Chapter 316: Sky-High Transaction, Surprises for the Artists

Perhaps because it was the first project she was responsible for after joining the company, Jiang Xuerou attached extraordinary importance to the screening sessions for *Zhen Huan Zhuan* and *Sword Snow Stride*, pestering Wei Jin until he agreed to come over.

One must know, Wei Jin had not attended a television drama screening session for several years.

For this screening session, Shanhe Media organized over a dozen television station acquisition departments with purchasing power to attend.

These included first-tier domestic television stations such as Mango TV, Modu TV, Beijing TV, Su Province TV, Jiangzhe TV, and Anhui Province Satellite TV.

Seeing the acquisition Department Heads of these dozen-plus stations greeting Wei Jin with beaming smiles, Director Zheng Xiaolong, who was also at the screening site, felt quite emotional.

Having been involved in the television drama industry for decades, Zheng Xiaolong could be considered a living fossil in the circle.

Over these years, Zheng Xiaolong had directed many works and participated in selling dramas many times; he knew the temperament of these domestic television stations very well.

Being able to summon so many television stations to watch a screening together, and being able to make these acquisition Department Heads lower their status, smile broadly, and even faintly display a fawning attitude—this already demonstrated the transcendent status of Shanhe Media in the television drama field.

However, it was no wonder; although the number of works produced by Shanhe Media over the years was not large, every single one was a blockbuster, naturally making them sought after by television stations.

Seeing this lineup, Jiang Xuerou felt a deep sense of pride and belonging well up in her heart; one must know that when Zhouyi sold dramas back then, they really had to beg everyone they could.

There was no helping it; since 2005, the domestic film and television circle had developed quite rapidly, and according to statistics, several thousand television dramas were produced every year.

Yet beneath the flourishing, flowery exterior lay an exceptionally cruel reality.

The number of television dramas was high, but the broadcast capacity of domestic television stations was limited; the television drama market as a whole was one where supply exceeded demand.

Under these circumstances, television stations, as the buyers, were naturally in an absolutely dominant position.

For some television station acquisition Department Heads, extorting the production crews was a common occurrence; some even went so far as to have relatives listed in the crew as producers or supervisors, without participating in any actual work, just to obtain high labor remuneration.

Thinking of this, Jiang Xuerou felt more and more that joining Shanhe Media back then was truly a wise decision; from then on, she would never have to look at the faces of these television stations again.

"Director Zheng."

Wei Jin greeted Zheng Xiaolong upon seeing him; this person was an existence who had stood tall in the television drama industry for decades, with a very high status in the circle, and was worthy of respect.

"President Wei."

After some pleasantries, Wei Jin saw that everyone in the conference room had mostly arrived, nodded to Jiang Xuerou, and the screening session officially began.

Wei Jin was not worried about the sales of these two dramas.

*Zhen Huan Zhuan* was a popular Qing Dynasty costume drama produced by Shanhe Media and directed by Zheng Xiaolong.

With the golden signboard Shanhe Media had built up over these years and the industry status Zheng Xiaolong had established over decades, *Zhen Huan Zhuan* was essentially a strong alliance, and its appeal to television stations could not be greater.

As for *Sword Snow Stride*, this was the first work Wei Jin had debuted, and with the addition of the popular young actor Qiao Zhenyu, who was famous across Asia, and the Four Dan Actresses Yang Mi, who was currently in the limelight, the viewership ratings were also guaranteed.

It could be said that from the moment these two dramas were initiated, countless eyes inside and outside the circle had been fixed on them; there was no worry about selling them at all.

Sure enough, as Wei Jin had expected, after the half-day screening session, the first-round broadcast rights for both dramas were finally settled.

*Zhen Huan Zhuan* was jointly acquired by Shanghai Television, Mango Satellite TV, and Jiangsu TV, with the price per episode soaring from 1.6 million all the way to 2.6 million.

*Sword Snow Stride* was not to be outdone, jointly acquired by Anhui Province Satellite TV and Jiangzhe Satellite TV, with the price per episode reaching as high as 2.2 million.

"This is too crazy."

Not only were the remaining television station acquisition Department Heads present shocked, but even Jiang Xuerou and Zheng Xiaolong felt it was somewhat unreal.

One must know that *Zhen Huan Zhuan* had 76 episodes and *Sword Snow Stride* had 40 episodes; calculating it, just these two television dramas sold for nearly 300 million in the first round.

Such a price was basically impossible for anyone to break in the last two years, and with such a sky-high price, the other television stations really had no way to compete.

Only these few wealthy and powerful television stations, with annual drama acquisition budgets of nearly 1 billion, could afford to play.

