Tao Mu sat on the seat with one leg crossed over the other knee, his hands laying casually on top of them, as he looked up at the coal boss who was passionately venting alone, but his aura was not weak at all.
"Why is Mr. Huang so excited?" Tao Mu asked, then picked up a pack of disinfectant wipes from the table and wiped his hands carefully. Originally a very ordinary action, but when Tao Mu did it, it somehow caused others to suddenly feel a chill run down their spine.
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"I heard Mr. Huang talking and chatting just now, and thought you liked this kind of communication." Tao Mu smiled and looked at the coal boss, throwing the disinfectant wipes on the table: "Can't you see that I'm totally adhering to your preference?"
"Don't f**king pretend to be stupid with me." Boss Huang sneered: "Mr. Tao is young and energetic, and has some methods. I know you have messed up the Sheng'an Group before. But don't think I'm easy to mess with. If you want to be a hero to save the beauty, you will have to see if I agree."
Don't think that those who run coal kilns were as weak spined as those who run restaurants. If you want to step on his head to establish prestige and do a favor, then you are making a mistake. Boss Huang felt that his mood was spoiled, and now he didn't even care about his face or little mistress, he forcefully sat down next to Hu Ning, regardless of the girl's struggle, stretched his arms around Hu Ning's shoulders, and said directly: "Today I put my words down here. If you want me to continue investing, Miss Hu has to apologize to me in person. Otherwise, I will withdraw the investment. But I will say the ugly words first, if I withdraw the investment, don't think your crew will be able to continue filming peacefully. "
As soon as these words came out, the expressions of everyone in the private room changed. Hu Ning was so frightened that her face turned pale, and she was about to cry.
Zhou Hong also deeply regretted it. If he had known this would happen earlier, he shouldn't have had this meal. No, he shouldn't have begged this demon to invest. Now it was easy to invite the demon but difficult to send off the demon—he had been filming for so many years, but he had never seen someone so lecherous to the point he completely did not want any face at all.
"Mr. Huang has misunderstood." At this juncture where everyone's face was turning blue, Tao Mu was still smiling and polite. Just when everyone thought that Tao Mu would also say a few polite words to persuade the other, Tao Mu changed his tone and said slowly: "I really didn't compare you to Yao Shengan. As far as you are concerned, you are at most at his grandson's level."
Relying on the fact that he had some stinky money, this local rich man who acted recklessly regardless of the consequences, had the same level of brain damage as Yao Wenxiao. It was estimated that their behavior and methods were also similar.
"You—" Boss Huang flushed red down to his thick neck at Tao Mu's words, his turbid eyes glaring fiercely at Tao Mu, and he gritted his teeth: "Young man, don't be too arrogant. You are young and ignorant so I'll give you another chance. As long as you are willing to kneel in front of me and admit your mistakes, I will let you off."
Everyone's expressions changed again. One must know that most of the people who run coal kilns at home were vicious and immoral, and their hands were not very clean. Especially like Boss Huang, it could be seen from his speech and behavior that he was usually not one for scruples at all, which showed how arrogant and audacious his actions were. They were really afraid that the coal boss would do something unfavorable to Tao Mu if he continued to offend the other.
"Tao Mu—" Zhou Hong looked at Tao Mu worriedly, hesitant to speak. He was the one who brought him over, and he must be responsible for this child.
Zhan Bin and several other veteran actors were also a little uncomfortable. They all opened their mouths to try to ease the atmosphere, the second male lead who had not spoken much, deliberately mentioned Tao Mu's cooperation with Longteng Entertainment in front of Boss Huang, hoping that the coal boss would have some scruples.
"Doesn't Mr. Huang's family run a coal kiln? Why do you suddenly change to running a horse farm?" Compared with the nervousness of the group of people, Tao Mu himself was very calm. He really didn't take the threat of the coal boss in front of him seriously.
It was not like he hadn't seen a real coal boss—Wang Ye's father was one. In Tao Mu's previous life, that fellow was someone who could take out hundreds of millions of yuan to support female stars to popularity. Compared with Wang Ye's father, the dude in front of him who just opened a small coal kiln in his hometown, and only invested a mere 3 million yuan in the crew and yet wanted to force an actress to sleep with him, was really too lame to look at.
"Mr. Huang wants to withdraw your capital, right? Alright then, I happen to know a coal boss who is also very interested in investing in the entertainment industry recently. I'll give him a call for you to see if he is willing to take your place." Tao Mu said, took out his phone, and really called Wang Ye's father. And also directly pressed the speaker button.
Because of Tao Mu's investment in Xiaoheng Capital, Wang Ye's father, who originally relied on Tao Mu to help him invest in stocks, also naturally got acquainted with Li Xiaoheng. In less than half a year, his own assets have doubled at least a dozen times because of shorting oil. It made Wang Ye's father so happy that he couldn't stop smiling. Now receiving a call from Tao Mu, he was especially warm and enthusiastic, acting more sticky than Tao Mu's own father.
"It's Xiao Mu? How's it going? I've heard everything on the Internet. If you need your uncle's help, just say it directly. Don't be polite. In uncle's heart, you and our Xiao Ye are the same. Uncle will never let you be wronged outside. By the way, I heard from our Xiao Ye that you went to H Town to shoot a TV series during the New Year holidays, right? I heard that you even invested in it yourself. Aiya, didn't I just say, you kiddo had not been ordinary since you were a child. Investing at such a young age, and being your own boss as soon as entering college. Now even investing in TV dramas, truly, the money is not enough for you to make….."
Tao Mu patiently listened to Wang Ye's father's ramble, and finally had the opportunity to interject: "Uncle is also interested in investing in movies and TV series?"
"Ah, a little bit." Wang Ye's father followed Tao Mu's words and continued: "The main reason is that those in our industry, everyone is following the trend of investing in the entertainment industry. If I don't follow, I seem to be outdated. I can't even get a word in at dinner parties."
Everyone else at the dinner parties boasted that they had kept a little actress, or they were fortunate enough to have a night with a popular female star, and only he brought his pretty secretary to the dinner party. The apparent level was already different. In the last two industry meetings, he had been ridiculed for being old-fashioned.
"Then there is a chance now." Tao Mu looked at Mr. Huang whose face had been shifting from blue to red and back again ever as if he was playing a face-changing game since he heard uncle Wang's name and smiled slightly: "We have an investor in our crew, and he is also a coal boss, invested 3 million before, but now he doesn't want to, and wants to withdraw. Do you think you have interest in taking over?"
"Also a coal boss?" Wang Ye's father was taken aback when he heard the words: "Who is it?"
Tao Mu took the time to report Boss Huang's honorable name. It was a pity, Boss Huang considered himself a local emperor, but in front of Wang Ye's father, the real local emperor, he had no name at all.
"I've never heard of him." Wang Ye's father frowned: "Which province is he from? Did he go through any formal procedures? He wouldn't be a nobody who bought a small rundown kiln from somewhere?" The procedures in the coal industry were particularly difficult to handle, so many people opened kilns secretly, and even the machines for kiln operation were borrowed from big companies.
Wang Ye's father guessed that Boss Huang was probably such a person. Otherwise, why would he just pinch out a measly three million yuan when investing in the crew.
But no matter who it was, the fact he dared to provoke their god of wealth: "…..What's the matter, he provoked you?"
"Yeah." Tao Mu replied playfully, and smiled: "This Boss Huang thinks I have offended his dignity, and was making a fuss for me to kowtow to him to make amends."
"No! It's just a joke." Boss Huang glanced at Tao Mu, took over the words aloud, and explained loudly, "Mr. Wang, please don't misunderstand. I'm just joking with this CEO Tao…..Yes, yes, just kidding. I didn't know he was actually the junior of your family."
Boss Huang admitted that he was ruthless and immoral. But in this world, there would never be a lack of ruthless people who were more ruthless than him. Boss Huang could make a fortune on his acre of land, but if he encountered a more ruthless fellow, even a dragon would still have to coil up, and a tiger would still have to lie down. Therefore, if it was not necessary, Boss Huang did not want to offend a senior of the industry like Wang Ye's father.
"What junior?" Wang Ye's father also guessed why Tao Mu called him at this time, and immediately flattered: "This is not just our junior. He is also our god of wealth. Who the hell are you? What turtle pond are you from, daring to come out here and act like the dragon king?"
Wang Ye's father was a pure coal boss, and his net worth was definitely inversely proportional to his education. The words were so simple and crude, that the corners of the mouths of everyone sitting here couldn't help but twitch and almost didn't laugh out loud.
Boss Huang was scolded terribly, but he dared not speak out. Don't look at his arrogant remarks to Tao Mu just now, that was because he didn't know what Tao Mu's background was. He thought that Tao Mu was just a lucky young boss, but there was no backer. But if he really encountered Wang Ye's father, who was more senior, ruthless, and vicious, Boss Huang would bend his spine faster than anyone else.
