I Inherited 5,000 Years of Family Property

"Bought it? Are you serious?"

This news was no less shocking to Wang Ling than the revelation that Poladi's startup funds had come from Zhang Menglong's grandfather.

Countless organizations had tried to woo that special effects team, including Hollywood's largest special effects company, which even offered $200 million to sign them up, but they were rejected.

Keep in mind, to date, the highest payday for any movie in the world has been $100 million. For a special effects team of less than a hundred people, that was an astronomical figure.

It was clear how stringently this special effects group chose their projects.

"Haven't you heard that 'money talks'?" Zhang Menglong said. "It wasn't expensive, just $1 billion, and they'll work exclusively for me until retirement!"

"Shit!" Wang Ling couldn't help but curse. $1 billion to acquire a special effects team was something probably only Zhang Menglong could afford. "I guess it wasn't that simple, was it?"

"Of course not!" Zhang Menglong continued, "Once, when they were shooting a movie, they had to cut a large part of the special effects scenes because the budget was insufficient, which greatly disappointed them. That's why they are only willing to join a production that has sufficient funding."

"How did you talk to them?"

"I told them that the special effects investment in movies I shoot in the future would be no less than $500 million, then they begged to work for me. They even said they'd work for just a base salary without a signing bonus. I had no choice but to agree."

"Damn, sounds like you knocked them out with money!" The team that even the largest special effects company in the world couldn't hire was begging Zhang Menglong to take them. If this news broke, it would be another huge story.

However, on second thought, if these people could refuse Hollywood's hefty offers, they must have some unique pursuits. Ordinary movie investments couldn't satisfy their artistic ambitions.

To date, the most expensive movie ever made had a total investment of less than $400 million, and that included the actors' fees.

And Zhang Menglong alone was willing to spend $500 million on special effects. Who would want to give up such a golden opportunity?

"Awesome, with this team on board, we could have actors lining up from here to the capital to join us!" Wang Ling said confidently.

The box office success of the Carat special effects team's work had already proven their skill. Even with a cast of monkeys, they could produce epic special effects. Who would pass up the chance to join such a project, even with the potential to win Best Actor?

Some people would even bash their heads to audition without asking for a fee!

"But for one movie, aren't you investing a bit too much?" Wang Ling asked. "Buying them out and having them work until retirement just for one movie. Are you planning to support them in their old age?"

"That's just the first movie. There will be a second and a third!" Zhang Menglong replied.
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"And what after you're done filming?" Wang Ling continued to ask.

"Don't worry, I'm a boss who ruthlessly exploits his workers. Once they're done filming the movies, I'll have them shoot whatever I want to see."

"You think the Broadcasting Authority is yours to control? There are many topics that even if you shoot them, they won't let you release."

"Who says movies have to be released? I'll just make a cut and enjoy it alone in my private home theater. Isn't that a delight?"

Fuck! Only you would think of that!" Wang Ling was astounded. Zhang Menglong didn't spend $1 billion to buy a special effects team with the intention of making money back, but rather to make movies for his personal enjoyment.

Wang Ling used to think there were only two kinds of people in the world: the poor and the rich. Now, it seemed there were actually three types: the poor, the rich, and Zhang Menglong.

...

"Three days later, auditions for 'Three-Body' will be held at the Jiangnan City Sports Center. Interested actors are welcome to audition!" After getting home, Zhang Menglong immediately posted the announcement on his Weibo, directly mentioning the studios of the actors he had in mind.

As of now, Zhang Menglong's Weibo followers had reached an astonishing 50 million, and any update he made was even more powerful than a central news broadcast.

"What's the situation? Didn't Principal Wang say a few days ago that Wang Miao's role was confirmed for Wang Zihan? Why is he now inviting others to audition?"

"Zheng Yijian? Who's that? Never heard of him. Some third-rate actor from who-knows-where? Is Principal Wang short on money?"

