Huayu Chunqiu, starting from being adopted by a fairy mother

Chapter 255 Claiming to be the Immortal of Wine

What do you need to prepare? Yang Mi doesn't need to prepare anything at all.

The older brother was very cooperative and understood immediately, without needing any explanation.

Judging from his expression, he quickly bent down.

He dusted himself off, turned around, and left.

On this point, he and his older brother are most in sync.

Liu Jing paid no attention to his assistant's preparations; he was preoccupied with his phone.

Yang Mi and Bai Bing have not been seen; they may very well be missing.

The phone itself isn't valuable, nor are the contact details on it, but some of the photos are not so simple.

This is all thanks to Teacher Chen; he either directly deleted some of the indescribable photos or technically transferred them.

"Little Fatty, you've been making headlines all year. I hope the last news story of 2006 isn't about me."

Liu Jing stepped outside and let out a sigh.

There are a few private photos of Fan Xiaopang on my phone, though they're not really that private.

But if an outsider saw it, they would definitely understand what had just happened.

After leaving Fenglingdu, Liu Jing didn't go to the company. Instead, he had breakfast first, then went to the service center to replace his SIM card and bought a new phone.

Then he went straight to the school, and didn't stop working on the script the whole way.

Today is the weekend, so students don't have classes, but the teachers are all there because the directing department teachers are having a meeting at 10:30.

When Liu Jing arrived at school, it was almost ten o'clock.

In the office, the teachers were chatting idly. When they saw Liu Jing come over, their cheerful atmosphere suddenly quieted down, and they all looked him over.

A sharp-eyed teacher spotted him and exclaimed in surprise, "Liu Jing, what a rare guest!"

"Yeah! I saw you over the weekend."

"Tsk tsk, he's not going to take leave, is he?"

……

With everyone chiming in, the office became lively again.

"Good morning, teacher!" Liu Jing greeted them one by one.

Liu Jing was a celebrity at the school from the very beginning.

At the age of teens, he has reached the forefront of the acting career. There are very few actors in China who can go further than him.

Many people thought he would choose the acting department, but he was admitted to the directing department without taking the entrance exam.

This alone shows that he was not content to be just an actor.

Liu Jing's choice was both unexpected and expected.

With the backing of Spring and Autumn Period, there's really no need for him to be just an actor.

"This is bad." The teacher put down her thermos, looking gloomy.

"No one visits the temple without a reason." This student is here to ask for leave; I already contacted him yesterday.

He knew this day would come a month ago.

He is a teacher at the Beijing Film Academy and also a member of the entertainment industry.

"The Warlords" was a big-budget production costing hundreds of millions, featuring Li Lianjie and Andy Lau on the same stage, so of course he knew about this movie.

With filming scheduled to begin tomorrow, Liu Jingcai is asking for leave—that's really something else.

The teacher had mixed feelings about a student like Liu Jing.

He had heard that this student was a troublemaker, and he was worried about him for a long time. But he gradually realized that the student was too honest and never caused trouble.

It's not that Liu Jing isn't at school; he does take leave quite often, but he spends much more time at school than some performing arts students.

What pleased the teachers even more was that Liu Jing either ranked first or got no grades in every course.

However, the teacher felt no sense of accomplishment.

"Ahem, this is a leave request." Liu Jing took out the note he had just written and handed it to the teacher.

The teacher didn't even look at it before quickly signing his name.

It doesn't matter how many days of leave you take, what you take, or when you return to school.

"This time, I'm assigning homework: write a reflection on filming 'The Warlords.' And it has to be from the director's perspective, not an acting reflection. Hmm! At least 10,000 words." The teacher pondered for a moment, deciding that Liu Jing shouldn't be allowed to take leave too easily; otherwise, how could the role of the counselor be demonstrated?

"Ten thousand words?" Liu Jing frowned; this was much harder than writing a screenplay.

"How about this, write two essays, five thousand words each." The teacher pondered for a moment, thinking that ten thousand words would definitely be padded out quite a bit.

"Five thousand words?"

"Either write three essays, each over three thousand words." The teacher is always easy to talk to, as long as the total word count is enough.

"Forget it, let's go with 10,000 characters." Liu Jing quickly made the decision.

The teacher gave him some more instructions, and just as Liu Jing was about to leave, someone called him back.

