Xie Yuyao chuckled, shook off her hand, and ignored Yang Chunhua's almost absurd entanglement.
She's never been one to put all her eggs in one basket. If Zhao Honghui can't handle the messy relationships within her family of origin, she'd rather sever ties than get bogged down in love.
Aside from his family background, if he were to reinstate his military status, the risk of her becoming a military wife and having something amiss discovered would be too great, given that she is a person with a secret.
But she wouldn't have the kind of hard-working and resilient spirit to live like an ordinary female educated youth, eating coarse grains that are hard to swallow every day, sleeping in crowded dormitories every night, with no warm clothes and no enough food.
Now her wealth has a legitimate source: pharmaceutical patents and dividends from Qingshan Village. Previously, however, it went unchecked. If the source cannot be clearly explained, it will be considered profiting on the black market. This speculative and illegal activity could become a ticking time bomb in Zhao Honghui's path to success.
Rather than that, let's just send our blessings and wish each other well.
*
As the earth warms up, flowers bloom and fade, and people take off their heavy cotton-padded coats and put on light, refreshing clothes.
In the performance hall of the county cultural palace, a large sound system was playing the timeless melody of "The Butterfly Lovers," and young men and women, dressed in their performance costumes, were rehearsing their dance on the spacious stage.
The twenty or so young men and women were exceptionally beautiful and had outstanding figures, one in a hundred. Their dance moves were also neat, graceful, and pleasing to the eye.
When Director Qian respectfully led in a group of simply dressed people, the young men and women put on an even more enthusiastic show. The women's dance moves were graceful and elegant, while the men's were a perfect blend of softness and strength, flowing smoothly like water. They all knew that this group was there to select actors for a movie.
I heard they came from Shanghai and have been watching their dance rehearsals every day for the past few days, but they still haven't chosen the right people. Today is no different; they're sitting in the front row of the audience, and the person in the very center is watching expressionlessly.
Suddenly, the lead dancer tripped and fell to the ground, tripping another girl next to her. One after another, they fell and fell, creating a chaotic mess on the stage.
This unexpected turn of events, occurring in front of a team led by a city-level leader, can be considered a major performance blunder. Director Qian abruptly stood up and rebuked, "What happened?"
The lead dancer groaned in pain, and the girl next to her quickly said, "Qin Man accidentally fell. It looks a bit serious. I wonder if she has broken any bones."
Director Qian was furious, but people were more important: "Qin Man, go to the infirmary and take a look."
Qin Man's eyes reddened. She wanted to explain that she had slipped on a glass bead that had inexplicably appeared on the stage, but seeing Director Qian's suppressed anger, she ultimately said nothing. Supported by her former close colleague, she limped out of the infirmary to treat her injury.
The girl who had interrupted to explain earlier asked somewhat timidly, "Director, what should we do now that there's no one to lead the dance?"
Director Qian then asked her to lead the dance.
The girl was overjoyed, but she forced herself not to show it on her face. She repeatedly asked someone to turn the music back on and went to her lead dance position to strike a pose.
As soon as the music started, the director, who was sitting in the middle, interrupted, "That's enough, no need to dance anymore."
With a click, the music turned off, and the lead dancer's face revealed an undisguised look of disappointment. The other girls exchanged glances, perhaps having made their own decisions.
Director Qian smiled apologetically, "I'm so sorry, Director Zhu, these girls haven't been rehearsing this dance for very long, so they're still a bit rusty..."
The man addressed as Leader Zhu was a man who looked to be in his forties or fifties. He was dressed in a suit and had an imposing presence, like a superior who was used to giving orders.
He interrupted Director Qian, frowning as he said, "We've come all this way to find the person in this photo. We heard she works at your Cultural Palace."
The black and white photograph captures the extraordinary beauty of the young woman, striking a chord deep within the viewer.
In recent years, taking photos has become increasingly popular, and girls love to go to photo studios to take pictures as souvenirs. The poses for these photos are basically limited: either raising a fist with a determined look to show off one's abilities, or holding a plastic flower and smiling. Most people get nervous in front of the camera, and their expressions become unnatural.
But the photo in Director Zhu's hand shows a woman with a smile that could launch a thousand ships, a beauty of unparalleled grace and charm. Even in black and white, her captivating beauty remains undiminished.
After looking at the photo, Director Qian said, "She is not from our cultural center. Where did you get the photo?"
Director Zhu was stunned. This photo won first place in a portrait photography competition held by the China Photographers Association. He tried to contact the reporter at the county newspaper, but the reporter had gone on a business trip to a remote mountainous area and could not be reached for the time being.
His colleague said it was filmed at the Cultural Palace, so he went to the Cultural Palace to find the person.
The reason he didn't immediately ask to see her upon arriving at the Cultural Palace was to observe her daily work routine. After all, being an actor is an unusual profession, and without basic skills, it's difficult to get started.
In the past few days, Director Qian called back some of the girls who had asked for leave to the Cultural Palace. As of now, Director Zhu has met with all the performers to make sure no one was missed before explaining his purpose.
Who would have thought that this would turn into such a huge blunder?
In this vast sea of people, where is he supposed to find someone?
"Director Qian, you're familiar with this area, could you help us find it?" the city official accompanying them said to Director Qian.
“Of course, knowing the source of the photo will make it easier to find him.” Director Qian took on the task and said with a smile, “I’ve booked a private room at the state-run restaurant. It’s almost lunchtime, so Director Zhu, you should go and have a good meal and try our local specialties. I guarantee I’ll find him soon.”
Knowing he was no longer effective in finding people, Director Zhu had no choice but to go get lunch, led by the deputy director of the Cultural Palace.
After seeing the person off, Director Qian returned to his office, plopped down in a chair, and tugged at his shirt collar.
What kind of mess is this?!
But if he wanted to make a good impression on the city leaders, he had to do everything he could to find someone.
His subordinate poured him a glass of water and told him not to rush.
Director Qian took a sip of his drink and said, "How can we not be anxious? Look at the mess this has made. We should hurry to the newspaper office and find out the specifics."
It was all a series of unexpected events. A while ago, they suddenly received a call from the director of the Shanghai Film Bureau, saying that Director Zhu was coming to the art troupe to select actors for a new film.
Although he was puzzled, he devoted himself to serving them and wanted to help the young men and women in the group reach higher levels.
Who would have thought that Director Zhu had already chosen someone, and it wasn't even someone from their Cultural Palace!
After sending someone to the newspaper office, Director Qian also asked his subordinates when that reporter Zhu had come to the Cultural Palace to take photos. He learned that Zhu was a long-term cooperating photojournalist who had come quite a few times, so he could only patiently wait for the newspaper office's response.
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