Chapter 1084: Fellow Townsman

Jiang Wen naturally had no doubts about Zhao Fusheng's screenwriting ability.

For the same reason, he was even more curious about what kind of script Zhao Fusheng would come up with this time.

"We'll talk later," Zhao Fusheng said to Jiang Wen with a smile. This was obviously not the place to discuss scripts—too many people with loose tongues, and the atmosphere and setting were unsuitable.

"Alright," Jiang Wen nodded, already determined to pry that story out of Zhao Fusheng's head today.

If Zhao Fusheng had known that his one remark had made Jiang Wen ready to drag him into a heart-to-heart talk by candlelight, he would have deeply regretted it.

"By the way, what are you going to do about Ye Jing?" Jiang Wen suddenly remembered something and asked Zhao Fusheng.

Ye Jing had been having a hard time lately. Several projects he had invested in earlier had all lost their capital. For now, he could only pin his hopes on the two dramas *Kung Fu Hustle* and *Soldiers' Sortie*. But even so, his problems were still huge. Besides relying on film and television, he had also ventured into other industries, which were reportedly not doing well recently.

In fact, lately Ye Jing had been considering pulling out his funds from Phoenix Entertainment, which he had co-founded with Yu Feihong, Jiang Wen, Zhao Fusheng, and others.

That was why Jiang Wen asked this question.

Zhao Fusheng shrugged: "I've thought it over. I plan to ask him if he'd consider joining my company."

"Work for you?" Jiang Wen was startled, looking at Zhao Fusheng in surprise.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head: "Give him some shares and make him the company's deputy general manager. To be honest, Brother Ye's connections and relationships will benefit our company."

The words were direct and realistic, but when Jiang Wen heard them, they left a slightly bitter taste in his mouth.

"Won't that embarrass him?" Jiang Wen hesitated and said to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng smiled slightly: "You think too much. Your capital, and Sister Feihong's, is your fame and ability. It's the same for Ye Jing. His connections, his network—that's his capital. The future group needs such connections and networks. I'm giving him shares because he can truly contribute to the company's development. Do you think any embarrassment could be worse than being ridiculed by the entire circle?"

Jiang Wen fell silent. Being in this circle, he knew more than Zhao Fusheng and naturally understood that Ye Jing's current situation was exactly as Zhao Fusheng had said—rejected by the whole circle, with some even calling specifically to mock him.

"How about this: you tell him what I mean and see what he says," Zhao Fusheng said to Jiang Wen after thinking for a moment.

He hadn't originally planned to do this, but since Jiang Wen couldn't figure it out, he might as well make him understand exactly what was going on.

Upon hearing Zhao Fusheng's words, Jiang Wen was momentarily stunned, then nodded, took out his phone, and dialed Ye Jing's number.

The result was unexpected. After he conveyed Zhao Fusheng's intention, Ye Jing's reaction completely surprised him.

"You're in the northwest? Alright, I'll fly over right away."

Before Jiang Wen could say anything, Ye Jing had already made a quick decision and hung up.

"He... he said he's coming," Jiang Wen said, holding the phone, dumbfounded, to Zhao Fusheng.

At this point, he naturally realized that Zhao Fusheng was right—Ye Jing was very interested in his proposal.

Zhao Fusheng shrugged, said nothing, and walked straight toward where Fan Baobao and Wang Qiang were.

Jiang Wen might be a top-notch director when it came to filming, but when it came to running a company, he was far less perceptive than Zhao Fusheng.

...

...

Visiting the set was mostly a formality—mainly for actors' friends to see them and hand out some perks to the rest of the crew.

Zhao Fusheng had visited the set with Jiang Wen before when Fan Baobao was filming *Seventeen-Year-Old Bicycle*, but back then it was ostensibly to see Wang Xiaoshuai, not like this.

Fortunately, Fan Baobao was experienced. Under Wang Qiang's lead, she had already greeted a group of actors early on.

When Zhao Fusheng arrived, a group of people were chatting.

"This is my sister." Wang Qiang was young on the set and always smiling, so everyone had a good impression of him. They were all surprised to hear that his sister and brother-in-law were visiting.

Although Fan Baobao wasn't a well-known actress, she had the backing of Future Advertising and had shot many commercials, often appearing on TV. So people were not unfamiliar with her.

And everyone knew that Wang Qiang came from the countryside and started as an extra, yet he knew Fan Baobao—that was somewhat unexpected.

Because *Soldiers' Sortie* was a men's drama, with very few actresses, Fan Baobao's presence here was really eye-catching.

"Xiao Qiang is inexperienced. If he does anything wrong, please bear with him," Fan Baobao said to everyone with a beaming smile.

But when she saw one person, she was quite surprised: "Oh, you're here too."

That person quickly stood up: "Yeah, long time no see." It was none other than Fan Baobao's classmate from the Central Academy of Drama, Zhu Yuchen.

Fan Baobao was quite taken aback: "Zhu Yuchen, you're in this drama too? What role?"

"I play Chengcai."

Zhu Yuchen said a little sheepishly: "President Bai sent me here."

The people around were quite calm, as if not surprised by his words.

This was thanks to Zhu Yuchen's cleverness. When he first joined the crew, he told the older actors that he was a newcomer signed by the investment company and was sent in to learn from them.

Moreover, he often humbly asked the seniors for advice on acting, so he got along swimmingly on the set.

Wang Qiang won everyone's approval with his honesty and simplicity, while Zhu Yuchen earned recognition with his cleverness and tact. Different methods, but both effective.

"You know each other?"

Zhang Guoqiang, who played the company commander, looked at Fan Baobao and Zhu Yuchen in surprise.

He was from the northeast, with a straightforward personality, and being older, although not famous, he was quite popular on the set.

"Yeah, we were college classmates," Zhu Yuchen introduced with a smile. "Baobao, this is Brother Zhang Guoqiang. He seems to be your fellow townsman."

"Huh?"

Fan Baobao and Zhang Guoqiang were both stunned at almost the same time.

Zhang Guoqiang looked at Fan Baobao in surprise: "You're from Ninghai too?"

Fan Baobao nodded, a smile spreading across her face: "Brother Zhang, you too?"

"My home is in Xiangyang District, near the department store," Zhang Guoqiang said.

"My home is there too, but near No. 1 Middle School," Fan Baobao said with a smile.

Then, amid everyone's astonished gazes, the two actually started chatting about family matters.

At that moment, Zhao Fusheng walked over.

Seeing the group, Zhao Fusheng smiled: "What are you talking about, so happily?"

"Ah, Fusheng, this is Brother Zhang Guoqiang, a fellow townsman of ours..." Fan Baobao quickly pulled Zhao Fusheng over and introduced him to everyone: "This is my boyfriend, Zhao Fusheng."

"Hello."

"Hello."

After some pleasantries, Zhao Fusheng quickly got familiar with several people from the crew, and they all sat down chatting together.

But for some reason, Zhao Fusheng felt that Zhang Guoqiang's gaze at him was a bit strange.