Chapter 101: Team Concept

That very night, Su Chen booked a flight from Jiangcheng to Hangcheng.

The next day, a little before eleven in the morning, Su Chen arrived on time at Xishan Airport in Hangcheng.

Ji Xiangyang had specially taken leave from the station and, together with Lu Yuanqing, gone to meet him.

“Come on, Su Chen. I’ve been waiting a long time for this drink, old brother!”

At noon, in a secluded private club by West Lake, Ji Xiangyang raised his glass in a toast to Su Chen.

He was a local of Hangcheng and had long been immersed in the circles of the business.

So it was easy for him to find a place that was both tasteful and private.

Unlike the way he chatted in the group, Ji Xiangyang in person was a rather refined man.

He wore a pair of gold-rimmed glasses and spoke with unfailing courtesy.

He gave people the impression that he was especially adept at handling affairs, the sort who could navigate any situation with ease.

Su Chen hurried to his feet, lifted his own glass, exchanged a few pleasantries with Ji Xiangyang, and then drained it in one go.

After three consecutive rounds, the two of them finally sat back down.

Seeing how Ji Xiangyang could spin out a toast so fluently, Su Chen joked half-seriously, “Brother Xiangyang, where did you learn all these formalities? Anyone who didn’t know better would think we were in the Central Plains.”

Ji Xiangyang chuckled.

“We have to do a lot of entertaining at the station. After a while, you naturally get the hang of it.”

When Lu Yuanqing saw the two of them getting into conversation, he said with mock annoyance, “All right, you two. We’re all on the same side, so there’s no need for so many rules here.

“Xiangyang has already arranged to meet with the leadership tomorrow. Today, we can drink to our hearts’ content!

“Come on, let’s all finish this together!”

After that, they passed cups and poured drinks for one another.

Only after they had finished more than half of the second bottle of liquor did the three of them finally stop.

Though they had said they would drink heartily, they would not truly drink themselves into a stupor.

There were still matters to discuss today.

“Su Chen, how do you plan to arrange this?”

Although Lu Yuanqing was the one connecting all the resources, in the end this matter still revolved around Su Chen.

Exactly how the plan should be carried out still needed Su Chen to set the outline.

Hearing this, Su Chen set down his chopsticks.

“Brother Qing, Brother Xiangyang, I’m planning to set up a company to push this project forward.

“The program will be handled entirely in-house, from planning to recording.

“As for South Zhejiang Satellite TV, they’ll simply serve as our distribution channel.

“What do you think?”

The two of them were both a little surprised when they heard that.

“Oh? Do it ourselves?”

“Recording a program isn’t that simple. We don’t even have a professional team yet!”

Lu Yuanqing frowned.

He had originally assumed Su Chen would only act as the project planner and work with South Zhejiang Satellite TV.

All he needed to do was make the introductions.

He had not expected Su Chen’s ambitions to be so great, wanting to take charge of the entire planning and production process himself.

But even with his own connections, he could not find a suitable recording team at the moment.

No matter how good the plan was, without people to execute it, it was all useless.

“The team can be figured out later,” Su Chen said.

“But this program must be in our own hands.”

Seeing Lu Yuanqing and Ji Xiangyang blink at him, waiting for his explanation, Su Chen kept them in suspense.

“What do you think of the quality of a variety show like Great Voices of China?”

Lu Yuanqing thought for a moment.

“A phenomenon-level hit.”

Ji Xiangyang nodded beside him as well.

He felt that assessment was not the least bit exaggerated.

“Just as you said, it’s a phenomenon-level entertainment variety show. If it airs smoothly, it will certainly cause a huge stir.

“Right now, the other television stations have been suppressed by Mango TV for many years. If this program blows up, they’ll surely ride the wave and spark another boom in entertainment variety shows.

“At that point, we may well be able to rely on this show to face their challenges without fear, and even produce a second season and a third.

“But what about after that?

“Once a program loses its freshness, the audience will abandon it immediately.”

