Chapter 318: Washing Machine: You Bow and Say Sorry to Her

The fourteenth day of the first lunar month; the lingering charm of the Spring Festival had not yet dissipated, and the post-holiday hutongs carried a sense of chill and desolation.

Master Qiao returned to the Sihe Academy in high spirits, carrying two bags of fresh seafood; this wealthy proprietor had finally returned from North America, and he could get back to work.

Otherwise, just collecting that meager salary every month really felt like a disservice to his conscience!

Boss Lu rarely got up early today to exercise with A-Fei for a while, then took a shower and read the newspaper in the courtyard.

The gate of the Ice Cellar Mansion sounded: "Happy New Year! Boss Lu!"

"Master Qiao, Happy New Year." Boss Lu smiled and handed him a red envelope.

Old Qiao looked at the thick red packet and declined repeatedly: "No, no, no, Boss Lu, I have already taken enough advantage of you; this is too much."

"Take it, it’s just for good luck, there’s no need to be so formal."

Before he returned to the country, Dong Shuangqiang and Chen Zhixi had already made all the necessary arrangements throughout Jingcheng; both of them had connections, so they didn't worry about being shut out anywhere.

Human relations cannot be neglected; even if it is just superficial courtesy, at certain moments it might become the key to getting things done.

"Alright then!" Master Qiao beamed: "What would you like to eat today?"

The young director looked at the ugly behavior of the Taro father and son in various newspapers, his expression indifferent: "Something light will do, I have to attend an event in the morning."

Master Qiao smiled: "Everyone knows you are going to the Olympic Building to receive your appointment letter!"

"Boss Lu, how about I make some Tongzhou clam cakes today, paired with Jinling assorted tofu pudding."

"This was the favorite food of the scholars who went to the Jinling Examination Hall to take the imperial exams in ancient times; you are going to receive your appointment today, which is equivalent to becoming a top scholar, isn't it?"

Clam cakes are made by mixing fresh clam meat, flour, eggs, and other ingredients; the outer skin is golden and crispy, while the clam meat is tender and juicy.

Jinling assorted tofu pudding is just tofu brain, only with more variety and richer colors; the flavor north of the Jinling River is more fresh and spicy, which is very appetizing.

It is said that a state banquet chef not only provides satisfaction for the palate but also maximizes emotional value.

"That's fine, go ahead."

"Alright!"

Master Qiao carried the ingredients toward the kitchen, then suddenly turned back: "By the way, is Miss Liu coming for a meal? Regarding the portion size..."

"Oh, right, make more; she has quite an appetite."

Boss Lu pointed toward the study, implying that little Liu had already arrived early.

Master Qiao remained calm on the surface and agreed to get to work, but his mind was already racing.

It had only been a few days since that news from abroad broke! Are they already living together?

Young people are truly passionate and unrestrained!

This was a misunderstanding, however; Liu Yifei had come in the morning to practice martial arts with A-Fei and was now in the study reading the script he had just revised.

The young lady had been sitting for a quarter of an hour when she smelled the aroma of Master Qiao frying clam cakes from the kitchen, and she pushed the door open with a great appetite.

After greeting Master Qiao and observing his work for a while, little Liu plopped down on a rattan chair in the courtyard.

"Are you going to Xiangjiang with me tomorrow?"

Boss Lu shook his head: "No."

Little Liu asked curiously: "Isn't someone from Disney coming to discuss the specific terms of the platter agreement with you? Can you afford not to go?"

"A couple of days later."

Liu Yifei let out an "oh," her face full of unhappiness, not hiding it in the slightest.

Since the Manhattan incident, this rare period of being together day and night had left her infatuated, and she had thought he would accompany her to the Disney endorsement signing in Xiangjiang.

The young lady did not yet know that tomorrow was the Lantern Festival, which was a very important day for him.

"By the way, now that you are really the chief director, that movie..."

Boss Lu pondered for a few seconds and put down the newspaper; this was indeed a problem.

In the future, Zhang Yimou held the position of chief director, and at that time, his film *Curse of the Golden Flower* started filming around February 20th; the members of the Olympic creative team all accommodated his schedule and followed the crew of *Curse of the Golden Flower*.

