1979: The child's mother is a celestial being.

Chapter 87 The First Golden Rooster Awards (Please Subscribe!)
"Can anyone tell me what this movie is about?"

"Oh my God, this is from the same country as 'Andhadhun,' which we watched yesterday!"

"Backward, feudal, superstitious, and barbaric—that's what we think of Chinese films."

"..."

At the screening of "The Wilderness," many people came with high expectations because of the success of "Andhadhun."

After watching the movie, many people were greatly disappointed; half the audience had already left before the film was even over.

As for the film companies that subsequently showed interest in it, there were very few.

This experience was not only a blow to Lingzi, but also like a bucket of cold water, directly extinguishing the burning passion in Deputy Director Shi's heart that had been burning brightly until this morning.

For Xiao Lin, the representative of China Film Group, that familiar feeling had returned.

This is the norm for them when dealing with foreign film companies.

On the contrary, yesterday's excitement felt unreal.

"It's alright, Sister Ling. Temporary gains and losses don't matter. When you stand on the mountaintop in the future and look back at today, everything will just be scenery along the way."

Everyone comforted Lingzi, and Chen Fusheng also said something like this.

"It's nothing, thank you everyone for your concern, I'm fine. Actually, I expected this situation, but I was a little upset when I heard them use the movie to portray our country negatively." Ling Zi lowered her head and wiped her nose, then said to Deputy Director Shi, "I'm sorry, Director Shi, I've let you down!"

"It's okay, you don't need to blame yourself too much. These foreigners' preconceived notions about China weren't formed by your movie..."

As for failing to live up to expectations, to be honest, Deputy Director Shi didn't have high hopes for Ling Zi's "The Wilderness".

After comforting the parties involved, everyone had to face the fact that no one was interested in the overseas rights for "The Wilderness". At this time, Xiao Lin, the representative of China Film Group, came up with an unprecedented idea: "How about we bundle 'The Wilderness' and 'The Tuner' together for sale...?"

After hearing Xiao Lin's "suggestion," most people guessed that this was probably a common trick used by China Film Group when selling the overseas rights to Chinese films.

Although it sounds like a helpless situation, it is indeed a good solution.

After considering it for a moment, Chen Fusheng nodded and said, "We can give it a try. It's just a pity that the overseas rights for 'The Tuner' in many countries and regions have already been sold, otherwise we might be able to earn more."

“Indeed, the country is very poor right now, so every penny we can earn is a penny earned.” Deputy Director Shi nodded in agreement.

Just then, Gong Xue reminded her, "That businessman named Owen is here again."

Chen Fusheng turned around and, sure enough, saw Owen walking towards him with a smile.

Before the other party even got close, he laughed and congratulated them, saying, "Congratulations, Chen, on your work selling like hotcakes in the copyright trading market."

"Thank you."

Chen Fusheng didn't want to upset Ling Zi any further, so he took Owen aside to talk.

"May I ask, Chen, how many overseas rights have you sold for your film 'The Tuner'?"

"This is a trade secret."

"Alright, please forgive my intrusion."

"Haha, just kidding, Kyrie Irving has sold for $138.6 million so far."

"Wow, I heard you only sold overseas rights to some small countries, and you already have so many? Are movies really that profitable?" Owen exclaimed in shock, even considering investing in movies himself.

"Little by little, it adds up, and I was also quite lucky," Chen Fusheng smiled.

Kyrie Irving isn't a three-year-old; he wouldn't believe such a thing.

But once he calmed down, he didn't lose his temper. He knew that if a complete novice like him tried to get involved in movies out of envy, he would probably end up losing everything.

So he took the initiative to shift the topic to the cooperation that had not been agreed upon yesterday.

"Chen, you should know what I want to talk to you about today, right?"

"Of course, it's still about advertising sponsorship, right?"

Before Irving could respond, Chen Fusheng continued, "The influence of 'Andhadhun' has already been demonstrated by the booming copyright trading market, so Mr. Irving, do you still think $50 is not worth it?"

"..." Owen was immediately overwhelmed by Chen Fusheng's preemptive momentum and said somewhat aggrievedly, "Chen, I remember you said yesterday that there was still room for negotiation on the price."

Chen Fusheng was also worried that he would scare the other party away again, so he relented.

"Alright, Mr. Owen, let's be frank. Tell me your acceptable price range, and I'll consider it."

Irving nodded. He had, of course, carefully considered the price before coming.

Moreover, since the negotiations had progressed to this point, there was no need to keep them in suspense any longer, and they began to probe each other's bottom line.

“$30 is a price I can accept.”

Actually, Chen Fusheng could accept $300,000. However, since the other party quoted this price right away, it meant there was still room for negotiation.

and so……

He countered:

"Let's compromise: $40. Neither of us will lose out."

This price was still somewhat beyond Irving's expectations. He gritted his teeth and simply stated his bottom line: "35. This is the highest price I can accept."

