I Inherited 5,000 Years of Family Property

"Finally, some peace and quiet."

"Right? We came here to have a meal, and almost ended up featured on 'A Bite of Jiangnan'." Wang Ling shared the same sentiment as Menglong.

After Poladi had left, the journalists and media showed no sign of departing; instead, the live broadcast's focus shifted to Zhang Menglong and Wang Ling, with cameras nearly shoved in their faces.

Unable to bear the harassment any longer, Zhang Menglong and Wang Ling moved to a private room, where they finally escaped the journalists' siege.

"Come on, pour tea for the boss!" Wang Ling mockingly filled Zhang Menglong's cup with the drink, "From now on, I'm following the boss!"

Wang Ling had imagined Zhang Menglong's family background to be impressive, but he now realized he had underestimated him; if what he had imagined of Zhang Menglong's wealth was a sesame seed, then the reality could be a watermelon.

Although everything Poladi had said sounded far-fetched, even unbelievable, intuition told Wang Ling that most of it was probably true.

"Stop pretending, who do you think you're kidding with that act? Even if he were the Jade Emperor, you wouldn't be so reverent," Zhang Menglong laughed and cursed.

"Hahaha, you know me too well," Wang Ling returned to his seat, "But I've really had my eyes opened today. With what Poladi said, you could write a biography about the Zhang Family. I bet in a few days, those economists and historians will start attacking you."

Even though the events discussed today happened a long time ago, if they were true, those scholars would never acknowledge such things, especially those from countries affected by the economic crisis back then.

If they admitted it, wouldn't that be akin to admitting their incompetence? And acknowledging Huaxia's robust economic strength?

Consider, the idea of the world economy turned upside down by a common person from a developing country is not only ludicrous but also embarrassing. It's almost no different from admitting they are all useless.

When the time comes, they'll surely throw out all sorts of evidence to prove that economic crisis had nothing to do with Zhang Menglong's grandfather and might even fabricate things to smear Zhang Menglong. It's possible that even Poladi could become a casualty in this conflict.

"Do I look like someone who would suffer a loss?" Zhang Menglong smiled, "If they really are that ungrateful, I don't mind emulating my grandfather and giving them a taste of their own medicine!"

Although Zhang Menglong didn't fully grasp the extent of his family's power, he was certain that stirring up another global financial crisis wouldn't be much of a challenge for his family.

"Damn, I'm already sweating for them!" Wang Ling said, "If you really go through with this, you'd better give me a heads-up. I've invested in lots of bonds, funds, and stocks. If I lose it all, I'm taking you down with me!"

"Stop spouting nonsense, let's talk business!" Zhang Menglong said. If Wang Ling kept going, it'd be dark soon, and he had plans to play games with Lu Yiyao later that night.

"Fine, I'll start with my plans!" Wang Ling was quite methodical in his approach. He took out a tablet and showed a draft of the filming plan he had already laid out.

"Now that there's a regulation stating that actors' pay can't exceed 40% of the total investment, we have 400 million to choose actors, giving us a lot of flexibility. Here's a list of actors I've picked, what do you think?"

"Are you sure you're making a movie, not hosting a talent show?" Zhang Menglong glanced at the names on the list and immediately frowned.

Since they had ample budget for salaries, Wang Ling had selected several current top-tier celebrities without considering the cost.

"Nowadays, it's all about the fan base. If these people join in, the box office is guaranteed to be high."

"If these people join in, the movie will be a critic's nightmare!" Zhang Menglong was blunt, "Look at this list, how many of them can actually act?"

"Singing, dancing, rap, basketball? Do you think this is a talent show or a soap opera? This is supposed to be a hardcore sci-fi movie. We need actors with skill, not these people. If you bring them in, the film will be ruined!" Zhang Menglong continued earnestly.

He felt strongly about this; the movie "Mount Shu Legacy" from more than a decade ago was expected to be the beginning of Huaxia's cultivation epics. Instead, it turned out to be the Peak. The veteran actors were neglected, while the idol celebrities raked in a fortune.

Huaxia has no good films, and that's the biggest reason.

"I didn't expect you to be so idealistic," Wang Ling laughed.

"This is me caring deeply!" Zhang Menglong insisted, "Anyway, in my crew, popularity is just crap, acting skills and experience are what matter most!"n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

"So what do you plan to do? I've already finalized the lead role of Wang Miao with Wang Zihan, and his compensation is all set."

"How much did you prepare?" Zhang Menglong asked. He knew Wang Zihan, one of the top three newcomers of this generation, debuted in a boy band and was now transitioning to the film and television industry.

Zhang Menglong had seen his work, which was only to say it was unspeakable.

"40 million."

"F*ck! Does he deserve it?" Zhang Menglong said, "I think he's at most suited for a supporting role. What do you think about having him play a Trisolaran?"

"Hahaha, you're really something!" Wang Ling was suddenly speechless, "Do you know how hard it is to schedule him? I barely persuaded him to join our crew. I've already signed the film contract, and if we breach it, that will be a penalty of 10 million."

"Then give it to him!" Zhang Menglong said grandly, "We definitely can't let one bad apple spoil the whole batch. If it were a real veteran actor, I'd be willing to pay 100 million. Those who can't act aren't called actors, they're just performers, and I think even 400 thousand is too much!"

"400 thousand? You can actually say that? He gets more than that for just one episode of a TV series."

"Love to act, then act, if not, get lost. Just give him the role of a Trisolaran. Even if he wanted to play an extra, I would have to think about it."

"Alright, you're the boss, you have the final say. So about the actor..."

"I already have an idea," Zhang Menglong snatched Wang Ling's tablet and started writing down the main characters' names and the actors who fit his vision best.

"These people?" Wang Ling didn't know how to begin, "Old Zhang, these people are indeed rare good actors, but most of them have cooled down now, and a few have even fallen to making game advertisements. Their compensation is also very cheap now, you want to save money for our crew, huh."

"Who said anything about saving money!" Zhang Menglong said, "The people I've listed here, each of their compensation must not be less than 20 million!"

"What the hell?" Wang Ling counted. There were easily over a dozen people here, and just their compensations would amount to over 200 million. Enjoy exclusive adventures from empire

"What the hell nothing, although they're not as famous as before, their acting skills justify this compensation!" Zhang Menglong said, "Starting today, I'm going to be the discipline inspection commission of the entertainment industry!"

"Oh boy, you're going to stir things up!" Wang Ling said, "Relying on these, I'm afraid you won't be able to produce much hype!"

"I've already thought it through!" Zhang Menglong said, "Do you know the Carnot SFX team?"

"You mean the world's most impressive SFX team?" Wang Ling asked.

This SFX team was almost legendary; its members came from all over the world, each one uniquely skilled. The works they produced were all considered classics, but they had very high demands for film contracts and had only taken on three projects since their establishment.

But those three projects, the worst performing one grossed over 5 billion US dollars!

"You invited them?" Wang Ling said.

"Not invited," Zhang Menglong shook his head, "I bought the whole team!"