From the Beiyingchang to Hengdian, Zhang Yimou had the crew set up a temporary office outside the studio, just like when Boss Lu was filming *Tangshan*, organizing discussions in his spare time while filming.

But that won't work now, will it?

There are two chief directors, and the filming locations are not all in Hengdian; the massacre movie will definitely have Jinling as its main filming location.

How can this be coordinated?

Lu Kuan said in a deep voice: "After you finish the Disney signing event, go back to Chicago first."

"Go to school when you should, prepare when you should, and use this period of uncertainty to thoroughly master the characteristics of the biographical figure."

"Then return to the country, briefly visit the route she took back then, and just find the feeling."

"It just so happens that we have encountered some difficulties in casting, which requires time; as Sister Zhang Chunru said, don't rush, good things take time."

Little Liu nodded, remembering the climax scene in the script she had just seen, and was already eager to try: "I know!"

"By the way, Sun Wenwen contacted me; why did she run to the United States? Is she still a U.S. citizen now?" Liu Yifei looked at him with a puzzled expression.

The young director didn't even look up: "How would I know? Aren't you going to use her? Just use her."

The little Liu of the past was muddled and blinded by emotion.

The little Liu of now, through her subtle influence from following him, *Dragon Slayer*, and her studies and practice at the University of Chicago, plus the perspective on the world she suddenly felt while sitting in the car yesterday.

The young lady suddenly felt that something was not quite right.

On the surface, it was naturally as if nothing was wrong, and the two went their separate ways after eating.

Since the break after the birthday party, this half-month of traveling together had come to a brief end.

From the Fox live broadcast to the release of the Olympic results.

Liu Yifei saw that he was still steadily moving forward step by step, and she had to continue to work hard herself.

Nine-thirty in the morning, North Fourth Ring Olympic Building.

Boss Lu stepped into the venue; the press conference was already set up.

The hall was hung with several festive red banners and small lanterns, inscribed with:

"Appointment Ceremony for Key Personnel of the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 29th Beijing Olympic Games".

He found his seat, greeted Zhang Yimou across a few people, and waited quietly for the start of the press conference.

At this moment, the sound of shutters at the scene was already incessant.

Since the global bidding for the Olympic plan began in March last year, after nearly a year, two formal presentations, and countless internal meetings and discussions, the creative team for the opening and closing ceremonies was officially determined with the approval of the central leadership.

The reporters in the interview area looked at the directors and dance troupe leaders in the first two rows, all secretly speculating about the director candidates for today.

"Zhang Yimou and Lu Kuan are both sitting in the first row, Chen Kaige is sitting in the third row, and Li An didn't even show up; it seems the chief director is still one of these two Beijing Film Academy brothers?"

"Li An is busy with Oscar PR for *Brokeback Mountain* in North America, where would he find the time!"

"Nonsense, isn't he not coming because he knows he has no chance?"

Private discussions were endless; overall, the public's judgment on the chief director candidates was still between Zhang Yimou and Lu Kuan.

For no other reason than that the others had fallen too far behind in both box office and awards in the domestic and international film circles over the past two years.

At 9:50, amidst warm and grand applause, a group of leaders stepped into the venue.

The host announced concisely: "Good morning, friends, the appointment ceremony for key personnel of the opening and closing ceremonies of the 29th Olympic Games now begins."

"The leaders present today are..."

Such an event naturally cannot be without speeches from leaders.

Leader Liu pointed out that the formal appointment and formation of the Olympic opening and closing ceremony team today marked the entry of the Beijing Olympic preparations into a new stage.

He hoped that all artists and professionals could work together, unite as one, and continue to struggle hard for two years for this grand event of the country and the nation.

From low to high, the first item on the agenda was Minister Sun presenting the senior consultant certificates.

Cultural scholar Mr. Ji Xianlin, philosopher Tang Yijie, artist Jin Shangyi, drama educator Xu Xiaozhong, Spielberg, French ECA2 President Yves Pépin, and so on.

Of course, there was also our director Chen Kaige, but facing the cameras, he looked noticeably wilted today, always subconsciously glancing at a certain overly young face in the audience.

He really hadn't slept well all night.

His mind was filled with the mutual accusations and exposures of the Taro father and son that had already gone viral on the internet.

What kind of demon is this who plays with people's hearts!

The poet was somewhat terrified.

Generally speaking, Boss Lu's methods were not that cruel.

