"Mr. Shen, you're still awake, aren't you?"

The room doorbell rang, and Shen Fang, wrapped in a bath towel, opened the door. She saw the bearded man standing at the door, carrying a bag of braised food and a bottle of red wine tucked under his arm. He was grinning.

"Come in."

The bearded man walked into the room, put down the dishes he was carrying, and filled the wine glass.

Shen Fang picked up the red wine and looked at the bearded man.

"What's up?"

The bearded man, holding a wine glass and smiling broadly, said, "I have something to discuss. I've been thinking about a good project that I'd like to talk to Mr. Shen about."

"A good project? Tell me about it."

“Mr. Shen, I’ve heard that Hong Kong artists are moving north and the two places are preparing to strengthen cooperation. I thought it would be interesting to collaborate with Hong Kong artists.”

Shen Fang glanced at the bearded man: "You haven't even finished filming Tianlong yet, and you're already planning to dabble in something else? Tell me your thoughts."

"Mr. Shen, I've bought the rights to Jin Yong's The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber and The Return of the Condor Heroes. Both of these adaptations have great potential. Many of the characters are very well-developed, especially The Return of the Condor Heroes, which has a lot of female characters and is perfect for launching new talents. The same goes for The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber. I've been thinking that with well-known adaptations like these, as long as you're willing to invest and recreate them to promote new talents, making money is definitely not a problem. This can be considered my pledge to join Longteng. What do you think?"

Upon hearing this, Shen Fang stroked his chin. "That bearded man acted pretty quickly. It's really interesting. He hasn't even taken pictures of Tianlong yet, and he's already secured the two most crucial IP dramas from Jin Yong. He's quite shrewd. As for why he didn't get The Legend of the Condor Heroes, to be honest, the main characters in that drama are Guo Jing and Huang Rong, and it's all about their stories. The remaining characters are either villains or minor roles. The Eastern Heretic, Western Poison, Southern Emperor, and Northern Beggar are all quite old. Even if they become popular, they'll be veteran actors, which isn't worthwhile for the current film and television industry."

If you want to promote and make people famous by adapting this kind of drama, you definitely have to be willing to invest. It's a simple question: how many times have Jin Yong's dramas been adapted? With such excellent predecessors, if you want to surpass them, it's not just about casting. More importantly, it's about financial investment, professional staff, and support for costumes, props, and sets. The story of The Legend of the Condor Heroes is a bit inferior to that of The Return of the Condor Heroes and The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber.

Moreover, the male leads of The Legend of the Condor Heroes are far inferior to those of The Return of the Condor Heroes and The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber. Therefore, the bearded man's choice of these two dramas was quite clever.

"Producer Zhang, have you made up your mind? Are you ready to join Longteng?"

Zhang, with a serious expression, straightened his posture and said, "Yes, Mr. Shen, people always strive for higher positions. Originally, I planned to join Huayi, but now that you've appeared, Huayi is no longer my first choice. Longteng still has a significant gap in its television drama lineup, and I want to take over that segment. Of course, I have some requests. I hope Mr. Shen can give me some internal shares, and my annual salary and bonuses are also substantial. As the saying goes, 'An army marches on its stomach,' and at my age, I've been working in the industry for many years. I have connections, relationships, and strength. I know you, Mr. Shen, are a generous person and very magnanimous to your own people, so I will..."

Shen Fang took a sip of his drink. "This bearded man is quite something. He wants shares, money, and dividends. He's made it very clear that he'll take on the TV series project. As long as he gets paid, he'll do his best."

Big Beard has good relationships with TV stations across the country, especially with CCTV. Over the years, he has indeed built up a considerable network and is well-known in the industry as a top producer. He's also very skilled at promoting and hyping up talent. This isn't just Big Beard bragging; any drama he's produced since becoming famous is highly sought after by TV stations as long as his name is on it. At his peak, when he remade Journey to the West, four satellite TV stations offered exorbitant prices for the first-run rights, paying 300,000 yuan per episode more than other dramas airing at the same time. He's truly powerful, even more so than Zheng Xiaolong.

Capable people can ask for salary and benefits, no problem. To be honest, if Big Beard goes to DragonTV, there will be many benefits. At the very least, he will have a big shot in the TV series industry, and after the copyright is sold, there will be no need to worry. With this big conman around, DragonTV's dramas will sell well. More importantly, Big Beard is really good at promoting people. Producing an amateur public relations manager is no problem.

Shen Fang tapped his fingers on the crystal glass. The bearded man was getting impatient. He'd already submitted his pledge of loyalty, so Shen Fang, give him an answer! You invited me out a while ago, and I'd already thought it all through. Just say something already...

Shen Fang spoke.

"Producer Zhang, I agree to your request."

Upon hearing this, the bearded man was overjoyed. With such a powerful backer, wouldn't he be able to get whatever he wanted in the industry...?

"However, I have a few requests to tell you."

The bearded man quickly and respectfully replied, "Please speak, Master Chen."

"First, Longteng's dramas don't involve those shady investors. Longteng doesn't lack that kind of money, and you shouldn't even think about taking that kind of dirty money. Second, you can entrust the TV series to me, but Longteng's artists come first. You understand what I mean?"

Zhang Jizhong nodded hurriedly: "I understand, I understand, Mr. Shen, you know, you should give me some authority, right? I have a lot of friends, you know, I can earn some extra money..."

Shen Fang smiled and said, "You definitely have the rights you're entitled to. The lead actors and actresses can't be touched. You can use the money from the important supporting roles to do favors and earn extra money. I'm not the kind of heartless boss. But you absolutely can't take money that you shouldn't take. Longteng is a legitimate company."

Upon hearing this, Zhang Jizhong hesitated for a moment and said, "Brother Shen, those people are paying double. As long as we make a name for ourselves and have a brand, we won't have to worry about money. Even if our TV series loses money after we take their money, it doesn't matter. Many people in the industry do it this way."

Shen Fang smiled and said, "Right now, the higher-ups aren't strict. But when the policy comes down and they start investigating, you'll be in trouble if you don't have a clean record. You probably won't be able to sleep well. Producer Zhang, you're over 50 this year, right? Do you want to go to jail in your old age? Can't you make money honestly? Do you think I need your little bit of money? I'll give you a base salary of 5 million a year, plus 5% of the profits from each drama, and it will gradually increase every year. You won't have to live a bad life. Just focus on doing your job well."

Upon hearing this offer, Zhang Dahuzi was overjoyed. "Master Shen is really rich! He's so damn generous! I'll stick with you, Master Shen. There's a risk in making dirty money. Let's just stick to making dramas."

"I support you, I will definitely do my best."

Shen Fang nodded.

"Also, for your next two dramas, Zhang Wuji will be played by Pan Yueming, and The Return of the Condor Heroes will be played by Huang Xiaoming. The female lead of The Return of the Condor Heroes, Xiaolongnu, must be played by Liu Yifei. All the actors in our company must be involved. We'll promote them and film them however we want. Do you understand what I mean?"

"Understood, understood, just you wait and see, I'll arrange everything perfectly."

"Alright, then I wish us a pleasant cooperation, Lao Zhang." Shen Fang raised his wine glass and looked at the bearded man.

The bearded man quickly raised his glass and clinked it with Shen Fang's. The two ate and chatted, with Shen Fang occasionally asking about the bearded man's gimmicks and publicity stunts.

......