Guest from the United States

"Discuss Apex Films? What exactly does this guy want? He's a Lin... Could he be related to Aunt Lin?" Jiang Cheng thought to himself.

As Jiang Cheng was lost in thought about the young man's intentions and background, his father Jiang Dejun, seeing Jiang Cheng hadn't returned, came over and asked, "What's going on, Acheng? Who's here?"

"I don't know, someone came looking for me, but I don't recognize him. However, he said his last name is Lin!" Jiang Cheng turned and replied.

"Lin? Could it be..." Jiang Dejun's heart skipped a beat, thinking of Lin Wanjun's family. He quickened his steps to the door, but upon a closer look, he saw a young man he didn't recognize. Relieved, yet confused, he asked, "Hello, young man, may I know why you are looking for my son Acheng at this time?"

Seeing Jiang Dejun, the young Lin showed considerable respect, smiling and saying, "Hello! You must be Uncle Jiang. My uncle often mentioned you to me, talking about your younger days."

"Your uncle? He is..." Jiang Dejun asked, a thought dawning on him.

Mentioning his "uncle," the young man's expression flickered with reminiscence and sadness. His smile faded as he calmly said, "My uncle's name is Lin Junhao."

"Uncle!" "Lin Junhao!" Hearing the name, both Jiang Cheng and his father were taken aback, with Jiang Cheng faintly suspecting something. He said to his father, "Dad, he says he's from the US."

"From the US? Oh—" Realizing the young man's origin, Jiang Dejun had an epiphany, "You must be the American child Junhao has been supporting! I didn't expect you to have grown so much!"

"Yes," the young man named Lin nodded. "I didn't expect Uncle Jiang to still remember me."

Sighing, Jiang Dejun said, "In the early years, I kept in touch with Junhao and heard about you, but we lost contact later... Young man, what brings you to my son Acheng?"

"Since he's an old acquaintance, it wouldn't be nice to keep him standing outside. Let's invite him in to talk," Jiang Cheng suddenly interjected.

"Yes, right! Young man, come in. Have you had your New Year's dinner? You probably haven't eaten yet, right? Fortunately, we've prepared a lot this year, with both dumplings and sweet rice balls available, whatever you'd like to eat!" Jiang Dejun said warmly.

"Dumplings!" Lin's eyes lit up as he quickly said, "Honestly, I've been on a plane all day and haven't had dinner yet. I'm starving and would love a plate of authentic Chinese dumplings!"

Jiang Cheng asked, "Have you eaten dumplings in the US?"

"Yes, in Chinatown in Los Angeles, but they weren't very authentic. I've only ever had authentic dumplings once, made by my uncle when I was a child. I've never forgotten that taste!" Lin reminisced.

"Perfect, the dumplings today were made by a classmate of mine. He's from the North, so the taste is definitely authentic!"

"Really? Then I must try them!" Lin said, smiling as he and the Jiangs entered the house.

※※※

Indeed, he was famished.

After entering, Jiang Cheng introduced Lin to everyone without mentioning his purpose, simply saying he was an old acquaintance. Although Gao Linlan, Yuan Hong, and Sun Xiao were full of questions, they didn't pry, simply welcoming Lin.

Without any reservation, Lin wished everyone a Happy New Year and then started devouring the food, eating two large plates of dumplings before he felt satisfied. He wiped his mouth and commented, "Not bad at all! The chive and egg filling was delicious! Sun's culinary skills are impressive!"

"That's nothing! If I had our Northeastern sauerkraut, I'd show you the world's tastiest dumplings!" Sun Xiao boasted.

"Sauerkraut?" Lin's eyes brightened again. "I've heard of it. It's a special pickled vegetable from Northeast China, right? Is it tasty?"

"Of course! I grew up eating sauerkraut, and its flavor is unforgettable!" Sun Xiao seemed to have found a kindred spirit as he enthusiastically shared about "Northeastern sauerkraut" as if it was the world's most delicious food. Lin appeared genuinely interested, almost salivating as he listened.

Jiang Cheng and Jiang Dejun, hearing the two mention sauerkraut, also showed a hint of nostalgia. Yuan Hong, puzzled, asked Jiang Cheng, "What's up? Do you know what Old Sun is talking about? Is sauerkraut really that good?"

Knowing that Yuan Hong, being from Hubei, might not have tried sauerkraut, Jiang Cheng nodded and said, "I think it's quite tasty. There was a year when my dad pickled some, and it was unforgettable. But my mom thought it wasn't very hygienic and stopped us from eating it, so my dad never pickled it again."

