Ni Suqiong glanced at Zhou Xin and said, "You know perfectly well that your uncle's monthly salary is only a few thousand yuan. Although he doesn't spend much money on a regular basis, the total amount is still fixed. What can you expect from him? So almost all of his salary goes to Liangliang for pocket money. If he wants to buy something expensive, he can't rely on him."
"Well, there's nothing I can do about it. My uncle's job is special, so we have to be careful about how it affects him. But it's usually enough for household expenses. How about we have Fang Yang write a song for your artists tomorrow so you can earn some pocket money? Wouldn't that be even better?"
Ni Suqiong glanced at Zhou Xin with a smile, "At least your aunt didn't take care of you for nothing. You even know how to help your aunt make money. I'll ask your uncle to take care of Fang Yang a little more sometime, so he won't be bullied."
Zhou Xin was so happy she almost stood up, but the roof of the car gave her a warning jolt, and the pain brought tears to her eyes. "Auntie, this car of yours is too much of a bully. Every time I ride in it, I get bullied. I might as well get a new car sooner."
Ni Suqiong laughed and said, "Who told you to be so reckless? This is inside the car, where did you think you were? Behave yourself, it's rush hour now, if you don't want to cause an accident, don't make a fuss and affect my driving."
"Wait, wait, Auntie, you just said that Uncle should take care of Fang Yang, right? Does that mean Uncle is going to be transferred to another post?"
"Okay, it's been tentatively decided. The one in Jiangnan Province is retiring next month, and someone will fill the vacancy. Your uncle will be transferred there to take over as the executive vice governor. The process is underway, so don't make a fuss about it outside."
"That's great! Does that mean I can do whatever I want in Jiangnan Province from now on?"
"Crabs can walk sideways anywhere, as long as you want."
"Hmph, Auntie, you're just bullying me."
Zhou Xin curled up in her seat, sulking, and looked out the window at the view, but unfortunately there was nothing but tall buildings.
Ni Suqiong looked at Zhou Xin, who was throwing a tantrum, and couldn't help but laugh. "Alright, your lips are pouting so much you could hang an oil bottle on them. Your grandma has prepared your favorite braised tripe and shredded pork with sweet bean sauce. I guarantee you'll want more after you eat it."
Zhou Xin snorted, a slight upturn at the corners of her lips revealing her inner joy, "When Uncle is transferred to Jiangnan, won't you be going there too?"
"We'll see when the time comes. Maybe we'll set up a branch there. Right now, we've cleared out some of the incompetent management and actors and singers who got in through connections in Beijing. With the staff streamlined, things are much more efficient. But the severe shortage of talent is a major problem. So we're planning to set up a branch in Jiangnan to see if we can recruit some of the talent the company needs. After all, not everyone likes to develop their careers in Beijing."
"Auntie is right. Just like Fang Yang, he would rather die than come to Beijing to develop his career."
"Hehe, did you ask him why?"
"I asked him, and he said that the waters in the capital are too deep, and it's not as free as in the south. Besides, the climate in the south is warmer, and the scenery is much better than in the north."
Ni Suqiong nodded, "That makes sense. Under the emperor's nose, there are all kinds of people. You might bump into someone with a powerful background. Fang Yang is just an ordinary citizen. There's no need for him to get involved in this mess. Besides, Jiangnan is a beautiful place with clear waters and lush mountains, making it much more comfortable to stay there."
Chatting idly, they didn't realize how long the journey had been. Before they knew it, the car had entered a military compound. After passing through two checkpoints to check their documents, Ni Suqiong parked the car in front of a gate. Zhou Xin jumped out of the car, took the luggage down, and shouted before even entering the gate, "Grandpa and Grandma, I'm back!"
Grandpa Zhou and Grandma Zhou were already waiting in the yard. Hearing Zhou Xin's call, they both laughed and said, "Xiao Xin is back! Come over here quickly and let Grandma see if you've lost weight."
Grandpa Zhou craned his neck to look out of the courtyard gate, and seeing only Ni Suqiong following behind, he said with disappointment, "Xiaoxin, didn't Xiaoyang come back with you?"
Zhou Xin, who was chatting and laughing with her grandmother, replied, "Fang Yang is staying at the hotel in Hengdian. He said he needs to finish 'The Return of the Condor Heroes' and then start a new book. He really can't leave."
The old lady said with heartache, "Why is this child working so hard? There are so many people in the company, does it mean it can't function without him? Doesn't he understand the importance of balancing work and rest?"
Zhou Xin laughed and said, "You can make movies without him, but you really can't write books or songs without him, or things will go terribly wrong!"
The old lady didn't care about any of that and kept grumbling, "There's no need for him to work so hard. Everyone else is on holiday, and he's all alone there. Doesn't he feel lonely?"
After nagging for a while, the old lady finally pulled Ni Sufen and Zhou Xin inside to eat. The housekeeper had already prepared the meal and started serving it as soon as everyone came in.
Seeing that all the dishes were her favorites, Zhou Xin smiled so much that her eyes narrowed into slits. "Grandma, these are all my favorite dishes!"
The old lady patted Zhou Xin's hand as she helped her up, "Our girl has suffered a lot on set these past few months, how can we not make up for it when she comes back?"
Zhou Xin smiled and said, "No, Grandma, the food on set is excellent. Every day at noon, we get stir-fried dishes from a restaurant delivered to us. In the morning, we have mung bean porridge, and in the afternoon, we have watermelon. Our living conditions are among the best in the entire film studio!"
Ni Suqiong, who had been pretending to be invisible, exclaimed in surprise, "This treatment must cost a lot every day. Our company also has a film crew in Hengdian World Studios. They eat boxed lunches every day at noon. Adding a chicken leg is a luxury. The actors bring their own bottled water every day."
"You mean Tang Qiang and his crew? They're right next to our film crew, just a few hundred meters away. Every day at lunchtime, they often bring a boxed lunch to our place to pick up some food, saying it's to help us digest it so it won't go to waste."
Ni Suqiong chuckled and said, "I didn't expect Tang Qiang to be so shameless as to come over and freeload off us."
Zhou Xin said angrily, "That's right! You don't know, Fang Yang provides us with 500 catties of watermelon every day. As soon as he sees us eating watermelon, he stops filming to come over and mooch a few, taking them back for a few people to eat. Can't they even afford a watermelon?"
Ni Suqiong slapped her thigh and laughed at Tang Qiang's shamelessness, saying that only someone with a thick skin could do such a thing.
Grandpa Zhou found it amusing, "Isn't Fang Yang's approach too costly?"
Zhou Xin said dejectedly, "I also talked to Fang Yang about this, and Fang Yang said it was a small matter. The company makes money from TV dramas, and we can't mistreat these actors and staff. Grandpa, let me tell you, Fang Yang said that this 'Princess Pearl' will sell for at least ten million per episode, or he won't sell it!"
The old man didn't understand these things, but Ni Suqiong understood them all too well. "Ten million per episode? Has Fang Yang gone mad? Nowadays, TV dramas only cost one or two million per episode. Five million per episode for 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes' was already unprecedented. Ten million per episode is more than double the price of 'The Legend of the Condor Heroes'!"
"That's what I said too. Fang Yang said he wouldn't sell it for less than that price, and at most he'd just put it on the website himself. I don't know where his inexplicable confidence comes from."
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