Chapter 101 798 Art District

At the end of 2000, the dispute between Liu Zhou and Feng Kuazi came to an end.

At that time, many media outlets also reported on it specifically, which also caused a certain amount of heat.

However, the people on both sides of Liu Zhou and Feng Kuazi remained silent, so the heat did not last long and soon passed.

In order to divert attention or to increase its influence, Huayi announced in a high-profile manner that Wang Jinghua has officially joined Huayi Brothers.

Also joining the group are a number of popular mainland stars, big and small, including Chen Daoming, Xia Yu, Li Binbin, as well as Hong Kong celebrities such as Liang Jiahui, Rosamund Kwan, and Liu Jialing.

In a short period of time, Huayi Brothers' popularity soared, and with Feng Kuazi already confirmed to join, their reputation in the industry seemed unparalleled.

When others told Liu Zhou the news, he smiled and said nothing.

Liu Zhou vaguely remembered that in his previous life, Wang Jinghua officially joined Huayi Brothers in the first half of the next year, and it didn't cause such a big fuss.

It seems that because of its own reasons, Huayi has increased its efforts to recruit Wang Jinghua and has also spent money on special publicity.

However, Liu Zhou knew that Hua Yi was just bluffing.

Those people in Hong Kong simply gave the mainland's agency contracts to Wang Jinghua, who did not have much influence on these Hong Kong stars.

Mainland celebrities trust Wang Jinghua very much, but if she leaves with her people in a few years, Huayi will be left in a mess.

In the end, the Wang brothers discovered that the most reliable person was Feng Kuazi, who was the pillar of Huayi.

However, Huayi's current behavior does seem quite intimidating. After all, even among people in the industry, not many people know the tricks involved, and they would never have thought that Wang Jinghua would take people away.

So Feng Kuzi lost this time, but Huayi did not lose.

After Wang Jinghua joined, some media began to issue press releases, saying that Huayi Brothers is the first private film and television company in the mainland.

Liu Zhou didn't care too much about such false reputation. At this moment, he was looking at houses with Zhang Chen and his agent Zeng Jia.

Previously, Liu Zhou arranged for two people to look for a new residence for the drama troupe. Now that the movie has been released, Liu Zhou has some free time and wants to finalize this matter.

Liu Zhou had looked at several places before, but was not very satisfied with any of them. Now he was looking at the last place that Zhang Chen found and thought was suitable.

It was already evening, and the days are shorter in winter.

When they were almost at their destination, Zhang Chen suddenly said to the driver, "Master, drive a little slower at 798 ahead."

At this time, the car was driving on the airport highway. When Liu Zhou heard the name 798, his heart suddenly moved.

Liu Zhou remembered that in his previous life there was a famous 798 Art District in Beijing, where art exhibitions, concerts and avant-garde drama performances were often held.

Liu Zhou had visited the place once in his previous life. The theaters, art centers, and office buildings there were all converted from old factories. They looked very artistic, and were comparable to the science and technology innovation centers that were converted from old industrial areas in Brooklyn, New York.

After a while, the car slowed down, and Zhang Chen pointed to the dark factory building on the left and said:

"Director Liu, this is the Third Radio Equipment Factory in Beijing, but everyone is used to calling it Factory 798. It has long been shut down due to poor performance.

There are many factories and office buildings for rent now. I took a look around here some time ago and found that many artists’ studios are located here. It is also convenient for travel, so I thought…”

Before Zhang Chen finished speaking, Liu Zhou interrupted:
"Now go down and take a look."

Zhang Chen hurriedly said:

"Master, just go down from the North Fourth Ring Interchange in front, turn onto Jiuxianqiao Road and then circle back."

The transportation in the 798 factory area is indeed very convenient. It is adjacent to the Airport Expressway and is right between the North Fourth Ring Road and the North Fifth Ring Road which is under construction. The Jiuxianqiao Street next to it is already quite lively.

But when you arrive at the factory, the first impression you get is that it is huge, but the roads are bumpy, the street lights are sometimes on and sometimes not, and against the backdrop of the dark, old factory buildings on both sides, it looks completely dilapidated.

Zeng Jia, who was sitting in the passenger seat at this time, stretched his neck to look carefully outside the car, and soon pouted and said:

"What kind of crappy place is this? It's worse than the place I found before."

Zhang Chen looked a little embarrassed. At first, he mainly considered that the rent here was cheap and the place was large. The first requirement of a drama troupe was a large place.

The place Zeng Jia had found before was not small, but it was all within the Third Ring Road and the rent was not cheap. The drama troupe was still in its start-up phase, so although it could be afforded, it was not necessary.

This place completely meets Zhang Chen's requirements. He likes it very much, so he finally brought Liu Zhou here to see it.

"Boss Liu, this place has attracted many artists to set up their studios since last year because of the low rent. I think this place will not remain so dilapidated in the future and will develop."

Zhang Chen’s vision is indeed good. The venue here is large enough, the rent is cheap enough, and the transportation is convenient enough.

The capital city has always been known as the "cultural center". Artist studios, galleries, cultural media companies and the like have not yet formed a large residential center in the capital city, but are scattered everywhere.

