Where is the Chengde Mountain Resort?
Many people's first thought might drift to the Qing Dynasty, and then, considering the "summer retreat" aspect, they might naturally assume it's somewhere in the northeastern provinces.
Actually, no.
Chengde is a city in Hebei Province, less than 200 kilometers from Beijing.
The My Fair Princess crew arrived in Chengde at the end of June. Following the schedule Ren Jingxi had set for herself, filming began on June 30, a Monday, marking the start of a new week.
While the outside world was abuzz with major events, bringing both joy and worry, the crew, led by a young and beautiful new producer, was making smooth progress.
The main reason was that many people had been given a heads-up: this seemingly young and harmless woman had deep connections. Doing well under her could lead to valuable networking opportunities, while messing up could mean being kicked out of the industry altogether.
Moreover, some noticed that Ren Jingxi didn't act like a typical novice. Whether it was about filming, logistics, acting, or directing, she could always provide clear explanations. Even when she didn't understand something, she didn't hide it and would keep asking until she got it. This made most of the crew members drop their condescending attitudes.
Additionally, during the filming of the first action scene, a martial arts choreographer from Hong Kong's Yuen Clan tried to play hardball. When Ren Jingxi asked for better choreography, he deliberately delayed and made excuses. As a result, he was fired on the spot. While some crew members who felt a bit resentful waited to see how things would unfold, within half an hour, the choreographer came back, humbly apologizing.
Unfortunately, Ren Jingxi didn't accept his apology. She immediately changed the filming schedule and had security escort him out.
This shocked everyone.
After all, he was from Hong Kong, which had just been handed back to China. The government was emphasizing unity and harmony. If any conflict arose, the authorities might shut down the entire production.
But the situation took an even more unexpected turn.
The next day, one of the Yuen brothers flew in personally. He apologized profusely to Ren Jingxi and even stayed on as the martial arts choreographer for the crew.
This incident left no doubt in anyone's mind about Ren Jingxi's "powerful connections."
As for the three leading actresses in the crew who knew exactly who was backing Ren Jingxi, they were filled with envy, jealousy, and an inevitable sense of hope.
Back on that yacht on Taihu Lake, Ren Jingxi had been just like them—summoned by a certain powerful man with a wave of his hand, she obediently leaned against him. Since they were all in the same boat, why couldn't they receive similar treatment?
Chengde Mountain Resort filming site.
July 12, Saturday.
Although China had started promoting a two-day weekend two years ago, to ensure progress, the crew adopted a six-day workweek. With Ren Jingxi having quickly established her authority, no one, whether from the mainland, Hong Kong, or Taiwan, raised any objections.
In this industry, rushing is almost inevitable. Once a production starts, it becomes a money-eating machine, with daily expenses easily reaching tens of thousands. Wasting time is not an option. Moreover, unlike the strict union systems in the West, working long hours is common in both the mainland and Hong Kong/Taiwan.
While Ren Jingxi was strict about work, she wasn't harsh.
Today's work wrapped up at 5 PM sharp, and she arranged a barbecue dinner for the evening to improve morale. When the production assistant announced this, the crew, exhausted from a week of hard work, immediately felt a sense of belonging and cheered.
Everyone quickly wrapped up and returned to the hotel where the crew was staying.
Ren Jingxi now had four attendants: two female bodyguards from the Westeros family and two production assistants hired specifically for My Fair Princess. Both were young women, and while not as stunning as Ren Jingxi, they were attractive and had great figures. This was the only special treatment Ren Jingxi enjoyed on set.
To be honest, Ren Jingxi had her own little thoughts when it came to choosing her attendants. She had considered picking less attractive women, but the two bodyguards were directly assigned by the Westeros family. As for the two production assistants, during the selection process, she happened to run into Chen Qing while discussing some matters. Chen Qing, likely guessing Ren Jingxi's intentions, half-jokingly warned her that if she surrounded herself with unattractive women, it wouldn't make her look better in the boss's eyes. Instead, it would only make him dislike her too.
Thinking about it, there really weren't many plain-looking women around him.
So, she didn't dare pick anyone unattractive.
Back in her hotel room, Ren Jingxi's first order of business was to take a bath.
After a day of intense work, a hot bath quickly relaxed her, allowing her to recharge for the evening's tasks.
The female attendant had already prepared the bathwater. Ren Jingxi undressed and sank into the warm tub, while another bodyguard naturally stepped behind her to help wash her hair.
She had considered cutting her hair short for convenience but decided against it, thinking the man might not like it.
Ren Jingxi had gradually grown accustomed to having two women around her during her baths, even the occasional physical contact.
As Chen Qing had said.
The two beautiful female attendants from the Westeros family weren't just her servants. In ancient terms, they were also her "chamber maids." The idea of a woman having chamber maids was a bit odd, but Ren Jingxi understood. This was another reminder from Chen Qing: since she had become his woman, she could have female companions, but male ones were off-limits.
Perhaps she could only have women around her.
As Ren Jingxi soaked in the tub, the attendant named Gu Yu handed her a prepared folder as usual: "Sister Ren, here are today's newspapers."
Ren Jingxi took the folder and opened it. Inside were some clippings, not comprehensive, as Ren Jingxi had specifically requested. She didn't have time to read all the newspapers, so the clippings focused on industry news, including updates from the mainland, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and even North America.
Gu Yu had clearly put a lot of effort into this task. The first article Ren Jingxi saw was about Jinshu's Super Girl.
This was the industry's hottest topic recently.
Ren Jingxi had been quietly following the show and had even done her own analysis.
China's television industry in the 1990s was arguably the most vibrant period since the reform and opening-up. Not only were there a wide variety of TV dramas, but other variety shows were also abundant, far from the conservative image later generations might imagine.
