Chapter Seventeen: A Magic Trick—300 Seconds of CCTV Advertising!

“Little sister, of course we’re part of the crew. Come on, sit down, let’s have a proper talk.”

Sun Donghai’s tone and expression when he saw Hao Lei didn’t seem friendly at all.

“Cough, cough!” Ma Xun had no choice but to clear his throat twice.

“Behave yourself, kid!”

After the warning, Sun Donghai toned it down.

But that earlier move had genuinely startled Hao Lei.

After all, she hadn’t officially graduated from high school yet.

Ma Xun noticed this and said, “Let’s wait for the teachers from CCTV. We just arrived too.”

This made Hao Lei breathe a sigh of relief and shoot Ma Xun a grateful glance.

Sun Donghai, in turn, gave Ma Xun a thumbs-up.

“Bro, you’re straight-up! I was just testing you.”

Yeah, right!

Of course, Ma Xun didn’t expose him or say anything more.

That little incident passed quietly.

Soon, people started arriving in the classroom—our second aunt and other CCTV staff.

The director, the cinematographer, and so on.

About five or six people, naturally including Li Fangfang.

In the industry, everyone just called her “Teacher.”

Only then did Hao Lei meet everyone and introduced herself first.

“My name is Hao Lei, I’m eighteen this year, from Jilin…”

Ma Xun already knew all this.

Sun Donghai listened intently.

Taking this opportunity, Ma Xun also got a clearer picture of the casting process for our drama.

Hao Lei had stood out among thousands of candidates.

But no final decisions had been made yet.

There were a few others who seemed promising and needed further consideration.

In other words, she had passed the open auditions and entered the elimination round.

There were other roles too.

“Seventeen and Not Crying” was a high school drama, so naturally, there were male classmates as well.

The male lead was Jian Ning…

Da Heiniu had also arrived.

But Ma Xun spoke up.

“I’ve looked over one student’s profile before. His appearance is quite good… yes, him.”

The profile was pulled out and the teachers examined it.

“Oh, Chen Kun? He’s a bit older, right?”

“But his look is indeed excellent.”

“A student from Beijing Film Academy?”

“Right, Teacher Cui recruited him this year.”

Ma Xun’s suggestion immediately sparked discussion among the teachers.

We were borrowing a classroom from Beijing Film Academy.

And he proposed a student from there.

Looking at the appearance, it really was outstanding.

Except for being a bit older, everything else was excellent.

Why did Ma Xun make this “suggestion”?

Of course, to make more money!

The higher the ratings of our drama, the more Ma Xun and Sun Donghai would earn.

The original Jian Ning wasn’t bad, but compared to Chen Kun?

Da Heiniu lost completely.

Ma Xun’s sole goal was clear…

Right now, I just want to make money!

He didn’t even mention Xiao Ming.

Ma Xun knew about it.

Our Ming’s art exam scene was basically a car accident scene.

Teacher Cui had said so explicitly when recruiting him—because of his looks.

Ming’s acting skills were zero, maybe even negative.

Best to let him train quietly with Teacher Cui for now.

Still, Ma Xun’s “suggestion” caught quite a bit of attention.

———

For example, Hao Lei.

The girl glanced at Ma Xun a few times more than usual.

But that was just a trivial detail.

Time passed quickly.

It was noon.

Time for a break and lunch.

Ma Xun and Sun Donghai headed to the cafeteria.

The Beijing Film Academy cafeteria was okay for now.

Later, it seemed only one teppanyaki rice bowl place was decent.

But eating wasn’t the focus.

“Bro, do you know that Chen Kun guy?” Sun Donghai started.

Ma Xun knew what he wanted to say. “No.”

“Ah? Then why did you still…”

“Bro, be honest with me. How many people are you planning to arrange? And how much have you taken?”

As soon as Ma Xun said this, Sun Donghai couldn’t hold back his laughter.

“Ah, not many, just seventy or eighty thousand.”

Just as expected!

Ma Xun added, “All young girls?”

“Bro, you really get me!”

Sun Donghai didn’t shy away from admitting it.

But in the industry, this was not a big deal.

The entertainment world did make money.

But before earning, there was a price to pay.

Sun Donghai’s sum was still small money.

Later, there was a term—

“Bringing capital into the crew.”

Ma Xun took this as an opportunity to expand.

“Bro, I don’t know Chen Kun personally, but judging from the profile, if he’s our male lead, this drama will definitely be a hit. Which means more money for us.”

“Exactly! My bro’s got vision.”

“Don’t rush to flatter me. The money you’re making isn’t even close to enough!”

