A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

Chapter 185 Fight

Xu Qing personally drove his Land Rover to pick him up.

From afar, I saw Lin Jianlu carrying a small bag as she came out of the arrivals area. She even took off her sunglasses. Although she was smiling brightly, her words were incredibly sarcastic: "At least you still know to come back! No matter how good it is outside, no matter how much fun you have, this is still home, isn't it?"

Lin Jianlu walked closer with a smile, casually tossing her bag to Liu Xiaoli who was standing not far away. Then she put her arm around the beautiful woman's slender waist and kissed her, saying, "You always talk so much nonsense! It's so cheesy!"

She laughed, a hint of smugness in her voice, "Just jealous! Who told you to be gone for two or three months at a time?"

"Hey! It's work!"

Actually, it wasn't that long ago. Before Hong Kong's return to China, Lin Jianlu flew back to record a program. It's only been a month since then, but that time it was a quick trip. He only stayed at home for two nights. Even for Lin Jianlu himself, the capital is home, his base. When he comes back, he just rests. He usually stays for at least a week or ten days. Xu Qing must have already adapted to that rhythm. So everyone would feel that he flew over for two days and left. He didn't really come back at all. The last time he truly stayed in the capital permanently was in May.

"How is the old lady?"

"She's much better now. Dad and Mom take Grandma out for a walk every day, and she's doing great! She's cheerful and talkative!"

"Okay. I'll go check on the old lady later."

"to make."

They walked out hand in hand, chatting casually about family matters.

Lin Jianlu didn't ask about the frequent, behind-the-scenes rivalry between her and Chen Hong; she asked her grandmother first.

Back in early June, the old lady accidentally fell and broke her bones. Being old, her bones were brittle. At the time, Lin Jianlu was in America and it was inconvenient for him to come back. By the time he returned to record the show, the surgery was already over. The old lady was doing relatively well and was taken to stay with Lin's parents to take care of her.

However, it's not a big problem that he's not home. Everyone knows he's gone out to earn money, so no one blames him. He has several granddaughters-in-law who take turns visiting the old lady, and she's very happy!
Those who are out in the open, especially those who consider themselves to be different from others, have all been there.

Xu Qing considered herself the rightful wife in the capital, Chen Hong was not intimidated, and Lin Qingxia was heavily pregnant at the time, carrying the Lin family's child, so her status was even more legitimate... They all went to see the old lady.

The surgeon who performed the operation was someone Zhang Heping had pulled strings to find—the top orthopedic expert in the country, supposedly. In any case, the old lady was only down for half a month. When Lin Jianlu came back to record the show, visited her, and talked to her, she was already talking non-stop again, praising her grandson for finding good wives, saying that all of them were beautiful!
Go home and rest, hug Zuo Xiaoqian, and then, in the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, dinner will be ready. Time to eat.

After eating, I didn't rest; I went to see the old lady.

They also brought Zuo Xiaoqian along.

For the past six months or so, Lin Jianlu has been short of money, feeling that no matter how much money he has, it's not enough. But even if he's short of money, he wouldn't skimp on his family's expenses.

Lin's parents were in charge of looking at houses. They bought two more courtyard houses in the Houhai area, one large and one small. The large one was about two and a half acres in size and was a nice courtyard with three courtyards in the front and back. The small one was just an ordinary small courtyard with two courtyards and about an acre in size. They were both being renovated and were being done by the same master craftsman who had done the renovations before.

In addition, Lin's mother went to the Asian Games Village and Haidian District and bought three or four houses—each with a specific purpose and plan. Some were for Lin Jianlu's grandparents, and some were for her maternal grandparents. In Haidian, she even found schools for her grandchildren in advance, buying houses near schools for the convenience of picking them up and dropping them off at school. Lin's mother had it all planned out. Once her grandchildren, who are now almost due to give birth, reach school age, she will be around fifty. She will then take early retirement, stop working, and dedicate herself to taking care of her grandchildren in those houses, picking them up from school, cooking for them, and so on.

Yes, the plan is wonderful.

