Goddess Strategy GL - Chapter 4

“Opportunity? Helping out at the restaurant? No, no, Sister Xiaoli, I can’t trouble you anymore.” Ye Ruoqing quickly shook her head. “I’m clumsy. If I make a mistake, someone will blame you again.”

Bai Xiaoli said: “I’m not talking about having you help at the restaurant. I… I have a fellow countryman, he works under a ‘group leader.’ That group leader has some connection with the film studio and has a lot of extra resource for ‘group extras.’ If this path doesn’t work out for us, do you want to try another one?”

Bai Xiaoli usually moved only between two fixed points, so this sudden appearance of jargon left Ye Ruoqing a bit confused: “What is a ‘group leader’? Film studio, do you mean you want me to be in a movie?”

“Not exactly making a movie, just being an extra or something. Actually, I knew he was hiring people there a long time ago, but I heard being an extra is tough, so I didn’t want you to go. He brought it up again a few days ago, saying there’s a martial arts film recently, and the director is very picky, even choosing group extras based on appearance and height—none can be missing. Your conditions are so good, why don’t you give it a try? I’ve already spoken to him, and he’ll take care of you and register you for some good roles.”

Ye Ruoqing had never thought Bai Xiaoli had this connection, but the moment the words “movie” were uttered, she knew it definitely wouldn’t work. She had never had a talent for acting since she was a child; even coming home late and making up an excuse would leave her stuttering for a long time, let alone acting in front of so many people and cameras.

“Sister Xiaoli, this really won’t work. I have a friend who studies acting, and she made me rehearse scenes with her… In short, it was simply horrible. If I went, I would definitely be kicked out by the director.”

Ye Ruoqing decided not to go; she came to sing, not to be an actress. So the next day, she continued to take her guitar out to perform. There were too many street performers at the subway entrance, so she found a busy intersection with heavy foot traffic, and while enjoying the smell of dabing (flatbread) and grilled skewers around her, she started singing. The high traffic volume significantly increased her income. Unfortunately, the good times didn’t last. With a shout of “The City Inspectors are coming,” Ye Ruoqing, immediately frightened into rubbery legs, couldn’t handle the psychological pressure. Her grip slipped, and she smashed her guitar.

“Looks like I must go.” With dark circles under her eyes, she told Bai Xiaoli the result of her overnight deliberation. A penny can drive a hero to desperation, and it could naturally make things difficult for Ye Ruoqing. Bai Xiaoli made a phone call and told her to wait at the entrance of the film studio the next day. Her fellow countryman would first take her to the union to apply for an actor’s certificate.

Ye Ruoqing woke up early, bringing her ID card, registration photo, and bank card, and took several buses to wait at the entrance of the film studio. It was only 9 a.m., and a large crowd was already waiting for work outside the studio gates.

In the morning chill of B City, exhaling a breath could turn into ice, and Ye Ruoqing didn’t think she was that resistant to cold. Ignoring Bai Xiaoli’s advice, she put on her down jacket, thick sweater, and knitted hat, bundling herself up like a ball. Seeing that it was still early, she went to a nearby breakfast shop to buy an oil pancake and soy milk, then found a spot in front of a storefront not far from the film studio gate and sat down, eating breakfast while waiting for the fellow countryman to arrive.

It was ten o’clock, and she hadn’t received a single call. Ye Ruoqing was getting anxious; missing one day of business meant she would run out of food tomorrow. Normally, she would have started singing long ago. It would be terrible to have come all this way only to return empty-handed.

She also felt awkward calling Bai Xiaoli, so she just kept looking around for the figure of that fellow countryman. The storefront’s rolling security gate clattered open, and the owner of the Two-Yuan Shop behind her, carrying a speaker, greeted Ye Ruoqing familiarly: “Hi, girl, waiting for work?”

I don’t think I know you, do I? Ye Ruoqing silently looked behind her. The owner brought a stool out from the shop and offered it to her: “Sit here. It’s going to get noisy where you are later.”

The owner was too enthusiastic, and Ye Ruoqing didn’t want to decline his kindness. She sat on the right side of the storefront, continuing to munch on her oil pancake. The owner turned on the speaker, and a powerful, resonant voice immediately blared out—

“B City’s largest small commodities market is closed! The bastard boss, Li Damou, gambled, ate, drank, and whored, racking up 350 million in debt, and ran away with his mistress! We have no choice but to use the merchandise to pay wages! Items that were originally over one hundred, over two hundred, and over three thousand yuan, are all two kuai! All two kuai!! Li Damou, you bastard! You are not a human being! We worked hard for you for more than half a year, and you won’t pay us! Give me back my hard-earned money! Give me back my hard-earned money!”

Surround stereo sound, tenor, soprano, plus a final, desperate duet, and Ye Ruoqing nearly choked on a bite of her oil pancake.

The owner walked over proudly: “How is it? Good effect, right?”

Ye Ruoqing subtly moved her stool further away from the speaker: “The effect couldn’t be better.”

The owner was even more pleased: “Of course. Go search for ‘Two-Yuan Shop advertisement’ on Taobao; the cheapest ones cost at least five kuai. This one is professionally customized, featuring various actors—old, middle-aged, and young—hey, it was free!”

“Free?”

“Yes! Free. Do you know why it was free?” The owner pointed towards the entrance. “Your colleagues, they actively asked to record the advertisement for me. There were too many people, and I even had to pick the ones with good voices!”

