Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 20 Emotional
Jiang Qinqin kept a straight face and said nothing. Her financial situation was even worse than Zhou Xun's.

As we all know, Aunt Qiong Yao has a similar personality to the comedy genius Zhou Xingchi. She is a person who values ​​both talent and interests. The artists under her are generally exploited severely.

After Jiang Qinqin became the cover girl of "Popular Movies" for her role in "Xi Shi", Qiong Yao asked her daughter-in-law He Xiuqiong to sign her.

She started to emerge with "Tears of Heaven", and even the role of Ziwei in "My Fair Princess" was written based on her, but her salary has always been strictly controlled.

Just like Zhao Wei of the same period, after "My Fair Princess" became a hit, she received a maximum pay of 10 yuan per episode for other dramas, but she only dared to charge about 1.2 yuan for the drama "Qiong Yao", otherwise she would be criticized by the former for being ungrateful.

Isn’t Fan Bingbing the best example?
Because she was willing to terminate the contract even if it cost her everything, Qiong Yao ridiculed her for being able to play a maid for the rest of her life.

"Xiaolu, you're too reckless. I warned you. Making underground movies is very risky. If you can't sell the copyright abroad, you'll basically lose everything."

She was so worried that she could hardly eat. Even though Lu Kuan had shown accurate predictions several times, this was a professional film investment, and Jiang Qinqin was not so superstitious about him.

"I have my own 50 yuan, and I borrowed another 50 yuan from my senior brother. I have already signed the contract and paid the money."

The young Taoist priest explained the source of funds with a calm smile, but looking at the reactions of the two actresses, he didn't want to bring up the matter of borrowing money.

"Don't worry. Have you forgotten what I do? I can't guarantee this, but I have some confidence."

Words of comfort had no effect. This kind of prophecy was far beyond the imagination of people at that time. After the awkward meal, the three of them returned to their hotel rooms.

Lu Kuan is working late into the night to "create" the script. This is also a helpless situation in the early stage of capital accumulation. Apart from continuing to cheat and deceive, there are too few ways to make money.

People are the sum of social relations. If people always present themselves as charlatans, the labels that the public gives themselves will be biased.

Just like in the villa of Concubine Liu Yi, Cheng Jingfei, Liu Xiaoli and others were quite surprised by the acting ability he displayed, but Feng Yuanzheng, who had just met him, found it very ordinary. This was a contrast due to his identity as a Taoist priest.

Therefore, he cannot rely solely on his advantage as a prophet, but must demonstrate his other talents to gain a foothold and interact with others.

The script that Lu Kuan is currently writing is "The Disguiser". In this era, TV dramas are mainly broadcast by various satellite TV stations, and the themes are nothing more than family, criminal investigation, spy war, period and so on.

Spy war dramas encompass all commercial elements and have a delicate and rigorous logical core. They are a type of work that all satellite TV stations are optimistic about and are conducive to the monetization of scripts.

"Knock knock knock!" There was a knock on the door. The little Taoist priest closed the computer in confusion. It was a knock from Zhuang Xu.

Who would knock on Yin Zhiping's door so late? He is not a director or producer.

"who.."

Before he could finish his sentence, he smelled a fragrant breeze and Jiang Qinqin came in quickly with a flushed face.

"Close the door, idiot!"

Lu Kuan looked frightened: "Sister Jiang, I feel a little unwell today, and my uncle is here."

"roll!"

Jiang Qinqin spat softly, put her ear to the door and listened like a thief, then pulled Lu Kuan to sit down.

She took out the jewelry box she had just found in the restaurant from her cotton coat pocket and said, "Xiaolu, take it and return it."

Lu Kuan was stunned for a moment, then smiled and said, "What are you doing?"

"How much more money do you need?"

Jiang Qinqin seemed a little strange in the Western restaurant. She stubbornly didn't answer and just asked questions on her own.

It was one thing for Lu Kuan to ask her and Zhou Xun to borrow money, but it was another thing for Sister Jiang to offer to give it to them like this.

The iron rule of the entertainment industry is equal exchange. He questioned whether his current strength and resources were enough to force a popular actress to strip down and bankrupt him. That night's sensuality was merely a passing fancy. They were all adults, so it wasn't worth dwelling on or dwelling on too much.

Unless... this is love?

He was even more afraid to take the money, as it was a matter of karma. Even a strong man was afraid of a clinging woman, especially one as beautiful as Jiang Qinqin.

No matter how cunning the boss of a public relations company is, he would not package himself as a gigolo and ask famous actresses for whatever they want. The opposite is almost the same!

Lu Kuan especially wanted to say to Sister Jiang, who was sitting on the bed with bright eyes, "I'm sorry, you deserve better!"
But not the best for me!

"I..." Lu Kuan was about to say something perfunctory when he was interrupted by Jiang Qinqin raising her finger and answering the phone.

"Hello? What? Okay! Send me the address!"

"Xiaolu, give me a lift! My friend is seriously injured and in the hospital!"

Lu Kuan put on his coat, asked the stage manager for the key, and the two of them went straight to Wuxi First People's Hospital on Qingyang Road.

It was a chilly spring day, and a layer of white mist quickly rose in the car. Lu Kuan turned on the defogger and glanced at Jiang Qinqin's rosy cheeks in the passenger seat.

"What are you looking at?"

Without Zhou Xun present, she felt a little shy and angry in her solitude, and psychologically felt closer to the young Taoist priest.

Lu Kuan laughed secretly in his heart. He was not so naive as to regard Sister Jiang’s preference as the true feelings of the entertainment industry, but he would not refuse to enjoy this warmth. If you don’t take advantage of an opportunity, you are a bastard.

"Jiang Qinqin's mother, open the door for Jiang Qinqin."

"what?"

“So beautiful!”

"Go to hell! You're just a smooth talker."

Lu Kuan said innocently, "I knew I should take action, but someone said it wouldn't happen again. What can I do?"

Jiang Qinqin knew that she was no match for the young Taoist priest in terms of verbal attacks, so she simply blushed and kept silent.

After a long while, he explained, "Zhao Wenzhuo was injured. His eye was pierced by the tip of a sword. His agent knew I was in Wuxi and called me to ask for my cooperation..."

"Go along with the hype, huh?"

Jiang Qinqin looked at him in surprise: "How did you know? Did you calculate it again?"

In June 2002, "Feng Yun" was about to premiere. It was normal for Jiang Qinqin and Zhao Wenzhuo, the screen couple who had worked together since "The Love of Qinghe", the TV version of "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Hero Zheng Chenggong", to be asked to cooperate in the hype.

Later, Jiang Qinqin said in an interview: "He and I have a tacit understanding."

This is a typical case of neither confirming nor denying, leaving room for reporters and film producers to hype things up.

"Will it be a nuisance for you if I go?" Lu Kuan was very aware of being a tool.

Jiang Qinqin looked at the people outside the window and hurriedly answered the question, "I don't want to either, but in this line of work, there are not many things we can decide for ourselves."

Lu Kuan didn't know whether she was explaining to him or not, so he didn't answer and parked the car steadily in front of the emergency building.

(End of this chapter)