Huayu: This producer has no bottom line.

Chapter 30 Knowing the Weight of Firewood by Bearing Its Blow

"Bang!"

Alex slammed his coffee cup on the table, splashing coffee onto the printed email.

"Draft proposal for exclusive online premiere of 'Report to the Boss'."

Sender: Ren Pingsheng

The email was brief, in standard business format, and politely worded, but Alex felt like every word was a slap in the face.

That bastard had barely left when he dumped a new project in his face.

"The one who makes money is never those two names, it's me."

What seemed like harsh words at the time might now come true.

Alex took out his phone and called Zhao Baogang.

"Director Zhao, when will the script be finalized?"

There was a pause on the other end of the phone. "Didn't we agree on next week?"

"Next week is too slow, can it be this week?"

"This week?" Zhao Baogang's voice was tinged with surprise. "Alex, content creation can't be rushed. My team and I are currently..."

"Director Zhao, the situation has changed," Alex interrupted him. "Ren Pingsheng is already negotiating new projects with major platforms."

"What does this have to do with us?"

"He also makes sitcoms! If we don't release ours before him, he'll completely steal the spotlight from the second season!"

Zhao Baogang didn't speak, but Alex heard the sound of a lighter coming from the other end of the phone.

"Director Zhao, the start time for filming must be moved up."

"Shoot what you can first. If the script isn't finished, write it as you shoot. You're a great director, so you definitely have that kind of flexibility."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

"Okay, I'll discuss it with Ding Xin and try to get it done as quickly as possible."

After hanging up, Alex dialed three more numbers, all of which were the agents of the actresses he had been negotiating with about their schedules and fees for the cameo roles.

"Price is not a problem. Just name a number, and I'll approve it if it's within a reasonable range."

He knew that saying this would be like offering himself up to be slaughtered, but he didn't care.

……

That evening, Zhao Baogang returned home and told Ding Xin about it.

"Guess what? That kid Souhu called and urged me to turn on my phone early, saying that his former colleague had gone out on his own and he was afraid of being overshadowed."

Ding Xin was reading the script for "Marriage Defense" on the sofa without looking up. "Let them rush me, it's not like you're new to being rushed by the production company."

"This is different," Zhao Baogang tossed his coat onto the back of the sofa. "This kind of production was never something I wanted to do in the first place. Each episode is a short film of about ten minutes, carried entirely by a few vulgar jokes. It has absolutely nothing to do with what I've accumulated over the past thirty years. And now they're pulling this kind of stunt. It's really beneath me!"

"Then why did you agree in the first place?"

Zhao Baogang didn't reply, but sat down at the other end of the sofa with his teacup in hand.

Ding Xin put down the script and glanced at him.

"Perfect Pictures has already paid Xinbaoyuan the first installment. 'Marriage Defense' is scheduled to start filming in January, and props and set construction are all in the process of completion. Now that you've turned against Sohu, how are you going to explain this to President Deng?"

Zhao Baogang took a sip of tea and remained silent.

"Mr. Deng made it very clear: as long as you take over the second season of 'Men's Diary,' Sohu will agree to our exclusive broadcasting rights offer of 15 yuan per episode. You can do the math!"

Zhao Baogang could certainly calculate that, based on his predetermined production standard of 75 yuan per episode, the online copyright alone could cover one-fifth of the cost.

In 2009, this price was simply astronomical.

Sohu and Xinbaoyuan have had a long-standing relationship, dating back to the time they worked together on the TV series "My Youth, My Choice" and later joined forces in an anti-piracy alliance to fight a lawsuit. The two companies are deeply intertwined.

Deng Ye's decision to give him this favor was, frankly, just using "Men's Diary" as a bonus; what he really wanted to target was the final installment of Zhao Baogang's "Youth Trilogy."

"It's just a short film of about ten episodes anyway. Why don't you just do it casually, repay the favor, and then focus on making our main series?"

"Just deal with it casually? You think you can just deal with something that's in my name?" Zhao Baogang frowned.

