Chapter 704: Like a Dog

The banquet hall was spacious and bright, covering a large area, with soft carpets and a chandelier as huge as crystal.

All kinds of artistic paintings hung on the walls.

At the very front was a stage, not tall, just two steps up, and behind the stage was a massive LED screen.

The screen was huge, showing a dynamic "Shooting the Eagle" image — quite a high-profile move, unafraid of Lao Wang Zong finding out.

The people here greeted them, and those in front automatically parted to make a path, letting the Principal and his group pass through.

Fang Hong nodded in response to the repeated calls of "Principal," looking quite imposing, exuding the aura of a big shot.

Mainly it was the people present who set him off — everyone here was a person of stature, yet before the Principal they were all like little brothers.

Fang Hong walked along the parted path toward the stage up front, and when he reached Feng Kuzi's side, he suddenly stopped, extended a foot, and said: "You stepped on my foot! You dirtied it."

"Huh?!" Feng Kuzi was a bit dumbfounded.

He had clearly been standing fine on the side — how could he have stepped on the foot?

The others were also somewhat puzzled and confused.

"He did step on the foot!"

Wang Zhongjun immediately ran over, tugged Feng Kuzi, and whispered in his ear: "Wipe the Principal's leather shoes clean!"

"Me?!" Feng Kuzi pointed at himself, quite unwilling.

"As long as you wipe the Principal's leather shoes clean, all the things you used to say about the Principal can be written off. Otherwise, no one can protect you." Wang Zhongjun knew the Principal had come for revenge.

Because the Principal had once said that Feng Kuzi owed him a face-slap that hadn't been delivered, and today was clearly the day to deliver it.

"General Manager, I do have some dignity, after all!" Feng Kuzi said, depressed.

He knew this day would come, but he hadn't expected it to be today — only because the Principal was now too domineering.

Just look at the present — nearly half the bigwigs of the entertainment industry had come.

And if he wanted to slap faces, he only wanted to do it privately, not let anyone know.

"You still talk about dignity? Didn't you used to lick Wang Shuo and the others' boots plenty?" Wang Zhongjun said.

"That was before, it's different now." Feng Kuzi meant that now he was a man of status.

"What's different? The Principal is even more powerful now. Have you forgotten the matter of Mr. Six? Do you still want I Am Not Madame Bovary to be released?" Wang Zhongjun said.

"."

Feng Kuzi fell silent — not very willing, but under enormous pressure. In truth he had no integrity; it was just that there were too many people here. If there were fewer, he would have done it.

It wasn't as if he hadn't done it before — what was the big deal.

Everyone else was watching, and there was "whispering," and as it passed from mouth to mouth, everyone knew what was going on.

So the Principal wanted to slap Feng Kuzi's face — then they would just sit back and enjoy the show.

"My patience is limited!" Fang Hong said.

"Right away, right away, Principal, don't rush."

Wang Zhonglei saw the situation was wrong — if Feng Kuzi didn't wipe the Principal's shoes, the Principal's authority couldn't be established.

He hurried forward and whispered: "Just tell me — do you still want to keep working in this industry or not? If you don't, we won't stop you."

These two brothers really were — to curry favor with the Principal, they treated him like he wasn't even human.

Feng Kuzi hesitated, then still squatted down and used his suit sleeve to wipe the leather shoes on the Principal's feet.

He had no choice — if he didn't compromise and settle this grudge, there might never be another chance.

Actually the leather shoes were very shiny, gleaming bright, but what was needed was this show of force, performed for everyone present, so that when Fang Hong spoke later, people would listen.

Everyone present watched as Feng Kuzi really squatted down, really wiping the Principal's leather shoes, and exchanged glances.

Their awe of the Principal grew even stronger!

"Done, Principal!" Feng Kuzi looked up and said.

Looking down from above, that mouthful of buckteeth was especially ugly.

"Not yet!" Fang Hong lowered his head to look at the leather shoes.

"Be more serious!" Wang Zhongjun patted Feng Kuzi's shoulder.

Feng Kuzi, helpless, bent down and breathed on the leather shoes, then wiped them again with his sleeve.

Everyone present fell silent at the sight — this was just too lacking in self-respect, groveling on the ground like a dog.

Chen Sicheng, Guo Fan and others watched, and felt relieved in their hearts — by this comparison, the Principal had really been far too merciful, far too good to them.

If the Principal hadn't wanted to let them go, he still had ways, but instead he had supported them in starting their own businesses.

"Very good, get up!" Fang Hong let him off — all he wanted was an attitude, and this grudge could now be considered settled.

Wang Zhonglei helped Feng Kuzi up, his face very awkward, wishing he could turn invisible so others wouldn't see him — his pride had still taken a hit.

The matter of Feng Kuzi wiping and licking the Principal's leather shoes would surely spread far and wide — after all, so many people had seen it.

It might already have spread — information travels fast these days, and some people had even taken photos with their phones.

Feng Kuzi had lost all his face, but having wiped the Principal's shoes, he was still a director — when it came to dealing with actors and stars, he could still hit, scold, and impose the casting-couch rule as he pleased. It didn't affect his status.

