Chinese Entertainment: Becoming a Superstar After a Breakup

"Baby, I'll miss you. Hurry up and come to Hengdian to keep me company." In early July, Dilraba was going to join the cast of "Swords of Legends". As a newcomer, she naturally had no control over her own time.

According to the company's arrangements for her, she only needs to stay with the crew from the start of filming to the end. Unless all her scenes are filmed, she doesn't have any special privileges and can't run around when she's not filming.

However, she was clearly happy. After joining the company, not to mention anything else, her financial situation was much better than before.

Her salary for "Swords of Legends" was over 300,000 yuan. Although she only received tens of thousands of yuan, she was already very satisfied.

It has to be said that this studio is doing a great job. Yang Mi can earn extra money by working with her artists, leveraging her own fame. If she can help her artists become successful, that would be even better.

"Also, are you out of money? Why did you spend so much on your birthday? I transferred you 10,000 yuan, so you can just live off me."

"You're not allowed to say anything about whether you'll pay it back or not. We don't need to be so clear about it," Dilraba said.

"I didn't say anything." Shen Ze was a little touched. What kind of relationship was that in his past life? All the expenses were taken for granted by the other party. In this life, he has a goddess in his life, and she even spends money on him. This is not the first time. What is a healthy relationship? It's about give and take. This is it.

"You're such a chauvinist, do you think I don't know? Bye, contact me every day." Dilraba got into a taxi and left.

……

In the small county town, Shen Ze's hometown, after seeing Dilireba off, Shen Ze went home. He couldn't forget his mother now that he had a wife; family was the most important thing.

"Little brother, when will you become a star? When you die, a bunch of people will ask me to be their tour guide. I'll just do it all myself and kick the boss out. What a bunch of idiots! Just like capitalists, cleaning and tidying up when no one's in the store. People who don't know better would think I'm a cleaning lady." Shen Yan complained to Shen Ze.

She had already graduated and had an internship at a travel agency, where she stayed. However, as is typical of part-time jobs, it was bound to be unpleasant, and Shen Ze understood perfectly.

Shen Ze thought about his sister's future. He should save some money by next year and go back to his hometown to open a small travel agency. There wasn't much competition, but it wasn't easy either, as most of the tours were for senior citizens and there was a lot of work involved. He managed to hold on for two years and then started taking the civil service exam. He took it for three years and finally barely passed.

Of course, this job isn't for civil servants, but for employees in the corporate sector, which is the most common type. The future may not be particularly bright or wealthy, but it is definitely stable.

"That's how it is when you're working. The boss is like a slave owner. He can't stand you being idle. It's not that he doesn't know you're working, but he wants you to keep working non-stop so that he can give you that two or three thousand yuan base salary, so it won't be a waste of his time," Shen Ze said.

"You're right, she's really not human," Shen Yan said.

"Nothing is easy to do these days. Look at your dad, he goes to work every day, but with production restrictions, his salary isn't paid on time, only once every few months. Honestly, he doesn't earn as much as someone working on the front lines. All sorts of bad things happen to him. Just do whatever job you can find for now," Lin Fengxia said.

"If you ask me, we still have to do it ourselves," Shen Yan said.

"I agree, Mom. Since you're free anyway, why don't you open a shop? I've already found a location for you. It's a hot pot restaurant. You don't need a chef. You'll definitely make a lot of money," Shen Ze said.

He was, after all, reborn, and he was still aware of things around him, such as the planning of their county. Now, there was an opportunity that was not exactly a chance, because it wouldn't make much money, but it definitely wouldn't result in a loss.

It should be the year after next. The new official took office and made great strides, turning what was then a dilapidated street into the center of the county town. Several shops opened there. Whether they made money or not is unknown, but at least they received a share of the demolition compensation. Some things were secrets at the time, but they were no longer secrets later.

Shen Ze didn't know exactly how much he earned; the rumors about it might be exaggerated, but he estimated it was at least a million.

The most recent memory he had was of someone in his village who was given a small courtyard house as payment for a debt. He was always cursing and complaining. But after the development of the village, he received a sum of compensation for the demolition and opened a hot pot restaurant on the original courtyard house. The business was very good, mainly because of the good location. He used to ride a motorcycle, but now he's a big boss, always smiling and very happy.

One million is an astronomical figure for an ordinary family, and it can make their lives much better.

Shen Ze wanted to change his family's circumstances, but as he was still working hard, he could only try to skirt the rules. However, as a student, his parents wouldn't listen to him, and once they talked to him, there would be no result. For someone who had never done business before, opening a shop was a very confusing and frightening thing.

Days passed, and Shen Ze went to Hengdian, secretly made money for Dilireba for a few days, and then quickly returned to Beijing. Staying in a hotel every day was a bit expensive. Dilireba was managed by the film crew, but he had no one to manage him. As for staying directly in Dilireba's room, he had thought about it, but it was not realistic.

The film crew booked an entire floor, and all the crew members lived there. As an outsider, his presence would be quite conspicuous, and they didn't want to cause any trouble.

He wasn't idle either; he embarked on the same audition journey as Dilraba last year, joining many groups to see where opportunities lay.

Actually, if you really want to act, there are ways. You can take your Beijing Film Academy resume to the gate of the Beijing Film Academy factory and wait to be an extra. You'll definitely get some acting opportunities. But doing so will have a big impact on your future.

Being an extra is basically just a way to make a living. As for unrealistic dreams, it's better to keep auditioning for opportunities. Besides, once you become an extra, your resume won't look very good, and that's something to consider.

Some people auditioned like him, while others planned to pursue further studies and develop in the direction of drama. Looking at the group, some classmates have already joined local arts troupes. Although not everyone who goes to Beijing Film Academy can become a star, there are only a few dozen people in each class. In the country, in those small places, getting into a TV station or a drama troupe is not a big problem if you work hard.

When it comes to filming, it all comes down to ability. Those with resources, like Zhou Dongyu and Gulnazar, don't aim for supporting roles; even if they did, they'd only get major supporting roles.

For example, Zhou Dongyu will definitely play the female lead, and Gulnazar participated in Jackie Chan's new "Police Story" series. These are things that newcomers would never dare to dream of.

However, Shen Ze also has advantages, or rather disadvantages. He can extract some potentially popular works from some film and television audition information. He doesn't follow the entertainment industry in great detail, but he knows more or less about those hit shows, such as "The Journey of Flower" and "Swords of Legends". The problem is that there is no news about one of these two shows, and "Swords of Legends" is a team building activity for employees of Huanrui Century Company. Apart from extras, it is difficult for the rest to get a chance.

However, among these works, Shen Ze found one that offered some hope, and it was a work that might allow him to directly activate his destiny—well, it seemed a bit difficult.

In a group chat, he saw a message flash by: a rural film was casting actors. He didn't know anything else, but the person who sent the message was named Xin Yukun.