Chapter 234: One Battle, Instant Fame, Fame and Fortune Combined

The Summer Blockbuster Opens, the "Crazy" Stone Gets Rave Reviews

Exclusive Interview with Ning Hao of "The Crazy Stone": Unveiling the Genius Director's Journey

Mastering Black Humor, a Single Stone Stirs a Thousand Waves

Three-Day Box Office Reaches Approximately 14 Million, Seeing Yan Li Crafts This Year's Breakout Chinese Film

"Stone Fever" Sweeps Universities Across Multiple Regions, College Students Declare It the Best Comedy Film

Yi'an Successfully Combats Piracy, Cooperates with Authorities to Shut Down Over Ten Piracy Hubs

……

As Seeing Yan Li predicted, after the opening day's 3 million+ box office, the next two days—coinciding with the weekend—brought another small surge.

The nearly 14 million box office in three days drew widespread attention from industry insiders.

The prior promotions and hype for "The Crazy Stone" had indeed drawn attention to the film, and some had taken it seriously.

But no one expected "The Crazy Stone" to perform so brilliantly.

True to its name, it truly had a touch of madness to it.

The striking box office performance drew more and more people to pay attention and discuss the film; most viewers who watched it gave positive reviews, and as word-of-mouth spread, the two factors combined made "The Crazy Stone" grow increasingly popular.

The production's promotional team even coined the slogan "Watch Football, Then Watch the Stone," piggybacking on the Germany World Cup's traffic.

The distribution's ground promotion team also seized the momentum, negotiating with theaters for better terms and conducting offline promotions at local cinemas, malls, and schools.

Zhejiang Province, Hangzhou City

Liu Feng, Yi'an's Hangzhou representative, finished his talk with the theater manager, then called his colleague to share the good news.

"We've secured the university district theater—tomorrow we get at least six more shows, all in premium halls."

As mentioned earlier, due to factors like technological development and management models, many theaters retain strong autonomy over their internal scheduling.

Especially independent or franchise theaters: which film gets more screenings is decided by the theater manager—even the theater chain's directives may not hold weight.

Even in those relatively strict corporate-owned chains, while some scheduling directives are issued, there's still some leeway left for theaters to adjust.

After all, both theater chains and individual theaters exist to make money.

If a blockbuster film isn't popular in a certain city, why fight the market?

Theaters are the frontline directly facing audiences; they know best which films are popular, which have high attendance, and which drive substantial ancillary spending.

Therefore, theaters must have the flexibility to adjust—and they can even feed data back to the chain, helping the chain better understand the market and make overall adjustments.

Seeing Yan Li's original ground promotion strategy was precisely to directly engage local theaters and secure the theater managers' scheduling authority.

If one theater adds three more shows, a hundred theaters mean three hundred more shows. At 30–50 viewers per show, ticket prices varying, let's assume 25 yuan each—that's 200,000 to 300,000 yuan in daily box office gain.

Not to mention, this is just a rough estimate—the actual effect could be even better.

Moreover, Yi'an's current ground promotion network affects far more than a hundred theaters.

Simultaneously, stronger box office performance triggers other theaters to follow suit—once one moves, all move, and the winner takes all.

Liu Feng's colleague's voice came over the line: "Our events are going well too—attendance isn't as high as on weekends, but it's far better than other films."

The entire Hangzhou city had only two official ground promotion staff: Liu Feng and his colleague.

Liu Feng handled the entire Hangzhou ground promotion plan and theater negotiations; his colleague primarily managed offline promotions.

Of course, one person couldn't handle all the promotion work, so the colleague had several part-time college students under him—one or two per theater or promotion point, with the colleague or occasionally Liu Feng visiting each site to supervise and inspect.

"Excellent, keep pushing—if you secure first place, the bonus won't be lacking."

Liu Feng encouraged his colleague; Yi'an, experienced in distribution, had long established a series of performance incentives.

