Investment Cashback, Billionaire God [Quick Transmigration] - Chapter 13: Entering the Short Drama Industry

Chapter 13: Entering the Short Drama Industry

Deng Jiaqiang had never fought a battle with such abundant resources. For the first time, he experienced the feeling of having so much money that he didn’t even know where to spend it it was absolutely exhilarating.

Rubbing his hands together, Deng Jiaqiang chuckled happily a few times: “Then we don’t need to plan. Just spend it, spend it freely. We’ll hire the most famous director, find the best locations, and use the most expensive special effects company!”

Meanwhile, A Little Bit was still anxiously hopping around: [Host, there are only eight days left until we have to start repaying the loan. What if the short drama investment ends up losing money?]

Fang Zhuo was unconcerned: [What’s the point of having money if you don’t use it? Let it grow mold? Or are you expecting this money to stay in the system balance and lay two golden eggs for me?]

A Little Bit: […QAQ, host, be careful not to poison yourself when you lick your lips]

The production cycle for a modern short drama typically maxes out at one week. With the advanced technology here, eight days would be enough for this drama to go from preparation to release.

Their most urgent task now was to contact a director who came with a complete filming crew.

Fang Zhuo called Jiang Yu over: “According to the entertainment industry certification rankings, compile a list of all directors who are available recently and send it to me.”

Fresh from receiving her bonus, Jiang Yu was full of motivation: “Yes, Director Fang. I’ll send the list to your email by 10 AM tomorrow.”

Approaching noon, a low-budget art film from the previous century was playing in a dim home theater. The cabinet beneath the cinema-grade screen was packed with old-fashioned movie discs.

Not many people collected physical discs in this era, and Zhang Kaigang happened to be one of them.

He had been famous for nearly thirty years and was unquestionably a master-level director at the pinnacle of the pyramid.

“Honey, there’s someone outside from Giant Entertainment who says he’s a board member here to see you. He just sent me a script.”

Giant Entertainment? Zhang Kaigang had heard of that entertainment company it seemed to be a newly established small company, but its owner was astonishingly wealthy and had recently sparked significant discussion on StarNet.

His interest was immediately piqued. He stood up and turned off the currently playing movie, but frowned the moment he saw the script’s title.

“Fifteen-Year-Old Great-Grandmother Arrives, All Descendants of the Immortal Sect Kneel Before Me?”

Maybe it’s just a vulgar title, and the content might still have some merit, he consoled himself, and continued reading.

The structure of this script was very different from traditional TV dramas. Each episode contained only about a thousand words of text, but the cliffhangers at the end of each episode were extremely gripping.

The female lead in the script, Ling Che, was a talented female cultivator from the Harmony Sect. A scheming younger junior brother was hopelessly in love with her, a sinister Demon Lord coveted her madly, and even the Emotionless Sword Sovereign secretly created opportunities to meet her her charm attributes were maxed out.

After raising a child with the Sword Sovereign, Ling Che encountered an accident in a secret realm and transmigrated, becoming a fifteen-year-old outer sect cleaning disciple with the same name a thousand years later.

The beginning of the script was incredibly frustrating. After transmigrating, she was severely humiliated by other outer sect disciples, bullied as trash by her own great-grandson, and had her hair pulled while being violently slapped by the evil antagonist.

The male antagonist falsely accused her of stealing his spirit stones and brutally crushed her fingers with a wooden clamp.

As the fingers are connected to the heart, Ling Che was in so much pain that she broke out in a cold sweat and her lips turned pale.

Ling Che’s son had now become the foremost figure in the Immortal Sect, but he lay severely injured and unconscious within the barrier. She rushed over and used her heart’s blood to nourish his recovery.

After emerging from the barrier, she lingered beneath a tree by the entrance, secretly weeping, only to be discovered by a drunken gatekeeper. Several servants, in a drunken frenzy, violently kicked her multiple times. Weak and frail, Ling Che spat blood and collapsed to her knees outside the gate.

Zhang Kaigang rubbed his eyes, feeling a headache coming on as he watched.

The title promised all the juniors of the Immortal Sect would kneel, yet in the first ten episodes, the female lead endured nothing but humiliation and beatings.

How could even lowly servants dare to insult her so brazenly? When would she finally reveal her identity and turn the tables?

Eagerly, he flipped to the next page inside the barrier, on the cold jade bed, Ling Che’s son’s eyelids twitched slightly. After a full century of coma, he finally awoke. Excitedly, he summoned the servants, asking who had fed him the heart’s blood that shared his lineage. The servants stammered, unable to describe her clearly.

