Seeking good fortune and avoiding misfortune, I became a legend in the entertainment industry by avo

Chapter 160 A New Lease on Life

The study was filled with the fragrance of ink, and several of Cui Jiangrui's masterpieces from recent years hung on the wall, depicting misty landscapes with rich and vigorous brushstrokes.

A felt mat was laid on the large mahogany painting table.

Cui Jiangrui sat down in the armchair behind his desk, pointed to the drum stool next to him, and gestured for Zhang Qilin to sit down as well.

He looked at Zhang Qilin with a smile: "Your aunt is very happy that you came today. Come visit more often when you have time. Treat this place as your own home."

Zhang Qilin's heart skipped a beat upon hearing this, but he still maintained a respectful smile on his face: "Okay, but I have to go out to film recently. I'll come to see you and Auntie when I'm done with my work."

Cui Jiangrui's smile softened even more: "Why don't you move in with us? Xiaoying will be graduating in a few months."

Zhang Qilin was startled and didn't know how to respond.

Cui Jiangrui walked to the painting table, smiling at Zhang Qilin: "Tell me, what subject matter do you want? How big is it?"

Zhang Qilin secretly breathed a sigh of relief and said, "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains series, eight feet long."

A hint of surprise flashed in Cui Jiangrui's eyes, then he smiled and said, "An eight-foot scroll? Your friend seems to be quite capable."

Zhang Qilin said somewhat embarrassedly, "Master Uncle, my friend wants to take the painting first, and then pay you the reward after about a year and a half when his cash flow improves. Is that alright? He really loves your 'A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains' series, and he guarantees that the reward will be higher than the market price."

"As long as you act as guarantor, there won't be any problem."

"Master Uncle, don't worry, my friend is a very trustworthy person."

Cui Jiangrui picked up a calligraphy brush, twirled it in his hand, and pondered the composition in his mind.

Zhang Qilin immediately helped lay out the Xuan paper and squeezed the paint into the palette.

Ten minutes later, Cui Jiangrui dipped the brush in paint.

The freehand style emphasizes completing a task in one go, and Cui Jiangrui's brush moves freely on the rice paper according to his heart's desire.

An hour later.

Cui Jiangrui put down his pen, let out a soft breath, and a relieved smile appeared on his face.

He turned to Zhang Qilin: "Linlin, what do you think of this painting?"

Zhang Qilin gazed at the painting on the easel, his eyes filled with amazement: "Master Uncle, your painting skills are truly divine."

Cui Jiangrui walked outside: "Your friend's painting is definitely something you should take seriously. Take a break for a while, and you can take it once the paint dries."

The two stayed outside for nearly an hour, until the painting dried, before Zhang Qilin packed it up and left.

After leaving the courtyard, Zhang Qilin couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

The two elders were very welcoming to him, but he and Sister Ying had never clicked since childhood, so he was afraid he would disappoint them.

Zhang Qilin took a taxi back to school, his heart pounding with excitement.

Once the painting is sold, I can contact Teng Huatao for investment.

Once the contract is signed, the luck points will be credited to your account.

Although he was anxious, he did not contact anyone about selling the paintings while in the taxi.

He can brag all he wants in the car, but now that he actually has something worth over three million, we need to be careful.

After finally arriving at the Beijing People's Art Theatre, he found a secluded spot and called Lao Jin.

As soon as the call connected, Zhang Qilin said, "Old Jin, I have something on hand—"

Before Zhang Qilin could finish speaking, Lao Jin's helpless voice came from the phone: "Brother Lin, no matter what good stuff you have, I dare not accept it."

"Old Jin, what do you mean? Have you forgotten about me?!"

"Hey, Brother Lin, it's not that I don't want to help you, it's just that Teacher Chen gave us a heads-up this morning. Anyone who takes anything from you these past few months can forget about getting any more paintings from their fellow apprentices."

Zhang Qilin was taken aback. He hadn't expected Uncle Chen to act so quickly, blocking all the methods he could think of.

He quickly changed his mind and said to Lao Jin, "Lao Jin, can't you be a little more flexible? Why don't you secretly—"

Before Zhang Qilin could finish speaking, Lao Jin interrupted him again, his tone pleading: "Brother Lin~ there are no secrets in this business. Colleagues are enemies and all want the other dead. No one dares to do business with you."