For the first time, Jiang Xuerou intuitively felt the power of Shanhe Media, and Zheng Xiaolong, standing to the side, also sighed with emotion.

"Shanhe Media truly lives up to its reputation."

Watching the various reactions on the scene, Wei Jin smiled without a word, hiding his achievements and fame deep within. ——Wei Jin had not expected Lu Yang's efficiency to be so high; in just over half a month, he had negotiated the adaptation rights with the person involved.

"It's a pity he only agreed to a cameo; otherwise, with the real person and real events, and him playing himself, the box office when the movie is released would probably explode."

In the office, Lu Yang said with some regret.

"You kid, just be content; this is a psychological trauma for the person, after all. Being able to settle the adaptation rights and having him give face by making a cameo is already very good."

Wei Jin retorted unceremoniously; this fellow was simply insatiable and greedy.

"Hehe, I was just sighing about it." Lu Yang scratched his head.

"About when will the screenwriting department finish the script?"

Although Wei Jin had this drama in his mind, he could not rashly write a script before the adaptation rights were settled; now that it was a done deal, he could give the screenwriting department some pointers on the direction.

"This story itself is not complicated, and the information is easy to collect. We had already prepared for the adaptation before, so the screenwriting department expects to finish within three days."

"Alright, bring it over for me to see when it's done."

Wei Jin nodded; ever since he had the screenwriting department, many things had become much easier for him.

"By the way, this film doesn't have any special effects or big scenes; it mainly relies on the cast. Do you have any thoughts on the roles?"

"Hmm, I've discussed this question with the screenwriting department. If the original person doesn't appear, we would like to invite Liu Tianwang to play Mr. Wu, and Sun Honglei to play the kidnapper Hua Zi."

Wei Jin nodded upon hearing this; in the original version, it was Liu Tianwang who played the role, and the kidnapper was Wang Qianyuan.

However, changing it to Sun Honglei was not impossible; with his appearance, playing a kidnapper would be a true-to-life performance.

"Alright, once the script is out, go contact them yourself." ——In early April, Guangxian Media announced a new project to the public.

"Following *Mural*, Guangxian Media will launch a new film project again, still directed by Director Chen Jiashang."

"The film *The Four* has an investment of 90 million, with special effects shots handled entirely by Shanhe Ink; casting is currently underway."

Once the news was out, it immediately attracted the attention of a large number of actors; after all, it was a costume martial arts film with nearly 100 million in investment, which in any case was considered high-quality resources in the industry.

What's more, the artists under Guangxian did not have much fame and could not carry the banner at all, so they would mostly have to cast externally.

For a time, both Hong Kong artists and Mainland China artists began to take action; those in Hong Kong naturally looked for the director's team, while those in the Mainland connected with Guangxian—it was truly lively.

Seeing this news, Wei Jin remembered that the two roles Guangxian sent over had not been decided yet.

After pondering for a while, Wei Jin picked up the phone and pressed the internal line.

"Notify Zhang Xu to come see me." ——Beijing, Dongshanshu.

After some intimate affection, Jing Tian curled up in Wei Jin's arms, greedily breathing in the man's scent, like a kitten.

After a long while, Jing Tian looked up at Wei Jin and asked, "Brother, when do you start filming?" She didn't have any thoughts on the *Dixing Yinxing* project; after all, the female lead was a mother who had children, which didn't fit her age, and besides, the film was almost entirely No-object Performance, which was too difficult for her.

"In about another week."

Playing with Jing Tian's perky buttocks, Wei Jin answered somewhat distractedly.

News had already come from Chen Zhiming that the sets at the Digital Base had been built, the lightbox had been fully installed, and the conditions for starting production were completely met.

What was needed now was the actors' posture training for the zero-gravity state and the puppet team's movement rehearsals.

"Tian Tian, what about you? Any plans lately?"

"Just idling. You won't arrange any movies for me, and the scripts I pick you say aren't good, so just let me be the laziest little starlet in the entertainment industry."

Thinking of her current work situation, the little girl's alluring little mouth pouted up to the sky.

Wei Jin smiled upon hearing this; unlike Liu Yifei's naturally lazy personality, Jing Tian yearned for the entertainment industry, and she loved the feeling of standing under the spotlight.

But the little girl was very sensible; as long as he didn't bring it up, she almost never made demands, which made Wei Jin feel a sense of pity.

Lightly nipping at the girl's pouting little mouth, Wei Jin took out several scripts as if performing magic.

"Tian Tian, look at what this is?"

"Ah, so many?"

The little girl took the scripts with some surprise and couldn't wait to flip through them one by one.

