Actor: Thank you.

On the fifth day of the Lunar New Year, we welcome the God of Wealth.

Zhang Yuan tinkered with things at home for a long time.

When his assistant returned early to help, Zhang Yuan gave her a red envelope containing 88,800 yuan.

For many Chinese people, especially those in business, the most important thing during the Lunar New Year, besides visiting relatives and friends, is welcoming the God of Wealth.

Even those who are usually too busy can find a few days of peace and quiet during the Lunar New Year, but when the day comes, they still have to get up and prepare.

Zhang Yuan is one of them.

While other things are relatively easy to discuss, the Chinese people's obsession with making money and acquiring wealth is among the world's most extreme.

In other countries, the common holiday greetings are "Good health," "Wishing you happiness," and "Happy holidays."

Only Chinese people say "Gong Xi Fa Cai" (Wishing you prosperity).

This is a persistent belief that has remained even after thousands of years of prioritizing agriculture and suppressing commerce.

After three years of clearing the magistrate's office, he received one hundred thousand snowflakes and silver.

Even if they weren't in business, but were rising to high positions, they still had this kind of "wonderful aspiration".

Therefore, Westerners often say that the beliefs of the Chinese are overly "realistic" and "utilitarian".

You worship God because you want to ask God for favors.

That's where the saying "cramming at the last minute" comes from.

That's because foreigners have never seen how Chinese people deal with gods who don't perform their duties.

Why is it that among the many temples that have survived from ancient times to the present, the Dragon King Temple, which should be the most common, is not so numerous?

Because the people's prayers for rain failed several times, they demolished the temple.

What god? To hell with him!
I've said all that, but you won't listen when I offer incense. So don't blame me for tearing down the temple!
There are also those who directly use cannons to bombard people, like "Grandpa Jade Emperor is also surnamed Zhang, why is he making things difficult for me, Zhang Zongchang?"

In China, even if a god does something immoral, such as being lazy or negligent in governance, he will be slaughtered.

Therefore, our nation basically represents the pinnacle of human pragmatism.

Zhang Yuan was no exception and made preparations early.

Similarly, her assistant was unwilling to return from her hometown early.

But after seeing the large red envelope from her boss, she admitted that Zhang Yuan was indeed a demigod.

In parts of Shanxi, Hebei, and the Jiangnan region, people welcome the God of Wealth not only on the fifth day of the Lunar New Year.

They will also welcome the Kitchen God on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year.

A thorough cleaning will be carried out on the fourth day of the Lunar New Year, which is called "throwing away poverty".

Then, the leftovers from the previous days are stewed and eaten in a folding basket or rolled in pancakes, symbolizing not wasting food.

In the south, there is also a custom of worshipping Mazu.

These are all local customs, but welcoming the God of Wealth is something that almost every region does.

Prepare the offering table.

Five kinds of fresh fruit, three cups of clear tea.

Offerings of fresh flowers, candies, and pastries.

Incense, candles, paper money, and talismans for the five directions.

Offering incense and prayers.

We've pretty much completed the process, time to wrap up.

“Brother Zhang Yuan, I’ve seen people greet you in the middle of the night.”

"Wouldn't it be too late if we held the ceremony at noon?" the assistant wondered.

"What if the God of Wealth worked all night last night and is in a bad mood? He might come over as soon as he finishes work and sees incense burning in our house?"

"What if you just stay there for a year?"

As an artist, Zhang Yuan mainly worships Bi Gan, the God of Wealth.

Artists should have a keen eye and be good at observation in order to produce excellent works.

In "Dream of the Red Chamber," Cao Xueqin describes Baoyu's first encounter with Daiyu as follows: "Her heart is more discerning than that of Bi Gan, and her illness surpasses that of Xi Shi by three points."

Lin Daiyu was actually a born artist.

He's emotionally intense, sensitive, suspicious, and always speaks in a sarcastic tone—a typical old-school intellectual.

The God of Wealth is divided into several paths.

