Chapter 144

Jingcheng, Mingjiang Film & Television Company

Boss Hao Yiping hung up the phone and looked at director Liang Guoguan: "The Yan Li you recommended turned us down."

"Turned us down?"

Liang Guoguan was surprised and disappointed: "Why? Dislike the script or the role?"

"No time."

Liang Guoguan: "..."

Thinking about Yan Li's situation, this excuse made sense.

"What a pity."

Liang Guoguan shook his head: "Yan Li's appearance is perfect—heroic, robust, exactly matching the mythic warrior son Hou Yi."

When he first took on this project, Liang Guoguan researched Hou Yi's character and initially considered Wu Qilong, a close friend, then Yu Bo from Zhou Yi's circle—both he'd worked with before and trusted.

But neither had availability, so Liang Guoguan had to look elsewhere, and then he saw Yuwen Chengdu from the TV series "Heroes of Sui and Tang."

Audiences were drawn to the character by his traits and storyline.

But as a professional director, Liang Guoguan saw Yan Li's appearance and acting ability, and felt they aligned perfectly with his vision of Hou Yi.

Later, Liang Guoguan searched for Yan Li's background and saw the official costume photos of Huo Qubing from "Emperor Wu of Han," which solidified his choice.

Yet knowing Yan Li's identity, he also worried about how hard it would be to persuade him.

Most actors would jump at the chance to play the lead, but Yan Li, who runs his own film company, might not care at all.

Liang Guoguan had only sent the invitation as a shot in the dark; since the man had no time, he'd let it go.

But while Liang Guoguan gave up, Boss Hao Yiping thought they should try contacting him again.

【Daily Info 1: Director Liang Guoguan of "Jingwei Fills the Sea" favors Yan Li's appearance and acting, so he invited him to play the male lead Hou Yi...】

Morning, Beiying Residential Complex, bathroom

Yan Li stared in surprise at the newly refreshed info—turns out he'd actually found a mentor.

He'd actually checked Liang's resume yesterday.

Hong Kong director, involved in "My Date with a Vampire," later collaborated frequently with Zhou Yi—he participated in or directed "Xiao Shi Yi Lang," "Young King," "Shuiyue Dongtian," skilled in fantasy Wu Xia action genres.

Yan Li also read the plot summary of "Jingwei Fills the Sea" sent with the offer—it was a mythological rewrite, fitting Liang's style.

Good director!

Whether his technical skill was high or low, the key was his sharp eye—he had an acute sense for outstanding actors.

【Daily Info 2: Hao Yiping, head of Mingjiang Film & Television, intends to use Yan Li as the male lead as leverage to secure investment for the production—target: 5 to 8 million...】

Fuck!

Yan Li couldn't help cursing—he knew things couldn't be this simple.

With 5 to 8 million in investment, he could land the male lead in eight out of ten productions, aside from major ones.

Only if the investor were an outsider like a coal tycoon—with money but no connections or resources—might he be pressured.

But Yan Li himself was in film; with that sum, even a little more, he could assemble his own production team.

Not just the male lead—he could play the female lead if he wanted!

Besides, Yan Li checked the system's archived info and found no prior mentions of "Jingwei Fills the Sea."

With limited resources and funding, and high risk in film projects, he only joined ones he understood or saw clear profit potential in.

Aside from the male lead, "Jingwei Fills the Sea" had little to attract Yan Li.

Another key reason: his company was growing, and he was stretched too thin—he doubted he had time to play a 60-episode lead.

Becoming a famous actor vs. running a company and making money

Yan Li now clearly prioritized the latter; once the company was established, with money and influence, why worry about acting? He could just create any role or genre he wanted for himself.

{... }

【Daily Info 6: Yan Li recently contacted six VFX companies... 〖Tiangong Huanying〗Studio, founded in 2001 by Jin Xin... overall best match for Yan Li's requirements, preferred cooperation price: 4 to 6 million...】

Yan Li perked up.

This info was the most useful today—domestic VFX companies were rare, and few in film understood the tech; most were half-informed.

Being overcharged was bad enough, but the worst was low-quality work at high prices.

They'd charge 5,000 yuan for outsourcing-level work and brag it was on par with Hollywood.

Once the deposit was paid and deadlines loomed, producers had no choice but to swallow their dissatisfaction.

Yan Li's previous industry inquiries and publicly available data were vague; now, with the system's digging and organization, everything became clear.

He also saw just how deep the industry's corruption ran.

