Chapter Seventy-One: The Advertisers Paid Far Too Much

While Hong Youcheng was deeply frustrated, Chen Qi also called Zhao Qingqing to tell her about his preparations for the second season of “Ten Thousand Ways.”

“What?” Zhao Qingqing was utterly stunned by his words.

She had tried to persuade him several times before, but he always insisted on not filming another season. She’d even called him that very morning, and now, less than a day later, he had changed his mind? What was going on?

“There’s nothing I can do—the advertisers are just offering too much money!”

Zhao Qingqing was left speechless by this reason.

Well, that’s certainly a straightforward explanation!

“So… we’ll still be working together for the second season, right?” she asked, a hint of nervousness in her voice.

“Of course. Otherwise, why would I be calling you?” Chen Qi replied with a wry smile.

They had already agreed to a long-term partnership with Simple Video. Though it was only a verbal commitment, Simple Video had generously paid him fifty thousand—far above the market rate—so he would never betray them just for profit. His upbringing simply wouldn’t allow such a thing.

Hearing this, Zhao Qingqing breathed a quiet sigh of relief and asked, “Is there anything I should do to help?”

“Not for now. I just wanted to let you know in advance.” Though he was short on staff and equipment, since he didn’t plan to involve Simple Video in the project, it didn’t feel right to ask for help.

“All right. If you need anything, just say the word.”

“Okay,” Chen Qi replied with a smile.

Afterward, Zhao Qingqing cautiously brought up the subject of the price for the new season. With the fame and popularity of the first season, the price for the second would certainly be higher.

“I really don’t know much about that. As long as it’s the market rate, I’ll accept it,” Chen Qi answered, as he always did.

He truly wasn’t knowledgeable about these matters, and with advertisements now placed at the beginning and end of each episode, how was that supposed to be calculated? Best to leave professional matters to professionals, and he trusted that Zhao Qingqing, with her keen mind and sharp judgment, would never do anything to take advantage of him.

Her goodwill toward Chen Qi soared upon hearing this. She had just been worrying he might make an outrageous demand. With the first season’s popularity, if he asked for an exorbitant price, she would be put in an impossible position—unable to accept or refuse, caught between a rock and a hard place.

“All right, I’ll discuss it with the company later. Don’t worry, it definitely won’t be below the market price,” Zhao Qingqing promised.

“Alright.” Chen Qi chatted with her a bit more before hanging up.

***

The next day.

Chen Qi arrived early at Future Films.

“Director Chen!”

“Director Chen!”

The sight of him took Bai Xiaoke and the others by surprise; they greeted him with both delight and astonishment. This was, after all, their first meeting since the end of the first season of “Ten Thousand Ways.”

“Good morning.” Smiling, Chen Qi greeted them and tossed over the scripts for the first few episodes. “Familiarize yourselves quickly—we’ll start shooting the day after tomorrow at the latest.”

They were all so close by now that he didn’t bother with formalities.

“Oh, okay,” Bai Xiaoke and Zhao Wu scrambled to catch the scripts he’d thrown.

Without further pleasantries, Chen Qi headed straight for Xu Bunian’s office. He needed Xu to handle the early-stage preparations: sets, props, equipment, and so on.

Although this season was better funded thanks to advertising revenue, he wasn’t planning to make things overly fancy. He felt that a few improvements based on the first season would suffice—he didn’t want to polish it so much that the audience lost that original flavor.

“You’re really not just trying to save money?” Xu Bunian eyed him skeptically, unconvinced by Chen Qi’s elaborate reasoning.

“No! Why would I scrimp on such a small amount?” Chen Qi scoffed at the idea.

Xu Bunian looked at him, half-believing, half-doubting, but in the end, it didn’t matter much. He’d just do as he was told.

“I put out the word about the second season yesterday, but so far, only one advertiser is willing to sponsor us at the fifty-thousand mark.”

“Only one?” Chen Qi was taken aback. “Is it too expensive for them?”

Xu Bunian nodded.

Chen Qi mulled it over for a moment. “It’s fine. One is enough for now. No rush.”

Xu regarded him curiously. “Aren’t you worried the ad slots won’t sell?”

“Not at all,” Chen Qi shook his head. “Right now, they think it’s expensive because they don’t yet realize the value of the second season. Once it airs, sponsors will be fighting to get in. We’ll just wait and raise the price then.”

“Raise the price?” Xu Bunian’s mouth twitched involuntarily.

Ads weren’t even selling yet, and he was already thinking about price hikes?

Chen Qi nodded confidently, as if it were only natural. “Of course the price has to go up—even a little. Otherwise, how can we justify it to those advertisers supporting us at this stage? I’ve already given them the fifty-thousand opportunity. If they miss it, there’s nothing I can do.”

Xu Bunian found his argument oddly convincing—he was left speechless.

“Oh, and yesterday I got calls from two film companies. They asked if their actors could appear in cameos, just a quick appearance, and they specifically said it would be free—a friendly favor.”

“A cameo?” Chen Qi was momentarily taken aback. “They’re probably all unknowns, right?”

Xu Bunian nodded. “I asked around. Mostly newbies with no reputation—both men and women.”

Chen Qi thought for a moment. “Are you on good terms with those two companies?”

“I worked with them back when I was at Blueprint, so yes, you could say we’re close.”

“Alright, I’ll send you a list later. Have them send over a few young actors. Since it’s free, and we’ll also be earning some goodwill, it saves me the trouble of looking for people elsewhere.” Chen Qi agreed readily.

Xu Bunian frowned at him, wrinkles deepening. There was nothing wrong with his logic, but why did it sound so off? Almost as if he was only after freebies.

“When do we start shooting?” he asked.

“The day after tomorrow. Get everything ready according to the list. We’ll shoot and release episodes one by one—film an episode, put it online.” Chen Qi outlined the preparations and explained the details of the collaboration.

Since the production values were a bit higher this season, and with Bai Xiaoke and Zhao Wu’s rising fame meaning their pay would go up too, the budget for this season would be higher as well.

By his calculations, each episode would cost around forty thousand. With fifteen episodes, that made a total cost of six hundred thousand.

Xu Bunian had no objections to any of this. However, he did have a comment about the investment split.

By Chen Qi’s budget, advertising revenue alone would reach fifteen million this season. If they divided profits as before, Xu’s ten percent would amount to one and a half million! He felt that running errands and giving advice for sixty thousand, only to walk away with one and a half million, seemed a little excessive.

He wouldn’t have minded if the revenue was still in the hundreds of thousands—his share would only be a few thousand. But this time, the sum was truly substantial, and there seemed to be little risk involved.

“All right, all right, let’s not discuss this anymore. We’ll do it as before. We haven’t even signed the advertising deals yet—who knows if we’ll actually make any money. Besides, there will be plenty for you to do later.” Chen Qi waved the issue away and got up to leave. “I have other things to attend to. I’m off.”