Chapter 7
After the "Allure of the Nation" project was officially launched, the massive machine began to operate at high speed. Zhou Ping'an's duties in Haicheng actually became much less, as the specific matters were handled by a professional production team, and there wasn't much that required his personal involvement.
After the contract was signed, Su Ying's project docking work was gradually handed over to the newly formed project team.
Finally, upon her own request and approval by Weihua Group headquarters, Su Ying was listed as the "producer" of the project without receiving any remuneration.
This is a wise and compliant arrangement: for Weihua, it is a reflection of the professional capabilities of its senior executives; for the project, with Su Ying, a reliable "insider", on the list, Zhou Pingan can be more at ease as a "hands-off boss"; for Su Ying, it adds a resume of sufficient weight.
Zhou Ping'an took Su Ying to Anping Battery's Shanghai base and introduced her to his cousin Ruan Xiaoyun, who was the person in charge of the base.
He instructed Ruan Xiaoyun, "Prepare a larger office for General Manager Su here, with all the necessary facilities. General Manager Su will be the project supervisor, so it will be convenient for her to come over to work and receive guests, and she'll also have a place to rest when she's tired."
As soon as she finished speaking, Su Ying's phone rang. It was Lin Na calling.
"Director Lin?"
Lin Na's voice came from the other end of the line, with a hint of fatigue but undeniable solemnity: "Mr. Su, there is an urgent matter that needs to be communicated. It concerns the basic schedule framework of the project. It would be best if... Mr. Zhou could also be present."
The phone was turned up loudly, and Zhou Pingan nodded to indicate that he had heard it. The three of them immediately set off and drove to Lin Na's studio.
The atmosphere in the studio was solemn, the walls covered with concept art and storyboard sketches for "The Legend of the Condor Heroes." Lin Na's eyes were bloodshot, clearly from a sleepless night, yet her gaze remained remarkably clear and sharp. She cut straight to the chase, shoving a simple progress chart in front of Zhou Ping'an and Su Ying.
"Mr. Zhou, Mr. Su, working backwards from the 70-day cycle, we've reached the biggest bottleneck." Lin Na pointed at the "Set Construction" column on the signboard. "The core scene of 'Beacon Fire Plays Princes' isn't a simple studio; it requires a sophisticated 'city.' Even with the most efficient temporary structure, from design and construction to detailed aging, it will take at least four to six months."
She raised her head, looked at Zhou Ping'an sharply, and asked a question:
"You require that the initial 70 million yuan be fully spent by the end of your 70-day cycle. But if I start construction on the cinema now, the initial investment, design, deposit, and material procurement will likely consume 20 to 30 million yuan, and the entire project won't be completed until four or five months later. This means that by the end of your first cycle, this core project will be a 'half-finished product.'"
She paused, her tone carrying the pragmatism and concern typical of a professional director:
"My question is: Can subsequent funding ensure seamless connection when needed? If there is uncertainty about subsequent funding, I will never start this project now. Otherwise, it will not be a movie set, but a real unfinished building, and the entire project will be stalled."
There was no emotion on Zhou Ping'an's face. His eyes swept across the extremely gorgeous yet decadent pictures on the wall, as if he was quickly making some calculations and deductions in his mind.
After a brief silence, Zhou Pingan raised his head, looked at Lin Na, and asked a question that was beyond everyone's expectations, but completely in line with his way of thinking:
"If we don't want temporary ones," he said calmly, as if discussing a technical parameter, "how about building a complete, permanent live-action studio? Wouldn't that be better than these makeshift structures?"
Lin Na was startled, her pupils shrinking slightly. She hadn't expected Zhou Ping'an's mind to jump so quickly, jumping straight from a budget problem to a nearly crazy idea. She took a deep breath and tried to keep her voice professional and calm.
"Mr. Zhou, from an artistic perspective, a completely real scene is of course the ultimate ideal. The texture of real bricks, stones, and wood, polished over time, cannot be replaced by any imitation. Actors' performances in a real architectural space will also be completely different..."
However, her tone immediately became extremely serious, even with a hint of warning:
"But, in that case, the cost would be on a completely different scale. We wouldn't be setting up a set; we'd be constructing a real, rigorously researched ancient city out of thin air. Forget 300 million, even 1 billion would be enough, and it might not even be enough."
"One billion... can all be spent."
Zhou Ping'an repeated this sentence softly. Instead of flinching, his eyes flashed with a barely perceptible light - a light mixed with excitement and concentration that only appeared when one encountered a truly challenging problem.
He did not answer immediately, but instead cast his gaze again at the pictures on the wall depicting the overthrow of the dynasty, as if he had already seen the city rising from the ground.
The studio was completely silent. Lin Na and Su Ying waited with bated breath.
Zhou Ping'an's reaction means that he is not bound by the difficulties of reality, but is thinking about a bigger and crazier behavior.
The news swept through Liu Yifan's team like a gust of wind.
When Yang Wei learned from Ruan Xiaoyun that Zhou Ping'an not only rejected the temporary cinema plan, but was also considering investing billions to build a complete, permanently usable real-life cinema, she was stunned for half a minute holding the phone.
After hanging up the phone, she immediately gathered the core members of the team, including Liu Yifan himself. The atmosphere in the meeting room was even more eerie than when she learned about the sky-high salary.
