Chapter 518: Nine Dragons, Nine Phoenixes

How much box office such an animated film can earn is hard to say—it might explode, or it might not.

Still, in his previous life Fang Hong saw this film take nearly six hundred million at the domestic box office; in this life Jade Rabbit and Rabbit Ticket release it themselves, so they should be able to earn more.

Because the channels and the level of attention are simply different!

China Film Group and Huaxia's two guys can do a laid-back release—it's an imported film anyway, there are plenty of films like that—but Jade Rabbit has to take it more seriously and be more responsible.

But Big Hero 6 also has its share of scandals.

They say this film discriminates, that it wasn't released simultaneously with overseas markets and so on, and that Jade Rabbit looks down on Chinese people.

Headlines like that spread widely and have an audience; whenever this kind of issue is touched on, there's never a shortage of angry young men.

As for who's leading the charge, no need to say—it's just those few companies; the lower-tier ones aren't even qualified.

In any case, the narrative keeps going back and forth, and the conclusion is that Jade Rabbit the company has problems, and the Principal has problems.

In essence, Fang Hong wanted to test as quickly as possible whether this animated film could make money, so he released it internationally first; at the time there was no good domestic slot either, and he couldn't afford to wait.

His thinking was: if it can't make money, cut the animation company loose, lest it hold Jade Rabbit back—he can't afford to keep it.

If it can make money, keep the animation company!

A domestic release would be hard to recoup costs; his visible investment alone was around five or six hundred million, and the hidden costs in time and everything else were incalculable—how could he possibly afford to wait?

Besides, it was already late October; better to wait for the New Year Slot!

International release slots and domestic ones are different—a slot you think is good domestically isn't necessarily good overseas.

And competition is fierce; on what grounds could you grab a good overseas slot?

Fang Hong doesn't care what people outside say; this matter can't be explained clearly. Anyway, whenever this season comes around there's competition, and all sorts of things and interpretations pop up.

It doesn't matter—he's not Yan Zi, who has to show her face in public; he's been hidden behind the scenes for years now.

The weather's been cold lately, but it hasn't snowed. Liu Tianxian usually wears a fluffy coat, and today she's also wearing fluffy earmuffs—she looks very cute.

She and Fang Hong are holding hands, with Liu Xiaoli and Xu Liyun walking beside them in thick clothes; the four of them arrive at a spacious, bright exhibition hall.

Gold and silver ornaments of various kinds are scattered around the place; these ornaments are small and exquisite, visually high-end and luxurious, with an air of antiquity.

Every phoenix crown has a kind of Chinese aesthetic—very grand and splendid.

The smaller ornaments here don't reveal much, but inside glass cases sit phoenix crowns of various styles.

Liu Tianxian gazes at these phoenix crowns, her eyes lighting up. She walks up to one glass case and sighs, "They're really too beautiful—what's this one called?"

"This should be called the Double Dragon Five Phoenix Crown." Fang Hong looks at the two golden dragons facing each other on top of the crown, and the five phoenix heads shaped similarly around the brim.

"Does it have some special meaning?" Liu Tianxian asks, puzzled.

"It means auspiciousness—what other meaning could it have? But those five phoenixes should be called, respectively: Phoenix, Yanchu, Yueque, Honghu, and Qingluan." Fang Hong points at the glass case and introduces them one by one.

"Not bad—you really know your stuff, you know quite a lot." Liu Tianxian smiles; this man is quite learned, he even knows this.

"Of course." Fang Hong looks very pleased with himself.

"Xiao Fang, where did you learn this?" Liu Xiaoli is also full of praise beside him.

"Sometimes when I'm bored, I like reading all sorts of random history books, so I've picked up a little." Fang Hong's demeanor toward Liu Tianxian and toward Liu Xiaoli is completely different.

One is his mother-in-law, the other his wife—of course it's different.

"Then you can actually remember what you read—a lot of people forget even after reading." Liu Xiaoli says.

Reading and remembering are two different things; being able to read doesn't mean you can remember—if you can remember, that's impressive.

Xu Liyun, standing beside them, also looks curiously at the ornaments here, her eyes shining too—mainly because every piece is so beautiful and dazzling.

"Are these for viewing?" she asks.

"Just for viewing." Liu Xiaoli says.

Meaning they're not for sale—just for you to look at.

"Are they real?" Xu Liyun asks again.

"Fakes, all reproductions. The real ones are in the museum." Liu Xiaoli says.

Just as the few of them were admiring the pieces, an elderly man in clothing resembling a Zhongshan suit walks toward them. This gentleman is a senior master craftsman here, an inheritor of the craft of making phoenix crowns.

He used to restore phoenix crowns at the Forbidden City and also made reproductions; now he's retired.

Seeing the man approach, Liu Xiaoli steps forward to greet him: "Hello, Lv Lao!"

"Hello, Ms. Liu." Lv Lao walks closer.

"I'm really grateful for the trouble of making a phoenix crown for my daughter this time." Liu Xiaoli makes polite small talk.

"No trouble at all—I did get paid for it." This man speaks very directly.

The two should know each other, and seem quite familiar—after all, Liu Xiaoli was in charge of liaising for Liu Tianxian's wedding phoenix crown.

Liu Xiaoli smiles and introduces them one by one: "This is my in-law, my son-in-law Fang Hong, and my daughter Liu Tianxian."

"Hello, Master Lv!"

"."

Fang Hong and Liu Tianxian respectfully greet him—he is a veteran artist, after all.

Xu Liyun merely smiles slightly; she and Lv Lao should be of the same generation, while Fang Hong and Liu Tianxian are the younger generation.

