CH 28

At noon, Lu Chengyu looked at the table full of all kinds of farm food, including three dishes made of fish: fish head and tofu soup [1], fish slices boiled in hot sauce [2], and boiled fish with pickled cabbage and chilli [3]. The design and colour were not as exquisite as those made in the hotel, but everyone couldn’t help but swallow their saliva when they saw the dishes. Lu Chengyu could even smell the sour smell from the pickled fish.

[1]

[2]

[3]

“It’s rare for everyone to get together like this and have a drink. Come, let’s have a toast,” Zhuang Yu said as he raised the wine made by the farmer himself. “Several brothers here are already familiar with Xiao Lu, so I don’t need to introduce him again.”

The others chuckled, immediately raising their glasses and making a few jokes. However, from their conversation, they already regarded Lu Chengyu as one of their own. 

Lu Chengyu was not a person who pretended to be lofty either. When others handed him an olive branch [4], he was naturally willing to receive it nicely. Standing up, he held his glass with both hands and said, “As a few here are older than me, I’ll be shameless and call everyone ‘brother’. I’ll first drink this cup of wine to salute to you brothers.” After he finished, Lu Chengyu tilted his neck and downed his cup.

[4] Olive branch = symbol of peace. 

At this time, everyone here already knew that Lu Chengyu was Yan Mu’s assistant, and that he was a fresh graduate. Therefore, after Lu Chengyu drank the wine, although several people cheered for Lu Chengyu’s refreshing attitude, no one continued to pour wine. Instead, they started to taste the food together and talked about the big and small things that happened recently.

“Among us, the most complacent should be Lao Zhuang and Mu-ge,” Qi Jingfeng was also regarded as one of the top figures in the capital. He had a close relationship with Yan Mu and the other three people. A bit envious of them, he said, “You’re all successful in business, unlike me. I’m still loafing around with my family’s money to run a small company. Anyhow, the latest famous movie, 《Soaring Birds》, has made a lot of money for Lao Zhuang. I heard it almost made over 400 million in the box office. Is it true?”

Zhuang Yu chuckled a few times, obviously unusually happy, “This matter was truly unexpected. When I was introduced to this movie, I thought it might make around 100 million in the box office. Who knew it would be so popular?”

“Can a movie that cost only a few million to make, make a profit as much as this?” Qi Jingfeng wrinkled his eyebrows, “Last year, the film that I invested in cost several ten of millions for movie production alone. The deficit nearly killed me.”

“There’s nothing to be done about this,” said Zhuang Yu while shaking his head, “To invest in a movie, you would need both luck and vision. There are two ways to know whether or not the movie will become prominent and sell well at the time of release. One, the movie needs to have meaning in itself, and two, it can’t be like the high-cost ancient costume movies that are in the cinema lately. The audience is already weary of this genre. Who would want to watch shallow and depressing blockbuster movies on the Mid-Autumn Festival?《Soaring Birds》is like fat and greasy meat on a table full of tiny vegetables. How can it not sell well?”

As the investor of the film, Lu Chengyu listened to the conversation with a smile. He had negotiated with Zhuang Yu to delay the premier of 《Soaring Birds》. Judging from the current momentum, this movie should make a box office of one billion after it stopped showing in the theaters. The estimate did not include the capital income from selling the movie rights to major TV stations and online broadcasting platforms. He felt comfortable thinking that he would soon become a billionaire. 

In his previous life, the total box office for 《Soaring Birds》 was only about 900 million, perhaps because there were no promotions or trailers in the cinema. In this life, he had cooperated with Zhuang Yu, who had made great efforts to publicize this movie. Moreover, because he didn’t try to change the movie’s plot during filming, the movie was more impactful and better in this life. Taking all of this into consideration, it was not surprising that it made more of a profit this time around.

“But this is too evil,” Qi Jingfeng lit a cigarette and place it between his fingertips. He took a breath, but then remembered that Yan Mu and Zhang Zeyun didn’t smoke so he extinguished it. “Who is the investor of this movie? His luck is too good; Laozi is really jealous.”

“That person didn’t wish to disclose their identity, so it wouldn’t be right for me to reveal anything.” Zhuang Yu didn’t look at Lu Chengyu. He pinched a piece of meat from the fish’s belly with his chopsticks and tasted it. 

“The fish that Xiao Lu caught is delicious. Have a taste,” he said with a smile.

“Laozi just wanted to complain a little. Anyway, whoever earns that money is unlikely to share it with me, so there’s no use in asking.” Qi Jingfeng used his chopsticks to pinch the fish meat and put it in his bowl. He looked at Lu Chengyu and said, “Xiao Lu’s level of fishing is higher compared to Lao Zhuang. Lao Zhuang, this time, you have an opponent.” He was a smart man and knew the rules of this circle. Since Zhuang Yu didn’t talk about it, he also would no longer ask.

