2001 Media Godfather

Chapter 24 Enduring hardship to serve those above you
Ji Yinglai was in his late thirties and came from a small town like Ningyuan. After ten years of hard work, he was finally able to buy a house and get married in Shengjing.

This year, his young wife gave birth to a healthy baby boy, which made Ji Yinglai feel both incredibly happy and under immense pressure.

So what's with all the empty promises? Real, tangible income is what truly matters.

Of course, he wouldn't sacrifice the stability of Tiandu for a small amount of money.

When they arrived outside the guesthouse with Chu An, the evening breeze, which was close to September, was a bit chilly. Ji Yinglai took a deep drag on his cigarette and turned up his collar.

"Chu Shikuai, you're something else! I never knew you could write screenplays. Unlike me, I'm just struggling to make a little money."

The message was clear: he was after money. It all depended on whether Chu An understood.

Chu An, of course, understood the situation perfectly and took the initiative to speak, "Director Lu is short-handed, especially big names like Brother Lai. How about we give him a try?"

Ji Yinglai didn't say anything this time. I'm just expressing my feelings, and you're taking the initiative to invite me. It's all perfectly natural.

Now, we need to discuss specific issues on a case-by-case basis.

In the darkness, fireworks flickered. After a long while, Ji Yinglai spoke up, "Tell me the truth, has Director Lu really secured the funding this time? Will he be able to finish filming?"

Chu An: "Two films brought in a total of 7000 million."

"How much?" Ji Yinglai was stunned on the spot. They had only been gone for half a month, right?

Chu An said, "The premiere of 'The Best of Us' might be a bit more difficult, as the rights to premiere the next season have already been sold to CCTV."

"Gulp." Ji Yinglai's throat moved, but he really couldn't speak.

Everyone thought Director Lu had to sell his house to raise the money, but it turns out he's already paved the way for his next film.

"Tian Du has really messed up this time!"

Chu An said, "Never mind the future! Anyway, if you jump ship, you'll have at least three years' worth of work on two projects. This is another timely help, thanks to Director Lu."

Chu An didn't need to say anything; Ji Yinglai understood everything.

Lu Mingze may have a bad temper, but he is loyal and never mistreats his team members.

"Let's do it." She made her decision after a moment's thought. Then, she added to Chu An, "We coordinators only have one contract per film, so there's no question of betrayal!"

Chu An smiled slightly and said, "No pain, no gain."

"People have to be practical, right? Betrayal? The real thing is not to be betrayed by life!"

Ji Yinglai immediately gave a thumbs up, "Awesome! No wonder you can write screenplays!"

He felt no guilt whatsoever. "Li Chunhua made us suffer, and he went to his superiors to claim credit. What a jerk!?"

"I'm going to follow Director Lu wholeheartedly!"

Chu An said, "Then I'll thank Brother Lai on behalf of Director Lu."

Ji Yinglai said, "There's no need for thanks. I'm just asking for a living! Besides, is there anything else you want me to do?"

Upon hearing this, Chu An's smile deepened. This was the efficiency of working with smart people; they both knew what the other needed.

Without further ado, "Could you help me find a production manager and a field producer to talk to?"

Ji Yinglai laughed, "Those two bastards still owe me a drink!" He threw down his cigarette butt and stubbed it out forcefully. "Wait for my news!"

After saying that, he turned to go back to the guesthouse.

"Brother Lai, wait a minute, there's something else I'd like to ask you."

Ji Yinglai said, "Go ahead and ask. From now on, we're all on the same side."

Chu An, "Do you know what's going on with Zhang Yuan?"

More than coordinating the overall project, Chu An was most worried about the female lead. The schedule was just too tight, and this might be an insurmountable obstacle.

Moreover, Chu An always remembered the look Xu Shu gave Zhang Yuan before she spoke.

To be honest, based on Chu An's many years of experience in judging people and situations, he could logically explain anyone's glance or action. Of course, he was used to thinking the worst of people, because it was safer that way, so his judgment might be biased.

But Chu An couldn't find any logic in that look. His intuition told him that something might be going on, and it might become the female lead's breakthrough.

"Zhang Yuan?" Ji Yinglai frowned. "You want to ask about Zhang Yuan and the big star Xu, right?"

Chu An: "Yes, I always felt that there was something wrong with their relationship."

Ji Yinglai said, "Whether it's normal or not, she's a big star, how would we know?"

"However, I've worked with the big star Xu on several sets, and we weren't easy to get along with. I couldn't get along with anyone."

"As for Zhang Yuan, I know even less about her."

"Is she alright? She seems fine, it's just that we rarely see her on set. There was one show, I remember she didn't appear at all from beginning to end."

Fearing that it might cause Chu An to misjudge, she quickly added, "But this is normal. Xu is one of the most prolific actors, and it's common for her to be working on several projects at the same time. Zhang Yuan coordinates things, so it's normal for her not to come to any particular set."

Chu Anxin said, "That's not normal!"

Because she is an assistant, not an agent.

What does an assistant do? To put it bluntly, they're like a celebrity's nanny! They have to be by your side to do everything from three meals a day, food, clothing, and shelter to daily chores and work assistance.
If someone doesn't even follow the film crew or come to the set, can they still be called an assistant?
It was past 1 a.m. when they parted ways with Ji Yinglai, but for the crew, it was still early.

Judging from the lights on in the guesthouse, most of the staff were just beginning to familiarize themselves with the details of the new script.

Ma Lan is currently serving as assistant director, working on the production planning.

