Entertainment: 1990

Chapter 188 Checking the Quality
[Tuesday evening, tomorrow will return to evening classes]

evening.

Xisanqi Taishan Hotel.

This Shandong cuisine restaurant had just opened before Zhang Yan went to the frontier. Back then, the area in front of the restaurant was always packed with cars. It certainly doesn't have the same popularity now, but the parking lot is still full of cars.

After Zhang Yan finally found a suitable parking spot, Jiang Wen couldn't wait to come out and greet him.

Zhang Yan and Feng Xiaogang in the passenger seat greeted him, but he ignored them. He circled the Crown once, then said with a look of disdain, "Mr. Zhang, we should change this car. As a big boss, how can you show off your status without a long wheelbase? Let me tell you, if you're going to buy one, buy a Lincoln limousine. You can drive around Chang'an Avenue and dozens of people will salute you."

Zhang Yan looked at Feng Xiaogang beside him: "Brother Feng, is he mocking me for being a nouveau riche?"

"Hard to say."

Feng Xiaogang grinned and said, "Anyway, all I know is that Liu Xiaoqing drives a Toyota Crown."

"It's so boring, so boring, you know that?"

Jiang Wen shook his head and said, "Japanese cars all have a cheap, petty feel to them. They're okay for women to drive, but men should drive American cars—just imagine, a bunch of guys sitting in the car with champagne, and then you spot an old acquaintance from your younger days walking by outside. You open the sunroof, lean out, and wave. Tsk, that feeling..."

"Definitely an idiot."

Zhang Yan rolled his eyes at him.

"Yes, yes, that's the word!"

Jiang Wen slapped his thigh and exclaimed excitedly, "At this moment, saying 'SB' is definitely more flavorful than 'Oppa'!"

"WTF?"

Zhang Yan and Feng Xiaogang exchanged glances, but they could roughly guess that Jiang Wen was working on the script and lines—with this kind of dedication, the movie shouldn't be too bad.

Of course, you can't be sure. Some great directors get so caught up in the details that the things they make end up being terrible.

Jiang Wen chuckled and blurted out, "Gulunmu."

Feng Xiaogang immediately realized: "Oppa?"

Zhang Yan was a beat slow to realize, then exclaimed, "The code for 'Surprise Attack on the White Tiger Regiment'?"

"Raid on the White Tiger Regiment" was one of the eight model operas. Most city dwellers in that era had seen it several times, but Zhang Yan was too young to remember it as well as the other two.

Jiang Wen wanted to say a few more words, but a young girl ran over and asked, "Brother Jiang, Sister Qing asked us to ask if the guests have arrived yet."

As he spoke, he looked curiously at Feng Xiaogang and Zhang Yan beside him.

Jiang Wen then beckoned the two of them to go inside.

Upon reaching the third floor, one would see Liu Xiaoqing, dressed in a stylish cheongsam, waiting radiantly in the corridor.

These days, women in their 40s are generally considered middle-aged women, but Liu Xiaoqing seems to have reverted to her ancestral form, with skin even more delicate and supple than when she was younger.

The restaurant waitresses were also wearing cheongsams, and they were all young and pretty girls, but compared to her, they were completely outdated.

Zhang Yan chuckled and joked, "Sister Xiaoqing, your complexion has gotten even better since Jiang Wen came back from abroad."

"It's mainly the result of my consistent exercise."

Liu Xiaoqing laughed and said, "Have Chen Hong come to me later, and I'll teach her a set of beauty and skincare methods—but whether she can stick to them depends on her own willpower."

Liu Xiaoqing said this with a hint of pride, but she certainly had the right to be proud—she was in prison in her fifties, and most people would have given up long ago, but she never stopped exercising and even won an advanced award for operating a sewing machine.

The four exchanged pleasantries as they entered the private room.

The waiter presented the menu, and the four of them ordered eight dishes and a soup, all of which were Shandong specialties, such as sweet and sour Yellow River carp, braised sea cucumber with scallions, stir-fried free-range chicken from Taishan, and stir-fried liver tips, etc.

By the time the sweet and sour carp, with its three wings and four fins, was served, everyone had almost finished discussing the frontier.

Jiang Wen got straight to the point: "This is my first time doing this, and I'm relying entirely on everyone's help. When we need you, no one can back down."

"It's all just a matter of a word."

Zhang Yan patted his chest and said, "If we need people, I'll support you; if we need money, I'll support you."

"Cuckoo~"

Liu Xiaoqing covered her mouth and laughed, "President Zhang is getting more and more witty. Who doesn't know that you have both manpower and money? Apart from those who deal in permits, I'm afraid no one would dare to say that they can make more money than you, Yuanmeng."

