Chapter 234: What Brand of Washing Machine Are You?

According to later statistics, the number of internet users nationwide exceeded 100 million in 2004, with 50 million of them under the age of 30.

Judging by the registration information on Blog Network, out of the 50 million in this lifetime, 8 million were Liu Liu Yifei's blog fans.

Her anti-piracy appeal on the internet had a massive impact; first, there were the netizens who caught bugs to provide URLs in exchange for signed T-shirts;

Once the pirate websites were mostly banned, there were fans who came to show off their movie tickets, claiming they had watched it two or three times and also requested a T-shirt;

Then came wave after wave of people posting their tickets, screenshots of watching "Jade Dynasty," and so on.

Endless interaction, endless joy.

On the evening of August 4, 2004, Boss Lu received a call from the working girl Liu Liu Yifei at the hotel in Chedun Film and Television City.

"Hmm?"

"Hmm what hmm! I'm signing so much I'm about to die of exhaustion!"

Seeing Lu Kuan put his mobile phone on speaker and set it aside, continuing to draw the storyboards for the scenes tomorrow.

"That's an exaggeration, isn't it? How many pirate websites can there be? Signing a hundred T-shirts should be the limit, right?"

Liu Liu Yifei was furious when she heard this; it was clear he hadn't been paying attention to her blog!

It wasn't about piracy anymore; it was about the fact that if they posted their tickets, she had to sign and send them a T-shirt!

The T-shirts were provided by several factories that Dong Zi had bought with Boss Lu's investment in Yiwu and Nantong Dieqiao, specifically to make merchandise for Wenjie film and television projects.

Due to the promotional effect objectively brought about by her actions, the merchandise sales in the newly established Wenjie Mall also began to break the ice.

However, limited by the lack of effective payment methods at this stage, a very small amount of payments were made by fans directly transferring money to the bank offline.

A large number of consumption scenarios still took place in cinemas, but for these 75-yuan T-shirts, the cinema had to take a 15% commission.

"A hundred? Come, come, let's open Penguin Video, I'll show you if there's half a room full of clothes."

Penguin officially launched its video version in April this year, and it became a trend as soon as it was released; internet cafes of all sizes were equipped with webcams as standard.

Naturally, the surfing girl Liu Liu Yifei in this lifetime was not left behind.

Boss Lu, of course, didn't care; if she wanted to open it, she could, his laptop didn't have a webcam anyway.

It was quite good to have the working girl Liu Liu Yifei supervise him while she worked for him.

The beta version was slightly unstable; after failing to connect several times, Boss Lu put down his pen and paper and debugged it for a while.

"Hello, hello, hello, can you hear me?"

Liu Liu Yifei's "big head" suddenly appeared on the computer screen, looking at the camera in a dazed manner.

"Why can't I see you?"

"I don't have a webcam!"

Liu Liu Yifei was furious: "I help you earn tens of millions a year, and you don't know how to take the money to buy one?"

"Are tens of millions a lot? I spent 30 million on a single drink with Dong Zi; you still have to work hard, Liu Liu Yifei."

Boss Lu looked at his top salesperson with a smile, hearing from Yang Yang Siwei that she had recently taken on two more endorsements, both due to the star-making effect brought by "Exotic Land."

No matter how much he exploited her, he naturally felt no guilt.

Could she be this popular without him?

To take, one must first give; she was truly a girl with top-tier economic value in the domestic entertainment industry, this investment was well worth it!

Liu Liu Yifei dissatisfiedly picked up the webcam and looked around at the small mountain of T-shirts in her boudoir.

"Seeing Lu Kuan, my hand hurts from signing!"

"You're so stupid, just have Yang Yang Siwei find someone to help you write them, why go through all that trouble!"

Liu Liu Yifei sneered: "I'm not like some washing machine who is a liar, bragging without even drafting it, just opening their mouth to speak."

"The fans love me so much, how could I deceive them?"

"Besides, there are a bunch of people posting two or three movie tickets now, I'm doing it all for your box office!"

Seeing Lu Kuan watched her "vicious" expressions on the screen for a while, then picked up his paper and pen to draw again.

"Nothing else? I'm hanging up, I'm busy!"

"No way, you have to stay with me as late as I sign today!"

Perhaps feeling that she had earned money for this dog of a man, Liu Liu Yifei spoke very firmly this time, and even acted like a spoiled child without realizing it.

"Fine, then I'll continue drawing the..."

The phone suddenly rang, and Boss Lu signaled for Liu Liu Yifei on the screen to be quiet.

Liu Liu Yifei put down the marker in her hand and listened intently to the movement on the other side.

