Jiao Shou's sudden tears startled Suming. How did it come to this without a proper conversation? Bursting into tears without saying a word—brother, sporting a bald head that screamed masculinity, is it really okay to cry like a woman at the drop of a hat? If it were really a woman, fine, but we are two grown men. If word got out that Suming made Jiao Shou cry, could we still face anyone? How would we get by in society?
"Stop right there, big brother. If you dare let those tears fall, I'm hanging up the video call immediately!" Suming felt a chill down his spine, a fear he had never felt even in the face of IS's gunfire.
"Nonsense, it's just sand that got in my eye," Jiao Shou said deeply.
"Why not say you were struck by lightning..." Suming was utterly speechless. Couldn't you come up with a more reliable excuse? Where would sand come from indoors?
"Saying it's sand adds to the desolate atmosphere," Jiao Shou reasoned.
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Suming decided not to dwell on this topic and went straight to the point, "I was going to call you last time, but there were some issues in the middle of the shooting, so I rushed to deal with them. After that, there was a whole mess of things, and I was too busy to remember. And to tell you the truth, the crew was already set, and it was our first collaboration. I wouldn't even know what to have you do if you came. It's my first film, so I have to be extra cautious. I hope you can understand."
They say true friends don't need explanations, which seems to make sense, but actually, it's a red herring. Friends understand each other better than ordinary relationships do. The better the friendship, the deeper the mutual understanding, which means there is less chance of misunderstanding. This does not mean misunderstandings won't happen, and if they do, they still need to be clearly addressed. No one can truly claim to understand themselves completely, let alone others.
Of course, Suming didn't have to explain this to Jiao Shou. Just as Jiao Shou had thought, Suming didn't owe him anything and was not obligated to explain.
Suming took the initiative to explain, which showed his position. It was now up to Jiao Shou's attitude. If he harbored a grudge over this little matter, Suming felt there was no need to continue the conversation. Having a fragile ego is fine, but there's no need to insist on agreement if our ways are not aligned.
Once the conversation started, Jiao Shou felt a huge relief, patting his bald head, he said, "Heh, I wanted to call you several times, but I hesitated, and before I knew it, your movie was out of theaters. Tell me, you're not going to make just one film, are you?"
"Of course not!" Suming replied. "I will continue making films, and I'm even planning to set up a film company. I'm short-handed. If you're free, would you come help me?"
"I'd love to! I've been wanting to talk to you about this, just didn't know how to bring it up," Jiao Shou said cheerfully.
Suming nodded, "That's good to hear. But let me be upfront with you. You're an expert at making web series, but I've found quite a difference between that and making movies. If you come on board, you'll start as a deputy director with probably no subordinates of your own, and you'll have to learn everything from scratch."
"That's totally fine, even if you didn't mention it, I'd still have to seek out further training," Jiao Shou replied.
"There's no need to look elsewhere. I have just the place for you—Huaxia Star Company in Xiangjiang. They've got a production going almost every day, and you can join a relative of mine to learn there."
"You know the boss of Huaxia Star?" Jiao Shou was astonished. Long Wu held a significant status in Xiangjiang's film history, and Huaxia Star Company, with its long-standing heritage and connections with numerous top actors and directors, had produced many renowned films. It was one of the remaining major companies in the Xiangjiang film industry. For a film person to study at Huaxia Star was like a graduate from Capital People's University interning at a central ministry, or a computing student interning at Microsoft.
Without any objections, Jiao Shou booked a ticket to Yangchuan City during the video chat.
"Besides, friends are friends, but business is business; there are things that need to be made clear in advance."
When it comes to building a business together or partnering up, the first things that need to be discussed are the division of powers and the distribution of benefits.
The biggest hurdle for Jiao Shou entering the film industry was funding. He must have saved some money from making web series, enough to scrape by for a low-budget film.
But not every low-budget film turns a profit. Most end up like the ones that premiered alongside Animal City, flopping miserably. Suming dared to invest ten million because he had far more than that at his disposal. Jiao Shou might have made a name online, but for him to put up so much at once was to bet his entire fortune—a flop would mean a hard road to recovery.
People's mindsets are delicate, like stock trading. The same amount of money feels different depending on whether it's spare change or whether it's lunch money or even borrowed—it's the difference between nervousness that inhibits clear judgment and a more relaxed state that could lead to outperforming oneself.
Thus, the richer you are, the easier it is to make money.
The cooperation was soon agreed upon. Suming and Jiao Shou would have an employer-employee relationship, with Jiao Shou holding a deputy director position in the film company and drawing a monthly salary and bonus. If he wished to invest in films, Jiao Shou would have priority investment rights of up to 20% for the first three films. Moreover, working at the film company would be Jiao Shou using Suming's resources to develop. If he wanted to go solo in the future, he would need to have worked at the company for at least two years.
It was an acceptable proposal for both sides. Jiao Shou flew to Yangchuan City three days later, signed the agreement, and then flew directly to Xiangjiang with Nangong Huang on the same day's flight.
Also heading there was Tony, who was going back for the year-end races at the Xiangjiang Jockey Club to enter two horses.
Over in Xiangjiang, Huaxia Star had already started making contacts with cinema chains across Asia. Nangong Huang and Jiao Shou joined the negotiating team right after landing.
At the negotiation table, the debate was fierce, almost indistinguishable from a fish market squabble, with personal attacks and belittlement, constant bickering, and all kinds of extreme tactics.
They were just observers, not contributors, absorbing all they could about negotiation skills with cinema chains during the two short weeks, learning about the state and secrets of national cinema chains, and the overseas distribution process.
Time flew by, and while the domestic summer blockbuster season was still in full swing, Huaxia Star finally secured the Asia distribution rights for Animal City.
It sold for fifty-two million Huaxia currency.
It was a win-win scenario. Long Wu made a decent sum, and the entire 158 million from the domestic box office went straight into Suming's pocket.