Chapter 34 Short Play Writer

Liu Xiaolan then noticed that Xinghan Media was listed on the form, and quickly raised her hands:

"Boss, you know perfectly well, I would never betray you for such a small amount of money."

Giant Entertainment pays her 800,000 a month, while Xinghan only offers 600,000 for the entire series of costume work. She's not so stupid that she can't even do the math.

Now everyone in Xingyu knows that Juyu and Xinghan had a falling out over original music, and their employees are even more aware of how many obstacles Xinghan's media outlets have been deliberately sabotaging them.

Every employee at Juyu was personally recruited by Boss Fang. Even disregarding the issue of money, Liu Xiaolan would never take on Ruan Zihan's job.

She crossed Xinghan off her work list first, then carefully looked down at the names of the entertainment companies that had sent her invitations.

Some of these companies are even larger than Xinghan, but a common problem with large companies is that they often keep compensation very low.

After much consideration, she finally replied to a very popular fashion model competition show and accepted a six-month styling contract with a well-known TV actress.

Neither of these jobs takes much time, and both are located on the main planet, so she can also take care of the styling work for Giant Entertainment.

Liu Xiaolan counted on her fingers and found that the two contracts totaled more than 1.4 million yuan.

With this month's salary, I can pay off half of the remaining mortgage, which is perfect.

The system emitted a "beep" notification.

Fang Zhuo switched to the system interface and saw that more than 14 million yuan had been deposited into his account on the spot.

Compared to the hard-earned money from live streaming, this income can be considered as unearned.

He was in a good mood and told Liu Xiaolan, "Don't overwork yourself lately. If you need any help with the studio's recruitment, feel free to contact Jiang Yu."

Liu Xiaolan smiled and gave a salute.

With just over ten hours left until the agreed delivery date with Cao Mao's team, their progress was much faster than Fang Zhuo had anticipated. The large props were basically in the final stages, with only a few mechanical parts requiring minor parameter adjustments.

He was discussing follow-up marketing plans with Deng Jiaqiang when he saw Jiang Yu driving up in another sightseeing vehicle and sending a screenshot to their personal computers from afar:

"President Fang, Xinghan has sent a private message to the fake screenwriter account that our company operates, saying they want to commission a short drama script."

Fang Zhuo couldn't help but laugh.

Having failed to poach the stylist, Ruan Zihan's poaching project has quickly shifted to the screenwriter.

He leaned against the door of the sightseeing bus and said lazily, "How much did he charge this time?"

Jiang Yu: "150,000."

Before Fang Zhuo could say anything, Deng Jiaqiang couldn't help but laugh: "Does he have some misunderstanding about Giant Entertainment? Or does he really think a short drama script is worth 150,000?"

In terms of word count alone, the price is actually quite reasonable, considering that a short drama episode only has a little over a thousand words, which is incomparable to the length of a TV series or movie.

But Ruan Zihan seems to be underestimating the abilities of this "screenwriter".

Given the fierce competition among numerous short drama writers across the Blue Star plane, a single short drama script can sell for around 100,000 yuan, let alone Xingyu, the sole writer with a successful work already.

Fang Zhuo rested his chin on his hand: "Use the operations account to make some contact with Xinghan, saying that you are also in contact with Deshen Film and Entertainment at the same time. Deshen offered 400,000, and asked if they were willing to raise the price."

Jiang Yu logged into the internally operated screenwriter account, thought for a while about the wording, and then sent out this message.

The moment the message was sent, several heads curiously crowded around his personal computer, pushing President Fang to the outer circle.

The bargaining tactic does make the "screenwriter" seem like a businessman waiting for the best price, which might make Xinghan Media think that the screenwriter's account is not deeply tied to Juyu, but the price might also scare the other party away.

The status on the other end of the chat window always shows "typing".

Five minutes later, it was as if a different person had suddenly replied, their tone turning cold and hard: "You can raise it up to fifty."

Jiang Yu's mind went blank—the other side was fine, they just conjured up a screenwriter out of nowhere.

Fang Zhuo noticed his question and slightly raised his index finger: "Go."

Jiang Yu: "???"

"Mr. Fang, I really can't write scripts. All I know is that our new drama has a card game background, and I don't know anything else. I'm okay at communication, but I'm really not good at writing."

