Huayu: I Have a Doraemon

Chapter 72 Everything is Ready

Late at night, Lin An's phone rang again.

When he saw that the caller was Ji Tao, he knew that the casting was a sure thing.

"It's done! This matter is over, and you have to give me a big red envelope!"

The loud voice of Ji Tao over the receiver made Lin An feel dizzy.

He held the phone further away, and only after the echo from the other end had faded did he put it back to his ear.

"Deng Chao can join the crew at any time."

Ji Tao's voice was filled with barely suppressed excitement:

"Chen Shu needs to go back to her hometown in Hubei first, but she should be able to arrive in five days at the latest."

He spoke quickly and urgently, as if he could already see the crew restarting filming and the episodes airing where Ye Daying was pinned to the ground and beaten.

"You haven't even secured any filming personnel or equipment, what are you getting so worked up about?"

Lin An poured cold water on him:

Even if everything goes smoothly, we don't know if Ye Daying will cause trouble along the way.

Ji Tao choked, his excitement completely dampened.

"...Can't you let me be happy for a little longer?" His voice was muffled, with a hint of grievance.

Lin An wasn't in the mood to pay him any attention and asked:

Are there any production companies in Beijing that aren't afraid of the Beijing film industry?

"No," Ji Tao replied without hesitation.

Lin An raised an eyebrow slightly.

Ji Tao retorted irritably, "The film and television industry, the film and television industry, naturally it's all interconnected. In Beijing, which film crew hasn't dealt with the Beijing film circle?"

He sighed and said, "Perhaps some of them are not afraid of the Beijing entertainment circle, but we all run into each other all the time. There's no reason for them to offend someone like you, a new screenwriter."

Lin An remained silent for a few seconds.

This answer was exactly what he expected.

The Beijing entertainment circle has been operating in Beijing for decades and is deeply entrenched. Ye Daying doesn't even need to say hello; as long as others know that "iPartment" has a grudge against him, they will naturally think twice.

"If all else fails, let's go to Shanghai."

Ji Tao's voice regained its composure: "You should understand the principle that a tree dies when transplanted, but a person thrives."

Lin An ignored him and continued to ask:

"If you had to choose a production company to compete against the Beijing film industry, who do you think would be most likely to win?"

Ji Tao said, "Of course it's China Central Television Media Group."

The national team was joking.

Lin An said irritably, "Except for this."

Ji Tao thought for a moment and then said, "Then it should be Hairun."

He said calmly, "Hairun started out by producing urban dramas, not by taking the route of Wang Shuo's rogue literature, and the company doesn't rely on a red background to operate."

Lin An seemed to be deep in thought.

"You want to find Hairun? That's difficult!"

Ji Tao couldn't help but say, "Although Liu Yanming, the director of Hairun, has nothing to do with the Beijing circle, his projects are too closely tied to Haiyan, who is the core of the Beijing circle."

Lin An ignored him: "Where is Hairun?"

Ji Tao asked, puzzled, "What are you going to do?"

Lin An said, "Give me the address."

Ji Tao was speechless for a moment, but still gave the address of Hairun and instructed:

"If you insist on going, I suggest you find Chang Jihong. She is the general manager of Hairun's brokerage business, and her influence is no less than Haiyan's."

Lin An nodded slightly:

"I see."

……

……

Hairun Pictures, General Manager's Office.

Chang Jihong sat behind her desk, flipping through a report in her hand.

The report clearly records the viewership curves of "Nine Returns to One", "Fatal Encounter", and "Never Close Your Eyes".

Among them, "Never Close Your Eyes" achieved a terrifying 6.1% viewership rating nationwide, taking a precipitous lead.

Nationwide, there was no targeted promotion in many areas, cable TV was already widespread, and viewers could choose from dozens of channels... Under these circumstances, a 6.1% viewership rating was already a top-tier hit for the year.

It's worth noting that "Yongzheng Dynasty," which cost over ten million yuan to produce and took nearly three years to prepare and film, only garnered a 13% national viewership rating. And that was in 1999, when there were fewer than 400 TV dramas produced that year.

Even so, Chang Jihong was still very worried.

