Chapter 733

October 3, morning.

After a simple morning run, Li Luo took Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng for breakfast at the gated entrance of the residential complex, then brought a portion for Xu Youyu, who was still sleeping in.

After feeding everyone, Li Luo tidied up and led the two women downstairs, driving toward the city center.

By eight o'clock in the morning, he arrived smoothly at the entrance of Huayue Film and Television, parked in the underground lot, and went up to the third-floor conference room.

At this time, Lawyer Tian had already been waiting there.

Li Luo entered the conference room with the two women; the others had not yet all arrived.

Several familiar faces stood up to greet Li Luo as he walked in.

Including former assistant director Chu Jiyong and producer Zhang Ruiwen from the "Little Joy" crew, all were part of Director Wang Jun's team.

Yan Zhisheng had not yet arrived, and Li Luo was not in a hurry—he found a seat and sat down.

But he did not expect that there were two more familiar faces in the room.

"Teacher Chongran, it's been a long time," Lü Yilan pulled Ruan Lin over to Li Luo's side and smiled warmly, "Linlin, you haven't seen Teacher Chongran in ages, right? Say hello."

"Uh… Teacher Chongran, it's been a long time," Ruan Lin walked over shyly and greeted him softly.

Unlike two or three years ago, Ruan Lin had now passed the college entrance exam and enrolled in Beijing Film Academy, the top institution in the country.

And before starting university, she already had "Little Joy" to her name; her role as Qiao Yingzi was hailed as the Nation's Little Daughter.

This instantly propelled her beyond her usual circle, and for the past few months she had been a regular on Weibo trending lists.

For someone ordinary, such sudden massive popularity—without the corresponding ability—might easily lead to disorientation, arrogance, and complacency.

Fortunately, Lü Yilan, as a mother, though somewhat pragmatic in her actions, remained mentally clear on this matter.

During the summer vacation, she let Ruan Lin take on a few endorsement deals, but did not over-schedule her; after the semester started, she made sure Ruan Lin focused on her studies.

Only after learning from Chu Jiyong, assistant director of "Little Joy," that Chongran had a new script ready and was already in copyright negotiation, did Lü Yilan grow restless.

After finding out the exact contract signing date, she boldly brought Ruan Lin along, arriving early to beg for an opportunity.

Fortunately, it was National Day holiday, so it wouldn't interfere with the child's schooling.

Honestly, for Ruan Lin now, with "Little Joy" behind her, as long as a suitable role came along, she could almost certainly land an audition—and even be cast.

Some production teams had even directly invited Ruan Lin herself to join.

But Lü Yilan remained extremely cautious: after carefully reading every script, she consulted her circle of contacts to investigate the production team's quality and the financial strength of the backers.

If there was even a slight flaw, Lü Yilan would choose caution.

She did not want to exhaust her daughter's hard-won popularity and influence with poor-quality dramas.

Especially since Ruan Lin had not yet undergone systematic training—theory and practice must be pursued together.

The money earned from those summer endorsements was already substantial; Lü Yilan was in no rush, and finally waited for Chongran's next work.

After receiving Chu Jiyong's high praise for the script, Lü Yilan no longer hesitated—she was determined to secure this opportunity for her daughter at all costs.

Li Luo was not at all averse to Lü Yilan's initiative.

After all, Ruan Lin had worked smoothly on the "Little Joy" set before, and now that she had just entered university, she still fit the character's profile.

Moreover, after two years of growth, Ruan Lin had matured slightly; her features had lost some youthful softness and gained more poise, yet retained a trace of purity.

With a little makeup and styling, she would suit the female lead's role perfectly.

But Li Luo would give no definite verbal commitment—he only smiled and replied vaguely, then told them both to sit quietly nearby.

If, during later auditions, a more suitable candidate emerged, Li Luo would not show favoritism.

In short, everything was for the sake of the drama's quality.

While Li Luo chatted with others in the conference room, roughly ten minutes passed, nearing half past eight, when the door opened again.

