Feature Shows Extravaganza - Chapter 14

Chapter 14: New Project

Translator: Henyee Translations

Editor: Henyee Translations

Something as small as a yo-yo had been able to create a market share in the toy market that was worth billions, as well as bringing the factory a revenue in billions and a net profit of hundreds of millions…

It was safe to conclude that no one would be able to remain calm when facing such frightening figures.

Meng Lang was no exception.

Yo-yos might have created the same amount of profit back in Meng Lang’s original world, but those who benefited from selling them were mainly those producing pirate products or knock-offs. Even if Aofei Anime, the actual developer, had earned some money, it was nothing compared to what the enormous piracy industry took away.

The initial idea of idolizing blockbusters followed Meng Lang from his previous life, which made him desperately want to shoot a major motion picture to prove himself after he had accumulated some capital from Blazing Teens.

But, he was wrong!

That mentality from his previous life wasn’t applicable to this world, where the protection mechanism of copyrights had been perfected.

Inception was indeed a major motion picture, but what could one get from making one?

The production cost was in the nine figures in US dollars. Once the movie started running, an equal amount of money would have to be put into the promotion campaign. Although the box office was a success and the company could also make money afterward from selling peripheral products —

In terms of the return on investment, Blazing Teens had exceeded Inception by several times over!

One had to realize that the total investment of Blazing Teens was 5 million only, in RMB. The return, on the other hand, was over 100 million USD!

Moreover, a toy like the yo-yo wouldn’t be eliminated from the toy market once it had gained popularity.

That was to say, the return on this toy could be considered long-term…

This world was paradise to feature shows, animation works, and works derived from other intellectual properties!

Once he figured that out, Meng Lang saw light and slapped himself hard on the cheek!

He had indeed been carried away by his own importance!

Why would he want to make Inception when he had such a great market to expand into?

No matter how good the box office was, the theater chains would take the majority of the money and the production company would only get to take what was left. Some of the greatest blockbusters didn’t even earn their production companies enough money to buy a villa in Zhonghai…

Feature shows, on the other hand, were a different story. Once a show gained its popularity, the production company could make a steady profit from it for decades. And the profit would be of a considerable amount, too.

Even some domestically made feature shows would earn Meng Lang a fortune if he managed to recreate them and sell the toys, not to mention those that had been sensational all over the world, such as the Ultraman series and Kamen Rider.

The yo-yos made popular by Blazing Teens alone would be able to bring him abundant profits of hundreds of millions in the future. If he could recreate all those feature shows that had smitten tens of millions of kids in his original world, Pengda Pictures would definitely become a colossus 10 times the size of Bendai, Hasbro, and Disney combined!

The idea of becoming the richest man in the world by making TV shows didn’t seem far-fetched at all!

How did Ma Huateng become the richest man in China?

He had gotten there because he could make kids willingly pay for his service. “I can do the same thing!” Because of the characteristics of feature shows and the related toys, Meng Lang could easily earn money from kids all over the world.

If Ma Huateng could do it, Meng Lang was sure that he could do better!

Mr. Old Meng and his wife Li Shufen watched as their son was lost in his thoughts for one moment and rejoiced with wild excitement the next. The couple looked at each other in bewilderment.

Had they struck him so hard that he had gone nuts?

Just when Li Shufen was going to check her son’s forehead for his temperature, Meng Lang jumped out of the sofa, made a fist, and said in high spirits. “Dad, you were so right! I wasn’t thinking straight! I’ll get on with the preparation work. We’ll make Balala the Fairies first to take little girls’ pocket money, then make Explosive Boys to steal all little boys’ lucky money away…”

Old Meng was speechless.

So was Li Shufen.

…

Meng Lang was a man of action and he started working right away.

Once the future development plan had been determined, the first thing Meng Lang did was shred the script of Inception, which he had racked his brain to transcribe, to pieces.

After that, he moved with great efficiency and set the plan with Meng Minghui, introducing Pengda Toy Factory into Pengda Pictures as a shareholder. Also with Meng Lang’s advice, Meng Minghui registered and set up Pengda Investment Holding Group, making Pengda Toy Factory and Pengda Packaging Factory into its subsidiaries. After that, the holding group purchased Meng Lang’s Pengda Pictures in whole.

With that, Pengda Pictures could finally legally accept funds of its parent company and use it to expand its business.

The acquisition made no difference in the operation of Pengda Pictures.

After all, it was a shell company and apart from the copyright and patents of yo-yo, its only work was Blazing Teens, which was still shown by all major satellite channels.

And the number of employees was still zero!

Well, having a parent company didn’t change the fact that it was still a shell company.

However!

Once the funds from its parent company had arrived, Pengda Pictures could stand straight now!

The company known as “empty air company” to the security officer of Senhai Building could finally walk into a job center and rent a desk to start recruiting.

The first employee to join the company was called, who was recommended by the headhunting firm Meng Lang went to.

The interview went well. Du Fang used to work for a foreign company as their CHO. She had many years of experience behind her and the reason for her resignation was quite simple. Her previous company didn’t allow its employees to get pregnant during their tenure and Du Fang had been married for three years. Considering the risk of getting pregnant when she was older, she and her husband had decided to have a child within this year…

After some careful consideration, Meng Lang decided to hire Du Fang in the end.

The reason was straightforward; she was a very capable employee! Their conversation during the interview already made Meng Lang realize that she was a rare talent!

Her salary would be 35,000 a month, minimum!

That was the offer Meng Lang gave. For the position Du Fang was applying for, it was a decent salary.

Du Fang took the offer almost right away. Her husband could earn enough for her to live as a stay-at-home mom. She had decided to get a job only because she didn’t want to live an idle life.

With Du Fang on board, Meng Lang let her handle the recruitment and he finally had time to do something else.

The preparation of Balala the Fairies!

With the hype over yo-yo created by Blazing Teens, Meng Lang didn’t seize the time and make a sequel such as Blazing Teens 2, but chose to make Balala the Fairies instead.

With so many successful, classic works from his original world, making a sequel wasn’t Meng Lang’s first choice.

Of course, he would make a sequel!

But not now.

Balala the Fairies was a great choice!

The original version was also a feature show for kids made by Aofei, but was targeted at girls. With the growing popularity of yo-yos, apart from making a sequel, releasing Balala the Fairies would be an ideal choice.

Explosive Boys would do, too, but definitely not now!

Yo-yos were still having their moments and releasing Explosive Boys would only be creating a competitor for Meng Lang himself!

After all, men had a habit of abandoning the old for the new and boys were no exception. With the new Explosive Balls in the market, they wouldn’t buy yo-yos anymore!”