Artists under the Rebirth of the Coal Boss

Chapter 84 of "Men's Wear": The original pioneer of the black-and-red route
Yunze City Film and Television Base, Yunze Garden Hotel.

The hotel is located near the Three Kingdoms City and Water Margin City, and close to scenic spots such as Yuantouzhu, making it a top choice for popular film crews.

The Range Rover pulled up in front of the hotel. As Lin Xingzhuo and Xiao Ma entered the hotel lobby, they were immediately hit by a strong, almost cloying, perfume scent.

The hotel was bustling with people, the corridors were crowded with girls with exquisite makeup, and the entrance to the conference room led to the hotel lobby.

Amidst the fluttering resumes and scripts, young women either practiced their lines in hushed tones or adjusted their skirts; the air was thick with the mingled scents of perfume and nervous tension…

…………

Lin Xingzhuo exclaimed, "No wonder it's the cast and crew of 'Beauty's Rival in Palace,' they're all beauties!"

Xiao Ma made a phone call and said, "Brother Zhuo, your role has been finalized. You just need to go through the motions from now on."

quack quack!

Lin Xingzhuo, this "foodie Doraemon," pulled out a packet of "miracle pills" he bought at the airport, chewed on a Maltesers with a milk chocolate outer layer and a maltodextrin core, and muttered:

"I originally planned to get into the film crew as an ordinary person, relying on my acting skills... sigh..."

Xiao Ma glanced at Lin Xingzhuo: "Brother Zhuo, you can't get into this group based on acting skills alone."

"Yu Zhen Studio's 'Locking Up the Autumn' became a huge hit. If we hadn't invested early, this drama would never have had a chance!"

"Jianghuai TV broadcast it as its opening drama of the year, and it remained the number one in viewership among all TV stations in the same time slot for five consecutive days. In eight local areas including Shanghai, Hubei, Shenzhen, Jingnan, Hanzhong, and Liaodong, it ranked second only to 'Lurking' with a 15% viewership share."

"Producer Yu Zhen, with this drama and his previous works, has been hailed in the industry as a top screenwriter for women's dramas."

"In this period drama, all the extras and supporting actors, big and small, have connections to talent agencies and film and television companies. Ordinary people who work independently simply can't get into the production..."

…………

Lin Xingzhuo and Xiao Ma chatted and commented on the beautiful women at the scene.

A bright, lively, and beautiful young girl with large, expressive eyes entered the hotel lobby and joined the queue. She carried a double-layered mesh Oxford cloth resume bag from Jinlongxing.

As Lin Xingzhuo was eating a chocolate ball, he suddenly spotted this top-tier sweet girl with big round eyes and a petite figure.

........................

Mao Xiaotong was at the back of the line, her heart pounding, her hands nervously clutching at the mesh of her resume bag.

Around 2006, the mainland film and television industry entered a period of rapid development, with a surge in graduates from professional schools such as the Central Academy of Drama and the Beijing Film Academy.

Although Mao Xiaotong graduated from the Central Academy of Drama, she was known among her classmates for her beautiful face, petite figure, big eyes, and sweet and charming appearance.

However, Mao Xiaotong, who grew up in a single-parent family, had exhausted her mother's savings to support his acting studies and was unable to afford the production crew's "bribes" or packaging costs.

Fresh out of college, she was unwilling to audition with directors and producers at hotels, nor was she willing to sign artist contracts that were often for more than ten or twenty years.

This puts the industry in a difficult position...

As a result, he had no acting opportunities for two consecutive years and was rejected by various auditions.

Now, having moved from Beijing to Shanghai, I have to make ends meet with only 20 yuan in my pocket for a week. I can't even afford breakfast anymore; I've reached the end of my rope...

…………

Haw!

While queuing, Mao Xiaotong started sweating profusely and felt extremely dizzy. She accidentally stepped on the heel of the girl in front of her.

The girl turned around and angrily asked, "What's wrong with you?"

Mao Xiaotong quickly apologized: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I have low blood sugar and I feel a little dizzy..."

This girl has a face full of fat, with all the fat concentrated on her cheekbones.

Lin Xingzhuo knew from afar that this matter was not going to end well when he saw the woman.

