Huayu96: My Thirty Years of a Prodigal Son

After Wang Guanghui left, the atmosphere in the office immediately became more relaxed.

Zhang Jizhong and Zhang Zhaolin both smiled and encouraged Qin Sheng.

At this moment, they reached a rare consensus.

This kid is a promising talent; he's bound to have a bright future. We should try to befriend him now.

Taking this opportunity, Zhang Jizhong, the chief financial officer, instructed his assistant to finalize Qin Sheng's contract.

Of course, this includes the theme song as well.

Ultimately, out of respect for Zang Jinsheng, Zhang Jizhong offered Qin Sheng 4000 yuan as his acting fee.

Yan Qing's role is probably less than two episodes, and the Water Margin production team generally pays supporting actors no more than 2000 yuan per episode.

Therefore, a salary of 4000 yuan is actually the maximum that Qin Sheng could receive.

In return, the price for the right to use "Heroes' Song" was relatively low.

Only a mere 3000 yuan.

The main reason is that Zhang Jizhong didn't care about Qin Sheng's copyright; he only signed a simple usage license.

Qin Sheng was naturally very willing to retain the copyright.

Once this song is sold to Teacher Liu Huan, it will be a golden goose!

It's very precious!

Soon, everything was settled, and everyone dispersed.

On the way back, Qin Sheng remained relatively calm.

As someone with special abilities, this was just a small show, nothing special.

But Zang Jinsheng and He Qing were extremely excited.

Although they have acted out their pretentiousness and face-slapping moments in TV dramas, have they ever actually seen it in real life?

Watching Qin Sheng's performance was truly exhilarating!

However, after their initial excitement, Zang Jinsheng and He Qing began to give Qin Sheng some instructions.

Zang Jinsheng looked at Qin Sheng with a serious expression and said, "Little brother, although you won gloriously today, remember to keep it a secret when you get back and don't spread it around the film crew."

Before Zang Jinsheng could explain the reason, Qin Sheng interrupted him with a smile, saying, "Brother, I know. We're related, and it wouldn't be good for you if others found out."

Moreover, this incident has embarrassed Professor Wang Guanghui. If we keep a low profile, the grudge won't be too big; if we make a big fuss, it will become even bigger.

Zang Jinsheng looked at Qin Sheng with some surprise.

This kid is pretty knowledgeable!

"That's right, that's exactly what I mean. Anyway, for us actors, it's never a bad thing to be low-key and humble in any situation."

After Zang Jinsheng finished giving his instructions, He Qing also gave his instructions.

"Sheng, is this the first time you've earned money on your own?"

7000 yuan is no small sum.

If you ask me, you should give this money to your older brother and let him keep it for you.

When he gets home, he'll bring it directly to your parents.

"To prevent you from losing control of the money and squandering it."

Qin Sheng didn't think 7000 yuan was a lot.

But after all, this was in 1996.

In 1996, when the concept of "ten-thousand-yuan households" had not completely disappeared, the national average wage was only six or seven hundred yuan.

7000 yuan is roughly the annual salary of an average person.

Therefore, it's no wonder that He Qing, the older sister, thought it was a huge sum of money and was afraid that Qin Sheng would squander it.

Qin Sheng chuckled and said, "Don't worry, Sister He Qing. When I get paid, I'll only take 3000 yuan. I'll have my brother take the rest home for me."

He Qing was finally satisfied and affectionately ruffled Qin Sheng's hair.

"Just listen to me. This is your money for your future wife. It'll all be spent on you eventually."

Qin Sheng chuckled and said, "Sister He Qing, a handsome young man like me won't spend any money to get married, so why would I need to save up for a wife?"

He Qing spat at him.

"You little rascal! Don't you dare use your good looks to fool young girls again!"

Looking at He Qing's face, which could be both happy and angry, Qin Sheng almost blurted out a teasing joke: "If I don't lie to a little girl, am I supposed to lie to an older sister?"

But in the end, I held back.

His current qualifications and abilities are far from the point where he can speak recklessly.

After returning, the three of them acted as if nothing had happened and continued to stay on set every day.

But three days later, Zang Jinsheng approached Qin Sheng with a bitter smile.

"I was thinking that if the three of us didn't say anything, this matter wouldn't get out."

But they forgot to mention another person.

Qin Sheng's heart skipped a beat, and he asked, "A makeup artist?"

Zang Jinsheng nodded.

"That's right, makeup artist Xiao Chen was there that day too. She didn't keep it to herself for more than two days before she spread the word."

Now almost everyone in the crew knows.

Qin Sheng then asked, "Which version is being circulated?"

Zang Jinsheng's brows relaxed slightly.

"It's not a bad version. The girl isn't paying attention to Wang Guanghui; she's mainly praising your handsome appearance and the beautiful 'Heroes' song you wrote."

Qin Sheng nodded.

"That's alright then."

After hesitating for a moment, Zang Jinsheng said, "I'm thinking of finding an opportunity in the next couple of days for you to treat everyone to dinner tonight."

Although Wang Guanghui has left, if you say a few good things about him during the meal and relay the message back, it can still ease the tension.

I'd also like to take this opportunity to introduce you to everyone.

Don't let their rustic appearance fool you; there are quite a few veteran actors in our crew.

It won't hurt for you to get to know more people.

Qin Sheng nodded again.

"That's exactly what I'm planning to do too."

Then, Zang Jinsheng took out five hundred-yuan bills from his pocket and stuffed them into Qin Sheng's hand.

"Here you go. Once the time is confirmed, I'll give you a list. You can then invite them one by one according to the list."

When it's time to eat, I'll be there to help you out.

Qin Sheng didn't stand on ceremony, smiling as he took the money and saying thank you, brother.

Five hundred yuan is not a small amount of money.

But Qin Sheng didn't say anything polite like "Brother, deduct it from my salary" to Zang Jinsheng.

This is a little trick he learned in his later years for dealing with people and situations.

When dealing with elders you are close to, accepting small favors from them can give them a sense of moral superiority and effectively strengthen your relationship.

Seeing that Qin Sheng didn't argue with him about the five hundred yuan, Zang Jinsheng's face indeed felt much more relaxed.

This shows that the younger brother truly treats me as a close and reliable elder.

I really need to make sure I take good care of him at the dinner afterwards!

Zang Jinsheng quickly set a time.

As the captain of the actors' team, he was the one who knew best and could best coordinate the schedules of all the actors.

The dinner is scheduled for tomorrow night.

As for the location, it was a food stall near the film and television base.

There are certainly better restaurants near the film and television base.

But after careful consideration, the good brother still chose the food stall.

This was in 1996, a relatively chaotic era.

Most of the actors in the Water Margin TV series came from humble backgrounds.

Street food stalls are a better place to connect and get closer to each other than formal private rooms.

Once the time and place were set, Qin Sheng began to invite people one by one, following his good brother's instructions.

Most people readily agreed.

Although the heroes were rough and unruly, they were not fools.

They had all vaguely heard that Qin Sheng had been praised by two bigwigs in the production crew for having a bright future.

Therefore, they were all happy to befriend him.