House Dad's Literary Life

Chapter 423: Huayi Brothers

Ding Xiang did not expect that she would be dragged into the matter without having done anything at all. She even thought that Mo Fei was joking, and said a little awkwardly, “I don’t know anything about the entertainment industry at all. I can’t be an agent.”

Mo Fei smiled and said, “Aren’t you studying Electronic Media? You already have a professional background. Besides, who understands the entertainment industry inside out right from the start? The company will provide training! Take my cousin, Xiaojuan—when she came back from abroad, she was completely clueless too. It was only after a few years of gaining experience that she became proficient at what she does.”

“I think this could work!” Guo Ziyi said excitedly. “Sister Ding Xiang, if you become my agent, I promise I won’t treat you badly. I’ll take you out to eat good food every day!”

“You just want to eat good food every day, don’t you?” Yang Huan chimed in, linking arms with Ding Xiang. “You just want Sister Ding Xiang to be your personal cook. Do you think I don’t see right through your little scheme?”

At that moment, Yang Yi finally reacted and couldn’t help but laugh. “Hey, with just a few words, you’re already trying to poach the top waiter in our coffee shop? What about our coffee shop?”

“It’s just talk for now. It still depends on Ding Xiang’s willingness. But you can’t let her stay a waitress forever—she also needs room to grow,” Mo Fei said.

The adults’ lively discussion did not affect Xixi at all. The little girl was happily eating her little bear cookies, her mouth covered with a strip of milk foam, while the front of her blue denim overalls was already sprinkled with cookie crumbs.

“Burp…” the little girl let out a loud burp. The sound made her break into a delighted smile herself, as she found it quite amusing.

“You’ve eaten that much already?” Yang Yi only realized it at that moment and said in surprise, “You can’t have any more cookies. Otherwise, you won’t want to eat lunch later!”

Yang Yi pulled his daughter’s hand back, and Mo Fei also wiped her mouth with a tissue, then let the little girl go off and play by herself.

Xixi didn’t cling on or ask for more to eat. She had already eaten four or five little bear cookies and was satisfied.

Yang Yi and the others continued discussing Mo Fei’s proposal to open a new talent agency.

To facilitate this, Mo Fei directly called Mo Xiaojuan, put the call on speakerphone, and had her join the discussion.

“This is a great idea!” Mo Xiaojuan said excitedly, feeling as though she was about to become the boss. “Actually, our studio’s current staffing has already been set up according to the standards of a talent agency. The only thing left is to recruit and train a new batch of agents.”

“For the time being, though, Xiao Guo is the only one who’ll be signing with us, so with the company’s current size, we can still handle both sides. Later on, brother-in-law, if you also sign Huanhuan—and Qianli Chuanshu, whom you recently asked me to follow up on—we can expand our team of agents then.”

“Qianli Chuanshu is a different matter. I’m only helping them because of fate. If they manage to terminate their contracts successfully, they should decide for themselves which company they want to sign with.” Yang Yi clarified.

“But Brother-in-law, you wouldn’t just sit back and watch them jump from one pit into another, would you?” Mo Xiaojuan said with a grin. “Putting them aside, let’s talk about Xiao Guo. He should have signed and debuted long ago. You’ve written several songs for him; besides ‘Fairy Tale,’ I remember you also wrote ‘University Days.’ Many people online are clamoring for you to release that song as soon as possible!”

Guo Ziyi helplessly emphasized again, “Sister Xiaojuan, I am an actor, not a singer. I have no interest in being a singer.”

“Then just release a single as a side project! It’s not like we’re really asking you to become a singer. It’s not uncommon in the entertainment industry for actors to cross over into singing. Your main job would still be acting!”

“That’s true.” Hearing that, Guo Ziyi found it easier to accept.

The matter was thus tentatively settled. After the discussion, the most enthusiastic person turned out to be Mo Xiaojuan. She was excitedly preparing to register a new company, and had even already come up with a name for it — “Hua Yi Brothers”, short for Yang Yi and his “brothers.” (TN: “Brothers” could also mean “Partners” or “Friends”)

Because of this, Mo Xiaojuan no longer bothered to complain about Mo Fei taking matters into her own hands and prematurely showing her hand to Sister Ling—a move that had seemed like a bad one.