"Liu Jing, come here, let's have a chat."

"Teacher Jiang, I don't think I've skipped many of your classes," Liu Jing said, puzzled.

"Yesterday's last class was my class." Teacher Jiang was stunned. Was it a bit much to say that in front of me?

"Indeed." Liu Jing nodded, not very worried.

Teacher Jiang only teaches a few classes a year; he retired from teaching several years ago.

He never takes attendance in class. In his view, if a teacher relies on taking attendance to keep students in class, it means that the teacher is a failure.

"Someone answered for you during roll call yesterday," Teacher Jiang said bluntly. She hadn't wanted to bring it up, but the student insisted on talking about skipping class.

“Old Jiang, this is perfectly normal. Once when I took attendance, someone answered for Liu Jing. If it were just the guys in his dorm, I would turn a blind eye and let it go. But they arranged for a girl to answer for Liu Jing, how can that be allowed?” One teacher shook his head and sighed.

"Haha, that definitely won't pass." Teacher Jiang laughed.

"I've already given it to you." The old teacher smiled and looked at Liu Jing.

"Hey! This isn't like you at all."

"There was nothing I could do. Liu Jing was on leave those few days, so I couldn't find any fault with him." The old teacher was quite regretful.

"Liu Jing, did some girl confess her feelings to you and you rejected her, and now she's retaliating?" Teacher Jiang teased.

"I've always been kind to people, and I'm puzzled too." Liu Jing was indeed puzzled. There were girls in the directing department, but none of them had confessed to him. These girls weren't as materialistic or infatuated as the girls in the acting department.

“Oh, that’s possible.” The old teacher agreed, adding, “By the way, that girl was in the acting class. She acted with you in ‘The Return of the Condor Heroes,’ I think she played Guo Xiang.”

"..." Liu Jing was speechless. A student from an acting class going to a directing class to attend lectures? Was he crazy?

"Liu Jing, if I may ask a question, are you dating Yang Mi? Don't worry, I don't mean anything by it. Dating is not against the rules at our school." The counselor also joined in the gossip.

“You wouldn’t believe it, Liu Jing is dating a girl named Liu Shishi. She’s a top student at the Beijing Dance Academy, with such a figure and poise. Liu Jing really has good taste,” another teacher offered a different opinion.

"Hey! You guys call yourselves industry insiders? How can you believe news from tabloids? A director friend of mine works with Sugarman, and Liu Shishi is a newly signed artist with Sugarman. Her relationship with Liu Jing is just a publicity stunt."

"You know nothing! Liu Jingzheng and Shu Changzheng are dating, it's a fact. Someone saw them shopping together..."

"Ahem, everyone, the main character is right here. Your gossiping is affecting your image." Teacher Jiang couldn't stand it anymore. I really did have something to discuss with Liu Jing; otherwise, wouldn't it be more fun if we all gossiped together?

You scared Liu Jing away, what am I supposed to do now?
"Old Xu, what's for lunch?"

Would you like a drink?

"No classes today..."

The teachers switched topics smoothly. Teacher Jiang pulled over a stool and said, "Liu Jing, come and sit down."

"Teacher, don't be so polite, I'm scared." Liu Jing muttered to himself, something must be wrong.

"Haha, this is just a casual chat, nothing to do with homework." Teacher Jiang opened a drawer, took out a document, and handed it to Liu Jing. "What do you think of this novel?"

"Very good." Liu Jing's attitude was very affirmative.

Teacher Jiang's hands were frozen in place. Could we at least finish reading the materials before we talk? Even if you just flipped through a couple of pages, I wouldn't feel so heartbroken.

"This novel isn't long, it's about counter-espionage..." Liu Jing muttered, flipping through the novel while guessing what his teacher was thinking, probably wanting to adapt the novel.

Three years ago, the TV series "Silent Oath" ignited a craze for spy dramas. At that time, period dramas and crime films were popular, and spy dramas were not mainstream.

The broadcast of "Plot Against" at the beginning of this year sparked a spy drama craze and earned the name "spy drama".

In no time, countless people followed suit.

The literary world has seen a surge of spy novels, the screenwriting world has produced some spy scripts, and the film and television industry has also produced many spy films.

The trend of adapting spy novels is still going strong.

