Chapter 247
Jiang Bai certainly knew that his sister was making money by writing.
He has filmed so many dramas, and he already knew the reason why Director Yu first approached him to film. In addition to the fact that his appearance was more suitable for the role, the most important thing was that most of the dramas he filmed were adapted from Jiang Ning's works.
In addition, it is probably because he and Tong Jingang are really economical, have some fame, some national popularity, and some box office results, but they have no temper and are serious, dedicated, and responsible.
In addition, with the help of Tong Jingang, the social leader, almost all directors who have worked with him are willing to work with him again.
He is so dedicated, so well-behaved and never makes trouble.
Apart from not being a professional, there are no other disadvantages.
As for his acting skills, he is indeed not as good as those young actors who come from professional schools or opera backgrounds, but they are all filming commercial films. As long as he is willing to learn and work hard, and his acting skills are not to the point of being out of control, they can be trained.
But Jiang Bai never knew how much money Jiang Ning made from writing.
He thought that a manuscript would earn at most tens or hundreds of yuan. He made a movie and also learned about the general copyright market. It was around 20,000 yuan in the past two years. It has increased a little this year, but not much, probably around 30,000 to 40,000, or 40,000 to 50,000 yuan?
But this little money is not enough for my sister to buy so many houses, right?
Just from what he knew, his sister alone owned 16 houses in Shanghai, and they were all large ones!
My sister can’t live here alone!
There is a villa owned by his sister, a fully-decorated house with heating throughout, a duplex apartment building of nearly 600 square meters, and a house behind his school where he and his grandfather live now.
Although his own house had been simply renovated and was ready for living, his sister always said that she was worried about grandpa living alone. The house was empty anyway, so why not let him live with grandpa? On the contrary, his own house would be left empty, and Tong Jingang would occasionally come and stay for a few days.
Tong Jingang also has his own house, which is in an apartment building in the same community as Jiang Ning and Jiang Bai. It is currently being renovated. He didn't buy it big, only 90,000 square meters, but this small size refers to Jiang Ning's big mansion. Compared with the 70-square-meter house for a family of three in his hometown, after removing the common area, the upper and lower floors are separated into about 160 square meters. For a single guy like him, it is spacious enough to run a horse in it.
But he didn't want to live alone in his empty house, so he loved to go to Jiang Bai.
He is a single guy, so he just put up a bed in Jiang Bai’s guest room, bought two quilts and sheets at the night market, and slept there!
He is now an intern in his senior year, but his current goal has changed from becoming a physical education teacher after graduating from college to entering the entertainment industry, and he now spends every day on the crew.
His appearance limits him from playing the leading role, but he can play any role, such as gangster, policeman, general, or macho man. He can act freely and unrestrainedly without any baggage. In the past few years, he has been around Jiang Bai and Jiang Ning, and is no longer the small extra who didn't even have a shot in the past. At least he has become familiar to the audience. From an extra to a supporting role with some lines, this is enough for him. Anyway, he is very happy acting. Some people recognize him on the street and some even ask for his autograph.
Jiang Bai actually didn't quite understand why his sister bought so many houses. He only had to calculate the huge mortgage payments his sister had to make every month. It was an astronomical figure that he dared not even think about. Such a huge debt reminded him of the huge foreign debt his family owed when he was a child. It was like a mountain and had always been a psychological shadow for Jiang Bai. He simply couldn't imagine how his sister would dare to let him take out so many loans after having experienced such a suffocating shadow when she was a child.
Jiang Bai previously bought two houses and a shop with a loan. He really went to film and shoot movies whenever he had free time. He never bought himself any luxury items with the money he earned. At least he had clothes to wear in his own shop and could also shoot for his own shop. All the money he earned was used to repay the loan. He would not feel at ease until these loans were paid off.
Facing Jiang Bo's doubtful and worried look, Jiang Ning smiled and said calmly, "Didn't you see the news? The film rights to "Star Trek" were sold for 1.1 million US dollars. Calculate how much it is."
Jiang Bo had indeed heard of this news, but after he entered the entertainment industry, he saw the untrue content in gossip magazines and tabloids and did not take the news seriously. More than one million US dollars, that was a number he would never dare to imagine in his life. How was it possible?
Tong Jingang did ask him about it, but he denied it with certainty at the time: "How is it possible? Don't listen to what the newspapers say, they are all exaggerating."
