Chapter 206: BJ New Screen Visitors
Chapter 206: BJ New Screen Visitors
At 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, the house was bustling with activity. After Feng Yiping had dropped off his mother and sister at the store, he rushed to the market. Seeing his grandfather, full of energy, bargaining with the vegetable seller and helping to load the vegetables into the car, Feng Yiping was very happy. This way, his father was less stressed, and his grandfather felt more at ease. Apart from getting up early, the work was not too tiring.
It's not that my parents and my uncle are careless, it's just that they don't have any experience in this area. They think that if they let Grandpa eat well, drink well and live well, then he'll be happy. But they don't know that what the elderly need most is to be needed. Even if you ask for his opinion on something, and even if he can't offer any constructive advice, he'll still feel satisfied and happy.
But he doesn't have time to feel sentimental. He's still a high school student who has a hard life. After having lunch with his father and grandfather, he rushed back to the city.
Now that he is back in the city, in addition to studying, he also has extra work. As time goes by, there are more and more contracts signed between Yijia and various suppliers. In the future, a specific person in charge can sign contracts on behalf of the company and the other party, but for now, Feng Yiping has taken back the signing authority.
The main reason is that he wants to understand the conditions of each company, such as those of internationally renowned brands, domestically renowned brands, and local brand suppliers, in terms of price, payment, rebates, promotional activities, etc., so that he can have a good grasp of the situation in the future.
Feng Yiping requires that new employees familiarise themselves with the basics, and the boss is no exception. A boss who only looks at various reports in the office and is not familiar with the specific situation of each department is not a competent boss.
On Monday morning, in the second class, Feng Yiping, who was teaching, was called out by someone from the teaching affairs office in the middle of the class. Feng Yiping was a little confused, and when he walked to the corridor, the teacher took the initiative to ask him, 'Have you published novels before?'
'Yes, I have published some.'
The teacher volunteered to leave out the rest, 'A novel of yours published in Shouhuo was noticed by a director, who said he wanted to adapt it into a movie. Do you know who that director is?'
'Who?' Feng Yiping guessed, but still wanted to help the teacher make a joke.
'Lao Mouzi!' He stopped in his tracks, turned around excitedly and looked at Feng Yiping, "He is a famous director at home and abroad.'
'Really?" Feng Yiping also expressed his joy and disbelief in a timely manner.
'Of course it's true. Come with me quickly, they're in the meeting room now.'
When they arrived in the meeting room, they discovered that the teachers' enthusiasm was even higher than his. Not only was the host of the Academic Affairs Office there, but also the director of the Political and Educational Affairs Office and even the executive vice-principal. They were asking the two representatives of New Picture Company questions left and right. It seemed that everyone was very interested in these things in the performing arts industry.
Class teacher Chen seemed to lack the qualifications to enter the meeting room and could only stand at the door, smiling and giving Feng Yiping an encouraging look.
Seeing the main character enter, the several leaders who were usually aloof temporarily stopped talking, and also gave the two people from New Screen the opportunity to take a sip of water.
The director of the political and educational affairs office took the lead, took Feng Yiping's hand, and introduced the man and woman on the other side, 'This is Feng Yiping from our school.'
'Hello!' The other person came over to shake Feng Yiping's hand and handed him a business card, 'My surname is Wu, I work in the film and television department of New Screen, and this is my colleague, Zhang, who works in the legal department.'
'Hello, Feng Yiping,' Feng Yiping greeted the other person.
'Come, let's sit down and talk,' the vice-principal said, inviting everyone to join them.
Without any further formalities, Manager Wu said to Feng Yiping with a smile, 'Classmate Feng Yiping, does your grandfather live in Meijiawan, in the family of Mei Jianzhong?'
'Yes,'
'Did you publish a novel called Not One Less in the October issue of Shouhuo in 1992, using the pen name Deep Sea?'
'Yes, I still have a letter from the editorial department, and my grandfather should still have a copy of the remittance slip from that time.'
Manager Wu and Xiao Zhang glanced at each other, and they could finally find the right person.
It wasn't easy for them. First, they contacted the editorial department and found the contact address left by Feng Yiping at the time. Then they went to Meijiawan non-stop, but it was a false alarm. They found out about Feng Yiping from his older brother-in-law and asked at Liangjiahe Middle School whether such a thing had happened before.
'Classmate Yiping, do you still own the rights to the film and television adaptations of this novel?'
