Huayu Chef

089 Packaging Hotball Well

The storyline of "Wolf Warrior" is very thin, and it already has many bugs and logical flaws.

Zhang Jinxuan was worried that Wu Jing would add scenes haphazardly and ruin the film's structure, so he politely declined, saying, "Brother Jing, just film according to your ideas. There's no need to add scenes specifically for me. Even if you do, I won't be able to act. I have to join the crew for filming in July."

Which company produced this film?

"Huanrui."

"Alright then." Wu Jing still didn't want to let Zhang Jinxuan off the hook, and said with a smile, "Filming for 'The Edge of the Army' starts in June. You can come and play a cameo role. We'll film your scenes first, and it'll be done in a few days. I guarantee it won't delay your joining the main cast in July."

Zhang Jinxuan hesitated for a moment, then said, "The start date for my film hasn't been set yet, so I can't agree to your request right now to avoid scheduling conflicts. Anyway, there's still plenty of time. I'll give you an answer later. If my schedule allows, I'll definitely go and film it. I haven't filmed in so long, I'm really itching to get back to work."

Wu Jing, Xie Nan, Grandpa Yu, and Jingjing all laughed at the same time.

Is the phrase "starving and thirsty" even appropriate?

Seeing that Zhang Jinxuan and Wu Jing had finished talking, Grandpa Yu interjected, "Wu Jing is in trouble, and as his older brother, I should go to great lengths to help him out. Unfortunately, I'm tied up at the horse farm and can't spare the time or money to help. If your movie needs actors, just let me know, and I'll act in it for free."

Wu Jing was both surprised and touched: "Brother Yu, thank you for your support. Your words warm my heart, it feels like I used to spend my days listening to crosstalk. And Xiao Zhang, if you ever need anything, just let me know, I'll go through fire and water for you. Come on, let me toast you both."

"You're too kind. We're brothers, no need to be so formal."

"Brother Jing, drink slowly, I'm afraid you'll hit me if you drink too much."

"Ha ha."

Wu Jing almost choked on his drink from laughing.

Looking at the relaxed and happy smile on her boyfriend's face, Xie Nan felt happy for him. With Zhang Jinxuan joining, "The Edge of the Army" received some funding and publicity resources, its situation improved, and the pressure was much less than before.

Around 10:30 p.m., Wu Jing and Grandpa Yu passed out one after the other, while Zhang Jinxuan was still sober. It wasn't that he had a high alcohol tolerance, but rather that Wu Jing and Grandpa Yu had already drunk one meal at the dinner table, and were now having a second meal of mixed liquor and beer. In a two-on-one situation, Zhang Jinxuan had the advantage.

After helping Grandpa Yu into the bedroom to rest, Zhang Jinxuan then put Wu Jing into the back seat of the car and got in himself.

Jingjing sat in the passenger seat, and Xie Nan sat in the driver's seat to drive.

"Jinxuan, Jingjing, you're going back to the Beijing Film Academy residential area, right?"

"Thank you, Sister Xie. Let's take Brother Jing home to rest first. Jingjing and I will take a taxi back."

"That's too much trouble."

"No trouble at all, let's drive."

The staff at Xie Nanchong Horse Ranch nodded in acknowledgment and drove Zhang Jinxuan, Wu Jing, and Jingjing away from the ranch.

Zhang Jinxuan and Jingjing returned to the Beijing Film Academy residential area at midnight.

On the way to Jingjing's place, Zhang Jinxuan suddenly said, "Jingjing, I talked to Brother Jing about investment yesterday. Don't tell Sister Jia, Sister Yaoyao, or Sister Mi. Keep it a secret for now."

Jingjing made a zipping motion with her mouth and assured him, "Don't worry, Brother Xuan, I know the rules and I'll keep my mouth shut."

"Aside from food, you're pretty reliable in other aspects."

"hey-hey."

"Do you plan to continue working as an assistant?"

"Probably. I don't know what I could do if I weren't an assistant."

Zhang Jinxuan brandished a hoe and said, "If you want to stay as my assistant, I'll talk to Sister Jia and ask her to come and be my personal assistant. I'll pay you a salary."

Jingjing looked at Zhang Jinxuan in surprise and said quickly in her Chongqing accent, "Brother Xuan, I admit you're handsome, have a good temper, are multi-talented, and are a good person..."

"I don't have romantic relationships with women outside the entertainment industry." Zhang Jinxuan's words silenced Jingjing.

"Isn't it good like this now?"

Zhang Jinxuan stated bluntly, "I hope you're one of my own, not someone sent by the studio. I only signed a five-year contract with the studio, and it won't be renewed when it expires. You probably already guessed my intentions regarding my investment in Brother Jing's new movie today. When I go independent, I'll need my own team, and I sincerely invite you to join that team."

