Five years of marriage, always separated [1970s]

Chang Guangrong smiled and didn't take it to heart. After chatting for a while at Ye Fan's house, he drove his motorcycle to the compound. Unfortunately, Chu Guangming was not in the compound, so he went to Dabao to ask where Chu Guangming might be.

Dabao knew where Chu Guangming's childhood friend's house was. They must have been dividing the money and settling accounts there when they just came back, so he pointed to the building in the distance and said, "Dazhuyuan 402."

Chu Guangming and his childhood friend were all there, as well as their classmates and neighbors. The three of them did the math and prepared to save the bulk of the money. Chu Guangming and his childhood friend put it in a fixed deposit, and their friends put it in a life deposit to buy a house.

Chu Guangming's childhood friend's parents have strange tempers and don't trust their children, so his money can't be handed over. Chu Guangming's friend's parents are good, but he has many brothers and sisters, and life is tight. When his parents get the money, they first think of improving the food.

So Chu Guangming's childhood friends had to hide it from their families in order to protect the money they earned with their hard-earned money.

After all, hiding the truth from their parents and family was a sin, so when Chang Guangrong knocked on the door, the three of them were startled and moved to the door quietly like thieves and asked, "Who are you looking for?"

Chang Guangrong didn't notice their weakness: "Is Guangming here?"

The three of them breathed a sigh of relief, and Chu Guangming opened the door. Chang Guangrong saw that there were three people in total, and the other two looked like students. He explained his purpose to Chu Guangming and asked them if they wanted to be extras.

They were idle anyway, so they could earn 10 yuan a day, and after working for 20 days, they could earn 200 yuan, which was enough for tuition. The two of them wrote their names in Chang Guangrong's little notebook.

Chu Guangming refused: "I don't want to be an actor."

"After the photo shoot, I'll give you all the sportswear you wear." Chang Guangrong said.

Chu Guangming is not short of money now: "Two sets of long-sleeved and short-sleeved ones, only four sets."

"You're not short of money now, right?" Chang Guangrong asked.

Chu Guangming nodded: "If I'm short of money, I'll do anything. If I'm not short of money, I'll do anything."

Do you have to be so honest? Chang Guangrong said: "If you become popular with this drama, people will not only ask you to act in dramas, but also in commercials. Dramas are cheap, but commercials are expensive, one hundred thousand per line!"

Chu Guangming's childhood friends and friends excitedly cursed in Chinese, and then tried to persuade him to agree.

"You didn't lie to me?" Chu Guangming stared at him and asked.

Seeing that he was serious, Chang Guangrong felt embarrassed to talk nonsense. "If it's not 100,000, it's at least 10,000. If it's lower than 10,000, I'll make it up to you! I can ask my friend to help you negotiate the price, so you don't have to give him a cut."

"Is it such a good thing?" Chu Guangming suspected that the money-loving businessman was deceiving him.

Chang Guangrong said, "My friend doesn't take commissions, which is mutually beneficial. When you become famous, he will go out to discuss cooperation with others and say that Chu Guangming is from my company. They will say that they want to find Chu Guangming to film a TV series. My friend knows that you will not accept the offer, so he can say that Chu Guangming is busy with work and there is someone else in my company who is cheap and has good acting skills. Then he will have business."

Chu Guangming nodded: "What you said is mutually beneficial."

"Is it settled then? I'll pick you up in two days. You can stay at Dabao's house or here." Chang Guangrong put away his notebook and prepared to go back. Suddenly, he thought that students can't just live in school. "Guangming, is filming allowed at the gate of this community?"

Chu Guangming: "No one cares outside the door."

"It's right at the door." Chang Guangrong thought, "I'll go to your house in the compound to take some photos later. Do you mind?"

Chu Guangming's current situation was not caused by him, so he didn't mind: "If people knew that my situation was really similar to the one in the drama, my biological parents might mind."

"Am I afraid of them?" Chang Guangrong sneered, "Come on, two of you and I'll beat you in a pair. As long as you don't mind." Patting him on the shoulder, Chang Guangrong went to the school to find the director.

