Chapter 24: Partner (Seeking Recommendations!)

  In a hotel in Beijing, Peng Yuyan, who had just arrived in the capital to sign a contract, met Chen Guofu, a director with a good reputation on Taiwan. He introduced himself and participated in the film "The Young Yang Family Generals" invested by Huayi Brothers and China Film Group Corporation. Since he had also cooperated with China Film Group Corporation before, he smoothly got the role of Yang Qilang.

  It was supposed to be his turn to visit Chen Guofu, but unexpectedly Chen Guofu came over in person, which made Peng Yuyan feel honored and surprised.

  "Hello, Director Chen." Peng Yu Yan greeted Chen Guo Fu politely but without fawning.

  Chen Guofu's face wasn't very good, "A Yan, Beijing has many fun places, you go and have a good time, then come back to Taiwan."

  "What do you mean, Mr. Chen?" asked Peng Yu's agent nervously from behind him.

  Peng Youyan didn't say a word, but quietly looked at Chen Guofu, waiting for his next words.

  Chen Guofu said with some embarrassment, "After all, I'm not a member of the Huayi team, my words only serve as suggestions. They had originally agreed to me, but in the end they changed their minds and replaced A Ye's role with a newcomer who has never acted before."

  Chen Guofu wasn't feeling too great either. Although he had supervised many of Huayi Brothers' films and achieved extraordinary success, most of them were done as a consultant for Columbia Asia, after all, he wasn't a Huayi person. The two kings of Huayi respected him but didn't have to obey his every command, this time it was just about saving face because of the Tiger Wolf company, it seemed that he really needed to consider whether he should cooperate with this mainland's most powerful private entertainment company in order to gain more say.

  Peng Youyan's agent heard Chen Guofu's words and immediately turned pale, somewhat flustered: "How can these mainlanders be so untrustworthy? Our Youyan is also very popular in Taiwan, I didn't expect to receive such unfair treatment on the mainland!"

  "Alright, don't say anything more," after comforting the agent, Peng Yuyan said to Chen Guofu, "In any case, I still want to thank Director Chen for recommending me. Although I've never collaborated with him before, I've always liked his work. Being able to meet him in person is already a great honor."

  Peng Youyan's tactful words made Chen Guofu very appreciative. As a star, one must know how to handle things: "A Yan, don't take this matter to heart. From now on, my work focus will be on the mainland. If there is an opportunity in the future, I will definitely not forget you."

  "Then thank the director." Peng Youyan slightly bowed, his agent Ci Jie looked at the harmonious pair and smiled with satisfaction.

  ……

  Signed with the company and got an important role in a TV series, what a wonderful thing! He Mu couldn't help but feel sentimental, unfortunately Li Jun was not by his side, no one to share this joy.

  It's better not to talk about this with Tao Yiduo, he thinks it's beneath him and doesn't want to stimulate those young people who are still striving for success.

  He didn't expect He Mu to call Tao Qu, but Lao Tao called back himself.

  He Mian, who was lying on the bed in the basement and spacing out, received a call from Tao Qudu. "Hey, Xiao Mian, you're really something! Now the whole Huaying Brothers is talking about it. Tiger Wolf Company directly kicked out Peng Yuyan, who was recommended by Mr. Chen Guofu, to promote new people. As a result, Mr. Chen was very angry, but he couldn't do anything about it. You little guy directly rose to power! Now our boss Chen asked me to go and explain things to Li Guoli, let's see how Director Li reacts, after all, this play is still dominated by him."

  He Mu immediately sat up in bed, "You said Director Li wouldn't disagree, right?"

  "Nothing will happen," Tao Qiumu comforted He Mu, "Director Li is a reasonable person. Since the role change was proposed by Hu Yifei and Hua Yue didn't object to it, what grounds does he have to speak up for Peng Yuanying? Don't worry, just focus on acting as Yang Qilang. With your skills, I'm sure you'll be fine. As long as you act well, Director Li won't say anything. Alright, let's not talk about this anymore. I just called to congratulate you. We'll have plenty of time to chat when we get to Hengdian."

  As Tao Qu's deputy director and also the representative of Huayi Brothers, he naturally had to follow the crew around, so He Mu wouldn't be lonely at times.

  As Tao Querdai said, the next day, Xiao Fang and Da Tang took He Mu to visit Director Li Guoli. During their casual conversation, they let Director Li get a better understanding of He Mu, which meant that he had passed the interview. Since Director Li did not raise any objections, it also meant that he had accepted He Mu into his crew.

  Having gained Li Guoli's recognition, the role of Yang Qilang was basically nailed down. He Mu, in a state of pride, called his parents at home and told them about signing a five-year contract with an agency, and subtly mentioned that he might be acting in a big production TV series with many stars.

  Mom didn't show any surprise or pride, but more worry, "Mù ah, you won't be deceived by someone, will you? Five years is such a long time, what if they have ulterior motives? I've heard that the entertainment industry has many unwritten rules, they won't let you..."

