1978: Female educated youth, don’t want an illiterate husband

at the same time!

In an elegant reception room in Haizi, Cheng Xuemin sat opposite Liao Lao, holding a warm cup of Biluochun tea.

The snow outside the window has stopped, and sunlight filters through the pine branches, casting dappled shadows on the blue brick floor.

"Is the filming of 'Tai Chi' going smoothly?" Old Liao put down his teacup, tapping his knuckles lightly on the table. "I heard you've been working non-stop for over a month to prepare for the Berlin Film Festival?"

Cheng Xuemin's pledge was to make a film called "Tai Chi" and submit it to the Bolin Film Festival.

I'm not asking for awards, I just want to get some advertising and promotion for the movie "Tai Chi".

We had already spoken with Elder Wu and Elder Liao beforehand, and they all knew what Cheng Xuemin's real purpose was in making the Tai Chi movie.

That's why Liao Lao personally spoke with Cheng Xuemin at this literary and art congress.

After all, this is a military order concerning ten million US dollars in foreign exchange. If we can achieve this, the implications are self-evident.

Just before the old leader left, he specifically asked Liao Lao a question.

Therefore, this pledge, this Tai Chi Film foreign exchange project, has reached the highest levels of authority.

Everyone is waiting to see the results.

"It went fairly smoothly, with Director Wang and the others keeping a close eye on things." Cheng Xuemin smiled and continued, "The only problem is that the background music is a bit controversial. Some people say that using 'Jasmine Flower' is too gentle and can't suppress the momentum of the martial arts."

Yes!

Cheng Xuemin made changes to the soundtrack, replacing his previous tribute to and copy of the theme song "Night Has Fallen" from "Tai Chi Master".

I think the theme song is really nice, and it complements the theme of the martial arts film "Tai Chi".

But her daughter-in-law, Feng Jiayou, gave her a suggestion, saying that since this was a work to be submitted to an international exhibition, although it was a martial arts film, the whole theme couldn't be all about being hot and passionate; it had to have a touch of gentleness.

Ok!

Cheng Xuemin was pleasantly surprised that his wife had such insight and awareness, so he encouraged her to continue, asking how to add a touch of gentleness.

But Feng Jiayou couldn't quite put her finger on it; her intuition told her that she needed to incorporate some gentler elements.

Just like the core principle of Tai Chi, one should be firm when necessary and gentle when appropriate, achieving a balance of strength and gentleness.

Ok!

Cheng Xuemin was also greatly shocked, never expecting that his silly wife could think of so much.

It seems that although she doesn't say she can't play the female lead, she has actually thoroughly understood the entire script of "Tai Chi".

Tai Chi movies are inherently based on the theme of combining strength and gentleness.

The passion and tenderness of heroes and heroines should be a perfect blend of strength and gentleness.

Finally, his wife, Feng Jiayou, suddenly had an idea: they could change the theme song and background music to something more tender and romantic, instead of something so somber and gloomy.

Thus, we have the classic tender song "Jasmine Flower," which replaced the original "Night Has Fallen" written by Cheng Xuemin.

However, when Cheng Xuemin told Yan Film Studio about this idea, he received different opinions from the old director and others.

They felt that Tai Chi was originally a martial arts film, and while other parts could be tender, the theme song had to be consistent with the film's theme. They thought that Cheng Xuemin's theme song, which he had specially written and composed for Tai Chi, was very fitting.

There's no need to change it to "Jasmine Flower," it's too gentle!
Now that Liao Lao is inquiring about the progress of the "Tai Chi" project, Cheng Xuemin gives a detailed report.

“Softness can overcome hardness!” Upon hearing this, a hint of approval flashed in Liao’s eyes. He said, “I have read the Tai Chi script. Isn’t this the essence of its theme?”

Back when we were fighting guerrilla warfare in northern Shaanxi, we couldn't win by direct confrontation, so we relied on 'skill'.

The same applies to artistic creation; it doesn't have to be so tense. He paused, then changed the subject, "Don't take the controversy at this literary and art congress to heart. Allowing different voices to exist is what reform should be like."

Cheng Xuemin nodded: "I understand!"

"In fact, An Shaokang and his colleagues' criticisms are not entirely without merit. Popular literature should indeed be wary of vulgarization, and this balance must be carefully maintained."

