Huayu 1999: Starting with nothing but getting something for nothing

"Brother, President Fan doesn't need you to accompany him."

Yang Che glanced at her and walked over.

"Heng-jie, it's been a long time!"

Zhang Heng was about to leave, since she already had the phone number, but Fan Bingbing called out from afar, so she could only force a smile and greet him, "Bingbing, long time no see."

However, Zhang Heng was now 100% certain that this Mr. Fan was a film and television investor. After all, the handsome man in front of her was very familiar with Mr. Fan, and this handsome man's reputation had spread throughout the Beijing Film Academy, not because of the quality of his scripts, but because of his outstanding temperament.

Yes, in terms of facial features and appearance, this school is far better than Yang Che's, but no matter how good-looking someone is, they still look like a country bumpkin standing next to Yang Che.

This wasn't Yang Che deliberately trying to act superior or show off; it was simply a natural sense of generational disparity.

This sense of disparity stems from two aspects: externally, the minimalist aesthetic offers a sense of immersion and relaxation unlike anyone else's; internally, it's about confidence—not a sense of intellectual superiority, but a higher level of thinking.

Yang Che usually keeps to himself and dresses plainly.

But today, after tidying up, appearing on the university campus, it's like a splash of red amidst a sea of ​​green...

At this moment, Zhang Heng is conflicted, confused, and unnatural.

After all, her old acquaintance Fan Bingbing saw her flirting with the big boss. Well, that's not so bad, since she wasn't the only one who flirted with him. But she still felt awkward, perhaps because Yang Che was also there.

Just like how men always want to maintain a respectable image in front of beautiful women.

In this situation, the person is prone to talking nonsense: "Bingbing, you're bullying Zhao Yanzi again."

Yang Che and Fan Zeping subconsciously looked at Fan Bingbing.

Fan Bingbing was completely bewildered, but still smiled and said, "How did I bully her? And when did I ever bully her?"

Zhang Heng laughed and said, "When we were on set, you were always making people cry with your scolding."

Fan Bingbing immediately became anxious. If it were before, she might have been smug, but now she cared too much about Yang Che's opinion.

"No, she just can't win an argument with me."

At this moment, Yang Che and Fan Zeping looked at each other for the second time. The first time, the men understood each other perfectly, but this time it was "this woman has no sense of propriety."

Zhang Heng only realized she had been out of her mind when she saw the expressions on the two men's faces two meters away.

He forced a laugh and said, "Just kidding. You guys are busy, I'll be going now."

Fan Bingbing had originally planned to help her "go with the flow," but now it was even less likely that she would say anything.

Afterwards, the crew went to Tongchun Garden together, where Lao Fan booked four tables of food, with a meal budget of 5000 yuan, not including Mao Zi and Hua Zi.

When they went to the restaurant, Lao Fan let Yang Che test drive the car.

This is the second generation of the Grand Cherokee, the progenitor of future luxury SUVs. On the road, it's comparable to the BMW X5, and in terms of luxury, it's comparable to the Mercedes-Benz G5. Where there are mountains, there are roads; where there are rivers, there are crossings. Even if life is a little tough, you still want to buy a big Jeep.

This car is 4.6 meters long, 1.68 meters wide, and 1.76 meters high. It looks like a tank. This is a typical American muscle car of this era.

The rate of people turning their heads to look at a Mercedes-Benz on the street is much higher than that of a Mercedes-Benz W14, except for those Mercedes-Benz W14s with multiple "6"s in their license plate.

"Bingbing, Brother Fan and I need to talk about something. You and your uncle take the Mercedes."

Fan Bingbing watched as Fan Zeping plopped into the passenger seat of the jeep, her heart aching as if it were bleeding. That should have been her first time!

Even though you bought this car for Che-ge, does being a sugar daddy make you so great?

At that moment, Little Fatty secretly vowed that when she had money in the future, she would buy him a car, and she would sit in the passenger seat first!

After indulging in his fantasies for a while, Little Fatty felt greatly relieved, and then gracefully boarded the Tiger Head Mercedes amidst a crowd of onlookers.

Yang Che got into the car with utmost caution. Fan Zeping was too abrupt, insisting on talking to him alone.

Old Fan lit another cigarette and got straight to the point: "They used to say 'if there's water, let it flow,' but now they're shutting down mines and reducing production everywhere. Our province alone has closed over 10,000 coal mines. Two months ago, coal prices were around 200, but now they're 140. Some small mines can't even reach 100, they're losing money. Losing money is actually a good thing, because if you mine 10 tons, 5 tons will just pile up there."

Yang Che paused for a moment: "Brother Fan, do you know why?"

"Of course we know. The Asian financial crisis caused exports to collapse, and last year there was a huge flood. The national power plant operating rate dropped by 4%. Coal was still being mined as hard as it could. What else could we expect if prices didn't fall?"

Yang Che nodded: "Brother Fan, do you want to hear my advice?"

"Really? We chatted on the phone before, but we didn't discuss it in detail, especially about the WTO. Do you think we should still talk about it?"

"Of course we'll talk. The negotiations on Yugoslavia have all ended. China and the US both went to APEC and met yesterday, so it's definitely going to restart. And after being deadlocked for half a year, the progress of the negotiations will definitely speed up. But, Brother Fan, distant water can't quench immediate thirst. Even if this round of talks can be completed, it will still take at least two years before we can actually join the WTO."

Fan Zeping nodded, took a deep drag of his cigarette, and then opened the car window to throw it away. He didn't close the window, but stared blankly at Beijing Normal University outside.

Yes, Tongchun Garden is right across from the East Gate 1 of Beijing Normal University, very close.

"Reduce production, close small mines, wait for coal prices to drop further, then acquire a few more high-quality mines, in preparation for WTO accession."

Yang Che listened to Lao Fan's seemingly soliloquy and thought to himself: Damn, Lao Fan, who is worth hundreds of millions, could be worth tens of billions in a few years. Uh... I guess Lao Fan won't let himself become worth tens of billions. This rough-looking, dark-faced man is actually quite shrewd.

Perhaps he wasn't actually seeking advice from Yang Che, but rather using Yang Che to solidify his own choice.

At this moment, the Grand Cherokee had already parked imposingly in front of Tongchun Garden, standing out like a crane among chickens amidst a sea of ​​bread.

Old Fan then put on a smiling face and said as he got out of the car, "Brother, you registered a company?"

Yang Che chuckled awkwardly, "Oh, order a steamed bun, haha."

Old Fan laughed heartily: "You're really something, transferring money from one hand to the other, haha, I still have that business card."

What business card?

He's a third-level screenwriter at the Shanxi Provincial Film Studio.

Yang Che was no longer embarrassed. Since he was already in this situation, he just laughed along, showing his thick skin.

"Brother Fan, since there are no beautiful women to keep you company at lunch, I'll have to keep you company with a few drinks."

The lunch that followed was unremarkable. Old Fan couldn't connect with the group of young people. Sometimes he would chat with Fan Tao about life experiences, and other times he would chat with Yang Che about the local political environment in Longcheng.

Okay, there's also something worth mentioning: Lao Fan said something about how Yang Che pretended to be a reporter to meet him (he didn't mention the fake screenwriter thing to save face), and how he tried to convince himself. Well, he didn't convince him.

Old Fan said...we'll talk about it in the next chapter.