Page 23

They had once gone abroad to film wildlife, documented the harsh lives in Africa and emaciated children, and even won a few awards. Things had been fairly good back then.

But seeing African children unable to get enough food or warm clothes deeply affected Xuan Hanfeng, and he wanted to do something.

He planned to return home and film in the mountains—remote mountain regions, places beyond the sight of ordinary people.

Through the photos and videos he shot, he wanted to gradually improve the lives of impoverished people. He knew that one person's strength was exceedingly limited, but he wanted to spread the word through videos and photographs so that more people would know that, even within their own country, there were still many people who could not afford food or warm clothing.

However, Xuan Hanfeng had set out with his team full of confidence, only to encounter far too many difficulties along the way. The roads in some remote places were hard to travel, bumpy and rugged. In the end, cars could not even get in, and they had to carry their equipment on foot.

Travel and lodging expenses were nothing. The crucial issue was that the local customs in some regions were not very good. There had once been a relatively young and pretty girl on their team. When they went into the mountains one time, someone actually secretly asked him whether the young girl on the team was for sale, saying they wanted to buy her home as a wife.

That immediately scared Xuan Hanfeng badly. He did not even dare stay another moment and led everyone on the team out of there overnight. Fortunately, it ended without incident, but afterward, the girl was terrified and refused to continue working with the team. She could not take it and planned to quit.

Xuan Hanfeng did not try to persuade her. He gave her a large sum in compensation. He had not done enough preparatory work beforehand, and if anything had truly happened, he would not have been able to answer to the girl's parents.

This incident was also a blow to Xuan Hanfeng. It was not as though people would gratefully accept help just because you wanted to help them. Sometimes, the human heart was the hardest thing to measure. Yet Xuan Hanfeng had no intention of giving up like this. He continued leading the team to film, though afterward, they became much more cautious and investigated everything clearly in advance.

There were good things that happened during filming as well.

But there were more bad ones.

Over that time, people gradually left the team one after another, until only the five of them remained.

Before coming to the Jinbai Group building, the team had been about to disband as well. The social issues covered by their videos were too niche and did not receive enough attention, making it difficult to continue. Without attention, there was no progress, and naturally no funding to maintain and service their filming equipment. The main issue was money. After all, people had to eat, and this had already become a major problem for them.

But just as Xuan Hanfeng was about to painfully announce the news, an email from Jinbai headquarters arrived in each of their inboxes—inviting them to the company for an interview and asking whether they were interested in employment.

Jinbai? Was that the Jinbai Entertainment that had recently become very popular on Weibo?

No... if it was headquarters, did that mean there was more than just one Jinbai Entertainment company?

Xuan Hanfeng had a feeling that this might be an opportunity.

So they came here with the attitude of giving it a try.

Before long, Cai Jinbai and Xuan Yu pushed open the door and entered.

Xuan Hanfeng and the others immediately stood up rather nervously. "Hello."

The female members of the team could not help widening their eyes upon seeing the two of them. These two presidents are even better-looking in person than in videos and photos! Oh my god, the videos and photos were already breathtaking, but they really did diminish their looks somewhat. The real people are undoubtedly even more stunning.

"No need to be so polite. Please sit," Cai Jinbai said.

Xuan Hanfeng and the others came back to their senses and sat down.

Cai Jinbai got straight to the point. "Are you interested in working here?"

He had looked into these people's backgrounds. Their technical skills were solid; all they lacked was an opportunity.

The team was currently on the verge of disbanding, and their funding could not sustain them, but none of that was a problem to him.

Cai Jinbai valued Xuan Hanfeng's determination to film in remote mountain regions, but that was not all he wanted.

Impoverished mountain areas needed support, but traditional culture also needed promotion.

What he wanted was not a short-term show or video, but something that could be maintained over a long period, which would also require financial support.

Some people could not continue because their programs had no buzz or traffic. Money was invested without any return, perhaps not even an equivalent return, and they could even suffer losses. That was why no one was willing to take such a risk to make this kind of program.

But Cai Jinbai was not afraid of losses. He could afford them.

He wanted to create a program promoting intangible cultural heritage and traditional culture. It would certainly take a long time, since some traditional crafts took half a year or even a full year to make. He was not in a hurry to launch the program yet; the timing was not right. But he needed people to film these traditional crafts.

The people Cai Jinbai needed were Xuan Hanfeng's team.

When he finished speaking, Xuan Hanfeng and the others were stunned.

After choosing his words, Xuan Hanfeng said, "President Cai, the filming time will not be short."

"I know," Cai Jinbai said.

