"Who else could it be? It''s the bosses of the five film companies that are screening ''Lust, Caution.'' Because of your movie, Hollywood has now inadvertently divided into two major camps. One side is Mutual, Fox, Paramount, First National Pictures, and Warner, and the other side is Essanay, Kalem, Lightning, Columbia, Biograph, plus my Universal. This is a battle!" Lehmer drew a diagram of the confrontation between the two camps on the coffee table with tea water.


    "Then who do you think will win this battle?" I asked lazily.


    Lehmer glanced at me irritably and said, "The two sides are not on the same level at all. Their five companies are all film giants. Just the strength of Paramount and First National Pictures alone is almost equal to our total. You know yourself, their ''The Civil War'' has an investment of 2 million, and how much does your ''Lust, Caution'' cost? I don''t need to tell you again. In this battle, our side has little hope. If we lose, we will suffer heavy losses, and their strength will increase greatly."


    Lehmer was right. In Hollywood, it''s not that you can survive just because you don''t suffer losses. As long as the power of others grows too much, you are also in danger of being swallowed up. This is also why Lehmer came to me. Although he doesn''t have to worry about losing money now, he doesn''t want to watch those opponents grow bigger either.


    "It''s none of my business. Anyway, I''ve already made a fortune now, Mr. Lehmer. Don''t worry about this. It''s so nice to sit at home and collect money," I said, rubbing my buttocks on the sofa and looking up at the ceiling.


    Lehmer sighed at me: "Andre, how could I not have thought that you would be so confused sometimes! You have completely made enemies with those people now. Once they grow bigger, will they let you go?!"


    "But what can I do!? I''ve done everything I can! Are you asking me to set fire to their cinemas!?" I shrugged.


    Lehmer chuckled and whispered to me, "You, just pretend to act for me. You know more about these things than I do. You force me to say it! The biggest problem now is that the strength difference between the two camps is too big. We need to balance it out."


    "How to balance it?"


    Lehmer was so annoyed by my question that he wished he could bite me: "How do you not know how to balance it!? Isn''t there still an old fox who hasn''t moved yet?! "


    "Do you mean Old Ma?"


    "Besides him, who else?!" Lehmer gulped down a mouthful of tea and said in a deep voice, "As long as we pull MGM, this towering tree, over, we will basically be invincible. If Old Ma turns to the other side, just wait and cry!"


    To some extent, Lehmer was absolutely right.


    "Okay, I''ll give it a try." I lit a cigarette: "But I have a condition."


    "What condition?"


    "Can it be a few days later? Look, I haven''t sorted out this equipment yet, and there are still new things in the factory that I can pack up in time. My clothes haven''t been washed yet, I..."


    Slap! A wet towel hit me in the face.


    After Lehmer left, I called Old Ma, and Lenny answered. I asked if Old Ma hadn''t come back from his business trip yet, and Lenny said with a smile that her dad was at home.


    "Andre, how did you know I was coming back today, haha, how is it, ''Lust, Caution'' is screening well, and you must have made a fortune this time, huh?"


    You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    The old fox! Still playing this trick on me.


    "Mr. Morskolov, when you were away, Hollywood was almost turned upside down, and it was tough on us little guys. Let''s have dinner tonight, will you honor us with your presence?"


    "Okay, of course it''s good if someone invites me. Then let''s go to the Imperial Hotel."


    He was so straightforward, while I was cramping in my calves: The Imperial Hotel, you can''t get out of there without spending thousands!


    "No, I, such a little guy, can''t get into such a high-end place. There''s a tavern on Harvey Street, not bad, authentic Chinese flavor. I''ll treat you to dumplings, how about it?" I quickly called out.


    "Okay! Eight o''clock tonight, no absence."


    At "Fuyuanzhai" on Harvey Street, the boss was from Sichuan, surnamed Chen, and had been in Los Angeles for nearly thirty years. He only opened his store in Hollywood five years ago. Americans can''t eat spicy food, so Boss Chen changed to doing Shanghai cuisine and also did some business in dumpling snacks, which was still passable. I often go there, and I talk to the boss in standard Mandarin. Hearing the national language in a foreign land, Boss Chen naturally felt close, plus I often chatted with him wildly about Chinese culture, used chopsticks for dining, and could recite several Tang poems and talk about the Three Kingdoms and Water Margin. Over time, he regarded me as a half-countryman.