Two days later, Chang Guangrong drove the construction team's pickup truck over. At first, people were afraid to lend it to him, so Chang Guangrong asked the team leader if he knew he was one of the shareholders.

Chang Guangrong dared to say this in public, so it was impossible for him to be talking nonsense. Considering that he was one of the parties, they lent it to him for one day.

After all, photos are different from real people. The director felt uneasy because he had never seen the male and female protagonists. When Erbao and Guangming got out of the car, the director excitedly pointed at them and kept saying "Hey, hey".

Chang Guangrong pulled one in each hand and showed off to the director: "Not bad, right?"

Erbao thought of a question: "Uncle Chang, there are no emotional scenes, right?"

Chang Guangrong shook his head: "No! It's all revolutionary friendship!"

When Erbao heard him speak so loudly, he guessed that he was guilty and didn't believe it at all.

Dabao held the bottle of purified water, put one hand in his pocket, and walked over slowly: "Erbao, don't worry, at most we are more than friends but less than lovers. The director is also afraid that he will lose his job if parents write to complain."

The director nodded: "Yes! How can we fall in love during the critical period of senior year? Even if we fall in love, we will discuss study together."

Dabao turned to him and said, "I advise you not to do that!"

"No, no!" the director assured.

On the day of the filming, Dabao came with Chang Guangrong. The director said that Dabao looked a little precocious. Dabao told him directly that he was 23 years old.

The director didn't dare to complain to Chang Guangrong about his age, so he told the makeup artist to think of a solution. Chang Guangrong was a fool, but he could tell, so he quickly explained that Dabao was not the protagonist, but the heroine's brother, and was taking the lead for his sister.

When the director heard that the brother was only 23 and the sister would be even younger and could play a senior high school student, he immediately felt relieved.

Dabao has a good temperament. The director took a quick look and thought that his clothes, shoes and watches were equal to his annual salary plus bonuses. Suddenly, he had an inspiration, that is, he is an outstanding graduate.

Later, the hero's background, the heroine's grades, etc. were all made up temporarily. In the end, the main plot decided by the screenwriter was that only the names of the protagonists were not changed, but it must be said that it was better than the screenwriter's version. The hero was beautiful, strong and miserable, and the heroine was good in everything except her poor academic performance. The contrast was very attractive. The director wanted to finish the filming in one day, appear on TV the next day, and become famous on the third day, and he was constantly offered film jobs.

Later, Chang Guangrong came late, and Dabao rode over by himself. The director had only seen this type of mountain bike in famous people's homes, so he concluded that Dabao's family background was extraordinary. The director chatted with Dabao in his spare time, and after a few days, he found out nothing except that his family was rich. The director was sure that he was not only rich, but that he could ruin his drama with just one word, so he became more cautious with Dabao from then on.

It's obvious that Erbao has never experienced hardship in life, which indirectly proves that the director guessed correctly, so he naturally didn't dare to add love. Otherwise, the eldest daughter's grandparents would be dissatisfied when they saw it, but they would be too embarrassed to blame the younger generation Chang Guangrong. In the end, the only one who would be hurt would be the director, and perhaps his career as a director would be over.

The director gave the script to Erbao and Chu Guangming: "First get familiar with it and get a feel for it, then I'll show you how to do it. Don't be nervous. We're shooting a TV series, not a play. Your expressions and movements don't need to be exaggerated. If you make a mistake, you can reshoot it. Just do it the same as usual."

The machine was facing me, and even though Erbao kept comforting me, I couldn't help but care about it as usual.

The director was mentally prepared and not panicked at all.

On the third day after the main actors and actresses joined the crew, they finally got used to being stared at and having the machines following them. Their costumes were also changed at this time.

It is inevitable that sportswear does not fit well, so Chang Guangrong asked the factory employees to modify them one by one, including those worn by extras, to make them look like slim casual wear. He also specially embroidered the word "Rongguang" on the sportswear.

