Chapter 132 Extra - Investor 2

Zhao Dabao is fair-skinned and chubby, looking like a steamed bun. He has a slightly silly smile and seems like a very easy person to get along with.

Although he was fat, he dressed himself up very well and looked wealthy without being greasy.

Zhao Dabao is not very old, just over twenty years old. Because he was not good at studying, he did not continue his studies after graduating from high school, so he has been in the workforce for several years now.

I spent a lot of money to get into high school, but I always came in last place in every exam.

Zhao Dabao's family doesn't have high expectations for him; they just want him to grow up healthy.

He was the youngest child in the family, the only son, and was born prematurely. He was very weak from a young age. Moreover, since his birth, the Zhao family's life has gotten better day by day, and for various reasons, he has been very spoiled.

However, although he was favored, his family was very strict, so he did not go astray.

Although the Zhao family wanted a son and valued him more, they did not neglect their daughters either, doing their best to raise them well.

The fact that she was raised with three older sisters—one a vocational school graduate and two college students—given the circumstances at the time, speaks volumes.

Because of the significant age gap, Zhao Dabao's three older sisters treated him like their own child, showering him with love while maintaining strict discipline. Their parents were also willing to delegate authority, allowing his three sisters to manage him. Therefore, although Zhao Dabao was a top-tier second-generation rich kid, he didn't have the bad habits often seen in many wealthy heirs today.

However, like many second-generation rich kids, Zhao Dabao always wanted to prove his abilities, so he made a lot of investments over the years.

Although Zhao Dabao didn't cause much loss under his sisters' management, and it was all within the Zhao family's tolerance range, his occasional antics still kept the Zhao family very busy.

The previous resort hotel is a typical example. Although it had potential and proved to be able to be revitalized, it cannot cover up the fact that it was initially misled.

The Zhao family also wanted to teach Zhao Dabao a lesson, to make him realize that those bad friends were no good, so they deliberately let him be.

You can't learn by being taught, but you can learn by doing.

Having learned his lesson, Zhao Dabao's family then began to clean up the mess and collaborated with Su Ruyi to revitalize the hotel.

Although Zhao Dabao wasn't a smart person, he knew how to work with smart people.

"Sister Ruyi, can you take me with you? I'd like to invest in and make a movie with you too." Zhao Dabao was fat, but his eyes were still quite big, and they were bright and full of sincerity.

"This is just a low-budget film, so the return on investment may not be high. Moreover, film investment is very risky, with a very high failure rate. Many films don't even have the chance to be released."

Su Ruyi frankly admitted that she had a pretty good impression of Zhao Dabao.

Zhao Dabao was very interested in recording the program and would occasionally go to the training camp to check on things, but he never interfered.

He also has favorite singers, but he has never interfered with the program's decisions because of them. He only buys a lot of products that can win votes in private. He is a generous and sensible investor.

Zhao Dabao said nonchalantly, "I know, that's how investments are. If it were that easy to make money, there wouldn't be any poor people in the world. I just want to follow you. My older sister said that you should learn from smart people, and even if you don't succeed, you'll still gain experience. Don't worry, I'll only provide the money and won't interfere with the filming."

Su Ruyi was pleased that someone was willing to take the risk. She had been reluctant to cooperate with others in the past because there were too many problems when cooperating with many people.

She's not short of money, there's no need for her to create trouble for herself.

Zhao Dabao is different; he's much simpler. When he was tricked by his so-called friends, Su Ruyi heard about it from Lu Ting and knew that the boy was naive and obedient.

Another reason for cooperating with Zhao Dabao was that Su Ruyi also wanted to build a good relationship with the Zhao family by getting along well with Zhao Dabao.

The Zhao family is very powerful. Zhao Dabao's older sisters and brothers-in-law are not simple people. One of his brothers-in-law is the top official in a certain city. Being on good terms with this family would be beneficial to Su Ruyi and Lu Ting.

The Zhao family is reasonable, and even if Zhao Dabao's investment with her fails, they will not hold a grudge.