Tong Jingang also thought so at the time. They felt that $100,000 was too high, let alone $1.1 million.
In addition, they and Jiang Ning were separated by Shanghai and Beijing, and seldom met each other. Jiang Ning was also very busy, so they had no chance to ask Jiang Ning. As time went by, they naturally forgot about it. They did not expect that Jiang Ning would bring it up at this time.
Jiang Bai was stunned for a moment: "Is the news true?"
"Yeah." Jiang Ning nodded.
Jiang Bo's reaction was still so simple. He said, "Then you should quickly pay off the loan for your house. You have so much debt. If you don't pay it off one day, you will feel uneasy holding this house."
Jiang Ning smiled and nodded, looking at him and said, "Don't worry, I know everything. It's just that you need to take care of Grandpa. Don't forget the physical examination arranged for Grandpa this year. And if it's inconvenient for you to collect the rent from my houses, ask Brother Jin Gang to go and sign a commission contract with him..."
Before Jiang Ning finished speaking, Jiang Bai, whose miserly nature would immediately kick in when it came to money, said, "It's convenient. What's inconvenient? Your houses are all in the same place. After you rent them out, you can just collect rent regularly every month."
Although all this money belongs to his sister, his sister's money is still money. No matter how good the relationship between him and Tong Jingang is, it has nothing to do with his sister. Why should he spend money to ask Jingang to do something that he can do?
Jiang Bai would save as much money as he could for his sister.
Although they have been separated by two places in the past few years and have not had much time to spend together, he has seen very clearly that his sister is just like his older brother. She is so loose-handed that she cannot hold on to money at all. She does not know how to save money and will not contribute to anything that can be solved with money. In this respect, she is exactly the same as Jiang's father. He has not seen his older brother Jiang Song for several years and does not know how he is doing. Jiang Bai is not worried, but he is really worried about his sister's lavish and loose-handed habits. He secretly decides in his heart that he must take good care of Jiang Ning's rental house.
Jiang Ning was very confident in Jiang Bai. Jiang Bai had always been a very serious and responsible person who was trustworthy and reliable.
After arranging matters in Shanghai, Jiang Ning and Song Peifeng returned to Beijing together.
Even though he already knew that his girlfriend was domineering, even Song Peifeng didn't know that his girlfriend was so domineering. I'm afraid Jiang Bai didn't even know that Jiang Ning had two big houses in Beijing!
However, all this was nothing compared to how he had been with Jiang Ning and had seen how she had developed her hometown and Wucheng step by step to its current level.
It is easy for a person to accumulate wealth for himself, but to accumulate wealth for a local finance, in the words of ancient times, is to be a talent for assisting the king.
Last year was the first year of Wucheng's changes. When he went back this time, he heard from his father that his position would be changed in two years at most.
His father also asked Song Peifeng to stay with Jiang Ning and learn more from her. Even though Secretary Song knew that his son was very outstanding, he couldn't help but pale in comparison to Jiang Ning, this dazzling pearl.
The key is that she is so outstanding, but she is not arrogant at all. No matter whether she is dealing with superiors or subordinates, her attitude is always humble and polite, and she is modest and moderate. This is the key to her long-term success.
Not long after Jiang Ning left Shanghai, Mr. Qian and the employees of his decoration design company went on a business trip to Jiang Ning's hometown.
Because it was just the beginning of spring, the earth was still bleak. On the riverbank, nothing could be seen except the remaining lotus leaves. The willow trees planted on both sides of the embankment were just small, bare saplings without leaves. The wolfberries tied to bamboo poles also had bare branches hanging down in winter without a single leaf. Even the water chestnuts and water caltrops that grew in the water in summer were gone. The road surface of the embankment was very muddy because the snow had melted.
At present, only the main road has been built in Jiangjia Village, and the cement road on the embankment has not yet been built. The main reason is that the construction of the cement road on the embankment is not as simple as the main road.
First of all, the width of the main road of the embankment is about two and a half meters. In the past, both sides were covered with deep wild wormwood and wolfberry more than two meters long. However, people walked in the middle for many years, and the weeds in the middle could not grow, leaving a width of half a meter. Both sides are trapezoidal downward slopes.
The cement road on the embankment must be repaired, otherwise when it rains in the summer, the muddy embankment road alone will discourage many tourists from coming and they will never want to come again.
