Chapter 56: The Second Phase

If you want to be the boss, you must learn to pay the bill first.

Zhang Jinling, Gong Xue, and Cai Ming paid out of their own pockets because they had the means, while the books bought by Jiang Shan, Ge You, and Liang Xiaosheng were all paid for by Chen Qi.

He was freeloading at the Beijing Film Studio, eating their food, drinking their drinks, making money off them, and even trying to poach their people. Although he was nobody right now, he was subtly cultivating his own team.

Just like Ge You and Liang Xiaosheng—with a single word from him, these two would not hesitate to accompany him on a private venture.

In the evening, the group returned to the Beijing Film Studio, and the trio slipped back into Room 302.

Chen Qi emptied bundles of books out, untied the ropes, and with nowhere to put them, could only arrange them on the table. He sighed in frustration, "I bought too many. Keeping so many books in the guesthouse is too much of a hassle. It would be great to have a place of our own."

"Which of us has a place? I'm still living with my parents, and old Liang has an eight-square-meter small dorm. Out of all of us, you're the best off," Ge You said.

"Don't even mention a place. I'm thirty and I don't even have a wife!" Liang Xiaosheng shook his head.

When the topic turned to wives, Ge You perked up. He crossed his legs on the bed and said, "I won't lie to you guys, today was the first time I went shopping with a female comrade, and it felt completely different."

"How was it different? Tell us about it," Chen Qi smiled.

"Let's start with Big Sis Jinling. I wasn't very familiar with her before, but today I realized she's quite a wonderful person—open-minded, generous, with a slightly larger presence, bringing the warmth of a mother."

"As for little sister Jiang Shan, she's smart and cute. If she pursues a career in the arts, she'll surely become a great actress serving the people in the future."

"And Cai Ming... I feel like her mind works in strange ways, and I often can't understand what she's thinking, but she's a pretty good person."

"As for Comrade Gong Xue..."

Mentioning Gong Xue, Ge You's eyes shone brightly, and he said longingly, "I haven't had much contact with her, but she seems like a bright, pure moon hanging high in the sky, casting her light down upon mortal beings like us."

Even Liang Xiaosheng was amused. After all, every man has an appreciation for beauty, so he asked, "Little Chen, you've had more contact with her. What do you think of her?"

"She's a great person, a gentle older sister."

"Oh my, a gentle older sister..."

Ge You narrowed his eyes, tilting his head at a forty-five-degree angle, once again displaying a look of deep longing, as if those four words were more heart-stirring to a man than any poetry about falling geese or orchid-like hearts.

Naturally, they didn't link Gong Xue and Chen Qi together; there was quite an age gap between them.

After chatting for a while, the two men took their leave.

Chen Qi fiddled with the books again, feeling like they took up space no matter where he put them. No matter how nice the guesthouse was, it wasn't his own private space.

His one thousand yuan—call it small, it wasn't tiny, but call it large, it couldn't buy anything substantial, let alone a property. Commercial housing in Beijing was nowhere in sight; he would have to wait until Fangzhuang and the Asian Games Village developments were built.

Currently, the only option was the Overseas Chinese Apartments built in the 1960s, located in the Western Third Ring Road, ranging from 120 to 160 square meters, costing a little over one hundred yuan per square meter. Buyers either had to purchase them directly using US dollars from overseas, or overseas relatives could remit US dollars back home for relatives domestically to buy—either way, the foreign currency was secured.

After all, these apartments were built specifically to absorb foreign exchange.

"When I have time, I should still go hunting for antique bargains and poach business from Ma Weidu, the female elder, and Li Chunping."

Chen Qi suddenly chuckled. In this era, quite a few people made fortunes by reselling antiques, but talking about such things didn't sound very respectable, so people would invent one arduous struggle story after another for themselves, which was utterly nauseating.

As night fell, he turned on the lamp and sat at the desk to sort out some thoughts.

If the goal of the first phase was to write a script and enjoy a free guesthouse stay, that had long been achieved, and it was time to enter the second phase.

There wasn't much he could do during this period. The tasks at hand were writing scripts, writing novels, and at most, dealing with Huang Zhanying's crappy tea stall.

