Chapter 1352: New Play

The misfortune of a competitor is a very happy thing for oneself.

Although Zhao Fusheng was not one to gloat, the situation at Huayi was indeed a cause for celebration for him.

On one hand, Wang Zhongjun needed help, allowing him to insert his own influence; on the other hand, for Zhao Fusheng, a powerful ally was always better than a powerful enemy.

A single tree does not make a forest—Zhao Fusheng understood this principle.

“Huayi plans to issue new shares, and Wang Zhongjun seems to hope that Mr. Tan can lend a hand,” Jiang Wen explained to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng was taken aback and looked at him with some surprise.

"Don't look at me, it was Wang Zhonglei who said it. I figure he told me so that you'd find out." Jiang Wen spread his hands, looking innocent. "I'm just a messenger."

Zhao Fusheng laughed.

In life, the poorer people are, the more they care about face, because for them, self-respect is the last fig leaf; beyond that, they have nothing.

For the Wang brothers, asking Zhao Fusheng for help was already a loss of face. Having to say everything in front of him would be even more humiliating.

But they couldn't bypass Zhao Fusheng, so Jiang Wen became the most suitable choice.

Sometimes it's like that—confrontation isn't always the best way to solve a problem. Choosing to take a detour is also an option.

Of course, one must be careful not to overdo it, because if you get used to backing down, you can easily become a coward.

"What are you thinking?" Jiang Wen, seeing Zhao Fusheng silent, couldn't help asking.

Zhao Fusheng shook his head. "I don't have any particular thoughts. Huayi's rise is inevitable. I think it's a good thing for the future of film and television."

Jiang Wen nodded. Sometimes he truly admired Zhao Fusheng from the bottom of his heart; the guy always seemed able to keep his mindset in check.

You see, no matter how unfortunate you think you are, there is always someone more unfortunate. No matter how remarkable you think you are, there is always someone more remarkable.

With Zhao Fusheng, Jiang Wen never felt that he would show any sign of complacency.

"Alright, don't worry about other people's business." Seeing that Jiang Wen wanted to say more, Zhao Fusheng waved his hand. "You're not part of Huayi. Even as a friend, you've done more than enough. Anything more you do would be unnecessary."

In this world, the most useless things are regret after a breakup, concern after love has faded, lofty self-esteem, and low-IQ kindness.

In Zhao Fusheng's view, Jiang Wen cared too much about face, which was why he got used.

Today's matter was clearly the Wang brothers using Jiang Wen to talk to him, and even to get close to Tan Kaixuan. Although Zhao Fusheng didn't mind, he still felt a bit uncomfortable inside.

Hearing Zhao Fusheng's words, Jiang Wen's expression shifted uncertainly. He wasn't stupid; of course he understood what Zhao Fusheng meant.

After a long while, Old Jiang let out a long sigh but said nothing.

Some things are better left unsaid. Even if he didn't speak, Zhao Fusheng understood that Old Jiang had probably figured out what he meant.

"Alright, you guys keep chatting. I have things to do, so I'll be going now."

Zhao Fusheng stood up and said to Jiang Wen.

Jiang Wen was taken aback. "Won't you stay a little longer?"

Shaking his head, Zhao Fusheng said, "I need to get home. I'm heading back to Ninghai in a few days."

Hearing this, Jiang Wen didn't try to stop Zhao Fusheng any further. He had originally wanted to call Wang Zhongjun and the others over, but Zhao Fusheng stopped him. They weren't strangers; what was there to see off?

……

……

"Are you really planning to let Tan Kaixuan invest in Huayi?"

Early the next morning, Ye Jing rushed over to Zhao Fusheng's new house, completely ignoring Fan Baobao's resentful gaze, and asked Zhao Fusheng seriously. After learning the news, he felt terrible and couldn't understand why Zhao Fusheng would make such a decision.

If Tan Kaixuan wanted to invest in the film and television industry, wouldn't Future Film be a better choice?

Whether in terms of personal relationship with Zhao Fusheng or development prospects, Future Film was no worse than Huayi Brothers.

To be honest, if the person in front of him wasn't Zhao Fusheng, Ye Jing would have grabbed him by the collar and asked, "Are you crazy?"

This was practically aiding the enemy!

Zhao Fusheng smiled slightly, looked at Ye Jing, and said slowly, "First, I don't want to do business with my good friend, because that would likely cost me this friend. Second, a strong Huayi is more beneficial than harmful to our Future Film. After all, don't forget, Future Film relies on the Future Group, while Huayi Brothers is just Huayi Brothers."

Ye Jing was stunned and remained silent for a long time.

Although unwilling to admit it, he had to acknowledge that Zhao Fusheng's words made a lot of sense.

The timing of reasoning is actually similar to how parents educate their children.

When a child makes a mistake or fails an exam, impatient parents will immediately interrogate them and then give them a beating. As the saying goes, before exams, mother is kind and son is filial; after exams, chickens fly and dogs jump.

Relatively rational parents will act as if nothing happened, let the child eat first, and then discuss how to solve the problem after the meal.

It's not that one method is bad, but relatively speaking, the reasoning still needs to be made clear.

Zhao Fusheng was afraid that Ye Jing, with good intentions, might do harm, focusing solely on developing Future Film and thus missing the bigger picture.

"Alright, don't overthink it." Zhao Fusheng saw that Ye Jing hadn't spoken for a long time and smiled. "Actually, you misunderstood. Huayi plans to issue new shares, and Wang Zhongjun wants greater control, so he approached Tan Kaixuan."

He paused and shrugged. "Don't forget, Future Film is my company. Even if Tan Kaixuan and I are good friends, tell me, if I accept his investment, would I have to give him shares?"

Having said that, Ye Jing was not unreasonable and could only nod with a wry smile.

He naturally understood Zhao Fusheng's plan. From the beginning, Zhao Fusheng had clearly stated that neither Future Group nor its subsidiaries had any plans to go public.

In other words, not going public meant that Zhao Fusheng, as the major shareholder, had absolute control over the company. If he accepted Tan Kaixuan's investment, the company's shares would have to be redistributed, which would not be beneficial to the company's development.

"I understand." Ye Jing nodded and said to Zhao Fusheng, "By the way, after you talked with Lan Xiaolong last time, he started writing a new script, reportedly about the War of Resistance. Should we pay attention?"

Last time, Zhao Fusheng had a conversation with Lan Xiaolong, asking him to temporarily set aside the filming of "My Chief and My Regiment." Lan Xiaolong followed Zhao Fusheng's advice, but he still wanted to write a TV series about the War of Resistance.

Zhao Fusheng smiled slightly. "It doesn't matter. Let him write first. You can consider that we won't film 'My Chief and My Regiment' this year. When we do film it in a couple of years, we'll still need him to be involved."

After careful consideration, he decided to shelve the project for now. After all, if the overall environment wasn't right, even the best TV series wouldn't have a market.

The biggest taboo for a film and television company is to go against the market.

"I understand." Ye Jing nodded, hesitated for a moment, and said, "Also, a writer approached us, wanting us to invest in his new show."

"Ah?"

Zhao Fusheng was taken aback, thinking that this kind of thing shouldn't be something Ye Jing couldn't decide on.

After all, by now, unless necessary, Zhao Fusheng rarely involved himself in everything like he did at the very beginning. Most of the time, he was a hands-off boss.

On one hand, it was due to his trust in Ye Jing; on the other hand, it was because once the company's development was on track, there really weren't that many problems.

It's often said that starting a business is easy but maintaining it is hard. Actually, this depends on one's perspective. At the very least, walking on a path paved by predecessors is much easier than blazing a new trail through hardships.