The next day.
In the morning.
Weibo was bustling with activity.
Zhang Ye's "Riverside Fairy: The Rolling Waters of the Yangtze River" and the selfie he took with Ning Lan, Dong Shanshan, Jiang Hanwei, Shu Han, and the others had caused a huge commotion. There was so much information in it that it left a lot of people dumbfounded. Everyone was discussing it like crazy.
However, Zhang Ye could no longer care about going online. He had come to the Central Publicity Department with Wu Zeqing early in the morning and borrowed a small conference room from them. The film crew was about to start filming. The equipment, venue, and actors were more or less ready, but the most important issue was the funding gap that had not been resolved yet. They had calculated the investment of 30 million RMB. It was just the cost of the filming and did not include the miscellaneous expenses. Unless the actors did not take a single cent, did not arrange for their accommodation, and did not take care of their lunches, they might just barely have enough money to cover their expenses. But how could that be possible? The Central Publicity Department did not agree to accept any funding from society either. So there was only one way left. Zhang Ye could only get the money from advertising placements first.
There was a knock on the door.
Zhang Ye said, "Come in."
Old Wu's new secretary pushed open the door and came in. "Brother Zhang, I've brought them over."
About eight advertisers came in. They were all old acquaintances of Zhang Ye's.
When they came in, they were very reserved. This was the first time in their lives that they had come to the Central Publicity Department to discuss a collaboration.
This was also Zhang Ye's intention. He wanted to raise the banner of the Central Publicity Department. His appeal and popularity might not be as good now, but the name of the Central Publicity Department should still be useful, right?
"Come, come, come. Bosses, please have a seat," Zhang Ye said with a smile.
Secretary Ci and another director who was in charge of supervising the project also came in.
Zhang Ye said, "We're not outsiders anymore. We've all worked together on advertising in the past, so everyone might have heard that the Central Publicity Department is going to film an unprecedented large-scale anti-corruption drama. I've taken on the role of producer and director, so I invited everyone here today to discuss a collaboration. I've taken good care of my old friends and did not sell any of the advertising placements. I've left the good stuff for everyone."
The advertisers looked at each other with some misgivings. No one said anything.
Zhang Ye blinked. "What's the matter?"
Boss Liu said, "Zhang 'er, we've earned quite a lot from our previous collaborations. We've never suffered a loss working with you. We're all old friends. Since you've just returned, we should at least support you a little. But … but this kind of political drama is a little heavy. It won't be easy to add product placement."
Zhang Ye said in amusement, "Why not?"
Boss Li also said, "It's fine if it's a commercial cooperation, but this kind of drama —" As he said that, he looked at Secretary Ci and Director Ke from the Central Publicity Department.
Zhang Ye said, "Go ahead, it's fine."
Boss Li smiled bitterly. "This kind of drama can't be too explicit in terms of advertising, right? Our company is now making a brand called Great River Medicinal Wine. If we only show a few scenes, the advertisement won't be of much use. "
Zhang Ye smiled and said, "How about this? I'll think of a plan for you."
Boss Li said with interest, "What is it?"
Zhang Ye lowered his head and flipped through the script. Suddenly, he banged the table. "I've got it. There's a scene where a prosecutor gets hit by a truck and becomes a vegetable. He's lying in bed and his family is at their wits' end. At this moment, I'll give you a close-up narration. It'll be: Great River Medicinal Wine, drink away the sickness!"
Secretary Ci nearly vomited blood!
Director Ke nearly fainted!
He's already a fucking vegetable, and you want to drink away the sickness?
He can't even drink water, so why the hell would he drink alcohol!
But Boss Li said excitedly, "Will … will that work?"
Zhang Ye smiled and said, "Of course it will."
Boss Li stood up. "Then I'll sign it! I'll sign it! "
Boss Liu was dumbfounded. "Zhang 'er, what about our Jiacao cosmetics?"
Zhang Ye flipped open the script again. Soon after, he snapped his fingers and pointed at the script. "How about this line? I'll change this line. We'll have Dong Shanshan's character apply your brand's cosmetics after she washes her face in the morning. Then, she'll say: If you want good skin, use Jiacao sooner or later!"
Secretary Ci was stunned. "You can change the lines as you wish?"
Zhang Ye said, "Sure, I'm the screenwriter, so I can change it however I want."
Boss Liu was overjoyed. "Great! Great! I'll claim this product placement! We'll go according to the price we agreed on over the phone! "
The other bosses were also getting very excited.
"What about us?"
"Teacher Zhang, what about us?"
"Why don't you give us a bigger one as well!"
"Right, we don't want soft advertisements. We prefer hard advertisements like this!"
"Don't worry, don't worry. We'll do it one by one. We'll all have a share!"
What did he mean by adding narration?
What did he mean by changing the lines?