Bingbing's unwise behavior at the birthday party had angered him, making Lu Kuan wary of this woman he had always trusted, and he gave her a harsh obedience test.

Although he gave the big star a shot of adrenaline afterward, it ultimately meant she had been through a mental hell.

As for the Taro father and son, they truly made him feel disgusted.

Old Lu had had some unsavory pasts during the catastrophe and the years of criticizing Xie in the 80s, and he himself had the shameless look of "I am a literary thief, so what?"

Taro was even more sycophantic to the extreme; the actions of this father and son in the script of *City of Life and Death* could not be called going astray, they were completely in cahoots with Gexi Xiong.

The writer Lu of the future had also personally gone to the filming site to guide his son's historical masterpiece, including the depiction of the "humanity" of the devils in the script, for which he bore an inescapable responsibility.

This kind of ending is what they deserve.

The applause at the scene was constant; Spielberg spoke on stage, sincerely congratulating and thanking the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee for their recognition of him, and expressing his intention to grandly introduce this passionate cultural event to the world, and so on.

Immediately following, Yu Jianping accepted the appointment letter for the head of the opening and closing ceremony technical group, and Lu Jiankang accepted the appointment letter for the production director of the opening and closing ceremonies.

Finally, it was time for the presentation of the appointment letters for the chief and deputy directors.

Rarely, the host smiled and invited four people to the stage at once: "Please invite Mr. Zhang Yimou, Mr. Lu Kuan, Mr. Zhang Jigang, and Mr. Chen Weiya to the stage!"

There was an uproar at the scene!

You Olympic Organizing Committee are trying to use a human wave tactic!

However, some reporters from official media had already smelled something different from the order of these names.

The seating and ranking of the Chinese people are of the utmost importance, especially on such an occasion, where could it be so casual.

Zhang Jigang and Chen Weiya, these two dance troupe leaders with high political status, were both ranked after Lu Kuan, and it seemed the result was already obvious.

Camera flashes and shutters went off one after another; the four directors on stage were all seasoned professionals accustomed to interviews, smiling and clapping as they accepted the scrutiny of gazes and lenses.

It was just that Zhang Jizhong and Chen Weiya remained characteristically dissatisfied in their hearts, not believing that Lu Kuan was qualified to be their leader.

The host announced loudly: "Please have Leader Liu present the appointment letter for the General Director of the Beijing Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies to Mr. Zhang Yimou!"

After a round of applause from the audience, a continuous stream of whispers immediately followed.

"I'm really afraid Director Zhang will bring out the same plot as the 'Athens Eight Minutes' again."

"It's a pity; Lu Kuan is just too young, otherwise he would have had a chance."

"Director Lu is the domestic director who understands the audience best; I hope he can offer more reminders to this senior schoolmate of his."

Before everyone could finish expressing their gratitude, the host continued without leaving any suspense: "Please have Leader Liu present the appointment letter for the General Director of the Beijing Olympic Opening and Closing Ceremonies to Mr. Lu Kuan!"

The entire venue was in an uproar!

Two General Directors!

Looking at the expressions of Zhang Jizhong and Chen Weiya, even though they had known the answer in advance, there was still a moment of discomfort.

Although the people present were surprised, they could ultimately understand this unique, Chinese-style appointment method.

Lu Kuan was too young.

Even when the Olympic opening ceremony arrived in August 2008, he would not yet be 27 years old.

From top to bottom, the entire Olympic Organizing Committee, from directors to consultants, was filled with prominent figures who held high status in terms of age, seniority, and administrative rank.

Although they all spoke about not judging by seniority, in actual execution, there was a possibility that he might not be able to command effectively or win over the crowd, thereby delaying work.

Now with Zhang Yimou, such hidden dangers were basically gone.

At the same time, with Lu Kuan co-directing on the side, the leaders' concerns about whether Zhang Yimou would repeat the mistakes of Athens could also be slightly reduced.

Surely two top domestic directors wouldn't be muddled together, right?

A key point was also that these two had a deep relationship in the industry and were both people who understood the bigger picture and the overall situation; the higher-ups were not worried that they would cause conflict themselves.

The leaders present who were responsible for reporting to the elders all knew that this Director Lu was very qualified in both ability and ideological stance; he was only at a disadvantage due to his age.

