Chapter 131 Extra - Investor 1

With the popularity of the show "I Love Singing", Ruyi Apparel has ushered in a new wave of sales.

Su Ruyi no longer approaches the clothing business with the attitude of making a quick profit and leaving, but has instead developed a long-term plan, with the mainstream style leaning towards casual and basic pieces.

It is mainly divided into three series: Urban Series, Leisure Series, and Youth Series.

The Youth series is a fast-fashion style, focusing on a variety of styles at low prices. It is mainly aimed at college students and recent graduates who like to dress up but don't have high requirements for quality.

The youth series updates its styles very quickly, and a dedicated design team is on hand to design dozens of new styles every month, which are then put into production and adjusted in a timely manner based on market feedback.

This series also has the highest sales volume, but because it is relatively easy to become outdated, it can also lead to inventory buildup.

However, compared to ten or twenty years from now, trends change much slower now. In addition, the cost is low, and it is possible to sell at a low price later without losing money. Therefore, there are very few cases of large quantities of unsold inventory.

To avoid the burden of future price reductions affecting other series, this series has its own separate brand name.

The Urban and Casual series place greater emphasis on quality, with meticulous attention to fabric and tailoring, resulting in a higher-quality feel and a higher price point compared to the Youth series.

The urban series, in particular, targets a group with a certain economic capacity, and therefore pays more attention to quality.

The show "I Love Singing" originally focused on a casual and youthful theme, especially the youthful theme, which featured a wide variety of stylish designs.

To Su Ruyi's surprise, the urban series was also very popular.

This is largely thanks to Zhu Ting, who ultimately won third place. He was the most educated contestant in the competition; he was a master's graduate in engineering but also loved to sing.

He wasn't particularly handsome, but he was refined and tall. Later, he was given gold-rimmed glasses and his image was further enhanced, making him look even more distinguished and giving the impression that he was knowledgeable and cultured.

Although Su Ruyi's first reaction upon seeing his appearance was that he was a refined scoundrel, he was indeed quite unique.

In Chinese tradition, cultured people are always highly regarded. In addition, his resume is indeed impressive, his voice is excellent, and he is very hardworking, so he has always been very popular.

He was wearing Ruyi Clothing's urban series, which made him look even more dashing. This led to the series becoming popular among many men, who all tried to dress like him.

Zhu Ting has an exceptional ability to drive sales. Not only did the clothes he wore become bestsellers, but he also managed to make the women's clothing line very popular, which surprised Su Ruyi.

Zhu Ting naturally became the spokesperson for the urban series, and the other female spokesperson was also a contestant in the top ten.

She gives off a very urban white-collar vibe, which suits this series very well.

Xu Fei won the runner-up position. She was the most popular singer in the entire competition. She has a youthful and sweet appearance, and people of all ages like her and are willing to vote for her.

Her style of dress is something that junior and senior high school girls strive to emulate, making her the most popular in this group, and these girls are also the most active in voting, so her popularity has always ranked first.

However, her singing skills were indeed slightly inferior, and she was still a bit worse than other singers. Especially compared with the champion, the difference was more obvious. Therefore, although many people felt sorry for her and were convinced that she got second place, they were also convinced.

The champion is Lin Feng, a very talented female singer. She is a professionally trained singer with exceptional talent and excellent stage presence. Although she has an ordinary appearance, her ability is undeniable.

Most importantly, she is also a singer-songwriter, and she boldly sang her own original song during the finals.

This approach is very risky. Singing well-known songs can give singers an extra boost because of the song's inherent influence. Those songs have already been tested by the market, so there's nothing wrong with the songs themselves.

Singing a new song that you wrote yourself can also affect your performance if the original song is not outstanding.

But Lin Feng still sang it, and the song became an overnight sensation. Now, it's played everywhere.

This song is actually very difficult. There is a high note in the middle that Su Ruyi couldn't sing even if she strained her voice, but it is still very popular.

