Grandma Hu saw Shang Yechu walking back and forth in the bookstore with a swaying gait. At first, she thought Shang Yechu was patrolling the bookstore. But upon closer inspection, she found that Shang Yechu's swaying was rather... how to put it, rather strange.
When Shang Yechu had walked his thirtieth lap, Grandma Hu finally couldn't hold back anymore.
"Ye Zi," Grandma Hu pushed up her glasses and asked in confusion, "did you twist your hip?"
Shang Yechu stopped in her tracks: "..."
Shang Yechu began eating lunch.
Since Shang Yechu was able to earn money, Grandma Hu no longer needed to feed her. However, Grandma Hu would occasionally bring out some good food from home to treat Shang Yechu.
Today, Grandma Hu brought Shang Yechu some chicken soup she had made herself. Shang Yechu elegantly picked up the large bowl, took a sip of the oily chicken soup, and then gently tapped on a lid that wasn't even there.
Grandma Hu couldn't help but say, "Yezi, there's oil on your lips."
Shang Yechu: "..."
A customer has arrived at the bookstore. Shang Yechu shuffles along, gently guiding the customer to the checkout counter. She even respectfully hands over the change with both hands.
The customer left the bookstore. Grandma Hu advised Ye Chu, "Ye Chu, he only bought one book, the profit is less than ten yuan. We don't need to treat him like an emperor."
Shang Yechu: "..."
Of course, besides practicing, reading was also essential. Shang Yechu temporarily put aside her list of basic books for primary and secondary school students and began reading some documents related to ancient imperial concubines.
The main characters in palace dramas are always women, and Shang Yechu wanted to learn about the real imperial concubines of ancient times.
Some books are based on detailed data and are relatively reliable. Others are quite unrestrained. For example, a book called "The Secret History of Ancient Chinese Emperors" is practically a vulgar erotic novel, which made Shang Yechu frown deeply.
Several fulfilling days passed, and finally, Shang Yechu received the contract and deposit for "Yun Qing Ji" (that's right, the name of the drama wasn't finalized until a week before filming began). As for the final payment, it would be settled after filming wrapped.
As Shang Yechu expected, her fee was six thousand yuan. The deposit was a quarter of that, which was one thousand five hundred yuan.
Along with the deposit, a portion of the script was delivered to Shang Yechu.
To this day, the complete script of "The Tale of Clouds" remains unseen. The script given to Shang Yechu is also incomplete.
Shang Yechu quickly finished reading this part of the script. To be fair, Zheng Bohan's skills were still sharp; even a hastily produced piece could be considered a masterpiece. The script in Shang Yechu's hand contained only about three episodes, but the entire plot was tightly woven, full of climaxes, and extremely exciting.
The only problem is that it's incomplete and lacks a beginning or an end.
The characters' relationships, historical background, and personal backgrounds are all unknown, but the battles start right away, which is incredibly exciting.
Shang Yechu memorized all the lines and plot after only two readings. This was her advantage. Now she no longer needed to painstakingly memorize lines like before.
After memorizing the script perfectly, the abruptness in the script became even more pronounced. There was a very obvious feeling of "palace intrigue for the sake of palace intrigue".
In just three episodes, all the characters who appeared, except for the silly Zhao Meiren, were cunning and ruthless, either openly evil or cunningly evil. But these characters, who were so evil that they were rotten to the core, would occasionally utter a philosophical remark or two, offering sharp commentary or a summary of the previous plot.
When Shang Yechu saw these lines, she thought of the reading comprehension exercises she did in school: "What viewpoint does the author express in the XX plot? Please summarize it in a short paragraph..."
Zheng Bohan's dramatic performance was excellent; his lines were rich in meaning and beautifully written. They also contained many profound metaphors—a slap draws blood, a whip leaves a mark—quite ruthless. Such lines were abundant in the script in Shang Yechu's hands.
The only minor problem is... could these words really be uttered by the slaves and servants of feudal society, whose illiteracy rate was over 90% and who toiled every day?
It must be said that Sheng Wenzhi understands creators quite well. Zheng Bohan's desire to express himself is indeed too strong. There's a saying, "He made a plate of dumplings for a dish of vinegar," but Zheng Bohan's is more like "He made a bowl of dumplings for a vat of vinegar!"
In this age of entertainment, viewers watch dramas to relax, not to attend classes. Zheng Bohan's arrangement might backfire.
Shang Yechu shook her head.
Shang Yechu contacted Li Kui: "Kui Kui, have you received the script?"
Li Kui replied immediately: 【Received! But I don't quite understand it.】
"Oh? How could you not understand it?" Shang Yechu replied, "This isn't your first time working with a script, is it?"
Li Kui said, "Oh! I'll just take a picture and show it to you."
A few seconds later, Shang Yechu received the electronic version of the script from Li Kui. Compared to the dozens of pages of script Shang Yechu received, Li Kui's script was much thinner.
Shang Yechu opened Li Kui's script, and after only a couple of glances, she knew why this silly girl couldn't understand it.
The script read:
[Consort Rong smiled dreamily]
[Consort Rong chuckled foolishly, a strange light flashing in her eyes.]
[Consort Rong leaned back in her chair, smiling dreamily.]
Consort Rong smiled, holding a gourd in her hand.
...
Without any prior cause, without any consequences, and even without any reactions from the other actors, Li Kui, who plays Consort Rong, simply laughed in various ways for three pages!
Zheng Bohan has completely lost his mind.
At least the script Zheng Bohan gave Shang Yechu was a story, but the one he gave Li Kui was a bunch of crazy stuff.
In future internet slang, Shang Yechu feels quite helpless right now.
"Kui Kui, I don't have many scenes, and I won't be busy once I get to the set. You can ask me later." Shang Ye Chu could only reply like this.
【Okay!】Li Kui was clearly touched. 【Thank you so much!】
And so, filming for "The Tale of Clouds" was scheduled to begin a week later. Time was short, the cast was unknown, the script was undecided, and the director was going crazy.
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