Chapter 34: Chapter 34 Television Industry

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Time flew by to July.

Tengsheng Fruit was busy expanding into the Shijingshan district, and Chen An’an had already started her summer vacation.

Song Yanxi’s daily routine involved taking her around to play, and of course, she would usually be at the company during the day.

Previously too busy to take care of the little one, now that she had time, she naturally wanted to give her a happy and joyful childhood.

Little An’an sat in the passenger seat of the Bentley, munching on a bag of potato chips.

Today, Liu Fen suddenly called her back for a meal, with no idea what it was about.

Ever since her family bought a small villa, relatives in Capital City seemed to have become much more active all of a sudden.

Today, it was a cousin’s birthday dinner, and tomorrow, a cousin’s brother would have a new girlfriend and would invite her for a meal.

The day after, aunts who were unwell would still call her to visit.

At first, she would go, but once she realized these visits were just roundabout ways of asking to borrow money, she decisively cut them off.

When I was poor, you despised me. Now that I’m wealthy, you come to me.

No way.

Now that she drove a convertible sports car, her aura was even more like that of a true goddess.

Looking at her now, who could remember the time when she had to work during the day and sell flowers at the night market in the evenings?

This time Liu Fen called her back to deal with Song Wu’s situation.

Her younger daughter had graduated but had no resources in the entertainment industry.

At most, she could play some inconspicuous roles, and her monthly income was barely enough to support herself.

Compared to her sister, who was now driving a Bentley, she was worlds apart.

When Song Yanxi returned home, Liu Fen treated her with great hospitality.

“Mom, don’t do this, I really can’t take it,” she said.

“Yanxi, when Pingsheng’s sister came by, you two immediately gave her an Audi A4. Now that your own sister has graduated from university and her job is far away, commuting to filming locations by bus or subway isn’t suitable, right?” Liu Fen said, not bothering to hide anything from her daughter. There was no need, they were all adults.

Song Yanxi frowned, “You called me back for this?”

“Isn’t this a big deal?”

Liu Fen said, “We old folks don’t need you to worry about us, but you can’t just ignore your only sister forever, can you?”

“I can take care of her, and she can get a car if she wants, but first, she needs to apologize to Pingsheng.”

With her being the only sister, Song Yanxi naturally wouldn’t leave her in the lurch.

It was just that she also had her principles, mainly because of the excessive things Song Wu had done in the past.

On holidays, she would call to persuade her to divorce.

Or she would say Chen Ping should leave her, claiming he wasn’t worthy of being with her sister.

If she just handed over a car without doing anything, even if her husband didn’t say anything, he would feel uncomfortable.

Liu Fen dragged Song Wu to apologize, and she was no longer as arrogant as before.

This was mainly because the entertainment industry had forced her to face reality.

So what if she’d graduated? She could still only be an extra.

Earning a mere two hundred yuan a day, it was exhausting work.

“Sis, I was wrong before, but I did it for your own good. Initially, your husband was just a street durian vendor, and I wanted you to find someone better,” Song Wu admitted she had been wrong to Chen Ping.

But she had never had any ulterior motive from the beginning to end.

“Day in and day out, you only know how to look down on this and that,” Song Yanxi chided.

“Go and see, which self-made tycoon isn’t, like your brother-in-law, working from dawn to dusk in their younger years? Anyone who can earn money will do all sorts of work, and if they seize the opportunity when it comes, they can rise to the top.”

Upon reflection, Song Wu realized and acknowledged this point. For years, she had said many unpleasant things, but she had never accused Chen Ping of being anything but hardworking.

Mainly because he was indeed willing to work desperately for money.

Thinking of this, she remembered something else.

“Sis, there’s something I have to tell you. Remember how your husband invested in a TV show in the entertainment circle and chose Zhao Liying as the lead?”

“Well, that show has finished filming. Some executives from various stations have seen it and given very high evaluations. They are now competing to bid for it. This time your husband’s investment will definitely earn big.”

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“Really?”

Song Yanxi was somewhat surprised; this was a completely unexpected windfall.

She had thought her man was just shooting in the dark, but he actually succeeded.

She seemed to remember that he had invested five million before.

“Your brother-in-law invested five million. We don’t really understand the entertainment industry, but in your opinion, if this drama is broadcast on a satellite channel, how much could our family make?”

After pondering, Song Wu said, “Ten million is definitely possible, but the specifics will depend on the viewership ratings after the broadcast. If it can take the top spot for local channel’s annual broadcast, it could make at least tenfold. Even if it doesn’t win first place but reaches the top ten, it could earn around twenty million.”

“That profitable?”

Song Yanxi was truly surprised. No wonder her husband always had money.

It turned out he’d made great returns on his other investments.

“Your brother-in-law made a successful investment this time. The key is that Zhao Liying really can act. After this TV drama, she’ll at least be in with a chance for third or fourth lead roles in big productions.”

Song Wu was genuinely envious. To be part of a big production, even as a minor character, would be fantastic.

“I’ll go back and ask him about it. When you have time, take the initiative to apologize to your brother-in-law. He isn’t a petty person.”

Song Yanxi had only this one sister, and it didn’t seem right to ignore her.

“Don’t feel wronged. Think about how much your brother-in-law has put up with from you. There’s nothing you shouldn’t apologize for.”

Song Wu nodded. Her mother had already apologized; there was no point in her holding out.

The key issue was that her brother-in-law was really on the rise now, with investments in the entertainment industry to boot.

Everyone was envious of her sister’s life.

Many relatives had changed their minds; a man like Chen Pingsheng was the one to marry.

When he was poor, he worked hard, and when he was rich, he still treated you well.

For a woman, what could be better than finding a man like that for a lifetime?

Compared to those unreliable second-generation rich kids, he was practically the cream of the crop.

Back at the company, Yang Jiancheng and Zhao Liying just happened to be there.

The two of them had come over: one to talk about a previous investment collaboration, and the other about the plans going forward.

Yang Jiancheng, new to being a director, had seen success in his first drama.

Once the bidding was complete, Chen Pingsheng would be able to receive his investment return, according to Yang Jiancheng’s estimation.

Selling for thirty million wouldn’t be an issue, and fifty million was also possible.

He had previously invested five million for a forty percent share, so now he might get back between twelve and twenty million.

“I’ve received a script about a young noblewoman named Lu Zhen from an ancient merchant family.”

“From avoiding assassination to being compelled to enter the palace, it’s the story of a female protagonist who climbs from a palace maid to being favored by Emperor Xiaozhao and ascending step by step to become a high-ranking female official,” Yang Jiancheng summarized as he passed the script to him. Big female lead stories were very popular now.

But these types of TV dramas required much higher investments than those small, romantic dramas.

He estimated it wouldn’t cost less than thirty million.

Chen Pingsheng was good in one aspect: once he invested money, he didn’t interfere with the script creation or the shooting at all.

He only provided funding.

That made him the best kind of investor for Yang Jiancheng, so he was looking for another opportunity to collaborate.

“Sure, give me a few days to think about it. But if I’m to invest, Liying must play Lu Zhen,” Chen Pingsheng insisted.

Compared to the money he had made from the current investment, he valued Zhao Liying’s future potential more.

If he could make a star actress.

Who else in Capital City’s talent market would be his competition?

Later investments would surely be more productive.

That’s what constituted a true long-term gain.

Zhao Liying had been busy filming and hadn’t had the time to sit down with him lately; seeing his growing success, she felt genuinely happy.

They talked for a long time before leaving.

She was already playing lead roles and naturally wouldn’t stay in her previous rented apartment; she had long since moved near Hengdian.