhao Fusheng suddenly recalled a video he had stumbled upon online in his previous life and said with a smile, "Just create two factions, the kind where character roles battle each other. Well, I can't explain it clearly, but I think it would be interesting."

Hmm?

Dong Guoxiang was startled. Although Zhao Fusheng's words were not very clear, to him, they seemed to open the door to a new world.

Sometimes it was like this: a leaf blocking the view of Mount Tai. Why did people often say, "A talk with you is worth more than ten years of reading books"? It was because someone's words could inspire you, letting you know what to do and what not to do.

Carrying the inspiration Zhao Fusheng had given him, Dong Guoxiang left contentedly.

Zhao Fusheng watched his retreating figure and sighed inwardly, only hoping that he and his subordinates would be lucky. After all, if nothing unexpected happened, Tencent Technology would soon announce its代理 of the game Dungeon & Fighter. By then, Dong Guoxiang and his team would face even fiercer competition.

In the following days, Zhao Fusheng and Fan Baobao welcomed a very important person.

That's right, Miss Fan Er, Fan Beibei, honorably became a primary school student at the Affiliated Primary School of Normal University, officially arriving in the capital.

Because the transfer of school took some time, Fan Beibei started school half a month later than other children. But fortunately, there were several of her kindergarten classmates at the affiliated primary school, so the little girl quickly融入 the school atmosphere.

With her around, Zhao Fusheng and Fan Baobao had to take turns picking her up and dropping her off every day. Fan Baobao was delighted with this, saying in her own words that when she had children in the future, she would also try her best to pick them up and drop them off.

Zhao Fusheng deeply agreed.

Parents are a child's first teachers, and leading by example is often the most important. In Zhao Fusheng's understanding, if parents do not fulfill their duties to their children, they should not talk about dedication. He remembered reading a report as a child about an excellent teacher who, to tutor her graduating class, forgot about her child with a fever at home. As a result, the child lost hearing due to the fever.

At that time, the teacher was selected as an excellent teacher in Ninghai City.

Zhao Fusheng found this terrifying, for reasons that need not be said. It could only be said that some people might never understand in their lifetime.

This was not refined egoism. If a person could not even love their own family, how could they claim to love others?

……

……

Because Fan Beibei came to study in the capital, Zhao Fusheng and Fan Baobao's original plan to travel was ultimately shelved, so he spent most of his time in the capital.

Coinciding with the upcoming press conferences for several TV series invested by Future Film and Television, Ye Jing simply dragged Zhao Fusheng along. After all, the media had been notified in advance and would not take random photos.

In Ye Jing's view, Zhao Fusheng's personal attendance as chairman was also a way to give everyone face.

But to be honest, this kind of press conference was actually very boring. The investors and cast members, who had spent money, sat on stage flattering each other, cursing in their hearts while smiling on their faces.

As for the reporters below, they were all just participants who had taken red envelopes to go through the motions. The questions they asked, Zhao Fusheng felt that even if he asked them himself, they would be more insightful.

So after attending twice, Zhao Fusheng no longer wanted to go.

One day, Ye Jing again invited Zhao Fusheng to attend the company's new drama press conference, and Zhao Fusheng flatly refused.

"Not going." He said two words impatiently, waving his hand: "As the general manager, your attendance is already enough to give them face. I'll pass."

"What's the matter? Bored?" Ye Jing was not angry; he smiled and sat down beside Zhao Fusheng.

This guy had indeed been very idle lately. Because Zheng Yao had ended her vacation and brought the Future Group back on track, Zhao Fusheng had become idle again. In Jiang Wen's words, he had seen Zhao Fusheng more often recently than in the entire previous year.

"It's not boredom; it's too hypocritical." Zhao Fusheng said bluntly.

"It's normal. If you really peel away the packaging of celebrities, you'll find that the entertainment industry is just a bunch of adults scheming to cheat children and other adults out of their money. That's the most real and shameless truth." Ye Jing sat there, lit a cigarette, and slowly said to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng was taken aback, somewhat surprised, and looked at Ye Jing in astonishment, not expecting him to have such thoughts.

But then he relaxed. After all, Ye Jing was a big shot in the industry. Without this awareness, he wouldn't have made it this far.

"Do you know why those good actors are praised?" Ye Jing looked at Zhao Fusheng and asked slowly.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head, but his eyes were on Ye Jing, clearly hoping Ye Jing could give him an answer.

Ye Jing smiled: "Those good actors are essentially people who don't want to cheat children out of money. So in every work, they go all out, doing their best to play their roles well and bring them to life, striving not only to win praise from children but also from adults. Tell me, shouldn't we support such good actors?"

Zhao Fusheng sighed and said nothing more.

He had to admit that Ye Jing's words had successfully convinced him.

But regardless, Zhao Fusheng still disliked attending those so-called press conferences because he felt he couldn't maintain a smile in that environment.

"As you wish." Ye Jing also knew that Zhao Fusheng wouldn't understand his words anytime soon, so he waved his hand and said no more.

In a sense, the two had differences in their understanding of the entertainment industry. Ye Jing came from this circle and had more ties to the entire entertainment industry. His friends and childhood buddies were all from this circle. Even he himself had混迹 in the circle before, so Ye Jing had feelings for the entertainment industry.

Zhao Fusheng did not.

Or to be more precise, although he married Fan Baobao and was friends with Jiang Wen and Yu Feihong, for Zhao Fusheng, the entertainment industry was just a business.

You can't make a businessman develop any respect for his products.

Ye Jing actually understood this.

He even knew that if Zhao Fusheng didn't have feelings for Fan Baobao and wasn't friends with Jiang Wen and Yu Feihong, Future Film and Television's treatment of artists would probably not be so lenient now.

After all, on the surface, the relationship between an agency and an artist is not that of superior and subordinate, but of partners. The company provides packaging and resources for the artist, the artist gets resources to earn money, and the company takes a cut.

But in fact, artists are far inferior to agencies.

The reason is simple: without the resource support of an agency, no matter how popular a star is, they will be forgotten by the public.

It sounds absurd, but it is true. The memory of the public and fans is actually similar to that of fish—only for a short while. If a star loses exposure, they will be completely forgotten before long.

Why are celebrities so afraid of being shelved? Because once shelved, an artist loses all resources and becomes无人问津.

The most obvious example is Zhang Weijian, who was banned in mainland China for beating up Xiao Bailong in the original timeline. Nicholas Tse had the protection of Emperor Entertainment and Yang Shoucheng, with continuous resources, returning to the top a few years later. Even years later, he successfully transformed by selling the persona of a good father and hard worker, starting his own variety show.

And Zhang Weijian?

His earlier works like "The Young Hero Fang Shiyu" and "The Monkey King: Quest for the Sutra" were undeniably popular, but without the resource support of his agency, he quickly faded into obscurity. It wasn't until many years later, after the decline of Hong Kong TV dramas, that he had the chance to play leading roles again.

That is the gap, a huge gap.

Actors are heartless. Anyone who makes a living in the entertainment industry is not a simple character. If they were truly naive white lotuses, they would have been completely devoured by the circle long ago.

Those who choose to stay are not easy to deal with.

So in Zhao Fusheng's view, Ye Jing's approach was actually wrong. He could certainly offer studio contracts to those actors and celebrities, but correspondingly, they were doing business. Don't mix feelings with business, because mixing feelings and business is an especially foolish thing, second only to starting a company with your best friend.

Countless people have proven with facts that it's best to keep business strictly business; that benefits everyone.