Ten million.
More precisely, ten million dollars. Once the figure was announced, it unexpectedly caused another sensation, much as Lin Sen had predicted.
Was there any film with a higher box office than Feast?
Yes.
But almost all of them had been rereleased many times, with their earnings gradually accumulated over a long period. Moreover, statistical methods had been less reliable in the past, so it was hard to say whether there had been any shady manipulation involved.
There was another point.
Everyone knew the film had been released worldwide and was wildly popular, but it was only when this figure appeared that Americans truly grasped the reality of it.
What statistics? What “everyone around me is watching it”? What rankings?
None of that compared to one thing—
Cold, hard cash.
“Ten million… If it isn’t fabricated, then she really has made a fortune,” someone said reluctantly at a private gathering held in secret.
“Fabricated? I don’t think so. I had people watch the situation closely. But I don’t understand why this film hasn’t encountered a single serious setback anywhere else.”
“She just got lucky.”
The bitterness in that remark was almost overflowing.
Who could blame them for being bitter?
They were all top figures in their respective fields, but ten million was still an enormous sum—especially when Su Ning had earned it so effortlessly from a single film.
Now compare that to them.
In order to get back at her, they had invested, to varying degrees, in other movies.
And then Feast had come along…
Forget making money. The fact that they had not lost everything already counted as proof that they had good judgment and had invested in films with solid quality.
The contrast was simply too brutal.
To them, losing money was secondary. What truly mattered was the humiliation—especially for those who had publicly predicted the film’s failure. Now that Feast was a worldwide sensation, they could only feel their faces burning.
“The key is still the color-film technology. If she hadn’t chosen Chinese actors as the leads, the box office might have been even higher.”
That was what they said.
But the truth was that one of the reasons Feast had become such a hit was that it showcased the splendor of ancient China. Not choosing Chinese actors would have been the real mistake.
Oh, and what role did actors like James play?
They were there to gape in astonishment, question everything they saw, and ask the questions the plot would then explain—stepping-stone characters who allowed the audience to identify with them at times and laugh at them at others.
Everyone in the room was a major figure.
Still, some were willing to face reality. After refuting that argument, one of them hit the nail on the head:
“In fact, apart from our country, China contributed the most to the box office.”
Everyone knew that China had a huge population, but was desperately poor. The country was even still embroiled in war…
And yet it had somehow contributed so much to the film’s box office.
The room fell silent.
After a long while, someone murmured, “I think I may understand why she insisted on making the film this way. She did it for her country. She has lofty ideals, and her country did not let her down.”
That was why so many people had gone to see Feast of their own accord.
It was a two-way act of devotion!
A beautiful picture, but the truth was a little different…
The all-Chinese production team had indeed inspired people both at home and abroad, and wealthy Chinese people everywhere had gone to watch Feast. But the most crucial factor was that the Nanjing government had issued a firm order from the top down, instructing its subordinates to see the movie.
Various other factions, large and small, had followed suit.
The reason, naturally, was penicillin.
Several months had passed.
On the surface, public interest in penicillin had faded. In reality, that was not the case at all.
The factory buildings, workers, raw materials, and everything else required for the preliminary preparations were now in place. Production of penicillin would begin soon.
At this critical juncture, everyone had already been racking their brains trying to curry favor with Su Ning. Now, an opportunity had practically been delivered to their doorsteps.
And they did not even have to pay for it…
As for the viewers, they were not losing out either. No matter how expensive the tickets were, they still cost only so much. Besides, Feast really was a good movie—well worth the price.
The government and the others managed to show their goodwill, the viewers got to enjoy a good film, and Su Ning received the box-office earnings.
What was that?
That was a three-way win!
……
However.
To their disappointment, Su Ning had no mind to pay attention to any of this.
“You’re saying we’ve found a lead on the Huo family's missing biological son?”
“That’s right.”
Assistant Lin remained calm and spoke in an orderly manner. “It was a tangled mess at first, but someone at the shipping company recognized the face of one of the people who abducted the child. He was an old sailor. We followed that lead and made progress very quickly. We can confirm that the Huo family's young master did not die at the scene. He survived and eventually ended up somewhere around Beiping or Tianjin. Now it’s just a matter of patiently tracking him down. As long as he’s still alive, we’ll definitely find him!”
His voice was not loud, but it carried tremendous confidence.
In Beiping, as Su Ning’s assistant, he dared to make such a promise—and he had the ability to fulfill it.
Su Ning nodded.
Then she poked at the System, reproachfully. “Look at him, then look at you. I had the highest hopes for you in this matter. Now Lin Sen is practically on the verge of finding the person. Aren’t you, as a System, ashamed of yourself?”
System: …
What did it have to be ashamed of?
It was not even human.
To be honest, when Su Ning had ordered people to search for the child, she had merely been using it as a cover for the System. So this was truly unexpected—completely unexpected.
She looked at the materials Lin Sen had handed over.
They were very detailed.
There was even a photograph. In one corner, one of the kidnappers was impatiently holding the hand of a very young child. The child looked not even two years old, yet was struggling to keep up with the adult’s stride.
The main subject of the photograph was the sea.
As a result, the kidnapper’s face was mostly visible, which was why someone had recognized him.
The child, however, showed only a small portion of his profile.
Too much time had passed.
On top of that, the photograph had been poorly preserved. It was yellowed and mottled, leaving the child’s face even more blurred.
Lin Sen said, “We’ve already arranged for someone to restore the photograph as quickly as possible.”
Once they had a clear image, finding the Huo family's young master would become much easier.
Su Ning knew that too.
So she shoved the photograph in front of the System and deliberately provoked it. “Forget it. I don’t expect anything from you anymore. But you can’t possibly be slower than Lin Sen at restoring a photograph, can you?”
The System did not want to admit it.
But it had taken the bait.
“Just wait and see.”
After saying that, it vanished in a flurry. Perhaps its dignity was on the line, because less than half a day later, Su Ning saw the results.
“See? I restored all of this bit by bit myself. It’s a completely high-definition photograph. And this one is a frontal image of the child. Most importantly, look at this one—the System used facial data from his parents and grandfather to screen, combine, and simulate what he would have looked like as he grew up!”
The System’s voice grew more and more excited.
Clap, clap, clap, clap, clap.
Su Ning applauded.
She did not hold back with her praise. “Amazing. Truly amazing. As expected of the System.”
The System gave a smug hum.
It had known that if it did not show off a little, its host would really mistake it for a useless piece of junk. Lin Sen? How could he compare to it? With the slightest effort, it could crush him so thoroughly that he would not even know which way was up. Now its host should understand who the truly capable subordinate was…
Wait.
It was not Su Ning’s subordinate.
Why was it comparing itself to him?
It had actually gone and given itself more work for no reason.
Regardless of the System’s ensuing identity crisis, Su Ning cheerfully handed the photographs over to Lin Sen.
The search proceeded with unexpected smoothness.
“Wait a minute. You’re saying you know this person?”