Zhao Zhao Benshan's honest voice came through: "Director Lu, you're not resting, are you?"

"Not yet, Zhao Laoshi. You came to support the premiere that day, but there were too many interviews afterward so I didn't see you off, please forgive me!"

"Oh, why are we being so polite? From now on, whenever you, Director Lu, need me, I, old Zhao, will definitely be there!"

Boss Lu secretly wondered if Uncle Zhao Benshan really had something important today, why was his posture so low?

"Zhao Laoshi, what is this about?"

"Oh! It's like this, aren't we playing against the Japanese devils at the Workers' Stadium on August 7th? I have several VIP box tickets here, see if you need any."

This was referring to the 2004 Asian Cup final.

"Huh, Zhao Laoshi, how did you know I was a football fan?"

Zhao Zhao Benshan was genuinely surprised that he had hit the mark: "Is that so? Oh, well, men, how many don't love football?"

In fact, he was fulfilling a request from Zhang Shuguang of Liaoning Football Club to contact some well-known entrepreneurs and bosses in the industry to see if he could pull some sponsorship for the team.

Zhao Zhao Benshan was a veteran fan; he would take over Liaoning Football Club as chairman around 2005 in the later years, and upon taking office, he would pull in 50 million in sponsorship fees for his hometown team.

However, he was soon happily pitted by match-fixing and abandoned the project.

This thing wasn't something everyone could play.

Boss Lu hadn't guessed his intention for the time being, but he was quite willing to go watch a game and cheer for the national football team against the Japanese devils.

At this time, the national football team wasn't as disappointing as it would be in later years; in the original timeline, if it weren't for a misjudged goal in this Asian Cup final, the national team might not have been defeated.

It was the 63rd minute of the match, when a corner kick taken by Shunsuke Nakamura was suspected to have been punched in by Koji Nakata, and the referee, the Kuwaiti Sayeed, ruled the goal valid.

Football matches are full of uncertainty; the Greek myth that Boss Lu had silently observed before could not be replicated in this lifetime.

It would be fun to go join the excitement for this match.

After hanging up the phone, Liu Liu Yifei's voice came through: "Were you just talking about a football match?"

"Children shouldn't pry into adult matters."

Liu Liu Yifei rolled her eyes at him through the screen: "Do you still want to open a mall to sell merchandise?"

"Zhao Zhao Benshan invited me to watch the Asian Cup final, you wouldn't understand, just film well and earn money for me!"

"How would I not understand? I've watched football in the US too!"

Seeing Lu Kuan laughed: "That's American soccer, it's different."

Liu Liu Yifei pouted: "I want to go too."

"Besides, Shidu is in the suburbs, it's not far to get back to the Workers' Stadium, at worst I'll go after filming."

She was currently in the "Jade Dynasty" crew, and the seasonal drama from July to October was getting better and better.

Among them, Wahaha had titled the seasonal theater for a high price of 40 million, and the advertisements in the same time slots before and after also sold for high prices.

With good programs to build a nest and attract golden phoenixes like Mengniu and Wahaha, Travel Satellite TV had completely turned around, and its economic value had jumped into the top five of domestic satellite TV stations.

On August 5, 2004, "Exotic Land," which had been released for two weeks, rose all the way after disappearing from pirate websites, and the mainland box office figure reached 150 million.

At the same time, in the China Film Archive behind the Little West Heaven (China Film Group), a seminar on the successful experience of "Exotic Land" was underway.

After excellent domestic TV dramas and movies were released, those with outstanding results, positive ideology, and providing beneficial spiritual and cultural food for the masses generally could not avoid this process.

Like "Hero" two years ago, after achieving 250 million at the box office, the Film Bureau organized three high-level seminars to discuss the lack of cultural value in domestic films under the commercial film model and the development trend of domestic films.

For another example, after Liu Liu Yifei's "The Story of Rose" in later years was taken off the screen, organizations like the TV Drama Association also organized this.

As for the purpose, one was personal promotion for the crew and actors, and the other was another form of credit-claiming for the counterpart units, and so on.

"Exotic Land" had a box office of over 430 million US dollars overseas, and after being on screen in the mainland for half a month, it reported 150 million, which could almost be said to be the top news in the domestic film industry this year.

Therefore, the level today was quite high.

Seeing Lu Kuan, Liu Liu Yifei, Liang Liang Jiahui, and other main creators of the crew were all dressed in formal attire, sitting solemnly, and looking at the leaders opposite, they were almost all heads of counterpart units.

Old Han from China Film Group, Director Tong from the Film Bureau, and Director Wang from the SARFT, but it was clear they were also waiting for the arrival of the big leader.

