Aiming for Paperclip

Beijing Film Studio.

The usually quiet Production Department was bustling today.

A Range Rover ignored the designated factory parking lot and pulled up directly below the Production Department building.

The building was old-fashioned, a multi-story office block whose gray exterior looked even more solemn amid the bleakness of winter.

Chen Hui stepped out of the car, looking to be in his forties.

When they saw it was him, the Production Department employees arriving for work wore varying expressions.

Some looked thoughtful, while others frowned slightly.

An acquaintance came up and teased him. "Old Chen, haven't seen you in months. Did you go abroad for fun?"

"Brother Zhang." Chen Hui smiled behind his sunglasses. "We went scouting for locations. Don't wrong me—I was contributing to the studio too."

Brother Zhang chuckled. Everyone knew what sort of person he was. "What wind blew you over here?"

Chen Hui's father was half a generation above the Fifth Generation, while his grandfather was even more formidable—the studio's first leader.

In terms of connections, only Tian Lili, who had been transferred to Beijing Film Academy as Head of Directing Department and whose father had been the studio's first director, could outmatch him.

Chen Hui said, "I heard the studio was taking on a major project and handing it to a rookie director, so I figured the studio needed someone experienced to keep an eye on things, lest the young man get taken advantage of. Back when Farewell My Concubine was made, my dad was involved too. He's been bragging about it for over a decade. I thought I should get my name on this project as well and help keep the people below in line. It'd make for a good story, too."

He made no effort to lower his voice. Quite a few people sneered inwardly. He clearly wanted to skim management fees and arrange for his own people to draw salaries without doing any work.

They silently sighed for Shen Shanden. Running into someone like this was truly rotten luck.

Old Zhang did remind him, "Third Master has personally taken note of this project. Be careful not to run into the barrel of a gun."

"Still the same old flavor." Chen Hui paid him no mind and entered with him.

Chen Hui followed Old Zhang into the office as if he owned the place and sat down, looking out the window. "We brothers are only helping out. That Han fellow has to follow principles too, doesn't he?"

Under the pretext of "helping oversee the process," he could secure the title of executive producer or planning director, then take control of budget approvals and supplier selection.

If Shen Shanden agreed, what could Han Sanping say?

If he interfered in every little detail, people would only laugh at him.

The possibility that Shen Shanden might refuse had never entered Chen Hui's mind.

Did getting a graduate degree from Beijing Film Academy make him an insider? Back when he had been playing with cameras and film reels at Beijing Film Studio, Shen Shanden had probably still been playing in the mud somewhere!

"What are you saying?!" Chen Hui's words gave Old Zhang quite a scare.

He glanced toward the door and only relaxed after seeing it was firmly shut.

"Fine." Chen Hui swept his gaze outside, then suddenly paused. He wiped the condensation from the window, clearly saw the person outside, and abruptly smiled. "Looks like someone had the same idea as me."

Old Zhang looked too and laughed. A Beijing Film Academy professor holding a post at Beijing Film Studio—a man who was rarely ever seen—had arrived today as well.

There was no need to say more. As one of Beijing Film Academy's senior teachers, he must have been worried that Shen Shanden would not be able to handle the project.

If he did not stuff a few people into the production, have several professors guide the crew, or at least hang the title of consultant on them, it would be hard to get past this.

Old Zhang secretly clicked his tongue. The project had barely been established, yet it had already attracted so many covetous eyes.

Before these people, even Han Sanping's influence was not much use.

Chen Hui suggested, "Everyone wants a slice. Interested, brother? I think Han is determined to promote that kid. This ten-million project is only an appetizer—the one afterward is the real prize."

Though Chen Hui looked relaxed on the surface, he was still somewhat afraid of Han Sanping.

Of course, he also looked down on Han Sanping a little. His thinking was too rigid, lacking an international outlook.

China Film Group had quotas for imported films. As long as they staggered Hollywood blockbusters by two weeks, China Film Group would earn more, the theaters would be happy, and the film market would flourish.

Yet sometimes, he insisted on making everyone unhappy. They were sitting atop a mountain of gold, but chose to mine it with a spoon.

Hearing this, Old Zhang was tempted, but the thought of Han Sanping's methods made him uneasy. He did not have a powerful father or grandfather, so he decided to wait and see.

Meanwhile.

Early in the morning.

Shen Shanden headed energetically to his own territory: the offices of Shunwei Public Relations Company.

The company's establishment had something to do with Shen Shanden's dark history.

Before he had even entered the music industry, he had been driven out, forcing him to take public relations and public opinion seriously.