The higher the box office in the city where ground promotion occurred, the higher the bonus; there were also ranking rewards among cities of comparable scale, and an extra bonus for securing first place.

As the provincial capital of Zhejiang, Hangzhou had economic advantages; Liu Feng had fought hard to claim this territory and couldn't afford to waste the opportunity.

Otherwise, if you failed, there were plenty of other city promoters with better results eager to come to the capital for the performance bonus.

Additionally, since film ground promotion was still in its infancy, everyone reported directly to headquarters—but later, regional integration was likely.

Provincial integration was unlikely; instead, regions like Huadong, Southwest, Northeast, or Jiang-Zhe-Shanghai, Guangdong-Guangxi-Fujian-Jiangxi, Sichuan-Chongqing-Guizhou-Yunnan, Heilongjiang-Jilin-Liaoning would probably be formed.

No matter how integration proceeded, regional managers would be needed—no one didn't want promotion and salary increases; Liu Feng wanted to advance too.

Liu Feng had little chance of directly becoming regional manager for Jiang-Zhe-Shanghai or Huadong; the Shanghai manager would likely take that spot.

But if that manager moved up, the Shanghai position would open—and Liu Feng was eyeing exactly that.

No matter how good Hangzhou was, it couldn't match Shanghai, the national economic center; if Liu Feng went to Shanghai, his salary, bonuses, and future prospects would all rise dramatically.

So Liu Feng was going all out, determined to crush rivals like Suzhou and Jin Ling.

After ending the call with his colleague, Liu Feng contacted the company again, strongly requesting that the "The Crazy Stone" crew come to Hangzhou for a roadshow—it would greatly boost offline promotion and theater negotiations.

The company gave no firm answer, only saying they were coordinating.

After all, many cities wanted the creative team for roadshows, and since the early phase was the peak box office period, roadshow effectiveness was highest—everyone was fighting for slots.

Liu Feng negotiated with the company for a long while, then prepared to have lunch before heading out to more theaters in the afternoon.

But he hadn't even sat down when he received a call from headquarters: "According to reports, XX Cinema is suspected of ticket fraud—likely methods include… You may proceed with inquiries."

Liu Feng was startled, then clenched his teeth in fury.

Fuck, after all my hard work to boost box office, someone's stealing tickets right under my nose—how heartless.

Ticket fraud was common in this era, primarily carried out by theaters or their staff.

Because most movie tickets were still sold offline, theaters had ample room to manipulate.

Handwritten tickets, invalid tickets, fake refunds, dual accounting, bundled sales—there were countless tricks.

If 1 million yuan in tickets were sold, only 900,000 yuan would be recorded; the remaining 100,000 yuan would be pocketed—no revenue sharing, no taxes paid.

So distributing films in this era was truly difficult—traps were everywhere, everyone wanted a bite.

Upon receiving the tip, Liu Feng immediately went to confront that theater.

The theater naturally denied everything—maximum they'd admit was a technical glitch or a temp worker taking the blame.

Liu Feng wouldn't let up, leveraging rumors to bluff his way until the cinema conceded, "returning" box office revenue and increasing screenings for Crazy Stone.

This level was sufficient.

Yi An's goal wasn't to clean up industry chaos; the main aim was to protect box office numbers, issue warnings, and stop the cinemas' behavior.

But if they repeatedly refused to comply, showed no respect—especially independent cinemas and mid-to-small theater chains—then expose and report them, drag them out to make an example of one to warn a hundred.

For TV drama distribution, TV stations held the strongest position, yet Seeing Yan Li didn't bow or kowtow.

Not to mention film distribution was a three-way power struggle, each side with its own backing, and Seeing Yan Li himself was from the theater chain side.

If distributors and producers caused trouble, they might unite theater chains against them, but internal strife among theater chains was an entirely different matter.

You can stir up momentum; I can form alliances too. Let's just clash and see who's stronger.

Seeing Yan Li didn't want to fight, but he wasn't afraid of it.

