Huayu 1999: Starting with nothing but getting something for nothing

An open-air tin-roofed food stall set up by the roadside, with a few square tables and long benches, its fumes and heat swirling under the incandescent light bulbs on the ceiling.

When the film crew arrived, the food stall owner greeted them warmly, showing great familiarity with them.

Yang Che and Fan Xiaotian politely declined each other's orders, and in the end, neither of them ordered anything, leaving the owner to decide what to serve.

The owner was very generous and first brought out two bowls of perfectly ripe boiled water chestnuts and tender lotus pods, which were sweet and fresh.

The dishes included pickled vegetables with mixed fish, stir-fried water celery with dried tofu, braised pork with dried bamboo shoots, braised snails, river clams with greens, stir-fried goose offal, and braised goose slices.

The main dishes are crispy rice crust, fragrant and sweet black glutinous rice, and shepherd's purse wontons in clear soup.

We drank Jinling Beer, which was the only type available, and it tasted alright.

It was already 10:30, and with delicious food in front of him, Yang Che, who was already starving, had no interest in flirting or chatting. His attention was entirely focused on the food.

He really liked the braised mixed fish with pickled vegetables; the broth was rich and flavorful, perfect with rice or as a snack with drinks. He even chatted with the owner who served the dish and learned that it consisted of crucian carp, catfish, and small catfish from the nearby river, all braised with local pickled mustard greens.

Yang Che's swift and decisive manner didn't seem rude to anyone; on the contrary, people thought he was a very genuine person.

Cheng Hong, who was standing next to him, said, "I was originally planning to just have some soup, but watching you eat made me hungry."

Meanwhile, Qin Lan, who was diagonally opposite him, was also very hungry, but she ate slowly and deliberately, while chatting with Zhang Qin and Tao Hong beside her, maintaining her ladylike demeanor.

Midway through the meal, Yang Che inadvertently noticed that the assistant director surnamed Jin was looking at him rather strangely, and the way he looked at Zhang Qin was also rather strange. Zhang Qin was also clearly avoiding the assistant director Jin, either talking to Qin Lan or chatting with Kou Zhanwen.

This made Yang Che somewhat uncomfortable, not because of possessiveness, but because he felt he was being used. This wasn't due to his self-satisfaction, but rather because he had experienced it in his previous life and had become somewhat shrewd.

The city is full of tricks, and the entertainment industry in the city is even more so.

But once you get to the point, it's not that big of a deal. Let's listen to Fan Xiaotian and a group of directors talk about some things in the TV drama industry.

"Have you heard? Li Guoli has moved the production center to Hengdian."

"Hengdian's policy of waiving venue rental fees is really amazing; it directly reduces production costs significantly."

Yang Che inexplicably said, "If you see a product that's free, then you are actually the product."

Cheng Hong then asked, "What do you mean by 'all that's unclear'?"

Yang Che opened her mouth, thinking, "Damn it, in the entire Chinese literary and artistic circles, your husband speaks in the most incomprehensible way."

Thinking of this, Yang Che said, "Two years ago, Hengdian blasted eight hilltops to build a city. Director Chen invested 8 million US dollars in it, but the result was a global box office of 120 million US dollars."

At this point, Yang Che paused deliberately, picked up his wine glass, took a sip, and the dinner table immediately fell silent.

Cheng Hong's face fell. If Yang Che hadn't made such a good impression on her, she probably would have already slapped him.

Ye Chongming, however, was clenching his fists under the table in the corner, so excited he was almost fainting. Here it comes, here it comes, let's see how we can cover it up.

Yang Che, who had put down his wine glass, raised an eyebrow: "Why are you looking at me like that?"

Tao Hong then chuckled and picked up her wine glass to smooth things over, saying, "Let's drink, let's drink."

