Beijing Film Studio

"Creak!"

The sun had only just begun to sink westward when Chen Qi pushed open the courtyard gate and hauled his bicycle out, rattling and clanking.

Perhaps Yu Xiuli was afraid he would starve to death. She had brought him not only a large bundle of clothes but also a big bag of assorted food. His parents had asked people to exchange quite a few ration coupons for them, and they had also pressed thirty yuan into his hands.

It wasn't yet time for work to end, and Menkuang Hutong was unusually quiet. Only an old man was watching from a short distance away.

Chen Qi looked back. He had lived here for half a month, and though he wasn't deeply attached to the place, he did feel something for it after all. A faint melancholy rose in him, a physical instinct, and he sighed inwardly. I've cleared the newbie village, I suppose. Time to change maps!

"Off I go!"

He lingered no longer. He hopped on his bicycle and took off, and by the time he left Dashilar, his mood had already improved. He even hummed an educational song: "Big-headed son and small-headed dad, a pair of good friends, a happy father and son..."

Come to think of it, when he was little, he had always thought Big-headed Son's mother was called "Wronged Mom." Only later had he learned it was "Apron Mom." He blamed the lack of subtitles.

Their neighbor was called Old Wang.

Ten kilometers wasn't close; it would take a while to cycle there. In those days, once you got past Beijing's Second Ring Road, you were in the countryside. Haidian was different, though. Universities clustered there, and with people coming and going, it was bustling. The buildings looked respectable, too.

"Teacher Liang!"

Liang Xiaosheng was waiting at the gate of Beijing Film Studio. He hurriedly said, "Careful, careful! You brought so much?"

"My mom worries, you know."

"Actually, we have everything here. Get off first, and I'll give you a quick tour."

Chen Qi got off and pushed his bicycle inside. He glanced at the old man in the guardroom, who didn't recognize him as the fellow who had given him half a pack of Daqianmen cigarettes and simply watched with a goofy expression.

Beijing Film Studio covered quite an area. The first things he saw were three buildings.

In the center stood the main building, a red-and-white, Soviet-style structure three and a half stories tall. The literature department and the editorial office of Film Creation were on the third floor. There were two auxiliary buildings as well: one for sound recording and editing, the other for film processing and printing.

"The soundstages are behind the main building, and the support facilities are all over there. I'll take you to the guesthouse first."

Liang Xiaosheng led him around.

Chen Qi had visited Beijing Film Studio in his previous life. Many of the buildings weren't here yet, such as the Ming and Qing-style street, which had been built for the filming of Camel Xiangzi in 1981 and later expanded into a full street.

There were also the Rong and Ning Mansions, built for the 1986 film adaptation of Dream of the Red Chamber. The TV adaptation had been filming around then too, with Chen Xiaoxu and Zhang Li all lovey-dovey...

There was also a row of single-story buildings beside an iron railing that hadn't been built yet. Feng Xiaogang had stayed there temporarily in 1997 and made The Dream Factory.

"The corridor-style building over there is the dormitory. That's the bathhouse and the big dining hall. The guesthouse is just north of the soundstages."

Liang Xiaosheng led him to a seven-story building and smiled. "From the moment a film enters pre-production, everyone in cinematography, art, costumes, props, and so on stays here.

"They sleep eight to a room. Guess who gets a single?"

"The director?"

"The director is one. Who else?"

"The leads?"

"Ordinary actors stay eight to a room too. Well-known actors get doubles. Only directors and screenwriters get singles. It's a tradition at film studios all over the country!"

Liang Xiaosheng suddenly felt a sense of pride, even though he wasn't a screenwriter himself. "There's a saying in literary and artistic circles: the director is the god of a film, and the screenwriter is second only to god!"

Ohhh~~~

Chen Qi acted flattered.

In the entertainment industry of later years, heaven was vast and earth was vast, but the money backer was greater than both. The money backer's boyfriends, girlfriends, godsons, goddaughters, and friends who were neither male nor female came second. Having long since been hardened to it, he felt nothing.

The two had just entered the guesthouse when a young woman suddenly came pounding down the stairs and greeted them of her own accord.

"Teacher Liang!"

Chen Qi took a look at her. She was thin and small, with eyes that naturally drooped at the outer corners, giving her a somewhat mournful look. The tip of her nose was rather big. She wasn't pretty, but her features were all there, and she looked a little familiar.

