2000 years

The next morning, two idiots showed up at the station.

Li Yang held a jianbing guozi (Chinese crepe), eating it while sighing, "Hey, this is the last time I'll trust you, so please don't screw me over!"

"Then buy the train ticket."

The two stood in the waiting hall of the old South Railway Station, carrying their luggage.

Raising an eyebrow, looking at the old-fashioned facilities in front of him, which seemed to be from the last century, he felt not only no aversion but also a sense of ease.

The entertainment industry in 2000 can be described as just beginning to flourish.

A turning point is coming for Chinese films, with Feng Xiaogang's "Endless" and "A Sigh" about to be released, opening a crack in the door to commercial films...

Television dramas entered their golden age, with annual production exceeding 1 episodes…

The record industry's final frenzy: Jay Chou burst onto the scene, while unknown singers like Sun Yanzi, JJ Lin, and Tsai Yi-Lin shone brightly, officially ushering in a battle of the titans...

Coal mine owners are rushing in, Huayi Brothers is officially established, and Hua Jie, the top agent in the Chinese entertainment industry, will join in half a month…

There are too many opportunities.

There was so much money that Su Yu felt like he could pick it up anywhere...

"Tell me, what exactly are you thinking?"

Seeing Su Yu's deep gaze, Li Yang felt a little uneasy.

She couldn't help but nudge him with her shoulder, then said, "Being an actor is great. You become a big star, earn a lot of money, and have fans wherever you go."

Seeing that Su Yu still ignored him, Li Yang scratched his head and changed the subject, "What a pity, I heard that Zhang Yimou and the others are going to make cameo appearances in the filming of 'The Grand Mansion Gate'!"

Su Yu raised an eyebrow, as if he had thought of something.

Li Yang got more and more excited as he spoke, "I heard that before filming even started, Jiang Wenli and He Saifei almost got into a fight over a role!"

"I heard Chen Baoguo even got slapped!"

"Do you really think these people would go to such lengths for a role? In my memory, Jiang Wenli is quite well-behaved, with a long braid..."

"Tsk tsk tsk, those big eyes are really captivating."

Li Yang described it vividly.

Su Yu remained expressionless.

He had seen far too many rotten things on set.

Dual contracts, on-set couples—people fight over anything, let alone a role; they might even fight over the crew's lunchbox...

The entertainment industry, in the final analysis, can be summed up in four words.

Pursuing fame and fortune.

If you want resources, then offer your own value.

However, the story that Jiang Wenli fought with He Saifei and even slapped Chen Baoguo is mostly a rumor.

We're all in the same circle, how could we possibly fall out?

The claim that Jiang Wenli is very well-behaved is utter nonsense. Only by truly understanding the life of this prominent figure in Beijing's elite circles can one comprehend just how ruthless she can be.

The husband cheated on her and went straight to the film set to slap the mistress, even leading a group of wives to collectively blacklist her...

"Actors are human too; don't judge them based on biases."

Su Yu spoke calmly, without going into the details of those grudges and feuds within the industry.

Li Yang paused for a moment, scratched his head, and said, "Huh... what's a filter? You know I'm not very educated, so please don't use foreign terms..."

After buying the ticket, I waited for less than half an hour before finally boarding the train heading south.

Find your seat according to the ticket number.

Four people were crammed together, and next to them was a young couple.

A small window.

On the platform, vendors sell soy milk from carts. Most people are standing, while those in sleeper berths are wealthy.

Su Yu sat by the window and took out his Nokia to pass the time.

Unfortunately, there's only one game: Snake.

After playing for a while, he got bored and simply handed the game to Li Yang, who played it with great enthusiasm.

Suddenly, he looked up and asked, "The power's out."

Without thinking, Su Yu replied, "The charger is in my bag."

"Charger? There's no outlet here," Li Yang rummaged through his bag. "Hey Lao Su, you didn't bring any batteries?"

Li Yang searched his bag for a long time but couldn't find it.

Finally, from a bunch of messy headphone wires, he pulled out a charger that came with the phone.