""

"Old Jin, could you lend me yours first?"

"Brother Lin, don't think about it anymore. Everyone knows about your relationship with Teacher Chen. Who would dare to offend him at this critical moment? Please have some understanding for me."

Seeing that things had come to this point, Zhang Qilin knew that it was impossible to cash out through Lao Jin.

"I understand," Zhang Qilin sighed, then added, "I didn't call you today—"

"Brother Lin, don't worry, no one else will know about this except you and me."

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Qilin was speechless. Did Uncle Chen really not trust him?

Zhang Qilin looked at the painting in his hand, but couldn't sell it.

Doesn't this mean all our efforts were in vain?

Why is it so difficult for him to make an investment?

After sighing, I checked the time.

3:30 pm

Zhang Qilin walked towards the rehearsal hall.

He gently pushed open the door to the rehearsal hall and tiptoed inside.

I crouched down and found a corner to sit in, trying not to make any noise so as not to disturb the class.

After sitting down, he discovered that the teacher giving the lesson was Pu Cunxin, who was talking about the expression of emotions.

Pu Cunxin glanced at Zhang Qilin and continued his lecture: "The expression of emotions is not simply about joy, anger, sorrow, or happiness. Truly excellent acting —"

Zhang Qilin sat in the chair, seemingly listening to a lecture, but his mind was preoccupied with how to sell the painting as soon as possible.

He didn't know how much time had passed when he overheard Professor Pu Cunxin saying, "Anything can be associated with emotions, like the painting on the cover of this book I'm holding—"

Upon hearing something related to painting, Zhang Qilin instantly snapped out of his reverie.

Holding up the book in his hand, Professor Pu Cunxin continued, "The same painting can evoke completely different emotions in different people and in different situations —"

As Zhang Qilin listened to Professor Pu Cunxin's explanation, a sudden inspiration flashed in his mind.

He remembered that when he last visited Grandpa Lan's house with Professor Pu Cunxin, he saw many paintings hanging on the walls, all painted by Grandpa Lan himself. It was said that Grandpa Lan had studied under Li Kuchan.

Looking at the professionalism of Mr. Pu Cunxin's lectures on painting, he must have been influenced by Mr. Lan and has a deep understanding of calligraphy and painting. He may even have connections in this field.

Perhaps he could try asking Professor Pu Cunxin for help and see if he would be willing to assist him.

Help him find someone willing to take over the painting, or connect him with people who are interested in investing.

Thinking of this, he looked at Pu Cunxin with expectant eyes, hoping that get out of class would end soon.

5:30

After class, Pu Cunxin walked towards his office, with Zhang Qilin following behind.

Once the crowd thinned out, Zhang Qilin quickly stepped forward and asked in a low voice, "Professor Pu, may I discuss something with you?"

During the months of rehearsing "Wotou Guild Hall", Zhang Qilin became familiar with several of the lead actors.

Even the most serious Pu Cunxin can sometimes crack a joke.

Pu Cunxin looked at Zhang Qilin and nodded, saying, "Qilin, I heard you haven't been attending classes properly these past few days. You can't let filming interfere with your studies—"

"Teacher Pu, I've been a bit busy these past few days, but I promise to teach on time once I'm done."

Pu Cunxin nodded and pushed open the office door.

The two entered the office, and Pu Cunxin pointed to the chair opposite him and said, "Sit down, what's the matter?"

Zhang Qilin didn't speak, but first took out his senior uncle's words and presented them to Pu Cunxin.

Pu Cunxin's eyes flashed with surprise when he saw the painting.

He then bent down to examine it closely.

He read very slowly, and after a long while, he finally straightened up.

Pu Cunxin looked at Zhang Qilin with a puzzled expression: "This is Mr. Cui's work, a rare masterpiece on the market. What do you mean by showing me this?"

Listening to Pu Cunxin's comments, Zhang Qilin knew that he truly understood painting.

He was even more excited. He calmed himself down before saying, "Teacher Pu, this is my friend's collection. He's having some cash flow problems lately and wants to pawn it for cash, but those who see the paintings only want to buy them and don't want to pawn them. So he came to me and asked me to help him inquire."

"I'm young and don't have any connections in this area, that's why I'm asking you for help."

19

Pu Cunxin smiled knowingly. "Judging by how dry the ink is, it must have been painted in the last couple of days."

