Traveling back to 1977

Chapter 908 Fighting for Tickets
The Hundred Flowers Awards ceremony will be held on May 23.

It's tentative, since the vote count isn't finished yet. But if nothing unexpected happens, it should be around this time.

Chen Fan only needs to go there three or four days in advance, attend the awards ceremony, and then he can leave.

He didn't think much of it when he was first recruited, but now that Old Xia has conscripted him, he suddenly feels something is amiss.

The Writers Association, the Film Association, the Music Association, and the Fine Arts Association—if they ask me to participate in everything in the future, I'll be swamped.

I used to think that having a few more halos around my head was impressive, but I never thought of this.

That was a miscalculation.

Well, I'll probably postpone it whenever possible in the future.

However, if the other side were to deploy a "heavy weapon" like Elder Xia, how would I deal with it?

Chen Fan suddenly felt a bit of empathy for those big shots from later generations. When he watched their interviews, they were all complaining about being busy and tired. Even some of them who had retired were inevitably dragged into some activities. Now it seemed that they were indeed unable to refuse due to social obligations and had no choice in the matter.

……

The next morning, Chen Fan got up as usual, ate breakfast, and then drove to work.

Despite being firmly rejected last night, Ma Jiajia was still unwilling to give up. Sitting in the passenger seat, she muttered to herself, "Young Master, it's just recording one piece of music, why are you not willing? Let me tell you, piano music has a wide audience in the world, and many of them are rich people. How can you buy a record player, buy records, and appreciate music if you don't have money, right?"

The film and television city project we're working on now, and the Yunhu Tourism Company you're in charge of, aren't they both aimed at attracting wealthy overseas tourists to visit here?

"Then record a CD! Record the piece you played last night. Given the popularity of 'Ballade pour Adeline' in the music world, your arrangement will definitely be a hit, and it will surely attract many music lovers to come and visit."

Chen Fan gripped the steering wheel and, taking advantage of her moment of catching her breath, asked softly, "Even if I release a CD and gain a group of music fans, or people interested in this song, OK, let me ask you a question."

Have a show?

Ma Jiajia's eyes flickered slightly, and she immediately sat up straight, turning to look at him sideways. "Ask away."

Chen Fan glanced at her. "Do you have more music fans or more book fans?"

Ma Jiajia's eyes widened instantly, and she gasped, but her eyes were full of surprise. "Young Master, are you going to reveal your identity as the author of 'Legend of the Dragon Knight'?"

In an instant, she was so happy that she danced with joy, even reaching for the car door handle, "I want to tell Madam..."

The next second, Chen Fan poured cold water on her, "What are you suing for? I'm telling you, if you want to become famous, all you need is an announcement. Why bother recording and releasing piano pieces?"

Ma Jiajia's face instantly fell, and she slumped weakly against the back of her chair, her expression desolate and pitiful. She said listlessly, "Heaven is unjust! I said goodbye to my husband and daughter, and traveled thousands of miles to come here to expand the business of the master, the young lady, and the young master's cousin. I never imagined that all my enthusiasm would ultimately be no match for the boss's indifference..."

Chen Fan sighed, interrupting her, and said, "Ye Yufeng said you are the most outstanding among the younger generation, but why do I feel that you are just as unreliable as Ya Li?"

Ma Jiajia's face darkened, and she turned to look at Chen Fan, saying in a deep voice, "Young Master, you can question my abilities, but you can't make personal attacks. I haven't offended you!"

Chen Fan's lips twitched slightly. At this moment, he deeply suspected that Zhou Yali had grown up with him. When she didn't speak, she always had the air of a strong career woman, but as soon as she opened her mouth, her silly and silly temperament would immediately come over him, and he couldn't stop it.

Come to think of it, Ye Yufeng seems to have a bit of that too?
So all the women in the Zhou family are like this?
At that moment, Chen Fan felt as if he had discovered the key point.

Ma Jiajia seemed to realize that her current posture was a bit inappropriate. She immediately adjusted her posture, reverting to the appearance of an elite Chinese in the eyes of outsiders, and said seriously, "But young master, the dormitory area and guesthouse of the film and television city are about to be completed. The first phase of the project is about to begin. If all goes well, it can be put into use by the end of this year."

Publicity takes time and must precede the project, at least not too far behind. I've submitted three proposals, all of which you rejected. Could you tell me what the next step should be, and put my mind at ease?

