Huayu: Starting from joining the mainstream entertainment industry in 96

Chapter 201, page 199: The Pursuit of Happines (Part 1)
Friday, December 4, 1998.

On the sixteenth day of the twelfth lunar month, after the Great Snow solar term, the sky over Beijing was a typical winter gray, and the dry, cold north wind blew against the face with a biting force.

But for the many cinema managers and staff in the "Nine Markets," the air that morning, besides the chill, was filled with a familiar, expectant restlessness.

The Lunar New Year film "When Happiness Knocks on the Door," spearheaded by Beijing Film Studio and Forbidden City Film Industry, and co-produced by Shengying Media, directed by Wang Sheng, and starring Ge You, will be released simultaneously in major cinemas across nine regions today.

A relatively stable and responsive film screening channel has been established, extending from Beijing and Tianjin to seven cities in Jiangsu Province.

In front of each participating cinema, uniform movie posters were erected early on: Ge You's iconic face, tinged with bitterness yet resolute, stood out against the snowy backdrop. The posters featured catchy slogans such as "Wang Sheng's latest masterpiece after '30 Days'!" "Ge You delivers a heartfelt performance as a father's desperate counterattack!" and "This winter, let happiness knock on your door!"

In terms of scheduling screenings, they demonstrated their complete confidence in the film.

Most cinemas, especially the leading cinemas located in the city center, opened up a high-density schedule for "The Pursuit of Happyness" all day long, starting from the morning screenings, with an average screening rate of over 80%, and the prime time slots were almost completely booked.

This is a kind of "clearing out" treatment, a vote of confidence from the market in the "Wang's New Year film" brand, and it also subtly reveals the alliance's ambition to further consolidate its market position and break higher box office records with this film.

……

At 12:30 pm, in Haiding District, Beijing, at the entrance of Dahua Cinema.

Ma Guoqing wrapped his worn-out military overcoat tighter around himself, stamped his feet, and tried to dispel the chill that was creeping up from his feet.

He was from Northeast China, from the heavy industrial city whose name appeared in the opening of the film—the Steel City.

I've been working in Beijing for over three years now. At first, I worked on construction sites with my fellow villagers. Later, relying on my strength and keen eye, I started doing some small business. I sold fruit, drove a tricycle, and now I help people unload goods at a wholesale market. I've managed to put down roots in Beijing, but I'm still struggling to make ends meet.

He wasn't very literate, but he had a simple trust in the concept of "movies," especially in the name "Wang Sheng."

Last winter, when "30 Days" was released, he watched it at the urging of his coworkers. He laughed so hard he almost fell over, and he also remembered the young director Wang Sheng, who could make even Stephen Chow submit.

What Wang Sheng did this summer made him feel that he had to support him.

I just finished unloading a truckload of goods this morning, and I received my half-day's wages. I still have the warmth of my body in my pocket.

He then arrived at the entrance of Dahua Cinema.

Looking at the scrolling message "The Pursuit of Happyness, starting at 12:30" on the electronic screen above the ticket window, he touched the few crumpled tickets in his pocket and hesitated for a moment.

“One, this one, ‘The Pursuit of Happyness’.” He pointed to the electronic screen in Mandarin, which I thought I didn’t have an accent.

"12:50, second floor, hall 3, middle seat, 15." The ticket seller didn't even look up.

Tickets for daytime shows are indeed cheaper.

Ma Guoqing felt relieved.

Clutching the small movie ticket, he felt his palms were a little sweaty.

Enter the cinema lobby.

The heating was very strong, instantly dispelling the chill outside.

The hall was quite crowded, mostly with people who looked like students or young couples, as well as middle-aged people like him, dressed simply and with weathered faces.

The air was filled with the sweet aroma of popcorn and the hum of people talking in hushed tones.

Find Hall 3 on the second floor, have your ticket checked, and go inside.

The theater wasn't the largest, but the seats were soft and the environment was clean.

He found his seat and sat down; there was no one to his left or right.

He took off his military overcoat and held it in his arms.

The lights gradually dimmed, and the screen lit up, first showing trailers for other movies, then the familiar public screening license and the logos of Beijing Film Studio, Forbidden City Film Studio, and Sheng Ying Media.

The theater fell completely silent.

……

On the screen, the story begins.

Act One: Collapse (Late 1996 - Early 1997)

The camera pans across the snow-covered Northeast Plain and lands on a massive state-owned steel plant in a steel city.

Towering chimneys, roaring workshops, workers in dark blue overalls and hard hats moving about, the air seems to be filled with the smell of steel and coal dust.

The loudspeaker was playing rousing marches and safety production notices.

Chen Jianguo (played by Ge You) is one of the members of this steel torrent.

As a key technical worker in the factory, he wore glasses and faded work clothes, focusing intently on operating the machine tool, his eyes revealing the confidence and determination of a skilled worker.

After get off work, he rode his old-fashioned bicycle through the familiar factory and residential area. Neighbors and coworkers greeted him warmly: "Engineer Chen, off work?" "Yeah, I'm off!"