Without the Principal blocking him, he might even develop better — who knew.

Times had changed. The Principal had already reshaped the landscape of the entertainment industry; the industry's格局 was no longer like before, like in the previous life.

Many things were uncertain, all unknown!

"Today, I'm very grateful that you could give Principal face and come to attend this Tu Ying Conference." Fang Hong's expression changed again, becoming kindly.

And around him he was surrounded by bigwigs from all sides.

"It should be — being able to attend this conference is our honor." Fatty Yu chimed in.

"Yes, it's all about cooperation. As long as we can unite with one heart, we can have more resources and create more blockbuster films." Xinli's Cao Huayi also said.

With so many people — theater chains, production companies — the Principal had Maoyan, Douyin, Bilibili and other resources.

If these could be integrated, it would be a very powerful force.

The others all nodded in agreement. Wang Changtian stood silently among the crowd, watching all this without offering any opinion.

"The fact that we could hold this meeting isn't because we're giving the Principal face, but because the Principal is giving us face. Without this meeting, we wouldn't have gathered here." Wang Zhongjun was also being a sycophant.

That was a bit too bootlicking, making the others somewhat uncomfortable, but they still smiled and said: "Yes!"

Although they didn't want to be bootlickers either, every single person here was a prominent figure in the film and television industry, yet they all came just because of one word from the Principal.

One could see how formidable the Principal's influence was.

Feng Kuzi just now was the perfect example—no matter how big a director you were, in front of the Principal you were just a small underling.

Wang Changtian utterly despised those two brothers. They used to be very arrogant in front of him, fighting as if invincible, but now look how they'd changed—he found it hard to adjust.

He'd taken too few beatings himself, so he didn't understand those two brothers' current mindset—they'd been broken.

Just like this time against Wanda, the Principal hadn't shown any sign of decline, still very domineering—this was proof: the Principal was heaven's chosen.

Lao Yang was also in the crowd. Watching the Principal's performance just now, how he'd gathered so many film and television industry figures through tactics and high pressure, Lao Yang felt very bitter.

He used to look down on the Principal, thinking it was just luck, and they'd even quarreled, but now the gap between them was nothing like before.

It was just that the two sides belonged to different places, so they were somewhat unrelated and had little interaction.

But now was the era of collective northward migration, and he couldn't escape convention either—he had to go with the flow and be swept along.

"Don't say it like that. We're all like-minded friends, no high or low, no noble or humble, just giving each other face." Fang Hong said.

"Right, the Principal speaks rightly, giving each other face." Wang Zhonglei also chimed in.

Fang Hong faced the theater chain bosses—Dadi, Hengdian, Shanghai Film Group and others—and shook their hands individually, saying: "Thank you all for coming to support!"

Only these people were worthy of shaking his hand.

"It should be so. We're all in a cooperative relationship—you need our theaters, we need your content. Let's take care of each other." Dadi's Liu Rong said.

They didn't want to end up like Wanda, being restricted by the Principal like that. If they got treated that way, the losses would be enormous.

Wanda was the example—clearly the largest theater chain, now its market share was plummeting straight down due to restrictions.

If this "Tu Ying Conference" really got held successfully, it would be very hard for Wanda to get quality film content—all the top production companies in the industry were here.

As long as the Principal could further integrate their resources, he could continuously produce blockbusters, with all channels open.

"Lucy 2" had already fully proven that even without Wanda, one could still get high box office—this was what Fang Hong was proving to them.

One or two theater chains couldn't make any difference—he could restrict Wanda, and he could restrict them too.

Without content, theater chains are nothing.

Fang Hong exchanged pleasantries with the theater chain side for a while, then swept his gaze around. Many people were still quite unfamiliar to him, not very well-known.

And he saw a familiar figure, pointed and said: "Who's that?"

Everyone turned to look and saw Emperor Group's Lao Yang's face looking very unpleasant. The Principal actually didn't recognize him—this made Lao Yang feel very embarrassed, as if he'd suffered a great insult. Being watched by so many people, he couldn't save face.

After all, he was also a prominent figure in Hong Kong.

"This is Emperor Group's President Yang." Wang Zhongjun introduced.

"Oh, so it's President Lao Yang. Haven't seen you in a few years—you've gotten older, and also more low-key." Fang Hong said.

Those words carried sarcasm, meaning Lao Yang was already a thing of the past, already in a subordinate position, long since unable to compare with him, the Principal.

"Principal, in the future please take care of us, more cooperation." President Lao Yang suppressed the displeasure in his heart, remaining calm even in the face of such mockery.

He stepped forward proactively and shook Fang Hong's hand with both hands.

"Of course, of course!" Fang Hong let him hold his hand, while his other hand patted Lao Yang's shoulder, just like patting a little brother.

The onlookers had smiles on their faces—they knew the situation.

In today's film and television industry, the other side could only admit defeat. Their film this year, "The Wasted Times," was led by Huayi.

"Legend of the Demon Cat" was led by New Classics.

The quality collaborative film projects were all Fang Hong's lapdogs—Emperor Group wasn't allowed to participate. It was just a word from the Principal.

Just like before, "The Lover" kicked Wanda out!

(End of this chapter)