Huayu: Starting from managing the Mahua FunAge Theater Troupe

next day

Saturday, May 29th, 5 PM.

The fourth episode of "Chinese Comedians" aired on time.

Tens of millions of viewers across the country waited in front of their television sets.

Over the past few days, a series of reports, while focusing on promoting anti-abduction through Shen Teng's interview and the skit "Dad, Dad, Dad," have indeed brought considerable exposure to "Chinese Comedians," attracting millions of new viewers to the show.

Of course, the most important thing is the high quality of the program content. After watching the rebroadcast of the first three episodes, the audience is very much looking forward to the new works brought by each group of contestants in the fourth episode.

In particular, the two groups of contestants, Xiao Hei Pangzi and Pao Mian Tou from Happy Twist and Yu Yun She, respectively represent the new sketch comedy and the new crosstalk.

In this episode, Happy Twist was once again the last to perform, bringing their piece "Catering to Others' Tastes".

A short film satirizing the corrupt practices in officialdom.

This type of work will never go out of style.

Zhao Benshan had already attempted this in his 1993 work "Old Man's New Year's Greetings," and later he released his masterpiece of satirical sketches, "Uncle Niu Gets Promoted."

Although Zhao Benshan did not create this type of sketch, he was an absolute master of this kind of work.

Happy Twist had prepared other alternative skits, but during the rehearsal, Zhao Benshan watched "Catering to One's Tastes" and immediately decided to perform it for this episode, and personally contacted Liaoning TV.

Zhao Benshan's reasoning was very official.

2004 was a pivotal year in the fight against corruption, marking a shift from "power-based anti-corruption" to "institutional anti-corruption," reaching unprecedented heights in both intensity and institutional development.

It is very necessary for such a work to appear on the stage.

The TV station leaders were initially worried that it would lead to the program being suspended for self-censorship, but unexpectedly, Shen Teng and Happy Twist were established as positive role models by the authorities first, and Liaoning TV also received verbal commendation from higher authorities as a result.

Then there's absolutely nothing to worry about.

After watching the skit, viewers in front of their televisions felt all the unhappiness they had experienced from work over the past week vanish.

On the TV.

Zhao Benshan offered his commentary on the work "To Cater to One's Tastes".

"It's our good fortune that this skit can be shown on this stage and seen by everyone."

"But I still think it's a bit of a pity. It would have been even better if it had been on the Spring Festival Gala."

"I'm speaking up for you guys here. If the Spring Festival Gala production team sees this, they should keep a close eye on the Happy Twist team."

After Zhao Benshan finished speaking, his gaze fell on Shen Teng and the others: "Little Shen, there's something I need to tell you."

"The works you've presented in these four episodes are simply too outrageous, setting the bar too high. Anti-war, anti-trafficking, black light drama, satire of officialdom—each episode is different, and each one is heavier than the last. The audience is thoroughly enjoying it, but only you know whether you on stage can handle it."

"Sketches are like building a house. You need to lay a foundation, but you can't lay all the bricks at once. You need to know when to stop and save some strength, otherwise it will be difficult to move forward later."

"Of course, if you can come up with something good later, then these four phases won't be considered high, and you'll be considered capable."

"..."

Longtime viewers in front of the TV have become accustomed to hearing Zhao Benshan praise Happy Twist in every episode, which seems to have become a fixed part of each episode.

Even more outrageous is that they highly approve of Zhao Benshan's praise for Happy Twist.

Because the skits performed by Happy Twist were genuinely funny.

……

June 31, Monday, early morning.

Print media outlets across the country spontaneously reported on the news of the fourth episode of "Chinese Comedians".

Happy Twist (Shen Teng) won the single-episode championship again with their latest work "Catering to Their Tastes", winning the championship for four consecutive episodes. Zhao Benshan's disciples were runners-up for four episodes. 㯖云社 (Guo Gang and Yu Qian) held on to third place. Guo Donglin was not in good form and slipped to fourth place. Yin Bolin & Yin Zhuolin were eliminated. Who will fill the gap in the next episode?

……

Here.

The recording and rehearsal work for the ninth and tenth episodes of "Chinese Comedians" has begun.

The final pair of replacement contestants, Yang Yihua and Yang Yi, will appear in these two episodes.

Yang Yihua and Yang Yi are a well-known father-son duo in Tianjin's crosstalk circle.

