Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 58 Living in the Capital is Not Easy

I got home in the afternoon.

Because he was forced to take on the challenge, Zhang Yan lacked the motivation to write, and originally wanted to take a nap first.

Unexpectedly, her mother called, saying that the landlord in Beijing had contacted her, claiming that he had persuaded the old man to sell the house.

Zhang Yan acted on impulse back then. Now that Zhou Tao is already married, why would he still buy that dilapidated rental house?

Especially when you hear that the price isn't cheap, there's even less reason to buy it.

However, buying a house in Beijing is still very necessary.

Chen Hong has a legitimate job in Beijing—she is an actress at the Capital Youth Art Theatre—and Beijing is also the place with the richest film and television resources.

After filming "Tianjin Wei", Chen Hong will definitely return to Beijing.

So Zhang Yan thought about buying a bigger house in Beijing, so he could visit Chen Hong every now and then, which would be a modern version of keeping a mistress in a golden house.

It just so happens that my younger sister Zhang Fang is also going to study in the capital, so I can keep an eye on her and prevent her from going astray.

After telling his mother about his thoughts, Sun Xiaohong neither supported nor opposed them, only saying that her son was now grown up and it was time for him to make his own decisions.

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Yan couldn't fall asleep again.

So he simply called Guo Chuanlin again to ask how he could buy a satisfactory house in Beijing.

Upon hearing this, Guo Chuanlin advised, "If I were you, I would wait a few years. Ever since Cheng Long bought eight courtyard houses last year, the prices of second-hand houses in Beijing have been inflated. People are practically selling houses like gold."

Farmhouses near the Third Ring Road dare to ask for 20,000 yuan, while those inside the Third Ring Road have risen to 40,000 or 50,000 yuan! Moreover, the property rights are all messed up, and you'll have to pay at least another 20,000 or 30,000 yuan to settle things.

Those houses don't even have heating. Some of them trip the circuit breaker when you turn on two fans. Why would you buy that junk?
I heard that Jackie Chan was also fooled; he spent millions, thinking he was buying some famous historical site.

Zhang Yan initially thought the landlady was trying to rip him off, but after hearing Guo Chuanlin's words, he realized they were actually quite fair.

Undeterred, he asked, "What if it's a new house?"

"The new houses are all reserved by government agencies, and only a few are available on the market. Without connections, you can't get a chance at all—unless it's an international transaction. These days, having a big nose and blue eyes is a passport, more useful than any other connection!"

Although he has neither money nor a house, Guo Chuanlin spoke of Beijing's housing prices with obvious resentment.

This conversation chilled Zhang Yan to the bone.

However, after hanging up the phone, he tried hard to recall the relevant information from his dream. It seemed that housing prices in Beijing would become more and more expensive in the future, and the scope had expanded to the Sixth Ring Road.

By then, the Third Ring Road will be considered part of the core area.

Considering all this, the inflated housing prices that Guo Chuanlin mentioned are actually quite reasonable.

The only problem is that transferring property ownership is quite complicated.

Adding in the fees for pulling strings to upgrade the water and electricity systems, I estimate that the 100,000 yuan I have on hand will just be enough—as for the rural courtyards outside the Third Ring Road, the property rights for those things are currently impossible to determine.

Thinking of this, Zhang Yan silently spread out paper and pen on his desk—no matter how much he talked to Editor-in-Chief Feng or Director Duan, it was far less effective than reality in educating him.

High housing prices can turn all young people into workaholics until they can't keep up and finally give up.

The first thing to determine when starting a new book is the subject matter.

Zhang Yan had actually thought of this long ago, or rather, he was inspired by a middle-aged author.

The author of "Middle-Aged Man in a Dream" is currently writing about the resurgence of spiritual energy during the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty. In order to deal with the frequent occurrence of supernatural events in various places, the imperial court established a special official agency to prevent, study and deal with them.

Zhang Yan plans to bring this spiritual revival to the modern era, changing it into a meteor shower-induced explosion of supernatural abilities.

Because of the qigong craze that has continued since the 1980s, special abilities are almost a household term.

There are many novels about supernatural abilities on the market, and there are also some related films and TV series. For example, there was Stephen Chow's famous work "God of Gamblers" last year, as well as the mainland children's fantasy "Bridget Jones's Daughter".

However, these film and literary works focus on individuals or groups with special abilities, and rarely involve national-level forces.