Of the six VFX companies, one was pure middleman—taking orders then outsourcing; two were mediocre, relying entirely on hype.

These weren't random picks—he'd researched and filtered them before contacting them.

Half turned out to be fakes; the remaining three had decent tech but each had flaws.

One charged too much; one played favorites—gave full effort for famous productions or big payers, but cut corners for ordinary ones.

Only Tiangong Huanying had good pricing, solid tech, and proper attitude—just small-scale and slow-paced.

Yan Li planned to talk with Tiangong Huanying's manager.

See exactly what their schedule looked like—if it was acceptable, he'd pick them.

Thinking of it, Yan Li grimaced—VFX was damn expensive, and you got what you paid for; little room for negotiation.

Lucky he'd done his homework and saved some funds, or he'd have to inject more capital into the production.

"Huan Tian Xi Di Seven Fairies" had at least a 4-million-plus VFX budget—unremarkable in film circles, but definitely above average.

The key was if that 4 million plus was genuinely spent on VFX, the final result would be impressive enough for TV drama standards.

Yan Li did some quick math — for the publicity, the special-effects investment could be claimed to be in the tens of millions.

As long as the special effects looked good on screen, the money people would be easy to account to, and even if the TV station felt there was some padding, they couldn't squeeze out too much; Yan Li could then justifiably raise the price.

Yan Li was beginning to understand why this industry ran so deep — cooking the books was really convenient.

For real on-location filming, the crew still had to blow up a set or something, but this thing you could just knock together on a computer, then fill in the numbers straight on the contract.

Tsk, you've gotta love high technology!

…

Coming out of the bathroom, Dong Xuan hadn't gotten up yet. It was a rare weekend — their graduation showcase had given them half a day off, so she could sleep in.

Yan Li didn't wake her either. He went downstairs for a walk and some exercise, and bought breakfast on the way.

When he got back home, he saw Guan Yue leaning against the bathroom door, chatting with Dong Xuan, who was washing her hair.

"Showing up first thing in the morning — can't you give us a little couple time?"

Yan Li set the breakfast on the table and said, a bit grumpily, that the Beijing Film Academy compound was close to Beijing Film Academy — convenient for Dong Xuan, sure, but also convenient for Guan Yue and the others to come mooch meals.

"Old Dong went off to Wu City with you to film for months, and now that she's back in Jingcheng you still can't spend a little more time with me."

Guan Yue was completely self-righteous — Dong Xuan wasn't Yan Li's alone; she, as her best friend, had a share too.

Yan Li couldn't be bothered to argue with her — or rather, this situation was something he'd deliberately indulged into being.

Otherwise, with no one to keep Dong Xuan in check, she'd cling to him every single day. How would he ever get to Qin Lan or anyone else's place? He couldn't exactly claim to be working overtime or on a business trip every single time.

So, despite Yan Li's嘴上吐槽, in his heart he supported Guan Yue sticking close to Dong Xuan.

Whenever Tong Dawei went off to film and wasn't around, Guan Yue loved to drag Dong Xuan back to the dorm, or come stay over at the Beijing Film Academy compound. Yan Li always acted "helpless" as she stole his girlfriend away.

Tong Dawei also fully supported Guan Yue and Dong Xuan hanging out together when he wasn't around — otherwise he'd be uneasy filming on location by himself.

The two boyfriends' encouragement and indulgence meant that after Guan Yue and Dong Xuan each started dating, they didn't drift apart like many best friends do once they're too busy with romance to bother with each other — instead, they grew closer and closer.

Now both of them were planning to stay on at the school. Beyond being classmates and best friends, they were about to become colleagues too, helping each other out — so they'd be even closer.

If he hadn't found out that Guan Yue had been egging Dong Xuan on to get pregnant and force a marriage, Yan Li's attitude toward Guan Yue would definitely have been a lot friendlier.

Once Dong Xuan finished washing her hair and started eating breakfast, Guan Yue shamelessly joined in, and shared with Dong Xuan some new intel she'd dug up.

As mentioned before, compared to the already somewhat-famous Dong Xuan, Guan Yue had a harder time getting kept on at the school.

Not only was she more active in every aspect of school life, she'd also used Tong Dawei's connections to sign with a music company, and was about to release a new album.

Put bluntly, it was just gilding her résumé.

A professional singer who'd released an album, with actual results to show — cook up a few nice-looking numbers, and ideally snag some award at a fly-by-night prize ceremony.