"It's good that you think that way!" Old Liao picked up the manuscript of "Wreaths at the Foot of the Mountain" from the table. The cover was covered with red comments. "You wrote about your experience on the front lines in the book?"

"I wrote a short paragraph, but I was afraid it would be too sensitive, so I didn't dare to write more," Cheng Xuemin said somewhat embarrassedly. "I stayed in the foxhole for seven days and heard many stories from the soldiers, which were much more exciting than what I made up."

Old Liao's gaze deepened, and he nodded in approval, saying, "What needs to be written must be written! The common people not only need entertainment, but also need to know how peaceful days came about."

He then pointed to the pine trees outside the window and said, "Look at those trees. They look bare in winter, but they still sprout new buds when spring comes. Good works of art are the same; they can withstand wind and snow."

Lunch was simple: four dishes and a soup, all home-style.

Old Liao specially asked the chef to add a dish of millet rice from northern Shaanxi, saying with a smile, "So you can taste the flavor of your hometown."

Cheng Xuemin was deeply moved. Although the meal was not as luxurious as he had imagined, Liao Lao's kindness and approachability made him feel very relaxed and honored.

Before leaving, Mr. Liao held his hand and said, "I'll say it again: there's no need to feel pressured. It's enough that the world can see the changes in China."

Looking at the old man's white hair at his temples, Cheng Xuemin suddenly remembered what Feng's father often said: "Truly great people are like old oxen, working silently and without making a fuss."

When I returned to the Great Hall of the People, the lunch break had already ended.

As soon as Cheng Xuemin entered the venue, he was surrounded by people from Yan Film Studio, who inquired about his special privilege of dining in the lake.

Cheng Xuemin's gaze swept across the venue and saw that the seats of Jiangcheng University were empty, with only a few folding chairs leaning against the wall.

The old factory director, Wang Yang, whispered in his ear, "Li Mo'an was just carried away. I heard he vomited blood."

"Is he alright?" Cheng Xuemin frowned.

"The doctor said it was a stomach hemorrhage caused by emotional distress, nothing serious," the old factory manager sighed. "He's a pitiful man, too stubborn."

Cheng Xuemin didn't say anything and returned to his seat.

On the podium, Mr. Mao was speaking about "the inclusiveness of literature".

Sunlight streamed through the glass window, illuminating his gray hair as if it were plated with gold. Cheng Xuemin suddenly remembered Liao Lao's words, "Allow different voices to exist," and his mind cleared.

When the meeting ended, he met An Shaokang at the door.

The young man's eyes were red-rimmed, and he clutched a manila envelope in his hand. He avoided Cheng Xuemin when he saw him, but stopped a few steps away, turned back, and handed the envelope to him: "This is... something Teacher Li asked me to give to you."

The envelope contained clippings of several articles, the very ones criticizing Cheng Xuemin. They were covered in red corrections, and the last sentence read: "One learns and then one realizes one's inadequacy; one teaches and then one realizes one's difficulties."

When Cheng Xuemin looked up, An Shaokang had already walked far away, his back stretching long in the sunset, like a child who had done something wrong.

Factory Director Wang leaned over to look at the clipping and laughed, "Old Li has finally admitted his mistake."

Cheng Xuemin folded the clippings neatly and put them in his inner pocket. He knew that these words, though perhaps sharp, also reminded him never to lose his reverence for literature.

As night fell, Cheng Xuemin rode his bicycle with his mother-in-law and father-in-law through the alley. Warm yellow light shone from the windows of every household, mixed with the aroma of food and the sound of storytelling from the radio.

This reminded Cheng Xuemin of the last scene in "Tai Chi": the master stood on the mountaintop, watching the rising sun pierce through the clouds, and slowly performed the first move.

Perhaps, the true essence of Tai Chi is not about defeating the opponent, but about understanding them.

True reform is not about eliminating dissent, but about finding a way forward amidst differing opinions.

Cheng Xuemin pedaled his bicycle, the sound of the wheels rolling over the snow like a lighthearted song, echoing far and wide in the quiet alley.

"Xuemin, slow down!"

The weight lifted from the hearts of Mr. and Mrs. Feng, who were chasing after them, was finally lifted.

When Cheng Xuemin and his family returned home, it was already completely dark. Their family members were waiting for them to come back for dinner in the main room.