Many people use this song as a benchmark when singing karaoke. They feel they haven't sung it properly if they don't sing or shout it out during karaoke.

Lin Feng has become the spokesperson for braised food, and her singing style is a perfect match for the spicy and fragrant braised food.

In recent years, the company has expanded its braised food business to other provinces and cities, and its influence has gradually increased, demonstrating its considerable strength.

Su Ruyi signed contracts with all ten of the top contestants, asking them to promote her products.

These business opportunities can directly bring substantial rewards to the athletes, allowing them to monetize their efforts during this period.

Moreover, becoming brand ambassadors, along with the brand's influence, will prevent them from disappearing from the public eye immediately after the competition.

As for the television station organizing a tour or having these contestants participate in various performances later on, Su Ruyi no longer gets involved.

“The provincial TV station plans to follow our model and continue to hold similar singing competitions next year. Mr. Su, are you interested in participating again?” Liu Quan asked.

The provincial TV station just went satellite this year, and its influence after going satellite is definitely incomparable to that of the provincial terrestrial channels.

Although the TV station has been very popular with the public and its ratings have been very impressive over the years, it still has its limitations.

If the show "I Love Singing" had aired on a provincial TV station, it would definitely have been even more popular.

"We're starting to attract investment now?" Su Ruyi said in surprise.

The provincial TV station clearly retains the old habits of its predecessors in public institutions, resulting in extremely low efficiency and a very conservative approach.

Compared to the Provincial Economic and Trade Channel, which underwent significant reforms nationwide, the Economic and Trade Channel, a rising star, has often surpassed the provincial channel.

Su Ruyi originally thought that since the Economic Television Station had produced so many highly successful programs, the Provincial Television Station would definitely follow suit very quickly.

Unexpectedly, even though other provincial TV stations had followed suit, Qingshan Provincial TV Station remained silent and steady.

Su Ruyi felt it was very disconnected. The Economic and Economic Channel was also derived from the provincial channel, and many people came from the provincial channel. How could the styles be so different?

I never expected things to change like this!

"You probably don't know yet, but there's been a huge change in the leadership of the provincial TV station. They'll probably announce the new director in a few days. This new director is a reformist. He was the one who proposed setting up the Economic TV station as a pilot for reform, and he's the one who promoted me."

Su Ruyi suddenly realized why Liu Quan had made that call to her.

If the provincial TV station remains the same as before, Su Ruyi has no intention of investing. Although she has invested in the provincial TV station before, the cooperation was not very pleasant and far less comfortable than at the Economic TV station.

Moreover, the program received a lukewarm response; at best, it didn't lose money.

Later, apart from necessary social interactions, Su Ruyi would never sponsor a new program there; she would rather buy advertising slots directly.

"So, from what you're saying, the provincial TV station is going to undergo a major transformation?"

"The new station director will only be bolder than me!"

Su Ruyi was relieved and also signed up to participate in the investment promotion.

Liu Quan reminded him: "Although there will be major changes at the provincial TV station, it will be very difficult for you to have the same amount of influence as you do at the Economic TV station."

Su Ruyi understood this as well. Although she had less control over the show, the risks were mitigated by the other sponsors.

The reach of broadcasting on satellite TV would definitely be much greater, and Su Ruyi felt there was still great potential.

Her three major businesses—Ruyi Apparel, Dried Fruit, and Braised Food—are all expanding production and building new factories in the industrial park, which requires greater advertising efforts.

In addition, Lu Ting's real estate projects also need to be heavily promoted.

Since there is an opportunity to cooperate with the provincial TV station, Su Ruyi will definitely not let it go. If the new station director is indeed as Liu Quan said, then the provincial TV station will definitely not be bad in the future.

Although the provincial TV station is conservative, it has had many popular programs in the past, so it is still quite powerful.

There are many talented people there, but many of them haven't had the opportunity to shine before.

That's why the Hunan TV station was able to find some talent, and many people came over.

