Chapter 167: Chapter 36 Sun Dacheng: Director Sun, our short drama has blown up! We’re making money!_2
"You get some sleep. I’ll wake you when we arrive," Sun Dasheng nodded.
A little while later, she had slumped over him in a rather graceless sleeping position, her arms still wrapped around his waist.
The young driver snuck a few glances in the rearview mirror. So that’s why this big shot didn’t stay upstairs longer, he mused. Turns out that stunning beauty and this cute girl both belong to him. He really does have to spread his attention evenly.
Sun Dasheng was oblivious to his rapidly elevating status in the driver’s mind. All he knew was that when they arrived, the driver enthusiastically opened the car door for him, offering five-star service.
When he got out, Yang Xintian was still asleep. With a sigh, Sun Dasheng had no choice but to carry her to her door.
"Wake up," he said, finally giving her a gentle shake. They were already at the entrance to her villa.
"Huh? Where am I?" Yang Xintian asked, her eyes bleary with sleep.
"See for yourself where we are," Sun Dasheng said, annoyed.
"Oh, we’re home," Yang Xintian said, rubbing her eyes. Then, with a cheerful smile, she waved and ran toward her house. "Goodbye, Uncle Sun!"
After dropping her off, he went home.
At his house, the two women were still awake, sitting on the sofa and whispering about something. Sun Dasheng’s footsteps were so light that they didn’t hear him enter.
"What are you two chatting about? Why are you still up so late?"
"Brother Sun, you’re back!" Xiang Yiren exclaimed, quickly getting up to help him change into the clothes she had prepared.
Jiang Ziyan went to the kitchen and brought back a bowl of sobering soup. "I kept it simmering on low heat. It’s a bit hot, let me cool it for you."
She held the small bowl and blew on it for a moment before bringing it to Sun Dasheng’s lips. "Here, open wide!"
"Treating me like a child, are we?" he chuckled, but he opened his mouth and drank the soup. It tasted quite good; she had added a bit of sugar, making it sweet.
Xiang Yiren returned after tossing the dirty clothes into the washing machine and smiled. "Our Ziyan is getting better and better at taking care of people."
Jiang Ziyan gave a demure smile. "It’s all thanks to you, Sister Yiren. You taught me everything."
Sun Dasheng pulled them into a hug, one on each side, enjoying the bliss of having two beautiful companions. "You two sisters are getting along more and more harmoniously. I’m starting to think you’d do just fine without me."
Instantly, two pairs of hands covered his mouth. "Brother Sun, don’t you dare say that," they said in perfect unison.
Sun Dasheng burst out laughing. "You two really are in sync. If you didn’t look different, people would think you were twin sisters."
Xiang Yiren playfully tapped his chest. "Brother Sun, you always tease us. You’re our pillar of support. Without you, this family would fall apart."
"Oh? Is that so? Am I really that important?"
"Of course! If you don’t believe me, just ask Ziyan," Xiang Yiren urged.
Jiang Ziyan immediately chimed in, "Sister Yiren is right. You’re our sky. If you were gone, our sky would collapse. How could we possibly go on?"
Their words made even Sun Dasheng blush slightly. These two really knew what to say.
Taking advantage of the pleasant atmosphere, they started playing their games in the living room. It was another night of wild passion.
「The next morning, bright and early.」
The two women went off to work, full of energy. Sun Dasheng, however, got up a little later. Even with his superhuman constitution, he felt a bit drained. After resting for a while and eating breakfast, he finally headed to the company.
「Headquarters. The Chairman’s Office.」
Sun Dacheng was already waiting outside the office, his face beaming with success.
"Judging by your expression, you must have more good news for me today," Sun Dasheng said with a smile as he pushed open the office door.
Sun Dacheng followed him in. "Director Sun, it’s fantastic news!" he said as he walked. "Our short dramas have been a massive success on Douyin! The view counts and paid subscriptions have far exceeded our expectations."
Sun Dasheng paused for a second, murmuring nonchalantly, "Oh? That’s not bad."
Are you kidding me? he thought. I chose the worst script and hired a mediocre production team at best. And with a semi-professional like Sun Dacheng managing it, a short drama like this could actually blow up?