"Hello, hello, please come this way." Lv Lao smiles and nods, then motions for them to follow.

The group arrives at another room, where several staff members are bent over their workbenks—some drawing on drafting paper, some using tools to grind metal and melt metal.

Others are assembling, putting together those phoenix crowns. Nowadays, whether for weddings or for collecting, people all like this kind of classical phoenix crown. Even just sitting there on display, it can become an object to admire.

The four of them watch the work here curiously; these staff members look serious, all meticulous and careful.

It's delicate handwork to begin with—not a sliver of carelessness is allowed. If there's any carelessness, the whole thing might have to be redone, which is extremely troublesome and time-consuming.

"Ms. Liu, this is the phoenix crown designed for your daughter." Lv Lao picks up a stack of design drawings,

Liu Xiaoli takes the drawings. The drawings are in color, so the phoenix crown's appearance can be seen clearly and intuitively.

Fang Hong, Liu Tianxian, and Xu Liyun also lean in to look. The top page is the overall design of the phoenix crown; the pages behind show every detail of it.

The phoenix crown is assembled after each component is made, so the drawings show an enormous number of details and parts.

The finished product has not been made yet; the client must confirm first, and only then will the phoenix crown be crafted.

Because the client has not confirmed, they dare not proceed—once made, any rework would waste not just money, but primarily time and energy.

"The upper layer of the front of this phoenix crown features nine golden dragons with pearls dangling from their mouths, the middle layer holds eight jeweled golden phoenixes, and the lower layer consists of three rows of pearl strings surrounding red and blue gems arranged as floral motifs, with one additional golden phoenix on the back of the crown," Lv Lao explained in great detail.

Hearing this description and looking at the illustrations, one feels as if clouds of kingfisher blue rise between the dragons and phoenixes, each phoenix depicted with wings spread in flight, tails fanned and feathers fully extended, exuding great vitality.

At a glance, it's nothing short of "opulent"!

The golden dragons and phoenixes are forged from gold, with countless pearls and gems embedded upon them. Fang Hong asked: "How many gems are there in total?"

"115 rubies and 4,414 pearls," Lv Lao said.

"How much does each pearl cost?" Xu Liyun couldn't help asking.

"It depends on the variety—several thousand yuan per pearl is already excellent; some reach tens of thousands. For example, conch pearls on the market cost 30,000 yuan each and are considered top-tier luxury pearls," Lv Lao said.

Xu Liyun silently calculated: just the pearls alone amount to 130 million yuan—absurdly excessive.

But she said nothing; this matter was hard to comment on.

Then Lv Lao added: "Of course, that's only for common varieties. If it's a rare variety, it could easily reach millions or even tens of millions per pearl."

This made Xu Liyun's heart skip a beat—too terrifying.

"We don't need this kind. This color is mostly pink, and production is scarce—it's not what we want. We need small, milky-white pearls, just a few thousand yuan each will do," Liu Xiaoli explained, to prevent Xu Liyun from thinking it too expensive and misunderstanding.

After all, it's her son paying.

"Oh, that's better," Xu Liyun said. After hearing prices of tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands per pearl, a few thousand yuan now seemed reasonable.

Still, it was expensive—over four thousand pearls meant over ten million yuan, not even counting the gems yet.

Fang Hong and Liu Tianxian exchanged a glance, their expressions calm; this sum meant nothing to them.

Right now, Liu Tianxian held 581 million U. S. dollars from Fang Hong—money from the sale of Tesla stock, already fully liquidated.

Originally there had been 781 million U. S. dollars, but 200 million had been injected into Chang'e Technology.

"What's the name of this phoenix crown?" Liu Tianxian asked.

"The Nine Dragons and Nine Phoenixes Crown!" Lv Lao said.

"You're just replicating the Nine Dragons and Nine Phoenixes Crown of Ming Xiaoduan Huanghou," Fang Hong bluntly stated.

"This young man Fang is truly well-read—it is indeed a replica, but we've improved upon it, making the design rounder and more beautiful."

"In ancient times, such technology didn't exist. Now, we can use modern techniques for forging."

Lv Lao explained, handing them the original design.

The style did look different—back then, it was too rigid and old-fashioned, like something an elderly woman would wear.

Yet overall, it retained an air of grandeur and dignity, preserving the ancestral aesthetic.

The revised version has refined the details, making the colors more vivid and appearing far more youthful.

In truth, they rarely had a patron with the funds to afford this, so they wanted to create a supreme, unique phoenix crown.

If they had to fund it themselves, they had the skill but not the financial power.

"What do you think?" Fang Hong had no opinion—he only cared whether Liu Tianxian was satisfied.

"I think it looks beautiful," Liu Tianxian said, quite pleased—mainly because of its artistic and cultural depth.

"It really is beautiful—sparkling, glittering gold. Girls all love this kind," Fang Hong laughed.

"What? Am I that shallow? I appreciate its artistry, understand?" Liu Tianxian hit him.

"Hehehe!" Others chuckled.

"It truly has that artistic feel—it's one of our cultural treasures," Lv Lao agreed.

"Then let's finalize it—this one."

Liu Xiaoli immediately decided and asked: "How long will it take to complete?"

"About six months," Lv Lao said.

Liu Xiaoli calculated their wedding date: "Can it be faster?"

"We'll do our best, but we can't guarantee it," Lv Lao said.

This isn't machine-made—many parts require painstaking hand-finishing; it's extremely time-consuming, a true craft of precision.

(End of chapter)