1978: Female educated youth, don’t want an illiterate husband

As the main creators returned to their posts one after another, the East Depot office became lively, but Cheng Xuemin still had a big matter on his mind.

It's about who Li Lianjie belongs to.

Ever since returning from Bolin, Cheng Xuemin has been keeping that kid out of the loop. Even their sports school coach Wu Bin, senior brother Wang Qun, fellow student Ge Chunyan, and junior sister Huang Qiuyan have all been summoned to report to the East Depot.

The only person I didn't approach was Li Lianjie; I wanted to temper his temper.

That morning, Cheng Xuemin instructed Huang Jianzhong to organize those guys, as the factory would be holding an awards ceremony and a rally to promote the Tai Chi drama troupe in Hong Kong the next day!
So Cheng Xuemin needs to get Li Lianjie under control first.

Before going, however, he also sought out Li Lianjie's coach, Wu Bin, to inquire about the boy's recent situation at their sports school after his return.

"Teacher Cheng, you haven't seen it, but ever since Lianjie came back from Bolin, he's been talking to me every day about retiring, but he just doesn't have the guts to tell the school leaders," Wu Bin sighed helplessly and said to Cheng Xuemin.
"It wasn't until the news of 'Tai Chi' generating foreign exchange was published in the People's Daily that his name appeared in the newspaper, that this kid got cocky."

He went straight to the principal's office, saying he wanted to retire from the military to make movies and generate foreign exchange for the country. Our old principal was so angry he slammed his fist on the table and gave him a thorough dressing-down.

Huang Qiuyan nodded in agreement and said, "Yes, Teacher Cheng, Lian Jie can't even hold his head up at the sports school now. He's also distracted during training. He keeps telling us that he regrets being so impulsive back then and that he should have waited for you to help him talk to the school leaders."

After hearing this, Cheng Xuemin understood!
This kid really can't hold his temper; he definitely needs to be taught a lesson.

However, it's time to resolve this, since we need that kid for promotional activities in Hong Kong.

Moreover, the preparation for "Tai Chi 2" also relies on him, so it wouldn't be appropriate for Cheng Xuemin to simply replace the male lead, would it?
"Okay, I understand!" Cheng Xuemin stood up and said to them, "Coach Wu, Qiu Yan, you two cooperate with Coach Huang's arrangements for now. I'll go to your sports school to talk to your school leaders."

As soon as Cheng Xuemin's car arrived in front of their sports school, Li Lianjie squatted down at the entrance, clutching a steamed bun in his hand, taking bites here and there.

Li Lianjie has been in a bad mood these past few days. She has seen Coach Wu, Senior Brother Wang Qun, as well as Ge Chunyan and Huang Qiuyan, but they have all been called to Yan Film Studio by Brother Cheng. There has been no news from her side, which makes her very worried and scared.

I even had the urge to break my legs or feet to end my life!
But upon seeing Cheng Xuemin's car, her eyes lit up instantly, and she almost burst into tears. She quickly threw away her steamed bun, ran over, and said excitedly, her voice choked with emotion:
"Brother Cheng, you've finally arrived! I've been waiting for you for days. I thought you didn't want me anymore!"

Cheng Xuemin rolled down the car window, glanced at him, and said irritably, "Why are you waiting for me? Aren't you the one who can challenge your school leaders? Do you need me to come?"

Li Lianjie blushed, lowered her head, and whispered, "Brother Cheng, I was wrong, I know I was wrong. I just acted impulsively..."

"A moment of impulsiveness?" Cheng Xuemin really wanted to curse him to death, and then said, "Do you know how much trouble your impulsiveness has caused me?"

"The principal must have a lot of complaints about me now. I'm not even sure if I can take you away this time."

Although the words were harsh, Li Lianjie actually felt relieved after hearing them!
The fact that Brother Cheng was willing to come meant that he hadn't given up on him, so he quickly reassured him, "Brother Cheng, don't worry, as long as I can make a movie with you, I'll listen to whatever you say! I'll never be impulsive again!"

"Go register me, we'll talk when I come out!" Cheng Xuemin was too lazy to pay attention to the kid and told him to go to their gatekeeper's office and register him first.

A short while later, the gatekeeper let them in, and Cheng Xuemin drove straight into their sports school, parking his car in front of the school leaders' office building with practiced ease.

I saw Li Lianjie running this way from a distance!
Cheng Xuemin pointed, telling him to wait downstairs and not to go up and cause trouble!

