Chapter 349: Mr. Huang, Mr. Yan? *The New Red Chamber*, Drunk on Wine

Huairou, checkpoint

Seeing Yan Li slung his rifle over his shoulder, wore his helmet loosely, and took a cigarette from Chen Daoming with a lazy grin, drawing a deep puff.

"Where are you headed?"

Chen Daoming lounged casually, his voice dropping from high to low: "Official business from the bureau—public and private matters handled together. The old man's in the car too."

"Oh."

Seeing Yan Li stepped forward, peering into the car. Chen Daoming retreated slightly, saying: "Ahua, don't make it hard—check if you must."

He took another puff, exhaled smoke, paused deliberately to heighten the tension, then said: "No need."

"Oh?"

Chen Daoming feigned surprise, then waved casually and got into the car, starting the engine.

Seeing Yan Li waved his hand: "Guys, let them pass."

"Clear."

The assistant director called "Cut!" Seeing Yan Li removed his helmet, and a crew member automatically said:

"Director Yan, you've worked hard."

"Hard? This is the easiest role I've ever played since I debuted."

Seeing Yan Li looked at Chen Daoming as he stepped out of the car: "Teacher Chen, I've wrapped. I'm leaving first."

Chen Daoming still had a few final scenes to shoot; he shook Seeing Yan Li's hand and exchanged polite farewells.

This was their first collaboration, but not their first meeting—whether at industry events or private gatherings, they'd crossed paths several times.

Among the veteran actors in mainland China, he and Zhang Guoli were the most widely connected.

Zhang Guoli still had some ties to Huayi; Chen belonged to the Beijing circle—on good terms with every faction and capital group there, and crucially, respected by officials, media, and audiences alike.

Yi'an had little interaction with him, but had invested in one of his films, and through Wang Jinghua's connection, their relationship remained decent.

After bidding farewell to Chen Daoming, Seeing Yan Li didn't leave the set immediately—he went to another filming location.

This set was shooting Zhang Guoli's film; to be honest, Old Han was quite the showman—he'd actually cast him as Chiang Kai-shek.

Zhang Guoli's range was broad—he could portray emperors and generals, common folk, intellectuals, and elites with equal ease.

But Seeing Yan Li personally felt his most brilliant performances were villains—his Cheng Kun in *The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber* was stunning, bringing to life the hypocritical, ruthless ambition of the original character.

Yet, for various reasons, Zhang Guoli rarely played villains.

In memory, besides Cheng Kun, he'd only played a villain once alongside his son, and then Chiang Kai-shek in *The Founding of a Republic*.

In recent years, Chiang had been portrayed more conservatively, but Zhang's version was dark, cunning, and unrelentingly ruthless—highly imposing and strikingly memorable.

But Seeing Yan Li wasn't here for Zhang—he was here for the burly man in a PLA lieutenant general's uniform behind the monitor—Jiang Wen.

"Good, cut! Take a break."

Jiang Wen, who routinely stole the director's chair, called out—then noticed the sudden quiet around him. He turned instinctively, and his face flushed with embarrassment.

"Director… Director Yan."

Seeing Yan Li smiled warmly, sitting behind him: "Old Jiang, not cool, hiding from me?"

He'd arrived in Huairou yesterday; between costume trials and filming, he'd visited Jiang Wen twice—both times "coincidentally" missed. He'd been forced to come to the set himself to catch him.

"How could I hide from you? It's just bad luck."

Jiang Wen explained, but Seeing Yan Li shook his head: "I don't care. You're treating me to lunch today."

Zhang Guoli, hearing the commotion, ambled over and grinned at the news:

"Jiang Wen paying? Count me in."

Zhang and Jiang had collaborated little, but both were in the industry, both lived in Beijing, and their private relationship was fine.

Jiang Wen was notoriously difficult—usually seen bullying others; rare to see him get the short end. Zhang Guoli was already imagining bringing a stool to watch.

Caught red-handed, what could Jiang Wen do? He called to order food, then, after a moment's thought, dialed another number.

"Let me introduce you to a new friend."

Zhang Guoli looked puzzled, but Seeing Yan Li understood—he'd heard Jiang Wen had taken on a new partner after *The Sun Also Rises*. This must be him.

The scene wasn't finished yet, so they'd eat after filming. At that moment, Old Han, somehow hearing the news, showed up too.

In the end, the four of them found a restaurant in Huairou. They sat down and hadn't talked long when Jiang Wen received a call and ushered in a bespectacled man carrying a crate of liquor.

