Chapter 62: Elevating Her

Gong Xue did not expect to be asked directly.

Treating Zhang Jinling as a close friend, she felt comfortable enough to speak her mind around acquaintances. "I haven't really thought about it. I've always wanted to join the Shanghai Film Studio so I could live with my parents."

"You're a grown-up now, and you still want to live with your parents?"

"I left home when I was in my teens and have been drifting ever since. Of course I want to go back to Shanghai."

"Is it hard to get into the Shanghai Film Studio?" Chen Qi asked.

"Very hard. I've never collaborated with them, and they don't even know me. Why would they want a random person out of nowhere?" Gong Xue sighed, looking quite dejected.

Don't be like that, sister! It would be so wonderful if you stayed in the capital—just think of you and Zhu Lin sharing the same frame...

Chen Qi pondered for a moment and said, "In my opinion, since you want to be an actress, you should seize whatever opportunity is right in front of you instead of ending up with nothing on either end. Director Wang is a man who appreciates talent. If *Romance on Lushan Mountain* turns out well, he will definitely apply for your transfer. Take that Liu Xiaoqing for instance. How much did they pay to buy out her contract?"

"Eighty thousand!" Zhang Jinling held up a hand to indicate the number.

"Look at that! An eighty-thousand transfer fee. By the time you're up, double it—you won't get away for less than two hundred thousand!"

"Do you take us for commodities? Besides, where on earth am I worth two hundred thousand?" Gong Xue gave him a sideways glance, dismissing his words as sheer nonsense.

At the same time, a tinge of melancholy settled in her heart. *Romance on Lushan Mountain* would wrap up in December, and she would have to return to the army troupe. She was deeply grateful for this opportunity, loved the atmosphere of the crew, and absorbed experience like a sponge; she was extremely reluctant to leave.

If she didn't want to go back, she would have to land another film role. But making movies was never that simple. The studio had to choose a subject, write a script, hold discussions, pick actors... What were the odds they would happen to pick her again? That would be entirely too lucky.

"Hiccup~"

Chen Qi picked up his large bowl, finished the wonton soup to the last drop, and let out a hearty burp. "Are you finished eating?"

"All done. Let's go!"

He stood up, fished out some small-denomination paper currency totaling two yuan, laid them neatly on the table, and said, "Comrade Zhanying, lend me your tricycle for a bit. I need to take some things home."

"Just ride it, what are you talking about money for?"

"We're sworn brothers from different mothers and fathers; accounts must still be settled clearly."

His companions at the tea stall were long used to this. An old-timer even explained to a newcomer: "This is Teacher Chen. He's always cutting corners and loafing around, never done a day of honest work in his life—all he knows how to do is teach us to nod for 'yes' and shake our heads for 'no'..."

They were Kong Yiji who had already shed their long gowns.

Chen Qi was different. He had no desire to suffer through that kind of hardship, so the moment he transmigrated here and saw how bad things were looking, he simply hitched up his long gown and bolted.

The tea stall had a tricycle used for hauling goods. He borrowed one, headed south, and arrived at the Qianmen Trust Store.

The trust store was a place that bought and sold secondhand goods, and it also accepted items on consignment for a small service commission. They had everything: cameras, watches, arts and crafts, clothes, furniture, and more. Plenty of people liked to come here to hunt for treasures, commonly known as picking up scraps or scavenging bargains.

What people generally understood as scavenging a bargain was buying a piece of Yuan dynasty blue-and-white porcelain for just a few yuan. Such situations did exist, but you might not encounter one in a lifetime—after all, who doesn't recognize a good thing when they see it? But good things were expensive too!

People were poor in this era, and only a very few could afford to hunt for antiques. Take Ma Weidu for instance; in the 1980s, he spent two thousand yuan on a set of folding screens—money that was originally meant for buying a color TV. Who among ordinary people could bear to part with that?

So scavenging a bargain was actually just a matter of good things being abundant at the time with very little competition, giving you a high chance of actually acquiring them. Of course, if you were like the female elder who relied on powerful backing to ship antiques to Hong Kong by the truckload, that was impressive too. Or like Li Chunping, who fabricated a story about being kept by a Hollywood star and inheriting a multi-million-dollar fortune... They were all characteristics of the era.

Chen Qi had strolled around the trust store in the morning. Coming back in now, he carried out a gramophone, a few old vinyl records, and two chairs, loaded them onto the tricycle, and pedaled back home.

Entering Menkuang Hutong, he parked at the courtyard entrance.

Zhang Jinling helped him carry the chairs while Gong Xue cradled the gramophone, looking around the large courtyard with curiosity as she asked, "Is this the Xinhua Bookstore dormitory?"

