A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

Chapter 6 Album Release
"Hey, look, look, who's this?"

"Hehe! Mom, it's me!"

"Hiss... Lin Guodong, look at him, he looks a bit like our young master!"

"Mom, haha, well, I was just passing by, dropping by. Okay, I've already seen you and Dad, so I'll be right back now..."

"Get back here!"

For the past month or so, I've been recording and filming music videos. Part of it is because I'm busy, part of it is intentional, and the other 90% is because I have a recording budget and I can't let it go to waste. So, I took the opportunity to book a room at the New Grand Hotel to stay a little later.

Don't be fooled by the fact that the New Grand Hotel was a hotel catering to foreign guests in the 1990s. The rooms not only had heating, but also standard bathrooms with 24-hour hot water. After a busy day, you could take a nice, relaxing shower...

My parents are definitely my real parents, but they're not my actual parents. Even though I inherited all of my predecessor's memories, I still feel a bit awkward. More importantly, the west wing of the large courtyard where the Lin family lives has a total of four rooms, which are divided into two households, with the Lin family occupying only two rooms.

One room served as the living room, dining room, and office where Comrade Lin Guodong graded assignments. The other room was divided in two, with no wall between them. It was just separated by a woven bamboo pole made of hemp stalks, which created two bedrooms. The rooms were so small that they could only fit a bed. Not only was there no soundproofing, but it was also very cold!

These days, how could a tenement building possibly provide heating?
There was a coal stove in the house, but with that little bit of heat, what good was it against this old house that was almost drafty from all sides? Not to mention that Lin's mother was worried about the cost of coal, so at night she would not only block the bottom air vent, but also put a brick on top to save on coal. She would put two pieces of coal on at nine o'clock at night, and then get up at six in the morning to pry it open. Hey, she could still cook a meal!

Given the chance, Lin Jianlu would certainly not want to stay at home.

"Mom, you're overthinking it! I just think that you and Dad aren't old yet, we're in our forties, the prime of our lives. If I'm always living next door, I don't want to keep Dad feeling stifled..."

The couple were stunned for a long time before they came to their senses.

That brat actually dared to tell his parents dirty jokes! And they were their dirty jokes!

Lin's mother casually picked up the broom next to her, and Comrade Lin Guodong immediately blushed.

"You little brat..."

Actually, there's no need to dodge. It won't hurt if you hit me through my wool pants. Lin's mom doesn't want to hit me hard either, but she still has to pretend to dodge. "Ouch, ouch, it hurts, it hurts... You're my real mother, aren't you! Just kidding..."

"Just kidding! Just kidding! I'll show you what a joke is!"

After chasing and hitting her a few times, she got tired. She glared at Lin Jianlu resentfully, panting heavily. Lin Jianlu leaned over and patted her back. "Look, you're tired! Mom, sit down. We'll continue hitting you after you've rested!"

He threw down the broom and yelled, "Get out! Get out of here right now! I fucking hate the sight of you!"

However, once the three of them sat back down, hey, the atmosphere immediately became just right.

It instantly felt like a warm, family-like atmosphere.

"How do you eat? Where do you sleep? Oh, you still sleep in that new Dadu? No wonder you don't want to go home! Your recording... oh, is it finished? Did you say when you'd pay the rest of the money? No, I'm not urging you, it's just that those Kuomintang bastards in Taiwan... who knows if they'll go back on their word? Money is best kept in your pocket!"

"What's this? Lamb? Okay, perfect, we'll have lamb dumplings for the New Year, no need to buy any more! Wow! This must weigh over ten pounds! Our family doesn't need that much, so here are three portions. Tomorrow morning you go to your grandpa's house, and then go to your grandma's house. One portion for each of the three families, then we won't need to buy any more! That's enough for making dumplings!"

"Silly! Of course you have to deliver it. Your grandparents and great-grandparents are all worried about you. Every time they see you, they ask if Xiaolu has found a job yet! If you deliver it, they'll ask, 'There are still ten days until the New Year. What kind of mutton did you buy? It's so expensive!' Just say you bought it. Wouldn't that make it seem like you've already made money?"

"Don't even mention record companies. What kind of legitimate job is that? It's run by a bunch of Taiwanese spies. Besides, they're so old, what do they know about record companies? Just say you're driving for a friend, and you got your first paycheck, so you bought some mutton to celebrate."

"You don't know anything! Private companies are better than enemy spy companies! And record companies... just hearing that makes you look like they're starving! At least they're not sure where their next meal is coming from!"

"Sigh, it's just that the times are a bit off. These days, the good companies, you can't even get in without a high school diploma. And the ones with poor performance... Sigh, layoffs are so disheartening. It's easy to leave but hard to get back in... Just hang in there, maybe things will get better in a couple of years! Then I'll pull some strings and try to get into a respectable company. It'll be more prestigious, and easier to find a wife..."

