Chapter 233

Following the screening of "Wulin Waizhuan," Cheng Chen sneakyly organized an anonymous bidding auction for the rights to the show.

It gave everyone the impression that whoever offered the highest price would secure the series.

But Cheng Chen didn't reveal any bottom line—how much it would actually cost to win it.

Offer too high, and you risk losing money, since a higher price means you must also raise your revenue targets.

It's simple logic: you spent so much money buying this drama.

Don't you have to recoup your purchase cost when it airs?

Otherwise, how would you answer to your superiors?

If you offer too low, it's even simpler.

You miss out on a drama with huge breakout potential—and also lose the chance to collaborate with Cheng Chen later.

This was Cheng Chen's second sneaky move: he knew exactly what each satellite TV station was thinking.

They were just using the opportunity to buy this show to latch onto his future dramas.

Cheng Chen had only aired one drama he funded himself: "Xian Jian Yi," and was currently producing "Langya Bang."

"Xian Jian Yi," a jewel in the forefront, became the annual ratings champion and launched a host of actors to fame.

The market gave it high praise; the currently in-production "Langya Bang" is rumored to be a major production.

And its cast lineup is not to be underestimated, according to current reports and media analysts.

This drama's performance will surely match or surpass "Xian Jian Yi."

Just as everyone was expecting big things, a surprise entry emerged: "Wulin Waizhuan," entirely self-funded by Cheng Chen.

And it's already completed and publicly on sale—what does that indicate?

Cheng Chen clearly has confidence in this drama; he wouldn't ruin his own reputation.

"Langya Bang" is about to start filming; if "Wulin Waizhuan" were truly terrible, he'd never release it for sale.

After all, he funded this drama alone—even if he pulled it from release, no one could say a word…

"Lao Xu,

how much money have you prepared to win this drama? Give me a hint, hehe."

This time, Shu Province Television sent an Office Director: Zhang Youben.

A few years ago, when Shu Province Television sent personnel to Beijing for training, he met Xu Min from Yu Sheng, who was there for the same purpose.

"Oh my, my side is a complete mess, I can't make heads or tails of this.

Cheng Chen is just too shrewd—he's put us in a really awkward position!"

Knowing the other was probing for information, and that everyone was now a competitor,

Xu Min naturally revealed not a single detail.

"We at Shu Province Television aren't joining your fray—you're a major central province.

With Zhejiang and Jiangsu, two obscenely wealthy provinces, watching like hawks, we're just poor backwaters—we can't compete with you."

Zhang Youben sighed helplessly over the phone.

I believe your bullshit.

Xu Min silently scoffed—Shu Province may be remote, but to call it poor? At least Shu Province Television was rich.

A few years ago, Shu Province Television kept adjusting its direction and finally found its own development path.

Since then, its ratings have climbed steadily, quietly securing a spot among the nation's top ten—ratings mean money!

Of course, they still had to put on a show; Xu Min feigned surprise:

"Really? No way!"

"My son!"

Zhang Youben slipped into his local dialect over the phone, but Xu Min still didn't believe him.

As if sensing Xu Min's thoughts, Zhang Youben continued:

"Look at this drama—no famous stars at all, and many costumes are shared among several people.

For example, the clothes Guo Furong just wore? In the next shot, they're on the maid beside Zijun Niang.

Switch the scene again, and they're on someone else's body—just to distinguish them, they add an extra coat as an inner layer.

What kind of nonsense is this? Also, I heard their production budget was tight.

All the meals scenes in the inn? They're real—what's on the table is the crew's boxed lunches.

To save money, they film meal scenes during lunchtime; once they finish eating, they're done shooting, and no more boxed lunches need to be handed out…

I heard this drama cost ten million to produce—and they squeezed out eighty episodes! What kind of quality work can that possibly produce?"

Zhang Youben went on at length, trashing "Wulin Waizhuan" as worthless.

Finally, he summed up:

"This drama's plot is novel, but novelty doesn't guarantee audiences will pay.

Nowadays, everything's big-budget—even movies cost hundreds of millions. Look at this TV drama?

Anyway, Shu Province Television has decided to withdraw from this bidding session. I'm just venting to you, Lao Xu.

Let's meet up after this—we haven't seen each other in ages, we've got to drink a few rounds."

After ending the call with Zhang Youben, Xu Min paced back and forth in the room, hands behind his back.

Xu Qiming watched Xu Min, wanting to speak but holding back—Xu Min hadn't turned away during the call.

These days, domestic mobile phones? Even without speakerphone, you could hear every word clearly.

If you turned on speakerphone and played some music, you could just drag over a group of grandpas and grandmas to do square dancing.

Xu Qiming heard every word Zhang Youben said—and indeed, every point Zhang made was reasonable.

Shoddy costumes and props!

Innovation that doesn't guarantee buyers!

Actors with zero fame!

The plot is interesting, but can it really conquer the people sitting beside their TVs?

At this moment, Xu Qiming's once firm heart wavered.

He stared at his notebook—writing, crossing out, rewriting, revising repeatedly—until he finally settled on the number: 250,000 per episode.

