Chapter 1439 A New Idea

To be fair, Zhao Fusheng was not a bad-tempered person; he had plenty of patience with his family.

But even so, faced with Fan Baobao's morning sickness, he was nearly driven crazy.

"What's wrong with you?"

When Jiang Wen saw Zhao Fusheng again, he noticed the guy looked particularly unwell.

Of course, Jiang Wen himself looked terrible too.

There was no help for it: the box office of *The Sun Also Rises*, released on May 1st, had flopped. Old Jiang was so furious that he even claimed in front of the media that audiences didn't appreciate his work, immediately causing an uproar.

"Don't even mention it." Zhao Fusheng shook his head helplessly. In his previous life, he had never experienced his wife being pregnant; only now did he realize how torturous pregnancy could be.

Luckily, his mother was here; if he had been alone, Zhao Fusheng felt he might have completely fallen apart.

"That's just how pregnancy is." Jiang Wen patted Zhao Fusheng on the shoulder. "Bear with it, and it'll pass."

Zhao Fusheng smiled and nodded. "What about you? I heard *The Sun Also Rises* didn't do well at the box office?"

"Not just not well—it was terrible."

Jiang Wen didn't hide anything from Zhao Fusheng.

In fact, he felt a trace of relief now: thank goodness he had gone to Hong Kong to seek investment back then; if he had dragged Zhao Fusheng into it, he would be even more embarrassed now.

"It's normal. Given the current situation, your film leans too much toward art, so audiences naturally won't buy it."

Zhao Fusheng didn't mince words and directly pointed out the problem with Jiang Wen's film.

In fact, it wasn't just this one film; throughout his entire directing career, Jiang Wen's works had always had this issue.

Those who knew Jiang Wen understood that he liked to insert his own personal touches into his films.

It was like an author who enjoys expressing his own views in his books. Some readers might like it, and the work would sell well and be very popular.

But conversely, if readers didn't like it, the work would naturally be ignored.

Jiang Wen's films were basically like this.

When the public accepted his personal touches, *Let the Bullets Fly* became a box office hit.

But when the public didn't like his stuff, *Gone with the Bullets* and *Hidden Man* both failed miserably.

Jiang Wen himself knew this problem. Hearing Zhao Fusheng's words, he gave a helpless bitter smile.

"A leopard can't change its spots. I can't shake this habit." After a moment of silence, Jiang Wen said to Zhao Fusheng.

This was truly what he felt.

In fact, everyone is the same. Even Jiang Wen, though his films often won awards, still hoped for box office success. The few films he had collaborated on with Zhao Fusheng before, though more commercial, had done well at the box office, making Old Jiang feel he had gained a much better grasp of commercial films.

But this time, *The Sun Also Rises* made him realize that without Zhao Fusheng, he was still a box office poison.

"It's okay."

Zhao Fusheng laughed. "There will be other chances. For now, just spend some time at home with your kid."

That was all he could do to comfort Jiang Wen. In fact, in the original timeline, Old Jiang really didn't have many profitable films, yet many investors were still willing to put money into him—an interesting phenomenon.

"Don't comfort me."

Jiang Wen waved his hand. "I'll talk to Ye Jing later. If the company has a good script, I'll act in it. And for TV dramas, I can direct."

Though his film box office was poor, Jiang Wen was confident that directing a TV series wouldn't be a big problem.

Zhao Fusheng smiled but said nothing.

He knew Jiang Wen was feeling upset and needed an outlet.

After all, everyone is like that; when they fail occasionally, they feel a sense of despondency.

Once he recovered, Old Jiang would still be the person determined to leave his name in the history of Chinese cinema.

As they say, a leopard can't change its spots—that's exactly the kind of person Jiang Wen was.

"By the way, I heard the head office is restructuring?"

On the way back, Jiang Wen casually asked Zhao Fusheng, "What, are you planning to focus on one line of business?"

Zhao Fusheng shook his head. "Not exactly. I just think the company has invested in too many projects, so I want to lighten the load. Oh, by the way, I previously invested in a mountain products processing industry in western Sichuan. Are you interested?"

Me?

Jiang Wen was taken aback, not expecting Zhao Fusheng to ask if he was interested in a side business.

Zhao Fusheng nodded. "Yeah, you don't think you can be an actor or director forever, do you? Besides, given your current situation, do you think your child will have to rely on this for a living?"

As the saying goes, prepare for a rainy day. In Zhao Fusheng's view, Jiang Wen was the kind of stubborn person who didn't know how to adapt. Even in this state, he still didn't think about a backup plan—that wasn't just obstinacy, it was foolishness.

Sure enough, Jiang Wen initially looked indifferent, but when Zhao Fusheng mentioned the child, he fell silent.

Perhaps every man is like this: outside, they can grit their teeth and stand firm, but only when facing their own child do they become gentle.

If it were just himself, Jiang Wen truly didn't care what he ate or used; he could pack up and sleep at the train station.

But now he was a father!

The word 'father' meant responsibility.

Jiang Wen looked at Zhao Fusheng. "How much investment is needed?"

"I'm not sure either; the people below need to calculate it." Zhao Fusheng said. "I'll have the finance department figure it out. If you don't have the money, we'll deduct it from your share dividends."

"Okay." Jiang Wen nodded in agreement.

He knew Zhao Fusheng was helping him. After all, at Zhao Fusheng's level, if he wanted to find a partner for a good project, there were too many candidates; it didn't have to be him, Jiang Wen.

But Zhao Fusheng still chose him, for one simple reason: he wanted to help.

Faced with a friend's help, some people often try to tough it out, but that's actually the wrong choice.

Because true friends don't mind helping you.

The prerequisite is that you make them feel you are worth helping.

……

……

Having Jiang Wen invest in the mountain products processing project in the place where Wang Zhen and Chen Shijie were located was an idea that came to Zhao Fusheng on a whim.

In Zhao Fusheng's view, that project was simply too small.

Not that it wasn't profitable, but at the time of investment, his only goal was to help the local people escape poverty.

Under the current circumstances, finding someone to take over was undoubtedly more suitable.

Jiang Wen's identity was the most fitting. In fact, in Zhao Fusheng's opinion, it was a win-win choice for both sides.

From the local perspective, the people would benefit and could escape poverty.

And from Jiang Wen's side, after taking over, the investments and preparations already made by Future Group would quickly become an advantage for him.

More importantly, Jiang Wen's fame could also serve as an advertisement for the local mountain products.

It was a mutually beneficial deal, and Zhao Fusheng felt Jiang Wen had no reason to refuse.

……

……

After sending Jiang Wen home, Zhao Fusheng sat in the car and called Zheng Yao to tell her about it.

Zheng Yao had no objections and even suggested, "Maybe we can use this as a promotional point."

Promotion?

Zhao Fusheng was a bit surprised and asked puzzledly, "What's there to promote?"

In his view, it was just a business deal—what was there to promote?

Zheng Yao chuckled. "Of course there is. Look, Jiang Wen is a celebrity. Taking over this project means contributing to the local economic development. You should know how big the advertising effect is."

Zhao Fusheng was taken aback; he hadn't thought of that before. Now reminded by Zheng Yao, he realized it might actually be a good idea.

"See, I'm right, aren't I?" Zheng Yao smiled when she saw Zhao Fusheng silent.

Zhao Fusheng was quiet for a moment, then finally nodded. "I'm thinking, this might be a good model."

Model?

This time, it was Zheng Yao's turn to be confused. What was Zhao Fusheng talking about?