It wasn't until 9:30 in the morning that several secretaries surrounded Deputy Minister Luo of the Central Propaganda Department as he walked into the conference room, and the scene instantly stood up and applauded.

Minister Luo cordially shook hands with the attendees and thanked everyone for coming.

Passing by Liu Liu Yifei, who was wearing a professional suit and skirt and had no makeup on today, Minister Luo looked with gratification at Liu Liu Yifei, who was even younger than his own daughter.

"Hello, Comrade Liu Liu Yifei, your performance in the movie was excellent, it showed the spirit of our Chinese sons and daughters!"

"Thank you, Minister Luo!"

Liu Liu Yifei pursed her lips and smiled shyly, looking dignified and appropriate in front of outsiders, showing no sign of the liveliness and excitement she had when she was with Seeing Lu Kuan.

The handshake between the leader and Seeing Lu Kuan lasted a little longer; Minister Luo affectionately patted the young director's forearm, and the two exchanged a few pleasantries before taking their seats.

Minister Luo spoke: "The global viewing craze for 'Exotic Land' is encouraging to us. In addition to obtaining significant economic returns for investors, we are also happy to see the spread of Chinese culture with film as a carrier in the West."

"At last year's Pomegranate Conference, the Central Committee proposed the concept of the cultural industry. 'Exotic Land' in 2004 is undoubtedly a work that has brought the economic and social value of film as a cultural commodity to the extreme, showing... promoting..."

After Minister Luo was Director Wang from the SARFT, followed by Director Tong from the Film Bureau.

Tong Gang reported a set of figures that made the somewhat drowsy Boss Lu perk up for the first time!

"In 2003, the number of screens in our country increased by 500 year-on-year. As of the first half of 2004, the number of screens nationwide has increased to nearly 2,500."

The pen in Seeing Lu Kuan's hand shook.

In 2002 and 2003, there were only about 1,500 screens nationwide; if he remembered correctly, the figure of 2,500 in later years wouldn't be reached until around 2006.

It seems that Wenjie's "Crazy Stone," "Crazy Racer," "Love is Not Blind," and Seeing Lu Kuan's own three films in this lifetime were like a catfish, genuinely stimulating the vitality of the industry.

This is a virtuous cycle; more and more commercial films and genre films attract more viewers, and more hot money will flow into the film industry.

Besides film investment, some of this hot money will go into investing in cinemas.

Especially since the state just introduced the cinema chain system reform this year, lifting the restriction that foreign capital cannot exceed 75% of shares in first-tier cities.

The joint efforts of the industry and relevant departments have spurred a rapid increase in the number of screens over these three years compared to the previous life.

Seeing Lu Kuan's expectation that "Alien Realm" would break "Titanic" became even stronger; in 1998, there were only about 300 screens nationwide, and now it is more than eight times that!

However, with 300 screens, reaching a box office of 359 million is enough to show the shocking dominance of that film back then.

After Director Tong came Old Han; he was the direct domestic contact for the "Alien Realm" project and the primary contributor.

Without him, although "Alien Realm" would still be a phenomenal work spurred by excellent policies from relevant departments, without the China Film share, one would always feel a lack of confidence when claiming credit.

It's just that Old Han had been regretting it since last month; to save 3 million USD in investment, he chose to participate in the revenue share instead of a buyout—what a blunder!

"Leaders, 'Alien Realm' has been released for half a month; I will now report the data."

"Starting from the North American premiere on June 20th, as of now, the North American box office is 148 million USD, Japan 33.28 million USD, South Korea 27.29 million USD, France 25.44 million, UK..."

"Released domestically for half a month, the box office reached 150 million RMB. According to the estimated box office figures, by the time it finishes its domestic run, 'Alien Realm' is expected to reach 480 million USD globally, equivalent to more than twice the 2003 domestic box office!"

Discussions erupted at the scene, and the leaders also relaxed, crossing their arms and nodding at each other with smiles, looking quite like the whole nation was celebrating.

Just as Boss Lu had planned, this "Alien Realm" was not only a powerful proof of his status as the number one commercial film director in the country;

It was also a "Three Gorges Dam" level project that could bring benefits to all parties from the grassroots to the halls of power.

Beyond the surface economic benefits, the invisible advantages brought were even greater, such as the approval of his future films, or the acquisition of various sensitive resources...

After the leader finished speaking, Minister Luo coughed lightly into the microphone: "Comrade Seeing Lu Kuan, you are the big star and big contributor today; why don't you say a few words to us?"

