ECG -Chapter 176 Zhang Residence

After getting into the car, Lin Hao kept a gloomy expression on his face and didn’t say another word. In the end, Qin Ruoyun couldn’t hold back her curiosity and pressed him to tell her what had happened.

Lin Hao shook his head and continued staying silent. Qin Ruoyun was so annoyed that she reached over and pinched his thigh, making him yelp in pain. After begging for mercy for a while, he finally reluctantly told her the whole story.

After listening, Qin Ruoyun angrily slapped the steering wheel. “That bastard! That damn mutt! Slap him! If anything happens, your sister’s got your back!”

“Okay!” Lin Hao laughed.

His silence after getting into the car was intentional—he wanted to arouse Qin Ruoyun’s curiosity. The reason he told her everything was because he wanted to borrow her influence.

After all, this Qian Xiaoqiang was now a foreign citizen. It was true that he had returned to China to make money, but he also had an organization backing him. If Lin Hao went alone, he would probably be dragged off the stage before he even got the chance to step onto it.

Even if he managed to catch them off guard and get on stage, if he ruined this solo concert, the trouble afterward would definitely be huge. And this kind of trouble was something Lin Hao simply couldn’t afford to deal with at the moment.

Although he still didn’t know much about Qin Ruoyun’s family background, judging from how quickly the scandal between her and Yang Qianyi last year had been snuffed out before it even spread, her parents were probably not ordinary people in Beijing.

And then there was the phone call she had just made. He didn’t know who “Aunt Tan” on the other end was, but from the way she spoke, that person clearly had a high status. Yet in Qin Ruoyun’s mouth, she was merely “Auntie”—someone she could call anytime and joke around with without any restraint.

More than ten minutes later, the two parked the car in a roadside parking spot and walked inward through the alley.

The walls on both sides of the alley were mottled and weathered. This season, there were no cicadas singing yet, and all Lin Hao could smell was the unique scent of Beijing’s old hutongs.

That smell was so familiar. As he walked, he suddenly felt as if he had returned to the past—the days when he rode some old, secondhand bicycle through the streets and alleys of Beijing.

After walking about fifty meters, Qin Ruoyun said they had arrived.

Lin Hao looked up. In front of them was an old Ruyi Gate. Compared to the grand Guangliang Gate of Guan Residence from last night, this entrance was narrower, but the brick carvings above the doorway were extremely exquisite.

Although this gate couldn’t compare with Guan Residence’s from last night, it was definitely a genuine antique. Guan Residence, on the other hand, was merely a modern imitation.

Compared to that, Lin Hao preferred this kind of atmosphere. It was the unique old-fashioned charm of Beijing that seemed to transcend time itself.

He raised his eyes and looked at the black-painted wooden plaque above the entrance. Written in official script were two neat and dignified characters:

Zhang Residence.

Lin Hao secretly marveled. In the Dongcheng area, where every inch of land was worth its weight in gold, owning a courtyard like this was definitely not something an ordinary person could do.

“Creak—”

Qin Ruoyun pushed open the wooden door.

“Zhang Chuanying, you’ve got a guest!”

Qin Ruoyun shouted the moment she entered. Lin Hao couldn’t help but chuckle. It seemed she was extremely familiar with the owner of this place.

But after laughing, he suddenly froze.

Zhang Chuanying?

Why did that name sound so familiar?

Earlier, when Qin Ruoyun had called, she had only said, “Let’s go to Sister Chuanying’s place,” without mentioning her full name. Now that he heard Zhang Chuanying’s complete name, he suddenly felt that he must have heard of or met this person before—he just couldn’t remember where.

“That loud voice… I knew it was you the moment I heard it!”

Before the person appeared, her voice had already come from inside.

This was a very elegant courtyard. Green plants surrounded the area, and beneath a grapevine trellis, several checkered sofas and rattan chairs were casually arranged.

A woman in her mid-to-late thirties walked out from the side room on the right.

