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

Chapter 682 Zhang Yimou's Choice
"Wow, this is the newly opened Jianguo Hotel, so high-end?"

Upon entering, Zhang Yimou, who had never seen anything like it before, couldn't help but exclaim in amazement at the luxurious hotel before him.

"It's nothing special, about the same as those big hotels abroad."

"We stayed in a much more upscale hotel in Paris before, and most importantly, it was full of art."

Upon seeing Zhang Yimou's uncouth demeanor, Chen Kaige immediately dismissed him with disdain.

After hearing this, Lao Zhang's eyes darkened. He was also a photographer on the film crew, but unfortunately he couldn't go to Paris.

"Hey, didn't Old Gu and the others say they arrived a little earlier? Go inside and look for them!"

Tian Zhuangzhuang is now immune to pretentious people like Lao Chen; after all, he's used to it.

"Gentlemen, are you also here to attend Mr. Li's banquet?"

At that moment, a waiter came up to greet them at the door and politely asked what was wrong.

"Correct!"

Tian Zhuangzhuang nodded.

"Then please follow me!"

Then, they led Tian Zhuangzhuang and the others to the banquet hall.

From a distance, the group spotted Gu Changwei, Xie Yuan, and the others, and then walked over to them.

"Old Tian, ​​did you just get back from the film set?"

After taking their seats, Gu Changwei asked Chongtian Zhuangzhuang curiously.

Because of Li Changhe's involvement, Tian Zhuangzhuang's career took a turn. After winning the Cannes Film Festival Award for directing "Parasite," his film career has been going smoothly ever since.

Last year, we also helped the Children's Film Studio produce "Red Elephant," which was the studio's first children's film.

However, after finishing their work, the group suddenly realized that they hadn't taken photos of their graduation project yet.

Although graduation was no longer a problem, since it was their school's graduation project, the group quickly started taking pictures of it.

"That's about it. It's just a graduation project, so keep it simple."

"Hey, Shuanglin, you're here too?"

Upon seeing another tall person sitting at the table, Chen Kaige took the initiative to greet them.

He was quite familiar with some of Li Changhe's classmates from Peking University.

"Yes, Kaige, it's been a long time."

Lin Shuanglin greeted him with a smile.

"Are you all from Peking University? I noticed Haiwen and the others aren't here. Shuanglin, could you introduce us?"

Looking at the people next to Lin Shuanglin, Chen Kaige spoke enthusiastically, trying to liven up the atmosphere at the table.

He naturally had a favorable impression of Peking University students.

"Haven went abroad, and some other classmates have graduated and been assigned to other places, so they can't come."

"Therefore, they entrusted me as their representative to convey our blessings."

"These people next to me are also Changhe's classmates at Peking University. This is Jiang Ming'an from the law department."

Lin Shuanglin introduced each of them to everyone; they were all classmates from Peking University's Class of '77 who stayed in Beijing.

Chen Kaige and his group greeted the guests with smiles. They had no idea that decades from now, the guests at this table would be of such high caliber that they would be beyond imagination.

"Hey, why didn't Changhe come today?"

"He's the main character, isn't he?"

Chen Kaige was somewhat surprised to see that Li Changhe had not appeared.

“He can’t come today. He has other things to arrange, so he asked a few of us young people to take care of him.”

"We're all about the same age, so we don't stand on ceremony. We're not angry with him, and we'll just eat our own food."

Lin Shuanglin then explained to Chen Kaige with a smile.

"I see. Hey, Shuanglin, I have something to ask you."

"How come Changhe ended up in the Writers' Association in this allocation?"

"Isn't this supposed to be the case?"

Chen Kaige then asked curiously.

He didn't dare to ask Li Changhe about this directly, but since he had run into his classmate from Peking University, he thought he could find out about it indirectly.

"He made that choice himself."

"So many organizations wanted him, they were all vying for him. After thinking it over, Changhe felt that the Writers Association would be the easiest option."

"He said he was lazy and didn't want to be a cadre. He thought it would be more comfortable to go to the Writers' Association and have a leisurely job where he could give advice and write passionately."

"The most important thing is that once he joins the Writers' Association, he doesn't offend anyone in other departments, and the school can't do anything about it, so they just let him be, since he is a member of the Writers' Association."

Lin Shuanglin said with a smile, which was actually the story Li Changhe had told him earlier.

Li Changhe knew that people would definitely gossip about these things today, so he reminded Shuanglin in advance.

As for why Li Changhe was assigned to the Writers' Association, Shuanglin and the others felt it was an unexpected yet reasonable arrangement.

After all, they had some guesses about Li Changhe's trajectory over the past two years. People who can get into Peking University are not stupid. It is obvious that the Writers Association is not a real job assignment.