"Your ten thousand yuan... what good is that! Can you guarantee you'll get ten thousand yuan every year from now on? And that's only if it's a legitimate company, even three hundred a month is more reliable than this!"

"Hey, let me tell you, you better watch your step. Don't mess with those shady characters out there, or any of them. If you dare bring any of them home, you'll see how I beat you up!"

"I had your dad deposit that ten thousand yuan for you. Our family has some savings over the years. When the time is right, we'll ask a real estate agent to get you two rooms. As for you, if you're capable, pick the best one. We don't need her to be a college graduate, after all, you only have a junior high school diploma, nothing special. We'll just pick someone who looks like a good kid, well-behaved, with good character, who can tolerate you, and preferably with a decent job. We'll marry her..." "Bullshit! Don't you know what kind of temper you have? What am I supposed to do if I don't tolerate you? Will the two of you fight all the time? I'm not going to mediate for you! A mother-in-law trying to mediate is caught in the middle!"

"What good is being pretty! Turn off the lights and you're all Yang Guifei, aren't you? Let me tell you, stop staring at pretty girls. Find someone of average height, slightly plump, the kind who's healthy and doesn't get sick... Getting sick means spending money on medical treatment, right? Not only does she not get sick, she can handle things, and she's fertile! And if she's like that, she'll also have a good temperament, won't cause trouble for you outside, and hey, she'll be good at managing the household and living a good life!"

"Stop giving me that crap! What era are we living in? It's the age of commodities! Of course, being good-looking is an advantage for boys, but what good is being good-looking when it comes to making a living? Supporting the family, supporting the wife, supporting the children—you can't function for a day without money! These days, any girl who's even remotely pretty is after money!"

"Remember this, I'll say it again: Don't find someone who's as thin as a stick, the kind that could be blown away by a strong wind! Delicate! Nagging! Can't do any work! Always having a headache or a fever, she's never feeling well!"

"Hey! Lin Guodong, did you hear that? What your son just said... well, even a fart smells, but your son's words have absolutely no humanity!"

"Stop talking nonsense! You should know our financial situation. Those thrushes are beautiful, but we can't afford to raise them. They're not birds you can keep!"

…………

The young man sleeps on a cold kang (heated brick bed), relying entirely on his strong constitution.

After sleeping in a cold little room for a night, I have to say, I wasn't quite used to it.

Fortunately, the blankets were thick, so she didn't catch a cold. She went for a run in the morning and, as usual, brought back a bag of breakfast. While the family was eating breakfast, Lin Jianlu made a wish to her parents, "Dad, Mom, when I make some money, let's buy a house in Fangchengyuan and move there!"

"Get lost! It's so early in the morning, you're still dreaming!"

Alright, less talk, more food!

There's an old saying online: "Never underestimate a young person's potential!" You just wait until I become famous!
…………

Before I knew it, and without even knowing what I was busy with each day, most of February 1996 had already passed by in a blur.

The Spring Festival is just around the corner.

I'll meet up with my childhood friends and catch up with some new ones. The two girls from the Gao family across the street have also come back from university for vacation. Unlike previous years, Lin Jianlu has returned from military service, which has scared Old Gao so much that he's keeping a close watch on her, afraid that Lin Jianlu will mess with his two daughters.

Lin's father follows the students' schedule at school, so he gets an early holiday. He takes his 1.83-meter-tall son to clean the house and buys New Year's goods everywhere. When they get back, they quickly pack everything up so that Lin's mother can finish processing it later.

Then, Lin's mother finally got her annual leave.

Although her factory only pays her half a year's salary, the holidays are too short; she only gets four days of annual leave.

The family was busy packing up New Year's goods, preparing New Year's Eve dinner and dumplings, and then watching the Spring Festival Gala and setting off firecrackers together.

Hey, that's when Lin Jianlu's true colors as a troublemaker really shine. No one in the entire tenement, boys and girls, a few years older or younger, is afraid of him!

The two daughters of the Gao family in the east wing across the street were so frightened by Lin Jianlu's double-bang kick that they screamed and hid behind him. Old Gao, standing in the corridor, was furious.

Then, we visited relatives and exchanged New Year's greetings.

Lin Jianlu's first Spring Festival after transmigrating to this world passed by uneventfully.

Oh, right, he also saw Guo Da and Cai Ming perform a skit on the Spring Festival Gala called "The Amusing Stories of Robots," which was quite avant-garde, and the scriptwriter was none other than Feng Xiaogang!

Then, just as the Spring Festival was about to end, on the twelfth day of the first lunar month, March 1st in the Gregorian calendar, Lin Jianlu's first solo album, "Cold to the End," was officially released simultaneously in Mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong!

And on March 1st, as part of the pre-arranged promotional plan, the Capital TV broadcast the music video for "Cold to the End" during the 7:00 AM "Music TV" program!

(End of this chapter)