Director Lu then laid out art paper and crayons, sketching out the images of the new drama in his mind stroke by stroke.

He was used to drawing storyboards with crayons, which gave him a feeling of being in his childhood, as if his body had never aged.

Chu An didn't bother them any further and chose to go home. His older sister, Chu Ning, knew her younger brother was coming home today and had been waiting for him there since. Her first question upon seeing him was, "Has Dad still not made a move these past few days?"

These days, time moves slowly, and other places are far away. Chu Jianjun doesn't even have a pager; he can only wait for Chu Jianjun to contact his family.

Chu Ning got angry at the mention of Chu Jianjun, "That old bastard has completely forgotten about us!"

"Hmm!" Chu An agreed wholeheartedly. He hadn't even sent a message for a month, and he joked with his older sister, "I guess they won't want us as their partners anymore."

Chu Ning immediately adopted a fiery attitude, saying, "It's up to him whether he wants it or not, we're doing just fine!"

Chu Ning has now taken a leave of absence without pay from the Second Store to focus on preparing for the opening of the small shop.

The stores in the retail department were not affected by the film crew, and Tian Du's withdrawal of investment actually helped the Chu family.

One of the conditions was to transfer all the rental contracts for the filming locations to Director Lu, including those shops.

On this issue, Jia Chenglin had no need to have any bad intentions, and readily handed over the shop.

For the past two weeks, Chu Ning has been busy decorating her shop with the help of the film crew's art and prop departments.

"I want to open the shop before your school starts," Chu Ning said, her eyes filled with anticipation. In her eyes, that little shop was the key to changing the fate of the Chu family.

Chu An didn't tell her about the large investment he had secured in Shengjing and his investment in Lu Mingze's studio.

Outside, Chu An could be unrestrained and show his talents, because outsiders didn't have the time to care whether you were a monster or a time traveler; they only cared about the results.

Moreover, the more sensational or outrageous something is, the more it becomes gossip and fodder for their conversations.

But family members are different; they are prone to anxiety and fear.

Moreover, Chu An didn't want his older sister to miss the opportunity to grow step by step from nothing.

He simply said, "I wrote another script for Director Lu and made some money. Our family will get better and better."

As a result, Chu Ning said, "You should have written it a long time ago."

Well, she wasn't surprised; in fact, it seemed perfectly natural. The reason was that Chu An in this timeline was best at writing. Chu Ning had said many times that her brother would definitely become a writer someday.

"Uh!" Chu An was embarrassed. He thought to himself, "Chu An, you're a 17-year-old writer? Then why is our script so abstract? Director Lu might not even be able to understand it if he didn't have an exceptional reading comprehension ability."

Putting that aside, another thing Chu Ning mentioned made Chu An a little uneasy.

School is about to start!

Chu An had forgotten that he was still a student about to enter his senior year of high school.

When he transmigrated, he longed for campus life. But now, he's a little apprehensive because he didn't attend much school in his previous life.

"Sis, do you think it's okay for me to skip school? I could just go straight into the entertainment industry, there's money to be made."

"You try it?" Chu Ning raised an eyebrow. "If you dare skip school, I'll break your legs and twist your head off!"

Chu An shrank back, "I was just saying."

In his previous life, Chu An harbored a longing, envy, and even awe for campus life.

That was a beautiful part missing from his life's memories, and also the only soft spot in this "strong man" that he felt inferior about.

But after time-traveling and having the opportunity to enter the campus, he began to feel anxious and insecure.

To put it more poetically, he was afraid of turning his school life into a melodramatic fantasy for adults, like "My High School Days."

Don't think Chu An is overthinking it; it's quite possible.

With a cunning old businessman like Chu An barging into the student circle, and given his habit of seeing everyone as a bad person, things are bound to get interesting.

Moreover, counting the days, there's less than a week until school starts.

Chu Anxin said that there were some things that needed to be resolved before the start of the semester so that she could focus on dealing with those "little white rabbits" at school.

The most important issue is the female lead.

The next day, near noon, Chu An reverted to his shrewd, old-fashioned businessman nature and went to the guesthouse to try and force Lu Mingze out of his position. This guy needed to get nervous, or he wouldn't be able to finish his work.

As it turned out, Chu An was overthinking it; Lu Mingze's eyes were so dark they looked like a dead person's.

He tossed the three-episode storyboard script into Chu An's hands and said, "Notify all actors to assemble in Ningyuan; the script reading can begin."

This startled Chu An. "Director Lu, you'd better take it easy!"

He drew storyboards for three episodes in one night?! Dozens of scenes, hundreds of shots—what does that even mean? He's sitting right in front of a ruthless drawing machine!
"Don't burn yourself out, I still need to find another job."

Lu Mingze's answer was: "I slap him on the bed, and in three seconds! Just three seconds, and he's snoring away."

Chu An quietly left the room and went to find Ma Lan, asking her to notify the actors to begin the reading.

After thinking for a moment, he asked again, "Which room is Xu Shu in?"

Malan, "Everyone in Tiandu lives on the third floor, 8307."

Chu An said, "Then I'll go and inform her."

As he spoke, Chu An went upstairs and knocked on the door of room 8307.

……

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P.S.: I have things to take care of during the day and will be home late, so the next chapter might be very late.

Also, everyone, please cast your monthly votes.
It's been years since I've felt the surge in monthly votes. Could you readers help this washed-up author relive some childhood memories?

Looking back, I was eighteen. She was eighteen too.
(End of this chapter)