Chapter 327: The Perfectly Ordinary Liu Tianxian

When a game becomes popular, it will always face the cheating problem—not only from rival companies targeting it, but also from skilled individuals in the community who profit from it. Still, if one really wants to eliminate it, it can be eliminated.

Take Tencent and Pig Factory—if they make up their minds, whether on the technical side or the legal side, they can wipe it out if they want to.

The trouble is overseas; that can only be handled by having the tech department improve and patch things, and by pressing Ubisoft to use legal means to strike back.

Games sabotaging each other is normal—haven't Tencent and Pig Factory been at each other's throats for ten or twenty years now?

Back when Fang Hong was reborn, they were still at it, and they squeezed Byte Games out of the picture. The game industry back then had entered an arms-race phase: it required not only sustained heavy investment but also the capacity for innovation, and without that capacity, you simply couldn't keep playing.

Speaking of now, the game market is still a blue-ocean stage. There's competition, sure, but the market space is huge—everyone can survive.

Apart from games, the video platforms don't really have anyone targeting them, and there's no crisis. Just develop step by step as planned.

Because Kuaibo isn't dead yet, the major video platforms will definitely first join hands to take Kuaibo down before anything else.

Kuaibo is the real deadly threat to every video platform!

Once that's taken care of, the real infighting among the video platforms begins—copyright wars, setting standards, self-produced content, all of it comes out.

Games aside, Fang Hong knew Chang'e was short on cash, so he had the Zhong family, under the name of a Cayman Islands company, inject 20 million US dollars into Chang'e.

The Cayman Islands company was set up in the first place to reduce the Zhong family's taxes, and now it's come in handy.

This money is from Fifty Shades of Grey's follow-up copyright fees, TV pay-per-view, streaming, DVDs, and the split from adult merchandise—money like this, by rights, earns no less than the box office.

It just comes in stretched out over time, unlike a theater run where you know in a week or two how much you've made.

For now, this is all that can be put in, because the Zhong family needs the capital pool to reinvest. They can't afford blockbusters anymore, but small-budget films are still doable.

Yu Xian has to work hard and keep shooting. The operation keeps getting bigger, the places that need money keep multiplying—it's really hard to keep up, but you can't just stop feeding it.

If you stop, the whole chain is missing a piece!

The Shallows has been set for release on April 12; it's already screening now, but the global opening-week box office hasn't come out yet.

The May Day holiday has too many Hollywood blockbusters, so no competing then!

North America's opening day was only 6.88 million—not a high box office, but plenty of buzz.

It's a small-budget film; we weren't expecting a huge box office. Crossing 100 million would already be satisfying.

April 15, sunny weather, temperature around 25 degrees.

This kind of weather is perfect for going out with family for a trip to the suburbs—not cold, not hot, very comfortable.

HR District New City—this place is open and desolate, full of weeds and untended wasteland everywhere, but to prepare for the groundbreaking ceremony, some areas have been tidied up a bit.

The people coming are all big names with real standing, plus officials, so of course you have to make it easy for them to walk around.

They say even the HR District leadership will be on site.

A wooden platform several zhang high has already been built, with a red carpet laid on top. The backdrop is red with white characters, reading: Yutu Group Digital Film and Television Base Project.

Below it, five bold, sweeping characters: "Lay the Foundation for a Century of Greatness!"

On the ground in front of the platform, a large red carpet has been laid out, and on top of the carpet sits a small mound of earth. Around the mound, a dozen or so shovels tied with red rosettes are stuck in at an angle.

In the middle of the yellow earth stands a stone tablet, carved with red characters: "Foundation Stone."

On both sides of the red carpet and on the platform, flower baskets are also arranged.

There are workers in hard hats here, as well as staff in white shirts guiding the guests who have come to attend the groundbreaking ceremony.

The people coming are all big names, so of course there have to be people to direct and explain things, and to pin a red 【flower】 on each of their chests.

Temporary tents have also been set up, so early arrivals can rest first.

