Chapter 1394: A Capitalist Not Ruthless Enough

The person sitting in the teahouse was a woman around forty, looking very unfamiliar. In Zhao Fusheng's memory, neither he nor Yu Feihong had any friends in the entertainment circle who matched this description.

The woman was fairly good-looking, with an air of magnanimity, but her brows carried a hint of melancholy.

"Sister Chen, this is my younger brother Zhao Fusheng." Yu Feihong introduced the two: "This is Chen Jie, a writer from Xichuan."

A writer?

Zhao Fusheng was taken aback. Though puzzled, he still smiled and exchanged pleasantries with Chen Jie.

During the small talk, Zhao Fusheng could clearly sense that Chen Jie seemed distracted.

"Sis, did you need something from me?"

With Yu Feihong, Zhao Fusheng naturally didn't need to stand on ceremony. Since she had called him, there must be something she needed his help with; otherwise, she wouldn't have made the call.

Yu Feihong nodded: "Not me, it's Sister Chen's matter."

Zhao Fusheng's heart stirred. He hadn't expected that Yu Feihong's friendship with Chen Jie was so deep that she would seek him out on her behalf.

"It's like this. Since I'm filming 'Love in Eternity,' I've been in contact with many writers. I really liked Sister Chen's work 'Wine Red Ice Blue.' She originally invited me to be the lead actress, but after the script was written, the investor pulled out. Now the project is stuck. I thought I'd ask if you're interested."

Seeing Chen Jie hesitant to speak, Yu Feihong took the initiative to say to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng was stunned: "Just for this?"

He really hadn't expected that Yu Feihong would come to him for investment in a drama. Didn't she know that his position made handling such a matter like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut?

"Yeah, I want to ask you to help invest in this drama." Yu Feihong nodded: "I've saved up some money over the years. I'm a bit short. Can you lend me some? No problem, right?"

With a wry smile, Zhao Fusheng helplessly nodded: "Alright, alright, no problem."

He thought it was something major, but after all that fuss, it turned out to be such a trivial matter.

"Good, I'll let you know how much money is needed later." Yu Feihong's face lit up with a smile as she said to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng smiled and said, "Sure, I'll have my lawyer contact you. Let's co-invest in this drama, okay?"

"Huh?"

This time, it was Yu Feihong's turn to be stunned, completely baffled by Zhao Fusheng's meaning.

Zhao Fusheng waved his hand, too lazy to explain, and said casually, "You're the lead actress and an investor, so you'll be busy. If I invest, I can have Ye Jing assign someone to follow up, saving you the trouble."

His words sounded reasonable, and Yu Feihong thought about it and agreed.

In her impression, among the people around her, Zhao Fusheng was undoubtedly the smartest. The most obvious proof was that he was not yet thirty but already possessed wealth that others might never accumulate in a lifetime. More importantly, despite having so much wealth, Zhao Fusheng didn't act arrogantly like other young successful people; his low profile was infuriating.

To be honest, Yu Feihong couldn't imagine how she would live if she had as much wealth as Zhao Fusheng, but she was sure that among the wealthy people she knew, Zhao Fusheng was definitely the most low-key, bar none.

After all, he still drove that old car he bought for a hundred thousand yuan, and he'd been driving it for years.

It was even worse than the cars driven by the security company's bodyguards.

Chen Jie had other matters to attend to, so Yu Feihong saw her off. Zhao Fusheng didn't follow them out but stayed in the teahouse waiting for Yu Feihong to return.

Actually, his recent decision had another reason.

The novel 'Wine Red Ice Blue' was adapted into a TV series, one that Zhao Fusheng had never even heard of. Barring any surprises, such romantic dramas had little market nowadays. For an investor like Yu Feihong with no connections or background, the money spent would basically never be recovered.

But if Zhao Fusheng were the investor, it would be different.

The brand of Future Films and Zhao Fusheng's own reputation were resources in themselves. Zhao Fusheng had a hundred ways to sell this drama to TV stations.

If all else failed, he could sell it to the upcoming video website.

In short, Zhao Fusheng had ways to ensure he wouldn't lose money.

This was something Sister Feihong didn't know.

Of course, Zhao Fusheng didn't intend to point it out, as saying it would make Feihong feel bad.

Everyone has their pride, especially a woman like Yu Feihong. If she knew that her investment was doomed to fail, even to lose money, she definitely wouldn't have asked Zhao Fusheng.

But Zhao Fusheng considered that rather than letting Sister Feihong lose everything, it was better for him to participate in the investment, so at least most of the costs could be recovered.

As for the loss, consider it an advance practice for his sister.

After all, Zhao Fusheng really intended to train Sister Feihong as a director. At least she was better than a certain actress surnamed Xu.

Zhao Fusheng had never been fond of that so-called 'Old Xu,' who rose to fame through blogging, was Wang Shuo's mistress, and had to hide her relationships.

Yu Feihong soon returned and sat down across from Zhao Fusheng.

"Fusheng, thank you."

Looking at Zhao Fusheng, Yu Feihong said sincerely. Because of her phone call, he had come all the way from home and even had to invest money. She wasn't stupid; if not for her, Zhao Fusheng wouldn't have needed to do this.

Zhao Fusheng waved his hand: "Don't mention it. You're my sister, don't be so formal."

Then he smiled and said, "But speaking of which, when filming this drama, you can try being the producer and executive producer. Later, have Ye Jing help find a TV station to sell it."

"Is it that simple?"

Yu Feihong was somewhat surprised. In her impression, this wasn't so easy.

Zhao Fusheng blinked: "Sis, I'm the chairman of Future Group. The TV series I invest in, which is also invested by Future Films, will naturally have our cooperative channels willing to buy it."

This was true. TV stations also needed to stockpile TV series copyrights. After all, not every station was as shameless as Mango TV, which played 'Return of the Pig Brother' and 'Journey to the West' nonstop during winter and summer breaks to cheat ratings.

Reputable TV stations would buy copyrights of some TV series to enrich their libraries.

Of course, the price wouldn't be too high, but selling the third-run broadcast rights could roughly recover the investment. After all, according to Yu Feihong's description, she was the biggest name in the cast.

Moreover, the domestic TV drama market was still relatively stable, without the exaggerated production costs of later years.

A decade later, when a single drama cost hundreds of millions, Zhao Fusheng wouldn't dare to do this.

"Alright, you're the boss." Yu Feihong nodded and said no more. She knew that when it came to business, ten of her couldn't match one Zhao Fusheng. Since he had made the decision, she'd better just listen obediently.

"By the way, sis, what do you think about the restructuring of Future Films?"

Zhao Fusheng suddenly remembered something and casually asked Yu Feihong.

After all, it was a company matter affecting many people's interests, and he needed to understand the actors' perspectives.

Yu Feihong was startled, then laughed: "What, afraid I'll be upset?"

Zhao Fusheng nodded, not beating around the bush: "Yeah, because I don't know if Ye Jing's approach is right or wrong."

"Old Ye is right." Yu Feihong nodded: "To be honest, you've been too generous with the actors before. For instance, studio cooperation is fine, but why give such high profit shares?"

Then she said earnestly to Zhao Fusheng, "Although I'm your sister, don't forget that besides me and Old Jiang, not all the actors in the company are on the same page as you. If you give them such lenient conditions, what if they jump ship when their wings are strong?"

"You're a capitalist whose heart isn't black enough." Yu Feihong finally pointed at Zhao Fusheng and said with a smile.