Jiang Guotai had asked Jiang Ning before whether to build only the main road above or the trapezoidal slopes on both sides together.
If the trapezoidal slope is to be built together, the project will be huge. For such a long embankment, even if Jiang Guotai has three sand factories to make a steady stream of money for him, this project will still be a considerable expense for him.
Jiang Ning's opinion was of course to only repair the main road.
The slope below is covered with lush, natural green grass. Why should we replace it with cement? However, in the non-flood season, the water level below is actually very low. A cobblestone road can be built in the lower middle of the dam near the water surface for tourists to walk and play, and appreciate the beautiful scenery of 'the endless green lotus leaves connecting the sky, and the red lotus flowers reflecting the sun' from a close distance. Tourists who like fishing can also fish here. At the same time, the green lawn is also convenient for people who like camping to come here to camp.
This not only saves costs, but also allows it to better play its advantages in beautifying the environment.
As for pebbles, there are inexhaustible pebbles in the mountain streams of Shijian Township. It only takes some manpower and transportation, and you don’t need to spend a penny extra.
Jiang Guotai naturally listened to Jiang Ning's advice.
The road on the embankment is too narrow, with a width of two and a half meters. Cars are definitely not allowed to pass. Only bicycles and the small tricycles popular in Wucheng County that can barely fit four people are allowed. According to Jiang Ning, this embankment road can provide a cycling surface for tourists who like cycling, but they must pay attention to installing guardrails, otherwise tourists may accidentally fall into the river below.
At this time, Mr. Qian and the designer had just stepped onto the dock. They had not seen the embankment that had not yet been built with cement roads. Mr. Qian was standing on the cement dock, looking at Huolu Mountain, which was full of tea leaves, and the lake, which looked like silver fragments scattered on it after the ice and snow melted. Mr. Qian said with emotion, "It is indeed a blessed land with beautiful mountains and clear waters. No wonder it can produce such a spiritual person like Ning Meng."
He looked up at the top of the mountain, at the iconic giant stone stove, and said, "That should be the 'Wugong Mountain' that Ning Meng mentioned. Let's go! Let's go to Ning Meng's house and take a look!"
Qian Shengli was very excited.
He was unemployed in middle age and was originally in a very bad state. However, after his career enjoyed a second spring, he looked energetic and mature at the same time.
He would follow the designer to Jiangjia Village because, on the one hand, he really valued Jiang Ning, a big customer who brought him countless orders; on the other hand, after the New Year, he gave the tea Jiang Ning gave him as gifts to several people he considered to be important during the New Year. From the relationships he had been trying hard to maintain and even to establish, it was confirmed that what Jiang Ning said was true. This really was the "Wugong Tea" that CCTV strongly promoted this year and that the leaders of the Central Committee and the Central Government were all drinking.
When Qian Shengli gave this gift, it really touched the hearts of these leaders.
There is no other reason, just to keep up with the footsteps of the central leadership, just for the sake of "I have what you don't".
The real big leaders are certainly not ones that Qian Shengli can get close to, but the leaders he can get close to, although not too big, all have some real power in their departments.
These people have very sensitive tongues. In fact, they know without even drinking it that this must not be this year's Mingqian tea. This year's Mingqian tea has not yet started to sprout and be picked.
However, these leaders still praised the "Wugong Tea" highly. Mr. Qian, who used to work in the system and was once a deputy factory director, immediately understood what they meant.
The things are good and can be given as gifts, but they want this year's new "Qingqian Tea". After they get it, they naturally don't think about drinking it themselves, but giving it to others.
This thing is not shabby at all when given as a gift.
After Mr. Qian understood what he meant, he immediately drank tea with the leaders with a smile, which led to his trip to the Linhe Brigade.
As soon as they got off the dock and stepped onto the muddy road on the embankment, it was a very bad experience for Mr. Qian and the designer, who came from Shanghai and were wearing decent leather shoes. They also carried big bags on their backs.
After walking a few steps, Mr. Qian couldn't stand it anymore. He looked up at the still beautiful mountains and rivers in front of him, and then looked at his leather shoes that were several inches deep in the yellow mud. He frowned and said, "If this road is not repaired, it will be difficult for this place to develop."