Of course, in Boss Huang's view, he was just being flexible. A leader can submit or can stand tall as required, nor did he fear suffering the immediate loss: "It's truly a misunderstanding. If I knew that Mr. Tao knew you, I would never joke with him like this."
Having said that, in front of so many people, Boss Huang's face was severely slapped by Tao Mu. He would remember this hatred and take his revenge.
"I don't care who you are, you had better act smarter for me." Wang Ye's father said a few words on the phone, and then deliberately told Tao Mu: "…..Send me this person's information. I will have someone take a look, just what kind of bigshot dared to make you kowtow to him!"
"It's all a joke at the wine table, Boss Wang does not need to take it seriously." Boss Huang stood up with a very ugly face, and looked at Tao Mu sinisterly: "CEO Tao has very good capabilities. I admit defeat today. I'm sure we will meet again some day."
Tao Mu smiled slightly: "Leave well."
Boss Huang walked away with a dark face. His little mistress looked around with an embarrassed look and then twisted her hips and followed out with her bag.
Only then did Director Zhou and the others breathe a sigh of relief. Hu Ning was so frightened that her eyes had turned red, crying and thanking Tao Mu.
Tao Mu comforted her simply and then went out with his phone. Wang Ye's father was still on the other line.
Wang Ye's father was really interested in investing in the crew. He also believed in Tao Mu's vision. Just as he was about to agree, he suddenly thought back to a few days ago, he used an excuse to go to the Li family's house to pay New Year's greetings, and Li Xiaoheng asked him about Tao Mu. Wang Ye's father's heart jumped, and he said, "Xiao Mu, you also know it. Uncle has put most of my money on Xiaoheng Capital, and now you are shorting the international market. Uncle won't be able to get the money for a while. How about we wait for the next opportunity before talking about investing in crews."
"That's right, why don't you contact CEO Li? Aren't you two partners? I went to their house to pay New Year's greetings a few days ago, and CEO Li asked me about you. He asked about your high school days. CEO Li seems to care about you very much. If you mention this investment in the crew to him, he will definitely agree."
Tao Mu frowned and after hanging up the call he remained standing in the corridor. He hesitated for a while before dialing Li Xiaoheng's number.
As soon as it rang, it was connected.
Tao Mu was caught off guard, and was slightly taken aback when he heard the voice on the other end of the phone.
"Why suddenly call me at this time?" Even on the eighth day of the new year holidays, Li Xiaoheng was still sitting in the study, reading documents. But the only difference from usual was that his computer and mobile phone screensavers were set to be Tao Mu's photos.
"At this time, you should be in H Town? How is the new crew?"
Hearing Li Xiaoheng's tone and how he was trying hard to find a topic to talk about, Tao Mu sighed slightly and asked, "I just wanted to ask if you are interested in investing in TV dramas?"
"Is it the TV drama you invested in? What's wrong? I'm interested." Then, Li Xiaoheng suddenly realized something and immediately said, "I'm interested in investing. So now, I really want to go and inspect the film set myself. Can I?"
I want to go to H Town to see you, can I?
The news that on the day of the welcome reception, Tao Mu kicked out the investor in order to protect an actress from the crew quickly spread throughout the crew. Many staff members had a good impression of Tao Mu, this investor boss, and they secretly gossiped about whether Tao Mu was really as that weasel-like surnamed Huang said, that he saved Hu Ning because he liked her.
However, the Beijing Film students who knew Tao Mu well did not misunderstand. In their eyes, Tao Mu was such a person who was brave, had superior capability and protected those under his wings. So long as one was by Tao Mu's side, it made people feel particularly secure.
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Many students were secretly waiting. After Tao Mu opened his celebrity studio, if he recruited other artists, they would directly sign with Tao Mu's studio. At that time, not only would there be films to act in, money to make and resources for promoting publicity, but they also did not have to worry about some unspoken rules in the circle.
They believed that with Tao Mu's temperament, he would never get involved with those filthy things.
As for whether they could get a good script and a good role after signing with Tao Mu's studio, some classmates were not worried—Tao Mu was just a freshman, yet he could spend 9 million yuan to invest in "The Great Wall of Flesh and Blood". He also recommended so many character roles to everyone, and the discerning classmates could see that Tao Mu would definitely take the road of "self-reliance" in the future. He could cast TV dramas and movies with himself as the protagonist, but a movie or TV series could not always have only the protagonist alone. If they sign with Tao Mu's studio, at least there was a guarantee that the general supporting roles could be obtained.
Thinking about it this way, these classmates became more active when facing Tao Mu. And also led by the three roommates, they began to suggest the usage of to the entire cast—especially to the older senior actors.
Like Zhan Bin, a veteran actor in his 40s, who usually took care of flowers, dogs, and his children when not filming on set. He really knew nothing about the entertainment methods of young people. Even the mobile phones they use were old-fashioned machines, and they didn't even buy a computer at home, let alone sign up for .
"What's the benefit of registering to this thing?"
Zhan Bin took Wen Bao's mobile phone and browsed 's web page with interest under the guidance of the children. Aiya, it must be said that this website looks quite fancy and rich in content. There was everything from entertainment, gossip, social hotspots and international news, and there were many old movies and TV series on the website called BulletScreen as well. The old stuff that was taken off the shelves after just one round of TV broadcasts, were actually now resources on this website which let you watch it online instead.
Wen Bao winked at Zhan Bin, glanced around furtively, lowered his voice and said, "With more than 100 million registered users, you can watch Tao Mu dance in women's clothes."
"What?" Zhan Bin was shocked. What was this operation?
Wen Bao repeated Tao Mu's bet with netizens in front of Teacher Zhan: "…..Now there are more than 99.7 million registered users."
Zhan Bin was instantly amused. After yesterday's welcome reception, he had a particularly good impression of this young man Tao Mu. He was also happy to join in the fun: "Alright. I'll ask someone to buy a computer for me later, and you can also register an account for me!"
Wen Bao immediately answered: "I can register an account for you now. Teacher Zhan, tell me your mobile phone number!"
At the same time, the same thing was happening in every corner of the crew. Using their mobile phones to register on FlyNews, and then use FlyNews to log in directly to BulletScreen to browse various movies and TV series. The older generation of actors were not interested in 's entertainment model. Usually after work they would just go back to the hotel to rest. When they were bored, they would watch some old movies and TV series to pass the time.
Just when Tao Mu's classmates were crazily hinting the whole crew to register on FlyNews, Li Xiaoheng finally arrived.
Last night, Tao Mu personally agreed to Li Xiaoheng's request to fly to H Town for a field inspection. A certain someone originally wanted to fly over overnight, but Li Xiaoheng thought about it, considering that Tao Mu had just joined the group "The Great Wall of Flesh and Blood", he needed to get along with the director and other actors as well as a good rest. If he rushed over that night, Tao Mu would definitely not rest well in order to entertain him.
Thinking of this, Li Xiaoheng had no choice but to hold back his impatience and wait patiently until the next morning to take the early flight.
When he arrived at the crew, it was almost noon. Li Xiaoheng, who came to visit the set, treated everyone to lunch. He called Tao Mu in advance and let the crew know to not order the box lunches, and then had his assistant call the store to order takeout.
After arriving on the crew, Li Xiaoheng, the friend of the investor who came to visit the set, was immediately warmly welcomed by the crew members.
"Your visit this time saved our crew a meal's worth of money." Tao Mu picked up a piece of sweet and sour pork with pineapple using chopsticks. It was sweet and sour, crispy on the outside and tender on the inside and was very delicious.
Li Xiaoheng smiled slightly, and while peeling shrimp for Tao Mu, he said, "If you agree, don't mention a meal, I am willing to pay for your lifetime of meals."
Tao Mu's chopsticks paused lightly, and then picked up a piece of lotus root: "After dinner, I'll introduce you to Director Zhou and the other members of the production team. You can take a look at the script as well—"
"No need. Just tell me how much I need to invest." Li Xiaoheng smiled warmly and placed the peeled shrimps into Tao Mu's bowl.
"Since you trust me so much, why do you still want to come over for a field inspection?" Tao Mu frowned, disliking Li Xiaoheng's way of mixing business affairs with private affairs.
"It's because I trust in your vision. Besides, I'm a person who works in finance, and I don't know much about filming TV dramas. Since I'm not professional, of course I have to trust the advice of professionals." Li Xiaoheng smiled at Tao Mu: "At least I trust myself, you won't hurt me."
Tao Mu felt that he was about to be wrapped in a sponge. It was a helpless kind of feeling like he was unable to punch his fist out and was about to suffocate.
"Mr. Li," Tao Mu frowned fiercely, "Can you please stop this during working hours?"
