1977: The beginning of the blind date with the daughter of the king

Chapter 644 Every family has its own troubles!

"Are you planning to transfer Gong Xue away?"

In Wang Yang's office at the Beijing Film Studio, upon hearing Li Changhe's words, Wang Yang's voice rose several decibels.

Goodness, I used to think Li Changhe was a lucky star, but now it seems he's a jinx!
Zhu Lin, whom we had high hopes for, didn't come and instead went to CCTV.

Is their Beijing Film Studio not better than CCTV?
Good heavens, now that Zhu Lin isn't coming, they're even transferring Gong Xue away.

Is this some kind of undermining?

If it weren't for the fact that this kid helped the Beijing Film Studio win two awards, especially one at Cannes, his fiery temper would have already caused a scene.

Li Changhe was not surprised by this, and just said with a smile: "Director Wang, actually it's not a good thing for Gong Xue to stay in the factory now."

"She's not filming many movies these days, and I reckon some directors are definitely unhappy with her. She's not the workaholic type of actress like Liu Xiaoqing, so keeping her around now does more harm than good!"

"To be honest, my transfer to the Shanghai Film Studio was just a temporary measure. I will arrange for her to go to Hong Kong Island later."

Li Changhe didn't hide anything from Wang Yang, since he would definitely find out once Gong Xue showed up in Hong Kong.

"To Hong Kong Island?"

"you."

Upon hearing this, Wang Yang shook his head.

In fact, Li Changhe had known for a long time that Gong Xue had been living in his house, and there were rumors circulating in the factory.

Having been in the arts and entertainment circle for so many years, he could tell at a glance that the girl definitely had something going on with Li Changhe, even though on the surface it seemed that Zhu Lin and Gong Xue had a close relationship.

He just didn't expect that Li Changhe would comfort his wife.

Now that Li Changhe has suddenly arranged for Gong Xue to go to Hong Kong Island, it's possible that it's because things are going wrong at home.

"Fine, if you insist on transferring her, there's nothing I can do to stop you."

"Let the Shanghai Film Studio handle the paperwork; I won't hold them up."

Having figured out the key point, Wang Yang knew he couldn't stop him now. After all, given Li Changhe's influence in the arts and culture circle, it would be too easy for him to transfer someone away if he really wanted to.

"Director Wang, I won't make things difficult for you. Here's what we'll do: the photography equipment that was previously stored in our factory, as well as that minibus, I can help the Hong Kong Island Company decide to give them all to our Beijing Film Studio."

"What do you think?"

Li Changhe said with a smile.

"You had this plan in mind before you came, didn't you? You wanted to appease me with these things?"

"But, really stay?"

Wang Yang first laughed and cursed, then asked Li Changhe with interest.

It's not that he's snobbish; it's just that this stuff is really good.

The photography equipment was all the latest models from abroad. It wasn't that the Beijing Film Studio couldn't afford it, but the problem was that it had to be purchased with foreign exchange, which made the approval process complicated.

And those minibuses, needless to say.

The imported minibuses mentioned above will take forever to reach them.

Now that they have such a vehicle, it's a benefit for the factory workers.

"The town is yours, I'll take that van, and the rest is yours!"

Li Changhe said with a smile.

It wasn't much money to begin with, so I just considered it a way to thank the Beijing Film Studio.

"Fine, if that's how you put it, then I won't stand on ceremony with you."

"Have the Shanghai Film Studio issue the transfer order!"

Wang Yang waved his hand and said with great pride.

"Then thank you very much, Director Wang."

Li Changhe thanked Wang Yang and then walked out.

"Hey, Changhe, what brings you here?"

They hadn't walked far when they ran into Chen Kaige.

"Old Chen, why are you alone? Why aren't you with Old Tian?"

Li Changhe saw Chen Kaige and asked with a smile.

Chen Kaige shook his head: "Old Tian went to Yunnan Province."

"Going to Yunnan Province?"

"They went over there to film scenes! The Children's Film Studio is preparing to shoot a self-produced children's film called 'Red Elephant.' They've chosen Lao Tian as the director, along with Zhang Jianya and the others. They went together."

Chen Kaige explained to Li Changhe.

Li Changhe looked at Chen Kaige with some curiosity: "Then why didn't you go?"

In the past, Chen's skill level might not have ranked among the top at the Beijing Film Academy, but after appearing in three films, from "Jungle Gunner" to "The Herdsman" and then "Parasite,"...

Old Chen's skills have been honed through experience, and he can be considered one of the best in the Beijing Film Studio, after all, he is quite talented.