Some people need to be united by giving up profits; others must be made an example of—or simply devoured. If you're afraid of offending people, don't do business…

…

Liu Feng in Hangzhou was merely an outlier in Yi An's ground promotion team.

Across dozens of first- and second-tier cities nationwide, there were many more Liu Fens, each day working to secure screenings, promote films, and stop box office theft.

They used every possible method to gradually push Crazy Stone's box office higher.

And Crazy Stone did not disappoint; its box office kept rising.

15 million, 18 million, 20 million… ultimately, its first-week box office exceeded 23 million.

This figure had become the biggest dark horse of the summer season—and even of the entire 2006 film market.

Moreover, due to Crazy Stone's excellent word-of-mouth, its momentum remained strong.

Many in the industry predicted the film's final box office would surpass 50 million, possibly even higher.

Director Ning Hao, already hyped by Yi An's various promotions, was lifted to heavenly status, and Seeing Yan Li also received considerable praise.

That year, Seeing Yan Li entered the film and television industry and, with The Conquest, achieved a disproportionate success, earning tens of millions and launching his entrepreneurial path.

Now, entering the film industry, he again used the low-budget Crazy Stone to deliver a brilliant opening, truly a business genius.

Many reporters wanted to interview Seeing Yan Li, but all were refused—not because he was aloof, but because he simply had no time.

The brilliant box office success attracted countless flies; beneath Crazy Stone's public triumph, Seeing Yan Li's war against pirates had entered a fever pitch.

In a private QQ group, several pirate operators with prior contacts were in heated discussion.

Yes, pirate operators had connections—they were colleagues, some sworn enemies who reported each other, others allies who cooperated.

They'd form QQ groups to discuss which movies, TV dramas, or albums were selling well in the pirate market, so others could follow suit, or to coordinate distribution and cross-sales, and so on.

【Damn it, another one got caught in Hunan. Guys, count up—how many have we lost now?】

【Almost twenty, if not more. Almost daily, someone gets arrested.】

【Rumors—you actually believe news reports?】

【Some are joint announcements from police; officers gave interviews, there were photos—all of it. Even if exaggerated, it can't all be fake.】

【Better to believe it exists than to ignore it. Old Zhang was boasting just two days ago—where is he now?】

【Not necessarily arrested—maybe he's just busy and offline.】

【Haha, I don't know if Old Zhang got caught, but Fatty definitely did. We're close—I went over to check, and the whole operation was wiped out: production lines, inventory, everything seized. He won't be out for three to five years.】

【This Yan guy's got a dog's nose. In past years, one or two years passed without so many arrests—but in less than half a month, at least ten gangs are in jail.】

【Could there be a traitor?】

【Exactly. So many people trade and distribute with each other—someone's bound to slip up. We've always had informants reporting rivals. I suspect someone wants to clear out competitors and seize their territory.】

【That's unlikely. If it blows up, everyone suffers. If traced, it could spark outrage. I think it's probably some well-informed guy planning to retire, selling intel one last time for a final payout.】

【Fuck, both possibilities are real. Don't let me find out who it is—or I'll kill him.】

【Forget how the leak happened—what do we do now?】

【What else can we do? Fight back. Brothers, unite and take down this Yan guy—see how he handles it.】

【You're tough, go ahead. Did you forget this business is illegal? Even quiet profits require caution. You're jumping out now—do you want to die faster?】

【It's just one movie—not worth dying over.】

【Right. Right now, this movie's selling best. If I were Yan, I'd crush anyone who pirated it. Once the film leaves theaters, he'll lose interest—then we can still make money, just less.】

【They're cracking down too hard. My wife and kids need me—I'm giving up. Not getting involved this time.】

【Money's endless. No need to rush into the wind. I'll shut down my machines and lie low for a while.】

【A bunch of cowards. If you're going to pirate, pirate. I want to see what this Yan guy can do to me.】

【…Wait, how'd this guy log off?】

【Probably went to work. Honestly, no need to get angry. If the opponent's tough, pick the soft targets.】

【He was bragging, then suddenly logged off—could he have been arrested?】

【…】

Somewhere, a residential home

Several youths in floral shirts huddled in a corner, handcuffed. One yellow-haired youth, dusty-faced, crouched half-squatting, pointing at a computer's QQ group.