"I thought lunch is a time where one can communicate about private affairs." A trace of loneliness flashed on Li Xiaoheng's face, staring at Tao Mu with a tender gaze as he apologized warmly: "If it makes you feel uncomfortable, I apologize."
Li Xiaoheng changed the subject, and before Tao Mu could speak, he added: "Actually, last night, I also asked people about Zhou Hong. This director has a good reputation in the industry, and the several leading actors are veteran actors who often participate in Anti-Japanese War dramas. Although this drama is not seen as very optimistic by the industry because of the script and character design. But I think that with such a reliable crew and male protagonist, at least the basic ratings can be maintained."
"And I really believe in your investment vision. If you really like this TV series, I don't believe this TV series will lose money."
This was the important reason why Li Xiaoheng finally agreed to invest in this TV series—although he was very rich, they were superstitious in the investment industry. Never deliberately make a loss-making investment at any time in case it breaks the feng shui.
This was more reliable. Tao Mu glanced at Li Xiaoheng, and he knew that his partner was definitely not the kind of airhead blinded by love in idol dramas.
"Since you have already inspected the TV series in the early stages, the rest will be easier to handle." Tao Mu said directly: "The investor invested a total of 3 million before. Now the crew also has a shortfall of 3 million yuan. But I personally suggest that if you have confidence in this drama, you can add another 2 million yuan. It will definitely not be a waste of money."
When the crew was ready to broadcast in the later stage, Tao Mu could also include Xiaoheng Capital when promoting the TV series. He was committed to building Xiaoheng Capital into an internet celebrity in the venture capital field. It was best to make it so that all companies that need financing think of Xiaoheng Capital at the first time. Therefore, a high national and positive image was necessary.
And investing in this TV drama that would soon become a classic milestone of the Anti-Japanese War drama, and tying the coporate image with the TV drama to a certain extent, was the best marketing method.
Just like in later years, many audiences would have a good impression of an actor because of a character role. No matter how disappointing the actor was, everyone could maintain a large degree of tolerance towards the actor based on the affection they had for that classic character. What was more, with Li Xiaoheng's shrewdness and personality, Tao Mu believed that Xiaoheng Capital would not do anything disappointing. So long as the corporate image was established, other aspects were easy to handle.
No one could understand the truth more profoundly than Tao Mu about "good reputation equating money".
Tao Mu's business attitude made Li Xiaoheng unable to talk about private affairs at all. So a certain someone also gave up the path of enhancing feelings with small talk, and began to discuss work seriously.
In fact, there was not much to talk about regarding the investment of the crew. Li Xiaoheng made up his mind to invest 5 million yuan. Of course, his lawyers and negotiators would talk to Zhou Hong about the remaining specific matters. The negotiating team hired by Xiaoheng Capital was the world's top negotiating experts who have experienced major international affairs, and their ruthlessness was only greater than that of the weak and helpless Lawyer Zhou.
So Zhou Hong once again felt the charm and lethality of capitalists waving banknotes. After signing another contract, Zhou Hong slumped on the sofa weakly, as if his body had been hollowed out.
In the name of inspecting the crew, Li Xiaoheng stayed in H Town for another three days. On the afternoon of the second day, Long Tianao from Summer Star Entertainment and Luo Xi from Longteng Entertainment flew over to visit Tao Mu. It was worth mentioning that the other investor in "The Great Wall of Flesh and Blood" was Longteng Entertainment.
Because Zhou Hong was invited by Longteng Entertainment before to make several TV series. So it could be said that everyone had some kind of acquaintance with each other. So this time when Zhou Hong insisted on filming "The Great Wall of Flesh and Blood", and although Longteng Entertainment was not optimistic about this drama. But due to Director Zhou's face, they also invested 2 million yuan. And stuffed an actor signed to the company into the crew to play the second male lead.
But this time Luo Xi did not come to visit the set for her company's artist. Instead, she wanted to discuss with Tao Mu's about joining hands again to host a selection competition.
Speaking of which, held the "National School Beauty and Hunk Selection Contest" before, which ultimately benefited not only , but also the two partners, Longteng Entertainment and Summer Star Entertainment.
The shareholders and senior managers of the two companies had originally questioned Long Tianao and Luo Xi's use of the company's resources to help which was not in the company's interests. Especially during the time when Tao Mu was slandered by his adoptive parents, everyone was accusing Long Tianao and Luo Xi's decision of damaging the company's image.
For a while, there was boiling anger and accusations, and Long Tianao and Luo Xi were terribly scolded as spendthrifts. But once held an advertising bidding meeting and a bid price of 80 million yuan came out, everyone fell silent.
Because according to this standard, Summer Star Entertainment and Longteng Entertainment, who acted as the brand sponsors in the talent show "National School Beauty and Hunk Selection Contest", made the most profit. Compared with 80 million yuan, who cares about being scolded? Not to mention the fact that the adoptive parents were soon proven to have made false accusations. Now everything was all good and happy. When the talent competition ended, the slightly popular contestants were all drawn into their own bowls by the two companies. Compared with the title brand fee worth 80 million, these contestants were sustainable and affordable human resources.
This time, the shareholders and executives of the two companies were even happier. They began to turn around and flatter Long Tianao and Luo Xi for their wise decision-making.
Long Tianao had a playful temperament, and he was too lazy to pay attention to that group of soft bones from the company. Anyway, the biggest shareholder of Summer Star Entertainment was their Long family. He, Long Tianao, did not go back on his words. If others were not convinced, they could either go to his uncle to protest or keep it suffocated. Just let them suffocate to death.
In contrast, Luo Xi's mood was much more complicated. The reason why she was willing to help Tao Mu in the first place was simply to win over Tao Mu and return his favor. But in the end, the favor was not only not paid back, but instead, she owed the other more and more. Luo Xi and Long Tianao naturally had different thinking and were in different situations. Long Tianao was purely doing a favor for his friend, it didn't matter if he suffered losses or not, he just wanted to have a good time. But Luo Xi and Tao Mu were business partners. Since their identities were business partners, it must be a win-win situation. If it was only a unilateral benefit, this cooperation model would definitely not last long.
What was more, Summer Star Entertainment and Longteng Entertainment have tasted the sweetness of hosting talent shows, so how could they stop. So, just in time for the tenth day of the new year, the two companies sent Long Tianao and Luo Xi to visit the film set in H Town in the name of New Year's greetings, and on the way, meet and discuss with Tao Mu about continuing to collaborate on a talent show called "National God and Goddess".
—Actually, this was a result of the time when school beauties and school hunks were being selected. Because a large number of people already out working in society followed suit, Tao Mu had divide several lists out at that time. One was the school beauty and school hunk, and the other was the god and goddess. Now that the selection of national school beauties and hunks was over, everyone would naturally pay attention to the gods and goddesses.
And in view of the difference in the number of participants and the target audience, the selection of the gods and goddesses was actually more popular than the school beauty school hunk, the scope was larger, and the influence was higher. Therefore, Summer Star Entertainment and Longteng Entertainment also wanted to gather the top 16 contestants in the country to shoot an idol drama after the selection competition of "National God and Goddess" and directly have all contestants make their debut.
Of course, these plans must have the full cooperation of Tao Mu and his . Although a certain social platform had also actively contacted other entertainment companies about cooperation after seeing the popularity of the talent show. However, the shareholders and executives of Summer Star Entertainment and Longteng Entertainment agreed that, compared with a certain platform, Tao Mu, who automatically carried headlines and hot topics as well as often raised storms and bloodshed in the entertainment circle, and his were more reliable.
So Long Tianao and Luo Xi flew to H Town to visit the film set under such circumstances, carrying everyone's expectations.
And at this moment, Li Xiaoheng, who was also visiting the set and crew, didn't know it yet. The cooperation of the three companies was about to change the business direction of Xiaoheng Capital in the next ten years.
AN: Small Skit—
Tao Mu: A certain someone is too annoying, so let's find him a career that he can run for a lifetime, and make him too busy to care about me ︿( ̄︶ ̄)︿
When Long Tianao and Luo Xi arrived on the set of "The Great Wall of Flesh and Blood", Tao Mu was filming a scene with Zhang Mengcheng, who played the second male lead. The main plot of the scene was about how Su Dingbang, played by Tao Mu, was on his way to a cocktail party when he came across the second male who was being pursued by the Japanese. Although he didn't know the true identity of the second male lead, Su Dingbang intuitively believed that this fellow Chinese person who was being hunted down by the Japanese must be a good person. So he tried every means to rescue the second male.
It was quite a simple scene, but for some reason Zhang Mengcheng, who played the second male lead, didn't seem to be in a good form. He NG-ed a line over and over more than ten times, which caused everyone to become a little impatient.
The director had no choice but to let everyone rest first.
Gou Rixin, who had been watching the filming, immediately picked up a thick military coat and put it on Tao Mu. Li Xiaoheng handed a thermos cup with chrysanthemum and wolfberry tea to Tao Mu and asked, "Are you cold?"
