: Severing one of Bai Du's legs, Mom buys land.

The core story of "Reply 2002" revolves around a group of young people born around 1984 and what happened in 2002.

Since it represents the youth of the post-80s generation, it must be different from that of the post-70s generation.

The reason why He Yi'an never made youth films before was because he couldn't understand the youth of the post-70s generation.

He could understand those born in the 80s and 90s, but if you asked him to understand those born in the 2000s or 2010s, there would definitely be a generation gap.

It can't even be called a ditch anymore, it's called a sea!

Therefore, this story also revolves around some familiar events.

For example, the ones that are familiar to everyone

College entrance exam, idol worship, playing football, cassette tapes, passing notes, first love, separation, reunion.

Although a year is a short time, there are actually a lot that can be accomplished.

He Yi'an has already tested this for everyone... (just kidding)

On the other hand, if these seemingly trivial daily moments are filmed well, they could gradually become a collective memory of an era.

Of course, this is the ideal situation, but even if it doesn't reach that ideal, as long as Langyuan's reputation for idol dramas is maintained, it's fine. As for those who want to imitate Langyuan, let them try to imitate slowly.

Last year they imitated Full House, this year they imitated Chinese Paladin, and next year Langyuan will change its style again. Just keep maintaining its leading position.

Just like how Liu Shan (A Dou) always led Zhao Yun by a step at Changban Slope!

"2002?"

Zhong Lifang muttered to herself about the name. She couldn't think of any use for a script from a year ago, but she still made arrangements immediately.

"Alright, now that the Legend of Sword and Fairy series is finished and has been successfully broadcast, Ma Ming has had plenty of free time. He's had enough rest, and he even asked me about this script yesterday. Let him give it a try!"

The company has another script, and some people can get back to work.

As the person in charge of the company's routine business, Zhong Lifang was certainly happy.

However, He Yi'an hesitated because Ma Ming seemed to be better at period idol dramas.

But then he thought, Ma Ming simply had no other choice in the future.

After all, even assembly-line period dramas need someone to film them, and since there weren't any other projects at the time, it was already good enough that he had something to film.

He just finished filming "Chinese Paladin" last year, so letting him try a modern drama is a way to broaden his skill ceiling. This will also have a positive effect on improving his abilities.

"Alright, let him come!"

After the director was confirmed, He Yi'an, who was gradually realizing what was going on, finally felt something was strange. Why did Zhong Lifang seem to be even more anxious than he was?

It looked as if she was constantly urging He Yi'an to leave.

He asked questions directly, voicing his doubts face-to-face.

Seeing that he had asked this question directly, Zhong Lifang quickly explained:

"Mr. He, it's not that I'm rushing you, but several TV station acquisition directors are asking us when our next idol drama will start airing and whether we can secure the slot in advance."

"No wonder..."

Has it become possible that TV stations are already pre-purchasing shows and even locking in airtime for them?

That's a very high level of treatment.

He expressed his understanding of Zhong Lifang's actions, saying, "The fact that the TV station was willing to lock in the airtime for us in advance shows that our decision to pursue idol dramas was the right one."

"Yes, the popularity of 'Chinese Paladin' has given these TV stations a taste of success. Coupled with the previous 'Full House,' they now have a lot of confidence in the dramas produced by Langyuan!" "Then tell them that filming can start in March this year, with a shooting period of three months and post-production of two months. It is expected to be completed by the end of this year or early next year."

It airs around New Year's Day, which is pretty much the usual time for Langyuan's self-produced dramas to air.

"What about the actors?"

"Let Mu Tingting play the female lead. She works for the company and her image fits the character well. As for the male lead, let Wang Kai play him. He hasn't been given a real lead role since he joined the company, so let's start with this one."

As for the other actors, try to find fresh, young faces. Avoid familiar, old-timers. Ideally, they should be recent graduates with distinctive features. Of course, collaborations with other companies are also possible if there's mutual benefit. You can arrange those.

"Okay, I'll have the casting team check out various universities."

"Also, there's something else~"

After finishing discussing these arrangements, He Yi'an thought of a message he had received: "I heard that someone has approached Chen Chuang to play the lead role in a TV series?"

Zhong Lifang was stunned for a moment; she hadn't expected He Yi'an to even know this news.

"Yes, that's right. It's a TV series project called 'Fu Gui.' A few days ago, Yu Hua contacted us through an intermediary, saying they wanted to cast Chen Chuang as the male lead, Fu Gui."

It's finally here!

This is the only TV series in which Chen Chuang played the male lead. It's also the TV series in which He Yi'an has always had a soft spot for him.

This drama is adapted from "To Live".

This should be a remake; the previous Fugui before Chen Chuang was Ge You.

This is a very good drama, but it doesn't make money, and it might not even be broadcast on a major network. However, for an actor, it's worth filming.

"Let him take the shot; this is his chance."

He Yi'an couldn't help Chen Chuang refuse a project that was rightfully his: "Tell Chen Chuang that the company supports him in taking the role, and if his schedule overlaps with other scripts, the company will help him coordinate."

