Chapter 5: A Failed Attempt
Shen Yan was a bit speechless...
The original self was truly an idiot!
Clearly, connections were there, yet stubbornly pretended to be aloof...
The entertainment industry is fundamentally about connections...
If you have an uncle, why not use him?
Who are you trying to impress by putting on airs?
That uncle is arguably the closest person to you in this world, without exception.
Oh, the uncle said he sent him 20,000 yuan this time, specially instructing him not to be stingy when working with the crew and to maintain good relationships...
20,000 yuan?
Shen Yan was a little stunned...
Had he known he sent 20,000 yuan, he wouldn’t have bought some secondhand computer...
Nor would he have spent 100 yuan in an internet cafe!
As for how to spend that money...
Maintaining relationships is one thing; moving forward in the circles is another matter entirely!
But indeed, it solved an urgent problem—otherwise, he wouldn’t even have enough money to go to Hengdian for the audition.
The audition for "Living Buddha Jigong" was held in Hengdian...
He looked up the director of "Living Buddha Jigong" and found it was Lin Tianyi, a well-known director famed for Taiwanese rural dramas, with representative works like "True Love Without Regrets" and "Million Brides"...
Though not as lengthy as "Unforgettable" (526 episodes) or "Mother’s Home" (937 episodes), Lin was a master of sensational, ethical dramas!
After moving to the mainland, he produced "Temptation of Going Home" and "Virtuous Wife"...
The producer of "Living Buddha Jigong" was Jian Yuanxin, who also wrote the script.
He was Lin Tianyi’s producer, a formidable figure skilled in making melodramatic family ethics dramas such as "Million Brides" and "Eldest Son’s Wife," as well as historical comedies like "The Strange Hero Ouyang De" and "Living Buddha Jigong"...
Shen Yan had little impression of "Living Buddha Jigong"—only knowing it was quite popular, albeit cheesy, but with high ratings...
The lead actor Chen Haomin made a career out of it, starring in many Jigong movies like "Jigong: Dragon-Subduing Arhat" and "True and False Jigong," standard online movies with enticing posters, adult-like scenes, and incoherent plots...
After some thought, Shen Yan decided to first retrieve the computer.
He had arranged the offline transaction yesterday.
With the remaining money, he planned to visit the Panjiayuan, Daliushu, and Baoguosi antique markets to hunt for genuine treasures...
Antiques had become very popular in recent years!
In prosperous times, people value cultural relics and antiques; in chaotic times, gold.
Yesterday, he even saw someone watching "Huayu’s Door" in the internet cafe...
He learned that treasure appraisal variety shows are a major trend, like "Treasure Appraisal," "Huayu’s Door," and "World Collection"...
In his previous life, he had watched some appraisal live streams like "Listening Spring Treasure Appraisal" and "Daily Treasure Appraisal"...
To be honest, he didn’t know much about these, but with his inherited knowledge, he had a good eye.
Not aiming to find a jackpot, just to avoid being fooled!
These days, finding a real bargain is quite difficult.
But antiques rely on both vision and luck...
Shen Yan thought his luck wasn’t bad!
Even if he couldn’t find a huge bargain, a small one to improve his life would be nice.
...
After breakfast, he arrived at the agreed place yesterday, powered up the computer to check it, and bought the secondhand computer for 650 yuan, then purchased a keyboard and mouse...
He also stopped by the internet cafe to check the signing news for his work...
No signing message yet...
Probably still waiting a few days.
No matter, he continued uploading two chapters. Shen Yan settled down and "wrote" for three hours, saved six chapters, then began "writing" Lotus Pavilion...
Around three in the afternoon, he left the internet cafe and headed to Panjiayuan...
Panjiayuan was bustling with people, lively and crowded, with stall after stall filled with dazzling antique items...
Weaving through the crowd, Shen Yan’s eyes scanned like radar.
He first stopped at a stall filled with porcelain, picked up a blue-and-white vase, carefully examined the pattern, and gently touched the glaze to feel its texture...
The colors were too bright, lacking depth, and the craftsmanship was somewhat crude...
Alright, this was clearly a modern replica!
Most porcelain stalls had similar items...
Nearby, a group of old men inspected pieces with magnifying glasses, one fake after another...
In the end, the only difference was whether the piece was unearthed last week or last month!
It looked quite pitiful!
After a while, Shen Yan moved to the adjacent coin stall!
He didn’t even bother to squat, just stood and glanced over.
When looking at old coins, one mainly checks the script, rust color, and shape.
Authentic coins have strong, forceful scripts, natural and layered rust, and shapes consistent with the casting techniques of the time.
But the coins at this stall... well, the script was weak, the rust superficial, obviously all fake.
Usually, stalls have a few real coins, right?
Had he arrived too late?
Had the genuine coins already been picked clean?
Damn, how do these treasure appraisal writers even write their articles?
Not practical at all!
After two hours, Shen Yan only spent 1,500 yuan on a brush—a wolf hair brush.
The craftsmanship of the brush handle was somewhat antique, but lacked detail; it was a typical Republic of China era imitation of a Ming dynasty wolf hair brush!
How to put it, Ming dynasty wolf hair brushes were reliable and crafted with care, but by the Republic era, many techniques were lost or simplified, so the brush handle was inferior...
Antiques are antiques; replicas aren’t feared, and many old items are replicas—the key is the quality of the imitation!
Shen Yan thought it was acceptable, went to Panjiayuan’s Tianbao Pavilion, and sold it for 1,800...
Uh, two hours’ income was 300 yuan!
Damn, this job isn’t worth it.
Come to think of it, Panjiayuan is an officially managed market with savvy sellers. Forget about bargains; even items with some value are hard to buy cheaply!
He guessed Daliushu and Baoguosi antique markets were probably the same!
Suddenly recalled a line from "Under Zhengyang Gate": Good things were taken away long ago!
Forget it, this won’t work!
The path of bargain hunting was clearly not for him...
Better to continue being a literary copier.
...
For the next week, Shen Yan mostly stayed home writing... He completed his contract with Qidian.
He also submitted "Lotus Pavilion" to "Modern and Ancient Legends: Martial Arts Edition"...
The stockpile for "The Supreme One" reached nearly 50,000 words...
He went to the internet cafe, uploaded all the drafts to the backend, then left Beijing for Hengdian...
He didn’t have high hopes for this trip; honestly, he didn’t expect to land any role...
Look, "The Supreme One" had smoothly signed on, currently topping the new books list, with decent collections and recommendations. Unless something unexpected happened, the annual rookie king title was his.
"The Supreme One" could definitely overpower the original 2009 rookie king Zhuang Bifan.
Zhuang’s novel was "Master of All Professions in Another World"...
It was an early flashy, feel-good novel where the protagonist possessed a game account with perfect stats and a warehouse, traversed to another continent, and the plot was just endless face-slapping. No matter the storyline, it always turned into showing off and slapping down others.
Ahem...
"Lotus Pavilion" was also submitted to the Martial Arts Edition, and barring surprises, it should serialize...
With Qidian’s support, Shen Yan felt it was enough to sustain himself!
The main reason he agreed to audition for the "Living Buddha Jigong" crew was not wanting to disappoint Sister Yang’s kindness...