"Moreover, Ruan Zihan saw me backstage at the red carpet last time. He should know that I am your assistant, so he may be suspicious."

Fang Zhuo transferred one million to Jiang Yu and said calmly, "He won't suspect anything. He'll just think that you really are an employee of Giant Entertainment and be glad that he found the real one."

Ruan Zihan has been reborn once, founded Xinghan Media, and spearheaded the company's listing. He must have more than just tens of millions of yuan in cash on hand.

Ruan's preparation of the short drama also gave Fang Zhuo an opportunity to find out how much wealth the other party actually had.

He patted Jiang Yu on the shoulder: "Just write the script well, and if you don't know how, do some research."

Although receiving a million dollars should have been a happy thing, Jiang Yu couldn't smile at all.

Is this something that can be solved by looking up information?

If you asked him to write a paper on the topic of guided preparation and performance analysis of MOF-based core-shell composite materials right now, even if you took his brain apart and reassembled it, he still wouldn't be able to come up with anything.

Standing at the waiting area of ​​the spaceship station, Jiang Yu appeared no different from the busy office workers around him, but he had been dead for a while.

This eerie sense of death dissipated briefly when exchanging pleasantries with Ruan Zihan. Although Jiang Yu wasn't particularly skilled at writing scripts, she was adept at projecting the air of a seasoned editor.

"Was this new short drama project launched by Giant Entertainment also personally handled by writer Jiang?"

Jiang Yu raised her chin, crossed her legs, and adopted a haughty attitude: "Of course, does President Ruan have any questions?"

A cold gaze swept over him repeatedly. Ruan Zihan seemed very cautious about signing the contract, and it took him a long time to send over the deposit and the work contract.

“Our company is handling a confidential project this time, so we would appreciate it if Writer Jiang could complete his work here before leaving. If you have any needs during this time, just press the bell.”

Ruan Zihan leaned closer and emphasized each word in a low voice:

"I want the exact same theme as Giant Entertainment. We all know what kind of project Giant Entertainment is launching this time, right?"

After the group from Xinghan Media left the room, Jiang Yu was surprised to find that his personal computer network had also been blocked.

Now that's bad, there's not even any information to look up.

He hadn't read the actual script, only had a general idea of ​​the background, and without any reference materials, he could only start making things up based on his own experiences.

The protagonist was born in a slum at the beginning of the story. His parents, neighbors and classmates all criticized him for not having the talent to summon cards. When he awakened his companion card pool, his companion card weapon was just a small iron shovel.

The protagonist was displaced during his childhood and could only work as a laborer in a machine factory. At this time, a boss appeared out of nowhere and offered to sponsor him to enter the most famous card academy in the entire Federation.

Jiang Yu thought about it and felt that the male boss's character was too similar to President Fang's. In order to avoid being noticed, she changed the gender to female boss.

The style of this script was thus transformed into a male-oriented, action-packed novel.

Following this pattern, Jiang Yu gradually found inspiration and wrote with increasing fluency.

The protagonist is unstoppable, starting with a shovel and directly challenging all the card summoners in the academy, who are far above his level.

His former classmates who looked down on him now address him with respect, and even seeing the male protagonist is difficult for them.

As Jiang Yu wrote, he became dissatisfied with the card background and in the last few dozen chapters, he directly made the protagonist half-god and ascended to the upper realm.

Since it's already a card game, adding a little fantasy element wouldn't be too much to ask, right?

He wrote from around 6 p.m. until 1 a.m., without even ringing the dinner bell until he finished his work.

Ruan Zihan was also awake, and he still had a strong, acrid smell of hallucinogens on him.

He first glanced at the beginning casually, then his expression gradually became serious.

When reading the later passages where the male protagonist kills his betraying best friend and stands alone atop the highest building of the academy in the blood-soaked night, a barely perceptible tear welled up in Ruan Zihan's eyes.

If there were any doubts about the screenwriter before, this script has completely shattered all his doubts.

Since his rebirth, all he has been exposed to are the scripts that were popular in the market in his previous life. Those long lines of dialogue are often difficult to understand and even after reading them once, they are still hard to pronounce.

He hadn't read such simple yet moving words in a long time.

Ruan Zihan originally didn't plan to pay the remaining balance, but out of consideration for the script, he not only readily paid the rest on the spot, but also gave the other party an expensive, high-concentration hallucinogen:

"Here you go. I'll look for you to work with again next time."

