Zhang Tan had a sweet dream, but every time the sweet dream was about to come true, he would be kicked awake. When he opened his eyes, he saw that the room was dark and quiet, and the night light in the corner was shining with a faint light.
There was a gentle breathing sound, it was Xiaobai.
This melon kid just kicked him again in his sleep!
Zhang Tan quickly stayed away from her, not daring to come near her again, let alone trying to hold her in his arms.
Things were going peacefully until early in the morning. Zhang Tan was still sleeping when he suddenly heard singing:
“Malanhua Malanhua~We are not afraid of wind or rain, let’s bloom quickly...”
He thought it was Xiaobai singing in his dream, but something didn't feel right. When he woke up, the singing was still ringing in his ears. Most of the bed in front of him was empty of people. There was only a little monkey doll lying on the bed, staring at him.
relatively.
He turned sideways and looked out the window. A bright morning light fell on the floor. A child in pink pajamas was facing away from him, looking at the rising sun outside the window and singing loudly.
Hearing the movement behind him, the child looked back and said with a smile: "You're awake, Boss Zhang, why don't you sleep a little longer?"
Zhang Tan muttered to himself, how could I continue to sleep when you sing so loudly? I am not a heartless pig.
“You’ve had enough sleep, why did you get up so early?”
“I’m a good kid. I never sleep in. I’m not a fool.”
Xiao Bai announced proudly, but Zhang Tan knew she was bragging. Yesterday, she heard from Teacher Jiang that she was so sleepy that she didn't want to wake up and would stay in bed and roll around like a baby.
Xiaobai opened the curtains completely, and pulling the curtains was like a tug-of-war. Zhang Tan was really worried that she would pull the curtains down.
“I’m going to school~”
Little Guawazi opened the curtains and ran out, rushing to the living room. He was very motivated to go to school.
Zhang Tan got up, took care of Xiaobai, brushed his teeth and washed his face, and went to find Teacher Jiang. Teacher Jiang got up earlier and had already made breakfast.
While having breakfast, Teacher Jiang told Zhang Tan that she would take Xiaobai to kindergarten today.
Zhang Tan thought for a while and had no objection. Teacher Jiang couldn't sit still and had to find something to do.
Zhang Tan was worried and drew a map to tell her where to go if she wanted to walk.
“I know everything.” Xiaobai is already very familiar with the way to school.
“Teacher Jiang, please bring your mobile phone and contact me in time if you need anything.” Zhang Tan warned, watching them get out of the little red horse and slowly go to the kindergarten.
“What’s the matter?” Zhang Tan turned around and asked Xin Xiaoguang, who had been waiting nearby.
Xin Xiaoguang came to work very early today. It seemed that he had something to do with Zhang Tan, but when he saw Zhang Tan sending Teacher Jiang and Xiaobai to kindergarten, he stood aside without disturbing him. Instead, he was glared at by Xiaobai several times. Last night
He bullied Liliu and Dudu so badly that the two children went to Xiaobai to seek justice.
"I have an incident report. I heard news in the circle yesterday that the original Lingshan Studio was unable to make ends meet and would not be able to sustain it. This studio is very capable. I was wondering, can we recruit these people?
In particular, there is a person named Xu Qizhe who is very well-known in the industry. By recruiting Little Red Horse, our strength can reach a higher level."
“Why did it go bankrupt if it was so capable?” Zhang Tan asked. His understanding of the comic circle was far less than that of Xin Xiaoguang.
"I talked about this with Shi Ying yesterday. Our view is that there are two main reasons. First, although this group of people are strong in comics, they don't know how to run it. In fact, this studio has always been operated by paying a small fee to support it.
It’s not easy after so many years; the second reason is that their comics are relatively unpopular, with a cold and strange style of painting. Although they have a high reputation, the market is not big."
Zhang Tan understands that he is equivalent to a literary film director like Chen Bin.
“Okay, you do it.”
Xin Xiaoguang knew that Boss Zhang was not familiar with Xu Qizhe, so he could not pay much attention to him.
