Chapter 71: Visit by the Deputy Director of Zhujiang Factory
After having dinner with Jia Zhangke and others, Liu Zhou prepared to go home.

Liu Zhou originally wanted to take Zeng Li on a trip abroad, but unexpectedly she received an invitation to star in Huo Jianqi's new film "Blue Love".

After Huo Jianqi finished filming "That Mountain, That Man, That Dog", the domestic distribution of the film was still very unsuccessful as it had been in the past. In addition, he had to take some time off to participate in film festivals abroad, as there were people from Xiaoxiang Film Studio and a group of investors.

One day he saw a novel called "Performance Art" on the bookshelf. He thought the novel's description of young people's views on art and life, feelings and responsibilities was very interesting, and he really wanted to make it into a movie.

Then he asked his wife Su Xiaowei to adapt the novel into a script, preparing to make it his next movie.

After the script came out, Huo Jianqi submitted this film project to the Beijing Film Studio and Xiaoxiang Film Studio. Unexpectedly, it was passed very smoothly by the Beijing Film Studio.

Originally, the Beijing Film Studio had a film project called "Ninety-nine Sunny Days" and wanted to ask him to shoot it. Unfortunately, because it required the use of many veteran actors, it would take a lot of effort to invite these people, and it would not be solved in a short time.

He simply discussed with the leaders of the Beijing Film Studio and decided to finish filming "Blue Love" first and then "Ninety-nine Sunny Days". The leaders also thought it was a good idea and approved the project.

He found the young actor Pan Yueming to play the male lead, and Huo Jian went to the Central Academy of Drama to select the female lead, and finally chose Yuan Quan.

Now, having seen Zeng Li's performance of Zhang Yiman and thought it was very good, she directly invited Zeng Li instead of going to the Central Academy of Drama for casting.

Of course, Huo Jianqi might also want to save Liu Zhou's face.

But no matter what, Zeng Li is about to shoot her first movie.

Liu Zhou, who was a bit narrow-minded, secretly read the script and was relieved only when he saw that there were no intimate scenes.

What Liu Zhou didn't know was that Zeng Li saw everything he was doing in a sneaky way, but she didn't say anything. She just found it both funny and sweet.

She knew that Liu Zhou still cared about her very much.

After returning home and spending a few days with his family, Liu Zhou also felt a little bored.

Taking advantage of the time now, Liu Zhou plans to take the driving test.

Liu Zhou can drive, but he doesn’t have a driver’s license now.

When signing up, Liu Zhou discovered that getting a driver's license is more expensive now than in later times, costing five thousand yuan per person. However, this time, the price of a B license and a C license is the same.

In fact, the B1 license only has one more right to drive a medium-sized bus than the C1 license, while the B2 license can drive a heavy truck. However, Liu Zhou felt that he probably would not have any chance to be a bus or truck driver in his lifetime, so he applied for a C1 license.

It was a bit expensive to get a driver's license at that time, but it was not as strict as it is in later generations.

Nowadays, getting a driver's license test is actually a very easy thing in many places. The theoretical test is not an exam at all. You just go there and hand in the paper. There is no question of whether you pass or not. As long as you have money, you can buy it if you don't have enough points.

Of course Liu Zhou didn’t have to spend money to buy points. He passed the theoretical exam in one try, and then after practicing for two days to familiarize himself with the subject, he applied for the exam.

In the end, it took less than half a month for Liu Zhou to get his driver's license.

Liu Zhou used to think it was not cost-effective to buy a car, but now as he has more and more things to do, it is time for him to have a car to get around.

However, Liu Zhou did not buy the house in Guangzhou. He planned to buy one in Beijing. His work focus in the future will still be in Beijing.

After getting his driver's license, Liu Zhou did not remain idle and started writing the second part of Ghost Blows Out the Light, "The Cave of Dragon Ridge".

The first part, The Ancient City of Jingjue, has been serialized for one third and is ready to be officially published in August. The novel The Ancient City of Jingjue has caused a greater sensation than any other novel Liu Zhou has written before.

At the beginning, it was Liu Zhou's previous fans who were reading it, but the sudden change in style made some of his fans uncomfortable, after all, most of his fans are girls.

On the contrary, Liu Zhou's male fans couldn't stop reading the book and were enthusiastically recommending it to their classmates and friends.

In the past three or four months, they have been looking forward to the release of the new issue of "Mengya" magazine every day and the content of the new issue.

This alone has caused the sales of "Mengya" magazine to increase significantly again and the popularity it has aroused is growing.

Later, the Beijing News added fuel to the fire, spreading rumors that Liu Zhou was a tomb robber. This matter caused quite a stir at the time, and even Liu Zhou's fans were a little skeptical whether he was really a tomb robber.

It even attracted inquiries from experts and police from the Palace Museum. Although it was finally confirmed to be a rumor, the Beijing News still made Liu Zhou feel disgusted.

However, no matter how disgusting it is, the Beijing News's slander of Liu Zhou has indeed made the book "The Mysterious City of Jingjue" popular.

Now, not only Liu Zhou's fans are reading this novel, but people of all ages are also starting to follow Liu Zhou's novel.

Liu Zhou was not too surprised that the book had caused such a stir.

In the previous life, Tianxia Bachang was able to break through the circle by serializing this novel online without any fame, let alone Liu Zhou who now has huge popularity.

In fact, even if there was no such incident with the Beijing News, "The Lost Tomb" would still be popular, it just brought the time forward.

You can imagine how big a sensation it would have caused if Ghost Blows Out the Light was written by Han Han.

Therefore, "Mengya" wanted to warm up for the publication of "The Lost Tomb" and wanted to invite Liu Zhou to hold a press conference and signing event.

However, Liu Zhou refused, as he felt it was unnecessary. He believed that what "Mengya" should do most was to print more copies in the first print run to gain a one or two-day advantage over pirated copies.

This way, we can sell more genuine products instead of holding a press conference. The current popularity is more than enough.

In this regard, "Mengya" also felt that what Liu Zhou said made sense. This time they put all their assets on the line and the first print run reached an unprecedented one million copies.

For nearly a month, the entire magazine has been operating around this matter, and almost all the staff have been assigned to various provinces to supervise the printing of "The Mysterious City of Jingjue", which is then distributed directly to distributors throughout the province.

Liu Zhou is now also looking forward to what kind of sales record the novel "The Lost Tomb" can set.

Now that "The Lost Tomb" is so popular, Liu Zhou has the motivation to continue writing. After all, this is not a small amount of money.

July was the hottest time of the year in Guangzhou, but Liu Zhou did not feel irritated at all. Instead, he was writing "Longling Mystery Cave" very calmly.

However, just when Liu Zhou was writing furiously at home with the air conditioner on, his uncle came to his house with a middle-aged man to find him.

Facing his nephew's slightly puzzled look, Uncle Liu Zhou smiled and said:

"Zhou Zhou, this time uncle came to see you for something serious. Let me introduce you to the person next to me. He is the deputy director of our Zhujiang Factory. We want to cooperate with you and make a movie together."

(End of this chapter)