"Then just film it properly. It won't take up much time anyway," Ding Xin rolled her eyes. "Didn't you think that short drama was low-quality? Then make one that isn't low-quality, just like you do. Who says short films can't have quality?"

Zhao Baogang didn't reply, but got up, went to the balcony, and lit a cigarette.

"What I care about most isn't this short drama itself, but the conditions Sohu proposed for a joint broadcast between TV and online platforms. Don't you think there's a problem with that? What kind of drama is broadcast online and on TV simultaneously? What are the TV station leaders supposed to think?"

Ding Xin followed to the balcony door and leaned against the door frame. "This is indeed risky. If we don't handle it well, it will be difficult to explain to the TV station."

"Of course! My dramas, Zhao Baogang's shows, have always been broadcast on prime time on satellite TV. Now you want me to put them online? What will my colleagues think? What will the station's leaders think? Will we still be able to work together in the future?"

"But have you thought about the other side?" Ding Xin looked at him. "Online video is booming right now. You know what kind of person President Deng is. The fact that she dared to accept this offer means that she is confident that she can make it back. At that time, 'Marriage Defense' may become a benchmark case of online first and then TV. We have essentially secured a spot on a top platform in advance."

"We need to do this favor for 'Diaosi Men' first, so that we can discuss the cooperation in the defense battle more deeply."

Zhao Baogang had smoked half a cigarette when he turned around and glanced at her.

"Okay, I'll have Xiao Gao put together a first draft of the script. I'll try my best to guarantee the quality, but I need to make it clear beforehand that if the final product is criticized, it's not my problem."

Ding Xin laughed, "Don't worry, these kinds of online short dramas will be forgotten after a couple of days of criticism."

What she didn't know was that reality would slap her in the face a few months later.

……

While big shots are anxious about their multi-million dollar businesses, some people in small studios on Dawang Road are also feeling anxious.

The novelty wears off quickly, especially when you're facing four white walls and a few broken tables every day.

Xiao Ai sat in the corner fiddling with the script, but his mind was clearly not on the paper. His phone kept turning on and off, and on and off, without stopping since noon.

Ren Pingsheng pretended not to see it until Xiao Ai put down her pen and picked up her phone for the fourth time.

"Take it."

Xiao Ai was taken aback for a moment, "Huh?"

"Answer your mother's call. Don't sit here so anxiously."

Xiao Ai hesitated for a few seconds, but still answered the call.

The voice on the other end was loud and had a regional accent. Although the rest of the words were not very clear, everyone present caught phrases like "iron rice bowl in a big company," "providing for your education," and "nonsense."

Zhang Yibo's situation is more complicated.

His girlfriend lives in Kunming, and the two have been in a long-distance relationship for almost two years.

When I was in school, my girlfriend wasn't happy, but at least she had something to look forward to—we could go back after graduation.

As a result, he's now directly starting his own business and hasn't even mentioned going back to Kunming.

His QQ chat window has been flashing for the past two days.

The profile picture on the other end has been changed from a photo of the two of them to a default penguin, and the signature has been changed to a period.

Ren Pingsheng noticed these things.

But he didn't go to any team building activities, drink motivational speeches, or make empty promises.

This is too sentimental and meaningless.

All he could do was one thing: earn the money as quickly as possible.

Give these young people who believe in him an explanation.

At 10 p.m., Ren Pingsheng sat in his empty studio revising the storyboard for the second episode.

All three of them were persuaded to go back and rest.

Just then, my phone rang; it was Youku calling.

"Mr. Ren, I'm sorry to bother you, but you're still up so late?"

The other party's tone remained calm and restrained.

"We had an internal meeting regarding the cooperation plan for 'Report to the Boss.' Mr. Gu would like to discuss some details in person. Would tomorrow be convenient for you?"

Mr. Gu, Gu Yongqiang.

The CEO of Youku personally stepped forward.

Ren Pingsheng picked up his teacup and took a sip of the cooled water.

"Okay, what time?"

"I'll have my driver pick you up at 10 a.m.