Huayu: Returned Overseas Chinese

"Jingming, you've taken too big a step. With so much money involved, you should be more careful."

Wang Hao did not answer Chen Jingming's question, but instead whispered words of advice.

"Yeah, Jingming, take my advice. Let's just play around with this for now, and submit a short film first. If we jump straight into making a TV series, and we lose money, it'll be hard to explain to your parents, won't it?"

Li Yang leaned closer and whispered his advice. They had seen the 30-episode TV series advertised on the bulletin board today, with a budget of about 60 yuan per episode. At first, they thought it was just someone with the same name, but it turned out to be their roommate.

Chen Jingming had never told his roommates about his family situation. When he heard Li Yang mention his parents, he just smiled and said:

"Everyone's been booked, and now I'm the only producer. Whether you want to come help or not is just a matter of saying the word."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Liu Tiejun said, "Of course I'll go! My parents have worked at the Changchun Film Studio for decades, and they've never produced anything this big. If I go back next year, won't they treat me like royalty?"

Everyone burst into laughter at Liu Tiejun's antics. Amidst the commotion in the classroom, Wu Bing walked in carrying his books. With only a few minutes left before class, he tapped on the desk, and everyone immediately quieted down, turning to look towards the podium.

"Wait a moment, Jingming, come out for a second, I need to talk to you about something."

Wu Bing waved to Chen Jingming and then walked outside. Chen Jingming was taken aback, then followed him out through the back door.

The two walked to a flower bed outside. Wu Bing looked at Chen Jingming and said somewhat shyly:

"Jingming, I came to see you early today because of Director Yu. As you know, our Management Department will also be serving the film crew in the future. He said that it's more rewarding to go out and practice for a few months than to teach at school, and he wanted to ask if we could let the students go to your place for some practice."

At this point, Wu Bing paused for a moment, then continued:

"Of course, we just have this idea. If you don't want to, that's fine too."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jingming shrugged and said indifferently:

"Ms. Wu, I'd be happy to give the students a chance to practice. This is my first time being a producer, and I might not be able to coordinate everything perfectly. Could you perhaps come and give us some guidance?"

Wu Bing was taken aback, then realized what was happening, pointed at Chen Jingming twice, and said irritably:

"You little rascal, you've dug your own grave. I was planning to take your master's wife out for a couple of days, and now look what's happened, you've buried yourself in this mess."

"Teacher, the August 1st Film and Television Base is quite fun too. How about we take your wife there?" Chen Jingming said cheerfully.

"Go, go, go to class." Wu Bing looked at Chen Jingming's smug look with disgust. This unlucky kid had gotten himself into trouble.

Chen Jingming watched Wu Bing's retreating figure, a smile playing on his lips. Wu Bing had been busy with teaching duties, and he'd initially worried about getting her to come to him, but now she'd delivered herself to him. As for payment, no one mentioned it, but Chen Jingming planned to pay Wu Bing the market rate, around 5000 yuan per episode—worth it as a professional producer.

The production team was busy with preparations, and before they knew it, it was December. This month, various BBS forums and chat rooms were quite lively, and even major portal forums were discussing the incident of Zhao Zhetian wearing a magazine cover with the Rising Sun flag.

"Is 'Princess Pearl' being remade as 'The Emperor's Princess'?"

"Why wear the Rising Sun Flag? It's like wearing the blood of 3500 million compatriots on your body."

"If someone were to drape a military flag on the streets of America, New Yorkers would all say: 'This guy is hopeless.'"

On December 3rd, the cover story of a magazine sent back to China from the United States completely ignited the anger of the Chinese people. Descendants of Nanjing Massacre survivors demanded a public apology from Zhao Zhetian.

Zhao Wei reacted swiftly, posting a response at 12 a.m. on the 4th. Her stance was vague, only emphasizing her ignorance and being misled, without addressing the issue directly. This further fueled public dissatisfaction, escalating the situation. It wasn't until December 10th that Zhao Wei officially issued an apology statement.