Needless to say, Su Ruyi understood this perfectly well, but Liu Quan's mention of it showed how much he valued her.

"I'm a complete novice. As long as the show can advertise my brand, I won't interfere with anything else."

Liu Quan laughed and said, "What kind of novice are you? Everyone knows you have sharp eyes."

"Good luck, good luck."

The huge success of "I Love Singing" further enhanced Su Ruyi's aura of "everything goes well".

"Speaking of which, an old classmate of mine came to me for help. We're good friends. I used to eat a lot of the chili sauce his mom made for him when we were in school. Ms. Su, could you do me the favor and take a look at his cousin's notebook?"

Ever since Su Ruyi invested in the production of TV dramas and achieved excellent reviews and ratings, even more scripts have been submitted to her.

Since then, Su Ruyi has invested in three TV series, two of which have already aired and the other is still in production.

The TV dramas that aired all received a good response, allowing Su Ruyi to make a small fortune.

However, these TV dramas are all produced by TV stations. Su Ruyi only needs to read the script and if she likes it, she can submit it without having to worry too much.

But the books outside are different. Su Ruyi doesn't know those people and doesn't know if they are reliable.

It's important to understand that film and television investment involves a huge amount of money. There are people who use this as an excuse to commit fraud. Even those who genuinely want to make a film may not take investors' money seriously and act recklessly.

Some directors make a fortune themselves, but investors pour money into their films only to see them fail to produce a finished product for a long time, and when they do, the results are often disappointing.

Even worse, the film might not be able to be released after it's finished, and all the investment will be wasted.

Su Ruyi runs a legitimate business and doesn't launder any money; she earns it all little by little on her own and is very cautious with her investments.

Therefore, she has only collaborated with television stations over the years. Although she has received many scripts, some of which later became huge hits, she has not been interested.

Success is always a minority. Many of those scripts that were later adapted into films either had very poor ratings or never even had a chance to be broadcast.

Su Ruyi doesn't work full-time in film and television investment. Ruyi Clothing and other products have been expanding in recent years, and her main job already keeps her very busy.

But now that Liu Quan has pushed it forward, Su Ruyi is giving him face.

"Okay, have him send the notebook to my office."

Liu Quan said, "I've read his script, and it's quite interesting, plus the investment isn't large. Although he doesn't have any independent directorial works, he's worked as an assistant director on several major productions before, so he seems like a very reliable person."

Liu Quan rarely agrees to such things; if the outcome is bad, he will be too ashamed to face the investors later.

Seeing how enthusiastic he was this time, Su Ruyi became even more serious.

The next day, Su Ruyi saw the notebook.

After finishing her work, Su Ruyi specifically set aside time to read the script.

As Liu Quan said, this is a low-budget comedy film with simple scenes and a small cast of characters. It tells the story of a group of ordinary people and revolves around their scams.

The protagonist is a bit simple-minded, but on the surface he seems like a normal person. By a series of coincidences, he manages to fool a group of con artists.

Moreover, the reason why those scammers fall for their tricks is because they don't believe there are such naive people in the world; they overthink things and end up being outsmarted.

The entire plot is designed to be lighthearted and humorous, with a touch of dark humor. Various coincidences and inevitabilities are combined in a very ingenious way.

Su Ruyi is a seasoned film enthusiast, having watched numerous award-winning movies from both domestic and international sources. She's seen most of the critically acclaimed and commercially successful films. Since becoming a beneficiary of land expropriation, she's spent a fortune installing a home theater in every apartment she owns, allowing her to experience the cinematic atmosphere at home. When she has free time at home, she watches various old films.

Upon seeing the script, Su Ruyi couldn't help but praise it.

The content is profound yet relatable. The jokes are funny in a way that makes people laugh naturally, rather than being forced to laugh. It's a rare gem of a script.

Su Ruyi now understood why Liu Quan had praised it so highly; the script was indeed excellent.

