A grand feast for the Chinese entertainment industry

Chapter 86 Birds and Cages

Every time they come back, they don't want to leave.

It was already late September, and the capital had generally cooled down. Only at midday was the sun still somewhat strong; otherwise, the 22 hours of the day were very comfortable. Having traveled almost a year, Lin Jianlu truly sensed that the overall temperature in the capital at this time was indeed much lower than it would be thirty years later. Winters were colder, but summers were shorter. The overall climate was more comfortable.

A pleasant street scene, a pleasant breeze, pleasant telephone poles, pleasant neighborhood accents, pleasant chirping of sparrows on the power lines, pleasant variety of food, and a pleasant, free, and leisurely lifestyle.

Moreover, the girls here are not only beautiful, but also very good at being charming, making your bones melt many times throughout the day.

Then let's just stay a few more days!

Anyway, no matter Lao Duan, Chen Shuhua or Su Huilun, no matter Ge Fuhong or Zhang Aijia, they all had no good way to deal with his laziness and slackness. Actually, it was okay. He stayed in Taiwan for a little over twenty days and in Hong Kong for more than a week. He had cleared out a rough outline of the work that had been accumulated in the past.

The biggest remaining issue is that Chen Shuhua still has three songs left to record.

It's a small matter. Actually, she's already on the fast track, and her singing is increasingly reminiscent of the "startling" style that Lin Jianlu mentioned, while she's lost the calm and composed temperament of her original veteran artist.

Next time I go there, about a week later, I can basically finish this job.

Of course, how could there possibly be any work left to do?

For example, both Ge Fuhong and Zhang Aijia have hinted that it's time to start putting together a song!
Although "Cold to the End" sold extremely well, and it's almost fair to say that one album could sustain him for a lifetime, he's not lacking in talent. Don't be so lazy, Ah Lu, write songs and make the next album!
Sylvia Chang even kindly offered advice, "When it comes to picking up girls, just give them one song! Who does what you do, making an entire album for someone! You've only just become famous, it's not time for you to retire behind the scenes yet! There are many songs in that album that you could totally sing yourself! Don't squander your talent like this, bro!"

Ge Fuhong even hoped that he could take on film roles—this was not her fault, mainly because the entire Chinese-language entertainment industry at that time, or to put it simply, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and even Japan, had this kind of atmosphere: if you are good at acting, you can sing; if you are good at singing, you can act. If you don't do something in three or two fields, you are embarrassed to call yourself a superstar.

The Four Heavenly Kings of Hong Kong need no introduction. Jackie Chan frequently commissions songs and releases albums. After signing with a record label, Gigi Leung was set on a development path that included both film and singing. Karen Mok's album sales were only average, but because of her stunningly long legs, which are extremely popular in Hong Kong, she has been frequently starring in films in the past year or two. Ng Sin-lin has released albums and is currently preparing another one. Rosamund Kwan also once pursued a singing career. Faye Wong started acting in movies a long time ago, and her performance and reputation have been quite good...

There are just too many examples.

In Lin Jianlu's view, it was simply a matter of maximizing profits.

In a purely commercial society like Hong Kong, not even a tiny bit of fame is allowed to be wasted; they want to monetize it all. Lin Jianlu is popular and handsome enough that it would be a waste if he didn't act in movies!

Of course, it was precisely because "Cold to the End" was so popular that it almost instantly propelled Lin Jianlu to an extremely high position. So, although the two agents each had their own ideas, and Ge Fuhong even handed Lin Jianlu several scripts, they didn't really urge her after Lin Jianlu rejected them.

It's the same now. If they say they want to stay in the capital for a few days, then they stay for a few days, and the two of them still won't really rush them.

Stealing half a day of leisure from a busy life!

I took the pretty girl shopping for two or three hours. Her hands were full of bags of all sizes, and she even had to carry them on her arms to carry them all. She was so happy that her whole face was beaming.

Then I treated her to seafood.

In the capital city these days, everyone is particularly fond of seafood. For a while, when it comes to high-end restaurants, seafood is definitely the first thing that comes to mind.

What about Australian lobster and the like? Eat it, of course. And a glass of red wine? It has to be something expensive, costing tens of thousands a bottle, with some prestigious background—a winery in some French region, from which year. People are different, and environments are different too. If you were to invite Brigitte Lin to dinner, Lin Jianlu wouldn't invite her to anything like that. What hasn't she eaten and seen? Roast duck, hot pot, paired with strong liquor—that's how a true gourmet eats. But young girls won't have it. They've never eaten or seen anything like it. They just love this fashionable, trendy stuff, something they can brag about later!

