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

On the tarmac of Beijing Capital International Airport, before the morning mist had completely dissipated, three black sedans were already parked steadily at the exit of the jet bridge.

As soon as Cheng Xuemin stepped out of the cabin, he saw the old factory director, Wang Yang, wearing a crisp Zhongshan suit, standing on tiptoe and waving at him.

Standing next to him was his brother-in-law, Feng Jiazhao, who was clutching a canvas bag with the words "Yanying Factory" printed on it.

The most eye-catching thing was the young man in a Zhongshan suit next to the car!

With straight shoulders and a gleaming silver pen pinned to his chest, he was none other than Mr. Wu's secretary, Xiao Yang.

"Xuemin! Over here!" Seeing Cheng Xuemin land safely, the old factory director Wang Yang excitedly rushed over to greet him.

He then grabbed Cheng Xuemin's hand and wouldn't let go, his knuckles turning white from the force, and said excitedly, "Xuemin, you're really good at running! Everyone's been eagerly waiting for you!"

"What a mess you've got! Why did you go to Guangzhou to record tapes? Couldn't you have gone back to Yanjing to report to your old superiors first?"

The old factory director, Wang Yang, then gave him a light punch on the shoulder and continued to praise him: "Good job, well done! This time, the factory will hold a celebration party for you!"

"Old factory director, why do you have to go to all this trouble to come and pick me up personally? I can't accept that!" Cheng Xuemin said politely to the old factory director.

I was originally going to ask why Secretary Yang, who works next to Mr. Wu, was also waiting here.

Before Cheng Xuemin could speak privately with the old factory director, Secretary Yang stepped forward, his tone as polite as ever, yet respectful and urgent, and said:

"Comrade Xuemin, Old Wu is waiting for you at the lake, and Liao Gong has also made time for us. We must hurry."

Upon hearing this, Gong Xue, Zhu Lin, and Li Lianjie behind him froze instantly.

Zhu Lin subconsciously clenched the bag in her hand, while Li Lianjie's eyes widened even more!
Gong Xue quietly tugged at Cheng Xuemin's sleeve, her eyes filled with worry.

Cheng Xuemin ignored their surprise and worry, and nodded to Secretary Yang, saying, "Okay, Secretary Yang!"

Then he finally had a chance to greet his brother-in-law, Feng Jiazhao, and said, "Brother, could you please take Xiao Li and the others back to the factory first?"

"Also, tell Jiayou that I'm back!"

"Okay, okay, Xuemin, go ahead with peace of mind!" Feng Jiazhao straightened his back, as if he had received some important mission.

She leaned close to Cheng Xuemin's ear and whispered, "Jiayou made chicken soup at home, waiting for you to come back and drink it."

Cheng Xuemin smiled and nodded. "Does stewing chicken soup help nourish the body?"

It seems his wife is craving him; after not seeing him for so many days, she's planning to squeeze him dry as soon as they get back.

Adding chicken broth means it's like replenishing nutrients while juicing, right?!

Okay, that's about going home tonight. I said goodbye to Zhu Lin and the others and told them to go back to the factory and wait for arrangements. Then I turned around and followed Xiao Yang and Wang Yang toward the car.

As he sat in the back seat, he noticed that the old factory director, Wang Yang, was still trembling slightly, and joked:

"Old factory director, what's wrong with you? I've never seen you this nervous when you went to the lake to report on your work before."

The old factory director, Wang Yang, rolled his eyes at him, then couldn't help but touch the bag in his hand. It was full of contracts, which had just arrived this morning. They were original contracts that Cheng Xuemin had sent back to China from Bolin through the consulate via express mail.

The amount is over 20 million US dollars, and we'll be presenting it all to the leaders for their review later!

With a mix of excitement and trepidation in his voice, he said, "Before, it was just a work report; this time, it's a personal meeting with Director Liao! And several other senior leaders are here too. How can it be the same?"

"Don't be so arrogant, kid. You'd better watch your words when you meet the old leader later."

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing!" Cheng Xuemin leaned back in his seat, but a sense of unease crept into his mind.

Old Wu said that Liao Gong wanted to see him, but he didn't mention that there were other old leaders present.

This is an even bigger show of force than when he made his pledge. Could it be a joint trial by three judges?
The car drove smoothly into the lake, and the guards along the way stood ramrod straight as they saluted, while the red walls and green trees slowly receded beside the car window.

The old factory director, Wang Yang, stared out the window, muttering to himself, "When you see the old leaders later, greet them first, don't interrupt, just answer whatever they ask!"