Yang Che asked in surprise, "Sister Hong, what do you mean? Are you upset that I exposed the heavy asset-backed film and television business model? Anyone who studies this carefully can see it. Cultural tourism real estate is making more and more money every year. I bet many local cultural tourism departments are already learning from it. So not only should cultural tourism departments across the country thank Director Chen, but everyone in the industry who makes films about the Qin and Han dynasties will owe Director Chen a debt of gratitude!"

Mengji, who had studied abroad, suddenly realized: "This is something Disney does!"

The others also realized what Yang Che meant.

Cheng Hong's expression was calm, revealing neither good nor bad, because she always felt that Yang Che was scolding her husband. She was scolding him for not making movies properly and instead getting involved in tourism real estate projects.

"So if you see a product that's free, then you are actually the product. What does that mean?"

"The venue is free, but the surrounding food, accommodation, and transportation are not."

"that's all?"

"Is that all? What's wrong?"

Cheng Hong looked at Yang Che's puzzled expression and shook her head with a smile: "Nothing."

Ye Chongming, sitting at the corner of the table, was very disappointed. He looked at Yang Che with a look of exasperation: Why are you mentioning her husband?!

The "storm" has passed, and the atmosphere at the dinner table has returned to normal, but it's also coming to an end.

Ye Chongming, who was in his forties, raised a glass of wine to Yang Che: "Producer Yang, 'Good Springtime' is amazing. I admire you so much."

Yang Che's lips twitched, and he said honestly, "I am unworthy of such praise, I am unworthy of such praise."

The group felt a little embarrassed. Was it really necessary? You're a veteran director at Jiangsu TV, after all.

Ye Chongming said earnestly, "Wang Yuan said you only read the script for an hour before deciding to invest, and you even wrote 'Good Springtime,' the lyrics of which contain profound life philosophies and complex emotions, perfectly matching the tragic core beneath the cheerful exterior of the plot. This efficiency, this talent—I absolutely deserve to call you my little brother!"

Meng Ji's eyes widened, while Assistant Director Jin looked horrified, his gaze a mixture of jealousy and envy.

Aside from Fan Xiaotian and Qin Lan, everyone else was no exception. The former was already shocked, while the latter was somewhat dismissive; was it really that exaggerated? It just meant Qin Lan hadn't studied music theory yet...

Yang Che felt great, but he still pretended to be humble and arrogant: "A good article is a product of nature, and a masterpiece is a matter of chance. It's nothing special."

Cheng Hong's eyes lit up as she nudged his arm: "Sing it once, please."

Fearing Yang Che might refuse, Cheng Hong looked around at everyone and said, "Everyone, let's clap our hands and have Producer Yang sing for us."

The next second, everyone burst into applause and laughter, with even the oldest member, Fan Xiaotian, smiling with admiration.

"Clap clap clap clap"

Yang Che grinned: "Stop making a fuss, I didn't say I wouldn't sing."

The crowd gradually turned to look at him in silence. Even the shop owner and his wife, who had heard the commotion, leaned against a pillar not far away and watched this side.

Yang Che coughed lightly and tapped the table, starting to beat in 4/4 time (meaning each measure has four beats, with a quarter note as one beat).

"A beautiful spring day is not as good as a dream"

The fragrance of green grass in my dreams

You carry your dreams with you.

"......"

Yang Che sang very naturally, almost like a performer, which is actually a form of histrionic personality disorder. However, this performative personality disorder makes him afraid of formal filming.

Yang Che's voice isn't particularly distinctive; if I had to describe it, it's just quite clean... And this song? It's nothing special either, it just fits the theme.

The theme songs of that era, those really theme songs, were mostly custom-made songs, or even written by screenwriters.

So people listened with great interest, especially Tao Hong, who leaned on Xu Zheng's shoulder, looking completely absorbed in the music.

Zhang Qin and Qin Lan were similar, but their expressions differed from Tao Hong's. Cheng Hong, on the other hand, rested her chin on her hand, gazing at Tao Hong with obvious admiration.