Chapter 70: Chapter 70 Romantic Stars
Elena glanced at Martin, "Tough day at work?"
Martin pulled out some cash and placed it on the counter, "All action scenes, lucky for me I have good stamina, made it through the whole shoot."
Compared to him, Jenna was far behind, she fell asleep in the makeup room without even taking her makeup off.
Amidst the soft and soothing music, the owner Mary came over and tried to return the money to Martin, "It's on the house."
Martin didn't want to make it difficult for Elena, "Mary, if you don't take the money, how can I come back for drinks?"
Mary smiled and took the money.
Martin felt much more relaxed after drinking the cocktail Elena had mixed.
With not many patrons in the bar in the late afternoon, Elena took out a sheet of paper and started folding a paper airplane.
There was a large paper airplane advertisement behind the bar.
Martin gestured with his eyes, "Is it popular?"
Elena intentionally changed her usual way of speaking, forcefully abstaining from cursing, "A lot of people come here after hearing about it. The Paper Airplane has become really famous in the past few weeks. A few bartenders from New York even came all the way from Manhattan to exchange experiences with me. Actually, I can tell they want to buy the recipe."
Martin remained nonchalant, "You decide on the specifics."
Elena poured Martin another whiskey, "Drink slowly."
Martin nodded and seeing someone coming for a cocktail, he took his drink to a quiet corner, put in his earphones, and started the recorder, routinely practicing his Hollywood accent.
He had just finished his drink when Lily, wearing a T-shirt and capris, came over from the other side of the bar.
Martin took off his earphones and gestured to the seat opposite, "Sit."
Lily put her backpack on the table, pulled out a water bottle, and began drinking from the straw.
Martin said, "Put that away."
Lily reluctantly put it away and asked curiously, "How's the shooting going?"
Martin vaguely replied, "Not bad, all action scenes, pretty easy."
Lily asked, "Action scenes?"
Martin put it simply, "It's a horror-action comedy, the vampire-zombie kind, lots of fighting scenes. It's exhausting to shoot."
Lily played it cool, "Not hard for you, right? Aren't you the one who boasts about being the most talented in Atlanta? The most talented..."
Martin pointed at her, "Enough, shut up."
Lily asked, "Can I come watch you shoot?"
Martin didn't want to talk, "If Elena agrees."
Lily muttered discontentedly, "Doesn't a sister have any rights?"
Martin put his earphones back in, completely ignoring her.
Lily flipped through a newspaper she took out of her bag, searching the information section for part-time jobs suitable for someone over 14.
She was well aware of the family situation.
Before dinner, Martin went to a nearby fast food restaurant to get some burgers and fried chicken, and dragged Lily back to Clayton Community.
Not much later, Harris came back with a pizza too.
Holle munched on a burger and said while eating, "I dug a few more holes by the fence and stuck some branches in them. If anyone breaks their arm, don't blame me."
Lily scolded, "Apart from digging holes all over the yard, what else can you do?"
"Both of you shut up." Martin, taking a page from Elena's book, quelled them with authority and asked Harris, "Did you ask about the things I mentioned?"
Hollowing down his pizza, Harris replied, "Setting up an astronomy association is pretty simple. If you're willing to spend a little money and get a professional company to handle it, there's a hundred percent no problem."
Martin asked, "What about school and student loans?"
"I've received an offer from Georgia University," Harris said briefly. "The student loan application is very likely to be approved, and I'm working hard to earn living expenses and other fees."
Martin had an idea before, whether it could succeed was uncertain as he had only heard about it, "I've got a wicked idea. If it works out, it should be better than juggling part-time jobs while studying."
Lily chimed in at the right moment, "Having Harris work as a laborer on a film set?"
Before Martin could turn his gaze toward her, she stuffed a burger into her mouth and kept her ears perked up.
Martin said, "When setting up the astronomy association, come up with a catchy name. Sell stars in the name of the astronomy association."
Harris looked out the window. The sky had just darkened, and no stars were visible.
How do you sell something in the sky? But he quickly caught on: "Naming rights?"
Martin took a sip of water, "Right, sell the naming rights."
"We don't have the naming rights," Harris pointed out.
"I've specifically consulted a lawyer. The Federal and Georgia governments haven't established laws and regulations regarding the naming rights of stars." Martin, who had only heard theories in his past life without seeing anyone actually do it, said roughly, "When love comes, it's always particularly romantic. A boy always tries his best to win a girl's favor.
What if he bought her a star and named it after her? Would romantic girls accept it?"
Eager to get a word in, Lily spat out her burger, "They would! Those lovesick girls would go crazy. They love romance the most. With such gifts, they'd laugh themselves to sleep and definitely show off everywhere."
Harris gradually understood, "Different astronomy associations have different names for newly discovered stars."
Thinking of diamonds, Martin said, "Lovers gift a star to symbolize their love, enduring like a star."
Adoration filled Lily's eyes as she looked at Martin, "How did you come up with such a brilliant idea?"
Martin was feeling a bit smug when Lily's next comment made him want to punch someone, "Martin, I've noticed your IQ has gone up since you fell off the roof. Can a knock to the head actually boost intelligence?"
Inspired by Martin, Harris kept pondering and began to have his own ideas, "It's not just a simple naming. It needs a series of professional certificates, a relevant star chart that allows customers to locate their star through a telescope, and a fancy packaging box."
He remarked, "We can't touch the stars in the sky, but this could be very significant as a keepsake."
Lily muttered, "It's like making money from thin air."
Martin shook his head, "It's not that simple, although I don't understand the specifics."
"Indeed," Lily said with hard truth, "You dropped out of high school..."
Martin's fist was already poised.
Lily quickly changed her tune, "You're best at swindling and deceiving."
Turning to Harris, Martin said, "You're the top student. I can only supply the idea, it's up to you to make it work."
Lily declared, "Count me in, I'm confident that I can get every lovesick girl in Marietta to buy one."
Harris stopped eating and pulled out some materials from the cabinet next to him and went to his room, "I need to study this carefully; don't disturb me."
Before he entered the room, he turned back, "Martin, if the business takes off, half the profits belong to you."
Martin waved his hand dismissively, "Don't expect to sell too many."
He estimated that earning a bit for living expenses wouldn't be a problem.