"Especially regarding the China Film Group incident, they returned two days before you and already complained about you to the old leaders. So, have you thought about how to explain the specific facts to the leaders later..."

"Anyway, you should just tell the truth!" The old factory director originally wanted to tell Cheng Xuemin that it would be best to attribute all the deliberate concealment to the inaction of China Film Group.

That's why he specifically went to the airport to pick them up.

But to everyone's surprise, Old Wu actually sent Secretary Yang to pick them up at the airport. This meant that some things could be said in front of Secretary Yang.

After all, it was Elder Wu who presided over the matter of the military order.

However, we still need to be mindful of the potential impact; some things shouldn't be said too explicitly.

Therefore, the old factory director hoped that Cheng Xuemin could understand what he was saying.

After all, before Cheng Xuemin went to Berlin, he had already discussed with the old factory director how to extricate himself from China Film Group once the pledge was fulfilled, and how to report to his superiors.

Even now, ventilation is possible.

"As the old factory director knows, everyone knows the specifics, and I will report everything truthfully!"

Seeing Cheng Xuemin nod and speak like that, Lao Changxiang felt a little more at ease.

I know this kid understood what I was trying to tell him!
Not long after, the car stopped in front of a small red-walled building, and Bu Chengxuemin was led into the building.

The reception room inside wasn't large, but it was kept exceptionally clean.

When Cheng Xuemin followed Secretary Yang through the door, the first person he saw was Liao Gong sitting on the right. Liao Gong was wearing a light gray Zhongshan suit, holding an enamel mug, and smiling and nodding at him.

And sitting in the main seat next to Liao was the old leader who had warmly shaken hands with him and encouraged him at the literary and art congress.

I really didn't expect to be personally received by him today. Next to him was my father-in-law, Mr. Feng, the highest-ranking official. But considering today's hearing was about Cheng Xuemin's $20 million foreign exchange earnings, it wasn't surprising that this senior leader in charge of the economy was here!

"Young Cheng, you've finally arrived!" Next came the old chief next to Liao Gong. This Cheng Xuemin was someone Guan had met once before.

When we were withdrawing from the southern front, we took their special plane back to Yanjing. It was Commander-in-Chief Xu from the front!
Upon seeing Cheng Xuemin, General Xu greeted him with a broad smile, saying, "You're quite the runner, kid. I originally came to Beijing this time to ask Old Wu for your soldier position!"

"I never expected what Lao Wu would say to me?"

"You want soldiers? Fine, go chase them in Bolin yourself! I just found out you actually went to Bolin to cause trouble!"

Cheng Xuemin's lips twitched violently upon hearing this, and he didn't even know how to greet him.

Logically, since President Xu was joking like that, he should have responded to President Xu first, but the person in the middle should obviously have greeted him first.

"Old Xu, stop joking with our young comrade!" Fortunately, the senior comrade at the head of the group came to Cheng Xuemin's rescue, saying, "Come on, come on, young Cheng, please sit here and don't be too reserved!"

"Hello, former leader! Hello, Mr. Liao! Hello, General Xu! Hello, Mr. Wu!..."

After exchanging greetings, Cheng Xuemin quickly stood at attention and immediately shouted, "Student Cheng Xuemin salutes all the senior leaders!"

"Alright, alright, come sit down, come sit down, don't be shy." The old leader waved his hand again, pointed to the sofa next to him, and continued, "I've been wanting to talk to you, Xiao Cheng, for a while now, but I haven't found a suitable opportunity!"

Cheng Xuemin accepted the gift and let the old factory director, Wang Yang, sit down first. He then sat down next to him, placing his hands on his knees, sitting upright and prim and proper.
"I heard you sold 'Tai Chi' for over 20 million US dollars in Bolin?" the old leader spoke first, his tone filled with curiosity. "We've all seen 'Tai Chi,' and it's definitely different from our previous internal reports!"

"What was that young man's name again?"

Neither Cheng Xuemin nor the old factory director dared to respond, even though they knew the question was probably directed at them. It was Liao Gong, who chimed in, saying, "Li Lianjie!"

"Yes, yes, Li Lianjie, I've seen this little kid before! He was only this tall when I saw him, I really didn't expect him to grow up so much!"

"Moreover, his martial arts skills are also very good, but they are different from those of General Xu. We support and are optimistic about bringing kung fu to the big screen in an artistic way!"

The old factory director, Wang Yang, remained nervous and dared not respond, gesturing to Cheng Xuemin beside him to step forward.

This old guy!
Cheng Xuemin chuckled inwardly, realizing that even this young man hadn't seen as much of the world as him. He nodded in agreement, saying neither humbly nor arrogantly, "Yes, senior leader. Their martial arts team mainly focuses on martial arts performances, which is quite different from the fight scenes in movies!"

