Having been in this large mansion located in Mao'er Hutong, Nanluoguxiang, for over half a month, Jiang Yuanchi quickly adapted to her new life.
There was no reason not to adapt.
The work was incredibly simple, primarily cleaning and tidying up. There were seven girls and a five-courtyard mansion. Following a scheduled rotation, they cleaned either a corridor or one courtyard a day, taking only two or three hours. The whole mansion could be cleaned in a weekly cycle.
Not only was the work easy, but the pay was shockingly high.
$1,000 a month.
One thousand U.S. dollars!
And it was paid directly in dollars, meaning they were earning foreign currency.
With the current exchange rate, that equated to 8,300 yuan. Meanwhile, the average annual salary for a worker in Beijing was only around 750 yuan.
That's right, their monthly salary was equivalent to a year's wages.
Therefore, even though they were all outstanding in both appearance and education, none of them felt they were being underutilized. Many people would jump at the chance to be "underutilized" in this way. They had also signed five-year contracts—working for five years would earn them the equivalent of 50 years' salary, enough to retire comfortably.
What's more, the $1,000 monthly salary was just the base pay.
There were other perks that seemed almost magical.
It covered food, clothing, housing, and transportation.
Upon starting, Jiang Yuanchi received a $5,000 relocation fee—the most money she had ever seen in her life.
Then, a large wardrobe of custom-made clothes for all seasons arrived, supposedly handmade and flown in from Italy. They also received a monthly food allowance of $100 and accommodation in a high-rise apartment near Chang'an Street, with a view of most of Beijing. They also had rooms in the mansion and could freely choose between the two.
On top of that, the seven girls shared two luxury cars, though none of them knew how to drive yet, as they were still learning.
But that wasn't all.
There were also weekly beauty treatments.
These took place at an exclusive spa for foreigners in the China World Trade Center, with prices that made their jaws drop.
Moreover, probably aware of how easy their job was and how much free time they had, their employer offered them various training programs—essentially, they could learn whatever they wanted. Jiang Yuanchi had jokingly asked the person handling this, "Could I learn to fly a plane?"
The answer was yes.
Yes...
Okay then.
For now, everyone had chosen to learn how to drive. After all, it would be a waste not to use the two cars provided for them, and Jiang Yuanchi made the same choice.
Lastly, she was allowed to keep her enrollment at Peking University.
It didn't matter if she attended classes or not, as long as she took the exams each semester, she would earn her degree. Jiang Yuanchi figured that if she really wanted it, she probably wouldn't even need to take the exams to get the degree.
After all, this was...
Just thinking about it felt surreal.
One random day, her sister called her to come to this place. Then, Miss Chen had bluntly told her that her sister had made a mistake and that Jiang Yuanchi would have to make up for it. She had two choices: take the job or both sisters would be driven out of the city.
At first, she was terrified, her legs almost giving out beneath her.
What had her sister done?
Jiang Yuanchi was smart. From the moment she stepped into this large mansion for the first time, she knew Miss Chen wasn't bluffing.
They really had that kind of power.
Before she could even react, everything had been arranged for her, leaving her no room for resistance.
The only thing she managed to negotiate for herself was to keep her student status.
Now, more than half a month had passed, and she realized that keeping her enrollment didn't even matter. In these tumultuous times, a degree wasn't worth much.
As Miss Chen had said:
For any person, aside from the fate they were born with, the most important thing was opportunity. Those who managed to secure a job in this mansion had won one of the most precious opportunities in the world.
At first, she didn't believe it.
Until she figured out who she was working for.
Once you had the job, certain things weren't really secret, though everyone around her was tight-lipped, and they had been repeatedly reminded that the most important part of the job was keeping their mouths shut.
However, there were enough clues to piece things together.
Among the seven girls in the mansion, Jiang Yuanchi was the only one who showed a strong curiosity about the situation. After all, being forcibly placed in such a job without any explanation was hard to accept.
