Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 90 A Glorious Entry into the Group
Back at the apartment.

Chen Hong noticed that Zhang Yan had already gotten up. She didn't know if the 'sweating' had really worked or if he was just naturally healthy. Although he still looked a little weak, his fever had subsided.

"I've already told you not to spoil Fangfang so much."

Zhang Yan learned from the note that Chen Hong had gone to the Broadcasting Institute, and he gave her the same old advice: "Her studies are the most important thing for her now, not to go to school to enjoy life."

"University is different from high school."

In the past, Chen Hong would just smile and continue doing her own thing, but today, after encountering rivals in love one after another, she gave a soft reply.

Zhang Yan was speechless. What could he do when he had never been to university?

So he changed the subject to another pile of things: "Are you planning to take these to the film set?"

"Yes."

Chen Hong tidied up the things on the table and said, "Some of them are for my own use, and some are for giving to people on the set."

“That’s not necessary.”

Zhang Yan laughed and said, "I've already made arrangements for you in Tianjin. I'll make sure you join the crew in a grand and impressive way."

…………

It was indeed quite glamorous.

On the day Chen Hong was to join the team, a light truck arrived early in the morning from Tianjin, carrying 200 boxes of Bright Dairy instant noodles in its five-meter-long cargo bed.

Fifty boxes were in drums, and the remaining one hundred and fifty boxes were in bags.

Even Chen Hong, who had just spent 25,000 yuan, couldn't help but be surprised by such a large sum of money: "This must have cost a lot of money, right?"

"This isn't even as expensive as a camera."

Zhang Yan laughed and said, "Besides, I didn't spend any money. It was a sponsorship from Guangming Flour Mill."

"Is Guangming going to sponsor the production team of the TV series 'Three Kingdoms'?"

Chen Hong asked, somewhat puzzled, "Surely we can't include instant noodle ads in this drama?"

"There's no need for implantation."

Zhang Yan explained, "I heard that the Three Kingdoms production team is currently facing financial difficulties, and even having food is a problem. Sending these instant noodles over will definitely not be a waste, and we can arrange for the media to report on it later."

For example, stories like "Liu Bei and Cao Cao discussing heroes while eating instant noodles" or "Why did Sun Quan and Lu Su burp on their beds?" could be arranged for the main characters to appear on the show after the official broadcast, reminiscing about their instant noodle-eating experiences.

This approach isn't as obvious as direct advertising, but it subtly reinforces people's impression of "Bright" instant noodles—after all, it's the production team behind the TV series "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," and its influence can last for years.

Chen Hong naturally trusted Zhang Yan's advertising skills, but she still couldn't help but remind him, "Don't let this cause any more conflicts with the production team."

"Don't worry, Director Chen and I know what we're doing—besides, Guangming is a subsidiary of the TV station, so it's more natural for them to sponsor the production crew than other companies."

The two cars left Beijing and headed south.

After arriving in Baoding, they traveled dozens of miles through the mountains before finally reaching the location where the film crew was encamped.

They really set up camp.

Perhaps to save money, or perhaps for the needs of filming, the crew stayed in prop tents that looked like an ancient military camp from a distance.

Looking at that vast expanse, Zhang Yan even had the urge to set it on fire.

Upon reaching the vicinity of the camp, two sentries immediately came to greet them—not ancient soldiers, of course, but standard People's Liberation Army soldiers.

Just as Zhang Yan was about to get out of the car to explain, one of the soldiers saw Chen Hong in the passenger seat and immediately exclaimed, "You're that guy from the Bright Dairy instant noodle commercial..."

"it's me."

Chen Hong got out of the car with a smile and pointed to the truck behind her, saying, "That truck is full of instant noodles. It was brought here specially to help the crew improve their meals."

If this were said twenty years from now, it would be a complete joke, but nowadays, instant noodles are indeed considered a 'meal improvement' for many people.

Upon hearing this, the young soldier exclaimed in shock, "How many instant noodles must that old truck hold?!"

Zhang Yan got out of the car at this moment and said with a smile, "There are about eight thousand bags, mainly in the form of cup noodles, which take up a lot of space..."

Before Zhang Yan could finish speaking, the soldier turned and ran, shouting as he ran, "Squad leader, squad leader, the feast is ready, squad leader!"

The other PLA soldier was quite composed and completed the inspection dutifully. However, when he lifted the tarpaulin and saw the truckload of instant noodles, he visibly swallowed hard.

Even the PLA soldiers who came to assist with the filming were starving, which shows that the rumors about the poor food on the Three Kingdoms film crew were indeed true.