However, a good script doesn't guarantee a good film. If the director is incompetent, the camera work is shaky, the editing is a mess, and the actors can't portray the complexity of the characters, the result will be garbage.

This is a product of collective creation; any problem in any stage could lead to complete failure.

Su Ruyi had seen similar situations before. She had seen a notebook before and was just as surprised as this time. However, at that time, the clothing factory needed to expand, which required a large investment. Lu Ting had just acquired two plots of land and did not have much money available, so he did not invest.

When the movie was released, Su Ruyi went to the cinema to watch it as soon as possible, and she was completely stunned when she came out.

What are all these things?!

Lu Ting, who watched the premiere with her, also looked incredulous, thinking that he had poor taste. He cautiously and humbly asked her what she thought was good about the film.

However, Su Ruyi really liked this film, and the cost shouldn't be too high. It was also recommended by Liu Quan, so she arranged to meet with the director based on the contact information in the script.

The director and screenwriter is named Cheng Fengsheng. According to his resume, he has done various jobs on film sets before, including highly professional editing and cinematography. He has also played minor roles with a few lines.

He actually graduated with a degree in directing, but he didn't have any connections in that field, so he was willing to do anything as long as he could get into a film crew.

He had been working on this script for a long time, and only now did he feel the time was right to start filming.

Although Cheng Fengsheng had carefully tidied himself up for Su Ruyi's sake, it was still obvious that he was usually unkempt.

Upon seeing Su Ruyi, he quickly stood up to greet her, appearing quite flustered.

"Director Cheng, I've seen your performances, and you're very different from the ones on TV."

Cheng Fengsheng's character is a chatterbox, but in reality, Cheng Fengsheng is a somewhat shy person.

Cheng Fengsheng scratched his head sheepishly: "That was all an act."

Su Ruyi didn't beat around the bush and said directly, "I've read the script and I really like this story."

Cheng Fengsheng's eyes lit up, and he wiped his trouser leg with his palm.

"This story is actually somewhat related to you, Mr. Su."

Su Ruyi was surprised.

Cheng Fengsheng continued, "I had previously watched the program 'The World of Deception' that you invested in, and that's when I got this inspiration."

"So that's how it is." Su Ruyi suddenly realized.

After Zhang Qingfeng was arrested for fraud, Su Ruyi conceived the idea of ​​creating a legal program that exposes various scams.

Scams come in all shapes and sizes, causing significant financial losses to many ordinary people.

She also wanted to raise everyone's awareness, so she came up with this plan.

Regular publicity is not enough; if there were dedicated programs on television, more people would be made more vigilant.

So she brought up the idea with Mr. Liu. The TV station needed a legal program to enrich its content, and they hit it off immediately.

The television station uses short TV dramas to popularize science, which is handled by the film and television department, giving its actors a chance to perform.

A short drama about a scam garnered considerable attention at the time.

Cheng Fengsheng also watched the program, and the current script gradually took shape in his mind.

He had similar ideas before: a fool and a group of smart people, and the smart people were outsmarted and lost to the fool. After watching the show, he focused on the swindler.

The whole story is highly satirical, mocking certain social phenomena.

"Therefore, I really hope to cooperate with President Su."

Cheng Fengsheng was telling the truth. He had worked his way up in the industry over the past few years and made a lot of friends. He was not a completely new director.

If we really want to find someone to invest in making this movie, it's not like we can't find someone.

This project is viewed favorably by industry insiders, and the investment is not large, so attracting investment is not particularly difficult.

However, Cheng Fengsheng preferred to collaborate with Su Ruyi. He knew that Su Ruyi occasionally made film and television investments, so he sent someone to find her.

If he hadn't been worried that Su Ruyi wouldn't trust him, he would have gone to visit her directly.

Seeing his honesty, Su Ruyi also shared her concerns with him.