The designer was an overseas student whom he had hired back at a high price. It was also his first time walking on such a road. He almost slipped several times. The two of them half-supported each other and ignored the water on the grass on both sides. They did not dare to walk on the muddy ground in the middle and only walked on the grass on both sides.
After passing through the hydroelectric power station and the rice field, when they reached the cement road, Mr. Qian and the designer's trouser legs and buttocks were already covered with mud. A lot of the mud on their shoes was rubbed off on the grass, but they were still dirty.
The two saw a canal next to the cement road and walked to the ditch beside the stone bridge. Mr. Qian pulled some straw from the straw pile next to the rice field and gave some to the designer. The two used the water in the ditch to wash the mud off their shoes, and then looked blankly at this village which seemed backward in his eyes but not so backward.
He had heard from Jiang Ning that her hometown was being built into a tourist and leisure cultural village. The village was now connected by cement roads. The ancient building next to the brigade headquarters was the restroom. They had seen such a building once before at the dock. They went to experience it at that time and thought it was very good. In this small place, the restroom was not much worse than the public restrooms in Shanghai.
The red three-story building near the edge of the road, in front of the brigade headquarters, is her home in the village. The house under construction not far in front is her cousin's home. If no one is at her home, she can go directly to her cousin's house. She has already called her hometown and was told that a designer who designed the house would come and let him stay at her cousin's house for a few nights.
The construction and design of a house cannot be done by words and imagination alone, but also requires field investigation. According to the terrain, the house should be integrated with the surrounding scenery. Only in this way can the most suitable house type be designed. This is also one of the reasons why they came here for a field investigation.
Those who want to go out to work in the village basically leave on the third, fourth and fifth days of the Chinese New Year. Very few people stay until the eighth day to leave, because the factories start work early. But because there are tea fields this year, many strong laborers and women over 40 years old stayed and prepared to take good care of the tea fields. Therefore, Jiangjia Village, which was very lively during the New Year, is now deserted, with only some left-behind elderly people, left-behind children and some young and middle-aged people, such as Jiang Hongjun's family.
President Qian and the designer looked at the two-story building with white walls and black tiles in the village, a small western-style building that was completely different from Jiang Ning's home, and the building under construction. They walked over and greeted Jiang Hongbing and the others in his Shanghai Mandarin: "Is this Jiang Jun's home? We came from Shanghai on Jiang Ning's behalf to design a house for her!"
Jiang Hongjun and his friends were building a house upstairs, and they had already noticed that the two men were dressed very differently from the shabby people in their village. After all, there had not been a single person in a suit in their village yet. The two men in front of them, one in a down jacket and the other in a suit inside and a coat outside, looked like they were dressed in TV dramas.
Hearing Mr. Qian's call, Jiang Jun slid down the rope from upstairs with a smile and said, "You are Mr. Qian and the building designer, right? Hello, hello."
Mr. Qian habitually reached out his hand to shake hands with Jiang Jun. Jiang Jun's hands were dirty from handling cement slurry and red bricks. He was about to reach out, but when he saw his own hands, he quickly pulled them back and wiped them on his clothes. He turned around and shouted in dialect, "Hurry up and call Jiang Xin and Jiang Miao to come over. The people who designed the house for Ning Ning are here!"
According to the three Jiang Jun brothers, building a house requires design? Aren’t they all built that way?
They don't know anything about house design. They only know how to build houses, and make sure they are sturdy and comfortable to live in.
But Jiang Ning was a very particular person. Before she left, she told Jiang Guotai that she would go to Shanghai to invite a designer to design her house. She would listen to the designer no matter the exterior, interior decoration, or garden design.
I didn’t expect the designers to come so quickly, and two of them came at once.
Mr. Qian spoke Shanghai Mandarin with a Shanghai accent. Not to mention Jiang Jun's Shuibu Town Mandarin. The Wucheng dialect sounded more like Mandarin than what he spoke, which made him very nervous and he quickly called for help.
Because Jiang Xin and Jiang Miao were still on winter vacation and Jiang Miao also needed to build a house, they stayed in Shuibu Town and did not leave for the time being. If anything happened, it was convenient to drive, take a speedboat, or make a phone call. They could reach the neighboring city in less than an hour.
Jiang Xin came to receive Mr. Qian and the designer named Lou, only to find out that Jiang Ning, who had just left the village a few days ago, had opened up sales channels for their village's Wugong tea in Shanghai.
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