Chapter 1717
Inside the room.
The atmosphere suddenly became tense.
As the President, Mr. Zhou remained calm; he had weathered many storms and should not have appeared so shocked. However, only the top executives in their company knew why. The company had been liberal with its funds recently, investing heavily in a TV drama and another film that was about to start shooting. The company"s finances were heavily committed to these projects. Losses were manageable as long as the TV drama aired on schedule and the film premiered. Even if they underperformed or lost money, some costs could still be recouped through box office or ratings. But now, if this directive from higher authorities was true, it meant pure financial loss. Unable to broadcast the TV drama and release the film meant losing every cent invested.
Indefinitely?
Were they indefinitely suspended?
Mr. Zhou and the senior executives felt their hearts sink!
Although the film and television industry was stricter now than before, this extreme measure seemed unnecessary. Besides, their productions didn"t breach any regulations!
How could this happen?
Why would they do this?
Did they want to destroy their company?
The situation caught everyone off guard. They were all stunned, unable to react for a long time.
Mr. Zhou"s face darkened. "Are you sure?"
"Just got the call, very sure," the person replied.
Without hesitation, Zhou immediately dialed back. "h.e.l.lo, I"m from Hongye Company... Yes... Yes... How... Our TV drama... But..." His expression told everyone that this was true. Higher authorities had indeed halted all their film and television productions.
The atmosphere turned somber.
No one even considered involving Dong Xuebing. Perhaps, due to their subjective judgment of his appearance and age, they didn"t think he had any capabilities. They didn"t know why disaster had struck so suddenly. Only Deputy Chief Chang looked deeply at Dong Xuebing.
Dong Xuebing remained silent, smoking his cigarette.
Yu Meixia knew Dong Xuebing"s capabilities. "Xuebing, you..."
Dong Xuebing smiled. "Let them struggle. Let"s sit back. There"s no rush to go back. Let"s enjoy the show." After all the turmoil, he naturally wanted to see his victorious outcome and savor the expressions of these people. Dong Xuebing thoroughly enjoyed it.
Then, Mr. Zhou, General Manager Wu, and the others hurried out, seemingly to make phone calls and contact people.
Once they left, only the people from the police station, including Dong Xuebing and Yu Meixia, remained, making the atmosphere more relaxed without outsiders.
Deputy Chief Chang walked over with a smile, extending his hand. "Mr. Dong, I"m from Shuangjing Police Station. You can call me Old Chang."
Dong Xuebing politely stood up and shook his hand. "Brother Chang."
"No, no need to be so polite." Deputy Chief Chang was very respectful. "I didn"t help much this time. I"m sorry."
Dong Xuebing smiled. "You"ve already helped a lot. Thank you. Thank you to all the comrades from the police station as well. I"ll treat everyone to dinner another day."
The police officers were all stunned. Seeing Deputy Chief Chang"s att.i.tude, they finally understood what was going on. This young man had an extraordinary background. No wonder Deputy Chief Chang immediately took a conciliatory approach and delayed their response for a long time. However, they still didn"t know his true background or his level of influence. Wait a minute, could it be that he was responsible for the suspension of Hongye Company"s broadcasts?
Definitely!
The police officers exchanged astonished glances.
However, they also felt that even if this young man knew people at the General Administration of Press and Publication, could he surpa.s.s Mr. Zhou"s connections? After all, he was so young. Although their company"s film and television projects were halted, couldn"t Mr. Zhou salvage the situation with a few phone calls?
Outside.
Mr. Zhou was thinking the same thing. He started to consider that the young man might be behind all this, trying to demonstrate his power. However, Mr. Zhou felt a chill in his heart. So you have power, but do I not? He had been in this circle for so many years that he didn"t believe he could match a young person"s network.
So Mr. Zhou called an old friend. "h.e.l.lo, Director Sun, it"s me."
"Oh, Mr. Zhou, what made you think of calling me?" Director Sun smiled.
Mr. Zhou smiled wryly. "Encountered some trouble, I must trouble you. Just moments ago, your bureau ordered a complete halt to all our company"s film and television projects indefinitely. I wanted to inquire about what"s going on."
Director Sun was taken aback. "Halted? How come I didn"t know?"
"I just received the news myself. I thought you might be aware," Zhou blinked.
Director Sun was also a senior figure in the General Administration and was closely related to Mr. Zhou. Many projects had almost pa.s.sed through his hands. So, Director Sun was slightly annoyed. How could such a big decision to stop projects not be communicated to him? What was going on?
Director Sun immediately said, "Forget it. I"ll find out for you!"
Mr. Zhou was certain. He didn"t believe Director Sun couldn"t handle this.
Five minutes later, Director Sun called back. However, his att.i.tude had changed. He hesitated briefly before saying, "Old Zhou, it"s not that I don"t want to help you. This halt came directly from higher authorities. Even after trying to negotiate, there"s nothing more I can do."
Zhou was dumbfounded. "What? How could this happen? You..."
Director Sun asked, "Have you offended someone?"
"I... I haven"t," Zhou"s heart skipped a beat.
Director Sun didn"t believe him. "Don"t blame me for not reminding you. If you"ve offended someone, you better fix things quickly. Maybe there"s still a glimmer of hope. Otherwise, your film and television projects won"t pa.s.s the review. I can tell you for sure that"s impossible. Someone higher up is pressing down on this."
Zhou was unwilling. "Then should I go to Director Liu and others again?"
Director Sun sighed, "It"s useless to say more. But given our relations.h.i.+p over the years, I can tell you, this matter... it"s useless no matter who you try to find."
"Director Sun!"
"That"s it, I"m hanging up."
Beep beep beep, the line disconnected.
Useless no matter who you try to find? Useless no matter who you try to find?
Mr. Zhou repeated these words in his mind, his face growing paler. He looked towards the monitoring room not far away, finally realizing the caliber of person he had offended!
This is bad!
He might have played a big game this time!