Early Nokia phones had poor output power, often taking half a day to charge, and even later versions had this problem.

As for universal chargers, those only appeared in 03.

Su Yu stared at the thing for a few seconds, stunned.

It has been a full twenty years since he last used this kind of thing...

Time really is a cruel mistress.

But that was 2000.

There's no ubiquitous internet access, no convenient high-speed rail, two batteries can last a week, and roaming fees are ridiculously expensive.

But this also means that opportunities are everywhere.

For example...do you prepare the universal charger in advance?

After spending nearly twenty hours in the car, Su Yu went straight to the dock as soon as he got off. "Let's go, let's get some goods first."

Li Yang scratched his head. "Where to?"

"pier."

"???"

Li Yang was completely baffled. "Wait, you mean 'going to sea' when you're talking about it? Where are we supposed to 'fish' then?"

Su Yu raised an eyebrow. "What's so great about touching a fish? If you're going to touch something, touch a VCD player."

"Why are you touching that thing?" Li Yang asked, puzzled. "That thing is ridiculously expensive..."

"No need to bring any equipment," Su Yu said, taking all his belongings out of his bag and reaching out towards Li Yang.

"What are you standing there for? Give me the money!"

"I only have a thousand yuan left, leave me some! Leave me some money for food!" Li Yang clutched his wallet tightly.

An hour later.

pier.

Li Yang, clutching a sack of pirated VCDs, wore an expression of utter despair.

He kept muttering to himself, "I really shouldn't have believed you, what's the point of buying this thing..."

Su Yu remained silent after listening.

I just took him to the computer mall next door and the recording studio on the street, and let him go in and ask if they bought CDs.

Li Yang walked in dejectedly and asked a question. The boss readily agreed to take any item he could get.

Popular ones, imported ones are 7 yuan, those with color are 10 yuan, and those with exciting content can be sold for 15 yuan.

After listening to Li Yang's words, Su Yu thought for a moment and then left some of the goods with the boss.

Then he told Li Yang to go ask around on the next street...

In just one afternoon, he cleared out all his stock, having dealt with three video arcades, one internet cafe, and two computer malls.

Li Yang was exhausted. He sat on the ground, spitting out stones and panting heavily, with streams of sweat streaming down his forehead.

Regular movies cost 2 yuan each, while popular movies cost 5 yuan each.

The two of them had a total of 3000 yuan with them.

After a whole afternoon of trading, my principal doubled instantly; it was practically like picking up money off the street.

Kyoto also has a similar piracy market, but the cost price there is higher, unlike in the south where it is closer to the production line and the cost can be kept very low.

Although it won't last long, it's definitely enough to earn your first pot of gold.

Keep in mind that their initial investment was only three thousand, so earning six thousand was already a very high bar.

If we want to expand it further.

That would require more capital to travel to farther places, which also means greater danger.

Su Yu pulled out the portion that belonged to Li Yang and handed it over, but the guy actually waved his hand.

"Don't give it to me, I can't handle the money."

"Then let's continue using it as principal?"

"Whatever. Now I finally understand why you don't want to continue being an actor; this business is much more profitable than being an actor!"

Li Yang was excited, but at the same time, another question came to mind.

"What we're doing... isn't illegal, is it?"

Su Yu raised an eyebrow after hearing this. "You won't do anything unless you get caught? You've never bought pirated DVDs?"

Li Yang was stunned for a moment, thinking to himself, "How can that be the same!"

Just then, the taxi driver who had been observing the two of them for a while came over. He first stared at Su Yu for a moment, and then handed him a Double Happiness cigarette.

"Dude, you're from out of town, right? Let me see how much you guys made this afternoon. Tell me, bro."

Su Yu took the cigarette, calmly raised his head, and said, "It's not much, just ten thousand."

Li Yang was stunned for a moment. How did it become 10,000?

Seeing Su Yu's calm and composed demeanor, he didn't dare to utter a single word, simply lowering his head and acting like a fool.