"As expected, nothing can be hidden from Teacher Pu. He went to ask for this some time ago and only got it yesterday. If it weren't for the difficulties, he wouldn't have been willing to mortgage it."

Pu Cunxin looked at Zhang Qilin, remained silent for a few seconds, and did not ask any further questions.

"How much money does your friend want to mortgage?"

360.

Pu Cunxin stared at Zhang Qilin for a moment, then asked, "What does your friend need money for?"

"My friend recently met director Teng Huatao. He heard that Teng was going to make a movie and wanted to invest in it, but his family didn't understand, so he had to find another way."

Zhang Qilin spoke the truth.

He can find excuses, but he can only tell the truth about the specific purpose.

With Professor Pu's connections, he could easily find out the general situation with just a little inquiry.

His excuse was to let everyone pretend they didn't know.

"Teng Huatao's new movie?" Pu Cunxin raised an eyebrow slightly.

Pu Cunxin knew this person quite well; he was very influential in the TV series, and he had also heard that the person was currently looking for money.

He stared at Zhang Qilin for a long time.

Zhang Qilin felt a chill run down his spine.

"360 million is no small sum," Pu Cunxin finally spoke again, "especially using Teacher Cui's paintings as collateral. Has your friend considered the risks?"

Zhang Qilin replied earnestly, "I've considered it, but Professor Pu, sometimes opportunities are earned through hard work. My friend thinks Director Teng's project is worth the effort."

Pu Cunxin remained silent for a moment.

"Leave the painting with me for now. I'll ask around tonight and get back to you tomorrow morning."

Zhang Qilin secretly breathed a sigh of relief. If Teacher Pu said that, then there was a good chance of success.

He immediately said, "Thank you, Teacher Pu. My friend has pledged this painting for about a year."

Pu Cunxin nodded.

Zhang Qilin left the office and jogged home.

He didn't expect that Teacher Pu Cunxin would agree so easily.

The obstacles he encountered before almost drove him to depression, but fortunately, Teacher Pu gave him hope again.

He estimated that he would have an 80% chance of receiving the money tomorrow.

Teacher Pu takes a day to reply, most likely because he needs to check on Teng Huatao's project.

As long as he thinks it's okay, he'll help find someone willing to take over.

He needed to contact Teng Huatao immediately and arrange to meet tomorrow afternoon.

Try to sign the investment contract so that the luck points can be credited to your account smoothly.

When he got home, he first contacted Sun Yu and asked him to help introduce him to a lawyer in the industry who was familiar with business cooperation.

Immediately afterwards, he called Teng Huatao.

As soon as the call connected, Zhang Qilin introduced himself: "Director Teng, I am Zhang Qilin, Chen Xiujie's nephew. Last time at—"

Teng Huatao's voice came from the other end of the phone: "I know, what's up with Qi Lin calling?"

"I've heard about your project from my uncle, and I'm very interested in it. Would you have time to discuss it in person tomorrow afternoon?"

Teng Huatao was taken aback for a moment, then realized what he meant and replied with a smile, "Since you have time, come to my company tomorrow afternoon. The address is—"

The two agreed on a time and then hung up.

Teng Huatao looked at the phone with a hint of amusement. He had approached Chen Xiujie for investment because he was attracted by the financial group behind her and —

He thought he had no chance after being rejected, but unexpectedly Zhang Qilin took the initiative to want to invest.

Although it wasn't Chen Xiujie herself, I was somewhat disappointed.

However, since Zhang Qilin is Chen Xiujie's nephew, if we gradually befriend him, we can eventually get in touch with the connections behind Chen Xiujie.

Zhang Qilin let out a breath after hanging up the phone.

Whether it succeeds or not depends on tomorrow.

The next morning, 10:00

Zhang Qilin was summoned to the office.

Pu Cunxin pushed a bank card and a mortgage contract in front of him.

"I've inquired about that project; it's a good movie. But in this world, there's no such thing as a sure thing. You should let your friend think it through."

"Teacher, my friend thought it through before doing it."

Seeing Zhang Qilin speak with such certainty, Pu Cunxin nodded.

After signing the contract, Zhang Qilin took his bank card and left the office with excitement.

Once the investment contract is signed in the afternoon and the bonus is credited to his account, he can focus on filming.