Li Changhe felt it was unacceptable that someone of his caliber wasn't selected.

"I don't want to go, I'm not in the mood!"

"Come on, let's find a place, buddy, let's have a chat!"

At this point, Chen Kaige suddenly looked dejected and said helplessly to Li Changhe.

"Alright, let's find someone to talk to then!"

The two then found a shady spot under a tree and sat down on the edge of the red brick wall.

"Tell me, judging from your condition, what happened?"

Li Changhe asked curiously at this moment.

After sitting down, Chen Kaige hesitated for a moment, then asked softly, "Changhe, you sent Zhu Lin to CCTV instead of coming to Beijing Film Studio to be a director. Does that mean you two are planning to have a child?"

"Yeah, didn't I tell you all before?"

“If we have a child, Zhu Lin definitely won’t be able to work as a director at Beijing Film Studio anymore. She might as well go to CCTV and have a stable job.”

"By the way, shouldn't you two be thinking about having children?"

Li Changhe could roughly guess Old Chen's troubles at this point. After all, Old Chen and his wife were both born in 52, the same age as Zhu Lin, which meant they were both 29 this year.

For men, 29 may be the prime of their lives, but for women, it's the last peak of their reproductive years.

"That's what's bothering me!"

“I think now is the perfect time to have a child, and it won’t affect my graduation soon. My family elders are also urging me to have a child.”

"What's more, once you have a child, you can apply to the factory for housing, which is a win-win situation."

Housing is in short supply now. Before, Chen Kaige and his wife were both in school and only came home on weekends. His father squeezed out a 9-square-meter room for them as their new home, which was enough.

But it would be very difficult to make do like this after graduation.

Newlywed couples might not be allocated a new house by the factory, but once they have a child, they are very likely to be allocated a house by the factory after being assigned to the Beijing Film Studio. This is an unspoken rule that everyone agrees on.

Chen Kaige was thinking the same thing: joining the Beijing Film Studio, having a baby, and getting a house—what a great thing!

"Garin doesn't agree?"

Li Changhe asked thoughtfully at this moment.

Chen Kaige nodded: "Yes, she doesn't want to have children, she wants to go abroad!"

“She said she wanted to study at a university abroad. Actually, she had this idea ever since the policy allowing students to study abroad at their own expense was introduced. I had already noticed it.”

"The key is that my father-in-law also supports her going abroad."

"So she is now confident that she doesn't want to have children and plans to prepare materials for studying abroad after graduation."

"Changhe, do you think foreign countries are so great, so attractive to her?"

Chen Kaige retorted angrily at this moment.

Li Changhe was speechless.

"You've been to France yourself, haven't you? What do you think?"

Chen Kaige was slightly taken aback when he heard Li Changhe's words, and then sighed.

He had been to France with Lao Tian and truly felt the difference between capitalist countries and China—it was like heaven and earth. Putting aside everything else, just the difference in terms of physical and mental freedom alone made him realize the difference.

There are no restrictions or limits on food rations. As long as you have money, you can buy whatever you want and spend it however you want.

For people in China who are currently under various restrictions, that is indeed a freer living environment.

"Fine, you might as well not have said anything at all!"

"Actually, I know that things are better abroad, but no matter how good things are abroad, it's not our home. Sigh!"

"If we were a few years younger, to be honest, I would have been very supportive of her going abroad. But now, we're both 29. If she goes abroad again..."

Chen Kaige said this with a deep sadness in his heart.

Li Changhe listened in silence.

Old Chen and Sun Jialin got married five years ago. Just one year into their marriage, they took the college entrance examination in 77. He failed, but Sun Jialin did.

Then in 78, Lao Chen was admitted to the Film Academy, and the two became a weekend couple, attending classes at school during the week and getting together at home on weekends.

Even when they went out to film movies later on, they couldn't be a weekend couple.

Now that graduation is finally approaching, Sun Jialin wants to go abroad again.

The couple had a disagreement.

There's nothing Li Changhe can do about this now.

These days, very few people who go abroad come back. The environment abroad is indeed worlds apart from that in China. Li Changhe doesn't think highly of his marriage.

Moreover, he also knew that Chen Kaige would definitely get divorced in the end, otherwise, what would have happened between Hong Huang and Chen Hong?

But we can't say that now. The couple has been married for five or six years, and their relationship is no less than that of Li Changhe and Zhu Lin.

Is it appropriate to advise the two people to divorce at this point?

impossible.

"I think this is something you two can only discuss. To be honest, there are advantages to going abroad and advantages to staying in China. It depends on the individual's choice."

"There's nothing I can do to help you with this; you'll have to handle it yourselves!"

