A widower's entertainment

Chapter 447 [Explosive Popularity] (Please Subscribe)
"Did you see? Xian'er was really ruined by that Fifth Master Chen! I'm so angry!"

"I'm so angry!"

"Watching that episode was really painful!"

"That's right, I really didn't expect Xian'er to encounter something like that, sigh!"

"That damn bully!"

……

Just like the popular TV series "Crossing the Guandong", the neighbors were all discussing the show. The plot was really exciting. However, there was no doubt that when Xian'er did such a thing, it made the audience in front of the TV angry and heartbroken. This was also the real feeling of the people who were immersed in watching the show in 1994. Naturally, they would also scold the characters in the TV series.

But this immersive viewing experience is undoubtedly due to the brilliance of the drama "Crossing the Guandong," both in terms of plot and the actors' performances.

The performances of the young actors, especially He Bing who plays Zhu Chuanwen, Yu Feihong who plays Xian'er, and Chen Jianbin who plays Zhu Chuanwu, are all quite good. Not to mention the veteran actors Lü Xiaohe and Siqin Gaowa, the show has truly captivated audiences, who are following the plot of each episode. It's safe to say that viewers are completely engrossed, and the show's ratings have skyrocketed.

As the TV series unfolds, Xian'er collapses from hunger and cold in the mountain village, where she is rescued by Hongtoujin. Despite the strong opposition from the village chief, the one-armed man, Hongtoujin keeps Xian'er. Meanwhile, Zhu Kaishan, who was searching for gold, and Chuanwu and Zhu Chuanwen return home, finally reuniting the Zhu family. It is after this that the Xinhai Revolution breaks out. Nawen, a princess of the royal family, flees with her maid Xian'er to seek refuge with her uncle due to her family's decline. Unexpectedly, their travel expenses are stolen by the servant Laifu. The Zhu family has become a wealthy household in Fangniugou, Yuanbao Town. Han Xiuer, the daughter of Han Laohai, another wealthy family in Fangniugou, is infatuated with Chuanwu. Nawen and Xian'er continue their escape.

It was at this time that society underwent tremendous changes. "Civilized Opera" was performed in the countryside, and many men rushed onto the stage to cut off their queues, which they had previously considered essential. Around this time, Han Laohai proposed a marriage between Ming Xiuer and Zhu Chuanwu to Zhu Kaishan, but Chuanwu vehemently refused. Also around this time, Na Wen's uncle wanted to marry her off to Zhu Chuanwen. However, Chuanwen still couldn't forget his long-lost daughter, Xian'er. Na Wen came to the Zhu family for a matchmaking meeting. At their first meeting, Chuanwen and Na Wen got along quite well, and their parents discussed many details of the marriage.

When Xian'er learned that the man she went on the blind date with was Zhu Chuanwen, she was devastated, heartbroken. On the wedding day, Zhu Chuanwu accidentally discovered Xian'er, who had come along, and pulled her onto the wedding stage. The entire Zhu family was stunned...

Without a doubt, the continuous plot is really quite exciting and increasingly thrilling.

Every episode that followed was quite exciting, and the viewership ratings soared, approaching 50%, which is quite remarkable.

Numerous media outlets across the country are enthusiastically discussing the TV series "Crossing the Guandong." Although the series is still airing, viewers nationwide are already debating the characters, each vividly portrayed. Discussions abound about Xian'er's unwavering faith in fate and her yearning for a home, yet her constant struggles against her goals—a truly remarkable feat in that chaotic era. Similarly, there's the portrayal of Xiu'er as a more ordinary woman, innocent and kind, giving her all for Chuanwu, yet also tragically as Chuanwu doesn't love her. Meanwhile, Wen ends up with Chuanwu by a twist of fate…

The plot unfolds even more excitingly and thrillingly from here on out.

The most talked-about TV series in Beijing is "Crossing the Guandong", without a doubt. This naturally allowed the audience to truly see the new actors, including Chen Jianbin.

Tao Hong, for example, was just a freshman at the Yenching Academy of Drama, and she was already incredibly popular. Her previous film, "In the Heat of the Sun," recently garnered a lot of attention at the Venice Film Festival, where Xia Yu, an 18-year-old newcomer, won the Best Actor award. Since the film hasn't been released in mainland China yet, her classmates haven't seen it and don't know how Tao Hong's role was. But her current role as Xiu'er in the popular drama "Crossing the Guandong" is truly the envy of many of her classmates.

