Chapter 134: Experience Still Wins—What a Promising Talent!

Sister Ge smiled and said, "No matter how small the temple is, do you think I wouldn’t know?"
"You’re quite something for a girl your age."
"I’ve managed quite a few artists and seen many more. I have a lot of confidence in you."
"Anyway, I’ve been stuck at Chunqiu Headquarters all my life; it’s time to take a chance with you."
"Bai Ling, don’t let me down!"
Even though it was just a phone call, Bai Ling straightened her back and gave a proper military salute.
"Yes, sir!"
"I guarantee to complete the mission!"
Sister Ge chuckled softly. "Cut the nonsense."
"If I can’t manage everything myself, Miao Miao won’t be able to handle it either. If you have time, remember to come and take charge."
"After all, this is your studio. You’re basically the boss who pays our salaries. You should understand how the studio operates."
Thinking about the fact that she would now be paying salaries, a sudden pang of heartache struck Bai Ling.
"Wow, are you even human? Can’t you help me out without making me work for free?"
Sister Ge snorted, "Still joking around?"
...
After the call, Bai Ling began discussing the studio’s situation with Miao Miao and the others.
At first, she thought it wouldn’t be that complicated.
But soon, she realized she had been too naive.
Setting aside the basics like rent and utilities, just establishing the departments in the studio was a huge headache.
Some roles were essential, others optional.
Should they go all out with a full team from the start, or develop gradually and add staff as needed?
This was a crucial consideration.
There’s a saying: taking too big a step can easily lead to a downfall.
Though Bai Ling no longer worried about that now, if something unexpected happened, it would be very troublesome.
Furthermore, the main goal of building the studio was to select promising talents to join her team.
As a singer, she could work alone without worrying about these things.
But from an actor’s perspective, she had to be cautious.
Acting isn’t a solo act—if the show becomes successful and the female lead becomes popular, it’s unlikely the male lead remains completely uninvolved.
The one who played the crown princess alongside Bai Ling had since risen in status and advanced his career.
If they all got along peacefully, no problem. But what if someday they turned hostile and tried to undermine Bai Ling’s rise?
In her past life, she had seen many on-screen couples who appeared sweet and affectionate in bloopers but tore each other apart offstage.
The ensuing scandal was explosive.
Both sides’ fan bases fought fiercely.
Such conflicts often turned the dramas into laughingstocks.
If Bai Ling only worked with her own people, these issues could be avoided altogether.
But...
If she wanted to sign these actors, she’d have to offer profit sharing and tailor different policies to each person’s abilities and circumstances.
More importantly, Bai Ling was eager to recruit but lacked the conditions to do so.
Most well-known actors already had their own agencies, or even personal studios established before hers.
Even those who were moderately popular wouldn’t want to work under Bai Ling.
What was she supposed to say? "Come join me, and I guarantee you’ll take off?"
They’d just laugh it off.
Therefore, if Bai Ling wanted to recruit, she could only seek newcomers just entering the industry.
That, however, was even more troublesome.
Newcomers lacked channels to prove themselves, and Bai Ling had no way to precisely find suitable candidates.
So...
Overall, recruitment needed to be planned cautiously and over the long term.
At least, this was the approach she and Miao Miao agreed on.
However, when they reported this to Sister Ge, she responded quite helplessly:
"How can there be no channels?"
"Didn’t Bai Ling already promote a few fresh graduates from the crew, professionally trained extras?"
"Those youngsters are pretty good."
"Besides, don’t forget Bai Ling is currently on a show."
"Do you think everyone on ‘I Am An Actor’ has had an easy path?"
"Many have lost fame and opportunities long ago and are using the show to revive their careers. Bai Ling has plenty of chances to connect with them."
Hearing Sister Ge say this, Miao Miao sighed in admiration.
"As expected, the older you get, the wiser you become!"
Bai Ling nodded in deep agreement.
Sister Ge: ...
Fine, praise me, but is calling me old really appropriate?
She no longer wanted to talk to these two girls.
In a couple of years, she’d be calling them spinster ladies!
This grudge, I, Ge Fenfen, will remember.
After some thought, Bai Ling agreed with Sister Ge’s reasoning.
So, over the next few days, she planned to visit the filming site even when there were no rehearsals, to try and meet other actors.
Perhaps she could find a few suitable ones.
After all, if she wanted to produce high-quality fantasy and martial arts dramas, she needed leading men who were both handsome and skilled actors.
With that in mind, Bai Ling immediately thought of Lin Yubai.
He was an award-winning actor and quite good-looking.
If she were a 98 in female beauty, he would be a 90 among men.
Moreover, people generally had higher expectations for female beauty than male.
So Lin Yubai was suitable.
However, he was an award-winning actor and the destined partner of Wen Yan.
He definitely wouldn’t be easy to recruit.
After further consideration, Bai Ling realized his image and temperament didn’t match roles like Li Xiaoyao, Xu Feng, or Run Yu.
So, she dismissed him outright.
Among the remaining actors, she found several promising ones.
But either their status was too high or their acting was too poor.
In the end, Bai Ling only had one target left.
Su Chaolin, a former child star with good acting skills.
As for looks, he was fairly decent; cute as a child star, now more ruggedly handsome.
Because of this drastic contrast, his career path had changed significantly.
His child star acting was no longer useful, and his subsequent projects failed to make a splash.
Whether it was the scripts, the crew, or himself, no one knew.
In any case, Su Chaolin never became popular.
Eventually, he joined the show hoping to get feedback from directors to improve and transform his acting.
All this came back to Bai Ling when she recalled the first season of the show.
At the time, she hadn’t paid much attention.
After all, she hadn’t planned to establish a studio immediately back then.
Now looking back, Bai Ling thought Su Chaolin had suitable looks, was sincere, and earnest.
His performance in the two episodes was quite good, above average, and his improvement was clearly visible.
Naturally, he became Bai Ling’s chosen candidate.