Chapter 00063: Supporting Her
# Supporting Her
Chapter 63
Novel: 1979 Golden Age
Chapter 63: Supporting Her
Gong Xue didn’t expect to be asked this question.
She considered Zhang Jinling a good friend and felt comfortable speaking more openly in front of familiar faces. “I haven’t thought about it much. I’ve always wanted to join the Shanghai Film Studio so I can live with my parents.”
“You’re still thinking about living with your parents at your age?” someone teased.
“I left home when I was just a teenager and have been drifting around ever since. Of course, I want to go back to Shanghai,” Gong Xue replied.
“Is it hard to get into the Shanghai Film Studio?” Chen Qi asked.
“It’s tough. I’ve never worked with them before, so they don’t know me. Why would they want someone they’ve never heard of?” Gong Xue sighed, looking a bit dejected.
“Come on, sister, it’d be great if you stayed in Beijing. You and Zhu Lin could share the screen!” someone chimed in.
Chen Qi thought for a moment and said, “I think if you want to be an actress, you should seize any opportunity that comes your way. Don’t end up with nothing. Director Wang is someone who values talent. If Romance on Lushan Mountain does well, he’ll definitely try to get you transferred. Remember Liu Xiaoqing? How much did they pay for her?”
“Eighty thousand!” Zhang Jinling held up her fingers to emphasize the number.
“See? Eighty thousand in transfer fees. If you double that, it’ll be at least two hundred thousand!”
“Are we commodities now? Besides, how could I possibly be worth two hundred thousand?” Gong Xue rolled her eyes, dismissing his words as nonsense.
At the same time, she felt a pang of sadness.
Romance on Lushan Mountain would wrap up in December, and she’d have to return to her military unit.
She was grateful for this opportunity and loved the atmosphere on set, soaking up experience like a sponge.
She didn’t want to leave.
If she wanted to stay, she’d need another film.
But making movies wasn’t that simple.
They had to choose a subject, write a script, hold meetings, and select actors… What were the chances they’d pick her again? That would be too lucky.
“Burp~”
Chen Qi finished his bowl of wonton soup and let out a satisfied burp. “Done eating?”
“Yeah, let’s go!”
He stood up, pulled out some cash—two yuan in total—and neatly placed it on the table. “Comrade Zhanying, can I borrow your tricycle? I need to take some stuff home.”
“Just take it. Why bother paying?”
“We’re like brothers from different mothers. Of course, we should settle accounts properly.”
The folks at the tea stall were used to this.
The old-timers even explained to the newcomers, “That’s Teacher Chen. He’s a sly one, never does any real work. All he does is teach us to nod ‘yes’ and shake our heads ‘no’…”
They were like the modern-day version of Kong Yiji, having shed their long robes.
But Chen Qi wasn’t like them.
He didn’t want to suffer, so when things looked bad after he first arrived, he hiked up his robe and ran.
The tea stall had a tricycle for hauling goods.
He borrowed one and headed south to the Trust Store near the front gate.
The Trust Store was a place where people bought and sold secondhand goods.
They also acted as middlemen, taking a small commission.
You could find cameras, watches, crafts, clothes, furniture, and more.
Many came here hoping to find hidden treasures, a practice known as “picking up leaks.”
The common idea of “picking up leaks” was spending a few yuan to buy something like a priceless Yuan Dynasty blue-and-white porcelain.
Such things did happen, but they were once-in-a-lifetime opportunities.
Everyone knew good stuff was valuable, but it was also expensive!
In those days, most people were poor, and only a few were willing to spend money on antiques.
For example, Ma Weidu in the 1980s spent 2,000 yuan on a set of screens—money he had originally planned to use for a color TV.
Who else would be willing to do that?
So, “picking up leaks” was really about finding good stuff when there was less competition, giving you a better chance of scoring something valuable.
Of course, if you were like that female elder who had powerful backing and shipped truckloads of antiques to Hong Kong, that was impressive.
Or like Li Chunping, who spun a tale about being kept by a Hollywood starlet and inheriting a fortune…
It was all part of the times.
Chen Qi had already visited the Trust Store earlier that day.
This time, he came out with a phonograph, a few old vinyl records, and two chairs.
He loaded them onto the tricycle and pedaled home.
He arrived at the entrance of the courtyard in Menkuang Hutong and stopped.
