Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 16 Entering Beijing
Riding a green-skinned train in 1990 would have been an even greater ordeal.

Fortunately, it's a short trip, so I can just bear with it and it will pass.

Because he hadn't contacted Dou Wei beforehand, after arriving in the capital, Zhang Yan first found a grocery store near the train station and used a public phone to call Dou Wei's pager.

Actually, Boss Hu originally wanted to pick him up at the station, but Zhang Yan wasn't entirely confident in him, so he didn't want the other party to control the pace of the whole trip. Therefore, he declined the offer by saying that he needed to visit a friend first.

After contacting the paging service, Zhang Yan thought it would be Jiang Xin calling back again, but to his surprise, Dou Wei called back shortly afterward.

Zhang Yan exclaimed in shock, "You have a telephone in your hospital room? You're not some high-ranking official's son, are you?!"

"What kind of phone? Have you ever seen a mobile phone?"

After Dou Wei got to know him better on the phone, he wasn't so taciturn anymore. He explained in a low voice on the phone, "Luan Shu recently met a Miss Hong Kong, and they happened to come to the hospital to see me together. I borrowed her mobile phone to make a call."

"I said so."

Zhang Yan suddenly realized and asked with a smile, "Which hospital are you in? I'll come see you in a bit."

"Look at me? You've come to the capital?!"

As Dou Wei spoke, his voice suddenly rose, and he said excitedly, "You've come at the right time. Let me call that bastard Ding Wu out, and we'll get to the bottom of things."

"Hey, don't move! The IV is about to leak!"

As soon as Dou Wei finished speaking, Jiang Xin's voice came over. The two seemed to have exchanged a few words, and then Jiang Xin snatched the mobile phone and gave the hospital address and bed number.

When Zhang Yan hung up the phone and went to pay, he noticed the September issue of "Popular Fiction Newspaper" prominently displayed on the magazine rack, and casually asked, "Boss, how are these magazines selling?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I'm planning to open a small newsstand in my hometown. I came to Beijing specifically to learn from their experience—following the capital is definitely the right thing to do!"

That's a valid point.

The boss believed him and casually flipped open the magazine, pointing to the title of "Detective of the Red Chamber" and said, "This magazine used to be just so-so, but recently there's a novel that's really fresh. It's about time travel, solving cases, reciting poetry, and flirting with old women. It sold out last month, and this month I specially ordered a hundred or so more copies."

Zhang Yan feigned surprise: "Really?"

“This is Beijing, the capital city. Would I lie to you?” the shopkeeper said, flipping through the pages again and pointing to the announcement at the end. “Look, look, they’re going to print a special edition on the 15th.”

Just then, a young man walked in and shouted, "Boss, has the latest episode of 'Dream of the Red Chamber Detective' come out yet?"

"It's out, it's out."

The shopkeeper gave Zhang Yan a "see for yourself" look, then handed the magazine to the young man: "Remember this, this is called 'Popular Fiction Newspaper.' If I hadn't been reading 'Dream of the Red Chamber Detective' too, I wouldn't have known what you were talking about."

"Who cares?"

The young man slammed the money on the counter and said nonchalantly, "I'm only interested in this now, I don't care about all the other clichés!"

Then, she added regretfully, "It's just a bit too plain."

"Be content, you think it's 1988? — By the way, it seems like the 'Dream of the Red Chamber Detective' magazine is going to release a special issue on the 15th, publishing 100,000 words straight out."

"real?!"

The young man was overjoyed: "Holy crap, I wish I could just travel straight to number 15!"

After seeing off the book lover, the shopkeeper turned around and saw Zhang Yan strolling out as well.

He quickly called out, "Hey, young man, aren't you going to buy a copy to take home for reference?"

"Let's talk about it when we go back to our hometown."

Zhang Yan waved his hand without turning his head, and then directly hailed a taxi.

"Bah~"

The boss spat in anger from behind: "You dare to take a taxi with just a shabby newsstand? You'll go broke sooner or later!" Zhang Yan didn't hear the boss's 'blessing,' so he was in a very good mood while sitting in the taxi.

