Chapter 182 Meal Ticket
Recently, Chen Mo's reputation has been booming.

After the second live broadcast and collaboration with Ning Zhihe on stage, Chen Mo's personal account fans successfully exceeded 10 million.

On that day, Ning Zhihe’s first solo single after returning to China was released, and within just one hour, it reached the top of the music charts on all major platforms.

Although Ning Zhihe was often a frequent visitor to the charts in the past due to her popularity, it was different from the past and it was probably more of fans bragging about herself. This time, her song "It Keeps Raining" was well received by the general public.

The strength displayed by Ning Zhihe in the song made her start to be seen more as a singer rather than just an idol.

As the lyricist and composer, Chen Mo has received equally much attention.

However, this is not what really attracts attention.

But it was another "little thing" that Chen Mo almost forgot, or rather, he never took it too seriously.

"How many did you say?"

Chen Mo listened to Pei Luo's report and suspected that he had heard it wrongly.

Pei Luo smiled slightly and said, "The two short dramas we invested in last month, "I was a Stepmother in the 1980s" and "After a Flash Marriage, Mr. Fu's Vest Can No Longer Be Hidden", both received over 20 million in recharges on the first day of release."

Chen Mo recalled uncertainly: "As I recall, the production cost of each film seemed to be less than a million, right?"

Pei Luo could no longer conceal the smile in his eyes, raised his index finger and said: "The production cost is less than one million, and the production cycle is less than a month."

"Of course, the life cycle of a short drama is very short, and the revenue basically ends in a week, but with these two dramas, it should be no problem for us to earn over 100 million yuan in revenue, and the actual share is expected to be at least 50 million yuan."

Even though Chen Mo was used to big production projects, he couldn't help but take a breath at this moment.

If the income was only 50 million, Chen Mo would not be too surprised, because the income from a successful movie or a popular variety show would far exceed this figure.

But if you compare the investment cost and return period, you will know that they are completely different things.

The production costs of movies and variety shows are too high. The star pay alone is enough to make dozens of short dramas.

Add to that the production time, variety shows are okay, but the pre-production and post-production of a movie can take two to three years.

Moreover, movies don’t make money just by being released. China produces more than 500 movies every year, but only about 20 of them actually make money.

The film market is truly a top-tier market, with 5 percent of films taking 95 percent of the box office.

This means that the rest of the movies will basically lose money, the only difference is how much they lose.

That’s why it is said that film and television investment is actually a high-risk project.

But now, skits are different.

The costumes and props of the short play are simple, and the scenes are single. Basically, the entire play can be shot in a few interior scenes, and even several scenes can be shot in a row without changing locations.

Not only is the production cost low, but the payment cycle is also short. There is no need to wait for half a year for box office statistics, and the process of theater settlement and distributor profit sharing is eliminated.

This means that the risk of investment is greatly reduced.

Undoubtedly, this is a brand new track.

Chen Mo couldn't help but sigh: "I really didn't expect that this kind of content would have such a large audience."

Pei Luo smiled and said, "The entertainment industry sells emotional value. Movies may pay attention to emotional foreshadowing, but short plays have no foreshadowing, they are all about emotions."

"It's a one-minute plot, with a climax at the beginning, a twist in the middle, and a suspenseful ending."

"A movie ticket at thirty-five dollars a piece may seem expensive, but a short play at a dime or two per episode doesn't feel like a big deal."

Chen Mo smiled and shook his head, "I thought I would just throw some money in to test the waters and hope it would work, but I didn't expect to actually make money."

Pei Luo raised his eyebrows. "This is the judgment I made after professional market analysis. Did you think I was joking before?"

Chen Mo smiled awkwardly and said, "That's not the case. It's just that I'm a creative person, so I can't help but have some inertial thinking. I think that kind of content has no artistic value."

"Besides, doesn't this mean that I trust you? I thought you were joking, but I still chose to support you unconditionally."

Pei Luo snorted, "I am making money for you. If you don't trust me, who can you trust?"

Chen Mo shook his head and said, "There are many people at Fuyun Entertainment who are helping me make money, but I don't trust everyone as much as I do you."

"That sounds nice." Pei Luo looked disdainful, but there were still some ripples in his heart.

Chen Mo shrugged and didn't care, but continued to analyze:
"However, we have tasted the first dividend of short dramas this time, which is why we can make such a huge profit. But there will definitely be a large number of investors pouring into this track soon. By then, although the production cost will be low, the investment in investment and flow will probably far exceed the production cost itself."

Chen Mo saw at a glance that the key to profitability for this kind of fast-food content actually lies in the push of traffic.