Tao Mu sniffed and said: "I'm fine." As an idol, even if he didn't wear cotton leggings in winter, he didn't need to shiver himself to keep warm. Besides, he was wearing a military coat.
Having said that, Tao Mu still quickly strode to the side of his lounge chair. Gou Rixin moved the electric heater to Tao Mu and plugged it in. Tao Mu immediately stretched out his hands to warm them. The long legs that were not wearing cotton leggings also subtly stretched out.
Gou Rixin took out a bag of buns from the side, put it on the electric heater, and asked Tao Mu, "What kind of stuffing do you like to eat?"
Tao Mu: "Just heat me two milk buns filled with bean paste."
Wen Bao, Du Kang and Chu Sui'an came over with grins, rubbed their hands together and asked, "Brother Gou, what kind of stuffed buns did you buy?"
Chu Sui'an asked, "Is there any stuffing with shiitake mushrooms?"
"Yes!" When Gou Rixin bought steamed buns, he took everyone's taste into consideration and bought several kinds of stuffing. For example, Tao Mu's favorite bean paste and custard buns, Wen Bao and Du Kang's favorite beef stuffed buns, and Chu Sui'an's favorite vegetarian stuffed buns. Putting it on the electric heater for heating, and eating buns while roasting them, it was very comfortable indeed.
Long Tianao and Luo Xi arrived at this time. As soon as the two entered the crew, they saw from a distance the fashionable student Tao Mu wearing a military coat and squatting in front of the electric heater. While reading the script and memorizing the lines, he ate buns and occasionally drank two sips from a thermos cup of water. This scene was simply just blinding to the eyes.
The unsophisticated Long Tianao and Miss Luo were immediately shocked.
"Tao Mu?" The two didn't dare to confirm that this guy, who was wearing a military coat and squatting eating steamed buns, was indeed the heavily burdened with idol baggage business partner they remembered.
"How did you become like this?" Long Tianao took off his sunglasses in disbelief: "Where's your idol baggage? Are you still the Tao Mu I know?"
"Piss off!" Tao Mu glared at Long Tianao in annoyance: "What are you doing here instead of being at home for the New Year in this cold winter weather?"
"Come and visit the set for you!" Long Tianao circled around Tao Mu, tsk-tsking in admiration: "Thanks to me for coming here. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to see this rare scenery!"
"You are a rare scenery!" Tao Mu sat back in the chair with his idol baggage back on: "Tell me, why are you here?"
Miss Luo smiled slightly, and glanced subtly at the eldest son of the Li family who was standing beside Tao Mu, who was holding water and carrying a bag, and said with a warm smile: "We just want to come see you. And on the way discuss the matter of continuing cooperation."
The crew was full of people and many eyes, and Luo Xi did not plan to say too much. Obviously, Tao Mu had no intention to discuss the company's future plans on the film set either. What was more, the filming atmosphere was tense, and everyone didn't forget to memorize lines even when eating buns. In this environment, it was not suitable for small talk.
Although Tao Mu was an investor who brought in capital to the crew, and he only played a minor supporting role that lasted less than three episodes, his work attitude was as serious as that of the male lead. He had already memorized the script before he even joined the crew. When practicing the scene before filming, he could not only memorize his own lines, but even know the opponent's lines like the back of his hand. When acting against Teacher Zhan, who played the leading role, he got a lot of compliments from Zhan Bin.
It must be said, with the tone set by Tao Mu, the professional atmosphere of the whole crew was very strong now. Needless to say, the veteran actors headed by Mr. Zhan, even the students from Beijing Film, have followed the same way, practicing their lines every day when they had nothing to do. So that NGs would only be kept down to two or three times. Zhang Mengcheng had NG-ed a scene more than ten times. It might not be a big deal if it was put in another crew, but in today's "The Great Wall of Flesh and Blood" crew, he didn't need anyone to say anything, he himself felt embarrassed.
Especially as the big boss came to visit the set at this juncture. This time Zhang Mengcheng not only flushed in embarrassment, but his heart also began to panic. Originally, he wanted to come over and practice the scene with Tao Mu, but now, holding the script, he stood hesitantly three meters away.
In the end, Tao Mu had sharp eyes and called him over.
Zhang Mengcheng greeted his big boss very carefully. Seeing this, Tao Mu simply shooed Long Tianao and Luo Xi away, and had them both hang out elsewhere.
Zhang Mengcheng breathed a sigh of relief and sat next to Tao Mu. In the past few days, because Tao Mu had always been very professional, Zhang Mengcheng almost forgot Tao Mu's other status as a boss. Now that he saw his company's big boss, he remembered that Tao Mu was the one who kicked another investor out of the crew just because of a disagreement. Thinking about it this way, the fact that he dared to NG more than a dozen times while acting with a domineering CEO, causing Tao Mu to be unable to finish work early, was simply the act of a fearless fool.
Just don't know if Tao Mu would directly blacklist him in a fit of anger.
Tao Mu obviously didn't know that Zhang Mengcheng's inner drama was so rich in imagination. However, he did have some opinions on Zhang Mengcheng because the reason why they kept NG-ing in this scene was due to the fact that Zhang Mengcheng's lines were not memorized. As a result, when the two acted against each other, Zhang Mengcheng's lines were dryly recited, and he always forgot the words.
Tao Mu knew that Zhang Mengcheng was a signed artist of Longteng Entertainment, and he usually had many other appearances to make. Occasionally he would have to take time off to do so. For example, there was no Zhang Mengcheng's part in the filming yesterday, so he went to the next province to record a TV program under the arrangement of his agent, and he went straight back to the crew the next morning by car. Naturally he didn't read the script and didn't memorize the lines, and now when directly put in front of the camera of course he was not in good form.
In the previous life, the film crew of "The Great Wall of Flesh and Blood" was short of funds, and the director did not have a high degree of control over the cast and crew. Towards Zhang Mengcheng, as the second male lead who was put in the crew by the investor, he would not care too much about him as long as he didn't go overboard during the filming. Besides, Zhang Mengcheng was also considerate. Although he occasionally had to make other appearances, he tried his best to schedule them at a time when there were no scenes of his own to film, and would not ask for leave casually. His usual performance was also satisfactory.
But even so, being fully committed to filming was naturally different from being half-hearted. This caused Zhang Mengcheng's second male lead to be significantly weaker than the other main actors after the TV series aired in the previous life. Zhang Mengcheng also became popular with this role as well as given more resources by Longteng Entertainment. But even until ten years later, when someone did an inventory of TV dramas, they would still mention Zhang Mengcheng's disrespectful behavior of taking other jobs during filming and have his acting being suppressed by the veteran actors. This experience had become his black history. Some people even firmly believed that if Zhang Mengcheng could be more attentive during the filming, the classic "The Great Wall of Flesh and Blood" would definitely be able to achieve a higher level of completion. After all, the male No. 2 played by Zhang Mengcheng was also very important in the drama series.
In this new life, Tao Mu accidentally became an investor in "The Great Wall of Flesh and Blood". Under his operation, the filming funds have been directly increased from the 9 million yuan in the previous life to 16 million yuan. The unqualified actors who were stuffed in by the previous investor were also all replaced. The rest, naturally, were people who he felt matched with the roles' image. Tao Mu hoped that the new "The Great Wall of Flesh and Blood" would be better than his previous life in terms of filming details and other aspects.
Although Zhang Mengcheng fit the character image very well. But if he remained in this state and couldn't fully devote himself to the role, Tao Mu didn't want to continue condoning this slack off.
"Can you talk to your agent, we should put all our energy into filming. I think this drama series is very good, and it will definitely be popular after it is broadcast in the future. This is also an opportunity for you. As for those miscellaneous variety programs, in fact, you can pick them up anytime. You are still young, and with a good film work under your belt, it is more useful than a dozen variety shows added together."
Although Tao Mu was only nineteen years old this year, and when he talked he looked very adorably old-fashioned, but Zhang Mengcheng didn't dare to laugh. His heart clenched, knowing that Tao Mu was dissatisfied with his state, and nodded quickly and said, "I will communicate with my agent when I go back. Before finishing the production, I will definitely stay in the filming crew. This kind of thing will not happen again."
Tao Mu patted Zhang Mengcheng's shoulder: "Everyone is doing this for the sake of producing a good film. Don't be too nervous. It's no big deal, just tell your agent directly, and say this is my request to keep you in the filming crew. If you want to take any other jobs after filming, tell me directly. I will communicate with CEO Luo."
Using the resources of Longteng Entertainment to do a favor for others, Tao Mu would never be soft on this kind of thing. He also believed that Luo Xi would never refute him on such trivial matters. After all, the benefits he could bring to Longteng Entertainment were definitely more than the sparse three melons and two dates in the Longteng Entertainment bowl. Besides, from the trajectory of the previous life, Longteng Entertainment originally supported Zhang Mengcheng after the broadcast of "The Great Wall of Flesh and Blood". By saying these words, it was nothing but a favor without cost.