Naturally she'd become an "outstanding graduate," meeting the conditions to stay on at the school.

This trick wasn't only for Guan Yue — Yan Li was also mulling over finding a couple of fly-by-night awards to boost Dong Xuan's visibility.

After all, *Snow Flower Goddess Dragon* was a satellite-channel drama with respectable ratings, and Dong Xuan was the lead actress — shameless enough, you could even snag some "XX Best Actress" thing.

"Oh right, a senior who's staying on told me that if you can show your face on a TV station, it helps a lot for staying on."

"Yan Li, you're in distribution, you know a lot of people at TV stations — can you get us both a fill-in hosting gig? One or two episodes is enough, any show will do."

Guan Yue was explaining it all — even a fill-in host gig was fine, even just one of those on-location hosts who shows their face for a second.

Clearly showing your face on a TV program, having the material on record — that adds several lines to your résumé, and it's the important kind.

"Would CCTV be even better?"

"Of course!"

Guan Yue said excitedly, "You've got connections?"

Yan Li took a sip of porridge: "I'll ask around. Even if CCTV doesn't work out, a satellite channel shouldn't be a problem."

At this stage, many TV programs had several hosts — one or two core ones, the rest were just foils. They didn't steal anyone's rice bowl, they just wanted to show their faces. Jiang Yiyan Li's connections, it really wasn't much of a challenge.

"Boss Yan is mighty, Boss Yan is domineering, Boss Yan is badass."

Guan Yue didn't get prickly either, and started shamelessly sucking up to Yan Li — but Yan Li didn't fall for it.

"Cut the sweet talk. I don't help for free. From now on, whenever there's some pest buzzing around Dong Xuan, you block them for me, and report back to me right away."

"Mission guaranteed."

Dong Xuan was a bit unhappy: "I'm still right here, you two — one buying people off, one selling me out. Could you at least do it behind my back?"

Before Yan Li could say anything, Guan Yue stuffed a bun in her mouth: "Shut it. Boss Yan caring about you is your good fortune."

"Little Guan, not bad."

Yan Li gave a positive review. Dong Xuan rolled her eyes, then went to cause trouble for Guan Yue.

…

Their couple time had been ruined by Guan Yue, so Yan Li simply called up Wu Maowen, and the two of them drove to a shop in Haidian that was being renovated.

After Spring Festival, Yan Li had invested in three internet cafés.

He'd been wanting to get into this industry for a long time — same old saying, don't put all your eggs in one basket.

Of the few industries Yan Li was currently involved in, the stock market had the highest returns but the biggest risk — and if you had money but no power, you were just a piece of fat meat.

The film and entertainment industry had decent returns and not-small risk, but the upside was that it made a lot of noise.

Not only did it have broad reach, letting you leverage it to boost other industries, it could also build your reputation and protect you — it was Yan Li's foundation.

Besides that, Yan Li was also considering laying out into other industries — more income streams, more risk diversification, and it could support hiring some people.

The internet café business was currently a relatively high-margin industry.

Yan Li had done his research. The first couple of years, when the internet was just taking off, internet cafés didn't have many functions — the main profit was hourly internet fees.

An internet café with around 50 computers, running at full capacity every day, had a daily gross profit of roughly two or three thousand, and annual profits close to a million.

This was the beginning of the century, when most people's wages were just a few hundred — one internet café's profits were on par with a small factory.

Even more crucially, this was only the initial stage of internet cafés.

After 2002, online games took off. Beyond internet fees and overnight packages, internet cafés could also sell point cards and Q-coins, and profits shot straight up.

According to Yan Li's understanding, for internet cafes of the same scale as the examples above, daily gross revenue exceeding ten thousand yuan was not uncommon.

That means, with an investment of several hundred thousand or even over a million yuan, an internet cafe could break even in at most half a year.

After deducting water, electricity, internet, tax, and labor costs, earning a few hundred thousand yuan net profit per year was as easy as playing, and opening several more could make an annual income of ten million yuan no dream.

Of course, this cash cow business couldn't be opened just because you wanted to—every relationship had to be carefully maintained.

For instance, Yan Li's three internet cafes were nominally owned by him alone, but in reality, there were two silent partners holding a thirty percent hidden stake.

The specifics need not be mentioned, but with these two partners and some necessary bribes, Yan Li's three internet cafes could enjoy peace and stability.

"Bro."

Seeing Yan Li, his cousin Yan Xin, who was supervising the shop, hurried over: "Why did you come here?"

