Huayu, my cheat code is a bit strange.

Chapter 82 Building an Airplane: Starting with Stock Trading (Please read on, recommend, anything!)

The butterfly effect of Gu Xiao stealing the role of Duan Yu and causing Zhang Jizhong to lose face has begun to appear.

The most direct impact, besides the significant reduction in Zhang Jizhong and Yu Min's influence within the production team, was the emergency cancellation of the press conference scheduled to be held in the capital at the end of August.

According to Zhou Xiaowen, Zhang Jizhong plans to keep everything simple. The crew will go directly to JH City, Zhejiang Province for a low-key opening ceremony, and then immediately begin filming.

Zhou Xiaowen was very happy, as it meant the crew had several more days to prepare.

Gu Xiao was also very happy. These days, it's not easy to change plane tickets, so he could have the extra few days to himself.

On the first day of her vacation, Gu Xiao got up very early.

First, Luo Rui was arranged to take Xiao Jiu on a sleeper bus to Zhejiang Province. Then, with his wallet and documents in hand, he went straight to the nearest driving school registration point.

There weren't many people at the registration desk; only a few young people who looked like students were filling out forms.

Gu Xiao's appearance caused a small commotion.

He's now the man who interfered in Faye Wong and Nicholas Tse's relationship; all sorts of gossip magazines and entertainment publications are full of his photos.

Many young people recognize this face.

Gu Xiao ignored the whispers and walked straight to the counter.

"Sign up for driving lessons."

The staff member, a young woman, looked up and saw him, clearly startled for a moment. After realizing what was happening, she hurriedly pulled out a form and handed it to him.
"Please fill out the application form."

Gu Xiao took the form, leaned against the counter, and quickly filled it out with a pen.

Name, ID number, contact information. When he got to the "Occupation" column, he paused for a moment, but finally filled in "Student".

After filling out the form, paying the fee, having my photo taken, and following the instructions, I went to the next room for a simple medical check-up.

The process is simpler than you can imagine.

The staff carefully put away the materials, trying to sound professional in their tone:
"Here is your student ID and theoretical study materials. Your written exam application has been submitted, and the exam time is 9:00 AM the day after tomorrow."

After receiving the traffic regulations manual and student ID, Gu Xiao thanked them and turned to leave.

……

……

As Gu Xiao walked out of the driving school, she glanced at her phone; it was not yet 10 a.m.

He flagged down another taxi and told the driver, "Airport."

The driver responded, and the car merged into the traffic.

Gu Xiao leaned back in her seat, gazing at the street scenes rushing past the window.

He said he was saving money to buy a plane, but he knew in his heart that in this day and age, it wasn't easy for a self-employed person to earn 100 million yuan.

Starting a company and building a factory involves complicated procedures and complex management, which he finds troublesome and immediately ruled out.

Investing in real estate is simple, but the cycle is too long, and the rate of appreciation cannot keep up with his needs.

After much thought, the only way to leverage enormous wealth in a short period of time is through finance.

The SARS outbreak in 03 was a global crisis. Investing in pharmaceutical, protective, and disinfection companies at that time would have been incredibly lucrative.

From both a profit and security perspective, the current US stock market is far superior to the A-share market.

The car came to a stop at the airport departure level.

Gu Xiao paid the fare, got off the bus, and walked into the spacious and bright terminal building.

He had no checked luggage, only a carry-on backpack, and went straight to the international counter.

"The fastest flight to Hong Kong, economy class."

……

……

The holiday flew by.

Opening a US stock account was far more complicated than Gu Xiao had imagined.

Currently, China has strict financial regulations, and there is simply no convenient and compliant channel for directly exchanging large amounts of RMB for USD and remitting them out.

After several consultations, the solutions he received were all the same—he had to use a Hong Kong bank to first convert RMB into HKD, then HKD into USD, and then deposit the money into his securities account. This meant he would have to shuttle back and forth between the bank and the brokerage firm.