Their family is not short of money, so they specifically allocated some funds for Zhao Dabao to invest as he pleases. Even if he loses it all, it won't damage the Zhao family's foundation.

Zhao's parents were open-minded and knew that their youngest son had limited abilities, so they did not let him join the family business. Instead, the eldest sister, who doted on Zhao Dabao the most, took charge, as long as Zhao Dabao was guaranteed a life of comfort and security.

Zhao Dabao never intended to compete with his older sister. He wasn't interested in the family business, nor did he want to shoulder such a heavy responsibility. He preferred to explore things on his own.

He didn't have a clear goal before, but after watching the recording of the show "I Love Singing", he found the film and television industry very interesting and wanted to work with Su Ruyi.

The Zhao family had a high opinion of Su Ruyi and were very supportive of his desire to follow her, which made him even more proactive, as he kept a close eye on Su Ruyi's activities.

Zhao Dabao is now one of the franchisees of "Sister Mei's Braised Food". He has already secured three franchises and opened stores in different locations.

The three stores have already broken even, and it is foreseeable that they will be able to obtain good returns in the future.

This made Zhao Dabao even more convinced of Su Ruyi's abilities and understand what the proper business process was like.

The franchise fee for "Sister Mei's Braised Food" is not low, but they are indeed serious about their work. From the initial site inspection and staff training, they have very standardized procedures to ensure the rights and interests of franchisees and the brand's influence.

Every penny spent felt worthwhile; this was the first time Zhao Dabao had ever felt so at ease investing.

So now, as soon as they heard that Su Ruyi was going to invest in making a movie, they rushed over immediately, afraid that if they were a step too late, they would miss it.

Su Ruyi signed a formal contract with Zhao Dabao, took the money, and went to the filming location with Zhao Dabao. She knew that Zhao Dabao would definitely be very interested in this.

He used to frequently visit the "I Love Singing" program set, sit behind the monitor with the director, and watch quietly without disturbing everyone's work. He would also occasionally buy snacks and coffee for the staff.

Zhao Dabao was overjoyed to learn that Xu Fei was also in the cast.

"I really like Xu Fei, I voted for her a lot."

"Her scenes are few, and filming has already finished, so you probably won't be able to see her there."

Zhao Dabao wasn't disappointed. He had actually seen Xu Fei quite often before, but he had never bothered her. Xu Fei had no idea that she had such a fan.

"It's okay, I know she has plenty of performance opportunities," Zhao Dabao said cheerfully.

Film and television shooting is actually a very tedious thing. A single shot is often filmed repeatedly. Su Ruyi could not stand it for long and left each time. She had no interest in life on set and no interest in making TV shows or movies.

When she visited the set before, a director invited her to play a role, but she declined.

She once tried being an extra out of curiosity, and then realized that she could never be an actress.

Zhao Dabao, however, found it very interesting and watched it with great enjoyment from behind the monitor.

When Cheng Fengsheng first learned that Zhao Dabao was also one of the investors, he was a little nervous. But after spending a short time with him, he found that Zhao Dabao, like Su Ruyi, was not the kind of person who liked to interfere. He was just interested in filming.

"Mr. Zhao, would you be interested in playing a small role?" Cheng Fengsheng asked.

After getting to know him better, Su Ruyi discovered that Cheng Fengsheng was completely different from her first impression. He was not as shy as he appeared; in fact, he was very good at dealing with people and knew how to make the most of resources.

In the movie, there is a host character. Cheng Fengsheng knows that Su Ruyi and Li Qing have a good relationship, so he tries to get people from Su Ruyi.

Li Qing is very famous now, and her participation adds some appeal to the film. Moreover, she is a good fit for the role.

The ending theme song was composed and sung by Lin Feng, the champion of "I Love Singing". There are many similar cases, making full use of Su Ruyi's connections, and it is a win-win situation.

Cheng Fengsheng could tell that Zhao Dabao was interested in filming, so he wanted to use this opportunity to get closer to the investor.

