Huayu: This director is pretty strong.

Chapter 10 Old Chen Begs for Alms

Winter nights in Tianjin are damp and chilling.

The motion-activated lights in the hallway completely stopped working. Chen Yan walked up the stairs, touching the cold iron handrail. His palms were covered in rust and a layer of cold sweat.

With each floor he went up, the Beijing opera tunes from his neighbor's house would drift into his ears, mingling with the drumbeats in his heart, making it grow ever heavier.

Pushing open the door, the steam from the cabbage and tofu, mixed with a slightly burnt smell, wafted in, making the room feel stuffy and warm.

Chen Jianguo was squatting on the ground, struggling with a leaky radiator, and a white mark was left on his hand from being pressed by the pliers.

"Did you get cold on the way?"

He didn't even look up.

"without."

Chen Yan put down his backpack and slammed the creased demolition agreement onto the old-fashioned folding table.

The white marks burned into the tabletop resembled old marks left by repeated pressing over the years.

After fixing the radiator, Chen Jianguo stood up, dusted off his hands, and looked at the agreement.

"You've seen it? I discussed it with your uncle; cash is the safest option these days."

"We signed the contract this week and have enough for the down payment on a house in Yanjing."

"Your relationship with Xiao Su can't be delayed any longer."

Chen Yan stared at the tea leaves floating in the cup without saying a word.

"What's wrong?"

Chen Jianguo frowned.

"Did you have a fight with Xiao Su?"

Chen Yan's finger touched the official seal at the end of the agreement. He spoke in a low voice, which made the heat around the table seem to cool down a bit.

"Dad, you can't sign this."

Chen Jianguo was stunned.

What do you mean by "cannot sign"?

"Early bird registration comes with a bonus!"

"You'll need a place to live after you graduate!"

"What will we do if our father-in-law urgently needs money?"

"This is Heming Consulting."

Chen Yan turned the agreement to his father, his gaze piercing.

"They lowered our price by 30%."

"Thirty percent is enough to buy another small two-bedroom apartment in Tianjin."

"Dad, you've worked your whole life as a laborer, and you've saved every penny of your hard-earned money. We can't let people eat like this."

"Thirty percent?!"

Chen Jianguo raised his voice suddenly, then lowered it warily, glancing out the window.

"Really?"

"That young man was very polite, he even offered me a cigarette, saying that our area is remote."

Offering you a cigarette is just to dazzle you and make you forget about the bill.

Chen Yan stood up, walked to the kitchen, and lifted the pot lid; the cabbage was overcooked.

He brought the pot to the table.

"Don't worry about this."

"When they come again tomorrow, just tell them that I'm the one who calls the shots in this house."

"You're the one who decides?"

Chen Jianguo was so angry he laughed, and slammed the spatula on the table.

"Chen Yan, have you gone mad from studying in Yenching?"

"Can film reels be exchanged for a property ownership certificate?"

"That's 400,000 yuan in compensation for the demolition!"

"What do you, a student, know about evaluations?"

The heat rose between the father and son, blurring their expressions.

Chen Yan did not avoid his father's gaze; the regrets of his past life were his strongest armor at this moment.

"Dad, I'll take 20,000 yuan with me tomorrow for Uncle Su's surgery."

"I don't plan to use the remaining money to buy a house."

Chen Jianguo's chopsticks, which were about to pick up tofu, stopped in mid-air.

"Not buying a house?"

"So what are you going to do?"

"Making movies."

"A true feature film."

The chopsticks were slammed heavily onto the table and broke in two.

"You're insane!"

Chen Jianguo's voice almost lifted the roof off.

"Chen Yan, that's the foundation of three generations of our Chen family!"

"You're going to use it to film that thing?"

"What if you lost money?"

"What do you have to offer to marry Xiao Su?"

"How can you face your father like that?"

"They weren't born Zhang Yimou."

Chen Yan's voice remained steady, but it contained a fierce determination that could not be retreated.

"I not only want to get back the 400,000, but also the 600,000 that rightfully belongs to us."

"The extra 200,000 yuan was my first investment."

"What are you taking?"

"If we lose money."

Chen Yan walked to the window, where the dim streetlights outlined his young yet weary profile.

"I'll go back to Tianjin, work in a cement factory, and never touch a camera again in my life."

He turned his head, and the moonlight shone into his dark eyes.

