1990: Starting from Baojia Street

Domestic films today are at another extreme in terms of the proportion of film remuneration, with the proportion of film remuneration being too low.

Although in recent years, more and more actors are working on their own, and more and more actors are able to get high pay.

But most actors still can only get relatively low wages.

For some movies, actors' pay only accounts for a fraction of the total production cost, or can even be negligible.

Zhou Yan actually took advantage of this when he filmed "Time Traveler".

In the crew, for actors from the mainland like Li Jingfei, although Zhou Yan paid them a pay much higher than the mainland average, it is still not comparable to that of actors from Hong Kong.

……

After completing the post-production of "Time Traveler", Zhou Yan originally planned to take a good rest for two days. He had been working non-stop during this period and felt a little tired.

Since it was a break, he didn't go anywhere and just stayed at home.

It happened that the weather in Yanjing was good these days, with sunshine every day. During the day, he moved a chair into the yard to bask in the sun and read.

The temperature in Yanjing in late November was already quite low, but Zhou Yan's yard was still relatively warm. He boiled a pot of black tea on a charcoal stove and did not need to look for other food. The warm sun and the tea would make him feel warm.

Zhou Yan only spent one day in this pleasant day.

The next morning, not long after Zhou Yang got up, the principal Liu Lin called and asked him to go to the school to report on his work.

The school has approved his appointment as deputy director of the Orchestra Department.

Although this deputy director position is a sinecure and Zhou Yan doesn't have to do anything, he has to show up as a new official.

Even if it's just for show, it's necessary.

After receiving Liu Lin’s call, Zhou Yan went to school immediately.

Instead of looking for Liu Lin, he went directly to the office of Qu Ke, the director of the Orchestra Department.

Qu Ke graduated from our school in the 1960s and stayed on to teach there until today, when he is about to retire.

Zhou Yan had had a lot of contact with Qu Ke before, and his impression of Qu Ke was that he was a good guy.

Qu Ke was a very silent person, and Zhou Yan rarely heard him speak when he had been in contact with him before.

As a department head, being too silent is definitely not a good thing, but Qu Ke is quite efficient in his work. For example, he contributed a lot to the cooperation between the Youth Piano Orchestra and the orchestra.

Seeing Zhou Yan, Qu Ke said with a smile, "Teacher Zhou, welcome to the Orchestra Department."

Zhou Yan also laughed, "I'm new here, Director Qu, please take care of me in the future."

"The orchestra is your home too. You don't need me to take special care of it."

Qu Ke is just quiet at ordinary times, but since he can sit in the position of department head, he must be familiar with the ways of the world.

He knew that Zhou Yan's development in school would definitely be good. This time coming to the Orchestra Department as the deputy director was just a transition. He would have to return to the Composition Department in the future, and there would be no conflict with him.

Even though Zhou Yan's position as deputy director is not a sinecure, there is actually no conflict between him and Qu Ke.

Qu Ke won't be able to stay in the position of director of the Orchestra Department for much longer. The only real threat would be from Deputy Director Sun Dong.

"Director Qu, where is my workstation? Is there any handover procedure?"

"We don't have any procedures here, and I don't know what procedures you have over there."

Logically speaking, Zhou Yan was the assistant principal before and now he has been transferred to the Orchestra Department as deputy director. He must have work to hand over to the new assistant principal.

But the problem is that Zhou Yan's position as assistant to the principal was just a nominal one. He did very little during his tenure, so naturally there was no need for a handover.

When Liu Lin called, he also mentioned this matter and told him not to worry about anything else and just come to the Orchestra Department directly.

"I don't have anything to hand over."

"Okay then." Qu Ke nodded, "I'll take you to your workstation."

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Why bother you with such a small matter? Just tell me the place and I'll go there myself, or you can assign someone to contact me."

"That's fine. After all, you're familiar with everyone in our department. How about this? You go find Qin Hong. She was the one who arranged your workstation. In fact, if you just go to our collective office and take a look, the one with nothing on the table must be your workstation."

"Okay, I'll go find Sister Qin right away. Director, do you have anything else to tell me?"

"Nothing else, but since you're new to the orchestra department, I'm planning to host a welcome party for you. Are you free tonight?"

Hearing that Qu Ke wanted to welcome him, Zhou Yan smiled and said, "How about this, I just got here, give me a chance to show off. I'll make arrangements tonight and treat everyone to a meal."

