A widower's entertainment

Xinghua Hutong, Beijing.

Lin Youcheng and the children returned to Beijing. School hadn't started yet, so the children still had some time to play. As for Lin Youcheng, he went to the company because Kong Sheng was filming the TV series "Bright Sword," and naturally, he needed to discuss and exchange ideas with Lin Youcheng.

CCTV collaborated with Lin Youcheng on two dramas, "Crossing the Guandong" and "The Great Song Dynasty Forensic Examiner," which undoubtedly achieved excellent ratings. Now, they are naturally delighted to collaborate with Lin Youcheng's company on adapting and filming "Bright Sword."

Because of the organization by CCTV, this war-themed drama will undoubtedly receive more support, especially from the military, which also needs their support; it's not something that can be filmed casually.

"As for the male lead, I think Zhang Fengyi is quite suitable."

Without a doubt, the actor Kong Sheng proposed was quite rugged in appearance and was absolutely suitable.

"He acted very well in the TV series 'Peaceful Times'."

Although Zhang Fengyi mostly acts in movies, he does act in TV series. For example, the TV series "Peaceful Times" that aired this year was very good. This series is also a military-themed TV series, but it is set after 1978. It tells the story of the career transformation and emotional changes experienced by the military against the backdrop of reform and opening up.

However, when Lin Youcheng heard Kong Sheng's suggestion, he shook his head and said, "He might not be available, but we can still ask him first."

Lin Youcheng also knew that Chen Aige was planning to shoot a historical epic, namely "Jing Ke Assassinating the King of Qin". Although it was still just a plan, Chen Aige was looking for Zhang Fengyi as the male lead.

Kong Sheng nodded in agreement upon hearing Lin Youcheng's words, and then said, "Then I'll ask him first."

There is no doubt that Li Youbin's performance in "Bright Sword" is a classic. However, Lin Youcheng doesn't know if Li Youbin can play the role well now, especially since Li Youbin is too thin now.

"You could consider Li Youbin; his acting skills are quite good."

Kong Sheng naturally knew Li Youbin, after all, a TV series called "The Bolshevik Brothers" was broadcast last year. In it, Li Youbin played two roles, father and son, Liu Shuichang and Liu Er, who had very different personalities. His acting skills were naturally very good, but his figure was a bit thin. Later, in the movie "The Birth of a Nation", he also played a scientist who was more refined and cultured.

"Wouldn't that make me look too rugged?"

Lin Youcheng smiled and said, "Then let's see if he can train. Li Xuejian even lost weight specifically for the TV series 'Lurking' to make his image more convincing."

Kong Sheng was also aware of this matter, and since Lin Youcheng had brought it up, he felt it was worth considering.

Lin Youcheng naturally wouldn't make a one-man show. Unless absolutely necessary, there would definitely be discussions about casting choices like the male lead, and the director Kong Sheng's opinion would also be considered. He said, "This is just a suggestion. We'll know whether it's suitable after we meet him. We can also consider other actors."

Kong Sheng nodded.

Since Kong Sheng had previously directed the drama "The Great Song Dynasty Forensic Examiner," this wasn't his first time directing, so Lin Youcheng wasn't too worried even if Tian Zhuangzhuang didn't offer any guidance.

To be honest, his Huayi Film and Television Company isn't very big right now. The only filming project they have is "Bright Sword" starring Kong Sheng. They don't have any other film or television projects. Lin Youcheng is also considering whether to expand the business, since he really doesn't lack money right now and has plenty of funds.

Aside from the script rights fees from Hollywood, the high ratings of "Crossing the Guandong" and "The Great Song Dynasty Judge" also brought the company a lot of money. After all, both of these TV series are still being rebroadcast on some TV stations, and their influence is unprecedented.

Of course, among the artists signed by the company, only Zhou Xun was recommended to Li Shaohong after she finished filming her scenes in the movie "Human Tales". She was then cast as the young Princess Taiping in "Palace of Desire".

In Lin Youcheng's view, Zhou Xun is undoubtedly very suitable to play the role of the young Princess Taiping in "Palace of Desire".