'Yes, I haven't transferred them to anyone else.'
'That's good. Our company's artistic director, the well-known director Zhang, is interested in adapting your novel into a movie. What do you think?'
After hearing this, there was a flurry of noise from the teachers in the corridor outside. It was true, but they were a little surprised, but not surprised, that a student's published novel could be noticed by the top director in the country.
A few leaders were also a little uneasy at this time, and they all looked at Feng Yiping with eager eyes.
'I am deeply honoured by this personally, and I have no problem with it not being substantially adapted.' This was just empty talk. He knew better than the current old scheming man what the final effect of the movie would be.
Manager Wu on the other side was a little surprised. Although Feng Yiping said he was deeply honoured, he didn't look very excited, which made him feel that the negotiations that followed might not be so easy.
Sure enough, what happened next quickly confirmed his suspicions.
Companies are all about efficiency, and especially when it comes to matters handed down by the old master, the sooner they are settled, the better. So they didn't delay and immediately entered the negotiation stage.
However, they got stuck on the copyright transfer fee. New Pictures proposed 8,000 yuan, and Feng Yiping offered 50,000 yuan. The gap was too big, and neither side would budge.
'Yiping, classmate,' Manager Wu did his best to persuade him, 'Director Zhang was also moved by the story you wrote, and wanted to do something completely new, to make a film that reflects the current situation of education in our backward areas, and hopefully draw the attention of the whole society to this issue.
Since you chose this aspect to create, didn't you also hope that this situation would change? Now there is such a better opportunity, so why not seize it? Think about those children in your pen!'
That's a good point, but Feng Yiping knew that this movie was not a charity movie. He didn't know the exact box office, but he knew that the movie had won many awards for Lao Mouzi and New Pictures at home and abroad. In the entertainment industry, fame and wealth are definitely related. Moreover, he didn't want the money for himself, and he already had plans for it.
Therefore, Feng Yiping was determined not to give in, and Manager Wu would not budge either. They went back and forth with Feng Yiping. Whenever you mentioned money, he would talk about social responsibility; whenever you talked about social responsibility, he would talk about art. In short, a company that engages in the arts is also a company, and as such, it naturally seeks to maximise profits.
After nearly an hour of arguing, the two sides still had not reached an agreement. The school leaders were experienced in handling such situations, so they said that they would let it go for now and that everyone should go and eat first!
The meal time was the time for the school leaders to mediate. The leaders had a meeting to set the tone, and then the vice principal did the work of persuading Feng Yiping, while the principal personally went to work on the film company.
'Yiping,' the vice principal said to him kindly in his office, 'what the other party is saying is not without reason. It is also a good thing to be able to arouse the attention of the whole society to the education situation in the backward areas. We also know about your family's situation, and your financial situation is quite good. So, shouldn't we not be too obsessed with these monetary gains and losses? You still have a long way to go, and there will be many opportunities to make money, but there will certainly not be many opportunities like this.'
'Principal, regarding this money, I'm not fighting for it for myself. You also know the situation of the schools in the townships below. I want to use this money to help build a heated library at my junior high school, so that everyone can see more reference books, and so that they can have a warmer place to study when it's freezing cold in winter.'
'I see,' the vice-principal was also moved by Feng Yiping's words. He was of course aware of the situation in rural schools: 99.9% of them had no libraries, and 100% of them had no heating in winter.
'Well, since you have such a pure heart at such a young age, we will definitely help you fight for it. Of course, the most important thing now is to achieve this goal. After that, we will make up the shortfall from the school's operating funds. How's that?'
'I'll listen to you, teacher.'
No matter how famous a school is, news of this kind cannot be kept secret. By noon, the news had spread, temporarily overshadowing the previous news that a third-year student with sports expertise had been admitted to a prestigious school.
Of course, when many students heard the news, their first reaction was disbelief. How could they have been chosen by Director Zhang Da? However, when they saw Feng Yiping and two people from outside the school, accompanied by the school leaders, get into the school's minibus and go out to eat, those who had doubted finally believed it.
Zheng Jiayi returned home just in time to bump into her mother, who had just returned from a business trip and was having lunch at home for the rare occasion. She mentioned it in a slightly sour tone, but Mayor Fang listened attentively.
"Yes, the school seems to be talking about holding a signing ceremony sometime soon.'
When she said this, Zheng Jiayi's tone was still a little sour, as she couldn't help it. Who at her age wouldn't be envious of such a thing?