"Don't worry about that. This is a project I've been preparing for for several years, and I'm only planning to shoot it when the time is right. I won't do anything reckless. We've already found our filming team, and I've also selected all the actors. They're all talented actors. They're good people, good actors, and their salaries aren't high."

When Cheng Fengsheng talks about movies, he completely loses his previous shyness and becomes a chatterbox.

He introduced the main members of the team in detail. Although the operation was small, each of them was a capable person in the industry.

Finally, he very diplomatically added, "There are still some roles in the film that we can discuss. Let's see what recommendations you have, Mr. Su."

This is common in the industry, and Cheng Fengsheng accepts it well. If someone is good at acting, they get more screen time; if they are not good at acting, they get less screen time, or they are simply made a decoration. However, the main actors cannot be interfered with.

"I actually have someone I'd like to recommend. I don't know if you've watched 'I Love Singing'? I think the runner-up would be a perfect match for the male lead's sister."

"You absolutely have to watch it! It's the hottest show right now. My daughter really likes Xu Fei; her image really fits the bill."

Although she was the male lead's sister, she had very few scenes and didn't need to perform much, so Cheng Fengsheng readily agreed.

Xu Fei recently sang a song for Ruyi Clothing's advertisement, and that song is now very popular, which has increased her fame, and this is also a good thing for the film's promotion.

The song was written by champion Lin Feng, who wrote it specifically for Xu Fei because he felt she was a strong and lovely girl.

Su Ruyi liked it after hearing it, as it fit the style of the youth series, so she bought the copyright to use it as an advertising song.

Unexpectedly, it became an instant hit and became Xu Fei's signature song.

Su Ruyi actively promoted the idea not only because she felt it was indeed suitable, but also to give Xu Fei more opportunities to perform.

She signed a three-year endorsement contract with Xu Fei. The more famous she becomes, the more beneficial it will be for Ruyi Clothing. It's just a matter of going with the flow.

For Su Ruyi, it was just a sentence, but for Xu Fei, it was a great opportunity.

She never imagined she could act, even though she had been interested in acting since she was a child and often imitated the characters on TV, her tears flowing easily.

After she became famous, everyone just treated her as a little girl who could sing, and no one thought of asking her to act.

Even if she does receive offers, the film and television resources that come her with them all invite her to sign an agency contract, which comes with many additional conditions.

Xu Fei had almost been scammed before, so he didn't dare to sign a contract easily.

But since it's Su Ruyi's project, she agreed without hesitation.

On the second day of filming, Su Ruyi went to the set and took a look, which put her mind at ease.

The entire production team took the creative process very seriously, even to the point of being meticulous; you could see everyone's dedication.

This film can no longer be considered a low-budget film, and is therefore more refined than expected, because Su Ruyi invested one million more than anticipated.

It wasn't that Su Ruyi had too much money to spend; rather, some people learned that Su Ruyi was investing in film and television projects and took the initiative to offer her money, hoping to get involved as well.

This person's name is Zhao Dabao. The hotel that served as the training base for the "I Love Singing" program was invested and built by Zhao Dabao.

Zhao Dabao is a typical rich second-generation. Not only are his parents wealthy, but he also has three capable older sisters who are married to very successful men. His brothers-in-law are either in government departments or the military. He got in touch with Lu Ting because of his second sister's husband.

His second brother-in-law used to be Lu Ting's comrade-in-arms, and his family has some connections, so he is doing very well in the army now.

Zhao Dabao was initially misled into investing a large sum of money in that resort hotel. At first, the occupancy rate was very low, and the returns were poor, which led to him being ridiculed.

Who would have thought that the resort hotel would be revitalized after the show became a hit because of its collaboration with Su Ruyi?

The hotel is currently very busy, with many events and conferences being held there. All kinds of meeting rooms, large and small, are booked up and there is almost no downtime.

Zhao Dabao felt that Su Ruyi was very lucky for her and had great foresight, so when he heard that Su Ruyi wanted to invest in making a movie, he immediately rushed over with money.