Huayu 1995

Chapter 4: Both are equally poor
"Hello Uncle Li, I'm Su Chao. I met Brother Li when we were on the set of the movie 'Hippocampus Ballroom'."

Su Chao saw Li Yu heading towards his father's side, so he followed him.

I also chatted with Li Yu about the scene we just filmed.

When he arrived, he greeted Li Baotian in a very open and friendly manner.

"Oh, once you're on set, just focus on acting."

Seeing that Su Chao remained calm and composed even while dressed as a common soldier, Li Baotian immediately looked at him with newfound respect.

Even seasoned veterans would never suspect that this person didn't actually know his son; he was just taking advantage of the situation and trying to establish a connection.

Of course, he didn't know Su Chao and had never met him before, so it was unrealistic to expect him to be very enthusiastic.

"Thank you, Uncle Li. I just want to gain some experience and broaden my horizons. I think only by seeing the high mountains can one understand the height of performance. I really envy Brother Li. He can see the height of performance every day."

That's pure flattery.

However, it was filmed at a very high level and was not too offensive.

"You really need to accumulate more experience at this stage..."

Li Baotian didn't talk much, but the natural conversation he had with Su Chao was already very satisfying.

He was just putting on a show for the group leader.

The extras in the foreground are paid 60 yuan a day, and the group leader takes 30 yuan. If you can keep the group leader in check, you can take less of his share, and he might even take the initiative to look for Su Chao next time.

“Lord He, you are a towering figure,” Su Chao praised Wang Gang, “After watching your performance, I feel that the historical Heshen should have been just like you.”

You, an extra, suddenly run up to the lead actor to join in the fun.

The crew will definitely stop you. Even if the crew doesn't stop you, their assistants will block you from the side so you don't disturb the work.

Su Chao was using Li Yu's name.

However, Li Yu wasn't stupid. He had no connection with Su Chao, so naturally he wouldn't help Su Chao with introductions.

This requires Su Chao to be particularly good at speaking.

Upon hearing this, Wang Gang immediately laughed: "The way you're saying that makes me feel like you're insulting me."

Wang Gang initially did not want to act in this TV series because he had never acted in a TV series before, and more importantly, he did not want to play a major villain like Heshen. So he refused on the grounds of going abroad. However, a month later, the production team called him again to ask if he had returned from abroad.

Wang Gang was then moved and decided to take the role.

To play the role of Heshen well, he consulted a large amount of historical materials to understand the character of Heshen, and it can be said that he devoted all his efforts to this role.

Su Chao's words left him with mixed feelings.

On the one hand, I am pleased that my efforts have been recognized, but on the other hand, I feel a sense of absurdity that I cannot escape.

Su Chao didn't linger. After showing his face, he politely went to take his place.

Know when to stop, or you'll easily annoy people.

The lead actors were also urged to start filming.

Li Baotian stood up with some difficulty and pounded his lower back a few times.

He wasn't actually hunchbacked, but he kept hunching over to play Liu Luoguo well, which made his back ache after each scene.

As Wang Gang walked away, he chuckled and said, "That kid just now had some talent; he has a good eye."

Does Wang Gang's portrayal of Heshen resemble the character?
No, Heshen should be like you, Wang Gang!
For an actor, this is probably the highest praise one can receive.

"I guess he's from some college. Er Mao didn't get in, but some of his friends did."

"Then the future looks even brighter!"

After that, Su Chao didn't find another opportunity to get closer to him.

They did not attempt to contact Wang Gang or Li Baotian to visit their personal shops.

Su Chao's underwear is cleaner than his face right now, so even if he had something good, it would be useless.

He also met Yan Guanying, who played Liu Quan, Heshen's steward. Although he looks like Captain Jia, he is actually quite talented. He started publishing articles in 87 and won many awards.

Opportunities aren't everywhere on a film set.

It's rare for an actor to break their leg or quit acting in a fit of anger, allowing Su Chao to take over the role.

Ruan Xun's portrayal of the Jiaqing Emperor might be suitable for Su Chao.

