Chapter 299: This Relationship Must Be Maintained

In late October, Luo Runbo arrived in Jingcheng with a team of lawyers from Hong Kong. Pei Wencong then notified several units to come for final negotiations, intending to sign the relevant cooperation agreements once terms were settled.

Xiong Zhuren, along with Factory Director Gao and representatives from Chang'an, arrived at the Jingcheng Hotel as scheduled. Upon entering the room, they saw the teams from the other two units.

"Sigh..."

Xiong Zhuren sighed, feeling quite dejected.

After several days of mutual rivalry, the situation seemed quite clear.

Jingcheng and Shanghai were not only financially robust, offering excellent conditions regarding land and capital, but more importantly, their transportation and film infrastructure were far superior to Chang'an's.

The Beijing Film Academy and the Shanghai Theatre Academy were top-tier domestic institutions for film and television, and the airports in Jingcheng and Shanghai were the largest aviation hubs in the country.

Compared to that, what advantages did Chang'an have?

Perhaps only the name "Chang'an" itself, which was more closely aligned with *The Wangxiang Wangxiang Gujun of the Frontier* and *The Flying Wind of the Frontier*.

"Everyone, keep your spirits up. Even if we lose out this time, we'll still have a part to play in the cooperation. Don't let them look down on us."

Indeed, even if Jingcheng and Shanghai took the lion's share, filming would still require location shooting in Chang'an. Moreover, neither Shanghai nor Jingcheng had deserts, and a large amount of outdoor filming had to be done in the west.

Chang'an had the Mu Us Desert just a few hundred kilometers to the north, providing excellent filming conditions. No matter what, they would get a few sips of soup.

With the Chang'an leader giving the word, Xiong Zhuren and the others immediately straightened their backs. Their faces were expressionless and their eyes cold, resembling terracotta warriors, exuding a rugged, indomitable air.

Upon entering the conference room, Xiong Zhuren discovered that besides the three film studios and local representatives, there was also a foreign-funded enterprise from Singapore.

Wu Jinyuan's expression was no different from Xiong Zhuren's and the others; she was icy and devoid of a smile, as if she had lost eight million.

Pei Wencong and Luo Runbo arrived on time. After a round of polite pleasantries, Pei Wencong had Luo Runbo reveal something.

"Thank you all for the importance you've placed on us these past few days. Today, we'd like to show our sincerity first. This is a cashier's check for three million US dollars from Standard Chartered Bank. It is the first installment of the investment we expect to make after the cooperation begins."

Xiong Zhuren looked at the slip of paper in Luo Runbo's hand and couldn't help but swallow hard.

He wasn't a bank employee, but that didn't stop him from knowing what a "cashier's check" was, as these items appeared with high frequency in Hong Kong and Taiwan crime films of the seventies and eighties.

Although a cashier's check was merely a credit instrument, it could be exchanged for cash unconditionally at the bank, making it no different from actual currency.

Wu Jinyuan's expression turned even colder.

Recently, she had also been negotiating with the mainland to film movies. *The Wangxiang Wangxiang Gujun of the Frontier* couldn't be filmed, but she could film martial arts or urban dramas. However, she was using the broadcast rights of Singaporean television dramas to offset the investment capital for co-producing movies.

In reality, she was bringing in a few TV dramas, taking movies and TV shows out, and ultimately profiting from broadcasts in Southeast Asia, all while barely occupying any of the company's liquid capital.

To Wu Jinyuan, Pei Wencong's act of throwing around real money was a low-end approach, no different from an amateur.

But in the eyes of everyone else present, this was full of "sincerity."

You sign the contract, and you get the money immediately—you tell me if that's not reliable!

Someone in the room asked with a smile, "Then, Mr. Pei, it seems you have already decided where this investment will go?"

Pei Wencong smiled and said, "Yes, we have decided to build the film studio in Chang'an. We hope to hire Xie Jin as the director for *The Wangxiang Wangxiang Gujun of the Frontier*. In addition, we are preparing to adapt *The Flying Wind of the Frontier* into a television series..."

"Buzz..."

Xiong Zhuren's mind was ringing; he suspected he had misheard.