As for Zhang Jizhong and Chen Weiya, the former was skilled in classical song arrangement and was mainly responsible for the classical song and dance of the opening ceremony and the opening ceremony of the Paralympic Games;

The latter was skilled in the construction of modern art and was responsible for the modern song and dance of the opening ceremony and the closing ceremony of the Paralympic Games.

Such a four-person director group arrangement allowed everyone to use their talents and everything to be used to its fullest; whether in artistic talent or work efficiency, it was implemented effectively and was uniquely Chinese.

Of course, it could also be seen from the appointment decision that the directors for the Paralympic opening and closing ceremonies had already been decided, while the Olympics only announced the two of them as co-directors.

Who would specifically be responsible for the opening and who would specifically be responsible for the closing could be deliberated and decided later.

If Boss Lu demonstrated absolute control over the overall situation during the creative team's work progress, then appointing him as the General Director of the opening ceremony would naturally eliminate the previous hidden concerns.

This was like the Provincial Party Committee Organization Department parachuting a leader into the Municipal Party Committee team, first under the guise of a temporary transfer or secondment, to see if he could hold his ground.

The four members of the director group spoke one after another; when it was Boss Lu's turn, he was also impassioned:

"Receiving this heavy responsibility, I am filled with awe and trepidation. The organization has given me full trust and care, giving me the opportunity to direct the Olympics; it is a supreme honor and also a heavy burden."

"I am a director, but in my heart, this carries more weight than any film, because it carries the earnest attention and hope of countless compatriots over the past century. I will certainly exhaust my efforts and not fail the trust of the country and the people!"

After nearly a year of hardship and countless obstructions and traps set by rivals, he had finally reached this step.

Aside from the reputation and implicit political capital accumulated from the successful hosting of the Olympics, using such an extremely complex and grand artistic event to improve his artistic attainments in scene scheduling, the fusion of East and West, and the combination of special effects technology and traditional aesthetics was undoubtedly a beneficial practical attempt.

It should be said that no film, and never again any other opportunity, could provide an artist with such a large stage to command tens of thousands of actors and realize their artistic ideals through dozens of artistic forms of programs.

In a fantasy novel, this would be an excellent dungeon for breaking through a realm.

The appointment ceremony ended quickly, and Boss Lu's name jumped onto the trending searches once again.

"Support... Director Lu Kuan. Now that he's a General Director, we can't call him by his nickname anymore, lest we be laughed at by foreigners."

"Finally, I don't have to worry about Zhang Yimou's big red lanterns and floral cotton-padded jackets; just thinking about it makes me feel cold!"

"They only know how to balance things and create 'double yolks'—can this two-director thing actually work? Lu Kuan and Zhang Yimou are more than 30 years apart in age; they are two different generations in terms of aesthetics. You ask them to mix and mash them together, and the final dish will be neither local nor foreign, neither Chinese nor Western—can you even swallow it?"

"The person above, stop pretending to know what you're talking about. Do you know the discerning ability of top directors? Do you think making art is really like cooking?"

That night's "News Broadcast" also aired the scene of today's appointment ceremony.

The young director's words about exhausting his efforts and not failing the trust of the country and the people were broadcast on countless channels, becoming a topic of heated discussion for the whole nation.

The chaotic discussions continued, but whenever some people returned, the domestic entertainment industry would become lively, entertainment reporters would go crazy, journalists would become restless, and the traffic on various websites would increase.

From "Manhattan Romance" to "Father and Son," this world-class director's ability to tell stories was still as strong as ever.

On the day after the Olympic General Director selection was finalized, a secret piece of news spread through the Beijing literary and art circles.

After the Taro father and son were summoned for investigation by the relevant departments in accordance with the law, they were officially arrested, and together with a certain foreign business person from the original JR Great East Sea, they entered the investigation process.

Logically speaking, just as the anti-corruption writer had previously anticipated, this level of controversy over literary works was not fatal in itself. This time, the situation was indeed special; this pair of father and son had imagined their opponent to be too kind and did not know what kind of person they were facing.

This Machiavellian instigated them to report each other, which in itself was a confirmed fact;

The participation of certain funds in the film "Jinling," confirmed through investigation, was also an undeniable fact.