The little squirrel was held in his aunt's arms, while Feng Jiayou was squatting in front of the coal stove, turning over sweet potatoes to roast. The flames licked the stove wall, making her cheeks glow red.

Hearing the sound of them pushing the cart in, everyone looked towards the doorway without prior arrangement.

Feng Jiayou also stood up abruptly, her apron still covered in charcoal ash, her eyes sparkling with joy, and shouted, "Xuemin! Mom and Dad! You're back!"

"You're back!" Cheng Xuemin replied as he locked his bicycle.

Feng Jiayou came forward, gently brushing the creases on Cheng Xuemin's clothes with her fingertips, and asked, "How...are you today?"

Cheng Xuemin briefly recounted the important points from the literary and art congress, then went to the coal stove, picked up a roasted sweet potato, and began to eat it.

Perfectly baked, and so sweet!

Then, he mentioned the old leader's congratulatory speech, the seat on the stage, and Liao Lao's encouragement, but he didn't mention Li Mo'an's vomiting blood, for fear of worrying her.

Feng Jiayou's eyes lit up as she listened, and she kept squeezing his hand tightly until he said, "Don't interfere," at which point she suddenly burst into tears.

“I knew it… I knew everything would be alright.” She wiped away her tears with the back of her hand. Feng Jiayou was at home, worried all day. After the scare, her voice choked as she continued, “Last time I saw you staring blankly at the newspaper, I thought, how can we not let ordinary people read stories?”

Cheng Xuemin pulled her into his arms and smelled the familiar scent of osmanthus oil in her hair. Suddenly, he felt that all the storms had passed like smoke.

As the two were talking, Feng Jiayou suddenly remembered something, pulled a brown paper envelope from her pocket, the edges of which were already frayed, and said:

"Oh, right! My aunt wrote a letter! It arrived this morning, and I wanted to wait for you to come back so we could read it together."

Cheng Xuemin's heart skipped a beat, and he was filled with anticipation as he took the envelope.

After the last National Day holiday, when his aunt returned to the United States, Cheng Xuemin asked her to help inquire about and arrange for his participation in the Bolin Film Festival. He figured his aunt was a big shot in the industry in the US and would have some influence, so he expected her to reply quickly.

But little did anyone know that his aunt would be gone for two months without a word. Cheng Xuemin was worried that his aunt was unreliable and had run away with the money!
After all, what my aunt took with her at the time was the classic foreign pop song "Yesterday Once More," which was a tribute to Cheng Xuemin.

This is a foreign language single that could earn at least two or three million. If it gets swindled by Feng Jiayou's aunt, what else could it be but running off with the money and disappearing without a trace?
Fortunately, he finally received a reply from her, and Cheng Xuemin was filled with anticipation.

Yesterday Once More was alright!
Based on Cheng Xuemin's observations of foreign music radio stations, "Yesterday Once More" has not yet been released and charted on the radio, indicating that his aunt is holding onto it for some reason and has not yet made a move.

So this reply is both an expression of my aunt's expectations for the arrangements of "Yesterday Once More" and a look forward to news from the Berlin Film Festival.

The Bolin Film Festival is the top priority!

After all, foreign film festivals have stopped inviting Chinese films for decades, effectively excluding Chinese films for just as long.

So suddenly asking them to open up and let our work participate in the exhibition was really a matter of luck.

of course!

Cheng Xuemin didn't really intend to participate in the exhibition and win one or two more international awards. His initial idea was to go uninvited and promote his film "Tai Chi" on the periphery of the film festival to attract investors' US dollar foreign exchange investment.

Of course, if you could get a ticket to the film festival, that would definitely make things even better.

A thought flashed through his mind, and Cheng Xuemin began to open the package.

The letter inside the envelope bore the letterhead of the University of Berlin. My aunt's handwriting was delicate yet strong, and it read: "Xuemin, the Berlin Film Festival organizing committee has softened its stance and will allow China to submit a film for the festival. But there are two conditions: first, only one film is allowed; second, no films can be selected, and the Chinese side must choose the best one..."

The aunt's thoughts were very straightforward; Cheng Xuemin's finger paused on the words "one unit only".

Feng Jiayou leaned closer to look, holding her breath: "This...this means that Tai Chi can go?"

