Chapter 0305: When Drinking with a Bosom Friend, a Thousand Cups Are Too Few

It is often said that when drinking with a bosom friend, a thousand cups are too few; when talking with someone who disagrees, half a sentence is too much. This saying undoubtedly fits Jiang Wen perfectly.

After cooking for Fan Baobao, Zhao Fusheng headed to the International Hotel. When he saw Jiang Wen, the guy was in a state of extreme excitement.

Upon seeing Zhao Fusheng, he first gave him a warm hug, then said, “You, my friend, are my soulmate. Everything I wanted to express, you’ve written it all out!”

Zhao Fusheng rolled his eyes inwardly. This script was based on the original film he had seen in his previous life; of course it had written out everything Jiang Wen wanted to express. After all, the original screenwriter of this film was Jiang Wen himself.

Even if Zhao Fusheng had a thick skin, he couldn’t calmly accept Jiang Wen’s praise. He shook his head repeatedly: “No, no, no. I just continued writing based on the ideas and thoughts you shared with me before.”

Jiang Wen blinked: “Is that so?”

Zhao Fusheng laughed heartily, then turned to Wang Zhonglei: “President Wang, I’m really sorry for the past couple of days. I haven’t had a chance to entertain you properly. Please be magnanimous and don’t mind.”

Wang Zhonglei waved his hand with a smile: “You don’t need to be polite. With this guy around, do you think he’d let me take you out even if I wanted to?”

As he spoke, he naturally pointed at Jiang Wen.

Jiang Wen touched his head and chuckled: “What you said—shouldn’t we prioritize work?”

Hearing his words, Zhao Fusheng and Wang Zhonglei laughed together. Clearly, both of them were skeptical about his statement.

“Come on, let’s grab a meal.” As the host, Zhao Fusheng naturally took the initiative to invite the two to dine.

“Great, great, great. Today we must have a few extra drinks.” Jiang Wen said with great delight.

They went downstairs, requested a private room, satisfied the waitress’s request for an autograph and asked her to keep it confidential, then Jiang Wen pulled Zhao Fusheng and Wang Zhonglei into the room.

“Let me say this first: I still have to go home later, so I’ll only have a few drinks.” Zhao Fusheng stated his situation upfront.

Wang Zhonglei and Jiang Wen were taken aback, then laughed: “Alright, we’ll have another chance to drink. Today, let’s just enjoy ourselves.”

Food and wine were soon served. The three were starving, so they all started picking up dishes.

After several rounds of drinks and a few courses, Zhao Fusheng finally looked at Wang Zhonglei: “President Wang, so if this film is to be invested in and produced, does your company plan to invest?”

Clearly, since Wang Zhonglei had been following along until now, it was as obvious as lice on a bald head—Huayi intended to get involved in *Devils on the Doorstep*.

Wang Zhonglei nodded and pointed at Jiang Wen: “I want this guy to join our company, so I have to support him. Whether this film loses money or makes money, we’re investing.”

Jiang Wen’s face flushed with emotion. Although filming had not officially started yet, both Jiang Wen and Wang Zhonglei were well aware that *Devils on the Doorstep* would most likely fail to pass the film censorship board.

There was no way around it. Just from Zhao Fusheng’s script, one could see that the film’s content was far from the mainstream themes currently promoted.

Or rather, even if Zhao Fusheng had written mainstream themes into the script, based on Wang Zhonglei’s understanding of Jiang Wen, the guy’s temper was unbending—he would rather break than bend. Even if the film were banned from release, he would never compromise.

At this time, Jiang Wen was not yet the mature man who would yield to the tide of commercial cinema. He was merely a director and actor desperately trying to make a great film for his cinematic ideals.

“No more words—cheers!” Jiang Wen raised his glass and downed it with Wang Zhonglei, while Zhao Fusheng smiled and took a sip to keep them company.

In truth, Wang Zhonglei’s words seemed sincere, but there was still some exaggeration in them.

