Huayu Chef

100 top beauties are about to arrive on the battlefield.

Early the next morning.

Zhang Jinxuan got up early and rushed to the shop to make braised dishes with Mao Juncong.

Last week's three-day Qingming Festival holiday exhausted the "Iron Man" Tang Qiwen, and he's not as eager to work overtime as he was last month. This week, he'll be on normal shifts according to the schedule.

With one less braised food chef, Zhang Jinxuan needs to fill the vacancy to ensure that daily revenue reaches more than 2.

Cashier Xiao Yu is also on leave.

Busy until eight o'clock, Sister Liu returned with breakfast. The employees washed their hands and went to the dining area to get their breakfast to satisfy their hunger.

Little assistant Jingjing appeared after smelling the aroma.

She walked in with her hands behind her back, sniffed, and asked, "Sister Liu, what's for breakfast this morning?"

"Steamed dumplings, steamed buns, fried dough sticks, and soy milk."

"Give me a basket of xiaolongbao, two youtiao (fried dough sticks), and a cup of soy milk."

Zhang Jinxuan came out of the kitchen and, upon hearing Jingjing's words, joked, "Jingjing, you have such a good appetite every day, you'll eat our Wild Kitchen out of business sooner or later."

Jingjing said with a grin, "It's basic stuff, Brother Xuan. It's too late for you to regret it now. Yesterday, Sister Yaoyao asked me to go to the studio today to complete my resignation procedures. She's already given me instructions. From now on, I'll be working for you, Brother Xuan."

"When are you going to the studio?"

"Go whenever you have time."

"Let's go over after breakfast. I don't have much to do here." Zhang Jinxuan tossed the car keys to Jingjing, grabbed a bag of steamed buns, a fried dough stick, and a cup of soy milk, and whispered to Jingjing as he ate, "Rent me a house with good security and privacy, a large area with many rooms, the sooner the better."

A while ago, Nazha moved to the Beijing Film Academy residential area, and Zhang Jinxuan wanted to change houses. Based on the principle of proximity, he planned to rent a small apartment of about 100 square meters. However, seeing that his popularity was increasing, it was too conspicuous for him to be seen with Nazha. He decided to find another place.

With money to invest in Wu Jing's movies, renting a big house to improve their quality of life is no problem at all.

After clarifying Zhang Jinxuan's requirements for the house, Jingjing readily agreed and went to the studio to fire Yang Mi after breakfast.

Not long after she left, Xiao Song, the finance manager, came to work at the store and reported to Zhang Jinxuan on the progress of the new employee recruitment. Zhang Jinxuan was overjoyed to learn that two applicants who had passed the initial screening would be coming to apply for general positions.

Great, another new employee has come to help him out.

Xiao Song is so capable, she must be entrusted with important responsibilities. Zhang Jinxuan rewarded her by having her liaise with a professional agency to keep track of the film and television company's registration progress, cooperate with them to complete the procedures as soon as possible, and also keep an eye on the decoration of the new store.

Zhang Jinxuan could also register a film and television company, but he didn't have time to run around. He had to stay in the shop today, and Mao Juncong was on leave tomorrow. After signing the endorsement contract with Weilong Spicy Strips, Zhang Jinxuan had to rush back to make braised dishes.

Youku is holding a major meeting the day after tomorrow to adjust the company structure and management. Zhu Xiangyang has already called Zhang Jinxuan to inform him to attend a banquet the day after tomorrow afternoon, as people from Hunan TV will be there.

The person leading the team is quite a big shot; he is a deputy director of a TV station, concurrently serving as the chief editor of the editorial office of Hunan TV and the director of the satellite channel. He also served as the planner and chief producer of the first season of "I Am a Singer," which aired earlier this year.

It's just that different platforms lead to different social circles.

If Zeng Jia or Yang Mi were to contact Hunan TV, they probably wouldn't have the influence or the efficiency.

He managed to get in touch with senior executives at Youku over a single meal, which led to connections with senior executives at Hunan TV. He played a brilliant high-level game.

In fact, that's not all. Youku plans to invest in and produce a movie version of "Old Boys". Since it lacks its own film distribution capabilities, it plans to cooperate with LeTV Pictures. See, it can build connections in the film distribution industry.

Looking back now, the food we ate last Wednesday was absolutely worth it.

Zhang Jinxuan is looking forward to the dinner party in a few days. If the "Wild Kitchen" reality show project is successfully completed, he will have achieved a mutually beneficial partnership with Youku and Hunan TV.

Once the show and "Swords of Legends" are broadcast on satellite TV, and you achieve real success, your popularity will skyrocket, and your status will soar. Then you can try to create a buzz and generate more revenue.

He is not convincing enough yet.

Yesterday, a senior from the directing department said he wanted to adapt Liu San's family's story into a TV series, and Zhang Jinxuan offered to play the male lead. Yao Yao's indifference speaks volumes.

If it were Yang Mi, she definitely wouldn't be able to hold back. She would use some manipulative tactics to get Yang Mi to follow Jia Jie's lead and emphasize that Jia Jie would never harm her.

Zeng Jia, who was far away in Shanghai, also received a call from Zhu Xiangyang and agreed to attend the meeting on time. Then she found Yang Mi, who was filming, and told her about it.

