Chapter 113: Yan Li: Go Ask Around—I

The role of the Devouring Rat was minor; Yan Li finished filming with the "Fortune Star Blesses Zhu Bajie" crew in less than ten days.

But he didn't leave immediately.

Although the actors and director had been finalized, there were still matters to discuss with Director Meng Ji.

Yan Li decided to stay a few more days to speak face-to-face with Meng Ji about "Huan Tian Xi Di Qi Nüxian."

That way, if Meng Ji had any good ideas, he could arrange them in advance.

At the same time, he'd let Meng Ji learn more about "Huan Tian Xi Di Qi Nüxian," so when he had a clear understanding, the later production team could communicate with him anytime.

But Meng Ji still had to shoot other dramas, so with nothing else to do, Yan Li went to tour Dali.

In the 1980s and 1990s, Lijiang and Dali in Yunnan Province were considered for tourism development due to their superior geography and scenery.

After 2000, with economic growth and the rise of China's domestic tourism market, Lijiang and Dali seized the early advantage and quickly became relatively well-known tourist cities.

It was Yan Li's first time here, and he had a great time, taking many photos of local scenery to send to his parents later.

He also bought plenty of local specialties!

He bought Pu'er tea, flower cakes, fruit preserves, and other delicacies; carvings, batik, embroidery, silverware, and other crafts—so much stuff he even bought an extra suitcase just to carry it all.

Fan Xiaopang had finished negotiating with the company and came to find Yan Li to sign the contract; she was stunned by all the specialties piled up in his room.

"Are you selling goods?"

"It's rare to come once—buy more to take back. Keep some for yourself, give the rest as gifts."

Yan Li wasn't a reckless shopper with money to burn; he genuinely thought these specialties were good enough to give as presents.

His current business required maintaining many personal relationships; beyond standard gifts, occasionally giving small local specialties showed greater closeness and sincerity.

Fan Xiaopang was confused; though she was skilled at socializing, it was mostly within the film industry—she wasn't familiar with business-related gift-giving customs.

So she didn't dwell on it, instead rummaging through the specialties and grinning: "Since it's all for giving away, I might as well benefit too."

"You're in Dali yourself—why not go buy some?"

Fan Xiaopang tilted her oval face, looking pitiful: "I don't have your freedom—my schedule is packed every day. I barely get half a day off, and even then there's a pile of things to do. Where's the time to wander around?"

Yan Li shook his head: "Pick whatever you like."

Fan Xiaopang's eyes lit up, then narrowed with suspicion: "You're really giving this to me? Don't go back on it and deduct it from my pay later."

Yan Li's expression darkened slightly: "You're taking a joke seriously? Am I really that stingy?"

"Of (def) course (not)."

Fan Xiaopang denied it verbally but still thought Yan Li was not only stingy but petty.

But that was fine—this was a rare chance to really squeeze him dry and make him suffer.

Fan Xiaopang showed no restraint, grabbing only the large and beautifully crafted items into her arms.

Yan Li let her go; after all, they were all gifts—giving to whom didn't matter, and he'd need her help again later, so it was worth giving her a little sweetness.

But when Fan Xiaopang reached for a pair of silver love locks, Yan Li stopped her.

"This one can't go to you—it's already claimed."

"Girlfriend?"

The meaning of the love lock wasn't hard to guess; Yan Li didn't hide it, nodded, and Fan Xiaopang promptly returned the silver lock.

"Didn't see that coming—you're actually sentimental? I thought someone like you, all smooth talk, would be a playboy."

Yan Li tucked the lock away: "You've got too much prejudice against me. Go ask around at Beijing Film Academy—you'll hear I'm famously devoted…"

Before he finished speaking, Fan Xiaopang's hand reached out again and pulled out another silver love lock, identical to the first.

Fan Xiaopang: "..."

Yan Li: "..."

"Cough, cough—I bought this one as a spare in case the first broke."

Fan Xiaopang said nothing, clicked her tongue twice, handed him the other lock, then turned to the embroidery.

"I want to pick one embroidery piece—tell me now which ones you won't let me take."

Yan Li awkwardly wiped his mouth, then stepped forward and flipped through the stack of embroidery items. He first picked out one with orchid patterns, then one with daylily flowers.

After thinking, he also pulled out one with ice crystals, snowflakes, and tulips, and another with a predominantly red base.

"Hmm, pick whatever's left."

Yan Li withdrew his hand. Fan Xiaopang looked at him with disdain and spoke sarcastically.

"This is your idea of devotion?"

Yan Li's expression remained calm: "Yeah."

Where was he wrong about being devoted? He never said how many...

Fan Xiaopang was shocked by the man's audacity, but it had nothing to do with her.