Reporters have also been invited on site—reporters from local official media, like Beijing Daily and CCTV-6—but no interviews are being accepted.

Social media loves to make stuff up; official media sings praises—pleasant on the ears.

In the distance, a group of people is walking this way—the men in sharp suits, the women elegant and beautiful.

Liu Tianxian's long hair flowed over her shoulders, sparkling earrings hung from her earlobes, and she wore an all-white dress, looking lively, elegant, and ethereally pure.

The calves revealed below were straight and slender.

She wore light, simple makeup; under the sunlight her skin looked translucent and fair, and with her tall, slender figure, she gave off an impression of being delicately charming, with a curvy front and a lifted back.

The lifted back is real; the front isn't actually that curvy.

Liu Tianxian wore short boots, her feet on the dirt, a clutch in one hand, the other hand held in Fang Hong's as they chatted while walking.

Beside and behind the two of them were members of the Yutu board of directors. Apart from Meng Jun, who didn't come, Chen Zhixi, Yao Qi, Shi Zhimou, Huang Bing and a few others were all there, along with some attendants.

"You sprayed perfume today," Liu Tianxian said, catching the men's fragrance on him.

Looking at him in his sharp suit, hair slicked back in a pompadour.

"It's a formal occasion, of course I have to be formal. Not only do I have to give people a good look, I also have to give them a good smell."

Fang Hong spoke as if he had it all figured out, then added: "Does it smell good? It's the one you gave me last time."

"It's alright, smells good." Liu Tianxian smiled faintly, leaning her head slightly closer: "Smells like a man."

"Really? Want another sniff?" Fang Hong joked, pretending to raise his arm.

Liu Tianxian tugged at his hand—so many people around, behave yourself.

The people nearby didn't hear the two of them exchanging sweet nothings—they were already numb to it, each looking around at the surroundings on their own, or chatting with colleagues as they walked.

This place would be their office from now on.

Soon, as they approached, staff members pinned a red boutonnière on each of their chests.

Another group had already arrived—Li Xuejian, Zhang Huijun, Xie Xiaojin and others were all there, as well as Yang Yuanying, vice president of the Film Critics Association.

These people are all from the Beijing Film Academy circle, so they were happy to show their support.

The officials still haven't shown up yet!

"Teacher Li, Principal Zhang, Director Xie, President Yang—hello!"

"Hello! Hello!"

"."

Fang Hong and the others stepped forward and exchanged a few greetings with them.

Liu Tianxian also greeted them one by one, then stood prettily beside her man.

Chen Zhixi had met them all, but Yao Qi, Shi Zhimou, and Huang Bing were not very familiar with these people, so they just nodded in acknowledgment.

The leadership of this Jade Rabbit is all from Beijing Film Academy except Fang Hong; the others are not from Beijing Film Academy. Beijing Film Academy people are good at frontline production, and there aren't that many who are good at management.

Zhang Huijun, Li Xuejian and the others also responded.

Now Li Xuejian's voice was still quite good. He asked in confusion, "Are you two dating?"

"Didn't you know? These two have been together for quite a while," Zhang Huijun said from the side.

The two are of the same generation; Tian Zhuangzhuang is Li Xuejian's cousin.

"Oh, this is the first I've heard of it."

Li Xuejian suddenly understood. He clearly didn't pay much attention to outside gossip, then cupped his fists and said, "Then congratulations, congratulations."

"You're too kind, Teacher Li," Fang Hong said.

"This is the most beautiful girl in the history of our Beijing Film Academy, and you got the bargain. You have to treat her well from now on," Yang Yuanying said jokingly.

She carries a very scholarly feminine air.????"Oh, you should be saying that to Tianxian. Look at my status at home," Fang Hong held his hand very low.

"Hahaha!"

The people present burst into laughter; this guy was pretty funny.

"Don't listen to his nonsense, it's all made up. We're equals," Liu Tianxian gave Fang Hong a coquettish glare—he loves talking nonsense.