Zhao Dabao's first reaction was joy, but he didn't agree immediately and instead turned his gaze to Su Ruyi.

Su Ruyi knew that although Cheng Fengsheng was tactful, he would not joke about his own work, so she said, "If Director Cheng thinks you are suitable, then you are definitely suitable. You can give it a try if you like."

Su Ruyi was very familiar with the script, so as soon as Cheng Fengsheng mentioned it, he knew what role to assign to Zhao Dabao.

This role is a perfect match for Zhao Dabao himself, so Zhao Dabao only needs to play himself.

However, movies are not reality, and filming involves technical issues such as blocking. Su Ruyi couldn't say how well Zhao Dabao would perform, but since Cheng Fengsheng had given him this opportunity and Zhao Dabao was willing, she had no reason to stop him.

"Then I'll give it a try?" Zhao Dabao was happy and a little excited. "If I don't do a good job, you can replace me anytime."

Cheng Fengsheng smiled and agreed, telling Zhao Dabao not to be nervous and to just act according to his own understanding.

In the days that followed, Zhao Dabao stayed on the film set, and Su Ruyi never went there again.

Cheng Fengsheng prepared for a long time beforehand, and all the preparatory work was completed early, so the actual filming time was only fifty days.

As soon as filming wrapped, Cheng Fengsheng threw himself into the editing room and finished a rough cut of the entire film in less than half a month.

Su Ruyi was quite surprised when she received the call. It felt like filming had only started a few days ago, so how could it be almost done already?

Su Ruyi was busy and didn't have time to go over and check, so she asked Zhao Dabao to taste the saltiness first.

"Sis! That movie was amazing! I laughed so hard my stomach hurt, it was way more interesting than the script!" Zhao Dabao excitedly called Su Ruyi after watching it.

Su Ruyi was really unsure about the movie's merits in this analogy, because Zhao Dabao probably had some reading difficulties and would get dizzy whenever he saw anything with words on it.

When he received the script, he only glanced at it a few times and then stopped reading it. He blindly followed Su Ruyi's investment.

What Zhao Dabao said next made it even harder for Su Ruyi to judge.

“I have a lot of screen time in it, hehehe.” Zhao Dabao said shyly, “When the movie is released, my parents and my sister and brother-in-law will be overjoyed.”

Su Ruyi didn't know how to reply, and Zhao Dabao clearly wasn't interested in listening to what she had to say. After rambling on and on, he hurriedly hung up the phone, probably to call someone else.

Zhao Dabao's involvement not only brought funding, but also used his connections to help the film quickly obtain a film license and screen time. The film was released less than three months after filming was completed.

Zhao Dabao oversaw the entire process, and Su Ruyi didn't get involved at all. However, she could hear Zhao Dabao calling to report on the progress every day, so it seemed like she was involved the whole time.

Lu Ting couldn't help but complain, "I feel like you spend more time chatting with him than with me every day."

Su Ruyi: "He's the one doing all the talking. Do you see how many words I can get in each time?"

Lu Ting thought about it and realized that it was indeed true, so he stopped being jealous.

The Zhao family was delighted with this.

After learning his lesson, Zhao Dabao distanced himself from those bad friends, but he still liked to have fun and often hung out with other rich kids.

This is why the Zhao family, even knowing he had no business acumen, still allowed him to make various investments—it was to give him something to do.

People are prone to getting into trouble when they have too much free time; there are plenty of people these days who want to lead others astray. Zhao Dabao is rich, so he's an easy target.

Zhao Dabao is an adult now, and it's impossible to discipline him like he did when he was a child. He's afraid that pushing the child too far will only make him more rebellious. There are countless examples of this around us.

Zhao Dabao is now busy with the movie every day and doesn't have time to go out and fool around, so the Zhao family fully supports him.

Su Ruyi also asked Cheng Fengsheng to keep a close eye on Zhao Dabao, and to take him to work with her, but not to let him meet any shady people, as there are plenty of messy things in this industry.