"Uncle Cop, everyone in here is into piracy. Go investigate them—you'll catch several. Does this count as me helping?"

The cop glanced at him and smiled: "Didn't you say, 'See what he can do to me'? Now you know what he can do, right?"

The yellow-haired youth grinned sheepishly: "Yes yes yes, I didn't know my place. I'll be a good man from now on."

The cop shook his head and told his subordinate: "Report this QQ group to headquarters."

On July 6, 2006, led by the propaganda department and joined by multiple agencies, a special operation was launched against piracy-related crimes.

The concerned citizen Mr. Yan actively cooperated with the operation, providing multiple valid leads.

After meticulous preparation, the task force launched a thunderous strike, dismantling over twenty piracy production and sales dens across provinces and cities in just a few days, seizing nearly thirty production lines and confiscating hundreds of thousands of pirated discs.

Added to the pirated dens independently busted in various provinces and cities, as well as the pirated websites inadvertently targeted.

This year's "Sweep Pornography and Crack Down on Piracy" campaign has yielded abundant results, achieving remarkable success, severely crushing the arrogance of pirates and safeguarding the cleanliness of the cultural market.

…

Bona Company

Yu the Fatty stared blankly at the newspaper report, then couldn't help calling Uncle Han.

"Uncle Han, arresting a few pirates caused this much uproar—is this kid really some family's illegitimate son?"

"Don't believe rumors."

Uncle Han dismissed the gossip, then sighed: "I just found out—it's not Seeing Yan Li leveraging the 'Sweep Pornography and Crack Down on Piracy' office; it's the 'Sweep Pornography and Crack Down on Piracy' office riding on Seeing Yan Li's coattails."

"You have no idea how powerful this kid is."

Uncle Han, having held it in too long, began gossiping about the new information he'd dug up.

Seeing Yan Li provided the task force with tips, with extremely high accuracy; naturally, the team grew curious about his sources, so Seeing Yan Li gave them a small demonstration of his "intelligence analysis ability."

As a "Sweep Pornography and Crack Down on Piracy" office, they received countless tips, but most were a mix of real and fake, hard to verify.

Seeing Yan Li took a portion of the tip data and, in just two days, helped the office uncover multiple genuine leads.

"The head of the relevant X Department even wanted to poach him—but no amount of perks could match Seeing Yan Li working on his own; the X Department head was genuinely disappointed."

Uncle Han had learned something new this time.

No wonder Seeing Yan Li rose so fast—he truly possesses abilities beyond ordinary people.

In business, one inevitably needs vision, instinct, judgment, and analytical ability.

Seeing Yan Li has advantages in these areas; he can catch pirates, and he can apply the same skills to clients and projects.

So this kid excels at sales, becoming the King of Movie Sales in a short time, with sharp eyesight—he bet correctly on dark horses like "The Conqueror" and "Crazy Stone."

Added to Seeing Yan Li's other outstanding qualities, his business grew rapidly.

Uncle Han connected all the dots and greatly increased his admiration for Seeing Yan Li.

What a fine young man—he's just a bit of a playboy; otherwise, he'd seriously consider him as a son-in-law.

Uncle Han even felt he couldn't compete—Seeing Yan Li, such a young talent, if he were only slightly more grounded and willing to climb higher, plenty of families would rush to make him their son-in-law.

Many upper-class families or individuals don't lack money or influence—they lack capable descendants.

Unworthy heirs are the beginning of a family's decline.

If sons are unreliable, a son-in-law can become the pillar—even if the son is dependable, with weak influence, having a brother-in-law or sister's husband as support is still beneficial.

