Becoming a Movie Star, System Only Finished Loading After Ten Years
Chapter 148 - 145: Bird’s Paradise (Requesting Double Monthly Tickets)

Chapter 148: Chapter 145: Bird’s Paradise (Requesting Double Monthly Tickets)

With the property title in hand, Qi Hao set off according to the address on it.

Houhai area, hmm.

There’s indeed a lot of courtyard houses here.

But most courtyards have turned into crowded residential complexes, and some are abandoned, with only a small number available for sale.

Actually, thinking about it is a bit exciting.

Foreign tourists might think the courtyard area is a slum, but we Huaxia people know what it represents.

Qi Hao was worried it was a He Gang courtyard, which would have been pointless to check out.

Qi Hao found his target by following the house number.

A two-section courtyard house.

Two-section...

Still a bit disappointed, can’t the damn system be more generous? Would it kill to give a grand five-section house with double cross yards?

I wouldn’t even mind if you gave me Prince Gong’s Mansion.

This kind of garbage two-section courtyard, I’m too embarrassed to even talk about it.

However, compared to those hidden and cramped hutong structures, this two-section courtyard’s entrance is quite spacious, and the entrance hall is quite grand.

There are two large elm trees at the gate and a piece of open space; if you pave it, it can easily park a few cars.

But now it’s all planted with various shrubs and surrounded by a fence.

It’s late February now, and the vegetation is still withered.

If not for these shrubs, the area in front of your house would soon become the neighbors’ parking lot.

Don’t think that being convenient for others means being convenient for yourself.

If you’re not using the house now and let them park, when you need the space back, they’ll immediately become your enemies.

It’s okay to do good deeds, just don’t be a saint.

Qi Hao inspected the front gate, took out the keys from his pocket, and the long-neglected door creaked open slowly.

Dust danced in the air, and the smell of bird droppings and decaying leaves hit his face.

Qi Hao wheeled his bicycle inside, closing the door behind him.

How long has it been since anybody came to this yard?

The buildings were covered with dust, stains, and bird droppings, and the small yard was full of dead grass and twigs, making it hard to tell if it was soil or paved ground.

If it wasn’t winter now, even the screen wall would be hard to see.

Walking up to the screen wall, turning around, you can see the first courtyard.

The front yard is quite large.

There are five rooms in the main building, with side rooms on each side.

Two giant locust trees stand in the front yard, echoing the elm trees outside the gate, with several dark bird nests on them.

No wonder there’s bird droppings everywhere.

Turns out this yard has become a bird’s paradise, huh?

The same dead grass, small trees, and shrubs fill the small yard, with barely any room to step.

Suddenly with a "whoosh," something seemed to dash past him.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out to be a tabby cat.

Qi Hao was startled, and when he steadied himself on a small tree, he ended up with a handful of fresh bird droppings.

Damn it!

Damn system, couldn’t you at least give me a cleaned-up courtyard house?

Qi Hao cautiously treaded over dead branches and leaves, and opened the painted and weathered hanging flower gate.

Inside was the same dilapidated scene.

Though not ruined to rubble, the yard was overgrown, and the buildings were in disrepair, nothing like a wealthy family’s place.

I’m not sure if it’s due to the water system or the bird and cat droppings, but the yard has a faint unpleasant odor.

Big... it’s really quite big.

The main quarters have a three plus two layout, with three large rooms in each side wing.

Including the front, it’s a total of seventeen and a half rooms, with half a room taken by the main gate, and a small half made into a porter’s lodge.

Qi Hao quickly checked the property title for the area.

The lot covers 973 square meters, and the build area is 515 square meters.

For a two-section courtyard, this is a very decent size, even many three-section courtyards might not have such a large area.

Qi Hao held a bunch of keys, found and opened the room doors.

Bare walls!

What? Where’s the furniture made of golden nanmu, ebony furniture, huanghuali wood furniture?

Damn, there’s not even a stool.

Qi Hao opened room after room, completely dumbfounded.

Forget about stools, not even a wood chip was in sight.

And no antique paintings, gold, silver, or jewels...

Moreover, many window panes are broken, leaving the rooms filled with dust.

One bird, two birds... chirping away, one cat, two cats... some darting around, some arching their backs and growling at people... Qi Hao even found a litter of kittens in a room with broken windows.

How much will it take to fix this place up?

Torn between sprucing it up and leaving it alone, Qi Hao was torn.

If he renovates it, it could be nice to live in during spring, autumn, or even summer, and his parents could stay here for a few days after retirement.

But to fix it up to an ideal state would take millions.

Qi Hao isn’t chasing luxury materials, but renovating it all with composite boards would truly be a waste.

As for selling it directly... Qi Hao was quite reluctant.

Seeing as Mrs. Hua might go public this year, money didn’t seem as tight.

He took another look around the courtyard and called Old Tian.

Over the years, reaching out to Old Tian when something comes up had become Qi Hao’s habit.

"Old Tian, I have a courtyard house. Get a professional company to come over and take a look, make a renovation plan."

"So you’re finally thinking of fixing up that broken courtyard?"

It’s obvious that besides Qi Hao himself, even Old Tian knows that he bought a courtyard house a long time ago.

"Hmm, let’s tidy it up."

"If you had tidied it up earlier, we wouldn’t have to rent someone else’s office building. I’ll help you find someone to do it later."

It’s clear that Old Tian has always supported Qi Hao in tidying up this courtyard house.

"Can we cut down the trees? They’re full of bird nests, and the birds poop everywhere."

Qi Hao’s hands still reek, and even using the brought pure water doesn’t remove the smell.

He harbors a grudge and wants to raid these silly birds.