Chen Fan smiled and said, "I already said I'm going to make a promotional video about the Yangtze River. Well, you could also say it's a documentary packaged as a promotional video, but now isn't the most suitable time. When the time is right, I'll naturally get started on it."

Ma Jiajia frowned slightly, "But in my opinion, the timing you mentioned is nothing more than trying to use the broadcast of 'Silk Road' in the small book and the social reaction it caused as an example to persuade the leaders of the Tourism Administration and the province."

Since you're so confident, why don't we cover the costs and start filming first? Wouldn't that save a lot of time?

Chen Fan pursed his lips. "The problem is I don't have time right now. I have to film a movie, and I also need to find time to take care of other things in between. Are you trying to kill me with work?"

Actually, he just didn't want to spend his own money.

Otherwise, the film can be postponed, and the data collection and organization can be done in advance.

Besides, developing Yunhu or developing tourism are not things that can be accomplished overnight. Whether it's a few months earlier or later, it won't have much of an impact.

Let's just take it one step at a time and proceed slowly.

In life and in work, we should give ourselves some space. We can't push ourselves too hard, because if we push ourselves too hard, we won't feel free or comfortable.

But Ma Jiajia is an impatient person. Upon hearing Chen Fan's words, she immediately said without hesitation, "Then reduce your workload, discard the unimportant details, and avoid going to places you don't need to go to."

Chen Fan said quietly, "The person who called me last night was..."

After hearing a string of names, Ma Jiajia promptly backed down, saying, "Never mind what I said."

At the same time, he looked at Chen Fan with great curiosity, thinking to himself, "Young Master is quite something. He actually managed to get to know such a big shot. If this were in America, he would probably be considered to have reached the top of society."

However, if the young master were to reveal his identity as the author of "Legend of the Dragon Knight," he could immediately enter the upper class of Western countries and be not far from the top.

After a brief silence, Chen Fan glanced at her and said, "I already have a detailed plan for the future development and expansion of the film and television city. However, if I say some things in advance, you will have questions, so it's better not to say them."

Your current task is to focus on the construction of the film studio. When the time is right, there will be plenty of work to do later; just don't complain about being overworked then.

Ma Jiajia immediately smiled and said, "You can rest assured about that. We are never afraid of being tired at work. What we are afraid of is having no direction and having no meaning in our work."

Chen Fan smiled, turned to look at her, and suddenly changed the subject, asking, "Have you talked to anyone else since you came here?" Ma Jiajia frowned slightly and said helplessly, "Of course I have, and I was the one who took the initiative, but the results weren't very good."

Chen Fan raised an eyebrow slightly. "What do you mean?"

Ma Jiajia shrugged. "When they look at me, it's like they're looking at some kind of weirdo, something is definitely not normal."

Chen Fan couldn't help but burst into laughter, "You should be glad you're Chinese. If you were white or black, it would be even worse. Half the people on the street would be following you. If you were even slightly shy, you wouldn't be able to go out on the street."

Ma Jiajia's eyes widened. "No way?"

Chen Fan laughed and said, "Why would I lie to you? You'll see when white tourists come over."

Ma Jiajia frowned immediately and said in a low voice, "If that's the case, shouldn't we make some safety contingency plans?"

Chen Fan smiled and said, "We will make contingency plans, but you don't need to worry too much. Everyone is just curious and has no bad intentions. Even if some people are wicked, they wouldn't dare to mess with foreigners easily, so there's no need to be too nervous."

After a two-second pause, he added, "But you're not quite there yet. You need to integrate into the local community as soon as possible."

Ma Jiajia nodded, looking somewhat troubled. "I understand that too. If we can't integrate into the local community, it will be very detrimental to management. But I can't find any topics to talk about with them. Every time I try to talk about something other than work, it feels like we're talking at cross purposes, completely on different wavelengths."

For example, I like music, so I introduce them to the pieces I enjoy. But when we talk about music, they say I listen to decadent music, that it has no spiritual power and only corrupts the mind. I don't know what to say.

Chen Fan frowned and thought for a moment, then said, "Is that how it is?"

Speaking of which, the current perception of music in China is in a contradictory period. Many people secretly listen to Hong Kong and Taiwan music, but in public, they are ashamed to admit it and never say that they like this kind of music. Instead, they firmly express their criticism.

The further down you go, the more this becomes true.