“…You’re truly amazing,” Ye Ruoqing said sincerely. Based on his accent, the owner was also an outsider, and it was genuinely impressive that he could have his own shop and establish his own network of contacts.

“Hey, once we come to B City, we’re all one family. Life is not easy… Do you know why they wanted to record the advertisement for me?”

The owner pointed at the crowd at the entrance, and Ye Ruoqing immediately understood who the “actors” in the owner’s words were.

“Li Damou used to be the biggest ‘group leader’ here. Later, he made enough money and ran away with his mistress. Those extras didn’t get a single cent. Since they all rely on this job, they didn’t dare to speak up, swallowing their grievances. Later, when I needed to record an advertisement here, I put up a notice looking for a few people to record the voice-over. Unexpectedly, they came to me themselves, offering to record it for free, as long as I replaced the name of the unscrupulous boss with Li Damou’s name.”

The owner sighed: “Sigh, this place is kind of a landmark near the film studio entrance now. I don’t know whether those poor brothers and sisters are still in B City or have returned to their hometowns.”

Ye Ruoqing looked at the crowded people at the entrance, her ears echoing with the repeated “You are not a human being, give me back my hard-earned money!” She wanted to laugh, but couldn’t bring herself to.

“Are there still many ‘group leaders’ who owe wages now?”

“How could there not be? Wearing those smelly costumes, if they tell you to play dead, you have to play dead. Being stepped on a few times or having spit sprayed in your face is common. Even so, it’s only fifty kuai a day. For those who show their face or have one or two lines, it’s only seventy or eighty kuai a day. Just these few dozen kuai—which can’t even buy a button on those big stars’ clothes—people are still fighting tooth and nail for them. Frankly, these people are fighting for money. If they can’t even fill their stomachs, how can they become famous? Alas, where there are people, there is a jianghu (a world of rivalries), and here, there’s more than one jianghu.”

The owner spoke vividly, and Ye Ruoqing listened carefully.

“Girl, look over there, do you see that row of cars?”

Ye Ruoqing looked in that direction: “Yes, I see them. They are all nice cars.”

“These are another kind of people. These people drive nice cars to play small roles, and they have to pay for it. Most of them have a bit of a background. If they aren’t capable enough to latch onto a strong sugar daddy, they can only step down and go to those nightclubs. You understand now? These people are close to that circle, but not in that circle. They also compete, mainly for sugar daddies. In fact, they don’t earn much. For those with general fame, accompanying a client for a day only gets them five or six thousand kuai.”

Five or six thousand kuai… Ye Ruoqing thought of the beautiful woman that night and couldn’t help but sigh. A thousand kuai was actually one-fifth or one-sixth of her daily income.

“What else?”

“And then… that’s complicated. Those are the real insiders, which are further divided into first, second, and third tiers… Hey, girl, look at your greasy hands, do you want a pack of wet wipes?”

Ye Ruoqing saw the owner’s eagerness and thought that running a business wasn’t easy for him either, so she spent two kuai and bought a pack of wet wipes.

The owner then talked about some celebrity rumors, gave Ye Ruoqing a few tips on what to look out for, and then started talking about his own entrepreneurial history. The more Ye Ruoqing listened, the more she sighed and the more confused she became.

People came and went around noon to buy things, and the owner went to collect the money. Ye Ruoqing, holding a pile of items bought from the Two-Yuan Shop, sat at the entrance and drifted off to sleep.

She dreamed of many things. She dreamed of the first time she took Zeng Jie home, and the amazement in Zeng Jie’s eyes. She also dreamed of the row of cars at the film studio entrance, one of which was an Audi TT, which Zeng Jie liked. Vaguely, Zeng Jie’s face changed, a pair of large sunglasses hung on her face, and her brightly colored lips opened, as a female voice exploded in her ear—

“You are not a human being, you are not a human being! Give me back my hard-earned money, give me back my hard-earned money!”

Ye Ruoqing woke up with a start, and the things in her hands clattered to the floor. The bass speaker started playing the advertisement again. She wiped a cold sweat and stood up, ready to call that fellow countryman.

Just as she took out her phone, it rang. Ye Ruoqing answered, and the voice on the other end asked: “Ye Ruoqing, right? Where are you?”

Ye Ruoqing told him her location, and a minute later, a bald man could be seen running over from a distance, waving at her as he ran: “Little Ye girl, over here, over here!”

Ye Ruoqing walked over. The bald man greeted her enthusiastically: “Xiaoli introduced you, right?”

With him was a middle-aged woman, who, upon seeing Ye Ruoqing, couldn’t hide a look of surprise and admiration in her eyes: “Such good looks.”

“That’s right, Xiaoli told me long ago that the girl she lives with is a sunny beauty. Look, doesn’t Little Ye girl look especially like Cai Guoqing at the 1991 Lantern Festival Gala?”

Ye Ruoqing had waited for the bald man for a long time and was already annoyed. Now, hearing for the first time that someone thought she looked like Cai Guoqing, she immediately got angry: “Damn it! You look like Cai Guoqing! No, like Guo Donglin!”

The bald man scratched his bald head sheepishly: “Little Ye girl, don’t misunderstand. I mean your demeanor is particularly similar to Cai Guoqing’s. Full of integrity, sunny and healthy. We are exactly short of actors like you!”