"Bullshit. This time Zhang Menglong is the investor, the wealthiest man in the world. He's not short on cash, and neither would Principal Wang be!"

"The one upstairs must be born after 2005, right? You've never heard of Zheng Yijian? A third-rate actor? When he was all the rage you might still have been in your mom's belly!"

"Hahaha, exactly, back then 'Legend of Mount Shu' was the peak of domestic Xianxia special effects. Look at what we have now, Energy-converting horses? What kind of crap is that?"

"Damn, they're all Emperor Level old actors!"

"Hahaha, I know why now, it must be because people like Wang Zihan have the acting skills of a fart, and Zhang just directly despised it!"

"Haha, fair point. Just for this cast alone, I give 100 likes!"

"It's about time for this. These actors these days ask for a salary more ruthless than robbery, and the works they make are like trash. I support Zhang's choice!"

The netizens immediately engaged in frenzied discussion. Anyone with a bit of sense could guess why Zhang Menglong had decided to change the actors based on the invitation list.

...

"What? Wang Ling is going to break the contract?" A few hours later, Wang Zihan got the news from his agent. Wang Ling had taken the initiative to cancel the film agreement with him and had even transferred the breach of contract fee into his account.

As a popular young actor, Wang Zihan was thriving, with variety shows, TV series, movies, and an almost non-stop stream of film offers in recent years, raking in a very substantial income.

Though he had a face that attracted young girls, his acting skills were far inferior to the amount of effort he wasted on makeup every day.

But in this era, popularity is everything. Even if the movies he acted in were trash, he still had a horde of crazy fans willing to pay for him.

In his heart, he had subtly come to regard himself as a celebrity actor, and the idea of a movie contract being torn up was nearly unacceptable to him!

Even though Wang Ling's family was wealthy, Wang Zihan didn't fear Wang Ling, after all, he was just him, not his father.

"Yes," Wang Zihan's agent said, "it seems that Wang Ling plans to invite a bunch of washed-up old actors for his project. The internet is blowing up about it, and there's a lot of criticism against you."

"What washed-up old actors," Wang Zihan scoffed, "What box office can they bring with their acting? Can acting feed them? Without public interest, are they selling feelings or what?"

"Zihan, could it be because you're asking for too high a fee?"

"Don't I, Wang Zihan, deserve this price?" Wang Zihan glared at his agent, "From the last film, I got 30 million, and for this kind of challenging film, I think 50 million isn't too much!"

"What should we do now? The studio started to hype this topic yesterday. If we just end the collaboration like this, it might negatively impact you," the agent said worriedly, "and the main investor this time is Zhang Menglong..."

"What's there to be afraid of? Even if they're rich, they're just a couple of rich second-generations. I don't provoke them, they better not provoke me. Post the previous agreement online; they're the ones who breached it unilaterally. From now on, we refuse all collaboration with them," Wang Zihan added, "and don't just accept any film offer in the future. It's a waste of time!"

Despite his unwillingness, Wang Zihan was secretly delighted in his heart. He had almost effortlessly received this 10 million breach of contract fee. It was as if it had fallen from the sky.

Soon, Wang Zihan's studio responded. It has to be said that the power of a popularity star is indeed not small. Wang Zihan had more than 40 million fans on Weibo, and the fans from both sides had actually fallen into a war of words.

"Interesting, they refuse all collaboration with us?" Zhang Menglong sneered as he looked at Wang Zihan's studio's statement, "As if you're qualified to collaborate with us."

Zhang Menglong opened Weibo and directly posted the cooperation agreement with the Poladi special effects team.

"Poladi special effects team! Is that the one recognized as the world's number one special effects team?"

"Holy crap, a 50-year cooperation agreement? How is that any different from a buyout?"

"Another worker bee from the Zhang family! Blimey! I take back what I said, with that special effects team, who needs a popularity star!"

"Awesome, it looks like we're going to make an epic movie this time. Maybe it could even take down 'Avengers'!"

"Zhang is legit (voice crack)!"

...