Chapter 113: Teacher Chi’s Blonde Bombshell Drops Gold Coins
“Ah, then I’ll add more.”
Chi Ye was stunned for a good while, then immediately nodded and said that this was still far from enough and they needed to keep adding.
“……”
Empress Dowager didn’t speak and lowered her little head again.
Chi Ye also lowered his head, wanting to see the expression on her little face clearly.
“Teacher Chi!”
Jin Xia shifted her butt like a big sucker, turned sideways to dodge Chi Ye’s “tracking” gaze, and said huffing and puffing: “Um… um… at most add 10 more scenes!”
Chi Ye: “……Fishing me again? Are you fishing me again?”
“What are you saying, Teacher Chi? I didn’t.”
Jin Xia raised her head, her beautiful peach blossom eyes brimming with laughter: “I’m just going along with you. Whatever you say is what it is.”
Chi Ye: “Then there’s really a problem now.”
He pretended to be troubled and rubbed his hands: “The script is there, but… on the money side, the studio is a bit strapped for cash.”
“Oh.”
Jin Xia nodded obediently and didn’t speak.
Chi Ye: “?”
He coughed lightly twice: “And also… the issue with the film crew team…”
He paused for two seconds and saw that Empress Dowager still wasn’t speaking, so he could only continue: “I’ve sorted out a bit of it.”
Jin Xia: “?”
She turned her head and gave Chi Ye a strange look, then opened the bag she was carrying, took out a black card, handed it to Chi Ye, and said in a coquettish voice: “Here, for you.”
“What’s this?”
Chi Ye asked in a pretentious manner.
Jin Xia thought for a moment: “The money you use to support me!”
Chi Ye stroked his chin: “This… this isn’t good, this…”
“This is all the announcement fee I have, Teacher Chi.” Jin Xia said glumly: “This is my pocket money that I saved up over several years. I originally planned to keep it as private money for later… but last time I invested in our studio, and more than half of it is still here.”
Chi Ye suddenly felt a bit inhumane. He thought about it and still returned the card: “No, I can’t take this money.”
“Hm?”
Jin Xia was stunned, then delighted: “No way, Teacher Chi, you believe whatever I say? Hehe, take it. I have several cards like this!”
Chi Ye looked her over a few times and shook his head: “You’re lying to me. You only have this one.”
Jin Xia was even more shocked: “You even saw through that?! You’re so smart?! As expected of my… as expected of you, Teacher Chi!”
Chi Ye: “…”
He actually hadn’t seen through it; he was bluffing.
“I think we can’t put all our eggs in one basket.”
After thinking for a while, Chi Ye said: “We’ll fund it ourselves. Reboot still has some money left, but for the film crew team and platform… can we find some other resources?”
We’ll earn the money ourselves, but for building this film crew and the platform side… well, although the two of them really don’t have much resources, Director Liu has already agreed to bring his original team to join the studio.
For setting up the film crew, recruiting a few more people would be enough.
But as the saying goes, think ten steps ahead. Chi Ye felt he needed to consider the issue with Jin Xia’s family… best to win over the two existing “guardians.”
Jin Sui had indeed helped him a lot, so giving some feedback and entering the internal entertainment circle was only right.
And honestly, Xing Ni’s investment was quite large; it wasn’t an ordinary small film crew. Chi Ye and Jin Xia really didn’t have much experience or connections in this area and couldn’t make it perfect.
Whereas Empress Dowager’s two “guardians,” though not great in the internal entertainment circle, should have plenty of resources in other areas.
For example, Jin Sui, the aunt who has been hanging out in Hong Kong all year round, should know a lot of top modern idol drama teams in places like Taipei.
“Oh, like that? That’s easy to handle.”
Seeing that Chi Ye was serious, Empress Dowager stopped teasing him. She thought carefully, and her peach blossom eyes lit up: “Got it!”
“What method?”
Chi Ye was quite expectant.
“I’ll explode gold coins!”
Chi Ye: “Ah?”
His focus was also quite peculiar now: “No, who did you learn that from? Explode what gold coins? Sounds so tacky.”
“I learned it from you, Teacher Chi. You said it before, and I remembered it!”
Chi Ye: “…”
“Then whose are you exploding?”
He thought Jin Xia would say to explode Uncle’s gold coins. After all, Uncle had just taken over an entertainment company on a perfect platter, quite large-scale, just sitting there.
But Jin Xia tapped her chin: “First off, can’t explode Uncle’s.”
“Why?” Chi Ye was puzzled.
“Because he’ll bring bad luck!” Jin Xia said seriously: “Any project he takes a liking to, invests in, or even helps will lose money big time! You’ve just started out, and it’s not easy saving this bit of money from singing so many songs, so he can’t come in!”
