Chapter 1260: Laying the Groundwork

After spreading the news, Zhao Fusheng didn't waste any words. He left some money for Wang Zhen and departed with Zhang Qian and the others.

When they arrived, Wang Zhen alone had greeted them at the village entrance. When they left, the entire village, young and old, saw Zhao Fusheng and his group off at the village entrance.

Looking at the villagers waving goodbye, Zhao Fusheng said nothing, turned around, and set off on the return journey.

"Fusheng, don't you want me to leave a couple of men behind to secretly protect Wang Zhen?" Zhang Qian walked beside Zhao Fusheng and asked in a low voice.

In his view, since it was certain that there might be trouble here, Wang Zhen, as one of the witnesses, was crucial. At the very least, a few men should be left to protect him.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled: "Why protect him?"

"Huh?"

If he hadn't known about the relationship between Zhao Fusheng and Wang Zhen, Zhang Qian would have thought Zhao Fusheng was deliberately trying to harm Wang Zhen. He was in a dangerous place, vulnerable to being secretly murdered by those people at any moment.

Seeing Zhang Qian's confusion, Zhao Fusheng smiled and said, "You're overthinking things."

Zhang Qian frowned, clearly pondering Zhao Fusheng's words.

Zhao Fusheng smiled without explaining further and walked ahead on his own. The mountain road back was long; they had to walk for over two hours.

Fortunately, since they had hired a guide on the way there and remembered the path, it wasn't too difficult.

Wang Zhen had originally planned to have the village provide a guide, but Zhao Fusheng refused. He didn't want others to uncover his background.

After a long while, Zhang Qian's eyes lit up as if he understood something. He said to Zhao Fusheng, "You mean they're afraid to act rashly?"

"Exactly, they're afraid to act rashly." Zhao Fusheng nodded calmly. "Think about it: if Wang Zhen hadn't called me, they might have dared to act secretly, dealing with Wang Zhen the way they dealt with my schoolmate. But Wang Zhen specifically called me, and I've expressed my intention to build a school here. If something happened to Wang Zhen now, do you think I would let it go?"

As he spoke, Zhao Fusheng's gaze pierced into the distance, as if trying to see through the distant mountains. He said slowly, "There must be some unknown secret hidden in these mountains. But it's a secret those people don't want the outside world to know. So they're very likely not to do anything that would provoke me. They might even hope that I finish building the school and leave immediately, so their secret can remain hidden forever."

"Do you believe me? I guarantee those people have already notified their accomplices in the city to start investigating our identities." Zhao Fusheng said to Zhang Qian in a very confident tone. "That's why I have to make this matter known to everyone and do it seriously. Only then can the police secretly investigate what kind of secret is hidden in these mountains, one that would drive them to commit murder."

Zhang Qian remained silent. He really hadn't expected that beneath Zhao Fusheng's seemingly ordinary actions lay such a scheme. After all this, the guy had been plotting against the people in the mountains from the very beginning.

He wondered if those people, upon learning this, would be so angry they'd vomit blood. A billionaire not thinking about how to make money and increase his wealth, but instead scheming against them—it was truly speechless.

……

……

Sure enough, the group returned to the county town without incident, encountering no obstacles along the way.

Clearly, Zhao Fusheng's earlier analysis was correct.

The phone that had no signal earlier finally had signal in the county town. Zhao Fusheng called Yu Feihong and told her he planned to build a Hope Primary School there. Although Yu Feihong found it a bit odd, since it was a request from Zhao Fusheng's college classmate, she didn't overthink it and readily agreed.

Afterward, Zhao Fusheng and his group took a bus, then transferred to a train, and returned to the capital.

After returning to the capital, he first called Ye Jing and Jiang Wen to the company and told them that during his trip to the west, he had discovered a village with good scenery that could serve as a filming location for "Let the Bullets Fly." He then told Jiang Wen that he could go ahead and scout the location in advance.

Jiang Wen was quite surprised, because according to what Zhao Fusheng had told him before, he didn't intend for Jiang Wen to shoot this film now. The domestic film market was indeed not very prosperous. Although it was beginning to show signs of revival, it was still far from the box office explosion that Zhao Fusheng remembered from his later life.

Moreover, film art creation was undoubtedly a serious matter. Whether it was a film or a novel, one had to consider the context of the era. Zhao Fusheng truly admired the audacity of those time-travelers who casually plagiarized songs, novels, and films. Not to mention how to explain certain historical references in the works, the mere setting of the era would fail to move the audience or readers.

