Chapter 119 - Foreign Language Study of Marital Finances

June 17, 2012 – Sunday 7 pm – Nasiri Hill, Nabla

*crackling**sizzling* Tayaw is currently grilling steak in his makeshift grill in front of his recently finished cabin.

It took longer than he expected to enjoy his cabin because it took quite a while to have a water tank welded. In addition to that, he also had to dig and build a septic tank. The solar powered electric supply was easy to set up but for a more stable power access, he had a lot of waiting to do because 80,000 mAh outdoor power banks are still not as widely used currently than in the future, so he had it ordered from China's Visen Inc.

""" The concept of jade has not been strictly defined. The types of minerals called "Jade" in China are very diverse. Generally speaking, minerals that meet the characteristics of beauty, hardness, and warmth may be called "Jade". At the same time, There are also some minerals that meet the usual definition of jade, but they are not called "jades" in the habit. For example, the ancient "qionggui" is now called "agate". The ancient "langgan" is now "turquoise jade" """

While grilling, he is also listening to a random Chinese doc.u.mentary on some minerals, playing in his laptop on the log table. One of his dreams in his previous life is to travel the world without ever needing a translator. Understanding a new language also opens up a new world. This was proven when he became a little fluent in Italian before going to Sorrento. He was able to watch Italian films and appreciate the things about the culture that would otherwise become lost in translation. 

Tayaw however, is not learning Mandarin seriously yet. He is only still familiarizing himself with the melody and rhythm of the language. Despite that, with his enhanced brain, it will not take years for him to converse in the language with the native speakers of it.

*Ring* His laptop suddenly received a notification from Facebook. He put down the tongs and sat down by his log table, the strong scent of the pine tree sap clearing the greasy smell of beef stuck in his nose. 

A minute later, "Heh. F*ck high school reunions. I don't know anybody." Tayaw said as closed the chat tab of his alumni class. He just received a message in Facebook from one of his high school classmates inviting him for a high school reunion. Since his world was flipped two years ago, he was fortunate that he did not run to a single high school school mate or he might not have recognized them.

In his previous life, he remembered he only attended his high school reunion once, the same exact reunion he is being invited to today. He just remembers he did not like the atmosphere so he never attended ever again. He also lost in touch with his high school friends since he graduated college and became busy with his career. 

Being a son of one of the teachers also did not help Tayaw in his social life in high school so he did not have some sort of a best friend. The children of his mother's co-workers are either young or too old to hang out with. 

"Maybe it's different this time around." Tayaw said as he opened the chat again and clicked the Facebook profiles of the people in his high school chat group, he figured he should at least recover his high school memories. A moment later, "Whoah. I don't remember someone being pregnant." Tayaw said as he saw congratulations and photos in someone's profile. 

"Hmm.. go or not go? Go or not go?" Tayaw mumbled as he went back to the grill. He picked up the tongs and picked up a well-done steak. He tossed it tens of feet in the air and grabbed a plate. As the steak tumbled in the air "Go... no go... go..." he picked up a plate ready to catch it. *thuck* the steak landed on the darker, more caramelized side. "hmm." Tayaw hummed at his handiwork. "Smells great, looks good. Tayaw's steak." Tayaw said, his mood lifted by the drool-inducing steak.

Tayaw then removed the rest of the slices of steak and onions from the grill and sprinkled some lemon juice. He started his sumptuous dinner shorty after. 

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Black Deer Pictures - Clambu

"Damn it, I'm jealous." Yarag said as he read the ticket sales of 'September Ninth' in his office. "It is enviable. I heard from Jouny it didn't take that much money to make it compared to what it earned." Kyer agreed. "Well. Don't tell me then." Yarag said as he read the report in more detail.

Since it opened last Monday, 'September Ninth' earned a massive 94,082,018 BGC in ticket sales in only 6 days. The film screened at 2,000 out of the more than 10,000 screens in the entirety of Teungeb. Only blockbusters show at such number of screens but 'September Ninth' being Teungeb's pride however, it was treated like a blockbuster. 

It is also now the highest grossing opening week for a film in Teungeb's history by a long, long shot. The majority of the ticket sales for the week were pretty much earned in the weekend. With the movie tickets priced at an average of 16 BGC, it is estimated that the film was already seen 6 million times in Teungeb alone. The cooling hype was once again ignited by couples who spread the film's reputation by word of mouth, and the bandwagon started by entertainment journalists. 

