Huayu: I Have a Doraemon

Chapter 29 Inhuman and Depraved

Five thousand!

The meeting room fell into dead silence.

Yu Baimei and Ning Caishen exchanged a glance, both seeing a complex emotion in each other's eyes.

Although the three of them held the title of "core screenwriters," the highest they received per episode was only two thousand yuan.

Wang Shaoxiong has more seniority, but his qualifications are definitely no more than three thousand.

This is something that other screenwriters wouldn't even dare to dream of.

You should know that in those days, five thousand yuan could almost cover all the major expenses of an average family except for buying a house and a car!

A student in a refresher course who hasn't even officially entered the industry yet had his first script asked for five thousand.

If word gets out, people will probably think it's a ghost story.

At that moment, Ji Tao felt like he had seen a ghost.

He remained frozen in the chair, his hands still crossed over his chest, but his knuckles had turned white.

Five thousand?

His current salary is less than five thousand!

Ji Tao took a deep breath, about to sternly reprimand Lin Cong, when he heard Lü Xiaopin shout excitedly:

"Lin An, I'll offer six thousand!"

"Are you crazy?!" Ji Tao stared wide-eyed at Lü Xiaopin in disbelief, his mouth opening and closing repeatedly.

Yu Baimei and Ning Caishen looked at each other again, but this time they couldn't detect any emotion in each other's eyes.

Without him.

numb!

Wang Shaoxiong also took off his glasses and rubbed his cheeks vigorously, trying to regain some consciousness in this way.

Lin Cong didn't speak, but turned his head and looked at Lü Xiaopin expressionlessly.

The meaning in his eyes was clear: You're undermining me?

Lu Xiaopin avoided her gaze, his Adam's apple bobbing, but he showed no intention of taking back his words.

"Six thousand."

He repeated it, his voice lower than before, but his tone more certain.

"Director Lü."

Ji Tao finally found his voice, gritted his teeth, and said, word by word:

"This project has a budget."

"I know."

Lü Xiaopin turned her head and looked at Ji Tao with a serious expression:

"So I only put up six thousand, not eight thousand."

Ji Tao choked on his breath and almost passed out.

Are you speaking Chinese?

Lin An was also astonished by Lü Xiaopin's skill.

Six thousand.

According to Zhao Nana, this is the kind of royalty only top screenwriters receive.

Although he was confident that the script was of good quality, the price still exceeded his expectations.

It seems a good script is more valuable than I imagined.

There are more discerning people in the film and television industry than I imagined.

Of the people present, only Zhang Hua remained expressionless throughout, pulling out a thermos from somewhere and sipping his drink.

From the moment he first saw the script, he knew it would cause a sensation.

This is also the source of his confidence to back Lin An up.

If Yingda, or Ye Daying himself, were here, he might try to put Lin An in a better position and leave a good impression on these senior figures in the film and television industry. But these people... well...

On the other side, Ji Tao felt a throbbing pain in his temples.

He felt that the conference room today was like a derailed train, hurtling headlong in a direction he had no control over.

We have to hit the brakes!

"Let me take a look at that script."

Ji Tao spoke, his voice very low, as if he was restraining something.

I have to speak up.

He saw that Lin Cong's eyes were already red, like those of a desperate gambler.

Ji Tao was genuinely afraid that the woman would shout "ten thousand" the next second.

Whether others will go crazy or not, he will definitely go crazy.

Lin Cong pursed his lips, clearly unwilling to hand over the script.

But she also knew that continuing would only lead to meaningless internal strife.

After hesitating for a long time, she pushed the manuscript paper to the center of the table and said in a stiff tone:

"No matter what you see, I have the right of first refusal to purchase this script."

...Ji Tao's expression twisted for a moment, full of complaints, but he still nodded earnestly.

"Can."

He took a deep breath, trying to keep his tone calm:

"Let me finish reading it first before we talk about anything else."

Lin Cong stared at him for two seconds before reluctantly releasing his fingers and pushing the stack of manuscripts off the table.