As a member of the film and television industry, Liu Jing has always been paying attention to various trends.

"This is a short story published in the seventh issue of People's Literature this year. Ms. Zhang Jing, the general manager of Qingyu Media, really likes this novel and acquired the adaptation rights last month," Teacher Jiang explained.

"Mr. Zhang has excellent taste," Liu Jing replied with a quick glance. This was a heartfelt compliment, not just a perfunctory one.

If he saw this article, he might not buy the adaptation rights.

The novel is well-written, but with over 10,000 words, the plot is still somewhat thin.

There are only four main characters: Yu Zecheng, Cuiping, Lao Ma, and the station chief. The details are not well portrayed, the characters are not vivid enough, and their personalities are not very charismatic.

There are many minor characters, most of whom are only briefly mentioned. Their relationships are simple, and their character arcs are rushed. Some characters simply disappear midway through the story without any explanation.

There's nothing we can do about it; space is limited, and we can't accommodate anything too complex.

It would take a lot of effort to adapt it.

Only by filling in and adding a great deal of information based on the framework of this novel can a building be constructed.

The effort and energy required are no less than writing an original script from scratch.

"What do you think about adapting this novel into a TV series?" Teacher Jiang asked with a smile.

really!

Liu Jing thought to himself, "Just as I expected."

"Teacher Jiang, would you like to invite me to play Yu Zecheng?"

Teacher Jiang's smile froze; you really know how to understand.

Among the many artists in the entertainment industry, Hong Kong and Taiwan artists are paid significantly more than mainland artists; they are on completely different levels.

Liu Jing's salary is high even in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and in the Chinese entertainment industry, he would definitely be at the top of the pyramid.

Few TV dramas can afford a salary of over 20 million yuan.

Whether Liu Jing fits the image of Yu Zecheng is another matter, but the budget given by Qingyu Media is only around 20 million, which is not even enough for Liu Jing's salary.

"I heard that Chunqiu has bought out 'Soldiers Sortie' and intends to enter the military drama field. Mr. Zhang wanted me to ask if Chunqiu is interested in spy dramas." Teacher Jiang stopped beating around the bush; he was afraid that if he continued, he would get himself into trouble.

It's rare for a TV series to be produced by a single company; it's usually a collaborative effort.

It's not that we can't come up with that much money, but rather that we have to consider a variety of factors.

First of all, a large number of films and television series are released every year, but most of them lose money. Whether a film or television series makes a profit or a loss is something no one can say for sure until the money is actually in their pocket.

There are also many plays that seem to have high selling prices, but many accounts receivable cannot be recovered.

The TV station is the absolute client, and it's common for them to settle accounts in installments, postpone payments, or even not settle at all.

Therefore, many companies seek cooperation with other companies to diversify or transfer risk. Secondly, trying to monopolize profits is a major taboo; you'll end up with no friends.

Then, you excel at producing spy dramas, I excel at producing military dramas, and he excels at producing historical dramas. We collaborate, exchange resources, and share what we have.

Finally, it facilitates the input and output of certain benefits.

“Teacher Jiang, as you know, I’m just a minor artist at Chunqiu. I don’t have the authority to make decisions. I’ll take this novel to the relevant leaders in the company. If Chunqiu is interested, someone will contact you.” Liu Jing said helplessly.

The contract was signed just yesterday afternoon, and people are already contacting me today. There are truly no secrets in the entertainment industry; everything is leaked.

Teacher Jiang is right. Chunqiu is indeed interested in spy dramas, after all, it's a very popular genre recently.

Following trends is timeless and offers the highest margin of error.

But in Liu Jing's opinion, this novel is really mediocre. It doesn't even have a framework for adaptation, yet it wants to get investment from the company with just over ten thousand words. Even a teacher from the directing department of Beijing Film Academy might not be able to justify it.

The Spring and Autumn Period is not a charity; if everyone acted like this, it would eventually be hollowed out.

"Sigh! Alright." Teacher Jiang sighed, knowing that the chances were slim.

Liu Jing put the documents in his bag and casually conducted an appraisal.

[Note: As long as you stay hidden well and don't let the enemy get wind of it, ambushes won't work.]

