"A triple revenue share agreement!" The agent's eyes lit up. News of the celebration banquet for "Sword" had spread throughout the entire entertainment industry a few days prior.
Everyone now knew that any actor who signed a triple revenue share agreement had earned several, even tens or hundreds of times their usual income, and this income would continue for the next 20 years. It was practically like a salary, making everyone in the industry envious.
So, when the agent heard about the triple revenue share agreement, they wished that Shu Chang could sign it immediately.
However, recalling Shu Chang's attitude just now, the agent was very worried. After all, Shu Chang made her own decisions, and her agent mostly played the role of an assistant. Shu Chang had very firmly expressed her stance earlier, so the agent didn't expect her to agree now.
"Okay, I agree. I can join the crew right away!" Shu Chang said without hesitation.
"Ah!" The agent was startled. Why had this girl suddenly changed her mind?
"That's wonderful!" Huang He's face broke into a smile. "Since that's the case, we can sign it now. You are the first artist I've personally come to sign with, and there probably won't be a second!"
"Then I'm truly honored. However, before signing, you'll probably need to help me sort out one matter!" Shu Chang said.
"I know, the 'The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber' crew, right? Actually, 'The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber' also has investment from our Tangren Pictures. We invested about 50%. I'll make a call to the producer and have him replace the female lead. That's no problem!" Huang He said very casually, which made both Shu Chang and her agent gasp.
Had Huang He's influence in the entertainment industry grown so vast that he could casually invest in any crew?
With Huang He's words, Shu Chang no longer had any reservations and signed the contract cooperatively. Soon after, the crew of 'The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber' proactively called, stating that the 'Chinese Paladin' crew was more pressing, and they could find another female lead, so Shu Chang shouldn't worry about them.
The contract was already signed, and the crew had directly backed out.
This made Shu Chang feel a little guilty. However, she didn't know that after her, Tangren Pictures soon arranged for another signed artist to go there. It was all in-house business.
After signing, it was time for dinner. At Huang He's earnest invitation, they went to a restaurant recommended by Shu Chang, which she claimed was exceptionally delicious.
While Shu Chang was changing, her agent suddenly squeezed in and asked curiously, "My dear miss, why did you suddenly change your mind? I thought you would still refuse them!"
"A boss worth billions personally came to my home to invite me. What do you think? Could I still refuse?" Shu Chang said with a smile. "Director Li invited me on the phone earlier, and I refused due to schedule conflicts. That's because I love my career and value my word.
"But Mr. Huang personally came to my home to invite me. If I still refused, I would be ungrateful. For an actor like me, without a company backing me, if I'm ungrateful, it would be truly difficult!"
"My dear miss, you understand these principles! You made me worry for nothing!" The agent sighed in relief, then her eyes rolled. "Miss Shu Chang, do you think something is a bit off about today's situation?"
"What's off?"
"Mr. Huang is such a big boss, and he personally came to invite you. Do you think he's interested in you?" The agent's words made Shu Chang pause.
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Shu Chang rolled her eyes.
"I'm just thinking. I heard that Huang He is still single. If he's really interested in you and marries you, then your life..." the agent said, getting excited as if Huang He intended to marry her.
"Sister, you've probably forgotten one thing?"
"What thing?"
"I'm still a minor!"
—
The dinner was quite enjoyable for everyone. However, to the agent's slight disappointment, Huang He remained very polite, with no inappropriate actions or even glances, as if it were just a simple dinner invitation.
But the agent soon attributed all of this to the dining environment. Since Huang He had asked Shu Chang to recommend a place for good food, not necessarily a fancy one, they ended up dining at a roadside stall-like place, which was also where Shu Chang often ate.
Because Shu Chang wasn't too famous at this time, all she needed was a pair of sunglasses to avoid being recognized while eating there.
The agent initially worried Huang He might be displeased, but Huang He seemed to like it very much. He ate with great enjoyment, eventually rolling up his sleeves, revealing two muscular arms.
"Sigh, I originally thought we could go to a five-star hotel and fleece the rich. It seems there's no hope now!" the agent muttered. Suddenly, she heard the news anchor's voice from the television on the wall of the roadside stall saying:
["Regarding the recent news exposed about Jiangnan Mall selling products without certification, our reporters specifically contacted responsible personnel from Jiangnan Mall for inquiries, but they have consistently refused our calls."
"At the same time, when we attempted to locate the 'Nazha's Yak Jerky' store on Jiangnan Mall, we found that the store had already been closed and its traces were gone."