There are nine gods of wealth, including Bi Gan, Chai Rong, Fan Li, and Guan Yu, totaling nine people.

There is also a simplified version of the Five Gods of Wealth.

These five routes are further divided into the major five routes and the minor five routes.

Tibetan Buddhism also has five-colored wealth gods, which vary from place to place.

"Yo ho!"

"Where are you worshipping the God of Wealth?"

Just as we were getting ready, Brother Qian arrived with his wife and "Guo Xiaobao".

They were supposed to meet at the new house, but they arrived here first.

Brother Qian also led his family to pay their respects.

Zhang Yuan looked at it and thought about putting Brother Qian on the offering table.

After all, he was "the god of ancient Greece who controlled smoking, drinking, and perming".

"Lion and tiger..."

Yu Siyang is almost three years old (actual age) and four years old (traditional age).

He inherited Qian Ge's quick wit and is quite eloquent, but he hasn't fully developed his skills yet, so his speech is a little unclear.

He instructed that when he went out, he should call Zhang Yuan "Master," since he had become Zhang Yuan's apprentice after only 100 days.

But he still shouted in a mumbled and unclear way.

Perhaps because they rarely saw each other, she was a little embarrassed when she saw Zhang Yuan.

"Dandan, go get a red envelope," Zhang Yuan called out.

He only has this one apprentice, so I have to take care of him.

The assistant handed him a red paper bag, and Zhang Yuan took out a thousand yuan and stuffed it in.

"Thank you, Lion Tiger..." the boy accepted the gift somewhat shyly.

Zhang Yuan recalled the little Nezha from that day; they were both children, yet their personalities were so different.

“Brother Qian, this kid is honest, just like your sister-in-law.” Zhang Yuan looked at Yu Qian.

"What kind of talk is that?" Brother Qian glanced at him sideways.

But when I turned around, I saw that Guo Xiaobao, who had been quite shy in front of Zhang Yuan, opened his arms wide as soon as he received the red envelope from Zhao Dandan.

"Sister, hug me!"

The assistant is also an actor, so she's naturally quite good-looking.

He wasn't interested in the handsome guy, but he was very enthusiastic when he saw the pretty girl.

He hugged her and kissed her cheek.

Zhang Yuan: …

"Brother Qian, he's your own son." He gave him a thumbs up.

"What kind of talk is that?" Brother Qian glanced at him sideways again.

"Put it down, go wash your face." Zhang Yuan waved his hand, looking at his assistant who had half his face covered in the kid's saliva.

"Let's just go over there together later."

"Okay... By the way, I came early because I need to talk to you about something."

While smoking, Brother Qian took out his phone and opened his photo album.

"Hey, I found this place."

“There are 60 mu of vacant land in Daxing.”

“I’m in talks about a lease.”

"The zoo certificate is also being applied for."

This is the progress of the pet park I mentioned earlier.

"Is 60 mu too small? Should we make it bigger?" Zhang Yuan asked, flipping through the photos.

"Wow, you've got quite the ambition."

"What I mean is, to plant fruits and vegetables on several acres of land, and open a fishpond."

"We can provide our own food and drink, so we don't need to buy any."

"We can pick and kill the fruit on the spot when entertaining friends during holidays."

"You can also go fishing."

"Hiss...that's an idea." Brother Qian agreed: "I won't need chemical fertilizers or pesticides then, and it'll be healthier."

The two talked in increasingly detailed terms.

Brother Qian said that they will use their own homemade fertilizer to ensure it is all-natural.

Because there are horses, cattle, and sheep, there is naturally a lot of manure.

That's not enough, there's also their family of three...

After we finished chatting, I asked Brother Qian to keep an eye on things and make preparations.

I will prepare the funds myself.

Such a large project will take at least a year and a half to complete.

People can't just have work and social engagements; they also need a life.

This place is for living purposes.

They went together to the mansion.

The chefs and service team are ready.