Lu Chengyu smiled and said, “I’ve been fishing since I was a child and have more than ten years of experience. The number of fish that died on my hook can circle this farmhouse.” He tasted the fish. “Anyway, there’s so many fish left. Shall we take them back later?”

“Fart, you really can brag. Why don’t you say that the number of fish that died on your hook can circle the Earth twice, just like that milk tea slogan.” Zhuang Yu smiled and continued, “Now, we better finish the food on the table first.”

Zhang Zeyun glanced at Zhuang Yu. He always felt that something was wrong with Zhuang Yu since noon. Throughout the meal, he and Mu-ge didn’t interact that much. There was also Mu-ge: he usually preferred the quiet and didn’t like to join the fun, but why did he come today?

Lu Chengyu laughed, “The Earth is too big and my fish is too small. I can’t meet the requirements, ah.”  He looked at Yan Mu, who, since the beginning, didn’t touch any other dish besides the fish, and said, “Boss, I think the fried cauliflower with bacon[5] taste good. Try it.”

[5]

Yan Mu reached out to the dishes with his chopsticks and picked up one cauliflower and a piece of meat. After eating it, he nodded to Lu Chengyu and said, “Thank you.”

“You don’t need to thank me for such a small thing.” said Lu Chengyu with a smile, “You’ve taken care of me when I got drunk twice. If I am as polite as you are, wouldn’t I have to devote my whole life to you?[6]” His boss was too being polite. As an employee, he was a little flattered.

[6] 以身相许 [yǐshēnxiāngxǔ]: to give one’s heart to / to devote one’s life to

“Cough, cough,” Yan Mu suddenly choked on the vegetables, his face quickly turning red. Seeing him so flustered he couldn’t speak*, Lu Chengyu hurriedly scooped a bowl of chicken soup for him to drink. After Yan Mu recovered, Lu Chengyu asked, “Are you okay?”

*It’s Yan Mu who couldn’t speak because he’s struggling. 

Shaking his head calmly, Yan Mu put down the bowl of soup and wiped his mouth with a paper towel, “It’s okay, thank…” Thinking of what Lu Chengyu just said, he swallowed down the word ‘you’, and then continued to use his chopsticks to reach for the pickled fish.

Seeing how much Yan Mu liked today’s fish, Lu Chengyu raised an eyebrow before turning his head away to pick out what he liked to eat. After all, some people disliked it when others watched them eat. It would be a tragedy if his boss’s good impression of him fell to a negative value over this.

Zhang Zeyun saw that Zhuang Yu was looking at Mu-ge again. Thus, he couldn’t help but glance at both of them with suspicious eyes. Don’t tell me that there’s a conflict between them? But with Mu-ge’s personality, it’s not easy for Lao Zhuang to start a fight with him.

After the meal, all the big men in the room were full, their stomachs a bit round. Lu Chengyu looked at the bright autumn sun outside the window and smelled the fragrance of the sweet osmanthus. He turned to Yan Mu and said, “My colleagues seem to be very satisfied with mooncake for the Mid-Autumn Festival.”

“En,” Yan Mu paused, then asked hesitantly, “Will you still be working in the company in the future?”

“Where would I be working if not in the company?” Lu Chengyu didn’t think much when he first replied. It was only after a few seconds did he understand what Yan Mu was trying to say.  The other side thought that since he made a lot of money investing in films, he would be unwilling to work with Huading.

“The other business is just a hobby while working at Huading is my proper job.” said Lu Chengyu in a joking tone. Then he felt the need to show his loyalty to his boss, “I’m also the representative of Q University, Economic Management Branch. If I don’t mix in with the business world in the future, how can I face the alumni, teachers and schoolmates from my alma mater? “

“En, I don’t want you to leave either, “ Feeling like his words were a bit inappropriate, Yan Mu added, “You are a rare good employee, and Huading needs you.”

“Boss, you must give me a thick red envelope this year. I will be more motivated if I have money,”  said Lu Chengyu with a smile. “Celebrating Chinese New Year without a red envelope is so boring.”

Yan Mu nodded seriously, “Okay.” He thought for a moment, “After this year, I’ll give you a raise.” Lu Chengyu’s working abilities exceeded the level of his salary.

Since there were Huading’s products in 《Soaring Birds》, the company’s product exposure rate had increased. The data reports following the premier of the movie showed a significant increase of recently sold products, all of which were clearly due to 《Soaring Birds》.

Under the serious eyes of the other side, Lu Chengyu felt a little embarrassed. He let out a dry cough and pointed to the grape trellis outside, “Let’s go there and have some tea. There’s nothing interesting to do here.”