Boss Lu put on a bashful, novice-like appearance: "This... leader, I only know how to make movies; I'm not good with words, and I'm afraid of saying the wrong thing!"

Liu Liu Yifei, sitting beside him, wanted to roll her eyes.

But since the occasion was special today, she just silently drew a Pinocchio on her notebook, with a nose growing to the sky.

Minister Luo chuckled: "Young people shouldn't be overly modest; I think your speech at the Beijing Film Academy forum was very insightful."

Boss Lu, having been exposed, was not embarrassed; in fact, he just wanted to bring up some bold content and was merely laying the groundwork in advance.

"Alright, then I will venture to share some shallow opinions."

Seeing Lu Kuan raised the microphone: "The leader just mentioned the dissemination methods and channels of excellent Chinese culture, especially the issue of outward output through films like 'Alien Realm'."

"I think the first thing to resolve is our core appeal."

"The entire industry and relevant departments are pushing for the outward output of film and culture; having spent the money, we certainly want to hear a sound."

"As for this sound, do we want to hear the money bag jingle, or the book bag rustle?"

Tong Gang smiled: "You mean, are we seeking economic benefits or cultural influence?"

"Exactly."

Minister Luo frowned: "These aren't mutually exclusive, are they? Didn't your 'Alien Realm' do quite well?"

Seeing Lu Kuan explained: "The approach of 'Alien Realm' was opportunistic, and it could be naturally embedded due to the subject matter, but under the premise of ensuring film quality, not all films are suitable for this."

"This is a matter of choosing a focus; let's take the benchmark of the film industry, the United States, for example."

"Last year, the US domestic box office figure was 9.5 billion, but the overseas box office was as high as 11 billion; their film subjects are obviously science fiction, action, drama, animation, and other genre films."

"France is the opposite of the US; they follow the art-house route, providing high export subsidies for domestic art films every year, promoting their own culture—losing money to earn acclaim—which is also understandable."

"I think we need to establish a direction from the policy level first, and then loosen the constraints on the industry."

Minister Luo pondered for a few seconds, seemingly guessing what he wanted to say.

No wonder he had been laying the groundwork for so long; this was the moment the dagger was revealed.

"If it's a commercial appeal, Comrade Seeing Lu Kuan, tell us your thoughts."

"Loosen the constraints on directors and relax the standards in censorship. I'm not talking about political aspects, but the most convenient genres for Chinese films to go abroad, such as police-and-thief and kung fu, and of course, science fiction, horror, etc."

The idea that there can be no ghosts and that nothing can become a spirit after the founding of the country is also quite awkward, making people not know whether to laugh or cry.

Minister Luo threw the question to Old Tong.

Tong Gang was well-versed in responding to these issues; he didn't know how many times he had dealt with them.

"Since you mentioned Hollywood just now, let's take Hollywood as an example."

"Because the subject matter and censorship standards are too broad, there are many instances of films poisoning the audience's spirit and thoughts, causing social unrest."

"For example, in 1981, the American Hinckley shot Reagan because he was obsessed with Jodie Foster in 'Taxi Driver'."

"We have many in our country too; back then, the 'Young and Dangerous' series from Xiangjiang made teenagers scramble to imitate them, causing a very bad influence; these are all clear proofs!"

Boss Lu smiled after hearing this, secretly thinking he shouldn't have brought it up; this opening could not be loosened no matter what.

You can eat food indiscriminately and drink milk indiscriminately, but you cannot show films indiscriminately.

The seminar ended quickly, and as Boss Lu expected, such meetings were more about claiming credit and stating positions.

No need to mention claiming credit.

Stating positions meant that following the various loosening policies at the beginning of the year, they would continue to guide and promote the prosperity of the domestic film industry and cinema construction, and firmly support the major policy of the sudden rise of the cultural industry proposed by the pomegranate leadership.

However, Boss Lu's attendance and speech were not in vain.

Because from the debate of the Seven Gentlemen of Beijing Film Academy to the meritorious service of "Alien Realm," his tacit cooperation with the authorities also received invisible rewards.

On August 6, 2004, the interim executive committee of the 11th meeting of the China Film Directors Association was held, and Comrade Seeing Lu Kuan was added as the vice president of the association.

This was pushed by Director Tong, Old Han, Old Tian, and Old Old Mouzi.

In the News Broadcast on the same day, a two-minute brief caused heated discussion among all film fans.

【Recently, the China-US co-production "Alien Realm" has been unprecedentedly popular globally, achieving a box office of 450 million so far, attracting great attention from people around the world】

【This morning, the "Alien Realm" seminar hosted by the Propaganda Department's Cultural Bureau, the SARFT, and the China Film Archive was held in Beiping...】

Then came the footage of several leaders speaking, and Boss Lu was also given a dozen seconds of personal speaking time.