"In a family you can't talk about equality; it's mutual submission. You submit to him, he submits to you—only then can it last," Xie Xiaojin said, looking very experienced.

"Thank you, teacher, I'll remember that," Liu Tianxian said.

The workers in hard hats in the distance watched, their eyes full of envy—when would they be able to be like the Principal!

At this moment, a minibus stopped steadily on the open field not far away. Zhang Hongsen, Zuoshandiao, La Peikang and others, along with accompanying staff, more than ten people in total, got off and walked over.

Seeing smiles on their faces, as if they had just been having a pleasant chat, Zhang Hongsen said, "What are you all so happy about? Share it with us."

"We're just looking at Xiao Fang bringing his girlfriend, so we're just joking around," Zhang Huijun said casually.

These people all belong to the same circle, so they all know each other well. After all, they often meet together for conferences. Of course, the district leaders aren't that familiar—they're just here to join the fun.

Seeing that almost everyone had arrived except the district leaders, Fang Hong signaled Chen Zhixi to check on the preparations.

Chen Zhixi nodded and went to inspect the work.

Zhang Hongsen sized up the two of them, focusing on Liu Tianxian, and said, "Not bad, very pretty. It's just that Xiao Fang's looks fall a little short."

The others couldn't help but laugh—did he have to be that direct, not caring about Fang Hong's feelings at all?

Liu Tianxian also covered her mouth and laughed softly.

Fang Hong was speechless. Where was he lacking? He was clearly very handsome, wasn't he? He couldn't help but say, "What's the use of being pretty? You can't eat it. Women can't withstand the years; you have to look at the inner substance."

"So what you're saying is, you don't think Tianxian is good-looking? What you value is her inner substance?" Zhang Hongsen said.

"Of course. In other people's eyes my Tianxian may be as beautiful as a fairy—that's undeniable—but in my eyes it's just that, I don't think she's especially pretty, just ordinary." Fang Hong said this without blinking an eye.

The people present couldn't help but smile, exchanging glances—surely he was overdoing the bragging.

Everyone knew Liu Tianxian was a nationally recognized beauty. Even if you didn't know her, you'd take a second look. Yet in this man's eyes she was actually just ordinary?

Liu Tianxian showed no reaction; she knew this man was just bragging nonsense again.

"Then tell us what inner substance she has. Let's hear it," Zhang Hongsen said with great interest, gesturing toward Liu Tianxian.

"My Tianxian loves reading, has an inner cultivation, is kind-hearted toward people, is serious and persistent about her career, and most importantly her soul has a little bit of fun to it. That's perfect—that's what I Like about her." Fang Hong bragged nonsensically as if it cost him nothing.

This made everyone laugh "Hehehe!"—just let what he said be true.

In fact, the vast majority of people here weren't familiar with Liu Tianxian, didn't know her, only knew such a person existed.

It was Fang Hong who brought her out. Knowing there was a bit of a "marking territory" meaning, they discussed her here, which gave them a bit of familiarity.

What they wanted to know more about was the Principal—that was the person who could be useful to them. Liu Tianxian was of no use to them.

Liu Tianxian behaved quietly, not knowing what to say, her cheeks slightly flushed. Even though she was socially bold, she couldn't withstand being sized up and scrutinized by so many people.

But this man, whenever there were high-status people present, would talk a lot and always brag about her—clearly promoting her.

With those actors and the like, on the other hand, he barely spoke, hardly interacting at all—an indifferent attitude.

"So you see, what's the use of a woman being pretty? She needs substance. Tianxian has it," Fang Hong said, spreading his hands.

"You're blessed, you're blessed," Zhang Hongsen said with a smile, going along with it, no longer listening to his bragging.

"Once you've chosen, cherish it well. Manage your relationship properly, keep yourself in check," Zhang Huijun advised.

Meaning: don't mess around in the industry.

"Mm, I will," Fang Hong nodded, then looked at Liu Tianxian.

Liu Tianxian playfully raised an eyebrow, as if to say, "You talked really great."

