Chapter 1455: Scheming

Zhao Fusheng's target was actually Yu Nan!

Ye Jing hadn't expected it, Wang Anquan hadn't expected it, and even Yu Nan herself, the person involved, hadn't expected it. She stared at Zhao Fusheng in surprise, her mouth wide open, unable to understand no matter how hard she thought why Chairman Zhao would want to sign her.

No one thought Zhao Fusheng had improper intentions toward Yu Nan.

What a joke. A big boss worth billions, if he really wanted a certain actress, he wouldn't need to go to such trouble. A single word, and someone below would handle everything for him.

The world is just that realistic. Everyone knows how to add flowers to brocade, but no one offers charcoal in the snow.

Fawning on the high and trampling on the low is human nature.

Thinking of this, Wang Anquan's brows furrowed even tighter.

He knew very well that there were too many directors like him, who hadn't made it big, in this circle.

Even worse, if a film flopped, his status might plummet overnight.

And in the entertainment industry, a director replaced by newcomers who wants to rise again has about the same odds as starting from scratch.

You see, opportunity doesn't come around all the time.

Originally, Wang Anquan had high hopes for Yu Nan. He believed she would definitely become a top actress in the future.

But the problem now was that Zhao Fusheng was clearly asking him to make a choice.

Choose his career, or choose Yu Nan.

"How about this, no rush. You two go back and think it over." Zhao Fusheng smiled and said to Wang Anquan.

Then, he glanced at Yu Nan again: "Miss Yu, think it over too. Our Future Films is quite strong. Signing with our company will be very beneficial for your future development."

The reason he wanted to sign Yu Nan was simple: this woman was excellent at literary films and could also handle commercial movies. She was a highly cost-effective actress.

There was no reason to let such a good actress slip away.

"Alright, we'll take our leave then."

Seeing this, Wang Anquan stood up and left. It seemed he planned to go back and discuss it with Yu Nan.

Zhao Fusheng didn't care at all how they would deliberate. The meat was on the chopping board; how to cut it was his business. The only choice they had was the position in which they lay.

Ye Jing saw Yu Nan and Wang Anquan off, then returned to the office, looking at Zhao Fusheng curiously: "You don't like Wang Anquan?"

As a friend of Zhao Fusheng, he naturally knew how Zhao Fusheng treated different people. Clearly, anyone familiar with him could tell that Zhao Fusheng didn't like this guy when facing Wang Anquan.

Zhao Fusheng nodded: "It's not that I dislike him; I think this person has poor character."

Ah?

Ye Jing was startled, a bit baffled. How did it come to character?

Zhao Fusheng waved his hand: "Let's not talk about this. Yu Nan is a good actress; you can sign her."

He now felt that top stars might not be as useful as these skilled, powerful actors. The former might be popular for a few years, but the latter could remain active in the circle for a long time.

For a film and television production company, the latter undoubtedly had higher plasticity.

"Are you so confident that Yu Nan will definitely sign with our company?" Ye Jing asked in surprise.

Zhao Fusheng laughed: "Haven't you heard? There's a saying: If a woman is inexperienced, take her to see the world's splendor; if she has seen it all, take her to ride a carousel."

He paused, then said to Ye Jing: "What kind of person do you think Yu Nan is?"

Ye Jing pondered for a long time: "In life, she should have seen it all. But in movies, she's still an innocent little girl. I can tell she longs to step onto the international stage."

"Yes, such a woman is ambitious." Zhao Fusheng said calmly: "What we need to do is provide her with a stage. Under these circumstances, she simply can't refuse our terms."

Ye Jing fell silent, having to admit that Zhao Fusheng's grasp of human nature was frighteningly precise.

……

……

The matter of Yu Nan and Wang Anquan was just a small interlude. Zhao Fusheng had come to see Ye Jing today for something else.

"I saw a report that the Hengdian Group contacted you?"

Zhao Fusheng asked Ye Jing.

Hearing this, Ye Jing's expression immediately turned serious. He nodded: "Yes, it seems they want us to invest and buy shares."

Buy shares?

Zhao Fusheng frowned but said nothing.

In August 1996, to shoot the film "The Opium War," Hengdian built its first film base: Yangcheng Street. Since then, this "first town south of the Yangtze," which "burst onto the scene and became a town," took its first step toward becoming China's film base. To this day, Hengdian World Studios has become the domestic film base with the most shooting scenes, the most complete supporting facilities, the longest historical span, and the largest scale globally. It boasts a high-tech indoor studio covering nearly 2,000 square meters and 23 meters high, the largest of its kind in China, and is known as the Oriental Hollywood.

The vast scale and rich shooting scenes have attracted many domestic and international film directors to bring their crews for location shooting.

In Zhao Fusheng's memory, hit films and TV series like "Hero," "The Promise," "Curse of the Golden Flower," and "Scarlet Heart" were all produced in Hengdian. A few years later, the annual output of film and TV works from Hengdian Film Base would exceed 4,000 episodes, accounting for a quarter of the country's total.

The rise of the film industry also spurred the rapid development of leisure tourism in Hengdian. As the world's largest film shooting base and China's only national-level film industry experimental zone, Hengdian Film Base is also the only special-grade scenic spot among domestic outdoor film shooting bases. Hengdian, covering ten square kilometers, has over a dozen star-rated hotels with more than 8,000 beds, complete with high-end hotels, base hotels, amusement parks, nightclubs, sauna centers, performance centers, fitness centers, and bowling alleys. Bookstores, bars, internet cafes, and tea houses are everywhere; snacks and restaurants offer both northern and southern flavors; nightlife is colorful—truly a one-stop shop for eating, drinking, and having fun. Casually, you might even run into a long-admired star.

Currently, the film city has seven major scenic areas: Qin Palace, Along the River During the Qingming Festival, Dream Valley (Jiangnan Water Town), Dazhi Chan Temple, Guangzhou Street and Hong Kong Street, Ming and Qing Palace Garden, and Pingyan Cave Mansion. Additionally, there are six bases under construction: Shanghai Bund, Tang Palace and Tang Street, China Cultural Park, Jiulong Grand Canyon, Lovers' Valley, and Film Dream World.

To be honest, Zhao Fusheng had been eyeing this fat piece of meat for a long time.

After all, that was real money.

Investing in films might lose money, but building a film base was basically a sure win.

It's like running a company might fail, but renting out venues—who's ever heard of losing money on that?

So as soon as Zhao Fusheng heard about this, he rushed to Future Films.

But Zhao Fusheng hadn't expected that Hengdian Film Base actually wanted him to invest.

"Are they having financial difficulties?" Zhao Fusheng asked Ye Jing.

Ye Jing shook his head: "Not sure."

That was the truth. Even he had only just received the news.

Zhao Fusheng frowned: "Send someone to investigate. First, find out what they're really up to. We can't just be someone else's shield for no reason."

This was true. In business, such things often happened. Not all cooperation intentions would ultimately come to fruition.

Zhao Fusheng cared a lot about cooperating with Hengdian, but he didn't want to become someone else's stepping stone or backdrop.

Ye Jing heard Zhao Fusheng's words and nodded: "I understand."