"Ma Ke, my brother, and also the producer of my new film."

He introduced Ma Ke to Seeing Yan Li and the others—but no introduction was needed: anyone in this circle knew Old Han; Seeing Yan Li and Zhang Guoli were so famous, few in the country didn't recognize them.

After polite greetings, everyone sat down, ate and drank, and conversation flowed. Seeing Yan Li began scolding Jiang Wen.

"Old Jiang, tell me—are you being fair?"

"Old Han told me a few days ago you were making a new film—I started waiting. Waited and waited, no word. Fine, I came to find you myself—and you're hiding from me?"

"Forget our friendship. Just look at me—Seeing Yan Li—have I ever wronged you in any way? Why does Jiang Wen look down on me so much?"

These words left Jiang Wen flustered; he finally stood up, poured Seeing Yan Li a glass of wine himself, and protested:

"That's not true—I never meant it like that."

Ma Ke stepped in to mediate: "Director Yan, I've been working with Old Jiang these past weeks—I know his mind. He's not avoiding you—he's avoiding you because he feels guilty…"

Jiang Wen's reason for avoiding Seeing Yan Li wasn't complicated: back when *The Sun Also Rises*, Seeing Yan Li had helped him greatly—only for the film to lose money and damage his reputation, leaving Jiang Wen deeply ashamed.

Now, with his new film *Let's Shoot*, the investment was large, and he thought of Seeing Yan Li again.

Their relationship was good, and Jiang Wen believed this time he could make money.

But back then with *The Sun Also Rises*, he'd thought the same thing—so now he was tense, afraid he'd drag Seeing Yan Li down again.

Jiang Wen was already anxious, then recently Yi'an's executives announced profits—and learned *The Sun Also Rises* was Yi'an's only losing project.

Now Jiang Wen was both shattered and even more terrified that *Let's Shoot* would lose money and hurt Seeing Yan Li.

Seeing Yan Li had done nothing but support him—if he hurt him twice, Jiang Wen would never dare show his face to Seeing Yan Li again.

And Yi'an lost money twice because of him; he simply couldn't afford to lose face again.

"This guy's so dramatic—he's nothing like Jiang Wen."

Seeing Yan Li frowned: "I've said this dozens of times—business has profits and losses, it's normal. I don't care, but you keep going on about it."

Jiang Wen said seriously: "You don't care, but I do."

"Fine, then I'll care."

Seeing Yan Li nodded, didn't argue with Jiang Wen, but looked at him and said: "Forget our friendship, forget everything else—I've been burned by you, I've lost money because of you, so I need you to earn it back for me."

"I provide the money, you provide the effort—we must make money, and we must reclaim our dignity."

Jiang Wen fell silent; Ma Ke nudged him: "What are you doing? Say something."

"It fits."

Jiang Wen spat out one word, leaving everyone stunned—but he himself grew energized.

"Exactly! Don't take money from the two big families—only take Huang Silang's money. The money doesn't matter; what matters is that I earned it. Haha, it's perfect."

Seeing Yan Li was slightly panicked—what the hell is going on here!

He knew the movie *Let's Have a Bullet Fly* made money, but he didn't know the plot or dialogue; hearing Jiang Wen mutter like this, he couldn't help wondering if he'd somehow triggered Jiang Wen.

But it shouldn't be that serious—he thought his words were uplifting, and everyone else seemed energized.

Fortunately, Jiang Wen snapped out of it after a moment and said to Seeing Yan Li: "You're right—where you fall, you rise again. If others laugh at us, we'll slap their faces and earn the money standing tall."

"Don't rush to earn money—shouldn't you go see a psychiatrist?"

Seeing Yan Li shot back; Jiang Wen burst out laughing and began recounting scenes from *Let's Have a Bullet Fly*, and only then did everyone understand.

"This Zhang Mahzi is interesting, Old Jiang—you should learn from him, open your horizons."

Seeing Yan Li joked, but Jiang Wen replied: "I'm playing Zhang Mahzi—you, little brother, are the real Zhang Mahzi—your courage, your tactics, your vision—perfect."

Who says Jiang Wen can't flatter? This old guy's tongue is unusually sweet.

Seeing Yan Li was in good spirits and smiled: "If you think I'm like Zhang Mahzi, then let me play him—I might do better than you."

"Sure, I…"

Jiang Wen went along with it, then suddenly froze, studying Seeing Yan Li closely—making Seeing Yan Li uneasy.

