Chapter 69

Shen Zhenghui finally realized that he could not really be considered an entrepreneur, but rather an investor. Even though he knew the trends and the future achievements of Alipay and Tencent, he could not single-handedly replicate the success of these two companies. Professional knowledge was just one aspect; the other was that the mindset of a time traveler could not truly immerse itself. The hardships and pain that the two Ma bosses went through before becoming famous in the business world were something that a time traveler would not imagine or repeat. If he did not take action himself, the only thing he could rely on was creativity, but realizing creativity was a painful process that required the help of professionals. Gathering these professionals and making them work effectively was not an easy task.

Shen Zhenghui knew that his success in the past in China was largely due to luck. Once the suppressed domestic animation industry received sufficient support, it burst with its own strength. Combined with Liu Dekai's long-term experience in the real estate industry, otherwise, just relying on his own smooth talk would not have built such a vast commercial empire. After Wang Anping took over the real estate company, the group's development relied on the Wang family's influence, and Wang Anping still had to travel around, constantly recruiting talent. Business success was not a matter of imagination. For a former otaku to become a business leader in this life, he had to go through a painful process.

Shen Zhenghui felt that he was struggling in this pain, feeling capable at times and incapable at others. His thoughts needed to grow by overcoming his own limitations. However, in business, Fukutoku Miharu did more, and Shen Zhenghui was determined to do a good job with his current career, which would lay a solid foundation for any future endeavors.

Thus, Shen Zhenghui focused on shooting TV dramas, working hard to learn from the experience.

Apart from the name **, the first season of "My Sister's Man" was a very simple youth romance drama. Inspired by the characters in "Home with Kids," Shen Zhenghui conceived a story about the romance between the son and daughter of a blended family. The original focus was on the psychological development of the male protagonist ** after growing up, but due to various reasons, the adult plot was not much developed, and the youth romance story was described in great detail.

The scriptwriting by Mudou Cat and Miyamoto highlighted the Japanese ability to grasp details, surpassing Shen Zhenghui's initial expectations and making the youth romance story incredibly detailed. The mother of the male protagonist, played by Yamashita Tomohisa, was an actress who divorced the protagonist's biological father and later married a famous doctor, the head of a private hospital. The female protagonist, played by Aoi Miyazaki, was the doctor's stepdaughter. In this blended family, Yamashita Tomohisa and Aoi Miyazaki initially showed mutual hostility...

If used as a story summary, the above content is sufficient. The subsequent story naturally revolves around the two children, describing how they transform from mutual hatred and conflict into mutual affection. This story has a hint of family ethics. Whether these two children being together would be considered an ethical issue is debatable, but in theory, without blood ties, they should be able to marry. In Shen Zhenghui's memory, Zhao Baogang played this gimmick in the soap opera "Home, n Times." However, in Shen Zhenghui's view, that domestic drama was thin, while his Japanese-made drama, carefully crafted, should be able to surpass it.

In the TV drama, Kitagawa Keiko played Aoi Miyazaki's classmate, and Erika Sawajiri played Yamashita Tomohisa's classmate. The carefully designed relationships were that Kitagawa Keiko secretly liked a boy who liked Aoi Miyazaki, and Erika Sawajiri secretly liked Yamashita Tomohisa. Thus, out of jealousy for Aoi Miyazaki, Kitagawa Keiko secretly approached Yamashita Tomohisa, deliberately saying that the boy who liked Aoi Miyazaki had deceived her, and incited him to beat up the boy. This incident eventually led to a tangled web of emotions, and Aoi Miyazaki truly fell in love with Yamashita Tomohisa.

Shen Zhenghui could not help but admire the Japanese ability to write such small stories. Although the Japanese were hopeless in the big picture, in creating small and exquisite stories, they were unmatched. The entangled emotions of Japanese teenagers were so detailed that just reading the script made one feel frustrated and desperate, let alone shooting it. Fortunately, it followed a pure love route, and with Shen Zhenghui's story setting the tone from the beginning and the continuation of the story after growing up, otherwise, according to the Japanese tendency, the young adults with middle school syndrome might have to end the story with suicide.

The shooting of the TV drama went exceptionally smoothly, and in a little over a month, the story was almost complete. The next step was to wait for Aizawa Tomoaki to return and shoot a few scenes of the grown-up protagonists to set the stage for the next season. Shen Zhenghui had to admit that the story of the grown-ups, when compared to the overall story, seemed too abrupt and had to be cut and placed entirely in the second season. Of course, if the first season was not popular, there would be no second season.