But from Zhang Mengcheng's point of view, this was definitely a delightful surprise. Now the filming atmosphere of the crew was different. If Zhang Mengcheng wanted to complete the filming smoothly and perform well, he would have to consider focusing more on filming. Otherwise, as soon as the TV series airs, even the small supporting characters who have few episodes of scenes perform better than him, how could he still have face then?
It was just that Zhang Mengcheng was in a dilemma about how to communicate with his agent. With Tao Mu's words, he directly took the responsibility instead.
Zhang Mengcheng believed that his agent would not object to this request, if only for the relationship between Tao Mu and the company's top management. What was more, Tao Mu also promised that after the completion of the drama series, the company would give him some resources.
Since Luo Xi was willing to go out of her way to fly to H Town to visit Tao Mu during the first month of the New Year, Zhang Mengcheng would not doubt whether Tao Mu's promise could be fulfilled.
Tao Mu looked at Zhang Mengcheng's excited expression, and hooked the corner of his mouth in nonchalance. Although he could directly put pressure on Zhang Mengcheng in the name of an investor, it was estimated that Zhang Mengcheng would not object at all. But Tao Mu had always been accustomed to giving a slap and then handing over a sweet jujube. It was better to have others work willingly than to have them slack off with resentment.
Twenty minutes later, the crew continued filming. This time, Zhang Mengcheng, who had adjusted his emotions, was as if he had been possessed by the god of drama, and finished the scene in one go. He was also very energetic for the next few scenes. Especially in the particularly important part of the plot, when the male No. 2 played by Zhang Mengcheng tried to develop Su Dingbang as a helper of the underground movement, he spoke a monologue regarding the family and the nation. Zhang Mengcheng's emotions were full and impassioned. Even the people who listened to it live on the set were infected with the passion in his voice. When the director called cut, everyone couldn't help applauding Zhang Mengcheng.
In the previous life, because of Zhang Mengcheng's constant distraction, this episode was just normal, obviously not so infectious.
Tao Mu was quite satisfied with such a change. He liked this kind of filming atmosphere where all the crew members acted passionately together and enjoyed the filming themselves.
Because the filming went well the director temporarily decided to move the street battle explosion scene to be shot in the afternoon to the morning. All props and pyrotechnics began to set up the set and check the breakpoints and position times over and over again.
The scene to be filmed was the scene where the male No. 2 was being pursued by the Japanese. The male No. 2 was discovered by the Japanese when he was evacuating after completing a mission, and was injured after a gunfight. Because there was an explosion scene, everyone checked the set very strictly.
Long Tianao and Luo Xi just stood by and watched everyone filming. During this period, Luo Xi tried every means to talk to Li Xiaoheng: "I really didn't expect filming to be so hard. It seems that CEO Tao truly likes filming."
Long Tianao recalled when he first met Tao Mu, at that time Tao Mu was still an unknown extra in H Town whose film role could casually be taken away by him, and could not help but sigh with emotion: "Right? But Tao Mu does not have it easy. When he was filming in H Town, many people bullied him for not having a backer and a background, and what they did to him was really lacking in morals. Thanks to Tao Mu's ability, he can now bring capital into the crew and become an investor himself. No longer need to be afraid of others kicking him out of the crew."
Lifting the kettle that is not open! (TN: idiom used to indicate that someone is saying or doing something that shouldn't be mentioned in front of others, or that someone is bringing up a sensitive subject)
Luo Xi glared at Long Tianao secretly. Li Xiaoheng smiled slightly and looked at Tao Mu on the set.
Seeing this, Luo Xi suddenly smiled and said, "I remember that CEO Li has always been uninterested in the entertainment industry, so why did you suddenly think of investing in a film crew?"
Li Xiaoheng's eyes were always on Tao Mu. He liked to see Tao Mu's high-spirited and engrossed appearance when he was acting. "Tao Mu asked me to invest, so I invested. I trust his vision."
Luo Xi hooked the corners of her lips upwards and agreed: "Yes. CEO Tao's investment vision is indeed very powerful. It is an honor for us all to cooperate with a person like CEO Tao. By the way, we Longteng Entertainment and Summer Star Entertainment, want to work with once again to hold a talent show, the "National God and Goddess". I wonder if Xiaoheng Capital has any willingness to invest?"
Before Li Xiaoheng could speak, a loud noise suddenly sounded in the set, followed by a commotion.
"It exploded suddenly!"
"There are people injured!"
"Quick! Quickly call 120. Someone is injured….."
Zhang Mengcheng stood there with a look of fear. Just a little bit, if it was replaced by the official filming, then it would not be the stuntman who took his place in going over the positioning, but himself.
Tao Mu, who was in the middle of the commotion, watched the wounded who were rescued by the group extras from the sudden explosion, clenched his fists with a dark expression: "Call the police! Call 120!"
Director Zhou Hong and the rest of the crew quickly gathered around, and when they heard Tao Mu's words, their expressions changed, and they repeated subconsciously, "Call the police?"
The assistant director in charge of the pyrotechnics team hurried over and asked in a low voice, "Just calling 120 is enough. If you call the police, I'm afraid we will not be able to explain it to the media?"
This incident would not be able to be suppressed then.
"We must call the police." Tao Mu said decisively. He remembered that there was no explosion accident in the crew of "The Great Wall of Flesh and Blood" in his previous life. It didn't make sense something would happen in this life just because he became part of the crew. Unless someone had done this on purpose—
Don't blame Tao Mu for conspiracy theories. He himself knew about his own affairs, and Tao Mu's luck had never been very good in both his past and present life. Part of this bad luck was caused by the cannon fodder halo, but more often it was man-made.
If this accident was God's will, then that was his misfortune. But if it was artificial…..Tao Mu clenched his fists subtly. He would fulfill their wish to die, whoever they might be!
Li Xiaoheng stood silently beside Tao Mu, quietly held Tao Mu's hands that were clenched into fists, and pried them apart. Looking at the bloody palm from his fingernails digging into it, he frowned fiercely.
The efficiency of dispatching the police in H Town was particularly fast. Almost ten minutes after the crew called the police, the police arrived at the scene. But faster than the police were always the reporters who got the news from who knew where.
These people also knew to divide into two groups, one group swarmed the crew for an interview, and the other group followed the ambulance to the hospital. In order to hear the news of the wounded being saved or dying as soon as possible.
You c an fi nd t he la te st cha pte rs at ( th e ir on tr ee bl oo ms. c o m )
"Director Zhou, may I ask whether the explosion in the crew was man-made or accidental?"
"CEO Tao insists on calling the police, do you suspect that someone maliciously retaliated against the crew?"
"Mr. Zhang Mengcheng, I heard that the stuntman was helping you rehearse your position when the explosion happened. If it was filmed as normal, you should be the one who was injured. Was this explosion aimed at you?"
"Excuse me….."
"Everyone, be quiet for a while." Director Zhou Hong touched his scalp and said, signalling everyone to be quiet: "The cause of the accident is still under investigation. Whether it is an accident or man-made, it will take a police investigation to get the results. At that time, the crew will hold a press conference and explain it to everyone. Now please leave the set, so as not to affect the police handling the case."
Zhou Hong and the rest of the crew managed to persuade the reporters to leave the film set. The accident site had been cordoned off by the police. After a demolitionist expert inspected the scene, it was judged that the accident was caused by man-made actions—someone had done some tamperings when arranging the bomb which was why it exploded ahead of time.
Now that the cause of the accident had been determined, the rest was much easier to handle. Because Tao Mu chose to call the police immediately, all the demolitionist of the pyrotechnic team stayed on the set and did not leave. Allowing the police to ask them to go back to cooperate with the investigation.
It was investigated that night that a demolitionist in the pyrotechnic team was instructed to make some trouble during the filming. But he explained that he didn't mean to hurt anyone, he just wanted to scare the crew. It was Zhou Hong who changed the filming schedule, and moved the scene that should have been shot in the afternoon to the morning, therefore people were accidentally hurt.
However, when the police asked him to confess the one behind the scenes, the demolitionist who accepted the bribe couldn't say a name. He only knew that the other party was bald, not tall, looked quite strong, and spoke with a Jinxi accent.
Jinxi? Wasn't that former investor coal boss from Jinxi? Almost subconsciously, everyone connected these two together. But without conclusive evidence, the police could only find Boss Huang for routine questioning. Of course, Boss Huang did not admit that the explosion accident of the crew was related to him, and even gloated at the misfortune: "…That surnamed Tao is usually so arrogant, and there must be no less people who were offended by him. The way I see it, it must be some people who don't like him who deliberately did this to scare him, but it ended up as an accident. The actor who was injured is really unlucky. The one behind the scenes didn't dare to do anything to Tao Mu, so of course he would direct the attack on the small fries in the crew. As I see it, this whole thing might not be over just yet. If the actors who are still in the crew are smart, they should leave as soon as possible. Otherwise, they might not have the life to spend the money they make."