Or rather, this guy was also putting on a show.

Many people have a misconception that making a banned film definitely loses money. In reality, that's not the case. Banned films can still make the producers a huge profit.

The reason is simple: although they can't be released domestically, they can be released abroad. Moreover, the copyright fees abroad are calculated in US dollars.

For example, if 'Devils on the Doorstep' couldn't be released domestically, they could just sell the copyright abroad. As long as they get a good price, they might not only avoid losses but also make a profit.

Of course, Zhao Fusheng thought Jiang Wen couldn't be unaware of this, but since he was playing dumb, Zhao Fusheng naturally wouldn't point it out.

Mind your own business. They weren't close friends anyway, so Zhao Fusheng didn't need to offend anyone.

Only young people fresh out of society would blurt out whatever they see. True veterans wouldn't speak casually without understanding the situation.

The reason is simple: who knows if the two of them were just going with the flow or pretending to be generous?

Blindly trusting others will only end up hurting yourself.

Life isn't easy. Zhao Fusheng didn't want to live sentimentally. He just hoped to live happily and smoothly. As for ideals and dreams, he'd realize them if he had time; if not, he thought it better to keep a low profile and earn a living.

The meal was enjoyable for all, especially since Zhao Fusheng deliberately kept a low profile, perfectly portraying a novice designer who didn't want to enter the entertainment circle but only wanted to dominate the advertising world.

Both Jiang Wen and Wang Zhonglei had a good impression of Zhao Fusheng. Wang Zhonglei even said that if Zhao Fusheng wanted to develop in the entertainment circle, he could come to Huayi.

'With you, Dajun, and Old Jiang, our Huayi will definitely become the industry leader,' Wang Zhonglei said, perhaps emboldened by the alcohol.

Zhao Fusheng frowned slightly, keenly noticing that Wang Zhonglei seemed to have omitted a name. If that famous literary figure of rogue literature didn't exist, did it mean that Huayi's renowned New Year comedies from his past life were now a blank slate?

To be honest, Zhao Fusheng wasn't very interested in the film circle. He could only remember a limited number of movies, just a few. Writing occasionally was fine, but in the long run, he knew he would eventually run out of inspiration.

Zhao Fusheng didn't have the ability to push forward despite difficulties, nor did he intend to get too involved with the Wang brothers. They were entrenched in the Beijing entertainment circle, and Zhao Fusheng didn't want to join because he wasn't used to being a subordinate.

Although he had been repeatedly crushed by his father, losing all face as a reborn person, Zhao Fusheng still believed that with his own abilities, he would eventually do better than the Wang brothers.

So, for Zhao Fusheng to join the Beijing entertainment circle as a little brother, occasionally receiving resources from the big shots, was simply ridiculous to him.

After seeing off the two big shots, Zhao Fusheng leisurely walked back to his little nest.

But Wang Zhonglei and Jiang Wen, who had seemed drunk, both sat up from their beds, got up, opened the door, and coincidentally met in the hallway.

'Come to my room,' Jiang Wen said to Wang Zhonglei. At this moment, he showed none of his earlier cynical demeanor; the clarity in his eyes revealed that he wasn't drunk at all.

Similarly, Wang Zhonglei had none of the boldness he'd shown when recruiting Zhao Fusheng. His face was full of shrewdness, pure as a profiteer.

The two went to Jiang Wen's room, sat down on the sofa, and Wang Zhonglei smiled, 'So, what did you see?'

Jiang Wen shook his head, 'Young, but very experienced.'

'Yeah, even Andy Lau couldn't do anything with him,' Wang Zhonglei chuckled. 'I originally thought he was waiting for a better offer to enter the entertainment circle, but now it seems we were both wrong.'

Jiang Wen nodded, 'For now, he doesn't seem interested. But I feel like this young man is plotting something.'

Wang Zhonglei was taken aback. Thinking about what he knew, he suddenly felt that Jiang Wen's words made some sense.