It was already too late yesterday, and Lu Ze had been too tired, so he didn't look up Qianshijia Cultural on the net.
After waking up in the morning, that was the first thing he did—to look up Qiangsijia online and gain a rough understanding of this management company's background and strengths.
Browsing the first thread, Lu Ze was indeed stunned to find out that Qianshijia actually belonged to Rong Chuang Corporation. It was a new company that was only registered in 2016, and it was like the youngest son of Rong Chuang Corporation.
As for how powerful Rong Chuang was? In simple terms, the former chairman of the corporation Li Zhenghong was the richest individual from 2008 to 2011 under the banner of real estate and many commercial enterprises.
Their core businesses covered shopping malls, real estate, restaurants, catering, and medical services. At the advent of the wireless era, they entered the online battlefield but didn't see much success. Currently, their most popular app was an online video sharing platform.
Lu Ze admitted that the power of such a large corporation was indeed stunning. However, the most attractive feature of the corporation to him was the corporation's second-biggest theater chain in the whole country, occupying a 22.3% nationwide share. One could even say that there was at least one Rong Chuang film city in every first- and second-rate cities. Such strength was capable of shaking the entertainment industry from its core.
Why hadn't they open a company in the entertainment industry before? They actually did, but it went bankrupt, and this made Lu Ze feel that it was a bit strange. However, even after searching the internet for a long time, he couldn't find a clear cause.
The current CEO of QIanshijia was Hu Zhiyan, who previously held the post as CEO of Rong Chuang Corp and he was a big shot who had joined the board of directors. As for why would he step down and become the CEO of a new company, Lu Ze had some guesses, but this had nothing to do with him.
Up to this point, Lu Ze was moved. He wanted to give it a shot. After all, which of those big management companies would sign him, a grassroots level extra, up? Only the small companies would consider signing him, and could their power be compared to Qianshijia? With such a contrast, was there any need to think any further?
Moreover, there was the other advantage of a new company. They took good initiatives. They were even asking recommendations from their friends, which proved that they didn't have many artists. Thus, if he signed with Qianshijia, he would directly become a senior figure in the company.
As he thought about it, Lu Ze hurriedly checked his pockets and took out the phone number Gu Mingde had given him yesterday night. The numbers were written in a skewed manner, going all over the place. After all, he'd written these numbers with the support of his hand, so how well could he have written?
Barely making out the numbers, Lu Ze made the call. After a few rings, the call connected and a female voice answered, "Hello, this is Qianshijia Limited."
"Hello, I'm Lu Ze, an actor. Director Gu Mingde introduced me for an interview at your company. He said that he's already recommended me to President Hu."
"Alright, please let me check."
The line on the other went silent. After less than half a minute, the sound of the phone being picked up again came before the voice, "Hello, your situation has been verified. Can you let me know when you can come over for an interview?"
"I can leave for Shanghai tomorrow and reach in the morning itself. May I ask what documents or perhaps proof of ID will I need to bring?"
"Ok, Mr. Lu, tomorrow morning is fine then. You need to bring your actor's certificate tomorrow. As for proof of identity, if you don't want to sign instantly, you don't need to bring it."
"That's no problem on my side. See you tomorrow."
"Alright, see you tomorrow, Mr. Lu."
Hanging up the phone, Lu Ze collapsed on his bed again. The joy in his heart was far lesser than his nervousness about the future. It was common for everybody to be nervous while choosing a management company for one reason or another.
If the company was small, one would be worried about its future prospects, including whether the company would develop well, or if it would go bankrupt. For a bigger company, the concern would be whether one would be snuffed out by the crowd and how much importance the company would give them.
Lu Ze was feeling the same at this moment. He was concerned about the possibility of Qianshijia going bankrupt. After all, Rong Chuang had been found guilty in the past. If that happened, what would he do?
He tossed and turned in his bed, and all his concerns could be summarized with a word: unreasonable.
This was 2016. In this era, the salaries of actors had already become exceptionally high. Even if you didn't stand out, as long as you worked hard and kept acting, and so long as the company didn't deliberately hide you, you would basically make more than the average office worker.
Those seeking stardom had a dream of making it big. When financial pressure was alleviated from one's life, they would increasingly begin to seek spiritual satisfaction compared to things like popularity.
Lu Ze was the same. He even began to feel like even if he couldn't make that much money, he wished to receive the love of people and prove his acting skills. Only in this manner would he be able to justify that the whips he'd received in the system space were not in vain.
Today, he didn't plan on going to work. Fortunately, he didn't get any crew tasks either. Otherwise, managing the schedule would have gotten quite tricky.
However, he also couldn't just sit idle at home all day either. Thus, it was inevitable for him to give himself a makeover, wasn't it? However, things like putting makeup on was a different matter. As a man, he never managed to comprehend the complex art of applying makeup. The last time on the set, the makeup artist had been too busy, so he had applied some blush on his cheek on his own. Later, he appeared like a dead person's paper figurine.
However, at the very least, he could buy a few pairs of fitting clothes, couldn't he? Running around wearing counterfeit products all over his body was a bit too demeaning no matter how one looked. If it was pointed out during the interview, he would find it too embarrassing.
Moreover, even a person who wore sacks knew that one needed to increase one's external prowess before a bigshot. This was not showing off or satisfying one's vanity. Instead, it was a form of respect for oneself and the counterparty.
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He arrived at the biggest mall of Hengdian, which was also opened by Rong Chuang. The first floor comprised clothes, cosmetics, jewelry, and other similar products. It would help him save time.
For the interview, the attire certainly couldn't be too sporty but it could not be a first-class suit either. After all, he would be interviewing as an artist, not as an insurance agent.
Males didn't compare products from different stores. They would identify the clothes they liked, try them on to make sure that they felt alright, then immediately make the payment and leave. Previously, Lu Ze had bought everything from his coat to his underpants within five minutes, and this time was no different.
The payment from 'My Regiment' had not arrived yet. Thus, he didn't have much financial power to go luxurious. From Jack and Jones, he bought a loose-fitting, black cotton jacket with a woolen interior, a black-and-white striped sweater, and a white shirt for the inside.
For the lower half, he bought black jeans with a relatively loose fit. The shop assistant continuously recommended this style to him. The butt portion was completely slack, making them quite comfortable.
He went relatively cheaper and bought a pair of yellow Camel Martin shoes. They felt soft and warm on his feet, feeling quite comfortable, so Lu Ze gladly paid for them.
In the end, Lu Ze felt that he was still missing something. He couldn't recall what it was at the moment, but he knew what he lacked was present on the first floor.
After a few rounds, he eventually recalled what he needed. It was a wristwatch. This was something he truly wanted.
He browsed through several wristwatch counters. The prices were not terribly high with basically a few ten thousand yuan being the higher end of the range. Of course, Lu Ze was looking for a medium-ranged watch.
He liked every watch he saw. After all, as a male, liking a wristwatch was not surprising. After arriving at the last shop, he decided on one by himself.
He bought a Tiansot black leather-strap wristwatch. It wasn't too expensive at only four thousand yuan. He liked it very much since this was the first wristwatch in his life.
Wearing several fine watches in the system space didn't give Lu Ze the same level of satisfaction. After all, he knew that they were all fake.
Carrying the shopping bags, Lu Ze headed back home while frequently raising his left hand and looking at the watch. He even wiped off the little cloth fabric that was stuck on the surface of the watch, making the glass shine brightly.
Upon returning home, he threw the shopping bags on the quilt and let out a sigh. Spending eight thousand yuan was not a small deal to him. Now, he just hoped that Qianshijia wouldn't disappoint him.