Not to mention that Ma Jiajia came from the United States, which undoubtedly deepened the gap between them.

They were only criticizing the music, which is already quite good; it's good that they didn't even try it.

Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he asked, "Do you like watching movies?"

Ma Jiajia nodded gently, "I like watching it."

The next second, she realized, "You want me to talk to them about movies? That's a good topic. When I met Yufeng last time, she mentioned that some domestic movies are quite interesting, but unfortunately I haven't had time to watch them."

She paused for a moment, then laughed and said, "I did manage to watch your movie 'Monk Comes Down the Mountain' when I had some free time. It was quite interesting. It's very different from the domestic films I'm used to, and it's not like the Hong Kong and Taiwan films I've seen before either. Anyway, it just gives me a feeling I can't quite describe."

Chen Fan chuckled. "My film is a culmination of the best of Hong Kong films from the golden age of the 90s and Hollywood blockbusters from the new century. Except for the lack of Hollywood's industrialized production, its plot structure almost entirely follows the principles of commercial blockbusters."

Every few minutes, there must be a satisfying moment, a funny moment, or a tearful moment. The arrangement of these moments strictly follows the core principles of a compact structure, clear conflict, and efficient pacing, making it anything but ordinary.

However, there was no need for him to explain, since Ma Jiajia wasn't in the film industry, and it wouldn't make a difference to tell her.

He then changed the subject, saying, "I heard that there's a Hundred Flowers Awards for film being held recently. Have you heard about it?"

Ma Jiajia nodded immediately, "Yes, I've actually heard about this. It seems like a lot of people are discussing it, but I haven't seen any of the movies they're talking about, so I can't join in the conversation and don't know much about it."

After she finished speaking, she looked at Chen Fan curiously and asked, "Young Master, did you vote too?"

Chen Fan immediately shook his head and said, "Why would I vote? I've been so busy running around lately that I didn't even know about this. I only found out yesterday when Old Xia told me."

He paused for a moment, then added, "What I mean is that you can start with these trending topics and connect with everyone."

Ma Jiajia said with a bitter face, "I know, but I really don't understand."

Chen Fan said with a smile, "Sometimes you don't need to understand, you just need to listen."

Ma Jiajia frowned slightly, pondered for a moment, and then suddenly realized, "Anyway, my purpose isn't the movie, so what we talk about isn't important. What's important is whether I can connect with them on a conversation!"

Chen Fan nodded slightly, "That makes sense."

Ma Jiajia laughed and said, "Okay, when we get to the film studio, you film your movie, and I'll go find someone to talk to about the Hundred Flowers Awards."

Chen Fan nodded, then suddenly said, "Hey, the office building and guesthouse at the film studio are almost finished. You should move in then, right?"

Ma Jiajia immediately shook her head, "No, young master. When she came over, the young lady repeatedly told me to make sure you were well assisted. If I move there, how can I help with the work?"

She said nice things, but in her heart she was thinking that she had heard the young lady say many times that the young master's cooking skills were unparalleled and that the dishes he made were incredibly delicious. Later, when she met Ye Yufeng at Yunhu, she said the same thing.

I initially thought they were exaggerating, but after eating there, I realized that the young lady and Ye Yufeng's vocabulary was a bit limited, and their descriptions of the young master's cooking skills were insufficient.

Although the young master doesn't cook often, as long as you stay at his house, you're sure to have a chance to freeload. If you move out, will you still get to enjoy such delicious food?

Anyway, I'm already over forty, and there's such a big age gap between me and the young master. I don't need to avoid suspicion. I can get a free meal by my own merit, so what?!

Chen Fan had no idea what she was thinking. Seeing that she was unyielding and that living at home wouldn't affect him much, he stopped talking.

Before long, the car arrived at Zengjiabu.

At this time, Kuang Mingyi had already organized the crew to begin preparations for filming. When he saw Chen Fan coming over, he didn't even have time to greet him, he just waved his hand.

Yang Zhenlong and the others gathered on the other side, chattering amongst themselves, some even blushing, and it was unclear what they were arguing about.
Chen Fan beckoned Bian Huifang over and asked, "What are you talking about? It sounds so intense."

Bian Huifang glanced over there, her face full of smiles. "They're fighting for votes for their favorite movies. Popular Cinema has too few votes; the entire Jiangxi Film Studio only has four. They're almost fighting over them."

(End of this chapter)