Traffic Star Development Program

Chapter 33 Dilraba's Reaction

The message was only one line: Mr. Zeng, the cinema chain called this afternoon ahead of schedule to say that the second batch of settlement payments arrived ahead of schedule and were deposited into the account this afternoon. I checked it, it's 8.32 million. I'll give you the voucher tomorrow.

After reading the message, Zeng Hao mentally reviewed the figures on the books.

1187 million plus 832 million, totaling 2019 million on the books.

He replied with two words: Received.

Then he put his phone in his pocket, turned off the lamp, stood up, and walked towards the door.

He paused at the door, turned around, turned the lamp back on, sat back down, picked up the memo, flipped to the last page, and wrote a line in the blank space: "Princess Goryeo Version Letter of Intent, arriving next week. Price range to be determined upon receipt."

After finishing writing, I capped the pen, turned off the lamp again, stood up, and went outside.

The lights in the hallway came on, and he walked toward the stairs. The rain outside hadn't stopped yet; he could hear the sound of raindrops hitting the parking lot floor through the window cracks—a fine, persistent sound that didn't seem to be stopping.

The accounts have exceeded 20 million.

He didn't tell anyone this number, including Sister Liu, Xu Wen, or any other artist.

The fewer people who know, the better. Money is for getting things done, not for people to relax. Once people in the company know that the accounts are in good shape, every expenditure will be a little more lenient than it is now. And that little leniency is the starting point for things to go wrong.

He turned up the collar of his coat, pushed open the door at the end of the corridor, and stepped into the rainy night.

The puddles in the parking lot cast long shadows of the streetlights. Zeng Hao walked around a puddle, headed to his car, and took out his keys.

I have things to take care of tomorrow.

We need to keep track of the filing progress for "Diamond Lover," wait for the letter of intent for the Korean version, push forward the remake of Xue Zhijian's arrangement, check the first batch of channel feedback from the initial screening of the boy group, and also deal with Yang Shanshan.

He got in the car, started the engine, and turned on the windshield wipers. The rainwater on the windshield was wiped to the sides, and his vision became clear.

Zeng Hao drove the car out of the parking lot and into the early winter night of Qianhu City.

The rain stopped in the latter half of the night.

When Zeng Hao arrived at the company in the morning, there was still water on the parking lot, which reflected the light and cast a blurry shadow of the building on the ground, which would shatter in the wind.

He went upstairs, hung up his coat, sat down, and first glanced at the data on the peephole.

"Back to 20" updated today, reaching 2.28 million views.

With daily box office revenue dropping to around 1.3 million, and the pace of recovery slowing down, Zeng Hao estimates the final figure will be between 2.36 million and 2.38 million, with little deviation.

He put down his phone, picked up his notes app, updated a number in the box office section, then flipped to the page for the Korean version and glanced at the line he had written the night before.

Letter of intent, will arrive next week.

Today is Monday.

He closed the memo and began to deal with the day's tasks.

Nothing major happened in the morning. Xu Wen sent a follow-up message saying that two of the first two channels contacted by the art schools had responded. The Beijing Film Academy was willing to cooperate and could arrange for company personnel to enter the school for informal contact. The Central Academy of Drama had not yet responded. Xu Wen said that he had sent a second email and was waiting for a reply.

Zeng Hao replied: "Let's push things forward in Beijing first. There's no rush with the Central Academy of Drama, we'll wait."

There was no need for him to say anything more about this; Xu Wen knew what to do.

At three o'clock in the afternoon, Sister Liu knocked on the door and came in, holding a printed document in her hand, which she placed on Zeng Hao's desk.

"Regarding the 'Diamond Lover' project, the General Administration called today," Sister Liu said. "They said the project application forms and materials are complete, the review has no problems, and the registration number is expected to be issued this Friday, almost a week earlier than expected."

Zeng Hao picked up the document and glanced at it. It was a copy of the receipt for registration from the General Administration. The project name, acceptance number, and acceptance date were all in the correct format and there were no problems.