The car turned into the Asian Games Village. Xu Qing was obviously familiar with the area now, so she parked the car downstairs. The two of them didn't carry anything and went straight upstairs. "Grandma!" Xu Qing called out sweetly, even more so than Lin Jianlu, as she knocked on the door and went in.

The old lady chuckled and answered, her eyes fixed on her eldest grandson. When Lin Jianlu squatted down by the sofa, the old lady reached out and touched her face. "Oh my, you look thinner!"

"Just keeping busy! Does it still hurt?"

"It doesn't hurt much anymore, I'm all better! I told them I'm all better, but they still won't let me get off the bed!"

"What's the rush! Take a break! You don't have to cook, isn't it better to just eat something ready-made?"

"My cat doesn't like living in Hel; it's always causing trouble!"

"Hey, how about I take him with me and you can keep him for a few days?"

"Go play by yourself! Have you forgotten how my old dog died? You want to mess with my big flower again? Your mother doesn't even let you raise her own kids, she has to raise them for you!"

"Hi... I was little back then..."

"Get lost! I won't let you keep a cat!"

Grandma missed her grandson terribly before she came. After sitting for a while and saying maybe twenty sentences, the old lady got annoyed and told her to go, "Go, go, go do your own thing!"

Lin Jianlu's mother, on the other hand, seemed much more sentimental than before when they met this time. She touched her son's face and said, "I don't know what you've been busy with all day long. You haven't been home for months! We're not short of money. Let him rest when he needs to. How much money we earn is not too much!"

When her son was about to leave, she started to show her displeasure, saying, "I'm not your biological mother! I'm your cousin! We're practically family!"

"Mom, are you going through menopause? Why are you so irritable?"

"roll!"

…………

It's the hottest time of the year in the capital, but the courtyard houses are much better, especially this spring. A large persimmon tree was transplanted into the courtyard and survived. Now it can provide a large shade, which directly lowers the temperature of the north house, the west wing, and even the entire courtyard by several degrees. It has even borne fruit, and the persimmons are quite large.

Sitting in his own tea room, leisurely sipping a pot of tea, having just returned, with no guests yet, only his two lovers, Xu Qing and Zuo Xiaoqian, keeping him company, he felt indescribably relaxed and at ease.

Whenever there's a moment like this, even if it's just for an afternoon, it feels like it can loosen up the soreness in your bones and make you completely relax.

While sipping tea, I listened to the two of them casually chatting about things happening in the capital's social circles, and what had happened at home while I was away, so I got a general idea of ​​what had happened.

Of course, they only talked about their own side of the story, without mentioning anything about Chen Hong's side.

Whenever it's mentioned, it's bound to turn into complaints and sour grapes!
Xu Qing is annoyed!
She had been inseparable from Lin Jianlu for a long time, and Lin Jianlu had assigned her a job early on, allowing her to manage a film and television company. She was once very successful.

But who could have imagined that Lin Qingxia, who was originally full of hostility, would quickly become her good sister after moving into the courtyard? But then, an unexpected Chen Hong suddenly barged in. First, she went all the way to New York to climb into her husband's bed. After returning, she started her business from a small brokerage company that supposedly had an investment of only one million. In just half a year, she actually managed to build up her reputation.

In the capital and mainland China, she is almost universally recognized as the top agent. For any large-scale performances in China that require organizing events, the organizers usually contact her first. She has almost all the artists from Hong Kong and Taiwan under her control. Even if they haven't signed their mainland management contracts with her, they are still happy to take on work from her. This includes top artists like Andy Lau, Leslie Cheung, Jacky Cheung, and Aaron Kwok, as well as currently popular artists like A-mei, Li Wen, and Karen Mok. Even Wang Fei, who is said to rarely take on commercial performances, can be summoned by her with just one phone call!
This was certainly not due to her abilities. Everyone knew that people were willing to come, trust her, and think they would definitely get paid after the performance because of her connections. But before she did this, no one had thought of doing it, so she got the advantage and built up momentum.

