Lu Kuan settled in and came out of the hotel; it was almost 4 o'clock. In the lobby, there were still the Yancheng merchants who were beaten by Li Yapeng last night. It seemed that this scandal of Big Beard's film crew could not be suppressed.
Power is a man's aphrodisiac, money is a man's tonic. Holding the huge sum of ten thousand yuan, Lu Kuan felt more grounded even when walking.
Thinking of Meng Fanyao, Zhang Jizhong, and others who were still using delaying tactics, if Li Yapeng really got injured during filming, he would make sure they would have to hand over the three hundred thousand travel expenses to Beijing with both hands.
Shuicheng was a complex of Song-style buildings built by CCTV for filming the large-scale TV series "The Water Margin". The surrounding facilities were relatively complete, with residential areas and commercial streets having everything.
Lu Kuan found a nearby cell phone store, preparing to solve the communication problem first. You would never understand the cell phone deficiency phobia of future Time travelers.
"Hello sir, are you buying a cell phone or conducting business?"
A saleswoman with dimples when she smiled walked over. Most people in this area were in the film and television industry, so she wasn't surprised by Lu Kuan's strange attire.
The commercial atmosphere in the Yangtze River Delta region was strong, and Suzhou, Wuxi, and Changzhou were the most economically developed areas in Su Province. Therefore, the saleswomen in the cell phone stores were also very service-oriented, much better than the cold faces in state-owned stores.
"Oh, what cell phones do you have? Introduce them."
"Okay, please look over here. This is the hottest selling Nokia 8250 this year."
Lu Kuan looked at the advertising slogan "Blue Charm Leads Fashion" and felt more and more integrated into this era. The 8250 was the sales champion in the mid-range cell phone market that year.
The dimpled saleswoman had also seen countless people. She could roughly estimate their spending power based on their clothing and demeanor.
Although the young man in front of her was wearing a Taoist robe that was almost faded from washing, his imposing manner in every gesture was obvious.
Especially his phoenix eyes, which showed a noble air. She had seen this kind of bearing on many big Boss Lus.
After introducing the best-selling one, the saleswoman continued to display products.
"This Siemens P3 features, and this Motorola A6288, are products that Boss Lu Wang Zong of a famous real estate company are using."
Lu Kuan glanced at Vanke's Wang Shi, who endorsed Motorola, and had no interest in listening further.
Cell phones back then were largely similar. Occasional small features and functions made little difference to people accustomed to smartphones in later generations.
"The 8250 will do."
At least it could still smash a walnut or be used for self-defense. He had just come down from the mountain and already offended Meng Fanyao, so he had to be wary of being attacked.
"Also get a card, the one with a 30 yuan monthly fee is fine."
He didn't know who else he could call now. The only number he could remember was his senior brother studying in Beijing.
In the Little Taoist's memory, he and this orphan, who was raised by their master since childhood, were like brothers. Later, his senior brother was adopted by a nearby family early on and got into a school in Beijing.
It was also thanks to this kind and honest senior brother's frequent help that the young Lu Kuan didn't starve to death alone in the Taoist temple after their master passed away.
In the 1970s and 1980s, there were many orphans like this on Mao Mountain.
Many of them were descendants of Taoist orphans left behind during the Anti-Japanese base area in southern Su Province.
Due to the destruction of their ancestral property, these descendants struggled to survive during natural disasters, wandering around in rural Taoist temples.
The stories of Mao Mountain Taoists descending the mountain in 1937 to resist the Japanese and deliver intelligence to the New Fourth Army, and giving up the ancient Qianyuan Taoist temple to General Chen Yi as his headquarters, were all from that period.
The sky was gloomy. Lu Kuan spent 3000 yuan to buy a cell phone and was ready to continue looking for places to shop, at least to get two sets of clothes first.
This Taoist robe had to be kept; he would need to take it out and use it at a critical moment.
"Beep beep!"
It was the crew's Istana driving over. Lu Kuan felt increasingly uneasy watching the approaching car and quickly leaped onto the nearby steps, almost getting hit.
"Sorry Lu Kuan, I'm a bit rusty."
The driver's window rolled down, revealing Jiang Qinqin's face, which conveyed peace and prosperity, with a hint of awkwardness in her apology.
Zhou Xun leaned over from the passenger seat and said with a smile, "Where are you going? We'll give you a ride."
Lu Kuan saw her turn off the engine and pull the handbrake, then he safely walked down from the steps.
"I was going to buy some clothes. Now it's great, someone's paying."
Jiang Qinqin saw the Little Taoist pointing at the stains splashed on the hem of his robe by her braking, and said sheepishly, "Get in the car. Xun Ge'er and I are just about to go shopping."
Lu Kuan calmly opened the driver's side door. He wouldn't dare ride with a female driver, especially one who was clearly a novice.
"Get out. Let me serve you two today."
"You can drive?"
The two actresses were a bit incredulous. This Mao Mountain Taoist seemed to have learned a bit of everything?
The Little Taoist didn't need to waste words explaining. Soon, the two were stunned by Lu Kuan's skilled driving. The key was, how was he so familiar with the roads too?
In his previous life, he often came to Wuxi on business trips to discuss cooperation at Fan Bingbing's studio in the National Digital Film Industrial Park. She was also a female star who often required public relations services.
Lu Kuan drove out of Shuicheng's main gate, turned around, and headed towards the city center.
Back in Wuxi of this era, the better shopping malls would likely be the Grand Orient Department Store on Zhongshan Road, which was still called the Commercial Building at this Time, as well as New World Department Store and Grand Ocean Department Store, among others.
"You're heading towards Zhongshan Road, right?" Lu Kuan asked with a smile, his cloth shoes tapping lightly on the pedal as he weaved through traffic effortlessly.
"How did you know?" Jiang Qinqin easily got carsick, so she swapped seats with Zhou Xun and sat in the passenger seat, her bright eyes watching the Little Taoist, feeling that the mystique around him was growing stronger.
Lu Kuan tilted his head and glanced at the current "China's First Tragic Actress": "Did you forget I'm a Taoist? I have heavenly sight."
"Hmph." Zhou Xun, unwilling to be left out in the back seat, scoffed, "Then calculate for us later. If it's accurate, we sisters will treat you to a meal."
"No need. Today I'll treat you. I just earned ten thousand yuan from Director Zhang, spent 3000 on a cell phone, and still have quite a bit left."
Jiang Qinqin and Zhou Xun exchanged surprised glances. The former blurted out, "It's not easy for you to earn money, why don't you save some?"
She was born into an ordinary family, her father was a railway policeman, her mother was a typical housewife, and she had worked her way up. She wasn't a female star who didn't know the struggles of ordinary people.
Zhou Xun also agreed, "Yeah, it's hard enough for a film crew to ask you to be a consultant. How difficult would it be to find another drama with a Taoist background next Time?"
Lu Kuan smiled and said, "I don't necessarily have to be a religious consultant. Which film crew doesn't burn incense or worship at a temple when they start filming? China's film and television industry has been growing larger in recent years, and there are many Hong Kong film crews coming over to shoot. I think there are many places where I can be useful!"