"Li Lianjie's action scenes are very natural. We looked at many martial arts students, but in the end we felt that Li Lianjie was the most suitable for the lead role!"

"You're right!" The old leader nodded repeatedly, then asked with a smile, "I heard that the idea of ​​Tai Chi was proposed by you, Comrade Xuemin? And you even made a pledge to Lao Wu?"

"Uh!?"

Cheng Xuemin didn't expect that the question would be asked so directly.

I wanted to be tactful and avoid highlighting my own self-interest, but I could only nod and answer honestly:
"Yes, my old boss. Actually, it all started at a screening of the movie The Wrangler. At that time, there was a director named Chen Wen from Hong Kong who mentioned that he wanted to make a martial arts film called Shaolin Temple."

"At the time, I thought, if Hong Kong directors can make a film about Shaolin Temple, why can't we make a film about Wudang Tai Chi or something?"

"So this idea was always in my mind, and when I got back, I wrote the script for Tai Chi on the spot. When I showed it to the old factory director, he said it was very well written, even better than the Shaolin Temple script in Hong Kong!"

"I said I would bring the script to Mr. Wu to read. At that time, Mr. Wu asked me what I thought of this Tai Chi. I don't know why, but I made such a promise on a whim!"

"Looking back now, I feel quite scared. After all, I didn't realize the specific situation of Chinese films overseas. Fortunately, I did not fail in my mission!"

Cheng Xuemin continued speaking, and the old factory director nodded in agreement. Old Wu, sitting next to him, also nodded with satisfaction.

"So, you just happened to exceed your quota by accident this time? Before going to Bolin, you were still unsure of yourself?" the old leader asked jokingly with a smile.

"Well... I actually have some confidence! After passing through Hong Kong and learning that another script I wrote was being filmed at the Great Wall and became a box office hit, I felt even more confident going to Bolin!"

Cheng Xuemin smiled憨厚ly and nodded.

He can't say he's 100% confident, otherwise wouldn't that seem arrogant in front of his superiors?

"That's right, that's right. When we go out into the world, we must have confidence and strength to go further!"

The old leader had been speaking the whole time, and then asked, "Could you tell me how you sold Tai Chi to foreigners for over 20 million US dollars in Bolin?"

Cheng Xuemin perked up immediately, sat up straighter, and spoke with an even more sincere and honest tone:

"Old leader, actually, after arriving at Bolin, I was quite apprehensive about promoting our Tai Chi, because we were only exhibiting on the periphery and did not qualify for the main theme section!"
Originally, we wanted to ask the leaders of China Film Group to help us review and promote Tai Chi.

But you may not know that "Romance on Lushan Mountain" was the key promotional film submitted to Bolin this time. The comrades from China Film Group were busy taking "Romance on Lushan Mountain" to screenings, and I went several times but couldn't find anyone.

Later, the foreign film distributors pressed me hard, saying that if we didn't finalize things soon, they would have to talk to other companies. I thought I couldn't miss this opportunity, so I signed the contract without my consent.

He paused, then added, "Actually, I wasn't sure either, since it was my first time negotiating copyright with foreigners. Fortunately, the action scenes in 'Tai Chi' were good enough to hold their own."

Those foreign film distributors said that our martial arts films are different from those in Hong Kong; there's no slow motion, every punch feels real, and it's very exciting to watch.

Cheng Xuemin would never say that this trip to Bolin was done behind China Film Group's back from the very beginning!
Even so, the old leader may have already noticed something!

However, one cannot voluntarily reveal that they deliberately kept it from the leadership of China Film Group Corporation by secretly contacting foreign film companies and negotiating contracts privately.

If this were to be investigated, it would be entirely justified to label Cheng Xuemin as lacking organization and discipline!

“That’s right!” Commander Xu suddenly interjected, his tone approving.
"Old Liao showed me Tai Chi, and that kid named Jet Li really did a fantastic job. He was way better than those fancy moves from Hong Kong. That's how Chinese kung fu should be filmed—that's how you capture its spirit and energy!"

"Of course, I, Lao Xu, am not bragging. If I let that kid fight me in a real battle, I, Lao Xu, would take him down in a minute!"

"Absolutely! Little Li's fighting style is all show and no substance; it can't compare to the skills you, General Xu, have earned through real battles, fighting hand to hand!"

Cheng Xuemin quickly followed suit, not with flattery, but out of genuine admiration for the old commander's exceptional skills.

...(End of chapter)