Yan Mu stood up and walked two steps towards the door. Seeing that Lu Chengyu was still sitting, he asked, “You aren’t going?”

“I’m going,” Lu Chengyu replied while standing up to follow him. On the other side, Zhuang Yu hooked an arm around Lu Chengyu’s shoulder. “I’ll go with you. They’ll play mahjong later, and I’m not interested in that. It’s better to follow you both and have a chat for a while.”

“Okay.” Lu Chengyu asked the others if they wanted to follow. After hearing that they weren’t joining them, Lu Chengyu also hooked an arm around Zhuang Yu’s shoulder and said, “Let’s go.”

Zhuang Yu laughed, pretending to not see Yan Mu eyeing his shoulder, and kept the posture of hooking shoulder to shoulder with Lu Chengyu. He made it all the way to the grape trellis before he released his somewhat stiff arms. He consciously chose a side seat, watching Yan Mu sit between him and Lu Chengyu, and silently accepted the bold guess that he could not believe before.

When the tea was half sipped, Zhuang Yu took advantage of Lu Chengyu going to the toilet. He looked at Yan Mu several times, and finally decided to say, “Mu-ge, Xiao Lu, he …”

“What’s with him?” Yan Mu slowly turned to look at him.

Zhuang Yu giggled twice, feeling that he couldn’t continue to ask questions, and said, “He’s very good.”

“Uh-huh,” Yan Mu nodded. In a serious tone, he said, “So, I will train him to become my elite backbone.”

“It’s good to cultivate him into an elite.” Zhuang Yu nodded repeatedly, “Elites are good.”

Yan Mu turned the teacup in his hand and continued in a calm voice, “I like him very much, too.”

Zhuang Yu, “…”

As Yan Mu took a sip of tea, he turned to look at the passageway leading to the toilet. When he saw Lu Chengyu coming from the corner, his lips slightly hooked up, “I’m serious.”

Zhuang Yu opened his mouth, but he didn’t know what to say. Ethically speaking, as a friend, he wanted Yan Mu to find a virtuous and gentle woman to live with for the rest of his life. Emotionally, however, he also hoped that Yan Mu would find a person who was suitable for him. It didn’t matter who that person was, as long as they can be sincere towards each other, do their best to support one another and live a happy life.

And he also knew that Lu Chengyu was neither a little white faced [7] person nor a wannabe Phoenix man[8]. From any point of view, Lu Chengyu was popular with the opposite sex. Compared to Lu Chengyu, Mu-ge might be slightly inferior.

[7] Little white face: refers to men who only rely on women to provide financial support, or men who rely on their objects, with a derogatory meaning. Ref: https://baike.google.com/item/小白脸/79983

[8] Phoenix man: refers to a rural boy who marries an urban girl. Ref: https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/凤凰男

Fuck, why does it feel like Mu-ge is a toad that wants to eat swan meat [9]?

[9] It’s a metaphor for people who have no self-knowledge and want to get things that are impossible.

Zhuang Yu shook his head, then finally just sighed: “Xiao Lu is very good, but does he know your thoughts?”

Yan Mu didn’t say a word after drinking tea, but Zhuang Yu, who was familiar with him, knew that Yan Mu was a serious person. There were advantages to this personality trait, but there were also disadvantages. If these kind of people set their mind on something, don’t talk about eight horses, even sixteen horses couldn’t pull them back and make them change their minds.

He sighed again, looking back. There, he saw Lu Chengyu chatting with a young girl not far away from them. The girl seemed very good-looking.

Immediately, he looked at Yan Mu with some sympathy.

“That’s his college classmate,” Yan Mu said calmly as he glanced at Zhuang Yu. There was not even half a sign of impatience on his face.

“How do you know?” Zhuang Yu was surprised.

“I have seen his graduation photo,” Yan Mu squinted. “This girl was also in the photo. If they had any feelings, it would have happened long ago.”

Although he believed in Yan Mu’s memory, Zhuang Yu could not help asking, “What if this girl is secretly in love with Xiao Lu, but Xiao Lu doesn’t know?”

Yan Mu touched the teacup and looked at the girl beside Lu Chengyu. His tone was still calm, “It’s impossible between them.”

When Zhuang Yu lamented in his heart, thinking that Yan Mu was still as calm as ever, he sensed a dark shadow flash above him. Looking up, he saw Yan Mu stride towards Lu Chengyu.

Che, acting like that, it almost convinced me.

He just thought that being secretly jealous was an essential skill for anyone holding a secret love. No matter how powerful Mu-ge was, he couldn’t escape the laws of nature.

When God created humans, although there were hints of bias, God was fair overall.