To this day, her agency reportedly has over a hundred security guards, a dedicated fleet of cars to transport celebrities, including more than a dozen luxury cars, and a large contract with a private business jet company that just opened in China in the last two years, where they frequently use airplanes to pick up and drop off celebrities—in short, she is said to have an excellent reputation in the industry.

In addition, I recently heard that she is no longer satisfied with signing performance contracts with Hong Kong and Taiwan singers in mainland China, and has started to target actors as well. It is said that she has signed Chen Baoguo, Tang Guoqiang, Wang Ji, Xie Yuan, Jiang Wen, Jiang Wu, and several Taiwanese actors, such as Gui Yalei. In short, she is making more and more money.

In addition, she also controls a film and television company that Lin Jianlu set up on a whim. It was originally called "A Red Heart," but she later thought it had too many characters and changed it to "Longxin Film and Television," which is now growing bigger and bigger.

The company was originally founded with Guo Baochang's "Sunset in the Forbidden City" as its starting point. Later, they also included "Kangxi's Private Visits," which was originally intended for the Forbidden City Film Studio. Anyway, Lin Jianlu became more and more confident in Chen Hong's abilities, so she dumped all sorts of miscellaneous tasks on her, and she accepted them all without hesitation.

Now, listening to various rumors circulating in the circle, even Xu Qing has learned a lot about the "grand occasion" and "excitement" over there, both actively and passively.

It is said that the total investment in "Kangxi's Private Visits" was 400 million yuan, of which Zhang Guoli and his wife accounted for 50 yuan. After the filming was completed, the Capital TV station bought the first broadcast rights and the right to rebroadcast it once within three months, and paid 20 yuan per episode. The 30-episode series started making money all at once.

It seems that "Sunset in the Forbidden City" is in talks, and the Capital TV station is very optimistic about it. It stars Zuo Xiaoqian, so they are very well-informed. It is said that they have already negotiated a price of 20 yuan per episode - a sure thing!

In addition, Longxin Film & Television also has another project, "Carry Love Through to the End," which has already been filmed and is currently in post-production. Guo Baochang is also preparing a new drama, apparently called "The Years of Joy and Sorrow." The success of "Kangxi's Private Visits" has led Zhang Zi'en, the artistic deputy director of Longxin Film & Television, to decide to produce his own drama called "The Strange Tales of Liaozhai." Zhang Guoli has taken on a role in a drama called "The God of Wealth Arrives," and even strongly recommended Zuo Xiaoqian for a part. However, "Kangxi's Private Visits Part 2" is already in preparation, and this time he even plans to direct it himself. Although he will most likely still want to invest a little, the majority of the investment will definitely go to Longxin Film & Television. Then, "Yongzheng Dynasty," invested in by Longxin Film & Television, is said to still be filming. Everyone in the industry says it's a historical drama, a big production, and importantly, it's a co-investment with CCTV, so selling the show won't be a problem!

Besides, it's said that Chen Hong became famous recently because of "Tai Chi Master" and has decided to invest in a new drama that came to her door, I think it's called "Yanzi Li San". She even plans to play the female lead herself. Look at this, in such a short time, the resources and money she controls have increased so much that she can now even decide to produce her own dramas! It's infuriating!
In addition to Longxin Film and Television, she also has an arm in the film and television industry - Rongxinda, owned by Li Shaohong and Li Xiaowan. It was Lin Jianlu who invested in it from the very beginning, which is how the first project was launched. Those two women have always had a very good relationship with Chen Hong, and they especially admire her appearance, so they are very close to each other on a daily basis!
In short... many people now consider her to be the top female celebrity in the capital's entertainment industry!

In contrast, Xu Qing and her Qingkong Film and Television, who were among the first to acquire a film and television company from Lin Jianlu and supposedly began their careers as behind-the-scenes moguls, seem rather lackluster.

