The eldest sister was overjoyed and grabbed a handful of sunflower seeds from her pocket, stuffing them into Chu Yu's hands.
"Little sister, you're absolutely right. If it's really like what you said, I'll definitely keep watching. You know what, Hong Kong is really quite prosperous. If only it had returned to China sooner, maybe we could have joined a tour group and gone to Hong Kong for a trip."
The eldest sister runs a small general store in this bustling area. Although the business is small, she makes a lot of money.
Locals own houses and live comfortably, so their spiritual life must keep up. In recent years, with the reform and opening up, the wealthy people around me have been traveling abroad, to Europe and Southeast Asia. My older sister is envious of them.
Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, our country has always controlled outbound tourism. In the first few years of reform and opening up, the controls were very strict. However, starting in 1983, the market gradually opened up, and more and more people went abroad to broaden their horizons.
In recent years, the focus of domestic tourism has been on Hong Kong and Macau, which is essentially a way for domestic companies to make money from their own resources.
It's not surprising that the eldest sister has this idea.
"Sis, you can go out and have fun even if you don't come back. It's been open for several years now."
"Really? Then I must ask a travel agency... Oh my, we used to live such a hard life, who would have thought that people in Hong Kong live such a good life."
Chu Yu didn't expect that this drama would actually boost outbound tourism. Several nearby travel agencies were packed with people every day, all inquiring about travel services to Hong Kong.
These days, it's extremely difficult to buy foreign goods in China. Being able to travel abroad not only allows you to experience the prosperity of big cities, but also lets you go on shopping sprees. People in big cities are willing to take this trip.
"Chu Yu, the ratings are out!" Zhong Buyi walked into the office excitedly, holding the spreadsheet.
After the release of "The Businesswoman", Hualai Film Company was particularly busy, and Chu Yu would come to the company to handle business whenever she had free time.
She stood up from her desk. "They're out. How many?"
"72%!"
"Only 72%?" Chu Yu frowned, wondering if this rating was a flop.
In later generations, such viewership ratings would be considered godlike, something to be admired but never attained.
It's simply a matter of different times. In later generations, television software, short videos, and all sorts of apps and games have distracted people's attention, and very few people watch television anymore.
These days are different. Televisions are not yet widespread in China. Families with televisions can only watch one or two TV channels. There are usually no new dramas on TV. If a new drama does come out, it is a national phenomenon.
It's no exaggeration to say that it will be played on repeat until you can recite the lines by heart.
In this situation, TV drama ratings often reach 80 or 90, with the highest ratings even reaching an astonishing 98%.
In comparison, a 72% viewership rating is indeed unremarkable.
"Don't rush me, I haven't finished yet. The first episode had a 72% rating, but the second episode reached 84%. If nothing unexpected happens, it will continue to climb tomorrow. The people at CCTV said that it is expected to reach 90%. Generally, the finale has the best ratings. How high our drama can reach depends on how well the later episodes are filmed."
Chu Yu nodded; an 84% viewership rating was definitely acceptable.
This drama introduced viewers to the situation in Hong Kong. Many people watched it out of curiosity, and it was full of topics and gimmicks. In the 1980s, when tropes were not yet commonplace, "The Businesswoman" was quite eye-catching.
Chu Yu breathed a sigh of relief. The investment wouldn't go down the drain. More importantly, the show made the lead actors famous and gave Mandarin enough attention.
"If we had known the ratings would be this high, we would have filmed a few more episodes."
"That's enough. Aren't we planning to make a sequel?"
Currently, "Young and Dangerous 3" is being filmed, and Zhong Buyi often has to go to Hong Kong to work on set. He also has a movie that Xinyi City has requested. If he were to take time out to film the second installment, Chu Yu would be worried that he wouldn't be able to handle it.
However, Zhong Buyi was not worried.
In Hong Kong, the filming schedule is quite short. The "Young and Dangerous" series has already reached its third installment, and many scenes no longer need to be built. For Zhong Buyi, the difficulty is not in filming, but in creating something new.
Zhong Buyi plans to introduce foreign thugs and add some special effects for fighting and chasing in "Young and Dangerous 3".
Film directors who are good at making movies generally don't want to make TV series.
Zhong Buyi pondered for a moment: "If I can't spare the time, I'll introduce you to a director. However, our company hasn't established itself yet, so I'll try my best to do it myself to ensure the quality of the film."
The director is neither a screenwriter nor a producer; he may seem to only oversee the overall situation on set, but he doesn't actually do anything substantial.
In reality, the director determines the quality of the series, the aesthetics of the filming, and the overall style. Some movies can win international awards, while others are simply bad movies.
Zhong Buyi's consideration is correct. Hua Lai has not yet established itself and needs a well-received drama. It would be best if Zhong Buyi could do it himself.
"I've signed a few new actors, I'll show them to you later."
During the last interview, Chu Yu only took a liking to Hua Qing and didn't have a special impression of the others. Fortunately, she later went to Zuo Ran's school and met some of Zuo Ran's classmates, and she did take a liking to a few very distinctive young people.
Unfortunately, they are all still young. The first-year college students haven't even finished their training yet, and they are hesitant to sign contracts easily, taking their teachers' advice.
Chu Yu still had to use some words to persuade them.
Chu Yu has a keen eye for talent, a fact that Zhong Buyi has to admit. Any actor Chu Yu chooses is very expressive on screen.
She seemed to be born for this line of work.
"What treasure have you signed this time? I'm really curious."
Chu Yu smiled, deliberately keeping everyone in suspense, "You'll find out when the time comes. Anyway, there's definitely going to be a surprise!"
She remembered Hua Qing's matter. At that time, she had instructed Xiao Zhong to make sure Hua Qing was taken down, but what happened?
"Where's Xiao Zhong? Tell her to come in and find me."
Xiao Zhong nervously entered Chu Yu's office. "President Zhou, you wanted to see me?"
Xiao Zhong lowered her head, nervously fidgeting with her fingers. She really didn't know how to explain it to Chu Yu. At the time, Hua Qing did leave a phone number, but that number belonged to her friend Qian Xiaojie.
Xiao Zhong called Qian Xiaojie to discuss the contract, but Qian Xiaojie said she didn't know Hua Qing's contact information and hung up the phone immediately.
"Qian Xiaojie kept avoiding me and refused to see me, so the trail went cold."
Chu Yu frowned. Qian Xiaojie sounded a bit like a green tea bitch. Hua Qing and Qian Xiaojie had a good relationship. Even if Qian Xiaojie didn't know Hua Qing's home address, didn't they have contact information for their workplaces and schools?
In those days, telephones were not common, and everyone knew each other's home addresses. Qian Xiaojie's reaction was unusual.
Chu Yu is the type of person who tends to think the worst of others. She thought that Qian Xiaojie was jealous of Hua Qing being chosen and was deliberately keeping it a secret.
"Her address is fake, but her information is definitely real, right?"
"You mean..."
"Why not place a missing person notice in the newspaper?"
"But what excuse can we use to publish this in the newspaper? We can't just say that a company wants to sign you to release a record, so come and report it immediately."
Chu Yu smiled. That was indeed too blunt, so let's put it another way.
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