The director always thought it was too fashionable, like a student in a Hong Kong movie. Chang Guangrong thought it was a minor problem and not something to worry about.

The one who spent the money was the rich man, and the director didn't think the situation was that serious so he continued filming.

Chang Guangrong was worried about the progress of the filming: "Can it be finished before school starts?"

"Twelve episodes of the TV series are enough before school starts. But there is a prerequisite, other group members must join the group in time."

Chang Guangrong: "Don't worry about that!"

On August 10, a brand new off-road vehicle appeared on campus. Everyone from the director to the extras could not help but stop and watch. Ye Fan got out of the car wearing sunglasses at this time. Erbao was stunned because her mother didn't say she would come today. Chu Guangming called out softly, "Auntie Ye?" Erbao came to his senses and ran over: "Mom!"

There was no one at Dabao's school during the dog days, so he was free and took over as the producer for Chang Guangrong, sitting next to the director. The director turned around and asked, "Your mother?"

"What do you think?" Dabao opened his folding fan and went to greet him while fanning himself: "Why are you here just now?"

Ye Fan asked: "Am I late?"

"After filming the scene where Erbao confronts the director, it will be yours." Erbao plays a poor student who often causes trouble. However, she makes small mistakes all the time and she cannot be expelled. So the director asks her to call her parents when he sees Erbao causing trouble again. Ye Fan plays her daughter's mother in the play.

Erbao dared to go against the head teacher this time because the head teacher had a preconceived notion that she was wronged. The head teacher could not apologize, he could not bring himself to apologize, so he just said indifferently, "Forget it."

Ye Fan didn't want to count it and wanted to report it to the higher-ups. The director hinted that if the student's parents didn't give in, he wouldn't issue the student an admission ticket. Ye Fan replied, "My daughter can go abroad!"
Finally, the principal came out and said that the school did not know how to teach students in accordance with their aptitude and that the teachers had preconceived ideas. He did not say a word of apology, but every word he said was an apology.

The next day, Ye Fan sent a car full of gifts. Every teacher got one, except the director. The principal was worried that the situation would escalate, so he had to transfer the director to the junior high school. However, there was only one sentence in the play: he was transferred away.

This situation is rare in real life. Because Erbao's family is not short of money and has connections, it is impossible for her to go to a poor class. Even if she is in a poor class, her parents can find her tutoring and exams, and it won't take long for her grades to improve and she can move out of the poor class.

But what TV dramas want is to make the audience happy.

Chang Guangrong, who knows how to live, told Ye Fan that the crew was short of funds, so Ye Fan had to wear his own clothes and dress up to look not to be messed with.

Upon hearing this, Ye Fan said, "Then go ahead."

Dabao: "Your face is a little sweaty. Let the makeup artist touch up your makeup."

The makeup artist looked at the director pitifully and said, “I dare not!”
The director glared at the useless makeup artist and went over to him: "What's your name?"

Ye Fan: "My last name is Ye."

The director didn't dare to call Ye Sister in a friendly way: "Ms. Ye, please come this way." Then he handed Ye Fan over to the makeup artist and asked Erbao to continue.

The director was an old actor, and he originally thought this was nonsense. How could a student's parents ask the principal to get rid of the grade director? As Ye Fan came over, the old actor vaguely felt that it was not impossible that it was her, and he immediately stopped thinking this was exaggerated.

The veteran actor led Erbao into the play. This scene was shot only twice, and then supplemented with another shot. The scene ended perfectly, and then Ye Fan went over.

Ye Fan had never filmed a play before, so he couldn't help but pay attention to the camera position. He filmed more than ten times before passing. The director was very satisfied and thought that the filming would last until noon. The director took the opportunity to praise Ye Fan for his good filming, and couldn't help but regret that he didn't prepare a gift, otherwise he could have finished filming Ye Fan's part in one day. On the day of the college entrance examination, parents didn't need to send their children, and teachers would accompany their students. When Ye Fan heard this, he thought that he didn't need to come after the filming today, so he said, "I prepared it. But I didn't prepare clothes."