With the help of the Zhao family, the film was released smoothly in a short period of time. As for the outcome, we'll have to see how the market reacts.

To support Su Ruyi's first film investment, Lu Ting booked a theater and invited him and all of Su Ruyi's employees to watch it.

The two also went to the premiere together. Many people from the industry attended the premiere, most of whom had worked with Su Ruyi before.

Since Su Ruyi started investing in movies, more and more projects have been offered to her, all hoping to collaborate with her and obtain investment from her.

Many members of the Zhao family also came. Zhao Dabao's parents and three older sisters were present, as was his brother-in-law. The other two were absent because one was in the military and the other was in another city.

They were all very low-key, and their location was far away from Zhao Dabao, clearly not wanting to expose themselves.

As the investor, Zhao Dabao sat in a prominent position at the front with the crew.

Su Ruyi and Lu Ting also sat in the back. Su Ruyi had made it clear beforehand that they were just there to watch the movie and wouldn't get involved in anything else. After all, having Zhao Dabao as their representative was enough.

During the movie screening, bursts of laughter frequently erupted in the studio, and the response was exceptionally positive.

Su Ruyi was completely immersed in the story, drawn in by the characters and events on screen. Although she had read the script, she still couldn't stop laughing when the actors brought out the jokes.

Some parts weren't particularly outstanding in the script, but they were incredibly interesting when performed.

The movie is fast-paced, packed with laughs, and has a meaningful ending, leaving the viewer feeling very happy.

After watching it, Su Ruyi felt that the movie would definitely be a success. It was not only witty and humorous, but the core of the story was also very thought-provoking. It made people feel satisfied while also feeling a bit sad.

“This movie is very interesting,” Lu Ting affirmed.

Watching a film like this during my free time can really lift my spirits.

Lu Ting usually enjoys watching war movies and action movies, followed by funny comedies. He's watched so many Spring Festival Gala skits that they're practically worn out, all to relax his mind.

This movie has the feel of a classic Spring Festival Gala skit, which is interesting and satirical.

Ordinary viewers like Lu Ting highly praised the film, and professionals at the scene also gave it high marks and commended it.

Some ordinary audience members were also invited to the event, and they all gave positive feedback, saying they found the movie very interesting and would like to watch it a second time.

When the event ended, Zhao Dabao's family specially invited Su Ruyi and Lu Ting to have tea together.

Zhao Dabao was extremely excited, jumping around during the meal and constantly talking about the entire film production process. He even participated in the recording of the film's opening and closing theme songs.

He experienced firsthand how movies are made, and his performance in the film was outstanding.

Su Ruyi knew beforehand that Zhao Dabao had more scenes than in the script, and she thought it was because Cheng Fengsheng was his sugar daddy that he gave him more screen time.

When she saw the movie, she knew why they had added scenes for him.

After adding a few scenes, Zhao Dabao's character became more complete, adding highlights to the main storyline. Zhao Dabao performed well in this role, and it wasn't simply because he was the sponsor that he was given more screen time.

Zhao Dabao's parents were very happy to see their son's performance in the movie; they never expected their son to have such talent.

Most importantly, Zhao Dabao is a down-to-earth person who does things earnestly and has found something that interests him.

"I'll have to trouble you to take care of my precious son from now on. Don't let his big size fool you, he's all height and no brains," Zhao's mother said, holding Su Ruyi's hand.

Su Ruyi was both amused and exasperated. As expected of her mother, her complaints were quite harsh.

The film's performance then exceeded everyone's expectations. This unremarkable low-budget film, without any big stars, received an exceptionally good market response and quickly became the box office champion, prompting cinemas to add more screenings.

The film ultimately grossed 30 million at the box office, which is a very good result for this era, and the cost was only 3 million, making it a low-investment, high-return film.

Zhao Dabao was undoubtedly the happiest. He had already seen the trend the day after the film's release and knew that this wave would definitely make him a fortune.

The Zhao family reacted even faster. Five days after the movie's release, Zhao Dabao's eldest sister called Su Ruyi, saying that the Zhao family planned to establish a film and television culture company and hoped that Su Ruyi could also join.