The office was in an old mixed residential-commercial building a little east of Zhichun Road, relatively close to both Shen Shanden's school and apartment complex.

After all, he spent most of his time at school.

In the car.

Seeing that they were not heading toward China Film Group, Zhou Qifeng was deeply confused. "Senior Brother, aren't we going to China Film Group?"

Shen Shanden asked in return, "We've achieved our goal and gained Han Sanping's support. What would we go there for?"

Zhou Qifeng felt that was exactly why they should go. "The Grand Director project. We need to assemble a crew and hire people, right?"

Shen Shanden smiled. "Back when Han Sanping made The Dream Factory, he brought in Feng Xiaogang as director. He wants to push the Blockbuster Strategy, so he needs people too, right? How many usable people does Beijing Film Studio have? Chen Kaige counts as half of one. Huang Jianxin, his classmate from the advanced training course, is from Xi'an Film Studio. He had so few people to use that he had to find directors from Hong Kong Island, only to be treated like a fool."

"Behind the scenes, the capable people at Beijing Film Studio are definitely busy. Projects like The Warlords and Red Cliff all need people. It won't be our turn. And as for those who aren't busy, why would we hire them?"

"To invite an ancestor?"

Having lived two lives, Shen Shanden had seen all sorts of absurd situations. Take renovations, for example. Some children told their elders not to hire relatives, yet they hired relatives anyway. They were clearly giving someone a project and handing them money, but it ended up looking as though they themselves owed the favor.

If the work was good, that would be one thing; at least the relationship would deepen.

But if they ran into someone who preyed on acquaintances, defending their rights would be difficult, and money would not be the only thing lost.

A house was meant to be lived in. If the construction quality was poor, the whole family would suffer for it.

The situation Shen Shanden faced was the same. He was a Beijing Film Academy student, and who knew how many people at Beijing Film Studio were his seniors or teachers. Though he was the one bringing them a project, they probably would not thank him.

Zhou Qifeng realized he had said something foolish.

Sure enough, his teacher had been right. He still needed to watch and listen more.

Shen Shanden understood the situation clearly. Han Sanping's greatest use was opening the door for him and supporting his direction.

A Grand Narrative and the right line of thought could move Han Sanping, but that did not mean they could move everyone else.

Those who were agreeable before Han Sanping might be another matter once he was gone.

Putting himself in their shoes, if Shen Shanden worked in an organization and had spent years climbing step by step to reach a certain position, only for a young man to suddenly parachute in and receive enormous backing from the top leadership—

It would be impossible not to feel resentful.

The King of Hell was easy to talk to because he was not the one doing the grunt work. Ox-Head and Horse-Face were difficult because if the grunts made a mistake, they would be held responsible, while doing the work did not necessarily earn them any credit.

At present, Shen Shanden was also just one of the grunts.

So he had to keep his feet on the ground.

Moreover, Shen Shanden wanted to keep control of both The Grand Director and Brotherhood of Blades in his own hands.

It was both the best way to maximize his personal interests and necessary because only he possessed the relevant understanding.

Leaving aside grand strategies, he focused only on concrete operations.

For The Grand Director, Shen Shanden had set his sights on a release date in November this year.

It had to be completed before November.

Only then would they have a chance to pick up the release slot left behind after Paperclip finished its run.

As long as they could make that window, The Grand Director could not lose commercially.

Only Shen Shanden knew these things. Only he could seize such fleeting opportunities.

No one but him could do it!

No one could!

Only by truly and completely controlling the Grand Director project, rather than merely holding it in name, could Shen Shanden fully carry out his vision in the film.

"We're here."

As soon as the car stopped, Ma Youde, the public relations company manager, jogged over to open the door and held a hand over the doorframe. "Boss, you're finally here."

Shen Shanden got straight to the point. "Youde, I need you to handle something for me."

"I'll definitely get it done, Boss," Ma Youde promised.

Shen Shanden said, "Deliver a letter to Wu Jing. Ask him to be my second male lead, assistant director, producer, and martial arts coordinator. Of course, our project has a limited budget, so we can only offer one salary."

"Ah, me?" Ma Youde was stunned.

Two updates today.

I'm feeling much better. I went to the hospital yesterday and spent seven hundred yuan. Sure enough, getting sick is no good. Thankfully, it was only COVID and my lungs are fine. And the Lung-Clearing Detox Decoction really works. After drinking it, my airways felt much better immediately. I slept for a while and started coughing a little again, but I should be fine after two more days of medicine.