Nowadays, the so-called artists can be described in one word - poor!

It seems that there are many painter villages popping up in many places.

I heard that some painter villages are more artistic, so many girls who pursue art have devoted themselves to art and became famous in the capital for a while.

Seeing that Liu Zhou didn't say anything, Zhang Chen continued, "There's not only Factory 798 here, there are also several other factories, including Factory 708, Factory 709, and Factory 718. When they were doing well, everyone envied them. But now they're not doing well anymore. Almost all the workers have been laid off, and they have to rely on the rent to survive."

Speaking of Zhang Chen, he couldn't help but sigh. He was a factory worker's son, and the factory where he grew up had also closed down. It was inevitable that he was moved by the scene.

Fortunately, they arrived at the destination soon. Zhang Chen said to the driver:

"Master, pull over for a moment. It's the small building in front."

After several people got off the car, Zhang Chen pointed at the small building and continued to introduce:
"This used to be the factory's office building, with three floors and a total area of ​​about 500 square meters, including the open space in front of the door. It can not only be used for parking, but can also be fully utilized. It is no problem to simply build a small warehouse here."

Liu Zhou looked around and had a vague impression of this area. It was not the small building that he had an impression of, but the area diagonally opposite.

The large factory building with a sawtooth roof diagonally opposite is the most famous Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in the entire 798 Art District.

This means that the place chosen by Zhang Chen will also be the core area of ​​798 Art District in the future.

There was no reason not to take such a good location. Before Zhang Chen finished his introduction, he asked directly:

"How much is the rent?"

"Well, the rent here is 60 cents per square meter per day. All in all, the whole building costs about 150,000 yuan a year. The vacant space in front is free, so we can use it directly."

Liu Zhou walked to the intersection next to the small building. There were no street lights here and it was pitch black, but he could vaguely see a long row of factory buildings behind the small building.

Liu Zhou pointed at the factory and asked:
“How much is the rent here?”

"what?"

Zhang Chen looked at the dark factory building not far away. At a glance, it was more than a thousand square meters. He was stunned for a moment and shook his head.
"I haven't asked about this place, but it must be cheaper than the office building in front."

Liu Zhou nodded and said:
"You and Zeng Jia go to the factory tomorrow and ask. If the price is right, we'll take the small building in front and the row of factory buildings in the back. If possible, ask if we can buy them directly."

"Buy it? Our drama troupe doesn't have that much money." Zhang Chen said in surprise.

"Don't worry about the money, I'll take care of it."

"Okay, I'll go discuss it with the factory tomorrow."

"If they don't want to sell, try to sign a longer lease with them."

The reason why Liu Zhou wanted such a large place was not only to build a small theater for the drama troupe, but he also planned to move Zhou Shan Studio here.

Although Zhou Shan Studio has invested in two films, it is still a makeshift team and is merely used as an investment entity.

Now Liu Zhou is preparing to put it into formal operation, and the finance, personnel, publicity, public relations and other departments are all fully equipped.

If there is a suitable candidate, the artist management department can also be set up.

Although Liu Zhou is not planning to do it as big as Huayi, it should at least be not inferior to New Picture Company and the necessary departments should be there.

Zhang Chen immediately agreed to Liu Zhou's request.

There is a common line in movie lines:

You must execute what you understand, and you must also execute what you don’t understand.

And now it seems that Liu Zhou is also very optimistic about this place and is much more courageous than himself.

After handing the matter over to Zhang Chen and Zeng Jia, Liu Zhou also stayed in his own courtyard, preparing to write the fifth part of Ghost Blows Out the Light, "The Yellow Skin Grave".

This year, because Zeng Li is going to participate in the Spring Festival Gala and Liu Zhou also has a lot of things to deal with, neither he nor Zeng Li plans to go home for the New Year.

Taking advantage of the time now, Liu Zhou also plans to finish writing the "Ghost Blows Out the Light" series as soon as possible and then devote himself to the film industry.

Less than a week after Liu Zhou started writing, news came from Zhang Chen that the 798 factory wanted to have a face-to-face talk with him.

When Liu Zhou heard this, he immediately felt that there seemed to be a way to buy those factories and office buildings.

To be honest, he didn't actually hold out much hope of buying those places. After all, they were state-owned assets and the buying and selling procedures were rather complicated.

So Liu Zhou was just trying to find a juicy thing to do, and now it seems that he has finally found a juicy thing.

This is the core area of ​​the future capital, and you will make a profit if you can buy it.

In the past few years, Liu Zhou has not purchased any other property except a courtyard house.

Firstly, his funds are useful, and secondly, he does not have much obsession with real estate, so he seldom invests in this area.

Now there is a need and an opportunity. Liu Zhou also has sufficient funds and of course wants to acquire these properties.

When Liu Zhou was about to go out to find Zhang Chen, Zeng Li happened to have nothing to do that day. Knowing where Liu Zhou was going, she also wanted to go with him.

Bringing along Zeng Li, a popular star, would also help to strengthen the team's influence. Liu Zhou immediately agreed and, after meeting up with Zhang Chen, they went to the factory to negotiate.

(End of this chapter)