268: Chapter 268: 1 million, 10% share.

Li Nan nodded, "Then I'll decline them."

"Wait," Chen Fan called out to her, his finger pausing on the desktop, "Don't be in such a hurry to decline."

Li Nan, who had already picked up her phone, froze. She glanced at him, waiting for him to continue.

"Put the additional product placement matter aside for now. But could you ask them if they would accept an investment in this movie from me personally?"

Li Nan was stunned for a moment, then nodded, "Alright, I'll ask them."

Li Nan nodded, picked up her phone, and dialed back.

After the call connected, she spoke a few words.

After a while, she covered the mouthpiece, looked at Chen Fan, and said softly, "Mr. Chen, they said they want to speak with you directly."

Chen Fan reached out to take the phone, his tone flat, "Hello, this is Chen Fan."

A middle-aged man's voice came from the other end of the line, "Hello, Mr. Chen. I am Director Teng Huatao, director of 'love is not blind'. I heard from Manager Li that you would like to invest in this film personally?"

"Yes," Chen Fan leaned back in his chair, "You must be short on funds right now, right? I happen to have some spare cash and would like to invest."

Director Teng Huatao was silent for a moment, then spoke, his tone more formal than before, "Mr. Chen, you have misunderstood. We are not short on funds; we were just thinking about having more opportunities for cooperation, which is why we contacted Manager Li about the additional product placement."

Hearing this, a cold smile appeared on the corner of Chen Fan's mouth. Did they take him for a fool? If they weren't short on funds, why would they need additional product placement?

"Director Teng Huatao, this is pointless. If you aren't being sincere, I'm hanging up."

Hearing this, Director Teng Huatao's tone immediately became anxious, "Mr. Chen, don't hang up! We do have a slight funding gap here. We originally wanted to solve it through additional product placement, but since you are willing to come in as an investor, we can certainly discuss this properly."

"How much funding are you currently short of?"

"The current funding gap is about 1 million."

"1 million?" Chen Fan's voice rose slightly.

Director Teng Huatao thought he felt it was too much and quickly added, "Mr. Chen, a little less is fine too. We can save in other areas, maybe cut back on post-production promotion. Whatever amount you can invest, we will accept—"

Chen Fan smiled helplessly. He thought Chen Fan felt it was too much, not realizing Chen Fan felt it was a bit too little.

He had assumed that investing in a movie would take at least several million or even tens of millions, but he hadn't expected that just one million could solve their funding gap.

"I'll invest the one million. How much of a share can you give me?"

The other end of the line was silent for a moment before quickly resuming, "Mr. Chen, for one million, we can offer about a seven percent share."

"Seven percent is too little. I want ten percent."

Director Teng Huatao was silent on the other end, clearly calculating.

After a while, he spoke, "Mr. Chen, seven percent is already a reasonable range based on the total investment. Ten percent is indeed a bit high. How about we compromise at eight percent?"

"Director Teng Huatao, I want ten percent. If that works, great. If not, consider this conversation never happened."

The other end of the line was quiet for a few more seconds, and faint breathing could be heard. Director Teng Huatao was indeed in need of this money; it was evident from his proactive call about additional product placement. The gap in the later stages forced him to bow his head.

He remained silent for a while longer, and his voice finally rang out, lower than before, "Alright, Mr. Chen, ten percent. One million. We will proceed with the contract based on that."

"Mr. Chen, when can we sign the contract? When will the funds be available?" Director Teng Huatao's voice carried a hint of urgency, as if he feared the money in his grasp might fly away.

Chen Fan said, "Where are you located?"

"We are in Beijing," Director Teng Huatao said.

Chen Fan thought for a moment. It seemed he hadn't been to Beijing yet.

Neither in his past life nor in this one.

Might as well take this opportunity to visit.

"You set a time, and I'll come to Beijing," Chen Fan said.

"Would this Saturday work?" Director Teng Huatao asked.

"That works."

"Alright, Mr. Chen. I'll have someone pick you up then."

"Alright, let's leave it at that."

After hanging up, Chen Fan absentmindedly stuffed the phone into his pocket.

Just as he was about to leave, he was called back by Li Nan.

"Mr. Chen." Li Nan looked at Chen Fan with eager eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"My phone." Li Nan pointed to his pocket.

"Oh, damn, I forgot." Chen Fan said, hurriedly taking the phone out of his pocket and handing it to Li Nan, "I thought it was my phone. I just habitually stuffed it in my pocket."

Li Nan couldn't help but laugh when she heard this; it was the first time she had heard Chen Fan curse.

Although Mr. Chen wasn't very stern on a daily basis, he was always too serious. It felt like this was the true appearance of someone of Mr. Chen's age.

"Mr. Chen." Another voice rang out.

Chen Fan looked towards the source of the voice; it was actually Qian Fei calling him.

Although Qian Fei worked as a designer, her personality was usually a bit introverted. Unless Chen Fan took the initiative to find her, she would just bury herself in her work.

"What's wrong? Did I stuff your phone into my pocket too?" Chen Fan looked at her with a smile.

Qian Fei shook her head, hesitated for a moment, and then seemed to muster up her courage before speaking, "Mr. Chen, when you go to Beijing... could you help me get an autograph from Zhang Jiayi?"

Chen Fan was stunned for a moment. The company had a collaboration with the 'love is not blind' film crew, so it wasn't strange to know that Zhang Jiayi was among the actors.

He just hadn't expected that Qian Fei, a young girl who had just graduated not long ago, would actually like the middle-aged uncle type like Zhang Jiayi.

But on second thought, Zhang Jiayi was indeed very popular at that time. With 'Dwelling Narrowness' and 'Borrowing the Gun' airing back-to-back, his popularity among young audiences was quite high.

"Alright, if there's a chance, I'll get one for you." Chen Fan agreed readily.

Qian Fei's eyes lit up instantly, as if she hadn't expected him to agree so readily. Her tone carried an irrepressible excitement, "Thank you, Mr. Chen!"

This "thank you" was like a switch.

The atmosphere in the office instantly livened up. Several employees who usually didn't speak much also poked their heads out, and someone added, "Mr. Chen, can I have one from Wen Zhang then?"

Another followed immediately, "I want one from Bai He!"

Chen Fan looked at the increasingly lively office in front of him and didn't feel impatient. He turned to look at Li Nan, "You compile everyone's requests and send them to me later."

Li Nan nodded, "Alright."

"Long live the boss!" Someone shouted first, and then a few others joined in.

Chen Fan smiled, waved his hand, and walked out of the office.

There wasn't much going on at the company right now, so Chen Fan prepared to go to the gym to work out.

Over such a long time, he had long gotten used to going once or twice a week. After each workout, he would have a spa session. The feeling of being enveloped by hot water and essential oils after the muscle soreness was truly addictive.

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