Ying Zhicheng and Yuan Wanqing entered together, followed by Director Wang Jun and several other company staff.

Upon entering, Ying Zhicheng walked to the head seat, with Li Luo and Yuan Wanqing to his right, and Director Wang Jun and producer Zhang Ruiwen to his left.

The rest took seats behind them.

Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng could only sit by the window.

Lü Yilan and Ruan Lin were even asked to leave the conference room entirely.

Certain contract-related matters still required Li Luo's final confirmation, and these were certainly not for outsiders to hear.

"Director Wang, you've got to help us again," Li Luo smiled at Wang Jun across the table, greeting him, "Hope we can continue our good collaboration."

"Of course," Wang Jun grinned happily, "I've already read your script—it's brilliant!"

"I'm honored that you and Director Ying are willing to trust me once more."

"With the quality of this script, I dare say the final product won't be worse than 'Little Joy.'"

"You flatter me," Li Luo replied modestly.

Ying Zhicheng promptly interrupted their mutual praise and said succinctly: "You've reviewed the contract. If there are no issues, sign it now."

"Alright, no problems," Li Luo nodded, looked toward Lawyer Tian seated behind, and took a printed contract from his hands.

"The copyright is valued at twenty-five million yuan, all counted as capital investment in the project, accounting for one-third of the total," Ying Zhicheng continued, "Chongran, as the original novel author and screenwriter."

"Wang Jun as director, Zhang Ruiwen as producer, and several other members."

"The overall production team is mostly familiar faces."

"Huayue Film and Television, as the primary investor, contributes approximately forty-five million yuan in capital."

"Several other investors hold a combined five million yuan share."

"Any issues?"

This contract signing covered not only Li Luo's copyright agreement but also the investment proportions for Huayue Film and Television's "The Beginning" project, which needed finalizing here.

Among them, besides Li Luo's twenty-five million yuan copyright investment and Huayue's forty-five million yuan,

the remaining five million yuan was divided among those present.

Director Wang Jun invested one million yuan; the producer and assistant director also chipped in, as a small perk.

Besides that, it was Ying Zhicheng and Yuan Wanqing, the couple, who held the 3.6 million investment share.

This was still the result of Li Luo helping with the negotiations. Otherwise, given Li Luo's current fame, the board members of Huayue Film and Television would probably be eager to stuff money straight into his pants pocket.

This 3.6 million share was still snatched up under the name of Yuan Wanqing's studio.

At Chongran's current level of influence and recognition, investors are extremely willing to throw large sums of money around.

This is the charm of having successful works behind you.

When you're unknown, seeking investment means begging from grandfathers to grandmothers.

Once you've achieved fame and success, even if you don't want it, people will go to great lengths to hand you the money.

Even then, you still need connections to fight for it.

Otherwise, you don't even qualify to receive the money.

The meeting room spent about ten minutes finalizing the contract, after which Ying Zhicheng instructed staff to file the records and then cleared the room.

He had the staff leave first.

Then, under Wang Jun's leadership, they outlined the future development plan for the project "The Beginning."

"After National Day, we'll spend one month on casting auditions."

"At the same time, begin coordinating location scouting and find suitable filming sites."

"By November, we'll start shooting officially!"

"The plot of 'The Beginning' is short; if everything goes smoothly, we'll likely finish filming in one or two months."

"Let's aim to wrap up before this year's New Year's Eve; at most, we'll do some additional shooting after the New Year."

"We can submit it for review next spring."

"Start moving on related operations and marketing, and as usual, we'll release it in summer."

Li Luo naturally had no objections.

But he suggested a few details: "The background of this script is based on Qianjiang University."

"So if possible, I'd like to consult with the local government of Yinjiang District about borrowing Yinjiang Bridge as a real-location filming site."

"I'll consider it," Ying Zhicheng nodded. "I'll have someone handle the communication."

As long as the filming location was nearby, Li Luo had no further demands.

Although he wasn't an actor, just in case, he still preferred to occasionally visit the set to oversee key plot points.

If they filmed elsewhere, Li Luo would have to frequently take leave to go out—it would be too troublesome.