Upon seeing this, Li Lianjie quickly shrank back, no longer daring to follow.

Cheng Xuemin then went upstairs and found their principal's office. The door was not closed, so Cheng Xuemin knocked on it to signal him.

The old headmaster, who was sitting inside, looked up at the door and, seeing an unfamiliar face, asked in confusion, "Who are you?"

"Hello, former principal, I am Cheng Xuemin from the Oriental Culture and Art Film Production Branch. I have come here specifically to see you!" Cheng Xuemin adopted a very humble attitude, unlike his casual demeanor at Yan Film Studio.

"Eastern culture and art... just say you're Cheng Xuemin!"

"Now, who in the whole country doesn't know the famous pioneer of foreign exchange earnings, Comrade Cheng Xuemin!"

The old principal was initially puzzled, wondering what kind of organization this "Oriental Culture and Art Film Production Division" was.

But as soon as I heard the name that followed, I immediately realized what was going on!
Isn't this Cheng Xuemin, the pioneer who tried to lure their national champion to make a movie?
"Ahem! Old Principal, this... I don't deserve it!" Cheng Xuemin's face was very embarrassed. Obviously, this old leader recognized him and had quite a bit of a grudge against him!
It's all because that kid Li Lianjie couldn't hold his temper and dared to confront their old principal all by himself.

The relationship has become really strained.

He then said, somewhat sullenly, "Old Headmaster, shall I go inside and talk?"

"Oh, oh, oh! Yes, yes, yes! Come in, come in, please come in, please come in!" The old headmaster seemed to have just realized what was happening. No matter how dissatisfied he was with this young man, he couldn't be so rude as to block him from entering. So he quickly said:

"Comrade Xuemin, your presence as a pioneer in foreign exchange earnings is truly an honor for our sports school!"

"Well... Principal, you're really putting it too much. It's making it difficult for me to say anything!" Cheng Xuemin said with an embarrassed smile.

"Haha! Then you might as well shut up! I know you're here for that kid Li Lianjie!" The old principal, ever the straightforward one, echoed Cheng Xuemin's words, saying bluntly, "Anyway, no matter what you say, I won't release that kid!"

Ok!

In an instant, the initiative was in the hands of the former principal!

Cheng Xuemin had just sat down and could only force a smile, saying, "The old principal was indeed prescient. I won't beat around the bush with you, the old principal; I came here today specifically for him!"

"Oh! So you've come with ill intentions?!" The old principal became interested and poured Cheng Xuemin a bowl of hot tea, saying with a smile.

Cheng Xuemin also laughed and said, "No, no! Principal, I know Lianjie is young and immature. He had a disagreement with you before, please don't take it to heart!"

"Ignorant? He's not ignorant, he's just gotten too big for his britches!" The old principal was clearly still angry when he mentioned that kid!
Now that he's met the real target again, he's bound to continue complaining, "Comrade Xuemin, you probably don't know how much effort our sports school put into training him to become a national champion."
The fact that I seconded you guys to film a movie last time was already against the rules!
Now look what's happened! He's become too ambitious, all he can think about is making movies, he's not even taking training seriously anymore! Comrade Cheng Xuemin, do you think we should let him go?

Cheng Xuemin maintained his smile and said slowly, "Old Principal, I understand your difficulties."

"But you also have to think about it. Although Jet Li is a national champion, his talent in film can create more value for the country."

"Tai Chi" sold over 20 million US dollars in foreign exchange, and Jet Li deserves half the credit for that. You can't ignore that achievement, can you?"

“I didn’t ignore it!” The old principal frowned, but nodded in agreement, and said, “It’s a good thing that movies can generate foreign exchange, but with so many film studios and so many professional actors across the country, why do we have to focus on our sports school’s champions?”
Is it easy for us to train a champion? How old is Lian Jie? He still has more than ten years before retirement. How many championships can he win in that time? This is an honor! It's also the face of our sports school!

"Honor is important, but earning foreign exchange is also important." Cheng Xuemin leaned forward and continued to say with a forced smile, "Principal, think about it, Lian Jie's mind is all on movies now. Even if you force him to stay, will he still have the mind to train?"

What if he's stubborn and takes an extreme approach? Haven't there been cases in sports schools where athletes deliberately injured themselves to retire?

These words struck a nerve with the old principal!

A few years ago, there was indeed an athlete who deliberately broke his leg during training in order to retire. In the end, he not only failed to receive retirement benefits, but also suffered a lifelong disability.