Most crucially, Boss Lu linked this matter to the Olympics, framing Deng Wendi, the Taro father and son, and Ge Xi Xiong as an evil chain attempting to subvert the successful hosting of the Olympics.

This was extremely fatal.

The drama of father and son turning against each other was discussed heatedly, and in the early hours of the morning, netizens broke more big news:

A certain anti-corruption literary writer was feeling unwell, and during the emergency transfer for medical treatment, he was insulted and pelted with debris by protesting patriotic masses, causing a heart attack; he had already been admitted to the ICU.

It's still the New Year until the Lantern Festival; the people were clapping and cheering!

Especially some old fans of Director Xie Jin, remembering the "shit bucket" he had dumped on this director who was actively exploring the path of Hollywood industrialization back then, wished they could spit in his face.

A literary thief who had been professionally "touching porcelain" for thirty years had finally run into a tough opponent this time.

When it comes to being ruthless and tough, it still has to be a certain washing machine!

A certain poet and his beloved wife were now truly shivering, feeling very fortunate that they had not been labeled as part of the traitor faction and that it was only a personal grudge.

On February 12th, the day after Boss Lu was elected as General Director, Lu Kuan, who had refused to fly to Xiangjiang with Little Liu, revisited the old place once again.

The spring colors of Niushou Mountain in Jinling were just beginning to bloom, seemingly dispelling some of the gloom in his heart.

Looking into the distance, the undulating mountains before him were the sorrow of the earth's rise and fall; the peach and apricot blossoms covering the mountains were pink and white, and although they were delicate and dripping with dew, they also revealed a bit of desolation in the breeze.

The mountain stream gurgled, as if sobbing in a low voice, telling of endless sorrow.

Around the grave, the grass was lush, like a velvet blanket laid out by time for his mother.

Lu Kuan calmly unzipped his backpack, took out weeding tools and rags, and knelt in the weeds, patiently clearing the desolation and adding soil to sweep the grave.

After working for a long time, he then solemnly knelt on both knees and kowtowed four times with a grave expression.

When he looked up in a daze, with a few strands of weeds above his forehead, the young man's eyelashes were already filled with tears.

"Mom, this is the appointment letter for the Olympic General Director. How is it? Grand, right?"

"It's a pity they only gave me one, otherwise I would have definitely burned it for you to see."

"It's also my fault; why couldn't I have come back a few years earlier in this life? Maybe I would have been in time to save you."

The Machiavellian, who was seen by outsiders as cold and harsh, or stunningly talented, or ruthless, was at this moment just a son missing his mother, separated by life and death.

It wasn't until dusk deepened that he carefully wiped the inscription on the tomb of Mother Ceng Wenxiu one last time and kowtowed before leaving.

Tears near, the soil is not dry; low in the sky, there are broken clouds.

After disappearing briefly for half a day, on the day after the Lantern Festival, this power player of domestic entertainment returned to the Ideal International Building to handle the official business that had piled up during his month abroad.

Due to the addition of Dong Shuangqiang and the growth of Chen Zhixi, the decision-making team of Wenjie Holdings, composed of the general manager and vice president of the subsidiary, was operating steadily, so there wasn't much he needed to worry about.

The several meetings with Xiong Xiaoge after the Fashion Bazaar Charity Gala before the New Year had gone very smoothly; IDG and Today Capital had each invested nearly 250 million USD and 80 million USD, holding 12.5% and 4% of the shares respectively.

The valuation of this Series A round was already quite high.

It was mainly benchmarked against the 39% stake in Ali that Yahoo China had obtained for 1 billion USD last year, just slightly scaled down compared to Ali in terms of user scale, activity, retention rate, customer unit price, and sales growth rate.

Ali's miss in the e-commerce field was a major pain point for IDG; as early as 1999, IDG partner Zhang Suyang had contacted Ma Yun, but they had missed the opportunity in the end.

Xiong Xiaoge had also expressed regret over this golden opportunity on several occasions.

In this life, Wenjie Mall was still no match for Ali, which had the first-mover advantage and the support of multinational capital like SoftBank.

The reborn person did not have the superpower to defeat these historical business giants just by having a visionary perspective.

But for Xiong Xiaoge and Xu Xin, Wenjie Mall, backed by Wenjie Holdings, was an alternative with the potential to overtake on a bend.

