Chapter 10

The popularity of *Empresses in the Palace* brought Wang Shang to the attention of the media, but he was still largely ignored, which helped his restless heart begin to settle. Wang Shang felt that he had been a bit too proud and self-satisfied lately, and realized that there were things beyond his control as a newcomer.

However, the success of *Empresses in the Palace* finally allowed Wang Shang to escape poverty and enter a more comfortable life, with his income steadily increasing.

According to the agreement, Wang Shang would receive 4% of the net profit from *Empresses in the Palace* as compensation for the script. The show was sold to Suzhou TV for a high price, with a base price of 800,000 yuan per episode and a floating price based on ratings, ensuring a substantial profit.

Don't be fooled by the seemingly small percentage. Currently, the highest price for the first broadcast rights of a show on China's top TV stations is around 500,000 yuan, but *Empresses in the Palace* was sold for a base price of 800,000 yuan per episode plus a floating price based on ratings.

If we calculate based on a 3.0 rating, each episode would sell for 1.2 million yuan, which is 2.4 times higher than the previous record of 500,000 yuan, a truly terrifying figure.

When this purchase price was announced, it shocked countless media outlets and TV stations into silence.

Moreover, *Empresses in the Palace* was stretched to 84 episodes, making it a "giant" in the industry. Of course, these extra episodes were added without compromising the quality of the plot, and Wang Shang wouldn't sabotage his own future for a small profit.

Based on this, the first broadcast rights for *Empresses in the Palace* would sell for 100.8 million yuan, a staggering amount.

After deducting various costs, Wang Shang's income from the sale of the first broadcast rights would exceed 1.5 million yuan. In this timeline, copyright awareness is strong, so selling the online rights and rebroadcast rights multiple times would only increase his income.

However, Wang Shang hasn't received the money yet, as Suzhou TV will only finalize the payment after the final ratings are confirmed.

Moreover, to produce *Old Boy*, Wang Shang had already incurred a debt of over 400,000 yuan to Great Tang International for equipment, staff, and actors.

Before earning any money, Wang Shang was already in deep debt, a situation only he could handle with such confidence and boldness.

After calming down, Wang Shang headed straight to the post-production studio for *Old Boy*.

*Old Boy* needed to be edited and dubbed urgently during this period to take advantage of the popularity of *Empresses in the Palace* and further boost his own momentum.

However, Wang Shang also began preparing for another important event.

The Spring Festival!

The Spring Festival, starting from the first year of Emperor Wu of Han, uses the first month of the lunar calendar as the beginning of the year. Since then, the date of the festival has been fixed and has continued to the present day. After the 1911 Xinhai Revolution, the Gregorian calendar was adopted, and January 1st was called "New Year's Day," while the first day of the lunar calendar was called "Spring Festival."

The Spring Festival is the most important traditional festival in China, symbolizing unity, prosperity, and new hopes for the future.

This Spring Festival was the first one Wang Shang had celebrated since his rebirth, and he placed great importance on it.

In this timeline, because China did not experience the ten years of turmoil, many traditions were well-preserved, and the government actively promoted traditional culture, making the Spring Festival atmosphere even more vibrant.

Cleaning, posting Spring Festival couplets, setting off firecrackers, welcoming the gods, avoiding evil, watching the Spring Festival Gala, staying up late, paying respects to ancestors, and visiting relatives.

Although Wang Shang lived in Shanghai, his roots were in a small village in Jibei Province, so he had to return home for the festival.

However, Wang Shang was used to spending money freely and didn't like the idea of squeezing onto a bus during the Spring Festival. He also didn't want his parents to suffer on the journey. Despite his debts, Wang Shang borrowed 100,000 yuan from acquaintances in the *Empresses in the Palace* production team and bought a simple car.

Spacious, comfortable, and of decent quality.

Wang Shang drove with a smile, taking his parents on a joyful journey back home for the Spring Festival.

