Chapter 82

At 7:35 p.m., the Jinmen Arts Channel officially premiered "Conquest."

Yan Li and Lin Jiachuan sat in front of the TV, watching the credits scroll by.

"Bro, your name."

Lin Jiachuan pointed excitedly at the screen, where Yan Li’s name appeared clearly—

【Producer】: Gao Qunshu, Yan Li

【Distributor】: Yan Li

【Special Guest Star】: Yan Li

True, when Yan Li filmed "Conquest," he was only a minor supporting actor—but now he owns the rights to it.

If that’s the case, he might as well give himself some proper recognition.

But this wasn’t Yan Li abusing his position for vanity; there was genuine necessity behind it.

When Yan Li went out to distribute and promote the show, he needed the title of "Conquest" crew—whether distributor or producer—to make it clear he had authority.

Otherwise, if viewers saw his name missing from the drama, they might think he was a fraud.

The "Special Guest Star" credit, however, was indeed forced.

Mainly because Yan Li, the big producer, wanted to appear on screen, but his screen time was too minimal to qualify as lead or even a major supporting role.

So they simply listed him separately as "Special Guest Star"—perfectly masking his limited screen time while highlighting his unique status.

Besides Yan Li’s name, Lin Jiachuan also snagged the title of 【Distribution Assistant】.

Lin Jiachuan was thrilled—he’d previously worked on a drama in Lianshi, and no one even knew if it would air.

Even if it did, as a production assistant, he’d barely get a name—maybe a fleeting blink at the end credits.

Now? His name was listed upfront, alone, outranking even several production directors.

"Look at you, so easily impressed—this is nothing. Someday you might even hold the title of producer."

Yan Li watched Lin Jiachuan’s ecstatic face and told him to calm down: to accomplish anything, one must keep a steady heart, remain unmoved even as mountains collapse before him—that’s true manhood.

Lin Jiachuan turned to look at Yan Li and couldn’t help retorting,

"Bro, don’t talk to me—you first flatten that grin off your face."

"..."

Yan Li awkwardly coughed and threw a pillow at Lin Jiachuan: "Stop talking, watch the show."

Lin Jiachuan hugged the pillow and grinned mischievously.

A few days ago, he’d accompanied Yan Li on business trips, watching him chat effortlessly with TV station executives, sealing deals worth hundreds of thousands—exuding the poise of a seasoned business elite.

He’d almost forgotten: Yan Li, like him, was barely twenty, fresh out of college less than a year ago.

To see his own name on TV—for the first time—as a key producer? Of course his heart was soaring.

Yan Li’s name appeared early in "Conquest"’s opening credits, and his character appeared early too.

The first episode opened with Liu Huaqiang and his two men preparing to kill Wu Tian!

Though Yan Li had already seen the finished "Conquest," seeing the TV station’s logo and corner ads on screen made him realize—he was truly on television, seen by countless strangers—and he felt something indescribable.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Just then, the TV showed Wu Tian being shot dead by Liu Huaqiang’s men.

Yan Li watched his own character die—and his emotions grew even more complex…

————

The next day, Yan Li hurried to the Jinmen TV Station to inquire about "Conquest"’s ratings.

Provincial channel ratings were local-only and took time to compile; Yan Li didn’t receive the premiere figures until afternoon.

Jinmen region rating: 3.4%—ranking seventh among all Jinmen dramas airing simultaneously.

This result wasn’t good at all.

Yan Li had checked: the baseline for prime-time dramas on provincial channels was generally 3–5%.

Below 3% meant poor performance; above 5% qualified as excellent.

Moreover, cable and satellite TV hadn’t yet fully penetrated; most ordinary TVs could only receive local provincial and municipal channels, besides CCTV.

So when measuring local ratings, provincial channels held absolute advantage—aside from CCTV, national satellite channels couldn’t compete.

Jinmen’s sub-channels had massive local audiences; as long as they weren’t disastrous, they rarely dropped out of the top ten.

Thus, "Conquest"’s current performance was merely passing.

Only if ratings surpassed 5% and it consistently ranked in the local top three could it be considered influential.

"Take it slow—it’s only the premiere."

Yan Li was disappointed, but not discouraged; "Conquest" had no big stars and almost no promotion before airing—its lukewarm start was expected.

He’d even prepared himself for the possibility that "Conquest" would flop on some stations.

Earlier, he’d gone to great lengths to sell the drama to as many stations as possible—not just to earn more and build buzz, but for this very reason.

He wanted to give "Conquest" enough room to fail and recover!

If it flopped in Jinmen, go to Xi’an; if Xi’an failed, try Jinling; if Jinling failed, there was Shenzhen.

"Conquest" was high-quality—if aired on enough stations, it would eventually rise.

After adjusting his mood, Yan Li used the station’s ratings to contact pre-arranged media for a new round of promotion.

Before "Conquest" aired, Yan Li had only placed a few articles for light groundwork; now that the drama had launched, he could ramp up output.

"Jinmen Arts Channel Presents a Police vs. Criminal Epic: Black vs. White—Who Is the True Conqueror?"

"Jiang Shan’s First Villain Role: Sun Honglei’s Career Peak Performance"

"A Hard-Hitting Drama That Unveils Human Nature’s Core—'Conquest' Strikes at the Audience’s Soul"

"..."

Media promotion, in truth, was just blowing smoke—creating curiosity to lure viewers to turn on their TVs.

Besides print media, Yan Li had people write articles and post them on portals and forums.

But whether these online reports gained clicks or boosted local ratings remained uncertain.

Yan Li’s media strategy proved useful—perhaps "Conquest"’s own quality was finally kicking in.

Starting the next day, "Conquest"’s ratings began rising steadily.

3.7%!

3.9%!

4.2%!

Its ranking among Jinmen’s simultaneous dramas also climbed gradually.

From seventh to fifth, then top three—by the finale, "Conquest" ranked second, just behind the other Jinmen sub-channel’s broadcast of Su Youpeng’s "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber."

The Jinmen Arts Channel’s drama acquisition manager was ecstatic—he never expected a low-budget drama with no big stars to achieve such results.

The day after the finale, he personally called Yan Li with the good news.

"Peak rating broke 11%, average nearly 5.5%, ranked second in Jinmen—the station is already planning a rerun."

"Pity."

Yan Li felt regret—he’d been one step away from first place in Jinmen.

But when one door closes, another opens!

Though "Conquest" lost to "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber" in Jinmen, on Jinling TV, which had also begun airing "Conquest,"

"Conquest" pulled off a stunning comeback.

While Jinmen Arts Channel saw "Conquest" slowly rise from lukewarm to strong, "Conquest"’s debut in Jinling was immediately dominant.

Premiere rating broke 5%!

Within two days, it claimed first place in Jinling’s simultaneous drama ratings.

And the drama ranked below it? Zhang Dashuhzi’s "The Legend of the Condor Heroes"...

(End of Chapter)