However, what made IDG and Today Capital hesitate was that, besides attempting to compete with Ali in the payment field, Wenjie Mall was prepared to take another path of heavy-asset expansion.

Logistics construction.

In later generations, JD's logistics investment received support from Zhang Lei of Hillhouse Capital, and the industry anecdote of "not investing 75 million USD, but investing 300 million USD if investing at all" was spread.

In 2006, making logistics investments in advance could be said to have both advantages and disadvantages.

The disadvantages went without saying: the investment payback period for logistics construction was too long, and without the support of a cash-flow-stable parent company, there would be a risk of a capital chain rupture when the 2008 financial crisis arrived.

In the early stages of construction, the prosperity of e-commerce was insufficient, which might also lead to insufficient orders for self-built logistics and greater difficulty in cost control.

But as a reborn person with a forward-looking perspective, Wenjie's creation of competitive barriers through early logistics investment was the only way to overtake on a bend.

From now until after the 2008 financial crisis, land acquisition costs and warehousing costs were very low compared to later generations; the current "Four Tong and One Da" were still "lick-dogs" for Ali and Wenjie Mall, following a route of crazy franchise expansion.

Once Wenjie Mall's early layout of the logistics network was built and operated maturely, it could stand out in e-commerce competition by virtue of fast delivery and better commodity control, changing the competitive landscape of the e-commerce industry and even promoting the development and transformation of the entire logistics industry.

It was still Boss Lu who set the general direction, while professionals like Dong Zi were responsible for specific implementation, not doing things where laymen directed experts.

Dong Shuangqiang reported on the situation of Travel Satellite TV: "The script for this year's seasonal drama 'Myth' has been polished almost to completion, and the choice of director..."

"Teacher Jiang has been resting for a while, right? It's time to return to work; how can he always be a 'sweeping monk' at the Beijing Film Academy!"

Boss Lu flipped through the project proposal for the drama version of "Myth" and suddenly discovered a highlight in the personnel list.

"Old Dong, who is this Guo Fan?"

"Guo Fan? Which Guo Fan?" Dong Shuangqiang leaned over: "Not familiar, just an ordinary employee at the station."

Chen Zhixi interjected: "I have an impression; this is a colleague responsible for post-production packaging at the station's 'Asia Music Center.' His editing ability is excellent, and he has quite a few ideas about screenwriting."

She recalled for a few seconds: "I've seen him at the production center, a young man from Lu Province."

"Oh, not bad!" Boss Lu remained calm: "How about this, transfer him to the 'Myth' crew, and please have Teacher Jiang arrange his position."

Liu Yifei and Chen Zhixi looked at each other, thinking to themselves, is this the rhythm of a carp leaping over the dragon gate?

Guo Fan, born in 1980, had his passion for science fiction films ignited in his youth by James Cameron's *Terminator 2*.

He entered Qiong Province University in 1999, and after graduating in 2003, he joined Travel Satellite TV, responsible for the post-production packaging of programs.

In the later years, around 2008, he was admitted to the Beijing Film Academy and began to realize his professional ideals; at this moment, he is still just an enthusiast, and during his university years, he had a work called *Flowers Bloom, That Year* exhibited at the first London Chinese Comic Exhibition.

The special effects content for the Wenjie version of *Myth* is not much, but for the novice Guo Fan, who currently has no industry experience, it is just right for familiarization and practice.

If his growth goes smoothly, he can be asked to apply for the second Pan-Asia Film Academy next year, so that would not be considered forcing the shoots to grow.

Besides being Vice President, Liu Yifei currently continues to preside over the main affairs of Travel Satellite TV, but is gradually handing over work to Executive Vice Station Chief Long Danni for a smooth transition.

Over the past year, Travel Satellite TV has basically tied with the Hunan Station in advertising and investment business, especially with the mid-way explosion of *The Voice*, which triggered a wave of learning in the industry.

Currently, the prime-time TV series is *My Own Swordsman*, which ranks second, temporarily trailing behind *Qiao's Grand Courtyard* with an average viewership rating of 10%.

This show is still relatively slow to warm up; it needs to wait for word-of-mouth to ferment and for a fan base to be cultivated.

But whether it is Tong Liya or the acquired Mahua group, they have all gradually begun to gain some popularity, step by step becoming "familiar faces" in the domestic entertainment industry.

