Traffic Star Development Program

Chapter 16 I'm Not Balanced Either

"Hmm? The contract has already been signed," Zeng Hao said. "Just follow the contract."

"I mean... we can increase our investment in subsequent promotional resources," Zhou Ming said. "I can coordinate the large banner on the homepage and the splash screen, but there are conditions..."

"Mr. Zhou," Zeng Hao interrupted him, "I said back then I guaranteed 900,000 with a 30% split, but you lowered it to 20%, which I accepted. That's already a concession I made." He paused for a second, "Now that the show is starting to become popular, you're planning to renegotiate? I'm not interested."

There was a moment of silence on Zhou Ming's end.

"You can decide how to allocate promotional resources; that's your platform's decision, it has nothing to do with me," Zeng Hao continued. "But the payment terms in the contract won't be changed at all."

After a few more seconds of silence, Zhou Ming sighed, "Okay, I understand. The homepage banner will be up today, and the splash screen will be up tomorrow."

"Thank you for your cooperation, Mr. Zhou."

The phone hangs up.

Zeng Hao put down his phone and sent Peng Bing a message: The platform has started to promote the filming more heavily. Pay attention to the quality of the subsequent filming and don't let the pace drop.

Peng Bing's reply came quickly, consisting of only four words:

"Understood, don't worry."

Zeng Hao thought for a moment and added another clause: If Zhang Tianai continues to be like this, we can give her more screen time in some of her later roles, but we'll leave the contract unchanged for now and discuss it after the series is finished.

Peng Bing replied with an "okay".

Zeng Hao flipped his phone face down on the table, leaned back in his chair, and closed his eyes.

With a guaranteed contract of 900,000 yuan in the account, the first payment will arrive in about three weeks, and the company's cash flow will be stable until "Go Princess Go" officially enters the revenue sharing stage.

The next step is to secure seed funding for "Back to 20".

He did the calculations in his head, opened his eyes, picked up the pen on the table, and wrote a line of numbers in his notebook.

We're still far from there, but we're heading in the right direction.

The lights outside the window are still on. I wonder if anyone in this city is still watching iQiyi, or if anyone is still sharing that meme.

He turned his gaze away, turned to a new page, and began writing a casting memo for "Back to 20".

The popularity of "Go Princess Go" is even hotter than Zeng Hao had predicted.

In the third week after its release, the number of views for a single episode exceeded 10 million for three consecutive days, and the total number of views exceeded 100 million. iQiyi's homepage banner was changed to a full-page poster, and the opening screen GG scrolled six times a day.

Zhou Ming actually started asking Peng Bing for behind-the-scenes footage, saying he wanted to do a special promotion. Peng Bing replied, "Contact General Manager Zeng," and that was the end of it.

The atmosphere at the Hengdian film crew's location started to become somewhat awkward.

The news came from a report.

An entertainment gossip website published an article titled "Unveiling the Secrets of the Hit Web Series 'Go Princess Go': 900,000 Yuan Cost, One Director and One Producer, Lunch Boxes Cost 8 Yuan." The article detailed the production team's cost structure, including 50,000 yuan for props, one location, all new actors, and 10,000 yuan for the lead actor's salary.

The last paragraph reads: "Based on the current growth rate of viewership, the show is conservatively estimated to have surpassed 100 million views online, making it one of the lowest-budget online dramas in recent years in terms of return on investment."

The article circulated within the production crew in less than half a day.

Zeng Hao learned this from Peng Bing.

"Mr. Zeng, there's a problem with the film crew," Peng Bing said in a low voice over the phone. "Someone is trying to pull strings."

Zeng Hao was sitting in his office in Qianhu City looking at the casting list for "Back to 20" when he heard this question. His pen didn't stop writing. "Who's leading the project?"

"The second male lead, Li Yang," Peng Bing said, "He contacted several of the main actors and some of the supporting actors, saying that they would all ask you for red envelopes, saying that the company's viewership had exceeded 100 million, and the 10,000 yuan salary was too little, and that the difference needed to be made up."

