"Cut!"
"Zhang Tielin, good job. Li Jianqun, you didn't bring out the fear. You need to show both struggle and terror. Your movements earlier were a bit stiff; all that came through was nervous tension."
"Take it again!"
After a few more attempts, Yang Jie felt satisfied and moved on to the next scene.
Zhan Zhao kicked the door open, burst inside, and dispatched the lecherous innkeeper in a few swift moves before tying him up to be handed over to the authorities. The action choreography here was handled by Wang Qun. Though he had only one film's worth of experience under his belt, he was leagues ahead of most people; borrowing a few moves from Tai Chi, he made it look quite decent.
Chen Qi watched from the side for a while. Wang Qun's performance was fine—solid and respectable. Li Jianqun lacked experience, though she had never been known for her acting anyway; passing muster was good enough.
The main thing was that Yang Jie truly knew her stuff. At this time, many people had no idea how to shoot television dramas. They filmed them the way they filmed movies—one shot a day, spending an entire month on a single episode. Yang Jie was far more seasoned: for the six-episode Justice Bao, her projected schedule was three months.
One month in the studio, two months on location, and if post-production went smoothly, it could air before the year was out.
Speaking of which, TV dramas are also great for earning foreign exchange through exports. Pity the market volume is too small right now, and I don't have the bandwidth to spare. I'll wait for the Four Great Classical Novels!
Domestic dramas of this era were just getting off the ground, and overall quality wasn't high—with the exception of the classics.
When Journey to the West traveled abroad to those small Buddhist nations to the south, ordinary folks would actually kowtow to their television sets! Nepal even sent a letter to the Buddha, inviting him to return to his ancestral roots... The actor who played the Buddha was Zhu Longguang—Gao Chuanbao from Tunnel Warfare, and Tong Xiangyu's father in My Own Swordsman.
Then there was Zuo Dabin, who played Guanyin Bodhisattva. The paintings hung in temples and the Bodhisattva amulets sold to pilgrims all bore her likeness.
Put it this way: aside from Water Margin, the portrayals in Journey to the West, Romance of the Three Kingdoms, and Dream of the Red Chamber—Sun Wukong, Tang Seng, Zhu Bajie, Guan Yu, Zhuge Liang, Jia Baoyu, Lin Daiyu, and the rest—directly defined the artistic benchmark for those characters for decades to come.
"I'm heading out to buy groceries. What do you want?"
"Get some meat, and pick up some pastries and sweets. Oh, right—they sell Shanghai Lifeng beef jerky there. Buy some if you can."
"All right, I'm off then."
Chen Qi didn't stay long. After whispering a few words with Gong Xue, he slipped out of the studio stage and headed straight for the Overseas Chinese Store at Xidan.
He had received thirty thousand Hong Kong dollars in royalties from the Yuen Brothers, which came with a mountain of allocated overseas remittance certificates. On top of that, the construction materials he had bought for his house still hadn't run out. Once he actually started submitting work to the United States, he would be raking in genuine greenbacks.
In other words, not only could his company earn foreign exchange, but he could personally earn it as well—a double bloom for both the collective and the individual.
* * *
That evening.
Chen Qi led Wang Qun, Li Jianqun, Yang Jie, and Wang Chongqiu around to the tongzilou dormitory in the back. As they traversed the long, dim corridor, the sizzling sound of hot oil reached their ears along with an appetizing aroma. Gong Xue was stir-frying dishes, while Gong Ying bustled back and forth lending a hand.
"You're here! Please, come inside! Xiao Chen, help host them!"
"On it!"
Under the four pairs of piercing, curious gazes, Chen Qi didn't bat an eye. He ushered the group inside. "Find a spot and sit wherever you can. The room is on the smaller side. These stools were just bought a couple of days ago."
"Will we all fit when it's time to eat?" Wang Qun asked.
"Two tables—a small one on the bed and a big one on the floor... Here, grab that newspaper!"
