Public Service Announcements
"If I don't get a golden bean from eating this cake, I'm going to die of anger today." Sister Zhuo held the receipt, frowned, and looked at the cake on the table. She asked in confusion, "Hey, didn't you say you bought a gift for Bing Jie? You brought the cake to the company for me. Where's the gift you bought?"
Qi Jixin was flipping through a folder outside the desk. When the news of her temporary break spread, many other collaborations came to her. She was holding various collaboration invitations, ranging from small advertisements to large variety shows. Sister Zhuo first screened a batch and handed her more than a dozen collaborations.
"I've looked around, but I don't know what to give him. He doesn't seem to need expensive things, but he can't afford cheap things. So, forget it." Qi Jixin's eyes stopped at a certain line in the document, and he turned around and picked up his phone to check something.
As Sister Zhuo opened the cake, she thought to herself that Bing Jie indeed had everything he needed, but he would treasure whatever Qi Jixin gave him.
Qi Jixin flipped through the folders, placed her finger on an invitation, and said happily, "Sister Zhuo, let's take this public service announcement."
Xuan Jiazhuo took a closer look and saw that a Taoist temple in the mountains had been in disrepair for a long time, and local funding had not been received yet. The century-old temple was about to collapse. The person who invited the artist was a younger Taoist priest in the temple. He probably had given up hope and sent this news to the artist.
"Are you sure?" Sister Zhuo put down the cake that was brought to her mouth and stared at her with wide eyes. It was not that Qi Jixin was unkind, but that the Taoist temple was located in a remote place and there was no car access at all. The mountain roads for a few miles behind had to be walked. She was now recuperating at home, so how could she go out and travel?
"It can be considered as accumulating virtue for myself." Qi Jixin said sincerely, and then said: "That place is adjacent to many quiet forests. I heard that rich people go there to retire. I think it would be okay for me to go and look at the houses in advance."
Knowing that this guy was stubborn and would do whatever he wanted, Sister Zhuo stopped trying to persuade her and asked her to go back and discuss it with Bing Jie. However, she said there was nothing to discuss and he was not her agent.
Sister Zhuo, who had failed in her attempt to shirk responsibility, had no choice but to reply to the email under her watchful eyes, saying that she wanted to discuss the cooperation in detail. Only after that was done did Qi Jixin ask the company to send a car to take her home.
Bing Jie had already prepared the meal and was waiting for her return. As soon as Qi Jixin opened the door, he stood up and came to greet her. "How is it going? Have you discussed any contracts?"
She nodded and told Bing Jie that they might have to go to the mountains to shoot a public service announcement. Although his reaction was not as obvious as Sister Zhuo's, he still showed some worry.
"Then I'll go with you."
"No need, Sister Zhuo will accompany me. Besides, you have your work to do."
After Qi Jixin said this, Bing Jie realized that he really couldn't follow her around as she pleased. In front of her, he was not the boss who had the final say, but a little star who followed the notices.
"Then I won't let you go. It sounds very tiring. You need to rest for your current injury."
"Don't worry, I'm not going to do farm work. Besides, the emails for contract negotiation have already been sent, so I'll just treat it as a trip to relax."
Seeing that she had made up her mind, Bing Jie reluctantly suggested, "Isn't it just about repairing the house? Wouldn't it be enough if you donate a little and I donate a little?"
Seeing him frown slightly, Qi Jixin knew that if he could say that, then the amount he could donate was not just a point, it must be a huge sum... But she went to shoot the commercial, not to kill Bing Jie.
"Anyway, I'm definitely going, so don't worry," she said, touching Bing Jie's face and smiling, "What I'm going to do is much more meaningful than forcing you to donate."
The cooperation negotiations were very quick, and as soon as the reply was received, the local government sent a specialist to follow up on the cooperation and formed a special filming team to strive for perfect cooperation. If the cooperation was pleasant, she might stay here to shoot promotional videos for other scenic spots.
Sister Zhuo heard their plan clearly. She didn't want to see them become laborers for promotional videos, so she made full preparations before leaving. She also repeatedly told Qi Jixin not to agree to it rashly.
Today is the day they are leaving. Bing Jie sent Qi Jixin from home to the company, watched them leave, and then drove back to his own company.
He had checked it out over the past two days, and the cooperation was a serious one. However, Bing Jie couldn't figure out why she wanted to go there, so he could only believe her words of "doing good deeds" and "you'll like it", even though these words sounded even more outrageous.
When Qi Jixin was still sleeping soundly, Sister Zhuo woke her up and told her that she could get off the bus.
Although he was well prepared for hiking in the wild, Qi Jixin was still a little shocked when he saw the half-human-high grass and the vaguely discernible trails in it while wearing a windbreaker and hiking boots.
Sister Zhuo carefully reminded her by the car that this seemed to have been urgently cleaned up, and asked her not to show too much surprise. Qi Jixin immediately put on a smile and greeted the government officials and two Taoist priests who came to pick up the car.
"Hello... hello... hello... hello... Taoist Priest!"
The middle-aged man in an executive jacket, who was leading the group, said with a smile, "We were worried that we wouldn't be able to provide adequate hospitality, so we originally arranged accommodation for you in the city. How about we visit the Taoist temple and then go back to the city directly?"
Qi Jixin shook hands with him and then waved it off: "It's okay. Living in the Taoist temple will make filming more convenient. We don't have to travel back and forth."
