Chapter 534: Yutu Embraces the Rabbit 2

After arranging for the employees' concerns, Yutu launched its moving process.

The weather was cold; workers in uniforms were carrying equipment onto trucks, securing them, and hauling them away.

Across the way, Xiao Wang of Huayi stood before his floor-to-ceiling window, pulling back the curtain to see snow falling outside, while the scene below the opposite building showed a constant stream of busy personnel coming and going.

Many workers wore thin clothes, laboring hard.

"It looks like Yutu is moving out completely. All these years, I've never even gone to see what Yutu looks like," Xiao Wang's tone carried regret and melancholy.

Regret that after all these years he didn't know what his rival's headquarters looked like; melancholy that such a rival was leaving.

This departure signals that Yutu will rise to a new level!

"Principal has been growing stronger all along, while we've been standing still for all these years!" Xiao Wang sighed.

Principal kept growing stronger, constantly surpassing them, yet they remained unchanged.

Even though stock prices soared, the fundamentals didn't rise—in fact, their film and television market share was being squeezed.

"Don't worry, brother. We're also cooperating with Hollywood. If the box office is good, we can do more projects—maybe we won't be worse than Principal someday," Xiao Wang said, letting go of the curtain with full confidence.

They were collaborating on a DC superhero film, far superior to Principal's project.

Xiao Wang asked: "How far along are you with Warner?"

"It's already been approved, but they say the investment is too large and need us to add another hundred million," Xiao Wang replied.

"Another hundred million?" Xiao Wang frowned.

That would make two hundred million total—they'd already invested one hundred million.

"Yes, originally Warner said they'd cover most of it themselves or find other investors, but big films like Batman v Superman and Wonder Woman tie up too much capital—they're truly stretched thin," Xiao Wang explained.

These projects were public and not deceptive, but whether they genuinely lacked funds was known only to Warner themselves.

It was half-truth, half-fiction—real and fake mixed together.

"I didn't expect Hollywood giants to be short on cash," Xiao Wang mused.

"Who isn't short on cash these days? They're trying to build the DC Universe to compete with Marvel—they have to gather funds from everywhere."

Xiao Wang added: "The project they offered us is still good—it's part of the DC Universe. You know how huge Superman: Man of Steel was globally."

Last year, Superman: Man of Steel launched the DC Universe with massive global success.

It earned more than Iron Man 1 back then.

Of course, Marvel is backed by Disney, DC by Warner—their parent companies differ, so Marvel is more famous.

But compared to China's domestic market, their level is definitely much higher.

"I just worry there might be traps," Xiao Wang hesitated.

"How could there be? Look, Alibaba invested in Mission Impossible 5 and Star Trek 3; Wanda is seeking to acquire Legendary Pictures; LeEco and Perfect World are all partnering with Hollywood—we're actually slow on this."

Domestic capital is pouring into Hollywood films en masse, including institutions like Fosun.

Bona, Huayi, China Film Group, and Shanghai Film Group all want to enter Hollywood and collaborate with local firms—that's the trend.

Some of those entering Hollywood made money; others lost it.

Because Hollywood's project list doesn't give you the best projects—they only offer high-risk films.

You definitely have to pay tuition: for example, Guangdong Media claimed it would invest $1.5 billion in Lionsgate's 50 films, but no one knows how much was actually executed or whether it turned a profit or loss.

Making a Hollywood film isn't cheap; Paramount was originally in financial trouble and wanted to sell its business or itself, with multiple global institutions expressing interest in acquiring it.

Wanda and Alibaba both wanted to buy the company.

But Paramount revived itself by getting Chinese capital to fund its film production.

You could say the company survived thanks to those naive Chinese investors—otherwise, the Six Majors would've become the Five Majors.

"Alright, just be careful," Xiao Wang said, not pressing further—it was simply the prevailing trend.

To compete with Yutu, they couldn't fall behind—they had to enter Hollywood. That's the international market; China's domestic market is too small.

Fang Hong had no interest in investing in Hollywood films, even though he knew which movies would make money—he wasn't willing to use his own money on a project with returns only after two or three years.

He'd rather do something more practical.

He'd rather make his own blockbusters, improve his own production standards—real projects like Interstellar and The Martian.

Why use his own money to invest in others' productions when his own projects weren't even finished?

Yutu's move to the new film and television base was common knowledge in the industry—it wasn't a secret.

A year or two ago, reports already said Yutu was building a film and television base in Huairou New City, featuring advanced virtual and reality studios.

One could only marvel: Yutu was growing ever larger.

At the entrance of the Yutu Film and Television Base in Huairou New City, a black business car stopped, and Liu Tianxian got out.

She wore a black mink coat, fluffy and thick, wrapped tightly around herself; her face was pale and radiant, with a touch of pink—likely from the cold.

It was still very cold here; the wind cut like a knife against her face.

She had returned last night, slept until noon, so she hadn't come with Fang Hong—after waking up, she came alone. She wore tinted glasses and carried a luxury handbag, dressed like an elegant lady.

Ahead, large trucks rolled into the film base, stopped, and workers in uniforms stepped out.