“Yes, we can go, but it’s not just Tai Chi that can go.” Cheng Xuemin folded the letter and stuffed it into his shirt pocket. “My aunt said that they only recognize ‘official Chinese nominations’ and don’t recognize submissions from individuals.”

Feng Jiayou's smile faded slightly: "Wouldn't that mean we have to go through China Film Group? What if they don't choose 'Tai Chi'?"

“So we can’t make a fuss about it!” Cheng Xuemin’s eyes darkened, and he continued, “After the literary and art congress ends, I will send the complete set of photos directly to my aunt and have her submit them for exhibition under the name of ‘people-to-people exchange’.”

The Berlin Film Festival has always encouraged independent works; perhaps they can make an exception.

He didn't want "Tai Chi" to get involved in the selection process. There were many old-fashioned people in China Film Group who might not be interested in martial arts films. Rather than fighting tooth and nail, he thought it was better to take a different approach.

Feng Jiayou nodded and stuffed a freshly roasted sweet potato into his hand: "I'll listen to you! But... are you really not going to tell Director Wang and the others?"

Cheng Xuemin held her hand, the warmth of his palm penetrating her thin skin: "Let's talk about it after the final cut is done! Talking about it now will only bring a lot of trouble."

The snow started falling again outside the window, and the fine snowflakes hit the glass like countless tiny claws scratching.

Cheng Xuemin ruthlessly left his son, Little Squirrel, in his own room next door, while he took his wife and went into his own little nest to make a fuss.

Awesome!

It's been a long time since I've had such a free and unrestrained conversation with my wife.

Previously, Cheng Xuemin's mother helped take care of her grandson, Little Squirrel, here. With the addition of a mother-in-law to their small world of three, their daughter-in-law was definitely not comfortable being around her.

Now things are much better. Her mother-in-law has been sent back to the countryside by her husband, and her younger sister, Feng Jiamo, is now occasionally staying at school and not coming home. In addition, the storm has finally passed, and there is good news coming back from abroad. How could Feng Jiayou, as the daughter-in-law, not treat her husband well?

But after three extreme peaks, all that was left was Laura.

Faced with her still unstoppable man, Feng Jiayou really wanted to cry for help. She really didn't expect that her man could be so unstoppable.

But there was no one else in the house, and no matter how much she shouted, no one came to save her. Besides, could she even call for help in this situation?
Fortunately, she gave birth to a good son. Perhaps knowing that she, as a mother, was suffering, he suddenly woke up and cried out in the next room.

"Ah! It's already past midnight?! The little squirrel must have woken up from hunger!" Feng Jiayou, a mother's strength, upon hearing her son's cries next door, miraculously pushed Cheng Xuemin away, sat up, and fled as if running away, her body swaying.

"Tch, do you think I don't know your brat? Not only is he hungry, I bet he's also had a bowel movement!" Cheng Xuemin said with a sullen laugh.

"Oh dear, Xuemin, Xuemin, come quick! Your son has pulled his pants! Your son has pulled his pants! Come help!"

really!

In the dead of night, that brat likes to cause trouble. Before, his grandma would get up at night to help him change his diapers.

it's good now!

His grandma went back to her hometown in the countryside, so the task of changing diapers fell to him, the father!

……

In the following days, Cheng Xuemin did not attend the literary and art congress.

He moved his bedding to the editing room of Yanying Film Studio, spending his days watching the final cut of "Tai Chi" and his nights working on his cot.

Huang Jianzhong jokingly said that he had "moved his whole house here," but his smile disappeared when he saw the background music clip that Huang Jianzhong had circled.

Because Cheng Xuemin insisted on using "Jasmine Flower" as the theme song, he even changed the piano in the prelude to an erhu, saying that "it is to let foreigners know that it is China as soon as they hear it."

"Foreigners? Xuemin, do you think our Tai Chi will be sent abroad for exchange by China Film Group?" Huang Jianzhong was taken aback at first, then nodded and said, "Yes! If China Film Group can send our Tai Chi abroad for exchange, it will indeed allow more foreigners to understand China!"

"Unfortunately, the exchange films sent out by China Film Group were indeed only for friendly exchange, but they didn't make much money!"

"Sometimes, in order to better demonstrate China's friendliness and generosity, we have to spend a lot of extra money to go to other people's territories to help with publicity, which is a bit... thankless!"

