Chapter 148: 148: Hiring Xu Zhen as the Director

Zhao Yuxin chuckled, “Big guy, he’s my husband, we’ve registered our marriage.”

“Ah?” The stout owner was stunned, but soon regained his composure and said with a wry smile, “And here I thought there was some kind of situation. So it’s like this. To think that you’ve gotten married less than a year after graduation. Congratulations, congratulations. Go ahead and take a seat; I’ll have your food grilled up in no time.”

“Sure,” said Zhao Yuxin as she led Xu Yang to an outdoor table to sit down.

It wasn’t long before the barbecue was served.

The owner personally delivered the food and chatted with them for a few moments before leaving.

Xu Yang and Zhao Yuxin enjoyed their meal immensely.

During the barbecue, they also bumped into some junior classmates.

Both of them reminisced about the good old days in college.

After the barbecue, when it was time to pay the bill, the stout owner insisted they didn’t need to pay, saying it was his treat.

“I’m very happy to see graduates come back to my place for a meal,” the stout owner explained his reason.

Xu Yang and Zhao Yuxin naturally didn’t agree to this and left a hundred yuan before departing.

The barbecue would cost at most fifty yuan.

By the time they got home, it was already past midnight. The couple took a shower together and then went to sleep.

The next day.

Zhao Yuxin slept in, having declared the night before that she wouldn’t be woken up until noon.

Xu Yang, on the other hand, got up as usual, washed up, ate breakfast outside, and then opened his computer to check his emails.

After reading the screenplay for “I Am Not a Medicine God,” he realized it was indeed a good script, an adaptation of real events.

The director Wen Muye was an art film director who had made an art movie previously.

It was quite profound but didn’t do well at the box office, the common plight of art films.

Xu Yang saw Wen Muye’s phone number listed and called him.

The phone rang for quite a while before being answered.

“Who is it?” A voice, still groggy with sleep, answered the call.

“Hello, this is Xu Yang from Yang Xin Investment. May I speak to Director Wen Muye?” Xu Yang said.

“What’s it about?” Wen Muye sounded impatient.

He had stayed up until six in the morning to finish the first draft of the screenplay for “I Am Not a Medicine God,” and now it was time for revisions.

He had just fallen asleep a little while ago when the phone rang, waking him up, and the thought of another unknown investment company reaching out irritated him.

Noticing the impatience in the other party’s tone, Xu Yang went straight to the point, “Director Wen, here’s the thing: I’ve got a script and I’d like to invite you to direct it. What do you say…”

Without letting Xu Yang finish, Wen Muye interrupted, “I don’t have the time, I’m not interested. Don’t call again!”

Having said that, Wen Muye hung up the phone.

Xu Yang slightly furrowed his brow, feeling a bit annoyed.

This guy sure has an attitude.

If that’s the case, I won’t bother looking for you to direct.

After all, the script is ready-made, there’s a list of actors, and all sorts of materials are on hand.

Just need to find a capable director to produce the film, and the box office should be decent.

So who to choose as the director?

He hadn’t decided yet when his phone rang, showing it was Ye Kaifeng from Hua’an Pharmaceuticals calling.

“President Ye,” Xu Yang answered the call.

“President Xu, the phase I clinical trial of our gastric cancer drug was an unequivocal success. The cancer cells in the patients who participated in the trial have been cleared!” Ye Kaifeng announced excitedly.

“That’s great news!” Xu Yang responded, “Does this mean it can be put on the market for sale?”

“Not yet, President Xu,” Ye Kaifeng replied. “We have to conduct phase II and phase III trials. The state regulation for such drugs is very strict.”

Not fully understanding the process, Xu Yang said, “I see. But I believe that the second and third phases will also be successful.”

“I believe that as well,” Ye Kaifeng said. “Mr. Xu, here’s the situation: Phase I of the experiment has already been a success. The company is going to hold a press conference on Monday to announce this news. At that time, we hope that you can have your Fengcai Guild help publicize it.”

The Fengcai Guild is simply a publicity powerhouse.

Whether it’s for promoting War Panther or for the struggle between Xu Yang and Hua’an Film and Television, the Fengcai Guild has played a vital role.

Since Xu Yang is the owner of the Fengcai Guild, there’s no reason for him not to utilize it.

“No problem, just have someone send me the video of the press conference, and I’ll have the people at Fengcai Guild edit it and make sure all the streamers spread the word,” Xu Yang had no objections.

Moreover, he also wanted everyone to know about the birth of this cancer medication to give those patients hope.

Although the medication might be expensive, it is ultimately a hope.

As for the issue of high prices, that’s not something he can change by himself.

After all, it’s not his company— he’s just an investor.

“Mr. Xu, thank you. With your Fengcai Guild’s publicity, I believe this medication will quickly become a household name,” Ye Kaifeng expressed his gratitude.

“Mr. Ye, there’s no need to be so polite. I’m a shareholder of the company, and it’s only right for me to do something for it,” Xu Yang said.

The two chatted a bit more before hanging up.

After putting away his phone, Xu Yang continued to ponder over who to choose as the director for “I Am Not the God of Medicine.”

“What about Wu Jing?”

Xu Yang had just come up with the idea when he immediately discarded it.

Wu Jing has always been active in the action film sphere and might not be suitable for directing a drama like this.

Plus, even if he had the ability, he probably wouldn’t have the time.

He has to film War Panther 2.

You have to understand, War Panther 2 is a movie with a box office of five billion, which is much higher than “I Am Not the God of Medicine.”

Can’t let “I Am Not the God of Medicine” delay Wu Jing from directing War Panther 2.

So, whom to choose? Who is good at this kind of film?

“What about a big-name director? Like Zhang Guoshi or Chen Kaige?”

Just as the idea came to him, Xu Yang shook his head again.

Such big-name directors command a very high fee, and they might not necessarily be suitable.

In recent years, the films these directors have made haven’t done very well at the box office.

Now, Xu Yang was in a dilemma, staring blankly at the actor list on his computer screen.

Suddenly, a name caught his eye.

Xu Zhen!

“That’s right, I could ask Xu Zhen to be the director. Xu Zhen isn’t just an actor but also a director.”

“Although Xu Zhen is a comedy director, the email says that Xu Zhen really likes this movie. Xu Zhen hasn’t missed any promotional events for the film, and his performance in the film could be called perfect. He even won a minor award in Taiwan.”

The more Xu Yang thought about it, the more he felt that choosing Xu Zhen as the director was feasible.

The system only had Wen Muye’s phone number and not Xu Zhen’s.

The system probably wanted him to approach Wen Muye, and leave everything else to Wen Muye to handle.

But since Wen Muye wasn’t responding to him, he had to find another director.

Xu Yang dialed Wu Jing’s number.

“Mr. Xu, good morning,” Wu Jing said.

“Good morning, Director Wu. I have a film right now that I originally wanted you to direct, but since you’re going to film War Panther 2, I’m thinking of having Xu Zhen direct it. You’re all in the same circle; do you have his phone number by any chance?” Xu Yang said.

“I do, I’ll send it to you,” Wu Jing replied.

“Great, thank you,” Xu Yang hung up the phone.

A little while later, he received Xu Zhen’s phone number from Wu Jing.

Immediately, Xu Yang dialed Xu Zhen’s number.