Return to 88: Starting from Marrying My Sister-in-law

In Laomao Hutong near the film studio, on the second floor of a building, there is a single room separated by a curtain. The room is filled with a strange sour smell, with more than a dozen wine bottles scattered on the ground, and the empty foam lunch boxes are crawling with flies.

Outside the quilt that was wrinkled like a doghouse, two long hairy legs stretched out of the bed.

In broad daylight, the owner of the room was snoring loudly.

"Jingle Bell."

A rapid telephone ring sounded from under the bed.

It rang for a while.

The snoring stopped abruptly.

The young man on the bed turned over, put his hairy legs on the ground, put on his slippers, rubbed his eyes, and stared at the wine bottles on the ground and the flies on the lunch box with a dull expression.

"Clap clap clap."

The young man slapped himself hard several times.

Get rid of the alcohol, no, get rid of the confusion that filled my brain last night, and under the stimulation of pain, there is finally some light in my eyes.

"correct."

"Phone, phone, where is the phone?"

"Where's my phone?"

He stood up, walked around the room, then lay down, put his head to the ground, ignoring the dirt on the floor, and stared under the bed. A black, brick-like mobile phone was lying there with a bright screen, emitting a faint fluorescent light. "Ding-ling-ling, ding-ling-ling..." as if urging its owner to quickly get it out from under the moldy bed.

"Long live!"

The thin and dark young man roared excitedly, reached his hand under the bed and grabbed the mobile phone.

His name is Lou Hua.

He is 28 years old this year and graduated from the Directing Department of Yanjing Film Academy.

He is a true young migrant worker in Beijing.

No permanent job.

But he had a dream. After graduation, he took root in Beijing relying on his ability to write scripts.

But there is a saying that goes, a screenwriter who doesn't want to be a director is not a good screenwriter. What's more, he himself graduated from the Directing Department of Yenching University. After writing several scripts for others, he began to get tired of this kind of screenwriter's life and plunged headfirst into the dream of becoming a director.

Let's say that.

His directorial debut, Weekend Lovers, is almost finished filming.

Why?
Why are they almost the same?

The reason is simple, the funding chain of their crew was cut off.

Not only has the filming been suspended for almost two months, but several of the main actors have not received their full pay, so it is difficult for them to live in Beijing. They have had to return to their respective homes and mothers, and they don't know when they will be able to reunite.

So everyone should be able to understand why he became so decadent?

Lou Hua now realized that this call was very important to him. He had a hunch that if it wasn't an urgent call, he would not call again if no one answered it once. But this call kept ringing and it had to wait until he answered it. This kind of thing had not happened for a long time.

The last time was when he was working as a screenwriter for someone. The script was difficult to produce and could not be completed. The director urged him to revise the script. He blocked his ears with cotton and refused to answer the phone, but it kept ringing over and over again. He was both annoyed and happy at the same time.

But those days are gone forever.

After he changed his career to become a director, it actually took less than a full year for him to go from having many guests at his table to all his friends avoiding him like the plague.

The reason is very simple. All his friends were cheated by him. Some of them even caused the company to go bankrupt because of investing in his movie - although the money was not much, only 1993, but don't forget, this was 50 in !

Besides, most of his friends were his former classmates at the Yanjing Film Academy or some new screenwriters and actors he met when he first entered the entertainment industry. These friends did not have much family wealth to begin with, and they had worked hard for several years to save up money. They invested in him just because they trusted Lou Hua, but in the end they were cheated by him and lost all their money.

Why do we say that all the money is lost?
Because the film has been difficult to produce and even the crew has been disbanded, then it is destined to be impossible to complete the film. Doesn't that mean it is not worth a penny?
It sounds like that's true.

Anyway, most of his friends think so. Having been fooled once before, they would never want to be fooled again. When Lou Hua called them, they would hang up the phone immediately as soon as they heard that he wanted to raise money to make a movie.

Another thing that makes him even more sad is that even now when his friends have dinner together, they are reluctant to invite him. Whenever he appears in a situation, others will find an excuse to leave.

They were afraid that he would borrow money, and even more afraid that he would say he wanted to make a movie and get everyone to invest enthusiastically. Everyone was already scared of him.