Chi Ye was greatly shocked: “……Is that okay?”
“Of course.” Jin Xia said seriously: “Explode Aunt’s!”
“Aunt may be pretty… unreliable usually, but she’s way better than Uncle, and she’s always wanted to enter the mainland market. I think this is an opportunity.”
Chi Ye nodded repeatedly as he listened, feeling that Empress Dowager’s arrangement was so thoughtful and clever.
In the end, he couldn’t hold back and asked: “Are you sure you’re not deliberately targeting Uncle?”
“No.” Jin Xia denied immediately: “I won’t target him just because he used to scold me a lot when I was little, and now doesn’t support us… us. Don’t worry, Teacher Chi, I’m not that petty.”
Chi Ye: “…”
Indeed, I’m the petty one.
……
Chi Ye and Jin Xia’s “first entrepreneurship” was decided in their brief “secret talk” of just a few words.
In the following days, Chi Ye waited for Director Liu, who had “forcibly breached his contract” with his former company, waited for Jin Xia’s announcements, and waited for gifts from Aunt in Hong Kong.
—An experienced Taipei modern idol drama team + contact lists for major luxury brands.
This was another reason Chi Ye wanted a “win-win.”
In Xing Ni, the costumes, especially the everyday clothes of the male and female protagonists, were basically all from major famous luxury brands. Without someone to pull strings for these, it would really be troublesome relying on just the two of them.
But connections like this were a piece of cake for someone like Jin Sui… after all, ultimate VIP black card clients of several decades; borrowing was effortless.
They really weren’t short on it!
Upon hearing this news, Jin Ming, who was also in Beijing and full of ambition, was very displeased and even “threw a huge tantrum.”
He called his sister again.
“Hello?”
Jin Sui on the other end asked: “What is it again?”
“Let me ask you, why are you helping Chi Ye open up new territories?!”
“Speak human.”
“Then let me ask you, why are you helping Chi Ye find people and invest money?! Did you invest money? Do you want to lose everything?”
Jin Sui was displeased: “Who are you saying will lose everything? Which entrepreneurial genius was given two hundred million by the family and lost three hundred million in less than two months?”
“You even covered an extra hundred million. You’re really something, business magnate.”
“Entrepreneurship half a lifetime, back to being a money-loser.”
Jin Ming’s face reddened: “A real man doesn’t mention past glories. Why keep bringing up old stuff?”
“Money-loser doesn’t mention past failures. That money you lost… one-third was my investment in you. If you had any conscience, you wouldn’t yell at me!”
Jin Ming: “……But you’re my sister.”
“Get lost. Whoever wants to be your sister can have her. Please tell me what you’ve been looking down on lately; I’ll invest in it. Maybe I can earn it back.”
Jin Ming was furious: “Stop humiliating me all the time. I have pride too, Jin Sui!”
“Anything else? If not, I’m hanging up.”
Jin Sui was too lazy to deal with this brother whose brain wasn’t normal.
“……I’m not optimistic about Chi Ye’s so-called project.”
Jin Ming hurriedly said: “Listen to my analysis! Don’t hang up, let me analyze for you!”
Jin Sui humored him: “Then analyze away, Wall Street giant crocodile.”
“Hehe, no need to flatter me like that.”
Jin Ming smiled slightly and spoke with reason: “First, this Chi Ye—I checked him out these past few days… he’s not even an actor to begin with, and his acting skills and reputation are terrible. You say, not even an actor but acting, no acting skills—how can it not lose money?”
“And?”
“Second, and the most critical point, what capital does he have? What track record? Six flops in a row! Flopped so bad that Yue Na was once depressed—an early-stage bad-luck patient. You say, Xia Xia acting with him—isn’t that like lighting a lantern in the restroom, looking for Mona Lisa’s excrement?”
“……Speak normally, don’t be so disgusting.”
“See, not elegant, right? And you say me.” Jin Ming sighed: “Finally, I really want to help Xia Xia. A while ago she insisted on hyping some CP, half her fans are career fans, and her popularity has been dropping. These years her career hasn’t been going well either.”
“Only by acting in my big production can she go to the next level, not go act in a flop that’s doomed to… wait, let me think how to say this… right, can’t go act in a series that’s doomed to lack artistic value, poor watchability, weak narrative and audiovisual presentation!”
Jin Sui was greatly shocked listening: “You’ve really got a whole set of fancy words, huh? You’ve made it.”
Jin Ming: “?”
Who’s the brother, who’s the sister?
“Sigh, I know what you’re saying.”
Seeing that her brother was genuinely sincere, Jin Sui was a bit speechless and could only sigh: “But… seeing Xia Xia so enthusiastic… I can’t not help her. If it were you, wouldn’t you help?”
