mijobooks Chapter 269 Choices
Chapter 269 Choices
The beginning of 2015 vividly demonstrated to the entire entertainment industry across Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong what it means to have a new look in the new year.
Just after New Year's Day, Jay Chou, the king of Mandopop, held a high-profile and romantic wedding in a castle, and the servers of major platforms were almost overwhelmed by the barrage of blessings from fans.
Following closely behind, Fan Xiaopang, who stole the show at the Weibo Night event, also announced the good news that he and "Big Black Bull" had gone home to meet each other's parents. For a time, the whole internet was discussing whether the two were also getting married soon.
The festive atmosphere of the New Year had not yet dissipated when a sudden clap of thunder shattered this false warmth.
A male celebrity who, in the eyes of outsiders, is not part of the Haofeng group, yet is covered with Haofeng's labels, has been embroiled in a shocking scandal.
Chen He, who rose to fame for his role as "Zeng Xiaoxian" in the sitcom "iPartment," which was fully funded and produced by Haofeng Films in its early days, was photographed by paparazzi and eventually admitted on Weibo that he had already divorced. In an instant, his "good man" image collapsed and he was deeply involved in a scandal of infidelity.
This caused an uproar throughout the Chinese entertainment industry and Haofeng's fan circle.
For Lao Han, the director of Haofeng Film and Television Department, this was an even bigger headache and a hot potato.
"Is 'Love Apartment 5' ever going to be filmed?"
In the film and television department director's office, Lao Han looked at the "iPartment 5" project proposal on the table, which had been revised several times, and his brows furrowed into a deep frown.
As the first project invested in by Haofeng Film & Television in its early days, this IP is, in a sense, the "birthplace" of the entire Haofeng Film & Television department, enjoying extremely high popularity and a strong sense of nostalgia among young netizens.
It would be a real shame to let such a huge IP with so much potential go to waste if we didn't film it.
But if we continue filming...
"That kid Chen He's reputation is completely ruined now." Old Han tapped the table with his fingers in frustration.
Chen He is the absolute male lead in this drama, and also the soul of the character Zeng Xiaoxian.
Replace him? The audience would absolutely not accept it. Don't replace him? At this critical juncture, with this national-level anti-corruption campaign and the ban on disgraced celebrities just launched, using him against the tide could lead to the entire show failing to pass censorship if reported by rivals!
The most awkward thing is that, apart from Li Xin playing Qin Yumo, Haofeng Films has not signed full contracts with any of the other main actors in "iPartment".
Most of them either work for other small companies or work independently.
Why risk such a huge policy crisis and public opinion crisis for actors who don't even belong to our company? It's a losing proposition no matter how you look at it.
Old Han spent most of the day in his office agonizing over whether to prioritize "safety" or "efficiency." In the end, he picked up the folder on his desk, stood up, and headed for the elevator.
He dared not make such a troublesome decision on his own, which involved the fate of core IP and reputation; he had to consult the big boss.
……
A few minutes later, on the top floor of the building, in the CEO's office.
Li Feng was sitting behind his desk, flipping through Huaxin Technology's January progress report on the construction of the Xuzhou battery plant.
"President Li." Old Han walked in quietly, and with a somewhat restrained expression, placed the project proposal for "Love 5" on the desk. He then reported on Chen He's affair and divorce scandal, as well as the current predicament of the production team, word for word.
Li Feng didn't even look up after listening to Lao Han's report.
His gaze swept over the list of tens of thousands of tons of lithium battery production line equipment shipped back from Japan on the report, his voice calm and indifferent:
"Old Han, do you think I should be wasting my energy arguing with a minor actor in a sitcom?"
In Li Feng's eyes today, the construction of the entire industrial chain of Huaxin Technology and Xiaomi has reached the most critical period of technology digestion. Every day, he handles cross-border large-scale capital flows of tens or hundreds of billions of yuan.
A sequel to a low-budget online game with an investment of only tens of millions, which couldn't even make it onto a proper big screen?
In the mind of this big boss, it probably wouldn't even rank in the top one-thousandth of priority.
"Mr. Li, I understand." Old Han lowered his head somewhat guiltily.
"Alright, you handle this film. Don't come to me for every little thing. If the film and television department can't even tolerate this much error, what's the point of having you as the director?" Li Feng signed the document in his hand and casually tossed it aside.
"Yes, Mr. Li, I'll go and handle it right away!"
Old Han quickly grabbed the folder and fled the office as if escaping.
Back in his office, Lao Han leaned back on the sofa, feeling a throbbing sensation in his forehead.
"Han Shangzhe, you've really messed up your flattery this time."
Old Han was inwardly groaning.
In the workplace, what you fear most is never a clear punishment or instruction from your boss.
What I fear most is this seemingly authorizing phrase, "You decide what to do!"
The boss didn't give a clear answer, which means that no matter what Lao Han does next, if the final result doesn't meet the boss's expectations, or if there's even the slightest mistake, the heavy burden of blame will fall entirely on Lao Han's head!
"Take the picture? The risk is too high. Don't take the picture? The big boss didn't say we can't take the picture."
Old Han stared at the script of "Love 5" and had an idea in mind.
Having worked in a large company like Haofeng for so many years, he understands the philosophy of self-preservation.
Better to achieve nothing than to make a mistake!
This is the true reality of life for senior executives in large corporations!
"Set aside!"
Old Han threw the project proposal into the wastebasket next to the shredder, and declared, "Freeze all pre-production and marketing budgets for 'iPartment 5' indefinitely!"
"Tell the production team that this film is canceled!"
"All the publicity resources freed up should be poured into 'The Journey of Flower'!"
……
Just as Lao Han was drastically reorganizing the film and television department and shelving "iPartment 5".
Thousands of miles away, in Xuzhou, northern Jiangsu.
Inside Huaxin Technology's super battery packaging workshop, which had just completed cleanliness testing, hundreds of Chinese technicians in blue anti-static suits and several senior engineers hired from Japan were gathered around a huge cell winding machine.
"Keep your hand steady! If the micron-level alignment of this electrode sheet is off, the entire batch will be ruined!"
Xiaomi CEO Yu Dazui, holding a megaphone, was standing next to the assembly line, shouting at the top of his lungs.
He wore a distinctive red hard hat, a thin layer of dust on the collar of his down jacket, and his eyes were bloodshot, clearly indicating that he had been working non-stop on the construction site for quite some time.
Although the acquisition of ATL was a great success, the most difficult part in the past six months has been the dismantling, transportation, and reorganization of the technology and production lines!
In particular, these more than ten of the world's most advanced mobile phone lithium battery production lines, which were transported back from the TDK base in Japan and the ATL base in Dongguan, contain hundreds of thousands of parts of various sizes, and the shipping containers alone filled hundreds of containers!
"Mr. Yu, why don't you go to your office and rest? You've been watching all day," the secretary said with some concern.
"What do you mean 'rest'?!"
Yu Dazui roared gruffly, "Do you even know how much these production lines are worth?!"
"This is a gold nugget that Mr. Li spent a full 35 billion to acquire; it's the final link in the entire industrial chain for Xiaomi phones and Huaxin's self-developed chips!"
"Stop talking nonsense. Go, go prepare some midnight snacks for the workers. This first batch of domestically produced battery cells must be successfully produced tonight!"