Moreover, Ruan Xun was born in 1977, the same age as Su Chao.

Unfortunately, Ruan Xun's parents were both civil servants in the capital. At the age of 15, he went to Beijing TV to become the host of the entertainment program "Seven Colors of Light". It was Zhang Guoli who recommended him to act in "Prime Minister Liu Luo Guo".

Su Chao could follow him at night and break his leg, making it impossible for him to continue playing the role.

Unfortunately, Su Chao really couldn't do such a thing.

He adheres to the principle of "I will not offend others unless they offend me," and even when he is entrapped, he will only pull the line when the fish takes the bait.

We finished work before 3 p.m., still more than two hours away from a full day. Big production crews are different; they pay you for the whole day.

Su Chao earned a total of sixty yuan.

The group leader didn't take a single penny.

Even Lu Bu and Guo Xiaodong only had ten yuan taken from them.

This is already very good.

If it weren't for Su Chao's sake, it would be normal for him to take half of it, and you wouldn't be able to call him greedy, since he earned more in one day than Lu Bu usually earned in three days.

Furthermore, the group leader also reminded everyone to be on time at 7:30 tomorrow morning.

In other words, even tomorrow's work is secured.

Finishing work so early, we definitely can't just wash up and go to sleep. Lu Bu said he wanted to go to a karaoke bar to keep watch, while Guo Xiaodong said he wanted to go to a restaurant to wash dishes.

Both of them suggested that Su Chao also find a part-time job.

"Hey guys, wait a minute, I need to talk to you about something."

Su Chao called out to them.

"what's up?"

"Do you have any money? Lend me some!"

Su Chao spoke with absolute certainty.

Upon hearing this, Lü Bu suddenly had the illusion that he was about to be robbed.

"The fifty I earned today..."

Guo Xiaodong was very savvy. Although he was exhausted after a long day, he was able to get into the "Prime Minister Liu Luoguo" crew and even booked work for tomorrow with the production manager. He owed it all to his friend Su Chao.

"Not enough, is there any more?"

Su Chao took it, then shook his head.

Lu Bu also handed over the fifty dollars he had just received and hadn't even had a chance to warm them up.

"Anything else? Take out everything you have!" Perhaps it's because he's been robbed so many times, but Su Chao has already mastered the art of robbery.

This is what is meant by becoming a doctor through long-term illness.

"How much does it cost?"

Guo Xiaodong was in a dilemma, as he and Su Chao didn't actually have a deep relationship.

However, after spending a short day together...

From taking the initiative to strike up a conversation with Li Yu to secure the opportunity for the three of them to join the crew, to chatting and laughing with Li Baotian and Wang Gang on set, Su Chao left a very deep impression on him.

He had no doubt that Su Chao was trying to swindle him out of his money.

My only worry is that I, in my poverty and destitution, won't be able to help.

"Take them all out. You don't want me to be sent to a labor camp because I don't have a temporary residence permit, do you?"

Su Chao urgently needs to solve this problem.

From the 1990s until 2003, the temporary residence permit was something that people feared.

"I have a total of... two hundred here, they're all here."

Guo Xiaodong breathed a sigh of relief. If he remembered correctly, a temporary residence permit now costs 20 yuan per month, 240 yuan per year, plus an 8 yuan processing fee, which is less than 250 yuan in total.

"Give it all to me, Lü Bu, do you have any more?"

Su Chao has no capital left, and as a reborn person and a seasoned veteran of the underworld who has been around for over ten years in his previous life, he is bound to take an unconventional path.

So, let's borrow money!
What's the difference between lending money and cheating? Jia Zhangke said that lending money is cheating your friends out of their money.

"I only have a little over a hundred pounds left, and I still need to eat..."

Despite saying this, Lü Bu obediently took off his shoes and took out the remaining grain from under the insoles.

"Tsk tsk, the three of us are really evenly poor..."

Su Chao himself has a little over seventy yuan, Guo Xiaodong has two hundred and fifty, and Lü Bu has one hundred and fifty. He didn't take any change.