……

However, at that moment, Ju Jie was working hard to turn the “bad move” Mo Fei had made into a good one.

In Ju Jie’s villa, his father, who had just returned from Australia, was having a meal and chatting with Niu Meiling.

Ju Jie’s father, Ju Jingwei, was the chairman of Jingwei Group Co., Ltd., a leading enterprise in China’s food industry. Jingwei Group was similar to Wahaha in Yang Yi’s previous life, occupying a significant market share in the beverage sector.

Of course, Ju Jie wasn’t his only son, so he couldn’t inherit the family’s tens of billions in assets alone. Ju Jingwei had six children—five sons and one daughter—and Ju Jie was the second youngest.

His other children all held key positions within Jingwei Group, engaging in open and hidden struggles daily, which gave Ju Jingwei quite a headache. In contrast, Ju Jie had his own aspirations, neither fighting nor grabbing for power, which made Ju Jingwei rather fond of him.

“Xiao Jie has performed quite well recently. Although his song ‘The Third Party’ stirred up quite a bit of controversy, in our entertainment industry, controversy means hype, and hype means popularity. Now, Xiao Jie is now famous nationwide. He’s got a bright future ahead of him!” Niu Meiling said with a smile.

“Mm. Keep putting your effort into supporting Xiao Jie. If he can really make a name for himself, the family will be pleased to see it. As for Tianmei’s shares, I’ll be sure to leave him a good portion of them in the future.” Ju Jingwei nodded to Niu Meiling.

“By the way, Xiao Jie mentioned recently that one of the female stars at your company is planning to go independent. What was her name again…?”

Niu Meiling quickly replied, “Mo Fei. She is leaving the company to open her own studio. I’m sorry, Jingwei. Mo Fei is currently our company’s biggest star, so losing her has dealt a considerable blow to the company.”

“Sister Mo Fei is starting her own studio because she wants to run a husband-and-wife business with her husband, Mu Li’ang, the one who wrote songs for me,” Ju Jie quickly explained from the side. “This is perfectly understandable!”

“Those outsiders can do whatever they want. Handle things according to the proper procedures, and if they’re required to pay compensation under the contract, then have them pay. It’s not a big deal. Even if we suffer a loss, a loss of this size isn’t something I’d care about. What matters most is that you give Xiao Jie more resources and support. I heard you haven’t really helped him find songs or prepare an album?” Jiu Jingwei said discontentedly.

Niu Meiling nodded with a bitter smile. “I understand. I’ll allocate more resources to him from now on.”

“That’s the right way to handle it! Now that Mo Fei has left, you’ll have more time and energy to focus on developing Xiao Jie. I think this is actually a good thing. Xiao Jie already told me what you were thinking, so there’s no need to make trouble for her anymore. It’s really not that big of a deal.” Ju Jingwei said with a smile.

“Moreover, Mu Li’ang also told me that he’ll continue writing songs for me. We absolutely can’t fall out with him. Therefore, Auntie, you absolutely mustn’t leak Mo Fie’s photos,” Ju Jie added, striking while the iron was hot.

Niu Meiling fell silent. Deep down, she still had some resentment that she hadn’t been able to vent.

“Xiao Jie has really matured these past few years. Thinking this way is exactly right! Meiling, let me tell you—doing business and dealing with people follow the same principle. You can’t act on a moment of anger and end up making enemies out of everyone! These days, having one more friend is better than having one more enemy. If she wants to leave, then let her leave. Her husband will still continue writing songs for Xiao Jie. When you look at it this way, it’s not like we don’t benefit from this either.” Ju Jingwei advised.

Niu Meiling could ignore Ju Jie, but Ju Jingwei’s authority was absolute. She had to listen to him and accept his words respectfully.

“I understand, Jingwei. I won’t make trouble for her. I’ll listen to you. It’s better to leave some room for others.”