His face instantly darkened, and after a long silence, he slowly asked, "What do you want to say?"

"You can't force a melon to ripen, old principal!" Seeing that he had relented, Cheng Xuemin quickly pressed on, saying, "If you keep Lian Jie here, he won't be interested in training, and in the end he might not win the championship or make the movie, ending up with nothing."

"Why not let him come with me to make movies? That way, we can earn foreign exchange for the country and he can also develop his talent. Isn't that better than keeping him confined to a sports school?"

The old principal tapped his fingers lightly on the table, clearly struggling with his decision.

After a long while, he finally raised his head and said, "Letting him go to make movies isn't impossible, but there are conditions!" "If your film studio borrows him to make movies in the future, you have to give our sports school two thousand yuan for each borrowing fee. It would be even better if you could give us US dollars."

Moreover, he must return a month in advance to train for the annual national martial arts competition so as not to miss the competition.

Upon hearing this, Cheng Xuemin shook his head and said, "Old Principal, this won't do."

"If Jet Li has to make movies and train for competitions at the same time, he simply won't have the energy to keep up, and in the end he definitely won't do well on either side."

Why not let him focus on making movies? I'll give the sports school 10,000 yuan a year for his secondment until he retires.

With this money, the sports school could easily train another champion like Lian Jie, or even more.

"Ten thousand yuan?" The old principal's eyes widened, and he said with dissatisfaction, "Comrade Cheng Xuemin, aren't you too good at calculating? How much did we spend training Lian Jie? You think you can take him away for ten thousand yuan?"

"No, at least 20,000, and it has to be paid in full upfront, 200,000!"

Cheng Xuemin's heart skipped a beat; 200,000 was no small sum.

Although the Eastern Depot would receive payment for the copying soon, he simply didn't have the authority to come up with such a large sum at once!

Then, he could only bargain, saying, "Old Principal, we really cherish Lianjie's talent. We'll accept the 20,000 yuan annual secondment fee you mentioned!"
But we really can't come up with 200,000 yuan at once. Principal, you have to understand our situation.

Cheng Xuemin continued, "How about this, 20,000 per year, paid annually. If that's acceptable, I can sign an agreement with you now, guaranteeing that the Eastern Depot will make the payment on time every year on this day."

The old principal frowned, thought for a long time, then stood up and walked outside, presumably to discuss it with other school leaders.

He didn't keep Cheng Xuemin waiting for long. He came back and nodded to Cheng Xuemin, saying, "Okay, Comrade Cheng Xuemin, it'll be 20,000 a year, just as you said!"

"But we must sign the agreement now, with everything clearly written down in black and white, and there can be no backing out."

"No problem!" Cheng Xuemin's face lit up with joy upon hearing this. He quickly took out the contract agreement he had prepared beforehand and handed it over, saying, "Principal, this is our Eastern Depot's standard contract agreement. Please take a look and see if there are any problems!"

After saying that, he didn't forget to change the loan fee of 10,000 yuan to 20,000 yuan per year in the contract terms.

"Ha, so Comrade Xuemin, you came prepared!" The old principal looked at the young comrade and, right in front of him, set a price for that kid Li Lianjie's indenture!

He laughed, clearly annoyed!
"Hehe, better safe than sorry!" Cheng Xuemin nodded with a simple smile and continued, "But this time we're really determined to succeed, because in a couple of days we're heading south to Hong Kong to promote the film 'Tai Chi' and continue to generate foreign exchange for the country!"

"Good, good, so you're going to Hong Kong again? Our sports school will definitely support you, definitely support you!" The old principal took the contract and agreement, nodding repeatedly as he quickly scanned the contents of the agreement.

When the old principal saw the information regarding Li Lianjie's employment and household registration, he was visibly taken aback and asked, "Comrade Xuemin, you don't want Li Lianjie's employment and household registration; you want him to stay at our sports school?!"

“Principal, actually I would prefer that Lianjie’s employment status be firmly tied to your Sports and Education Commission! And that no unit or foreign company should be allowed to buy Li Lianjie’s employment status or household registration in the future!”

"Even if your sports school or the sports education commission doesn't want to manage his staffing, only our Oriental Film Studio has the final right to take over!"

"I hope this point will be clearly stated in the contract and kept confidential from Li Lianjie for the time being!"