Compared to the previous house, when there were many people, we could only hold buffet parties in the yard.

Even though the house wasn't renovated yet, the owner had already prepared a large dining room that could accommodate more than 10 tables.

Cheng Hao arrived long ago and is directing operations on site.

"I've been so busy, why are you only arriving now?"

"Sister, give me a hug." Cheng Hao had just taken a few steps forward when Guo Xiaobao, who was holding Qian Sao's hand, stepped forward.

Zhang Yuan: …

Will my apprentice cheat on me?

Is our traditional performing arts industry really this chaotic?

"Brother Qian, your child is really good-looking."

The kind older sister picked up the child and said, "Hey, have you seen Chen Kun?"

"never seen it."

"Did you expose this?"

"Don't overthink it, I didn't do it."

Zhang Yuan was helpless; even his wife was questioning him.

While preparations were underway on one side, guests were already being welcomed at the entrance.

Ning Hao arrived first with his wife.

Du Jie, the official photographer, was also there.

These two grown men are several shades darker; they must have been having a blast at XJ.

The company staff arrived early as well.

The two agents arrived first.

Huang Bo, Song Jia, Ya Wen, Zhao Liying, and others arrived one after another.

Jiang Xin arrived late, and she had clearly gained several sizes.

It's probably something eaten during the Chinese New Year.

"Can't you at least have some self-awareness as a female celebrity?"

"None of your business." Consort Hua rolled her eyes at him and then strolled off.

Wan Qian and Li Jinming also rushed over from Shanghai.

"Hey, why don't you bring me a few tree trunks?"

Li Jinming didn't come empty-handed.

"This is a specialty of our hometown, Zhangqiu scallions."

Upon seeing the green onions as tall as a person, Zhang Yuan told her to take them directly to the kitchen so that everyone could share them later.

Baoqiang also arrived, and he didn't come empty-handed.

"Brother, this is millet from my hometown. It's great for making porridge."

He then threw down two sacks.

Zhang Yuan thought that these would be enough to feed Brother Qian's birds for ten years.

"Carry it into the kitchen."

He didn't come alone; Miss Ma reappeared.

Zhang Yuan pursed his lips and said nothing. "Jing, Happy New Year, please come in and have a seat."

When the kung fu kid arrived, although he seemed cheerful and enthusiastic, I couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.

"Sister Taohong, Brother Zheng, please."

The bald couple arrived as promised.

Zhang Yuan had promised to let him come and collect the prize money from "Nightclub".

Mr. and Mrs. Guo also arrived with their son and many of their close students.

Mr. Guo quickly adapted to the environment because he had many friends in the entertainment industry.

And Qian Ge, my only friend in the crosstalk circle, happened to be there.

These are all old friends, but there are also quite a few "newcomers".

Guan Xiaotong came with Mr. Guan Shaozeng.

I adopted her as my god-sister a couple of years ago.

Jiang Wen said she needed to see him two days ago, and just like last time, she brought her daughter with her.

Big Dog Bro, wearing this mink coat, strode in through the door with a nonchalant air.

"Holy crap!"

"Your place is pretty amazing!"

Even though Big Dog Brother owns his own club, he still circled the house several times, expressing his admiration with vulgar language.

"Please take a seat, I will entertain you in a moment."

He left the guy behind because he had more important people to meet.

"Sister Tao is here?"

Liu Tao, whom we haven't seen in a long time, was present.

She didn't bring her husband, but she brought two more important people from the industry.

"Sister Dandan, Sister Hailu."

Her master and best friend accompanied her.

Song Dandan and Qin Hailu were both benefactors in her life.

"It's quite lively here." Song Dandan didn't appear on the Spring Festival Gala this year, so she was in particularly good spirits.

In previous years, I would put in a lot of effort to get on the Spring Festival Gala and would lose several pounds before the New Year.

They also brought it for their son, Batu.

Zhang Yuan noticed that more and more people were bringing their families to the gathering.

To be fair, Yingda was indeed just as inhuman as his friend Wang Shuo.