“You wait a moment.”
Xin Xiaoguang ran to the studio and quickly took out a comic and handed it to Zhang Tan: "Boss, if you have time, read this comic. It was made by Xu Qizhe and the others."
Zhang Tan took it in his hand and looked at the cover. It was called "A Battle of Life and Death", but he didn't take it seriously.
"Okay, I'll take a look at it when I have time. You can take care of the recruitment. I'm going to Guangdong today, so let's not talk about it for now."
Today, Zhang Tan is going to Guangdong to deal with the crew there, so he can go there regularly to take care of things.
When I had nothing to do on the plane, I thought of this comic in my bag, took it out and picked it up to read.
As Xin Xiaoguang said, the painting style of this studio is cold and cruel. This "Life and Death" is not like a traditional comic at all, it is a bit anti-routine.
There was nothing about the plot that attracted Zhang Tan, but the style of painting and the personality interested him. As he watched it, he thought of a comic he had read before...
After staying in Yuezhou for a day, Zhang Tan returned to Pujiang and called Xin Xiaoguang to ask how the recruitment was going. He learned that it had not yet been completed. There were many people who wanted to recruit him, and they were just one of them.
"According to internal information, Xu Qizhe has decided to join Tiechuan Studio, and there is not much chance of fighting for him again." Xin Xiaoguang said that he worked very hard to win over this person, but other studios can provide him with the conditions he can provide, which is an advantage.
Not obvious.
“Can you ask him out? I want to have a chat with him.” Zhang Tan asked.
“You want to?”
“I read the comic you gave me. It’s really good. I have a story that fits his style very well.”
“I don’t have his phone number, but it doesn’t matter. I can ask. Just wait, I’ll make an appointment.”
In the afternoon, Xin Xiaoguang replied that the appointment was coming, but only for an hour, right now.
Xin Xiaoguang's guess was correct. Xu Qizhe had decided to invest in another studio. If it weren't for Zhang Tan's reputation, he would never have met again.
Zhang Tan and Xin Xiaoguang came to a teahouse on West Chang'an Street. After waiting for a while, Xu Qizhe appeared. He was a tall and thin young man, about 27 or 28 years old. He was dressed in a fashionable style and gave people a decadent look.
Impression, but he is very handsome and has a different kind of charm.
The other party looked at Zhang Tan curiously. After all, he had a good reputation. He had always heard that he was the boss behind Little Red Horse Studio, but it was just hearsay, and now it was confirmed.
The two parties exchanged a few words and got to the main topic.
Xu Qizhe said: "Xiaoguang contacted me and the conditions are very good, but I'm sorry, we have decided to join other studios and we will cooperate again if we have the opportunity in the future."
Zhang Tan poured him tea and said casually: "I have read your "Life and Death". The painting style is very charming, but the story is not very good. This may be the main reason why this comic has not been a hit."
Xu Qizhe nodded silently. They summarized the reasons for their failure, one of which was that the story was not attractive enough. They were more like a group of technicians and artists than storytellers.
Zhang Tan further said: "I am a screenwriter. You should know that what I am best at is telling stories. If we cooperate, we will be even more powerful. I watched "Life and Death" on the plane the day before yesterday, and I was inspired. It took me some time to sort out
I’ve got the prototype of another story, and I’ll tell it to you.”
Xu Qizhe said with interest: "Say."
Xin Xiaoguang was responsible for pouring tea for the two of them, while listening to Zhang Tan's story with open ears. Zhang Tan's story was the main motivation for Little Red Horse Studio to start work quickly, otherwise the result would be like that of Xu Qizhe and others.
Practice has proven that technology alone is not enough. The essence of comics is ultimately stories.
Zhang Tan said: "My story is called "The Life and Death Battle of Swordsmen"..."
PS: I will not go into details about "Swordsman's Life and Death". Friends who are interested can go and read it. There are comics and animations. In short, it is a film with extreme violent aesthetics, Shura purgatory, cruelty and twisted postures.