"You must be joking," Old Tian bluntly ridiculed, "If you dare to cut down those trees, they’ll dare to arrest you. There are iron plaques nailed onto the trees, all five of them are ancient trees. You can’t touch a single one."

"Can we roast the birds?" Qi Hao asked helplessly, looking up with tears almost streaming down his face.

"Sigh, I don’t know what kind of birds they are specifically, but I guess they’re protected animals. If someone reports you for disturbing the nests, they can get a reward of two to five thousand yuan. Don’t ask me how I know."

Old Tian let out a long sigh on the other end of the phone.

These days, even sparrows and frogs are protected animals.

You’re just a little celebrity, where do you get the nerve to mess with them?

Qi Hao even sought help from the system.

Of course, the system wouldn’t entertain his unreasonable demands.

If you dislike the little birds, the little birds dislike you just as much. Once work starts in this courtyard, it would be a disaster for the original residents.

With no other options, Qi Hao muttered to himself, "Actually, I quite like birds. Having birds at home seems auspicious."

Birds choose to build nests somewhere usually because the place has good feng shui and a strong aura. Birds are very sensitive to their environment, and they typically choose warm, safe, and evil-free places.

Having birds build a nest at home usually indicates prosperous fortune.

The more he thought about it, the better it seemed, and even the lingering smell of bird poop on his hands faded considerably.

There’s really no need to chase away the stray cats in the yard.

Ao Bai was originally a stray cat taken in by Qi Hao and Old Tian.

Qi Hao even climbed up the tree in the yard to take a look at the neighbors on both sides.

The jujube tree in the main courtyard is quite old, with a "Y" shaped structure, posing no challenge at all to Qi Hao, who has been good at climbing trees since childhood.

The house on the left seems uninhabited, but it’s not as deserted as Qi Hao’s; it’s clearly been tidied up.

The house on the right seems to have people living in it.

Their yard is even larger than Qi Hao’s, a typical three-entry courtyard house.

Being able to live in such a location, with such a large house, means they can’t possibly be poor.

There are no tall buildings around, and squatting on the tree, Qi Hao can see Houhai up close. No wonder the birds love building nests up there.

Understood, understood.

After checking out the courtyard house, Qi Hao left. There wasn’t even a place to rest, let alone somewhere to sit.

He pushed his bicycle out, locking the door with a chain lock.

Then he rode away swiftly on his bicycle.

Many times, it’s impossible to find a parking space in the city center of the capital, so Qi Hao often keeps a folding bicycle in the trunk of his car.

Qi Hao came back this time not only to look at the courtyard house but also to sign two endorsement deals.

One is a skincare product endorsement, and the 8 million/2-year price is indeed tempting. Qi Hao and his team of a dozen people tried their products for two weeks. With different physiques and skin types, they didn’t notice any effect, but at least there were no problems using it.

Currently, the highest endorsement fee is for Fang Long.

Recognized as the top figure in the entertainment circle, he leads the male celebrity rankings with a fee of 14 million/2 years.

Of course, we’re talking about legitimate endorsements here.

If it’s for supplements or weight-loss teas and such scams, the prices are all over the place.

Liu Dehua is at 10 million/2 years, Jin Chengwu and Xie Tingfeng both at 6 million/2 years, and Qi Hao’s rate falls within this range as well.

However, since the products he endorses are not many, there’s usually a premium on this base rate.

After the financial crisis, celebrity endorsement fees have significantly dropped, and agency quotes often have some padding.

In reality, most popular mainland celebrities don’t exceed 3 million, while Hong Kong and Taiwan are slightly higher, with only a few surpassing 5 million.

Only international Chinese stars can command fees above 9 million.

Previously, Qi Hao endorsed spicy strips for 7 million/2 years, which was considered a premium for low-end products.

This time, getting an 8 million/2-year offer, you could say is thanks to the biggest bonus from "Chinese Paladin 3."

The other actors from "Chinese Paladin 3" have also seen some improvement.

However, the short-term endorsement fees for Yang Mi, Tang Yan, and Liu Shishi are still hard to exceed 3 million.

After all, An Feng and Zhou Xun are only about 5 million.

Qi Hao’s second endorsement is for a car.

Previously, he had a car endorsement, but it wasn’t renewed after it expired.

This time, the car model endorsed is the Volkswagen Passat.

The endorsement fee is 7.5 million/2 years.

Probably because Qi Hao has been driving a Volkswagen Santana, he earned recognition from the brand side.

He doesn’t drive a Rolls-Royce Phantom, but insists on driving a Santana till death.

Volkswagen is almost moved to tears.

The Passat and Santana are both Volkswagen models. The Passat produced by SAIC is the B5, which is the fifth-generation Passat. FAW introduced and released the Passat B6 under the name "Magotan."

In fact, the Santana running on the roads is a Passat B2, manufactured by Volkswagen in the 80s, later introduced to China, and also produced in Brazil.

Santana 2000 and Santana 3000 are improved versions of the Santana in China.

Cars count as high-end goods, so the endorsement fee is relatively conservative.

Of course, not all car model endorsement fees are low, like the domestic Mazda 6 Ruiyi hired Michael Phelps at a high price of 20 million.

International sports superstar, the Olympic eight-gold king, he’s worth it!

However, less than a month after signing, just in February this year, the British media exposed Phelps’ "marijuana photo" and Phelps himself honestly admitted it that day, feeling "regretful" about it.

The Ruiyi commercials had already begun airing, so the negative impact was foreseeable.

Mazda really lost badly.

Qi Hao’s two new endorsements, one for 8 million/2 years and the other for 7.5 million/2 years, demonstrate that his commercial value has reached this stage and remained stable.

With these two endorsements, Qi Hao’s financial pressure has finally been alleviated.