The film fans online and the anti-fans who were already used to teasing Boss Lu were simply shocked!

How the hell did a washing machine and a dragon knight who should have appeared in the "domestic section" appear on the News Broadcast?

This world is too crazy!

Liu Liu Yifei's fans, however, were relishing the sight of Liu Liu Yifei sitting next to Boss Lu in the news footage, wearing a proper office lady outfit and looking incredibly well-behaved!

Another character image unlocked.

What comforted Boss Lu the most was the box office figure the next day; the box office curve, which had been slightly waning, became rock hard again due to the "News Broadcast" effect!

What he didn't know was that from then on, many enterprises and public institutions across the country spontaneously organized group viewings with great policy sensitivity.

The labor unions in state-owned enterprises might not be good at other things, but they were experts at taking employees to watch movies.

In the past, they were all boring mainstream films, and no one wanted to watch them even for free.

This time it was the world-sweeping sci-fi blockbuster "Alien Realm," and even those who had already seen it were still willing to watch it again.

Boss Lu also struck while the iron was hot, going full throttle, and taking advantage of the favorable wind to accept invitations to high-rated TV programs like Chai Jing's "Face to Face" and the Movie Channel's "Light and Shadow Star Guest," constantly promoting the box office like taking Viagra.

This time, the screening cycle of "Alien Realm" lasted for two months, the same treatment as "Hero" in 2002.

It's just that the box office growth trend in the first month would plummet after a period of growth.

Because with the arrival of the schedule for blockbusters like "House of Flying Daggers," the audience for "Alien Realm" had basically watched it once or twice, and the cinema's screenings would decrease.

If the first few days were a daily surge of 20 million, then the final days were a lingering struggle of 1 million to 3 million per day.

Boss Lu was looking forward to that final number, the number that would allow him to be remembered in film history...

The next day, Beiping Workers' Stadium.

This was the first time in this life that Boss Lu had watched a game live.

He wore sunglasses and smoked near the VIP passage, while A-Fei stood at the intersection looking around, ready to provide cover for Liu Liu Yifei in a moment.

Otherwise, with her current popularity, it might cause chaos.

Liu Liu Yifei walked over in casual clothes, looking like a girl next door, but she was immediately struck down by Boss Lu.

"What are you wearing?"

Liu Liu Yifei beautifully gathered her hair and turned around: "Doesn't it look good?"

"The Japanese nickname is Blue Samurai, and today's away jersey is blue; you're wearing blue too, are you trying to commit treason?"

Liu Liu Yifei was dumbfounded: "Ah? I didn't know!"

"A soccer illiterate, insisting on coming."

Liu Liu Yifei hit Seeing Lu Kuan's arm in dissatisfaction; she was now familiar with using force: "Stop talking nonsense, take off your jacket and give it to me."

"Can't you just take yours off?"

"No, what's underneath is a bit revealing..."

Boss Lu had no choice but to take off his thin casual suit and let her change into it, asking A-Fei to help her hold her clothes.

The way was not exactly smooth; staff members frequently brought out paper and pens to ask for Liu Liu Yifei's autograph, all for their sons and daughters at home.

Boss Lu didn't have so many fans chasing him, so he walked into the box first, swinging his arms.

The Workers' Stadium held a premier status in the country at this time; before the Bird's Nest, it had always existed as the national stadium.

The three of them verified their tickets and walked in; the professional staff naturally didn't ask for autographs, but quickly helped the clients hang their clothes and asked about catering needs.

Seeing Lu Kuan looked around at the decoration and furnishings of this 8-person box, and opened the window to feel the enthusiasm of the fans, feeling very happy.

"Seeing Lu Kuan, let me tell you, I crammed some soccer knowledge yesterday!"

Boss Lu asked indifferently: "What is offside?"

"Uh..."

"A-Fei, you explain it to her; don't ask and embarrass yourself when there are many people later."

A-Fei grew up in Xiangjiang, where fan culture was prosperous and there was a lot of soccer betting, so he naturally understood.

Boss Lu stood up and paced, pondering the intention behind Old Zhao inviting him to watch the game.

Could it be purely for social networking?

In countries with well-developed sports industries like those in Europe and America, stadium luxury boxes are excellent platforms for high-end public relations and business negotiations between enterprises.

Unlike formal negotiation settings, here, the distance between the two parties can naturally be lowered due to shared hobbies and the passion of fans, allowing for harmonious discussion.

"Director Lu, I'm late, my apologies!"

