Chapter 0954: The Trouble of Plenty

In the face of enormous interests, human nature often fails the test.

It's like how some couples opt for fake divorces for the sake of a house, only to end up truly separated, or even turn against each other as enemies.

By the same token, as long as there are interests at stake, Zhao Fusheng believed that Future Advertising, through this charity gala, would become a benchmark.

Even Wang Jinghua would hold her nose, set aside her previous conflicts with him, and smile as she shoved her artists into the charity gala.

Because she was, after all, a person, a merchant chasing profits.

Humans are inherently a complex mix of contradictions, always harboring various thoughts—good and bad, kind and evil, high and low, poor and rich, noble and base, even loss and gain. Such thoughts often lead people to lose themselves.

Some people only have the courage to defy reason and indulge their nature in trivial matters; such people are many, they are ordinary. Others, regardless of the situation, follow their nature, their joys and sorrows all stemming from their true hearts; such people can be considered both righteous and wicked.

Zhao Fusheng belonged to neither type; he was just someone who wanted to make his own little life a bit better.

The path of life is perhaps the most complex road in the world. Almost every step presents countless crossroads to choose from, and different choices lead to vastly different outcomes.

“Don’t worry, I’ll handle this for sure,” Zheng Yao said to Zhao Fusheng with confidence.

That was the truth. Zhao Fusheng had already set the stage; if she couldn’t even manage this, she wouldn’t have the face to lead a company as big as Future Advertising.

Zhao Fusheng was quite calm. He wasn’t bothered by Zheng Yao’s words. Not because he thought what she said was ridiculous, but because he felt this was just one plan. If Zheng Yao could pull it off, they’d proceed with it; if not, they’d switch to another plan.

He didn’t like pinning all his hopes on one thing. The risk of putting all eggs in one basket was too high. Zhao Fusheng had suffered such losses many times in his past life, so now he preferred to have multiple escape routes.

That was also why Zhao Fusheng dabbled in multiple industries—simply because he believed doing so could maximize risk diversification, preventing the failure of one industry from undoing all his previous efforts.

Of course, this approach wasn’t without drawbacks. After all, pouring all energy into one industry was different from spreading energy and resources across multiple ones. But Zhao Fusheng didn’t regret it. He didn’t need that kind of gambling-style development; there was no need to bet everything on a single hand like Chen Tianqiao.

Win, and you’d become famous overnight; lose, and you’d be forced out in disgrace.

Dong Chenxi had once said that Zhao Fusheng’s approach was perfectly suited for film and television investment.

The reason was simple: in film and television investment, no matter how wealthy a company, even if it could independently fund several TV series or movies, no one would easily do so. Everyone understood the principle of not putting all eggs in one basket.

In simple terms, this was called risk control.

So in the production of movies and TV series, people often saw a list of production companies.

To put it nicely, it was cooperative win-win; to put it bluntly, it was risk sharing.

The most obvious example was Hong Kong’s Golden Harvest. During the golden age of Hong Kong cinema in the 1980s and 1990s, they often produced the year’s box office champion. But in reality, even in their best years, they earned less than 100 million Hong Kong dollars, because most of the other film and TV projects they invested in lost money. After tallying everything up, they suffered huge losses.

In the future Zhao Fusheng remembered, the fundamental reason Huayi Brothers ventured into other industries was also this: the Wang brothers realized that relying solely on film and TV production yielded too low profits.

“I’ll call Old Jiang and the others later,” Zhao Fusheng said to Zheng Yao after a moment’s thought.

Since this matter involved the entertainment industry, it was better to give a heads-up first.

Even though CCTV was taking the lead, and no one would be foolish enough to disrespect that, CCTV taking the lead and him making calls were two different things.

“Alright, it’s best to have them mobilize their friends in the industry to come,” Zheng Yao said with a smile.

For this kind of support, many hands make light work. Even if the final donation amount was low, Future Advertising could make up the difference. The most important thing was to establish this platform.

“Oh, by the way, give a heads-up to the People’s Art Theatre,” Zhao Fusheng suddenly recalled Fan Baobao’s extended leave, and said with a smile, “Ask them to rehearse a few performances for the gala.”