Then, working in perfect sync, they unloaded items from the trucks—tables, chairs, and many pieces of equipment.

Some workers carried them on their backs; others lifted them together; the area inside and outside the film base entrance was bustling with activity.

Even in the cold, they worked with fiery energy.

Liu Tianxian adjusted her glasses and gazed into the distance—where once there had been barren land, new buildings now rose tall.

Across from the buildings stood several square structures resembling the Water Cube—tall, sleek, and highly technological: these must be the LED Studio and the Virtual and Reality Studio.

"Hee-haw! Hee-haw!"

Right before her eyes, several large cranes were hoisting a massive bronze statue, bound tightly with thick ropes, towering and heavy.

Dozens of workers below operated urgently—some pulled ropes, aligning the statue with a huge base on the ground.

The statue stood over twelve meters tall—a colossal object; looking up from the ground, it was awe-inspiring, overwhelming with pressure.

At this moment, the statue was being moved slowly, afraid of any mishap.

Since she was standing far away, Liu Tianxian looked up at the full view of the bronze statue — it was the "Chang'e Holding Rabbit" statue, much like the one in the Yutu Film opening.

Only this time, the face of "Chang'e" was even more exquisite, three-dimensional, and lifelike, bearing an even greater resemblance to Liu Yifei.

Far clearer than the blurry one seen in the opening.

"This man really went and erected a statue for her, honestly." Liu Tianxian didn't know whether to laugh or cry, but her mood was beautiful.

A few years ago, this man had once said he wanted to be like Disney and erect her statue at the entrance of Yutu — and now he had really done it.

And it was even taller and more imposing, as if afraid others wouldn't see it.

She still remembered Fang Hong also saying he wanted to erect a statue in Hollywood — wonder if that could come true?

"Dabo." Liu Tianxian crunched through the snow, "crunch crunch."

Looking ahead, Lu Dabo had a cigarette dangling from his lips; when the wind blew, the ash fell, and his hair was tousled in the wind — after so long apart, he had become a bit more mature.

At this moment, Lu Dabo was tilting his head back, watching the statue being hoisted down and set up bit by bit, slowly being placed onto a large pedestal.

Hearing someone call out, Lu Dabo turned his head, saw it was the boss's wife, immediately tossed the cigarette and stubbed it out with his foot, then trotted over eagerly.

He rubbed his hands together and said with a smile, "Sister Fei, are you here to see the Principal?"

He used to call her Fairy Sister before; now he called her Sister Fei — it sounded more respectful, whereas Fairy Sister felt like teasing.

But Liu Tianxian didn't care what others called her.

"Mm, are you moving the company?" Liu Tianxian asked, looking around.

"Yes, General Manager Fang said we have to be operating normally here within a month, so our schedule is very tight — we need to move everything from the old company over, and some new things we need to buy have to arrive one by one and be set in place," Lu Dabo said.

Those things weren't done just by being moved out — after being transported over, they still had to be arranged properly, and going up and down stairs wasn't easy either.

After all, they had to make sure employees' work wasn't delayed; equipment and office supplies were all needed.

"Then pay attention to safety, don't let anyone get hurt," Liu Tianxian reminded.

"Will do, Sister Fei," Lu Dabo nodded.

Liu Tianxian looked around silently, saw there was nothing else going on, so she walked around the crane and the statue, heading toward the main gate.

Seeing the boss's wife about to leave, Lu Dabo quickly followed.

"You go do your work, you don't need to mind me." Liu Tianxian thought he was going to escort her, and told him to go attend to his work.

"It's fine, it won't delay anything." Lu Dabo still followed, seeming a bit hesitant, as if he had something on his mind.

"Then don't follow me either — I'm going to find Fang Hong, what would you be doing?" Liu Tianxian walked on; she was going to show off their love, bringing a third wheel along would be so inconvenient.

"Oh!" Lu Dabo hesitated for a moment, then mustered his courage and said, "Sister Fei, I'd like to ask you for a favor?"

"What favor?" Liu Tianxian asked, puzzled.

"Well, we've moved to a new base, so there will definitely be a lot of people here in the future, and that means we'll need a supermarket or convenience store or something," Lu Dabo continued.

"What are you trying to say?" Liu Tianxian was a bit puzzled.

This matter wasn't under her jurisdiction anyway — what was the point of telling her?

"It's like this — I brought my parents to Beijing, they're both farmers by background, and my younger sister doesn't have a job either. I just want to find them something to do. I figured there'd definitely be a supermarket or something opening here, so I was thinking of opening a supermarket here and arranging a job for them. Could you help me put in a word to General Manager Fang?"

Lu Dabo said this with an accommodating smile — he knew Liu Tianxian was kind-hearted, so telling her was the best approach.

The Principal stood too high up; they used to have a pretty good relationship, but after so many years, he hadn't even seen the Principal in person, and in the past two years they rarely spoke — there was a gap now.

To put it bluntly, he was afraid, with a kind of awe.

"That thing, ah." Liu Tianxian indicated she understood.

Lu Dabo nodded several times rapidly, indicating yes, and looked at her hopefully.

(End of this chapter)