Zhou Xun's role in "Strange Tales of the Human World" is small; she plays the grown-up daughter of Lin Qi and Jiang Xi, the one Jiang Xi tells Lin Qi's story to her daughter while lying in a hospital bed.

Zhou Xun naturally wouldn't mind the small amount of screen time in this role, after all, it was an opportunity to work with director Li An, as well as Leslie Cheung and Zhang Manyu. Especially since this drama was "Strange Tales of the Human World," a story that Zhou Xun also really liked, she was naturally very willing to take the role.

As for the movie "Our Millionaire," if it were to be filmed, Zhou Xun would undoubtedly play the female lead, Xiao Yu, but that's a matter for later.

Lin Youcheng is now more concerned about the company's size and whether he should sign new artists and directors into the company.

Of course, Lin Youcheng was even more aware that his Huayi Film and Television Company was definitely not a small company compared to other TV stations and film and television companies. After all, they had already launched two hugely popular TV series, "Crossing the Guandong" and "The Great Song Dynasty Criminal Investigator". Although they had not directly filmed movies, the movie "Infernal Affairs 2" had also been a collaboration with Hong Kong and had a good box office return.

But most importantly, this company has Lin Youcheng, which is considered by many in the industry to be the most powerful company. After all, which company in mainland China can produce an Oscar-winning screenwriter and collaborate with Hollywood companies?

Lin Youcheng also understood very well that the company's foundation was not based on its size, but on its works. Just like with dramas like "Crossing the Guandong" and "The Great Song Dynasty Criminal Investigator", TV stations would naturally rush to come and discuss cooperation, wanting to snatch the first broadcast rights from CCTV. These were the company's real assets.

However, Lin Youcheng also knew that even if he didn't expand the company's scale, he still needed to make other investments. Although the house was only one part, he still needed to invest in other projects, such as the Internet. These were the funds that would give him the confidence to continue supporting his daughter Lin Zhaomei's film production, even if it resulted in losses.

Of course, Lin Youcheng also understands that his works are his greatest asset.

Lin Youcheng's family is no longer an ordinary family, and his children are well aware of this. After all, what ordinary family owns a car and can easily take them on a plane trip during summer vacation?

Not to mention, Lin Youcheng, the father, has now bought Lin Zhaoxi a pager.

As for Lin Zhaomei, she also has some, but it is planned to give them to her after Lin Zhaomei returns to the capital.

As for Lin Zhaoqing, his father, Lin Youcheng, still showed favoritism, not buying him a pager. However, he promised Lin Zhaoqing that he would get both the motorcycle and the pager after he graduated. This was similar to when Lin Zhaoqing was still at Xinghua Middle School, clamoring for a bicycle, which Lin Youcheng still bought him after he entered high school.

Lin Zhaoqing was naturally very happy to hear Lin Youcheng's words.

In fact, Lin Youcheng, as a father, was worried that his child might change in some ways due to changes in the family's financial situation. He did not want his child's personality and habits to change as a result of the family's improved financial conditions.

Of course, Lin Youcheng wasn't worried about Lin Zhaoxi and the other older children.

However, it is people like Lin Zhaohuan, Lin Zhaole, and the younger Lin Zhaoyuan who need to pay attention to this aspect.

He certainly didn't want his family's good financial situation to lead to the emergence of spendthrift children; that was something he absolutely did not want.

It is precisely for this reason that Lin Youcheng is still not very generous with money when it comes to his children, especially his younger children, Lin Zhaohuan and Lin Zhaole.

However, even though this wealthy father wanted to keep a low profile, his children were well aware that their family's circumstances were extraordinary.

"Dad, I don't need this pager, why don't you give it to Zhaoqing?"

Seeing that Lin Zhaoqing also wanted a pager, Lin Zhaoxi naturally wanted to give him hers, since she felt that she didn't need one since she was usually at school or in the hospital.

"No need, I'll buy it for him after he graduates from university."

"Take this and use it. It'll be easy to contact you if anything comes up."

Lin Youcheng looked at Lin Zhaoxi, waved his hand, knowing that Lin Zhaoxi meant well, and said with a smile, "Xi'er, if you need anything, just tell Dad, and Dad will buy it for you."

