"Pah, twenty eight, twenty nine, thirty."
Applying a little bit of spit on his fingertip, Lu Ze counted the notes in his hands. There are exactly thirty bills. He straightened out the bundle and took a quick glance behind before depositing them into the ATM machine.
Waiting for a moment to confirm that the money had been deposited, he walked out of the bank and crouched by the road. Taking out a cigarette from his carrybag and lighting it, he took out his phone, which was being charged from the portable charger.
Going through his contacts, he dialed his mother.
"Hello? Mom?"
On the other line of the phone, Li Yumei, who had just transferred the food from the pan onto the plate, heard the ring. She lightly wiped her hands on the apron and connected the call.
"Little Ze? Did you eat?"
"Not yet. Working late and all that. What about father?"
"Somebody came to grind corn just now. Your father went to start the machine. How are you doing?"
Street lights suddenly turned on. Lu Ze raised his head for a glance with the cigarette in his mouth, and then he extinguished the cigarette with his feet as he said, "I'm fine. I've sent you three thousand yuan just now. Leave two thousand for Nan Nan. Once she graduates, buy her some clothes. Oh right, results aren't out yet?"
"Not yet. But, she said that her exams went really good. We also didn't dare ask much."
"Oh...did she fill the application properly?"
"Yes. As you said, we only filled Shanghai and Beijing, and no other regions"
Lu Ze was quite forceful in sending Lu Nan to send these two major cities. Only when he left his home did he realize the immense difference between the backwoods and major cities. He wished for Lu Nan to see the big cities and mature. Even if these cities cost a lot of money, it was not an issue. At worst, he would save more and pay..
Lu Ze's family had four members. His father Lu Weiguo was an elementary-school pass-out typical peasant, and his mother was an ordinary village woman. Due to financial issues in the past years, Lu Ze had left the opportunity of higher studies for his little sister.
However, the situation had turned a bit better now. The family had sold ten mu of land and still owned thee mu. Lu Weiguo had also bought a grinding machine, opening up a small shop. Their current life in the village was not bad.
"I've bought a foot-washer for father and sent it with express delivery. I gave them father's number. When it arrives, just go and take it. And make sure to spend the money. From this month, my days are becoming much better. Don't think too much about it. Talking like this is quite expensive, I'm hanging up."
Hanging up, Lu Ze hugged his thighs and went into a slight stupor, 'College...what is it like?'
He'd never gone to college, not even taken one step inside a college's gate. It was a big reason for his inferiority complex. When he looked at proud-looking college students, he always felt like lowering his head a bit. However, this didn't stop him from envying them. He couldn't help but imagine what college was like. How many classrooms did it have? How big was its size? Thus, he currently envied his sister.
However, there was no point in thinking like that. After all, giving up college was his own choice. Lu Ze stood up while patting his butt, heading toward the film city. At this moment, earning his due was the most important thing.
…
"Brother Le, if there is no work, should I try standing there?" Handing over a cigarette and lighting it, Lu Ze mischievously smiled at Liu Le.
"Where did you disappear just now? I just sent one batch in, but you were nowhere to be seen. Can you blame me?"
Liu Le took a puff and opened a cola bottle before taking a gulp. He then sized up Lu Ze for a moment and hesitantly asked, "You told me before that you can act, right?"
"Ah, I'm self taught."
"Can you cry? Like weep whenever you have to? Not bawling without tears, but tears falling down. I've a bit of a tough job. If you can cry, I'll ask for you."
Lu Ze instantly snapped to attention and promptly asked, "What kind of work? Will there be dialogues, brother Le?"
"Of course, there will be dialogues! Can you do it?"
"I certainly can. Watch me!"
Liu Le raised his head and watched Lu Ze's face. Three seconds later, the first tear dropped out of his eye, and then the second tear, the third...until Liu Le was rendered dumbstruck, 'Motherf*cker, I said cry, and he just cried like that?'
"Stop stop stop! Don't cry! Just squeezing out a tear or two would have been enough. What the hell are doing!"
Lu Ze hurriedly wiped his eyes and spoke somewhat embarrassedly, "My bad! I just went into it and couldn't help myself."
Although Lu Ze's crying looked a bit ominous as tears streaming down his face, it was actually a testament to his strength. Liu Le even dared to claim that the number of extras capable of breaking down into tears within three seconds within the entire Hengdian could be counted on two hands. As for the remaining, Lu Lie feared that they would let out a fart before tears.
"Alright, I'll get you in touch. Let's see when I can get you an audition. Hold on!"
Liu Le took out his phone and made a few calls. Lu Ze couldn't hear what he talked about. Keeping a smile on his face, he talked for less than a minute before hanging up.
"Come with me."
Entering the film city and taking a few turns, they arrived at a production team named Sino-Japanese War Legends. Liu Le walked over and chatted a bit with the manager before beckoning Lu Ze to come over. The manager sized up Lu Ze a bit and said, "You want to try? Follow me, and you…old Liu, you hold on for a bit."
"Ok. Hey Lu Ze, don't make me lose face. Act well!"
After encouraging Lu Ze, Liu Le found an empty corner and sat down, looking like a bullied kid. He looked around while smoking a cigarette. On the other hand, Lu Ze was brought to the director. However, the director was currently shooting a scene. So, Lu Ze silently stood at one side and watched the shoot until the other stopped the shoot with a yell and turned to Lu Ze.
"Have you studied acting?"
"Self-learned. I've studied books."
Hearing Lu Ze's words, a frown appeared on the director's face, not looking too pleased with the other. However, coming empty-handed after searching for so long, he was willing to try anything.
"Cry while showing fear. Can you do it?"
"No problem! Then, should I be scared like shaking from head to toe or just express it with my face?"
Lu Ze was not making empty claims at all. Wasn't it just being afraid? He'd truly studied it from the system's expression control course. He'd been evaluated by the system, suffering lashes if it didn't meet the system's requirement.
"Up to you."
"Alright."
Lu Ze squatted on the ground. Within three seconds, his tears began to fall on the ground. Lu Ze then placed his butt on the ground with a thud as his mouth was slightly opened. Tears entered his mouth, but he completely disregarded them. He then slid backward on the ground, pushing himself off his feet. His chin began to faintly shudder and his pupils shrank as if he'd witnessed something terrifying while his breathing turned heavy.
Watching a master at work was completely different from an amateur. Lu Ze instantly made everybody watching stupefied. He could act! He could really act! This kid was good!
Lu Ze gulped with all his might, his Adam's apple visibly sliding. Although the sound of his gulp was not loud, it was clearly heard by everybody. Some even took a quick glance behind them, just confirming if there weren't anything terrifying behind them in reality.
"Will this work, director?"
Just when this bunch of people had begun to feel engrossed in the acting, Lu Ze was already finished with his act. He stood up while patting his butt and asked.
"Huh? Ah, it'll do. One day, two thousand. Can you do this?"
"No problem!"
Receiving a big job, Lu Ze grinned from ear to ear, revealing a brilliant smile . The tears that were still on his face faintly sparkled under the sunlight.
"…"