Of course, the police who recorded the statement could also see that Boss Huang was gloating at the misfortune and deliberately provoking anger. But it was not like they could stop him from talking like this. In the end, the police could only leave after recording a bunch of nonsense. As for the bald-headed man who the demolitionist revealed that spoke with a Jinxi accent, he had long since disappeared without a trace. The police in H Town did not have sufficient police force to track down the bald man, so they could only record the physical features of the suspect in detail according to the description of the demolitionist, and track him down slowly. As for the responsibility for this explosion accident, it was naturally fully placed on the demolitionist.
The case having progressed to here, everything was basically solved. But even Long Tianao and Miss Luo who came to visit the set were unwilling to accept this answer, let alone Tao Mu. The two got the physical characteristics of the suspect criminal from unknown channels, and then directly posted a reward online.
Of course, such a big movement could not escape the reporters outside the studio. The entertainment reporters who were always ready to report big news collectively climaxed. News or rumors related to the explosion instantly squeezed onto the headlines of major newspapers and weekly magazines. As the news spread, some gossip tabloids even compiled rumors that "Tao Mu was injured on the set due to an act of malicious revenge, and is now lying in the hospital, alive or dead unknown" to deceive sales. It was simply infuriating.
On the other side, the people around Boss Huang became a little flustered and panicked when they learned that the two major shareholders of Summer Star Entertainment and Longteng Entertainment had posted a reward on .
"Boss, they are making such a fuss online, would there be anyone….."
"What are you afraid of?" Boss Huang disagreed: "They don't even have a photo. Just based on these verbal descriptions, who the hell would know who they are looking for. You just tell Qiangzi to hide carefully at this juncture, and if the situation really goes bad, send him to Southeast Asia by boat to play for a few days. He can then come back when the limelight passes."
Speaking of this, Boss Huang frowned fiercely and couldn't help scolding: "…..Motherf**ker, can't even handle such a trivial matter. He almost killed someone."
He also didn't expect the demolitionist to be so shoddy when doing things. He was kicked out of the crew by a little brat like Tao Mu so of course Boss Huang couldn't bear it. He had been paying attention to the movement of the crew of "The Great Wall of Flesh and Blood" this whole time. Then he found out that Boss Wang didn't invest in the crew at all, and that Tao Mu pulled in a young man who was not even a few years older than him instead. Apparently this newcomer was in finance. It seemed that the surname was Li or something.
But whether it was finance or the Internet, in the eyes of an industrialist like Boss Huang that was all synonymous with having no background. Because in China, people with real background were all engaged in industry or real estate. Because of such a mindset, Boss Huang didn't even investigate Li Xiaoheng's net worth and background—after all, a big boss with real wealth would not personally fly to a small town like H Town for the New Year because of a mere five million yuan investment. At the same time also put on the face of holding an inspection of the set. It was estimated that this person, like Tao Mu, was just lucky enough to make some money in the financial market and actually dared to run over to snatch his bread crumbs.
As for Boss Wang who had talked harshly to him on the phone, Boss Huang didn't even have to think about it—he wouldn't even make an investment of 5 million yuan. It was estimated that Boss Wang and Tao Mu were just perfunctory acquaintances.
Because of such a misunderstanding, Boss Huang directly determined that Tao Mu had no background. Since there was no background and no backing, it was natural to carry out his revenge. But concerned about Boss Wang, Boss Huang didn't dare to go too far. He simply bribed the demolitionist from the crew and asked him to cause a few more accidents when setting up the explosion scene, so as to scare the crew. He would then take the opportunity to spread rumors, and scare the cast away. See how this little bastard planned to shoot his film without a crew.
But Boss Huang didn't expect that the demolitionist he bribed was so useless. Not only did he fail to get things done, but he almost killed people. If this happened in his coal mine, this kind of idiot who did things without regard, he would definitely throw him into the mine to dig coal.
"Then what should we do now?" Boss Huang's confidant asked. That demolitionist made such a huge mistake, should they still keep going?
"Aren't you speaking nonsense? Everyone knows that I don't get along with surnamed Tao, and I already made my declarations. Yet I didn't do anything in the follow-up. Won't they suspect me even more?" Boss Huang's thinking was also amazing, he felt that when doing bad things one must do it frankly. That way people won't associate him with the previous wave of bad incidents. His actions could only be considered as throwing stones while his enemy was already down, revenge on Tao Mu and the crew of "The Great Wall of Flesh and Blood".
Besides, Boss Huang felt that he cleaned up any trails left behind. Even if those people were suspicious, they couldn't find any evidence.
Boss Huang had done this kind of thing many times, and he had never made a mistake. He didn't care this time either, and was happily preparing to watch a good show where the little bastard hit a wall because the crew members went on strike and didn't perform.
Damn him, he deserved it. Who asked a bastard like you to not keep your eyes peeled, offending me for a little girl!
Of course, Tao Mu didn't know just how proudly Boss Huang thought of himself. He had to keep an eye on the police to investigate the truth of the accident, hire someone to take care of the stuntman who was accidentally injured in the blasting accident, and maintain the normal filming of the crew—
On the second day of the blasting accident, the stuntmen and extras hired by the crew went on strike one after another, insisting that the blasting accident of the crew was a deliberate act of revenge, and they dared not go to work normally, for fear of encountering the same end as the injured stuntman.
"CEO Tao, it's not that we want to make trouble on purpose. You also understand us. Now the police have come to the conclusion that the blast was caused by man-made reasons. Although those demolitionists were all invited by the police for questioning. But none of us dare to guarantee that the person who wants to take revenge on the crew only bribed one demolitionist, what if he also bribed the props engineer, or other staff? If the crew has accidents one after another, it would not be auspicious, right?"
"Yeah! CEO Tao, don't worry. It won't be too late to start working again when everything has been investigated."
"My ass!" Zhou Hong, who was already devastated by the blasting accident, became even more anxious when he heard this: "Waiting for the investigation to be clear? How clear do you want it to be? With such a big project in the works, the loss of one day's work means a waste of hundreds of thousands of yuan. Can you take out this money?"
Everyone was silent for a while.
"Anyway, we quit." After a long silence, someone said sheepishly: "We don't make much money, and we have to risk our lives. Director Zhou, you are right, the crew is so big, it really can't afford to be delayed. But our lives are more important."
"I'll double the wages." Tao Mu pondered for a while, then said, "Everyone's pay is doubled. This accident is indeed man-made, and we will pay more attention to filming safety in the future. If there is an accident, the crew will be responsible for everyone's medical expenses and follow-up medical expenses. But I promise that such a thing will never happen again in the future. I hope everyone can tide over the difficulties with the crew. "
Some people instantly looked at each other in hesitance, tempted at the doubled wages. However, they had already received Boss Huang's money, and they dared not do nothing—Boss Huang's methods were much more ruthless than the approachable CEO Tao.
"Then what conditions do you want?" Tao Mu himself was an actor, and of course he was more observant. Looking at the exchanging looks of the leading group extras, he knew that someone might be playing tricks behind the scene so he probed subtly.
"CEO Tao, it's really not about money." The so-called greed for profit, with Boss Huang tampering behind the scene, and Tao Mu's usually approachable and easy-going attitude in the crew, these people even dared to take advantage of the situation, and said greedily: "If you could increase all of our salaries tenfold, we'll give in, and everyone will risk his life to help you finish this film."
As soon as these words came out, some people immediately cheered.
"Yes, tenfold!"
"If you don't give ten times the wages then we'll quit!"
"That's right. Everyone is putting his life at risk here, so you must pay us ten times the salary."
"You guys are simply taking advantage of the situation!" Zhou Hong shook in anger, and the other main members of the crew were also very dissatisfied. One by one they all came over and tried to talk reason to these people.
"What? You people can get tens of thousands of yuan in salary for one episode. We are only paid fifty yuan a day for group extra performances, and 200 yuan a day for stunt performers. Now that something happened to the crew, we were all at risk. Can't we even get a raise?"
"Yes, either raise the money or we'll go on strike."
"That's right. Aren't you afraid that you will lose hundreds of thousands a day if you don't start work? Now let's see if you want to lose hundreds of thousands a day, or give us a raise!"
"Hurry up and think about it! It won't be just ten times the wages later."
"Fifteen times…..twenty times….."
Someone deliberately fanned the flames, and coupled with a large group of extras who were not high in IQ and only knew how to join in the fun, the large group of people raised the prices, and in just a while, the pay became even higher than the main actors.