Yang Yihua's teacher is actually unclear.

He studied under Guo Qirong, a master of the "Shou" generation, but this apprenticeship was not formally established in his early years, and he had little contact with his master, which has always been controversial in the industry.

Later, Mr. Ma Sanli included him in the family genealogy of crosstalk performers, and Yang Yihua's "Bao" generation identity was gradually accepted by some people. When Guo Yigang met him, he had to call him "Master".

Yang Yi's situation is even more special. He did not formally become an apprentice and belongs to the "Haiqing" in crosstalk jargon. However, because his father is of the "Bao" generation, he should be of the "Wen" generation according to the generational calculation.

Although he had no formal teacher, Yang Yi was still a prominent figure in both Tianjin and Beijing social circles.

Backstage.

Guo Gang and Yu Qian went to the lounge where Yang Yihua and Yang Yi were to greet them.

Guo Gang and Yang Yi have known each other for many years.

According to the original timeline, Yang Yi also played a role in Guo Gang's apprenticeship to Hou Yaowen.

"Uncle Yang, Fifth Uncle."

Guo Gang greeted Yang Yihua, who was sitting, and Yang Yi, who was standing.

"Master Yang" is a term used to address Yang Yihua.

Yang Yi was the fifth child in his family. Guo Gang was a generation younger than him, so he called him Fifth Uncle.

Yang Yi raised his hand and ruffled Guo Gang's buzz cut, saying with a forced smile, "Little Gang, long time no see."

Yang Yi is a man who, if someone is worse off than him or someone he genuinely fears, will sincerely make friends and greet them with a smile. But if someone he originally looked down on suddenly becomes successful and does better than him, then he will be genuinely jealous.

Guo Gang belongs to the latter category.

Guo Gang, whose head was being rubbed, couldn't help but frown.

Yang Yi noticed Guo Gang's change in mood and said with a hint of amusement, "What's wrong? Can't I touch his head?"

Guo Gang originally wanted to hold back, but upon hearing this, he immediately realized that this grandson had ulterior motives and was being deliberately malicious. He immediately exploded: "I'm giving you face by calling you Fifth Uncle. If I don't give you face, what kind of person are you?"

"You think you're something special?" Yang Yi stabbed Guo Wei's lungs directly in the back: "You think nobody knows what you did in Tianjin? Should I get the media to give you a good publicity stunt?"

"Fifth Uncle, if you really think these things can be explained clearly, then go find the media. I have a performance to do on this stage, so I can't chat with you anymore." Guo Gang turned and left.

"Master Yang, farewell." Yu Qian said, then left.

……

The subsequent rehearsal.

Guo Gang and Yu Qian went on stage first.

Guo Gang's performance this time is a satirical crosstalk.

As Guo Gang spoke, he started improvising, beginning with a line from the Three Kingdoms period: "Brother Qian'er, you see, in ancient times, some people had little ability but a big temper. They didn't have any real skills, but they always liked to talk about 'My dad is so-and-so.' They thought that because they were born into a prestigious family, everyone had to fawn over them."

Yu Qian smoothly replied, "Hey, that's all in the past."

Guo Gang: "There are still people like that now! Don't you believe me? I met one myself. He didn't have a master, but he had the nerve to ask others to call him 'uncle.' And when they did, he actually dared to accept it. Not only that, he went further, acting like people owed him something. Can you believe how ridiculous that is?"

The voice just fell.

Yang Yi, who was sitting in the audience watching the rehearsal with the other contestants, suddenly lost her temper and, disregarding the occasion, shouted, "Guo Gang, who the hell are you talking about?!"

Shen Feiyang, who was sitting in the first row and talking quietly with Zhao Benshan, frowned.

Zhao Benshan was also quite displeased.

Yang Yihua, as expected of an experienced comedian, reacted quickly and pulled his son's wrist.

Shen Feiyang glanced at Zhou Yan, the executive producer sitting on the other side, and gave him a wink.

Zhou Yan stood up, looked at Yang Yi standing in the back row, and asked only one question: "Can we still record?"

"Yes, yes, I can record it," Yang Yihua said with a smile.

……

The program rehearsal is over.

Everyone returned to the lounge.

Yang Yihua quickly took his son to the lounge to apologize to Zhao Benshan, Shen Feiyang, and others.

