I am a Big Player
Chapter 602 - 596, The Self-Esteeming Jiang Wensheng (Second Update)_1

Chapter 602: 596, The Self-Esteeming Jiang Wensheng (Second Update)_1

Before December 17th, "Crazy Stone" had not been tested by the market, so no one knew how it would perform. It’s a common scenario in the entertainment industry: you might have a blockbuster promotional campaign, but if the movie turns out to be garbage, it’s a straight plunge from there.

Even though it was produced by Zhang Ming, could even a great director not make a blunder? It was said that the screenplay was written by the boss of Qinghe himself, so many people were pondering one question: you’re a businessman, and even if you’re exceptional at business, can you also write a good screenplay? Everyone knows that each craft has its own expertise; being good at business does not necessarily mean you can write a good screenplay.

This time, Zhang Ming probably succumbed to capital. For the sake of retirement, he didn’t even care about his reputation, daring to take on any lousy script.

So many were wondering, Qinghe Film and Television made such a high-profile entry, even taking Zhang Ming under its wing, and Xu Xiaowen was outright banned—a move rarely seen from the State Administration of Radio, Film, and Television. With all this arrogance, what if the movie turns out to be a mess; how will you tie up the loose ends then?

But when "Crazy Stone" was released, everyone was a bit stunned. Was this a script written by a businessman? The quality would put many screenwriters to shame!

"Crazy Stone" adopted many instances of reenactment montage in its narrative. Sometimes, a plot point that seemed useless was immediately elevated later on, immersing the audience in these moments. As the plot thickened and each setup and punchline unfolded, it elicited realizations and hearty laughter from the viewers.

This kind of screenplay isn’t something just anyone can write!

Three days after the film’s release, the box office broke through 12 million yuan, an unimaginable achievement. It could be said that the movie had recouped all its costs within the first three days, and the rest was pure profit.

Ren He had Zhang Ming make a box office estimate. Zhang Ming said, "200 million yuan at the least, I wouldn’t dare to predict any more than that."

These days, unless it’s a blockbuster from the middle or the end of the year, or a major foreign film, it’s hard to see such figures.

To be honest, this result was completely beyond Ren He’s imagination. Even when "Crazy Stone" was a box office champion in his past life, it never reached these heights.

Initially, one of the three major cinema chains offered "Crazy Stone" an outrageous 4% screening rate. Zhang Ming told Ren He back then that it must have been the result of Jiang Wensheng’s influence.

Ren He laughed at the time, "Does this cinema chain belong to Jiang Wensheng?"

"No," said Zhang Ming, shaking his head. "But their boss has a good relationship with Jiang Wensheng."

Ren He laughed heartily, "Haha, I truly don’t believe there’s any businessman under the sun who would see money and not want to earn it. Let’s just see how deep the relationship between this cinema chain boss and Jiang Wensheng really is."

As a result, on the fourth day after "Crazy Stone" was released, the cinema chain had increased its screening rate to 36%, a ninefold increase!

"It’s a world ruled by capital," Ren He remarked with some emotion upon hearing the news. "Jiang Wensheng overestimated himself. It seems his connections aren’t that strong after all."

Chen Da listened on the side, feeling a mix of annoyance and envy. These were the types of situations Ren He, at his level, got to see. Who among them could withstand the influence of such a circle insider as Jiang Wensheng? None of them could generate enough profits. In other words, only Ren He had the right to say such things. Compared to Qinghe Group, Jiang Wensheng was indeed nothing.

Indeed, in the face of the charm of capital and money, the network of relationships Jiang Wensheng once prided himself on was being destroyed ruthlessly and effortlessly, unable to withstand the onslaught.

Zhang Ming was well aware that this is a pragmatic world, so realistic that when you wake up in the middle of the night, you think about how if you one day become a loser from a winner, how many friends, relatives, and lovers will leave you, causing you to toss and turn and never sleep again.

But now it was different. He also knew that Ren He was an exception. Zhang Ming was aware the young man wouldn’t betray friendship for the so-called profits, a most precious commodity.

In Ren He’s view, Jiang Wensheng was nothing to fear. Such a domineering figure, who relied on his old status, could jump around in the entertainment circle all he wanted, he still couldn’t shake the foundation of Qinghe Group.

Furthermore... would Beidou Military Industry and the interest groups behind it just sit back and watch someone with nothing better to do mess with their business? This was another level altogether, Ren He’s ultimate protection.

In the past few days, as Zhang Ming socialized, someone suddenly asked out of curiosity, "Was the script for ’Crazy Stone’ really written by that person from Qinghe? It doesn’t look like the work of a businessman. Us veteran screenwriters in the circle are finding it hard to keep up; he didn’t just buy the rights to put his name on it, did he?"

This sort of practice is not unusual in the literary world—starting something yourself, then outsourcing the continuation, or directly purchasing a work to claim as your own. It’s quite common.

So after watching "Crazy Stone", everyone was thinking, maybe he bought the script for Qinghe, right?

Zhang Ming shook his head with a smile, "If you want to know the answer, you old guy have to drink up first, drink and I’ll tell you."

"Alright, I’ll drink!" The elder opposite Zhang Ming drained his glass, "I’ve drunk up, now tell me quickly!"

"He wrote it himself, absolutely genuine, and he even wrote two scripts at once for me. The one I’m about to start shooting... is even better than this one!" Zhang Ming said proudly: "You all know how much I’ve been wanting to find a few good scripts. If it weren’t for his ability, I wouldn’t have joined Qinghe Film and Television. Let me confirm for you once more, it’s indeed his writing, and the high efficiency and quality are beyond your imagination!"

Indeed, Zhang Ming spoke the truth. When Ren He gave him "No Man’s Land", "Crazy Stone" had only been out for a short while, and it’s worth noting that what Ren He provided wasn’t merely scripts; he had also drawn up numerous character designs and storyboards. That’s why Zhang Ming said Ren He’s efficiency and quality were unimaginable!

Zhang Ming had asked Ren He about this before, and Ren He had simply laughed and said to put his name on everything. If he had earned the mission through his own effort, why wouldn’t he dare to put his own name on it?

The guy freaking reincarnated is casually copying, while only freaking himself is suffering under a system nicknamed the ’Moth’! A real pitfall!

Before, Ren He was worried that Mrs. Ren and Ren would stop him from being ’distracted from proper work,’ but now he didn’t worry about it at all.

The day before yesterday, Mrs. Ren had even called him, coldly asking right off the bat, "Where’s my grandson?"

"Currently in the making, currently in the making..." Ren He was a bit amused and exasperated, "What is all this about?" On the one hand, the family matriarch was constantly thinking about holding her grandchild, but on the other hand, he himself had the desire but not the courage. He was almost about to accomplish the feat of saying farewell to virginity, but now Yang Xi, this girl, just wouldn’t budge at all.

Troublesome!