So, Jiang Yuanchi quietly began seeking answers.
They had a formal employment contract, but the listed employer was a shell company, revealing no useful information.
Then there was the mansion itself.
A classic five-courtyard siheyuan, complete with a garden the same size as the house. Unlike many of the run-down or overcrowded siheyuans in Nanluoguxiang, this one had been completely rebuilt in the past year. Using the original materials and plans, it had been restored to its former glory, making it even more expensive.
So, what exactly was this place?
There was plenty of information available about that.
Originally, the mansion had been the residence of Wen Yu, a high-ranking official during the reign of Emperor Guangxu in the Qing Dynasty. Wen Yu had held the prestigious position of Grand Scholar of the Wuying Hall, with immense power. Notable figures of equivalent rank included famous names like Nalan Mingzhu, Fuheng, and Zeng Guofan.
After the Qing Dynasty fell, the mansion was home to Feng Guozhang, one of the three major warlords of the Beiyang government.
During the puppet government era, the mansion was taken over by Commander Zhang Lanfeng of the puppet army.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, it briefly served as the North Korean embassy before being used as housing for the families of important government officials.
Two years ago, it changed hands again.
This time, both the five-courtyard mansion and the garden—a total of over 5,000 square meters—were sold. It was even larger than most of the famous historical residences in Nanluoguxiang.
In today's Beijing, very few people could live in such a large private residence.
Mainly because no one could buy one.
Clearly, this private residence had been specially approved by the state.
Who had the power to get such an approval?
Was there really someone who was both incredibly wealthy and had immense political power?
It wasn't until one night, while browsing the internet on the personal computer their mysterious employer had provided, that Jiang Yuanchi came across a rumor on a foreign website. The rumor suggested that a super-rich billionaire, whose wealth had surpassed $1 trillion, might be planning a public visit to China. That's when it hit her.
Simon Westeros!
Before entering university, Jiang Yuanchi had been like a frog in a well, with little knowledge of the outside world.
But during her first year at university, she had heard countless people discussing Simon Westeros.
This 28-year-old had risen to prominence in the past decade. He started in Hollywood, where his first movie, Run Lola Run, grossed over $400 million worldwide. He then founded Daenerys Entertainment, now the most powerful media conglomerate in the U.S., with a market value exceeding $300 billion.
On top of that, the Westeros system had ushered in the internet age.
Even in China, anyone paying attention could see the traces of Simon Westeros everywhere.
The nation's newly emphasized information industry.
The rapidly growing VCD industry that had taken off last year.
The series of blockbuster films that had repeatedly shattered domestic box office records.
And much more.
With a personal net worth of $1 trillion, Simon Westeros was wealthier than China's entire GDP in 1995, which was $730 billion.
He was literally richer than a country.
Once she uncovered the truth, Jiang Yuanchi no longer harbored any resentment about being forced into the job.
She was working for Simon Westeros.
On April 12, when Chen Qing and her team returned to Beijing, she immediately noticed a shift in one of the girls' attitudes. Exhausted from travel, she chose to take a bath first. As the Jiang sisters helped her prepare the bath, she invited them to stay. While soaking in the large marble tub, she reached out to lift Jiang Yuanchi's chin. "Figured it out, have you?"
Jiang Yuanchi, kneeling by the wide marble tub, tilted her chin up with Chen Qing's guidance, offering a playful, flattering smile. "Sister Chen, is it all... true?"
"What?"
"You know... A, B, C, D?"
Chen Qing withdrew her hand and smiled. "Of course it's true. They all started out as personal attendants to Mr. Westeros, just like you. So now you see, landing this job means you've secured a starting point that others couldn't reach in ten lifetimes."
Jiang Yuanchi leaned forward a little, her expression becoming more coquettish as she rested her head on the edge of the tub, her eyes fixed on Chen Qing. "It all seems so surreal, hard to believe."
