Chu Ge felt that this kind of thing wouldn't happen so quickly. Project approval required evaluation, and just carefully reading your book would take several days, not to mention the whole host of follow-up matters.
But things were a bit coincidental.
Actually, Old Zhu could have been more efficient at first.
Because he quickly transferred Cai Zhijian's film company back to his own name. With this as a foundation, he could buy the copyright himself, accepting whatever price offered. Even if it sat idle in storage, it wouldn't matter; he could consider it repaying Chu Ge's kindness.
Finally, Zhu Mengmeng, who was still in the hospital at the time, reminded her father: "I don't think those two want the money. If they sell it and it sits idle, they probably don't want to sell it. They clearly want to film it as soon as possible. Dad, your company can't film this." Old Zhu recalled Chu Ge's meaning; that was indeed the case. He himself had promised, "It would be a disgrace if I even considered buying from a small workshop."
So he abandoned the idea of buying it himself and instead invested.
To promote his "IP" to an old friend, he specifically looked into Chu Ge's book and was surprised to find it much simpler than he had imagined... The book itself was already quite successful, which was one thing, but the key was that it had even gained popularity outside the mainstream; the author couple seemed to be more famous than the book itself... Old Zhu immediately chuckled and dialed an old friend's number: "Old Xie, haven't you been struggling to find good projects to launch these past two years? How about I recommend a web novel IP?"
"Web novel IP..." Old Xie knew his stuff: "Male or female genre?"
"...Male genre..."
"Many male genre IPs have been lost money these past two years, I think it's best to forget about it... A female genre IP might be worth considering." "Next..."
"But there are some that become wildly popular...like Qing's stuff?"
"Old Zhu, you don't understand. That's a big project from their group, meticulously crafted, with a generous investment, so the quality is exceptional. Besides, that book is rare in male-oriented fiction, focusing on character relationships and plot rather than leveling up and fighting, making it much easier to adapt than typical male-oriented novels... That's also why female-oriented fiction is easier to adapt than male-oriented fiction, plus the main audience for television is still female... For your male-oriented IP, why not try asking those who make animation? They might be more suitable?" Old Zhu knew that these days, it's hard to fool industry professionals; they all know their stuff. It's not the era where just getting some recommendation votes and a few PowerPoint presentations is enough. But he became even more certain, smiling, "The one I'm recommending to you perfectly fits your requirements." Old Xie, uninterested, reluctantly agreed out of politeness to his old friend, "Oh? Tell me about it."
"It's an ensemble piece, although it also has a progression storyline, the color palette is relatively muted. It mainly focuses on various characters… Oh, and the most popular character is a strong female lead."
"Oh?" Old Xie chuckled, "Is it really as good as you make it out to be? Ensemble stories are popular in online novels? And a strong female lead in a male-oriented genre… Could it be some nephew who wrote a flop to fool you? What do you mean by 'most popular'? Are there even double-digit numbers of characters…?"
Old Zhu summed it all up in five words: "Top eight on the bestseller list!"
"Huh…" Old Xie paused, taken aback.
This time, he was genuinely interested. Everyone knows ensemble pieces are difficult to write; many claim to want to write them, but most flop so badly they're unrecognizable. To reach the top ranks, it must be truly well-written.
And there's even a leading female character, and she's the most popular… If Old Zhu isn't just exaggerating, it seems like it's worth doing some research.
Old Zhu added fuel to the fire: "And about the female audience you mentioned, actually quite a few female viewers know about this book. They're basically built-in traffic, although it's not a huge amount compared to the traffic needed for television, it's still quite impressive. Most idols aren't even as popular as them…"
"Huh? You're kidding me, Old Zhu…"
"Go online and look up 'Early Autumn Love,' it's pretty popular, and the male lead is the author…"
Old Xie Gu: "???"
He'd actually heard of 'Early Autumn Love'… because his son, a gamer who was afraid of marriage and wouldn't go on blind dates despite being pressured, had suddenly agreed to go on them recently. When asked, he said it was because he was charmed by the sweetness of 'Early Autumn Love' and longed for love…
Of course, Old Zhu is more popular than any idol. While the claims were exaggerated, it was undeniable that they did generate some buzz. Old Xie then asked, "After all this talk, you're not telling me this couple wants to debut?"
Old Zhu was startled: "No, no, I'm absolutely certain that's not true."
"You wouldn't be recommending them to me because you genuinely think they have potential, would you?"
"Why not? I'm very optimistic. I'll not only recommend them, but I'll also invest—at least half." Old Zhu laughed, "See? I'm not ripping you off, am I?"
Old Xie started to get serious and said, "Wait a moment, I'll have the risk control department evaluate it." Old Xie's film company was very well-known domestically, not some hastily organized operation. Logically, this evaluation process alone should take a long time. Coincidentally, when he sought an evaluation from his subordinates, the response was: "Mr. Xie, their copyright department recommended this book to us before, and we evaluated it." Old Xie asked in surprise, "What a coincidence... What was the result?"
"The team gave it an A rating... It's good in all aspects, meets our needs and plans, and there's no censorship risk. But the main problem is that if we want to make it work, the investment is too high, and the risk is too great. After research, we decided to shelve it..." Old Xie nodded slightly. This is a problem that even excellent male-oriented novels can't avoid. No matter how good the book is, it's useless if the filming involves large scenes and many special effects, leading to excessive costs and too much risk. If you try to control costs, the final product will likely lose its charm, and even a dog wouldn't watch it.
So, Old Zhu wasn't lying after all. Getting an A rating from their team was already quite an achievement; shelving it wasn't a problem with the work itself. And speaking of "meeting the plans"... that means it fits their company's previously established annual filming plan: period drama, fantasy, ensemble cast... Isn't this a golden opportunity? Regarding costs… Old Zhu promised half the investment, thus sharing the risk… Although Old Xie doubted that Old Zhu might not be able to come up with half the investment based on this budget… it's alright, investors don't just look for one, at least Old Zhu has reassured us…
Whether we film it or not, according to this assessment, acquiring the copyright should be worthwhile… For a huge filming budget, buying the copyright is a drop in the ocean.
Thinking this through, Old Xie waved his hand, directly rejecting the assessment department's suggestion to shelve it: "Go and inquire about the price, we want the copyright. By the way, not just the film and television rights, as long as they don't ask for an exorbitant price, try to get the full rights!"
With the top leader's simple approval, a proposal that might have been shelved forever was immediately launched.
This is the difference between Lao Zhu bringing investment and asking friends for recommendations, and the company's copyright department painstakingly pushing it out themselves. Even if the work itself is excellent, top-down promotion and routine evaluation and review are clearly not the same thing, nor the same result… Inquiry, quotation, counter-offer… after only two or three rounds of negotiation, the editor's message reached Chu Ge: "Chu Ge, Chu Ge, our current offer is three million for the full copyright, for five years. If the other party agrees, we need your approval, and then it's really done!"
This is the author's right to know and veto power—that's about it. They didn't even have a say in the negotiation process… and this was the result of many authors collectively fighting for it.
Three million is a drop in the ocean for investors, but for an author, it's a huge sum… and selling it for only five years is a really good condition.
However, Chu Ge was unmoved by the three million, only making one request: "I must participate in the script adaptation, otherwise I won't sell."
The editor hesitated for a long time, then replied with only three words, completely destroying her cute image: "Damn! Awesome!"