The simplest example: if you brought "Tiny Times" to the screen at this time, even if Guo Xiaosi got Da Mimi to star, or even if he personally showed up and sold his ass, no one would watch it.

Good works only shine in their own era; that's beyond doubt.

Don't hype up the idea that classics are forever. If you show people born in the 90s or 2000s films from the 70s or 80s, they'll think the special effects aren't good enough and the actors aren't attractive enough. After all, that generation grew up watching blockbusters.

Another example: some people casually use long takes in films as a criterion for whether a film is a classic. Zhao Fusheng could only say that such laymen are probably the most terrifying kind of people.

Making a film doesn't mean that using long takes desperately proves your film is good. If a film like "The Last Night on Earth," which is so confusing it can't even tell a story clearly, is considered a good film, then Jia's "Platform" would have to be hailed as a monument of world cinema.

Long takes are not exclusive to realist films or art films. Even Wu Jing, when shooting "Wolf Warrior," had a five-minute underwater long take fight scene. You can say long takes are impressive, but you can't say a film becomes a classic because of long takes.

If you don't understand, say you don't understand. Don't spout nonsense.

But we've digressed.

Although Jiang Wen didn't know what Zhao Fusheng meant, he was clearly very interested in anything related to "Let the Bullets Fly."

Hearing Zhao Fusheng's words, Jiang Wen eagerly nodded, indicating that he was willing to go and inspect the location himself.

Ye Jing was completely in the dark, but he had heard the story of "Let the Bullets Fly" from Jiang Wen. He knew it was a script meticulously polished by Jiang Wen and Zhao Fusheng. According to Jiang Wen, once this film was made, it would be a blockbuster that swept everything.

For Jiang Wen, who was always proud and arrogant, to say such arrogant words, Ye Jing was very much looking forward to this film in his heart. Naturally, he had no objections to Zhao Fusheng's proposal.

Thus, Jiang Wen led a team to scout the filming location, and Yu Feihong led a team to build the Hope Primary School. After arranging all this, Zhao Fusheng went to a teahouse and met Cao Jianguo, who had been brought there by Zhang Qian.

"Long time no see, Director Cao." Zhao Fusheng greeted Cao Jianguo with a smile.

Cao Jianguo smiled slightly: "Director Zhao, you're too kind. I think it's better for us not to meet, don't you agree?"

Zhao Fusheng was startled, then realized what Cao Jianguo meant. He was now the director of the Narcotics Control Bureau. Meeting him would imply that Zhao Fusheng had broken the law.

"Director Cao, that joke isn't funny at all." Knowing that Cao Jianguo was joking, Zhao Fusheng couldn't help but shake his head helplessly. "Please be serious."

Cao Jianguo gave an awkward smile. He hadn't expected his dry joke to fail to resonate with Zhao Fusheng, which was a bit embarrassing.

But he also knew that Zhao Fusheng wouldn't meet him without reason; there must be something important. He smiled and said, "What's the matter? Need something?"

Zhao Fusheng didn't beat around the bush. He recounted the whole story from beginning to end and finally said, "I don't have many friends in the public security system, only you, Director Cao. Tell me, could this be a murder?"

Cao Jianguo didn't answer immediately. He remained silent, frowning as he pondered something.

Clearly, he was deliberating.

Zhao Fusheng wasn't anxious. He quietly drank his tea, waiting for Cao Jianguo's answer.

After a long time, Cao Jianguo looked up and said slowly, "Although I haven't handled criminal investigation cases, I think there's a high probability this is murder."

"Really?"

Although Zhao Fusheng had already had an answer in his mind, he was still startled by Cao Jianguo's words and looked at him in surprise.

Cao Jianguo nodded: "Of course. The specific situation still needs specific analysis. How about this: I'll go back and help you contact someone. Send someone from the Sichuan Provincial Department to investigate this case. What do you think?"

"The Provincial Public Security Department?" Zhao Fusheng murmured to himself, then understood Cao Jianguo's meaning. Even though he was in the ministry, it wasn't easy for him to send people down to investigate this matter. Overstepping authority was a major taboo in officialdom. No matter how strong Cao Jianguo's background was, doing such a thing would invite criticism for meddling.

The twists and turns in officialdom were too many, sometimes even exasperating.

But if he used his connections to get the Sichuan Provincial Public Security Department to investigate, it would be much easier. After all, people from the provincial department would likely have no ties with those local people. Bringing in a few criminal investigation experts could completely resolve the matter.

More importantly, it wouldn't implicate anyone.