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

Chapter 727 The Queen Mother of the Women's Kingdom is about to be born?
In the capital city, it was already the dead of winter in the twelfth lunar month.

The heating was already on in the Overseas Chinese Apartment building. Li Changhe was wearing a pair of shorts, shirtless, and carrying his son, walking back and forth in the living room.

"Changhe, keep an eye on the time. I estimate Linlin will be off work soon. Go ahead and wait for her before you're late."

In the kitchen, Shen Yuxiu shouted at Li Changhe.

Li Changhe glanced at the time on the wall and then nodded.

"Alright, I'll set off now."

Afterwards, Li Changhe went back inside to change into a thicker set of clothes, put on a hat, and then went out.

There weren't many cars on the road these days, and there were few traffic lights. Before long, Li Changhe arrived at the side of the Second Ring Road, then turned off the engine and stopped.

A short while later, Zhu Lin walked over, completely covered up.

He then opened the car door and got in.

"Phew, it's so cold today."

Zhu Lin took off her hat and exhaled a breath of cold air.

"By the way, what do you think this is?"

At this moment, Zhu Lin took out a videotape from her handbag and waved it at Li Changhe.

"Could this be Journey to the West?"

Li Changhe asked in surprise.

Zhu Lin smiled and nodded: "That's right, this is the episode 'Exorcising Demons in Wuji Kingdom' that the teacher filmed."

"However, the station was not very satisfied with this episode, including Wang Yue's side. The station felt that it did not resemble Tang Sanzang, so the teachers went back and reshot it."

"The station has already finished airing them all, so nobody's watching them anymore. I borrowed them out for you to watch!"

After listening, Li Changhe nodded: "Alright, let's go home and take a look."

He actually wanted to see how the new version of Journey to the West would turn out with a more sophisticated camera.

"By the way, Changhe, there's something else I'd like to tell you."

"My teacher mentioned it to me a few days ago when she came back. She wants me to play a role in Journey to the West."

Zhu Lin then continued speaking to Li Changhe.

"Let me guess, do you want me to play the Queen of the Women's Kingdom?"

At this moment, Li Changhe confidently said to Zhu Lin.

Zhu Lin stared at Li Changhe in surprise when she heard his words.

How did you guess?

"To put it bluntly, in Journey to the West, there are only a few characters who exude nobility: the Queen Mother of Heaven, the Queen Mother of the Women's Kingdom on Earth, and the rest are just demons."

"I reckon the Queen of the Women's Kingdom is more likely. After all, if she were to outshine all the other women, it would definitely be my wife."

At this moment, Li Changhe spoke off the cuff, making up reasons at will.

"So I can't play Chang'e?"

Zhu Lin said somewhat indignantly at this moment.

"Of course you can play the role, but the role of Chang'e is too complicated and involves too many appearances, so I don't think Teacher Yang will arrange it for you."

Li Changhe didn't argue with Zhu Lin. Actually, what Chang'e needed was an ethereal quality, which Zhu Lin's temperament didn't quite match.

However, there's no need to say such things; you still have to coax your own wife.

"You're right."

"The teacher wanted me to play the Queen of the Women's Kingdom."

"However, I don't really want to act in it. The main reason is that the lines in that show are too explicit, and they make me feel awkward."

Yang Jie had already decided to cast Zhu Lin as the Queen of the Women's Kingdom, and had shown her the revised script, which Zhu Lin disliked.

"Then, Teacher Yang, can you refuse?"

Li Changhe then asked with a smile.

Actually, he doesn't care whether his wife acts or not. If she does act, she'll have a representative work, and it will be a classic for all time.

It doesn't matter if she doesn't act; Zhu Lin's fate has already changed in this lifetime.

Furthermore, the gossip about her and Xu Shaohua in her past life was something even the Queen herself probably couldn't help but feel helpless about later.

Back in the 1980s, when they were filming, the two of them only interacted for a few days. She was married at the time, and Xu Shaohua was also newly married. They only interacted for a few days, and there was nothing to say after filming was over.

Xu Shaohua even quit the role of Tang Sanzang for a five-yuan subsidy, so why would she bother with any emotional turmoil?

However, the two actors' performances were so classic that when the internet emerged, netizens enthusiastically started pairing them up, creating a real-life couple that never stopped being shipped.

Otherwise, to be honest, Xu Shaohua and Ma Lan had more scenes together, playing both husband and wife and mother and son. This was their second collaboration in the series, having worked together once before, yet they didn't have any scandals.

All I can say is that my wife's performance was so vivid and classic.

Furthermore, in this lifetime, Li Changhe estimates that even Wang Yue is unlikely to quit the role, and the actor playing Tang Seng may not be replaced.

"Isn't that what they mean?"