After a long while, a look of hesitation appeared on Jing Tian's pretty face; she liked every script, but thinking of the day she walked on campus with Wei Jin, the little girl made a decision.

"Brother, let's go with this one."

Wei Jin raised his eyes to look, the corners of his mouth curling into a smile; he knew the little girl would most likely choose this one.

"Alright, but I'll be very busy for a while, so I estimate this project won't be able to start until after National Day."

"It doesn't matter, Brother. I'll take this opportunity to understand the script and interpret the character."

Listening to the little girl's understanding words, Wei Jin pulled her to sit on his lower abdomen.

"Hmm, this role has a huge contrast with you, and the growth arc is quite long, so you need to prepare well."

Supporting the girl's elastic, perky buttocks with both hands, the feel was excellent; Wei Jin looked into the girl's eyes as if a flame were burning, the "Rich Flower" was becoming more and more mature.

"Tian Tian, you've already chosen your favorite script, now what are you prepared to pay with?"

The girl's pretty face flushed red, and she took the initiative to take an eye mask from the drawer and put it on the man, instantly entering her role.

"Little Jin, you're not being obedient, tonight Big Sister is going to educate you properly." — *Hello Old Times* crew.

Having just finished a scene, Bai Bin was planning to drink some water when she saw her personal Assistant run over.

"Bin Jie, Director Zhang just called; for the female lead of *The Four*, President Wei specifically named you."

When the Assistant spoke, the joy on her face was hard to hide; that was a mega-production of nearly 100 million, their artist was being treated way too well.

The sound of their conversation wasn't low, and the others in the crew naturally heard it, their eyes showing envy as they looked at Bai Bin.

Even though they were artists from the same company, the others really didn't have the treatment Bai Bin received; the female lead of the TV series hadn't even wrapped yet, and the female lead of a movie was already fed to her mouth—this path was just too smooth.

"Did they say when filming starts? The scenes for *Hello* here will probably take another half a month or so to wrap."

Bai Bin felt sweet inside regarding her boss's deep affection, but she was still worried about the schedule, though her worry was clearly redundant.

"No problem, Director Zhang specifically asked about the schedule; they aren't starting training until the end of April and filming starts at the end of May."

Speaking of this, a smile appeared on the Assistant's face; the more her artist was valued, the higher she would rise with her.

"Bin Jie, President Wei is really good to you."

Bai Bin was just about to say something when she saw the rest of the crew walking over to offer their congratulations.

"Bin Jie, congratulations."

It was funny to say, but in Wei Jin's bed, Bai Bin was often the youngest, yet in this crew, she was actually the oldest.

In a great mood, Bai Bin displayed the style of a big sister, waved her hand, and generously declared.

"Thank you everyone, I'll treat everyone to a big meal tonight."

"Then we're going to eat a rich person's meal, haha." — Modu Drama Troupe, a rehearsal had just ended.

Wan Qian was packing her clothes while extending an invitation to the two people beside her.

"Datou, A-Fei, want to play a round later?"

Wan Qian was a veteran gaming fan; if she didn't play two rounds of *CrossFire* every day, she always felt uncomfortable all over.

"Sure, we're just waiting for Qian Jie to take us to fly, haha."

Wan Qian, Guo Jinfei, and Lei Datou were all from the Shanghai Theatre Academy and often made appointments to rehearse at the Shanghai Drama Academy, so their relationship was already very familiar, and they often played games together.

"Fine, I'll cover you guys, the usual place?"

"Forget it, last time we went we almost got surrounded, let's change places."

As the three were talking and laughing, they packed their things and were about to leave when Wan Qian's phone rang; as soon as she answered, the Assistant on the other end of the line said impatiently: "Qian Jie, good news, great news."

Wan Qian moved the phone slightly away from her ear; the Assistant's voice was simply too loud.

"Xiao Ru, slow down, what is it, speak clearly."

"Sorry, Qian Jie, I just received notice from Director Zhang; for the second female lead of *The Four*, President Wei specifically named you."

"Hmm? That *The Four* from Fiber? Second female lead? Me?"

"Yes, President Wei specifically named you, the specific situation is like this..."

Hanging up the phone, Wan Qian was still a bit dazed; a martial arts blockbuster with a 90 million investment, and the second female lead was just given to her like this? Was President Wei being too good to her? Did he really have any thoughts? Should she just give in?

"Qian Jie, congratulations, after the two rounds tonight, you have to treat us to some late-night snacks."

The heckling from Lei Datou and Guo Jinfei interrupted Wan Qian's thoughts, and she immediately stopped thinking about those messy things, answering generously: "No problem, order whatever beer and barbecue you want, haha."

(End of chapter)