“Professor Jiang, you’ve always been very kind to me, and I’ve learned a lot from you. If anyone else had asked, I definitely wouldn’t have been able to help. But since you asked, I can’t let you down. I’ll take this novel back and have the company study it carefully. Because of you, Professor Jiang, investing is definitely not a problem. However, the specific amount will have to wait until the detailed script is finished.” Liu Jing’s tone shifted; he was being businesslike just now, but now he was showing affection for his teacher.

"Ha ha……"

I don't believe you for a second; you little rascal.

What have I done to take care of you? And what can you learn from me?
I teach ten classes a year, while you only attend five at most.

Teacher Jiang chuckled, but silently complained.

Amidst the envious glances of my colleagues, I felt incredibly happy.

Liu Jingcai didn't care about any of that. He approved the leave request and helped the company secure a high-quality project, which made him even happier.

The system's explanation shouldn't be too explicit; it should be comparable to a TV series like "The Plot," absolutely worth investing in, and should be classified as a top-tier project.

Spring & Autumn has an internal script rating system. The planning, production, and investment departments receive a large number of scripts every day. These scripts are then submitted to the evaluation team for classification and grading.

There are four levels: A, B, C, and D. Level D indicates a good idea, worth considering. Level C requires some modifications and is worth trying. Level B allows for immediate purchase and project initiation. Level A is the highest priority, receiving top-tier treatment.

Today is Saturday, and most of the staff at Spring Airlines are on holiday. There aren't many employees working, so the elevators are unusually quiet.

As Liu Jinggang stepped out of the elevator, he was greeted by seven or eight people, all of them listless, like old hens that had lost their eggs.

When they saw Liu Jing, they were startled, as if they had encountered their natural enemy.

"Wine Immortal, you're back! Have you eaten?" This is Wang Baoqiang.

"Wine Immortal, let's meet again another day." This was Kang Honglei.

"Wine Immortal, come visit our office sometime." This was Zhang Qian.

"I, the Wine Immortal, concede defeat. From now on, we're family." This was Chen Sicheng.

Liu Jing was surprised. When did I get the nickname "Wine Immortal"? And what does "family" even mean?

"Ahem, did everyone have a good drink last night? How about we have another one at noon?" Even if we're drunk last night, we can't lose our spirit.

"I have an appointment at noon..."

"I have to go to my aunt's house..."

"Wait for me, let's go find your period together..."

……

With a whoosh, seven or eight people ran faster than the next.

Wang Baoqiang was still having a hysterical episode when Chen Sicheng pulled him away, and he didn't even take the elevator.

"What are they doing?" Liu Jing wondered.

"Boss, you really got them all drunk. Last night, you were absolutely amazing. Wang Baoqiang was sitting on a stool grinning like an idiot, Chen Sicheng was lying on the floor refusing to move, Producer Zhang was sleeping with the toilet in his arms, and Director Kang was bothering all his contacts. As for screenwriter Lan Xiaolong, he's still in bed." Bai Bing looked at Liu Jing as if he were an alien.

These people are all half-crippled, but the boss acts like nothing happened.

People can't be compared. Last night I was full of energy, this morning I'm already capturing dragons and binding tigers.

The sun hadn't even risen yet when the boss did his morning exercises for an hour, which she ended up listening to the whole thing live.

Wearing soaking wet clothes to work is really unpleasant.

It was too late last night, so she didn't go home and stayed at Fenglingdu without taking any change of clothes.

"My alcohol tolerance is average," Liu Jing said modestly. He genuinely didn't remember drinking so heavily last night. In his mind, he had been at a disadvantage.

"Indeed, it was just so-so. He smashed my electric scooter with one slap." Bai Bing's expression was gloomy. Not only was his alcohol tolerance high, but his strength was also truly formidable, especially... cough cough... cut off the thought, otherwise his clothes, which had just dried, would get wet again.

"This is my card, you know the PIN, go buy a car yourself." Liu Jing took out his credit card and tucked it into his assistant's shirt pocket.

"I've already had it fixed. It's just a new car seat; it won't cost much." Bai Bing returned the card to Liu Jing.

"Why do they call me the Wine Immortal?" Liu Jingting wondered.

"It's a long story..."

"Let's go to the office, you can tell me all about it." Liu Jing looked delighted; this was another piece of missing material that could be filled, and it was all creative material.