There were far more hypocritical people in the entertainment industry than Yan Li; compared to them, he was practically honest—she was used to it.

Fan Xiaopang didn't dwell on whether Yan Li was flirtatious—she was more interested in the ice crystal embroidery.

"Didn't you say she had nothing to do with you?"

"She really has nothing to do with me—giving two small specialties to a friend isn't wrong, right? Don't you have some too? Does that mean we're an item?"

Fan Xiaopang didn't argue with Yan Li; she picked up the ice crystal embroidery and shoved it into her arms.

"This one's mine."

Yan Li stared at her, speechless: "There's still plenty left—why steal someone else's?"

"The meaning's different."

Fan Xiaopang shook her head firmly: "I want this one."

"Fine, take it."

Yan Li didn't argue—he agreed, watching Fan Xiaopang's triumphant expression as if she'd won a major victory, silently shaking his head.

It's not a limited edition; just have someone buy another one when you get back.

After Fan Xiaopang finished his extortion, he finally got down to business—the contracts were all pre-negotiated, and Yan Li had already printed them out.

Fan Xiaopang's episodes in "Huan Tian Xi Di Seven Fairies" total 25, with a per-episode fee of 18,000, amounting to 450,000 in total.

Don't think it's low; actor fees at this stage are just like this—much better than ordinary people's income, but not that extravagant.

Many female stars who became famous aren't focused on building their careers; they just want to marry a rich man, because actor pay is low and their peak period is too short.

Fan Xiaopang now has decent fame, but still far from top-tier, so the TV market price for her is roughly between 10,000 and 30,000 per episode.

Of course, for a lead role like in "Pingsheng Xia Ying," the production team might offer higher pay, but actors might still accept lower fees for resources.

Analyze each case individually.

The fee paid to Fan Xiaopang for "Huan Tian Xi Di Seven Fairies" wasn't high—it was slightly pressured down, but she wasn't shortchanged.

Fan Xiaopang was satisfied with the price, then started asking about Li Bingbing.

Yan Li knew what she wanted to hear: "Less than you."

In terms of fame, Li Bingbing is definitely more popular; her per-episode fee is around 20,000 to 50,000, and if "Mobile" is released, it might go even higher.

But Li Bingbing took this role this time as a favor, and since her part is small, she accepted a friend's rate—

300,000!

Among the "Seven Fairies," the highest fee went to the two Bings, then to the moderately famous Li Lin; Jiang Xin, Yang Xue, and Dong Xuan have limited fame or are newcomers, so they basically got白菜价.

Huo Siyan, because she held the lead actress title, was also heavily pressured on price by Yan Li.

Also, Liu Xiaoqing, who played Wang Mu, is famous but has run into trouble, so her pay is similarly low.

For all eight mother-daughter roles, Yan Li managed to cap the total pay at around 1.5 million—truly Yan the Skinflint.

Yan Li had no choice; funding was limited. He didn't want to cut corners on costumes, makeup, and props, and still needed to reserve enough for special effects, so he could only squeeze the actors.

Not only did he squeeze others—he also took a low fee himself.

He took a symbolic 50,000, averaging less than 2,000 per episode, making him one of the lowest-paid lead actors in the entire "Huan Tian Xi Di Seven Fairies" crew.

Of course, aside from the meager actor fee, Yan Li also received a producer's salary, controlled the crew's public expense reimbursements, and held a percentage of the project's profits—that's another matter…

After signing the contract, Fan Xiaopang extended her pale little hand: "Director Yan, please take care of me in the future."

"Of course."

Yan Li shook Fan Xiaopang's hand: "Wishing us smooth cooperation, high TV ratings, me getting rich, and you becoming famous."

————

In late October, Yan Li returned to Jingcheng; the weather had already turned chilly.

He gave Lin Jiachuan a break, stored most of the items in Jimen, then picked up one suitcase and returned to Guanghua Li.

Qin Lan, who had already heard Yan Li was back, opened the door. After spending a month sleeping alone in cold beds on the grasslands and in Yunnan, Yan Li tossed his luggage on the floor and hugged Qin Lan, kissing her.

His cold hands were about to slip inside Qin Lan's clothes to warm up, but she broke free from his kisses, blushing and stopping the restless man.

"Someone's home."

"Who?"

Yan Li's eyes turned red—didn't he know that a short separation between husband and wife is better than a new marriage? His cannon was already loaded, and now someone came to be the third wheel.

"Ahem, it's me."

Ma Yili, who had been sitting on the living room sofa and dared not move upon hearing the door, finally spoke up.

Yan Li didn't recognize her voice; he silently formed the question with his lips. Qin Lan leaned in and whispered the name into his ear.

"Why is she here?"

"I don't know. She showed up out of the blue, stayed only ten minutes—I couldn't just kick her out."

