I am a Big Player
Chapter 584 - 578. Never Boast (The Third Update)_1

Chapter 584: 578. Never Boast (The Third Update)_1

"Hello, is this Southern Daily? We would like to buy ad space in the entertainment section to promote ’Lost City’... Oh, okay, thank you," Xu Xiaowen’s crew member wiped the sweat off his brow and hung up the phone after another flat refusal.

He proceeded to make another call: "Hello, is this Phoenix... We would like to... Oh, okay, thank you."

It was yet another refusal, all rejections. Only three tiny media outlets, so small they couldn’t be any smaller, were willing to collaborate with them. But the problem was, even if they bought ad space from these three, it wouldn’t be of much use!

Looking at the situation now, surely someone had made some calls within the circle, otherwise they wouldn’t all be giving the same response. Xu Xiaowen stood by with her face ashen. She had intended to take a good stroll around this beautiful mountain city, but now there was no need for that. If her livelihood was at stake, what was there to tour!

She was somewhat puzzled. It made sense to her that Qinghe would block her within their sphere of influence – she didn’t even have the desire to argue because she knew all too well that she was on their turf, where her words would be meaningless.

But why were the media outlets collectively rejecting her? Some of them had negotiated with her before, but now they were outright denying her!

How had Qinghe’s influence become so vast?

The only reason these three small media outlets were willing to collaborate was probably that they were too small to remember to be notified to refuse...

Xu Xiaowen gritted her teeth, picked up the phone, and dialed Elder Jiang’s number: "Elder Jiang?"

A dignified voice came from the other end: "What’s the matter, Xiaowen?"

"Here’s the thing..." Xu Xiaowen explained her encounter with Chen Da in Chongqing to Elder Jiang. She exaggerated Chen Da’s role in stirring up trouble and expressed her current predicament. If the film’s promotional phase fell through, the two hundred million invested in the movie would be completely wasted.

She knew her situation well: her fiancé’s capital chain was already tight. Those two hundred million had come from her tough bargaining and charm, for which she had unlocked several positions and had confidently assured that she understood the entertainment industry and would surely not let the money go to waste.

And now she was facing such a predicament!

Xu Xiaowen intended to leverage Elder Jiang’s dissatisfaction with Chen Da to resolve the situation. However, once Qinghe Group’s name was mentioned, he was noticeably silent before he asked, "What do you want to do?"

’I’m not asking you to confront Qinghe, those are capital big shots outside our circle, I understand that, but Chen Da has been blacklisted by you for twelve years; what’s a few more?’" Xu Xiaowen, emboldened, said with a sweet smile, "Your opinion wouldn’t be disregarded by Director Zhang, right?"

"Also," Xu Xiaowen continued, "could you please get in touch with the media for me? Your word will definitely carry weight!"

Continuing to blacklist Chen Da was indeed important, but more crucial was the box office. It wasn’t just about her own reputation; it also concerned her fiancé’s financial status. If his capital chain broke, her dream of marrying into wealth would be shattered.

Offending Qinghe might lead to heavy losses in the Luohe theaters, but she believed that with the remaining two-thirds of theaters, they could still recoup the costs. After all, they could still sell the rights to online video platforms later on.

After hearing her proposal, Elder Jiang, considering he didn’t need to arm-wrestle the outside big shots, said after a moment of contemplation, "First take a flight back to the Capital. Come over to my house tomorrow evening to discuss this."

Xu Xiaowen’s face turned pale when she heard this. She whispered, "You know I’m about to get married..."

"It’s not like it hasn’t happened before, but if you don’t want to, then forget it," Elder Jiang said calmly, showing no sign of hanging up.

Xu Xiaowen bit her lip and hesitated for two minutes: "Okay, I’ll come!"

"Good, you can come early, we’ll have dinner together," Elder Jiang said, and then he hung up.

Xu Xiaowen harbored a grudge in her heart, but there was nowhere to vent it. When she thought about what the other party said, that it wasn’t unprecedented, a sense of relief suddenly washed over her for a moment.

Sometimes, when people reach a crossroads and take that first step down the wrong path, it becomes very hard to turn back. They get accustomed to solving problems in the wrong way because it seems easier than the correct approach.

The next evening, Elder Jiang came out of his bedroom, and Xu Xiaowen straightened her clothes and managed a strained smile, "About my situation..."

"Wait, I’ll make a phone call to solve it," Elder Jiang said with composure, picking up the mobile phone from the coffee table and dialing, "Hello, Li, how have you been recently? Haha, come out for a catch-up sometime. By the way, I wanted to discuss something with you. My goddaughter Xiaowen has made a movie called ’Lost City’. We’d like to advertise it in your newspaper..."

The call lasted five minutes, and after Elder Jiang hung up, he sat in contemplative silence for another five minutes. He too felt uncomfortable now because, despite over a decade’s worth of relationship, the other party still rejected him and even disclosed some information.

"Qinghe now has a hold on the shares of 49 mainstream media outlets, 12 of which they own controlling stakes in. The one where Li is, Qinghe is also a shareholder..." Elder Jiang took a sip of tea: "They have sent a message; they didn’t say they want you blacklisted, but they don’t want to see any news related to you. They don’t want to smear you, just to make you disappear from the public’s sight... There’s nothing I can do to help with this, you’ll have to handle it on your own."

After hearing this, Xu Xiaowen was completely stunned. Qinghe had a hold on the shares of 49 mainstream media outlets?! Since when had this happened, and how come there was absolutely no whiff of it before?!

Moreover, the scale of Qinghe’s operation was terrifying. It wasn’t something that could be accomplished overnight; who knows since when they had started acquiring stakes!

The thought was somewhat despairing. It appeared that the sphere of influence wasn’t just limited to the Qinghe Faction...

But what about herself? In a rush, Xu Xiaowen said, "Elder Jiang, I’ve already come this far, you can’t just let this be for nothing..."

"It was voluntary," Elder Jiang calmly interrupted Xu Xiaowen: "Or would you rather your fiancé knew about it?"

Xu Xiaowen’s face turned deathly pale; she stuttered, "But something has to be done about Chen Da..."

Elder Jiang picked up the phone to call Zhang Ming, but after trying four times, there was no answer! Zhang Ming was a very clever person who rarely offended anyone in the industry, but his current attitude made it clear he didn’t want to deal with Elder Jiang himself!

Having boarded Qinghe’s massive ship, Zhang Ming could also let go of certain cordialities and start living a life of simplicity!

Elder Jiang’s face turned iron blue: "You’ll have to solve it on your own; I can’t help you."

It was his idea to blacklist Chen Da at first, but now, seeing a shark called Qinghe plunge in, he felt his influence in the industry was waning, giving him a sudden sense of powerlessness and anger!

Xu Xiaowen also finally realized that the confident young man amid the crowd hadn’t been bragging, as if he had never bragged at all.

...

Extra rewards for supporters. Please, a monthly pass, hopefully, it won’t again fail to reach the top ten in urban books this month... So sad!

Recommending a friend’s book "Floud Mountain" by Farmhouse One Bowl of Fragrance. This book is simply amazing, surprise inducing to the point of making one slam the desk in awe.

Though I haven’t read it, go and take a look... Hahaha.

The author is a Chief Player among us Big Players.