Chapter 54: Chapter 53: Song Wu’s Surprise

These small domestic production teams really understand their audience.

The Brothel-themed dramas focus on the chaotic flurry of silk ribbons.

Song Wu and Bai Xin didn’t dare to leave; if they just walked out now, they feared they would have trouble landing even the most minor roles in the future.

After changing into period costumes, their long black hair was casually draped over their shoulders.

In The Great Brothel, illuminated by red lanterns, a gang of villains suddenly rushed in.

Without a word, they grabbed the women and started killing.

Of course, they would do ‘that’ before the killing.

The script was written this way anyway, with a group of Brothel women running all over the place.

Those who ran slowly were caught and frantically rubbed on the ground; those who ran fast were blasted with wind machines.

They had to blow out everything the audience “uncles” wanted to see; what couldn’t be shown, just couldn’t be helped.

Bai Xin, wearing a tiny mandarin duck bellyband, was almost in tears as the wind blew all over her.

The director watched and praised her acting skills.

It was the same for Song Wu; if one take wasn’t good enough, they’d do it again.

Chen Pingsheng watched from the doorway; it took seven or eight takes to finally finish the scene.

After the two changed back into their own clothes and settled the payment, they prepared to leave.

Song Wu felt awkward, but Bai Xin was somewhat better off since she had pasties to cover up and avoid exposing too much.

“Uncle, weren’t you going to treat us to a meal?” she asked.

“Right, there’s a hotpot buffet nearby, let’s go together,” he suggested.

He didn’t speak to Song Wu, and she felt too embarrassed to say anything.

Bai Xin, however, found it strange. This didn’t seem like the relationship between a brother-in-law and a sister-in-law.

At this moment, Song Wu, who once held such pride, was only filled with embarrassment and discomfort.

It was as if the relatives she once looked down upon had reappeared as figures she couldn’t aspire to reach.

This sort of thing can only be understood by those who truly experience it.

The three of them went next door to a high-end seafood buffet, with an average cost of 598 per person.

Bai Xin was still very optimistic, gleefully calling him “Uncle.”

Song Wu, on the other hand, kept her head down, filled with dissatisfaction about her current self and guilt about the past.

“Uncle, don’t you need to ask for time off from your boss?” Bai Xin asked, finding him incredibly free, like the zenith of working-class life.

“No need, the boss is so busy all the time, he doesn’t have the time to care about what I do,” he explained.

“Then you’re very lucky,” she commented.

Bai Xin ate gracefully. Many times, guys had wanted to treat her to such luxury meals, but she usually rejected them.

There was no secret why, for they all had ulterior motives.

But Uncle was different; he held no inappropriate thoughts toward her.

Chen Pingsheng curiously asked, “How much can you guys earn as extras in a month?”

“Lots of times, seven or eight thousand; on slow months, three or four thousand. It mainly depends on how many gigs we can get in a month,” she responded.

That income in Capital City, without room and board included, would definitely make it tough to get by, all chasing the dream of stardom.

Bai Xin also asked, “What about you, Uncle? Didn’t you used to be an extra too?”

“Back then, I would make over one thousand a day.”

“That’s amazing,” Bai Xin exclaimed, surprised, while Chen Pingsheng just smiled without replying.

He finished eating quickly, wiped his mouth, and then said, “Your sister is pregnant. I talked to her today about your situation. When you have time, visit her more often. She still cares a lot about you.”

Song Wu was close to tears. In the past, she lived in an ivory tower, thoughtless.

Now that she was out earning money by herself, she understood just how difficult making money could be.

She could also better understand the hardships her brother-in-law faced back then.

Ever since he came to Capital City, he had worked tirelessly to earn money, without a break for four or five years.

All of this was to provide a happy and secure home for her sister.

And yet, she understood nothing, only knowing how to blame him for having no education, no degree, and not being a native of Capital City.