So since ancient times, no matter how many cases of "phoenix sons" turned traitor, good sons-in-law remain in high demand—because the need is great.

After all, compared to the relatively few cases of "phoenix sons" turning against their in-laws, the number of cases where families collapse from lack of heirs and get completely stripped is far greater…

Yu the Fatty didn't care about Uncle Han's complex emotions; when he learned Seeing Yan Li had truly crushed these pirates, he wanted to call Seeing Yan Li "Dad."

Isn't he Dad?

With the current crackdown, piracy's impact on "Long Humen"'s box office at month-end will drop sharply.

Even a 10% increase—or even a single-digit boost—means millions.

"Famous overnight, famous overnight."

Yu the Fatty kept marveling—this time, with "Crazy Stone," Seeing Yan Li had truly become famous overnight.

The film's success goes without saying; Seeing Yan Li and Yi An stole the spotlight.

Within the industry, Seeing Yan Li's success in cracking down on piracy had even greater impact than the film itself.

Everyone had long suffered from piracy but could do nothing about these pirates; Seeing Yan Li's effective countermeasures were his unique advantage.

After being punished so harshly this time, next time Seeing Yan Li's film releases, they'll think twice.

Even if some daredevil pirates remain, Seeing Yan Li acted through ability, not luck—he can crush them once, he can crush them again.

Not to mention Seeing Yan Li now has ties with the "Sweep Pornography and Crack Down on Piracy" office—he voluntarily handed them credit; how could they not cooperate?

Large-scale special operations might not happen often, but smaller actions are always possible—who dares gamble that they won't be the chicken chosen to scare the monkeys?

If Seeing Yan Li can firmly suppress these pirates and make them avoid him like the plague.

"Tsk tsk."

Yu the Fatty, a veteran distributor, understood perfectly how much room for maneuver existed here.

"Uncle Han, I recently found a great restaurant—I'll treat you; let's get together with Director Yan."

Uncle Han agreed.

China Film also had no solution to piracy and shared a need to cooperate with Seeing Yan Li.

Moreover, Seeing Yan Li's demonstrated potential and ability made Uncle Han value and favor him even more.

Talent capable of standing alone in mainland cinema is too scarce—he was willing to support Huayi, Bona, and Star Beauty, so naturally he was willing to support Seeing Yan Li and Yi An to suppress Hong Kong and Taiwan and resist Hollywood.

Those seeking Seeing Yan Li weren't just Bona and Uncle Han—Huayi's Wang brothers called even faster.

"Director Yan, after that misunderstanding, we've thought it over and feel deeply apologetic—we've set up a banquet to apologize; you must grace us with your presence."

Listening to the voice on the phone, Seeing Yan Li smiled—bullshit apology, he wasn't a fool.

In September, "The Banquet" and "Baby Plan" were coming out; both films had Huayi's investment and were under their distribution.

Yi An's ground promotion and piracy-cracking abilities were things Huayi couldn't achieve.

To make money, the Wang brothers naturally wanted to turn hostility into friendship and cooperate for mutual gain.

"Let me check my schedule."

Seeing Yan Li planned to go—honestly, these two films had some profit, but not much.

After all, Huayi's distribution ability was already solid; they just wanted Seeing Yan Li to add the finishing touch.

Ground promotion and piracy-cracking certainly helped box office, but to what extent was hard to measure.

It wasn't as if Seeing Yan Li said "X percent increase" and Huayi would believe him—if he asked too high a price, Huayi would rather handle it themselves.

Therefore, Huayi's share of revenue given to Seeing Yan Li would not be high, and might not include any other distribution income—only a share of the mainland box office.

Compared to producers and theater operators, distributors' shares are inherently low, mostly ranging from 5% to 15%.

Yi'an could only receive a portion of the distribution share; even if the film's box office broke one hundred million, it would amount to just a few million.

