Huayu: This producer has no bottom line.

Chapter 83 Not Just Your Family

The price is negotiable, but shares are out of the question.

This was the answer Ren Pingsheng received when he came out of the Xinlang Building.

Cao Guowei has an extremely strong desire for control. On Weibo, a product that will determine the fate of Xinlang, he will not give anyone the opportunity to get their hands on shares.

The situation is now very clear.

Either take the cash from Xinlang, focus on developing your career, and wait for a chance to come to the table later.

Either accept Zhang Chaoyang's binding agreement and search for that ship that might leak at any time.

Neither path is perfect, so how do you choose?

Just as I was pondering this, my phone vibrated in my pocket.

……

Half an hour later, at the Baidu Building on Shangdi Ninth Street in Haidian District.

When Ren Pingsheng arrived, the receptionist led him to an area on the 12th floor.

It's called an area, but it's actually just a large open space enclosed by partitions, with about thirty people crammed inside, barely enough room to turn around between workstations.

The countdown was written on the whiteboard in red marker.

28 days until launch.

There's also a line of smaller print next to it: iQiyi, Enjoy Quality.

A row of design drafts was pasted on the wall, with a green logo on a white background, clean and neat.

Gong Yu's "office" was at the very back of the cubicle, with an ordinary desk and no separate partition, except for a slightly better chair compared to the workstation next to it.

"It's a bit shabby, please don't mind," Gong Yu stood up to greet him. "We won't be able to move to the new office area until next month, so for now the team will have to make do with squeezing in here at Baidu."

He spoke lightly, but the weariness between his brows was impossible to hide.

"Starting a business is normal," Ren Pingsheng said, glancing around the crowded space. "President Gong doesn't look well. Is he having some difficulties?"

Gong Yu gave a wry smile. "How could it not be difficult? I've only just assembled a team, and things are already in complete chaos outside. Come on, let's go to the conference room to talk."

As soon as the meeting room door closed, Gong Yu pushed a briefing over.

You should have seen the self-produced drama plan that Sohu announced last week.

Ren Pingsheng nodded.

"Tudou is making quite a splash. They've partnered with China Film Group to create the Tudou Film Festival, where winning directors can receive feature film investment from China Film Group."

Gong Yu pointed to the press release on the briefing, "Li Xianji's Adventures, I'm MT, and Hit a Big Watermelon are all critically acclaimed works. Ku6 also launched Made in Ku6, which focuses on online movies. I heard that Youku and LeTV are also preparing similar projects."

At this point, his speech quickened noticeably. "Everyone is creating original content, but we only launched in April. By the time the platform is up and running, it will be too late."

Ren Pingsheng listened silently, but his heart was in turmoil.

These things were supposed to happen gradually in the second half of the year; he messed up the timeline.

The showdown between "Report to the Boss" and "Men's Diary 2" made the entire industry realize the value of self-produced content ahead of time.

After being hurt, Sohu took the initiative and made its move. Other platforms, seeing that Sohu was making a move, naturally did not dare to fall behind.

The Butterfly Effect.

The momentum he created pushed the progress of all platforms forward by six months.

This six-month time gap coincided with the launch date of iQiyi.

This made Gong Yu the most direct victim.

In the original history, Gong Yu led iQiyi to a steady and solid approach, focusing on accumulating genuine long-form videos for a full year before venturing into self-produced content in the second half of 2011.

By then, he already had hundreds of millions of users, giving him enough leverage to negotiate with creators.

But things are different now. He had to jump into the battlefield a year earlier, when he was most short of soldiers and generals.

"So Mr. Gong has taken a liking to my 'Old Boy'?" Ren Pingsheng put down his water glass.

"It's not just 'Old Boys'."

Gong Yu looked up at him, his eyes sharp yet sincere. "I've thought about the micro-film concept you mentioned to me last time for a long time. It is indeed a track that can fill the gap between theatrical releases and online videos."

"You have a unique understanding of the internet, you know what users want to see, and most importantly, you can consistently produce engaging content, which is more valuable than anything else."

"Name your price for 'Old Boys,' I won't haggle, but my goals today aren't limited to just this one film."

"What does Mr. Gong mean?"

"Join iQiyi," Gong Yu leaned forward and said what he had been preparing for a long time, "You bring your team here, and we'll set up an independent micro-film studio. You can approve the budget yourself, decide on the personnel yourself, and make your own decisions on the creative direction. I will never interfere with your creative process."

He held up three fingers.

"Annual salary of three million, double the salaries of everyone in your team, and I will give you 1% of the original stock options, which will be vested over four years."

Seeing Ren Pingsheng's silent expression, Gong Yu added another sentence.

"Pingsheng, I know your concerns. Big companies have many rules and regulations, but iQiyi is not Sohu, and there is not so much office politics."

"When I, Gong Yu, use people, I always trust them and I don't use those I don't trust. You just focus on your work and I'll handle everything else."

Ren Pingsheng picked up his water glass and took a sip.

Gong Yu's sincerity is genuine. In his previous life, he was able to build iQiyi into a company with a market value of hundreds of billions in a chaotic world rife with piracy, thanks to his respect for content and his investment in talent.

If he says he'll give autonomy, he really will.

But that's not the problem.

Once merged into iQiyi, LifeShow will no longer be his.

"Mr. Gong," Ren Pingsheng put down his water glass, "I appreciate your sincerity, but I cannot accept it."

Gong Yu's expression didn't change much; for someone in this position, being rejected was commonplace.

"Could you explain why?"

"Because if I only wanted to be a corporate executive, I wouldn't have left Sohu in the first place."

This statement may sound simple, but it carries significant weight.

Gong Yu remained silent for a few seconds, his expression slowly shifting from disappointment to a kind of understanding.

He's an entrepreneur; he understands this kind of obsession.

But looking at the young man in front of him, a trace of regret inevitably flashed in his eyes.

"I understand. You can't force things. Since you're not interested in this, I won't insist. However, iQiyi still wants to try to get the broadcasting rights for 'Old Boys.' We can discuss the price."

This is equivalent to downgrading the topic from recruitment to ordinary business procurement.

But Ren Pingsheng didn't take the opportunity to back down. "President Gong, don't be in such a hurry to sigh."

Gong Yu was taken aback.

"I only said I wouldn't work," Ren Pingsheng said with a smile, "I didn't say I wouldn't cooperate."

Gong Yu raised an eyebrow slightly: "Cooperation? Buying out the copyright or sharing the profits with GG are standard practices. What I need is not just one show, but your ability to continuously produce hit shows."

"No, no, Mr. Gong, there's more than one way to cooperate. You don't necessarily have to put me in your pocket to get a stable supply of content."

"What do you mean?"

"invest."

Ren Pingsheng raised one finger.

"As consideration for iQiyi's investment in LifeView, iQiyi has the right of first refusal."

Gong Yu did not respond immediately.

"Think about it, Mr. Gong," Ren Pingsheng stared at him, "those directors selected by Tudou Film Festival, they make films for Tudou today, and tomorrow Youku offers them a higher price and they run away. But if iQiyi invests in my company, can I run away?"

Gong Yu's lips twitched slightly.

He understood the logic.

"How much money do you want?"

Ren Pingsheng smiled and did not offer a price.

"There's no rush."

Why?

"Because you might not be the only company investing in Shengping Vision."