The entertainment industry buzzed with significant news that Tengying Entertainment, serving as the primary investor, had produced Legend of Lu Zhen.
After seven rounds of auctions, the highly popular Mango Channel from Southern Province secured the premiere rights with a hefty price of 150 million.
Upon the release of this news, not only was Zhao Liying thrust into the spotlight.
Tengying Entertainment also experienced a surge in popularity, considering that when this entertainment company first started to emerge,
it was merely releasing its own news, investing one billion to film the novel adaptation, Hua Qiangu.
How much time has passed since then?
Everyone knows that producing TV series carries high risks, and making money from them is even more challenging.
Yet, the newly established Tengying Entertainment succeeded with every investment.
This naturally provided plenty of topics for entertainment journalists.
However, compared to that, Chen Pingsheng clearly cared more about the money in his hands.
Legend of Lu Zhen had a total investment of thirty million, with his personal investment at fifteen million.
He held a forty percent stake.
Now that it had sold for the sky-high price of 150 million, the return on investment was 400%.
Together with the over twenty million previously in his pocket, his savings once again rose to over eighty million.
Just as he was fully focused on preparing to shoot Hua Qiangu, he suddenly got approached by a major drama crew.
To be honest, this woman was truly stunning at first glance.
The rightful top trendsetter of 2013…Yang Mi.
Actually, Tengying had only become popular within a small circle, given that all the dramas it invested in starred Zhao Liying.
To outsiders, Tengying seemed to be established purely for Zhao Liying.
Now that he was a small boss in the entertainment circle, meeting Yang Mi wasn't too surprising.
"Mr. Chen, you've made a high profit from Legend of Lu Zhen. My company has a drama that might interest you,"
They were here to pull in investments.
The speaker was not Yang Mi but a vice president of Jiaxing Company.
Jiaxing in 2013 was just so-so, solely supported by Yang Mi.
It was not much more impressive than his Tengying Entertainment.
"Where's the script? Let me have a look."
The vice president was a woman just over forty, wearing gold-rimmed glasses.
"Three Lives Three Worlds, Ten Miles of Peach Blossom?"
The name sounded quite nice. Chen Pingsheng felt that making money in the entertainment circle was just like taking money from fools.
He could directly use Golden Finger to analyze; there was no need for brainstorming.
"Target analysis: Three Lives Three Worlds."
"Analyzing target, please wait."
One second, two seconds, three seconds passed.
Once again, a row of golden characters appeared in front of him.
"Drama title: Three Lives Three Worlds."
"Production cycle: two years."
"Total investment: 180 million."
"Return on investment: 200% to 500%."
It was indeed a profitable TV drama; however, the investment period was noticeably too long.
And the return on investment was just mediocre, far less than Hua Qiangu. ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ noᴠelfire.net
Chen Pingsheng was not too interested, though with Yang Mi present, he still didn't mind learning more.
"I want to ask, how much do you want me to invest?"
"Mr. Chen, I'll be honest, our company is very optimistic about this drama, and with Yang Mi personally starring, the ratings are guaranteed. With a total investment of 180 million, I hope you could invest 20% to 30%."
Two to three ten percents, that would be thirty to forty million.
After taking a sip of tea, Chen Pingsheng thought quickly.
"Investing is no problem for me. I just have one condition; if you can meet it, I'll transfer thirty to fifty million to your company's account immediately."
Entertainment companies, especially those newly established,
would rarely undertake big productions alone; they generally pull in three to five companies to share the investment.
It was all for the sake of mitigating risks.
If money was being made, naturally everything was good. If not, having four or five companies sharing the burden meant not directly facing closure.
Yang Mi looked up, a hint of dissatisfaction still in her eyes; she seemed to have realized something.
If that were the conditions, she would definitely leave without a second word.
Having reached this point, she wouldn't be easily suppressed.
Unless you could really block her path completely in one go.
The only ones capable of that were those in charge of approvals in the entertainment industry.
"Mr. Chen, what are your conditions?"
It wasn't just Yang Mi who had a premonition; the deputy general manager felt the same.
After all, with a woman like Yang Mi who breaks the norms, and at her most beautiful age, which man wouldn't be somewhat stirred?
"My wife owns a high-end beauty salon called Water Cloud Space. She loves her business very much. So, the only condition of my investment is that Yang Mi must endorse Water Cloud Space for free for two years."
It was somewhat unexpected.
Nobody expected such a condition.
Perhaps because their psychological defenses were set too high initially, they could accept it immediately when things took a sudden turn.
Endorsements, after all, didn't cost any flesh off one's back.
To secure that fifty million in funding and ensure the smooth start of Three Lives Three Worlds was what truly mattered.
"Mr. Chen, to be honest, you are the most unique person I've encountered in the entertainment industry."
"Don't say that. Yang Mi is beautiful, and any man would like her, but she is just a bit less than my wife."
Chen Pingsheng chuckled, he still remembered the promise he made to Song Yanxi.
Getting Yang Mi to endorse a breast care campaign for Water Cloud Space.
To completely make this project Water Cloud Space's ace.
Yang Mi snorted. There were indeed women more beautiful than her in the world.
But definitely, no man would tell her to her face that his wife was prettier than her.
All these desires to capture, to conceal, just a whole lot of them.
"Oh… by the way, if possible, there is another person here you could consider. If there's a suitable minor role, you could give it to her. She's very talented."
Chen Pingsheng called Bai Xin over, and Bai Xin was almost moved to tears.
Who was Yang Mi? Undoubtedly the top celebrity.
There had been no actress more popular than her these years. If she could play a supporting role beside her, that would be an extremely high starting point.
"You've had a hard time working as a cleaning lady with me. Now there's an opportunity to try more."
If he had invested so much money that he couldn't arrange a minor role at will,
then that would be underestimating capital.
Fifty million to him was just like transferring the profits from Legend of Lu Zhen.
Getting Yang Mi to endorse for his Water Cloud Space could immediately show returns.
He was really looking forward to it.
Just wondering if the breast care card from Water Cloud Space could activate a random multiplier.
If it could, then he would really make a huge profit.
The fifty million investment needed to be accompanied by a contract under the witness of both parties' lawyers.
As for Yang Mi's endorsement, of course, it wasn't included in it.
It could be handled privately.
That afternoon, Chen Pingsheng spent time discussing the specific investment details of Three Lives Three Worlds with them.
Since he knew the show would definitely make money, he wasn't concerned at all.
Gaining Yang Mi's endorsement for nothing, why not do it?
When going home, he called Song Yanxi to discuss it together.
Yang Mi's schedule was very tight, and she couldn't stay long in the Capital this time.
She would specifically take out half a day to visit Water Cloud Space.
By then, they would need to arrange journalists and editors to write up sensational online content in advance,
ensuring that the event gained the maximum exposure online.
It was Yang Mi, after all.
If such a great opportunity wasn't seized, then the fifty million investment would indeed be wasted.