It seemed that they really took Tao Mu as a pushover.
"Why are you doing this? Did Tao Mu mistreat you? Did the crew mistreat you? CEO Li visited the set and delivered takeaways, and even included your shares. At the beginning, you said that the crew's treatment was very good, but now you turn your face and deny it?" Tao Mu's Beijing Film classmates didn't experience much, and when they saw this scene, they almost cried. They all felt injustice for Tao Mu.
However, this group of extras were originally instructed to come here to make trouble. They didn't care what other people said at all.
"Brother Gou. Call Lawyer Zhou." Tao Mu instructed expressionlessly, "Have Lawyer Zhou come over to file a lawsuit."
He looked at the crowd of clamoring extras in front of him, and said calmly: "Group extras are not counted. The special actors and stunt performers signed contracts when they joined the crew. Either perform the contract or compensate for liquidated damages. You choose. "
Tao Mu had always been one to yield to soft approaches but rejected force. If someone dared to take advantage of the situation and rob him, then he would see if these people still have the ability to keep raising prices after he was done with them.
"Have the casting director remember the number of people. At this moment, those who are making a fuss about quitting the crew, write down their names. In the future, will no longer recruit these people as group extras for movies and TV series invested by ."
Long Tianao, who was watching from the side, immediately said, "Give me a copy of the list. In the future, the projects invested by Summer Star Entertainment will not need these people."
Miss Luo was slower in taking the step and could only echo Long Tianao's words,
As soon as the three of them said these words, the group of extras instantly exploded.
"Isn't this bullying?"
"How can you be so unreasonable."
"Damn it, I just know these guys don't treat us like people. Come on guys, let's beat them—"
Before he finished speaking, the person who spoke suddenly screamed. He was kicked three meters away by Gou Rixin.
"You all f**king give me a break!" Gou Rixin hadn't returned to H Town for more than half a year, but he still had a lot of influence in the hearts of some old group extras in H Town.
Especially after Gou Rixin finished speaking, there was a sudden commotion outside the studio. It turned out that Da Luo had led Gou Rixin's group of martial arts brothers and more than a 100 group extras over.
"Brother Gou, brother Mu, we aren't late are we?" Da Luo hurriedly ran over with a grin: "I just got a call from brother Gou, so I contacted everyone. I called over all the group extras that could be recruited. Now, including the special and stunt performers, there are a total of 132 people. Some brothers are filming in other crews so they can't come over today. If it's not enough, we can call them to come over tomorrow."
Anyway, the wages of group extras were calculated on a daily basis. Under normal circumstances, everyone would act in the same crew until the end of filming. But if there were special circumstances, quitting midway was also something that could not be avoided. Besides the crew wouldn't care, anyway, group extras were like props, and no one cared about who they were.
"It's enough for the time being. Thank you all." Tao Mu walked in front of the crowd and said directly: "Thank you for coming to help. Not much to say, but for those who come today, the salary will be double the market price. Everyone will be paid later. Report all your names, in the future, when , Summer Star Entertainment, and Longteng Entertainment film again and need group extras and special actors, we will give priority to everyone."
As Tao Mu spoke he bowed deeply to Da Luo and the group of extras and martial arts brothers he brought. After getting up, he didn't even spare a look to those group extras making trouble just now. He just directly said to Gou Rixin: "Tell them all to piss off!"
Tao Mu, who had always been heavily burdened by idol baggage, was so angry that he actually swore in public. While everyone was surprised, they also felt refreshed.
While the young students of Beijing Film might not see it, old fritters like Zhan Bin could see that these group extras were instructed by others to deliberately come to make trouble. The purpose was probably to keep the crew from filming. The crew of "The Great Wall of Flesh and Blood" just started filming a few days ago. Who could have such a deep hatred for them? Everyone didn't even have to think too hard about it.
On the one hand, they were disgusted with the behavior of the coal boss, and on the other hand, they were also worried about the crew. But unexpectedly Tao Mu was so capable at such a young age. And Gou Rixin, who followed Tao Mu silently and looked like a very honest lad, was actually able to pull in more than 100 people without making a sound, including special actors, stunt performers and group actors…..He was practically more competent than the casting director in their crew.
Tao Mu was determined to kill the chickens to set an example, and directly asked Gou Rixin and the crew to kick all the group extras who had made the most commotion out of the crew. The rest of the group extras who followed their lead looked at each other in dismay. Some people left by themselves out of pride, and some people stayed due to concerns about future consequences.
Tao Mu didn't say anything. Although he had the heart to kill chickens to set an example, he couldn't kick everyone out. So as not to cause this group of people to unite against him under shared hatred, it would be more troublesome at that time. Might as well dismantle them from within. Except in order to teach these group actors and stunt performers a lesson, Tao Mu had the crew double the pay for the new group actors and purposely overlooked the old group actors.
As for the group extras who were not incited just now and were still honestly waiting for the crew to go back to work, they were delighted to find that their wages also increased.
Sweet jujube along with a hard hit from a stick, and the crew that had been flustered and panicked completely calmed down. Some people were happy, and some people felt regret. But it all mattered not to Tao Mu.
Tao Mu turned around and called Wang Ye's father. He remembered that Wang Ye's father once said that the small coal kiln of Boss Huang might not have proper procedures. He wanted to ask about the reporting process. As a result, he learned from Uncle Wang that it turned out that Li Xiaoheng had already asked him to do the reporting. Apparently Li Xiaoheng personally communicated with the Jinxi local government using his status as the Li family's son.
It was estimated that this time, Weasel Huang wouldn't be given a chance to escape at all.
After hanging up the phone, Tao Mu was shocked to realize that he hadn't seen Li Xiaoheng for two days.
It was also because there were too many things happening in the past two days, and Tao Mu had the problem of focusing all of his attention as soon as he started on something. He didn't even notice when Li Xiaoheng, who had been wandering beside him, disappeared.
It wasn't until he made this phone call with Wang Ye's father that Tao Mu knew that Li Xiaoheng had gone back to Beijing specifically for this matter to ask the elders of the Li family to communicate directly with the relevant departments in western Jinxi. Li Xiaoheng himself acted as a whistleblower, and he reported it under his real name. As for the other procedures after the report, it would be fully handed over to Wang Ye's father.
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Without the need for Wang Ye's father to elaborate, Tao Mu could also guess how much favors Li Xiaoheng had put in for this matter.
Was it worth it?
Tao Mu frowned. He felt that if it was him, since he had already entrusted the matter to Uncle Wang, he would never let the Li family come forward. This was obviously a waste of resources.
The key thing was that the reason why Li Xiaoheng did this was to vent his anger. In other words, Tao Mu would have to pay back all the favors Li Xiaoheng had promised in this matter.
Tao Mu's brain was spinning fast, and he was already thinking about how much profit he should create for Li Xiaoheng in order to repay this favor—Li Xiaoheng specially went back to Beijing to ask the Li family to come forward. If nothing else, just for the sake of this concern for him, at least it should be worth more than several billions.
That night, as soon as Tao Mu returned to the hotel, he began to swipe through the notebooks that only he could understand. Trying to find business opportunities in it. Unfortunately, it didn't take long for him to be interrupted by the visit of Long Tianao and Luo Xi.
Long Tianao and Luo Xi also contributed to the matter of the coal boss bringing trouble to the crew. Tao Mu understood in his heart and when facing the two of them, his attitude was a lot more casual. He even made up his mind to give up part of the profits in the follow-up cooperation between them.
Long Tianao and Luo Xi never thought that the two of them would have such an unexpected joy when they fought for righteousness. Long Tianao was simply standing up for his friend, and he had long regarded Tao Mu as his brother, so of course he was willing to accept the benefit of his brother. Therefore, there was no pressure on Long Tianao at all. When Tao Mu promised the benefit, he didn't even ask any further, nor did he demur, directly accepting it.
On the contrary, Luo Xi was worried. She wanted profits but was also afraid that Tao Mu would think she was insatiable, and she was even more afraid that if Tao Mu gave the benefits to Longteng Entertainment, then he would not give her advice on the stock market after that. In worrying about gains and losses, it was inevitable that she appeared indecisive.
Tao Mu didn't care either, and continued to discuss with the two about the specifics of holding a new talent show.
Long Tianao said carelessly: "I think the voting model of the school beauty school hunk was very good. When the contestants first entered the competition, they didn't understand anything. We hired professional teachers to teach them their talents, and then let them perform. When the audience watches it, it gives them the pleasure of cultivating and watching an idol grow. They can see how stars are born. So this time, we are going to do the same for the talent show of "National God and Goddess". After a public pre-selection, gather them all in the filming venue, and then have mentors teach them the four aspects: voice, stage presence, mannerism, and appearance. Then they will perform on the stage, and the mentors and the audience will vote to decide who will advance. The last remaining national top 16 will be invested by the three of us to shoot an idol drama. Directly promote them in their star debut."