To be honest, it's a bit glaring!

If we lose money…

Xu Min finally stopped walking. He sat down, sighed, and shook his head.

He crossed out the previously agreed-upon price and wrote a new number.

……

The next day, everyone woke up early for the bidding meeting.

Most had dark circles under their eyes like pandas.

Remember, these were all senior department leaders past their prime.

The comfortable life within the system had long since made them rarely stay up late.

Yet Cheng Chen's anonymous voting system kept them awake all night.

They kept studying with their subordinates how much they should pay for the drama.

As they discussed, they cursed Cheng Chen for being sneaky…

"Thank you all for your hard work. Right here in my hand is the list of selected stations."

Cheng Chen wore casual attire, looking energetic and full of spirit.

Seeing the file folder in Cheng Chen's hand, everyone below the stage tensed up.

The ownership of Wulin Waizhuan was inside that file folder!

Cheng Chen scanned the audience; over thirty television stations had participated in the bidding.

To be honest, this result was indeed surprising.

But upon reflection, this drama absolutely deserved the competition from thirty stations.

Cheng Chen smiled slightly and said:

"I won't beat around the bush or drag this out—I'll announce it directly. I won't mention the prices from the unsuccessful stations.

But I'd like to state the prices of the selected ones—is that alright with everyone?"

Everyone below the stage nodded in agreement; after all, there was nothing secret about it.

Once the drama was purchased, the stations had to publicly disclose the price anyway—anyone could look it up.

Opening the file folder, Cheng Chen glanced inside, froze slightly, then turned to the crowd and said:

"Sorry, there was a small mistake."

Hearing this, the audience below felt as if they'd been riding a high-speed car when the driver slammed on the brakes.

Are you kidding us?!

"Everyone, please calm down. I previously told you that only one station would win the first-run broadcasting rights—I guarantee that. But as for this bidding price…"

"Shu Province Television and Yu Province Television both submitted the highest bids—and they're identical: 300,000 per episode!"

At Cheng Chen's words, everyone sucked in a sharp breath.

300,000 per episode!

And not just one station—two stations both bid that amount!

Holy mother, are these two TV stations insane?!

Are they inflating the price of this drama?!

All eyes turned to Xu Min of Yu Province Television and Zhang Youben of Shu Province Television.

Who would've thought? These two quiet, unassuming stations dared to bid so high.

Other provincial stations looked at their own bids and knew they couldn't compete with these two.

Zhang Youben stared at Zhang Youben, shocked and furious—he hadn't expected this.

His phone call hadn't dissuaded Xu Min from lowering his bid; instead, it had given him the resolve to raise it.

Noticing Zhang Youben's gaze, Xu Min smiled faintly and formed a silent word with his lips:

"My son~"

Zhang Youben's face darkened—but as someone who'd long navigated the system, his composure was solid.

Zhang Youben quickly regained his composure. Fine, be my son then.

He'd spent decades in the system—he'd even played the role of grandson before. What was one more time being called a son?

Xu Qiming, however, was still reeling from Shu Province Television's bid.

It wasn't the high price that stunned him—it was Zhang Youben, Department Director, changing his tune so dramatically.

Last night he'd dismissed Wulin Waizhuan as worthless; now he was matching his own station's bid.

He truly mastered the traditional art of Sichuan!

If not for that phone call last night… Xu Qiming dared not imagine the consequences.

Of course, this also indirectly showed he still needed to strengthen his cultivation.

Thinking of this, he couldn't help but look at Xu Min with admiration.

"Cough, cough—this awkward situation was unforeseen.

We can't have everyone vote again—that would be unfair to Shu Province Television and Yu Province Television.

Nor can we let the two stations directly compete by bidding again, with the highest bidder winning—that wouldn't be right."

Cheng Chen cleared his throat and smiled.

The audience below heard Cheng Chen's words and silently cried out that he had the nerve of a brick wall.

Authentic? Is not bidding anonymously without records authentic?

That's pure bullshit!

"So, let's move directly to the second round of comparison—it's simple: let's see whether everyone agrees on the copyright issue."

Cheng Chen glanced at the contents inside the file folder and continued:

"Sichuan Satellite TV bids 300,000 yuan per episode, buying out the copyright!"

Upon hearing this, everyone smiled knowingly—300,000 yuan per episode naturally required buying out the copyright.

Your 80-episode drama had an investment of only ten million yuan; now at 300,000 yuan per episode, the total price jumps straight to twenty-four million yuan.

It's more than doubled—buying out the copyright isn't excessive at all…

Xu Min from Yu Province Television, hearing Cheng Chen's announcement, relaxed his expression.

Noticing Xu Min's change in expression, Zhang Youben's heart sank completely…

"Yu Province Television bids 300,000 yuan per episode, copyright sharing!"

"As per our prior agreement, the first-run broadcasting rights for Wulin Waizhuan belong to Yu Province Television."

…

Providing you with the rebirth of Great God Ge La Tiao's ambition, starting from Huayu 2002