"The teacher gave me a suggestion: to play the role of Tang Sanzang."

At this moment, Zhu Lin revealed her true intentions and said to Li Changhe with a smile.

To be honest, Zhu Lin was quite surprised by Yang Jie's idea, but she also found it very amusing.

She and her husband haven't filmed a drama together yet.

"Don't worry, I'm not asking you to be on camera, I'm just asking you to be a stand-in."

"In my part of the scene, there's a dialogue with Tang Sanzang, right? I'll have you dress up as Tang Sanzang and I'll talk to you about it."

"That way I won't feel awkward anymore. We can just cut the two scenes together during the final editing."

"The teacher asked me to ask you if you're up to the task."

"It won't take up much of your time, just a day or two, don't you think?"

Zhu Lin then looked at Li Changhe with some anticipation and asked.

"In that case, wouldn't we miss the full view of you and Tang Sanzang?"

Zhu Lin shook her head: "It's mainly just that part. The other outdoor scenes are easy to arrange. It's just that Wang Yue and I will take a walk together. What do you say, are you coming or not?"

Li Changhe looked at her and said, "Judging from your attitude, you clearly want me to go."

Just by looking at Zhu Lin's eyes, Li Changhe knew exactly what she was up to.

It has to be said that Teacher Yang's move was indeed quite cunning.

“I actually think it’s quite interesting. Neither of us has ever collaborated like this before. Why don’t you give it a try?”

"Anyway, the teacher said you won't be on camera. At most, they'll just show your back, and it might not even make it into the final cut. Just consider it an experience for me?"

She didn't care whether she was the Queen of the Women's Kingdom or not, but she was really looking forward to filming a scene with Li Changhe.

"Alright, since you want to, I'll go with you, but we need to consider the timing. It's definitely too late right now."

Li Changhe didn't care. If his wife wanted to film, then let her film. He didn't mind.

Anyway, his identity issue is no longer a big problem.

"No, it will probably take two years. The teacher means we have to wait until Li Zheng is weaned."

"Oh, right, she even suggested that Xiaoxue should act in it too."

"In the episode about the Kingdom of Women, there's a royal advisor. I'd like her to make a cameo appearance in an episode with me. Would you agree?"

At this moment, Zhu Lin covered her mouth and laughed as she spoke to Li Changhe.

Li Changhe rolled his eyes after hearing this. Good heavens, they're going to cast Gong Xue as the Imperial Advisor, and then take him to admire the treasures of the Women's Kingdom, is that it?
Why not let her play the Scorpion Demon?

"Wasn't there a scorpion demon in that episode too?"

Li Changhe said with a smile.

Zhu Lin glared at him, annoyed: "Xiao Xue is a well-known film actress in China, how can she play a fairy?"

"Besides, it doesn't suit her image at all."

"The teacher definitely has to give her a positive role!"

"Actually, it's quite difficult for teachers too. Most movie actors would never agree to act in a TV series."

"Some agreed, but knowing the production team was wealthy, they asked for exorbitant salaries."

"Sigh, now, in the teacher's words, she used every trick in the book to cheat and swindle."

Zhu Lin sighed deeply as she spoke.

"Did you soften up after the teacher said that?"

Li Changhe said with a smile at this moment.

Teacher Yang is definitely trying to gain sympathy from Zhu Lin with this move.

However, she was indeed in a bad situation. These days, the status of movie actors is much higher than that of TV actors, because there were hardly any serious TV dramas in China before, and very few people watched TV.

Even in terms of pay, the pay for starring in a movie far exceeds the pay for starring in one episode of a TV series.

Given the disproportionate social status and income, even CCTV dramas rarely feature well-known actors; they are mostly newcomers or relatively unknown artists.

Anyone with a bit of fame has a lot of ups and downs.

As far as Li Changhe knew, Yang Chunxia, ​​who played the White Bone Demon, was coaxed into the role by Yang Jie because she was a very famous Peking Opera actress at the time and was very popular.

Initially, the promise was that Yang Jie would become both the White Bone Demon and the Queen of the Women's Kingdom. However, the Queen of the Women's Kingdom was snatched away by Yang Jie's own wife, so Teacher Yang went back on her word, which led Yang Chunxia to never forgive Yang Jie for the rest of her life.

There was also the Little White Dragon King Bo Zhao, who only played a role in three episodes, but his salary was a full 1,500 yuan, 500 yuan per episode, which far surpassed the main actors.

This was the salary for a TV drama in the 1980s; it was an astonishing price.

Ultimately, it was because Wang Bozhao had gained some fame after acting in a film at the Beijing Film Studio. Whether he made that demand out of spite or not, it was enough to demonstrate the power of film actors at that time.