"It's your first day here, so there's no reason for me to ask you to treat me to a meal."

"Hey, Director, don't argue with me about this. Let me show my skills. I happen to have an acquaintance in a nearby restaurant, and it's easy to book a private room."

Seeing that Zhou Yan didn't seem to be being polite, Qu Ke nodded and said, "In that case, I'll let you pay for it. I'll talk to them this afternoon."

If it were someone else, Qu Ke probably wouldn't agree, but Zhou Yan was different. Zhou Yan was a wealthy man.

It’s not that Zhou Yan is rich and Qu Ke has to treat him to a meal, but Zhou Yan is relatively rich and Qu Ke is afraid that if he arranges it, it may not be to Zhou Yan’s liking, so he simply lets Zhou Yan arrange it himself.

"Okay, I'll trouble you, Director Qu."

After coming out of Qu Ke’s office, Zhou Yan went directly to the orchestra’s large office.

As soon as he entered the office, a young man sitting near the door asked with a smile, "Teacher Zhou, how come you have time to come here today?"

The person speaking is Song Xu, a student of violin class 88, who stayed in the department to teach after graduation.

Song Xu had also been in the Piano Youth Orchestra for a period of time before he withdrew last year.

Therefore, when Song Xu met Zhou Yan, he felt very familiar and very happy.

Zhou Yan responded with a smile, "I'm here to see Director Qin."

"Oh, Director Qin..."

Song Xu was about to turn around to look at Qin Hong's workstation when Qin Hong stood up and said with a smile, "Teacher Zhou... Oh, I should call you Director Zhou now."

"Director Zhou?" Song Xu's eyes widened. "Teacher Zhou, is the new deputy director you?"

Song Xu had heard that their orchestra was going to have a new deputy director, but he didn't know who this person was.

When Qin Hong asked someone to clean up the workstation yesterday, Song Xu asked about it, but Qin Hong kept it a secret and didn't tell Song Xu.

Now that he learned that Zhou Yan was the new deputy director, Song Xu was extremely surprised.

In Song Xu's opinion, Zhou Yan is a treasure of the Composition Department, so he will definitely continue to develop in the Composition Department. He didn't expect to come to the Orchestra Department. Zhou Yan patted Song Xu on the shoulder and said, "From now on, we will be colleagues in the same department."

Song Xu also bared his teeth, "You are my leader again."

Before, when Song Xu was in the Piano Youth Orchestra, Zhou Yan was indeed his leader.

Qin Hong came over and pointed to a workstation near the window. "Director Zhou, that's your workstation. If you're not satisfied with anything, you can tell me."

The deputy directors of the Orchestra Department are all in a large office, and no one has his or her own independent office. The window seat that Qin Hong arranged for him is actually quite good among the deputy directors.

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Thank you Director Qin, I think this is great."

"If you need anything, you can tell me. Of course, you can also tell other people. You are actually familiar with everyone in our department."

"Yeah, okay." Zhou Yan looked around the office again. There were only three of them in the office now. "Are the others in class?"

"Most people are in class. At this time, there are not many people in the office because everyone has classes."

Zhou Yan nodded. He was probably the only one in the entire office who didn't have any classes to do.

Since Zhou Yan was quite familiar with the orchestral department, Qin Hong didn't have anything to say to Zhou Yan. After arranging a workstation for him, she returned to her own seat.

Song Xu came over very attentively, "Teacher Zhou, do you have anything to move? I'll help you."

Zhou Yan's workstation was empty, with nothing on it, making it particularly conspicuous.

There was basically nothing on Zhou Yan's desk in the Composition Department, just some newspapers subscribed by the school.

He seldom comes to school, but there is not a pile of dust on his desk, which shows how diligent his colleagues in the office are.

Zhou Yan smiled and shook his head, "There's nothing to move, I can go get it myself later."

"Okay, just tell me if you need anything. Teacher Zhou, after you came to the Orchestra Department, will you stay in the office often?"

Zhou Yan shook his head, "I'm afraid not."

"Indeed, you are so busy now, how can you have time to stay in school. In fact, our orchestra department doesn't have much to do on weekdays. With Director Qin and Director Sun, you don't need to come every day. So can you teach the orchestra department?"