Zhao Zhao Benshan was wearing a national football jersey, followed by a man of medium build wearing glasses.

Before he could even introduce him, the man rushed forward in a stride: "Director Lu! A pleasure to meet you, I am Zhang Shuguang from the Liaoning Football Club!"

"I just saw you on the News Simulcast yesterday; my goodness, this movie is selling all over the world, it really brings great honor to our countrymen!"

Boss Lu was a football fan in his past life; although he felt frustrated by the domestic football environment, he still couldn't help but pay attention.

As soon as he saw this man, he knew exactly what old Zhao was up to.

He had come to sponge off him!

Zhao Zhao Benshan held Seeing Lu Kuan's hand with a smile: "Director Lu, the second day your movie was released, I immediately told all the staff at the Zhao Benshan Grand Stage!"

"They must take their families to see it, expenses reimbursed, I, old Zhao, will foot the bill!"

Regardless of whether it was sincere or not, one doesn't hit a smiling face, so Boss Lu still smiled and exchanged a few polite words of thanks with the two.

"That, little Liu, come over here."

Seeing Lu Kuan introduced Liu Liu Yifei to them.

With Zhao Zhao Benshan's sharp eye, he could naturally tell that the relationship between these two was unusual; bringing her along even to watch a ball game, was he not afraid of the media taking pictures at all?

That was him overthinking; Boss Lu was the father of entertainment reporters; without him, half the entertainment reporters in Jingcheng would starve to death.

Whether they took pictures or not, he wasn't afraid.

"My, this young lady has grown up, she's even more beautiful in person than in the movie!"

"Thank you, Zhao Laoshi Benshan."

The compliments tumbled out of Zhao Zhao Benshan's mouth as if they cost nothing, thinking to himself that if this young girl was happy, wouldn't that mean Seeing Lu Kuan was happy?

This was also him overthinking; if you want to sponge off Boss Lu and dig money out of his pocket, how could he be happy?

Zhang Shuguang was getting impatient; he exchanged a look with old Zhao and deliberated before trying to speak: "Lu..."

Boss Lu acted as if he hadn't heard, clapping his hands: "The opening whistle has blown, let's go watch the game first!"

He pulled Liu Liu Yifei over to use as a shield: "Little Liu, come, come, let me explain the formations of both sides to you today."

The two pushed open the glass door and stood on the balcony, leaning against the railing side by side.

"Look here, we are playing a 4-4-2 formation..."

The evening breeze, with the summer heat gradually fading, brushed against their faces; Liu Liu Yifei rested her chin on her hand, having not the slightest interest in what a 4-4-2 was, only keeping her head turned to look at the man beside her.

She really enjoyed this time spent alone like ordinary people.

In the box, Zhang Shuguang whispered to Zhao Zhao Benshan: "Old Zhao, this guy is a master of playing Taiji; should we just go straight to..."

Zhao Zhao Benshan thought to himself that he really was a blockhead; did he think he didn't know this little slippery eel liked to play Taiji?

Last year at the Spring Festival Gala studio, he had almost worried himself to death.

But no matter how anxious you are, is this a suitable opportunity now?

He pointed his chin discreetly at the backs of the young man and woman: "You want to disturb someone's good time and still expect them to do you a favor?"

"What were you thinking?"

Having said that, he sat down in front of the indoor live broadcast by himself: "Sit down, watch the game for a while; today we must make the Japs lose here!"

"Explain? Why did you stop explaining?"

Little Liu was listening intently to Seeing Lu Kuan explaining common knowledge to her and urged him to continue with dissatisfaction.

Explain what? The shield had blocked the arrow, why keep holding it in his hand?

"I'm tired of explaining, watch it yourself!"

Liu Liu Yifei made a small fist behind his back; sometimes she really wished she could hammer this dog of a man to death.

"Damn! That was close!"

On the field, veteran Li Ming crossed the ball, and Li Jinyu rushed to the landing spot in front of the goal, but unfortunately, the ball flew out, grazing the crossbar.

Liu Liu Yifei watched for a while and found it truly boring; the Japs scored in the 22nd minute, and there was another commotion at the scene.

She took out her phone and poked Seeing Lu Kuan's arm with her finger.

"Take a picture for me."

Boss Lu was speechless: "A critical battle against the Japs, what the hell are you taking pictures for?"

Liu Liu Yifei ignored him and called the cold-faced bodyguard over: "A-Fei, take one for us; see that big light behind the stadium? Give me an overexposed effect!"

A-Fei was stunned; what the hell was overexposure?

Have you all become this professional when taking pictures now?