    At 7:30 p.m., I arrived at Fuyuanzhai, ordered a private room, and Boss Chen sent me a pot of good tea. I waited for Old Ma to arrive while drinking tea. Bored, I saw half a wall of bookshelves next to me, all thread-bound, extremely exquisite, and knew they were Boss Chen''s private collection. I couldn''t resist the urge and randomly picked one. To my surprise, it was "Selected Song Ci," so I flipped through it page by page under the light. After reading letters for such a long time, I suddenly saw Chinese characters and felt very happy. Coincidentally, there was Ouyang Xiu''s "Langtaosha Ling" in it, so I read it aloud: "Chui Yang Zi Mo Luo Cheng Dong, Zong Shi Dang Shi Shou Hu Jiu, You Bian Fang Cong. Ju San Ku Cong Cuo, Ci Hen Wu Qiong. Jin Nian Hua Sheng Guo Nian Hong. Ke Xi Ming Nian Hua Geng Hao, Zhi Yu Shei Tong."


    Just as I finished reciting a poem, I heard someone giggle outside the door. Turning around, I saw it was Lenny.


    "What are you laughing at?" I put the book on the table and asked.


    "What are you reading, gibberish? Chinese?" Lenny stepped into the room, her eyes twinkling as she stared at the book on the table.


    "Miss, you don''t know, this is a masterpiece by a famous Chinese poet. Mr. Colliano''s knowledge of Chinese classics is very impressive, even I can''t help but admire it," Boss Chen said as he lifted the curtain and flashed in, followed by Old Ma.


    "Andre, sometimes I feel that I can''t see through you. Not to mention other things, just this Chinese language and Chinese characters, ordinary university professors can''t expect to understand it without more than ten years of effort, but you can pick it up casually. You, you probably don''t know how many secrets you have," Old Ma sat on the stool, poured himself a cup of tea, and poured it himself.


    After ordering the dishes, Boss Chen withdrew, leaving only the three of us in the room. Old Ma and I sat in silence, sipping tea, while Lenny was curious about the book on the table, flipping to the page I opened, and asking me to explain what the poem meant.


    "Well, the meaning of this poem, even if it says that the poet has a very beautiful girlfriend, the relationship between the two is very good, and they stick together all day long, just like Romeo and Juliet in love. Later, for various reasons, they have to separate, and the poet takes his girlfriend''s hand to the place they often come to, telling her that the flowers here are more beautiful than last year, and will look even better next year, but at that time she will not be there, and the poet will not be able to enjoy it with her," I explained with a grin.


    Lenny listened attentively, frowning at those lines of text, and then foolishly asked, "What happened later, did the two of them meet again?"


    I shook my head: "I don''t know either, maybe they met, maybe the two of them never saw each other again."


    Lenny''s eyes immediately filled with a layer of sadness. Seeing her so serious, I quickly changed the subject and said to Old Ma, "Mr. Morskolov, aren''t you going to finish that pot of tea?"


    Old Ma curled his lips: "I heard that you like to drink tea so much, I originally thought that tea was much better than our coffee, but now I''ve drunk so much in one breath, and found that the more I drink, the worse it tastes, not good, not good."


    I laughed: "Tea is something to be tasted, not drunk. You drink it like that, the Chinese call it ''bull drinking.'' When drinking tea, you should sip it little by little, feel it with your tongue, and drink to this realm, just like life, always thinking about money, crushing opponents, how meaningless."


    Old Ma was stunned for a moment after hearing my words, and then burst into laughter: "So there are so many rules. I think this tea is not suitable for me. I still prefer to drink coffee, simple and real. Andre, what do you want to see me for tonight?"


    "Eat, and talk while eating." I saw Boss Chen bring up the food, picked up the chopsticks and pointed to the dumplings.