Batu looks exactly like him, but he has never acknowledged the child, and even publicly stated on a TV show that he has doubts about whether the child is his.

What a humiliation!
It's one thing to have conflicts with his ex-wife, but to talk like that, what will his own son think?

"Sister Tao, let's talk in detail later, there's no rush."

"Sigh." Liu Tao looked at the house.

The last time I came here was when I was captured and taken to the south.

It’s like a lifetime ago!

As I watched, tears welled up in my eyes without my noticing.

"Sister Tao, don't cry during the New Year."

"Cheng Hao and Jiang Xin are both inside. Why don't you go and meet them? The characters from 'Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils' are almost all gathered here."

"Okay." She wiped the corner of her eye with the back of her hand and put on a smile again.

"Yes, you've been surrounded by beautiful women." Qin Hailu joked from the side.

“Yes, how do I invite you here?” Zhang Yuan casually put his arm around Qin Hailu’s shoulder.

"If I didn't know the details, I would have thought you had your eye on Tao."

"I just fell for her as a person."

"Don't interrupt, you know what I'm talking about." Hailu squinted at him.

"How many specific details do you know?" he asked somewhat guiltily.

"Chen Zihan..."

"That's enough, that's enough, I understand," Zhang Yuan quickly interrupted.

"But to be honest, you did a pretty good job. There aren't many people in our line of work who can genuinely help each other out."

Teacher Qin looked at him with sincere eyes.

Qin Hailu's public image on screen has always been that of a strong yet gentle person.

Actually, she is a clingy and affectionate wife.

He also particularly loves reading CEO romance novels.

Many people have two sides, and once they show their true side, they can easily frighten the audience.

So she was quite pleased with what Zhang Yuan did.

He seems to have that domineering CEO vibe.

"I have a question for you," Qin Hailu said casually. "Did you expose Chen Kun?"

Zhang Yuan scratched his head.

In just the short time I was greeting guests, I answered the question eight hundred times.

“Kun and I are friends, and if I were to deal with him, I wouldn’t need to resort to such underhanded tactics. He’s no match for me even if he’s playing fair.”

"That's true." Qin Hailu felt that he looked even more like a domineering CEO this way.

Let them go in and talk first.

Zhang Yuan stood at the door, looking around.

After a long wait, Director Guo and his family finally arrived.

Guo Jingyu and his wife Yue Lina also brought their child.

Yang Zhigang also came with his wife and son.

However, Gang was wearing a hooded down jacket, a mask, and gloves, which completely covered his injury.

"Look at my godson." Zhang Yuan picked up Yang Zhigang's son. He was recognized at the bedside, so it had a different meaning.

Zhang Yuan felt it was somewhat like entrusting his son to someone else.

Of course, it wouldn't actually be his turn to ask for help.

"Brother Gang, I've prepared a screen. If you don't want to see anyone during dinner, you can put it away."

"It's alright, I'll have to get used to it and overcome it eventually," Yang Zhigang replied slowly.

Yang Zi came with her parents.

Zhang Tianai, having arrived late, greeted everyone and then dashed inside.

The company staff have all arrived, and the guests are almost all here as well.

But Zhang Yuan was still waiting at the door.

He was waiting for the last guest.

"Producer Pang, Happy New Year."

Finally, Pang Hong, the producer of "Painted Skin" and deputy director of Ningbo Film Studio, personally came to visit.

He contacted him yesterday, but Zhang Yuan deliberately didn't talk on the phone; instead, he invited him to dinner.

Eating isn't important; what's important is showing him!
"Please follow me." Zhang Yuan personally led him into the large dining room.

Upon opening the door, Pang Hong was greeted by a lively and bustling New Year's greeting.

Guo Jingyu, Jiang Wen, Ning Hao—these are renowned directors.

Xu Zheng, Huang Bo, Baoqiang, Liu Tao, this is an actor.