Jiang Dejun also sighed, "Hearing Sun mention it, I too have been craving sauerkraut for many years."

Gao Linlan frowned and said, "It's so unhygienic, how can you eat that? Besides, with so many fresh vegetables available, why eat that?"

Father and son exchanged a glance and simultaneously gave a wry smile.

Seeing their expressions, Yuan Hong thought to himself: Is sauerkraut really that delicious? Maybe I should try it at a Northeastern restaurant someday?

"By the way, who exactly is this young man?" Gao Linlan suddenly whispered to Jiang Dejun.

Jiang Dejun whispered back, "He's the child from the Lin family that Junhao adopted in the US, whom I've mentioned to you before. It seems he's here to see Acheng, but I don't know why."

"Here for Acheng? And he's related to the Lin family..." Gao Linlan frowned, then speculated, "Could it be about the company Acheng bought a while ago?"

Women's intuition can sometimes be very accurate.

Jiang Dejun's brow rose, considering the possibility. He suddenly interrupted the ongoing conversation and asked Lin, "By the way, young man, we've been talking for so long and still don't know your name. What's your name?"

Yuan Hong and Sun Xiao, taken aback, looked at Jiang Cheng with an expression that seemed to say, "You don't even know his name?" Jiang Cheng returned a "Yes" look, causing both of them to collapse.

They don't even know the guest's name, yet they call him an "old acquaintance"? This family is truly something else!

Lin politely replied, "My name is Lin Qi, the name my uncle gave me."

"Oh, that's a good name!" Jiang Dejun nodded. "So, may I know why you've traveled all the way from the US to find my son Acheng?"

Hesitating for a moment, Lin said, "I'm here to see Jiang Cheng."

"Hm? Do you have something you need to discuss with my son Acheng?" Gao Linlan asked.

"This..." Lin glanced at Jiang Cheng and said, "It's something very important to me. I'd like to discuss it privately with Jiang Cheng, if that's alright."

The family exchanged looks, and Jiang Cheng said, "Of course, let's talk in the study."

He turned to the others and said, "It's business-related, so it might go on late. It's getting late, so Dad, Mom, Old Yuan, Old Sun, you guys should go to bed. Old Yuan and Old Sun, you can stay in my room tonight, and I'll sleep in the study with Brother Lin."

Everyone nodded, watching as the two entered the study.

※※

Jiang Cheng's house had three rooms: two bedrooms and a study, all equipped with beds and bedding.

Once in the study, they sat down at the desk. Jiang Cheng offered, "Coffee or tea?"

"Coffee, please, with two sugar cubes. Thank you!" Jiang Cheng prepared the coffee and handed it to Lin, who took a sip and commented, "Not bad."

"It's not any special coffee. We don't drink it much at home, so we never bought anything too fancy. Have make do with it." Pouring himself a cup of tea, Jiang Cheng smiled.

"That's fine. I'm not too picky." Lin took another sip and placed the cup on the table, looking seriously at Jiang Cheng. "Can we start talking now?"

"Wait a moment. Before we start talking officially, shouldn't you properly introduce yourself? It seems you know a lot about me, but I knew nothing about you until now. This seems a bit unfair," Jiang Cheng said.

"That's only fair." Lin nodded. "I am a Chinese American, orphaned at a young age and grew up in an orphanage. I didn't even have a name, just knew my surname was Lin. Later, due to a chance encounter with my uncle during his visit to the US, he took sympathy on me due to our shared surname and took me from the orphanage, gave me my name, Lin Qi, and supported me through school, from elementary to college graduation, a total of ten years."

Pausing, Lin continued, "Knowing my uncle's interest in the entertainment industry, I chose to study at USC, majoring in film directing. After graduating last year, I wanted to return to China to help my uncle, but he stopped me. He wanted me to gain some experience in Hollywood first before coming back to help him. Little did I expect that a few months later, he would..."

His voice trailed off, and his face was filled with sorrow and a hint of tears. Jiang Cheng sighed, "Please accept my condolences."

Taking a deep breath, Lin said, "I'm okay, much better than when I first found out." After calming himself, Lin said to Jiang Cheng, "I learned that Aunt Lin sold my uncle's company to you, so I came to discuss Apex Films with you."

"Oh, and what would you like to discuss?" Jiang Cheng asked nonchalantly.