Worse still, she used to constantly urge her sister to get a divorce.

Looking back now, she didn’t have the face to confront her own brother-in-law.

Let alone seek his help.

“Your sister is now working on her beauty business, and you can help her out when you have the time.”

Having said that, Chen Pingsheng left.

Bai Xin was dumbfounded, unable to figure out what was happening.

“Senpai, why didn’t you talk to uncle at all?”

She would have liked to, but she didn’t have the face for it.

Song Wu asked her in return, “How do you know him?”

“Met him through ride-sharing,”

Bai Xin said with a smile, “You don’t know, but the car uncle drives every day is so nice. I just hitched a ride with him from Shijingshan. For only twenty-five Yuan a day, I get to ride in a luxury car exclusively. I even admire myself.”

“Ride-sharing?”

Song Wu frowned, does he still need to drive for Didi ride-sharing?

“How come you seem to know nothing about uncle?”

Bai Xin said with curiosity, “Isn’t Zhao Liying his boss? Uncle also takes side jobs driving people around.”

“Zhao Liying is his boss?”

Song Wu curled her lip, “It seems he didn’t tell you the truth. If it weren’t for him, Zhao Liying would still be doing bit parts like us.”

“What do you mean?”

“Zhao Liying was invested in by him, and so was the filming of Legend of Lu Zhen.”

“What are you talking about?”

Her brain automatically filled in Director Zheng’s English lines from ‘The Mermaid’.

Bai Xin was so shocked that she stood up at once, “Are you saying that uncle’s boss isn’t actually Zhao Liying, but he himself is Zhao Liying’s boss?”

“That’s always been the case.”

Song Wu explained, “Zhao Liying used to be his neighbor. Back then, he was selling durians on the street, and Zhao Liying was just a small extra in Capital City who couldn’t afford a house or a car. It was only after knowing him that she started her rise to stardom.”

“Uncle used to sell durians, how could he invest in Zhao Liying?”

Bai Xin thought about it, and by the standards of Legend of Lu Zhen, it must have required an investment of tens of millions at the very least.

Selling durians until death wouldn’t make that much money, right?

“He hasn’t sold durians for a long time. Don’t you live in Shijingshan? Tengsheng Fruits there is his, and so is Water Cloud Space.”

“That’s amazing!”

Bai Xin’s eyes lit up, surprised, “Tengsheng Fruits is all over Shijingshan. As soon as it opens, nearly all the other fruit shops have no business.”

“Strange, if uncle is so amazing and he’s your brother-in-law, Senpai, why are you still doing extras here? He’s an investor; can’t you just go to him and easily get some good roles?”

If it weren’t for the past incidents, indeed she could.

Unfortunately… Song Wu’s eyes dimmed, “I used to be ignorant and often scolded him.”

“Ah?” Bai Xin’s mouth was agape, big enough to fit in a large egg, “Uncle seems like a nice person, why did you scold him?”

Song Wu stayed silent, and Bai Xin understood.

It must be related to his previous disreputable job.

Who would have thought that uncle had such a story.

She just randomly hitched a ride and it turned out to be with Zhao Liying’s boss.

If this luck doesn’t lead to success, it simply defies all reason.

The only question was whether she could still catch a ride with uncle. She was really looking forward to it.

…

Chen Pingsheng rushed back because the author of Hua Qiangu had arrived.

He was going to negotiate with her about the novel’s adaptation rights and to ask her to become the scriptwriter for the sequels.

These matters couldn’t be delayed.

The author of The Legend of Hua Qiangu was a young mother with a treasure, and this was her first time receiving an investment to adapt her novel into a TV series.

Chen Pingsheng didn’t play tricks. He offered to buy the permanent adaptation rights to Hua Qiangu for five million Yuan.

This included TV dramas, movies, games, and all other products related to The Legend of Hua Qiangu.

Once the TV drama got popular, all products related to Hua Qiangu would be worth a lot.