Zhang Jinling helped him carry the chairs, while Gong Xue held the phonograph, curiously looking around the courtyard. “Is this the dormitory for the Xinhua Bookstore?”
“Yep, the place where I was born and raised!”
“That house over there is mine.”
Chen Qi opened the door and brought the items inside, smiling. “Thanks for helping me move this stuff. I just couldn’t resist when I saw these treasures.”
“What are you talking about? Women can hold up half the sky. What’s the big deal about moving a few things?” Zhang Jinling brushed it off.
Ah! If she said that decades later, the internet fairies would tear her apart.
“…”
Gong Xue, meanwhile, was examining the small house.
It was tidy and well-organized, with quite a few items, some of which looked quite valuable.
There was a bed set up in the outer room.
She glanced at the bed and smiled. “You sleep here? Is it long enough?”
“I sleep like this, with my feet here…”
Chen Qi brought over a long bench and placed it at the foot of the bed, effectively extending it. “The bed’s a bit short, but it’s wide. You could fit three people on it.”
“That’s a bit suggestive, young man!” Zhang Jinling, who was married and knew all about such things, scolded him lightly.
They didn’t even stay for a drink of water, leaving after a short while… There was no helping it.
A man with two women, one of her age and the other of mine—people would talk, and once rumors started, they’d be impossible to shake off.
I had to be careful!
Chen Qi patted his face.
He then headed back to the Xinhua Bookstore and called out to Yu Xiuli, “Mom, I bought some stuff and took it home!”
“What stuff? Oh, you’re leaving already?”
“A phonograph, some chairs… Those chairs are made of huanghuali wood. Don’t you dare use them as firewood!!!”
…………
Evening.
Gong Xue finished her meal and, as usual, took a walk in the courtyard.
When the crew wasn’t filming, her life was quite dull.
Meals felt like a brief escape, and she spent most of her time cooped up in her room reading.
She had few friends and wasn’t the type to initiate social interactions.
Today’s outing had left her feeling a bit tired but also happy.
“Comrade Gong Xue?”
A voice called out from behind.
She turned and, after a moment’s thought, recognized the person. “Director Huang, you’re out for a walk too?”
“Yes, a hundred steps after a meal is good for the health!”
Huang Jianzhong caught up to her, smiling. “Your crew hasn’t started filming yet, right? It’s all because of the big meeting. Filming is the worst when it gets interrupted. It’s hard to get back into the groove once you lose it.”
“Oh, I’m doing fine…”
She had planned to walk a bit longer but now felt like heading back. “I’m going back to the guesthouse. Thanks for your concern.”
“Alright, I’ll keep walking for a bit.”
Huang Jianzhong watched her retreating figure and couldn’t help but compare her to his wife.
There was no comparison.
Twenty years later, he’d sleep with actresses, but in this environment, he didn’t dare make any improper moves.
He just found her beautiful and tried to strike up a conversation, but she remained polite and distant.
“Pretty boy!”
Huang Jianzhong muttered under his breath, though it wasn’t clear who he was referring to.
……
Gong Xue returned to her room as the sky darkened.
She sat at her desk, pulled out some stationery, and began writing a letter to her parents.
“Today, Sister Ailing mentioned that I might have a chance to join the Beijing Film Studio. I’ve never thought about this before. I’ve been away from home for ten years and have always longed to return to your side and spend time with you. My goal has always been the Shanghai Film Studio.”
“Romance on Lushan Mountain will end next month, and then I’ll have to return to the military. I’m really going to miss everything about the crew. I can only share these feelings with you. Please don’t think I’m being childish again…”
……
“Ahhhh!”
Meanwhile, Chen Qi was in Room 302, frustrated as he worked on The Invincible Lovebirds.
His hand was sore from writing, and his backside ached from sitting too long.
“I need a computer! Even a typewriter would do!”
“I’m used to writing 800-word essays by hand, and now I have to write tens of thousands of words?”
He grumbled as he wrote, finally finishing his daily word count.
He jumped up, relieved.
It was past 11 p.m. when he washed up and lay down on his bed, thinking about the two huanghuali chairs.
Ah, the lines, the texture… Too bad they were crammed into his tiny, rundown house.
Then he recalled the earlier conversation about joining the Beijing or Shanghai Film Studios…
He didn’t pay it much mind.
“It’s simple. I’ll just support her!”
(End of chapter…
Didn’t you all celebrate 520?)
(Chapter complete)