Deceiving Chinese Entertainment Industry for Thirty Years 46

Chapter 46: I want you to be an eagle, not a dog!

2025-01-21

Chapter 46: I want you to be an eagle, not a dog!

“Why would it be her? Why Aunt Qiong Yao?”

“Who else could it be?”

The selection contest for *The Return of the Pearl* has settled.

Ma Xun and Ye Quan Zhen strolled along the riverbank again.

Naturally, they couldn’t help but talk about this ‘leaker’.

To be honest, most people wouldn’t have guessed it. The leaker was actually: Qiong Yao.

Of course, there’s no evidence to prove it’s her now.

But Ma Xun was absolutely certain.

It was her!

“But, but does this make logical sense?”

Although Ye Quan Zhen was asking, she had actually accepted this truth in her heart.

Ma Xun replied with a smile, “Of course it makes logical sense, and in fact, this is Aunt Qiong Yao’s own logic.”

“Ah?”

Ye Quan Zhen’s curious expression was quite adorable.

Ma Xun continued, “Besides you and He Xiujing, did anyone else know about this project?”

This question left Ye Quan Zhen speechless.

Yes, only the three of them knew, and at most, He Xiujing’s husband.

But neither Ye Quan Zhen nor He Xiujing would have told the young Master Ping.

Only Qiong Yao might have.

“But why would she do that?”

That’s a good question.

And Ma Xun’s answer was even more interesting, “Take a closer look at Aunt Qiong Yao’s works, and you should understand.”

Upon hearing this, Ye Quan Zhen blushed.

She hadn’t really read many of them.

Seeing the change in her expression, Ma Xun gave her a little hint.

“After doing this, no matter how the Ping family and her daughter-in-law fight, it has nothing to do with her.”

Ye Quan Zhen finally looked enlightened.

“Moreover, this is also a test for her daughter-in-law. If she can’t even solve such a simple problem, how can she inherit her mantle?”

That was enough.

Ye Quan Zhen nodded and fell into her own thoughts.

Ma Xun understood that letting her think more would benefit her.

After being overtaken in Shashi, Ma Xun was sure it was Qiong Yao who leaked the information.

This was very simple for him.

It was still that article Qiong Yao wrote later about the cast change in *The Return of the Pearl*.

Her article highlighted two words:

Heard.

She only heard it.

The subtext was: Everything that happened in mainland China was He Xiujing’s doing.

She, Qiong Yao, wasn’t taking the blame.

And in the present situation, the logic was the same.

She first told the young Master Ping about the selection project.

Then, if the young Master Ping didn’t win against He Xiujing, her daughter-in-law.

That would be great!

Afterwards, Qiong Yao gave all her works to her own son.

It all made sense, didn’t it?

It’s because the Ping family didn’t win, it’s not my fault.

Anyway, after reading her works, it’s easy to understand.

In fact, the Ping family had made a lot of money from her works before.

And this time, there was another key figure.

Ma Xun waited for Ye Quan Zhen to think for a while before speaking again.

“Have you thought about He Xiujing?”

“What about He Xiujing?”

“Axue, you are sometimes really stupid. Don’t you understand? In fact, from the moment she heard that the Ping family was coming to compete for this project, He Xiujing had already determined that her mother-in-law was the leaker.”

“Oh…”

Hearing this, Ye Quan Zhen felt extremely uncomfortable.

This must be the truth.

So, wasn’t she a fool back then?

“You people in the cultural circles are too scheming.”

This wasn’t exactly a complaint from Ye Quan Zhen, but her true feelings.

It amused Ma Xun. “He Xiujing is not simple; she is a clever woman.”

This was Ma Xun’s honest opinion, and judging from the final results,

He Xiujing could be said to have taken everything from Qiong Yao.

The Ping family members later caused a lot of trouble and various scandals.

But to no avail.

Ma Xun wouldn’t mention these things, but he talked about He Xiujing hoping Ye Quan Zhen would be more cautious.

But Axue thought of a strange problem.

“Your Highness, but your performance back then was too…”

“Over-the-top?”

Ye Quan Zhen nodded.

Ma Xun laughed, “I did it on purpose.”

It had to be that over-the-top!

“Why?”

“Simple, I had to make He Xiujing certain that I was completely on her side. Conversely, I had to completely break with the Ping family, leaving no room for compromise.”

Ye Quan Zhen nodded in agreement.

But it seemed like something was missing.

Ma Xun continued, “This talent show is just an appetizer; the real key is this *The Return of the Pearl*.”

Ye Quan Zhen finally understood, but another problem arose.

“But what can we do? This drama is in cooperation with the economic channel.”

Ma Xun gave Ye Quan Zhen an approving look. “You’re right, but from the beginning, I never intended to take Hunan TV’s profits.

Or Station Director Ouyang’s profits.

I didn’t intend to take He Xiujing’s profits either.”

This…

“Then what do you intend to get?”

“It’s simple, this drama can be broadcast on other television stations. What I want is the profit from that.”

That’s right, the ‘rebroadcast’ rights.

The embedded advertisements in the rebroadcast!

Ye Quan Zhen finally understood, but she couldn’t help but ask, “But the rebroadcast of this drama will definitely not be as good as the first broadcast, right?”