Seeing Lu Kuan looked at her and couldn't help but laugh: "You're something, you've even learned overexposure."

"That's right!"

Liu Liu Yifei pulled the man's arm, leaning close to him without any guard, using her experience from filming movies to find the angle.

"Click."

If this were the content of Little Liu's blog tonight, it is estimated that there would be even more broken hearts online.

"Don't go posting this randomly; I'm a person of status now, I have to watch my reputation!"

Liu Liu Yifei sneered: "What status? Should be what brand, right? Siemens or Little Swan?"

"Insolent! I am now the Vice President of the Directors Association, an executive member of the Democratic Progressive Party in Beiping, and a senior consultant to the Academy of Broadcasting Science!"

"How about that, is it cool? You couldn't even fit it all on a business card."

Little Liu was just about to retort when she suddenly saw a familiar figure on the balcony of the next box and pointed it out to Seeing Lu Kuan alertly.

Seeing Lu Kuan turned his head and happened to meet Zhou Jun's gaze, and also saw Zhang Nara staring at him and Liu Liu Yifei with a complex look.

"Director Lu, what a coincidence? Here to watch the game?"

Seeing Lu Kuan acted as if he hadn't seen Zhang Nara beside him: "Investment banking is so busy, how does President Zhou have such leisure?"

"Oh, well, the two Presidents Wang of Yanda Huayi invited me; everyone is a fan, and it's hard to refuse such kindness, haha."

Boss Lu gave a faint smile; the ball you are talking about is a meatball, right?

Zhou Jun had previously asked Dong Dong Shuangqiang to invite him several times, but he didn't expect Seeing Lu Kuan to keep refusing.

Logically speaking, it wasn't that he didn't know his status, so why was he so cold and detached?

Even to show sincerity, he had taken money to get things done and helped him solve the problem with the Ideal Building; the relationship between the two sides should have been taken to a higher level, right?

Zhou Jun didn't believe he could see through his true purpose.

For a moment, the atmosphere was a bit awkward, and the two sides exchanged greetings before returning to their boxes.

In another VIP box, the big and small Wangs were drinking beer and watching the game.

"Nara, why don't you have a drink too? Keep President Zhou company."

Zhang Nara's emotions were still immersed in the young man and woman she had just seen, and only then did she react: "Ah? Okay, we Korean girls have pretty good alcohol tolerance!"

She took the beer handed over by Wang Wang Xiaolei: "Kamsahamnida~~~"

She turned her head and clinked glasses with the smiling Zhou Jun; her face looked sweet when she smiled, and Zhou Jun couldn't take his eyes off her.

The two brothers by the bar counter looked at each other, knowing what was going on.

Zhou Jun looked at the two who had been fawning over him during this time and said with emotion: "Speaking of people, it's still better to work with those who have compatible temperaments."

"I won't hide it from you, the company is very optimistic about the domestic film market now; there are some data you might not know, but the film industry is definitely worth playing, and playing big!"

"I myself also have the intention to make some private investments."

Understanding the hidden meaning in his words, Wang Wang Xiaolei diligently opened another bottle of beer for him: "President Zhou, would you mind giving us some pointers?"

"Have the two of you considered Yanda Huayi going public?"

"Going public?"

The film industry requires huge investment; a movie goes through many difficulties from project initiation, filming, promotion, to release, and any step going wrong will cause investment risks.

Especially after experiencing the sniping of "Cell Phone" by competitors, the two brothers were even more careful in managing their business.

Except for the cheating Boss Lu, for all other film practitioners, making movies is a business with high capital requirements and high investment risks.

Being able to go public for financing is naturally excellent.

What's more, these two brothers also had the ambition to integrate the industrial chain, otherwise, they wouldn't have sought to acquire shares in the distribution business of the Xiyingchang and participated in cinema investment in the future.

These were all projects that required burning money, just like the Wenjie company whose money-making speed could never keep up with its spending speed.

Wang Wang Xiaolei was excited, and just as he wanted to open his mouth to express his stance, he was pushed back by a look from his brother.

He knew this person's energy and background, so he naturally worried whether it would be like seeking skin from a tiger.

Wang Dajun deliberated: "Yanda Huayi's business path is not yet mature; the artist training model and film and television production cycles are relatively long, and in this regard, we are not as good as Seeing Lu Kuan."

Zhou Jun nodded: "I have carefully studied the company Wenjie recently; as you said, their artist training and film and television production complement each other."

"Like that Hu Ge and Liu Liu Yifei who were made famous by 'Chinese Paladin'."

"Ning Hao and Huang Bo, etc., who were made famous by the 'Crazy Stone' series of movies."