Those few million had to cover Seeing Yan Li's personal effort, ground promotion costs, taxes, and various other expenses; what ultimately landed in Seeing Yan Li's hands was merely hard-earned pay.

Yet Seeing Yan Li still went to see it, not for profit, but for other benefits: advertising, accumulating experience, and building connections.

To catch fish, you must lay bait.

Waiting passively for business to come to you won't work.

"The Night Banquet" and "Baby Plan" were both solid projects; joining them would train the distribution team, enhance industry influence, and perhaps even poach talent from Huayi.

Whether Feng Xiaogang, Jackie Chan, or other non-mainland film investors who partnered with Huayi.

Seeing Yan Li wanted them to know that mainland China had options beyond Huayi.

…

The infighting among film companies was unknown to the outside world.

Even the credit for cracking down on piracy was understood internally; publicly, Seeing Yan Li always credited the "Sweep Pornography and Crack Down on Illegal Publications" office.

There was no need to seek the spotlight!

Highlighting your own brilliance leaves other relevant agencies in an awkward position—newly established connections might turn into enemies.

Moreover, from the public's perspective, cracking down on piracy wasn't popular, since people preferred buying cheaper pirated copies; cracking down on piracy meant delaying public entertainment.

It was fine for state agencies to do this—it was fighting crime—but for a private businessman to be so enthusiastic was seen as "having too much time on his hands."

Although some spotlight was relinquished, some glory could never be taken away.

After securing over 23 million yuan in its first week, "Crazy Stone" entered its second week with further word-of-mouth momentum, mass imitation, and strict anti-piracy measures—all favorable factors—its box office decline slowed, ultimately earning over 17 million yuan.

Combined, the two-week box office for "Crazy Stone" exceeded 40 million yuan.

As of now, it ranked eighth on the 2006 annual box office chart and second among Chinese-language films.

However, with the initial box office surge over, "Crazy Stone"'s earnings would inevitably keep declining, and new films were coming.

Some had already arrived—Hollywood's "Superman Returns" had premiered just two days prior and performed well.

Another Hollywood blockbuster, "Mission: Impossible III," was set to release in late July, and "Long Humen" at month's end would both impact "Crazy Stone"'s subsequent box office.

Fortunately, these films differed in genre from "Crazy Stone," leaving some breathing room.

According to industry insiders' rough estimates, "Crazy Stone"'s total mainland box office of 50 million yuan was almost certain; 55 million wasn't out of reach.

Whether it could reach 60 million was uncertain—it depended on fortune.

Regardless of how far it went, at least 50 million yuan in box office brought overwhelming praise to "Crazy Stone" and its team.

Undoubtedly, the film's greatest contributor was director Ning Hao, but the one who made the most money was undoubtedly Seeing Yan Li.

One media outlet calculated: at 55 million yuan in box office, the producer and distributor's combined share would be at least 20 million yuan.

This was only the mainland box office revenue.

Yi'an had already begun coordinating with Xiangjiang and Taiwan to release "Crazy Stone" there—another source of income.

Meanwhile, DVD rights for such a hit film commanded high prices, especially now that piracy was heavily suppressed; prices would surely rise.

Add in other miscellaneous revenues like TV rights, and Seeing Yan Li could earn at least 30 million yuan from this film alone.

Even after deducting costs, taxes, and other expenses, Seeing Yan Li could net roughly 15 to 20 million yuan.

Beyond financial gain, Seeing Yan Li and Yi'an gained massive visibility during this summer season, signed the key talent Ning Hao, and secured various hidden benefits.

They reaped both fame and fortune—gained both reputation and substance!

Seeing Yan Li was beginning to sense the power of the film industry—its attention was truly immense.

He had previously handled TV projects that earned more than this film, but none had influenced as much as "Crazy Stone."

This might be tied to the tangible box office numbers and the short-term, high-intensity promotion.

TV hits usually spotlighted actors and plotlines; audiences rarely cared about the behind-the-scenes.

