Although Chang Yunwei's words seemed plausible, Lu Ming felt something was off. He had never heard of having to pay to be featured on a program. Especially since when he had discussed it with Xie Yuqing, the elder Xie had not mentioned any fees. If there were fees, Xie Lao should have informed him beforehand. There was a problem.
Lu Ming asked calmly, "How exactly are the fees structured?"
Chang Yunwei snapped his fingers, and his assistant brought over a ledger. Chang Yunwei opened it and handed it to Lu Ming. As Lu Ming and Su Wanran reviewed it, Chang Yunwei explained, "All the prices are listed here. You pay according to the kind of effect you want. Open pricing, transparent and fair, no rip-offs."
Lu Ming scanned the list from top to bottom, and the more he looked, the more apparent the problems became. The price list was the issue. Sponsorship fees, commercial break fees, end credit fees, spoken endorsements – a plethora of charges. But these were all advertising fees, not production costs!
Lu Ming stated, "Director Chang, have we misunderstood something? My Mingyue Zhai isn't looking to advertise on the program; we want to be featured on it. If it's just about advertising, we wouldn't need to advertise here; there are plenty of hugely popular shows."
Chang Yunwei's expression soured. He grumbled, "Are you saying you don't want to be on our program?"
Lu Ming waved his hand, "It's not that we don't want to be on the program, but it seems our objectives have been mistaken. Advertising is one way, and being featured on a program is another. They shouldn't be mixed up."
Su Wanran added, "Yes, I also feel something is wrong. Director Chang, I'm a local from Wudu. I watched the first two seasons of 'A Bite of Wudu,' and I know many of the restaurants featured. As far as I know, none of them paid a fee."
That statement hit the nail on the head! Su Wanran's words carried significant weight. As expected, Chang Yunwei's face instantly turned very unpleasant, even showing anger. He knew his actions were wrong; who asks people to pay to be featured? In the first two seasons, his mentor, Xie Yuqing, hadn't charged a penny! The contrast made Chang Yunwei appear greedy. But things had reached this point, and he couldn't back down. After all, Chang Yunwei had lost over a million yuan the previous night, and he felt unsettled without recouping it.
"Hmph!" Chang Yunwei slammed the table hard. "If I'm hearing you two correctly, you think I'm overcharging?"
Su Wanran's face showed embarrassment, and she dared not say more. Lu Ming, however, was unconcerned. He calmly replied, "Yes, it does seem like overcharging."
"Outrageous!" Chang Yunwei roared. "I kindly invited you to be on the program, and you accuse me of overcharging? Hah, plenty of restaurants are eager to be featured. If you don't want to, I won't bother!"
He resorted to threats. Unfortunately, Lu Ming was immune to such tactics. If the program required payment to be featured, then other restaurants could also pay, implying the program's prestige wasn't that high. If it wasn't prestigious, why bother being on it?
Lu Ming nodded. "Alright then, Director Chang, we apologize for our disrespect. Please leave."
Tsk, tsk. He was unyielding, unaffected by either soft or hard approaches. Chang Yunwei was stunned. Previously, his threats usually made people "surrender"; no one had ever stood their ground against him. He never expected Lu Ming to be so resolute and impervious to his tactics. Well, that was awkward.
"Hmm..." Chang Yunwei didn't leave immediately but weighed the pros and cons. The program's quality was declining, and not many restaurants were willing to participate, let alone pay. Furthermore, the usual fee was two to three hundred thousand yuan. A big catch like Mingyue Zhai was rare, and giving up would be a waste.
For the sake of money, Chang Yunwei decided to try again. He nodded. "Fine, for my mentor's sake, I'll give you a discount. Instead of three to four million, I'll only charge you two million. I've already made significant concessions. What do you say, shall we cooperate?"
Two million. Half for himself, and the other half to be distributed. He had it all figured out. Pity. Lu Ming was still unmoved.
Lu Ming said coldly, "We will adhere strictly to the requirements. Mingyue Zhai will not pay a single cent for anything that shouldn't be paid! Forget two million; even two hundred thousand, twenty thousand, or two hundred yuan, I will not pay."
He remained resolute! Chang Yunwei was almost bursting with anger. The previous restaurant owners hadn't been this stubborn. Logically, as long as Chang Yunwei made a slight concession, they should have cooperated obediently. It was infuriating!
Chang Yunwei pointed at Lu Ming's nose and cursed, "You won't pay? Fine, then you won't be on the program! Not only now, but in the future, Mingyue Zhai will never be featured on any program in Wudu!"
Just then, the door opened, and an elderly man entered. "Why is it so noisy?"
Everyone looked and saw that the elderly man was none other than Xue Hong, the director of Wudu Television. He was a seasoned director with extensive experience. Upon seeing Xue Hong, Chang Yunwei immediately stood up. "Director, why are you here? Please, please sit."
Lu Ming and Su Wanran exchanged glances. They hadn't expected the director of Wudu Television to personally come over; it wasn't mentioned beforehand, which was peculiar. In reality, this was just a play staged by Xue Hong and Chang Yunwei. Typically, when dealing with a big catch like Mingyue Zhai, both Chang Yunwei and Xue Hong would appear together and coordinate. If Chang Yunwei could secure the deal, that would be ideal; if he couldn't, Xue Hong would step in to help close the deal. They had collaborated so many times, always achieving their goals. This time, they were using the same tactic: one playing the hard cop, the other the soft cop.
"Ahem." Xue Hong coughed and said very gently, "Mingyue Zhai is an excellent restaurant, personally recommended by Elder Xie. Such an outstanding establishment must be featured on the program 'A Bite of Wudu.' If anyone has any questions, we can sit down and discuss them slowly and calmly. There's no need to get angry and make everyone unhappy."
Chang Yunwei nodded. "Director, you are right. I was indeed too agitated just now."
"Good, it's good that you know your mistake."
Then, Xue Hong looked at Su Wanran and said, "Director Su, regarding the program fees, these are normal procedures for our television station. They are not directed at you, nor is Chang Yunwei arbitrarily charging fees. We hope you can understand this point."