Arriving at the Battlefield
They continue on their way, encountering more and more media, artists, fans and onlookers along the way. Soon, the entrance to the King Guan Entertainment compound appears in the thickest of the crowd.
"Director Yuan, how did such a big royal residence become the Guan family mansion?"
Chestnut, who is not a Beijing local and doesn't know much about the history and customs of the old imperial city even though she has drifted around the capital for many years, cannot help but ask when she sees the majestic Guan family mansion.
"That's a long story."
Yuan Ge, being a Beijing local and half Banner people, knows something of the history of the revitalisation of the Guwalgiya clan, and he is happy to tell Chestnut about it.
"The Guan family has been Banner people for generations, with illustrious ancestors. From the historical succession point of view, this old royal residence is partly their family property anyway. After the establishment of PRC, the Guan family was also able to seize the opportunity to take advantage of the government policies of the time and become one of the leading property developers in the country. In the past few years, under the slogan of reviving traditional culture, the Guan family bought the entire area around this royal residence, including the Rong Mansion, which we rented for filming, Shoubi Hutong, Ju'er Hutong and South Luogu Lane, where Chow's Congee is located. All of these streets, which have a long history and traditional cultural significance, were basically acquired by the Guan family, and the purchase was supported by the state. After all, through their management and development, these traditional cultural revival projects are doing well and have many positive implications for the country and society as a whole. Old Master Guan now lives in Zhongnanhai, but the headquarters of both Guan's Properties and King Guan Entertainment are now located in this old royal mansion."
"So that's how it comes about!" Waylon's jaw dropped. "Big families are frigging awesome. I bet there isn't another company in the world that could use a royal residence as its headquarters, is there?"
"Oh! That's what they meant by 'red-topped official merchants' back in the Qing Dynasty!" Stephen also says in a sudden enlightenment.
"So boys and girls, put your best foot forward today. See this huge crowd? We're not the only ones who want to please the Guan's. The future depends on you!" Chow Mingrun makes an encouraging gesture of victory, "Look, in front of you is little Willow, on the right is big Tiantian, and sitting at the door is Cheng Kun's team, all of whom are A-list stars in show business, but they all come to audition in the hope of being selected for this big production movie by King Guan. They are no more privileged than we are, but they have to walk here and queue at the door just like us. Maybe today's audition will be a fair chance for a grassroots actor to make a name for himself!"
"The boss is right. Look at how many satellite TV broadcasters and mobile communication vans are stuck outside, and the tidal wave of fans who came to hear about the event packed the old town to the brim. King Guan deployed so many security guards to maintain order at various intersections, and less than a tenth of the total number of people made it to where we are. They either have invitations or have already been cleared for auditions. Such a big show, just to cast some actors for a film, it must be a new industry record!"
Amélie Jiang suddenly appears at some point. It turns out that she has arrived at King Guan's headquarters earlier than everyone else. The reason she gives is that she has to come here early to shoot some promotional materials for the company's website, but Yuan Ge believes that she did so to avoid wearing that hideously ugly pink T-shirt of Chow Mingrun's.
"By the way, Yuan Ge, what happened to the boy you took home last night? I've asked all the police stations and hospitals in the area, but no one has been reported missing or looking for anyone missing." Seeing that Yuan Ge seems pretty calm, Amélie assumes that the little loony did not cause any trouble.
"He was pretty well behaved, didn't cause any trouble and I left him at home today. I think he may have been scared by something and is mentally disturbed. I'll take him to the police station tonight and see if I can find his family."
"You two are a pair of warm-hearted nice guys. But that boy does have a talent for acting. If his level of mental illness is not too severe, we could sign him up." Du Jinghai pulled the conversation back to today's event, "Look, this is the era of fan economy. A pretty face is all that matters. Having fans is what gets you clicks and traffic and determines your status in the circle. Just look at the number of fans each of these stars brings in today as their cheering squad. Fans are also strictly ranked. You see those standing at the door? They are probably the leading fans, each of them with their own 100,000 followers. If we at Dragon Dream want to move up the ladder in showbiz, we need to learn more about these fandom cultures and their game rules."
Everyone follows Du Jinghai's words and focus their attention on the wide main gate of the Guan family mansion - the entrance to the main battlefield of the day. They see top actors from the major film studios walking down the red carpet, with dozens of security guards gathered around them to keep the crowd in order. Each star's fans are given a specific spot to take photos, and hundreds of people form an inverted arc at the main entrance, clicking away with long and short lenses in a frenzied and orderly fashion.