Chapter 229: Dyeing Vat
The entertainment industry is a big melting pot, and Zhu Chengbiao had been mentally prepared for this matter.

He had known from the beginning that there were not many of these people who were serious about art. No matter how nice they said, such as pursuing their childhood hobbies and dreams of entering the entertainment industry, most of them entered this circle just for fame and fortune.

A few decades ago, many celebrities came from grassroots backgrounds, especially before Hong Kong’s return to China. Many celebrities there came from poor backgrounds, and only a few really did it out of interest. Because everyone knew that becoming a celebrity or an actor through beauty pageants or singing competitions was the only way to cross the social class barrier.

When they are poor to a certain extent, they cannot afford to continue their studies and have to go out into society early to earn money to pay off their family debts.

Most of them are also very frank. They just want to make money. Also because of their background, these stars who have risen from the bottom either choose to marry into wealthy families or are very careful about their reputation and dare not do anything illegal, for fear that their hard-earned affluent life will be ruined.

But now…

Zhu Chengbiao sighed and said:
“In fact, don’t mention you. It’s not like I haven’t heard of this kind of thing before.”

“Since the development of Southern Sichuan TV and the gradual increase in Changshan’s pan-entertainment industry, Changshan Municipal Bureau’s business has also expanded a lot in recent years.”

“Over the years, I would always tell you before I heard any rumors or was about to arrest someone. Why? Because I know that Changshan’s development to its current level is related to the efforts of everyone, and Sichuan Southern TV has contributed a lot. Everyone wants to protect Sichuan Southern TV, fearing that you will be stained with some shit that cannot be shaken off. Whenever they encounter an artist involved in the incident, they will quickly ask you to find a way to terminate the contract.”

“Nowadays, the families of these young artists are richer than each other. I don’t know why they are so rich, but still want to enter the entertainment industry and wade into the muddy waters, bringing all those bad tendencies with them.”

“I understand your difficulties after thinking about it. If it were me, if the capital notified us to assist in handling a case, we couldn’t go beyond our authority and could only send people there. We wouldn’t want to get involved in other matters. Anyway, there’s no benefit in contributing, and we’ll be held responsible if things go wrong.”

“I just…ah, Old Meng, the little bit of information that Ren Tuo just revealed is really too complicated. If this matter really gets out of hand, I’m worried that even the provincial bureau won’t be able to take over and will have to go to a higher level.”

“What’s more, the person I feel most sorry for is Han Fei. You should know that he was originally a temporary undercover agent who joined the organization halfway. It’s already very good that he has made it this far. Such a dangerous and important matter should have been handed over to more professional people. Unfortunately, apart from him, there is no more suitable candidate for the time being…”

“I’m too anxious. I’ve even had a few gray hairs in the past few days!”

Zhu Chengbiao’s speech was quite mixed, condemning the chaos in the entertainment industry and worrying about his family being in danger, but Meng Yunda understood what he meant.

Meng Yunda was silent for a long time. During this time, a chimney appeared in the office, and the green ivy by the wall was wilted again due to the smoke.

It was not until he lit his third cigarette that he spoke again, continuing Zhu Chengbiao’s words.

“Mr. Zhu, I understand your concerns. I also know that you are afraid that something uncontrollable will happen. After all, this is a live broadcast. If something malicious happens in front of the audience, especially if there are popular artists involved, the negative impact will be so great that you can’t even cover it up.”

“If you are really worried, then why don’t we temporarily stop broadcasting this program and not disclose any information to the public? Just say that a guest was injured during the recording of the program and the recording is suspended. Don’t mention this to the guests and let them stay on the island as planned.”

“Without the worry of live broadcast, and with the official team already heading to the deserted island keeping an eye on us, with such thorough precautions, there won’t be any uncontrollable things happening, right?”

Zhu Chengbiao was stunned for only a second before he refused on the spot:
“No, you’re being too hasty!”

“Let’s not talk about whether you can fool the criminals hiding out there. Can you afford the huge losses caused by the unwarranted suspension of this program?”

“As far as I know, the investment now involved has far exceeded the level when the program was first recruited. The two largest investors are Tianwen and Xu’s Real Estate. If the program is stopped, you don’t have to pay the penalty? Even if there is a legitimate reason, the impact is not so easy to eliminate.”

