HuaYu: Starting with Photography to Navigate the Entertainment Industry

Photographs by Xiaofeng.

It's a small shop at the bottom of a residential building. Besides photography, it probably makes a living mainly by selling photography equipment.

Xu Lang, camera in hand, pushed open the door and went inside.

The store was quiet, with no customers except for a man in his thirties sitting behind the counter, intently looking at his computer.

However, judging from the man's somewhat lewd expression, Xu Lang was certain that what he was looking at was definitely not something respectable.

Xu Lang looked at the man, a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, and asked:

"Chen Xiaofeng, right?"

"what?"

Startled by Xu Lang's sudden question, the man behind the counter hurriedly looked up at Xu Lang.

"Who are you..."

"Fifth Brother introduced me here."

The Fifth Brother that Xu Lang mentioned is a well-known and influential photographer in this area, who is implicitly considered a leader in the region.

In his previous life, Xu Lang had followed him for a while when he had just graduated.

"oh."

Sure enough, upon hearing the name Fifth Brother, the surprise on the man's face vanished instantly, replaced by a smile, making him appear amiable and approachable.

He looked at the camera in Xu Lang's hand and said with a smile:

"My name is Chen Xiaofeng. May I ask your surname, brother? Are you new to Beijing?"

"My name is Chen Lang."

As Xu Lang spoke, he raised the camera in his hand, "I guess I'm new here, just starting to expand my business."

Upon hearing the words "expand business," Chen Xiaofeng's face turned wary again, and Xu Lang quickly said:

"Don't worry, there's no competition or conflict with you photographers. On the contrary, we're giving you opportunities to make money."

"Oh?"

When the topic of making money came up, Chen Xiaofeng became interested. He picked up the cigarette pack next to him, took out one, handed it to Xu Lang, lit it for him with a lighter, lit one for himself, took a puff, and then asked:

"Brother Chen, tell me, what kind of money-making opportunities are there?"

"We run a website. We came down here to collect photos. Yesterday, we spent the whole day at Fifth Brother's place, playing cricket fighting with him for half the day, and also getting a feel for the resources here."

As Xu Lang said this, he smiled and leaned closer to Chen Xiaofeng, "Fifth Brother highly recommended you, saying you have a lot of good stuff."

Using his memories from his previous life, Xu Lang spoke in a half-truthful tone.

Sure enough, upon hearing about cricket fighting, Chen Xiaofeng's previously wary expression immediately softened. Who else but someone close to Fifth Brother could fight crickets with him?

However, Chen Xiaofeng didn't respond to Xu Lang's question. Instead, he asked with great interest:

"Hey bro, tell me, what kind of website is that?"

Seeing Chen Xiaofeng's eyes light up, Xu Lang chuckled.

"That's right, don't doubt it, it's the kind of website you're thinking of."

Moreover, our website emphasizes authenticity; it's definitely not faked or staged.

However, this has been tough on me, a mere laborer, as I have to personally come down to the source.

"It's so real! It's so much more enjoyable to watch!"

Chen Xiaofeng's smile became even more lewd.

Xu Lang seized the opportunity to say:

"Authenticity is good, but it also needs the support of photographers like you."

At this point, Xu Lang leaned closer to Chen Xiaofeng and asked in a low voice:

"Fifth Brother highly recommended this place. Show us what good stuff you have. Prices range from 10 to 50 yuan per piece. You definitely won't lose out."

"10-50 yuan per piece?"

Xu Lang deliberately quoted a higher price, and Chen Xiaofeng was indeed tempted, but he still spoke modestly.

"That's Fifth Brother's kind offer; I don't have anything of value here!"

"Hey, Brother Chen, what's with the modesty? In our line of work, everyone knows who's who, right?"

As Xu Lang spoke, he turned around and walked behind the counter. "What goods do you have? Show them to me. If you're interested, I'll give you some money right away."

Seeing Xu Lang say this, Chen Xiaofeng didn't stop him. As Xu Lang approached the computer, he manipulated the computer while talking to himself.

"It's fine to show it to you, but you can't be dishonest about the price."

Don't worry, I promise you won't suffer any losses.

Xu Lang patted his chest and assured him, and then Chen Xiaofeng opened a folder filled with densely packed pictures.

Chen Xiaofeng opened a page, then started pressing keys on the keyboard, switching between pages continuously.

"Hey bro, what do you think of these?"

Xu Lang glanced at the photos, then curled his lip in disappointment.

"Brother Chen, this photo of yours doesn't even need to be approved for the children's channel. Giving it to me seems inappropriate."

"Oh, haha."

Chen Xiaofeng gave an awkward laugh, then closed the folder and opened another one. "What do you think of these?"

Xu Lang looked again, stroked his chin, and nodded.

This time, the computer contained photos that were taken illegally or "secretly."

"This is better than before."

Xu Lang flipped through some of the pages, then couldn't help but purse his lips.

"Brother Chen, these are real, but they're not very interesting."

As he spoke, he pointed to the photos on the computer and said with some disdain:

"You've perfectly avoided the key points. Our website just launched, we can't use this to fool our supporters."

"Isn't this enough?"

Chen Xiaofeng's face darkened, and he shook his head. "That's all. Anything more explicit would be illegal."

"Illegal?" Xu Lang couldn't help but scoff inwardly. "You've taken so many photos without my knowledge, and now you want to tell me it's illegal?"

However, he also knew that this was because Chen Xiaofeng didn't trust him and wasn't showing him the real secretly taken photos.

Xu Lang considered it for a moment, then said helplessly,

"That's all? It's a bit lacking. But I can't have come all this way for nothing. So, Brother Chen, it's 15 yuan a sheet, can I pick a few from here?"

"15?"

Chen Xiaofeng felt it was too low, but in the end he still said it.

"Okay, you choose."

Xu Lang took out a USB drive, plugged it into the computer, and started picking photos from the pictures. He would say a photo, and Chen Xiaofeng would copy it for him.

In a short while, Xu Lang had selected 24 cards.

"That's it, I really can't pick any more, these will do."

As Xu Lang spoke, he took out his wallet, counted out 360 yuan, and threw it on the counter.

Chen Xiaofeng took the money, counting it as he spoke, "You're asking for far too little."

"Ha, you don't have anything good either. If you really had something good, I would definitely take it all, and the price would definitely not be a loss for you."

"Well..."

Seeing that Chen Xiaofeng seemed hesitant to speak, Xu Lang knew he was wavering.

He unplugged the USB drive and walked out, talking as he did so.

"Sigh, this trip to Beijing was a waste. I didn't get anything good. I'll go to other cities tomorrow."

As he reached the door, Xu Lang waved to Chen Xiaofeng, "Brother Chen, goodbye, see you later."

Seeing this, Chen Xiaofeng couldn't help but ask:

"Hey bro, want to exchange phone numbers? How can I contact you if anything happens?"

"Telephone?"

Xu Lang laughed, "Forget it, it's better for people in our line of work to be careful. We all communicate through a single contact person and don't exchange phone numbers."

Having said that, Xu Lang pushed open the door to leave, but he was still wondering, "Is this kid just very wary? Or does he really not have anything good to offer?"

But things have already progressed to this point, and he can't back down now; he can only move forward.

"It's over. I lost everything on this trip. I got nothing and even lost 360 yuan."

With these thoughts in mind, Xu Lang pushed open the door and walked out.

Just as he stepped out the door, Chen Xiaofeng's voice rang out behind him.

"Hey bro, wait a minute, I just remembered, there's another folder you should check."

Upon hearing this, Xu Lang was overjoyed.

"Damn, this kid finally took the bait!"