Huayu 1999: Starting with nothing but getting something for nothing

The next day, February 3rd, was the 2th day of the twelfth lunar month.

Rumors spread throughout the bus company compound that Yang Che had earned 500,000 yuan.

However, most people just sighed with envy, saying something like, "That kid has always been extraordinary since he was a child," and then hearing, "Didn't you say before that painting had no future?"... No one gritted their teeth in hatred.

On the one hand, the bus company is doing quite well these days; on the other hand, everyone in the compound knows how much money Wang Weiqing's electronics store makes. As for the Yang family's rise to prominence (in Longcheng dialect, it means to become successful), everyone is used to it.

Rumors also spread that Yang Che had an exceptionally beautiful girlfriend, which made many families with daughters very resentful. So they went to ask around and saw a photo on TV of Yang Che and Gao Yuanyuan laughing and making heart shapes with their hands on the beach... In just a few days, the entire Longcheng Bus Company knew that Yang Che had a girlfriend who was as beautiful as an angel.

The next day, Yang Che drove around, and the first place he naturally went was Fan Zeping's house.

He brought Wang Weiqing's fried dough twists, as well as Pu'er tea and cigars that he brought back from Beijing.

Old Fan's family consists of his parents, a twelve-year-old son, an eight-year-old daughter, and a girlfriend who is around thirty years old, wears glasses, a high-necked sweater, and looks very gentle.

The Fan family called him Teacher Qi, and only after asking did they realize that he was indeed a teacher, and even the Chinese language teacher of Fan Xiaowei, the son of the Fan family.

After exchanging pleasantries, the two chatted over tea.

Fan Zeping recounted an incident that occurred recently while processing the transfer of ownership of a coal mine. Although all the paperwork was in order, it still took a long time to process, given the magnitude of the incident that had occurred.

It wasn't until Lao Fan gave the leader's secretary some local specialties that things changed.

"The secretary told the big boss about the investor in 'My Sassy Girl,' and the big boss smiled and said the movie was very well made. Then he readily signed the contract. I remembered you saying that you would put my name on all your future movies. At that moment, I realized what a huge gift you had given me."

Yang Che just grinned.

Old Fan lit a cigar that Yang Che had brought, then asked, "What did you gain from your trip abroad? What are your plans for the next step?"

Yang Che shook his head: "We've gained a lot and received many insights. We've decided to focus on commercial real estate centered around movie theaters, but we still have to wait. The government doesn't allow private capital to participate yet, but I think it'll be soon. So, it's enough to do some preparatory work in the next year or two. We also have some money to invest in some good scripts and cultivate some talent."

Old Fan was slightly disappointed. He felt that this guy's brains shouldn't be in the film and television industry, but he still said, "If you need anything, just come to me. I'll even support you selling your coal mine."

"Haha, of course you'll need it. I bet you won't be short of money by then..."

Just then, Yang Che's phone rang; it was a landline from Beijing.

"Hello there."

"Hello, are you Mr. Yang Che?"

"I am, and you are?"

"Hello, this is Zhang Lei from the Olympic Bid Committee's Liaison Office. Could you come to the Xinqiao Hotel around 10:30 today?"

"Hello Zhang Lei, I can't come. I'm at my hometown."

"Um... I see your contact address is No. 8, Xitucheng Road... Okay, here's the thing, Director Zhang sent over the logo and slogan you designed yesterday, and he needs you to give a presentation on the design concept. Is it okay if we talk on the phone?"

Yang Che was very puzzled. Why was it yesterday? And how come there was no car accident? Even though his was in its fully evolved form...

However, he did not question it. He was unsure whether the problem lay with Xie Xiaojin, his old classmate Zhang Yimou, or even with the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games.

No matter which side is dragging its feet on, it's not something that little Karami can question.

Actually, it was Zhang Yimou who delayed. After he had his assistant get it from Xie Xiaojin, he put it on the office desk because he was in a script discussion meeting, and then forgot about it.

It wasn't until I returned to the office last night that I saw it. After all, Zhang Yimou is a cinematographer, and I could tell at a glance that he was extraordinary. He immediately went to the Xinqiao Hotel.

Then this morning, when the leader saw it, his eyes lit up, and he immediately asked his secretary to contact them.

As for Yang Che's suspicion about the design overlap, the original designer's design was "Peony Transformation into Torch," while the Tai Chi Transformation into a Knot of Unity would take some time.

Yang Che readily agreed, "Of course."

"Okay, I'll call you back later. Sorry to bother you."

"Please don't mention it. It's my greatest honor to contribute to the Olympic bid."

"Hehe, I'll contact you in a bit."

"Okay, goodbye."

Yang Che put down his phone, looked at Fan Zeping's strange expression, chuckled, and offered an explanation.

Fan Zeping took a deep drag of his cigar, then coughed repeatedly... and then, like a curious child, said, "Draw it, draw it."

Yang Che raised an eyebrow: "You need to be a little more discreet, just in case you get selected..."

"Yes, yes, how about we go upstairs and wait for the call?"

Seeing Lao Fan's nervous expression, Yang Che found it both amusing and touching. After all, he was a coal tycoon worth hundreds of millions, yet he possessed this simple patriotism, even though he'd most likely buried someone before...

"No, it's not that bad. Brother Fan, could you get me a piece of paper?"

"you...."

"Haha, don't hit me, I have to draw it out, otherwise how will I know how to say it..."

Half an hour later, the phone rang.

It was Zhang Lei who spoke again.

Having bid for government projects before, Yang Che was quite familiar with this kind of presentation. After hearing the words "Please begin your presentation," he began to speak slowly and clearly.

"Hello Zhang Lei, the logo design is called 'Tai Chi Five Rings Design'. The idea is to reinterpret the Olympic five rings with the brushstrokes of traditional Chinese painting. The overall shape is a five-pointed star with interlocking rings, which looks like a concentric knot or a person stretching their limbs to practice Tai Chi."

I submitted a semi-finished product. The finished product will be made of five lines in the standard colors of the Olympic rings, with the colors distributed from top to bottom and from left to right as red, green, blue, black, and yellow.

The cultural connotations are threefold: firstly, Tai Chi embodies the spirit of ancient Chinese traditional sports culture, representing beauty, harmony, and strength; secondly, it is a national symbol, with the design subtly incorporating the number 56, symbolizing the 56 ethnic groups' shared anticipation of the Olympics; and thirdly, the five Olympic colors express the desire of people from all over the world to unite, cooperate, exchange ideas, and work together to create a new century.

The font layout below is based on visual perception....

That concludes my presentation. Thank you.

After a few seconds of silence, a kind, middle-aged voice rang out on the phone: "Thank you, Yang Che. The design and concept are very complete and brilliant. Whether or not to adopt them will depend on the committee's unified evaluation."

"I understand clearly."

"Okay, then please repeat the slogan."

So Yang Che reorganized and paraphrased what he had written during the exam, and deliberately added his own thoughts, namely that these ideas came to him when he was writing the script for the Olympic bid exhibition video.

However, the phone company did not provide any comment this time, nor did it delve into what Yang Che's "Olympic bid tour video" was all about.