The next day, I took some more things and went back to visit my dear old mother.

Oh my, after getting a few scoldings, I feel so relieved!
I teased my father's thrush, which startled him so much that he quickly stopped me, saying, "Can't you do it? If you can't, get out of the way!"—It wasn't easy for him to keep this thrush in the tenement, as he had to worry about the weather and the cats. He cherished it dearly!
But he also had an interesting side; he didn't say things directly, but beat around the bush, "Sigh, the other time I saw that cage, wow, it was really nice..."

Hi!
I don't know if these bird lovers actually like the birds or the cages.

You can keep only one bird, but you must collect as many cages as possible.

Go buy it for them, they've already hinted at it!
My dad isn't the domineering type. He's been a dedicated teacher for years, but he's not one to do things his own way, either at home or outside—it's quite rare for him to go through the trouble of asking his son for something indirectly. I guess it's because I wanted to buy it before, but my mom didn't agree.

Lin Jianlu searched for a long time but couldn't find the number of the Mongolian Navy Commander's son-in-law. After thinking about it, he figured he might have forgotten to write it down in his notebook. Helpless, he called Zhang Yang to ask if he had Yu Qian's contact information, but Zhang Yang didn't either. For a moment, Lin Jianlu felt a bit lost.

Just three minutes after I hung up, Yu Qian called back, "I heard you were looking for me?"

Lin Jianlu laughed, "You have quite the network! I was just wondering how you got the message; I might have forgotten to add your number to my phone book."

He chuckled on the other end of the line, "I have a buddy in Director Zhang's team. As soon as he heard what Director Zhang said, he called me."

Okay, let's go shopping early tomorrow morning.

This guy is a great player. There's nothing he's not interested in or doesn't love about fun things in the capital. He helped his father choose and negotiate the price, spending a little over two thousand yuan to buy him a pair of cages.

When I took it back and delivered it, my father was indeed very happy.

That evening, I had dinner with Mr. Guo Baochang, and somehow the conversation turned to this matter. Upon hearing this, the old man slapped his thigh and exclaimed, "Hey! Just say the word! I have cages, I'll give you a pair! I guarantee they'll be good!"

After chatting with him, I realized that this guy was a true veteran player!
After discussing some things—Lin Jianlu remembered the promise she made to the old man before leaving the capital last time, so she came back and planned to stay for a few days before leaving again, so she called the old man.

He was preparing a TV series, and the script was basically finished. He had talked to the Capital Television Station, and they were very interested. The project was handed over to the Capital Television Art Center. However, before the Capital Television Art Center could even start serious contact, rumors started circulating in the industry that the four major companies in the capital were joining forces with the Beijing Film Studio, plus big stars Lin Jianlu and Brigitte Lin, to jointly establish a film and television company—reportedly with ample funds!
The old man is quite old and holds a high position in the industry. Putting aside everything else, just considering that he became the art director of the Guanggui Film Studio in 1983, it was he who secured funding and strongly supported newcomers, which helped Chen Kaige and Zhang Yimou to make works such as "One and Eight" and "Yellow Earth," thus opening the door for the fifth generation of directors. Within the traditional state-owned film and television production system, he had a lot of influence, so it wouldn't be difficult for him to find money to make a TV series.

But he's nearing retirement age and wants to earn some money for his retirement. If he goes through the state-owned system, everything will follow the state-owned production process. After a series, he'll only get a director's fee of 30,000 to 50,000 yuan at most. Besides, he's been in the system for many years and knows the financial situation of these state-owned film studios and television companies well. He can ask for money, but they'll have to squeeze him out. To put it bluntly, it will cost him a lot of favors.

The TV series is called "Sunset in the Forbidden City," and it's planned to have 30 episodes. It tells a story set during the reign of Emperor Guangxu. Lin Jianlu heard the gist of it: there are two main storylines. One is the love story between Emperor Guangxu and Consort Zhen, and the other is the story of a palace maid serving Consort Zhen and her fiancé. It'll probably cost two to three million yuan in budget.

Go ahead and take the picture!