So far, they've only finished filming one show, "A Romantic Affair," which cost 250 million yuan and has already been sold to Hunan TV for 400 million yuan. They've definitely made a profit, and they're even preparing for a new show, still based in Haiyan, still directed by Zhao Baogang, called "Never Close Your Eyes." The plan is to co-invest with Xinbaoyuan Film & Television, which Zhao Baogang also invested in, and Xu Qing plans to star in it herself. If you look at their own productions alone, without comparison, they don't seem bad. But once you compare them, they feel lackluster and not as successful as the others!

Of course, no matter how capable Chen Hong is, she doesn't have three heads and six arms.

Although she has built up her business and set up a large operation, she is not good at acting. Why did she decide to invest in that "Yanzi Li San" and play the female lead herself?

To put it bluntly, it's just envy!
She also envied those who could act—she had already secured a role in "Never Close Your Eyes," a film invested in by her own company, Qingkong Film & Television. In the second half of the year, Zhao Baogang's Xinbaoyuan was also preparing to film a drama called "A Winter Without Snow," a joint production with the Capital Television Art Center. The male lead, Chen Baoguo, had already been secured, and the producer had also brought in Zheng Xiaolong from the Capital Television Art Center. The female lead of that drama was practically predetermined to be her!

Besides, Forbidden City Film Studio is Brigitte Lin's territory. No matter how powerful Chen Hong is, she can't interfere. Although Brigitte Lin is in Hong Kong preparing for childbirth and is not in the capital, territory is territory. If Chen Hong dares to interfere, Xu Qing wouldn't mind seizing the opportunity to bring in Jiang Qinqin and Zuo Xiaoqian to help her older sister Brigitte Lin fight against Chen Hong!
I refuse to believe that Lin Jianlu would dare to go astray in such a matter!
Of course, Chen Hong wasn't that bold, so she couldn't possibly seize this opportunity!

So, in the currently filming drama "The Dream Factory," the female lead is herself. In a new drama currently in preparation called "Red Lovers," directed by Ye Daying, the plan is to invite Leslie Cheung to play the male lead, and the female lead will also be herself. This year alone, two TV series and two movies!
No matter how envious Chen Hong is, she can't get close to making movies. She can only invest her own money in a TV series and get to experience being the leading lady!

"Hey! You're really jealous... You can even complain about a bag? If you want one, I'll buy it for you! You have your own credit card, go and buy it yourself! I never said you couldn't buy it!"

"How can that be the same? That one was bought for them by you, it's from New York! We've never been abroad, how could we possibly use something from New York!"

"Stop being sarcastic! If you want it, just say so. Another day, you and Xiaoqian can fly to New York, and I'll go with you to buy it. We can buy it on the spot... Uh, no way, I don't dare go out in New York now, damn it!"

"Really?...Tch, it's not that I absolutely have to make you come shopping with me, it's just...I don't like her!"

"Alright, alright! I came back here first, prioritizing you and Xiaoqian. What more do you want?"

"Alright, alright, I'll let you off the hook! Anyway, I'm going to fight her from now on, so you're not allowed to take her side!"

"Fight if you want, but one of you has to keep the trouble within your own family. If I hear that either of you is messing around outside and trying to ruin the other, don't blame me for being ruthless!"

"Don't scare me! Say that to her! I wouldn't do such a thing! How many of the actors in the films we invest in are found through her? Isn't that just giving her resources?"

"Alright! It's good that you have the mindset. You two can fight however you want!"

Although it was a rare opportunity to come back, and comforting them was necessary, Lin Jianlu honestly didn't want to get involved in the women's affairs. He gave them the advice and a few words of warning, and that was it. He didn't want to get involved any more. He would rather rest than waste his time.

He turned to look at Zuo Xiaoqian, who hadn't said much, smiled, and beckoned, "Come here!"

Zuo Xiaoqian, being the most obedient, immediately got up and came over, only to be pulled by Lin Jianlu's hand and made to sit on her lap. "It looks a bit bulging, let me feel if it's gotten bigger! ...Wow, it is a bit bigger!"

Zuo Xiaoqian nestled into his arms, saying nothing, but smiling sweetly as she leaned in to let him rub her.

Xu Qing spat, "Pah! You're really something, indulging in lewdness in broad daylight!"