"Now, we will connect live with Mr. Wang Hai, the famous anti-counterfeiting advocate who discovered this issue, to hear his views!"]
Upon hearing this news, both the agent and Shu Chang looked at Huang He. Huang He, however, was engrossed in a fight with a lamb spine, seemingly not hearing the television at all.
Soon, Mr. Wang Hai's call was connected. On the phone, Wang Hai first mentioned how he accidentally learned about the existence of Jiangnan Mall. Because he liked to eat yak jerky and the jerky there was so cheap, he bought some. Unexpectedly, upon receiving the goods, he found them to be products without certification.
Wang Hai then spoke about how, after complaining to Jiangnan Mall's customer service, he was met with various evasions, passing the buck, and a general unwillingness to resolve the issue. This finally forced him to complain to the media, which led to the merchant selling uncertified products being taken down.
The entire phone call was delivered with great emotion and passion, greatly resonating with the surrounding audience.
The people eating at the roadside stall were mostly straightforward individuals. Upon hearing something that angered them, they immediately rolled up their sleeves and started cursing. In an instant, the entire stall was filled with shouts of anger towards Jiangnan Mall.
"Mr. Huang, perhaps we should move to another place to eat!" Shu Chang said softly.
"There's no need. Listening to the public's voices is also quite good. Besides, even if I leave, won't they still curse?" Huang He smiled slightly, seemingly unbothered by their curses.
"This incident is definitely a misunderstanding. I think it would be better for Jiangnan Mall to respond promptly!" Shu Chang suggested. "We can't always let the enemy control public opinion."
"It's fine. Let them curse for a while longer. The more they curse now, the more everything will be returned to me later!" Huang He waved his hand dismissively. "I have a favorite saying: 'Let the bullets fly for a while longer!'"
"Let the bullets fly for a while longer?" Hearing this inexplicable phrase, Shu Chang and her agent both expressed that although they couldn't understand it, it felt very profound.
The next day, Shu Chang and her agent flew directly to Jiangxi. Meanwhile, public opinion continued to escalate. Wang Hai's public opinion war this time was very successful. Soon, Jiangnan Mall was somewhat of a target, with a large amount of attacks directed at it, and widespread criticism.
However, in the face of such a situation, Jiangnan Mall remained very calm. The entire mall continued to operate as if completely unaffected by this wave of public opinion.
Of course, Jiangnan Mall did respond later. A customer service representative from Jiangnan Mall, in their only interview with a CCTV reporter, stated, "Upon receiving Wang Hai's complaint, it was impossible for them to immediately close the store. They had to verify that the merchant's store was indeed selling products without certification."
"Therefore, they spent a day contacting dozens of other users who had purchased yak jerky from the store, and also inspected several orders currently in transit. After confirming that the store was indeed selling products without certification, they closed the store immediately."
"The entire process took less than 48 hours, which fully complied with the 72-hour processing principle stipulated in Jiangnan Mall's customer service regulations."
"Jiangnan Mall has a zero-tolerance attitude towards counterfeit and substandard products. They welcome more users like Wang Hai to report products without certification and counterfeit or substandard products sold on the mall," the customer service representative replied concisely and sharply, making it difficult for the reporter to find any flaws.
"We noticed in the chat records provided by Mr. Wang Hai that your customer service personnel once said, 'We hope Mr. Wang Hai will spare this store; they are very pitiable.' Why did they say that?" the reporter asked, bringing up another focal point of public discussion.
"Well, this is due to the imperfection and non-standardization of our customer service personnel's work. They did not maintain a completely neutral attitude. This is a deficiency in our customer service department's training and education. We will continue to educate relevant customer service personnel to prevent such mistakes from happening again."
"But why did you say they were pitiable? There must be a reason, right?"
"We apologize, but these matters involve the privacy of the merchant. Without the merchant's permission, we cannot disclose these things to the public!" The customer service representative then excused themselves, citing other matters, and ended the interview.
—
"Let them keep harping on this point, propagating that Jiangnan Mall and the merchants are colluding. We must make the audience believe that Jiangnan Mall and the merchants are working together to cheat consumers!" In a private room at a five-star hotel, Wang Juntao of 8848.net, who was watching the news, said with a smug expression.
"Indeed, Mr. Wang Hai is quite formidable. He found such a damaging point in the chat records. Otherwise, this public opinion wave that we've finally managed to stir up would have fizzled out again!" Shao Yibo sighed, then raised his wine glass and proposed a toast to Wang Hai, "Mr. Wang, I'll toast you!"
