Chapter 43

Zhang Tan won the anniversary project for Pudong TV Station, and the head of the animation department immediately supervised the establishment of a project team. Director Li Liang took over the entire project, while Zhang Tan was the screenwriter. Two major tasks were now at hand: first, to determine the project team members and build the core team, and second, to get the script underway as soon as possible.

The script Zhang Tan submitted included the story outline, character settings, and the plot for the first five episodes, but the subsequent parts were yet to be written.

Now that "Unlucky Bear" had been confirmed, the subsequent script had to be finalized as soon as possible, or the entire project would not be able to proceed.

Unlike "Tianyu Mountain" and "The Lamp Lighter," where the former's chief editor was Luo Ming and the latter was a comic adaptation, the chief editor of "Unlucky Bear" was now Zhang Tan, and the content was entirely original.

Zhang Tan referenced the "Unlucky Bear" he had seen in his previous life, but he couldn't remember the plot. He only knew the story setting, so the subsequent plot had to be entirely original.

The head of the screenwriting department asked Zhang Tan to quickly form a screenwriting team, with members of his choice, as long as he could persuade them.

Back in the office, he was called by Feng Dong. Feng Dong's idea was to prioritize selecting people from the third screenwriting group, which was called "keeping the benefits within the family."

"Unlucky Bear" was a theater-style animation, with each episode's plot being relatively independent, with little deep connection between them. They were just a series of fragmented short stories, strung together by the unlucky bear.

To ensure the humor in each episode, Zhang Tan definitely needed help; one person couldn't come up with all the ideas.

"I want to find four people, and one of them is Xu Jian," Zhang Tan said.

Xu Jian was not from the third screenwriting group, which didn't meet the group leader's requirements.

"The other three I will choose from the group," he added.

Feng Dong looked at him in surprise and said, "Xu Jian was the one competing with you, right? You both went to the TV station. Will he agree to work with you?"

Zhang Tan replied, "I'll give it a try."

Although the style of "Qiqi's Wonderful World" written by Xu Jian was different from "Unlucky Bear," they shared a common trait: humor.

Zhang Tan had read his script and found it very humorous and interesting, so there would be no problem with him writing for "Unlucky Bear."

Feng Dong thought for a moment and agreed. "As long as you can persuade him."

Leaving the group leader's office, Zhang Tan found Luo Ming had returned and was looking through the script for "Unlucky Bear." Seeing him, Luo Ming said happily, "I just heard the news. Congratulations, Zhang Tan. I didn't expect you to progress so quickly."

He hadn't known that Zhang Tan was involved in the competition for the TV station project. The news had spread at noon, saying that the new member of the third screenwriting group, Zhang Tan, had won a key project for the company. Someone mentioned that he was Luo Ming's assistant, and Luo Ming then hurried back to the office to understand the situation.

"These past few days, you haven't been back, so I didn't mention it. I didn't have much confidence myself and thought I was just filling a quota, but I didn't expect to win," Zhang Tan explained.

Luo Ming smiled. "You should have more confidence in yourself. I'm very happy. I knew you could do it, just didn't expect it to happen so quickly. I'm proud too."

Seeing his former project assistant excel made him proud as well.

"You're actually good at writing humorous scripts, which is quite different from what I knew about you."

Zhang Tan smiled. "Isn't it said that everyone has a silly side deep down? Writing 'Unlucky Bear' is also fulfilling a wish."

"Do you need to form a screenwriting team? Writing such a long script alone, not only would it be tiring, but you'd also run out of ideas. Three cobblers can match Zhuge Liang. You need to be bold and ask the group leader for more people."

"The team has already been established, and five people will be assigned, including me."

"Oh? That's great. Do you have any candidates in mind?"

"Not yet. Do you have any recommendations?"

Zhang Tan had been there for too short a time, and the screenwriters often worked in different groups, not together in the office. He hadn't even recognized all the screenwriters in the third group, let alone their characteristics.

Luo Ming thought for a moment and said, "In terms of style, there are a few candidates. Liu Shi and Jia Yulin would be suitable. You can ask them."

Zhang Tan quickly recalled these two in his mind. Liu Shi was also young, having joined the Pudong Film Studio for three years. Jia Yulin was older, in his thirties, and had been working there for over a decade, a veteran screenwriter.

He hadn't interacted with these two, but that wasn't a problem.

Luo Ming and Zhang Tan chatted for a while until he was called away.

Zhang Tan had just sat down when Liu Dawen came in. He had heard that Zhang Tan had won a major project for the company and came to congratulate him.

"I was going to ask you to write a backstory for Feng Jie, but now it looks like you won't have the time. Never mind, I'll do it myself. After spending so much time with you screenwriters, I've picked up a few tricks. By the way, I'll show you a new figurine today, Feng Jie's sister..."

Liu Dawen was obsessed with female figurines, and Zhang Tan even suspected he must have a collection of inflatable dolls.

After sending Liu Dawen off, Zhang Tan took the stairs to the eighth floor and found the head of the script evaluation group, Old Liu.

Old Liu was shrewd. Seeing him, he chuckled and said, "You're here to poach someone, right? Who caught your eye?"

Zhang Tan placed a can of tea on Old Liu's desk and smiled. "This is this year's new tea, Lushan Cloud Mist. Try it."

Old Liu loved tea.

"Alright, a can of tea for one person. You can choose one."

"I want Jiang Rong."

"Of course..."

Jiang Rong was lively and full of ideas, making her a perfect fit for the "Unlucky Bear" screenwriting team.

Old Liu picked up the phone but then put it down. "Forget it, I'll call her."

He got up, opened the office door, and shouted, "Jiang Rong, come here."

A voice from nearby responded, "Coming~~~"

She quickly entered the room.

"Boss, what do you need? Oh? Zhang Tan? What are you doing here?"

Old Liu was busy trying out the Lushan Cloud Mist tea Zhang Tan had brought and let Zhang Tan talk to Jiang Rong himself.

"I'm in! Zhang Tan, I'm in."

Hearing Zhang Tan's words, Jiang Rong agreed without hesitation, her eyes filled with determination, as if the next step was to exchange rings.

Old Liu shook his head helplessly. These young people were eager to leave, making it hard for him as the group leader. He should at least put up a show of reluctance to earn another can of tea.

Leaving Old Liu's office, Zhang Tan was surprised to see a crowd outside.

"What's going on?"

The crowd chattered.

"Zhang Tan, we heard you won the TV station project?"

"Is that true?"

"That's amazing."

"What's the name of the show?"

...

After work, Jiang Rong invited everyone to dinner, saying she wanted to thank Zhang Tan for recognizing her talent. When she learned that Zhang Tan had gotten her with just a can of tea, she decided to fight with him for an explanation.

Others, including He Chao, joined them for dinner, and afterward, they went to sing. Jiang Rong finally got her wish, as Zhang Tan had refused her invitations to sing several times.

Jiang Rong sang very well, and Zhang Tan wasn't bad either. Encouraged by the group, they sang a duet, "Oh My."

Hired a driver to drive back to Xiaohongma Academy, the bustling and noisy Xichang'an Street was quiet here.

The academy was brightly lit, and the big trees in the courtyard were filled with cicadas chirping in the residual heat. In the corners under the trees, unknown small insects were also making sounds, adding to the tranquility.

The night was deep, past 10 PM. The children had finished their activities for the evening and were obediently returning to their dormitories to prepare for bed.

Zhang Tan was about to go upstairs when he saw Xiao Bai standing at the classroom door, holding a picture book and waving at him, like a lucky cat, calling out in her distinctive Sichuan accent:

"Hey~~ Uncle, come on, come on, let's chat."