Chapter 00096: The Rich Show Off Their Wealth
# The Rich Show Off Their Wealth
Chapter 96
Novel: 1979 Golden Age
Chapter 96: The Rich Show Off Their Wealth
At the North Film Studio, in the large bathhouse.
Rows of simple storage lockers steamed in the heat.
Chen Qi, still dressed, was already drenched in sweat within half a minute.
He took off his shirt and stuffed it into a locker, casually asking, "Where are you guys planning to go tomorrow?"
"The Forbidden City, the Great Wall, and the Summer Palace. Brother Yu knows the area well; he's taking us," came the reply.
Ji Chunhua, standing opposite, was also undressing to take a bath.
In a few swift moves, he stripped down, revealing a muscular frame.
His skin was dark, and his body even darker, with a certain part swinging freely.
Men, after all, are most competitive when baring it all.
Ji Chunhua, always proud of his assets, deliberately moved closer to show off.
"Brother Qi, are you going home tomorrow?"
"Yeah, my home is near Qianmen. You know Qianmen, right?" Chen Qi responded as he took off his trousers.
"Don't know. Where is it?"
"About two or three kilometers south of Tiananmen. I'll invite you over sometime," Chen Qi said, turning his back as he removed his underwear.
"That sounds great, I'll definitely come!" Ji Chunhua, seeing that Chen Qi hadn't turned around, grew impatient.
"Brother Qi, that Hong Kong martial arts director you mentioned, is he really that... that... whoa!!!"
He suddenly gasped, his eyes fixed on a certain spot.
"What's wrong?" Chen Qi turned around.
"Nothing, nothing, I'm going in first!" Ji Chunhua, utterly defeated, walked in dejectedly.
Chen Qi shrugged, finished organizing his locker, and just as he did, Li Lianjie arrived.
"You're so slow, why aren't you undressed yet... whoa!"
He too gasped in astonishment.
As a man who had been with the famous beauty Li Zhi for twenty years, Li Lianjie had his own pride, but now he felt outmatched.
Chen Qi, carrying a towel and a scrubber, walked in and encountered Wang Qun, Sun Jiankui, Xiong Xinxin, and others.
He outshone them all, even earning a nod of respect from the seniors Yu Hai and Yu Chenghui.
Hmph! These virgins have no idea.
This is what you call natural talent!
Chen Qi looked down on these inexperienced men and calmly went to shower.
The training class had ended, and tomorrow was a day off.
Today, hot water was available, so Chen Qi bought a dozen bath tickets and invited everyone to bathe together, a good way for the men to bond.
Everyone showered and scrubbed.
In those days, conditions were simple, and even friends from the south like Ji Chunhua and Xiong Xinxin were open and relaxed.
Finally, they all soaked in the pool.
A dozen men sat in a circle, a pool full of oddities, keeping others at a distance.
After some time together, they had all made new friends and chatted in small groups.
Chen Qi, after soaking for a while, suddenly asked, "Xiao Li, are you going home tomorrow?"
"Yeah, going to see my mom!" Li Lianjie replied.
"I need to go to the bank tomorrow for some business. Can you spare some time to accompany me? You're good with your hands."
"You want me to be your bodyguard? I'm expensive, you know. When I visited the US with the team and performed for Nixon, he wanted to hire me as a bodyguard. Guess what I said?"
"You said you wanted to protect your country when you grew up!"
"How did you know?"
Li Lianjie's eyes widened in surprise.
"Enough with the nonsense. Are you coming or not?"
"Since you're asking me, as a brother, I'll go with you!"
Li Lianjie spoke of brotherhood, but he didn't take it too seriously.
He acknowledged Chen Qi's skills, his good teaching, and his understanding of performance, but he was also a national champion who had visited the US.
He wasn't about to bow down just yet.
Next, Chen Qi approached Wang Qun, Ge Chunyan, and Huang Qiuyan, three locals who were puzzled but agreed to accompany him.
...
The next day.
Chen Qi led the four of them, marching grandly to the bank, inexplicably carrying a sack.
Li Lianjie joked, "What are you going to the bank with a sack for? What are you carrying?"
"Money, of course!" Huang Qiuyan laughed.
"Wow, how much money can that sack hold?"
The two bantered back and forth, but Chen Qi ignored them, turning to Ge Chunyan, who was a year older.
"Sister Chunyan, can your Bagua Palm kill someone?"
"Huh?"
Ge Chunyan looked at him as if he were an idiot.
"It can, but why would I kill someone for no reason?"
"Just in case, I mean, if something happens, you have to protect me. I'm counting on you!"
"Hey, what about us? Are we just here for the numbers?"
"Are we just here to make up the numbers?"
Amidst the chatter, they arrived at the bank.
Chen Qi pulled out a withdrawal slip and some documents from the sack and approached the counter.
"Hello, comrade, I'd like to withdraw some money."
"Please wait a moment."
The clerk took the slip, glanced at it, and froze.
Rubbing his eyes, he looked again, then turned to Chen Qi in disbelief.
"I've been here before, also to withdraw royalties. Last time it was ten thousand Hong Kong dollars. Do you remember?"
"Ten thousand Hong Kong dollars..."
Such an amount was rare, and the clerk quickly recalled.
"Oh, it's you! Wait a moment, I'll call the manager."
Soon, the manager from last time hurried over, smiling.
"Comrade Chen, you never cease to amaze. Shall we talk inside?"
"Not another review, is it?"
"Just the necessary procedures, nothing like last time. Just a chat."
"Wait here for me."
Chen Qi instructed the others and followed the manager into a small room.
The others were stunned.
What had they just heard? Ten thousand Hong Kong dollars!! Was he really going to fill that sack with money? Li Lianjie, who had received a 500 RMB subsidy for his US trip, had never handled such a large sum and was equally dumbfounded.
Meanwhile, Chen Qi entered the room and sat on a soft leather sofa.
The manager carefully examined the slip.
This time, the remitter wasn't the Great Wall but a company called "Peace Films."
He smiled.
"Still royalties?"
"Yes!"
"Hong Kong pays its writers that well?"
"It's actually low. Popular stars there can earn hundreds of thousands per film. How much do writers get?"
"Well, it's a capitalist society, economically advanced. This is quite good. May I ask, this Peace Films... I mean, it doesn't have any shady background, does it?"
"It's just a regular film company. Great Wall helped me find it. You're not going to verify with Great Wall, are you?"
"No, no, of course not!"
The manager chuckled, though his thoughts were unclear.
He asked a few more questions, then said, "I believe in geniuses now. At such a young age, wow, this, this..."
He held the slip, which clearly stated the amount: thirty thousand Hong Kong dollars!
In Hong Kong, a script's market price ranged from ten to thirty thousand, with famous writers commanding fifty thousand.
Yuan Heping offering thirty thousand was quite generous.
"Alright, we'll exchange it for you now."
"Do you have the overseas Chinese exchange coupons this time?"
"Haha, yes, yes!"
The exchange was done at the day's rate, roughly ten thousand RMB.
In those days, there were no hundred-yuan notes, just stacks of ten-yuan bills, neatly arranged, instantly drawing everyone's attention.
Don't mistake the 80s for a time of saints; it was chaotic, hence the 1983 crackdown.
There were also the overseas Chinese exchange coupons, a large sheet with the amount in the middle and various coupons around it, like "food coupons" and "shopping coupons," also a thick stack.
Chen Qi kept a thousand yuan and deposited the rest, stuffing the money and coupons into the sack.
With a wave, he said, "Let's go!"
(End of Chapter)