Lin Jianlu had a good impression of the old man. Although, according to what she said, and specifically from her dear mother, the Tongrentang Le family, who had taken the old man in, had actually committed evil deeds during that special period... Old stories are hard to clarify, but at least Lin Jianlu had a good feeling about the old man.

He agreed to invest and stated that once Forbidden City Film Studio completes the formalities and is officially registered, he will personally propose the "Sunset in the Forbidden City" project and strive to make it happen.

The old man was very happy and drank a few cups.

…………

I had just gotten home and hadn't even finished changing my shoes when my phone rang.

He took it out and glanced at it, somewhat surprised—these days, cell phones also have a phonebook function, but it's too rudimentary. Lin Jianlu was too lazy to even set it up. He preferred to write the phone numbers down in his notebook, but for a few people he was familiar with, he would definitely memorize the numbers.

It turned out to be Brigitte Lin's number.

The situation in Hong Kong a few days ago was quite tense. Although things eased up afterward, the relationship is still strained.

Many times, in many situations, and with many people, things are always like this: things stay good until something happens, something hurts, something excessive is said, and suddenly everything freezes up.

The call connected. "Hello."

Her voice was calm and soothing. "Ah Lu, this afternoon Mr. Zhang Heping from the capital called me. He said that the approval process for the Forbidden City Film Company is progressing smoothly and invited me to go to the capital again when I have time. He said he wants to choose a place to rent and do some preliminary preparations."

"Oh."

Lin Jianlu obviously knew about this, as he had discussed it with Zhang Heping in a private conversation yesterday. Zhang Heping had his eye on a building near the Beijing Film Studio and thought that since his business was already interdependent, it would be better to simply rent the building from the Beijing Film Studio to open his business. In the future, when the company started up, he could rent a lot of equipment from the Beijing Film Studio without having to buy it first, which would save him a considerable amount of upfront costs.

"Yes, there is such a thing. Brother Zhang also mentioned it to me. You're a shareholder too, right? If you have time, the weather here in the capital is quite nice, why don't you come and take a look? He said he wanted to choose a building inside the Beijing Film Studio, but I'm too lazy to go see it myself. You can go and take a look. We've already spent the money, so we need to know where it went!"

"Okay! Then I'll go and stay there for a few days."

"Ah."

That concludes the business, but she didn't hang up. Lin Jianlu waited a moment, and seeing that she didn't intend to hang up, she fell silent.

A dozen seconds later, she suddenly chuckled softly, "Still angry with me?"

"Hey! It's not that serious! I'm not that petty!"

She laughed again, "Is Leung Wing-ki fun?"

Lin Jianlu thought for a moment and said, "That's fun!"

It's really fun. First, she's young; second, she's well-behaved; and third, she has those long, straight legs.

Especially when you carry it on your shoulder, oh my...

Honestly, Hong Kong media really raves about Karen Mok's legs, which are indeed long, straight, and beautifully shaped. But tall actress Leung Wing-ki's legs are in no way inferior to Karen Mok's.

The key point is that in Lin Jianlu's personal aesthetic, he likes Liang Yongqi's pure and innocent looks, but he doesn't really appreciate Karen Mok's looks.

While the other girls are all beautiful in their own way, none of them can compare to Leung Wing-ki in terms of long legs. Of course, although she is well-behaved, she is still very young. When it comes to being sexy, the older women are more sexy.

The older woman chuckled again, "I heard from that Mr. Zhang that you've returned to the capital. Are you staying for a few more days?"

"Yes, I'll be staying for a few days."

"Then... it's not like I went there and you left again, is it?"

Lin Jianlu scoffed. The other party had already bowed down and admitted defeat to this extent, so there was no need to say anything else. "If you're going to be horny, just say so! What difference does it make whether you're in the capital or in Hong Kong!"

"Pfft..." She chuckled, but didn't throw her usual coquettish tantrum. "So, will you wait for me, or should I wait for you?"

Lin Jianlu thought for a moment, "Never mind, come back in a while. I can't stay here for more than a few days. Wait for me over there!" He was living here by himself, completely relaxed, and at most he would spend time with the pretty girl. He was quite comfortable and relaxed and didn't want Lin Qingxia to ruin his state.

I'll definitely stay with her when she comes.

Oh right, tomorrow is Saturday... but I guess senior high school students don't get a break, so I won't be able to see my wife.

She agreed readily, with a sense of relief in her voice, "Okay! I'll wait for you!"

(End of this chapter)