"But this time, it's not the same as the "National School Beauty School Hunk" competition. Our company will also introduce artists from our performance classes to participate in the audition. So the voting mechanism….." As Luo Xi said this she tentatively looked at Tao Mu .
Tao Mu frowned: "Whether it's an artist you want to support within your company, or a contestant who is popular among the audience, if you want to be the organizer, I don't want any tampering in regards to the voting mechanism."
Speaking of this, Tao Mu also felt strange: "Why are you so stingy? Anyway, the contestants who advance to the top 16 will definitely sign with your companies. The meat is already in your bowl, is there a difference between who you support?"
Luo Xi shook her head and smiled bitterly. If only it could be as simple as Tao Mu said. However, she also knew that with Tao Mu's temper, he would definitely not agree to this request made by Longteng Entertainment. She just inquired on a routine basis, so that she could explain to other shareholders when she went back.
Long Tianao didn't think too much: "The competition is handed over to to host, of course, can do whatever it wants. With 's audience base, if these signed junior artists can't even make a name for themselves under this fair competition system, it is likely that the company won't be able to support them to stardom them even if forcefully. So don't make it difficult for Tao Mu."
As Long Tianao spoke, he then mentioned another thing to Tao Mu: "The idol drama we are going to film is mainly about the fashion industry. It's similar to the Hollywood movie "The Devil Wears Prada". There will be a lot of international brands. Don't you have a good relationship with the fashion industry? Don't they love you very much? When filming, can you come forward and meet those international brands and fashion magazines and have them help out on the art direction? And mainly to see if these big brands are willing to give us a friendly sponsorship."
Otherwise, with so many luxury goods showing up in the drama like goods on an assembly line, how much budget would it take to shoot such an idol drama?
Long Tianao rolled his sleeves eagerly: "I'll tell you the truth. This project was proposed by me. I just want to make a real idol drama, not one where the supposed heir of a big group worth tens of billions of dollars go out on a date at Starbucks, and shop with girlfriends at cheap foreign trade stores…..I just want those ordinary boys and girls to experience the real high society. Of course, if I can, I wonder if I can apply for a particularly handsome and rich supporting role?"
Understood. He just wanted to be handsome and show off his wealth, right?
Tao Mu laughed. Luo Xi added: "There is one more thing, there are many department stores under the Luo Group. We hope that when the TV series is filmed, we can shoot the scenes in the department stores under the Luo Group. Moreover, the high-end communities and villas developed by the Luo Group will be launched one after another at the end of the year. We hope that when shooting the TV series, we can also give some publicity to the real estate developed by the Luo Group. "
Tao Mu: "….." Do you folks want to film idol dramas or commercials? With so much side stuff, why don't we just make an idol drama for you as a commercial?
Long Tianao's eyes lit up: "It's actually possible to have this kind of operation! Why didn't I think of it. Then I also request to film our Long family's properties when filming the dramas. Our Long family also has real estate development and department stores. By the way, Tao Mu, don't you want to negotiate with those international luxury brands? Could you maybe talk with them about having their goods displayed in our Longxing Department Store as well? It's no problem if they disdain our Longxing Department Store as being too low-level, we can rebuild a high-end shopping mall according to their requests. Wow, in order to shoot an idol drama, a department store had to be built first. Say, do you think other people would especially want to watch this idol drama if they found out? I am a genius!"
So this was how a hedonistic son of the rich who was not the breadwinner did things. Towards this imaginative daydreaming fellow, Luo Xi didn't even bother to pay attention to him.
Tao Mu couldn't help shaking his head. Disapproving of classmate Long Tianao's unsophisticated appearance. In his heart he thought it was nothing novel to build a department store just to shoot an idol drama. With this kung fu, he might as well create an online shopping and retail platform directly and throw all the brands on the Internet—hey, wait a minute!
Tao Mu had a flash of inspiration and suddenly sat up straight. He looked straight at Long Tianao: "You especially want to produce a popular idol drama that could lead fashion trends, right?"
"…..Ang!" Long Tianao blinked, looking at Tao Mu who was inexplicably excited, a little confused.
"Then do you want to produce a world-shattering idol drama?"
Being reborn ten years into the past, what was the most precious thing! Of course it was experience!
Using ten years of experience to compile a business idol drama with a business thinking that was far ahead of the times, what kind of waves would it make?
All kinds of classic cases of business warfare that have not happened yet but would happen in the next ten years were just emerging now, but ten years later, all Chinese people have become accustomed to the Internet daily life. Online transactions, electronic payments, all kinds of social software…..
What if these concepts that seemed so new in 2009 all appeared in a fashion idol drama?
In the future, when some bigwigs talk about their entrepreneurial experience, they say that they got their inspiration from an idol drama…..that would be too awesome, alright!
Thinking of that embarrassing scene—wait, would he be caught and experimented on as an oddity?
Tao Mu, who was overwhelmed with self-confidence in his mind, blinked, and the passion and impulse of whims all subsided at this moment.
He needed more careful consideration and more thoughtful advice. Like he said himself, if he really wanted to make this idol drama into a world-class commercial. Then Tao Mu must ensure that he himself would be the biggest beneficiary after the release of this idol drama.
Tao Mu looked at the two people in front of him thoughtfully—one was trustworthy but not smart enough, and the other was smart enough but not trustworthy.
"I will consider this matter carefully." Tao Mu stood up with a serious face: "It's getting late. You should go back to rest first."
"Huh?" Still waiting for Tao Mu to continue only for Tao Mu to suddenly evict his guests.
Long Tianao and Luo Xi stared blankly at each other, and finally left Tao Mu's room full of question marks.
After seeing off his guests, Tao Mu immediately turned on the computer to write a plan. He typed down his ideas one by one on the document and straightened them out one by one.
Then, Tao Mu subconsciously scrolled down to Li Xiaoheng's mobile phone number while sitting in front of the computer screen.
When Tao Mu realized it, the call was already connected.
Tao Mu: "….."
On the other end of the call, just after flying back from Beijing, Li Xiaoheng, who was standing outside the door of the Tao Mu's hotel room, answered the phone and asked in a warm voice, "What's the matter?"
Tao Mu pondered for a moment, then said, "…..Nothing. I just have a business plan that I want to discuss with you."
As Tao Mu spoke, he glanced at the time displayed on the computer, and said hesitantly, "It's too late. If you need to rest—"
"It just happens that I also really want to chat with you." Li Xiaoheng didn't wait for Tao Mu to finish speaking, and interrupted him directly: "Open the door?"
"Huh?" Tao Mu was stunned for a while before getting up to open the door: "You came back from Beijing so late?"
Li Xiaoheng hooked the corner of his mouth and dragged his suitcase into the door: "Everything over there is almost done being taken care of. So I came back."
Tao Mu thought for a while, and still said, "Thank you."
"No need for thanks. That's what I should do. After all, I'm also one of the investors in the crew." Li Xiaoheng paused, then added: "Of course, we both know that the reason why I acted was not because of this."
Tao Mu poured a cup of hot water for Li Xiaoheng and handed over his freshly typed plan. Li Xiaoheng put the laptop on his lap, scrolled down a few pages, and looked up at Tao Mu: "I can understand the function of video calling, after all, we have discussed it before. But an online shopping platform? Electronic payment? Why do you suddenly want to do this?"
"It's not me." Tao Mu corrected: "I'm insignificant and weightless. I can't do such a big project. This plan is written for Xiaoheng Capital. Anyway, you have the backing of the Li family, and Xiaoheng Capital has strong capital and won't be afraid of wind and waves. Of course, if you're not interested—"
"Why?" Li Xiaohe looked at Tao Mu with interest: "Why did you give me this plan?"
"To thank you for your help before. I heard Uncle Wang say that you also asked the Li family to help you for this matter—"
"It's just a minor effort." Li Xiaoheng interrupted Tao Mu's words again: "We all know the value of this plan. With the backing of Xiaoheng Capital, if you follow your plan, within ten years, your company's market value will be increased at least hundreds of times. Don't say my little effort is worth so much."
Tao Mu frowned: "Don't think too much. Just now, Long Tianao and Miss Luo came to me to discuss the talent show and the later filming of an idol drama. We just talked about this. I just came up with this on a whim and the plan I wrote for you is a plot point I want to shoot in this drama. If you want to do this project, it just so happens that the drama can help you promote it."
"Have you talked to them about your thoughts?" Li Xiaoheng tapped on the computer screen. He said confidently, "You haven't."
Before Tao Mu could speak, he saw Li Xiaoheng staring at Tao Mu with bright eyes as if he had taken a stimulant, as he said with a dazzling smile: "When you think of a good project, you first think of me, and you come up with such a good project just to repay my favor. May I think that in your heart, I actually carry a lot of weight?"
