[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-the-intelligence-king-of-chinese-entertainment":3,"chapter-the-intelligence-king-of-chinese-entertainment-the-intelligence-king-of-chinese-entertainment-chapter-71":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The Intelligence King of Chinese Entertainment",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2260374,4411,"Chapter 71: Gao Qunshu: How Can the Gap Between People Be So Huge?","the-intelligence-king-of-chinese-entertainment-chapter-71",71,"\u003Cp>Since selling the rights to \"Conquest\" to Yan Li, Gao Qunshu felt much less pressure, with someone else footing the bill.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But he wasn’t fully at ease—Yan Li had only paid him 500,000 yuan, and Gao feared Yan might fail to sell it, leaving him stuck with the drama and unable to pay the remaining installments.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If he couldn’t get the money, even owning the rights to \"Conquest\" jointly with Yan Li two years later would be useless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A right that could be turned into cash was a good right; one that couldn’t was just a pile of paper…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Gao’s peaceful days didn’t last long—he was back to fretting and gnawing at his nerves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Weiwei watched him suffer: “Why don’t you just call Xiao Yan directly?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Calling won’t help.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Qunshu counted the days and shook his round head: “It’s been less than half a month—he hasn’t even gotten his feet wet yet. He’s probably panicking inside. I’d better not add to his stress.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Weiwei thought that made sense, but then she had another idea: “Why not ask Jiang Shan? See if she can help.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Qunshu looked confused: “Didn’t we already ask? She couldn’t do anything.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You asking? Of course she couldn’t.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Weiwei smiled mysteriously: “But if you say you’re asking on Xiao Yan’s behalf, maybe she’ll find a way.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Qunshu sighed: “Don’t go believing rumors. Jiang Shan and Yan Li are decades apart in age—how could there be anything between them?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Says you—you’re ten years older than me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Weiwei rolled her eyes, then added with a teasing tone: “I didn’t say anything. Haven’t you noticed how they call each other ‘big sister’ and ‘little brother’ on set? When the little brother’s in trouble, isn’t it natural for the big sister to help?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Qunshu was swayed, but still hesitant: “Will she even help?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Many cast members got along well during filming but vanished after wrap—he wasn’t sure Jiang Shan would take the bait.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Just try and see.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Weiwei had some confidence—during the filming of \"Conquest,\" she and Jiang Shan were close, so she knew a bit about her marital situation and sensed her unusual concern for Yan Li.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Think about it: a handsome, strong, thoughtful young brother like Yan Li—how could Jiang Shan, whose marriage was troubled, just forget him?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Weiwei pulled out her phone and dialed: “Hello, Sister Shan…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Alright, I’ll wait for your update.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After about five minutes, Liu Weiwei hung up. Gao Qunshu caught the gist but remained uncertain.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Did she agree to help?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She didn’t promise, but as soon as she heard Yan Li’s name, she asked a bunch of questions about 'Conquest.' Way more enthusiastic than when you begged her.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tch.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Qunshu felt a pang of envy, patted his belly, and muttered sourly: “Handsome boys have it so easy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Weiwei smirked beside him—Gao and Jiang Shan had some history, otherwise the low-budget \"Conquest\" wouldn’t have gotten her to lend her name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But compared to Yan Li, the difference was enough to break your heart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet what broke Gao’s heart wasn’t just Jiang Shan—less than half an hour later, Yan Li called.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sister Wei, did you contact Sister Shan?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yeah, did she reach out to you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Weiwei asked, then learned Jiang Shan had just called Yan Li to say she’d arranged dinner with a few friends at CCTV—Yan Li only found out it was Liu Weiwei who’d asked for the favor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This efficiency was insane!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Beside him, Gao Qunshu’s fingers trembled with rage—he’d tried and failed to get Jiang Shan to dinner; she’d brushed him off with two phone calls.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Yan Li? In under half an hour, she was already arranging a dinner with CCTV contacts for him?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Weiwei ignored Gao’s look of utter despair and kept talking to Yan Li.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sister Shan’s famous, has lots of connections—her help is way better than you running around alone. Remember, use your strengths—be sweet-tongued, put in the effort…”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What strengths are you talking about?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the other end of the line, Yan Li’s face darkened and cut off Liu Weiwei’s wolfish words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sister Wei, this is my fault—I forgot to tell you. 'Conquest' has been sold.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sold?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Weiwei’s voice shot up sharply; Gao Qunshu, who’d been slumped beside her, instantly perked up.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Already? Where to?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tianjin TV’s Arts Channel, plus two municipal stations in Langfang and Cangzhou in Hebei Province. I’m currently in Nanjing, negotiating with Nanjing TV—eighty-nine percent chance it’ll go through. Then I’ll head to Hunan, Zhejiang, and Shaanxi.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Qunshu and Liu Weiwei exchanged glances, sinking into eerie silence.