Therefore, Lin Shuanglin would definitely provide this cover for Li Changhe.

"That's true. Many people in the Writers' Association want to go but can't. I heard that Jian Gong didn't make it!"

Chen Kaige echoed this sentiment.

These days, the Writers' Association is a prestigious and exclusive place. It's not easy for ordinary writers to get in. Chen Jiangong is a well-known writer and a graduate of the Chinese Department of Peking University, but he was eventually assigned to the Beijing Federation of Literary and Art Circles, not the Writers' Association.

Unfortunately, he couldn't make it today; he went out of town and can't come back in time.

"Hey, Lao Zhang, have you made up your mind yet? Are you going to Guangxi Province or not?"

At this moment, Chen Kaige turned to Zhang Yimou and asked.

Their assignments at Beijing Film Studio have basically been decided. Chen Kaige got his wish and stayed at Beijing Film Studio, while Zhang Yimou was rather "unfortunate" and was assigned to the southernmost part of the city, Guangxi Film Studio.

Zhang Yimou is now very hesitant about whether or not to accept the assigned job.

After all, Li Changhe had told him before that if he didn't want to leave Beijing, he could arrange for him to work as a nominal employee at a foreign-funded film company.

"I've made up my mind, I'll go to Guangxi Province instead."

Zhang Yimou shook his head and said softly.

"You've really decided to go to Guangxi Province? Then we'll be thousands of miles apart."

Chen Kaige was somewhat surprised, and Tian Zhuangzhuang, who was standing next to him, also looked at Zhang Yimou in surprise.

He actually thought highly of Zhang Yimou and even considered helping him stay in Beijing, but unfortunately, he couldn't do it.

There's no chance with the Beijing Film Studio; in fact, their request has caused them trouble.

Originally, the Beijing Film Studio wanted to keep two directors, one male and one female: Tian Zhuangzhuang and Zhu Lin.

Later, Zhu Lin stopped coming. The original idea was to keep Li Shaohong, since Li Shaohong was also a member of the Beijing Film Studio, just like Tian Zhuangzhuang.

However, Chen Kaige, along with Zhu Lin and Tian Zhuangzhuang, won awards at Cannes, surpassing Li Shaohong in fame and changing the decision of the Beijing Film Studio.

Two spots were given to Tian Zhuangzhuang and Chen Kaige, leaving Li Shaohong without a place.

For Tian Zhuangzhuang, he and Li Shaohong were childhood friends and had a good relationship. Moreover, when Li Shaohong's family realized that there were no opportunities at the Beijing Film Studio, they also turned to Yu Lan.

So now Li Shaohong and Lao Chen have switched places, with Li Shaohong going to the Children's Film Studio. The Children's Film Studio, where Yu Lan works, is now just a newly established film studio, still primarily focused on children's films, and can't recruit that many directors, so they can only offer one position.

So Tian Zhuangzhuang tried his best to help Zhang Yimou, but ultimately it was to no avail.

"You've really decided to go to the Guangxi Film Studio? Didn't Changhe say that if you're not happy with your assignment, he can help you stay in Beijing?"

At this moment, Tian Zhuangzhuang took a deep breath and asked Zhang Yimou.

Zhang Yimou smiled and said, "I thought about it too, but after thinking about it, I realized I still had to obey the assignment."

“I’m different from you. I was a transfer student. The fact that the school is giving me a diploma is already a huge favor.”

“It would be inappropriate for me to disobey the assignment and oppose the higher-ups at this time.”

Originally, Zhang Yimou wanted to stay in Beijing; he had no desire to go to Guangxi Province.

But his wife Xiao Hua's words reminded him of something.

He wasn't a regular student at the Beijing Film Academy; he got in through connections, so he had to be careful about job assignments.

If Zhang Yimou is left with a reputation as a troublemaker, and the Beijing Film Academy goes back to the senior figure who helped him, then he will have offended not only that senior figure, but also many people who helped him.

Considering all this, Zhang Yimou had no choice but to obey the assignment.

Besides, the Guangxi Film Studio is also a good option. Although it is a newly established studio, it is a provincial-level studio after all, and it has fewer staff and more opportunities. If he goes there, he will be valued.

For a transfer student like him, this assignment is already quite good.

After Zhang Yimou finished speaking, the group fell silent.

Old Zhang's situation is rather special; he really can't resist the assignment.

"The food is served, let's eat first!"

Seeing that the atmosphere was a bit dull, Xie Yuan took the initiative to speak up and liven things up.

He didn't have any demands, and the assignment was good; he stayed at Beijing Film Academy as a teaching assistant.