Jin Ming fell silent: “I wouldn’t help, but I can consider letting Chi Ye act as Male No.9 in my big production!”
Jin Sui: “……6.”
She said: “Don’t worry, I didn’t invest much, no need to worry about me losing too much. I’m mainly helping them fill in some missing funds, and the rest is just connecting them with people, recommending a few teams… doesn’t count as money.”
“Not much is good, not much is right!”
Jin Ming breathed a sigh of relief; he had called this time because he was afraid his sister would lose too badly this time.
After all, he had experienced that taste before, and his sister’s career wasn’t going well now either. If she got pitted by Chi Ye again, then he… he’d have to duel Chi Ye in a poetic way full of cultural heritage.
Are your parents home, sir?!
“Remember this: just be glad for your brother’s current business acumen. You’ll come thank me later.”
After Jin Ming finished, he hung up the phone with a sigh of regret.
Jin Sui looked at her phone screen and sighed wearily.
Yeah, if Xia Xia’s career doesn’t rise, that’s fine, but don’t let this drama turn into her Waterloo.
……
Chi Pan Xia Yu still didn’t know that two elders who cared extremely about them… mainly about Jin Xia, were racking their brains for them behind the scenes.
A month later, with the Xing Ni film crew still in preparation, Chi Ye received a phone call from Director Zhang of Circulation.
—Circulation had fewer episodes and was almost done editing; now just waiting for post-production special effects, music, and such.
It wouldn’t be long before, after review, it would officially slot into this year’s summer slot, with the broadcast platform being the previously agreed-upon Ku Ying.
As for why not Penguin Video or Kiwifruit Film and Television, which have the largest audience traffic…
Need I say more?
Before hanging up, Director Zhang urged Chi Ye about recording the OST. Chi Ye sent a message to Teacher Shi, then Director Zhang curiously asked: “Heard your next drama is a pie you baked yourself?”
Baking your own pie in the industry means assembling and investing in a new drama yourself.
Generally, those who can bake their own pies are big shots in the film circle: either transforming into directors or going behind the scenes to invest, acting as project producers, holding enough influence, becoming semi-capital or capital itself.
At Chi Ye’s age, or even his current development stage… baking his own music and film pie… couldn’t even be described as reluctant anymore, but more like forcing it onto the horse.
Flop one, and it’s “nothing left.”
So Director Zhang was very shocked upon hearing the news, and a bit uncomprehending.
Is there any need to be this “desperate”?
In response, Chi Ye said straightforwardly: “Yes, self-invested. A new drama co-produced by the studio and Hong Kong side.”
Director Zhang: “……Female lead is Jin Xia?”
“Yeah.”
“……Awesome, truly awesome. You can even pull a hot top little flower as female lead. Brother, in this aspect I admire no one but you—my nephew serves!”
Director Zhang gave a thumbs up over the phone.
He really admired Chi Ye’s operation. Too awesome—living off a woman’s earnings to this extent. Never mind if it succeeds or fails… with Jin Xia by his side, so what if he fails a hundred times?
Still a fine man!
“At Screaming Night, I was already optimistic about you two… oh, look at that, another half year gone by…”
Director Zhang started his usual nagging.
Once he was done nagging, Chi Ye casually asked: “Where’d you hear this news from? Does everyone know now?”
“Duh, what secrets are there in the circle?”
Director Zhang laughed: “But others don’t know your acting skills, I do. Brother, I support you! Once Circulation airs, blind their dog eyes!”
Chi Ye: “…”
After chatting with Director Zhang a bit more, he hung up.
“Finally airing, huh.”
Chi Ye was a bit dazed.
As his first work after rebirth, before leaving Yue Na, started filming at the beginning of the year, shot for three months—this speed was already quite fast.
Generally, before a TV series airs, not to mention the filming permit, after shooting, you need the distribution license; only after content review passes is it confirmed for broadcast.
Commonly called “net standard” in the industry.
This thing’s review speed varies, but Director Zhang took a shortcut. To pass review as fast as possible for sensitive content, he submitted in Haixi, famously fast in the industry. North usually takes 50 working days, but Haixi’s policy is within 25 working days, fastest 15.
Thus, Circulation’s prior filing, filming location, etc., were all in Haixi.
Once Circulation is edited and reviewed, it can discuss broadcast scheduling with the platform and prepare large-scale publicity and distribution.
Yes.
Director Zhang had just said his new drama prep was prep, but he couldn’t forget his “old flame.”
When it’s time to cooperate with Circulation promotion and do announcements, he must make time.
This drama was also Director Zhang’s “comeback work.”
Two updates today