Even though Tao Hong's character, Xiu'er, isn't the female lead, she still has a significant amount of screen time. And the show is incredibly popular right now, which naturally makes her classmates genuinely envious of their class monitor.

"Squad leader, you acted so well in 'Crossing the Guandong'!"

Duan Long looked at Tao Hong, and he genuinely felt that Tao Hong's portrayal of Xiu'er was excellent.

Tao Hong smiled when she heard Duan Long's words. She had heard this kind of thing too many times recently. Many of her classmates envied her for being able to work with Lin Youcheng in the TV series "Crossing the Guandong". She knew that Duan Long was speaking from the heart and said, "Thank you."

Duan Long knew that his class monitor had always taken good care of him, a classmate from out of town. He had taken the entrance exam several times before being admitted to the Performance Department of Yanjing Drama Academy. In this big city's art college, he felt quite inferior. Of course, he also envied Tao Hong for being able to work with Lin Youcheng. However, he was genuinely happy for Tao Hong, now that the drama "Crossing the Guandong" was so popular.

“The teachers all say that we can’t take on acting roles during our freshman and sophomore years, but you’re doing it even earlier, so there’s nothing the teachers can do.” Tao Hong smiled and nodded when she heard Duan Long’s words, saying, “You’re right. This was a movie I filmed before I entered school. If they asked me to act in it now, I don’t know if the school would let me go.”

Upon hearing Tao Hong's words, Duan Long quickly replied, "It's definitely possible, after all, it's a drama written by Lin Youcheng."

Even though Duan Long had only just started learning about acting, he had previously applied to the Beijing Academy of Drama and had read Lin Youcheng's novels. He was well aware of Lin Youcheng's status as a writer and screenwriter in the film industry. After all, Lin Youcheng was a screenwriter who had won Oscars abroad. His TV scripts were considered excellent plays by teachers, and even schools would not prevent students from acting in Lin Youcheng's plays.

As for himself, he also hopes that he will have the opportunity to play the roles written by Lin Youcheng in the future.

Tao Hong nodded, her face full of smiles. She agreed. After all, it was Lin Youcheng's script, and the school wouldn't stop students from taking on Lin Youcheng's scripts just because they were still freshmen and sophomores. In fact, the school's rule against lower-year students in the acting department not taking on roles meant that they shouldn't just take on ordinary roles. If a big director like Zhang Guoshi or Chen Aige were casting and selected a lower-year student in the acting department, how could the school possibly refuse to let them go?

Tao Hong feels incredibly lucky. She starred in "In the Heat of the Sun" and now she's in "Crossing the Guandong," which makes her feel extremely fortunate. Especially now that "Crossing the Guandong" is so popular, she can really feel how well it's received. After all, even her homeroom teacher praised her performance in the show.

Duan Long added, "I wish I could act in Lin Youcheng's dramas in the future!"

Upon hearing Duan Long's words, Tao Hong naturally encouraged him, saying, "Duan Long, you'll definitely have opportunities in the future. I think you're quite suitable to play Zhu Chuanwu."

Duan Long smiled when he heard Tao Hong's words. He didn't pay much attention to it. Of course, he also had such expectations, but he knew that such an opportunity was too slim. Right now, the most important thing for him was to study acting diligently. As for acting in Lin Youcheng's play, it was too far away for him.

Just like the discussion between Tao Hong and Duan Long, the TV script written by Lin Youcheng, an Oscar-level screenwriter, was already highly anticipated. Now that the TV series has been broadcast, it has truly allowed industry insiders to see the solidity and depth of Lin Youcheng's script.

Obviously, while the actors and director are very important to the TV series "Crossing the Guandong", the most important thing is the script. After all, TV series are, to some extent, the art of screenwriting. The current popularity of this TV series is naturally inseparable from the wonderful script.

After that, as the series continued to air, the ratings kept rising. It was truly a phenomenon where everyone was glued to their screens, discussing the plot and every character, even the supporting roles. People praised screenwriter Lin Youcheng for his excellent character portrayal and storytelling.