The screening of "Tokyo Fortress" had already entered its climax, and discussions about the animation had formed a new trend online. Shen Zhenghui's anime website also found its proper use. When the internet speed was not sufficient to support watching animations, forum discussions became another way to support the website's popularity. Enthusiasts gathered to share their impressions. Influenced by Anno Hideaki and Oshii Mamoru, the style of the animation leaned towards realism and gloom, but the high-quality animation production and detailed visuals sparked enthusiasm among viewers. Combined with the popularity brought by "Re-take," it could be said to have achieved great success. This gave Gonzo and Tokyo TV great confidence in the upcoming "Puxi Fortress," even though the story was set in China.

At the same time, Tokyo TV also reviewed the TV drama "My Sister's Man" submitted by Shen Zhenghui and his team. After evaluation, everyone felt that the quality of the TV drama was good, and the ratings should also be good. The performances of the group of middle school students in the TV drama were commendable, although the entire story was somewhat bizarre.

The bizarre aspect was pointed out by Tokyo TV. TV dramas where all the main characters are children and adults are just supporting roles are currently very rare. So seeing a TV drama where children are the main characters and adults have no presence, the Japanese found it somewhat uncomfortable.

The roles of Yamashita Tomohisa's stepfather, played by Nagatsuma Keizo, and his biological mother, played by Kuroki Me, were also very outstanding, despite their limited screen time. Nagatsuma Keizo's portrayal of an enlightened and humorous hospital director always made people laugh, and his deliberate favoritism towards Yamashita Tomohisa also made people chuckle. Kuroki Me, as a mother in recent years, portrayed the role of a big-name actress mother very well. Her intellectual battles with Aoi Miyazaki showed an alternative way of parent-child interaction, completely breaking the conventional Japanese family model.

The ending of the story, where the protagonist is expelled for beating up his sister's male classmate and is sent to study in Europe, left people feeling itchy and eager to see the subsequent story. Miyamoto was still somewhat anxious, but the staff of Tokyo TV were very optimistic about the ratings of the TV drama. The main reason was that while the details were Japanese, the overall structure and style of the story were not Japanese. This novelty could either make the TV drama fail or succeed, but in the eyes of the TV drama staff, success was almost inevitable.

The TV drama was confirmed to air in July as a new series, and the decision to produce the next season would depend on the ratings. At that time, "Tokyo Fortress" would end, and "Puxi Fortress" would premiere. With Aizawa Tomoaki's return, Shen Zhenghui felt a sense of satisfaction, but it was clearly not the time to be happy. The ratings would be the indicator of his success. Moreover, he did not have the time to rest, as Fukutoku Miharu came to him again, first to confirm the cooperation with Yahoo and SoftBank, and second to discuss the issues related to Prime Minister Obuchi's visit to China.

"The Prime Minister is visiting China next month, and the discussion of the agenda has not even started. Isn't this too casual?"

"This is Japan; you have to get used to it," Fukutoku Miharu said. "The topics of the agenda have already been communicated to the Chinese side. It's not unusual to add a few more topics as backups. Besides, it's not always true that the earlier you prepare, the better the discussion will be. Sometimes, the topics prepared early are rejected by your own people, so to ensure interests, certain topics need to be added at the last minute."

"Hmm?"

"Too many interests are involved, and we need to monopolize them, so we cannot let others know in advance what the Prime Minister will discuss."

"Is... this Japanese politics?"

"Of course, what did you think?" Fukutoku Miharu spread her hands. "Everyone does it this way."

Shen Zhenghui rolled his eyes and sighed.

"Do you have any suggestions about the cultural trade balance proposal?"

"Is this related to our interests?"

"Of course. We sell animations to China and import animations from China. It's not just animations, but a comprehensive plan including books, movies, and video products. To avoid arousing the Chinese's resentment, they buy as much from us as we buy from them."

"Oh..."

"Your company's animations like 'Pleasant Goat and Big Big Wolf' can enjoy export tax rebates."

"Can this be tax-rebated?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Fukutoku Miharu squinted, "but I think they will do it."

"Great!"

"The 'Jinhong Comics' magazine can also be introduced to Japan, and we can buy a large number of TV dramas and movies."

"Do you want to sell Japanese TV dramas and movies?"

"It's difficult, but with the internet, the things we buy will always have a use." Fukutoku Miharu said calmly. "Maybe we should also establish a film and television company in China and co-produce some movies and TV dramas."

"We can try."

"Also, the novel and anime websites you envisioned can be set up in China, right?"

Speaking of this, Shen Zhenghui couldn't help but touch his chin. "This is indeed a problem," he said. "I think we should focus on movies and TV dramas..."

Fukutoku Miharu squinted. "Even if it's just a framework, it's fine," she said. "Do you think companies like Yahoo and SoftBank only acquire others' ideas?"

"They also copy others' ideas?"

"So we need to occupy the Chinese market early." Fukutoku Miharu said confidently.

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