Back in his hometown, they all wore thick clothes, cleaned the house, posted Spring Festival couplets, and slaughtered chickens and ducks. The three of them worked hard and finally finished all the preparations before New Year's Eve.

Although they were busy, the Spring Festival brought joy. When the New Year's Eve firecrackers started popping, the entire village was filled with the festive spirit.

After dinner, Wang Shang received New Year's red envelopes from his parents.

"Red envelopes? I haven't received them in years..." Holding the two heavy envelopes, Wang Shang's thoughts drifted far away.

The family then sat on the new sofa in the living room, with the heater on, waiting for the Spring Festival Gala to start.

In this timeline, the Spring Festival Gala on the national TV station has always been popular, continuously innovating and maintaining tradition, making it an important entertainment activity for countless families across China on New Year's Eve.

According to CSN ratings, the Spring Festival Gala on the national TV station in 2000 had a staggering 71% viewership, meaning that 71% of households in China were watching the gala on New Year's Eve.

Other TV stations' Spring Festival Galas were always overshadowed by the national TV station, and other TV programs had to avoid the gala's peak time, even the extremely popular *Empresses in the Palace*.

The 3% rating of *Empresses in the Palace* was nothing compared to the 71% of the national TV station's gala.

Wang Shang and his parents sat on the new sofa in the living room, with the heater on, waiting for the gala to start.

The gala officially began at 8 PM, with the familiar opening remarks from the host.

Wang Shang's parents were delighted, while Wang Shang watched with a critical eye.

It must be said that this gala was the best one Wang Shang had ever seen, with no other gala coming close. He couldn't help but think, "I must direct a gala in my lifetime to make it worthwhile!"

Just like Zhang Yimou's 2008 Olympics and Feng Xiaogang's 2014 gala.

However, Wang Shang soon thought of another issue: "I despise certain people at the national TV station for not allowing a *Empresses in the Palace* sketch into the gala, wasting a great promotional opportunity."

Wang Shang had wanted to insert a soft advertisement for *Empresses in the Palace* into the gala, as was done in another timeline. Unfortunately, the gala production team did not agree, despite the sketch being slightly better than other programs.

Wang Shang didn't realize that the national TV station's failure to include *Empresses in the Palace* in the gala had become a laughingstock in the media, causing some leaders at the station to lose face, so they naturally wouldn't agree to such a soft advertisement.

The next day, following the customs of this timeline, Wang Shang's family began visiting relatives. Wang Shang also "shyly" received many red envelopes, sometimes marveling, "I'm still quite young."

In the evening, the national TV station's gala was over, and Suzhou TV resumed broadcasting *Empresses in the Palace*.

Wang Shang's parents had also become fans of the show and were eagerly following it.

From the discussions of his colleagues, Wang Shang could sense the show's success and felt proud of his son's achievement.

During the Spring Festival, the weather was cold, and many people stayed at home or visited others, playing mahjong, watching TV, and chatting, all enjoying the festive atmosphere. Many families were watching *Empresses in the Palace* and discussing the plot enthusiastically.

When Wang Shang's parents visited others, they heard many people praising the show, making them secretly proud and happy, as the show's screenwriter was their son.

Thinking back to when their son was expelled from school and everyone was against him, and now he had become the screenwriter of a nationally popular TV series, they felt a mix of joy and pride.

However, they didn't boast about their son being the screenwriter, as they were both rather reserved people.

As time passed, Wang Shang persuaded his parents to quit their jobs, as their hard work for a year didn't earn them as much as one episode of a TV series. Wang Shang also cared about their already aging bodies and hoped they would rest or find easier jobs, with the amount of money being less important as long as they were happy.

After quitting their jobs, Wang Shang's parents were still undecided about whether to live in their hometown or Shanghai. The hometown had a good environment, suitable for growing vegetables and climbing mountains, ideal for retirement. Shanghai had a generally average environment but allowed them to take care of their "still young" son.

The Lantern Festival soon passed, and Wang Shang returned to Shanghai.

He began preparing for *Old Boy*.

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