Helpless, Gu Xiao became a "paper king," shuttling between skyscrapers every day, battling various English documents, account opening forms, identity verification, and fund transfer procedures.

By the time all accounts were finally opened and the funds were successfully transferred, Gu Xiao had already missed the time for the driving test and, consequently, missed the flight arranged by the film crew.

"Whether you stick your neck out or not, you'll still get cut."

Gu Xiao looked at the string of missed calls on her phone, smiled wryly for a few seconds, and then dialed Zhou Xiaowen's number.

"Gu Xiao! Where are you?!"

Zhou Xiaowen's voice was filled with barely suppressed anger, "The whole crew is waiting for you! You're not answering the phone or replying to messages, what are you trying to do?!"

"Director Zhou, I'm sorry."

Gu Xiao said calmly, "I'm in Hong Kong dealing with some urgent matters and missed my flight."

Hong Kong?!

Zhou Xiaowen's voice rose eight octaves, "What were you doing there?! Did Wang Fei ask you to record a song again?"

"Some personal matters."

Gu Xiao didn't explain much, saying, "I will get to the filming location myself and won't delay the opening ceremony."

There was a few seconds of silence on the other end of the phone. Zhou Xiaowen's tone softened somewhat, but it still carried a hint of dissatisfaction:

"You'd better keep your word! Zhang Jizhong is already keeping an eye on you, don't give him any more ammunition! I'll have my assistant send you the specific address and schedule, figure out how to get here yourself!"

"Understood, thank you Director Zhou."

After hanging up the phone, Gu Xiao let out a sigh of relief.

He turned around and went back to his desk in the hotel room, opened the securities trading software, entered his account and password, the interface jumped to the account overview page.

Looking at the numbers clearly displayed on the screen, Gu Xiao's mood brightened a bit.

Current exchange rate: 1 US dollar equals 8.2773 Chinese yuan.

Apart from the 120,000 yuan he had set aside to cover the next few months of film crew life and possible emergencies, he transferred the remaining 4.2 million yuan through that tedious and complicated process.

What he finally saw was a balance of $100.81.

That's right. In addition to the principal of over 500,000 yuan that he redeemed, he also borrowed another 500,000 yuan.

One million US dollars!

This was the first time he had conducted such a large-scale monetary transaction since his transmigration, and it was an important cornerstone for him to leverage the future.

……

……

Shiguliao Film and Television City, Jinhua, Zhejiang Province.

Although it's called a "movie studio," it looks more like a large construction site at this moment.

Several antique-style buildings are beginning to take shape, and craftsmen are making final touches. The clanging and banging of construction can be heard in the distance.

The air was filled with the mixed smells of new wood, paint, and dust.

Most of the main actors and staff members of the crew had already arrived, gathering in twos and threes in the temporarily designated rest area, creating a somewhat subtle atmosphere.

The originally planned low-key opening ceremony seems to have been shrouded in uncertainty due to the absence of a key figure.

"Director Zhou, what's the situation with Gu Xiao?" Hu Jun leaned close to Zhou Xiaowen and asked in a low voice.

His face was filled with worry. Although Zhang Jizhong and Yu Min hadn't said anything explicitly these past few days, the atmosphere of waiting to see him make a fool of himself was almost undisguised.

Zhou Xiaowen also frowned, holding her phone and glancing at the screen every now and then.
He said he would find a way to get there himself.

Gao Hu, who was listening nearby, felt it was a bit risky. "The opening ceremony is this afternoon. Will he be able to make it?" Jinhua doesn't have an airport.

Liu Yifei sat quietly not far away, holding the script in her hands, but she couldn't concentrate on reading a single word.

She would glance toward the entrance of the cinema from time to time, her fingertips unconsciously curling up.

Liu Xiaoli saw her daughter's reaction and sighed inwardly.

What a terrible thing to do.
(End of this chapter)