Chapter 228 – The Path Winds Through High Peaks
Lu Chen was very young and hasn’t had much experience in society.
But he has three rich life memories, and a heart and vision far higher than his peers.
Therefore, Lu Chen could easily see the deep disdain and impatience hidden in Zhu Minghe’s eyes. Obviously, the other party didn’t really want to cooperate, so he put forward various conditions to make him back out.
Unless Lu Chen could agree to it all.
But how was that possible?
The request made by Zhu Minghe was to have Baolong Pictures have overall control, the director and the main actors would be determined by them, and most of the fund would be settled by Lu Chen. The fat meat was swallowed, and the bones were spit out. They didn’t want to touch the risk at all.
Lu Chen wasn’t a fool. If nothing else, he would not agree to change the ending of the story.
In fact, there was no need to discuss it at all.
It was perfectly normal for such a situation to happen. Although someone asked this favor from him1, it was still Lu Chen who took the initiative to come to their door. Baolong Pictures was not an ordinary film and television production company. This was nothing more than the so-called big store deceiving customers.
It would be much better if Chen Fei’er came forward in person, but it was a pity that she had entrusted this favor to a friend.
Depending on Lu Chen alone2, it was obviously not enough.
If he was an ordinary screenwriter who wrote a screenplay and wanted to give it to Baolong Pictures, not to mention investment, director, and actors, he wouldn’t even be able to meet Zhu Minghe.
The entertainment industry, including the film and television industry, has a strict hierarchy, and one’s position determined one’s level.
In this circle, he has no position at all.
How could Zhu Minghe treat him seriously?
Lu Chen didn’t feel angry or annoyed by this. After all, his own requirements were also very high. it would be abnormal if the other party had no objection. It was nothing more than asking an outrageous price as a payback.3
But now there was no more bargaining.
Lu Chen listened patiently to Zhu Minghe’s opinion, then pondered for a moment, and said, “Manager Zhu. It seems that there is a bit of a disagreement between us. Thank you very much for taking the time to see me. Thank you!”
Even if the business talks didn’t go through, one couldn’t lose one’s benevolence and righteousness4 – That goes for oneself, for the other party, for everyone. Even if there was a disagreement, there was no need to fall out.
Be polite and keep a respectful attitude, so that the next time they meet, they could still have a talk.
Many newcomers just didn’t understand this and only came to realize the truth after they had been badly battered.5
Lu Chen would not make such a mistake.
It was easy to understand what kind of person Zhu Minghe was.
On the contrary, it recovered some of his good impression of Lu Chen. He said with a smile, “You’re welcome. Sister Li of Rainbow knows the boss of our company. If you have any other good screenplay in the future, come to me directly.”
The “Sister Li” that Zhu Minghe mentioned was the general manager of Rainbow Agency Company in Beijing. She and Chen Fei’er were friends.
It was through this Sister Li that Chen Fei’er introduced Lu Chen to Baolong Pictures.
Baolong Pictures sent Zhu Minghe over.
But this favor was not important enough to make Zhu Minghe put aside the problem of principle and put up with Lu Chen.
He didn’t know that it was Chen Fei’er who really pulled the strings.
Fortunately, Lu Chen was very sensible, so that both sides could step down gracefully.
“Thank you!”
Lu Chen stood up, held out his hand and shook hands with Zhu Minghe: “I hope there will be an opportunity for cooperation next time.”
Zhu Minghe said with a smile, “You’re welcome. Goodbye!”
The two sides said goodbye. Zhu Minghe left with his secretary, while Lu Chen continued to stay.
He thought about calling Chen Fei’er, but after getting to her name in the phone address book, he didn’t press it.
Lu Chen instinctively didn’t want to bother Chen Fei’er.
Or maybe it was his pride as a man, but he didn’t want to complicate the relationship between them.
He swiped through his address book to find Chen Jianhao’s number. He wanted to ask Boss Chen if he was familiar with any film and television companies.
“Hello, Mr. Lu Chen…”
Just as Lu Chen was looking up Chen Jianhao’s cell phone number, a greeting was suddenly heard next to him.
It was quite strange.
Lu Chen couldn’t help turning his head. He saw a thin middle-aged man appeared beside him with a smile on his face.
This middle-aged man looked like he was in his 40s. He has dark skin and a plain appearance. He has small eyes, flat nose and a bit of buckteeth. The feeling he gave others when he smiles was somewhat jovial except there was a sort of astuteness in his eyes.
“May I ask who you are?”
Lu Chen was stunned. He didn’t know the opposite party at all.
The middle-aged man stepped forward and held out his hands to him: “Hello. I am Lu Yi, the business manager of Qiande Brothers Pictures. Can we have a chat?”
Lu Chen hurriedly stood up and shook hands with the other party: “Hello, Manager Lu, please have a seat.”
The name Qiande Brothers Pictures was unfamiliar to him.
There were too many film and television production companies and studios in Beijing. Especially in the last decade when the entertainment industry has exploded. Entertainment agents and film and television production companies seemed to have sprung up like bamboo shoots after a spring rain, competing fiercely for a bigger and bigger market share.