After quickly learning the situation, Yan Li and Qin Lan went to the living room. Ma Yili stood up to apologize.

"I'm so sorry—I didn't know you were coming home today, I disturbed your reunion. Maybe I should leave now."

Yan Li really wanted to nod in agreement, but he didn't want to be that rude; he waved his hand.

"No problem. Qin Lan doesn't have many friends in Jingcheng. You came all this way to see her—stay a while, have dinner before you go."

Qin Lan added: "Exactly. Since we parted after the Hunan promotion, it's been months—I've missed you."

This little vixen's ability to lie with a straight face isn't weak!

Yan Li thought to himself—he knew Qin Lan better than anyone else.

During the filming of "Huan Zhu Gege 3," Qin Lan was a newcomer, playing an unpopular role; her relationship with Huang Yi and Ma Yili, the two female leads, was only decent—not close at all.

Later, because of Yan Li's connection with Nie Yuan, Huang Yi warmed up to Qin Lan by association, and they grew closer in the later stages.

But between Qin Lan and Ma Yili, it was still just ordinary acquaintances—even calling them friends was a stretch; they were just decent coworkers and familiar faces.

That's why Yan Li was genuinely curious about why Ma Yili had suddenly shown up.

To get a role in "Huan Tian Xi Di Seven Fairies"?

Too late—casting has been going on for months; anyone not stupid knows the roles are nearly all set.

Ma Yili was now in a bind. Nothing ventured, nothing gained—she came to Qin Lan for a reason.

But she wasn't asking Qin Lan—she was asking for Yan Li, who had some clout in the industry behind Qin Lan.

Yan Li had become famous too recently; others didn't understand his ways and couldn't easily connect with him privately. Ma Yili had met Yan Li in Hengdian and knew his relationship with Qin Lan, so she planned to use that as her entry point.

Originally, Ma Yili intended to proceed slowly—best case, befriend Qin Lan; worst case, at least lay groundwork.

But she never expected that her first visit would coincide with Yan Li's sudden return, catching her completely off guard.

Now she was stuck as the third wheel interrupting the couple's reunion—couldn't leave, couldn't stay.

In her desperate position, fearing further complications, she made up her mind and blurted out her purpose.

"Director Yan, actually, I came here because I need your help with something."

Yan Li wasn't surprised; he took the hot water Qin Lan handed him: "Go ahead."

"To be honest with you two, I have a boyfriend—he's a TV director who once directed 'Black Hole,' and he was pretty famous two years ago."

Yan Li paused and asked, "The 'Black Hole' directed by Chen Daoming, the one with the lead character Nie... Nie Mingyu?"

"Yes."

Yan Li understood: "Go on."

Ma Yili continued, explaining that her boyfriend, Guan Hu, was a film director whose father was an actor at the Beijing Film Studio, having appeared in 'The Bao Family' and 'Little Soldier Zhang Ga.'

That's why an obscure film director like him was entrusted with directing 'Black Hole,' starring Chen Daoming.

He's a genuine second-generation Beijing Film Studio insider, a core member of Beijing's elite circle!

'Black Hole' became a hit, and Guan Hu gained minor fame in the industry, but his subsequent projects performed poorly, and the momentum he'd built was crushed.

Now Guan Hu wants to shift genres—from crime and police dramas to a realistic film centered on migrant workers.

Even if Guan Hu were to make another 'Black Hole' today, this subject alone would be enough to make many investors shake their heads.

So fundraising for this project has been extremely difficult; Guan Hu is so worried he's losing his hair.

Ma Yili naturally wanted to help her boyfriend. Hearing that Yan Li had made a fortune from 'Conquest,' she came to see if she could secure some funding.

"Migrant workers?"

When Yan Li heard those two words, his interest dropped by more than half.

He himself came from a farming family; his uncle had once been a migrant worker, and he held no prejudice or disrespect toward this group.

But as a film company owner and producer, Yan Li knew this subject had almost no market potential.

The odds of losing money were high; even if it turned a profit, the returns would be negligible—it was the art-house film of the TV industry.

Some film bosses with artistic ideals might invest, but Yan Li, now obsessed with making money, had no real interest in this project.

Still, since they had come to him for help, he couldn't refuse outright, so he let Ma Yili leave the script outline, saying he'd reply after reading it.

Seeing Yan Li take the script, Ma Yili didn't stay. After perfunctory pleas from Yan and Qin to remain, she took her leave.

The moment the door closed, before Yan Li could move, Qin Lan leaned in and kissed him.

Saying she missed Ma Yili was just polite talk—but she truly missed Yan Li.

Dry tinder met blazing fire; crackling, the entire rented apartment grew faintly warm…

(End of Chapter)