The two of them sat down, and Sun Dacheng began to report the ’good news.’
"Since their release less than a week ago, our company’s two short dramas have earned an impressive 22 million and 15 million, respectively. The first one, ’I Made a Fortune Raising Chickens in the ’80s,’ was particularly successful, raking in 5 million on its first day alone. Douyin officials even diverted extra traffic to our company’s dramas, which is why the second, more average one, also managed to earn 15 million in a week."
Sun Dasheng rubbed his forehead, looking at his cousin in astonishment. Could this guy actually have real talent? A diamond in the rough? The first company I acquired, Xinli Media, is far from going bankrupt. On the contrary, under his management, it’s showing signs of taking off.
He looked down at the report in his hands again. The title "I Made a Fortune Raising Chickens in the ’80s" felt unfamiliar. He pointed at it and asked, "I don’t recall this being the name of the script we were adapting."
Sun Dacheng slapped his thigh. "Director Sun, your insight is amazing!" he exclaimed. "Originally, this drama was quite similar to the other one, ’The Return of the War God: The Useless Son-in-law.’ But we were concerned that producing two such similar dramas at once would be a waste of resources. So, we took the liberty of changing the first one to align with the currently popular period drama genre. You know how that female-led drama ’I Was a Stepmother in the ’80s’ is a huge hit right now? We decided to ride that wave, and we never expected to hit the jackpot. It exploded! While it’s not as big as that one, as you know, Director Sun, the audience for these short dramas is mostly female. For a male-targeted drama, these results are already fantastic."
"Alright, I get it. You did a great job. I’m very satisfied with these results," Sun Dasheng said, holding up a hand to stop him. He then started watching the drama his company had produced, while Sun Dacheng waited quietly by his side, the gleeful look in his eyes betraying his inner excitement. He was finally on the verge of making it big with a single drama.
After watching it, Sun Dasheng had to admit that while the show had many flaws, especially regarding the depiction of prices from that era—a common issue with period pieces written by authors who didn’t live through them—it was incredibly satisfying to watch. Utterly addictive.
"Who wrote the script for this?" he asked. The writer of such a script couldn’t be a nobody. It couldn’t possibly be the work of those two struggling authors he’d hired from Yuewen.
"Heh heh... Well, that would be yours truly," Sun Dacheng said with a bashful chuckle.
Sun Dasheng’s eyes widened. "Dacheng, you... you’ve really impressed me. You have this kind of talent?"
"Heh heh..." Sun Dacheng laughed, scratching his head. "I wrote the main outline and detailed synopsis. Those two authors fleshed out the specific content."
He was being honest. After all, managing such a large operation left him with little energy to polish a script himself. But just for creating the framework, his contribution was remarkable. The outline and synopsis were the very soul of a story; most web novel authors could handle the filler.
"Sun Dacheng, Sun Dacheng... what am I supposed to say to you? If you had this ability all along, why did you end up... ah, never mind. It’s all in the past," Sun Dasheng said, patting him on the shoulder. "Since you have a talent for producing short dramas, I’m going to spin off the production department into a new, separate company. You’ll be the manager, and I’ll put you in charge of everything related to short drama production. Are you confident you can handle it?"
"I am!" Sun Dacheng shouted, overjoyed.
"Good! Notify the staff and see how many are willing to move to the new company. If you don’t have enough people, hire more. Don’t be afraid to spend money. From now on, use only the best equipment and personnel."
If he has the talent, then I’ll set up a separate company and let him go at it for real. Besides, I still have plenty of investments that can generate experience points, so setting up one more company is no big deal.
"Director Sun... actually..." Sun Dacheng stammered.
"If you have something to say, spit it out!" Sun Dasheng said, giving him a light kick. He was still a bit disgruntled that this successful venture hadn’t earned him any experience points.
"Actually, the people you recruited from that school have been quite useful," Sun Dacheng admitted, surprising Sun Dasheng. "Their technical skills might not be the best, but they listen to instructions. We couldn’t have achieved this success without their hard work."
"You mean we should recruit the new staff from their school as well?"
So even the misfits can have their day?