And there's also a veteran like Song Dandan providing support!
Even more noteworthy are the presence of wealthy and renowned investors like "Big Dog Brother."

I'll show you my power.

Let me make it clear to you who you were messing with before.

"Let me introduce it to you."

"Producer Pang, General Manager Pang, everyone give him a warm welcome." Zhang Yuan led the applause.

"Hello everyone..." Pang Hong put his hands together in a gesture of New Year's greeting.

He swallowed hard.

My mother!

Even a simple meal during the Chinese New Year is a star-studded affair; it's incredible.

Zhang Yuan gestured for everyone to be quiet.

"Before we begin, I would like to clarify something."

"That's something everyone's been particularly curious about lately."

"First of all, I don't know Chen Kun's son. Whoever had him as a father should come forward and claim him."

Hehehe... Everyone burst into laughter.

Everyone's heard about it; it's the biggest news in the industry right now.

Pang Hong, standing beside him, became alert.

He came today because Chen Kun failed.

"Also, everyone is asking me if I leaked the information to the media about Chen Kun's child."

“Here, I can state privately and privately that I did not do it.”

“Chen Kun and I are friends.” Zhang Yuan waved, and his assistant pushed out a food cart with two large boxes on it.

After Zhang Yuan opened a box, he took out a package.

“This is a New Year’s gift that Kun sent me before the New Year. He specially ordered hot pot base from his hometown of Chongqing.”

"I have no conflict with him, and we have a very good relationship."

With physical evidence, people believed it more.

If the relationship is bad, or they are enemies, would they send New Year's gifts?
And it is precisely because it is an inexpensive thing like hot pot base that it feels approachable.

Giving away cell phones or bags is a business transaction.

Just like Baoqiang giving millet and Li Jinming giving scallions, that's a matter of personal feelings.

"It's recommended by locals, so it should taste good. Everyone should take some to try later."

After having his assistant push the food cart aside, Zhang Yuan continued speaking.

"I want to emphasize that every wrong has its perpetrator and its debtor."

"Whoever benefits from this is the one who did it."

Pang Hong frowned.

Aren't you the one who benefits?

Online opinion is overwhelmingly against Chen Kun taking on the role in "Painted Skin," saying they have no choice but to cast him.

“There might be a blind spot in everyone’s thinking,” Zhang Yuan said, ignoring him.

"The so-called gain is not necessarily a positive return such as going from 0 to 1."

"It could also be a zero return, such as going from -1 to 0."

How female close-up magicians can keep their hand tricks from being noticed by the audience.

The simplest way is to pull the neckline down to show cleavage.

So the male audience members didn't notice the flaws, and they didn't see any magic tricks throughout the entire performance.

"How to cover up the elephant in the room."

"The best way is to bring in another man-eating lion to distract them."

"This is a very common technique in journalism."

"Let's think about it: before the Chen Kun incident, what was the hottest topic in the public eye?"

After hearing this, Pang Hong's mind raced.

A few seconds later, he came to his answer with a twitch at the corner of his mouth.

Before this, the most talked-about topic was the big fight between Chen Shiren and Feng Xiaogang!
They've all exposed and exposed each other, bringing trouble to their families.

The secrets of these literary and artistic figures, including poet Chen, Chen Hong, Feng Xiaogang, Hong Huang, Ni Ping, and Xu Fan, have all been unearthed.

But after Chen Kun's incident, no one paid attention to the affairs of these old guys anymore.

"It just so happens that their movies are being released during the Spring Festival..."

After considering it, Pang Hong was also taken aback.

After realizing he hadn't done it, Zhang Yuan remembered calling Lao Han before the Lunar New Year. He was worried about what to do with the two of them, and whether the scandal would affect the film's box office revenue during the Spring Festival.

Hey, it doesn't affect anything now!

In short, these two directors are the ones who are truly brilliant.

"We won't bear the infamy if Chen Kun suffers any more hardship."

Yes, none of you are taking responsibility, you're making me take it all! (End of Chapter)