Chapter 00232: Ah Zhen
# Ah Zhen
Chapter 232
Novel: 1979 Golden Age
Chapter 232: Ah Zhen
The morning began with an imitation class, followed by posture training and dialogue practice.
For these young girls, even the most basic professional training was exhilarating—it was their first time experiencing anything like this.
Great Wall Productions, based in Hong Kong, blended practices from both sides of the border.
For instance, just like mainland companies, they provided a small daily stipend (mainly for transportation) and one meal at lunchtime.
Before they knew it, it was noon, and everyone headed to the cafeteria together.
The leftist faction was tight on funds, so the food was nothing special.
Next door, Shaw Brothers' studio also had a cafeteria, but the meals there weren’t much better—thanks to Run Run Shaw’s notorious stinginess.
There was even a story about how a film crew once requested 20 dollars to buy 100 pan-fried buns, only for Shaw to reject it outright, saying, "The buns in our cafeteria only cost ten cents each—why waste an extra ten cents?"
"Wow, the food here is terrible!"
The cafeteria was crowded, but Yuan Jieying didn’t care.
She boldly poked at her food with her chopsticks, finally picking out a piece of meat.
"What do you guys think? Pretty bad, right?"
"It’s a little underwhelming," Zhu Yin said softly.
"I think it’s fine. This is what we usually eat at home," said Qiu Shuzhen, happily munching on a steamed bun while picking at her dishes.
"No way! If my family served this, my younger siblings would cry."
"Eh? How many siblings do you have?" Zhu Yin asked.
"Two younger sisters and one brother. They drive me crazy all the time."
"Well, I’ve got it a bit better—just one older sister, and she’s ten years older than me," Zhu Yin said with a laugh.
The two of them then turned to Qiu Shuzhen, who lowered her head slightly, embarrassed.
"There are seven kids in my family. I’m the fifth."
"Seven?!?!"
Zhu Yin’s family ran a pastry shop, and Yuan Jieying’s family was well-off—her parents were business owners.
Spoiled and rebellious, she had grown up with little supervision.
Without hesitation, she picked up the piece of meat and plopped it onto Qiu Shuzhen’s plate.
"Here, you eat it!"
"No, I don’t want it!"
Qiu Shuzhen felt her pride stung and immediately pushed it back.
"I told you to eat it, so eat it!"
"Why should I eat it just because you say so?"
"Because your family’s poor!"
"You—!"
Qiu Shuzhen glared, feeling insulted.
Yuan Jieying, never one to back down, glared right back.
Zhu Yin, caught between them, trembled as she tried to mediate.
"Don’t fight, okay? Fighting is bad… The teachers are watching!"
"Hmph! I won’t stoop to arguing with a kid!"
"You’re a kid too! What gives you the right to say that?"
"I’m a year older than you! And let me tell you—I’m definitely going to be the one picked in the end. Just look at how much attention Teacher Chen and Director Xu give me!"
Qiu Shuzhen smirked triumphantly.
Yuan Jieying, furious, slammed her chopsticks down and stormed off.
Zhu Yin continued trembling.
"Ah, the energy of youth. How wonderful to be young!"
Upstairs, Chen Qi watched the scene with amusement before turning to the others.
"I’m leaning toward Qiu Shuzhen. Yuan Jieying doesn’t fit the role in any way—but she’d be perfect as a classmate who bullies her before getting pushed off a building."
"Zhu Yin is too young—she doesn’t have the right presence. She can be another classmate."
"Sounds good. I agree," Xu Ke nodded.
He was only here temporarily and didn’t need to invest too much emotionally.
But as a responsible filmmaker, he still wanted to give it his all.
Fortunately, Chen Qi’s vision mostly aligned with his, avoiding unnecessary conflicts.
……
"Fifth Sister!"
"Big Sis is back!"
"We’re so hungry! We want food!"
That afternoon, Qiu Shuzhen returned home by bus and was immediately swarmed by her younger siblings the moment she stepped through the door.
She raised the lunchbox she was carrying out of their reach.
"Alright, alright, stop making noise! I brought food back!"
She set the leftovers from the cafeteria on the table, and her siblings cheered before digging in.
After washing her face, she lay down on her tiny bed—barely a meter wide and just over a meter long—exhausted.
Her parents were laborers, and with nine people crammed into one home, space was tight.
Housing in Hong Kong was notoriously scarce.
At least it was slightly better now—two of her older siblings had married and moved out.
But it was still crowded.
Qiu Shuzhen wasn’t stupid.
She could tell Teacher Chen had taken a special interest in her.
If she got the role, she’d be acting in a movie—and she’d heard that acting paid well.
She could buy herself nice clothes, gifts for her parents, treats for her siblings…
She suddenly sat up, filled with renewed energy and determination.
Even if Teacher Chen favored her, she still had to work hard.
Standing in front of the mirror at home, she began rehearsing everything she’d learned that morning.
"Legs on the sofa, close together, head tilted slightly…"
She remembered every detail Chen Qi had emphasized.
Since there was no sofa, she dragged two chairs together, practicing in a way that would look ridiculous to anyone watching.
"Fifth Sis, what are you doing?"
"Are you crazy?"
"I’m fighting for our family’s future! Clean up after you eat—all you ever do is stuff your faces!"
Scolding them, she continued her exercises.
……
After days of training, the two girls who were only there as backups were eliminated by the fourth day.
Chen Qi, Fu Qi, and Xu Ke all agreed—Qiu Shuzhen was the one.
On the fifth day, the training ended.
Qiu Shuzhen’s parents were called in, nervously stepping into the office where Fu Qi and Chen Qi waited.
Fu Qi smiled and shook their hands.
"Mr. and Mrs. Qiu, your daughter has been officially selected as the female lead for The Orphan. Today, we’d like to discuss the contract with you."
"Really?"
"Thank you! Thank you for choosing her!"
The parents quickly expressed their gratitude before her mother hesitantly asked, "Mr. Fu… how much will Ah Zhen earn as the lead?"
"Five thousand dollars," Fu Qi said bluntly.
At the mention of five thousand, their faces lit up—but then they frowned deeply.
Wages in Hong Kong were already quite high, with the average worker making around 2,000 HKD a month.
Five thousand was barely more than what the two of them combined earned in a month.
"Mr. Fu… isn’t that a bit low? I’ve heard movie stars make tens or even hundreds of thousands!"
"You know Brigitte Lin, right?"
"Yes! Of course!"
"She’s a huge star from Taiwan, and even she only gets 250,000 per film in Hong Kong. Actresses generally earn less, and Ah Zhen is just a child with no experience. We’ve also invested in her training. So, how much were you expecting?"
"Uh…"
The parents hesitated before forcing smiles.
"But five thousand really is too little. The two of us can earn that much in a month just working regular jobs."
After some back-and-forth, Fu Qi finally relented.
"Fine, fine—fifteen thousand. Not a cent more, or we’ll find someone else."
"Fifteen thousand works! Thank you, Mr. Fu!"
Qiu Shuzhen, who had been listening the whole time, didn’t feel like she was being sold off.
Instead, she was thrilled at the thought of earning money for her family, her face flushed with excitement.
"Don’t thank me yet. There’s one more condition…"
Fu Qi glanced at Chen Qi, who stepped forward with a smile.
"Ah Zhen, let’s go for a walk. Your parents still have some things to discuss."
"Okay!"
Obediently, she stood and followed him out.
(End of Chapter)