Little Wen…
Director Fan sucked on his teeth, his whole body radiating an aura of reluctance.
Wen Ying pretended not to notice and greeted Director Fan with particular enthusiasm to sit down, Please take this seat.
As she spoke, she pulled out the host’s chair for him. Director Fan had no way to refuse.
Ah, fine, he would sit then.
The contract was already signed anyway, and going back to the hotel for a nap was out of the question now. He might as well enjoy a good meal.
Wen Ying and Yuan Fenghui took their seats, one on Director Fan’s left and one on his right. For this meal, Director Fan was truly on edge, heart pounding.
With the contract settled, Wen Ying and Yuan Fenghui would not dwell on it any longer. Wen Ying was more concerned about the progress of the Crown of Thorns project.
Manager Guan has poached quite a few people from Tianjiao.
Wen Ying was still smiling sweetly. Director Fan lit a candle for Manager Guan in his mind, I heard the script is even finished, and filming can start any day now.
That was indeed remarkably fast.
For such a film and television project, from initial planning and preparation to officially starting production, delays of one or two years were not unusual.
Especially for adaptations from novels, there was still a process to turn the novel into a script. It could take as little as one or two months, or up to half a year. The script itself, from first draft to revisions and then to the final version, required considerable time.
The speed of turning Crown of Thorns into a film and television drama was too quick!
Wen Ying thought about it and realised it was not so surprising after all. The original work for Crown of Thorns was plagiarised from Starry Night with You, which was already a mature film and television project. Adapting Crown of Thorns would not take much effort.
Hearing that Crown of Thorns would start filming soon, Wen Ying and Yuan Fenghui exchanged a smile.
Yuan Fenghui shot Wen Ying a look, and Wen Ying immediately raised the glass in front of her, Let us not talk about those unpleasant people and matters. For our second collaboration, and for many more opportunities in the future, I shall toast you with juice in place of wine!
Many more opportunities in the future?
That sounded good!
Director Fan, who had flown in late at night and negotiated all day in Chengdu, felt his exhaustion soothed.
If the young girl was not easy to fool, then do not try to fool her. With more sincerity and fewer tricks between them, they could cooperate happily.
Director Fan downed his drink in one go and reflected on himself, If I had fought harder for Tianjiao back then, how could the broadcast rights for Starry Night with You have been snatched by another provincial channel? Now I am hoping for more collaboration opportunities in the future too!
Indeed, Starry Night with You had originally been the top choice for Hunan Provincial TV. Director Fan had high hopes for it but had not fought for it with all his might.
Even if Director Fan had leaked a bit of information to Tianjiao in advance, letting them know that Love’s Cruise had taken the slot, Yuan Fenghui might still have had a chance to win it back.
But Director Fan, out of his own interests, had harboured selfish thoughts and chosen to stay silent. In a fit of anger, Yuan Fenghui had simply bypassed Hunan Provincial TV and sold the broadcast rights to another channel.
That incident was nearly a year old now, yet Yuan Fenghui still harboured resentment, and Mrs Wang did too. They both looked upon Director Fan with displeasure no matter what.
With the two sides collaborating again, Director Fan took the initiative to reopen what seemed like a healed sore. He looked at Yuan Fenghui with utter sincerity, and she smiled gracefully, raising her glass as well, What is past is past. As Wen Ying said, let us look to the future together!
Director Fan felt a weight lift from his heart.
That evening, Wen Ying, sipping her juice, managed to get Director Fan thoroughly drunk.
When leaving the restaurant, Director Fan was staggering all over the place and was eventually carried back to the hotel by a subordinate who had come to Chengdu on business with him.
After settling Director Fan, Yuan Fenghui, who had also drunk quite a bit, mustered her spirits and had the driver send Wen Ying home first.
On the way back, Wen Ying quietly reminded her, Director Fan is the sort of person we can work with when we hold the advantage, but if we fall to a disadvantage, he might…
Yuan Fenghui, half-lidded in her drunken haze, finished for her, You mean when we are at a disadvantage, Director Fan might waver in his stance? You are spot on. This flaw is not unique to Director Fan; others have it too. This circle follows the principle of kicking those who are down and fawning over those on top. To keep the Director Fans from ever turning on us, we must always hold the upper hand!
Could one afford to be proud after achieving just a little success now?
Of course not!
Even the reddest stars could fade.
Even the biggest film companies would encounter money-losing projects.
Anyone content with their current achievements and refusing to move forward would be taught a lesson by society!
It might be in five years, or ten, but society’s beatings would come, just late rather than never.
After speaking, Yuan Fenghui’s eyes were fully open, without a trace of drunkenness left.
Wen Ying thought about it and truly admired Yuan Fenghui.
With that mindset and awareness, falling once was nothing at all for her. Even after tumbling ten or eight times, she could rise again.
How fortunate Tianjiao was to stand in the same camp as Yuan Fenghui!
Wen Ying reminded herself once more that, though reborn into two lives, she must never lose her humility. There were far too many people in this world who were formidable without needing a second chance.
…
No sooner had Director Fan bought the broadcast rights for Tianjiao’s new drama than the news spread back to Hunan Province overnight.
Manager Guan was very surprised, Has Old Fan lost his mind, or taken a bribe from Tianjiao? To offer such generous terms for their new drama!
For Tianjiao’s new drama, Director Fan had shelled out 55 million for five years of exclusive broadcast rights, with other terms mirroring those of Starry Night with You, even leaving the online streaming rights to Tianjiao.
It was not a star-studded cast, nor a hot topic, yet Director Fan was willing to fork over 55 million for the drama. Naturally, Manager Guan suspected some under-the-table dealings in this collaboration!
Liang Dan was clearer-headed than Manager Guan and could understand Director Fan’s generosity.
Old Fan dares not take bribes; too many eyes are on his position at the station. It is not strange that he would pay so much; this is Tianjiao’s drama, and also Zhang Guangzhen’s drama.
Alleyway Folks had already aired up to the fourth episode.
Xu Mei’s character had not appeared yet.
But that did not prevent Alleyway Folks from receiving rave reviews from the audience.
The viewership ratings for Alleyway Folks were not out yet, but based on past experience, Liang Dan judged that the premiere ratings would not be below 4 per cent. As word of mouth spread, the ratings would climb higher and higher. Back then, no one had realised Zhang Guangzhen had the chops to write serious dramas. Idol drama scripts were easy to write, but serious ones were not. If Liang Dan had known how deeply hidden Zhang Guangzhen’s talents were, she would never have let him go!
At that thought, Liang Dan’s gaze towards her husband grew ever more dissatisfied, Letting go of one Yuan Fenghui was bad enough, but you worked with Zhang Guangzhen too. How could you let him slip away as well?
Manager Guan felt guilty, The team I poached from Tianjiao, I definitely will not let go again.
It had better be so!
Liang Dan believed in retaining talent with high salaries. Though Manager Guan was reluctant, he dared not contradict his wife at this moment.
High salaries it would be then.
After all, once Crown of Thorns wrapped, the company would make a tidy profit!
Manager Guan was extremely optimistic.
…
7 April 2007, Saturday.
The viewership ratings for Alleyway Folks were finally out.
Day one: 4.93 per cent.
Day two: 5.22 per cent.
By the third day, it had already soared to 5.61 per cent!
As of 6 April, Alleyway Folks had aired the first eight episodes on Oriental Channel, with word of mouth fermenting across the entire internet and receiving unanimous praise.
Wen Ying had not even had a chance to congratulate Xie Qian when he shared an explosive piece of news with her first, The DNA test results are out too.
