Huayu: Starting from joining the mainstream entertainment industry in 96

Chapter 1: The Children of the Beijing Film Studio
Monday, April 1, 1996.

The morning in the capital still carried a chill, but the conference room on the second floor of the Beijing Film Studio's administration building was already filled with smoke, as people argued heatedly about finding jobs for the children of the staff.

The atmosphere only quieted down when Han Sanping, the director of Beijing Film Studio, pushed open the meeting room door.

As Han Sanping entered the conference room, he glanced at the heads of various departments sitting around the long conference table. Many of them had notebooks open in front of them, steaming teacups on the table, and the ashtrays next to them were already full of cigarette butts.

"Is everyone here?" Han Sanping walked to the head seat, sat down, and opened his laptop. "Then let's begin."

He looked around, his gaze lingering a little longer on the faces of Li Weimin, the head of the finance department, and Zhao Jianshe, the head of the personnel department.

Both of them lowered their heads slightly, avoiding his gaze.

“Last week, I attended the National Film Work Conference held in Changsha,” Han Sanping said bluntly. “This conference was very important. It was chaired by Minister Ding and clarified the next steps for the development of our film industry.”

The sound of a pen nib scratching across paper filled the conference room.

"The meeting proposed to advance the reform of the film system."

Han Sanping paused, then emphasized, "This means we need to change our mindset and stop waiting, relying on others, and demanding things like we used to."

He noticed several deputy factory directors exchanging glances.

"Specifically for Beijing Film Studio, I think we need to start from three aspects: first, to focus on the creation of films with a positive theme, which is our political responsibility; second, to expand the market and produce films that are both critically acclaimed and commercially successful; and third, to increase revenue and reduce expenditure, and give full play to the profitability of our subsidiaries."

After Han Sanping finished explaining the spirit and requirements of the Changsha Conference, the meeting room fell silent for a moment.

"What are your thoughts, everyone? Share them." Han Sanping picked up his teacup and blew away the tea leaves floating on top.

Li Weimin, the head of the finance department, spoke first, his brow furrowed: "Factory director, we support the spirit of the Xingcheng meeting, but..."

He drawled, "Our factory's current financial situation is really not optimistic."

Li Weimin's eyes narrowed into slits behind his glasses: "Take recently for example, Feng Xiaogang's film 'Living a Miserable Life.' Our factory invested more than a million yuan in the early stages, but filming was halted just a few days after it started because the script didn't pass censorship. That money was basically wasted."

There was a murmur in the conference room.

“And that’s not all…” Li Weimin continued, “The factory’s equipment is aging, and maintenance costs are getting higher and higher; the reimbursement of medical expenses for retired employees is putting us under immense pressure. Last month alone, we received more than 300,000 yuan in medical expense reimbursements.”

He pushed up his glasses and added, "Furthermore, in order to alleviate the problem of overstaffing and resolve personnel conflicts, last year we subsidized many employees' children to study in training courses offered by various departments of the Beijing Film Academy. This was also a considerable expense, costing several hundred thousand yuan. We will continue to provide subsidies this year... but this is not a long-term solution."

Personnel Section Chief Zhao Jianshe then spoke up: "Factory Director, speaking of the children of employees, I'm in a difficult position too. The group of children who were sent to the Beijing Film Academy's spring training program for photography last year graduated last month, but they still haven't found jobs. Every day, their families come to me to make a fuss, demanding that the factory provide them with a permanent position."

Zhao Jianshe spread his hands: "But our factory is overcrowded right now, where would we find any openings for them?"

"that is……"

The head of the publicity department interjected, "Yesterday, I was cornered at the office door by Old Wang's wife. She said that since her son studied photography, he had to work in the factory. I told her that the factory doesn't have many projects now and doesn't need that many photographers, and she got upset, saying that the factory encouraged him to study photography in the first place."

"..."

The heads of other departments also joined in, venting their grievances.

Han Sanping listened silently, his fingers tapping unconsciously on the table.

He knew that what everyone was saying was true. As a long-established state-owned film studio with thousands of formal employees, Beijing Film Studio had a heavy burden and many problems, and it was indeed struggling to move forward in the tide of the market economy.

"All right……"

Han Sanping finally spoke, interrupting everyone's complaints: "I know about the difficulties, but simply complaining about being poor won't solve the problem. The Changsha Conference has already pointed us in the right direction—we need to deepen reforms and move towards the market."

