China Entertainment 1997

The total length from Xinwu to Beijing is just over a thousand kilometers. Without high-speed rail, it would take nearly 20 hours by green train.

In the late 1990s, the security on the train was average and there were so many pickpockets that Cao Xuan did not dare to close his eyes. When he got off the train, he almost collapsed.

Therefore, Cao Xuan also had a rare luxury. Instead of queuing for a bus, he hailed a motorcycle taxi.

More than half an hour later, Mo's came to the place where Cao Xuan was renting. He handed Mo's master 10 yuan distressedly, and Cao Xuan entered the courtyard with his luggage.

"Hey, isn't this Xiao Cao? He's back."

"Hey, Sister Hu, have you eaten?"

"I just ate. My mother-in-law made fried noodles. Please have some."

"No, we've finished eating outside."

Cao Xuan exchanged pleasantries with a woman in her thirties, took out the key, and opened his cabin.

The room was not big, just over ten square meters, with only a bed, a wardrobe and a round folding table for eating. It was even worse than Cao Xuan's dormitory on the set of "Water Margin".

But for this small house, the monthly rent is as high as 240 yuan.

At this price, you can rent a small yard in Daxing.

The reason why the landlord dares to ask for such a high price is mainly because of the good location.

The hutong where the Zayuan is located is close to Beijing Normal University. It is less than 20 minutes by car from Tiananmen Square, 15 minutes by China National Theater, and 10 minutes by car from Nortel.

The most important thing is that it is close to Jingying Film Studio, only half an hour's walk away, which makes it convenient for Cao Xuan to work. This is why he is willing to pay 240 yuan a month for rent.

If you live far away, you will save money on rent, but others may pick up the good work while you are on the road.

Of course, you can also get up early and rush on the road, exchanging time for money, but going to the theater every day, leaving early and coming home late is very harmful to the body and mentally draining.

Cao Xuan had done this before and lost more than ten kilograms in a month. Later, when he found a way to sing in a karaoke bar, he decided to move decisively.

Speaking of which, Cao Xuan paid half a year's rent in one go and followed Kang Honglei to Xinwu for a "business trip" not long after he stayed there.

I thought I would be back in a few months, but it turned out that I played Ximen Qing and filmed the scene for three months. The house was also empty for three months.

Cao Xuan's heart ached when he thought about wasting more than 700 yuan in rent.

After not living here for three months, the house was a little stuffy. Cao Xuan opened the window to ventilate the room, soaked some water in the rag, wiped the dusty areas in the house, and then fell on the bed to catch up on his sleep.

This sleep lasted from afternoon to early the next morning. Cao Xuan got up refreshed and washed up.

The courtyard where Cao Xuan lives is not small. There are several families living there, with dozens of families, including tenants like Cao Xuan and old Beijingers like Sister Hu who greeted him yesterday.

In the early morning, everyone is busy washing and eating, then going to school and going to work. The yard is full of noise, pots and pans, and chickens and dogs flying around.

Although it was noisy, Cao Xuan liked the breath of life that hit his face.

Of course, it would be better if you don’t have to queue in line to go to the toilet...

………

After washing up, Cao Xuan changed his clothes, locked the door and left the courtyard.

First, I went to the breakfast shop at the entrance of the alley and had a bowl of fried liver, two taels of pork buns stuffed with green onions, and a few pickles in one bite. It was so authentic.

Cao Xuan's hometown is located in southern Shandong, and the taste is salty and spicy, which is an authentic heavy taste.

I have been filming in Xinwu for several months. Although the big pot dishes in the cafeteria are affordable, the taste is really average.

Go out to a restaurant to satisfy your cravings. Nine out of ten local Xinwu dishes are sweet.

As you can imagine, the Xinwu people even put sugar in their scrambled eggs with tomatoes, which made Cao Xuan almost doubt his life.

Cao Xuan actually doesn't hate sweets, and even likes a few famous Xinwu dishes such as soy pork ribs and crispy eel. But if you let a salty and spicy person eat sweets every day, no one can stand it.

Although the Beijing snacks are still not as good as the delicacies from Cao Xuan's heart, the taste that matches the northern taste still makes his body, mind and stomach happy.

After finishing his meal, Cao Xuan took a bus to Diji Street not far away.

Cao Xuan will need to use contact tools for many things next, so he has to buy a BB pager, at least so that people can find him.