Ma Xun’s words immediately piqued Sun Donghai’s curiosity.

Actually, Ma Xun had said before that even before filming, they could make their money back.

Sun Donghai was tempted.

He was thinking about the casting rights.

But now it seemed Ma Xun had an even better plan.

In fact, the casting rights were just a smokescreen for Ma Xun.

The real method was here.

He made a gesture, and Sun Donghai leaned in.

Ma Xun whispered, “You used to do clothing business, right? How many bosses do you know?”

“Not many… but I do have a few close buddies.”

“Gather them all and tell them we have a CCTV drama and a chance for product placement.”

“Product placement? We don’t have that authority.”

“Shut up and listen to me.”

“Okay, okay, I’m listening.”

“Here’s the deal: the drama has ten episodes, and I can offer 30 seconds of ad time per episode. That’s 300 seconds total—five minutes.”

“How exactly does that work?”

“Simple. Shots longer than ten seconds are called long shots. We stick to shots under ten seconds.

For example, if a student uses correction fluid in the drama, we give that brand a three to five-second shot, then that brand…”

At this point, Sun Donghai slapped his thigh.

“Damn!”

This trick was amazing! Like magic!

“Keep your voice down!”

“Sorry, sorry, I’m quiet… Bro, this move is genius!”

“About five to ten ads per episode. Just try to find brands close to students: drinks, bottled water, sausages…”

Huh? Why does this sound like a train ride?

“What about the money…”

“Let them bid for it!”

“Oh, I get it—we do competitive bidding!”

Sun Donghai understood this well.

CCTV had been doing ad bidding since 1994.

And breaking a hundred million was fast.

The current top bidder was Qin Chi Liquor.

They were truly willing to invest billions in CCTV ads.

But then the company collapsed.

In 1996, we had 300 seconds of ad time in a CCTV drama.

That was really valuable!

Still, there were issues.

“About the implementation… right, this advertising…”

Sun Donghai understood some of it, but many parts were unclear.

Ma Xun smiled and continued quietly, “This is called product placement. It’s been around abroad for a long time, but no one talks about it here, though I’m sure people have been doing it all along.”

Sun Donghai’s mind filled with images from films and TV shows.

There were branded products…

He slapped his thigh again.

“Bro, life’s unfair to me. Why didn’t we meet earlier?”

Yeah, how much money had they missed!

Ma Xun went on quietly, “For execution…”

Sun Donghai jumped in, “Director, cinematographer, props…”

“Editing… these teachers and your second aunt. Give them a hundred or two hundred thousand. I notice their clothes are too plain.”

“Exactly! The teachers are too poor. Let’s treat it like poverty alleviation.”

Good grief, really good grief!

This kind of poverty relief…

But that’s the only way.

Ma Xun made it clear—people had been doing this for a long time, but no one made it official.

Did CCTV not know?

Of course they knew!

So why did so many dramas have branded products?

That’s what the one or two hundred thousand was for.

Actually, many in the entertainment industry got rich through ads.

The Wang brothers were the craziest with product placement later.

And General Manager Li of Xiao Ma’s company too.

The reason was simple: advertising profit was huge!

It was the big trend of the 1990s.

Sun Donghai had resources but no connections.

Ma Xun had connections but no resources.

Now they were helping each other perfectly.

This meal was incredibly valuable.

After eating, it was time to pay.

“I’ll take care of it.”

Cafeteria meals were cheap these days, so Ma Xun treated them.

Eighty cents.

But when he pulled out money, a small notebook slipped out.

Ma Xun quickly tucked it back, but Sun Donghai saw it.

No comment from him.

The advertising plan wasn’t urgent now.

In the afternoon, they still had to watch the actors.

The CCTV teachers had already started discussing the female lead.

“I think Hao Lei is great.”

“Indeed, she fits perfectly in age and other aspects.”

“Any new suggestions or opinions from others?”

It was almost decided that Hao Lei would have the role.

Ma Xun had no objections; the role was excellent.

Everyone who had seen the drama knew the female lead outshone the male lead.

Unexpectedly, Ma Xun suddenly felt his pockets being picked.

Then Sun Donghai stood up.

“Teachers, I have a ‘new suggestion.’ Take a look at this student…”

Sun Donghai handed over Gao Yuanyuan’s student ID, looking radiant!

Ma Xun was dumbfounded.

But Sun Donghai turned back with a smile and gave an OK sign.

Bro, I get your intent. I got your back!

Ma Xun’s heart felt like a vast prairie.

Ten thousand wild horses galloping wildly…