After she finished speaking, she looked at Chen Fusheng nervously.

The latter pretended to consider it deeply for a moment, then extended his hand to him: "Deal!"

Call ~
Irving let out a long breath.

He also reached out and shook hands with Chen Fusheng.

After both parties signed the contract at the print shop, Chen Fusheng said to Owen, "I will write out the script for the advertisement in the next few days. Once your clothing samples arrive, Mr. Owen, you can leave the rest to me."

"Okay, we look forward to Chen designing a great value advertisement for our clothing brand."

"It's natural."

Chen Fusheng had too many advertising ideas from later generations in his mind. Even if he didn't copy them, he could create his own. With so much material in his mind, it would be an easy task for him.

He even thought Huang Bo's line, "Baleno, what a brand!" was a great advertising idea.

Although the brand Baleno gradually disappeared after this line appeared in the previous life, just ask yourself, how many people only learned about the brand Baleno because of this line?
However, Kyrie Irving himself provided the brand slogan and philosophy, so Chen Fusheng didn't need to make this attempt.

……

A week later, while Chen Fusheng was filming an advertisement for Baleno, his wife, daughter, and mother-in-law all came to Hangzhou from Beijing with the film bureau's team.

This morning was the day of the inaugural Golden Rooster Awards ceremony.

At this moment, Liu Xiaoli was sitting in the awards ceremony, holding two acceptance speeches she had written herself with her mother's help. Her nervousness was palpable.

Nowadays, award ceremonies in China don't deliberately keep people in suspense. After the leaders take turns giving speeches on stage, the list of all the winners is announced together.

"...The Best Cinematography Award went to Xu Qi for 'Legend of Tianyun Mountain,' and the Best Supporting Actor and Actress Group Award went to Shi Ling, Ouyang Ruqiu, Mao Weihui, Lin Bin, Zhong Xinghuo, and Lu Qing, all of whom came from the 'Bashan Night Rain' crew."

"The Best Actress award went to Zhang Yu for 'Romance on Lushan Mountain' and 'Night Rain on Bashan Mountain'; the Best Actor award went to Chen Fusheng for 'Cow'; the Best Screenplay award went to Chen Fusheng for 'Cow'; the Best Director award went to Xie Jing for 'Legend of Tianyun Mountain'... The Best Feature Film awards went to 'Night Rain on Bashan Mountain' and 'Legend of Tianyun Mountain'."

"Now, please invite the award winners or their representatives to come to the stage in turn to receive their awards and give their acceptance speeches."

Liu Xiaoli took four or five deep breaths, put away the note in her hand, and then went up to the podium to receive the award.

"You must be Comrade Fusheng's lover, right?"

"Yes, Mr. Xia Yan, I have often heard Fu Sheng mention you, saying that you are a pioneer on the literary and artistic front in our country and a senior figure. He is very grateful for your comments on 'Cow Fighting' in Popular Cinema."

"Your spouse is also remarkable; at such a young age, they've made significant contributions to the country's foreign exchange earnings. What's your name?"

"Mr. Xia Yan, my name is Liu Xiaoli."

"Good, good, good. Comrade Fusheng is so lucky to have such a virtuous wife like you. Here, these are his trophies and certificates, take them."

"Thank you, Mr. Xia Yan."

After receiving the award, it was soon Liu Xiaoli's turn to give an acceptance speech on behalf of Chen Fusheng.

Although she was a little nervous when she went on stage, now that she was actually standing on this stage, she didn't know if it was the honor her husband had won that gave her strength, but she no longer felt nervous.

Seeing the eyes of hundreds of people on her, Liu Xiaoli smiled with a slight dimple and began to deliver her acceptance speech, which she had memorized by heart.

"Respected leaders, judges, and colleagues from the film industry, good afternoon. I am Liu Xiaoli, the wife of Comrade Chen Fusheng. I am just as excited and grateful as he was to be able to stand here on his behalf and accept this weighty honor on his behalf."

“My husband is currently unable to come to the Cannes Film Festival because he is fulfilling a national mission, but he repeatedly told me to make sure he conveys his sincerest gratitude to everyone.”

He said: "This award, no, these two awards, do not belong to him alone, but to everyone in the 'Cow' crew."

“Then, on behalf of my husband, I would like to express my special thanks to the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the China Film Association. I would also like to thank the Golden Rooster Awards for recognizing and encouraging filmmakers, and the judges for their professional vision, which has given him warmth and strength on his artistic journey.”

"..."

"Finally, on his behalf, I would like to thank all the leaders, colleagues, and viewers who have cared for and supported him. Thank you all!"

Wow!
Wow!
After she finished speaking, the moment the applause rang out, the smile on Liu Xiaoli's face, which had been forced, finally turned into a genuine smile.

She breathed a sigh of relief, bowed to the audience again, and then walked off the stage with her husband, carrying his honor.

(End of this chapter)