Jiang Yu pushed the hallucinogen back with her index finger, and following Mr. Fang's instructions, casually asked, "Mr. Ruan is willing to spend so much money on the script, the total budget must be very high."

Ruan Zihan made a gesture for the number five.

Jiang Yu, accustomed to this method of counting, confirmed with the other party, "Five hundred million?"

Ruan Zihan froze for a moment, silently cursing the screenwriter for his lack of emotional intelligence, and explained impatiently, "Fifty million."

If it's just a simple short drama, a budget of five million is more than enough.

However, considering that his competitor was Giant Entertainment, he used almost all the cash on the company's books and bought a majority stake himself to raise the money.

Star Entertainment had a successful case ten years ago—

At that time, the market for time-travel dramas set in modern times was almost nonexistent. When a producer heard that a competitor was about to release a drama of this type, he completed the filming and editing before the competitor could release it. He became a huge hit before the higher-quality drama of the same type was broadcast, directly overshadowing the other drama.

If he can produce a finished short drama with the same card theme before Giant Entertainment's new short drama airs, there is a very high probability that he can overtake the competition at a lower cost.

He didn't believe that the filming cost of Giant Entertainment last time was really 300 million, because they couldn't even recoup the costs.

It's highly likely that Juyu exaggerated the actual cost of 70-80 million to 300 million, which is not much different from his 50 million investment. Even if they really clash on the same broadcast date, he is confident that he can also take a gamble.

Not to mention that he has more artist resources. With a TV King like him in charge, and two A-list artists as supporting actors, it would be a piece of cake to crush those anchors who have never acted before.

Jiang Yu smiled to ease the awkwardness: "Fifty million, that's basically the investment for a B-grade TV series. President Ruan is very generous."

Ruan Zihan was quite pleased and let out a cold laugh through his nose.

It was 3 a.m. when Jiang Yu left the office. He rushed back to the staff dormitory and sent a message to General Manager Fang at 9:30 a.m. the next morning:

[Mr. Fang, the total investment for Ruan Zihan's short drama is estimated to be around 50 million. Also, there's something I'm not sure if I should say… He seems to really like the script I wrote. I guess I have quite a talent for writing?]

Fang Zhuo's fingertips paused for a moment.

Besides the artists, Giant Entertainment has more than forty employees. He was generally aware of their public relations copywriting skills, and there was a reason why he chose to send Jiang Yu out yesterday.

But he couldn't bear to dampen Jiang Yu's confidence, so he replied briefly: [That's good.]

The designer sitting opposite him, seeing him switch from the computer interface, interjected at the opportune moment:

"Sir, the house you need is a bit large. The complete smart home and fresh air system will cost a total of 2.8 million yuan."

"In addition, we have the largest luxury furniture exhibition space in the entire Star Federation. Sir, you can come and select some large pieces of furniture in person. Our designers will prepare other furniture and supplies for you according to your preferences and style."

Fang Zhuo nodded.

He just finished editing the individual building on star 399 today. The system stipulates that the residential building must occupy an area of ​​700 square meters and be limited to five floors.

The single-floor area of ​​700 square meters is larger than the hotel suite he is currently staying in. Fang Zhuo does not need much personal space, so he planned the entire building in a Z-shaped direction.

The first zigzag line is mainly the reception area; the first floor is a high-ceilinged semi-public space with wooden flooring.

The second and third floors of the reception area are connected, forming an open living room that is over eight meters wide, with large, transparent floor-to-ceiling windows on all sides.

The second zigzag area is his living area, which includes three floors above ground and two basement floors. The master bedroom is nearly 100 square meters, and there are also two walk-in closets of more than 80 square meters each. In addition, there are plans for a gym and a wine cellar.

The last area's first floor houses the kitchen and the living quarters for the housekeepers. Each room is over 60 square meters in size, and each suite includes a private bathroom.

The second floor features an indoor swimming pool covering more than 200 square meters, completely enclosed by a single sheet of glass, maintaining a constant temperature throughout the year.

The layout of the office building is similar to that of the financial building, including five floors of building space and a sunken plaza on the ground floor. The top three floors still have an atrium in the middle, and the three floors can accommodate more than 200 employees.

Fang Zhuo plans to set up a separate rest area for the employees.