Her older sister, Jiang Shanwu, also kneeling at the end of the tub, perked up at this, listening intently. She had initially felt guilty about dragging her sister into this situation, but over time, especially after realizing who they were serving, her feelings had completely changed.
Her sister should be thanking her.
The first time Jiang Shan
wu had met Chen Qing and heard her speak those words in French, her reaction had been partly calculated.
She had wanted to attract attention but almost went too far.
Fortunately, things had turned out well.
After all, this was Simon Westeros.
For a man of his stature, helping her go abroad would be easy.
Ever since she was young, Jiang Shanwu had dreamed of leaving the country, influenced by various experiences around her.
That's why she had applied to Xi'an International Studies University.
Initially, she had taken this job as a step toward going abroad. The recruitment materials listed the employer as a foreign company, and at the time, working for a foreign firm was one of the main ways to leave China.
Never in her wildest dreams did she expect to be serving Simon Westeros.
At this point, even going abroad seemed unnecessary.
Her current lifestyle was already on par with those of foreigners.
Thinking of her sister's mention of the A, B, C, and D girls—each worth billions of dollars—Jiang Shanwu was stunned. Even though their wealth was nowhere near Simon Westeros's level, it was still mind-boggling.
They were personal attendants, just like the two of them... even 10 billion yuan would be enough.
Even 1 billion would be plenty.
Chen Qing noticed the spark in the sisters' eyes and felt a sense of kinship.
Heh.
They were the same.
These sisters appeared delicate and beautiful on the outside, but deep down, they weren't much different from her.
In the past, Chen Qing might have tried to suppress them after making such a realization. But now, she no longer felt the need.
The stage around Simon was big enough.
Since they were alike—smart and with similar ambitions—and since Chen Qing's status was firmly above theirs, she could use them. Calculating briefly, she suddenly felt a pang of longing for her boss. Glancing at the two sisters, she lifted her chin slightly. "Get in and join me."
…
While Chen Qing was in Beijing making final preparations for Simon's visit to China, in the U.S., the two-week North American Easter release window came to a close on April 11.
The most attention-grabbing film was still Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.
The movie grossed $8.87 million and $9.41 million during the two-week Easter period, with the second week seeing a small 6% drop. After 16 weeks in theaters, the film's total box office had smoothly surpassed $650 million, reaching $650.53 million.
At this point, breaking the $700 million domestic box office milestone was virtually guaranteed.
Overseas, Batman v Superman had already shown its phenomenon-level popularity. Combined with the Oscar spotlight, its cumulative international box office had surpassed $960 million in the latest report, with only a small gap remaining before the $1 billion mark. Industry insiders expected the film's international total to reach around $1.2 billion.
With $700 million from North America and $1.2 billion overseas, the global box office for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice would eventually reach $1.9 billion.
In 1995, the global box office revenue for all films worldwide was $17.6 billion, and 1996 was projected to be around $18 to $19 billion.
Now, just Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice accounted for 10% of global box office revenue, highlighting the overwhelming strength of the DC Cinematic Universe.
The film's extraordinary success could be attributed to many factors, including over half a century of worldwide DC superhero comic fandom, seven years of sustained buildup for the DC Cinematic Universe, and the film's overall quality.
However, a global total of $1.9 billion exceeded everyone's expectations.
Many initially thought that only a future superhero ensemble film like Justice League could surpass Batman v Superman's box office record. But as the numbers continued to rise, more people began to believe that even Justice League might not be able to achieve such astonishing results.
As for other types of films, matching the success of Batman v Superman seemed even more impossible.
That said, Batman v Superman was already in the later stages of its release, so it didn't significantly impact new films released during the Easter window. In fact, the success of Rush Hour during Valentine's Day may have been partly due to Batman v Superman stimulating the movie market.
While Batman v Superman invigorated the market, it didn't overshadow other films. As a result, Danerys Entertainment's two Easter releases, Ace Ventura: When Nature Calls and The Haunting in Connecticut 2, both achieved the expected box office success.
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