Presenting data, explaining the pros and cons, and providing a comprehensive market analysis, Yang Mi listened with nods of approval, feeling that the future prospects were bright. She also had high hopes for Zhang Jinxuan's potential and was eager to try her hand at it, determined to get a share of the pie in the "Wild Kitchen" reality show.

Zeng Jia felt gratified. Now the boss of the studio is Yang Mi, whose popularity, fame, status, and capital can all be used as bargaining chips to fight for benefits.

So, Yang Mi took leave yet again.

The director readily approved the leave, granting permission for as many days as requested, and quickly adjusted the filming schedule.

If it's not approved, he'll be the one to retire due to illness.

"Micro Era" was produced by H&R Century Pictures, with Zeng Jia and Yang Mi as producers. The cast was a "gift package" from Jiaxing Media, and many big-name actors were brought in by Yang Mi. They are not to be trifled with, not at all.

At this time, Yang Mi still had a lot of prestige.

Just as the three "giants of Jiaxing" were flying to Beijing, Youku headquarters held a meeting of all senior executives.

After the meeting, Gu Yongqiang, chairman of Youku Tudou, sent an internal email disclosing details of the new management positions.

Youku Tudou divided the group's business into two major business units: Youku and Tudou. Zhang Jinxuan invited Wei Ming, who had dinner with him, to be promoted to president of Youku. Wei Ming would report to the group's general manager and chairman, making him second only to the two and above everyone else.

Zhu Xiangyang has been promoted to Chief Content Officer of the Group, and Zhu Huilong has been promoted to Vice President of the Group, responsible for the business sector.

In his previous life, Zhu Huilong was the CEO of Heyi Pictures. After leaving Youku, he founded Shanghai Mingjian Pictures, where he participated in the production and operation of many well-known film and television works, and had considerable influence and connections in the industry.

……

On Thursday, both of Wild Kitchen's braised food chefs, Mao Juncong and Tang Qiwen, were at the store, allowing Zhang Jinxuan to escape and wander around. He first went to check out the new store and then visited his senior from the directing department's studio.

Zhang Jinxuan, holding a teacup, sat next to his senior from the directing department watching the fifth episode's final cut. Seeing his senior pointing at the screen, he asked, "Jinxuan, shouldn't the song 'Justice Bao' be playing at the beginning?"

"How can we distribute it without buying the copyright?"

The directing major student nonchalantly remarked, "Without background music, the effect will be much worse. TV programs can use other people's songs freely, so it shouldn't be a problem for us to chime in, right?"

Zhang Jinxuan waved his hand and said, "Don't take any chances. I'd rather have a worse outcome than sit in the defendant's seat."

The junior colleague chimed in, "You could just hire a lawyer to sit in."

"Junior brother, you're ranked 6th, that's impressive! So experienced, you must be a repeat offender, right?"

"I've never even been to a courthouse; I only heard about it from a friend."

"A friend made out of thin air, the friend of a friend."

"Ha ha."

The senior from the directing department grinned, turned his chair towards Zhang Jinxuan, and said, "Xiao San and the others went to Kaifeng to ask around, but they said they wouldn't let us film."

"If Third Senior Sister heard you call her 'mistress,' she'd definitely slap you across the face," Zhang Jinxuan joked, then casually asked while staring at the screen, "Why aren't you allowed to film it?"

"The fishing boats on the Yellow River were a model economy created by a leader in the early 2000s. Now there are too many fishing boats operating without licenses. Several departments, including industry and commerce, environmental protection, river management, and transportation and maritime affairs, are watching them closely. The wind has changed, and they say they want to bring the kitchens ashore. If we film it as you suggested, it won't look good to them."

Zhang Jinxuan said nonchalantly, "If you don't allow us to take pictures, then let Third Senior Sister and the others come back."

"Let me finish," the senior from the directing department said excitedly. "They just told us not to talk too much about the development of fishing boats, but it's still okay to use the changes in the lives of fishermen's families to reflect the prosperity and progress of Kaifeng. Today, the propaganda department invited Xiao San and the others over for tea."

Zhang Jinxuan looked away, a surprised expression on his face. "Tea?"

"Yes, let's have tea."

"That's interesting. If the Kaifeng propaganda department is willing to support it, then Senior Brother's idea will have a basis to become a reality. Third Senior Sister and the others are quite lucky."

"Ahem." The senior from the directing department rubbed his hands together and chuckled dryly, "Jinxuan, this is all thanks to you."

"My contribution? What does that have to do with me?"

"Those mistresses have stolen your thunder."

Zhang Jinxuan looked completely bewildered. "When did I become someone with such influence?"

The senior from the directing department had a strange expression: "Xiao San and the others took out a group photo of you. One of the young leaders had a phone full of your memes and recognized you at a glance."

Zhang Jinxuan: "..."

Using emojis to smooth over government relations—who else does that?

Zhang Jinxuan was both amused and exasperated by this dramatic turn of events. Just as he was about to speak, his cell phone suddenly rang.

"Hold on."

He took out his phone and saw that it was an unfamiliar local Beijing number.

"Hello, who is this?"

"Little Xuanxuan, come and eat hot pot..."