However, Super Girl was the first variety show to cause a sensation.
After more than a month on air, with its consistently high ratings, both Jiangsu TV and Jinshu Media had launched extensive promotional campaigns. Based on the show's provincial ratings, Super Girl was marketed as the 1997 ratings champion.
But Ren Jingxi saw its limitations.
The most significant one was that, despite its current popularity, Super Girl had a major flaw: it lacked replay value.
As China's TV industry gradually opened up to commercial operations in recent years, TV drama producers were placing more importance on copyright. After the initial broadcast, many TV stations would start purchasing second-round broadcasting rights for popular dramas, even if the price was much lower than the first round. This created a steady stream of income, with potential for third and fourth rounds. Some classics, like CCTV's Journey to the West, could even be sold for over a decade.
Super Girl, however, didn't have this advantage.
Even though it was incredibly popular now, with its influence quickly spreading beyond Jiangsu to the entire country, once the first season ended and the results were finalized, few people would want to watch it again.
It was essentially a one-time deal.
Therefore, in Ren Jingxi's view, the biggest beneficiary of this show was Jiangsu TV.
In recent years, after gaining satellite coverage, provincial TV stations across the country had been competing for national audiences. A hit show like Super Girl, which quickly gained nationwide influence, helped Jiangsu TV build its brand and attract a large audience.
As for Jinshu, it wasn't a failure either.
According to the information Ren Jingxi had gathered, as an experimental TV program, Super Girl would air over 13 weekends from June to August, totaling 26 episodes. Excluding the first weekend's daytime audition highlights, the average cost per episode was around 200,000 yuan, with a total investment of approximately 5 million yuan.
Thanks to its popularity, Jinshu's advertising slots from Jiangsu TV, combined with the show's built-in sponsorships, were expected to generate around 20 million yuan in revenue.
That's a gross profit of 15 million yuan.
For the current TV market, this was a huge success.
This was despite the fact that no one had anticipated just how popular the show would become, leading to somewhat conservative advertising contracts. For example, the main sponsor of the show, a recently launched bottled water brand called Nongfu Spring, which was invested in by the Westeros system, only paid 1 million yuan for sponsorship.
Now, with Super Girl's explosive popularity, Nongfu Spring's brand recognition had skyrocketed nationwide, and its sales had surged. The show had even helped the brand break into the national market. Previously, brands had to build their sales networks province by province, but now, distributors were actively reaching out to stock the product, showcasing Super Girl's promotional power.
Ren Jingxi had heard privately that a slew of brands were now approaching Jinshu. Upon learning that Super Girl would have a second season, they were offering over 10 million yuan in sponsorship fees.
It was easy to imagine that the second season of Super Girl could see profits multiply several times over.
Ren Jingxi also knew that if it weren't for someone's direct intervention, Jinshu might have already rushed to start production on the second season. After all, unlike the U.S., China didn't have strict TV broadcasting cycles. If the first season ended, the second season could launch by the end of the year.
But that would be overkill.
Fortunately, thanks to his direct involvement, the second season would be pushed to next year, with a longer production cycle, tentatively scheduled from April to September.
Ren Jingxi carefully read through the clippings, her mind already considering whether she could produce some reality shows in the future or, like Super Girl, introduce other reality show formats from the U.S. This was something she could easily do.
After reading a few articles about Super Girl, Ren Jingxi quickly flipped to the news about Kangxi Incognito Travel, which had premiered on July 1.
This was another Jinshu production and one she had been closely following.
First, the ratings.
Unlike Super Girl, which was exclusive to Jiangsu TV, Kangxi Incognito Travel was jointly broadcast by four provincial TV stations: Beijing, Shandong, Jiangsu, and Guangdong. The series had 30 episodes, airing one episode per day from Monday to Friday.
Since it premiered on July 1, a Tuesday, nine episodes had aired by yesterday.
However, just by looking at the ratings, with Beijing TV's highest rating reaching 41%, Ren Jingxi knew this project was also a success.
And a huge one at that.
When it first aired, the ratings across the four TV stations generally hovered around 20-30%, which was already quite impressive. Now, with the highest provincial rating hitting 40%, it was clear the show was a phenomenon. Based on the current trend, the average provincial ratings across the four stations could reach 40-50%.
After all, this wasn't the era of Journey to the West or Yearning. With the TV industry booming, achieving such ratings almost guaranteed the title of annual champion.
Ren Jingxi then realized something.
With Super Girl's exceptionally high single-station ratings, calling it the annual champion was entirely justified.
Now, Kangxi Incognito Travel might not have the same single-station ratings as Super Girl, but with four stations broadcasting it simultaneously and achieving an average rating of 40-50%, it could also be called the annual champion.
So... two annual champions?
There can't be two champions, right?
But Ren Jingxi wasn't stupid. She quickly figured it out.
The distinction was simple: one was the annual champion for TV dramas, and the other was the annual champion for variety shows. Thinking this, Ren Jingxi even considered reminding Jinshu about this, but when she flipped to the next article, she saw that a Beijing newspaper had already made a similar point, making her realize her thought was unnecessary.
Clearly, Jinshu was already working on this angle.
After months of interaction, Ren Jingxi knew that the people at Jinshu were very capable. They wouldn't miss such an opportunity.
But then she felt a pang of worry.
What about her My Fair Princess? How would it fare?
After all, since Jinshu's rise to prominence, their New Year's release Keep Cool had grossed over 60 million yuan, still holding the top spot at the domestic box office. Even if it were eventually pushed down by Hollywood blockbusters or other domestic dark horses, it could at least secure a spot in the top ten.
Now, with two TV shows both claiming to be annual champions, such a stunning start would make it hard to justify if My Fair Princess ended up tarnishing the brand. Even she would feel it was unacceptable.
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