Yang Huahua was able to bring his son to participate in "Chinese Comedians" thanks to Zhao Benshan's recommendation.

Yang Yihua and Zhao Benshan met at the 1995 Spring Festival Gala.

At that time, Zhao Benshan and Yang Yihua were assigned to share a room because of the Spring Festival Gala rehearsals.

During their time living together, Zhao Benshan learned that although Yang Hua had a skill, his income was meager, and he had several children to support, making his life quite difficult.

So, while Yang Hua was fast asleep, he secretly slipped 2000 yuan in cash under his pillow.

Yang Yihua was deeply moved upon discovering the gift and wanted to return it, but Zhao Benshan resolutely refused. To reciprocate this kindness, Yang Yihua gifted Zhao Benshan a razor as a souvenir. He also later helped Zhao Benshan polish his artwork.

The two had a very deep friendship.

After Zhao Benshan learned the whole story from Guo Gang and Yu Qian, he said a few kind words to Shen Feiyang about Yang Yihua, asking him to be more understanding of the difficulties every family has.

Just then, there was a knock on the door of the lounge.

"Go in," Zhao Benshan said.

The door was pushed open.

Yang Yihua and Yang Yi came in.

Yang Yi was starting to get scared too.

As the old saying goes, you have to consider the owner before you beat a dog.

"Uncle."

Zhao Benshan stood up and went to greet Yang Yihua with a smile.

Yang Yihua said apologetically, "Benshan, I'm sorry to have troubled you."

"Please sit down." Zhao Benshan helped Yang Yihua to a seat.

Yang Yi didn't dare to sit down, but stood next to her father, observing the current situation.

Guo Gang and Yu Qian sat on the other side, their faces expressionless.

A very young man sat steadily, watching him.

They exchanged a glance.

Yang Yi lowered his head.

Zhao Benshan sat back down next to Shen Feiyang: "I've looked into everything. Yang Yi, you were in the wrong first. Guo Gang's impromptu remarks were a bit much, but you shouldn't have cursed people in public. If it weren't for President Shen's magnanimity, it wouldn't be impossible to replace him with someone else to record this."

Yang Yi was terrified and didn't dare to say a word.

Yang Yihua looked at Shen Feiyang standing next to Zhao Benshan and said, "President Shen, it's all my fault for not raising my son properly..."

Shen Feiyang raised his hand to interrupt: "Teacher Yang, this has nothing to do with you."

Shen Feiyang looked at Yang Yi beside him: "If you're wrong, you should admit it and stand up straight when you're being punished. I'm not in the crosstalk circle, and my generation doesn't belong to me. I respect the elderly and care for the young, but you're neither old nor young, so this matter can't be understood so simply."

Yang Yi remained silent.

Yang Yihua patted him on the shoulder: "Say something."

Yang Yi, with her neck stiff, asked, "Then what do you want me to do?"

"Recently, many people claiming to be from the crosstalk world have been criticizing the crosstalk troupe and Guo Wengui..."

Shen Feiyang leaned back slightly: "You publish an apology, admit that you were the one who said those things, then set a table and offer a toast, and this matter will be over."

Upon hearing this...

Everyone present glanced at Shen Feiyang slightly.

You're really ruthless, kid.

Zhao Benshan muttered to himself.

Guo Gang thought Shen Feiyang's way of taking revenge was absolutely brilliant!

Yu Qian found it quite amusing.

After a moment's thought, Yang Yihua realized that Shen Feiyang was trying to make Yang Yi save face.

"this……"

Yang Yi wanted to refuse.

Yang Yihua interrupted, "Alright, that's how it's going to be. If you don't do it this way, then don't acknowledge me as your father anymore."

"I can publish an apology, but not in a major newspaper," Yang Yi said, still trying to negotiate.

Shen Feiyang retorted without hesitation: "You have no right to choose. Also, if there are any people claiming to be from the crosstalk world criticizing Yiyun Society and Guo Gang in the newspapers in the future, if you can't find out who is behind the criticism, I will assume it was you. This is the punishment for your bargaining."

Yang Yi opened his mouth, but dared not speak again.

Zhao Benshan spoke up at the right moment: "Alright, I'll be a witness today. That's settled then. Anyone who doesn't abide by this will be held accountable, and I won't hold them accountable."