Pei Luo nodded and said, "According to the news from the crew, hundreds of short play crews moved into Hengdian yesterday."

Chen Mo tapped the table with his fingers, "Then, we have to start rolling."

Pei Luo said: "In fact, the crew borrowed from Fuyun Entertainment is used to fighting in a regular battle, so the way they shot two short dramas this time is not the real shooting rhythm of short dramas." "But with the experience of the first time, the next shooting cycle can be shortened to less than 20 days, and even the production cost can be reduced."

"A short drama crew doesn't need as many people as a regular TV drama crew. Normally, 40 people are enough. The people we sent over are enough to start three or four projects at the same time."

Chen Mosi said: "We can't just focus on quantity. Our crew has the advantage of experience in large-scale productions. They are fully capable of shooting some sophisticated productions. If we give up this advantage, we will just be competing with those grass-roots teams in terms of 'physical strength'."

"Although short dramas do not need to be reviewed at present, as a large number of low-quality dramas flood into the market, the higher authorities will definitely issue relevant policies to regulate the industry."

Pei Luo thought for a moment and said, "Then we will use the fast production route for two projects, taking advantage of our first-mover advantage to grab more bites of the pie. The other project will use the route of high-quality production to differentiate itself and strengthen its competitiveness in the later stages."

Chen Mo nodded, "Yes, that's fine."

In the evening, Chen Mo came out of Nanfang Media and drove past the entrance of Manman Art Museum next door. He glanced casually and the sunset caught his eyes.

Chen Mo was stunned for a moment, then honked the horn.

In front, a figure was driving a motorcycle and was about to turn out of the art gallery. When he heard the sound, he looked back and saw that it was Chen Mo's car, so he slowed down and stopped.

Chen Mo drove closer and stopped, smiling in surprise, "So it's you."

Huang Yimei put on the helmet lens and asked with a puzzled look: "What's wrong with me?"

Chen Mo pointed at her motorcycle: "I saw you at a traffic light on my way back from the airport. You were wearing this orange work suit that day. We were talking like we are now. I asked you if you were riding a Triumph Climb."

Huang Yimei thought about it for a moment and suddenly said, "Oh~~that's you."

Chen Mo nodded and smiled: "Oh, no wonder I thought your eyes and eyebrows looked like my girlfriend. I thought I was hallucinating because I missed you too much."

Huang Yimei looked at him strangely and asked, "Wasn't your attention focused on my car at the time?"

Chen Mo laughed and said, "Haha, because to me, cars are more important than people."

"Hmm?" Huang Yime raised her eyebrows slightly.

Chen Mo immediately changed his words and said, "Because you were wearing a helmet at the time, I couldn't see you clearly, otherwise how could I see the car?"

Huang Yimei snorted without comment.

Chen Mo touched his chin and said, "But that shouldn't be the case. I didn't recognize you because you were wearing a helmet, but you didn't recognize me? My face is so recognizable."

Huang Yimei glanced at him and said, "I'm sorry, there are too many people who usually approach me and I usually don't pay special attention to them."

Chen Mo choked and gritted his teeth.

Huang Yimei saw Chen Mo being humiliated and smiled with narrowed eyes.

Seeing this, Chen Mo reached out and pulled off the lens of Huang Yime's helmet in annoyance.

"Hey!" Huang Yimei glared and raised her fist in dissatisfaction.

Chen Mo had already happily climbed up the car window, ready to leave.

"Boom boom boom!"

Chen Mo turned around and saw Huang Yimei knocking on his car window, so he lowered the window again and asked, "Anything else?"

Huang Yimei said, "Last time you sang at my place, and after the video was uploaded to the Internet, my store's business has been much better recently. I haven't thanked you yet."

Chen Mo waved his hand, "It's no big deal. Just remember to give me a discount when you go out to eat next time."

Huang Yimei patted her chest and promised, "No problem, I'll treat you every time you come next time."

Chen Mo blinked, "Doesn't that mean I have a free meal ticket?"

Huang Yimei smiled and said, "Well, you can tell your girlfriend that I will provide you with free meal tickets for life."

Chen Mo coughed twice and said, "We are friends, how can I take advantage of you? I'd better give you a discount."

Huang Yimei rolled her eyes, as if laughing at his cowardice.

Chen Mo pretended not to see it, "It's okay, I'm leaving now?"

Huang Yimei shouted, "Wait, I have one more thing I want to hear your opinion on."

Chen Mo was puzzled, "What?"

Huang Yimei said: "Recently, I want to change the name of my store."

Chen Mo raised his eyebrows, "Change what?"

"'Love of Roses'."

(End of this chapter)