Chen Qi folded back half the mattress pad, laid down a few sheets of newspaper, set a small square table on top, and then poured water for everyone before bringing out the beef jerky. "Picked this up at the Overseas Chinese Store. Everyone, have a taste!"
"Shanghai Lifeng? I went to school in Shanghai and never even had it—only heard about it."
Li Jianqun took a piece with easy grace. Her pristine white teeth clamped down on the beef jerky, and the beauty mark near the corner of her lip moved rhythmically as she chewed, catching the eye at once.
Chen Qi couldn't help wondering: Logically, shouldn't people in this era have rather poor teeth? How come every one I run into has teeth so white and even?
Seeing this, Yang Jie sighed. "You've really spent too much on us. I thought it was just going to be a simple, casual meal. If I'd known, I wouldn't have come! I saw pork ribs simmering in the pot out there!"
"Aiya, now that you're here, if you don't eat them, won't it all have been bought for nothing?"
Chen Qi unwrapped a piece of beef jerky and handed it to the older woman. Helpless against his insistence, Yang Jie had no choice but to try one. Beef jerky was a true luxury among snacks, made from beef shank; under conditions where eating ordinary meat was already difficult, what kind of bourgeois indulgence was eating beef jerky?
As the group chatted, cooking continued outside.
Li Jianqun was rather envious of this room as well. Beijing Film Studio had moved here only a few years ago, so the buildings were fairly new—whitewashed walls, central heating—and Gong Xue loved cleanliness and tending flowers, keeping the place impeccably lovely.
Looking around, her eyes caught the traditional ink wash painting on the desk: a Chinese painting of an orchid.
"..."
She tilted her head, looked at it for a moment, then stepped outside and volunteered, "Sister Gong Xue, let me help you cook."
"No, no need! You're a guest."
"It's fine, I can cook too. An extra pair of hands makes it faster... This vegetable needs stir-frying, right? I'll wash it."
"Ah, wonderful! I'm liberated!"
Gong Ying bolted in a flash. Li Jianqun washed a bunch of greens and asked, "Does it need chopping?"
"Really, you don't have to—aiya... chop it into sections then, if you would. Thanks so much."
Li Jianqun deftly chopped the greens, arranged them on a plate, and handed them over. Gong Xue tipped them into the pan with a sizzle and began tossing them. A Shanghai girl did everything with exact precision: five tosses was Shanghainese, six tosses was northern Jiangsu—well...
Seeing the heat was just right, she reached for the sugar jar and routinely scooped some up. Just before dropping it in, she paused abruptly and stuck her tongue out playfully. "Phew, that was close! I almost forgot again!"
"They don't like sugar in their food, do they?" Li Jianqun smiled.
"Not at all. By the way, where are you from?"
"Wuhan."
"What do people from Wuhan like to eat?"
"Lots of things—doupi, dousi noodles, freshwater catch, lotus root. We can't live without lotus root all year round, and we love spicy food."
"Then you must have found Shanghai really hard to get used to!"
Gong Xue looked at her with pity, and Li Jianqun nodded vigorously. "At first, it was really hard. Now it's better; my palate has become a mix, so I can eat a bit of everything... Here, let me carry this inside for you."
She carried the stir-fried greens into the room, returned, and said with a smile, "Sister Gong Xue, that orchid painting of yours is really wonderful."
"I was just doodling casually. Yingying said your oil paintings are amazing?"
"Mine are just casual scribbles too. Although I studied fine arts, I haven't mastered the craft—it's just for my own amusement."
"My mother is a professional artist, and I don't even have a third of her skill. I can tell right away that you're just being modest. If there's a chance, you must let me see your work."
The two got along swimmingly. Before long, the main dish of pork ribs was done and brought inside to officially start the feast.
The space was simply too cramped. Since it wasn't polite for guests to climb onto the bed, Gong Ying sat on the bed while Wang Qun ate standing up, reaching for food from both ends. As was customary, someone had to say a few words. Gong Xue disliked this sort of occasion, but for her sister's sake, she stepped forward.