Bai Bing followed behind, pouting. "When you're drunk, you're mentally ill; when you're sober, you're a lunatic."

Back in his office, Liu Jing personally poured his assistant a cup of tea, took out paper and pen, and waited quietly for the notes to be taken down.

"This is a long story, but actually quite simple. You wrote a few lines of poetry yesterday, cough cough, let me see." Bai Bing cleared his throat, took out a piece of paper from his pocket, and began to recite, "Sicheng walks as if sailing a boat, his eyes blurred, he falls to the ground and sleeps. Baoqiang drinks three jin before facing the sky, he drools when he sees Maotai on the road, he regrets not being enfeoffed by the Chishui River. Huang Lei spends ten thousand coins a day, he drinks like a whale swallowing a hundred rivers, holding his cup, he calls himself the Chef Saint and avoids the virtuous. He Jiong is a handsome young man, he raises his cup and rolls his eyes at the blue sky, as bright as a jade tree standing in the wind. Kang Dao spits out embroidered lotuses, he often runs to the bathroom when drunk. Liu Jing drinks a bucket of wine and his clothes are soaked, he sleeps under the lamplight in Chunqiu Tower, he is summoned by a celestial being and doesn't go to work, he calls himself the Immortal of Wine. Brother Lan drinks three cups and his military career is legendary, he takes off his hat and exposes his head before the commander, his brushstrokes are like clouds and smoke. Zhang Qian drinks five cups before he becomes outstanding, recalling the past is unspeakable."

"The Song of the Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup, am I that talented? No wonder Li Bai wrote poems when he was drunk." Liu Jing murmured. He wouldn't have written this if he hadn't been drunk to a certain degree.

"A celestial being summoned and you don't come to work? Isn't that just asking for trouble?"
If that woman knew, she wouldn't be angry, but she would be ridiculed for the rest of her life.

"Hehe..." Bai Bing really wanted to make a sarcastic remark; this guy had quite a bit of a trauma from his older sister.

She was also afraid of retaliation from her boss, which was for sure, so she could only complain to herself.

"Where's Lao Yang?" Liu Jing had obsessive-compulsive disorder; how could there be one person missing when nine people were drinking together?

"He was driven away by Yang Mi's scolding," Bai Bing remarked.

"..."

"I never expected Yang Mi, who's so shrewd and charming, to be so fierce. Last night, after she arrived, she first scolded her father, and Old Yang was dragged away by her mother. Then, hands on her hips, she started cursing and swearing at everyone. She said Director Kang and the others weren't there to sell films, but to sell alcohol. She even said that if they got sick from drinking, she and everyone else would be furious." Bai Bing's tone was quite complicated, because this incident completely changed her impression of Yang Mi.

No one knows Liu Jing's alcohol tolerance or his state after drinking better than Yang Mi; even Qianqian doesn't know him that well.

She came over last night and immediately noticed that Liu Jing had drunk too much. She was both annoyed and distressed, so naturally she didn't give him a friendly look.

"Why are Wang Baoqiang and the others at the company? Didn't they sign the contract yesterday afternoon?" Liu Jing's memory came back to him. This guy really is...

Never mind, there are two children.

"They accompanied Director Kang and Chen Sicheng to sign the contract, which you promised them last night. From now on, Director Kang will be our fourth signed director, and Chen Sicheng will be the fifth male artist signed by the talent agency department," Bai Bing responded.

"..."

"Last night, Wang Baoqiang called Xu Fan, yelling that he wanted to terminate his contract with Huayi and sign with our Chunqiu instead. This morning, Xu Fan called Boss Min, saying that we were being dishonest, openly poaching talent." Bai Bing was both amused and exasperated. Given the boss's standards for signing people, he really wouldn't have gone to such lengths to poach Wang Baoqiang.

"What a show!" Liu Jing sighed, expressing his feelings from a third-person perspective.

“Min-jie didn’t know what happened last night, but now she knows everything. She just called Yuan-yuan over, and she’s probably giving her a lecture right now. Luckily, nothing happened to you, or she would have torn me to pieces.” Bai Bing was extremely relieved.

"Don't worry, Sister Min won't do anything to Yuanyuan," Liu Jing reassured her.