First, Hairun's current business is too singular, with all its works being urban dramas, which carries too high market risk; second, another urban drama is experiencing rapid, unregulated growth in a way that the industry finds incomprehensible...

"iPartment" achieved a local viewership rating of 34.31% and a national rating of 5.61%, and is predicted to continue rising...

Chang Jihong looked at the strange ratings curve on the report with complicated emotions, and couldn't help but recall her conversation with Pang Jingming at the TV station.

"I wonder how long this kid can hold out..."

Chang Jihong muttered to herself, glancing at the various entertainment magazines on the table, all of which were negative reviews of "iPartment".

She had anticipated the downfall of the Beijing entertainment circle, but she never expected it to be so devastating, leaving them with no chance to fight back.

The current situation is not so easy to resolve.

Just then, the internal phone on the table rang.

"Mr. Chang, a Mr. Lin is looking for you. He didn't make an appointment, but he said you will definitely see him."

Chang Jihong raised an eyebrow slightly.

"Surname Lin?"

Lin An, the screenwriter of "iPartment".

Chang Jihong was taken aback, then smiled gently.

She flipped the report over, placed it face down on the table, and said into the phone:

"Let him in."

……

……

"Judging from your appearance, you don't seem to be desperate."

Chang Jihong's gaze swept over Lin An.

The young man in front of me was wearing a dark gray overcoat with the collar slightly open, revealing the white shirt collar underneath.

He stood there with his back straight and his eyes calm, not at all like a young person whose film crew had been forced to stop production, whose lead actor had been poached, whose family had been harassed, and who had been besieged by public opinion.

"General Manager Chang, I've heard so much about you."

Lin An stepped forward and extended his hand.

Chang Jihong reached out and grasped it, then let go, leaning back in her chair, her voice tinged with emotion:

"I sent someone to deliver a message last time, and I didn't expect to see you in person so soon."

She pointed to the chair opposite the desk: "Sit."

Lin An couldn't understand what she was saying, so after sitting down in the chair, he went straight to the point:

"You know about what happened with the 'iPartment' crew, right?"

Chang Jihong picked up his teacup and nodded slightly.

Lin An spoke slowly and deliberately:

"I've revised the script and assembled the actors. Now all that's missing is the equipment and a cameraman before we can start filming again."

Chang Jihong smiled but didn't respond at all.

Lin An had anticipated this, and slowly said:

"If 'iPartment' gets a second season, I might consider collaborating with Hairun."

Chang Jihong raised an eyebrow, a half-smile playing on his lips, and said:

"You couldn't even make the first one, so what makes you think you can promise me a sequel?"

Instead of answering, Lin An asked, "Hai Run's current subject matter is too limited, and its hit scripts rely entirely on Hai Yan. Aren't you worried at all?"

Chang Jihong glanced at him, her expression remaining largely unchanged:

"Since you know so much, you should understand why I'm not helping you."

"I admit, your script is quite interesting."

Chang Jihong glanced down at the reports on the table, then looked up at Lin An calmly:

"But Haiyan dramas are our core business, not something a sitcom can compare to."

Lin An wasn't taken aback by Chang Jihong's blunt rejection; instead, he smiled.

"Mr. Chang is right. For Hairun, a sitcom can't compare to Haiyan's dramas."

He readily admitted this, then changed the subject:

"However, one should not concern oneself with matters outside one's authority. You are not the CEO of Hairun Media, so what benefit do you get from praising Haiyan's dramas so highly?"

The smile on Chang Jihong's face gradually faded.

She looked at Lin An as if she were re-examining this young man.

After a moment, she leaned back in her chair, her expression regaining its usual composure.

"That's true. As an agent, the style of the series isn't my primary consideration, but yours seems to be a bit lacking."

Lin An said calmly, "Everyone will pick up money, and that's precisely why there's no money to pick up on the road."

After saying that, he said with a slightly mocking tone:

"There's always a price to pay in doing business; there's no such thing as a sure thing."

Chang Jihong fell silent again.

After a long silence, she asked calmly, "What do you want?"

"Equipment, photography crew, and a small post-production team."

"When?"

"Within a week."

"I'll go talk to them."

"Thanks."