Chapter 67: Explosive Information: 【Annual Information】

Three days later, Seeing Yan Li went for his official makeup and audition as Huo Qubing.

Dressed in Han armor, with a bright red cloak billowing behind him, mounted on horseback and armed with a sword, Seeing Yan Li radiated heroic vigor, his gaze brilliant and commanding, blending noble bearing, martial spirit, and the iron-blooded aura of a soldier—he looked like a sharp, unsheathed divine sword of the Han dynasty.

The producer glanced skeptically at Hu Mei: "The director's standards are this high—and you still need to audition him?"

Hu Mei was also stunned—he hadn't expected Seeing Yan Li's transformation after makeup and costume to be this impressive.

Seeing Yan Li, who perfectly captured Huo Qubing's essential temperament and personality, combined with his naturally outstanding appearance and physique, produced an extraordinary chemical reaction.

Fine robes, spirited steed—a young general!

Hu Mei didn't hesitate further; he called out to Seeing Yan Li to dismount and try the dramatic scenes, then turned straight to the producer.

"Prepare the contract."

After Seeing Yan Li performed two short dramatic scenes, he was immediately stopped and handed the contract by the producer's assistant.

Huo Qubing has limited screen time in "Emperor Wu of Han," appearing only in the latter half of the story and dying after roughly ten episodes, totaling less than ten episodes' worth of footage.

The producer didn't calculate pay by episode count—he offered a flat fee of 30,000 yuan, which was far from stingy for a newcomer like Seeing Yan Li.

After all, this was a multi-million-yuan production—the crew had deep pockets and generous spending.

Moreover, although Huo Qubing's screen time was limited, a significant portion consisted of battle scenes.

Such battle scenes are always shot slowly, so Seeing Yan Li would need to reserve at least two months of availability; furthermore, filming locations like the grasslands were harsh, so the higher pay likely also served as compensation and consolation.

Seeing Yan Li didn't negotiate—newcomers have little bargaining power, and even if he tried hard, he wouldn't gain much; real money comes after fame.

To be honest, Seeing Yan Li didn't actually need this much pay right now.

In fact, because his acting income paled in comparison to his stock market earnings, his motivation to pursue acting had begun to waver.

Seeing Yan Li originally chose to apply to Beijing Film Academy because he thought this field paid well; only after deeper study and experiencing the charm of acting did he genuinely develop interest—but his greatest driving force was still money.

Now that he had other ways to get rich, his motivation to earn through acting had weakened.

He still stuck with acting because, beyond money, Seeing Yan Li had another motivation—fame and stardom.

Which acting student hasn't dreamed of becoming wildly famous?

Fame and fortune—fame comes before fortune; Seeing Yan Li was greedy and wanted both, and anyway, acting didn't interfere with his stock trading…

————

Regardless, landing such a major role in "Emperor Wu of Han," a top-tier industry production, marked a milestone in Seeing Yan Li's acting career.

Lin Jiachuan and his brothers were happy for him and took him out for a celebratory meal.

After eating their fill, Lin Jiachuan and Zhou Yi planned to stay up all night gaming at an internet cafe; Zhang Songwen wasn't interested in online games but tagged along to browse the web.

Seeing Yan Li really wanted to join his brothers, but he didn't go.

Because tomorrow was January 1, 2003—he needed to see if he could trigger the 【Annual Information】—so he not only stood up his brothers, but ignored Huang Shengyi's invitation too.

Jiamen was too crowded and noisy, so Seeing Yan Li went to the Guanghua Li apartment he'd previously rented.

Near midnight, Seeing Yan Li bathed and changed clothes, used his dining table as an altar, placed several dishes of cooked food, fruit, and pastries on it, held three incense sticks, and silently prayed and bowed toward his hometown.

At the exact moment, Seeing Yan Li held his breath, opened the Information System, saw the 【Annual】 characters on screen, and excitedly punched the air.

He hadn't been wrong—there really was an 【Annual Information】 above the Daily and Monthly ones.

Seeing Yan Li counted: there were ten pieces of information—the same maximum limit as Daily and Monthly Information—whether this was standard for Annual Information or a first-year bonus, he didn't know.

