"Don't worry, after the gala, I'll sneak out of the hotel and take a boat to international waters overnight. I'll personally watch the trophy sink into the sea!
If anyone wants to find it, they'd better be a god who can drain the ocean in one gulp!"
"You didn't leave any clues at the hotel, did you?"
"Rest assured, with the help of our patriotic youth... no, with the help of our country's patriotic youth, they won't find any clues even in another hundred years."
"Alright, I'll reimburse you for the people you hired. Cash transaction when you get back to the country!"
"Okay!"
After hanging up the phone, Gao Fei, standing before the floor-to-ceiling window of the villa, was in an exceptionally good mood.
The theft of the Dragon Country Golden Tree Award was a scheme orchestrated by him and Wang He.
Of course, it had received the tacit approval of the General Bureau and the Dragon Country Embassy.
The Golden Tree Award, which rightfully belonged to Dragon Country, had been manipulated by the officials of Jiada Country, allowing Robin and his pretty country jury to secretly operate and create a dual Golden Tree Award.
Moreover, Robin had arrogantly claimed it was a charity to Dragon Country and that they should be content.
Why keep such a shoddy award? Throwing it away was the most appropriate action.
Therefore, the General Bureau and the Embassy tacitly allowed Gao Fei and Wang He to stage the theft and provided cover.
This not only symbolized that Dragon Country did not care about a dual Golden Tree Award but also served to ridicule and annoy Jiada Country once again through the "one hundred yuan story," making it a win-win situation.
"So comfortable!"
Gao Fei stretched lazily as he faced the afterglow of the setting sun.
The film festival had concluded, and "Black and White Edge" was about to be released in cinemas worldwide.
Since the General Bureau had facilitated the arrangements, he didn't have to worry too much.
Additionally, after recording his solo performance late last night, Ye Sucheng had met with Gao Fei privately.
Master Su mentioned that "Black and White Edge," as the first film from Dragon Country to be nominated and win an international award at a film festival, had undergone high-level research by the General Bureau. They had exempted him from expenses such as film agency fees.
He had also been granted the most favorable profit-sharing percentage for domestic and international box office revenue.
The usual 50/50 or 40/60 split between films and cinemas had been changed to a 30/70 split, with him receiving seventy percent.
Furthermore, regarding taxation, after the General Bureau's negotiation with the tax bureau, his ten percent tax had been reduced by six percent.
He would only need to pay four percent tax on the total box office revenue, both domestic and international.
There were also revenue shares from video streaming platforms, the film's theme song, and so on...
The General Bureau had secured significant benefits for Gao Fei.
In addition to the rewards for the film's awards, Ye Sucheng also revealed another piece of news to Gao Fei.
If he truly wished to participate in next year's Oscars, the General Bureau would approve a portion of the filming budget for him, as a form of covert support for him as a new actor.
Ye Sucheng hadn't mentioned the exact amount of funding.
However, Gao Fei could tell from Master Su's tone that the budget was likely substantial, with a minimum of ten million.
Therefore, Gao Fei's next tasks were to deal with the entrepreneurial competition at Jingda University while also preparing to produce a new film.
As he was contemplating what genre of new film to make to contend for next year's Oscars, a young and beautiful woman in a business suit entered the living room.
"Boss, the interview is in two hours. We can leave now!"
The woman was none other than Mu Lingyan, the female secretary that Jin Qiqi had scouted for Gao Fei.
"You go prepare the car first!"
"Okay!"
After Mu Lingyan left, Gao Fei returned to his bedroom to change into the clothes he would wear for the interview.
Once dressed, he tidied up the items on his desk, packed them, and prepared to leave.
With everything ready, he drove to the Capital Radio and Television Station with Mu Lingyan and Zeng Keming.
On the way, they encountered the evening rush hour, and their car was stuck in traffic on the overpass.
With nothing else to do, Zeng Keming, who was driving, brought up the business in Fengyun City.
"Xiao Fei, following your previous plan, Yuanfei Barbecue has already expanded to twelve other cities in Yun Province, with one franchise store in each city.
Starting this month, Yuanfei Barbecue's franchise business has already extended to cities in other provinces.
According to the reports from two days ago, there are three franchise stores in Chuan Province and four in Linghui Province..."
Now, in addition to being spread throughout Yun Province, Yuanfei Barbecue also has franchise stores in five surrounding provinces and cities, totaling eighteen franchise stores in other provinces.
Excluding franchise fees, the monthly profit from the sale of barbecue sauce by Yuanfei Catering Company is 450,000.
The catering company is now managed by Yang Lan, who diligently keeps track of every penny for her son.
The barbecue sauce is delivered via express delivery to franchisees outside the local area.
Gao Fei had initially wanted his mother to come to the capital to enjoy life and not have to manage the catering company anymore.
However, after her last trip, Yang Lan felt that nowhere was as good as Fengyun City.
Combined with the need to distribute barbecue sauce, she did not agree to Gao Fei's request and remained in Fengyun.
Yang Lan knew her son was busy with his career and didn't require Gao Fei to return every month, only to come back when he had time.
Since his mother insisted on not coming to the capital, Gao Fei had no choice but to let her stay in Fengyun City.
However, he also planned to go back at the end of each month, as he had plenty of time.
As he was talking with Zeng Keming, Mu Lingyan, sitting in the passenger seat, was preparing interview materials while also keeping an eye on trending news online.
"Boss, the news from abroad has reached the country! And it's trending again!"
Since joining, Secretary Mu had finally witnessed what it meant for something to trend like drinking water.
Other celebrities and online influencers tried their best to get trending, but her boss, with just a slight connection or a name, could immediately trend.
This terrifying internet traffic was probably comparable only to A-list and top-tier celebrities in the entertainment industry.
"Routine, no need to pay too much attention!"
Gao Fei was no longer fazed by trending topics.
The film festival was over anyway, and trending topics wouldn't cause much of a stir.
What he was currently focused on was the new information from Zhang Cheng about the entrepreneurial competition.
According to the intelligence Zhang Cheng had gathered from various department teachers, the Jingda University Entrepreneurial Competition had been outside the school's management scope for the past five years, only being nominally affiliated.
The competition's organizing committee leaders were merely perfunctory positions held by school teachers.
It was no wonder that the three student representatives had proposed not allowing Gao Fei to participate back then; the decision was so hasty because it didn't require leadership approval.
It turned out the competition had long since changed hands, and the teachers in the organizing committee were just getting some experience.
Now, student entrepreneurial projects were primarily managed by the alumni association, with school teachers merely assisting.
Moreover, after Zhang Cheng's further inquiries, the person in charge of this year's entrepreneurial competition was Kong Liwei, the Vice President of the Alumni Association.
Kong Liwei was the founder of Shengdu Group and currently served as its chairman.
According to the latest news brought by Zhang Cheng, after Gao Fei had suppressed the entrepreneurial competition projects twice, Kong Liwei had dispatched a financial statistician from the association named Qiu Dongsheng.
While seemingly overseeing and recording the inflow and outflow of funds for the entrepreneurial competition, Qiu Dongsheng was actually responsible for monitoring and paying attention to Gao Fei.
This piece of information was naturally revealed by Teacher Li Changhuang, who was on good terms with Gao Fei.
"Damn it, what kind of shady dealings are going on with this entrepreneurial competition? You send someone over just because you targeted two projects? You can't handle it, can you?"