Although Changshan Municipal Bureau and Southern Sichuan TV Station seem to be two unrelated units, in fact, the cooperation between them has always been very close, even more like brother units than brother units.

Ever since the Southern Sichuan TV station emerged as a dark horse and became the leader among many local TV stations, Changshan has hosted countless entertainment activities over the past ten or twenty years, including but not limited to large-scale concerts, New Year’s Eve parties, large-scale outdoor variety shows, film and television drama shootings, etc.

The personnel composition of these large-scale events is extremely complex. Every time they are held to a certain standard, they need to seek help from the Municipal Bureau to coordinate security and defense to prevent anyone from taking advantage of the situation and causing serious incidents.

Changshan has become a famous online tourist city in recent years, which is also inseparable from the government’s vigorous crackdown on various illegal and criminal incidents. Vigorous publicity of this safe environment, combined with cultural tourism, and using the window of Southern Sichuan TV to radiate to the outside world, all aspects have worked together to make Changshan a special development case with the tertiary industry as its pillar.

It can be said that the cooperation between Changshan Municipal Bureau and Southern Sichuan TV has basically never been interrupted throughout the year. As the director, Zhu Chengbiao is of course very clear about the importance of the stable development of Southern Sichuan TV!
No matter what, he would never let Southern Sichuan TV bear such serious consequences unless it was absolutely necessary.

Although the original plan included a contingency plan for “suspending the program due to force majeure”, no one actually thought about using it. Even if it was suspended, it had to be done in a decent manner. The Changshan Municipal Bureau would issue a statement with white letters on a blue background, stating that the Southern Sichuan TV station had played an exemplary role in the investigation of this case and would give it strong commendation. Only then would it be considered a complete success.

“Neither this nor that will work. So tell me, what do you want to do to be satisfied?”

Meng Yunda finally couldn’t hold it in anymore.

No matter how good his qi-cultivation skills are, when faced with all these bad lucks happening all at once, it’s already amazing that Meng Yunda could hold on for so long before exploding. Various things have been piling up, and now this fuse has triggered him. He slammed the table hard, and the hard and heavy solid wood table made a loud bang, and the floor seemed to shake a few times.

Meng Yunda pointed at the live broadcast room on the screen and said angrily:

“Now that Han Fei has gotten this out of him, how many eyes do you think are watching them? How many people involved already know what Ren Tuo said to Han Fei?”

“It’s good to broadcast it non-stop. It gives him more time to understand the inside story, and maybe even get more information out of Lu Siyuan, because Lu Siyuan is a stupid criminal suspect who is far less intelligent than Ren Tuo. Similarly, these broadcasts will be popular, and our station and Fei Niao platform can make a lot of money from this wave of traffic. Guests who can survive this show can say that they have survived the microscope when they go out in the future.”

“But with so many benefits here, why should I stop broadcasting?”

“Because I’m a fucking human being too!”

“Shu Yi almost died ‘accidentally’ at Ren Tuo’s hands. If Han Fei had been a little less lucky, he would have died too. If Ren Tuo continues to stay in there, it’s hard to say whether more people will have so-called accidents. Even if they all escape unscathed and make it to the end of the show, then tell me, what will the criminals you have met do when faced with people who block their way to wealth under the temptation of huge profits?”

“The most dangerous person here, and the one who should least face this kind of danger, is Han Fei!”

“Zhu Chengbiao, you told me that you are the elder in his family, how can you treat your junior like this? Aren’t you afraid that he will die in the hands of others? We at Sichuan Southern TV still have some dignity! Our station has hosted hundreds of variety shows of all sizes over the years, and there has never been an accidental death of a guest!” “Is there anything wrong with what Li Wensheng said just now? No problem, this is something that any normal person would worry about. Sichuan Southern TV is not that cold-blooded. Maybe in your eyes the entertainment industry is a dirty, smelly, disgusting place, but there are many behind-the-scenes staff who have conscience. Those who come in to reap the profits have no conscience, but we who have been in the media for decades do!”

Meng Yunda stood up and shouted.

After yelling, he was already out of breath, bent over and held the back of the sofa, breathing heavily.

