Chapter 194: Bole and the Thousand-li Horse

After they had agreed, they set out, and the moment the mistress appeared before the Forbidden City gate, she instantly became everyone's focus.

Because the mistress was too beautiful, especially after careful grooming, she seemed like a concubine who had stepped out of antiquity, and as soon as she appeared she stunned everyone.

It made passing men and women unable to resist stopping to glance a few times; seeing the crowd of onlookers grow, Su Ruo couldn't help but frown slightly, but the mistress was completely unaffected.

Moreover, the more people stopped to look, the more stunningly beautiful the mistress became.

Su Ruo felt that if placed a few decades later, the mistress would be the kind of natural talent for acting.

Seeing that time was getting late and that otherwise they might not finish shooting today, Su Ruo had no choice but to pull the mistress out of the crowd; the few of them found a secluded corner and formally began shooting.

Fortunately the Forbidden City is large enough and there aren't many visitors now, so Su Ruo and the others could work undisturbed and finish all the photos before sunset.

This time Su Ruo did not leave directly, but followed Yu Liang back to the photo studio to have the pictures developed.

Even though Su Ruo had been fully prepared mentally, seeing the photos still shocked her deeply, because the pictures were truly beautiful—both the clothing and the person.

Even someone as calm as Su Ruo, upon seeing these photos, couldn't help wanting to buy a set.

Su Ruo could almost foresee how great a reaction would be caused when these photos were turned into promotional posters and released.

Su Ruo carefully kept the photos and also took all the negatives.

This was unavoidable, after all, since the other party could copy their clothes; who knew they might not use even worse means to steal these photos, so Su Ruo had to guard against it.

After Su Ruo received the photos, she formally began discussing cooperation with Yu Liang, and through these two collaborations she had fully recognized his talent.

Knowing that Yu Liang was a pearl hidden in dust, Su Ruo now needed to figure out how to bring that pearl into her own basket.

Su Ruo placed five hundred yuan on the table in front of them as Yu Liang's payment for this job.

Seeing so much money, Yu Liang was shocked, but he did not reach for it.

"One does not receive reward without merit, Miss Su—you've already paid me today, I cannot take this money!"

Although he was clearly very poor, he still managed to hold to his principle of not being greedy for money, and Su Ruo's admiration for him grew a bit more.

"Take it! The earlier amount was a deposit; this is your payment for this job. You should have confidence in your work and believe it can bring me greater value."

"The reason I offer such a high price is because you are worth that much, and I also need your help..."

Upon hearing Su Ruo's words, Yu Liang's heart pounded; for years everyone had scolded him as unlearned and good-for-nothing, mocking him as a prodigal son and wishing to trample him into the mud.

In this day‑after‑day wearing down, at one point even Yu Liang himself had given up on himself.

What he never expected was that the first affirmation he received would come from such a little girl.

Because you deserve it!

Su Ruo's words struck Yu Liang's heart hard, making his eyes well up.

As the saying goes, adding flowers to brocade is easy, but giving charcoal in the snow is hard; Su Ruo will never know what this sentence means to Yu Liang.

Even if one day Yu Liang becomes a nationally renowned great director, as long as Su Ruo needs him, he will come with just a phone call.

Because Su Ruo is the one who pulled him out of despair; if it weren't for her, he—who can't shoulder a burden or lift a hand—would likely have starved to death that winter.

Yu Liang no longer declined Su Ruo's money.

After Su Ruo saw that he had accepted the money, she then told him about Xia Hua's current predicament and her own plan.

Yu Liang looked at Su Ruo in shock; her plans, though perhaps insignificant a few decades later, are absolutely ahead of their time now.

At this moment Yu Liang could no longer regard Su Ruo as just a little girl.

Su Ruo did not hide anything, saying directly: "After these photos become popular, it's likely someone will come to you to take pictures for them and compete with us, which is not what I want to see."

"So I want to hire you as our company's exclusive photographer, with a monthly salary of one thousand yuan, and if the photos turn out well, we will also give bonuses."

"Of course, even if you accept my invitation, it doesn't mean you will never be able to take photos again."

"After completing the company's shooting tasks, you can freely arrange your own time; you don't need to clock in."

"You may freely photograph animals and scenery; I will not restrict your freedom."

"You may also photograph people, but if you shoot clothing for other apparel companies, you must obtain the company's permission; you can consider my proposal carefully before deciding."

"In an era when the average wage is less than a hundred yuan, a thousand yuan is already high, but as Su Ruo said, Yu Liang is worth that money."

"Moreover, Su Ruo believes that after the mistress's posters are released, the people of Die Lian will certainly spare no effort to poach Yu Liang; they are capable of doing such a thing."

"Therefore, Su Ruo must bring Yu Liang to her side before the other side reacts."

Upon hearing Su Ruo say a monthly salary of one thousand yuan, Yu Liang's heart began to race uncontrollably.

In others' eyes, he is a lump of filth, a helpless A Dou; scolding him, they know he just wanders around snapping pictures with his camera all day.

But Su Ruo thinks he is worth a thousand yuan!

At this moment Yu Liang almost instantly made up his mind to follow Su Ruo: "Okay!"

Upon hearing Yu Liang's words, Su Ruo was stunned; she had thought he would need to consider it further, but she didn't expect him to agree so readily.

What Su Ruo did not know was that thousand‑li horses are common, but a Bole is rare.

As Su Ruo is the only Bole in this world who appreciates him, Yu Liang will never let go of this opportunity no matter what.

Moreover, Yu Liang has a premonition that Su Ruo is no ordinary pond‑dwelling creature; following her, he is certain to rise to great heights in the future.

Su Ruo paused a moment, then replied: "Okay, you can come to the company to report tomorrow; I'll have someone prepare a dedicated workspace for you, and if you lack any equipment, just tell the purchasing department to buy it."

The clothing factory has employee dormitories; if you want to live there, I'll arrange a room for you.

Yu Liang refused: "No thanks, I'm used to being free and don't want to live in the factory."

Su Ruo can understand that, after all, artists have personalities.

After the two finished speaking, Su Ruo left, but as soon as she walked away, a woman wrapped tightly in a black cloak entered the photo studio.