Huayu: Returned Overseas Chinese

After Lu Chuan and her group left, no one paid any attention, but Chen Jingming kept it in mind. He showed no change in expression on his face, but he muttered to himself inwardly.

Chen Jingming hadn't expected to run into "Lu Taro" today; it was quite a pleasant surprise. He figured the movie "Looking for a Gun," which he'd discussed with Lin Dan last time, was about to start filming. Was this guy back at the school trying to secure resources?

The six brothers returned to their dormitory, their faces flushed from drinking. As they lay down on their beds, Chen Jingming's thoughts drifted far away.

He pondered in his heart when Lu Taro filmed "Nanjing, Nanjing," and planned to invest in his own "Nanjing Photo Studio" to be released at the same time, thus utterly crushing Lu Chuan.

Thinking of this, Chen Jingming suddenly sat up. He suddenly remembered that Lu Taro had also made a movie called "Kekexili" during this period, which caused quite a stir after its release due to plagiarism. Could he buy the rights to the relevant documentary first? When "Kekexili" was released, he could then show the documentary for free. Since the cinemas were already built, maybe he could give Lu Taro a good beating first?

"Jingming, what are you doing? Sitting here in a daze?" Liu Tiejun, who was sleeping on the upper bunk opposite Chen Jingming, turned his head and saw Chen Jingming sitting there in a daze.

"Ah, it's nothing, I just thought of something," Chen Jingming said, coming back to his senses.

"Jingming, are you still worried about what happened tonight? If that kid causes you trouble, just let me know, and I'll stand up for you." Liu Tiejun looked at him, thinking that he grew up in the United States and had never experienced such a conflict with someone, and felt a little worried.

"That's right, Jingming, if Lu Chuan really dares to cause you trouble, just tell us, and we'll have someone block him." Wang Hao, the local bully, chimed in.

Listening to his roommates chatting away, Chen Jingming felt a warmth in his heart and said, "It's really nothing. I wasn't thinking about that, it was just something else. Go to sleep, it's getting late."

Seeing his words, the others didn't take it to heart. They were all around twenty years old, inexperienced in the harsh realities of life, and each one of them was like a newborn calf unafraid of tigers.

Nothing happened that night. The next morning, everyone started washing up; it was the first day of class, and nobody wanted to be late.

The group chatted and laughed as they left the dormitory and headed to the cafeteria. Breakfast cost only about one yuan per person, yet they were quite full. Chen Jingming only spent nine mao (0.9 yuan): steamed buns, fried dough sticks, and white porridge, each costing three mao (0.3 yuan).

After breakfast, as they passed the small playground, Wang Hao suddenly pointed to a spot not far away and exclaimed with delight, "Look, that's Senior Sister Dong Xuan, she's so beautiful!"

Upon hearing this, the group immediately looked over. They saw two girls talking as they walked towards the performance building. Chen Jingming also glanced at them; Dong Xuan was indeed at the pinnacle of beauty these days, and the girl beside her must be Guan Yue—the one who later married Tong Dawei, known for her gentle and refined demeanor.

Dong Xuan and Guan Yue noticed the six boys watching them and immediately grinned from ear to ear. Guan Yue whispered in Dong Xuan's ear, "Look, those guys over there are pretty good-looking too. Should we go ask for their phone numbers?"

"Are you trying to get yourself killed?" Dong Xuan laughed and patted Guan Yue. This girl always tries to get him to ask people for their phone numbers.

"Hehe, who can blame us when our beautiful Dong is so charming?" Guan Yue chuckled mischievously, then turned and ran away. Dong Xuan saw this and immediately chased after her, the two playfully bickering as they ran forward.

"Alright, they've all gone far away. Let's hurry to the classroom, or we'll be late," Chen Jingming reminded his brothers when he saw them still staring blankly at their retreating figures.

"Sigh." Wang Hao sighed, somewhat dejectedly, and said, "Do you think there's any chance for us management students to transfer to the performing arts department?"

"Huh? You want to study acting? Why didn't you just apply to the acting department?" Li Yang asked curiously.

