Chapter 731: Let's Make a Short Series
The run of "Mu Guiying" concluded.
The audience was utterly mesmerized. This new art form proved a revelation for all the dignitaries present, making their ticket purchase truly worthwhile.
Upon returning home, the influential figures began vigorously promoting it.
And movies, by their nature, rely on word-of-mouth to secure future box office success. Good reviews naturally lead to steadily rising ticket sales.
The relatives and friends of the dignitaries came to see it, and from there, its popularity began to spread to ordinary wealthy households. Soon, even the more affluent workers from the Gao Family Village factories started coming to watch.
Since Puzhou City had been developed as a cluster of "satellite villages and towns."
Many factories were a good ten to twenty li distant from the main urban area, so numerous workers would take public buses into the prefectural city after their shifts to watch "Mu Guiying."
This arrangement meant that the prefectural city, after dusk, became incredibly bustling.
The street in front of the Puzhou Grand Theater, in particular, was absolutely booming with commerce.
Potato chips, snow crackers, chocolates, jellies...
Even Li Daoxuan was dumbfounded watching this!
How had this street transformed into something resembling a vibrant, historic market from a later era?
People spent money on this street without a moment's hesitation.
This was, of course, a very good thing.
It was stimulating the economy!
And it was something Li Daoxuan was more than pleased to witness.
At that moment, outside the box, he was having a meal. Today, he'd ordered some Cantonese rice noodle rolls; an occasional shift to a lighter flavor was needed, as one couldn't always eat spicy food.
While he ate, his messaging app group began to flash.
It turned out to be a university alumni chat group, a quiet space that had been dormant for a long time, now suddenly active.
“Hey everyone, how's it going? This short-form series trend is really hot right now! Our class was all about design, so some of you must be into short series too, right? Come check out the one I made and give me some advice, some feedback.”
A video followed.
Li Daoxuan was eating anyway and had some free time, so he clicked on the video with his mouse and opened it...
One look, and he nearly burst out laughing. It was one of those online "underdog billionaire" short series. It told the story of a dirt-poor, plain-looking woman in her early thirties who got a job at a company and was bullied by her department manager.
Just as she was at her most miserable, the company's young, wealthy, second-generation chairman suddenly fell in love with her, simply because she'd talked back to him a couple of times in the elevator. Then, the chairman performed all sorts of elaborate displays, helping the protagonist achieve an epic comeback, humiliating the department manager until he practically begged for mercy.
As soon as the video was posted, the already quiet group became even quieter.
The entire group of classmates was speechless.
Li Daoxuan, bored anyway, decided to chime in: “Hey old friend, that's really well shot, awesome! This film is definitely going to be a hit.”
The moment he said that, the group chat sprang to life.
QueenOfAThousandFaces_M: “Xuanzi, you're just flattering him against your conscience, aren't you?”
LoneGooseWanderer: “Xuanzi, you just couldn't bear to crush his fragile spirit, could you? That short series is so cliched, a trope from Korean dramas twenty years ago. It's definitely going to flop.”
Ji Menghan: “Xuanzi, don't tell me you invested in this short series?”
Li Daoxuan had only meant to send a polite reply, unaware it would provoke such a strong reaction. Feeling a little awkward, he quickly typed: “No, no, I didn't invest. I was just following the guiding principle of 'mutual encouragement for collective improvement,' just a casual remark, don't read too much into it.”
LoneGooseWanderer: “That's more like it. I thought you'd lost your mind! If it was just a casual post, then I understand.”
QueenOfAThousandFaces_M: “By the way, Xuanzi, what have you been up to these past few years?”
Li Daoxuan thought to himself: *I can't exactly tell them I've been a stay-at-home guy for years, making money from micro-sculptures and short videos inside a box, can I? How should I answer my old classmates?*
An idea struck him!
Li Daoxuan uploaded his crudely made, "five-mao special effects" version of "Mu Guiying" to the group. “I'm making a short series too; everyone, take a look and give me some feedback.”
The moment his video was uploaded into the group, instantly...
The entire group fell into a dead silence.
Only the guy who'd posted his short series earlier replied: “Xuanzi, your short series is really well shot, I think it's definitely going to be a huge hit.”
Everyone else: “Holy cow, you two really *are* just flattering each other, aren't you?”
Ji Menghan: “Let's be real, Xuanzi, your special effects are so 'five-mao,' or rather, 'five-mao' is too generous; I'd give them 'four-mao' at best.”
LoneGooseWanderer: “Don't be mad, Xuanzi, but your special effects really are terrible. This series definitely won't be a hit, it's doomed to fail.”
QueenOfAThousandFaces_M: “While the special effects are abysmal and the acting is awkward, this film isn't entirely without merit. Everyone, look closely: the martial arts scenes in this film are incredibly realistic, and the fight choreography is absolutely first-rate.”
At his suggestion, everyone dragged the progress bar to the crucial scenes of the major battle. They ignored Mu Guiying's terrible acting and highly unprofessional combat moves, focusing instead on the fantastic battles between the common soldiers.
The attack formations, the tactical maneuvers—the sheer professional skill!
The desperate struggle for survival, the indomitable spirit!
QueenOfAThousandFaces_M: “Xuanzi, I'm really impressed with your fight choreography. How about we collaborate?”
Li Daoxuan: “Oh? How would we collaborate?”
QueenOfAThousandFaces_M: “Give me the raw video footage. I'll edit it and add special effects. I'll cut out all your awkward dramatic scenes, reduce the female lead's screen time, and re-edit this into an ultra-short combat series, one minute per episode, marketing it solely on the fight scenes.”
Li Daoxuan: “Can that actually make money?”
QueenOfAThousandFaces_M: “Absolutely! And I'm not just flattering you, I'm being objective: once you cut out the main actors and just watch the extras fighting, it's world-class. No need for more talk. You invested in actors and filming equipment, a big investment. I'm just putting in a computer and my labor, so if we make money, you get eighty percent, I get twenty. Deal or no deal?”
Li Daoxuan: “Deal!”
They immediately drafted a contract. Signing electronic contracts online was easy enough these days, and in less than half an hour, they had signed a simple agreement, outlining the work, and the profit-sharing ratio.
Li Daoxuan selected some videos that “didn't obviously look like they were filmed inside the box,” appearing like normal recordings, and sent them to QueenOfAThousandFaces_M.
QueenOfAThousandFaces_M immediately went to work, processing the footage through the night!
She was even quicker on her feet. The very next morning, while Li Daoxuan was still deciding where he'd “Co-sense” and explore that day, a message from QueenOfAThousandFaces_M popped up: “The first episode of the short series is already uploaded to the short series app.”
Li Daoxuan downloaded the short series app and opened it. Tsk, QueenOfAThousandFaces_M's account indeed already had the first episode uploaded, but the click count was sparse... Looks like it's going to flop, he thought.
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