Chapter 1830: The Time Traveler Jiang Wen

"You want to shoot a sitcom?"

"And you want me to play the female lead?"

Two surprised voices rang out almost simultaneously. The speakers were, naturally, Ye Jing and Yu Feihong.

As luck would have it, Yu Feihong had returned to the capital on business and went to the company, where she received a call from Jiang Wen, so she and Ye Jing came over together.

When they arrived at Jiang Wen's place, Zhao Fusheng and Jiang Wen gave the two of them a big surprise.

"You two, are you joking?"

Ye Jing spoke first, looking at Zhao Fusheng and Jiang Wen: "Let's not even talk about whether Fusheng is messing around. Old Jiang, what's your status? A top-tier film emperor, one of the country's greatest directors. And you're telling me you want to shoot a TV series, a sitcom no less, and on top of that, you'll be the producer? Are you joking with me?"

He paused, then turned to Zhao Fusheng: "And you, who does business like that? One sentence and you backed him into a corner. If Old Jiang hadn't helped smooth things over, word would get out—do you care about your reputation? Even if you love that script, don't lose your temper on the spot. Come back and tell me; we have plenty of ways to make him deliver the script to my desk."

Zhao Fusheng and Jiang Wen exchanged glances, neither daring to speak.

Clearly, Ye Jing was very unhappy right now!

In his eyes, their behavior was pure nonsense, completely beneath their status.

"Ahem, well, don't be angry."

Seeing that Ye Jing had finished his tirade, Jiang Wen quickly handed him a glass of water and said, "Take a look at the script first. I think it's pretty good."

"Huh?"

Ye Jing was taken aback, looking at Jiang Wen in surprise.

Old Jiang smiled: "Think about it. If Fusheng didn't really love this script, would he have acted like that? Besides, that Ning Wanchen hangs out with Zhang Yuan—what kind of person he is, if you don't know, who does? To be honest, the best outcome is for us to buy the script and then have nothing more to do with him."

Hearing these last words, Ye Jing fell silent.

As one of the big shots in the Beijing circle, Ye Jing knew very well how some people behaved, and he naturally understood that Jiang Wen's words made a lot of sense.

Zhao Fusheng also nodded: "Yeah, given my status, if I had negotiated with them, it would have been doing them a favor. This way is actually better, isn't it?"

Ye Jing glanced at the two of them and couldn't be bothered to retort.

These two were playing off each other—did they really think he couldn't see what they were up to?

"What about me?"

At that moment, Yu Feihong spoke up: "You want me to play the lead role? Are you kidding?"

"Ask him."

Zhao Fusheng, without a second word, pointed directly at Jiang Wen: "He suggested it. I have no idea what's going on."

Faced with Sister Feihong, Zhao Fusheng decisively chose to follow his heart—after all, better his friend than himself. At this moment, pushing Old Jiang to the front line was undoubtedly the best move.

Otherwise, adding to the earlier matter of introducing a boyfriend to Sister Feihong, Zhao Fusheng figured Sister Feihong would likely take him aside for a half-hour solo session.

Although he didn't mind sparring with his sister, the problem was that men and women were different, and she was his elder sister. As the younger brother, he could only cover his head and squat in defense—truly too much of a disadvantage.

Zhao Fusheng, these days, would eat anything except loss.

So, he simply sold out Old Jiang to let Sister Feihong cool down.

Seeing Yu Feihong's gaze like knives aimed at him, Jiang Wen blinked and said to Yu Feihong, "Feihong, do you think you've let the company down somehow?"

"Huh?"

At this, not only Yu Feihong was stunned, but Zhao Fusheng and Ye Jing were also taken aback.

"Me? Let the company down?"

Yu Feihong looked at Jiang Wen in surprise, but then, unusually, she didn't flare up but fell into silence.

Zhao Fusheng opened his mouth to say something, but Jiang Wen waved his hand to stop him.

"Don't speak. Let me talk."

Jiang Wen said to Zhao Fusheng.

Zhao Fusheng gave a wry smile and had to let Jiang Wen speak.

"Feihong, back when the four of us joined forces to start the company, frankly, it was Fusheng planning to help us make money. Am I right?" Jiang Wen began, addressing Yu Feihong and Ye Jing.

Ye Jing and Yu Feihong nodded; they were naturally clear on this point.

"Later, the company grew bigger and bigger, and Future Film emerged. You and I signed with Future Film. Fusheng gave us shares and benefits. Now, calling you and me the top actors of Future Film—am I right?"

Yu Feihong nodded again. What Jiang Wen said was the truth.

"Not only that, when Old Ye ran into trouble starting his business, Fusheng took him in. Now he's the general manager of Future Film, running the whole company. Hasn't Fusheng trusted him completely?" Jiang Wen looked at Yu Feihong and pointed at Ye Jing.

