Huayu 1995

Chapter 282 It's Jealousy (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

"What if it's genuine? What should we do then?"

Su Chao changed direction.

"The person I found is very reliable... and won't tell anyone."

Lin Zhimeng understood Su Chao's meaning: currently, it's very difficult to bypass the official channels for such national treasure-level paintings in private hands.

As long as we know you have it.

There will definitely be a constant stream of people trying to persuade you to consider the bigger picture.

Donations are the most common solution.

It's even difficult to buy at the original price.

If the reward is only ten or so yuan, who can I complain to?

"Moreover, this person doesn't want to be exposed. If I bring people with me, he might not sell."

Su Chao continued to make up lies.

The more lies you tell... the smoother they become.

"I have a feeling you've run into a scammer. How about this, I'll teach you how to spot a fake. I happen to have a forgery by Zhang Daqian right here."

Lin Zhimeng pushed Su Chao away and got up to walk outside.

Given her intelligence, she was skeptical of Su Chao's words, but she was indeed intrigued by them.

"Did someone else imitate Zhang Daqian's work?"

Su Chao asked curiously.

"No, it was Zhang Daqian who copied someone else's work."

Lin Zhimeng answered.

"..."

It's all a mess.

Seeing that Su Chao was sitting on the bed and wouldn't leave, Lin Zhimeng reached out and pulled him up.

So you're not leaving, are you? Do you plan to sleep here tonight?
There is a section of the warehouse specifically used to store calligraphy and paintings.

Su Chao remained immersed in the world of treasure appraisal until 11 p.m.

For the next two days, Su Chao spent his days signing albums at the record company, and when he got tired, he would memorize texts and do exercises. In the evenings, he would come back and study knowledge about the appraisal of ancient paintings.

Lin Zhimeng even borrowed a lot of materials from her friends.

Regardless of whether it's genuine or a fake, let Su Chao take a look directly to test his eye for quality.

The random shop will refresh next month, so Su Chao must decide whether to buy this national treasure before March 1st.

His concern wasn't about the risks.

However, if he were to actually spend 64 yuan to buy the painting and bear half of the risk, his previously good financial situation would be ruined once again.

Fortunately, after buying it and verifying its authenticity, he was able to give up his half of the profits.

That way, Lin Zhimeng will return the money to him.

Anyway, we'll all be family from now on, so what's hers belongs to Su Chao.

The Scottish Premiership will also benefit from future appreciation.

What Su Chao needs now is not the added value that will take ten or twenty years to realize, but the cash flow to build his imperial empire.

Su Chao has little interest in collecting antiques; he dislikes this type of investment, which is fraught with unpredictable risks.

Those who are reborn rely on foresight and precognition.

For example, he knows that the penguin stock price will rise to 700 because that is the penguin's stock ticker.

There were also several stock splits during this period, which is why the value increased by hundreds or thousands of times.

Moreover, this wealth comes with vast social resources, which will enhance his social status.

What's the point of hoarding a bunch of national treasures?
A child carrying gold in the bustling city has no social standing; possessing a pile of national treasures will only bring him death.

Su Chao collects antiques just to pick up girls.

I've been spending a lot of time with Lin Zhimeng these past few days, like glue.

In addition, antiques can also be a topic of social conversation.

It is used in many high-end occasions.

Celebrities and businesspeople often participate in charity auctions.

However, after his second album was released, he didn't have time to have fun.

He not only has to promote his album, but also prepare for a TV series.

The preparation for the TV series was not smooth sailing.

Zhang Yibai declined the assistant director's invitation.

Five years, five years!

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Yibai was still furious.

Since graduating in 90, although he has not taken on the role of director of feature films, he has shot countless music videos and commercials, and has served as assistant director several times, accumulating a wealth of experience.

I've actually been involved in a few feature film projects.

However, they were all too bad, and there was always a risk that they would be abandoned halfway through, which did not meet his ambition of becoming an instant star.

I received a call from an advertising company today, asking if he wanted to make a TV series.

He had a good impression of this advertising company; it had both funds and connections, and their previous two collaborations had been very pleasant, with the company being generous with its payments.

Naturally, there was no reason for him to refuse.

However, after learning more, he discovered that they hadn't actually invited him to be a director.

He was just an assistant director.

Zhang Yibai immediately lost interest.

When he learned about the director and screenwriter team, his lack of interest turned into displeasure, and he even felt humiliated.

The screenwriter is Su Chao.

I won't go into that; Su Chao's reputation for creative work has already spread throughout mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong.

If someone can write songs so well, it's not too far-fetched for them to be able to write screenplays as well.

The key point is... the director is also Su Chao!
She only released her first album last year, and has already acted in several music videos and commercials. She doesn't have any feature films released or broadcast, yet she still dares to take on the role of director.

Let's take a look at the other assistant director.

Zhang Yongxin!
Zhang Yibai knew him; he was an intern director at an advertising company, and was still a student.

That made me even angrier!

He held back a lot of his temper to avoid yelling at people on the phone.

Finally, she abruptly declined the invitation from Yuanmeng Advertising Company, citing scheduling conflicts.

"Brother Bai, don't be angry. This is actually an opportunity."

The assistant and agent tried very hard to comfort her.

"This is blatant humiliation! What right do they have to do this?!" Zhang Yibai was still furious.

