Director Fan finished watching the first two episodes of Alley Folks and decided to slot Tianjiao’s new drama into Hunan Provincial TV’s July slot.
As for who to call to finalise the matter, that went without saying… Of course, it was Wen Ying!
Wen Ying was Tianjiao’s shareholder and could make decisions.
Wen Ying was also younger than Yuan Fenghui and Mrs Wang. Director Fan felt less psychological pressure negotiating with Wen Ying.
Feeling Manager Chen’s and Old Wen’s gazes fall on her, Wen Ying covered the phone receiver and returned to her room.
“Are you sure you want to give Tianjiao the July prime time slot?”
“Saying that makes us sound distant. I have always kept the July prime time slot for Tianjiao! Actually, it was the same before. Our cooperation has always been so pleasant. It is all those petty people stirring trouble that kept us from working on Galaxy and You.”
In the phone receiver, Director Fan’s voice was high-pitched and enthusiastic.
Galaxy and You was truly one of the most classic idol dramas in recent years. It premiered in July last year. Nearly a year later, local stations were still rebroadcasting it. Discussions on various online forums remained high.
This was a genuine hit drama.
Even if Love Cruise had not been halted back then, it could not have beaten Galaxy and You!
Missing the premiere rights for Galaxy and You was one of the biggest regrets in Director Fan’s career. After watching Alley Folks tonight, Director Fan swore he would not let the regret happen a second time.
Wen Ying did not point out Director Fan’s intentions: “Then let us sign the deal. Does Hunan Provincial TV still want exclusive broadcast rights?”
“It must be exclusive rights. We can reference the copyright term from The Princess’s New Clothes.”
The enthusiastic Director Fan was very shrewd. It made Wen Ying chuckle: “Reference the copyright term from The Princess’s New Clothes, then reference the copyright fee from The Princess’s New Clothes too? As you said, our cooperation is so pleasant… Why not skip these probing steps and talk about real terms? You know I have the college entrance exam soon. My studies are heavy. I do not have much time to haggle over cooperation details with you.”
Wen Ying lied with her eyes open. Her studies were heavy, true, but not so much that she had no time to discuss deals. Before picking up Director Fan’s call, Wen Ying had been chasing the drama!
The Princess’s New Clothes had sold its exclusive rights to Hunan Provincial TV back then. Yuan Fenghui negotiated the terms of “7 years for 70 million”. After 7 years, Tianjiao could reclaim the rights to The Princess’s New Clothes.
Now, for Tianjiao’s new drama, with no popular stars and Tianjiao having no prior serious dramas, Director Fan agreeing to the July slot was already a huge concession. Paying another 70 million for rights was impossible, not just for Director Fan but for any TV station.
Wen Ying did not insist on selling the new drama for 70 million, but the copyright term sold to Hunan Provincial TV was negotiable.
Seeing Director Fan hesitate, Wen Ying advised gently: “Why not wait a few more days? Wait until Alley Folks’ premiere ratings come out. Tianjiao will finish the post-production on the episodes too. Then you can decide?”
Wen Ying was so considerate that Director Fan felt uneasy instead.
“Little Wen, tell me secretly. Is Director Yuan contacting other TV stations?”
Wen Ying denied it outright: “That is impossible. How can you doubt Teacher Yuan’s character?!”
Director Fan trusted Yuan Fenghui’s abilities, of course.
As for character… Director Fan sometimes doubted his own. How could he trust others?
The more Wen Ying denied it, the more Director Fan overthought. He made a decision on the spot: “Ah, of course I trust Tianjiao! No need to wait for Alley Folks’ premiere ratings. Too much hassle. Let us sign now! Like this, Little Wen. You are busy with studies and have no time to come to Hunan Province. I will book a flight to Chengdu now to sign with Tianjiao.”
“Then the copyright term,”
Wen Ying drew out the end of her sentence. Director Fan cut in: “The copyright term is negotiable! I will bring the contract. We can discuss and revise it on the spot.”
With Hunan Provincial TV’s status in the industry, film companies always went to Hunan Province to negotiate. It was rare for Hunan Provincial TV executives to take the initiative to find film companies.
When the buyer accommodated the seller, in the supply-demand relationship, “demand” exceeded “supply”. The initiative fell into the seller’s hands.
Wen Ying stopped while ahead. She did not bully Director Fan further. She smiled sweetly:
“Good. Thank you for your understanding. We will wait quietly in Chengdu then. Looking forward to your visit~”
Listen to that. How sweet this little mouth was.
Sweet on the mouth, but her heart was hard as steel.
Only after hanging up did Director Fan snap back to his senses. He lightly slapped his own face twice.
You were too hasty!
You were blind!
You tried to trick the little girl!
What little girl was this? Clearly a young version of Yuan Fenghui.
With his face still stinging, Director Fan had someone book him a flight: “From Hunan Province to Chengdu. The soonest flight. What, six in the morning tomorrow? Good, that one!”
Six in the morning it was.
Did it not just mean getting up at three in the morning, then leaving home at four to reach the airport for check-in?
Worst case, he would not sleep tonight.
Director Fan swore that early tomorrow morning, he would be at Tianjiao’s building. After signing the contract, he could nap back at the hotel.
…
Having outmanoeuvred Director Fan, Wen Ying felt exceptionally pleased.
Director Fan was not honest. He actually harboured lucky thoughts to trick a little girl?
If she did not give Director Fan a lesson, what if he became even more arrogant later!
Wen Ying hummed a tune as she called Yuan Fenghui to give advance notice. She briefly mentioned Director Fan arriving in Chengdu tomorrow. Yuan Fenghui understood at once: “You just focus on classes tomorrow. I will receive Director Fan well and try to sign the contract tomorrow. In the evening, see your schedule. If you have time, I will have the driver pick you up after school. We can have dinner together with Director Fan.”
Wen Ying thought she was ruthless enough. Yuan Fenghui was even more so.
Director Fan had not even arrived in Chengdu, yet everything was arranged clearly. Business talks during the day, business dinner in the evening. She hoped Director Fan would be straightforward in negotiations tomorrow. That would determine the level of the evening business dinner!
Wen Ying smiled and agreed: “A dinner? Definitely have time.”
Was this just a simple dinner?
It was Director Fan coming to deliver money to Tianjiao!
With Zhang Guangzhen’s drama sold, Tianjiao would earn a good sum again. The year-end dividends for shareholders would be substantial. Even doing practice papers motivated Wen Ying.
Wen Ying called Yuan Fenghui for another matter too.
“Teacher Yuan, you watched the first two episodes of Alley Folks too, right? What do you think of how Ji Xin filmed it?”
Oh ho ho.
Yuan Fenghui held back a laugh: “You watched it too. Do you not have your own judgement?”
She did have a judgement.
Wen Ying just doubted if she was professional enough.
This was, after all, the first drama Ji Xin filmed after Xie Qian took over. It was very important for whether Ji Xin could come back from the brink of death. It was also important for Xie Qian’s career layout.
Because she cared too much, Wen Ying inevitably felt anxious.
Truth be told, for the dramas where she was the screenwriter, she had not cared so much about others’ evaluations.
Wen Ying desperately wanted to promote Alley Folks on her blog. Xie Qian firmly disagreed.
