My capital is quite large.

Chapter 296 The Dawn of Web Series

Bai Baihe's incident was like pressing the on/off switch for something.

Before March even arrived, Li Moufeng, a top male celebrity heavily promoted by Tencent Entertainment, crashed his Lamborghini into a pier of the Yanjing Bridge late at night.

Without taking any action at the scene, he chose to abandon the vehicle and leave.

Although his team tried their best to cover it up afterward, the traffic management department still determined that he had committed a hit-and-run and imposed a heavy penalty of 2000 yuan and 24 demerit points.

A wave of unrest, a wave of up again.

The storm of the escape hadn't even died down when the man was exposed on Weibo for a shocking hookup scandal.

Various chat screenshots, audio recordings, and private photos spread like wildfire, shattering his image as a pure and innocent prince that he had marketed for years.

To make matters worse, at the subsequent wedding of a male celebrity who had been married into a family, public outrage quickly spread due to the vulgar behavior of "harassing the bridesmaids."

Han Geng, another male celebrity deeply associated with Tencent, was thrust into the spotlight due to his involvement.

Angry netizens followed the clues and even dug up all his absurd and dark history, such as stealing computers during his early university years.

Tencent's PR department was almost completely stunned.

In just one month, the "ancestors" they had spent a lot of money to worship and prepare for their future success in the entertainment industry were all implicated in scandals!

Although none of these issues involve major principles, the negative public opinion is not enough to warrant their ban.

However, the series of scandals taught the fledgling Tencent Entertainment Group a harsh lesson.

At this moment, Tencent's public relations department was silently praying that no more of its "ancestors" would get into trouble, while simultaneously launching a high-intensity public relations campaign to clear up the mess.

The only consolation is that, in this battle of public opinion, its arch-rival Haofeng Network has not completely blocked its path.

As long as Tencent's PR department is willing to spend the money, Haofeng's Weibo team will still be happy to sell them trending topics and comment control entries at high prices.

After all, Tencent holds a 5% stake in Weibo in the secondary market. Li Feng has no reason not to take advantage of this free ride.

……

Unlike Tencent's chaotic situation, Jinling-based Haofeng Film & Television has witnessed a full-scale explosion of self-produced content this spring.

First, there's the period drama they filmed at the beginning of the year, "The Young Marshal," despite facing extremely high policy and public opinion risks!

When this project was first initiated, there was a great deal of opposition within the film and television department.

Because of his previous extramarital affair, the male lead, Wen Zhang, is almost infamous in the industry, and now everyone avoids him like the plague.

The reason why Lao Han gritted his teeth and signed the script was entirely because the film was backed by the long-established state-owned film studio, Changchun Film Studio.

As a company based in the province, Haofeng cannot afford to disregard the established film studio and the local government.

At the time, Lao Han was even mentally prepared to lose money and be criticized by the boss, Li Feng.

Unexpectedly, after its exclusive broadcast on Liangjiang TV and iQiyi, the show became a hit at the beginning of the year, thanks to its extremely high quality and the superb acting skills of the supporting actor Xue Jian.

Haofeng Film & Television's 30% investment share unexpectedly yielded extremely high profit returns!

Not only did "Young Marshal" make a fortune, but the next low-budget self-produced web series became as inexplicably popular as "Go Princess Go" last year!

The police and gangster web series "Yu Zui," starring Zhang Ershan, a child star who had been out of the spotlight for many years, and featuring a strong roguish vibe, saw its viewership explode after it was released on iQiyi!

What Lao Han found most unbelievable was that when the project was first started, they just casually invested a small amount of money with the mentality of "finding a bargain on Taobao," and didn't even sign a full contract with the lead actors.

As a result, this web series, which didn't require much effort to produce, surpassed all the satellite TV dramas airing at the same time in terms of viewership!

In addition, there's the self-produced web series "Soul Ferry," which was also a huge hit on iQiyi...

In his quarterly summary to Li Feng, Lao Han, for the first time, categorized "self-produced web dramas" as a separate category.