Ji Tao reached out and pressed it down, not looking at it immediately, but taking a deep breath and silently reciting "Amitabha" and "Heavenly Venerable above".

After confirming that the exorcism was complete, he lowered his head and looked at the first page.

The black title stands out prominently:

—"Not watching the Spring Festival Gala".

Ji Tao's brows furrowed instantly.

This title would be considered outrageous these days.

What was the significance of the 2000 Spring Festival Gala?

That was the only background noise on New Year's Eve, a collective ritual that billions of people never wavered in.

Saying you "don't watch the Spring Festival Gala" is about the same as saying "strawberry dumplings" or "banana glutinous rice balls"—it's the ultimate example of political incorrectness.

Ji Tao glanced at Lin An.

The young man remained unfazed, sitting at the end of the long table with his hands in his pockets, adopting an "take it or leave it" attitude.

Oh.

Ji Tao sneered and continued flipping through the pages.

The story takes place on the eve of Chinese New Year.

Three internet addicts shared an apartment and discussed the various drawbacks of the Spring Festival Gala.

More singing and dancing...

It's that kind of praise again...

Did you hear those words the host used last year...?

The three of them took turns criticizing the Spring Festival Gala from beginning to end, and finally swore that they would despise anyone who watched it.

Ji Tao's brows furrowed deeper and deeper, but his fingers unconsciously turned to the next page.

The following content is only fragmented, but we can tell that one of the internet addicts was stood up by his boss and couldn't go home, so he had to work overtime at the office and missed the apartment event.

"That's all..." Ji Tao muttered a comment, but he also sensed the potential of the script.

Being bullied by your boss is something all working people have experienced. Regardless of the connection between the content, the jokes are indeed down-to-earth and have the potential to resonate with the public.

Ji Tao continued scrolling down.

The sheets of paper in his hands dwindled one by one.

The second internet addict's story is a bit more complicated.

The general plot is as follows: In order to pick up girls, he invites them to wear miniskirts under the pretext of "watching fireworks" and go to the rooftop with him to complete his plan of "releasing their dreams".

Before the plan could even begin, the police took them away for "selling without a license."

What's so funny... Ji Tao couldn't help but look up at Lin Cong and Lü Xiaopin, thinking that the two of them had questionable taste.

"You're not going to back out, are you?"

Lin Cong mistakenly thought that Ji Tao was going to steal her script, and her eyes turned dangerous.

...Ji Tao was so angry he almost slammed the script on the table.

You crazy woman!

He changed his mind?

He wished he could stuff the stack of papers into a shredder right now, grind them into powder, and then flush them down the drain so they would disappear from the world forever.

Ji Tao mentally ranted, but his hand automatically turned another page.

What follows is no longer the plot, but rather various monologues and dialogues.

"Anyway, I'm never watching the Spring Festival Gala again. It's not worth it. I'm just tired of it. After I get tired of it, I'll just keep watching."

"That's right."

"But watching the Spring Festival Gala is a tradition that Chinese people have had for thousands of years."

"Has it been that long?"

……

"Instead of staying home to watch the Spring Festival Gala during the Chinese New Year, you're actually helping someone else watch fireworks? - (smiles) I can tell you guys are something else."

"Of course we are not simple. We are two ambitious young people on the street on New Year's Eve who are about to set off on their dreams (preparing to continue).

"Shut up... Officer, we are very honest people."

……

Ji Tao turned the pages one by one, his expression gradually becoming serious, his brows furrowing deeper and deeper.

After an unknown amount of time, he raised his head, looking at Lin An with a complex expression, and asked:

"Are you really a new student in the continuing education program?"

Lin An frowned and said, "Yes."

Ji Tao then asked, "Is this your first time writing a screenplay?"

Lin An thought for a moment and nodded; this was indeed the first time.

Ji Tao closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again, his expression turning serious.

"Skip the classes and go straight to the group."

After saying that, he looked at Zhang Hua with a resentful expression.

How could Beijing Film Academy bury such talent?

This is absolutely outrageous!