After several rounds of courtesy, seeing that Qi Jixin insisted, they did not force him anymore. Anyway, there were indeed rooms prepared in the Taoist temple. The main temple was to be collapsed, and the side halls and the squares built in recent years were all in good condition. There was definitely a place to live.
Not only Qi Jixin lives here, but also the team shooting the commercial, her own driver assistant, and two government-appointed staff members, nearly twenty people in total, all live here. Fortunately, it is late autumn now and there are not many mosquitoes in the mountains, otherwise, this would be the most unbearable.
The man leading the group along the way was introducing her to the local customs and culture, as well as the surrounding scenic spots. From his words, one could also tell that the local government was proud of the green area that was unmatched by any other place in the area.
"That's why our area is known as the best place to retire. Many successful people buy properties in the manor villa area a hundred miles away."
Qi Jixin had been politely agreeing until now, but after hearing this, she finally became interested. She asked with interest, "Secretary Chen, after the filming is finished here, can you send someone to take me to the manor villa to see it? I've heard a lot about it."
Secretary Chen agreed quickly. He tried his best to get Qi Jixin to look somewhere else. Maybe he could persuade her to cooperate in promoting something else.
The mountain road was rugged, but fortunately it was quite lively along the way and not lonely. The group walked for nearly two hours before reaching the foot of the mountain where the Taoist temple was located. Looking at the even more winding and steep mountain road, Qi Jixin was gasping for breath, but Secretary Chen suggested taking a break.
While he was taking a break, Qi Jixin finally had the chance to chat with the two Taoist priests. She hadn't found a chance to talk to the Taoist priests along the way, and just chatted nonsense with the secretary.
"Master, I heard that our temple is very effective in praying for peace, but why do I feel like there aren't many people coming here now?"
The old Taoist priest, with white hair and beard, but still in good spirits, replied: "Not many people know about this, and we don't know how to publicize it. Only when the temple accepted three or four young Taoist priests did they publicize it online, but it's useless."
Qi Jixin had done her homework. She knew that behind the Taoist temple on the mountainside, the entire peak was covered with pine trees, known as the Wishing Forest. Legend has it that when the temple was popular, the pine trees were hung with red silk, with prayers and other things in them. But now the mountain was bleak, and that red was no longer visible.
"Then can I go up and hang a red wishing ribbon?" she asked, looking at the top of the mountain. The old Taoist smiled and nodded, "Of course you can."
That night, the group rested in the temple. Qi Jixin also called Bing Jie. Reporting his safety to him was secondary; the most important thing was to tell him a piece of news.
"Secretary Chen told me that he would keep me updated on social donations in real time. Now I can be considered a public servant."
Seeing her beaming with joy, Bing Jie smiled and asked, "Then can you see how much money I donated?" This was the main purpose of her saying this, and Bing Jie was very sure of it.
"Let's discuss it. We each contribute one million, no one more, no one less. Otherwise, one of us will be embarrassed, right?" She suggested sincerely. There was no reason for Bing Jie to refuse. The two chatted for a while and then hung up the phone.
The next day, in order to catch the sunrise shots, everyone got up at four o'clock and worked intensively.
Qi Jixin had already received the script for the commercial, which actually told a story using a few shots:
The protagonist walked alone to the dilapidated Taoist temple, and was very sad to see the desolate scene. She had a dream the night she stayed in the temple. She dreamed of the mountain's former splendor with red trees. When she woke up, she wrote a red silk and hung it on the mountain before dawn. The camera ended with the protagonist praying with her hands folded under the tallest pine tree.
What we are going to shoot today is the shot of her writing a prayer by hand and hanging red silk on the mountain. The posture of writing with an arm in a sling is always not very good-looking. Anyway, her clothes can cover the plaster. Qi Jixin took off the arm sling during the shooting and lightly pressed her left hand on the table.
After the writing scene was finished, Sister Zhuo hurried over to lift her arm again, fearing any further mistakes. By the time everyone reached the top of the mountain, the sky in the distance was already turning a little red.
When throwing the red silk tied with a small stone, Qi Jixin threw it under the tree almost ten times, but it still couldn't get caught. Sister Zhuo suggested that she try, but Qi Jixin refused. She then raised her head and threw it twice more. Finally, the red silk went around the bare branch twice and was firmly wrapped around the branch.
There was only one shot left. She stood under the tree, clasped her hands together, closed her eyes and prayed. In order to wait for the moment of dawn, more than a dozen people stopped for more than ten minutes in the cold wind.
The sky changed from light orange to orange-red, and then to deep red. Everyone was ready to start filming. Qi Jixin took off the sling again, supported his left elbow with his right hand to gain leverage to reach the right height, then put his hands together and closed his eyes devoutly.
Bing Jie received two photos: one of a piece of red silk fluttering in the wind from a tree, perfectly captured by the camera, and the other of her with her hands clasped and eyes closed in prayer. He looked at the one with the words "Family is safe" with mixed feelings, automatically skipping over it and asking, "Why did you take off the arm bandage?"
"If you don't remove it, will you put one hand together? That feels like the greeting a monk would perform." The voice messages she sent were accompanied by a smile and the subtle but faint sound of the wind.
Bing Jie shook his head and smiled, then replied: "Speak less, or the virtue you have accumulated will not be enough."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