Liu Yifei's report came to an end, and Boss Lu began to pile burdens onto Ning Hao and Xue Xiaolu, the two workhorses who had knocked and entered.

However, before he could even speak, he first received an invitation: "Director Lu, don't go anywhere this May Day, okay? I'm inviting you to my wedding."

Boss Lu laughed: "Double happiness?"

"Last December, *The Buffalo Boy* won at the Golden Horse Awards, Huang Bo won Best Actor, and not long after, you're getting married; it's a pity the bride isn't Huang Bo."

"Otherwise, you'd have four blessings at once."

Everyone burst into laughter, and Ning Hao looked at the big boss with resentment.

"Director Lu, don't say that! *Detective Chinatown* has been filming for several days, aren't you going to come and take a look?"

"Next time for sure, next time for sure."

That's right, having tried an art film, although it neither lost nor made money, Ning Hao was satisfied with having won an award.

Following the *Crazy* series, Boss Lu gave him the script for *Detective Chinatown*.

It is another series of excellent films where internal artists can divide up the roles, continuing to rake in money and enrich Wenjie's IP library; these are all materials for building theme parks in the future.

Including *Ghost Blows Out the Light*, which just started serialization online in February, Chen Zhixi has already received instructions to prepare to negotiate the copyright.

As for other online literature websites, Qidian is now in the hands of Shanda, and given the strategic partnership between the two sides, purchasing copyright is also very convenient; for a reborn person, there is always enough adaptation material.

Xue Xiaolu waited for a long time before she could finally interject: "President Lu, *Those Years*, Yifei she..."

"She doesn't have time; she needs to prepare for the massacre film."

Having rested for more than half a year, Xue Xiaolu looked resentful; she hadn't even asked the person's proper agent yet, and she was already rejected right here by her own boss.

"Just let Su Chang do it, what else are you thinking about?"

"Zhang Jingying will sing the theme song *Those Years*; as for the other male and female leads, select them internally if you must, or hold auditions if you must—don't ask me to manage this."

Liu Yifei no longer needs to spin around in this comfort zone; to take a step further on the path of an actor, she needs roles with more depth and to try more genre films or even art film roles.

Boss Lu outputted a stream of words: "The competition for the New Year slot this year is particularly fierce; the massacre film cannot catch up according to the current progress."

"Wenjie currently only has your two films, one thriller comedy and one youth romance; both are genres with strong storytelling, which will be quite popular during the New Year and Valentine's Day slots."

"But from the current perspective, *Curse of the Golden Flower*, *Confession of Pain*, *A Battle of Wits*, *Protégé*, and *The Knot* will all join the competition."

Everyone in the president's office had a stern expression.

In the past, it was Boss Lu's blockbusters that led everyone to fight, battling opponents to the death in the New Year, Spring Festival, and Valentine's Day slots according to the film categories.

This year, besides the Huayi small cannon *The Banquet* in the middle of the year, Zhang Yimou's *Thunderstorm* adaptation *Curse of the Golden Flower* and piles of Hong Kong films heading north to share the spoils, plus the mainstream *The Knot*, the competition is visibly fierce.

"Don't worry about the theater chains and promotion; just focus on filming the movies well."

Boss Lu said sternly: "You have all rested for more than half a year, and Teacher Xue has also returned to the Beijing Film Academy to digest her insights; after accumulating for a few months, I believe the results won't be bad!"

Wenjie's core competitiveness is Lu Kuan, but ultimately, it is the director resources, including him.

It was the success of his several films that accumulated industrial capital, which allowed for the construction of the current industrial closed loop.

To maintain Wenjie's dominant position and remain unshaken under the first wave of coal boss black money and the second wave of internet capital invasion in a few years, besides continuing to expand and consolidate the industrial chain foundation, one must constantly cultivate and discover director resources.

For a reborn person, there are plenty of scripts, but very few people can film them.

Relying only on himself, in the future 50 billion scale of the mainland film industry, how much can he eat alone?

Only by building a director matrix with a perfect system and obvious category differentiation, and raising the content output barrier in the industry, can he cooperate with Wenjie's film industrial chain to continue to share the biggest piece of the cake in the domestic entertainment industry.