The reviews of the film are also overwhelmingly positive, universally acclaimed by Teungeb's top film critics. 'September Ninth' is the type of movie that both the average viewer and serious film fans love. 

"Tayaw was very much correct to not take our offer of advertising and promotion." Yarag chuckled. "Yeah. I can't believe we were talking to a rookie." Kyer said. After taking the 55% of the sales from theaters, the gross income is around 51.7 million BGC. Black Deer Pictures will take 17% from it amounting to 8.8 million BGC, and Tayaw will take 81% amounting to 41.9 million BGC. "Hah. Directors weren't even supposed to be good at negotiating. He's not just a director." Yarag said. Kyer nodded in understanding. "He wasn't like a clueless artist at all." Kyer agreed. 

"Hey. Looks like my friend made bank too, huh." Kyer said when he saw something else aside from the shares of Tayaw and Black Deer. Tayaw reserved 2% of remaining shares of the gross income for Jouny. This earned Jouny a little over 1 million BGC. 

"Well. Good for her. I heard from Jundiel that one of the producers refused the script a few years ago when your friend brought it to our doorstep." Yarag said, shaking his head. "Hah. That's rough. That person wasn't fired, was he?" Kyer said. 

"He was, but when I heard about it, I had them reinstate the guy back. Those types of people who learned a very very valuable lesson will be able to an asset in the future. That guy's firing was also very dramatic that many of his co-workers witnessed it. He will serve as an example for the others to now look at screenplays more deeply." Yarag said.

"That makes sense. Who fired him? Nobody would have known that Jouny's screenplay would do so well." Kyer asked. "I had to ask Jundiel to reprimand that guy. He dared to fire someone when he himself saw the script and thought the same of it. What was even that?" Yarag shook his head. 

"Maybe jealousy? Pride? Indignation? He did not want to be 'that guy who kicked away the goose that laid the golden egg' and found a scapegoat. Happens all the time." Kyer said. "Happens all the time… Well, that guy should have gotten fired instead." Yarag shook his head.

After years of working at the top, he forgot the jungle beneath him. "Heh. I don't like those types of people but I think it's pointless… Could we have made Jouny's script a good movie like Isaac did? You saw the film." Kyer asked.

"Hmm. That's true. No one's to blame; I would have refused her script too. *sight* At least we'll be able to earn more after the film is released internationally." Yarag just shrugged his shoulders. 

========

"Honey. I can't believe it would get even better." Jouny said as she cuddled up to Ongki by her side, on their living room couch. They are looking at Jouny's bank account online. "You deserve it. Divide it up by 8 years of wait and frustration, that's uhhh… 125,000 a year. This is only the first week, it will get even better." Ongki said.

"Still. Screenwriters don't usually get a share from the profits. Tayaw is very generous." Jouny said. "He's different indeed. I already knew he was a different breed when we first met him, but I still underestimated the kid…" Ongki said. 

"Hmmm. This is enough for me to quit my job right now and focus more on writing. I have to write something that is even better than 'September Ninth'." Jouny said. "Sell it to Tayaw again? The kid will definitely go for a film that has to better than this one." Ongki said. "True. But even if my next script will not be as good as 'September Ninth', I hope it will sell to other people." Jouny said. 

"Hmm. Honey, why don't you quit driving and I'll get you a store at the market instead?" Jouny asked. "Driving is all I know how to do. I don't know how to run a store. I mean, I'm earning just fine selling fish to stores." Ongki replied. 

"I just worry that's all. Every time you drive down to Kangpan, I get anxious." Jouny said, hugging Ongki tighter. "I didn't know you felt that way…" Ongki sighed. "Fine. Give me some time to prepare." Ongki relented. 

They stayed silent for a moment. "Honey?" Jouny called out. "Yeah?" "I'm sorry of how I was over the past years." Jouny said, almost tearing up. She realized that her mental state in the past 8 years took a toll on their marriage and had Ongki not have been as supportive, they would have gotten a divorce, and Jouny could not imagine how she could have been. 

"It's okay honey. What's important is that you never gave up." Ongki said. "Thank you." Jouny said. "Hey. It's what I should have done anyway." Ongki consoled Jouny and they entered a warm silence. 

"Honey?" Jouny called out again. "Yeah?" "We're not getting any younger." Jouny said. "Indeed, we're not." Ongki agreed. "Don't you think we're ready for a baby?" Jouny said. "… … Thank you honey. I've always dreamed of having a son. I think it's time." Ongki agreed. "Or a daughter." Jouny added.