These days, the films that China Film Group sends out for exchange are indeed just exchanges, as Huang Jianzhong said, and there is very little concept of earning foreign exchange or US dollars at the international box office.

Because up until now, we've always believed in the principle of "friendship forever," and that talking about money is too vulgar.

Especially domestic films, they're just like Li Lianjie's martial arts team, they go out to perform and exchange, they never thought of using the opportunity to make a fortune in US dollars.

Moreover, China Film Group also took on the responsibility of promoting domestic ideology to the outside world, so the films they selected were basically full of ideological propaganda.

As everyone knows, foreigners simply don't like or enjoy watching movies with these kinds of promotional overtones.

Even if you want to earn other people's US dollars, it often ends in a dismal failure, so it's better to just give them away for free from the start.

Sometimes, even if you give it away for free, people might not accept it.

So China Film Group got caught in this strange cycle and a routine was formed: as long as the film could be sent out, everything would be fine, as long as the recipient didn't have to pay out of their own pocket.

But things often don't go as planned, and you usually have to pay out of your own pocket to give them away.

This led to a sequel: the Japanese and Koreans, under the guise of "long live friendship" and "friendly exchanges," managed to siphon off quite a few good films from China Film Group.

This included the domestic distribution and release rights for the film "Shaolin Temple," which made them a fortune.

Of course, that's a story for later. Cheng Xuemin will definitely not let such a thing happen again. He wants to use "Tai Chi" to break the usual communication practices of China Film Group!

We also personally taught the China Film Group how to use their film resources to earn US dollars in foreign exchange.

Don't let yourself have mountains of gold and silver while those unscrupulous people on the other side of the river benefit from it all.

As the literary and art congress was drawing to a close, the old factory director, Wang Yang, quietly led two distinguished guests into Yanying Film Studio and immediately called Cheng Xuemin over from the editing room.

"Old factory director, you wanted to see me?" Cheng Xuemin, with a scruffy beard, entered the conference room. He had been holed up in the editing room all day and all week, focusing on editing frame by frame and shot by shot, and had no time to care about personal hygiene.

If it weren't for the old factory director's intervention, he would have wanted to finish editing the final cut before leaving the factory.

Time waits for no one; after the literary and art congress ends, we'll have to prepare to head to the Bolin Film Festival.

"How are you...?"

"Xuemin, you're not going to the literary and art congress anymore, you're just holed up in the editing room at the factory working hard. I've already reported this to Old Wu and Liao Gong!"

"How's the haircut going now?" Wang Yang looked at Cheng Xuemin's weathered face and was speechless with surprise. He could only shake his head with a wry smile and ask with concern.

"Old Factory Director, it's almost finished editing, and we're now working on the dubbing!" Cheng Xuemin nodded and continued, "Originally, I planned to go straight to English dubbing, but considering that we can't find enough professional foreign language voice actors in a short time, we'll have to stick with our own!"

Cheng Xuemin paused for a moment to think. He had initially planned to dub a version of "Tai Chi" in English so that there would be no language barrier when submitting it to the Bolin Film Festival.

However, it is also known that there are very few professional voice actors in China, and it is impossible to find that many professional voice actors in a short period of time.

That means we can only use Mandarin!
Of course, there is another factor: if we were to actually translate into English, the profoundness of our Chinese language would make the translation completely inadequate.

Don't end up with something that's neither fish nor fowl, so the Mandarin version is the most authentic.

Actually, it's not necessary for foreigners to understand everything. As long as they can understand what you're seeing and the game is exciting, that's perfectly fine!

After all, the most artistic performance is actually the original physical performance, which has no language barrier.

The best and most successful example is Bruce Lee's kung fu, which swept the world a decade ago. He didn't speak English, and even the international blockbusters he starred in were dubbed in Mandarin, but that didn't stop him from becoming an international martial arts superstar.

So as long as the action performance is good and the fight is exciting and visually appealing, the language of the dubbing is really not important.

"That's good. Anyway, I trust you completely, Xuemin!" Old factory director Wang Yang had complete trust in Cheng Xuemin. After offering a few words of encouragement, he welcomed Cheng Xuemin into his office and said, "Xuemin called you here to introduce you to two distinguished guests from Hong Kong!"

"They specifically asked for your name, wanting to come and thank you in person!"

……

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