Thinking about these heartbreaking past events, Lou Hua excitedly picked up the phone and pressed the answer button.

As soon as he put it close to his ear, the sharp sound almost pierced his eardrum.

"Why are you taking so long, Lou Hua? Have you been drinking again?"

A very familiar woman's voice.

Lou Hua's eyes were a little moist. Although it was not the answer he wanted, he still choked up and said, "I didn't drink too much. I just drank a little last night. I revised the script all night, and my phone fell into the crack of the bed. I didn't hear it just now... Naan, didn't you go to Fuzhou?"

Nai An is the producer of this movie and also his investor. When the crew's funding chain was cut off for the first time, it was Nai An who took out all his savings of 10 yuan to help the crew get through the first difficult time. Unfortunately, in the end, due to lack of money, the crew had to shut down indefinitely again. Until today, there is still no hope of resuming filming.

This was Lou Hua's first time as a director and he lacked experience. He made two big mistakes in the budget and spent all the money, but the plot made little progress. At least half of the shots needed to be re-shooted.

When everyone had lost confidence in him, only Nai'an still believed in him, supported him, encouraged him, told him not to give up, and personally decided to go south to several southern provinces to his hometown to solicit investment for him.

Just a few days ago, Lou Hua received a call from Nai An, who said that things were not going well in Suzhou and Hangzhou, so he planned to go to the coastal Fujian Province. He also said that Fujian was close to Taiwan, and the entertainment industry there was more open-minded and bolder than in the inland provinces. They were willing to invest in newcomers and support new directors, so he wanted to try his luck.

Could it be that this time I will finally get some good news?

Lou Hua perked up.

Unfortunately, Nai An on the phone was talking about something completely different: "It's not me who's looking for you, it's your cousin. Your cousin must have something urgent. He just called you and said that you didn't answer after calling several times, so he called me. He asked you to go to a hotel at noon. Let me think...

The Peninsula Hotel, yes, that's it. It's one of the most upscale hotels in Beijing. Business elites and dignitaries come in and out. Your brother said he'd like to introduce you to a big boss. He also asked you to go to him here at noon today. He'd like to treat you to a meal. You must seize the opportunity. Maybe, whether we can turn things around depends on this lunch today. "Lou Hua's breathing became rapid, and he said in disbelief, "Are you telling the truth? Naan, you didn't lie to me, did you?"

Lou Yuan was indeed his cousin, but in his impression, this cousin was a well-known stingy person.

Are you really willing to treat us at the Peninsula Wangfu Hotel?

Isn’t he afraid that one meal will eat up his year’s savings?

This is not an exaggeration.

"Believe it or not, I have told you what I have said. It is up to you whether you want to go or not. If you don't believe it, go and call your cousin to confirm it yourself."

Annoyed by his straight man's words, the Nai An on the other end of the phone clearly spoke in a bad tone, "I haven't made any progress yet, it depends on you. If you have a good meal today, and your cousin is reliable, and the noble man he introduced to you is really willing to invest in you, then I can come back. If things don't go well, then I will continue to stay here. There are still opportunities here. I will come back when I get investment."

Lou Hua quickly apologized: "Sorry, sorry, Nai An, I really didn't mean that. Please don't be angry. If you get angry, who will be my producer?"

"Humph! Who wants to be your producer? Wait until you can get some investment. Otherwise, if you keep going like this, I won't just be your producer. I'll also be your boss. Little Louzi, hehe, why don't you call me boss lady?"

Lou Hua's whole face was immediately squeezed into a bitter gourd.

He was not a very articulate person, and even though the other party was joking, he just couldn't bring himself to call out.

I don’t know what this Miss Nai’an saw in him that made her trust his talent so much that she was willing to spend all her family savings that she had worked hard for over the years to support him in making movies.

Lou Hua was deeply moved for a time.

He once thought about marrying her. After all, she was a great beauty. Like him, Lou Hua, she was also a graduate of the directing department of the Central Academy of Drama. She was a well-known beauty and talent in the circle. If he married her, it wouldn't be a loss for him, Lou Hua.