Because the terrain near the camp was a bit complicated, the car had to take a detour to get closer. As soon as Zhang Yan and Chen Hong got out of the car, they were surrounded by a large group of people. The chatter was chaotic, and Zhang Yan didn't know who to listen to. Fortunately, Director Wang Fulin arrived soon after.

Seeing the truck full of instant noodles, he excitedly grasped Zhang Yan's hand and said, "Thank you, thank you so much! The crew's biggest worry right now is the food problem, and you've solved our urgent problem, Zhang."

Before coming, Chen Hong had specifically communicated with the production crew, saying that her boyfriend Zhang Yan would bring her there, which is why Wang Fulin was able to recognize Zhang Yan.

"Director Wang, you're too kind."

Zhang Yan hurriedly said, "It's mainly because of the kindness of Guangming Instant Noodle Factory. Guangming is a subsidiary of Tianjin TV Station and understands the difficulties our crew faces best. Otherwise, with my silver tongue alone, I wouldn't have been able to secure so much free sponsorship."

"After all, they're from a sister unit..."

Wang Fulin was truly grateful, mainly because the production team hadn't considered things thoroughly beforehand, setting the filming location in a remote mountain valley far from any town, where the surrounding villages simply couldn't provide enough ingredients.

The cost of transporting supplies from elsewhere was too high, causing food expenses to exceed the budget. In order not to affect the filming, the entire crew had to eat irregularly, sometimes hungry and sometimes full.

Zhang Guangbei, who plays Lü Bu, was supposed to gain muscle as required, but after training for two months after joining the crew, he lost several pounds and ended up having to wear an old cotton-padded jacket under his armor.

A while ago, Liu Bei, Guan Yu, and Zhang Fei were so hungry that they stole corn from a villager's house. However, they were discovered by the villager, and Guan Yu and Zhang Fei ran away quickly, leaving Liu Bei behind.

Later, several versions of the story emerged. Some said that Cao Cao and Sun Quan ransomed the man; others said that Liu Bei used his charm to escape easily, and even brought back a bag of corn.

At noon that day.

The production team "specially" held a grand "welcome party" for the newcomer Diao Chan, with a scene of more than a dozen large pots cooking instant noodles together, which was quite spectacular.

In the end, more than 400 people ate a total of 1,500 bags of instant noodles—and that was because the crew was worried that someone would get sick from eating too much, so they deliberately controlled the quantity. Otherwise, with these hundreds of big eaters, they could have easily eaten more than 2,000 bags.

Wang Fulin wrote a letter of thanks and asked Zhang Yan to pass it on to the leaders of Guangming Flour Mill.

…………

at the same time.

Yu Hua was deep in thought in his rented room. Although he had openly admitted to Shi Tiesheng and Zhang Yan that he was there to live off a woman, he still felt immense pressure once he actually started living off her.

His pride as a man made him eager to change this predicament, so after returning from Tianjin, he spent about ten hours a day brainstorming plot ideas.

But the results were meager.

What I thought was a great idea completely changed when it was put on paper.

Yu Hua crumpled the manuscript paper in frustration, intending to toss it into the trash can, but stopped halfway through raising her hand. She unfolded the paper again, preparing to jot down some thoughts on the back.

Hey~
A penny can make a hero fall.

Just then, someone outside suddenly shouted, "Yu Hua, Yu Hua, who is Yu Hua?!"

Judging from the following sentence, it's clear that they are not acquaintances.

Yu Hua went outside to take a look, puzzled, and found it was a postman.

"I am Yu Hua."

"Go and get your stamp."

The postman waved the thick envelope in his hand: "There's a registered letter for you."

"Oh~"

Yu Hua agreed, but didn't move her feet. She stared at the letter and asked, "Can I see who sent this letter?"

"Then you can take a look."

The postman nonchalantly showed the envelope to Yu Hua.

Upon seeing that the sender's name was Zhang Yan, Yu Hua knew that she had not guessed wrong, so she hurriedly ran back to her house to look for her personal seal.

After the postman was stamped and the mailman left, Yu Hua returned to the house with the letter in his hands, feeling a little nervous and uneasy, somewhat like the feeling he had when he first received his royalties.

"Why is he so thick-skinned..."

He muttered to himself as he carefully cut open the envelope with scissors, revealing a stack of hundred-yuan bills inside.

That must amount to several thousand, right?!
Yu Hua's eyes widened in surprise. Although he guessed that this must be his payment for shooting the advertisement, he had only shot for a few hours that day and had also gotten two fancy meals. How could he have so much money?!
He took it out and counted it carefully; it was a full four thousand yuan—you should know that Yu Hua's previous published novellas and short stories, all combined, amounted to about that much.

This made him feel excited, touched, and uneasy at the same time, wondering if he owed this favor too much.

(End of this chapter)