Although Ye Jing was a bit embarrassed, he still nodded: "That's the truth. Apart from the fact that this guy occasionally causes me some trouble, he's definitely a good boss."

"You wanted to make a movie, threw tens of millions into it, and ended up not even getting your investment back, just a bunch of random awards, right?"

"In recent years, you haven't liked acting and have spent most of your time on charity, but the company never pushed you. You didn't want to shoot commercials, and the company didn't bother you about that either, right?"

Jiang Wen looked at Yu Feihong and said calmly.

Yu Feihong remained silent for a long time before lifting her head to look at Jiang Wen: "I understand what you mean."

Jiang Wen nodded: "To be honest, I didn't think that much about it at first. I just felt that this role suited you and would break through your previous image. But after thinking it over carefully, I realized that this kind of sitcom is actually the most suitable for us."

As he spoke, he looked at Ye Jing: "Not just this one. I think the company could invest in one similar sitcom every year, starring our contracted actors—big names. Then we can put some newcomers in supporting roles. To put it bluntly, use the popularity of the veterans to promote the newcomers..."

Watching Old Jiang talk enthusiastically, Ye Jing and Yu Feihong were fine, but Zhao Fusheng was dumbfounded.

Holy shit!

Showstopper, is that you?

At that moment, Zhao Fusheng really wanted to grab Jiang Wen and ask him that.

This was fucking amazing!

Or rather, Old Jiang's idea was exactly the kind of slick move many film and television companies would pull in later years.

Companies like Da Mimi's Cheers Media, or Huanrui where Li Yifeng was—didn't they all play it this way?

They'd stuff a bunch of their own newcomers into TV dramas starring the company's top male and female leads, and since the company was the main investor, they'd go all out promoting the newcomers during publicity.

In other words, the drama not only made money off the leads' fame but also got the newcomers a familiar face in front of the audience.

Wasn't that how that foodie persona Golden Eagle Goddess got famous?

And now, Old Jiang had figured out this whole system ahead of time.

"What, am I wrong?"

Seeing all three of them staring at him blankly, Jiang Wen finally realized something was off and asked Zhao Fusheng and the others, a bit bewildered.

Zhao Fusheng didn't speak, but Yu Feihong was the first to say: "I don't think you're wrong. To be honest, I've always felt a bit guilty toward the company. You've given me such good treatment, and I've never really done anything for the company. I agree. I'll take this show."

Ye Jing smiled, and after Yu Feihong finished, he said: "Old Jiang, I really have to look at you in a new light. I didn't expect that while I was in the US, you'd learned so much. Impressive!"

As he spoke, he looked at Zhao Fusheng: "I think we can let him start participating in the company's daily management."

"No, no, no!" Before Zhao Fusheng could answer Ye Jing, Jiang Wen quickly waved his hand: "Forget it, I'm not cut out for that!"

Are you kidding? His goal was to become a top-tier director, not a super manager.

Zhao Fusheng laughed heartily and waved his hand: "We'll talk about that later. But your suggestion, I think it's completely feasible."

This was a modern corporate management approach. Since Jiang Wen had already thought of it, Zhao Fusheng had no reason not to support him.

Moreover, as Jiang Wen said, Zhao Fusheng himself was looking forward to seeing what changes this could bring to the future of film and television if it became a model.

"For investment, is twenty million enough?"

Hesitating, Ye Jing said to Zhao Fusheng: "If Feihong is the lead, just the salary alone..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the meaning was clear. After all, Yu Feihong was a big-name actress, and her salary was at the top of the current Chinese film and television industry. If she were the female lead, her salary alone would be a huge expense.

"I can take a pay cut, or even work for free."

Yu Feihong thought for a moment and said to Ye Jing.

"No need."

Zhao Fusheng interrupted her and waved his hand.

Business was business, personal was personal. His friendship with Yu Feihong was there, and she could indeed act for free, but that wasn't Zhao Fusheng's style.

Besides, Jiang Wen had said earlier that he planned to turn this sitcom series model into a fixed model for the company.

In other words, the next show might have another big-name actor playing the lead to promote the company's newcomers.

Yu Feihong could forgo her salary or take a cut, but what about others?

They didn't have the same friendship with Zhao Fusheng, nor were they shareholders of Future Film and Television.

Losing a sum of money for no reason was not a pleasant thing for any star, and Zhao Fusheng didn't want to earn a reputation as a skinflint because of this.

So, he decided to solve the problem in a different way.

With that in mind, Zhao Fusheng looked at Jiang Wen: "Old Jiang, what do you think about starting a producer responsibility system?"

What does that mean?

Jiang Wen looked at Zhao Fusheng with some surprise, clearly not understanding what he meant.