"The situation... is exactly like this," Yang Wei relayed, her voice still tinged with an unbelievable dryness. "According to the contract we signed earlier, the ownership of all assets purchased or constructed to complete the film... in theory, belongs to our company."
These words hit the surface of the water like a huge rock. After a brief silence, there was an irrepressible commotion.
"Ten... one billion in assets?" The legal advisor's voice changed. He adjusted his glasses and quickly flipped through the contract. His face was pale with a mixture of ecstasy and immense fear. "From the legal point of view, yes, this... this is indeed ours."
"How could we possibly ask for that?" A senior team member stood up abruptly, his tone agitated. "What would happen if this got out? Liu Yifan's team made a movie and then extorted an entire city from the investors? This isn't just greed, this is... this is insanity! Our reputation will be completely ruined!"
"But the contract is written in black and white..." someone objected weakly.
"Contracts are static, but people are alive! How do we manage such a large asset? How do we maintain it? How do we resolve the tax issues? This isn't an asset at all; it's a massive burden that could bring us all down!"
The team split into two camps: one was shocked by the enormous legal rights and wealth, while the other was frightened by the even greater moral risks and real troubles. The argument became louder and louder.
"That's enough."
A calm voice rang out, not loud, but it instantly silenced everyone. It was Liu Yifan, who had been listening to the argument in silence.
She raised her head and scanned every anxious face with clear and firm eyes, without the slightest hesitation or greed.
"There's no need to discuss this matter." Her tone was firm: "We can't keep this city."
She leaned forward slightly, placed her hands lightly on the table, and stated the most important reason:
"Mr. Zhou built this city for his movies, but more deeply, it was to fulfill an 'ideal' in his heart. If we took ownership of it, it would be shameless. It would not only tarnish the original intention of the project, but also tarnish ourselves."
She looked at Yang Wei and the legal advisor and gave clear instructions:
"Sister Wei, prepare a supplementary agreement. Make two points clear: First, the ownership of this studio belongs entirely to Mr. Zhou, and the project company has exclusive use rights during filming. Second, after the project is completed, we only need some priority leasing rights or cooperative development rights."
She paused, her tone slowed down, but with deeper power:
"Our goal is to make a good film that will last, not to become the owner of a movie studio. We must prioritize and stay true to our original aspirations. We must not touch anything that is not ours, otherwise there will be endless trouble."
Liu Yifan's words were like a bucket of cold water, waking up all those who were dazzled by the huge assets.
Yang Wei took a deep breath and nodded heavily: "I understand, I'll do it right away."
After the meeting, Liu Yifan walked to the window alone.
"What a... terrifying and pure person." She whispered to herself, but an indescribable curve appeared at the corner of her mouth, touched by this purity.
A special meeting regarding the "Qingguo" Cinema was held in the conference room of Weihua Building. Zhou Ping'an, Liu Yifan, Lin Na, and their core team members sat together again. This time, the topic was very clear: how to solve the cinema's biggest bottleneck.
At the beginning of the meeting, Linna's production manager once again emphasized the time pressure. He pointed to the plan and said:
"If we were to start from scratch and build a fully realistic Zhou Dynasty-style movie studio, the design, land acquisition, building permit application, and construction completion alone would conservatively take three to four years. This completely exceeded our project timeline."
When Liu Yifan heard the specific number of "three to four years," she frowned slightly, revealing a hint of anxiety that was difficult to conceal. This subtle expression was keenly captured by Zhou Ping'an, who was sitting next to her.
As everyone was silently reviewing the schedule, Zhou Pingan suddenly felt a surge of evil interest. He leaned slightly towards Liu Yifan and whispered in a voice only the two of them could hear, with an almost nasty, truth-piercing bluntness:
"Did you hear me? Three or four years... By that time, you'll be thirty years old. You really can't wait."
Liu Yifan turned her head suddenly, and her beautiful eyes stared at him in an instant, full of shame and anger of being offended.
She said nothing, but just glared at him fiercely, then quickly turned her head, straightened her back, and resumed her professional and distant posture, as if nothing had happened just now, but the corners of her mouth seemed to move slightly.
Zhou Ping'an noticed her anger, but instead of taking it seriously, a faint, triumphant smile crossed his lips. He then sat up straight as if nothing had happened, as if the harsh comment had never happened.
At this time, a venue consultant in charge of external relations broke the deadlock and proposed a constructive alternative plan, which was to directly acquire an existing film and television city or theme park with a similar classical style that had a good foundation but was poorly managed and renovate it.
This eliminates the time-consuming initial land acquisition and construction permitting processes, allowing for a direct transition to the design and construction phase. Preliminary estimates suggest the overall construction cycle can be shortened to around a year, while capital investment will be reduced by at least one-third compared to new construction.
This proposal instantly captured everyone's attention. Lin Na immediately asked a few technical questions about the style compatibility and renovation potential, and the answers she received were quite optimistic.
After listening to this, Zhou Pingan tapped his fingers twice on the table and made a decision:
"Okay. Let's proceed in this direction. Su Ying, Xiao Yun, cooperate with Director Lin's team and start the screening and evaluation as soon as possible. I want the fastest speed."
Ultimately, the meeting unanimously approved the "acquisition and renovation" plan. The biggest uncertainty hanging over the project finally settled, and the project's path forward seemed much clearer.
After the meeting, Liu Yifan stood up first, gave Zhou Ping'an another look, then straightened his back and quickly left the meeting room.
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