Negotiation Expert

What was that supposed to mean? Couldn't he state all his demands at once?

"Jenny, if we wanted to turn Yuanguang into a celebrity author, I thought Kuala Lumpur Affairs could give him a co-director credit.

I was also conveying his own wishes. He wanted to participate in the set design. He had his own understanding of every blade of grass and tree in his work, and he felt that only designs he created himself would truly fit the settings of his novel.

With a credit, the subsequent publicity campaign would have more impact. Don't you think that makes sense?" Lin Jia said.

Jenny did not think for long. "All right, I think that works. But whether Mr. Chen's designs are used will depend on the director."

Lin Jia nodded. "Naturally. There was one more thing: we hoped to release it during the summer season.

Before the summer season, Yuanguang should publish another paper in Nature. Two Nature papers in a row within a year would be enough to earn him the title of the strongest young post-95 researcher.

Linking that title with a science fiction work and a film release would surely create quite a stir.

And we could make full use of Jiang University's influence. Jiang University had quite a few famous alumni, and we could ask them to help promote it—for example, President Lei, who had tens of millions of followers on Weibo.

The reason for choosing summer was that many students would be on break then. When a film adapted from a novel written by a top academic genius hit theaters, people would naturally be interested.

I believed we could persuade plenty of parents to take their children to the cinema."

Both suggestions Lin Jia raised were highly compelling and practical, immediately capturing Jenny's interest.

After the three imperial houses, BAT, ushered in the era of major investments, the entertainment sector had become fiercely contested territory.

Goose Factory's Goose Factory Video, Baidu's iQiyi, and Ali's Youku Tudou.

They had all entered the film industry as well. Ali Pictures' integration of its entertainment business had put enormous pressure on the other two. Baidu was fine—it had already fallen behind in the mobile internet era, so falling further behind hardly mattered. It was not as if that little bit made a difference anyway.

Jenny said, "I'll give it careful consideration."

Lin Jia smiled faintly. "Don't hesitate. When you go back and report this to your superiors, they would most likely agree.

Goose Factory had been under too much pressure in film and television these past few years. You desperately needed a beautiful comeback victory to prove Tencent's capabilities in film, and this was the best opportunity."

Jenny felt that the initiative had been in the other party's hands all along. She countered, "Oh? Goose Factory Video's growth rate had risen year after year, Youku Tudou's market share had nearly been squeezed into the others category, and revenue from Goose Factory's entire film and television division had been growing at more than twenty percent annually.

What pressure were we under?"

Lin Jia rose to her feet, standing before Jenny and looking down at her. "If Goose Factory was under no pressure, it would not have rushed to buy a stake in Maoyan Entertainment after Wolf Warrior 2 was released. Enlight Media was Maoyan's largest shareholder, Meituan was the second-largest, and Goose Factory had gone in at a high price to take over.

Ali Pictures was the exclusive online distribution platform for Wolf Warrior 2 in 2017. Last year, it invested in Dying to Survive and successfully developed the IP for Eternal Love, achieving an assembly-line model for IP production.

Goose Factory clearly held the most IPs, yet its self-produced dramas and film investments had both been lackluster. Compared to Ali, which produced major hits year after year, it did not even deserve a passing grade.

If I were an executive at Goose Factory Pictures, I would be anxious too. Mark would not only look at your revenue. Your revenue looked good because you had Goose Factory's traffic advantage behind you.

What you needed now was a victory to prove your capabilities and compete for internal resources. This was the best opportunity. There would not be a better one."

Mark was the chairman of Goose Factory Pictures and also a senior executive of the entire Goose Factory Group. He was fully responsible for the Platform and Content Business Group as well as the Interactive Entertainment Business Group—put simply, content and games, Goose Factory's most important cash cows.

Jenny sighed. "You win. I'll give you an answer before I get off work tomorrow."

Before coming here, she had already done her homework and knew the other party's age and general background. She simply had not expected Lin Jia to pinpoint Goose Factory's predicament, as well as what they needed, so sharply.

What Goose Factory needed and what executives like them needed were not the same thing. Goose Factory needed good-looking numbers on its financial statements, and it did not care how that goal was achieved—whether through acquisitions or internal development. Internal development was best; being able to cultivate something internally also proved the vitality of the company to the capital market. If it could not be cultivated internally, then it would have to be acquired.

And they naturally preferred internal development, because that gave them considerable power. When acquiring mature companies, their systems were already fully established, leaving far less room to maneuver.

Thus, there was only overlap between the interests of the company, its executives, and its employees.

Hearing Jenny's words, Lin Jia broke into a smile. "All right. I'll wait for your good news."

While Chen Yuanguang had been buried in research at MIT, Lin Jia had already used his letter of authorization to complete the preliminary negotiations with Goose Factory.

The final result was that they secured an eight-million investment budget from Goose Factory, a co-director title, and a summer release window.

"That was it?" Chen Yuanguang asked. He thought Lin Jia was joking. He had never imagined she could alter the profit-sharing arrangement that Goose Factory had already negotiated.

It was like a cake that had already been cut, only for her to walk over and say that it could not be cut this way and that they had to cut it again.

"That was right. Why wouldn't Goose Factory agree? There were plenty of writers, but only one with promotional value as great as yours. If Goose Factory's film and television division wanted to stage a comeback and prove it had the strength to compete with Ali, wouldn't it have to pay some price?

Besides, what they paid was nothing much. An eight-million investment budget—they could treat it as promotional spending.

Of course, if this film became a hit, they would probably be hurting over it." Lin Jia looked very pleased with herself.

Between the end of negotiations and the start of filming, Chen Yuanguang remotely guided the film's set designer. To perfect certain details of the future, he even learned to use drawing software himself and sketched out the general designs.

After Bawendi finished reviewing the paper, it was submitted at the end of May. Once the paper was sent out, Bawendi readily approved Chen Yuanguang's leave request. "Light, work and life need balance.

You worked too hard before. When you went back, you could get some more rest.

Other than if there were issues with the paper that needed revision, I might contact you. Otherwise, I would not disturb your vacation."

Chen Yuanguang had only applied for three months, but Bawendi approved four. He was far too considerate.

"There were a lot of things to do when we went back. First was the thesis defense, which should be quick—about a day to finish.

Then there was the graduation ceremony, including the class gathering and some departmental events. Those might take a little longer.

Finally, the rough cut would be ready before the film was submitted for review, so we could watch it first.

The remaining time would be enough for us to take a long trip." On the plane back to Yanjing, Lin Jia counted everything off on her fingers beside Chen Yuanguang.