Although Zhong Lifang didn't quite understand why He Yi'an was so interested in this project, she wouldn't ask any more questions since the boss had spoken.

"Okay, I'll talk to him about it later."

……

After finishing up his work at the company, He Yi'an realized he hadn't seen his parents in a long time. He picked up his phone and called his father first, then dialed his mother's number after chatting for a while.

Unlike her father, who habitually waited three rings before answering, her mother, Xu Wan, always had a decisive and efficient approach to everything she did.

Whenever the phone rings, I usually answer it after one or two rings: "Oh, my son knows to call me now?"

"Mom, are you implying I don't call enough?"

"You know the answer, why are you asking? Every time before, it was us calling you. If we hadn't called, wouldn't you have called home instead?"

"I was just busy..."

"Bullshit! If you keep spouting nonsense, I bet you're busy being all lovey-dovey with Yifei, aren't you?"

"What's wrong? You're always urging me to hurry up, and now you're not happy with how I am?"

For a time, the mother and son were evenly matched.

To be fair, He Yi'an's retort hit the nail on the head, silencing Xu Wan's powerful attack for a second.

But a mom is a mom, she can always find a way to say it: "Let's talk about it after you've really succeeded. Saying anything now is just rambling..."

"Okay, let's not talk about this anymore. Where are you now? Back at the company?"

"Yes, we've been here for a while now. I just finished going through the company's accounts."

He Yi'an briefly explained the accounting data, knowing that Zhong Lifang and the finance department would definitely send it to her as well. After the mother and son checked each other's records and confirmed everything was in order, He Yi'an continued to inquire about other matters: "Mom, how about you? How's the tech company going?"

"That's exactly what I was thinking of telling you."

Xu Wan doesn't really know much about technology, so she only gave a general overview.

"Xiang Fangwei and his team are making faster progress than you expected. The basic architecture is already set up, and now they are working on the image upload function you mentioned before."

This is also why Xu Wanhui invested in and acquired the entire team.

Because their team was truly the first company in China to create such a function.

He Yi'an didn't really like going online before, because the internet was too simple now. Having experienced the online world twenty years later, he simply couldn't adapt to these new situations.

The same goes for blogs; if it weren't for Baidu, He Yi'an wouldn't have even considered doing it.

Most existing blog platforms on the market are purely text-based, with at most some rudimentary HTML formatting, and their image uploading and display are a complete mess.

So he still doesn't have a blog; he's too lazy to set one up.

But now that Langyuan Technology is going to create a blog platform, it must have a core differentiator, and the image function is one aspect of that improvement.

Moreover, this was unique in 2004. "The problem now is that the technology is almost there, but where will the traffic come from? Where will the users come from?" This was also a difficult question that Xiang Fangwei and Xu Wan faced when they reported to each other.

Just setting up a framework won't get you anywhere, since there are just too many blogs on the market these days!

There might not even be any data!

"Mom, didn't I tell you to talk to the creator of hao123? How did it go?"

"I've spoken to Li Xingping. That guy's asking for an exorbitant price. He wants to sell a small website for 1200 million RMB, and he also wants shares in Langyuan!"

Judging from her tone, Xu Wan seemed somewhat angry.

He Yi'an quickly reassured her, "Mom, don't be angry. This navigation website is worth the price."

To be honest, as a layman, it's really outrageous that such a small website wants so much money.

But that's really how it is.

After hao123 was sold to Baidu, Baidu actually gave it 1190 million RMB, along with more than 4 ordinary shares of Baidu!

The reason is that many of the computer traffic redirects across the country now start from this page.

It's worth noting that hao123 was ranked around 25th globally by Alexa at the time, covering a large number of novice internet users across the country. Even excluding all internet users, this was the mainstream, and perhaps the only, internet cafe in lower-tier cities.

This traffic is enormous.

Baidu acquired this website, which is how it truly achieved massive traffic imports and created the so-called interconnection between search and navigation.

After the acquisition, hao123 once provided 20% of Baidu's revenue.

Li Yanhong, aren't you all so arrogant? Didn't you actively create a stage for people to criticize He Yi'an?

Since you're willing to make easy money, don't blame him for cutting off your escape route!

We absolutely must take over hao123, and we can even carve out a share of the search engine section.

Of course, He Yi'an would not do something like directly confronting Baidu for the time being.

After all, who among those who made it big in internet investment and real estate at the beginning of the century didn't have some kind of background? It's not wise to rashly interrupt the money-making path of other big shots.

This is also why He Yi'an needs to take the initiative to befriend certain people.

Once you've achieved a certain level and attracted attention, people will come knocking on your door.

Without influential figures to shield you from other influences, how could you possibly survive, especially a tech company? The TV series "Da Ming Dynasty 1566" clearly illustrates this: it was easy for the Grand Secretaries to either support or eliminate a wealthy tycoon like Shen Yishi to balance the accounts.

Even if Shen Yishi is gone, there's still Gao Hanwen.

Do you think that if you have a good reputation, are known throughout the country, and have no problems with your word-of-mouth or quality, then no one will hire you?

If we take one more step, he won't belong to us anymore.

Otherwise, why would so many people want to take it public? It was all to reap the profits and dilute his control.