Domestic films wouldn't become market-driven until the 1990s, which was too far away. Film was a powerful tool, but people nowadays didn't know how to use it, or didn't dare to. The National Congress of Writers and Artists was a good opportunity, offering a chance to meet comrades from Hong Kong.

As for novels, his goal was to launch a popular pulp magazine.

Next year would be 1980. In the coming decade, domestic ideologies would swing wildly between two extremes, and people would indulge themselves in confusion and desire—a bizarre and kaleidoscopic era.

He was more than happy to jump into the fray and stir things up.

***

"Good!"

"That's a wrap!"

Inside Studio No. 3 of the Beijing Film Studio, an interior set of a luxury suite had been constructed, and Gong Xue had just finished filming several daily life scenes.

Wang Haowei gave a grand wave of her hand and announced, "Tomorrow we head off to attend the general conference, and we'll take a seventeen-day break. There's still a portion of the scenes left, and we will definitely finish them in December."

"Everyone has worked hard during this stretch, so consider this a well-deserved vacation. But even though we are scattering to relax, I hope that when we return, you'll dive right back into work with one hundred percent enthusiasm!"

"Clap, clap, clap!"

Everyone applauded in unison, and the production of *Romance on Lushan Mountain* was temporarily suspended.

On October 30, the National Congress of Writers and Artists opened, followed by the respective congresses of the Artists Association, Writers Association, Dramatists Association, Musicians Association, Film Association, Ballad Singers Association, and Dancers Association, concluding finally on the 16th.

Interspersed throughout were various activities, banquets, and more.

Out of the entire film crew, only three people—Wang Haowei, Tang Guoqiang, and Zhang Jinling—were qualified to attend.

However, looking at the Beijing Film Studio as a whole, the attendance was massive. From Studio Director Wang Yang down to top directors, leading actors, master cinematographers, and veteran art directors, they attended in groups as the core force of domestic cinema.

Chen Qi was on set today, walking out with the flow of the crowd. As soon as he stepped out of the studio, a studio worker ran over and shouted, "Little Chen, I saw some mail for you!"

"Oh, thanks!"

He walked toward the entrance, and upon reaching the reception room, sure enough, he saw on the small blackboard: "Chen Qi has a package."

"Uncle!"

"Hmm, what's this thing all lumpy?"

"Probably reader mail. Thank you!"

The old man at the reception room already knew him as the kid who gave him half a pack of Great Front Gate cigarettes, and he was endlessly amazed. In this day and age, everyone felt they were unrecognized geniuses, but very few actually managed to stand out.

Chen Qi carried the package back to his room and unwrapped it.

First came a pile of reader letters, followed by a sample issue of the November edition of *Stories*, and finally attached was a chasing-for-chapters letter from He Chengwei.

The gist of it was:

The second half of *Kapok Kasaya* is about to be published. Readers are eagerly waiting, and we are full of confidence. We are sending you a sample issue in advance, please kindly review it.

By the way, have you written your new work yet? Write it quickly! Hurry up and write! You haven't written a single word, have you? Don't push me too far, or I'll come to Beijing to hunt you down for an offline duel and hang myself at your doorstep...

"Moron!"

Chen Qi curled his lip. Why the rush? When the inspiration comes, the chapters will naturally follow.

Holding the upper and lower volumes of *Kapok Kasaya*, he trotted rapidly down the stairs and headed to the Literature Department in the main building.

"Director Jiang!"

"Little Chen, I was just about to look for you. How much did Shanshan spend on books that day?"

"You're teasing me. You've helped me out so much, it was just a few books."

"Business is business!"

"No, no, consider it a gift for the kids! A gift for the kids!"

After exchanging some polite pleasantries, Chen Qi handed over two copies of *Stories* and said, "When I was at Lushan, I used my free time to write a story. I was lucky enough to have it published, please take a look."

"Oh? Young man, you're quite something—such vibrant creative energy!"

Jiang Huaiyan offered a word of praise, but upon noticing it was *Stories*, he frowned and said, "This... this kind of magazine..."

"I wrote a martial arts novel, and no one else would take it."

"Fine then, I'll take a look first."