Well, Xie Shuhua, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but shake her head when she heard Lin Youcheng's words. In her opinion, he really loved his daughter. If Lin Zhaoxi wanted a motorcycle, Lin Youcheng, as her father, would buy her one without hesitation, and he might even buy her a car.

Lin Zhaoxi naturally understood what his father, Lin Youcheng, meant. He smiled, shook his head, and said, "No need, Dad. I don't lack anything."

Lin Zhaoxi truly lacks nothing. In particular, Lin Youcheng is always worried that she doesn't have enough pocket money, so he gives her pocket money from time to time. She has hardly ever used that money and has been saving it all. Her father even joked with her that if she finds her studies too hard, she can just come home and inherit the family property and start collecting rent.

This was a joke, but it was also the truth Lin Youcheng was telling her. She knew that if she didn't work, she could go home and collect rent for her father. After all, not to mention the housing prices in Beijing, the rent alone was substantial, especially since her father owned quite a few properties in the city, and collecting rent might be quite a lot of work.

Lin Zhaoxi knew her father Lin Youcheng's intentions, but she had her own ideals. She had always wanted to be a doctor, an obstetrician and gynecologist, and this idea had not changed to this day.

Lin Youcheng naturally knew Lin Zhaoxi's personality. He had always been very at ease with his eldest daughter. Knowing that Lin Zhaoxi had suffered a lot when she was young and had helped him take care of her younger siblings, he always wanted to make it up to her. However, Lin Zhaoxi was a very sensible person and naturally wouldn't make any special requests.

Lin Youcheng bought pagers for Lin Zhaoxi and Lin Zhaomei, and the other younger children naturally didn't have any objections.

Of course, even if they had opinions, it was useless. After all, even the second brother, Lin Zhaoqing, didn't have one, so it was even less likely for the younger ones like them.

The key point is that Lin Youcheng didn't just prepare a gift for his eldest sister, Lin Zhaoxi. Lin Zhaohuan also received a gift, such as a newly bought guitar, which wasn't an inexpensive item. As for Lin Zhaoman and Lin Zhaole, Lin Youcheng wanted to buy them gifts, but since they were still in school and didn't have any special talents like Lin Zhaohuan, they didn't have any special gifts.

Of course, Lin Zhaoman is also very sensible. Originally, Lin Youcheng planned to buy Lin Zhaoman a new bicycle after he went to high school, but Lin Zhaoman refused, feeling that it was unnecessary, and that the family already had quite a few bicycles.

Okay, so this is Lin Zhaoman.

Even though she knew her family was well-off and her father was very wealthy, she didn't think about spending money recklessly and still focused on being thrifty and managing the household well.

How could Lin Youcheng not fulfill some of the child's wishes, since he would never make an inappropriate wish?

Lin Zhaomei, who was far away on the set of "Strange Tales of the Human World," was unaware that her father had bought her a pager. If she had known, she would have been very happy, because she was now learning on the set of "Strange Tales of the Human World." Although it was tiring, she was gaining a lot.

Watching the filming process, Lin Zhaomei realized that although she had studied in other film crews and even acted in movies before, such as at the Yanjing Film Studio and the Yanjing Television Art Center, she had learned a lot from watching Director Li An filming on the set of "Strange Tales of the Human World".

She's increasingly eager to direct her own feature film.

Of course, Lin Zhaomei knew even more clearly that only her father could support her in making a feature film. After all, the domestic film market was in a slump, and she knew that film studios were having a hard time. Most of the films on the box office charts were foreign films, and there was only one domestic film, "Kong Fansen".

Furthermore, Director Jia's funding for his feature film is extremely limited, and he is still scraping together funds from various sources.

Under such circumstances, there are very few production companies that would readily support newcomers to make movies, let alone one that she is still just a student.

But Lin Zhaomei also knew that directing was, to some extent, a craft, and that in addition to learning, she would also actually be filming.

Lin Zhaomei knew her father would support her in making a film; after all, the script was already written, and most importantly, he could genuinely provide the funding, just like he had supported her in making her short film initially. (End of Chapter)