"This place is huge! How many mu is it?" Zhang Hongsen shielded his eyes from the sun, gazing into the distance around him—a desolate expanse, endless at a glance.

The others also looked into the distance.

"500 mu," Fang Hong said.

"You're only building two soundstages, so there must be extra land, right?" Zhang Hongsen asked.

"There will be extra land. Over there in front is the office building and R&D area; over there is the equipment, costume, and Prop Warehouse, the set construction workshop, the digital post-production area, the animation industry area, and the exterior shooting location."

With each area Fang Hong mentioned, he pointed to a spot in the distance. The people present shielded their eyes from the sun and looked toward where he pointed.

He continued, "The biggest is still the equipment and costume/props area—that alone takes up nearly 300 mu."

The other areas don't take up much space, but props and equipment really do need a lot of room.

Because every time you film a TV series or movie, the props and equipment you make, the costumes you design—you can't just throw them away. You have to store them, so when the next production needs them you don't have to design and make them again—you can just use what's already there.

Hearing him say this, everyone couldn't help but be a little surprised—this was too big, even bigger than China Film Group's.

"You could fit a dinosaur in here," Zuoshandiao sighed.

"Exactly, that's the plan—to fit a dinosaur. In the future Jade Rabbit will shoot sci-fi blockbusters. Not only do we need to fit a dinosaur, we also need to fit a spaceship. We'll design the spaceship model and shoot it for real." Fang Hong patted Gravity, planning to shoot as much in-camera as possible.

No matter how good the special effects are, they can't match the impact of filming it for real.

Zhang Hongsen and the others fell silent, inwardly somewhat astonished — what a lavish move.

Setting everything else aside, just 2.1 billion — apart from China Film Group, no film and television company could afford that sum; even without the loose change, they might not be able to fork it out.

Liu Tianxian looked around as well, her heart unavoidably stirred — hearing about it didn't give much of a feeling, but seeing it in person was quite a震撼.

Just as the few of them were chatting, the district leaders arrived. After Fang Hong met with them and exchanged pleasantries.

Chen Zhixi came over and said everything was ready, inviting the leaders to step up to the stage for the ribbon-cutting.

The group split into two sides and walked up to the stage. While going up, Liu Tianxian placed her handbag in the pocket of Fang Hong's suit, since it wouldn't be convenient to hold during the ribbon-cutting later.

Fang Hong glanced at it, then took her hand and led her up the steps.

A long red silk ribbon was pulled taut on both sides by the staff, with a red flower tied at intervals in the middle — more than a dozen of them.

Fang Hong, Chen Zhixi, and Liu Tianxian stood in the middle; on either side, Zhang Hongsen, Zuoshandiao, La Peikang, Zhang Huijun, Xie Xiaojin, Li Xuejian, Yang Yuanying, and others, along with more than ten district leaders, stood neatly in a row.

Everyone had a red flower pinned to their chest, facing forward, facing the guests below the stage, with cameras in front filming them.

"Thank you to all the leaders for attending the Jade Rabbit groundbreaking ceremony. We invite all our leaders to take up the golden scissors and cut out a path of vigorous development."

As the host spoke the linking words, staff had already handed each person a pair of scissors.

When the host finished speaking, with a "bang," the Tiantong was twisted open, countless confetti flying everywhere, and the dozen-plus people on stage cut the ribbon in unison.

"Clap clap clap!" Applause rang out at the scene.

"Thank you, thank you for coming." Fang Hong shook hands with each of the leaders one by one, expressing his gratitude.

He then gestured for them to go down below for the groundbreaking.

Staff guided the leaders down from the stage and held another groundbreaking ceremony.

Around the mound of earth, the leaders formed a circle, gripping shovels tied with red. As firecrackers went off with a "crackle," the leaders scooped up a shovelful of earth and flung it toward the stone tablet.

Liu Tianxian also gripped a shovel, scooped up some earth, and scattered it toward the stone tablet — it was her first time doing something like this, and it felt quite novel.

(End of this chapter)