More than a dozen designers and salespeople followed behind him, and he pointed to one of the leather sofas:

"I need three. Send one to my home and the other two to the second floor of the office building."

The designer paused for a moment, then remembered to introduce the furniture:

"Boss, this sofa is handmade by a 15-star artisan, and the production time for a single piece is about twenty days."

“We currently have only one in our warehouse. If you need more, we will need to transfer some from 15 Star, which will be slightly more expensive. The total price for the three sofas is 3.62 million.”

Fang Zhuo didn't hesitate at all: "Okay."

The designer looked pleasantly surprised and then led him to the bedding area:

"This bedding set is from the renowned 15-star furniture brand Minolli, and it features storage space underneath. The style and size can be customized to fit your home."

"And this pyramid-shaped floor lamp, priced at just over 60,000, can automatically adjust the light intensity in real time according to the ambient light."

"If we install floor lamps in the villa area, we'll need about ten in total. In the 2,000-square-meter office area, we expect to need twelve to fifteen lamps per floor. This will help create a warm and inviting atmosphere in the office."

The lampposts were indeed beautifully designed. Fang Zhuo pointed to a whole row of various standing lamps nearby:

"We need both residential and office buildings, and a few of each design."

The designer quickly bent down and nodded, noting down the specific requirements on the computer.

Meanwhile, the designers at the very back began whispering among themselves:

"Who is this boss? He owns a villa of over 600 square meters and bought sofas for the office building that cost over a million yuan each. Could he be here to launder money?"

"Furniture doesn't hold its value, what are you thinking?"

"...Are you two Yuanmou people? Do you need to find a technician to run an internet cable for your home? This is the boss of Giant Entertainment."

"They don't look alike. He seems more handsome offline than in the live stream. Don't they use beauty filters in their live streams?"

"Damn, I thought Giant Entertainment's group broadcast was so extravagant because they were using the venue for marketing. How come their boss is really that rich? He's more generous than me when I spend my game currency."

"Because you don't have that many game coins."

"Damn, what kind of person can sit on a sofa worth over a million yuan at work... If my boss treated me that well, I'd be willing to sleep on the floor and live in the office every day."

“Our boss isn’t that kind. If you sleep on the floor in the office, you might still be charged for water and electricity. Last time I brought a small refrigerator, he said I was wasting the company’s electricity.”

"Stop chatting. Mr. Fang has already bought over 20 million worth of furniture. You two hurry up and get the receipts. Let's go out for barbecue tonight behind the boss's back."

After settling the furniture for the office building and residential villa, Fang Zhuo programmed the spaceship into the company, leaned back on the sofa, and checked the messages piling up on his personal computer.

At the very top was Jiang Yu's message: "[Mr. Fang, your account has been opened]".

Fang Zhuo: [What kind of account? A bank account?]

Jiang Yu explained in layman's terms: "[No, you see, the top trending topic on the StarNet homepage is that someone has exposed your personal information.]"

Ever since Giant Entertainment gained fame for its substantial financial reserves, many netizens have been keen to dig into its family background and past experiences, but to no avail.

Typically, the federal government database only contains information such as school records and family relationships related to the primary star. If someone was born on another remote star and has never registered their identity on the primary star in accordance with the law, it is necessary to retrieve the government archive records of the corresponding star system one by one.

Of course, such "unregistered" individuals who have never been to the main star's household registration hall are extremely rare in the Star Federation. It can be said that only the primitive natives on some remote stars would have a completely blank record.

Fang Zhuo had never paid attention to his blank file before, as long as he had a usable identity card.

But now someone has unearthed his original data from a remote planet—

He clicked on the trending topic and asked Yi Dian Dian: "[Was my personal information randomly generated by you?]"

Yi Dian Dian hadn't spoken in a long time, but her lively tone quickly jumped out to claim the spot:

[Of course not. Theoretically, when each new host arrives in a new dimension, the host will choose a new version of their identity information.]

[However, you unexpectedly inherited the previous host's microloan and were automatically registered as his relative. Other information was largely based on his choices, which is why the main system hasn't displayed a pop-up window with selection information.]

Fang Zhuo: [...]

Not only on the StarNet main interface, but related topics have also topped the trending search lists on every platform.

Fang Zhuo frowned as he browsed the content of the trending topic—

It has to be said that his previous host's choice of identity was quite tasteful, though that taste was a bit peculiar.