What did he mean by writing on the clothes?
The design of the advertisements was getting more and more unscrupulous!
Zhang Ye had an endless supply of crooked moves and strange moves.
In the end, Director Ke couldn't bear to watch any longer. "Mr. Zhang, th-this won't do!"
Zhang Ye said nonchalantly, "Why not?"
Secretary Ci was also wiping away her sweat. "This advertisement is too hard on us. We're making an anti-corruption drama, so wouldn't it be a little too much to do it this way?"
After all, they were people from the government, so they were very reserved when it came to such matters.
But Zhang Ye didn't find it strange at all. After all, he was a veteran of the industry and had often done such things since many years ago. He thought to himself, 'What's the big deal about this? Even in my previous world, this was how they did things. You guys aren't willing to fork out more money, nor do you agree to pull in the capital from society, yet you don't want to give the advertisers too much publicity? How could there be such a good deal in the world? Since they're paying, we have to do things for them.
One.
Three.
Five.
The advertising contracts were signed one by one.
The funding gap was finally resolved.
Zhang Ye was very happy that he could finally start filming.
But Secretary Ci and Director Ke could not bring themselves to be happy. They felt that these advertisements were too inhumane and had no bottom line at all. But suddenly, they thought of Zhang Ye and Minister Wu's wedding. The two of them looked at each other and saw the helplessness in each other's eyes. Thinking back, what bottom line could a person who could even turn his own wedding into an advertising product launch have!?
Forget it, they could do whatever they wanted. In any case, they couldn't do anything about it even if they wanted to.
The two of them suddenly felt very pessimistic. They felt that the illustrious reputation of the Central Publicity Department would be ruined in the hands of Zhang Ye alone. Having left the entertainment industry for several years, they could never have expected that Minister Wu's loving personality had not changed at all. She was still as bold and unrestrained as ever!
…
At the same time.
On Weibo.
"How fucking nostalgic!"
"How many years has it been since I've seen Zhang Ye write a poem?"
"Hai, it's a pity that times have changed so quickly."
"Why did this group of big shots from the past get together?"
"Who knows?"
"Then what exactly is In the Name of the People?"
"They're going to film a show? Other than Dong Shanshan, these people are basically past their prime, right? And even if it's Dong Shanshan, she can't compare to the popularity of those male idols. Which show these days doesn't hire a male idol? If there's not a single male idol, how are they going to film a show? "
Then the news was finally revealed.
"Central Publicity Department invests in anti-corruption drama!"
"Zhang Ye's first job has arrived!"
"Zhang Ye takes on his first TV series!"
"The title of the series confirmed: In the Name of the People!"
"The cast list released: Zhang Ye, Yao Jiancai, Ning Lan, Dong Shanshan, Shu Han, etc."
"Ning Lan's first return to showbiz after her marriage?"
"Zhang Ye posted on Weibo late at night: 'A group of veterans are making a comeback!'"
The people were dumbfounded!
"What?"
"The investment is only 30 million RMB?"
"Are they really going to film it?"
"I'm gonna faint! Who would want to watch a TV series with a heavy political theme? "
"They're going to pounce to death!"
"Has Teacher Zhang acted in a TV series before?"
"What the hell did he do?!"
"A person who has never filmed or acted in a TV series before is leading a group of has-beens to take on a heavy anti-corruption drama? Are these people crazy? "
"I've seen gutsy people before, but I've never seen anyone this gutsy!"
"Hahahaha, this fellow is still as unrestrained as ever!"
"Pfft, let's see what Face-smacking Zhang will do this time!"
"Can Face-smacking Zhang still be the same Face-smacking Zhang of the past?"
"Hai, who knows."
"Compared to that, I'm more interested in the new TV series of that male idol, Li Shao!"
"Yeah, I heard that they've already started filming it with an investment of 500 million RMB. It's a big production with a big director."
"Compared to them, Zhang Ye's TV series doesn't even have a sense of existence."
…
At a male idol's team.
"Eh?"
"Zhang Ye, Ning Lan, and Yao Jiancai are going to film a TV series?"
"Looking at the time, I think they'll be filming in the same time slot as us?"
"Don't bother about them. They're just a bunch of old fogeys messing around. There's nothing to worry about."
"Hur hur, that's true."
…
At Chen Guang and Fan Wenli's house.
"Ah?"
"Those guys have gathered together?"
"Haha, there's going to be a good show to watch this time."
"I'm also looking forward to how the plot will develop."
…
At Xiaodong's house.
Li Xiaoxian was also there.
"Teacher Zhang has really made a comeback!"
"That's great."
"Looking at them, why do I feel a little excited all of a sudden?"
"Me too."
…
At his eldest younger sister's house.
Cao Dan clenched her fists tightly.
"Bro, you can do it. Show them that you're not old yet!"
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