She spoke a few thoughtful, courteous remarks. Yang Jie understood perfectly well—going to all this trouble was simply because Gong Ying was in the production crew, and they wanted her to look after the girl! In truth, she was quite pleased with Gong Ying: while not a great beauty, she had pleasant, well-proportioned features, obeyed instructions, and worked hard. That was plenty.
Chen Qi, however, chimed in, "Director Yang, I heard your station is planning to adapt the Four Great Classical Novels?"
"How did you know that?"
"I heard Director Wang mention it in passing the other day."
"Oh, there is such an idea, but nothing's set in stone yet. Filming a classic is no small matter—script, funding, personnel, schedule, all of it requires careful thought. Anyway, if they let me direct one, I'd want to do Dream of the Red Chamber. I've read it inside and out since childhood."
Pity you won't be directing that one; you're off to shoot the monkey!
"If there's any news, give me a heads-up. I volunteer to write the script!"
"Well now, that would be wonderful!"
Surprised and delighted, Yang Jie knew this young fellow was currently the hottest screenwriter in the entire country. She said, "Then it's a deal! I'll definitely let you know!"
Gong Xue shot him a surprised look. He's usually so lazy and laid-back—why is he being so proactive all of a sudden?
Chen Qi shrugged. Come on! Those are the Four Great Classical Novels! It's like checking off a must-see tourist destination—of course I have to get in on it! Besides, as for Journey to the West, I could write that plot with my eyes closed; it wouldn't take any effort at all.
As for Dream of the Red Chamber, I'll steer clear of that one. Let Daiyu and Baochai carry on with all their romance and melodrama...
* * *
After dinner, the gathering broke up.
Gong Ying stayed behind again.
"Sis, what do you think of Jianqun?"
"You can tell at a glance that she's refined and intelligent—an educated young woman. We hit it off right away. I don't know her temperament well yet, but my impression was very good."
"Right? But no matter how good she is, she's not as good as you..."
Gong Ying wasn't foolish; she knew today was all for her benefit. She sighed, "A person like you who hates socializing so much actually stood up and made a speech at the table—I'm honestly a little touched. When I get home, I'll sing your praises to Mom and Dad."
Gong Xue rolled her eyes, too lazy to indulge her, but Gong Ying wrapped her arms around her sister's, clinging brazenly. "Sis, I want to become a professional actress. Do you think there's a way?"
"You want to get into a film studio too?"
"I don't know. As long as I can act, anything goes."
"For a newcomer like you to get into a film studio—I have no way to pull strings for that. What would I even say to the studio director?"
Gong Xue didn't want to trouble Chen Qi too much, so she said, "Finish filming Justice Bao first. I'll keep an eye out for available roles and recommend you. Once you've acted in more productions, there's bound to be a film or television studio willing to take you in."
"Mm-mm, I'll do whatever you say!"
* * *
Meanwhile, on the other side.
Li Jianqun and Zhou Jie shared a room, but they didn't interact much, keeping things superficially polite.
Zhou Jie's temper wasn't the easiest; in later generations, Jin Xing would even roast her on TV. But the deceased has passed on, so no need to dwell on it...
Lying in bed, Li Jianqun was lost in thought. She was still confused: after this drama wrapped up, should she head to the Lanzhou Military Region, or keep following this path? She had studied dance originally and only switched to fine arts after getting injured, but performing in the spotlight was her true dream.
Yet after Justice Bao finished filming, what if no one offered her another role, or no work unit took her in?
In this era, being without a work unit was terrifying!
Tossing and turning, unable to sleep, she thought back to the dinner gathering just now and couldn't help smiling. She hadn't expected Gong Ying's big-star sister to be so gentle and kind... As for her painting—well, among amateurs, it was considered good.
She didn't have any of her oil paintings with her, but she had a small notebook filled with sketches and quick drawings. If the opportunity arose, she would show it to Sister Gong Xue. She felt that the two of them had struck up quite a kindred rapport.
Chapter 182