"Yes, let's eat first. We're all working for the country. Like Changhe said, we're like bricks in the revolution, ready to be moved wherever needed, right? Many of us from Peking University are assigned back to our hometowns, some even to factories!"

Lin Shuanglin said with a smile at this moment.

As for job assignments, that's quite normal. Their economics department's famous butcher champion, Lao Ren, came from a slaughterhouse in Henan Province. Now that he's graduated and been assigned a job, he's going back to the slaughterhouse.

Then, as one fragrant dish after another was served, everyone's attention was drawn to the table.

For them, this was a rare feast, and they had to enjoy it to the fullest.

Of course, it wasn't just Li Changhe's classmates who enjoyed the meal; many of Li Lishan's colleagues also had a great time.

They not only ate to their hearts' content, but also drank to their hearts' content.

After all, the wine served at the Jianguo Hotel is the finest Moutai.

"Wow, Old Li's son, putting everything else aside, he really makes a lot of money. How much did this meal cost?"

“I’ve heard about it. Our money won’t do. Jianguo Hotel is a hotel catering to foreign guests, so we have to use foreign exchange certificates.”

"It is said that Li Changhe's books have also been published abroad, and he has earned a lot of royalties, so his family is not short of foreign exchange certificates."

"It's not a publication, I heard it's a movie script. He wrote the script that won an international award. It's said that Hong Kong film companies gave him a large sum of money just for that script."

"Hey, did you see Li Changhe come out to offer a toast today?"

"I don't think I've seen him. It was Old Li who was entertaining us."

"I don't know, Lao Zhang. Did Li Changhe go over there?"

At this moment, someone, emboldened by alcohol, asked Principal Zhang a question.

Principal Zhang shook his head: "No, Li Changhe didn't come today!"

Some people showed surprise upon hearing Principal Zhang's words.

"That doesn't make sense."

"Old Li's actions were a bit impolite."

Did Li Changhe's son actually attend the rice-giving banquet?

"Alright, stop guessing. He set up another table elsewhere and is entertaining people there!"

Principal Zhang shook his head and offered an explanation.

"They even set up a table elsewhere? Who did they invite? Why are they being so mysterious?"

"Old Zhang, someone of your rank didn't go?"

Someone instigated the question.

Principal Zhang glanced at the man, then smiled and said, "Why should I go? Someone of my rank isn't qualified to sit at the table."

"Besides, they are all older comrades, and I can't really say anything to them."

As soon as the words "old comrade" were uttered, the car fell into a slow silence.

If Lao Zhang is of such a high rank that he addresses everyone as "Old Comrade," then what rank must those other people be?
Considering the scale of today's banquet, everyone present calmed down.

During this time, they felt that the Li family had failed to live up to their potential, and that Li Changhe, who had shown outstanding talent, was now just so-so.

But today, a casual banquet hosted by someone else has shown them that sometimes their behavior really is like that of a clown.

Old Li and Old Zhu aren't just being low-key, they're practically hiding their true abilities!

No, I need to build a good relationship with them from now on.

Meanwhile, Li Changhe, having finished all that, dragged his tired body home in the afternoon.

"How much did you drink at noon?"

Shen Yuxiu smelled the alcohol on him and couldn't help but ask.

"It's nothing, Mom. Don't worry about me. I'll just take a shower downstairs and then get some sleep!"

He reeks of alcohol and can't go up to see his wife and children.

So she took a shower in the bathroom downstairs, and then lay down in the bedroom where Zhu Lin usually rested.

However, after lying down, Li Changhe couldn't fall asleep.

Today's meal, though ostensibly a dinner, was actually a way for several people to use the occasion to revisit his future with him.

For the higher-ups, Li Changhe was originally just a casual move, but unexpectedly, this casual move had an effect beyond imagination, which made the higher-ups take it seriously.

Now, the importance attached to this matter has been repeatedly emphasized, and Li Changhe has been given even more authority.

Especially in the economic sphere.

Today, someone has given Li Changhe a clear indication that his future work will be to provide economic assistance and support to the country, with his core business being economics and industrial technology.

As for the rest, there's no need to consider them at all.

This wasn't just said to Li Changhe, but also to Bao Zeyang.

After all, in many cases, the country needs the cover of wealthy overseas businessmen for certain tasks. This often stems from certain departments, which may not be aware of Li Changhe's identity.

The instructions he received from above were actually to avoid these risks.

This can be seen as giving Li Changhe a new sense of reassurance, clarifying his future development direction.

Soon, the days passed quickly, and before Zhu Lin knew it, it was time to finish her postpartum confinement.

Moreover, as June approached, the British finally achieved victory in the Marsvina Islands, upholding the glory of "Great Britain".

(End of this chapter)