He truly thought Jiang Wen needed to see a doctor—so erratic, mentally unstable.

But Jiang Wen ignored all that and asked directly: "Do you have availability in September?"

Seeing Yan Li was surprised: "You really want me to play Zhang Mahzi?"

"Not Zhang Mahzi—Huang Master."

"Huh?"

…

On the way back, Seeing Yan Li recalled Jiang Wen's fervent persuasion, his expression dazed.

Jiang Wen was famous for using people he knew.

His wife appeared in *The Sun Also Rises* and *Let's Have a Bullet Fly*, and rumors said he'd even bring his younger brother Jiang Wu into the cast.

The three core roles in the film: Jiang Wen would direct and star as the lead; the advisor role was earmarked for Ge Daye; and Huang Silang—Ma Ke suggested using Faguo.

The reason for choosing Faguo and Ge Daye was simple: they were excellent actors with huge fame.

From both promotional and box-office appeal, both were among the top names in the current Chinese-language market.

In past films, Jiang Wen either used newcomers or carried the film himself; this time, *Let's Have a Bullet Fly* had heavier commercial elements, so Ma Ke felt they needed big names to attract audiences with a star-studded cast.

Faguo's acting was flawless, but Jiang Wen didn't know him well and feared poor collaboration, plus he was too expensive.

Among current Chinese-language stars, Jet Li earned the highest fees, but he rarely took foreign roles—he usually formed his own projects and took profit shares; then came Li Lianjie, who commanded a billion-level fee in *The Warlords*; then came Faguo.

Rumors claimed Faguo's fees for *The Curse of the Golden Flower* and *Confucius* were both 40 million.

And under Hollywood's work system, overtime kicked in after eight hours, daily allowances were extravagant—presidential suites, luxury RVs, gourmet meals—accumulating into massive expenses.

The *Let's Have a Bullet Fly* crew calculated: hiring Faguo, including salary and extras, would cost nearly 50 million.

That's almost half the entire project's budget!

So *Let's Have a Bullet Fly* considered other actors, but ordinary ones lacked the weight to form a "Three Kings Standing" dynamic with Jiang Wen and Ge Daye.

Huang Master must be powerful!

Only if he's powerful can he force Jiang Wen's Zhang Mahzi to exhaust his wits and suffer heavy losses, and make Ge Daye shift sides unpredictably.

This isn't just about plot and character—it's also about the actor's presence; otherwise, audience immersion drops.

Only now did Jiang Wen suddenly realize: Seeing Yan Li was also a suitable candidate.

In terms of aura and status, Seeing Yan Li was a formidable big shot, with sufficient fame—and even box-office pull, thanks to his hit *Painted Skin*.

Although *Painted Skin* largely relied on the "two stars competing for beauty," Seeing Yan Li himself might draw slightly less—but *Let's Have a Bullet Fly* already had Jiang Wen and Ge Daye.

Besides, Seeing Yan Li's acting wasn't bad.

Of these three roles in *Let's Have a Bullet Fly*, Huang Master was actually the easiest to play—a classic villain, key to having presence and withstanding pressure from Jiang Wen and Ge Daye.

And Seeing Yan Li had no shortage of presence; he didn't need to worry about being overshadowed by Jiang or Ge—just moments ago, Jiang Wen had been scolded by him.

At most, his age might need slight adjustment—but not a big issue; a thirty-year-old Master is still a Master.

More importantly, Seeing Yan Li's fee was far more cost-effective than Faguo's.

Seeing Yan Li didn't even know his own fee, because no one dared hire him—his previous works, *Painted Skin* and *Three Kingdoms*, were done at friendship rates.

There was no choice: since it was his own project, he couldn't set too high a fee for himself.

Besides, even if he charged the maximum, he still couldn't match those top stars—he wouldn't earn much anyway, and it would look greedy; better to take a friendship rate and use it as leverage in profit-sharing negotiations.

Thus, though Seeing Yan Li's exact fee was uncertain, it was certainly far below Faguo's.

Moreover, Seeing Yan Li was effectively investing capital—he could be negotiated down, or even converted entirely into profit-sharing, saving funds for production.

So the more Jiang Wen thought about it, the more suitable Seeing Yan Li seemed—soon even Ma Ke joined in urging him.

The two were undoubtedly partners, thinking in perfect unison; and as a producer, Ma Ke thought even further ahead.