"Has Peng Bing notified them yet?" he asked.

"Not yet," Sister Liu said. "We're waiting for your confirmation."

"We'll notify you after the registration number is issued," Zeng Hao said. "Notifying us too early now could lead to problems if the production team relaxes their efforts in the days leading up to filming. We'll notify you on the same day the registration number is issued and set the start date for filming that same day."

Sister Liu wrote this down, "What about Dilireba's side?"

"Simultaneously," Zeng Hao said, "Once the registration number is issued and the start-up date is set, let Xu Wen notify them; I don't need to be involved."

Sister Liu agreed and went out.

Zeng Hao updated a line in the "Diamond Lover" section of his memo: "Registration number this Friday, start-up notification sent simultaneously, Dilireba resource terms fulfillment node confirmed."

After finishing writing, put down the pen.

It's a week earlier than expected, which is a good thing, but there are also things we need to keep a close eye on. Once the registration number is issued, the preparation time before turning on the machine will be even shorter.

Peng Bing's production team needs to keep up with the preparations, including the location, costumes, props, and actors' schedules, once the registration number is issued.

These matters must all be confirmed within 48 hours; there can be no delay.

He sent Xu Wen a message: "The registration number for 'Diamond Lover' will be released this Friday. Notify Peng Bing in advance and ask him to give me the checklist for preparations before filming starts. I need it today, and I'll come to review it."

Xu Wen replied quickly: Okay, I'll contact him now.

An hour later, Peng Bing sent over his pre-production checklist. Xu Wen forwarded it to Zeng Hao, adding: "Director Peng said he had already prepared everything in advance and hadn't been idle while waiting for the filing number."

Zeng Hao opened the list and looked at it.

The main venue has been confirmed; it's a commercial building in the suburbs of Qianhu City. We've secured two weeks' worth of filming rights, and the cost is within budget. The costume, makeup, and props team is in place, and the styling plan was finalized last week. We've connected with two local agencies for extras, and the prices have been agreed upon. Regarding the actors' schedules, Xu Wen has already reserved slots for Dilraba Dilmurat, so there shouldn't be any issues. Two other supporting actors still need confirmation, but Peng Bing noted that everything should be finalized by Thursday at the latest.

After reviewing the list, there were no omissions. Zeng Hao knew that Peng Bing was reliable; he had directed "Go Princess Go" and the budget of 900,000 yuan was used up without any issues. This time, with a budget of 8.5 million yuan, as long as the script was sound, there shouldn't be any major problems.

Zeng Hao added a note at the end of the list: "All supporting roles must be finalized by Thursday. If there are any problems, come directly to me. Don't wait." He then sent it back to Xu Wen.

The registration number arrived on Friday afternoon.

Sister Liu printed out the filing notice from the General Administration and placed it on Zeng Hao's desk. "Mr. Zeng, the filing number for 'Diamond Lover' has been issued. The project number is here."

Zeng Hao took it and glanced at it. The number, project name, and filing date were all correct. He signed the notice in the upper right corner and pushed it back. "Have Xu Wen send out the start-up notice today, and have Peng Bing do the same. The start-up date is set for December 5th, no postponement."

"Should Xu Wen go and inform Dilireba?"

"Yes," Zeng Hao said, "Just tell her the registration number has been issued and the start date is December 5th. Tell her to arrange her schedule accordingly. That's all."

Sister Liu agreed and went out with the notice.

At 4 PM, Xu Wen sent a feedback message.

The notice to start filming has been sent out, and Peng Bing has confirmed that filming will begin on December 5th. As for Dilraba, Xu Wen said that when she received the notice, she was asked whether she needed to be present on the first day of filming.

Zeng Hao read the message and replied: "Have Xu Wen tell her that she should arrive on the first day at 10 a.m. Her scene is the third one. She just needs to go over her lines."

Xu Wen: Okay.

That was the end of it, without any further back and forth.

When Dilireba received the notification, Zeng Hao could guess her reaction, but that wasn't something he needed to worry about.