Wow, I Was Supposed to Go Bankrupt, but I Made 10 Billion Instead! - Chapter 9

If there was any kind of entertainment that Guan Ran enjoyed the most in the past eighteen years, it was probably watching a ‘good show’!

After all, it was low-cost, highly entertaining, and saved money.

Sometimes, if she was lucky enough to encounter someone with a fiery temper who liked taking out their anger on others, she might even make some money.

She remembered the year she first arrived in Hengcheng, she earned her first bit of money through this method.

It was a sunny afternoon…

In short, after the other person slapped her, she walked away with a thousand yuan in her pocket.

She had heard that the current going rate had risen to ten thousand. Guan Ran shook her head in amazement—prices really were skyrocketing.

As she reminisced, she climbed up a wall to watch the commotion inside.

It was a small courtyard, and the spot she had chosen gave her a great view.

There were a few trees planted in front of her, allowing her to clearly see what was happening inside without being noticed.

In the courtyard, a man was bowing and scraping, begging six people who were laughing at him.

The six well-dressed people all seemed quite young, likely second-generation rich kids.

At that moment, they were laughing heartily at the man.

“Gao Yi, when we were doing our graduation project, didn’t you say you had dreams and didn’t want to stoop to our level?”

“Gao Yi, I heard you make films without even a script. They said you just film whatever comes to mind. Even the teachers were scared off, is that true?”

“Gao Yi, we really thought you had some backbone. So why are you begging us now?”

“Gao Yi, I’ve already ‘taught’ your girlfriend for you. When are you going to take her back and give her a try? She’ll definitely be better than before.”

“Gao Yi, the teachers always said you were the most talented student. Why are you here now, chasing after the smell of money?”

“Gao Yi, I heard you’ve been having a rough time lately. Tell us about it so we can get a good laugh.”

“Gao Yi, we’ve already made it clear—we’re not interested in your movie. But if you can drink all of these bottles of liquor, we’ll give you 10,000 yuan for each one.”

Guan Ran frowned at the sight of the table covered with bottles of Erguotou—a strong Chinese liquor. Something didn’t seem right.

These guys definitely looked like spoiled rich kids. But wasn’t it said that when the rich forced people to drink, they would use Lafite or Maotai? What was with the Erguotou? Were they trying to cut costs?

The young man named Gao Yi seemed to have the same thought.

He struggled to get up from the ground, shakily picked up a bottle of Erguotou, and asked, “One bottle of Erguotou for ten thousand?”

The rich kids clearly enjoyed this scene. Hearing his question, they immediately pushed a briefcase toward him. “For every bottle you drink, you get a stack of money. Go ahead, Brother!”

Seeing the smug expressions on their faces, Guan Ran sighed—fools were increasing in number, but there still weren’t enough swindlers to fool them.

As she was thinking this, she saw Gao Yi grab one of the bottles and start chugging it down.

Amidst the cheers of the rich kids, the bottle was soon empty. Two red patches appeared on Gao Yi’s face, and he swayed a bit, but he managed to stay on his feet.

He looked like he was about to pass out. However, he still reached out and took out a bunch of money towards himself. He slurred, “This is mine.”

The rich kids loved this. They didn’t bother to make things difficult for him. Instead, they pulled out another two stacks of money. “Drink another bottle. We’ll give you 20,000!”

Apparently stimulated by the thought of getting 20,000 yuan, Gao Yi grabbed another bottle and drank it, then shakily pulled the money toward himself.

He was swaying badly but showed no sign of collapsing.

The rich kids exchanged glances. Clearly, they realised that they had underestimated this hidden drinking champion.

They threw down another two stacks of money, and another bottle went down Gao Yi’s throat.

This time, Gao Yi bent over and retched twice.

Perhaps because the rich kids were motivated by the sound of his dry heaves, another two stacks of money were slapped onto the table in front of him.

The speed at which they were giving him money made Guan Ran a little envious—she could drink that much, too!

By the time the seventh bottle went down, Gao Yi could barely stand, and his stomach was bulging.

“I need to go to the bathroom,” he muttered, then quickly ran toward the base of the wall.

Gao Yi lifted his head and locked eyes with Guan Ran, who was peeking over the wall.

Without changing his expression, he pulled out a tube from inside his coat and began draining the liquor he had hidden in his drinking pouch.

This was a prop commonly used on film sets—Gao Yi had a hidden pouch inside his clothes. As long as he covered the mouth of the bottle with his own mouth, no one would notice where the liquor went.

These guys must’ve been total amateurs if they didn’t know about this trick.

Gao Yi rolled his eyes as he and Guan Ran exchanged a silent understanding.

Just then, one of the rich kids walked over. “Gao Yi, are you dead in there?”

Guan Ran gave Gao Yi a thumbs-up and quickly jumped down from the wall, disappearing before she could be noticed.

Behind her, she heard the disgusted voice of the rich kid. “Did you spill or something? It stinks! Stop breathing near me, you smell awful…”

This was followed by Gao Yi’s slurred response. “Give me more money. I can drink more. I’m great at drinking.”

In the entertainment industry, a good script would never lack investors.

Judging by this guy’s behaviour, whatever film he was working on definitely wasn’t going to make money.

No fame, no funding, no script!

One shouldn’t be afraid of an objective director who rejected scripts, but of the ones who were sentimental or liked to peddle nostalgia with their scripts.

It wouldn’t be long before she’d probably see him among the extras looking for jobs.

The thought made Guan Ran unable to suppress a smirk—she might have just stumbled upon another potential money loser…

Just as she was congratulating herself, her phone rang.

Guan Ran answered, only to hear a gentle female voice on the other end. “Hello, is this Boss Guan?”

Hearing herself called ‘Boss Guan’ made Guan Ran shudder. Goosebumps crawled all over her skin.

After being poor for so long, having someone suddenly call her ‘Boss Guan’ felt truly unsettling.

When Guan Ran didn’t respond, the woman on the other end called out ‘Boss Guan’ twice more before she finally responded with a hesitant, “Um…”

No, she couldn’t handle this at all.

Her awkward response led the woman on the phone to misunderstand her attitude. Her voice became even more polished as she continued, “Boss Guan, I’m Xiaoding from the Grand Theatre. I’d like to discuss something with you…”

Hearing this, Guan Ran’s eyes lit up. “Are you calling to increase the cost?” 

That would be great.

Her eagerness was evident in her voice, and to prevent any misunderstanding, Xiaoding quickly explained, “Boss Guan, it’s not that. Peking opera is considered a protected cultural form, so our theatre has special discount policies that we can offer you.”

Ever since 010 came into her life, the two words Guan Ran feared most were ‘discount policy.’

Her voice shot up several octaves, like a duck being strangled, as she said, “No need! I can’t make the theatre lose money.”

Who would’ve thought that someone like her, who once fought over wilted vegetables at the market, would ever say something like that?

Damn it, why were they offering her discounts now? This felt more like a threat than an offer of favour.

There was no way she could let 010 hear about this—where could she hide herself right now?