Li Changhe said softly.

Chen Kaige nodded: "I know, I just wanted to chat with you, talk to you. I've been holding these thoughts in for so long, and I didn't know who to talk to."

He also knew that going to Li Changhe was pointless, since Li Changhe couldn't persuade Sun Jialin.

He just wanted to talk to Li Changhe.

They chatted with Chen Kaige for a while until he was covered in mosquito bites and couldn't take it anymore, then the two of them left.

Li Changhe wasn't bitten much; he had scented beads on him that had a mosquito-repelling effect.

Looking at the time, Li Changhe realized it was time to pick up his wife, so he drove straight to the city center.

"How did it go? Did you reach an agreement with Director Wang?"

Once in the car, Zhu Lin hurriedly asked Li Changhe a question.

"Yes, it's settled. We'll send those photography equipment and the minibus to the Beijing Film Studio later. I'll arrange for someone to handle the formalities with them."

"In a couple of days, I'll take Xiaoxue to Shanghai!"

Li Changhe has finished writing the script, and now he's taking advantage of the time to bring Gong Xue back to Shanghai.

"When you get there, be more tolerant. If their parents scold you, just bear with it. After all, it's your fault!"

Zhu Lin covered her mouth and laughed as she spoke.

Some things must eventually be faced, and Zhu Lin could already foresee the predicament Li Changhe would face.

Anyway, he deserves it. Who told him to be so greedy and want to have women on both sides!
"I know, don't worry!"

Li Changhe shook his head, somewhat helplessly.

Two days later, after Gong Xue had finished packing, Li Changhe took her on a plane back to Shanghai.

As soon as I exited the airport, a car was already waiting for me.

Li Changhe drove Gong Xue to the outside of their alley.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?"

Seeing Gong Xue get out of the car, Li Changhe asked curiously.

Gong Xue shook her head: "No need, I'll go back and talk to my parents first. You can meet with them after I've talked to them."

"Okay, I'll go to the Shanghai Film Studio first and wait for your call."

Li Changhe didn't force anyone. This wasn't the time to show off, and it couldn't be said that he was using his power to intimidate others.

After Li Changhe drove away, Gong Xue also pulled her suitcase and walked home.

"Oh, Xiaoxue is back?"

The neighbors along the way kept greeting Gong Xue.

Now everyone knows that a golden phoenix has emerged from their alley, not only becoming a nationally renowned film actress but also getting to know many important figures.

Gong Xue smiled and greeted some people before returning home.

Her parents hadn't come home from get off work yet, so she tidied up her things and then cleaned the house inside and out.

After finishing all that, Gong Xue took out the receipts from home, went out to buy some groceries, and then cooked a sumptuous dinner at home.

As soon as Gong's mother, pushing her bicycle home in the evening, stepped into the yard, she smelled the aroma of food.

"Old Gong, whose family is cooking this? They're using so much oil! Are they trying to kill themselves?"

Looking at the man who had parked the bicycle, Gong's mother asked curiously.

"Why does it smell like it's coming from inside our house?"

At this moment, Mr. Gong looked curiously into the room.

"Wait a minute, when we came back, didn't you open the door? We just pushed it open and came in, didn't we?"

"I thought you opened it. I was just saying hello to Grandma Liu."

Just as the couple were wondering what was going on, Gong Xue heard the commotion and came out.

"Dad, Mom, are you off work?"

"Xiaoxue?"

"Why did you come back without saying a word? You didn't even tell us beforehand."

At this moment, Gong's mother said to Gong Xue with great joy.

Mr. Gong then parked his bicycle and strode into the house.

"You've been busy all afternoon making so many dishes, haven't you?"

Mr. Gong looked at the plates on the dining table and said with heartache.

"The main problem is that the three of us can't finish it all, Xiaoxue, you're being too wasteful."

Gong's mother also shook her head.

Now, my son and daughter-in-law live in a dormitory assigned by the Hong Kong-funded company, and the environment is much better than here.

The youngest daughter went to school and doesn't live at home anymore. Usually, it's just the two of them at home. Although the house is small, the living space is still quite spacious.

"Don't waste it, Mom and Dad, please sit down. I have something I want to tell you."

Gong Xue then spoke softly to her parents.

"What's the matter? Why is it so formal?"

Gong's mother was somewhat curious.

Mr. Gong smiled and said, "Making so many dishes is obviously a good thing!"

"Speak, Xiaoxue, what's the matter?"

The couple sat down and looked at Gong Xue with curiosity.

Gong Xue hesitated for a moment, then slowly spoke.

(End of this chapter)