So when he realized this, he decided not to go public and instead distributed the profits.

Why? It's all the same old trick of cultivating desire.

Moreover, Pang Donglai actually went a step further by directly linking revenue and profit to every position in the company, rather than individual employees.

In other words, you can receive a certain amount of bonuses while you are in this position, but if you leave, the bonuses will no longer be yours, but will go to the next person in this position.

That's actually quite clever; people change, but jobs don't.

So the reason his decision not to renew the lease caused such a big stir this time, besides his unwillingness to be manipulated, was that he was willing to use the company's profits to build his own shopping mall, which was also a way of indirectly returning cash flow to the market. No one could find fault with that.

Langyuan is still quite small, but the entertainment industry itself is also a small pool, and if they continue like this, they will become somewhat conspicuous.

After all, the truly capable big shots are actually in higher circles, while the less capable ones are still in the finance and investment circles.

Only the lowest of the low would set their sights on a small pond like the entertainment industry.

Therefore, their bottom line won't be very high, and Langyuan will continue to develop.

Especially after preparing for an IPO, once the financial reports and revenues are fully disclosed, it will be difficult to avoid attracting attention if targeted by those with ulterior motives.

Therefore, it is essential to control one's own voice and build good relationships with more people in the hope of connecting with a wider audience.

Otherwise, why would he go to such lengths to pull and tug at Sister Yu...?

……

Xu Wan was well aware of the things He Yi'an was considering; she just didn't like being taken advantage of.

But since He Yi'an said it was no problem and the price was right, she didn't say anything more.

"Okay, then I'll talk to him again, but about his demand for shares..." "We can't give him the shares, but we can raise the price. As long as it's within 1800 million RMB, we can give it to him. It depends on how you negotiate, Mom."

"This price..." To be honest, Xu Wan felt it was still a bit high, but if it could really break one of Bai Du's legs, she would accept giving it away.

"If the traffic issue is resolved, what about the users?"

"I'll handle the users' issues."

He Yi'an had already planned this step: "You first have them stabilize the platform, and let me know in advance before it goes live. Then I will find a group of people to join and generate some buzz."

As for who to find, it's definitely a celebrity.

He already had a list in his mind.

Han Han and Guo Xiaosi, who already have influence online, are the first tier.

Even Xu Cainu could be invited; He Yi'an remembers that she only made this title widely known to the public through her blog.

He also invites celebrities and big names he has worked with in the industry. Professors from Beijing Film Academy and Central Academy of Drama can represent academics, and Zhang Yimou, Gong Li, and Yu Feihong can also open accounts and post updates if they are willing.

Of course, there's also his ace, Liu Yifei...

Sisi will continue to build her fanbase, and when she joins the platform, she'll undoubtedly be a trump card. Thinking of Liu Yifei, He Yi'an immediately recalled her "interviewing mudslides" personality; if she started a blog, she'd probably contribute many memorable moments.

This not only attracts fans but also retains them.

But wouldn't this create a huge fan base for the original?

The first generation of fandom?

"I'm relieved to hear that."

Xu Wan knows her son very well; he must be confident to say that.

"By the way, regarding the investment direction you mentioned before and my personal investment, your father and I have decided: we'll buy land first!"

"Buy land? Where?"

"I plan to buy a piece of land in Beijing, Hangzhou, and Chengdu for commercial development. The one in Beijing will mainly be for our headquarters..."

My mom has a lot of cash on hand right now, and she really needs to spend it, otherwise it will depreciate if she keeps it. And buying land at this time is indeed a good idea.

"Has a location been confirmed yet?"

"The Central Business District and the land reserve in Beijing are also under bidding. Land along the Beijing-Shenyang Expressway can also be considered, as well as the Tianzhu Airport Economic Development Zone..." Well, Mom's eye for land is pretty good. She especially remembers that one of the first two was won by SOHO China Limited this year for 10 billion yuan.

Although their family could afford it, they lacked the resources to sustain the development.

After thinking about it, He Yi'an still suggested that his mother be more cautious. The priorities of media companies, technology companies, and investment companies are definitely different.

Media companies will definitely prioritize transportation.

Being closer to the airport is definitely the best option.

As for choosing other companies, as long as the supporting facilities are in place, it's not too bad.

However, this money all belonged to my mother; he was just offering a suggestion.

"Mom, you can decide for yourself."

"Alright, you go ahead and do your work. I know I can't count on you. I'll keep an eye on the progress here."

"Okay, by the way, Mom, the game company is going to be developing a game based on 'My Own Swordsman' simultaneously. I'll register the 'My Own Swordsman' trademark in advance. Only with this can we have a collaboration between the film and the game..."

Xu Wan, Xu's mother, didn't know much about the ins and outs of these film and game collaborations. After hearing what he said, she, who already had a lot on her plate, simply pushed everything onto him.

"You can handle the arrangements. I'll probably be focusing my main energy on the investment company, land acquisition, and subsequent development from now on."

Why does it sound like it has a Fenghua accent?

I was originally planning to tell my mom about the Oscars and the plans for "Soulmate".

Now it seems best to forget about it.

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