"I wouldn't dare say that."

Zhang Yan shook his head and said, "We were barely making ends meet before, but now that the government is opening up to private capital, they've chosen our company, Yuanmeng, as a pilot. I estimate we'll have to pour a lot of money into it in the second half of the year." Hearing this, Feng Xiaogang lightly slapped the table and said, "I knew you'd get a share. Wang Shuo called me last night, saying he wanted to start something called Dingli Films—at first I was wondering what Dingli was all about, but then I found out that the company only has three people."

It's probably because Zhang Yan used the character 'dream' in his name that the original 'Good Dream Film Industry' became 'Dingli Film Industry'.

Listening to the two of them talking back and forth, Jiang Wen and Liu Xiaoqing looked at each other, both feeling that the matter was a bit tricky—since Yuan Meng could directly enter the film and television industry, he would definitely prioritize investing in his own projects.

Jiang Wen thought for a moment, then took out two scripts from her bag and handed them to the two of them, saying, "Take a look at our script first. If you have any problems, just say so. Anyway, I still need to revise it."

It definitely needs to be revised. This script looks like it has been revised repeatedly. Many parts still show signs of being heavily modified and lack refinement.

But the sense of age is palpable through the paper.

Zhang Yan was still young at the time and did not participate in it personally, but he at least witnessed the turmoil in the newspaper's residential compound.

Compared to the tense atmosphere in the newspaper's staff quarters, the lives of the children in the compound were clearly more 'colorful', especially in terms of dating.

Jiang Wen's characters are more vivid than those in Wang Shuo's original work, and also have a touch more childlike fun and restraint—Wang Shuo's original work is certainly also wonderful, but it contains more emotional catharsis.

In addition...

Zhang Yan discovered that this guy had written all his sexual fetishes into the script, with descriptions of plump and fair-skinned women appearing at least ten times, and a lengthy description of Milan's feet.

Is it elegant? Is it sophisticated?

When Zhang Yan saw the ending scene of Ma Xiaojun and the others as adults, touring Beijing in luxury cars, he finally understood why Ma Xiaojun had urged him to change cars – he was hoping to get something for free.

After reading it, Zhang Yan asked curiously, "Did you really peep under the bed when you were a kid?"

"That wasn't peeping, it was being blocked inside."

Jiang Wen was not ashamed but proud: "Back then, when we went to the guesthouse to eat, we would hide in the guest room to finish eating before leaving—how about that, have I changed it well?"

"good."

Feng Xiaogang smacked his lips and said, "It's just missing the bullying part—when I was a kid, I would always go out of my way to avoid you kids from the compound."

Zhang Yan also shook his head and said, "Back then, our compound was full of intellectuals. We had to walk with our backs hunched and our waists bent."

"no……"

Jiang Wen said speechlessly, "Could you two put aside your class hatred and national animosity for now and talk about the script in a serious manner?"

After a pause, he cut to the chase and asked, "Or tell me, is this movie worth investing in?"

What can you glean from just a script?

Zhang Yan put the script on the table and said, "Here's what we're saying, I happen to have a music video to shoot. Why don't you go and give it some pointers, just to test its quality?"

"MV?"

Upon hearing this, Jiang Wen frowned and leaned back, clearly showing some resistance to the suggestion.

Liu Xiaoqing quietly kicked him and pressed, "Who was the music video for? What's the theme?"

"Old Wolf's campus folk songs are also the nostalgic kind—the song is called 'My Brother Who Sleeps in the Upper Bunk'."

To be honest, after Gao Xiaosong finished writing this song at the beginning of the year, he originally intended to use it as a stepping stone to realize his dream. However, after Zhang Yan returned from the border region, he suddenly stopped mentioning it.

Although Gao Xiaosong did not say it explicitly, considering recent events, it should be that the two sides had a conflict of values.

The song title caught Jiang Wen's attention. He straightened his posture slightly and asked, "What are the lyrics? Can you sing it?"

Zhang Yan hummed it to him.

Jiang Wen's eyes lit up after hearing this. He got up, paced around the room a couple of times, and then asked, "Could it be changed to my neighbor's brother? If it can be changed, I'll take the job!"

"Are you planning to put this song in the movie?"

"Play the end credits!"

Jiang Wen gestured wildly and said, "Come out with the subtitles—oh right, you also need to translate the lyrics into English, in a faithful, expressive, and elegant way. If you can get this done, I'll take the job!"

"It sounds like I'm begging you."

Zhang Yan rolled his eyes speechlessly, but ultimately agreed to Jiang Wen's request.

(End of this chapter)