Chapter 779 - 769: Buying In

Chapter 779: Chapter 769: Buying In

"Little brother~~~"

"What is it? Just say it, don’t sweet-talk me!"

"Come on, this just shows how close we are as siblings!"

"I’m not going to debut, nor will I act. I’m not an actor, so don’t even think about pairing me up, thank you!"

"You’re being distant. Helping me is like helping yourself!"

"It’s not about being distant, it’s just that we’re not that close. Stop trying to get chummy with me, I’m not becoming an actor. It’s too much trouble, being busy for months. I’m not stupid!"

Tang Nan only has to move a little, and he knows exactly what she’s up to. Isn’t she just eyeing him? If he agrees to take on the male lead role, the buzz will follow. Even though he’s just a web celebrity with millions of followers, if he acts alongside Tang Nan, it would still lower Tang Nan’s status, so he would benefit.

But Su Qing is already a criminal investigation consultant for the Jiang City police. With this status, he could perform as himself, minimizing the impact. It could even become a promotional point.

The most important thing is, if he agrees, he’s sure Tang Nan won’t pay him any salary. On the contrary, she might even make him put money into the production.

Of course, he doesn’t care about the pay; he simply doesn’t want to debut. He’s not an actor, and once filming starts, it takes months. He doesn’t have the time for that.

Tang Nan suggesting he randomly debut is not something he hasn’t heard before. How could he not know?

But the development of the situation surprised him.

"Who asked you to act? Though I haven’t taken many roles in the past two years, I still have friends. It’s not a problem to find some acquaintances to make a cameo or participate."

"Then you..."

Before he could finish, Tang Nan stretched her pale hand towards him: "Give me money!"

"What money?"

"Investment money, of course!"

"I didn’t invest, why should I give money?"

As he spoke, Su Qing slapped Tang Nan’s palm.

"You didn’t have to before, but now you owe me hospital fees. Otherwise, tonight I’ll go crash at Shen Yi’s place, ohhh my elbows, ohhh my pelvis, ohhh my lumbar disc."

Looking at her posing, one might mistake her for modeling in front of a camera. She had her butt stuck high in the air, one hand on her hip, claiming it was her lumbar disc. Whose lumbar disc is located on their butt?

Seeing this, Su Qing covered his forehead and asked, "What do you really want?"

"You need to invest, or I won’t feel reassured!"

"Invest? Invest in what?"

"I’m investing in this project. You chip in ten percent. It’ll put my mind at ease. How about that?"

"Invest my ass, no thanks!"

"Would you rather invest in my ass?"

Su Qing: "Cough cough cough..."

What kind of wild suggestion is this? Even if your ass is curvy, I’m not a dog that jumps at every bone. Clearly, she lacks confidence and wants to pull me into her plan, both to hedge risks and to have me on board. After all, Tang Nan has witnessed my extraordinary journey, making her oddly confident in me.

Meanwhile, Liao Dong and Xie Xiaoshan kept their eyes and ears to themselves, pretending not to hear anything. They were there to secure investments, not to listen to gossip.

In the end, Su Qing reluctantly agreed. Investing ten percent wasn’t much for him, just a few million, and it would give Tang Nan peace of mind not to bother him, avoiding needless arguments.

"Director Liao, if the funds are ready, how soon can you put together the production team?"

Faced with Su Qing’s question, Liao Dong knew well the weight of the person standing before him. Although Tang Nan was the investor, the real decision-maker was this man.

After pondering the question, Liao Dong replied, "One month. In one month, I can pull together a production team. I do know some people. However, there are two difficulties: one is the filming location, and the other is the cast, which might take time..."

The production team was easy to assemble with money. Over the years, Liao Dong, though a small-time director, had come to know many people in various positions within the production crew. If all else failed, he could always rely on acquaintances; who wouldn’t want to make money?

But the filming location and cast were another story. The former had to be found per the script’s requirements, and the latter was even trickier, as not every actor was suitable.

Hearing this, Su Qing nodded, exchanged a glance with Tang Nan, and continued,

"Let’s do it this way. You first get the production team together. As for the other two issues, we’ll take our time. President Tang will help you by introducing people. As the director, you just need to screen them."

Securing a production team would take some time for Liao Dong. During this period, Tang Nan could reach out to her contacts in the entertainment industry and stop by the Jiang City police department for some life experience, hoping for some assistance.

If everything went smoothly, the problems with the actors, filming location, and production team could be resolved in about a month, which seemed like a promising plan.

Finally, after all three parties signed the contract, Su Qing and Tang Nan agreed with Liao Dong on having only the two families as investors. The initial investment was set at 20 million, with Tang Nan taking on a starring role. If more investment was required, they could always add more, resolving financial issues.

Since there were only two investors and Su Qing had a mere ten percent stake, it was equivalent to Tang Nan funding her own web series, boosting her fame and forgoing the paycheck.

This was unlike "Wandering Earth," a big production involving billions with multiple investors, requiring the inclusion of one’s salary in the investment, which in this case, being her own money, was unnecessary.

Moreover, with Tang Nan personally involved in the production, she could prevent waste within the crew, ensuring that the money wasn’t being siphoned off, greatly reducing wastage.

That day, Liao Dong and Xie Xiaoshan received part of the investment, happily left, ready to start assembling the production team.

In the afternoon, Director Wang called, casually mentioning someone inquiring about Shen Yi. Naturally, Su Qing didn’t take it seriously, as Tang Nan was confident. He couldn’t help with something like that, nor did he receive any pertinent information. They simply agreed to catch a flight to Hengdian the following day to check the progress of another production crew.

Near the end of the day, Su Qing and Tang Nan visited Shen Yi’s office.

"What’s up? Did the deal go through?"

Seeing the two of them approach, especially noticing Tang Nan’s excitement, Shen Yi deduced that things went smoothly.

Since they were the ones providing the funds, it was likely smooth sailing. What obstacles could they face?

"Of course, the contract was already signed. The initial investment is 20 million. I had him invest a ten percent stake. The rest will depend on the actual filming progress," Tang Nan said, patting her hip with a smile.

Su Qing: ...

Shen Yi: ...

"You’re pretty smart, knowing to bring him along!" Shen Yi shot a glance at Tang Nan, who feigned ignorance about her suggestive remarks.

Engaging in backdoor deals in front of me, can a human act like this? Well, it’s different with Tang Nan. Since they’re on good terms and everyone knows each other, it wasn’t impolite. With someone else, it might have been considered rude.

"Of course, this is like exchanging hostages. If I lose, he also loses, hehe!" Tang Nan admitted openly.

She knew that with Su Qing’s current wealth, he didn’t care about the few millions. She just wanted peace of mind, as this was her first step transitioning from an artist to an investor.

To celebrate her first investment, that evening, Tang Nan treated them to a luxurious dinner, a lavish Japanese meal costing tens of thousands.

It’s undeniable that wealthy people truly don’t treat money as money. Though he had never indulged like this before, it wasn’t because he couldn’t afford it but because he never had the desire.

But the meal was indeed delicious, proof that you get what you pay for.

In the evening, as Su Qing and Shen Yi returned, Shen Yi remarked, "You’re heading to Hengdian with Director Wang tomorrow, right?"

"Yeah, just to have a look."

"Stay safe, don’t let what happened yesterday repeat!"

"Understood, dear wife!"

"Get out of here, who’s your wife? Didn’t you just invest in Tang Nan’s project today?"

Su Qing: ...

...