This film and television company was opened for Zhao Dabao, who was very interested in the industry. This was the first time he had ever been so interested in something and was willing to spend a lot of time figuring it out.

In fact, he showed it during the recording of the show "I Love Singing," but the Zhao family was still observing him and worried that he was just a flash in the pan.

But I don't think so now. Since Zhao Dabao started working in film and television production, his whole demeanor has changed.

The fact that they are now making huge profits has made the Zhao family see the business opportunities behind it.

Zhao Dabao's eldest sister, whose real name is Zhao Feiyang, bluntly stated:

“We hope my younger brother can be happy in this industry, but his abilities aren’t enough to support a company, and he doesn’t have the vision to invest, so we hope you can join us. Our family will provide the relevant resources; you just need to focus on producing quality work.”

Su Ruyi originally had no such intention because she felt it would involve too many relationships; she just wanted to be a simple investor.

But if the Zhao family is the backer, then the situation is different.

Thus, Su Ruyi officially entered the film and television industry and co-founded a media company with Zhao Dabao, named Baoshan.

Originally, Zhao Dabao wanted to use a character from his and Su Ruyi's names to make the name Baoyi, but Lu Ting vetoed it.

If you put their names together to form a company, people who don't know them might think they're a married couple.

So it was changed to Baoshan. Don't be fooled by its rustic and simple name; it was chosen by someone consulted by the Zhao family.

As soon as the media company was established, Su Ruyi contacted the top ten singers of "I Love Singing". Almost a year had passed since the competition, and most of them had gradually disappeared from the public eye, basically making money by performing at various venues.

As their popularity declined, fewer and fewer people invited them, and they received less and less money.

Without a powerful background or connections, it's very difficult to continue developing in this industry.

Especially now that the second competition has begun its pre-competition phase, which will be broadcast on a satellite TV channel and will have a greater impact than the first competition, they will be overshadowed by the new singers once the competition starts.

Their endorsements will expire eventually, which will further reduce their opportunities to appear on screen.

Some have had better career development, such as Xu Fei and Lin Feng. Because of the movies invested in by Su Ruyi, they have been in the public eye and maintained their popularity.

Xu Fei has few scenes in the film, but they are very memorable. Her turning around against the dirty and chaotic background contrasts sharply with her flawless face, creating a powerful and impactful shot that has become a classic.

Nowadays, computers are gradually entering thousands of households, the Internet has emerged, Internet cafes can be seen everywhere on the street, and the number of people going online is increasing day by day. Her set of photos has been widely circulated on the Internet.

These active individuals all had some connection with Su Ruyi, so Su Ruyi sent people to her door. Apart from the three people who had already signed contracts and the two contestants who did not intend to become professional singers, the rest signed contracts with Su Ruyi's film and television company.

Xu Fei, Yang Cancan, and Lin Feng have all joined, and the other two are male singers.

Su Ruyi already had ideas for the future plans of these people.

Xu Fei has a great talent for acting, and Su Ruyi plans to mold her into a multi-talented idol. Not only a singer but also an actress, she's being sent to acting training programs. Yang Cancan also has the same plan, as artists these days often play multiple roles.

Lin Feng is simply a musician, and Su Ruyi will give her a lot of creative freedom. In addition to following the traditional singer-songwriter route, she will also be arranged to compose and sing the opening and closing themes and interludes for TV movies to increase her exposure.

The other two male singers had limited fame and ordinary appearances, while Su Ruyi had other plans.

Su Ruyi lacked resources in music; she had some, but not many. Therefore, she did not intend to enter the music market in the traditional way from the beginning. Instead, she started by creating online songs and planned to enter the ringtone market in the future. The Zhao family had relevant resources.

At this time, online songs began to appear one after another, but they had not yet become popular. However, the path had already been paved by predecessors.

As a veteran internet user, Su Ruyi had long sensed the business opportunities and knew about future developments. Now that she had established a media company, she wanted to seize this opportunity.