In fact, Cao Xuan wanted to buy a mobile phone, but after asking around, he gave up the idea.

In 1997, mobile phones were not yet fully popular in mainland China, and most of them were bulky mobile phones with prices of more than five digits.

There are also small and exquisite mobile phones, but they are more expensive, and they are cheap and have no market. They are basically sold out as soon as they are available.

For ordinary people, the most popular one is the BB phone. Anyway, public phones are available everywhere, and they are not much worse than mobile phones. The key is that they are cheap.

With Cao Xuan's little wealth, there was no need to worry about mobile phones, and he could only get a second-hand BB camera.

It's not that he can't afford it, but it's not necessary. With that money, he might as well save it and buy a Nokia. Not only can he play with snakes, but he can also crack walnuts.

The price of a new BB machine ranges from 3,000 to 10,000 yuan, and there are even more expensive ones.

But the price of second-hand goods is hard to beat. Especially at this stage, many second-hand goods are sold by pickpockets. If you know someone you know, you can get a very favorable price.

Coincidentally, Cao Xuan knew such a person.

Li Zichao, nicknamed Er Laizi, used to be a group actor, but later got into a fight and lost his leg, so he went to the Digital City to learn how to repair BB machines, and later opened a small shop, specializing in repair and part-time work. Selling second hand BB machines.

Cao Xuan had a good relationship with him. When he heard that he wanted to buy the goods, Li Zichao sold Cao Xuan a 90% new Chinese display at the cost price of 800 yuan.

If it were anyone else, it would be a thousand or two thousand at least.

Cao Xuan also accepted Li Zichao's affection, and rarely revealed a secret. He advised him to give up the idea of ​​selling his house and hoarding BB players to make a fortune, and find a master to learn the skills of repairing mobile phones and computers.

If you are more ambitious, you can do electronic product retail, maybe even set up a "zichao mall"...

Don't think this is a daydream. When Yifendong started his business, he was selling CDs in Zhongguancun. In comparison, Li Zichao's "starting capital" was much thicker.

Cao Xuan didn't care what Li Zichao planned to do. He just came up with an idea to repay the favor. Whether he could seize the opportunity depended on Li Zichao himself.

After getting the BB machine, Cao Xuan called a few friends from "Water Margin" and asked them to write down their numbers, and then received a call from Zhang Jizhong.

Although Cao Xuan's role in "Water Margin" has been completed, the work is not finished yet. He still has one episode left to record.

The crew of the recording studio has already made an appointment. Cao Xuan will go directly there on May 10th to finish recording "Countless Brothers". He and the crew of "Water Margin" will really get it right.

There were still a few days before the start of recording, so Cao Xuan stopped working and found a karaoke bar to practice his voice and earn some extra money.

To say that singing in a karaoke bar these days is actually not very profitable.

It's okay to be a bit famous, but the cost of a night without a name is just a few dozen yuan, which is no better than a group performance. It's also easy for guests and karaoke owners to make things difficult for them from time to time.

Cao Xuan's singing skills are not that good, and the price offered by the karaoke hall is not high, 50 yuan a night, which is considered good or bad among singers.

However, Cao Xuan has an advantage that many singers envy and hate, that is, he has a good face and his salary is not high, but he often receives flowers as tips from female customers.

Basically, as long as you play, you can earn 100+. If you are lucky, you can earn 300 or 400 in one night.

But then again, high income also means high risk.

Although you can make a lot of money by singing in a karaoke bar, the environment is too chaotic, with a mixed bag of bad people and bad things.

Just the disgusting things that Cao Xuan has seen include the greasy big brother forcing you to drink with money, the fat and old rich woman taking advantage of sex, the gay man secretly eating your tofu, jealous colleagues adding mute drugs to the drinks, and playing games. He wants to drag people into trouble and get sick and malicious revenge...

If Cao Xuan hadn't been cautious and clever, he might have been plotted long ago.

It is precisely because this industry is so dirty and messy that Cao Xuan would rather work as a part-time job on the set for a meager salary than to be a singer. If he falls into the trap, his whole life will be ruined.

After finding a karaoke bar with a good reputation, Cao Xuan brought his own food and drinks, sang for a few nights, and earned a small 600 yuan, barely making up for the lost rent.

On May 9th, Cao Xuan spent a day at home to recharge his batteries, and early the next morning, he rushed to the scheduled recording studio.