Ma Xun nodded… This was acting.

But there was no other way.

Qiong Yao dramas were currently very popular, but no one would believe it.

The highest ratings of *The Return of the Pearl* were actually obtained from the Capital City TV rebroadcast!

From the very beginning, that was Ma Xun’s target!

If he could get the embedded advertising rights for the rebroadcast, he would make a fortune!

Of course, the interests of Capital City TV also had to be guaranteed.

In fact, looking back,

The rebroadcast of *The Return of the Pearl* on Capital City TV had incredibly high ratings.

If fully reflected in monetary terms…

At least several hundred million!

However, it’s impossible.

No one could have predicted that the ratings would be so high, so they couldn’t monetize that much.

But at least tens of millions were possible.

This was tens of millions in 1997 or 1998!

Ma Xun dared say that if anyone knew the profit could be this large,

They would have acted even more exaggeratedly than him!

He couldn’t tell Ye Quan Zhen too much right now.

Ma Xun’s goal was to have Ye Quan Zhen help him solidify the persona of staunchly supporting He Xiujing.

That way, once the drama was finished, he would probably get the rebroadcast rights.

Let’s take it slow for now.

We need to do a good job with this talent show.

But it’s not difficult.

In fact, the overall production of the program is still done by Station Director Ouyang and his team.

Ma Xun and Sun Donghai are the investors; we invest in your television station.

Those six million yuan are actually given to the television station.

And our profit point is the embedded advertisements.

These advertisements are not yours, they are ours.

In short, it’s the six million yuan in final payment.

Of course, we also have to keep an eye on how the production team spends the money.

Sun Donghai is unreliable; he might be more interested in the ‘contestants’.

Therefore, this task should also be given to Ye Quan Zhen.

Axue, entrusted with this important task, was very excited.

“Please rest assured, Your Highness.”

Their form of address was quite strange, but it also felt very intimate.

Especially since sometimes they would have some intimate gestures.

Like now, Ma Xun just raised his hand, and Ye Quan Zhen grabbed it.

Then, she gently licked it with her tongue.

Ma Xun thought this woman was indeed amazing.

A warm current flowed through his lower abdomen.

But he rebuked, “The saying goes, eagle and dog, eagle and dog. I want you to be an eagle, not a dog!”

“Yes! Axue will surely complete the task!”

Surprisingly, Ye Quan Zhen was quite into it.

She played the role in *Legend of Fire Cloud*, after all.

Ye Quan Zhen went to complete the task given to her by the Sixth Prince, making a cute grimace as she left.

But Ma Xun understood that this cold beauty was stalling.

They seemed to be playing a strange game.

To see who would fall first.

But for now, this game was quite interesting.

It wasn’t bad to play along with her.

…

“Brother! Awesome!”

“Indeed, for our project, we directly threw in 1 million! Really f***ing awesome!”

The *The Return of the Pearl* selection project was secured.

Our 12 million yuan deal is now on track.

Bai Daqing basically secured the agency rights for the embedded advertisements.

How much he makes will depend on his ability.

And now, everyone can clearly see.

Ma Xun, in order to secure this project, essentially threw away 1 million yuan!

Yes, in the eyes of Sun Donghai and Bai Daqing.

Making a literary film like *That Mountain, That Man, That Dog* is just throwing money away.

Of course, Ma Xun didn’t see it that way.

He knew this film was excellent; perhaps it didn’t make money in the original timeline.

But now I, Ma Xun, am here!

Moreover, this time, we managed to win back the selection project from the Ping family.

This film can be considered a hero.

Ma Xun remembered a detail, that one of the producers of *That Mountain, That Man, That Dog* was Station Director Ouyang.

That’s how Ma Xun broke the deadlock.

Investing in Kang Jianmin was the key to winning this battle.

“I will definitely promote this film properly. The 1 million yuan won’t be wasted, but…”

Ma Xun intended to test Bai Daqing.

Unexpectedly, this guy was very perceptive.

“Brother, don’t worry, the remaining six million will come soon! Moreover, for this Qiong Yao drama, shouldn’t we also…”

As expected! His ambition was not small!

Ma Xun smiled, “If you want to get this drama, it will depend on your ability, Brother Bai.”

Bai Daqing understood and gave a number.

“Twenty million?”

As soon as he said that, before Ma Xun could say anything, Sun Donghai was immediately unhappy.

“Brother Bai! You’re too stingy! It should at least double!”

Wow, you’re really bold!

Bai Daqing was a little excited, but he remained calm, “But, it’s impossible to get it from Station Director Ouyang, right?”

Clearly, this guy was not easy to fool.

Sun Donghai looked at Ma Xun: Brother, you have to step in.

Ma Xun smiled and said, “Brother Bai, just do your best. When have we brothers ever failed?”

“That’s right!” Sun Donghai chimed in.

Bai Daqing was now filled with enthusiasm and raised his glass.

“Good! Let’s make a big splash this time, brothers!”

“That’s right!”

“Cheers!”

With this toast, a deal worth at least 40 million yuan was made…

Thank you for your support!

Please continue reading, please support in any way possible, and we can move forward.

Thank you, thank you! I’ll go write now.

(End of chapter)

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