Chapter 1336 Ye Jing's Ambition

Our history has always existed for propaganda; power dictates what it must look like, so history has been completely alienated by generation after generation. What you see is inevitably a fabricated 'truth'; the result is that 'truth' exists because it is needed. Need exists because power is unscrupulous.

Both Zhao Fusheng and Lan Xiaolong understood this principle well.

Thus, the two ultimately reached a compromise.

Lan Xiaolong agreed to Zhao Fusheng's idea, granting Future Films the rights to the drama *My Chief and My Regiment* and agreeing that Future Films would decide when to start production.

But Lan Xiaolong also demanded that during filming, the actors and director be chosen by himself.

After some consideration, Zhao Fusheng finally agreed to this request.

When he told Ye Jing about the negotiation result, unexpectedly, Ye Jing didn't care.

What's wrong? Not satisfied with this outcome?

Zhao Fusheng asked Ye Jing, somewhat puzzled.

Ye Jing shook his head: "No, this is a minor matter. The main thing is, I have an idea I want to discuss with you."

Hearing this, Zhao Fusheng was taken aback. Though puzzled, he nodded: "Go ahead."

"It won't do for me to speak alone; we need to bring Liang Jingyu along too," Ye Jing said with a smile.

Zhao Fusheng frowned slightly, but his heart stirred. Though he still wasn't clear about Ye Jing's idea, he had a faint premonition that perhaps Ye Jing and Liang Jingyu would really bring him a surprise.

"In that case, let's go to headquarters," Zhao Fusheng said after a moment's thought.

Ye Jing nodded and accompanied Zhao Fusheng toward the door, calling Liang Jingyu as they walked.

In the past few days, Liang Jingyu happened to be back in town on business.

…

…

At Future Group headquarters, in Zhao Fusheng's chairman's office.

Zhao Fusheng sat on the sofa, flanked by Liang Jingyu and Ye Jing, along with Zheng Yao, the CEO.

"You know about this too?" Zhao Fusheng asked Zheng Yao.

Zheng Yao shook her head: "I only have a general idea; they didn't say much."

Zhao Fusheng nodded, then turned to Liang Jingyu: "Tell me, what exactly do you two want to do?"

Originally, in Zhao Fusheng's plan, Future Films and Future Group's Seoul branch were to establish horizontal connections, but not now. However, it seemed that as the heads of the two companies, both Ye Jing and Liang Jingyu had peculiar thought processes, already considering cooperation at this stage.

Remember, this was 2005; it seemed there was little worth exchanging between the Chinese and Korean entertainment industries.

"Chairman, President Zheng, I recently saw a post online—a joke. It said: When I was a kid watching *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*, I only liked Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei, not Cao Cao. Because I always felt Liu, Guan, and Zhang were the good guys and Cao Cao was the bad guy. Now that I'm older and know more, I've realized my favorite characters are actually the Qiao sisters!"

Liang Jingyu's opening remark stunned Zhao Fusheng and Zheng Yao. Zheng Yao frowned, about to speak, but Zhao Fusheng waved his hand to stop her and looked at Liang Jingyu with interest: "Go on…"

Intuition told him that Liang Jingyu might bring some surprises.

"Do you find this joke interesting too?" Liang Jingyu adjusted his glasses, ignoring Zheng Yao's gaze, and looked at Zhao Fusheng. "At that moment, I wondered if this joke explained a truth."

"What truth?" Zheng Yao blurted out.

Liang Jingyu was considered her protégé; she had originally recommended him to Dong Chenxi, who then recommended him to Zhao Fusheng. But the problem was, he came from an investment background. Dabbling in entertainment was fine if he did well, but if he failed, it would hurt his standing with the boss.

"Men all like beautiful women," Liang Jingyu said slowly.

Zheng Yao was taken aback. Before she could speak, Zhao Fusheng laughed, shook his head, and said to Liang Jingyu: "That's not quite accurate."

"What?"

Everyone was stunned, especially Ye Jing and Liang Jingyu, who looked at Zhao Fusheng in confusion, not understanding his words.

Zhao Fusheng smiled faintly and said calmly: "Men all like young and beautiful women—that's the correct version."

Zheng Yao choked, shot Zhao Fusheng a glare, and said irritably: "None of you are any good."

But despite her words, she knew Zhao Fusheng was right; men really were like that.

The vast majority of men like young and pretty girls, though a very small minority have more peculiar tastes.

"So, I was thinking, maybe we could find some promising talents in Korea, bring them to China for training, and then launch them in the Korean market. Or we could conduct selection and training in both China and Korea simultaneously, form cross-border groups, and debut them in both markets. It might yield good results," Liang Jingyu said, laying out his idea to Zhao Fusheng.

Ye Jing added: "I think Old Liang's idea is good. Our company has entertainment industry resources; he has advanced training mechanisms. We can complement each other and cooperate."

Looking at the two middle-aged men who seemed a bit nervous before him, Zhao Fusheng suddenly felt he had underestimated the people around him.

The idea that Liang Jingyu and Ye Jing had come up with was exactly the path some Korean and Chinese entertainment companies would later take.

No, that old fox Lee Soo-man was already doing this, but he was being discreet, not widely known.

With that thought, Zhao Fusheng looked at Liang Jingyu and Ye Jing and said with a smile: "So, you plan to cooperate?"

Both nodded, and Ye Jing replied: "Yes, we plan to recruit girls aged twelve to eighteen in China and Korea for training."

"Why so young?" Zheng Yao asked, puzzled. "They're still children, aren't they?"

Ye Jing and Liang Jingyu exchanged glances, neither daring to speak.

Zhao Fusheng smiled and came to their rescue: "It's simple. Girls over eighteen have lower training value; many things are already set. Besides, for idols—except those with real talent—most have a limited shelf life. Idols past twenty-five are considered old. The peak period is between eighteen and twenty-four, so it's better to train them as early as possible."

Some things could only be said by the boss, Zhao Fusheng.

Zheng Yao frowned slightly; as a woman, she found Zhao Fusheng's statement somewhat uncomfortable.

"Don't worry, our methods will be much more humane than those in Korea," Ye Jing said with a smile to Zheng Yao. "Think about it, our market is much larger than Korea's."

Zheng Yao shook her head helplessly: "Forget it, I don't understand this. You're all experts; you decide."

As CEO, though reluctant to admit it, Zheng Yao had to concede that she really couldn't do much about these guys.

After all, even the boss, Zhao Fusheng, supported Ye Jing and the others.

Zheng Yao had other matters to attend to and left first, leaving only Zhao Fusheng, Ye Jing, and the others in the office. Zhao Fusheng then looked at Liang Jingyu and asked: "Tell me, what are your specific plans?"

Implementing this required cooperation from both sides; relying on one side alone wouldn't work.

Liang Jingyu nodded and said: "My plan is mainly to select personnel from China and Korea separately, then conduct training. I'm still considering the specific partner companies. China is easy, but in Korea, there are too many options."

Zhao Fusheng chuckled: "No need to choose. Whoever gave you the idea, go to them."

Hearing this, Liang Jingyu was stunned, looked at Zhao Fusheng in surprise, and blurted out: "How did you know?"

Zhao Fusheng chuckled but said nothing…