The characters in each subplot are exceptionally well-developed: the gold prospectors in Laojingou, the lumberjacks in the mountains, the raftmen in the water, and the porters in the icy wilderness. These people struggle to survive in harsh environments, fighting against nature and the elements, without ever complaining. They simply pray that their hard work will yield a reward, that they can earn money with their sweat and send it back to their families in Shandong so that they can live peacefully. Even in their final moments, their graves are oriented towards their hometown, gazing upon their distant homeland. This is the most important reason why this drama is so moving to its audience.

A commentary in the *Yanjing Daily* reads: "In a scene from *Crossing the Guandong*, when Grandpa Zhang Duo realizes he's about to die, he runs to his godson Zhu Chuanjie and asks him to come to his house that night. He seems dazed, saying he wants to buy him new clothes. Reading this, I felt a pang in my heart; it probably wasn't a good sign. When Chuanjie arrives as promised, the unsuspecting boy is overjoyed to see the delicious food. Grandpa Zhang Duo tells him about his life, revealing his real name is Zhang Deben, and that his life has lived up to that name—Deben! The following words are increasingly heartbreaking and painful, but Chuanjie is still unaware that his godfather is about to pass away. Grandpa Zhang Duo repeatedly instructs Chuanjie to be home first thing the next morning. Reading this, I suddenly felt breathless and couldn't bear to watch any longer, because this scene was too unbearable. The next morning, Chuanjie sees his utterly revered godfather lying on a coffin..."

"It has to be said that the TV series 'Crossing the Guandong' has so many classic scenes, gripping plots, tear-jerking moments, and magnificent scale—too many to list. But right now, seeing Zhang Duoye's scene, I have to praise screenwriter Lin Youcheng for writing such a brilliant piece! A person's life, whether you're exceptionally talented or from the lowest rungs of society, is nothing more than three meals a day and a bed to sleep in at night. All those beliefs, ideals, ambitions, and career aspirations vanish in the instant before you die; they're all just dogs." "Nonsense." Zhang Duoye frankly told Chuanjie that he had cheated people and done bad things, all out of necessity to survive, but at least he hadn't done anything truly heinous. Actually, for a nobody like him, such a fate was already quite difficult. After all, heroes like Zhu Kaishan were few and far between. Of course, compared to Xian'er and Xiu'er, he, a grown man, had already lived a comfortable life. It was just that suddenly seeing the end of life in an instant, no matter how much he could see through it or accept it before, when that moment arrived, he was still filled with helplessness.

"Lin Youcheng's novel 'Crossing the Guandong' contains many touching moments: gold panning, logging, farming, rafting, Errenzhuan (a type of folk opera), bandits... As the plot unfolds, it tells the ordinary yet legendary story of this ordinary Shandong family in the vast and desolate land of Changbai Mountain and Heilongjiang River. They stubbornly take root in the face of a tragic and bleak fate, living until they become numb, ignorant, tasteless, and even want to give up on life, but they still have to live on. There is a preordained arrangement; no matter how bumpy their fate is, they are still 'crossing the Guandong'..."

……

Undoubtedly, as commented in the Yanjing Daily, screenwriter Lin Youcheng is highly praised, and every character in the story is portrayed very well, not to mention important characters like Zhu Kaishan and Wen's mother.

To viewers who followed the series, the experiences and attitudes of the Zhu family were truly admirable. Zhu Kaishan's unwavering character and broad vision, Aunt Zhu's kindness and masculine spirit, Zhu Chuanwen's honesty and integrity, Zhu Chuanwu's unrestrained spirit and intelligence, and Zhu Chuanjie's steadiness and competence—these vivid characters were portrayed very successfully. Especially in that era of extreme hardship, the Zhu family's adherence to their principles, their inheritance of tradition, and their yearning for a better life were all vividly depicted. Naturally, such a drama is deeply loved by the people.

The media and newspapers naturally reported on this very popular drama. It was reported all over the country. Although the series was long, the plot was quite solid. Every episode kept viewers glued to their TVs, eager to watch it.

As the plot unfolds, it's getting more and more popular, and the discussions are becoming increasingly lively!

(End of this chapter)