"Where are you off to?"

"The meeting's over, so I'm going home. Who's this?" The young woman's voice was a little shrill.

"His name is Chen Qi. He's here to revise a script..."

Liang Xiaosheng introduced her enthusiastically, smiling. "This is the youngest actor at our studio. She's only eighteen. Her name is Cai Ming!"

Pfft!

Chen Qi nearly lost control of his expression. No fucking wonder she looked familiar. It was Cai Ming! The Cai Ming who performed comedy sketches.

Eighteen-year-old Caicaizi was standing right in front of him, and no matter how he looked at her, it felt strange. She, however, noticed nothing and held out her hand. "Hello! You're so young and you can already revise scripts? That's amazing. But I have to go now. Let's talk another day."

She skipped away.

"Doesn't she live in the dormitory?"

"She's a Beijing local. Her father's a university professor, and her mother's a chief physician. Why would she live in the dormitory? The dorm rooms are reserved for bachelors. I have a little single room myself, for instance."

Liang Xiaosheng sounded rather envious.

Chen Qi continued, "Has she acted in anything?"

"Three productions. She just landed another one recently, which will be her fourth."

"Oh, she's pretty cute."

Having said that, he scratched his head. Other people met female stars like Zhu Lin, He Qing, and Chen Hong. Those who moved in Hong Kong entertainment circles met Brigitte Lin, Angie Chiu, and Rosamund Kwan. Why the hell was the one he met Cai Ming? He wasn't Guo Da!

The room was number 302.

It was about ten square meters, with a single bed, a desk and chair, and a wardrobe. A thermos and a teacup sat on the desk, and an East Is Red mirror hung on the wall. Beneath the mirror was an iron stand holding an enamel washbasin.

It was the kind of enamel basin every household had, decorated with a big carp or peonies.

Each floor had a toilet, the kind found in school dormitories. It was an old-fashioned flush toilet: the urinal was one long trough, with a pipe above it dripping water down, and the toilet was another trough divided by partitions.

When you took a shit, it was like sitting in a row to share fruit.

Of course, there was no private bathroom, but Chen Qi was already quite satisfied. What was there to complain about when he had a single room in this day and age? If he got up at night, the toilet was right outside, and he wouldn't have to empty a chamber pot anymore.

Chen Qi opened the big bundle and put away his clothes.

Liang Xiaosheng eagerly helped. Seeing that he hadn't brought any books at all, he smiled. "I thought you'd bring some books to read. I was hoping we could discuss them."

"Mostly, the books at home are too old. I've gone through them I don't know how many times, so I'm planning to buy some new ones. Actually, I like watching movies more than reading. I know every one of them like the treasures in my own home."

"You're that good?"

"Of course. Name any movie you like, and I'll know who starred in it," Chen Qi said with a smile.

"Hmm..."

Liang Xiaosheng clearly didn't believe him. "Do you know the film Long Live the Missus? It's from the forties."

"I do!"

"Who starred in it?"

"The man was called Little Handsome, and the woman was called Little Beauty!"

"..."

The garbage of internet culture from decades in the future struck this intellectual a savage blow without warning. Liang Xiaosheng's mind went blank for two seconds, utterly unable to receive the signal. After a pause, he tried asking, "What about the stars of This Land of Ours, the Cuban film?"

"The man was called Big Brawny, and the woman was Little Beauty again."

Get the hell out!

Liang Xiaosheng wanted to curse him out.

He gave up on their exchange and said instead, "As usual, we'll cover your room and board, but if you want anything to eat beyond your three meals, you'll have to take care of it yourself. Your living allowance will be two yuan a day, until you finish the assignment."

"Teacher Liang, may I ask roughly how much I'll be paid for the script?"

"That still needs to be discussed. After all, the final draft hasn't been settled yet! Tomorrow morning, you can go straight to the dining hall. After breakfast, come to the literature department in the main building, and we'll have a meeting."

Liang Xiaosheng arranged everything, then thought for a moment and added, "Oh, right, there's already a film crew on the third floor. The director is staying right next door to you. He's a veteran at our studio and likes his peace and quiet, so be mindful of that."

"Which veteran?"

"Director Chen Huaikai."

Oh!!!!

Chen Qi's eyes lit up. The great director's dad!

(That's all...)

(End of chapter)