Back home, in a factory-allocated apartment, small but clean and cozy, his wife, Li Yumei (played by Song Dandan), was busy in the communal kitchen, a pot of stewed cabbage and vermicelli steaming hot.

The son, Chen Xiaoqiang (played by Batu), is doing his homework while lying on the kang table.

At dinner, Chen Jianguo took out something carefully wrapped in old newspaper from his pocket, and carefully opened it. It was a brand new set of English-Chinese Dictionary.

With a hint of pride on his face, he said to his son, "Xiaoqiang, study hard, go to university, and study abroad! Dad will save money for you!"

Li Yumei smiled and playfully scolded him for wasting money, but her eyes were full of tenderness.

This is a typical working-class family in Northeast China that relies on their work unit. Although they are not wealthy, they are stable and have hope.

Chen Jianguo believes that "the factory is home and technology is a secure job." He has an "Advanced Producer" certificate pasted on his bedside and an English-Chinese dictionary that symbolizes his knowledge and status in his cabinet.

However, the relentless tide of time crashed down upon us.

The factory's auditorium was packed with workers.

On the podium, the leader read the document with a solemn expression. "Reduction of staff and increase efficiency," "layoffs and reassignment," "industrial restructuring," "period of growing pains"... one unfamiliar word after another hit everyone's heart like a heavy hammer.

When Chen Jianguo's name was read out on the first list of laid-off workers, the color drained from his face instantly, and his eyes behind his glasses were filled with bewilderment and disbelief.

He's highly skilled; he's a model worker in the factory! How could this be?
After the meeting, he walked out of the auditorium blankly with the crowd, holding a thin "Layoff Certificate" and an envelope containing a few "buyout payment" for his years of service.

On the wall behind, the red slogan "..." stood out starkly in the bleak winter sunlight.

The illusion of a warm family quickly shattered.

Li Yumei's complaints and anxieties grew daily. She sensed the impending crisis even earlier than Chen Jianguo and began secretly contacting fellow villagers working in the south. Arguments became commonplace.

"Just keep clinging to your skills and wait to die! The factory doesn't want you anymore!"

"What can I do? Besides operating machine tools, what else can I do?"

"Go south! Go to Shenzhen! There are more opportunities there! Do you expect Xiaoqiang and me to starve to death with you?"

Finally, one morning, Li Yumei packed a few simple bags and resolutely left this home that had once been full of hope.

Her last words to Chen Jianguo were: "Jianguo, we need to be realistic."

Holding his bewildered son, Chen Jianguo stood at the cold doorway of his home, watching his wife's departing figure. His eyes shifted from pain and anger to a lifeless emptiness.

The family collapsed overnight.

Act Two: Wandering (Spring/Summer 1997)
In order to survive, Chen Jianguo had no choice but to leave the familiar factory area and step into a completely unfamiliar society.

Arrived in Shanghai.

He tried many jobs: he waited for work at the labor market, but was rejected because of his age and "state-owned enterprise background"; he set up a street stall to sell gloves and socks, but ended up in a sorry state because he didn't know how to run a business and how to avoid the urban management officers.

The turning point came when he was riding his tricycle past the entrance of a securities brokerage.

He saw several men dressed in sharp suits and ties, holding cell phones and talking animatedly about "candlestick charts," "limit-up stocks," and "subscription certificates."

The vocabulary they used was like gibberish to him, but the wealth they displayed—based on knowledge and information—that was completely different from steel and machine tools, deeply attracted him.

The brightly lit lobby of the business office, with its giant, flashing screen, was like a tempting "Pandora's box."

He realized that this might be the only lifeline he, as a "cultured person," could possibly grasp.

He pulled out the English-Chinese Dictionary and began frantically studying finance on his own. He went to secondhand bookstores to find all the relevant books and periodicals, and used the back of his son's discarded notebooks to make dense notes and draw diagrams.

However, ideals are often grand, while reality is often harsh and unpleasant.

Unable to find stable employment for an extended period and having exhausted their savings, the father and son were evicted from their public housing by their landlord.

They began their true wandering.

They stayed in video arcades that cost five yuan a night, filled with smoke and the sounds of fighting on videotapes; squeezed onto benches in cold, noisy, and bustling train station waiting rooms; and finally, they stayed in public bathhouses that charged by the hour and became much cheaper after midnight.

The film uses a long take to depict the night spent in the bathhouse: the rising steam blurs the vision, and the exhausted people curl up on the deck chairs and fall asleep.

Chen Jianguo wrapped his son Xiaoqiang tightly in his military overcoat, and the child's innocent voice echoed in the empty bathroom: "Dad, are we on an adventure?"

Chen Jianguo did not answer, but simply hugged his son tighter. The camera zoomed in on his face, and tears mingled with the water droplets and steam flowing down his forehead, silently streaming down his face.

It was a man's silent breakdown and perseverance.

In order to fill his stomach, Chen Jianguo secretly went to the blood bank during the most difficult time.

When he used the few dozen yuan he earned from selling his blood to buy a large bowl of hot noodles with a few thin slices of meat floating on top, and his son told him to eat first, a low sob was heard in the theater.

(End of this chapter)