Zhou Yan can teach many of the theory courses in the Orchestra Department, and the students here take many of the same courses as students in the Composition Department.

Many teachers in the composition department can also teach orchestral music.

That's why Song Xu asked this question.

Zhou Yan laughed and said, "I don't even have any classes in the composition department now."

"Oh, that's a pity." Song Xu looked regretful. "If the students of the orchestra knew that you came to teach them, they would definitely be very happy. Now when I teach, I often take out your music to explain to them."

"What grade do you teach now?"

"I mainly teach first and second grade classes. In addition, I am also the head teacher of Violin 95."

"Oh, is Nan Xiaoqin your student?"

Nan Xiaoqin is a student of Violin Class 95. She joined the Piano Youth Orchestra in the first half of this year. She performed very well and has become a main player.

"Yes, Xiaoqin is in our class. She's doing pretty well, right?"

Zhou Yan smiled and nodded, "Yes, Nan Xiaoqin's performance in these few sessions is outstanding."

"It's definitely better than what I did back then." Song Xu touched his head embarrassedly, "I was in the orchestra for such a long time, and I couldn't even hold the main position."

If Song Xu had not been unable to secure a position as a main player in the orchestra after staying in it for several years, he would not have withdrawn from the orchestra.

Even though he is now staying in school as a teacher, it does not affect his stay in the Piano Youth Orchestra.

There are also several teachers in the youth piano orchestra. In fact, many teachers have more free time than students.

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "You performed very well at that time. I still remember that when you first joined the group, you played Bach's Violin Concerto in E Major, which was very impressive."

"Do you remember this Teacher Zhou?" Song Xu asked in surprise.

"Of course, because you did behave very well at the time, otherwise I wouldn't have remembered it."

Hearing Zhou Yan say this, Song Xu was of course extremely happy.

Song Xu was very regretful to withdraw from the Piano Youth Orchestra, but he felt that since he could not maintain his main position, it would be better to let more newcomers come in and gain experience.

"In fact, I am still very happy to be a teacher now, especially when I meet an excellent student like Xiaoqin, who plays better than me."

Zhou Yan nodded. Song Xu's mentality made him very suitable for being a teacher.

A good teacher needs strong empathy.

It is not easy to be happy for other people's achievements. Even among teachers, there are many people who cannot be proud of their students from the bottom of their hearts.

Even many teachers have a condescending attitude and think that their students are inferior to themselves.

Zhou Yan smiled and said, "Work hard and try to train more outstanding students for our orchestra."

After hearing what Zhou Yan said, Song Xu started to complain again, "Teacher Zhou, the entry threshold for the Youth Piano Orchestra is getting higher and higher, and it's getting harder and harder for lower grade students to get in."

"There's nothing we can do about it. This is the inevitable result of the band's development. A stable band will usually recruit very few new members."

"I actually don't expect all students to join the orchestra. I just hope that more students can get the opportunity to hone their skills. Many of our students in the past few years were able to join the orchestra and perform with the orchestra all over the world. These are rare opportunities to hone their skills. Especially after performing abroad, our confidence has become stronger. Now these students lack the opportunity of piano youth, and have fewer opportunities, especially the opportunity to perform abroad."

In fact, it is not as simple as going abroad. The main thing is that many of the stages that the Piano Youth Orchestra performs on are large-scale, with thousands of spectators on site.

Ordinary orchestras cannot go through such a scene.

"Next year will be better. Next year, the piano youth orchestra will be divided into two groups, A and B. By then, group B will need to accept a lot of new people, and group B will also have more mobility in the future."

"Really?" Song Xu asked in surprise, "Teacher Zhou, this isn't a benefit you give us as the deputy director of our department."

"Haha, just think of it as a benefit."

Zhou Yan plans to divide the piano youth orchestra into two groups, A and B, next year. Group A will tour abroad, while Group B will stay in the country.

Group B is mainly composed of school students, and Zhou Yan also plans to set a deadline for Group B. After members join the group, they must stay in Group B for four years. If they still cannot enter Group A, they must withdraw from the group.

In this way, the mobility of Group B can be ensured and more students can participate.

The establishment of Group B is great news for the Orchestra Department, as their students now have an additional way to practice.

For the Piano Youth Orchestra, Group B is also training talents for Group A. (End of this chapter)