He sat up straight, his gaze sweeping across the room: "Regarding the funding issue, we need to increase revenue and reduce expenditure. The advertising business of the audio and video recording company is doing well, with a profit of over one million last year, and we need to continue to strengthen it this year. Other subsidiaries also need to leverage their profitability; we can't always rely on the factory for financial support."

Han Sanping turned to the head of the personnel department and said, "As for the employment of employees' children, my opinion is that we need to change our mindset. Does learning photography skills mean you have to go to the Beijing Film Studio? There are so many self-employed people in society, can't they go out and try their luck? We should encourage young people to take initiative."

Someone in the meeting room muttered under their breath, "That's easy for you to say, but those family members are not so easy to deal with..."

Han Sanping pretended not to hear and continued, "The current priorities are: first, to ensure the smooth completion of the post-production of 'Kong Fansen,' which is a political task; second, to expedite the preparation of several projects with market potential and recover funds as soon as possible; and third, to discover new talent and give young directors opportunities."

"..."

……

the other side.

Located in the living area in the northwest corner of the Beijing Film Studio, there stands a group of buildings from different eras, which are haphazardly yet harmoniously squeezed together.

The most striking feature is the red brick tenement buildings constructed in the 1950s and 60s. Having weathered the elements, the brick color has darkened, resembling a faded curtain. The exterior walls are covered with a crisscrossing network of electrical wires, vying for space with equally crisscrossing clotheslines.

Homemade iron racks or bamboo poles protrude from each window, where clothes and bedding are hung out to dry, like a variety of flags, proclaiming how cramped the interior space is.

Dust-covered bicycles and honeycomb briquette sheds made of old wooden planks and tarpaulins were piled up at the entrance of the building.

Standing next to these tenement buildings are apartment buildings constructed in the 1980s and 1990s.

They were noticeably taller, with walls painted gray or yellow, enclosed balconies, and aluminum alloy windows that occasionally reflected a small patch of dazzling light in the morning sun, representing a brand-new and enviable modern lifestyle.

While it may not be considered luxurious, that separate unit door means a complete and private home where you don't have to share kitchen fumes and toilet smells with your neighbors.

This was an enviable "high-end apartment" at the time, but it was usually only allocated to factory leaders, core staff, senior intellectuals, well-known directors, and well-known actors.

The apartment building offers three types of units: one-bedroom, two-bedroom, or three-bedroom, all with a separate kitchen, bathroom, and balcony.

There are two types of apartment layouts in the tenement buildings: one-bedroom or two-bedroom, without a separate bathroom, kitchen, or balcony.

Before the apartment buildings were built, the two-bedroom units in the old-style tenement buildings were usually only allocated to those currently living in the apartments. The vast majority of factory workers could only get a one-bedroom unit, which was barely enough for a family of three; any more would be too much. The limited living conditions, coupled with subsequent policy restrictions, led most Beijing Film Studio employees to be afraid to have more children. Therefore, most families at the Beijing Film Studio consisted of three people.

Wang Sheng, 19, was born into such a family. His father was assigned to work in the transportation workshop of the logistics support department of Beijing Film Studio in the late 1970s as a driver. After working for a year, he was assigned a one-bedroom apartment in a tenement building.

In the 1980s, with the construction of apartment buildings, people living in the two-bedroom units of the tenement buildings moved out. Only by virtue of the father's long service and the mother's technical expertise in the cosmetics workshop, did they manage to secure a two-bedroom unit in the tenement building, with an area of ​​more than 30 square meters.

Last year, seeing that Wang Sheng's studies were a mess and his college entrance exam was hopeless, the factory mobilized and subsidized the children of its employees to study in the spring training program offered by the Beijing Film Academy. Although there was no definite notice of guaranteed job placement, rumors of guaranteed job placement were flying around. After thinking it over, Wang's mother enrolled Wang Sheng in the spring training program offered by the photography department of the Beijing Film Academy. The program lasted for one year and he just graduated in the middle of last month.

Who would have thought that job placement wasn't guaranteed at all?

Wang's mother went to the personnel department and the publicity department to demand an explanation. The heads of these departments used the "Interim Measures on the Employment of College Graduates with Higher Education Who Are Not Guaranteed by the State" issued by the Ministry of Personnel in January as a reason to refuse to guarantee job placement and denied that there was such a thing as guaranteed job placement. Who knows who spread those rumors last year? Wang's mother was so angry that she almost developed breast hyperplasia.

Wang Sheng, along with a group of other children of Beijing Film Studio graduates, went to the studio's personnel department to demand an explanation. However, the group of children, caught up in a fit of anger, got into a fight with the studio's security personnel, who were hurling some harsh words. Wang Sheng himself was hit three times with a stick. While trying to dodge and defend himself, he unfortunately lost his footing and fell, hitting his head on the steps. He ended up bleeding profusely and losing consciousness on the spot.