"Just came to take a look."

Yan Li glanced around, took the safety helmet handed to him by another junior, stepped inside, inquired about the renovation progress, and also asked about the other two shops.

"Old Chen's shop is smaller, so progress is faster; the Tian brothers' shop is the largest, so it's slower."

Yan Li's old hometown crowd, who tended to pursue careers in film and television, were temporarily helping at Yi'an Company; the rest were supervising work at the three internet cafes.

For the overall manager of the three internet cafes, Yan Li hired a professional; the remaining shop managers or deputy managers were filled by Yan Xin and others, while the rest served as network administrators and security personnel.

Interestingly, the younger Tian brother and Old Chen, mentioned by Yan Xin, had both previously worked as network administrators and were now returning to their original roles with promotions and raises.

Yan Li trusted this group of old hometown folks, since they had been carefully selected and their character was guaranteed.

Moreover, all internet cafes had electronic management systems, so all financial figures could be accounted for—no discrepancies on paper.

After circling through everything, Yan Li was satisfied; his cousin was military-trained, and though not outstanding in ability, with some guidance and training, he was reliable.

In fact, most ordinary people were like this—if their IQ and personality weren't problematic, giving them an opportunity allowed them to grow.

Yan Li himself had grown step by step, so he was willing to help some people improve.

When poor, cultivate oneself; when successful, benefit all under heaven!

Yan Li hadn't reached the point of benefiting all under heaven, but within his capacity, he still hoped to support those around him.

"By the way."

Yan Li remembered something and instructed his cousin: "Don't tell your sister-in-law about the internet cafes. In a while, I'll introduce you to someone—when I'm too busy, I'll have her audit the accounts."

Yan Xin's eyes grew strange: "Bro, your sister-in-law's great. Why are you hiding the cafes from her and forbidding me to tell Grandpa and Grandma about her? Are you planning to become Chen Shimei?"

"What nonsense. Am I that kind of person?"

"I remember Liu Qianjin's daughter who fixed bikes on the street, Gao Yan from the neighboring village, oh, and Kong from our school—"

Before he finished, Yan Li kicked him: "Shut up. Those were just youthful follies."

They started in confusion and ended in confusion; adolescent hormonal urges outweighed so-called feelings. Now, when Yan Li tried to recall, some faces had already blurred.

"I'm hiding the cafes from your sister-in-law for a reason, and I'm not telling the family because I don't want Grandpa and Grandma to pressure or worry. Don't go imagining things."

After explaining, Yan Li gripped his neck with one arm and grinned menacingly.

"Keep that stupid mouth shut. If your sister-in-law or anyone else asks about my past, say you know nothing. If even a whisper leaks out, I'll strip you naked and parade you through the whole village."

Yan Xin shrank his neck and nodded mutely. Yan Li turned to Wu Maowen, who remained expressionless.

"When have you ever heard me reveal anything about you?"

"Did you hear that? Learn from Brother Wu. Tell the others too—if anyone slips up, I'll deal with them."

Yan Li felt relieved: during the filming of "Huan Tian Xi Di Seven Fairies," there were too many people and he wasn't close enough to Dong Xuan for her to have dug into his past yet.

Fortunately, Yan Xin's blunder today reminded him—if he waited until he grew familiar with Dong Xuan or Qin Lan and they uncovered his secrets, the trouble would be enormous.

Afterwards, Yan Li personally visited the other two shops and treated several key staff to dinner.

Wu Maowen, who had quit drinking since becoming Yan Li's driver, sat in the driver's seat.

"Back to Beiying Community, Guanghua Li, or Tuanjiehu?"

As Yan Li's personal driver, others might not know Yan Li's situation, but Wu Maowen couldn't be fooled.

"Cough, go to Zhiqiang South Garden, near Xinjie Kou—I'll guide you."

Yan Li gave another new address. Wu Maowen, usually calm and silent, couldn't help turning to look at his old friend, hesitated a moment, then spoke.

"I don't mean anything by it, but you're still young—take care of your health."

"You're overthinking. The rent for that place is due—I'm going to return the keys to the landlord."

Wu Maowen said nothing, silently started the car. When they arrived, Yan Li completed the handover with the landlord, retrieved his personal belongings, and sent two text messages to Huang Shengyi.

【Tang Ren's "New Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio" — I've secured you a lead female role in one episode. Contact your company for an interview later】

【The South Garden apartment lease expired—I've returned your things via courier to your dorm】

…

(End of Chapter)