"Mhm, the place that gave birth to me and raised me!"

"Then that room over there must be my home."

Chen Qi opened the door, set the things inside, and smiled. "Thank you for your hard work. Making two female comrades help me move—I simply couldn't help myself when I saw some good stuff."

"Look at what you're saying! Women hold up half the sky; what's wrong with moving a few things?" Zhang Jinling said offhandedly.

Ah! If she uttered those words decades later, internet goddesses would tear her to shreds.

"..."

Gong Xue simply looked around the small room. It was clean and tidy, packed with all sorts of items, some of which looked quite valuable. A makeshift bed had been set up in the outer room.

Glancing at the bed, she smiled, pursing her lips. "You sleep here? Is it long enough?"

"I sleep like this, with my feet placed right here..."

Chen Qi brought over a long bench, placed it at the foot of the bed, artificially lengthening it by a section, and said, "This bed is a bit short, but it's wide enough horizontally. Sleeping three people wouldn't be a problem."

"Your words are rather ambiguous, little comrade!"

Zhang Jinling was already married and understood everything; she gave him a light scolding.

Without even stopping for a drink of water, she stayed for a moment and then headed out... There was no help for it. A single man with two women—at her age and his, people would say things even if they meant no harm. A hundred tongues could not clear you of suspicion, and you'd never wash clean even if you jumped into the Yellow River. She had to look out for that!

Chen Qi gave his own face a gentle slap.

He hurried back out to the Xinhua Bookstore and shouted to Yu Xiuli, "Mom, I bought some things and sent them home!"

"What kind of things? Hey, are you leaving just like that?"

"A gramophone, chairs... Those chairs are huanghuali wood, don't you dare burn them for firewood!!"

***

Toward evening.

Gong Xue finished her meal and went for her routine stroll in the courtyard.

With the film crew not shooting, her life was monotonous. Every day, eating felt like being let out for yard time, and she usually cooped herself up indoors reading books. She had few friends and wasn't naturally inclined toward socializing.

After spending the entire day out, she felt a little tired, but also quite happy.

"Comrade Gong Xue?"

A voice suddenly called out from behind. She turned around, sifted through her memory for a moment, and then said, "Director Huang, out for a walk too?"

"Yes, a hundred steps after a meal is good for the health!"

Huang Jianzhong hurried up with a smile and said, "Your crew hasn't started filming yet, have they? It's all because of those plenary meetings making a fuss. The thing filming fears most is a mid-stream halt; it's easy to lose your state, and once it's gone, it's not easy to find again."

"Oh, I'm doing fine..."

She had originally wanted to stroll a bit longer, but now all mood for it was gone. "I need to head back to the guesthouse. Thank you for your concern."

"Oh right, I still need to walk a few more laps!"

Huang Jianzhong watched her retreating figure, comparing her to his own wife, and had to admit there was simply no comparison.

In twenty years' time, he would be sleeping with actresses, but under the current environment, he didn't dare pull any sleazy stunts. He only found her pretty, so he sidled up to make awkward small talk while she responded with polite detachment.

"Pretty boy!"

Huang Jianzhong curled his lip, though it was unclear who he was cursing.

***

Gong Xue returned to her room, and before she knew it, night had fallen.

Sitting at her desk, she pulled out some writing paper and began to write a letter to her parents.

*"Today, Sister Ailing mentioned that I might enter the Beijing Film Studio. I had never considered this possibility. Having left home for ten years, I deeply yearn to return to your side and keep you company, and that remains unchanged now—the Shanghai Film Studio is my true goal."*

*"Romance on Lushan Mountain wraps up next month, and I will return to the army troupe by then. I am so reluctant to leave everything about the crew, and I can only pour my heart out to you. Please don't scold me for acting like a child again..."*

***

*"Aaaaaah!"*

At the same time, Chen Qi was fuming in room 302, his hand aching and his backside sore from writing *The Invincible Mandarin Duck Kicks*.

*"A computer, I need a computer! Even a typewriter would do!"*

*"I'm just a guy used to writing eight-hundred-word essays, and you expect me to churn out tens of thousands of words?"*

Grumbling to himself while writing, he finally finished his word-count quota for the day and instantly leaped up with a sense of relief.

It was past 11:00 PM by the time he washed up and lay down on the bed. Thinking of those two huanghuali chairs—oh, that craftsmanship, that texture—it was a pity they could only be squeezed into his own dilapidated little house.

Then, memories of the daytime conversation drifted into his mind: entering the Beijing Film Studio, entering the Shanghai Film Studio...

He didn't pay it much heed.

*"That's easy. All we have to do is make her a star!"*

*(And that's the end...)*
*(Didn't any of you celebrate 520?)*