Zhang Kaigang was so anxious he wanted to shout the answer himself.

…He wished he could burst into the script, grab the protagonist by the ear, and yell, “If you don’t go out and look now, your mother will be beaten to death by your own servants!”

Ling Che’s son strode down from the jade platform, his hand resting on the doorframe, about to push it open and see the mother he hadn’t laid eyes on for a thousand years

The document abruptly ended there, with only the first ten episodes’ script sent from the other side.

“Why does it stop here? What about the rest of the plot?”

Zhang Kaigang’s wife leaned in beside him in front of the Light Brain, anxiously pinching his arm:

“Go out right now and meet that Giant Entertainment boss. You must get the rest of the script for me, no matter what. Otherwise, I’ll be too furious to sleep tonight. How cunning to cut it off at this point.”

Skipping the external dinner appointment, the two met simply in Zhang Kaigang’s home reception room.

To his surprise, the boss of Giant Entertainment was quite young, with a height and appearance rivaling current top celebrities.

“Teacher Zhang, hello. I greatly admire your previous directorial works, so I’ll get straight to the point. Our short drama has two-minute episodes, ninety episodes in total. May I ask what the approximate total package quote from you and your team would be?”

Zhang Kaigang hesitated.

He had a dedicated art and cinematography team, and his current commercial quote for directing a film was forty-eight million.

A film required at least three months to shoot, while this simple short drama could probably be completed in under a week. Based on duration, quoting around six million seemed appropriate.

But the key point was that he had long focused on the film industry, having not directed TV dramas for years, let alone such simplistic short dramas that would diminish his prestige.

He couldn’t risk his hard-earned reputation for quick money and had already decided to decline.

He shook his head: “Sorry, I think the pacing of this script is good, but…”

Fang Zhuo timely interrupted his refusal: “How about eighty million in total?”

How much? Eighty million?

Zhang Kaigang almost thought he misheard. For such a simple script that could be shot in a week, the other party was offering him eighty million? This wasn’t just quick money it was like lying back and catching cash falling from the sky.

He even suspected the other party might be money laundering in the entertainment industry.

But then again, Zhang Kaigang believed that if they could offer him such a high price, the production’s other resources would surely be top-tier as well.
This short drama format is quite novel in the entertainment industry. Although the script has a somewhat rustic charm, it’s exceptionally addictive. Taking an occasional break from his usual work to dabble in this shouldn’t jeopardize his hard-earned reputation.

He retracted his earlier apology and shifted his tone with a smile: “The pacing of this script is excellent, and I’m very much looking forward to collaborating with your company. When do we start filming?”

Fang Zhuo wasn’t surprised by Zhang Kaigang’s reaction. Before coming, he had thoroughly researched the average compensation of famous directors in the Star Federation.

Perhaps due to the unique and fluid director ranking system here, even long-established top directors earned no more than 1.8 million per episode for television dramas. For longer series with six-month filming schedules, the total package only reached 60-70 million. Fang Zhuo was confident his offer would satisfy the other party.

After all, even artists need to make a living.

Money is the most irresistible thing in the world. If someone truly rejects it, it simply means the amount wasn’t enough.

Fang Zhuo produced the pre-prepared contract: “We’ll officially start filming tomorrow morning. I’ll send you the location then.”

After receiving the contract confirmation, Fang Zhuo immediately rushed to the most expensive of the three filming planets Jiang Yu had recommended to inspect potential shooting locations.

Over a dozen film bases on Star 45 had already produced hundreds of Xianxia-themed works. The planet’s surface was shrouded in thick white mist, with pavilions and towers constructed within, appearing to naturally float among the clouds.

He piloted his spaceship around the entire Star 45, able to view the planet’s full panorama through the spacecraft’s windows.

Beyond the towers and pavilions were mist-shrouded reverse-flowing waterfalls and emerald green mountain ranges. The scenery almost perfectly matched the immortal sect descriptions found in novels.

The landscape was indeed suitable, which explained why Star 45 had become the universal choice for all S+ Xianxia productions.

A local agent was already waiting at the docking port, enthusiastically listing the advantages:

“Star 45 boasts the most mature filming bases in the entire Star Federation, with fifteen large-scale ancient-style architectural complexes.”

“We renovate the appearance and details of the buildings every quarter to ensure each production achieves unique visual effects.”

“You’ve come at the perfect time. We’ve just completed this quarter’s renovations for all complexes. All fifteen bases are currently available. Let me first show you the largest one.”

Having already surveyed the area from the air during his approach, Fang Zhuo directly declined the tour: “No need, that’s fine. What are your weekly rental rates?”

