Chapter 213: A Busy Year

Chapter 213: A Busy Year

The crew of "The Heavenly Dragon Eight Parts" has expelled the relatives of sponsors and investors!

After chasing away seven or eight individuals, only two were left!

Furthermore, there was no compensation for the contract termination, nor did any sponsors or investors complain or withdraw their funding. On the contrary, they actively submitted new character proposals for Episode 9 and Tang Fei to enrich the roles, expressing apologies for any delays in the production and sternly reminding the individuals involved to behave responsibly, focusing on their studies with humility and dedication.

In the realm of our circle, this is like a surreal fairytale, so exhilarating that it borders on the unreal, inducing a trance with its falsehood.

Is nine o'clock that impressive?

Is Tang Fei that audacious?

Her confidence is overwhelming!

Everyone sought information from those who were present that day, curious about how she managed it.

To their surprise, Tang Fei had cleverly laid a trap with just a few words, prompting the group to leave on their own, effectively terminating their agreement beforehand. When the people behind them came, neither Tang Fei nor Zhou Weichuan agreed to any terms for their return. The sponsors and investors were welcome to come if they wished, but a long queue of eager replacements lined up behind them.

The re-release of "The Eight Tracts of the Dragon" sold another ten million copies. In just a few months, it had become the second best-selling book category in the past five years, right after educational materials. It seemed very likely to surpass the boundaries of fiction, stunning the entire industry into disbelief.

The continuous investments in Wangzhuang Village led to its remarkable development. A commercial building was even constructed for Jin Guliang himself, and he also gained a statue in the village square.

"The Eight Tracts of the Dragon" was licensed at 9:00 PM, while Jin Guliang still had seven or eight books yet to be published. If all of them were at the same level as "The Eight Tracts of the Dragon," one could only imagine 9:00 PM's position in the entertainment world in the future.

Not only "The Eight Tracts of the Dragon" and all of Jin Guliang's books, but even the controversial "Journey to the West," which was released by the nephew on behalf of his uncle, had signed an exclusive contract with 9:00 PM, granting them the sole rights to represent the novel.

This was the foundation of 9:00 PM's and Tang Fei's boldness. With "The Eight Tracts of the Dragon" paving the way, they had established Jin Guliang's literary reputation and showcased 9:00 PM's capabilities in adapting and producing content. They possessed a series of major intellectual properties (IPs) and had the power to monetize them, pushing them to the pinnacle of television.

The ratings of "Psychic Frenzy" also made many novel authors realize that selling their work to 9:00 PM for adaptation was the best outcome for their creations.

9:00 PM respected original authors, delivering compelling adaptations and promptly paying royalties. Their credibility was impeccable.

They also held great respect for the works themselves, refusing to compromise on casting low-quality actors even under pressure from sponsors and investors. This unwavering commitment earned them the love of book fans, viewers, and authors alike, while generating substantial profits through TV adaptations that boosted book sales.

This mutually beneficial model propelled 9:00 PM forward. The production company, which had long enjoyed a good reputation within the industry, suddenly burst onto the scene with both commercial value and a solid reputation.

2021 marked the beginning of Time Culture's era and a turning point for 9:00 PM. From this year onwards, one of the industry's best production companies would shed the "one of" and become the outright best, without any equal.

The impact Tang Fei had on the situation was unclear to everyone, but they all knew that without her, Nine O'Clock would never have taken this path.

Behind it all, Zhou Weichuan wouldn't have pushed forward without Tang Fei's involvement; he might not have revealed his hand to Zhou Xianfeng for quite some time, thus delaying his complete control over Nine O'Clock.

Time flew by swiftly. The second season of "The Eight Trigrams of the Heavenly Dragon" was filmed within two months, and Mercury City was completed in post-production. The New Year's Day of 2022 was approaching, with the sweltering summer heat giving way to the biting winter cold.

Even before the post-production was finished, "The Eight Trigrams of the Heavenly Dragon" was being marketed to various satellite TVs for their winter vacation programming slots.

Its reputation and brand made the top-tier satellite TVs fight tooth and nail for it.

The one suffering the most was Xiangnan TV. After broadcasting "Psychic Frenzy" and "Si Cuichuan," Xiangnan TV had secured its position as the number one satellite TV of the year. However, it was surpassed by Huadong TV, which aired "The Eight Trigrams of the Heavenly Dragon" and "Happiness Hotel," due to Xiangnan TV's choice to air "Immortal Melody Six Paths" instead of "The Eight Trigrams of the Heavenly Dragon."

Huadong TV, known for not airing period dramas, unexpectedly relied on such a genre to establish itself as the top-rated TV station. Nobody could have predicted the surreal turn of events in the television industry of 2021.

Upon completion of the post-production for Mercury City, Chen Ye secured a spot during the Spring Festival season, leveraging his consecutive years of billion-yuan box office success. He was a skilled director in commercial films and didn't lack artistic pursuit, gaining recognition from critics, awards, audiences, and box office sales alike. He was undoubtedly one of the most promising and talented film directors.

Tang Fei's first foray into films saw her land the lead role in a movie directed by Chen Ye, an opportunity that left countless female stars envious.

With the Spring Festival release confirmed for New Year's Eve, Tang Fei, with one foot already in the film industry, was about to receive the highest level of cinematic treatment.

Yet, Tang's parents, who had been eagerly hoping for their daughter to return to Qindao for the New Year, had to accept the reality that Tang Fei would be attending the premiere in Mercury City and engaging with various media critics during the holiday.

Tang's father sighed, "Feifei hardly has any days off all year round. Didn't Zhou Weichuan say he likes her? Why is he letting her be so busy?"

Tang Jiao lifted her head from a pile of papers. She was preparing for the 2022 college entrance exam, exerting all her efforts to achieve good grades and not disappoint Tang Fei.

"Dad, it's not like my sister wants to be this busy. Brother He Zhou said she's like a workaholic and can't stop. He's keeping an eye on her, making sure she doesn't stay up all night and has a healthy routine. No more sleepless nights like before.

Brother-in-law can't hold her back; he just makes sure she's well taken care of, letting her do what she wants. Why do you blame Brother-in-law?"

Tang's mother rushed out of the kitchen and playfully smacked Tang Jiao's forehead. "Not even a hint of a relationship, and you're already calling him Brother-in-law. Aren't you ashamed? And you're even helping an outsider!"

Tang Jiao rubbed her forehead and pouted. "Mom, I'm just speaking the truth. My sister likes being busy, so we need to support her. Why do you expect Brother-in-law to hold her back?

It's probably the old-fashioned idea of preferring boys over girls!"

"You little girl, prefer what boys? Your dad and I only have the two of you. Where's the preference here?"

"Well, if it's not my sister's fault for focusing on her career and my brother-in-law didn't stop her, then what about when my brother-in-law is busy with his work? Will you blame my sister for not holding him back? Why is it that when my sister pursues her career, you're unhappy? I think it's great the way she is, and I want to be like that too. My classmates are so envious of how capable my sister is.

You just don't understand how cool this is."

Father and Mother Tang exchanged glances, realizing that Tang Jiao had been thoroughly influenced by Feifei's mindset.

Father Tang waved his hand. "I worry about my daughter, but since Jiaojiao puts it that way, I need to change my perspective. Jiaojiao is right – we should be her strong support, and we'll accompany her in the capital during the New Year!"

Tang Jiao exclaimed, "Yay!"