He was angry, very angry.

He had watched the Southern Sichuan TV grow to become a top domestic and unshakable industry leader, and he was very proud of it. At an old age, he was about to retire, but this happened.

If it is done well, it will be a classic case that cannot be replicated, and it will allow the Southern Sichuan TV station to completely leave all its friendly stations behind so that they cannot even see its taillights.

If it wasn’t done well and people really died as he worried, it would be a catastrophic event. Even if the Changshan Municipal Bureau took the blame, it could not deny the fact that there were huge problems in the selection of cast for their program from the very beginning.

It is true that Meng Yunda was not familiar with Han Fei at all. It could even be said that Han Fei’s life or death had nothing to do with him. Before this young man participated in the show, Meng Yunda only knew that he was once very popular and had a lot of negative news, and that was all.

But this does not mean that he doesn’t care about Han Fei’s life or death.

To be more realistic…

Han Fei’s life or death does not mean his own life, but also represents whether the reputation of Chuannan TV Station over the past 20 to 30 years can be maintained.

Whether out of the most basic conscience and morality as a human being, or out of concern for the career he has worked hard for many years, Meng Yunda is unwilling to let Zhu Chengbiao continue to act like this!
Zhu Chengbiao looked up at him, remained silent for a long time, and then sighed softly:
“Meng, I really didn’t lie to you.”

“If there is anyone in this world who doesn’t want him to get into trouble more than his family, it must be me and Lao Qin.”

“I had already communicated with Han Fei before going to the deserted island this time.”

“It was confirmed from the beginning that Ren Tuo would continue to participate in the recording. I also clearly informed Han Fei of the danger level of this mission and asked for his opinion.”

“Do you know what he said?”

Meng Yunda didn’t say anything, but his breathing became slower and his expression was much calmer than before. He stared at Zhu Chengbiao who was as steady as a rock.

Zhu Chengbiao said calmly:

“He asked me what we would do if he didn’t go.”

“I told you the truth—”

“If Han Fei cannot participate in this operation, then we will not agree to let Ren Tuo leave the hospital. We will let him stay there until the case is solved, or we will detain him for intentional injury and lock him up in another place.”

“Ren Tuo has a complicated background, and he lived overseas for the past twenty years. His life trajectory is difficult to verify. We can only start from his network of contacts in China. We will most likely have to take action directly against Wushuang Films, which may alert the enemy, but there is nothing we can do about it. The only thing we can ensure is that Lu Siyuan will be arrested. We have a lot of evidence of his crimes, any one of which is enough to detain him.”

“Han Fei asked me again, if we do this, can we trace Lu Siyuan’s involvement in doping to the very top? I’m sorry, I told you the truth, it’s very difficult.”

“I won’t go into detail about the details, but you can understand that if we alert the enemy, the only people who will be arrested are those who were used to take the blame. We may not even be able to catch the tails of those people.”

“Han Fei thought about it for half an hour and squatted in the stairwell for half an hour. When he came back, he told me that he was willing to participate in this undercover operation and had already written a suicide note and will. If something really happened to him, he hoped that I could give the things to his family.”

“This is his own decision, Lao Meng. I didn’t force him.”

“I can also tell you with certainty that Han Fei decided to participate not because of my request or any order, but because he really wanted to catch these people.”

“If you knew his background, you would understand why a young star with a bright future would risk his life to get involved in something like this.”

“But unfortunately I can’t tell you. There are only a few people in the entire city bureau who are qualified to know about him.”

Lu Siyuan’s involvement in doping was still a secret until today and just now.

However, when Ren Tuo told Han Fei that Lu Siyuan went to a certain island to hold a party every year, even if Meng Yunda was a fool, his exposure to the circle over the years would allow him to fully understand what that place was for.

So Zhu Chengbiao stopped playing tricks and just spoke directly.

Meng Yunda fell silent again.

After a long time, he suddenly slapped his thigh hard and said through gritted teeth:

“Damn it… I’m willing to go all out and fight with you guys!”

“He risked his life and was not afraid of death, so why should I be afraid of losing my integrity in my later years?”

“I’m going back to the station now, contacting Wushuang Films, and then testing that old guy Liu Shuangcheng!”

(End of this chapter)