"I know it's presumptuous, but I still want to say..." Lin took a deep breath and seriously said, "I want you to sell the Apex Films Studio to me!"

"Hm?" Jiang Cheng raised an eyebrow and put down his tea cup, equally serious, "While I'd like to think you're joking, no normal person would travel across the ocean and specifically come to my house on New Year's Day for a joke. From your actions, you seem sane. So, this is your purpose. But why?"

"Because it's my uncle's company. I don't want it to fall into someone else's hands," Lin stated calmly.

"I understand. So, you want to buy the company. How much are you offering?" Jiang Cheng inquired.

Lin pulled out a check from his pocket and handed it to Jiang Cheng. "This amount."

Jiang Cheng looked at the check and saw it was from a Swiss bank, worth 4 million US dollars. "Quite a sum!"

"I know you spent 2 million US dollars to buy the company initially, but I also know you made a very successful movie recently, so the company's value must have doubled. Therefore, I'm offering double the price to buy back the company. With this money, you can easily start another company. What do you think? Please consider it," Lin said.

Jiang Cheng smiled and placed the check on the table, asking, "I'm curious, you keep calling Uncle Lin: 'Uncle,' 'Uncle.' Isn't he your adoptive father? Generally, an adopted child has inheritance rights. And Uncle Lin should know you're studying film directing, capable of running his company well. Why didn't he leave the company to you?"

Lin shook his head bitterly, "Although he was my guardian, we didn't have a father-son relationship, or else I wouldn't have just called him 'Uncle.' And his passing was so sudden, he left no will. So, legally, all his assets were inherited by his wife and son. Uncle Lin didn't have other assets, only Apex Films. So, after he passed, my aunt was eager to sell it for cash."

Jiang Cheng tilted his head, "Why didn't you fight for it then?"

"I did, but my aunt was adamant about the 2 million US dollar price. Where could I get that much money at the time? I could only ask my aunt to delay for a few days while I gathered funds. But she was too insistent, and my aunt could only help me delay for over a week, by which time I still hadn't gathered enough. So, I had to watch helplessly as she sold the company to you," Lin said with a sense of helplessness.

"And this money?"

"I gathered it from various sources. I saw your movie and knew Apex Films's current value far exceeded its original. So, I managed to gather an additional 200 thousand US dollars to come to you."

"So, you're still in debt now, doing all this just to buy back your uncle's company? Quite touching!" Jiang Cheng said with a hint of sarcasm.

Lin's face darkened, and he said sternly, "What are you implying?"

"Why should I agree? Give me a reason."

"It's 4 million US dollars!"

"But you should be aware that the initial 2 million US dollars wasn't even enough to buy that special effects company. It was a discounted price from Aunt Lin. And now, thanks to my movie, Apex Films Studio is thriving. Just the revenue from this one movie alone has more than doubled the company's value. Now it's worth far more than 4 million US dollars, and I have no reason to give you a discount. So, your money isn't enough!" Jiang Cheng said with a cold laugh.

Lin remained silent, knowing Jiang Cheng was speaking the truth. The movie "[Immortal]" had brought in profits of well over 30 million RMB for Apex Films Studio, in fact even if it had earned only that, it would be equivalent to 4 million US dollars.

So plus the company's original foundation, Apex's total value was definitely well over 4 million US dollars. If you add X-Lin Special Effects, the total value is probably around 7-8 million US dollars. Lin's 4 million was far from enough.

After some thought, Lin hesitantly said, "What if I pay half the value now as a down payment and you sell the company to me? We'll draw up a contract, and I'll pay you the rest once I make the money."

Jiang Cheng laughed, a bit challenging, "You're already in debt, and even if I transfer the company to you, what guarantee do you have that you can definitely make money?"

"I can make movies too."

"Oh, American movies or Chinese ones?"

"The company is in China, so naturally, I'll make Chinese movies."

Jiang Cheng laughed more heartily, bombarding Lin with questions, "Do you have a script? Know any actors? Once the movie is made, are you confident you can convince distributors to release it? You've lived in the US all your life and might not know the Chinese market. Are people going to watch what you make? Are you sure you can make enough money? And enough to pay back 8 million US dollars? That means you'll need to make a movie with a box office of nearly 200 million RMB. Are you confident about that? Or will you have to make several movies to earn enough to repay your debts? How long will I have to wait? And right now, I'm in the middle of making a second movie. The company can't afford any mishaps at this crucial time. So why should I sell the company to you now?"