He paused and took the cigarette handed over by Wang Wang Xiaolei: "Especially Liu Liu Yifei; by the way, I don't quite understand this girl; she hasn't signed with any company, why can she get so many resources from Wenjie?"

This question hit the key point, and even Zhang Nara couldn't help but prick up her ears to listen.

Wang Wang Xiaolei had the right to speak on this matter; he recounted the incident with Liu Liu Zeyu, picking out the important parts, which made Zhou Jun secretly click his tongue.

"It seems she really is a thorny one? Haha, if someone wants to touch his woman, they have to have their hand chopped off."

He frowned again: "That's not right either? Then why is Liu Liu Yifei opening her own studio now?"

Wang Wang Xiaolei shook his head: "I really don't know about that; perhaps the two parties have some private agreement?"

Wang Dajun asked suspiciously, "Why is Zhou Zong so concerned about this Liu Liu Yifei? Could it be...?"

"Heh! You all only see her face; how could you understand her true economic value?"

The two brothers looked at each other: "What do you mean?"

"According to the results we obtained from a commercial investigation agency."

"Combining all her endorsements, acting fees, commercial performances, and other activities in 2003, her total pre-tax income is around 35 million."

Zhang Nara listened and clicked her tongue in secret; if only she could earn that much money, she could support her father's theater troupe.

Wang Wang Xiaolei asked doubtfully, "That's... also just okay, right? The two Fan Fan Bingbing in our company are about the same."

Zhou Jun sneered: "About the same? I haven't finished calculating yet!"

"Wenjie uses the ringtones she recorded, sold online through the Blog Network's SP channel, and all the songs have reached over 90 million downloads."

"Currently on the market, non-hit songs are 1 yuan each, and hits are 3 yuan; let's just take the middle value, 2 yuan."

"The copyright is in Wenjie's hands; after deducting the 15% for China Unicom and China Mobile, they get 85%. You calculate how much that is."

Later statistics showed that the most popular ringtone download in 2004 was Zheng Yuan's "Ten Thousand Reasons," with a total of 120 million downloads.

Wang Wang Xiaolei listened to the staggering numbers one by one, only feeling his throat go a bit dry...

"One... one hundred and fifty million?"

Next door, Seeing Lu Kuan: Shh! Keep your voices down, damn it! Don't let little Liu hear! Otherwise, she'll make a scene with me again.

Wang Wang Xiaolei was unconvinced: "Aren't they still using the Blog Network's channel? They still have to split the money with the Blog Network!"

Zhou Jun smiled and said nothing. Ever since he became interested in Wenjie and Seeing Lu Kuan, he discovered that every move Boss Lu made was related to the Blog Network.

Are the two sides a cooperative relationship that is not a family but better than one, or...

Could it be that it is Seeing Lu Kuan's own company?

Is that fellow villager of his, Zhuang Xu, just a front?

"Even if you deduct the split, so what?"

"Does your Yanda Huayi have this much in annual film and television business revenue?"

The remaining three people in the room were all a bit dejected.

The two Wangs: So Wenjie's most profitable business isn't movies.

Zhang Nara: So Liu Liu Yifei earned him that much money; no wonder...

Zhou Jun coughed softly: "I'm not saying this to discourage you, but I think you should learn from Wenjie and master this method of star-making and utilizing internet resources and popularity to conduct fan economy marketing."

"I just missed one point in my calculation: the merchandise for *Otherworldly Realm* and *Zhu Xian* is selling very well in theaters now, and a considerable portion of the buyers are also Liu Liu Yifei's fans."

Wang Wang Xiaolei slapped his thigh hard: "If I had known, I would have signed her no matter what!"

Wang Dajun said with dissatisfaction: "You sign her? If you signed her, could you bring out as many works as Seeing Lu Kuan to promote her? Could you design such a development route and market such an effect?"

Zhou Jun nodded: "Dajun hit the nail on the head. The most terrifying thing about Seeing Lu Kuan regarding Liu Liu Yifei is not that he discovered or mastered this person."

"It is that he can firmly believe in her value, invest resources, and reap the benefits."

"If you view the artist Liu Liu Yifei as a commodity, he first invested the maximum resources, and then extracted benefits from her from 360 degrees without blind spots."

"From film and television production to advertising endorsements, product traffic, and fan economy development—this is what truly makes people applaud!"

He said to the two brothers with a serious expression: "This model is like a textbook. I think you can also find a young actress with decent age, image, and artistic talent to package and operate."

Hearing this, Zhang Nara, who was standing behind Zhou Jun, unconsciously puffed out her small chest.

(End of chapter)