Bringing in Fa Ge means following the superstar promotion playbook; bringing in Seeing Yan Li opens up far more possibilities.

Not to mention, teaming up to wash away the "shame" of *The Sun Also Rises* could spark a whole wave of buzz.

Moreover, with Seeing Yan Li's name, it's not just promotion—investments, sponsorships, distribution, even censorship reviews all benefit; the advantages are numerous.

Jiang and Ma begged relentlessly, and even Han Sanye and Zhang Guoli joined in, but Seeing Yan Li only said he'd consider—he didn't commit.

Since *The New Three Kingdoms*, Yi An had countless projects he wanted Seeing Yan Li to star in; Seeing Yan Li turned down nearly all of them.

One reason was he was busy—Weibo, Yi An's growth, and preparing for IPO—he had a mountain of tasks.

The other was caution: before, it didn't matter; he could act in whatever he wanted, however he pleased.

But now, with the company preparing for IPO, Seeing Yan Li, as its core figure, was inextricably linked to the enterprise.

His personal lifestyle was fine—he'd already built up a solid reputation, a wasteland of public perception where everyone knew exactly what he was like, leaving no room for scandal.

But if he starred in a terrible film or a terrible role, it could trigger public pressure; it might not hurt the company, but Seeing Yan Li couldn't ignore the risk.

Don't think it's exaggerated—part of Seeing Yan Li's current popularity, reputation, and halo comes from the characters he's portrayed.

If actors and these roles bring dividends, they can just as easily cause a downfall.

"Let's see."

*Let's Shoot the Bullet* won't start filming until September; Seeing Yan Li planned to return home, read the script, consider his schedule, then make a decision.

Besides *Let's Shoot the Bullet*, Fan Xiaopang's idol drama *My Love from the Star* kept pressing him.

Seeing Yan Li was exhausted: back when he was an actor, he had no good offers, so he turned to business.

Now that the company had grown, he'd become a hot commodity—so these days, you had to cross over; exporting and then re-importing was even more valuable.

————

Back on Weibo, he met with an investor, made an excuse to leave after twenty minutes—the guy had zero sincerity, treating him like a sucker.

On the way to Yi An, he'd barely stepped into his office when the Head of Distribution knocked on the door.

"Director Yan, I'd like to update you on *The New Three Kingdoms*."

*The New Three Kingdoms* had just wrapped filming, signaling its entry into post-production and distribution.

With so many episodes, it was already March—there was no way it could make the summer slot this year; it'd have to be either the New Year slot or next summer.

These two slots were the best of the year, the only ones capable of fully carrying *The New Three Kingdoms*.

After all, this drama was bound to fetch a sky-high price; TV stations spent money—they had to recoup it.

Because of this, the distribution cycle would inevitably be long, requiring extensive negotiations and preparation; the Distribution Department had already begun mobilizing.

"Do you have confidence in the company's target of two million per episode?"

Seeing Yan Li listened to the report, then smiled and asked; the Head of Distribution chuckled.

"If it were just me, I'd have no confidence—but with you steering us, honestly, the team's already counting their bonuses."

"Your flattery skills have improved."

Seeing Yan Li joked, then grew serious: "Don't get careless. I set the two-million-per-episode target for two reasons: first, our drama is genuinely in demand; second, I wanted to link it with the Four Great Classical Novels for joint distribution."

"You're a veteran in distribution—you know how much negotiating power we'd gain if we held all these dramas."

"But fate doesn't cooperate: the Yongle version of *Journey to the West* partnered with Zhejiang TV—distribution is negligible; Zhang Dahu's side moved too slowly to create synergy; *The New Dream of the Red Chamber* was abandoned due to unforeseen issues—so the Four Great Classical Novels joint card won't work. We're left with *The New Three Kingdoms* alone, plus half of *The New Water Margin*."

"That makes this bone much harder to chew. The TV station folks aren't easy to deal with—preparations must be thorough and complete."

"…."

The Head of Distribution nodded in agreement; his earlier overconfidence faded, and he prepared to do more groundwork.

Seeing Yan Li felt a quiet satisfaction: over the past two years, Yi An had grown rapidly; the already strong Distribution Department, riding the company's momentum, had become unstoppable.

This had led to a certain amount of pride throughout the department.

It wasn't necessarily bad—negotiations sometimes came down to presence and psychology; if the Distribution Department had confidence, their work became easier.

Seeing Yan Li personally believed only a spirited team could get real work done—methodical, lifeless teams couldn't fight hard battles.