Entertainment Era: My Good Sister Is All Over the World

In martial arts novels, there is a saying that one must "spar with a master" to master a unique skill.

—Liang Yusheng, 1979, "To Show Off One's Skill, One Must Approach the Master: A Visit to Professor Hua Luogeng in Birmingham"

……

When Huang Wenbin and Wang Gang returned from their walk, it was already noon.

Actually, the scenery here is quite nice, but it was still early, so we didn't get to see "Jiangmen Evening Ferry," one of the eight scenic spots of Gugang.

They ate a quick meal in the guesthouse's canteen and then went back to their rooms.

In the afternoon, assistant director Yu Yang returned and relayed a notice from director Chen that some crew members needed to go to the location in advance.

After Director Chen personally inspected the location, it was found that the filming location was indeed quite far from JM City.

Therefore, Director Chen directly communicated with the People's Commune where the filming location was located and rented all the vacant, ownerless houses in the village.

Those houses have been empty, but they are well preserved and can still be lived in with a little tidying up.

Anyway, they're only staying for a short period of time, and the overall price is still much cheaper than staying in a guesthouse.

Although the Jiangmen authorities said they would waive their guesthouse accommodation fees, they were indebted to them for no reason, and it would be difficult to repay them later.

As for the actors, they can continue to rest here and go over tomorrow morning.

The crew members didn't complain much, because they were used to it; this was their job.

Soon, the staff finished packing and boarded two blue and white long buses.

It's one of those articulated buses, where two buses are joined together. If you drive fast, the carriages might even detach.

However, this type of bus is the mainstream in this era.

It wasn't until 1985 that Guangzhou, in an effort to alleviate traffic congestion, introduced retired double-decker buses from Kowloon Motor Bus Company in Hong Kong, marking the gradual disappearance of these articulated buses from the southern part of the country.

Huang Wenbin knew that once he got to the Mei family compound, he probably wouldn't have much free time, so he took advantage of this break to continue working on his planned manuscript.

The scripts from those film studios don't need to be rushed; we can write them when we get back to Yanjing.

Currently, he is thinking of finishing the second half of "Once Upon a Time in China".

The story was already in his mind; he didn't need to rack his brains. All he had to do was add some details, polish some of the descriptions, and add many fight scenes.

Once he started writing, Huang Wenbin was completely focused, as if he had entered a state of "flow".

The only sound was the scratching sound of the pen writing on the paper.

Upon hearing this voice, Zhang Guoli opened his eyes and stared intently at Huang Wenbin.

Even though he had already witnessed the terrifying scenes of Huang Wenbin creating art on the train, he was still stunned.

Are all novelists this amazing?

This isn't writing a novel, it's more like a human typewriter!

Zhang Guoli himself had written things before, but he couldn't squeeze out eight words in half a day. In the end, it took him five days to finally produce a short essay of more than a thousand words.

This person is very capable!

A strange feeling welled up in Zhang Guoli's heart. He realized that Huang Wenbin was trying to win them over.

However, he had a strong sense of pride and didn't really want to follow a young man who was not even twenty years old, feeling that there might not be any future for him.

But now he's starting to doubt his own judgment.

This young man is a genius; his future cannot be judged by conventional standards.

To be able to write a screenplay like "Let the Bullets Fly" during university and be noticed by a great director like Chen Huaikai, and to be able to get such a high price for just writing a novel, clearly shows that he has a bright future ahead of him.

Why did I think he had no future before?

Zhang Guoli felt he had made a stupid mistake again and couldn't help but lightly slap himself.

"What's wrong? Are there mosquitoes?" Huang Wenbin had just finished typing a scene when he heard the noise and casually asked, "Should we ask the guesthouse for some mosquito coils?"

These days, mosquito coils already exist, and there are many styles and brands, all named after animals, such as "Rhinoceros Brand," "Double Tiger Brand," and "Lion Brand."

However, the workmanship is rather rough, and they have an unpleasant odor.

One box costs one cent and contains about ten plates.

There are also cheaper options, such as products from local workshops. These are long, white strips, about 60 centimeters long, made from sawdust, sulfur, and cotton paper. You can buy a large bag for just five cents.