Therefore, even 20 years later, when someone mentions "Zhao Junqi," everyone immediately knows who they are referring to.

The internet was abuzz with discussion, and Chen Jingming was happily browsing various BBS forums in his dorm room when his phone suddenly rang. He picked it up and saw it was an unfamiliar number. He answered casually and asked:

"Hello, who is this?"

"Is this Chen Jingming, President Chen?"

A middle-aged man's voice came from the other end of the phone, with a slight Sichuan accent. Chen Jingming replied immediately:

"It's me. Who are you?"

"Mr. Chen, this is Han Sanping from China Film Group." Han Sanping's voice came through the microphone, exuding confidence and self-assurance, with a touch of Sichuan accent and a hint of江湖气 (a kind of江湖江湖气 is a Chinese term referring to the world of martial arts and chivalry).

"Hello, Chairman Han." Chen Jingming looked up from the computer screen, stood up, walked to the window, looked at the night view outside, and responded in a low voice.

"Mr. Chen, do you have time tomorrow? Come visit China Film Group." Han Sanping noticed the slight unease in Chen Jingming's tone and got straight to the point.

"Yes, but I don't know when Mr. Han will be available tomorrow?"

Chen Jingming readily agreed. He had originally planned to knock on China Film Group's door again in the next year or two, but unexpectedly, Han Sanping took the initiative to come to him.

"Then it'll be three o'clock this afternoon," Han Sanping replied, and added, "It's settled then, I won't bother you any longer."

"Okay, goodbye, Chairman Han."

Chen Jingming responded, then the phone went dead. He stood by the window, rubbing his chin with his fingers, pondering: Why was Han Sanping looking for him?

Around 2:30 p.m. the following afternoon, Chen Jingming arrived at China Film Group. After registering at the entrance and finding out the location of Han Sanping's office, he went straight there.

At the office door, he was stopped by his secretary. Chen Jingming explained his purpose, and the secretary nodded, turned around and flipped through the notebook on the table. After carefully checking, she asked Chen Jingming to wait in a chair against the wall.

Chen Jingming had no objections and was quite cooperative. Although Han Sanping was only a vice director, he basically had the final say in matters concerning China Film Group and Beijing Film Studio.

Around three o'clock, the office door opened, and a group of people came out. Chen Jingming glanced around casually and was surprised to find that it was Jiang Wen and the Wang brothers from Huayi Brothers. He understood immediately; "Looking for a Gun" was co-produced by China Film Group, so running into them now was perfectly normal.

The secretary beckoned to Chen Jingming, who stood up and straightened his clothes. The secretary then opened the door, and Chen Jingming went in. Han Sanping was engrossed in working on documents; Chen Jingming didn't disturb him, standing quietly about a meter away from the desk.

After the secretary closed the door, the only sound in the office for a moment was the scratching of pens on paper.

About ten minutes later, Han Sanping put down his pen, looked up at Chen Jingming who was standing ramrod straight, and smiled:

"Mr. Chen, it's nice to meet you. I was so engrossed in working on the documents that I didn't notice you. I'm sorry."

Chen Jingming inwardly scoffed, but outwardly remained polite:

"Chairman Han, official business is more important; my little matter is nothing."

"Sit down." Han Sanping stood up, pointed to the sofa next to him, and came out himself. He poured Chen Jingming a cup of tea from the thermos and brought it over.

Chen Jingming took the teacup casually, blew on it to cool it, and then placed it on the table. Han Sanping, sitting opposite him, looked at Chen Jingming's composed demeanor and held him in higher regard.

"Mr. Chen, I just wanted to have a casual chat with you today." Han Sanping noticed the wariness in Chen Jingming's eyes, so he decided to set the topic for the day.

Upon hearing this, Chen Jingming breathed a sigh of relief. It would be a lie to say he felt no pressure facing Han Sanping. He then politely replied:

"Chairman Han, please feel free to speak your mind about what you'd like to discuss."