Films, however, carried entertainment, economic, and social elements, often breaking out in every direction, giving the behind-the-scenes team significant exposure.

Seeing Yan Li was still willing to take the spotlight—partly out of vanity, partly because it benefited his business.

The louder the reputation of "business genius," the more people would seek to collaborate with Seeing Yan Li—even bring him money; that was the power of reputation and persona.

…

"Director Yan, good. Look this way. Yes, look more cold."

In a studio in Jingcheng, a photographer frantically snapped pictures of Seeing Yan Li, dressed in a suit.

After shooting for a while, he finally finished. Seeing Yan Li changed clothes and bid farewell to the organizer.

This was an official Jingcheng campaign selecting social elites under 35; Seeing Yan Li was one of them, having just completed an interview and now taking promotional photos.

As always, the award and title didn't matter—what mattered was being selected.

Seeing Yan Li operated in Jingcheng; the authorities were willing to promote him, and he was willing to cooperate—mutual benefit, win-win.

"Where to next?"

After getting in the car, Seeing Yan Li asked his assistant Ding Feng about the schedule. The spotlight wasn't free—these days, Seeing Yan Li was busier than ever.

Not just company work, but countless events, meetings, and social obligations.

Originally, after the World Cup ended and Italy won, Seeing Yan Li planned to go to Xiangjiang himself—but he had to send a trusted aide instead.

Fortunately, everything went smoothly; now 50 million Hong Kong dollars sat safely in Seeing Yan Li's Xiangjiang account.

Damn it!

Although Seeing Yan Li had complained about it more than once, every time he thought of it, he couldn't help grumbling.

He poured immense effort into "Crazy Stone," spent so long on it, and earned less than 20 million RMB.

Betting on the World Cup? Aside from finding a safe, reliable channel and a little effort, he didn't have to worry about anything—just watched a few matches, and 50 million Hong Kong dollars were in his pocket.

"……"

Shaking his head and muttering a few times "gambling dogs don't die well," Seeing Yan Li came back to himself and listened to Ding Feng's itinerary report.

"At two in the afternoon, there's a charity event, it's to help mountain village schoolchildren…"

Once you've made money—especially when everyone knows you've made money—you inevitably have to bleed a little.

Especially for a company and industry like Seeing Yan Li's that relies on the public's good impression, doing these things is unavoidable.

Seeing Yan Li himself wasn't particularly enthusiastic about charity, but he didn't排斥 it either—spending a bit of money, just consider it accumulating merit and buying reputation.

He could be a scumbag, but he couldn't be a human渣.

Seeing Yan Li was laissez-faire about his conduct, so other positive images had to be strengthened and shaped, making the public feel that although he was flirtatious, fickle, and two-timing, he was actually still a good guy.

"Check which of the company's artists are in Jingcheng, call them all over to attend together."

Seeing Yan Li needed charity work to build a positive image, and the artists needed it even more.

The money was spent anyway, so it would be a waste for him alone—calling all the artists over to show their faces.

This wasn't Seeing Yan Li taking advantage either; for artists participating in charity, the donation itself was only one aspect—the most important thing was publicity and driving momentum, so having artists come to support and boost the event had positive benefits for it.

If it really wouldn't work, at worst he'd donate a bit more and count it on these artists' heads.

Yi'an now had quite a few resources, and the artists each had their own work—not many were staying long in Jingcheng or had the time.

After a round of phone calls, only the director Ning Hao, who had just finished his roadshow, was free.

The latter also didn't come alone—he brought Huang Bo along; the two had a good private relationship.

Seeing Yan Li looked at Huang Bo, his eyes lighting up slightly, recalling the monthly intel triggered after that day's premiere.

【Monthly Intel x: In 2009, Huang Bo's career would soar like a roc—not only becoming the male lead of a film breaking 100 million, but also winning the Golden Horse Best Actor…】

Seeing Yan Li really hadn't expected that his ugly little junior brother was actually an unpolished jade hiding his light…

(End of chapter)