Xuan Hanfeng said, "And regarding the funding... there is a strong possibility that the early investment will not bring any returns."

"I understand that as well."

Xuan Hanfeng licked his dry lips and continued, "If we set up the program, but its ratings are poor..."

In short, the initial investment would not be small, and there was no guarantee of later income. The likelihood of losses was extremely high, and the risk was too great.

Hearing this, Cai Jinbai curled his lips into a faint smile. "I understand all your worries and concerns. Money is not a problem, and you do not need to worry about losses. Just go ahead and film with peace of mind. The guaranteed funding will be this amount."

He held up one finger.

Xuan Hanfeng hesitated. "O-one... ten million?"

He had actually wanted to say one million, but after thinking about it, one million definitely would not be enough for this.

Since President Cai had said money was not a problem, it definitely could not be one million.

Cai Jinbai shook his head. "Not ten million."

Xuan Hanfeng thought, No way, is it really one million?

"It is one hundred million."

"What?!" Xuan Hanfeng's eyes instantly widened in shock.

"How much?"

"One hundred million?! Did I hear that right? Is it really one hundred million?"

The members of Xuan Hanfeng's team could not believe it either.

Cai Jinbai confirmed, "That's right. One hundred million."

If he invested one hundred million, he could naturally ensure that the program aired smoothly—and became a hit.

"I'll give you all time to consider it. If you're interested..."

"Yes, we are, right now!" Before Cai Jinbai could finish, Xuan Hanfeng immediately said, "We are interested in working for your company!"

Why would they wait when such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity had fallen into their laps? Not only would they have sufficient financial support, but the content they would film was also something they were interested in. There was no reason not to accept. Once this chance was gone, it would be gone for good.

The members of Xuan Hanfeng's team were also extremely excited. They had thought the team really was about to disband, but they had not expected a turn for the better to arrive right before their eyes.

"President Cai, we're willing to sign as well."

"Right, I still want to work with Brother Xuan!"

"President Cai, we all agree!"

"Good." Cai Jinbai smiled. "Come sign the contracts. Afterward, you can collect whatever equipment you need."

Chapter 22

Yuan Guangjin took them to collect their equipment, introducing things as they walked. "From now on, you will need to report your work directly to me and coordinate with me. For example, the progress of your filming, expense reimbursements, and so on. This is my phone number. Please write it down."

"Okay, Assistant Yuan."

"Alright."

After everyone had recorded the number, Yuan Guangjin pushed open a door and said, "This is where you collect equipment. Staff will register everything, and I have already informed them in advance. I still have work to do, so you can go in on your own."

"Alright, alright, Assistant Yuan, please get back to work."

"Okay, Assistant Yuan."

"Take care, Assistant Yuan."

After Yuan Guangjin left, Xuan Hanfeng led his team inside. The room was huge. The staff member pointed them toward where the equipment was stored and told them to choose whatever suited their needs. If there was equipment they were used to using that was not available here, they only needed to tell her, and the company would prepare it immediately.

Xuan Hanfeng and the others nodded. But when they walked over and looked, they were instantly stunned. They could choose from all this dazzling array of equipment?

It did not feel as though they had entered an ordinary room. It was like walking into a specialty photography equipment store, with everything they could need inside.

"Holy shit, Brother Xuan, come look! Isn't this the newest camera rig on the market?! They actually have it here!" one team member exclaimed.

He remembered that this model had only been released less than half a month ago. It was expensive. He had been drooling over it before, but he could not afford it.

The young woman receiving them smiled upon hearing this. "Of course we have it. President Cai allocated plenty of funding, so all the equipment purchased is the best. We have the newest products on the market, as well as some handmade components that are hard to buy. You can choose whatever you want."

"However, if you need older equipment that you are particularly used to using, we might not have everything. But that's fine—just tell me, and I'll register it. Then we can purchase it immediately."

Ding Meng, who was specifically responsible for filming and photography on the team, immediately said, "No need, no need. New equipment is what I handle best."

"Haha, Old Ding, now you finally won't have to complain that Brother Xuan doesn't have the money to buy you the newest cameras," the other members teased.

Staring at the packaging of the newest camera, Ding Meng asked, "C-can I open it here first?"

"Of course," the staff member confirmed.

Only then did Ding Meng impatiently begin opening the packaging. He carefully took out the equipment and examined it without being able to look away, unable to put it down. As though caressing the thing he loved most, he said, "No more complaints. I'll never complain again. I've gone from a wooden gun to a cannon. President Cai is the God of Wealth! Hahaha, my precious baby, Daddy will use you well."

"Ew." The others teased him with looks of disgust, then could not help breaking into laughter themselves.

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