His response momentarily stunned the agent. The woman probably thought the deal was falling through, pausing for two seconds before answering:

“Daily rates vary between film bases. The largest venue costs 190,000 per day, while the smallest base is 80,000 daily. Renting for a week or longer includes complimentary shooting of mountain and lake scenery.”

“What about renting the entire Star 45 for a week?”

The agent’s jaw dropped. She never expected to encounter a tycoon wanting to rent the entire planet. Recovering from her shock, she quickly pulled up the calculator on her Light Brain:

“That would total 16.8 million. I can apply for a 5% discount, bringing your total to 15.96 million.”

“Should you encounter any issues during filming, feel free to contact our staff. We provide 24/7 security, medical, and script supervision teams.”
Fang Zhuo nodded and immediately paid the deposit after signing the contract.

The agent was thrilled to have landed such a large order right after starting work in the afternoon the commission from this deal would be enough for her to lounge around for a whole month. She covered her mouth and hopped lightly in place.

Is this what the wealthy channel is like so carefree?

This was over ten million yuan, spent without even batting an eye.

Before seeing the client off onto the spaceship, she couldn’t help but ask curiously, “Boss, what kind of drama are you filming that requires such a large shooting location? Is it a theatrical release film?”

“No, it’s a short drama.”

She silently mulled over the term “short drama” in her mind no matter how she thought about it, this format didn’t seem to demand higher requirements than a film.

Oh well, once they started filming, she would definitely go and observe how a short drama was actually made.

After settling the two major expenses the filming crew and the location the total cost still came to less than 100 million yuan. There was plenty of budget left for platform promotion and post-production special effects.

When the art team sent over three finalized versions of the costume designs, Fang Zhuo didn’t directly choose the most expensive one. Instead, he sent a message:

[Are there any props and costumes with better texture?]

The costume designer thought he was criticizing the design proposals and first sent a panicked emoji. After realizing the situation, they quickly added:

[Director Fang, yes, yes! We can also purchase hand-embroidered outfits. The swords and fans for the main characters can be replaced with pieces handmade by intangible cultural heritage masters. It’s just that the price would be a bit higher a single set of clothing alone would cost over 200,000 yuan… Even movies don’t use such high-quality fabrics and craftsmanship nowadays.]

Fang Zhuo’s reply was brief: [Buy them. The budget has no upper limit.]

The costume designer swiftly sent a tacky heart-hand gesture emoji: [Thank you, Director Fang! You’re the most generous client I’ve ever met!]

The next morning at 9:30, Giant Entertainment’s official account officially announced the crew lineup for this short drama. As soon as the post went live, it stirred up a storm, unsurprisingly sparking widespread controversy and skepticism.

[Short drama? Is it like an animated series with episodes around ten minutes long? Never seen this kind before… Sounds like it could be done with just 10 million in budget.]

[Didn’t Giant Entertainment claim to have ample funds? And this is the kind of stale, low-quality project they’re giving their top actress?]

[I say, Giant Entertainment stans should save their breath. Spending peanuts to act rich has really fooled you all. Wait till you’re old they’ll be selling you health supplements one by one.]

[They probably can’t even be bothered to spend a million. That so-called expensive group broadcast studio last time was most likely borrowed. This is definitely another cheap, poorly made drama with tacky special effects.]

[So it’s just another fly-by-night operation. Everyone, just move along.]

[Giant Entertainment stans, still barking? A company that’s been around for less than two weeks has people hyping it up? It’s as amateur as it gets all the money goes into marketing.]

[I’ve stayed neutral since the feud between Qiao, the copycat from their company, and goddess Yingying. Now the boomerang has hit your beloved Sister Tong finally feeling the pain, huh?]

[…? Wait, did no one see Zhang Kaigang’s name in the director’s column? He hasn’t worked on regular TV dramas for years. How did Giant Entertainment manage to get this legendary figure to come down to earth?]

[“Must be someone with the same name. If it were really Zhang Kaigang, they’d be boasting to high heaven. That company is so good at marketing and hype, just fooling casual fans like you.”]

[“Heehee, usually it’s all ‘Brother Fang this, Brother Fang that’ how come no one’s kissing up now? Your Brother Fang’s wallet probably isn’t much fatter than yours. Try saying again that he’s here to do charity in the entertainment industry.”]

This post unsurprisingly sparked another heated debate on the trending list. This time, they didn’t even spend money on promotion, yet it stayed at the top of the trends for hours.

By 9 PM, when the topic’s ranking finally began to drop, Giant Entertainment’s official account posted a second update

No caption, just a single on-set photo of Tong Qinglu.

Author’s Note:

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