【Annual Information 1: In January 2018, the average second-hand housing price in Guanghua Li, Jingcheng, due to its superior location near Guomao, was 83,452 yuan per square meter, slightly higher than the Chaoyang district average of 73,514 yuan per square meter…】

The first piece of information left Seeing Yan Li stunned.

He even doubted whether the "yuan" on the information referred to RMB—over eighty thousand per square meter? Was the ground paved with gold bricks?!

Seeing Yan Li had long known that housing prices in Jingcheng would rise; in the past two years, China's economy had surged rapidly, and Jingcheng, as the national center, was obviously headed upward—anyone with sense could see it.

But he hadn't expected it to rise this violently!

According to Seeing Yan Li's knowledge, the current average housing price in Chaoyang was around 3,800 yuan per square meter.

Haidian and the inner four districts were slightly higher, above 4,000 yuan per square meter; in more distant areas like Tongzhou and Daxing, many homes were under 2,000 yuan per square meter.

Seeing Yan Li did the math: the apartment he currently rented, two bedrooms and a living room, was about eighty to ninety square meters.

At current prices, he could buy it for 300,000 to 350,000 yuan—even accounting for fluctuations, it wouldn't be much more.

If Seeing Yan Li bought this apartment now, by 2018 its price would be over seven million yuan—a twenty-fold increase.

Why bother with complicated businesses? Just hoard property—that's all you need to do!

The information overload took Seeing Yan Li a long while to process; only then did he muster the energy to read the second piece—and he was stunned again.

【Annual Information 2: On October 3, 2018, CCTV reported that famous actress Fan… was exposed in a tax evasion case, with total back taxes and fines amounting to 884 million yuan…】

Nearly 900 million yuan—in taxes?!

Seeing Yan Li recalled the girl from the "Jubao Pen" set—always furious at him, finally resorting to smearing him with her own blood for revenge.

He still found it hard to believe—could it be a coincidence, same name?

But after calmly analyzing the information, he ruled out that possibility.

He also noticed that nearly 900 million yuan wasn't all tax—considerable portions were fines and late fees—but even so, accumulating to this level was terrifying.

Most crucially, she had fully paid it all!

Goodness gracious~

This piece of information affected Seeing Yan Li far more than the previous one.

Seeing Yan Li even hesitated, considering calling Wang Jinghua to ask if her offer to make Fan Xiaopang his agent was still valid.

That was 900 million yuan!

That little bitch was the real "Jubao Pen"!

Perhaps it was the power of money—now, recalling Fan Xiaopang's previous scowls and sneers, Seeing Yan Li found them oddly charming and cute; her sharp, sarcastic remarks now sounded sweet and pleasant.

Moreover, this revelation changed Seeing Yan Li's view: acting wasn't as unprofitable as he'd thought.

On the contrary, according to the information, Fan Xiaopang had amassed her vast fortune through acting, investing in film and television, and capital operations—this industry had enormous financial potential ahead.

"Huh..."

Seeing Yan Li exhaled, suppressing thoughts of clinging to wealthy women or living off others' wealth—pathetic notions.

Fan Xiaopang had amassed at least a ten-digit fortune; with a system boosting him, how could he possibly lose to her?

Seeing Yan Li set himself a goal: by 2018, he would become a fifty… a hundred billion yuan billionaire!

Another matter: Fan Xiaopang's massive fine, and Liu Xiaoqing's arrest in July this year, had made Seeing Yan Li take 【taxes】 seriously.

He had never truly cared about it before; from now on, he must be cautious, cautious, and even more cautious—absolutely cannot stumble here.

【Annual Information 3: Ranking the Top Ten Men in Entertainment Who Built a "Good Man" Persona Then Crashed—Number One, Wen Zhang…】

Persona?

Crashed?

Scumbag?

Seeing Yan Li was puzzled by these novel terms, but combined with context and the information, they weren't hard to grasp.

Yet he didn't understand one thing: most of the people in this information were strangers to him—even names he'd never heard—so why had this information triggered so mysteriously?

System, could you please explain this clearly?!

————

ps: It's the beginning of the month—please vote for monthly tickets; the release date is also nearly set, likely the 7th.

(End of Chapter)