But seeing the pleasant surprise on the faces of everyone else around him, he knew that a golden nugget had truly fallen from the sky, and it had landed right on their group.

Regarding this result, everyone in the conference room was extremely surprised. Someone couldn't help but ask, "Mr. Pei, are you sure you want to build the film studio in Chang'an? I always felt the conditions in Jingcheng or Shanghai were better."

Pei Wencong smiled and said, "I thought so at first, too. Later, until I went to see the Terracotta Warriors, I was truly shocked."

"I believe that after our film is shown overseas, people will definitely come looking for the Chang'an of their dreams. Building our film studio in Chang'an is reasonable and logical."

"In addition, we have inspected other conditions such as outdoor locations, labor costs, warhorses, and props, and we feel Chang'an has its advantages."

"Of course, this co-production involves two works. If you are all willing, you can cooperate with each other, but the base quote will definitely be benchmarked against the Chang'an Film Studio's quote."

Factory Director Gao from Chang'an immediately stood up and said loudly, "No need for cooperation. We can complete the filming ourselves."

"..."

Except for the Chang'an group, everyone glared at Factory Director Gao.

But Factory Director Gao wasn't afraid at all; he widened his eyes and glared back.

Pei Wencong hurriedly said, "Let's take a break and continue discussing later. I hope everyone can complete this cooperation in a friendly, peaceful, and smooth manner. Of course, we must be quick; time is money!"

Having been in the mainland for these days, Pei Wencong had learned some of the local social nuances. He felt that the units below were about to start arguing, so he, the "outsider," should step aside first.

Sure enough, the moment Pei Wencong and the others left, the conference room turned into a pot of boiling porridge.

"Old Gao, what were you doing just now? Fighting among ourselves in front of the foreign guests? Aren't you afraid of choking to death on all that food?"

"Heh heh, who was it a few days ago that wanted to eat alone? Did you forget?"

Factory Director Gao wasn't stupid. He knew he certainly couldn't eat alone, but he had to establish his stance first, using the momentum of the foreign investor to claim a larger share. Otherwise, the other two units would think cooperation was a necessity!

Given the current situation, the Chang'an Film Studio was definitely going to take the lion's share, but the director was from the Shanghai Film Studio, so the casting would naturally be a collaboration.

This wasn't rare in the mainland. For example, the film *Du Shiniang*, starring Pan Hong, was actually produced by the Jilin Film Studio.

After a round of arguing and discussion, the three units roughly outlined a framework that afternoon. As for the other details, the "brothers" would close their doors and study them slowly.

But no matter how they studied it, the Chang'an Film Studio was the big winner that took the lion's share.

After signing the letter of intent, a friendly banquet naturally followed.

Xiong Zhuren had a low rank, so he waited for a long time before he had the chance to toast Pei Wencong.

"Thank you, Mr. Pei..."

"Easy, easy. By the way, Xiong Zhuren, I heard that the replica Ming-dynasty 'Bright Armor' you have is quite good. I chatted with a friend of mine a few days ago, and if it were exported as an art piece, it would have quite a market. At the very least, I want to keep a set at home to guard the house."

"Oh, oh, there are definitely ordinary replicas, but..."

"Of course, they are ordinary ones. The museum's collection cannot be exported; I understand that. I understand. It's just a normal commercial transaction. The export volume could be hundreds or thousands of sets."

"Mr. Pei, rest assured. I will report this immediately. I will report it immediately."

A shadow suddenly crossed Xiong Zhuren's mind. He seemed to understand that today's events might not have been a golden nugget falling from the sky.

Finding a gap, Xiong Zhuren found Factory Director Gao and whispered, "Director, we might have underestimated someone this time. Otherwise..."

Factory Director Gao narrowed his eyes and whispered, "Since they haven't made it explicit, we shouldn't disturb them on the surface. But this relationship must be maintained well."

"I understand, but how should we maintain it with him?"

"What does he like?"

"He seems to like cultural relics. Yes, ancient antiques."

"Pah, Chang'an has nothing else, but we have plenty of antiques. I'll find someone for you; you go and contact him. When you report to the finance department, just say I approved it."