  "Hold on!" In order to alleviate his mother's worries, He Mu had no choice but to bring out Xiao Fang, this old brother's good friend from the army. Fortunately, both his parents still remembered him and unanimously gave a "he's a good kid" evaluation, so the two elders were finally at ease.

  Before He Mu's team arrived, he had a few days of free time to enjoy life. During this period, he went to see his new residence and found that it was a two-bedroom suite with an environment far beyond his expectations. When he later learned that the monthly rent for this house was as high as 5,000 yuan, He Mu felt that the responsibility on his shoulders was even heavier, and he had to make money, otherwise how could he live up to Mr. Xiao's large investment? In these days, He Mu tidied up his new home, bought some things to fill it up, and at least before he could afford to buy a house in Beijing, he had to keep living here.

  After cleaning up the new home, He Mu still slept in the underground rental house. Yesterday he had sent away Ah Bing, and they agreed to meet again on the rivers and lakes. With a thousand thoughts, He Mu hoped to wait for Li Wen Hua's return.

  However, what he got was a call from Datang, "Everyone is here, come to the company this afternoon for a meeting."

  "Okay." He Mu hung up the phone and thought about going out for a walk. As soon as he opened the door, he saw a bald man with a messy beard wearing dirty clothes standing at the entrance.

  "Fatty!" He Mu almost didn't dare recognize him, was this still the same Li Wen Hua who although was fat, but carried it with elegance and refinement?

  Li Wen lay exhausted on the bed, He Mu didn't want to touch his sad affairs, but he took the initiative to tell He Mu about his experiences over the past few days.

  Accompanying his mother to entrust relationships, accompanying his cousin and lawyer to collect materials are just minor matters. What Li Wenwen wants to say most is that his father has never blamed him. The two fathers and sons, separated by iron bars, chatted more happily than in their luxurious mansion at home.

  Li Wen Hua took out a few small notebooks from his backpack, He Mu took them over to look at, the words on it were crooked and messy, like a primary school student's handwriting, and there were many typos. "What is this?"

  "This was written by my dad, it's sort of a memoir, all about his rags-to-riches story and love story. He hopes that one day I can help him publish it through official channels, also to warn the world."

  "So?" He Mu asked again.

  "So I sold my car and I'm going to be a publisher, start a publishing company," said Li with determination.

  "Is the money enough?"

  "It's far from enough." Li Wenhua was like a deflated balloon.

  Being a bookseller, an authentic bookseller has always been Li Wen's dream. He and He Mu are both book lovers, and he is ashamed of his father's involvement in piracy, so he hopes to do the opposite of his father's business to redeem this shame, so he took the entrance exam for Communication University of China to study broadcasting.

  However, now his goal has not changed, but the original motivation has changed. He wants to fulfill his father's wish and redeem his father by publishing more and better works. But the reality is that he has no money, all the family property was confiscated, and his mother's private savings were spent on connections and lawyers. It is possible that even his tuition for next semester cannot be guaranteed.

  He sold the car he bought with the prize money for a short film and only recovered 700,000 yuan. This amount of money is simply a drop in the bucket for starting a publishing company, not even enough to cover the registered capital. Just as he was worried, a bank card appeared in front of him.

  He Mu took out a card with an expressionless face and said, "What a coincidence, I recently received a windfall, so I'll lend it to you first."

  "Stop messing around, you don't understand the publishing industry, a few tens of thousands can't even get it started." Li Wenhua pushed away He Mu's card.

  "Can I have that million?"

  "Where did you get one million?"

  "I've sold myself." He Mu smiled and briefly told what had happened during this time.

  "That means you sold yourself for one million?! Li Wen Hua held the bank card with one million on it, still finding it hard to believe. Although he had encouraged He Mu that he would definitely succeed, he didn't think success would come so quickly and so fiercely."

  "Do you think it's overpriced or underpriced?" He Mu joked.

  "It's more expensive than pork from your own home, you've made a profit!"

  But Li Wenhua hesitated for a moment and returned He Mu's money, "What if I lose?"

  "You're backing down before we've even started, are you still a man?" He Mu scolded, "Take the money, consider it compensation from me. After all, I'm now also a rising star in the entertainment industry, I can afford this amount."

  He spoke generously, but He Mu still felt a pang of heartache. So much money could buy so much pork!

  "Who gets to keep the profit if we make money?" Li Hua, who came from a business family, knew that sometimes losing money wouldn't hurt feelings, but making money and having an uneven distribution of benefits would really hurt feelings. He didn't want to hurt his best friend's feelings over this.

  He Mu also understood Li Wen Hua's meaning, although he can now ensure that he won't be jealous of Li Wen Hua making a fortune with his own money, but who knows what will happen in the future, people are changeable, no one dares to guarantee that they can be kind for a lifetime.

  Seeing He Mu's silence, Li Wenhua spoke up: "How about this? You put in the money and I'll contribute my efforts. We can split the company 50/50?"

  With Li's cultural proposal, a pair of Chinese partners was born...

  (ps: Second update is done, I'll work on the third one now. If time permits, there will be a fourth update too. Please support me, it's harder to catch up after falling behind on the first day of ranking! Thank you everyone!!!)