"I'd like to, but my parents want me to study film production, so I missed out," Wang Hao sighed.

Chen Jingming rolled his eyes upon hearing this: "What, does your family have a producer's throne to inherit, forcing you to learn it?"

"I don't have a throne, but my mother works at the Beijing Film Studio, and my father works at the China Film Group. They've spent their whole lives in the industry, and their connections are all there. I don't have any other talents, so I can only follow the established path into the industry." Wang Hao waved his hand, his tone carrying a hint of Versailles.

Chen Jingming stared at him speechlessly. This kid, looking like that, would be roasted alive in later generations. He then looked at his roommates beside him, and seeing their indifferent reactions, asked curiously, "Brothers, are you all in similar situations?"

"More or less," Zhang Lei replied with a smile, explaining, "My parents both work at Xi'an Film Studio."

The remaining people also spoke up, proving the old saying true—a rat's son knows how to dig a hole. Most of these factory workers' children studied related majors, making it easier for them to take over the family business in the future.

The group chatted and laughed as they arrived at the main teaching building. After searching around, they found the Class of 2000 in the Department of Management. There was only this one class in the Department of Management in 2000. Chen Jingming and the others walked into the classroom, glanced around, and saw that there were fewer than forty students.

Not long after finding a seat, the teacher came in to take attendance and begin the lesson. The day passed in class. After having dinner in the cafeteria that evening, Chen Jingming strolled out of the school gate alone.

Xu Hu was quietly waiting in a corner not far from the school gate. After Chen Jingming got in the car, he said, "Let's go back to the company."

Xu Hu nodded, started the car, and drove smoothly towards the China World Trade Center. Chen Jingming glanced at the time; it was already 7 p.m. After thinking for a moment, he decided to call Lin Dan.

"Hello, Mr. Chen."

Lin Dan's voice came through the microphone. Chen Jingming responded softly and asked, "Are you at the company?"

"Yes, I'm still at get off work. What's up?" Lin Dan asked, somewhat puzzled.

"I'm on my way to the company. Wait for me a moment, and please ask Yang Jie to stay with me too. I have something to discuss," Chen Jingming stated directly. Lin Dan readily agreed, and the two hung up the phone.

Chen Jingming put away his phone, looked at Xu Hu in the driver's seat, and asked softly, "Old Xu, how's the house renovation going?"

"It's almost done. We should be able to move in around the New Year," Xu Hu replied while concentrating on driving.

Chen Jingming originally wanted to live in a courtyard house and even bought a few, but after seeing them in person, he decisively gave up. The courtyard houses didn't even have private bathrooms, and they could only be repaired, not renovated. People had to use the outhouses outside, which was really unacceptable.

About forty minutes later, the car stopped in front of the China World Trade Center. Chen Jingming got out of the car, walked straight into the building, took the elevator to the eighteenth floor, and went to Lin Dan's office.

He knocked on the door, and after receiving permission, he pushed it open and entered. Yang Jie was already waiting inside. Chen Jingming greeted the two of them with a smile, and then spoke directly:

"Mr. Yang, starting tomorrow, go and talk to directors Liu Yujun and Peng Hui. They should have two documentaries that are either nearing completion or already finished, one called 'Me and the Tibetan Antelope' and the other called 'Balance.' Buy the rights to both of them. If they haven't finished filming yet, you can finalize the agreement first, and remember to register the copyright after you get the rights."

Chen Jingming wasn't entirely sure if the two documentaries had been completed by this point in time, so he made the arrangement accordingly. Since he wanted to target Lu Chuan, he needed to solidify the facts to avoid future disputes.

He paused for a moment, then recounted the general plot of "Nanjing Photo Studio" as he had seen it in later generations, and said to Yang Jie, "Refine and revise the script several times, then show it to me."

Yang Jie took careful notes, and although she didn't understand why Chen Jingming had made such arrangements, she followed them one by one.

After Yang Jie left, Lin Dan couldn't help but ask curiously, "President Chen, why are you suddenly interested in documentaries?"