"How many people are following?"

"There are three main actors, seven or eight supporting actors, and the extras haven't been cast yet."

Zeng Hao crossed out a mark on the list. "What's your attitude?"

"I..." Peng Bing paused, "I don't think they're entirely unreasonable, after all..."

"Director Peng," Zeng Hao interrupted him, his tone flat, "Your current identity is that of a director, not an actor. Think carefully about which side you're on."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.

"I understand," Peng Bing said. "I'll cooperate with you."

"Okay," Zeng Hao put down his pen, "Keep filming, don't let the progress stop. I'll be there the day after tomorrow."

He hung up the phone and wrote down several names in his notebook, dividing them into three columns: Woo-a-Mouth, Divide and Suppress.

Two days later, Zeng Hao returned to Hengdian.

Instead of calling a meeting with everyone immediately, he went to find Old Li first.

Old Li was adjusting the equipment in front of the machine when he saw Zeng Hao come in, so he stood up and greeted him.

"Old Li, how's the film crew doing lately?" Zeng Hao asked casually.

"It's alright," Old Li said, wiping his hands. "It's just that some people are a bit impetuous."

"Have you become restless along with them?"

Old Li paused for a moment, then laughed, "I signed a three-month contract for this drama, 180,000 yuan. Mr. Zeng, you haven't shortchanged me a penny, so why am I being so agitated?"

"That's good," Zeng Hao nodded. "After 'Go Princess Go' wraps up filming, I plan to start 'Back to 20'. I'll still need you for the cinematography, but the fee will be higher than this time. We'll discuss the details after filming wraps up."

Old Li's eyes lit up. "President Zeng, do you mean what you say?"

"When has anything in the contract ever been disregarded?"

Old Li grinned, "Okay, don't worry about me, there won't be any problems."

Zeng Hao patted him on the shoulder and left.

Next, he went to find Lao Zhao and said the same thing. Lao Zhao's reaction was even more direct than Lao Li's. He said that he couldn't be bothered with those who were causing trouble in the crew and that he should just do his job.

Once the two pillars of the technical team were stabilized, Zeng Hao went to find Peng Bing.

"Where's assistant director Xiao Sun?"

"They edit the footage in post-production."

"Go and fetch him."

Xiao Sun arrived; he was twenty-six or twenty-seven years old and had been Peng Bing's assistant for three years.

In this production team, he was in a middle position, neither colluding with Li Yang nor making any explicit statements.

Zeng Hao looked at him for a few seconds and then asked, "After filming wraps, are you interested in the executive director position for 'Back to 20'?"

Xiao Sun's eyes lit up. "Executive director?"

"Director Peng will be in charge of the overall project, and you will be in charge of on-site execution. Your name will be credited in the end credits," Zeng Hao said. "Of course, the premise is that the production of this series is guaranteed to be of high quality and that filming will be completed smoothly without any unexpected problems."

Xiao Sun took a deep breath. "I understand, Mr. Zeng."

"Go ahead and get busy."

After calming down the three key figures, Zeng Haocai asked Peng Bing to inform all the actors to assemble at 2 PM in the open space outside the Qin Palace.

At 2:00 PM sharp, the actors arrived one after another.

There were forty or fifty people standing in the open space. The atmosphere was completely different from the last plenary meeting. Last time, there was bewilderment and observation, but this time there was restlessness.

Li Yang stood in the crowd, around twenty-eight or twenty-nine years old, with a decent appearance. He had been working in Hengdian for five years and was now playing the second male lead, with screen time second only to Zhang Tianai, and a salary of ten thousand yuan. He looked around and, seeing that most people had arrived, cleared his throat, about to speak.

Zeng Hao has already reached the middle.

"Let me speak first," he said in a low voice, but the entire open space immediately fell silent. "I know you've all seen that article recently, seen the figure of one hundred million, and feel that your pay is too low and that you're feeling unbalanced."

No one spoke.

"I understand that mentality," Zeng Hao said. "If I were in that situation, I wouldn't feel the same way either."

People in the crowd exchanged glances.