Nobody knows movies better than me

Chapter 65: Scam and Run

There aren't many channels for foreign capital to invest in Chinese-language films. They usually go through co-productions, such as Columbia Pictures investing in Stephen Chow's "Shaolin Soccer" and "Kung Fu Hustle".

Those so-called award-winning art films that receive foreign funding are usually very secretive and can't even be discovered. Once discovered, they face a ban, or even worse.

Although Zhang Jun wanted to swindle money from this wicked Frenchman, he didn't want to get caught and banned from directing for several years.

The day after the charity gala, Zhang Jun told Ye Xiaoyi about it and asked for her help.

"Does Uncle Ye know anyone who can open an overseas account and deposit this money?"

Ye Xiaoyi asked, "Like a secret Swiss bank account?"

"Pretty much. The most important thing is to prevent us from tracing where the funds went, lest the French turn around and bite us back," Zhang Jun said.

"Should this money be transferred back to China?"

"No need, it's fine to keep it in an overseas account for some investments. For example, investing in stocks, or buying some Bitcoin, or trading futures or something."

Zhang Jun had already made a plan, but he still needed someone to execute it. After all, he wasn't a professional in the field; he understood the general direction, but he was completely clueless about the specifics.

"What about the movie?"

Ye Xiaoyi was very worried: "If people don't see that you've made the kind of film they want, there might be trouble."

Zhang Jun wasn't worried at all: "They can just give us the movie if they want it. The rule is that it has to be set in the countryside, but there's no limit to what aspects I have to show."

These are all verbal promises and cannot be taken seriously.

If he's not satisfied, he can send an assassin to the country to kill me.

Ye Xiaoyi was speechless: "You have a really big heart."

Even so, Ye Xiaoyi still contacted Ye Bingcheng and, through Ye Bingcheng's roundabout introduction, introduced her to a Chinese actuary who worked in finance on Wall Street.

The actuary, Bruce Chen, helped Zhang Jun open an offshore anonymous account and set up several fake accounts to cover up its existence.

After that, Zhang Jun and Ye Xiaoyi went to Mr. Pierre's estate to meet him.

Inside the manor, Zhang Jun and Ye Xiaoyi saw many antiques and paintings from China, which Pierre collected and played with.

However, Pierre's most prized collection was not these, but rather the organs and skeletons.

Pierre enthusiastically showed off his collection: "This is a map made of human skin, which I bought for $80,000."

This skeleton came from a medical institution in the United States. It was made perfectly and is one of my most prized possessions.

Ye Xiaoyi stared in disbelief at the organs, skeletons, human skin drums, and other objects that had been made into specimens or exhibits, experiencing a profound shock to her worldview.

This is completely different from the Western civilization described in "Yilin" and "Reader". What kind of civilization would treat people as commodities to be bought and sold?

This behavior is completely unregulated and unpunished by law.

Judging from Pierre's reaction, this is probably not just his personal preference, but rather a common practice in his circle.

Ye Xiaoyi initially had reservations about Zhang Jun's plan to frame Pierre, but after seeing this scene, she felt that Zhang Jun was indeed acting on behalf of Heaven and was absolutely right.

Zhang Jun, on the other hand, toured all these items without batting an eye, and even chatted with Pierre about the beauty and feel of the shoes and bags made of human skin.

In this day and age, Mr. Pierre's actions are appalling. But in twenty years or so, when such things are made public, they will not be surprising.

After visiting these special exhibits, Ye Xiaoyi turned pale and vomited for a while, while Zhang Jun and Pierre continued to talk about investment.

After Ye Xiaoyi recovered, Zhang Jun said to Pierre, "Ida is one of my important investors, and she is very interested in our plan."

As you know, it's not free where we are, so accepting your investment would require a series of complicated procedures.

Ada happens to be good at these things, so I asked her to take charge of this area.

Pierre asked Ye Xiaoyi with great interest, "Ada, how do you plan to bypass the surveillance?"

Ye Xiaoyi had already let go of her mental burden at this point: "It's very simple. It's transferred through several overseas accounts and finally to our country."

This way, the source of funding cannot be traced, and there will be no problem launching our project.

Pierre agreed: "You've thought this through very well. I was initially thinking that you were too young to be in charge of this task."

But now it seems my worries were unnecessary.

The matter was settled, and Pierre immediately made a phone call and transferred 1.5 million euros to a pre-arranged account, which was approximately 15 million RMB according to the exchange rate.

This money was certainly not for Zhang Jun to make one movie, but rather for more than five movies, though there was no written agreement.

Just as Zhang Jun told Ye Xiaoyi, this deal was shady and of course, there was no way to have a formal agreement.

Even if a formal agreement is reached and cooperation is carried out through legitimate film company channels, the kind of film Pierre wants will never be made.

Before coming, Ye Xiaoyi asked Zhang Jun, "How will they ensure we cooperate?"

Zhang Jun said, "Of course, it's about paying a blood oath. You know Liangshan Marsh, right? If you want to join the mountain, you have to make one or two contributions, or leave some kind of leverage over them."

Ye Xiaoyi pressed further, "So what exactly is this 'handle'? What kind of 'pledge of allegiance' do we need to provide?"

Zhang Jun smiled mysteriously: "You'll find out when the time comes."

After the visit, Ye Xiaoyi seemed to have a vague understanding of some things.

After finishing their business, Pierre seemed quite pleased and said to the two men, "Stay here tonight. I have a lot of friends coming over, all from the political and business circles. It will be very helpful for you to expand your network."

Zhang Jun gave Ye Xiaoyi a wink, and Ye Xiaoyi immediately understood.

She feigned ignorance and innocence: "Thank you for the invitation, Mr. Pierre, but we have lunch with people from the consulate at noon. Would you please come back in the afternoon?"

Zhang Jun added at the opportune moment, "Moreover, we have several classmates studying in Paris. We haven't seen our old classmates for a long time, and we miss them very much."

Age becomes the biggest helper.

If Zhang Jun and Ye Xiaoyi were ten years older, Pierre would never give them an excuse to leave.

You took the abbot's money, didn't leave a pledge of loyalty, and still want to leave?

But Zhang Jun and Ye Xiaoyi were young, and Pierre's ingrained prejudice against Chinese people prevented him from having any other doubts.

So he agreed and warmly invited the two of them to attend the banquet that evening. Zhang Jun and Ye Xiaoyi were very happy and promised to attend.

The two of them gave the impression of having won the lottery or being accepted by Western civilized society, their faces filled with the piety of converts.

Pierre had seen this expression before; many immigrants from China to France or to the UK and the US had the same look.

Ye Xiaoyi got into the car leaving the manor, watched the scenery of the manor disappear in the rearview mirror, and breathed a long sigh of relief.

"It feels like we're doing something wrong. Luckily, he didn't send anyone, or we wouldn't be able to leave."

"yes!"

Zhang Jun said, "So in order to avoid trouble, we can't go back with Professor Hou. We'll go to Moscow first, and then return to Beijing from Moscow."

Ye Xiaoyi nodded, and the two returned to the hotel, quickly packed their things, and ran away.

Pierre waited and waited, but Zhang Jun and Ye Xiaoyi still hadn't arrived, and he immediately realized something was wrong. He sent someone to the hotel where the two were staying, only to find it deserted.

The search at the airport was fruitless; neither of them was listed on the passenger manifest for any flight bound for China.

Meanwhile, Zhang Jun and Ye Xiaoyi had already boarded a plane bound for Moscow and flown out of France.

With Ye Bingcheng's connections in Moscow providing support, everything proceeded smoothly.