Lu Chen was curious about why this man from Qiande Brothers Pictures took the initiative to call out to him.
Lu Yi directly revealed the answer to this mystery: “I’m really sorry. Just now I was sitting here and heard a lot of your conversation with Manager Zhu Minghe. I’d like to ask if you can let me have a look at your screenplay.”
Seeing that Lu Chen still had doubts, he smiled and said, “Look at me being anxious… Let me introduce myself first!”
Of course, Lu Yi did not introduce his own identity, as has been said before. What he explained to Lu Chen was Qiande Brothers Film Company he worked for.
Qiande Brothers Pictures was established in 2010. It was a very young company in the industry, but it has invested in a number of films and TV series and has dozens of singed actors and artists.
In terms of scale and strength, Qiande Brothers Pictures was far behind Baolong Pictures, an established company, but it was not without advantages, that was, it was the best at films and TV series with the genre of urban youth idol.
In 2013, their youth idol drama “My Heart As Before”, once won the highest national audience ratings of 1.7%, which could be regarded as a small hit.
He said that It was just a coincidence. Lu Yi was waiting for a client to arrive at the avant-garde coffee shop.
As a result, as he was waiting for the client, he heard the conversation between Lu Chen and Zhu Minghe.
He didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but he became interested in Lu Chen’s screenplay and couldn’t help but come over to ask.
Lu Yi said bluntly: “if it’s those ordinary screenwriters, then I am definitely not interested. There are 80,000 if not 100,000 people who can write screenplays in Beijing, but you are different.”
He smiled and said, “I’ve listened to your songs and bought your album in QQ Music. I believe in your talent!”
So, that’s it!
Lu Chen suddenly realized that he was still a fan of his.
Most of his songs, especially the folk songs, were tinged with a strong sense of nostalgia, so he attracted a group of fans who have already entered the society and were in their thirties and forties.
These fans were not usually fanatical fans, but they were financially independent. They were an important part of Lu Chen’s “You Who Sat Next To Me” album sales on QQ Music’s website.
Since that was the case, Lu Chen readily took out the outline again and handed it to Lu Yi.
To be honest, the business manager of Qiande Brothers Pictures was a low position, but it was an opportunity that came to him.
While Lu Yi was carefully reading the outline of “Autumn in My Heart”, Zhu Minghe returned to the company.
Baolong Pictures was in the Art Park and was close to the avant-garde coffee shop. It was only a 5-minute walk.
When he returned to the company, he went directly to the office – he had just been informed that there would be a meeting.
In the meeting room, many senior executives of the company, such as deputy general manager, art director, agency manager, public relations manager, production manager and so on, were already there, but the general manager has not come yet.
Seeing Zhu Minghe, the agency manager, who usually had a good relationship with him, smiled and asked, “Old Zhu, where did you go? just now there was no one in your office, not even the secretary, did you… Hehe!”
He showed a smile that every man understood, which caused the other executives in the room to laugh, and the atmosphere became lively.
Zhu Minghe didn’t know whether to laugh or to cry: “Old Chen, you’re really running on me!6“
His female secretary has just been recruited. She was very beautiful, but she was assigned to him by the company. She was not really his little honey7, but in the eyes of others, it was inevitable that she was a little bit of that.
Zhu Minghe had to explain: “It was a newcomer that Boss Wang asked me to contact, someone who has relation to Sister Li of Rainbow Agency Company. He wrote a screenplay and wanted to shoot a TV series. I just went to talk to him.”
Old Chen asked curiously, “Who is it? What screenplay? How did it go?”
As the head of the agency department, he was particularly sensitive to the new screenplay, because once the company started shooting a new show, the first thing to consider was the artists signed by the company – fertile water should not be let out of one’s own fields8.
Baolong Pictures has recently made big moves, and the topic of this meeting was precisely related to this.
Zhu Minghe said: “It’s a singer named Lu Chen. He’s very young. What he wrote was about youth idol drama. He wanted to be the leading actor and has acting addiction.”
What he said was a little obscure, but everyone understood it.
The production manager said, “Lu Chen? I know him. He is the singer who has been in the limelight recently and has been rumored with Chen Fei’er. The video of him saving people in Hangzhou is all over the blog!”
“Un…”
Zhu Minghe nodded and said, “That’s him. I had some intention, but the screenplay he wrote was a melodrama, and the female lead died in the end. He not only wanted to be the leading actor, but also decide the director and female lead.”
Lao Chen immediately laughed and said, “How is that possible?”
If Lu Chen was a big name in the circle, it was understandable and acceptable that he put forward such a request.
But Lu Chen was not. He was a true newcomer in the film and television industry.
He wasn’t even a newcomer.
It was understandable that Lu Chen wanted to enter the film and television industry, but he has to follow the rules.
Young people really didn’t know the complexity of things.
Zhu Minghe spread his hands and said helplessly: “Yes, so I refused, there is no way to agree.”
All the executives in the room understood – If Zhu Minghe had agreed, it would have been a joke.
He just treated it as a joke.
Including Zhu Minghe, everyone soon left the matter behind.