Lin Jianlu chuckled and waved to her. Without further ado, she sat down on his lap. Lin Jianlu reached her hand in and looked up at her, asking, "You two are together today since you've finally come back?"

Xu Qing laughed and punched him in the chest, "I knew you'd be thinking about this!"

…………

"Oh, you're here so early? Xu Qing is quite generous!"

"Hey! Stop talking like that. I already scolded her yesterday. She finally came back to stay for two days, and all I want to hear is you guys complaining about each other? It's boring!"

Chen Hong was squatting down to get slippers when she heard this and laughed, "I have no intention of complaining! She should complain about me. She lives in your big courtyard, uses your nameplate, and can't beat me in anything. Shouldn't she complain? Why would I complain? I'm riding high, I have no complaints!"

"Hey……"

Lin Jianlu couldn't help but chuckle.

This person's language skills are even more sophisticated. She complains while praising herself, yet she speaks frankly. But in the end, it's still the same old sarcasm and irony—how can I put it, women, oh my!

Never mind, Lin Jianlu stopped talking.

To be honest, there's really nothing to say about Chen Hong—even Xu Qing said that she's now widely regarded as the top female artist in the capital's literary and artistic circles. She handles every task that Lin Jianlu casually throws at her very well, creating a huge situation that even surprised Lin Jianlu. And yet, she's still living in this rented two-bedroom apartment!

Let whatever you say, just let it go in one ear and out the other.

She was actually the one who was mistreated; she was the one who should have been jealous, acted coquettishly, and thrown a little tantrum.

Hug her and be affectionate for a while.

She is a very busy person with a full schedule every day. She meets with production companies to discuss contracts, arranges the artists' living arrangements and schedules, visits film sets and follows the crew, meets with TV stations to discuss selling dramas and cooperation, reviews scripts, reviews plans, assembles production teams, meets with actors, selects actors, and so on. Unlike Xu Qing, the CEO of Qingkong Film and Television who is more like a hands-off manager, Chen Hong, the general manager of Longxin Film and Television, handles everything herself.

Of course, today is definitely special.

Her husband was back. Even though she didn't try to take the first day, even Xu Qing had to accept that after Lin Jianlu stayed at home for one night, it was necessary for her to go to Chen Hong's place the next day. This wasn't just a matter of Lin Jianlu treating everyone equally; it was a recognition of status that Chen Hong had earned through her own hard work and struggle with Xu Qing.

“I was thinking, you’re busy outside for a month or two, and even when you come back, Xu Qing isn’t very good at cooking, and you have a housekeeper at your place. So, today I’m not going to do anything but buy some groceries and prepare a nice home-cooked meal for you. Let’s have a nice meal together, okay?”

What can be said?
"Alright! We'll do it together then!"

"No need, you sit still, I'll do it! The kitchen is small, not enough room for two people."

"How about... it's still early before noon, shall I go with you to look at some houses? Didn't we already choose one? I'll go pay for it for you, we can buy the house first, then come back to cook, we'll have enough time!"

"There's no time to wait. Taking a look, making a payment, transferring the property—it's all too much trouble. Let's eat first. What's the rush for the house?"

She pressed Lin Jianlu down, then looked at her watch. "This is the perfect time. If you hadn't come, I was just about to head out to buy groceries! The vegetables are freshest now! They won't be as good by ten o'clock. It's hot, and they won't be fresh after steaming for a few hours! I'll make you some tea, then I'll go down to buy groceries!"

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Chen Hong grabbed Lin Jianlu's hand, leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, saying, "Tonight, tonight!" Then she pulled her hand away and went to open the door.

Then a crisp voice was heard, "Sister!"

"Yes, perfect timing. Come on in! Change your shoes yourself!"

As she spoke, she stepped aside from the doorway, creating some space, and turned back to Lin Jianlu, saying, "Let me introduce you to my new assistant, Fan Bingbing, who can help me carry my bag and get me water."

"Come on, Bingbing, call him brother-in-law!"

(End of this chapter)