"No need," Zhang Guoli shook his head. "I'm really sorry to have disturbed your writing."

"It's alright," Huang Wenbin said with a smile. "I've just finished writing a section, let's take a two-minute break."

Then, turning to Zhang Guoli, he asked, "Want to talk?"

He had long noticed that Zhang Guoli was somewhat unsociable, especially in his presence, where he always seemed inexplicably reserved.

In his vision for the future, Zhang Guoli is an indispensable right-hand man in the film and television industry.

If he can't open up to someone, then he'll have to find a way to find someone else.

"Okay, I'm not sleepy anyway."

Zhang Guoli sat up, twisted his neck, stretched his muscles, and casually asked, "Um, I've always wanted to ask, have you really seen my movie? I only appeared on screen twice in that movie, and I almost didn't even notice."

Huang Wenbin said very frankly, "Of course I've seen it. It was a movie that the teacher showed in class. The movie was called 'The Mountain Pioneers'."

This is not a lie; the film "The Mountain Climbers" was screened inside the film academy.

The movie itself was of mediocre quality, and there were no actors he recognized in it. Just when he was getting a little bored, he spotted a familiar face in it.

Although he only appeared in one or two shots, that face reminded him of the days before he time-traveled, when he was dominated by TV dramas such as "Prime Minister Liu Luoguo", "Kangxi's Private Visits", and "The Eloquent Ji Xiaolan".

Zhang Guoli, feeling rather insecure, couldn't help but ask, "How can you tell I have potential?"

"This is hard to explain; it's a bit mystical."

Huang Wenbin couldn't say that he was a time traveler, and that he already knew that you later achieved considerable success in the film and television industry. "I can only say it's a feeling, a natural feeling."

This argument is actually not very convincing.

But Zhang Guoli actually believed this explanation; otherwise, he wouldn't have thought of any other explanation.

"When you auditioned for the role of Xiao Liu Zi, didn't Director Chen and the others also praise your performance?"

Huang Wenbin smiled and praised, "Don't underestimate yourself. You have the ability, you just need an opportunity."

The second half of the sentence struck Zhang Guoli directly. He was somewhat dazed and even wanted to cry. Could this be what it felt like to meet a kindred spirit?

He came from a poor family; his mother was just an ordinary railway worker, and he was the third of five siblings.

As a child, he often went hungry and cold. In order to ease the burden on his family as soon as possible, he dropped out of school at the age of 16 and took his second brother's place to work at the railway bureau.

However, he had a dream of pursuing an artistic career since childhood and did not want to waste his days on such demanding work.

Therefore, he applies to participate in publicity work whenever he has free time.

After several years of performances, he finally became an announcer thanks to his excellent Mandarin, and was later transferred to the Railway Art Troupe.

There, he met his colleague Luo Xiuchun.

This girl comes from a well-off family. Her mother is the director of a state-owned factory, and her father is a railway bureau cadre.

At this time, he was deeply in love with Luo Xiuchun.

However, Luo Xiuchun's father looked down on Zhang Guoli's family background and strongly opposed their relationship.

Zhang Guoli inevitably felt somewhat inferior and always wanted to seize an opportunity to prove himself to others.

However, seniority is the norm in the performing arts troupe, and it would take him several years to become the lead in a play, by which time it would be too late.

Just then, he received a call from the Beijing Film Studio, asking him to come and audition for a role.

Zhang Guoli arrived full of anticipation, thinking that a famous director had taken a liking to him, but he didn't expect him to be a college student who was not even twenty years old.

What changes can a mere college student bring to him?

After filming this supporting role, won't I still have to go back to Chengdu?

Therefore, Zhang Guoli inevitably fell into internal strife.

Now, his internal strife has finally vanished because of Huang Wenbin's words.

Tears welled up in Zhang Guoli's eyes as he sincerely said, "Thank you."

Just as the two were about to put on a show of mutual understanding, an untimely voice rang out: "What kind of drama are you two putting on here? Zhang Guoli, why are you pissing yourself?"

The person who arrived was Wang Gang.

Zhang Guoli wiped his face and snapped, "You're the one who's pissing! Get lost!"

Huang Wenbin laughed. These two are truly natural enemies. They're not even that close yet, but they're already so interesting!