When Wang Sheng woke up again, he had been "possessed" by the transmigrator—Wang Sheng, a web series director who came from an unorthodox background...

……

Bang bang bang!
"Wang Sheng, Wang Sheng!"

"They're here, they're here..."

Wang Sheng, who was recuperating at home, put down the magazine in his hand, got out of bed, and walked towards the door.

Just a few steps away, Wang Sheng lives in the outer room, which serves as both a living room and dining room and connects to a public corridor.

open the door.

Standing in the public corridor outside was a dark-skinned, muscular young man, looking furious.

His name is Chen Liang. He is Wang Sheng's childhood friend and also the child of an employee of Beijing Film Studio. Last year, when various departments of Beijing Film Studio opened spring training classes, he and Wang Sheng entered the training class offered by the photography department.

……

"Damn it, the factory is a bunch of scum."

Chen Liang, grumbling and cursing, walked into the room with Wang Sheng.

In the outer room of the Wang family home, there was a single bed, a coffee table, a sofa, a cabinet, a wardrobe, and on the wall hung Wang Sheng's sports award certificate from a few years ago, as well as a family photo, a calendar, and movie posters that Wang's parents brought back from the film set.

"What happened?"

The two sat down on the sofa by the bed. Wang Sheng leaned forward, picked up the teapot on the table, took a cup that was upside down on the tea tray, poured a cup of water for Chen Liang, and asked.

Chen Liang: "The factory just finished a meeting. That guy surnamed Han said at the meeting that we should take initiative and find our own way to make a living. I..."

Listen to Chen Liang's one-minute-long 'rap'.

Wang Sheng could understand Chen Liang's anger quite well; what this era had in abundance was 'anger'.

Chen Liang picked up his teacup, took a sip, looked at the white medical elastic netting over Wang Sheng's head, and asked, "Hey, is your head feeling better?"

"I'm going to the factory clinic to have my stitches removed tomorrow..."

Wang Sheng continued, "What are the rules for encouraging initiative and self-reliance? Are there any support or subsidies?"

Chen Liang spoke frankly: "I don't know, the factory didn't say. What? You really want to find your own way to make a living?"

"Give it a try..."

Wang Sheng continued, "What else can we do but wait for the factory to help us find jobs? These days, there's no shortage of laid-off workers. Graduation season is coming soon, and college and university graduates who have studied photography will also be competing with us for job opportunities. In terms of education and professionalism, we can't compare with these people who have studied for several years."

Chen Liang pondered for a moment and nodded: "That makes sense, but where are we going to go?"

Wang Sheng leaned back on the sofa: "Remember when we went to the wedding company to help take photos for people?"

"I remember, I remember. It was a job introduced by a teacher from the Beijing Film Academy, but those bastards at the wedding company only paid us for half a day." Chen Liang held a grudge.

Wang Sheng nodded slightly and said, "What we need to do is take away these bastards' jobs."

Chen Liang's eyes lit up, and he became somewhat restless: "Okay, okay, tell me what to do, I'll listen to you."

Wang Sheng put his hand on Chen Liang's shoulder, signaling him not to get agitated: "We need to talk to the factory about this first."

"Talk to the factory?" Chen Liang's eyebrows furrowed, a fierce glint in his eyes. "This time we need to bring some handy weapons. We can't let those lackeys from the factory security department sneak up on us again. Damn it, they're all employees of the Beijing Film Studio, and even neighbors. We usually call them uncles and brothers, yet they're so ruthless. Humph, don't let me get the chance..."

"Let's put this aside for now." Wang Sheng patted Chen Liang's shoulder again. "I'll go talk to the factory leaders myself."

Chen Liang was a little worried: "I'll go with you."

Wang Sheng emphasized, his tone leaving no room for doubt, and said, "Wait for my news."

"Alright then." Chen Liang met Wang Sheng's determined gaze and said, "Then I'll head back first?"

"Ah."

Wang Sheng had his reasons for not letting Chen Liang go with him.

Leading a team requires the courage to be a pioneer, especially in this era of upheaval. To become a leader, one must be able to stand alone against all odds and accomplish what ordinary people cannot!

As for the security department or the people behind the scenes who orchestrated the operation, once they succeed, someone will take the initiative to help resolve the situation.

In this era, having money equals success, and success equals having money; everything is about "looking towards money and making big profits!"
(End of this chapter)