"Oh? That's quite convenient then!"
Watching Old Mozi drain his glass of red wine, Qin Xuan chuckled, showing a hint of interest.
This immediately irked Feng Kuzi.
"How dare Old Mozi engage in malicious competition to snatch the financier from me?!"
"Fine, so what if it's a price reduction?! I can lower it too. At worst, I'll take on Qin Xuan's project at a loss!"
"As long as I secure this filming, my relationship with Qin Xuan will be solidified. When Qin Xuan films other movies next time, I can find a way to profit from it, enough to cover this loss!"
With this thought, Feng Kuzi poured himself another glass of red wine. Without hesitation, he directly reduced his price to seventy percent.
Old Mozi seemed to be harboring the same calculation. As soon as Feng Kuzi finished his glass, he lowered his price to sixty-five percent.
"I'll do sixty."
"I'll do fifty-five."
"I'll do forty."
"I'll do thirty!"
In just a few exchanges, the two had driven the price of the film crew down to a mere thirty percent of the original cost.
However, Qin Xuan was not satisfied. He let out a cold snort, telling the two to go back and think it over.
The two knew that the competition had reached a critical stage.
Exchanging guilty glances, they gritted their teeth and stomped their feet, both stating their lowest prices.
Old Mozi: "I'll lower it by another ten percent!"
Feng Kuzi: "This time, I'll shoot it for you for free!"
Their voices fell simultaneously. Even Guo Fan, who was chatting with Jing Ge and others, couldn't help but look in their direction.
It had to be said that although Feng Kuzi's character was extremely poor, his mindset was impeccable. He acted when he needed to, and even if he incurred a loss this time, he was determined to achieve his set goal.
Upon hearing Feng Kuzi's bid, Old Mozi shook his head helplessly. In terms of filmmaking and directing, he was no worse than the other man, but in such matters, he always fell short.
"So be it. What is destined will be, and what is not, cannot be forced."
"Besides, with Feng Kuzi stirring up trouble, the film industry in Long Country should soon return to its current state. The so-called 'cleansing of the film industry' was merely the wishful thinking of a young master who didn't know any better."
"It won't be long before he shifts his focus away from this and pursues more novel things."
"Alright, Director Feng indeed has courage."
"Since that's the case, if I continue to compete, it will damage our brotherhood."
"It's a pity, Young Master Qin. We won't have the opportunity for deeper cooperation this time. Next time, if there's a chance, I will definitely shoot an excellent work for you!"
After delivering his pleasantries, Old Mozi, holding his wine glass, slowly retreated to the side.
Feng Kuzi, having won the competition, was quite pleased. He poured another glass of red wine, intending to toast Qin Xuan.
However, to their surprise, Qin Xuan did not immediately engage Feng Kuzi's team just because he offered to shoot for free.
Instead, he smiled and pushed Feng Kuzi's wine glass back.
With a slight curl of his lips, Qin Xuan revealed his true intentions.
"Director Feng, Director Mo, what are you two doing?"
"From beginning to end, I never said I would engage either of your film crews."
"How is it that while drinking, you two turned into a bidding war?"
"This was your own decision, and I won't take responsibility for it!"
Qin Xuan's words were like a spell, freezing Feng Kuzi in place. It wasn't until discussions started to rise around them that he, holding his wine glass, said with a fawning smile, "Young Master Qin is joking."
"You mentioned earlier that you wanted to shoot a historically significant and excellent film."
"Naturally, an excellent film requires an excellent crew."
"I may be untalented, but my entire film crew is, if not the best in Long Country, then certainly world-class."
"Shooting this 'Wandering' or whatever for you is well within my capabilities."
"How about this?"
"If it really doesn't work out, I'll call back all my colleagues and let you use them first. If you're not satisfied, you can replace them!"
"Is that acceptable?"
"Boss, boss..."
It had to be said that although Feng Kuzi's words contained some exaggeration, they were largely factual. If his team could be used for free, the filming progress of "Wandering Blue Star" would definitely be much faster than anticipated.
Therefore, it was no wonder that not only others were tempted, but Guo Fan was also moved by the benefits.
However, Qin Xuan was not like them. He was completely indifferent to the benefits Feng Kuzi spoke of. This was because, from the very beginning, he had no intention of letting people like him get involved in his project.
"Director Feng's words are indeed very tempting."
"Alright, I will consider it."
"Come, come, Director Feng has spoken so much, you must be tired."
"Are you thirsty? Have a drink to relax!"
Upon hearing Qin Xuan say he was tempted, Feng Kuzi unhesitatingly downed the red wine in his hand.
He believed that among all the directors and crews present, none could compare to his team. Therefore, even though Qin Xuan said he would consider it, he would ultimately choose his team.
Since the matter was settled, Feng Kuzi naturally had to cooperate well with Qin Xuan, the financier.
If Qin Xuan told him to drink, he drank. If he told him to sing, he sang. He acted like a clown in a circus, his sole purpose being to make Qin Xuan, the audience, laugh heartily.
After several rounds of drinks, Feng Kuzi was eventually overcome by the alcohol. Although he had been drinking relatively low-alcohol red wine, red wine, while not noticeable at first, had a significant after-effect.
Drowsily, he brought up the matter of filming cooperation with Qin Xuan again, only to be sobered up by Qin Xuan's words.
"What cooperation? Didn't I say I would consider it?"
"There are so many people in our Long Country, and there are definitely more than just your crew. My project is worth several hundred million, so I need to explore other options."
"But you said you would consider my team?"
"How..."
Seeing Qin Xuan's expression turn cold, Feng Kuzi's heart sank. He quickly tried to use Qin Xuan's previous words to change his mind, but Qin Xuan interrupted him with a cold snort.
"Yes, you also said I said 'consider'."
"So, if I say consider, does that mean I must use Director Feng's crew?"
"The market supports free trade, but with you, it has to be forced buying and selling?!"
"Of course, if you want to contribute some money to participate in the production, I can let Guo Fan reserve a cameo role for you. If not, then you should just go back where you came from."
"But I drank so much wine just now, and performed so many acts in front of everyone..."
"Heh heh heh, Little Feng..."
"Life is often unsatisfactory. Only by learning to adapt and compromise can one find a way to survive."