Lu Yuanqing and Ji Xiangyang fell silent after hearing Su Chen’s analysis.

Though they had never produced a show before, they understood this much.

They knew everything Su Chen said was right.

“By then, South Zhejiang Satellite TV may become famous, but once the show is over, what will we have gained?”

“Other than money, nothing at all!”

“If we want to launch a new program later, we’ll have to go find another television station to cooperate with again!”

“That kind of cycle just ends up making things easier for someone else!”

Hm?

As they listened, Lu Yuanqing and Ji Xiangyang began to sense that something was off.

“You still have more programs?”

Su Chen smiled faintly and pointed to his own head.

“Here. Plenty of them.”

After a pause, he suddenly felt playful and added, “All at roughly the same level as Great Voices of China!”

This...

The moment they heard Su Chen’s words, the two of them were stunned again.

Why did everything become so simple whenever it came to Su Chen?

After a long while, the two of them finally came back to themselves and looked at Su Chen with complicated expressions.

What a monster.

“So what I want is a team that can plan, can record, and can independently complete an entire variety show.”

“That way, we’ll be constrained less by others in the future, and we’ll have much more room to do things freely.”

Su Chen smiled at their reactions, and at last stated his purpose.

Mm...

If that was the case, then it did not seem impossible.

But the recording team remained a problem for now.

Lu Yuanqing and Ji Xiangyang thought silently.

“Brother Xiangyang, does your station have any program teams that are relatively free?”

Ji Xiangyang was slightly taken aback at Su Chen’s question.

“Relatively free? I don’t think so.”

He stroked his chin, deep in thought.

Seeing this, Su Chen was a little disappointed.

Just as he was about to say something else, Ji Xiangyang’s eyes suddenly lit up.

“Oh? I suddenly remembered one. It actually seems quite suitable!”

“But I’m not sure whether they have anything to do right now.”

“You mean...”

“But I don’t have the authority to allocate resources. We’d still have to discuss the specifics with the station.”

Hearing that, Su Chen was overjoyed.

He did not ask what kind of team it was, and he did not care about the second half of Ji Xiangyang’s words.

“That’s great. As long as there is one!”

“We can discuss the details together tomorrow when we meet!”

After that, the few of them continued discussing the finer points, and the outline of the plan gradually became clear.

Seeing that the project had finally begun to take shape, all three of them were in noticeably higher spirits.

“As for the company’s shares, I should confirm that with you too.”

“I’m thinking of dividing it like this: the overall project proposal takes fifty percent of the shares.

“Brother Qing and Brother Xiangyang, the two of you contribute resources as investors, one tenth each. The remaining thirty percent will be divided according to the amount invested. How does that sound?”

Toward the end of the discussion, Su Chen brought up the issue of equity.

After quietly calculating the distribution plan, Lu Yuanqing felt there was nothing wrong with it and nodded.

“I think it’s quite reasonable.”

But Ji Xiangyang, sitting beside him, was somewhat moved.

“Su Chen, this...”

“I’m taking shares too? That doesn’t feel quite right.”

He had come with the intention of helping out, never expecting that Su Chen would count him in as well.

This sent his emotions surging.

He understood the weight of this variety show all too well.

For Su Chen and Lu Yuanqing to do this was no different from giving him money for nothing.

“All right. You’ve helped a lot in the middle of all this, and there will definitely be more places where we need your help later. Giving you one tenth isn’t too much.”

Without much further wrangling, Lu Yuanqing made the final decision.

Seeing that, Ji Xiangyang said nothing more.

He simply lifted his glass, toasted the two of them, and emptied it in one gulp.

A flush spread across his face.

Whether it was from drinking too fast or from the excitement of what had just happened, no one could tell.

“Then let’s leave it at that for now. As for the remaining thirty percent, we’ll divide it according to investment.

“Do either of you want in?

“If not, I’ll take it all myself!”

At those words, Lu Yuanqing immediately grew anxious.