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They’d struggled for months and achieved nothing. Yan Li, in barely half a month, had already sold to four TV stations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could this kid have some big-shot relative behind the scenes?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But they quickly dismissed the thought.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Yan Li had such a powerful relative, why bother acting in \"Conquest\" and going through all this trouble? He could’ve landed any top project.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Weiwei thought of another possibility: “You didn’t sell it at rock-bottom prices, did you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If a drama was sold like cabbage, some TV stations might buy it—meaning the producer or distributor was gambling that the drama would become a hit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only if it became popular could they recoup costs elsewhere; if it flopped, it was completely dead weight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Qunshu had faced this chance before but lacked the guts to gamble—he’d always just wanted to sell the rights and recover his costs.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m too small-time to take that kind of risk.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yan Li’s voice was light—he was betting \"Conquest\" would be a hit, but with his system, he had no intention of selling at a loss.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, since the initiative lay with the TV stations, he’d made some concessions—but overall, he’d still profit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Weiwei still doubted, but Gao Qunshu believed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, he was a director—he understood the TV stations well.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ordinary municipal stations like Langfang and Cangzhou? Low barriers, lots of room to maneuver.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Tianjin’s Arts Channel? A sub-channel of Tianjin TV, covering the entire Tianjin region, including parts of Beijing and Hebei—it was a proper provincial-level station.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Nanjing TV, as a provincial capital station, had wide influence—almost half a provincial station.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Stations at this level had ample budgets and their own archives. If they didn’t have a suitable new drama, they’d rather rebroadcast old ones—no low-price strategy could sway them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He took the phone from Liu Weiwei: “How much did you get?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yan Li didn’t hide it: “Tianjin offered the most—32,000 yuan per episode. Nanjing’s still negotiating, maybe up to 20,000. The two municipal stations are lower—combined, they’re just over 10,000 per episode.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Qunshu nodded internally—this price wasn’t high, but it wasn’t rock-bottom either.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the past two years, provincial sub-channels or major city stations like Nanjing typically paid 10,000 to 100,000 yuan per episode.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But non-hot dramas rarely exceeded 50,000 yuan per episode.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ordinary municipal or county-level stations paid anywhere from a few thousand to tens of thousands—10,000 yuan per episode was still a hurdle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Conquest\" was an unreleased drama, and for Yan Li to secure this price was already outstanding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At least the few TV stations Gao Qunshu had previously encountered that were willing to pay offered less than half of what Yan Li got.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Qunshu calculated the numbers for Yan Li.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Conquest\" had twenty episodes total: 32,000 + 20,000 + 10,000 = 62,000 per episode, times twenty = roughly 1.24 million yuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It still fell far short of their 5-million-yuan contract.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But Yan Li had already sold to four stations, with more likely coming—this multi-station broadcast would inevitably generate buzz.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once buzz was built, Yan Li could push \"Conquest\" to satellite TV—that’s where the real money would come.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In today’s TV market, satellite channels typically paid 100,000 to 300,000 yuan per episode; hot hits fetched more, low-budget ones less.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taking a midpoint of 150,000 yuan per episode, if Yan Li got \"Conquest\" onto just two satellite channels, he’d make 6 million yuan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once a drama aired on satellite, if it did well, it could be resold in second and third rounds, and again across local stations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Master Yan, you’re truly impressive.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gao Qunshu grew more awed with each calculation—his address shifted from “Xiao Yan” to “Master Yan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Master Gao, you’re teasing me.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yan Li wasn’t the type to get arrogant after success—he kept showering praise on Gao.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I owe it all to you, Master Gao—your drama’s excellent, so I can sell it well.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the past, Gao Qunshu would’ve happily accepted such flattery—but now he returned it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even the best wine suffers if it’s hidden down a back alley. You’re the one with the talent, Master Yan—otherwise, I’d be stuck with nothing.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They exchanged compliments for a long time, their forms of address evolving from formal “Master Gao, Xiao Yan” to distant “Master Gao, Master Yan,” then finally to warm, familiar “Big Brother Gao” and “Little Yan.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Weiwei watched the two chat warmly, then suddenly remembered Jiang Shan—her eyes flickered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Such a handsome, capable little brother? Plenty of young, beautiful girls will fight over him—old sister probably can’t hold onto him…\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1529,"2026-06-19T16:16:52.605Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","633b884889e8f30aa5c4195d09904cede311ce6492e78cef3839d8e783e88276","the-intelligence-king-of-chinese-entertainment-chapter-72","the-intelligence-king-of-chinese-entertainment-chapter-70",405,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-intelligence-king-of-chinese-entertainment-cover.jpg"]