Jingjing asked, "Am I still going to be your assistant, Brother Xuan?"

"It depends on your own wishes. If you want to continue as an assistant, you can continue. If you don't want to, you can become an agent or even a star. I can recommend roles for you if the opportunity arises."

In past lives, some celebrities went crazy and turned themselves into "prison-bound heartthrobs," while others, like Yu Yu, would lash out at their management companies for bullying. Managing an artist can easily turn into a mess, a thankless and exhausting task.

Zhang Jinxuan has no intention of signing any artists. Jingjing wants to be a star, so at most he'll give her some resources and that's it.

Jingjing shook her head vigorously, "I don't want to be a star. I'm short, my face is chubby and I don't look good on camera. My path to stardom is long gone. Besides, the entertainment industry isn't easy to navigate. I'm very satisfied with my current life."

"You're home."

"Okay." Jingjing turned to face Zhang Jinxuan playfully, a cute smile on her youthful face. "Boss, please take good care of me from now on."

Zhang Jinxuan laughed and asked, "Is a 30% raise considered a favor?"

Jingjing looked pleasantly surprised. "Okay, thank you, boss."

Have you booked your flight to Zhengzhou tonight?

"It's already booked."

"What are the arrangements for Yao Yao and Dilraba?"

"It's also a flight tonight, arriving an hour earlier than ours. Xiao Zhuang and Second Brother are going to the airport to pick them up."

"OK, get some rest, goodnight."

Goodnight, Brother Xuan.

The next day, in the producer's room at the hotel where the "Micro Era" film crew was staying in Shanghai.

Zeng Jia put down her phone, sat back down opposite Yao Yao, and said somewhat helplessly, "Jin Xuan thinks Jing Jing is easy to use and wants to take her over as his assistant."

Yao Yao didn't understand. "Jingjing is his assistant, right?"

"Jingjing is the assistant assigned to him by the studio. Now he wants to hire his own assistant and pay her his own salary."

"This is ridiculous. Is it really necessary?"

"We think it's unnecessary, but he thinks it's necessary, so let's do it his way." Zeng Jia smiled meaningfully, "Now that he's all grown up, he's latched onto Youku's coattails. We haven't even contacted Hunan TV yet, and they've already finalized the platform."

Yao Yao asked with concern, "Sister Jia, can our studio still get involved in the 'Wild Kitchen' reality show?"

Zeng Jia said helplessly, "It depends on Jin Xuan's opinion. He holds the copyright, but the studio can use the variety show contract as leverage to negotiate."

"A variety show contract?" Yao Yao said with a wry smile, "The more I think about it, the more I regret it. I shouldn't have listened to Mimi when I signed the contract. It would have been so much better if I had just signed a full-fledged contract. The studio could have gotten a share of the millions that 'Wild Kitchen' earned."

"The contract is already signed, there's no point in thinking about this." Zeng Jia waved her hand somewhat irritably and said to Yao Yao, "Last night, Jin Xuan's Weibo side account surpassed 100 million followers, and nearly ten of his posts were on the trending topics list in the fourth episode. He's become this popular in less than a month, much better than Gao Weiguang and Zhang Yunlong. We can only do our best to promote him; it will benefit everyone."

"Jinxuan is so lucky. According to the studio's publicity department, Youku and Weibo have both given him promotional resources."

Zeng Jia said without any surprise, "That's normal. Jinxuan has buzz, popularity, and viral memes. Youku makes money off him, WeChat launched Moments, and the four major Weibo platforms are fighting it out. Sina is having a tough time. Not to mention Jinxuan, isn't their attitude towards our studio much more friendly than before?"

Yao Yao smiled and nodded, changing the subject: "This afternoon, Reba and I are flying to Zhengzhou. Tomorrow we're going to Kaifeng to film 'Wild Kitchen,' and we'll be back tomorrow night."

"What dish were we making for the fifth episode?"

Braised carp with noodles.

"Go ahead, let Dilraba seize the opportunity to perform well." As she spoke, Zeng Jia suddenly thought of Huang Mengying's street lamp meme and Yang Zi's crazy soul painter, and couldn't help but suggest, "Jinxuan is good at promoting people, ask him to help Dilraba with her image, and it would be best to give her a popular meme and label like Mengying and Yang Zi."

"Dilraba's starring drama 'Anarhan' has been scheduled to air on CCTV-5 on May 7th. With both popularity and a successful project, her studio can take advantage of the situation and try to promote Dilraba as well. Li Xirui and Zhang Yunlong can follow the same approach."

Yao Yao hesitated and said, "This probably won't be easy, will it?"

"I believe Jinxuan; he's got some skills."