They couldn't even scrape together 500 yuan.

Guo Xiaodong and Lü Bu both lowered their heads in shame.

"I have a plan... Don't you all understand?" Su Chao sighed and said, "I'm planning to start an art exam training class!"

"what?!"

The two of them stared blankly at Su Chao, as if they were looking at a silly idiot.

“I took the exam last year and failed. I took it again this year and failed again. If you are going to take the exam, you should definitely do more preparation.”

Guo Xiaodong's brain optimized his hearing.

He interpreted Su Chao's words as Su Chao going to attend a training course.

Training courses are really useful for art exams.

The price was too high, so Guo Xiaodong failed the exam for two consecutive years and couldn't afford to attend a training course.

"What I mean is, I want to start a training course and teach other people!"

Su Chao spoke each word with exceptional clarity.

He silenced the two brothers again.

Lu Bu opened his mouth, wanting to say, "Why don't you just give the money back to us?"

But he didn't dare; he was afraid of getting beaten up.

"Now, I'll briefly explain my plan and then assign tasks to you."

Since we can't find anyone else for the time being, we can only use these two idiots who have never seen the world.

Guo Xiaodong and Lü Bu exchanged a glance, intending to listen to what Su Chao had to say.

"First, I need to use the money we've raised to register my songwriting copyrights, and then..."

Su Chao would never use those few hundred yuan to run a training course.

"Can you still write songs?"

Guo Xiaodong's eyes immediately became clear.

He couldn't help but recall the scene of Su Chao chatting and laughing with Li Baotian and Wang Gang on the set, and he cursed himself in his heart. How could such an awesome person be a fool?

"A little bit."

Su Chao believes that one should be more low-key.

“When I watch karaoke bars, I see that the resident singers, some of whom sing their own original songs, basically don’t spend money on this.”

Lu Bu weakly offered a reminder.

"How can that be the same? Nobody wants to copy those lousy songs of theirs, but mine is destined to be a hit."

"Goodbye" is one of Zhang Zhenyue's most representative works. Every graduation season, this song becomes a tearjerker on the internet.

Guo Xiaodong and Lü Bu had no tears; they were both covered in cold sweat.

"After I'm done, I need to find a place to sing karaoke. Lu Bu, go tell the manager of the karaoke bar where you work that you've discovered a handsome guy who sings incredibly well, and he's singing a song you've never heard before..."

Su Chao devised a plan on the spot.

"..."

The two of them may never have been speechless more times in their lives than they have today.

"Why not just apply to a karaoke bar? I see they all..."

Lu Bu wiped his sweat and frankly admitted his lack of understanding.

"Isn't that obvious? What's delivered to your door is never as valuable as what you personally ask for. I have a lot of confidence in my song, especially now that it's summer vacation, which is when students are most active."

Su Chao did consider contacting a record company.

Unfortunately, there's a concept in the music industry called the "94 New Generation".

Between 93 and 94, the mainland introduced a contract system, which sparked fierce competition across the country. A large number of record companies, with their own signed artists, sprang up like mushrooms after rain.

In 1994 alone, hundreds of new albums by signed singers were released in the mainland music scene.

"Xiao Fang", "Smiling Face", "Shaking the Sun", "Love Bird", "The Big Sedan Chair", "Water Town in My Dreams", "I Will Never Understand Your Tenderness", "Are You Doing Well in a Foreign Land?", "The One Who Cares About You Is Me"...

Golden hits are played every day.

It can be said that 94 was the most frenzied year for the star-making movement in the mainland music scene. From record companies to singers, songwriters, and fans, everyone was caught up in an unprecedented frenzy.

However, the good times didn't last long. This rush to sign contracts exposed various problems in the second year.

If 94 was a year of unprecedented signings, then 95 was a year of contract terminations where brilliance faded into mediocrity.

All the major companies are busy fighting lawsuits with their artists, who the hell would be interested in signing newcomers?

Record companies aren't signing any artists this year!
(End of this chapter)