From a physiological perspective, this is because the person is in a state of constant resistance, with muscles contracting and lifting.

This is a typical Fu Shou'er look...

Sure enough, upon seeing Mao Xiaotong's appearance, she narrowed her eyes, her gaze sharpening, and suddenly exclaimed angrily:

"You think you can step on people just because you have low blood sugar?! If you had high blood pressure, would you be going to hit someone?! These shoes of mine are the latest Ferragamo model! They're made of lambskin!"

Next to this girl who looks like Fu Shou'er is Deng Sha, who auditioned for the role of Li Miaoren in this drama. She interjected:

"Yeah, they don't even know how to queue, just running around and stepping on people!" "Low blood sugar! Diabetes! Those are such lame excuses for film crew auditions!"

Mao Xiaotong was clearly flustered and said, "I'm sorry, I really didn't mean to."

At this moment, Qi Wei, who came to the lobby with her agent, came into everyone's view.

A short-haired female agent, dressed in a suit and exuding a sharp aura, pushed through the crowd and said, "Make way! Let's have a fight over there."

Standing beside her agent, Qi Wei glanced around and instantly identified the biggest threat, then decisively said:
"If you're not feeling well, go and rest. Staying in the group like this is really affecting everyone's audition preparation."

Upon hearing this, the girls waiting for their interviews unanimously agreed.
"Yeah! It's so noisy! I'm still getting ready!!"

"Exactly, they stepped on people and then acted like they were in the right!"

"It's so annoying, isn't anyone maintaining order?"

"Go eat if you haven't eaten breakfast! What are you pretending for here!"

Mao Xiaotong immediately incurred the wrath of the crowd, and the stagehands maintaining order ran to Qi Wei's agent to find out what was going on.

Deng Sha then took the initiative to step forward and explain the situation.

The stagehand brought a bag of Master Kong "3+2" sandwich cookies and invited Mao Xiaotong aside to negotiate.

…………

Compared to Qi Wei, the original pioneer of the "black-and-red" route, Mao Xiaotong, who has only been out of school for two years, is really weak.

Lin Xingzhuo ate a Maltesers and sighed, "Why do women have to make things difficult for each other? It really is the scheming of a beauty!"

Xiao Ma said, "I've seen this woman before. I saw her photobook in one of the 'Men's Health' magazines when I sent one to a friend..."

Lin Xingzhu finished a bag of Maltesers, wiped his hands, and said:

"That issue of FHM was the first test of its censorship standards in an effort to salvage sales."

"I heard that he approached several female celebrities but was rejected. Qi Wei is the first to try this."

Xiao Ma fiddled with his Blackberry phone, checking Weibo messages:

"I think she's been getting a lot of flak on Weibo, with people saying she's the female celebrity who's stripped down the most..."

"Some people have commented that their lower back and knees are already weak, and they really can't keep up with the nutrition."

Lin Xingzhuo took out a cigarette, handed it to Xiao Ma, and said, "Is it miserable? I feel like she's enjoying it..."

"By the way, why did you send it to your friend's FHM magazine?"

Xiao Ma took the cigarette and said, "Oh, that scumbag who contracts the sand dredging boats on the Huangpu River has gone to study abroad. Brother Ye asked me to keep an eye on him."

Lin Xingzhu lit a cigarette and didn't ask any further questions.

…………

FHM magazine is most popular in prison.

Many people would rather not eat instant noodles than buy a copy of "Men's Health" magazine, which costs tens of yuan, and subscribe to it every month.

Among the most popular episodes were those featuring A Duo, Wang Ziwen, and Qi Wei...

The magazine also mentioned in an interview: "We have received many letters from prisons, and we have read what the brothers have to say. They are very well written."

…………

The chaos in the audition line subsided, and Lin Xingzhuo prepared to join the queue.

At that moment, a King Long bus pulled up in front of the hotel.

A slightly overweight man wearing a jacket and sneakers, carrying a megaphone and with a walkie-talkie on his waist.

"Hurry up! Bring all the interview materials in right now! Hurry!"

"Meeting room 1103! Get it set up!"

He directed a group of people to file in, carrying notice boards, name cards, camera equipment, fill lights, de-emphasis pens, props, costumes, documents, and other materials.

(End of this chapter)