Huayu 1999: Starting with nothing but getting something for nothing

Huang Haibo's driver was his father. The two of them had a stern face and looked very upright, clearly from military backgrounds.

After the introductions, Yang Che asked him to sit down, but he refused, saying that the young people should talk, and then got back into the car. From beginning to end, he did not use his status as an "elder" to say anything on behalf of his son Huang Haibo.

Upon learning that Yang Che was the screenwriter and producer, not a competitor, Huang Haibo relaxed and his smile became much more natural.

However, Yang Che and he didn't exchange more than three words. It was mainly Cheng Er who spoke, without telling Huang Haibo that he was recommended by Yang Che, and without any intention of saying anything more.

After handing him the script, I said directly, "This is the complete script. Go back and prepare well. The audition will be at 9 a.m. on August 2nd at No. 8 Xitucheng Road."

This is what it means to kick people out.

However, Huang Haibo was not displeased at all; this was the complete script!

"Okay, thank you, senior brother, thank you... Brother Che."

Yang Che smiled kindly: "Keep it up! Do something for the Beijing Film Academy's acting department, don't lose to the Central Academy of Drama."

That's so annoying!

Huang Haibo was speechless. Not to mention him, everyone present except Xing Jianwei and Wang Baoqiang was speechless.

"I will definitely try my best to understand the script!"

Huang Haibo smiled and turned to leave, as if he had made up his mind about something... Pshaw, the father and son waved goodbye enthusiastically after turning around.

In the late July evening in Beijing, the warm wind carried the smells of charcoal, grease, and cumin, causing the incandescent bulbs on the roadside stalls to sway gently.

The group sat around two greasy folding tables put together. On the table was a plate of shaved ice and a ring of green bottles of chilled Yanjing beer, indicating that there were no annoying rules against drinking here.

As soon as the meat skewers were served, everyone downed a large glass of wine.

Qin Lan was the same way, very bold and unrestrained.

Seeing Yang Che looking at her, she said in a serious tone, "What's wrong? Isn't this how it's always when we drink?"

Yang Che didn't say anything, but picked up a skewer of large kidneys and started eating.

Instead of taking a skewer, Qin Lan picked up a clove of garlic.

A real garlic-peeling girl!

"Awesome! Awesome!"

Others, however, praised Qin Lan.

After slicing a meat skewer, Zeng Jian said, "We don't even have an opening line, do we?"

Ning Hao said happily, "Big brother said the skewers are good, let's have a drink first." Then, as if remembering something, he continued, "Hey, once I was drinking with a rock band in Shucun, and their lead singer said an opening line that gave me goosebumps."

Yang Che quickly offered a way out: "What did you say?"

"I won't drink anything that lowers my status, I won't earn a pittance, and I won't sleep with those sluts! Damn it!"

Everyone present could tell that Ning Hao was extremely uncomfortable, and then Yang Che laughed gleefully: "Trying to be awkward, huh!"

This common saying from later generations made Cheng Er look puzzled: "What's wrong with that? Isn't it perfectly fine?"

Ning Hao clicked his tongue: "I'm not saying this is embarrassing, I'm saying how can these people say such things so seriously, it's so incongruous. Everyone knows that in the whole music industry, rock musicians are the most disreputable, promiscuous, fighting, frequently breaking contracts... Why do you think those people are all a bit neurotic, and they call it the rebellious spirit of rock? Pah, they're all drug addicts who've gone insane."

Upon hearing this, everyone echoed their opinions, each recounting their own experiences, which were filled with vulgarity and obscenity.

Qin Lan listened intently.

Yang Che felt a mix of emotions. He had misunderstood the situation, and looking at the expressions of the others, he felt a pang of shame.

They're all disgusted by the hypocrisy and inconsistency in the rock scene, yet they themselves focus on finding this statement incredibly awkward. What does that tell us?

This has nothing to do with feeling embarrassed by hearing "old-fashioned" remarks.

They, including Wang Baoqiang and Xing Jianwei, all respected literature and art; only they themselves didn't take it seriously.

The same principle applies to movies.

He valued "reasonable replication" and easily earned his first pot of gold.

And what about them? Money is certainly important, but it's not money that makes them so proactive. It's the opportunity to participate in the production of a film that motivates them to take initiative. As for being influenced by Yang Che's personal charisma, that's nonsense; try it without money.

Yang Che took a sip of wine and chuckled to himself at his own inadequacy. He was a man who had seen and experienced the world, and was nearly fifty years old!

Perhaps it's because of this young body, or perhaps it's because I spend every day with these people in their early twenties.

Thinking of this, Yang Che smiled.

"What's wrong, Che-ge?"

Qin Lan immediately noticed Yang Che's inexplicable laughter and felt a chill run down her spine.

"It's okay, come on, have a drink with me."

Yang Che glanced at her, raised his glass and clinked it against hers, then drank it all in one gulp.

Qin Lan was still confused, staring at him with her big eyes, and then chugdredged up her drink.

Yang Che smiled again, a very happy smile.

His laughter was genuine; he thought it was a good thing. Once a person reaches middle age and accepts their own incompetence and mediocrity, they resign themselves to their fate. From then on, life becomes uneventful, and they no longer have any moral burdens. So how could they feel "ashamed"? They feel perfectly at ease both messing with young girls and seducing married women.

Having this feeling right now means you're gradually becoming younger, inside and out. How could anyone not be happy?

Afterwards, while everyone was eating and drinking, they chatted about news from home and abroad, as well as gossip from the entertainment industry.

An agreement was finally reached regarding the Yugoslavia issue, with the US paying us $450 million in compensation for casualties. Xing Jianwei shouted, "Down with US imperialism!"

When talking about the recent crackdown on cults in China, Qin Lan said that her second aunt had practiced that practice.

The conversation started with installing a computer tomorrow, and we talked about the Y2K bug and the end of the world. But everyone was laughing and joking, clearly not caring much about how much inconvenience and damage the Y2K bug would cause to the world.

They started talking about computers, then moved on to websites, and eventually discussed Dou Wei's infidelity and Wang Fei's divorce.

Ning Hao added, "See? This is the kind of behavior all rock musicians have. Dou Wei is actually one of the better ones."

Qin Lan looked both indignant and upset. She liked Dou Wei, but she absolutely hated infidelity.

Yang Che chuckled and said, "Dou Wei just made a mistake that all men in the world would make."

Hearing this, not only Qin Lan, but all the men were shocked by Yang Che's shamelessness. What he said was true, but the way he said it...

With a drunken glint in her eyes, Qin Lan's face was filled with indignation: "Brother Che, you've disappointed me so much. How could you say such a thing?"

Yang Che was stunned. These people had never heard of this before. This was not right. Wasn't the Little Dragon Girl a recent event?

"Uh...that's not important. What's important is whether you know about Jackie Chan and Elaine Ng's affair?"

Zeng Jian nodded: "I know, she's not pregnant anymore."

Yang Che suddenly realized that a press conference hadn't been held yet, so this sentence had now become his "original creation".

"See, it's all the same. Anyway, let's not talk about that. I have something to tell you. I've decided to invest in a TV series."

P.S.: My old ankle ligament injury flared up again, and I managed to write one chapter while in the hospital. Adding that to the previous chapter I had saved up, it's still two chapters.

Um, the pace of tomorrow's chapter will be a bit faster.