He had already made his plans in mind, preparing to increase the marketing budget for his upcoming self-produced web series "Forensic Doctor Qin Ming" by two orders of magnitude in the next quarter!

"Web series are a really promising area!"

Seeing the string of scandals involving Tencent's artists, while his own projects kept failing no matter how he invested, Lao Han couldn't help but sigh:

"There's a real element of mystical mystery to fortune in the business world!"

......

Jinling, top floor of Haofeng Group headquarters building.

The phenomenal success of "Young Marshal" in both critical acclaim and viewership, along with the outstanding performance of "Yu Zui" and "Soul Ferry" on online streaming platforms, has resulted in a very impressive financial report for the film and television department.

"Notify the finance department to restore the film and television department's second-quarter budget," Li Feng instructed Zhang Yuxi, who was in his arms, after reviewing the film and television department's mid-quarter summary report.

Although the film and television department was severely punished recently due to the Weibo Night ticket controversy, Li Feng has always been known for his clear distinction between rewards and punishments.

Since Lao Han has made a great contribution, he naturally won't continue to hold the other party back on the budget.

"Old Han is quite capable, but he's not strict with his subordinates," Li Feng remarked unconsciously.

Hearing the boss's sigh, Xiao Zhang, who was acting as the kneading toy, said something nice for Lao Han:

"Boss, actually, Director Han has his own difficulties. There are many people and complicated relationships in the company, so it's true that he often has a hard time, after all, that person is..."

Listening to Xiao Zhang's hesitant words, Li Feng knew perfectly well that she was referring to the trouble caused by Bai Lu giving preferential treatment to his relatives.

In ancient times, the interference of maternal relatives in politics was a major taboo that threatened the foundation of the state.

This kind of behavior—using nepotism to embezzle and profit from others—is a red line that Li Feng absolutely cannot tolerate.

"snort."

Li Feng snorted coldly, a hint of disdain flashing in his eyes. "In the end, it's because they haven't read enough books. Without some culture, their vision is narrow, so naturally they can't do anything smart."

"Pass down my message: have the film and television department issue a new regulation!"

"From today onwards, all artists signed by Haofeng Film & Television must have at least a bachelor's degree!"

"As for the artists already signed with the company who graduated from junior college or art vocational school... every single one of them, if they don't want to be sidelined by the company, they all need to go and get a bachelor's degree!"

Are they forcing all female celebrities in the entertainment industry to take the college entrance exam to upgrade their academic qualifications?!

Upon hearing this peculiar new rule, Zhang Yuxi's mouth gaped slightly, her face filled with astonishment, but she didn't dare to slow down her movements, quickly and obediently bowing her head in agreement:

"Yes, boss. I'll inform Lao Han first thing tomorrow morning and have him communicate with the artists."

After explaining her work, Zhang Yuxi blushed, her eyes glistening with gentle tears, and boldly asked, "What do you mean?"

"Boss... it's getting late. Should we arrange for Song Qian and Zhu Xudan to wait at the manor again tonight?"

Upon hearing those two names, Li Feng paused slightly in his movements.

Ever since Bai Lu caused trouble, that Lianliankan (a matching game) combination hasn't been selected for almost a month.

On the contrary, Song Qian and Zhu Xudan, the two scapegoats who were branded with private seals, have been dragged to the manor by him to vent their anger quite often recently.

But after eating it for a month straight, no matter how varied the dishes are, it's hard not to get a little tired of it.

Li Feng stopped what he was doing and asked, "Among the girls Tang Yan brought last time... was one of them named Meng something?"

Zhang Yuxi, quick-witted as ever, hurriedly added considerately, "Boss, it's Meng Ziyi."

"Yes, it's her." Li Feng said, slowly withdrawing his hand.

"Have Zhong Chuxi bring her along when he comes."

Xiao Zhang's delicate body trembled slightly as she responded softly and attentively wiped the boss's clothes.