Chapter 6

PS: Xiao Bai said, those who don't vote are all black-asses, and they all deserve a couple of ear cleanings.

Zhang Tan officially joined the Pujiang Film Studio, becoming a member of the script evaluation team.

Pujiang Film Studio operates on a departmental system, currently having an animation department and a live-action film department. Zhang Tan was assigned to the animation department, reportedly because the script he submitted was an animation script.

However, most of those who joined Pujiang Film Studio aimed for the animation department. The live-action film department here was still quite weak, having struggled for seven or eight years without much improvement, relying on a couple of web series to stay afloat.

The script evaluation team can roughly be divided into two categories: one is newcomers like Zhang Tan, who are just starting their careers and begin by evaluating scripts to accumulate experience; the other is older employees nearing retirement, with rich experience, who have moved to a secondary role, essentially enjoying a comfortable retirement.

The studio is a state-owned enterprise, offering good employee benefits and a more humane work environment, supporting a group of such older employees.

After completing the formalities, Zhang Tan became a salaried screenwriter.

Salaried screenwriters have a formal job, clock in daily, receive a monthly salary, and get project-based bonuses.

In addition to salaried screenwriters, there are also freelance screenwriters. They are independent workers, living hand to mouth, earning only when they have projects. They are driven by dreams and can tolerate living on a basic level. Of course, some are already famous and have connections and resources, but they are a minority.

Zhang Tan did not choose to be a freelance screenwriter because he had no resources, no connections, and no one would use his scripts.

He needed to accumulate experience.

On his first day of work, he read through the studio's work regulations and only started reviewing scripts on the second day. The scripts were not found online but were submitted internally by the studio.

Most of these scripts were written by in-house screenwriters, while some were submitted by freelance screenwriters. Before using them, the studio generally had the script evaluation team assess and review them.

In the morning, they reviewed scripts, and in the afternoon, they held meetings to discuss, with each person sharing their opinions. This was both a script review and a way for the studio to understand the capabilities of the newcomers, helping to plan their next steps.

Every month, the studio evaluated the members of the evaluation team, noting who had improved, who showed potential, who could contribute, and who could take on more responsibility. Daily performance was the standard for evaluation.

After work one day, the team leader and deputy leaders stayed behind for a small meeting.

"There are now 15 people in the team. Besides the 5 veteran screenwriters, there are 10 newcomers. We've all seen their performance over the past five days, so let's discuss it," said the team leader, Old Liu.

He was a veteran screenwriter who had worked at Pujiang Film Studio for over 30 years and was nearing retirement. He had moved to a secondary role as the team leader, focusing on nurturing newcomers, enjoying a relaxed and fulfilling work life.

Although the newcomers were evaluated monthly, as the team leader, he held a small evaluation meeting every week. The weekly evaluations served as important references for the monthly meetings.

"Jiang Fan is not doing well; this young man is beyond help," said one deputy leader.

Another added, "He graduated from a prestigious university's Chinese literature program, with the strongest foundation, but he is too rigid and inflexible."

Old Liu nodded, writing Jiang Fan's name and a D in his notebook.

"Jiang Rong has been here for over a month, but she hasn't grown as fast as I expected."

"I think she has a lot of potential, with a wild and creative mind. Technique can be learned later, but potential is innate."

Old Liu said, "Jiang Rong can continue to be nurtured."

He wrote Jiang Rong's name and a B in his notebook.

The three evaluated each newcomer one by one, and it was Zhang Tan's turn.

The two deputy leaders almost said in unison:

"Zhang Tan is a talent..."

"Where did we find him? He's very good..."

After listening to their comments, Old Liu said, "Tomorrow, give them a topic and have them write a story outline to see the results."

He wrote Zhang Tan's name and an A in his notebook.

Zhang Tan, who was being evaluated, was at home making dinner. He had spent five days in the evaluation team without any impatience, enjoying the process. It was a good opportunity to gain a detailed understanding of the world of film and animation and to gauge market preferences.

No matter how good a script is, it must adapt to market needs. Not all good scripts are well-received by the market.

For example, in his previous life, "That Mountain, That Man, That Dog" had zero box office in China but grossed 800 million in the neighboring country, demonstrating the difference in market demand.

The sound of children playing came from the yard outside.

A group of children were playing "Eagle Catching Chickens," with Xiao Bai as the eagle.

This little girl was only 4 years old, one of the youngest and smallest among the children. Despite her young age and small size, she was a little tyrant, full of spunk and always striving to be the best, earning the respect of many older and taller children who were willing to listen to her.

At that moment, this little one was the eagle, trying to catch a group of older children. The mother hen was a tall boy, the oldest in the school, already 8 years old.

Zhang Tan was genuinely worried for Xiao Bai.

But Xiao Bai was confident and boastful, shouting arrogantly:

"You guys, square heads, can't run away from the train~~"

She laughed and nimbly slipped under the mother hen's arm, catching the last child in a chorus of screams.

Zhang Tan finished making dinner and sat on the balcony, eating while watching the children play.

Suddenly, a child pointed at him and said to Xiao Bai and the others:

"Look, black-ass~~"

The children raised their little heads, standing in the yard to look at him, like little radishes planted in the ground, laughing and shouting, "black-ass, black-ass." Xiao Bai was the loudest.

Zhang Tan's skin wasn't black at all; it was quite fair, but his face turned black.

He froze in his chair, holding his bowl, the delicious food no longer appetizing. He wanted to throw the bowl, wondering if this nickname had spread? Was it Xiao Bai's doing? Was the conflict going public?

Teacher Xiao Liu heard the commotion and rushed over to stop it.

Fortunately, she acted quickly; otherwise, the children might have been in danger because Zhang Tan had already decided to throw the bowl and jump down to fight the little ones, defending his reputation, especially against Xiao Bai! He would make an example of her, killing the chicken to scare the monkeys, and set a clear example!

Even so, Xiao Bai still made faces and stuck out her tongue at him.

"Ha ha ha ha..."

She was determined to clash with Zhang Tan, possibly to the death. The conflict was already public.

"Ha ha ha ha..."

"Ha ha ha ha..."

...

It didn't end there; several children followed suit, making faces and sticking out their tongues.

Xiao Bai's ability to incite others was impressive.

Zhang Tan: (▼皿▼#)

"Stop playing, stop playing, you're all sweating. Back to the classroom, we're going to watch TV."

Teacher Xiao Liu herded the children back to the classroom, feeling embarrassed for Zhang Tan.

I'll deal with you after I finish my dinner! Zhang Tan thought, returning to his room, feeling frustrated and almost angry.

Taking a few deep breaths, he endured, quickly finishing his dinner, which tasted like wax, washed the dishes, and went to Aunt Huang's office on the second floor to inquire about Xiao Mi.

Aunt Huang was knitting a small pair of shoes for her baby. Her daughter-in-law was five months pregnant, and she was preparing in advance.

After hearing Zhang Tan's question, she said, "I called the police station the day before yesterday. They are still looking for Xiao Mi's family. I'll go to the police station tomorrow to see if I can help."

Zhang Tan: "That's good."

Without a resolution to Xiao Mi's situation, he would continue to bear the nickname "black-ass." He should have known better than to reach out with a "God's hand"; Xiao Bai was a troublemaker.

Confucius was right; never provoke a little woman.