As he discussed with Nolan and Iger, the future volume of the mainland film industry is huge, and Wenjie cannot rely on him alone to charge into battle.

In the plan, Ning Hao is the craftsman for comedies and series films;

Xue Xiaolu specializes in youth romance and "chick flicks";

The newly discovered rookie Guo Fan still needs time to grow.

Whether he can become the second director at Wenjie after Lu Kuan capable of handling science fiction themes depends on his development.

As for the remaining domestic directors, those who can tell a story well now seem to be few and far between.

As for Wu Jin and Shen Teng, there is no need to go beyond the development of the era and force the shoots to grow yet.

After all, last year's total pot was only over 3 billion.

According to the normal development trend, every year for the major film slots, Wenjie's three films, the three films of Zhang Yimou, Chen Kaige, and Feng Xiaogang, plus 3-4 Hong Kong films including those of Zhou Xingchi, and other miscellaneous works, are enough to eat the whole pot until not even a hair is left.

This is also the reason why Boss Lu has always chosen to let companies like Huayi, Cheng Tian, and Xiaoma Benteng grow in the film industry, hoping to expand the entire base as soon as possible and attract audiences into theaters.

What he cares about is not the gain or loss of one city or one territory, but standing from the perspective of the entire film industry's development to eat the biggest bite of the era's dividends!

Sitting from morning until night, dealing with one wave of affairs after another, before leaving, Boss Lu received an unexpected call.

"Hello President Lu, I am Li Yinghong, Vice President of News Corporation China."

"Speak."

On the other end of the phone, Li Yinghong, who was sitting in her Beijing office, looked up at the gloomy-faced Deng Wendi and continued: "President Lu, I wonder if I have the honor to invite you to a meal."

"Forget it, if you have something to say, say it quickly."

Li Yinghong sighed inwardly: "It's like this, yesterday News Corporation's content departments at Star TV and Phoenix TV both received concerns, and they also reviewed the initial..."

Boss Lu lost patience: "Stop, don't talk to me about this."

Star TV belongs to Star Media under News Corporation; it was approved to land in Yangcheng, Guangdong Province in 2001, and in 2003 it was approved to have landing rights in three-star or higher hotels and foreign-related residential areas in the mainland, so it is naturally under the jurisdiction of the SARFT.

Although Phoenix TV is a Hong Kong television station, its broadcast arrangements in the mainland are still subject to supervision.

This matter was clearly the result of Boss Lu's secret report.

The authorities began to review whether News Corporation had any irregular operations in its content output at the two locations over the years, as well as the legality of its initial entry into the mainland market.

Deng Wendi lost patience, took the phone from her with a dark face: "President Lu, I am Deng Wendi."

"It's normal for there to be back-and-forth in the business world; you are a smart person and won't act on impulse."

"I suggest..."

Beep beep beep beep beep...

Deng Wendi's temples throbbed as she listened to the dial tone coming from the phone; a face that was overly sharp looked particularly hateful to Li Yinghong opposite her.

Just like when she "visited the thatched cottage three times" to buy Mytube, this female hunter is not someone who gives up easily.

She continued to call, and was hung up on.

She continued to call, and continued to be hung up on.

It was just that Nokia in 2006 didn't have a block function, so Boss Lu only had to hang up tirelessly.

It wasn't until he entered the gate of the Sihe Academy that the young man looked in horror at the twentieth missed call.

Damn, he finally knew how the old white men got hooked; it grew on her aesthetic, and she came to offer herself in such a spiral explosion, so of course he would fall.

Boss Lu watched Master Qiao busy with dinner and helplessly answered the phone: "Listen to me first."

"Liu Yifei is signing a contract with Disney at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in two days; you go to the scene, bow to her in front of the global media, and say sorry to Miss Liu."

"After you do this, we will talk again; that's it."

Beep beep beep beep beep...

With a "bang," Li Yinghong's Nokia L'Amour Collection 7360 was smashed to pieces by Deng Wendi.

The female hunter expressionlessly took a stack of RMB from her bag and placed it on the table: "Little Li, buy a new phone."

Deng Wendi walked away with her thin high heels clicking, and Li Yinghong stared blankly at the banknotes scattered by the evening breeze in front of her.

This Vice President of News Corporation China knew very well that on this land, some things really cannot be solved by money.

(End of chapter)