Chapter 707: The Truth System of the Entertainment Industry (23)

Xie Yang did indeed call home to talk about buying a house, and she did indeed express her wish to have her father and mother move to the Film and Television City to live.

Working at the scissor factory was not only exhausting but also low-paying; it would be better to set up a small stall at the Film and Television City Walking Street and sell the handmade soap she made.

When Chen Cuishan and her husband learned that their daughter had bought an apartment near the Film and Television City—though it was only about eighty square meters and not even as big as their own courtyard—it was, after all, a commercial property in the city, and their daughter had bought it with money she earned herself. The couple was happier than if they had won a ten-million-dollar lottery, and they immediately offered to help their daughter pay off the mortgage in the future.

"After you pay the down payment, you probably won't have much money left, and you still have to live. We'll pay the loan for you later. We don't have many expenses at home, and besides, you're our only daughter; if we don't help you, who would we help?"

As for moving there to live long-term, that was out of the question; Chen Cuishan said they were used to life in the town, and they were afraid of holding their daughter back if they went to the Film and Television City.

However, they could go for a short stay during the Spring Festival.

"Your grandparents are going to help your uncle take care of the kids, so they have to leave after New Year's Eve," Chen Cuishan said. "We'll visit your maternal grandparents' graves on the first day of the Lunar New Year, and after that, there's nothing else to do. The factory won't start work until after the Lantern Festival, so we'll come then to warm up your new house."

Upon hearing they had a fifteen-day Spring Festival holiday, Xie Yang simply said, "Then I'll take you on a trip."

The original owner had two wishes hidden in her heart: first, to become an excellent actress; second, to take her parents on a trip to Shoudu.

Xie Yang wasn't sure how far she could help her go with the first wish, but taking her parents to Shoudu was within her capabilities and something she could help her achieve.

She did it as soon as she thought of it!

Xie Yang immediately booked the hotel and flight tickets, reserved the sightseeing activities, and forwarded the information to her parents' phones.

Chen Cuishan and her husband said, "Why spend that money? It's so expensive to go out during the Spring Festival," but in reality, they were very happy inside. They took it out to share with their coworkers at work and couldn't stop talking about it with their neighbors after getting off work.

The town was only so big, the courtyard walls were back-to-back, and the neighbors were all related or connected. After chatting a few words over the courtyard wall, the news that "Lao Xie and his wife are going to Shoudu with their daughter for the Spring Festival" soon reached the ears of Lou Guoqing and his wife.

Lou Guoqing was so sour that bubbles were rising in his stomach.

They had also raised a daughter who went to college, but Lao Xie's daughter had only gotten in after a year of repeating her studies, and she was attending a lousy junior college. Yet, her development was actually better than Lao Xie's daughter!

His own daughter was still reaching out to ask the family for money, while Lao Xie's daughter had not only bought a house in the city but was also taking Lao Xie and his wife to Shoudu.

"Ask Lingling if she's sure about the postgraduate entrance exam; if she's not sure, maybe forget it! These days, jobs are getting harder to find every year. By the time she finishes three years of graduate school, it might not even be as good as the job she could find now..."

Lou Guoqing told his wife to call and ask.

Lou Yiling, who received the call, was silent: "..."

She hadn't prepared for the postgraduate exam at all.

That was just an excuse she used to ask her family for money.

But fortunately, she was filming now, and it was an orthodox Republican-era drama. She played the third female lead. Although it was a male-led drama and the first female lead didn't have many scenes, let alone the third, it was still a satellite-broadcast drama. If nothing went wrong, it would be aired in the 8:00 PM prime time slot in the future. As long as she filmed well and bought some press releases later, she believed she would definitely become famous.

By then, let alone an eighty-square-meter two-bedroom apartment near the Film and Television City, let alone taking her parents to Shoudu, she could even arrange for tropical island sea-view houses and trips abroad.

Her parents' vision was always so shallow.

Lou Yiling said with some annoyance, "Mom, I'm busy right now. Don't keep calling me every other minute... It's not hard for you and Dad to go to Shoudu. I'll send you some money in a while, and you can go wherever you want."

She was thinking that her salary would arrive next month when filming wrapped up.

Director Hu had stepped in to help her negotiate a salary of 300,000, mainly because she wasn't professionally trained and had no past resume. Like the fourth female lead who was professionally trained, she only had one more supporting role of experience than her, yet her salary was one million.

But it would be better after the next drama. As long as she shone in this one, her market value would go up for the next, and one million would be a small amount.

If this drama took off, all kinds of variety shows would scramble to find her, and earning three to five million a year would be a small sum.

After hanging up the phone, Lou Yiling thought eagerly.

By then, she would not only buy a large, panoramic, well-lit flat in the Film and Television City, but also buy a sea-view house on a tropical island, and buy a plot of land in her hometown to build a large villa... In short, she would live a thousand times, ten thousand times better than Xie Meini!

On that side, Xie Yang returned to the original owner's hometown—Cizhen—and spent a lively New Year amidst the caring and curious chatter of her elders, and on the third day of the Lunar New Year, she flew to Shoudu with her parents for a vacation.

They played until the twelfth day of the Lunar New Year before returning.

The family of three warmed up her new home in the Film and Television City for the Lantern Festival. Two days later, Chen Cuishan and her husband returned to their hometown for work, while Xie Yang continued to do Tasks in the Film and Television City to earn points and Truth Duration, occasionally running errands as an extra on film sets.

The funds on hand became plentiful again after buying the house.

Moreover, after more than half a year of "development," she had discovered many loyal customers on various film sets, and she had even built three large groups of five hundred people.

Now, as long as the tasks issued by the Sub-system weren't too bizarre, she had no trouble selling at all.

Especially those artists who had tasted the sweetness; every time they came to the Film and Television City to film, they would send her a message in advance, asking if she had time to make beauty-nourishing products like Nanyang Bird's Nest, or if she had any extra handmade soap. As long as she had them, they would buy them no matter how expensive they were.

They had also tried using other people's products, but none of them had as good an effect as what Xie Yang made.

Of course, she had to earn money if she could.

As for the money she earned, besides paying the mortgage and living expenses every month, the rest was invested in the stock market.

Although it wasn't the Modern Plane she had stayed in before, the stock trading experience was more or less the same, and gradually, her available funds became more and more abundant.

She had no other use for it, so she simply kept it in the stock market, occasionally following the film directors, producers, or actors with some connections to invest in small projects like micro-short dramas.

Given that she would always ask the Main System to help with background checks before every investment to ensure the project was real and reliable, she had never failed.

After many times, everyone also discovered this pattern—

"Hey, Xiao Xie, I've found that you have exceptionally good luck. There hasn't been a project you've participated in that lost money."

"Xiao Xie, your eye for things is really good! That micro-short drama you told me not to invest in really ran into trouble at the last minute."

"It seems like I should ask Xiao Xie first in the future; following her to invest is definitely the right move."

"Xiao Xie, I'm about to start a new drama. The first and second female leads are promised to investors, but the third is reserved for you. Do you have the schedule for it?"

"Xiao Xie, I'm planning to partner with a friend to start a variety show. How about you come as a guest for one episode?"

Everyone saw Xie Yang's "koi luck" and one after another threw out olive branches to her.

When Lou Yiling heard about it, she was so jealous that her eyes turned red, and she turned to act coquettishly toward Director Hu, begging him to arrange it for her.

If Xie Meini could get these roles and variety shows, she wanted them too!