"I dare not, I dare not!" Wang Hai drank the wine in his glass and then sighed, "Actually, the structural design of Jiangnan Mall is quite clever. They let merchants open stores, and Jiangnan Mall only provides the platform. This way, legally, they completely distance themselves from selling counterfeit or substandard products and products without certification.
"So, even though things have escalated to this extent, relevant authorities can only penalize the merchants, with no action taken against Jiangnan Mall at all. After a few more days, when the heat of the issue subsides, people will probably forget about it.
"Fortunately, their customer service left such a significant loophole for me. Otherwise, this matter would have ended here!" Wang Hai said, seemingly modestly, but actually boasting about his achievements.
"No, this is not enough!" Li Guoqing, also at the table, pondered for a moment and said, "Gentlemen, one store is too little to impact Jiangnan Mall. We must find ways to expose more problems with their stores. If we can find ten stores on Jiangnan Mall that sell counterfeit or substandard products and publicize it extensively, it will make customers believe that everything sold on Jiangnan Mall is fake, and thus Jiangnan Mall's reputation will be thoroughly ruined. Then we can join forces to suppress Jiangnan Mall!"
"Exactly!"
"That's right!" The other two nodded in agreement and then looked at Wang Hai simultaneously, "Mr. Wang, we'll have to trouble you to handle this matter!"
"This..." Wang Hai hesitated. "Gentlemen, it's not that I'm unwilling to operate, but I believe that once this matter is exposed, Jiangnan Mall will definitely tighten its control over its merchants, and those merchants will also proactively stop selling counterfeit or substandard products and products without certification. It's probably difficult to find issues with these stores now.
"We might have to wait another month or two for these stores to start selling again."
"But by then, the news will have died down!" Shao Yibo shook his head. "No, we must strike while the iron is hot. It's best to have this news out tomorrow."
"Then I really can't do it, as it takes several days just for logistics. How can it be done by tomorrow?" Wang Hai shook his head and refused.
However, the other three didn't give Wang Hai a chance to refuse. They continued to praise Wang Hai, calling him a genius and an industry expert who would surely find a way to continue attacking Jiangnan Mall and expose news of Jiangnan Mall selling fakes.
Pushed to a high pedestal by the bosses, Wang Hai found it difficult to back down. So, his mind turned, and he came up with a less-than-ideal solution: "Actually, we don't need to find actual counterfeit or substandard products. We just need to make customers believe they are selling fakes."
"So, I can find some stores with outrageously high prices, prices that are more than half cheaper than the normal selling price of a product, for example, buying 6 rolls of toilet paper for one yuan."
"I still have this toilet paper, and although it's not exactly fake, its quality is extremely poor. And there are plenty of such stores on Jiangnan Mall. If we find a dozen of them and publicize them, making them appear as if they are selling fakes, the effect will be the same!" Wang Hai said.
"Good idea!"
"As expected of Mr. Wang, he's full of ideas!"
"Excellent, I think we can execute this immediately. Let's all contact our friends in the media and have them publicize it further!!" Hearing Wang Hai's idea, these bosses were all very excited, believing that with this, Jiangnan Mall's reputation would be completely ruined.
Thus, they stopped eating the food and drinks at the celebration banquet and continued to contact and direct through their phones, preparing to launch a new, massive offensive.
Well, Jiangnan Group was truly finished this time.
Unbeknownst to Li Guoqing and the other two, in a private room just two rooms away from them, Wang Yingfei was dining with his goddaughter and god-sister.
At the same time, Wang Yingfei's secretary reported to him, "Boss, I've found out. Huang He arrived in the capital yesterday, visited Shu Chang, and now Shu Chang has flown to Jiangxi, likely to replace Miss Liu's previous role."
"Shu Chang?" Wang Yingfei snorted. "This little girl will never be able to film any TV series or movies again. I will make her completely unable to make a living in the Beijing circle!"
"That's right. How dare she snatch our Feifei's role? Such a little girl needs to be taught a harsh lesson!" Mother Liu immediately chimed in, earning a smile from Wang Yingfei.
However, only Wang Yingfei knew that he was just venting. Tangren Pictures itself filmed or invested in over a dozen TV series, had a large number of staff and signed artists, and had recently produced a hit like "Sword." Many veteran artists wanted to collaborate with them.