Lin was left speechless by his barrage of questions. After a while, he said somewhat despondently, "So, I can't buy the company from you?"

"From the current situation, yes, because you haven't given me a convincing reason," Jiang Cheng replied coldly.

"Can't we discuss it further?"

"Do you really think just because you're Uncle Lin's adopted son, I should make an exception for you? Don't be naive," Jiang Cheng scoffed.

A flash of anger crossed Lin's face, but he suppressed it and said coldly, "Alright then, there's no need to continue this conversation. Thanks for your hospitality, but I'll take my leave now!"

He stood up, grabbed the check from the table, and turned to leave.

"Hold on."

"What now? You have something else to say?" Lin asked bitterly, "You want to continue insulting me?"

"No, no, no! I think you misunderstood something," Jiang Cheng shook his head, "I was just stating facts earlier, with no intention to insult you. Actually, I have a better idea. Would you like to hear it?"

"What's your idea?"

"Could you sit down first? It's quite pressuring with you standing. A calm conversation is beneficial for both of us," Jiang Cheng suggested with a smile.

After a moment's hesitation, Lin sat down again, "Just speak your mind."

"What are you doing in the US right now? Have you directed any movies?" Jiang Cheng didn't reveal his idea right away but started with a question.

Frowning, Lin answered, "I'm currently working as an assistant director under Universal, involved in some advertisements and music videos. I haven't directed a movie independently, but I participated in a low-budget film."

"Do you feel confident directing a movie on your own?"

"Of course, after so many years of study, I'm quite confident."

"How big of a budget do you think you can handle for a movie?"

After careful consideration, Lin replied, "Around a few million, maybe."

"How much exactly? You know, eight or nine hundred thousand dollars is a few million here, and so is one or two hundred thousand, but there's a big difference between them," Jiang Cheng pressed.

Lin frowned, somewhat annoyed, "Specifically, it would be two to three hundred thousand dollars, three hundred thousand at most. Happy now?"

Jiang Cheng smiled, "Three hundred thousand US dollars, that's nearly twenty-five million RMB. The budget for the movie I'm currently making is only about 5 million RMB. So, by that measure, your skills are already quite high!"

"What exactly are you getting at?" Lin's frustration was evident.

"Another question: if you're confident, why not use this money to make a movie? If it's a big hit, wouldn't you have enough money then? You could come back to buy the company with more assurance. Why come to me now?" Jiang Cheng probed further.

"I don't have a script," Lin said with a wry smile, "You know, being a Chinese American isn't easy. I face a lot of discrimination, and no one's willing to write scripts for me. All the money in the world can't make a movie without a script."

"Can't you write one yourself?" Jiang Cheng countered.

"I'm not very good at creating stories..." Lin admitted sheepishly, "But I'm quite good at telling them. I do have directing talent, and I've always excelled academically in college. I just... I'm not much of a scriptwriter..."

Jiang Cheng shook his head; here was a peculiar case - a director who couldn't create stories.

"What if, and I mean if, I provide you with a script? Could you make a movie then?" Jiang Cheng suddenly asked.

"Huh?" Lin's eyes widened, "What are you trying to say?"

"Have you seen my movie '[Immortal]?"

"Yes."

"What do you think?"

"How to put it... the direction, cinematography, etc., were all quite average. But the plot was good, very engaging, definitely winning with its storyline. A science fiction film, it was aptly named," Lin critiqued '[Immortal],' though it seemed a bit disparaging.

Jiang Cheng shrugged indifferently, "So you think the script was good?"

"Although I don't want to admit it, you're indeed a storytelling genius. Not only are your scripts good, but your books are also excellent. In this regard, I have nothing but respect for you," Lin admitted.

"Did you know that the inspiration for my movie's script actually came from an American short science fiction story?"

"Oh? Which story?"

"Jerome Bixby's (1923-1998) last completed work, 'It's a Good Life.'"

"Ah! You're infringing!"

"Hey, don't put it so harshly. I just borrowed his concept, the story itself is all mine. There's no infringement."

"Hmph! Why bring this up all of a sudden?"

"What do you think, if we really adapt this short story into a movie and release it in the US, or even worldwide, would it be successful?"

"You... you want to..." At this point, Lin guessed Jiang Cheng's intention.

Jiang Cheng smiled, "How about teaming up with me to establish a movie company in the US?"