"But I won't lose out."

"The master tapes of the film I have, 'The Night Watch,' have already been sent to Paris."

"When we get back to them, this amount of money won't even be a fraction of the copyright fee in the eyes of those capitalists."

"Dad, this money is just paper in the bank, and it's just a pile of bricks in the bank, but in my hands, it's the ladder that will turn our family's life around."

Chen Jianguo looked at his son, only snapping out of his daze when he burned his finger with cigarette ash.

The Chen Yan before me was unfamiliar; his speech lacked the affected air of a literary youth, leaving only efficiency and composure.

"Are you really sure?"

He asked in a muffled voice.

"I've got my eye on it."

"That Haiming Consulting, I heard, is run by a big boss from Yanjing, not someone to mess with."

"Lu Haiming".

Chen Yan read the name aloud as if she were writing on a tombstone.

"He's not up to par yet; he's just a hyena that smells blood."

What he fears is that things will escalate and escalate to the international stage.

"He has a sense of shame, so I'll peel his face off layer by layer."

Chen Jianguo didn't understand what "international" meant, but he understood the confidence in his son's words.

He got up and went inside. When he came out again, he had a blue plastic passbook in his hand.

He shoved the folded book into Chen Yan's hand, his rough fingers pressing hard into his palm as if he were pressing in all the strength and entrustment of his life.

"The password is your mom's birthday."

There are over 20,000 inside.

He turned around, his back slightly hunched.

"...Don't embarrass me."

……

The next morning, a black Santana 2000 was parked downstairs.

The young man leading the group was called Xiao Zhao. His hair was slicked back with gel, making it look like he was wearing a helmet. He was wearing a borrowed suit, which gave him an air of slickness that didn't match his age.

Is Grandpa Chen home?

Chen Yan was squatting on the curb eating a jianbing guozi (Chinese crepe). After finishing the last bite, he stood up.

"My dad's not here. Tell me if you need anything."

Xiao Zhao glanced at his faded jacket and sneered.

"you?"

"Young man, this is a contract worth hundreds of thousands. Can you really make that decision?"

"I am his son and the sole heir to this property."

Chen Yan blocked the entrance to the building, preventing him from entering.

"The agreed price is too low."

"Go back and tell your General Manager Lu that the compensation will be increased by 20% based on the highest compensation standard for similar plots in the surrounding area."

Otherwise, there's no point in discussing it.

"Add 20%?"

"You're dreaming!"

Xiao Zhao was amused and stepped forward to push Chen Yan away.

"Kid, don't push your luck!"

"You dare to obstruct municipal construction projects?"

Chen Yan didn't move, but spoke in a way that everyone around could hear.

"You used residential standards from three years ago for your assessment, but you acquired the land to build a commercial city."

"Should I explain this price difference to the neighbors?"

Neighbors who were buying breakfast or doing morning exercises gathered around, and discussions arose.

Xiao Zhao's face flushed red; he hadn't expected this poor student to be so knowledgeable.

"You, you're talking nonsense!"

He forced himself to speak loudly.

"I not only know about the price difference, but I also know that Haiming Consulting has several unresolved lawsuits in Yanjing."

Chen Yan took a step closer, unleashing his full tyrannical aura—the same aura that had silenced investors on set.

"I happen to have a French friend who is a journalist for Cahiers du Cinéma. He's currently struggling to find material for an in-depth report on China's unique real estate market and plans to submit it to Cannes next year."

"What do you think about starting with your company's story?"

The name Cannes struck Xiao Zhao like a thunderclap, plunging him into a blind spot of knowledge.

But he understood the French journalists and reports.

Mr. Lu has been working hard to cultivate a persona as a cultural real estate developer lately. If this gets out, he'll be skinned alive.

Xiao Zhao broke out in a cold sweat.

"Go back and tell Lu Haiming."

Chen Yan's voice was laced with coldness.

"Three days, and we'll get a more knowledgeable appraiser."

"Otherwise, I would not only contact the neighbors to go to the city, but I would also send this special contract directly to Paris."

After saying that, he turned around and went upstairs amidst the neighbors' awe-inspiring murmurs.

Behind the door, Chen Jianguo excitedly gave a thumbs up.

"Well done, you little rascal!"

"Do you really have French friends?"

"no."

Chen Yan took a sip of cold water and pointed to his temple.

"But I have a brain."