At the celebration banquet, Liu Jinggang had just drunk a couple of ounces of alcohol when Gao Yuanyuan called. She had just returned to Beijing from out of town the day before and was short of something for dinner, needing Wuji's help.

Liu Jing was drinking and couldn't reach her, so he called Gao Yuanyuan over.

He knew this very well; his memory of it was crystal clear.

"Mm." Bai Bing nodded. What was there to worry about? It wasn't like she was scolding me. She's the top female manager at Chunqiu, and I'm just an agent. To be able to become the confidante of President Min, President Wen, and the young master at the same time, it's clear that Gao Yuanyuan is extraordinary.

"Tell me everything that happened last night from your perspective, in detail, from beginning to end," Liu Jing instructed.

Bai Bing was about to complain, "Do you have some kind of twisted sense of humor?" when she suddenly saw her boss scribbling and drawing. "What's he doing? Working while listening to stories?"
She glanced at it; it looked like she was writing a script.

Looking at the boss in surprise, he thought, "All worldly wisdom is knowledge, and life is a script in itself."

Many people say that life imitates art, and art imitates life. The creation of film and television dramas is not done behind closed doors, but rather originates from life.

Many screenwriters often say that they should draw inspiration from life and turn their daily lives into poetry.

But how many people can actually do that?
There's a reason this young man has gotten to where he is today.

Thinking of this, she became serious and dared not be perfunctory, and recounted what she had seen and heard yesterday in detail.

She studied law, and her language skills were much better than Yang Mi's.

Yang Mi's statements are often influenced by her own subjective opinions.

Bai Bing tried to be as objective as possible, as if she were an outsider.

She was indeed an outsider; she didn't drink a drop of alcohol, didn't get involved in the conversation, and only cared about the boss's safety.

Comparing the two different perspectives, Liu Jing found it increasingly interesting.

"...I'm a light sleeper, and I was woken up this morning by a strange noise that sounded quite distressing. I thought you were feeling unwell, so I went to the master bedroom door..."

"Ahem, well, let's call it a day." Liu Jing's face flushed slightly. How did his little assistant manage to say these things without batting an eye?

"Boss, is there anything else I need to add?" Bai Bing asked.

"No need." Liu Jing closed his eyes to gather his thoughts, and the scene diagram was 70% complete.

The remaining part can be filled automatically without him needing to add it.

Art originates from life, transcends life, and ultimately returns to life.

Liu Jing wrote for a while longer, then casually asked, "Where's Sister Zeng Li? I haven't seen her today. I promised to treat her to braised goose in an iron pot last night, but it looks like she stood me up again."

Whether it was Yang Mi, Bai Bing, or any of the scenes he could recall, Zeng Li was nowhere to be found.

This is clearly not scientific.

The leading lady, without any apparent reason or self-pity, inexplicably gains a few points in favorability rating.

"Sister Zeng Li flew to the UK today, she should be on the plane right now," Bai Bing responded. Another broken promise? Why "another"?
"She's living the high life. She goes to Harbin in August, Chongqing in September, Kunming in October, and Sanya in November. Now there's no room for her in China, so she goes abroad to travel. In a few years, she might as well go to Mars." Liu Jing was quite annoyed; the delicious meat that was right in front of him hadn't been eaten for two days.

I was thinking that since I didn't have much to do today, I'd have a nice meal tonight for good luck, so I could film better tomorrow.

He flew to England; the city wall can bend, but he can't, let alone catch up.

"Zeng Li's sister works in England, and she's visiting relatives." The assistant was speechless; this was really meddling.

Dangdang...

Gao Yuanyuan knocked twice on the door and came in without waiting for a response.

"Sister Yuanyuan, are you...are you alright?" Bai Bing quickly got up.

"I'm fine," Gao Yuanyuan shook her head.

Bai Bing couldn't believe it; the woman looked somber and her eyes were dim, clearly having suffered a great blow.

An hour ago, it wasn't like this. Gao Yuanyuan smiled brightly and walked briskly to President Min's office.

"Sister Yuanyuan, have some tea." Bai Bing poured a glass of water.

"Dongdong, you can go out now. I have something to talk to Mutou about," Gao Yuanyuan said listlessly.

"Okay, call me if you need anything." Bai Bing closed the door, her mind wandering, soon engrossed in a whole drama.

(End of this chapter)