"What about the TV drama's music? Like the theme song?" Yuan Wanqing finally spoke, asking Li Luo with hopeful anticipation on her face.

"No rush," Li Luo smiled at Yuan Wanqing, then pointed at Yan Zhusheng. "I've already given the USB drive to Zhusheng. You can take some time later to review it together with her."

Hearing this, Yuan Wanqing immediately raised an eyebrow and turned to look at her daughter.

But Yan Zhusheng had just pulled out the USB drive; seeing her mother's gaze, she clutched it protectively to her chest, eyeing her warily.

Clearly, if she could help it, Yan Zhusheng had no intention of letting her mother sing Li Luo's songs.

"You two haven't sung any of them yet, so I'm not sure which songs suit whom better," Li Luo noticed this and chuckled. "You can both try them out, and then I'll decide."

"Alright," Yuan Wanqing smiled, helplessly resigned to her daughter, and nodded.

"Then the preliminary plan is set," Ying Zhicheng declared. "Ruiwen, Jiyong, go out and entertain the two people outside."

Zhang Ruiwen heard this and knew Ying Zhicheng had something else to discuss with Chongran's team—something he wasn't meant to hear.

So he nodded politely, stood up, and left with Chu Jiyong to chat with Lü Yilan outside.

Now, only a few people remained in the meeting room.

Besides Ying Zhicheng, Li Luo, Yuan Wanqing, and Wang Jun, only Ying Chanxi and Yan Zhusheng were still seated nearby.

"Uncle Ying, is there something else?" Li Luo asked curiously.

"Wang and I have studied your script. The plot is relatively short; if filmed properly, it'll be only about ten or so episodes," Ying Zhicheng said. "The pure returns might even be less than 'Little Joy.'"

"That's right," Wang Jun added with a nod. "This investment is actually larger than last time. What specific details do you think need attention?"

"Spend more on special effects?" Li Luo rubbed his chin. "And for the characters on the bus, you must cast veteran actors—preferably those without much fame but excellent acting skills."

"People whose acting careers have no particularly well-known roles, so most viewers can't instantly recognize them."

"For this effect, absolutely avoid hiring actors with high popularity and fame."

After hearing this, Wang Jun paused briefly, understood his meaning, and nodded in strong agreement.

"You're right," Ying Zhicheng tapped the table, steering the topic back. "But that's not what I mean. I mean—shouldn't you take this opportunity to do something?"

Li Luo froze at Ying Zhicheng's words: "What do you mean, Uncle Ying?"

"What do I mean…" Ying Zhicheng clicked his tongue, giving Li Luo a meaningful look, then lowered his voice. "Huayue Film and Television—I'm only the general manager, not a shareholder."

"Last time with 'Little Joy,' Huayue held the majority stake. This time with 'The Beginning,' they still hold the majority."

"If possible, I hope next time it won't be like this. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Uncle Ying…" Li Luo fell silent after Ying Zhicheng's reminder.

"Yuan Wanqing's studio originally signed a five-year contract," Ying Zhicheng continued. "From 2014 to 2019."

Yuan Wanqing picked up the thread, smiling sweetly: "After it expires, I won't renew with Huayue. I just wonder—will Chongran Culture be willing to take me in?"

Hearing this, Li Luo's heartbeat quickened slightly.

A certain ambition—or vision for the future—began to spread and grow within him.

"I'm also planning to establish a studio soon," Wang Jun said cheerfully. "I might bring in Zhang Ruiwen and Chu Jiyong to form a more flexible production team."

Wang Jun's meaning was unmistakable.

Ying Zhicheng added: "Your script doesn't need famous actors."

"It's perfect for launching new talent in film and television."

"Take Lü Yilan outside, for example—if you still plan to use her, sign her under your name. It could bring considerable returns in the future."

Hearing this, Li Luo finally snapped back to reality.

If each step could be carried out like this, it seemed Chongran Culture could soon transform from a shell company into a legitimate entertainment and cultural industry firm?

(End of Chapter)