"Brother Bai, it's really not a big deal to agree. First, it'll be good practice, and second, since other directors aren't up to par, wouldn't that just highlight your importance?"

Zhang Yibai's assistant also understands him.

After all, I'm over thirty, and I can only shoot commercials and music videos.

This kind of job can be done by college students.

Now that I've finally gotten a chance, I'm only an assistant director. I wish I could at least be a co-director.

But what could the assistant say?

Those two don't have many works, and Zhang Yibai is the same.

We can't just give up the directorship to him because he's old.

"I just can't get over this!"

Zhang Yibai cursed and swore.

Perhaps the greater the hope, the greater the disappointment.

He initially thought he was being asked to direct, which raised his expectations, but it turned out he was only asked to be an assistant director. Even though they explained that it was a lineup of a director and two assistant directors, whose authority was actually similar to that of an executive director, it couldn't stop him from having a meltdown.

"Brother Bai, why bother? We've run into plenty of things like this over the years, haven't we?"

The assistant offered only feeble words of comfort.

He realized that Zhang Yibai was just jealous.

He's not even nineteen years old, and he hasn't even produced a single work, yet he's already a screenwriter and director.

Zhang Yibai is thirty-three years old and has accomplished nothing.

Who could balance this?
If you feel unbalanced, you naturally won't be able to compromise.

If a seasoned director were to call and invite him, at this time when fewer projects are starting due to the reform of state-owned enterprises, Zhang Yibai would have already eagerly agreed to be the assistant director.

"Forget it, I just heard them say they're going to make a teen idol drama, why don't we give it a try?"

Zhang Yibai didn't want to bow his head.

The thought that Su Chao was the director and he was the assistant director made his heart ache.

What a bully!
"Scripts are easy to find, but projects are hard to launch."

His assistant interrupted his delusional thoughts.

I've been frequenting drinking parties all these years, and it seems like I've accumulated a lot of connections, but none of them are actually very valuable.

It's far from enough to support a project.

Currently, there are two processes for TV dramas. One is for film and television companies to find investors to produce the drama themselves and then sell it to TV stations.

Another approach is for television stations to invest in projects, and the productions made by film and television companies belong to the television station.

The second type has several sub-categories, but they are largely the same.

To mitigate risks, a preliminary agreement is reached with the television station at the very beginning of the project.

Zhang Yibai can't get on TV at all now.

"Can Su Chao do that? All he can do is sing and write scripts, right?"

Zhang Yibai felt a little guilty.

But he couldn't let his momentum falter; he truly refused to believe in such superstitions.

Su Chao is really capable.

He's currently riding in a car driven by a monk to attend a dinner party.

Zhang Heping invited some people with connections in the TV station to attend this dinner party.

On the way, Su Chao received a call from Lü Bu.

It is said that Zhang Yibai declined the assistant director's invitation.

"Refused?"

Su Chao was quite surprised; was Xiao Bai really that unique?

His deepest impression of Zhang Yibai, besides his several relatively well-known works, was that he could win awards after reading them carefully.

That's why Su Chao didn't consider co-directing.

Otherwise, since it's his first time directing, co-directing with others would have been the best option.

Just like "Prime Minister Liu Luoguo", the director of this TV series is Zhang Zien, but the director's name is listed as Zhang Zien, Shi Ling and Han Gang, so the three of them are considered to be co-directors.

The main reason is that TV dramas have a lot of footage, so they are usually divided into A and B groups to work on both at the same time, which greatly improves efficiency.

Many TV series have two or three directors.

Su Chao originally wanted to put Xiao Bai in a difficult position.

Let's see if there's any chance of taming it, but it turned into a tantrum before even passing the first hurdle.

However, this doesn't count as a complete disaster.

"It doesn't matter, it's the same whether he's there or not. Find me two more assistant directors with on-set experience. You and Zhang Yongxin can discuss it; he knows more than you do."

Su Chao entrusted this matter to Lü Bu.

Lü Bu has been extremely busy lately.

It wasn't just about records; he was also busy with TV dramas, so busy that he didn't even have time to think about the young widow.

Now that the school has moved, the original courtyard has been demolished, and it's unknown whether he and the young widow are still in contact.

"How about we get Huo Jianqi as the art director?"

Lu Bu didn't have any obsession with Zhang Yibai. Let alone someone like Zhang Yibai who had never independently directed a film or television series, even someone with works could still go back to an assistant director if they failed.

"Why don't you ask him? Tell him that if he becomes my art director, I'll give him a fantastic movie script, let him direct it, and I'll also help him secure funding and make sure the movie sells for his money..."

Su Chao wasn't actually sure if Huo Jianqi was willing to take the job.

Huo Jianqi has collaborated with Yuanmeng Advertising Company quite a bit, helping them shoot many commercials, but at the end of last year, he directed his first film independently.

Moreover, he usually does art direction for films, and he collaborates with well-known directors.

Su Chao is a seasoned angler and knows the importance of bait.

"Principal, isn't this a bit of an overstatement?"

Lu Bu didn't believe it when he heard it.

"Tell him to meet me when he has time, and I'll give him the script directly!"

Su Chao was too lazy to say anything more.

Many things in this world cannot be explained with words.

Just like Lin Zhimeng.

No matter how much you say, it's useless; you have to actually do it.

The way he and Lin Zhimeng interact now makes it hard to believe they aren't a couple.

It won't be long before she's bedridden.

(End of this chapter)