CHAPTER 202: CHAPTER 202: SHE’S THE GOD OF WEALTH

On the second day after confinement, Tian Xiang took her relatives who came from her hometown out for a day of fun, and the next day, she sent them to the train station.

This time, Tian Weibing returned with his son and daughter-in-law, while Hu Honglian stayed behind to continue helping her daughter with the child.

Although they hired a nanny, it’s definitely more reassuring to take care of the baby herself. She would return once her grandson is a little older.

Meng Cheng’an and Tian Xiang bought platform tickets and saw the group off onto the train. As they came out, Tian Xiang told him, "We’re not going home. Let’s go to the office."

Meng Cheng’an looked at his wife, "Are you serious?"

"Yes."

Meng Cheng’an glanced at his mother-in-law and son sitting in the back seat of the car.

Tian Xiang said, "Let’s all go together."

Meng Cheng’an didn’t move; in fact, he wanted his wife to rest at home for another half month before returning to work.

At this moment, Hu Honglian, sitting in the back, said, "Go on, I’ve packed the diapers and clothes."

With both mother and daughter insisting on going, Meng Cheng’an had to comply.

Tian Xiang didn’t inform the factory that she would resume work today. Upon hearing she was there, department leaders hurried to greet her.

No choice, she was their cash cow.

Tian Xiang was expected to get involved in the factory’s operations after resuming work, which had been discussed before.

The factory had already prepared an office for her in advance, a private one with a resting area to facilitate her rest and child care.

A private car was also ready for her use.

Meng Cheng’an was quite satisfied upon seeing the proper arrangements made by the factory. After wandering around the office, he told his wife, "I’ll have Aunt Tang come over soon. Take her with you for any outings, and be careful."

The Aunt Tang Meng Cheng’an referred to was Tang Aiqun, a driver and bodyguard introduced to Tian Xiang by Mr. Meng before her pregnancy.

During Tian Xiang’s year off work, there weren’t many instances where Tang Aiqun’s services were needed, but her salary was always paid on time.

Tian Xiang nodded.

Meng Cheng’an had a meeting at his office today, so he left soon after.

Tian Xiang dismissed everyone, saying she would notify them if there was anything to attend to.

Once everyone left, Tian Xiang sat in the chair and sighed, feeling like she was back to the days of working at the factory, only now with more pressure.

Hu Honglian comforted her daughter, "Big or small tasks are done the same way, just keep a good mindset."

Tian Xiang nodded.

The following days, Tian Xiang started returning to the factory for work, always taking Hu Honglian, her son, and a lot of things with her each day.

Sometimes Mr. Meng would also come along, finding that accompanying them was better than being bored at home.

Since Liu Jun hadn’t returned yet and the factory didn’t have any films in production currently, they just took on some television advertisements and the like.

Each day at the factory, Tian Xiang either attended meetings or reviewed scripts.

The people Meng Cheng’an introduced to her were already in place, working with the editorial department to study the scripts.

To produce good works, a compelling story is crucial.

A month passed by as she reviewed the scripts. Eventually, Tian Xiang grew frustrated, as several versions failed to meet her standards. It was unclear whether there truly was a lack of talent in this area, or if people weren’t putting in the effort, continuing to coast as they had before, taking the factory’s wages without treating their tasks seriously.

In fact, this issue was common in state-owned enterprises at the moment; people hadn’t snapped out of the old work mindset, lacked enthusiasm, and tended to be lazy.

This was something that leaders had addressed in meetings multiple times.

There was no choice; if they didn’t strive harder, competition would soon overwhelm them.

The leaders had a high level of awareness about this, but the lower-level staff didn’t see it that way.

That night, back at home, Tian Xiang asked Meng Cheng’an if he had any good solutions.

While Meng Cheng’an’s magazine was a joint public-private venture, it primarily held a public affiliation for the license, but was actually managed privately.

Meng Cheng’an suggested his wife break the "iron rice bowl" mentality.

Tian Xiang took it to heart and held a factory-wide meeting the next day. She proposed a writing competition, putting the current projects from the editorial team out for all employees to brainstorm on. Anyone who got selected would immediately be transferred to the editorial team with top-level salary and bonuses by year-end.

The original editorial team members who failed to produce anything useful three times would be transferred elsewhere, like logistics or security departments.

If even this didn’t yield good work from the factory, Tian Xiang would advertise for a national writing competition in the newspaper.

At that point, those who could stay would stay, those who couldn’t would have their work years bought out or be offered early retirement.

The rules left everyone stunned.

The next day, someone secretly submitted a complaint letter upstairs, accusing Tian Xiang of breaking rules and bullying employees.

Upstairs didn’t respond at all.

Filmmakers weren’t the only ones currently facing reform; various industries had similar issues, and related units received complaint letters by the sackloads daily.

No choice, these were the growing pains of reform.

Seeing that upper management ignored their pleas, some at the factory wanted to organize a strike, but upon seeing Mr. Meng and the guards with guns, they quickly backed down.

Tian Xiang’s tough policies proved effective, as within half a month, she received several fairly intriguing scripts.

Holding the much higher quality new scripts, Tian Xiang thought to herself that it wasn’t a lack of ability, but a lack of care from everyone.

Another half month passed, and Tian Xiang chose a script written by an old watchman, officially declaring it ready for filming preparations.

Coincidentally, Liu Jun returned from his studies.

After studying abroad for over two months, Liu Jun had changed a lot; the arrogance of a scholar was gone, replaced by greater humility, steadiness, and maturity.

He reviewed the script Tian Xiang had selected and also found it quite good, suggesting the factory advertise in newspapers to cast nationwide for the roles in this upcoming period drama through an open call.

Regarding casting, Tian Xiang felt the director should handle it and left it to Liu Jun.

Liu Jun said, "Select other roles from outside, but the female lead should still be you."

Looking sincerely at Tian Xiang, Liu Jun said, "This journey abroad taught me a lot, thank you."

After more than two months apart, he seemed rather sentimental.

Tian Xiang replied, "Let’s focus on the script. It doesn’t matter if I’m the lead or not."

She had come to accept that in the balance between passion and money, the latter was far more significant.

Liu Jun said, "Don’t worry, you’re perfect for the role."

Since he insisted, Tian Xiang didn’t refuse further.

Subsequently, Tian Xiang took a week’s leave, handing over her work to Liu Jun.

Once the film studio’s casting advertisement was released, it caused quite a stir in the industry because the selection was no longer about salaried actors but paying according to the number of participating episodes and time spent.

The resulting payment for actors was considerable, far superior to regular salaries.

As soon as the advertisement came out, applicants flooded the film studio’s gates, many even traveling from out-of-province.

Chang Wan saw how Tian Xiang broke industry norms and went home to tell Chang Ziliang that this couldn’t be done, arguing that it was too profit-driven and urging Chang Ziliang to put a stop to it, especially since he was with the Ministry of Culture.

Instead, Chang Ziliang told his daughter, "Isn’t this great? Aren’t you in this industry too? Aren’t you happy to earn a bit more money?"