His ban might indeed prevent Shu Chang from getting invitations from other crews, but he couldn't control Tangren Pictures. He couldn't block Shu Chang.
This made Wang Yingfei even more frustrated.
"Brother, Huang He daring to come here means he completely disregards you. We must teach him a lesson!" Wang Yingfei was frustrated, and Mother Liu was even more so, or rather, filled with hatred.
How could such a rampant and overbearing woman like her tolerate such humiliation? In her opinion, all of this was Huang He's fault, and she had to retaliate to vent her anger.
So, when she learned that Huang He had come to the capital, she was very happy and immediately began to instigate Wang Yingfei to carry out his threats.
This indeed made Wang Yingfei even more frustrated. He had clearly declared that Huang He wouldn't be able to leave the capital, yet Huang He had swaggered into the capital the very next day, clearly showing no regard for his words.
He could have waited a few months, and perhaps Wang Yingfei would have forgotten about his threats.
But since Huang He had arrived, Wang Yingfei had to take action, otherwise, not being able to deal with Huang He on his own turf would be a complete loss of face.
But the problem was, how should he deal with Huang He?
Huang He's businesses in the capital were mainly a few flagship stores for Jiangnan Blind Boxes. They also had good relationships with relevant departments. His friends from social gatherings wouldn't risk offending another billionaire for him. Therefore, the possibility of taking action through official channels was zero.
Wang Yingfei could certainly mobilize some thugs, but that would at most cause trouble for two or three stores. It wouldn't have any impact on Jiangnan Blind Box as a whole. At most, it would just displease Huang He; it wouldn't affect Huang He himself at all.
So, what about directly educating Huang He physically?
Wang Yingfei had originally planned that, but upon hearing that Huang He had hired dozens of bodyguards to protect him, Wang Yingfei gave up.
This was China, not America, where bullets could fly. The people Wang Yingfei hired would likely not even get close to Huang He before being handed over to the police by those bodyguards. In that case, it would be handing over leverage to Huang He for no reason.
So, after thinking for a long time, Wang Yingfei realized that all his threats were empty words, and he was helpless against Huang He. This made Wang Yingfei even more annoyed.
"Brother, I have an idea!" Mother Liu's eyes flickered. "Since Jiangnan Mall is being criticized for selling fakes now, and public opinion is against them, why don't we add fuel to the fire?"
"How do we add fuel to the fire? If you're talking about using media resources to publicize this matter, I've already done that!" Wang Yingfei said. "But that's just adding icing to the cake; it has no extra effect."
"No, we can say that the film crew of Jiangnan Group tried to bribe actresses!" Mother Liu said with a sinister look. "Let's say Huang He visited the set, took a fancy to our Feifei, and tried to do something inappropriate to her. But I, as her mother, stopped him. As a result, he became enraged and had the entire crew, everyone, beat us up, and finally drove me and Feifei out of the crew!"
"See, if this news breaks out, won't the reputation of Jiangnan Group and Huang He be completely ruined?" Mother Liu said.
"But Jiangnan Group should have on-site filming footage. If they release this footage, it can prove many things!" Wang Yingfei said.
"Don't worry, none of this is a problem. You men don't know, sometimes videos alone aren't enough to make a case. The key is performance."
"I can step forward, as Feifei's mother, and cry to the media, saying that their director secretly told me to ask Feifei to spend a night with Huang He, which I refused."
"Then they deliberately made us film scenes requiring hugs and intimate contact to violate our Feifei. So I came out to stop them, and then they deliberately ganged up to beat us and drove us out!" Mother Liu said.
"But Jiangnan Group should have complete footage. If they release this footage, wouldn't it prove that what you're saying is false?" Wang Yingfei said.
"The footage is released by them, and we can completely say that this footage has been maliciously edited. And what I'm saying is actually the truth, which can be seen from the footage. As long as they cut the footage even once, it won't be very convincing!"
"What's more important is that the entire process at the time was quite long, about an hour. To release the footage without any cuts, it would require occupying an hour of the television station's time. Which television station would do such a thing?"
"And even if they were willing to air it, how many viewers would actually watch it all? In short, this is like mud falling into a crotch; I want to make it stink whether it is or isn't feces," Mother Liu said venomously.
"No!" Wang Yingfei thought for a moment and still shook his head. "I'll think of other ways. This plan is too risky!"
"Oh!" Mother Liu nodded reluctantly, but her eyes flickered, and who knew what her thoughts were.