She wore a very casual set of home clothes. She had a full figure, short hair, and an ordinary-looking face. Her eyes were not large, but when she looked at people, they were extremely sharp.

Lin Hao was swept by her gaze once, and he felt as if she could see right through him.

This woman was not simple.

Qin Ruoyun walked over and hooked her arm around hers.

“Sister Chuanying, didn’t you miss me?”

“Thinking about you? That’s completely useless! Every single day you’re acting all over the place and never doing anything proper!” Zhang Chuanying laughed as she scolded her.

“Sis, this is my sworn younger brother, Lin Hao!” Qin Ruoyun introduced Lin Hao. “Haozi, this is Sister Chuanying. She’s the most awesome producer in our country. If you ever want to make movies in the future, you’d better start flattering her properly now…”

Zhang Chuanying immediately reached out and hit her. “I just finished saying that about you, and you’re already being improper again!”

Lin Hao only came to a realization when he heard the word “producer.”

So it was her!

After being reborn, he had been far too busy. The total number of movies he had watched was less than ten, but he had carefully read the cast and crew lists at the end of every movie—the parts ordinary viewers usually didn’t care about.

The few movies he had watched with Wu Xiaozhou and the others, including the ones he had watched alone with Xia Yumeng, had one thing in common: the producer listed on most of them was Zhang Chuanying.

Ordinary people might not know exactly what a producer did, but Lin Hao understood how important this title was to a movie.

Simply put, the producer was the investor. It could be a company or an individual. As the investor, the producer was the main beneficiary of the entire film’s box office revenue and copyright earnings.

The producer was responsible for conducting market research before the film started, checking whether there was potential in the market for similar movies, such as box office performance, popularity, the possibility of sequels, and so on. Based on this research, they decided whether the film was worth investing in.

The producer was the soul of the entire movie. They determined the film’s style, genre, and direction in the market.

Lin Hao had once searched Zhang Chuanying’s name on Kuaisou Baike. This woman really was, just as Qin Ruoyun had said, the most powerful producer in the country at the moment. Over the past decade, sixty to seventy percent of blockbuster films had her involvement. She was truly a heavyweight figure in the film industry.

He respectfully gave Zhang Chuanying a slight bow. “Sister Chuanying, hello!”

Zhang Chuanying had also been secretly observing Lin Hao the entire time. At first, she thought this young man might have some kind of relationship with Qin family’s girl. But now, seeing how polite and courteous he was, she didn’t dare make any more guesses. She quickly smiled and responded before inviting them to sit down.

A clean and refreshing-looking woman in her forties walked over. Judging by her appearance, she was probably Zhang Chuanying’s housekeeper. She softly asked what they would like to drink.

Zhang Chuanying looked toward Lin Hao.

Lin Hao smiled. “Tieguanyin tea! I don’t know if Sister Yun likes it?”

Qin Ruoyun giggled and said it was fine.

The housekeeper first brought over some melon seeds and snacks, then half-squatted by the table and began boiling water and rinsing the tea set.

Lin Hao took out a cigarette and handed one to Qin Ruoyun. She smiled and said that Sister Chuanying smoked too. Lin Hao hurriedly apologized, then respectfully offered one to Zhang Chuanying as well. He lit cigarettes for both women first before lighting his own.

Qin Ruoyun seemed to have not come here for a long time. She chatted enthusiastically with Zhang Chuanying about family matters, while Lin Hao quietly observed the courtyard.

This clearly wasn’t some tea house open to the public. It should either be Zhang Chuanying’s home or some private club. With Zhang Chuanying’s status, there was no way she needed to make money by running a tea house. It was probably just a place for friends to gather.

“Sister Chuanying, I’d like to walk around and have a look. Is that okay?” Lin Hao asked.

Zhang Chuanying hurriedly waved her hand. “Go ahead, go ahead. Look at us, we got so caught up chatting that we ended up neglecting you!”

“It’s fine.” Lin Hao stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, stood up, and said, “You sisters keep chatting. I’ll just look around casually.”