Even if they do appear, it's only because they've been appreciated and promoted by some big shot, or because some big shot covets them and sends people to hunt them down.

The involvement of a systematic national force is currently a blank area, let alone the involvement of a leading national organization in its formation and management.

Another purpose is to use supernatural abilities to advance the nation's scientific and technological strength.

The recent Gulf War has left the country in a state of panic, with people looking at the Americans as if they were aliens.

A large number of people lost faith in their home country, which triggered the wave of emigration in the 90s.

But many more people hope that the country can quickly become strong and avoid repeating the century of humiliation of the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China. Having the protagonist use his superpowers to promote the development of national defense technology and even gain a certain degree of advantage over the Western world perfectly caters to this sentiment and this trend.

Ultimately, the most important thing about popular fiction is to find the pain points of most readers and hit their sweet spot.

These two can be considered the main storylines.

Then there's the character design.

The protagonist is a young man who graduated from high school but failed to get into university. He accidentally gains the special ability to manipulate metal, which makes it easier to align with promoting technology.

As for the female lead, we'll first set up a seemingly cold but actually warm-hearted older sister teammate, and a villainous girl who is both righteous and evil, friend and foe.

…………

After working on the outline for a day and a half, Zhang Yan didn't rush to start writing.

Instead, they planned to conduct a questionnaire survey within the magazine to gather everyone's expertise and deduce some novel and interesting special abilities.

Once the book begins serialization, he also plans to hold a public vote to determine the abilities of some characters, in order to give readers a greater sense of participation.

Feng Jingyuan greatly appreciated this idea.

However, he was somewhat uneasy about Zhang Yan's plan to describe how to manage and restrain people with special abilities from a national perspective, since not everyone could handle such a grand scheme.

On the other hand, he felt that using superpowers to advance defense technology was a brilliant idea, and given the complex emotions people in China have towards the United States, it would definitely resonate with countless people.

However, the two complement each other, so Feng Jingyuan couldn't bear to persuade Zhang Yan to give up. In the end, he could only help Zhang Yan improve some details with a mix of trepidation and anticipation.

When it comes to writing popular novels, he can't even come close to Zhang Yan, but when it comes to the operational logic of government agencies, that's where our Editor-in-Chief Feng excels.

“I used to be in charge of publicity work in the district government, but I failed to get the position and was transferred to the magazine.”

Editor-in-Chief Feng couldn't help but sigh when he recalled the past.

However, he quickly put the past aside and asked curiously, "By the way, what name are you going to give to this organization that targets people with superpowers in the book?"

"Let's call it 'relevant departments,' firstly to keep a low profile, and secondly to make a joke about the ubiquitous 'relevant departments.'"

"That's appropriate."

Feng Jingyuan nodded slowly, a hint of disappointment on his face.

Zhang Yan asked curiously, "Editor-in-Chief Feng, if you were to name it, what would you choose?"

Feng Jingyuan replied without hesitation, "The Chinese Dragon Group!"

uh~
Actually, from the perspective of 91, this name sounds pretty cool.

Feeling that the conversation had gone on long enough, Zhang Yan stood up and said, "Editor-in-Chief Feng, I'm counting on you for the questionnaire."

"Don't worry about that. Go back and hurry up and write it. Our July issue is all counting on you!"

Zhang Yan agreed verbally, and went straight to the shooting location after leaving the magazine office—making money was important, but he couldn't let down the beauty.

The filming location has now been moved to an outdoor swimming pool.

When Zhang Yan arrived, the four girls from the synchronized swimming team were getting used to the venue, and their colorful swimsuits immediately caught his eye.

So much so that he didn't even notice Chen Hong approaching him.

"stop looking."

Chen Hong wasn't annoyed at all, and said with a smile, "The crew has a great job for you."

"What a cushy job!"

Zhang Yan reluctantly withdrew his gaze. Although he had seen people without clothes before, he still had a special fascination with swimsuits.

Just as he was distracted, Chen Hong suddenly said, "Come with me to buy a swimsuit for filming."

"Let's go!"

Zhang Yan's eyes lit up, and he immediately forgot about the scenery in the pool.

Seeing that he came and went quickly, Tao Hong, soaking in the water, was heartbroken and disappointed, but a stubbornness unconsciously welled up in her eyes.

(End of this chapter)