Generally, in such galas, the programs would feature a variety of stars, with various agencies and groups vying for their own interests. As the planner, if Future Advertising specifically requested performances from the People’s Art Theatre, it would also be a favor.

“Okay, got it.” Zheng Yao naturally nodded in agreement.

She wasn’t stupid. From a certain perspective, Fan Baobao could be considered her boss’s wife. Zhao Fusheng’s intention was as clear as day.

……

……

Zheng Yao was quite efficient. Or rather, the previous groundwork had left a good impression on CCTV. When Zheng Yao proposed a plan for a charity gala to combat SARS, CCTV immediately agreed, and the two sides hit it off.

The higher-ups had long valued literary and propaganda work. Even during the turbulent years, there were still the eight model operas, let alone in peacetime.

The leaders also knew that the SARS epidemic was causing widespread panic, and the whole country was troubled by this atypical pneumonia. If they could use CCTV as a platform to boost public confidence through a charity gala, it would undoubtedly be an encouraging move.

Thus, it was said that a high-ranking official in the propaganda department personally instructed that the gala must be well-organized, to help the people build confidence in overcoming the SARS epidemic.

It was often said that one could take a chicken feather as a command arrow, but it depended on whose chicken feather it was.

If it came from the emperor, even if it was said to be a sword that could cut through iron, it would be accepted.

Just like now, CCTV handed over the planning of the gala to Future Advertising, and according to instructions from higher-ups, the CCTV leadership stated that this gala was a political task. Any group or individual who didn’t take it seriously would never appear on screen again.

That’s right, including all screens—movies, TV series, print media ads, and so on.

A blatant threat!

No, to be precise, a warning.

But what could they do? After all, President Zheng of Future Advertising had generously stated that the company would cover all planning and production costs for the gala.

That was two to three million yuan. Faced with such a cooperative partner, how could CCTV not be generous?

It was said that a certain CCTV leader declared at a work meeting that none of the stars participating in the gala would receive a single cent. In other words, whether these stars were in the far south or north, if Future Advertising needed them to perform, they’d have to fly over on their own dime, including the airfare for themselves and even their staff.

The reason was simple: any artist still thinking about making money at a time like this—were they trying to profit from the nation’s calamity?

In any era, such a heavy accusation could crush a person.

But strangely enough, even so, Zheng Yao’s phone was nearly blown up by heads of various agencies and groups.

“I can’t take it anymore. There are too many people.”

Zheng Yao slumped on the office sofa, looking exhausted, and said to Zhao Fusheng: “Time is tight, the task is heavy. The gala airs in less than four days. I don’t even dare turn on my phone now; as soon as I do, it’s calls from people pulling strings.”

Zhao Fusheng laughed: “Isn’t that a good thing? Look, without spending a cent, people are clamoring to be on our gala.”

“Bullshit!”

Zheng Yao, usually dignified and graceful in public, blurted out a curse, and said bluntly: “The problem is there are too many people! From Hong Kong, the Four Heavenly Kings said they’re at our beck and call anytime. Movie stars from the film industry also want to perform. Domestically, it’s even worse. Several record company bosses are camped out at our company gate. The Wang brothers are even funnier—they’re practically lining up their stars for an audition with me.”

Then, she looked at Zhao Fusheng suspiciously: “Did you know this would happen, which is why you made me handle it and stayed out of it yourself?”

After all, logically, since he proposed the plan, as head of the planning department, he should have personally overseen the gala. But Zhao Fusheng claimed he wasn’t up to it and let Zheng Yao take charge.

Zheng Yao hadn’t thought much of it at first, but after taking on the task, she realized it was a hot potato.

Zhao Fusheng laughed heartily, ignoring Zheng Yao’s question, and said calmly: “What, you think there are too many stars?”

Zheng Yao nodded honestly: “Not too many—there are simply too many to use.”

Normally, aside from the Spring Festival Gala, a gala lasts two to three hours at most. But now, hundreds of stars wanted to perform. If they had to consider every connection, the program time wouldn’t be enough.

Others planning a gala worried about too few stars, insufficient budget, or not being able to afford big names. Zheng Yao’s trouble now was that there were too many big names, all willing to perform for free, and she had to decide which ones to use.

Zhao Fusheng chuckled and said something that left Zheng Yao dumbfounded...