There are actually many similar contradictions, but the success of Journey to the West itself proves that her choice was correct.

In fact, the later adaptation of "Dream of the Red Chamber" also faced the same problem: it couldn't find suitable actors, so it simply held a nationwide audition, resulting in a cast of newcomers, but it still produced a classic.

Zhu Lin sighed, "That's about right. The teacher has already spoken up. If I don't help her, who will?"

"Also, what did Xiaoxue say?"

Li Changhe smiled and said, "You can tell her yourself when the time comes. Just make an appointment between the two of you."

Zhu Lin looked at him at this moment and couldn't help but shake her head.

"You make it sound so easy. Do you think I can just make an appointment and that's it?"

"You two should be getting married this year, right? Once you're married, how can she not get pregnant?"

"By then, she'll probably still have to raise a child. Will she be able to manage her time?"

Upon hearing this, Li Changhe was speechless; he hadn't expected this at all.

"If all else fails, don't let her play the Imperial Advisor. How about giving her another role? She happens to be in Shanghai right now."

"Why don't you ask Teacher Yang to arrange it and see if she can play a guest role?"

"Besides, if you let her play the role of the Imperial Advisor, and she's watching us being all lovey-dovey, isn't that humiliating her?"

After thinking for a moment, Li Changhe said to Zhu Lin.

Yang Jie was unaware of their relationship, but Li Changhe and the others knew it themselves.

The idea of ​​having two wives act out an episode, with one watching the other's lovey-dovey moments with him, seemed absurd to Li Changhe himself.

Zhu Lin agreed, thinking it was just provoking Xiaoxue.

"Alright, what you said makes sense. I'll call Xiaoxue when I get back and ask her to consider acting in one episode."

"Hey, what role do you think Xiaoxue should play?"

"Chang'e is out of the running. Xiao Qiu has been chosen. She comes from a very good family and can't be replaced."

Zhu Lin started making plans again.

Li Changhe recalled whether there was a suitable role for Gong Xue in Journey to the West.

He really couldn't figure it out, mainly because he hadn't seen Gong Xue's costume makeup and styling much.

Often, whether an actor fits the role or not depends heavily on makeup and styling.

"Forget it, I think we should let Teacher Yang arrange it for her. Teacher Yang can definitely find her a suitable role."

Li Changhe simply put the problem out of his mind.

He felt that letting Yang Jie make the arrangements was actually a good idea, as many of the female characters in Journey to the West were quite well-suited to their roles.

Although the Queen of the Women's Kingdom is a classic, many of the other female characters are just as good.

Ma Lan, who played Tang Sanzang's mother; Zhang Qing, who played Princess Wansheng, who cuckolded the White Dragon Horse; Qiu Peining, who played Chang'e; and Li Lingyu, who played the Princess of Tianzhu, among others.

These people are all unique and perfectly suited to their roles.

Therefore, Li Changhe felt that letting Yang Jie make the arrangements would definitely not be unfair to Gong Xue.

"That's true, there are too many female characters in Journey to the West, let the teacher arrange it."

Zhu Lin was too lazy to think about it anymore, since she wasn't going to film anytime soon anyway.

As the two talked, the car returned to the Overseas Chinese Apartment.

Li Changhe stopped the car and then went home with Zhu Lin.

When she got home, Zhu Lin changed into a light outfit; it was just too hot inside.

These days, the heating is on full blast, and the temperature in the house is always over 30 degrees Celsius. Sometimes it's so hot that we have to open the windows.

After changing her clothes, Zhu Lin fed her son first.

Li Changhe then turned on the VCR, inserted the videotape, and began watching this version of "Exorcising Demons in Wuji Kingdom."

After watching for a while, Li Changhe couldn't help but shake his head.

It's definitely not as good as the episode I remember. The makeup and styling are also different, especially Pigsy's makeup and styling, which is too ferocious.

"how do you feel?"

After Zhu Lin finished feeding her son, she turned to Li Changhe and asked for his thoughts on the film.

"It looks alright, I guess."

Li Changhe didn't complain, after all, for "him", this was like watching this kind of mythological drama for the first time, and without any comparison, he had nothing to complain about.

“The station felt that Wang Yue’s portrayal of Tang Sanzang was a bit mediocre, and his portrayal of Zhu Bajie was not very good either.”

"The teacher went back and made further adjustments."

"Never mind, let's not talk about it anymore. By the way, give Juncheng a call tomorrow!"

“I just remembered, he also contacted you a while ago. He called home and asked you to come back and see him.”

Zhu Lin suddenly remembered this matter and spoke to Li Changhe again.

After listening, Li Changhe seemed to be deep in thought.

What could Shen Juncheng possibly want from him at this time?

It's been 1983 already, could it be...?

(End of this chapter)