But the girl doesn't want to!
Not only was she unwilling, she also laughed at him, asking him whether he wanted to marry her in order to get rid of her 10 yuan? No way! She told him to give up the idea, and that being friends was fine, because the entertainment industry was too complicated and people's hearts were dirty, and she didn't want to find someone in the industry. If he dared to say such things again next time, she would break up with him, bah, and go their separate ways.

Lou Hua was angry!

I haven't eaten for a few days and have lost two kilograms.

"I understand. I'll try my best. You're a girl, so take it easy and don't let others take advantage of you. It doesn't matter if you can't get investment. Come back first and we'll slowly think of a solution. Well, I'm still young and can wait."

Although he said one thing and meant another, he really cared about the other party. He was always worried about the beautiful Nai An after she left the capital, because he was worried that she would be taken advantage of by those wealthy southerners with big stomachs.

Well, even though people don’t want to marry him, that doesn’t stop him from having this mental obsession with cleanliness, right?

"Nonsense, you can wait, but I can't. I want to achieve financial freedom as soon as possible so that I can travel around the world with the money. Little Lou, don't let me down. You have to stand up and believe in your talent. Do you understand?"

Nai An on the phone was even threatening.

Although he was suspected of being used as a tool, Lou Hua still said happily: "Don't worry, I will definitely stand up and try to get investment this time."

At the same time, he prayed in his heart: Cousin, please don't let me down this time. Whether I can stand up depends on you. At worst, I can treat you to dinner today.

Yes, the prerequisite is that the noble man agrees to invest in his movie!

"Isn't this fucking bullshit?"

"You're not the one treating me to dinner today, so should I?"

"Stop talking nonsense and come here quickly. I called you and you dared not answer. Look how much time you have wasted. I spent a lot of money to invite this noble man here today. If you miss this opportunity, you will never have it again. I tell you, you can only eat pickled vegetables for the rest of your life. You must regret it."

After Lou Hua hung up the call from producer Nai An, he called his cousin again, but was scolded by his cousin Lou Yuan.

Lou Hua didn't care about being angry. He held the phone tightly in his hand and asked, "Is it really that magical?"

In return, Lou Yuan's sinister voice came over the phone: "What do you think? Let me give you a hint. Billionaire, are four words enough?"

"Clang."

Lou Hua sat down on the ground, crushing to death several flies that were crawling on the lunch box.

"Wait for me, please wait for me, cousin, I love you so much."

Finish this sentence.

He got up quickly, without even bothering to change his pants, comb his hair or wash his face, put on a yellowed white T-shirt and rushed out the door.

He rushed to the Peninsula Hotel in a hurry.

After half an hour.

In front of the Peninsula Hotel, Lou Hua got out of a taxi with a shiny pink hair and took out the worn-out old-fashioned mobile phone from his pocket again, "Cousin, I'm here."

"Come up as soon as you get there. Do you want me to pick you up?"

"Really."

"Go find the lobby foreman and tell him my name, Lou Yuan, and he will bring you up."

Lou Hua looked back at the taxi driver and said a little embarrassedly: "Cousin, can you come down for a while? I... I have no money, the fare has not been paid yet, and the driver refuses to leave."

He spent all his savings on the journey just now, and used them to buy a pair of shoes, a pair of trousers and a T-shirt.

The last 5 cents he had left was used to find a hair salon, where he had his hair washed and some cheap hair oil applied.

Otherwise, his hair will get rotten, how can he meet the investors later?
Lou Yuan was so angry that he laughed at him on the phone, "Boy, you're playing with me here, how much does it cost to take a taxi? You can't afford it?"

After all, he is a director and has been a screenwriter for two years. Even if he wants to cry poor, he wouldn't do it like this, right?
"I really have no money. I spent all my money on this outfit. Cousin, can you lend me some money? I will also treat you to lunch today. I will definitely pay you back next time."

In the restaurant upstairs, Lou Yuan was answering the phone while staring at the menu in his hand.

Today's lunch is a seafood meal, so it's quite expensive. There are sea cucumbers, shark fins, New Zealand abalone, Boston lobsters, and a wild goose that he specially prepared for Mr. Lu. He borrowed it from a friend who likes hunting. It's a high-end product that even the hotel doesn't have. After calculating the cost of today's meal, he smiled so hard that his eyes couldn't be seen. He snorted, "You said it yourself. Don't regret it later."

(End of this chapter)