Although he already knew that the magazine was selling well and the novel was well received by readers, witnessing firsthand the 'support' from the people of the capital still left him with mixed feelings.

…………

Just as Zhang Yan was feeling smug, the young actress Chen Hong also entered a bookstore by the roadside, wandering among the bookshelves with a worried expression, trying to find a novel or magazine that caught her eye.

She just graduated from the Shanghai Theatre Academy this summer and thought that with her experience of acting in five or six movies, including one as the female lead, she would be able to make a name for herself in the industry.

So after receiving her diploma, she resolutely came to Beijing—in the early 90s, the Beijing film and television circle was undoubtedly the most concentrated place for domestic film and television resources.

Who knew that without the cover of her student status, certain things began to be laid bare. In just these two months, she witnessed more of the despicable scheming and ruthlessness than she had in the previous several years.

Chen Hong is currently unwilling to compromise or give up, so she can only get some minor roles, which is a step backward compared to before.

The only saving grace is that her family is well-off, so she won't have to worry about making a living for the time being.

But if she kept hitting walls like this, Chen Hong didn't know how long she could hold on, or whether she would choose to give up or compromise.

Just then, a conversation in a corner of the bookstore caught her attention.

"Seriously? You want to read 'Dream of the Red Chamber'? When did you become so artsy?"

"Go away, I'm looking for 'The Great Detective of the Red Chamber,' which also features characters from the Dream of the Red Chamber, but the story is much more interesting—I can't get into the original Dream of the Red Chamber at all."

Two years ago, Chen Hong was selected to play Zijuan, Lin Daiyu's maid, in the film version of "Dream of the Red Chamber". She underwent training for more than half a year and listened to many expert lectures.

Unfortunately, the film version was too focused on artistry. Even with a larger budget, better equipment, and a more famous director and lead actors, it still ended up being a niche product after its release last year.

Because of this experience, Chen Hong is somewhat sensitive to this topic.

Many people can't get into the original "Dream of the Red Chamber," but what is this "Detective of the Red Chamber"? Is it an allegorical interpretation?
But if it's an allegorical interpretation, how could anyone find it more interesting than "Dream of the Red Chamber" itself?
Out of curiosity, after the two young men left, Chen Hong went over and picked up a copy of "Popular Fiction Newspaper" and flipped through it casually.

Upon seeing the name 'Zijuan' among them, she read on without any particular context.

This passage describes Zijuan reporting good news to Lin Daiyu: Xue Pan led Sun Shaozong to Pear Fragrance Courtyard and paid a visit to Aunt Xue, possibly because he had chosen Magistrate Sun as his brother-in-law.

In this way, no one will compete with Daiyu for Baoyu.

After reading this passage, Chen Hong was completely bewildered. Who was this Shuntian Prefecture Prefect Sun Shaozong? Did he even appear in the original novel?

Although it was confusing at first, the interaction between Zijuan and Lin Daiyu was written quite vividly and interestingly.

So she flipped through the pages again, wanting to see what the book was about, only to find out on the first page that it was actually a serialized novel, and that it had already reached its fourth installment.

After hesitating for a moment, Chen Hong took the magazine to the front desk and asked, "Boss, do you still have the previous issues of 'Popular Fiction Newspaper'?"

"It's gone, it's sold out long ago."

The shop owner casually raised his head, but when he saw Chen Hong's features and figure clearly, his body immediately went weak. He changed his tune and said, "I don't have any new ones, but I do have a set that I'm keeping for myself. If you don't mind, I can sell it to you."

Figure:

"This……"

Chen Hong was used to this kind of preferential treatment and didn't find it strange. What she was really struggling with was whether or not to buy the old books that the boss had read.

However, curiosity ultimately triumphed over his fastidiousness.

So on September 1, 1990, Chen Hong learned for the first time what time travel was, what fan fiction of Dream of the Red Chamber was, and how far human relationships could be distorted.

Of course, she also remembered the author's name—Zhang Yan.

(End of this chapter)