Cheng Xuemin did all this simply because he was afraid that once he poached that traitor Li Lianjie to the Eastern Depot, he wouldn't be able to control him for a while!

If he were poached by Hong Kongers, Cheng Xuemin's Eastern Depot, being such a small place, really wouldn't be able to keep that guy in check.

Therefore, it is necessary to firmly tie Li Lianjie's file and employment status to the hands of sports schools or the sports education commission.

In that case, filmmakers in Hong Kong will have no chance to poach Li Lianjie anymore.

In her previous life, Li Lianjie was also poached by people from Hong Kong with high prices, but the Sports and Education Commission always intervened and sent her away.

In the end, Li Lianjie had no other choice but to take an extreme step, mutilating her own leg to force an early and unnatural retirement. She then used the excuse of going to Hong Kong for treatment of her leg to go there, and never returned.

Therefore, Cheng Xuemin wanted Li Lianjie as a cash cow, but he wasn't confident he could keep her around indefinitely.

After all, this kid has always been looking for something better, a real traitor.

Therefore, the best approach is to use people to the fullest extent possible, while keeping them in the sports and education commission according to their personnel files, effectively tying them down.

In that case, even if that kid has a rebellious streak and wants to go solo?
Cheng Xuemin doesn't care!

If you want to go solo, go talk to your direct supervisor. I only have the right to use you, not the right to give you up.

That saves us the trouble of arguing.

This also made Li Lianjie wary and think twice. If you want to break free from the constraints of the Eastern Depot and go solo, the prerequisite is whether you have the ability to gain freedom from the Sports and Education Commission!
If he doesn't release him on one side and offends Cheng Xuemin, the godfather who discovered and nurtured him on the other, then don't blame Cheng Xuemin for directly using the "snowing out" tactic!
They could simply poach him and place him under the ministry's staff. But Cheng Xuemin doesn't even have a formal position in the ministry right now, so is Li Lianjie even qualified to get in?

After much thought, staying with the Sports and Education Commission is the safest option!

"That's great! That's great! Lian Jie's file and employment status are all in our sports school, under the Sports Education Commission. So, in the future, his foreign exchange earnings will surely bring honor to our sports school, right?" The old principal was extremely satisfied with this arrangement and kept saying "Great, great!"

"Absolutely! We mustn't forget those who dug the well when we drink the water. Although we cherish Lianjie's talent, we can't just uproot him!" Cheng Xuemin quickly seized the opportunity and said with a smile:
"So, does that mean we'll sign it like this, Principal?"

"Sure, sure! Let's sign it!" The old principal didn't have much to say and simply signed it on the spot.

"Then we'll have to send this to the Sports and Education Commission for them to stamp it. We'll have to wait until we send it to them before we can send it to you, Comrade Xuemin!"

The sports school had signed and stamped the document, but then they discovered that there was also a place for the sports education commission to stamp and affix its seal, the old principal said.

"Sure, sure. You can arrange for one to be delivered to me later, or you can call me and I'll come pick it up!"

The official seal of the Sports Education Commission is mandatory. Although the sports school has signed and affixed its seal, Cheng Xuemin still feels it's not secure enough.

Anyway, with a secondment fee of 20,000 yuan a year, Cheng Xuemin believed that the old principal had a million ways to get the stamp and seal applied for!
"Brother Cheng!" Seeing Cheng Xuemin come out of the old principal's office building, Li Lianjie, who was hiding outside, finally dared to step forward and ask in a low voice.

"You're such a hothead!" Cheng Xuemin retorted irritably, "Now look what's happened, I had to pay a whopping 200,000 yuan to get you!"

"Huh?!" Li Lianjie was shocked and horrified upon hearing this. She really didn't expect that because of her impulsive decision, she had caused Brother Cheng to spend 200,000 yuan on her behalf!
Two hundred thousand! That's a huge amount!

"What do you mean 'huh'?! Go back and pack your things quickly, report to the factory this afternoon!" Cheng Xuemin snapped again, then opened the car door and got in!
"Ah, okay, okay, Brother Cheng, don't worry, I will definitely follow you from now on, and wholeheartedly dedicate myself to making movies, I will never have any second thoughts!"

This didn't move Li Lianjie to the point that he almost knelt down and worshipped her!

I really didn't know that the "Brother Cheng" he was talking about had already dug a huge pit for himself!
If he wants to go solo in the future, this 200,000 yuan secondment fee is a contract of servitude that he can never repay in his lifetime!

……

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