The director asked hurriedly: "What have you prepared?"

Ye Fan drove over and opened the trunk, which contained many drinks and pastries. The director immediately asked the stagehand to go to Chang Guangrong's house to get the packaging box. The packaging box was made by Chang Guangrong, and it was all written with the cursive "Rongguang". The box was naturally empty. Since Ye Fan brought things with him, putting the things in would be more realistic than just taking pictures of the packaging box.

After the director arranged this, he asked the stagehand to get the clothes. The makeup artist whispered, "All the dresses we prepared are not as expensive as Ms. Ye's. It doesn't match her role in the play."

Ye Fan heard it and said, "My home is not far from here. I'll go back and change my clothes."

The makeup artist nodded gratefully: "But the makeup needs to be changed."

Ye Fan: "I understand. If you want to give me a gift, you should be gentler. I'll trouble you later."

"Sorry to trouble you." said the makeup artist quickly.

Ye Fan was very surprised that Chang Guangrong found a good person!

Not bad at all! His quotes were low, so directors and makeup artists with connections were too lazy to pay attention to him, and those who were willing to work for him were all cheap. Therefore, his friends also said that people are like things, and cheap things are not good.

The people Chang Guangrong was looking for all had jobs, and most state-owned companies paid others to do the work, so he thought that if they were cheap, they might have real skills, so he could give it a try. So Chang Guangrong, who was willing to make extra money, interviewed them one by one, and he finally found all the people he could find.

Chang Guangrong's friends said that this was just a makeshift team. Chang Guangrong thought to himself, I'm not filming a historical masterpiece, it's just a campus drama with ten episodes, it's like using a butcher knife to kill a chicken.

Besides, a famous film director may not be able to make a good campus drama.

Anyway, half of the actors were not outsiders and it didn’t cost much money in total, so Chang Guangrong gave himself and them a chance.

Chang Guangrong paid salaries generously. Except for the staff who signed for the entire play, everyone else was paid on a daily basis. Everyone was motivated by the money and became very interested in the show.

With Dabao in charge, veteran actors dare not bully newcomers, and actors with bad tempers dare not get angry with extras, so the director often lamented to the assistant director and screenwriter that Chang's job is easy! His only shortcoming is that he is too stingy and would rather spend eight out of every penny.

The screenwriter muttered to the side, "It's not easy for Mr. Chang. He has been doing wholesale business for several years and used all the money he earned to buy land and set up a factory. He has no choice but to do this."

Dabao happened to hear it and wanted to say something but just shut up.

By the way, Ye Fan went home and changed into a simple dress. The makeup artist helped her change her makeup and the gift was wrapped.

After the scene was over, Ye Fan asked everyone to open their gifts.

The director boldly asked, "Prepared for us?"

Ye Fan nodded: "This is Erbao's first time filming and he doesn't know anything, please bear with me."

"You're welcome!" The director thanked him again and asked everyone to dismantle the props.

The hungry ones ate snacks, and the tired and thirsty ones drank beverages. For a while, the crew was like a big family. Seeing this, the makeup artist couldn't help but think that no matter how successful the show was, she would remember this summer deeply many years later.

Ye Fan spent a day on the crew to make sure everyone got along well, then headed north with peace of mind.

Wei Jianshe will host his father-in-law and his family in August, and his brother-in-law must return to his hometown before September 1st, so he has to be back by August 25th at the latest.

Ye Fan couldn't leave because of Chang Guangrong's business, so Wei Jianshe brought a few people to transfer the goods. Fortunately, he knew what to take, and he wouldn't make a mistake even if Ye Fan didn't go.

On the afternoon of August 24th, Ye Fan and Wei Jianshe returned.

The next morning, Ye Fan counted the money, put the ones he didn't need temporarily into a time deposit, the ones he would need into a life deposit, and Zhang Xiaoming's share.

Ye Fan drove Zhang Xiaoming to the store and asked Wei Jianshe if he needed a car.

Wei Jianshe said, "I want to, but I haven't learned it yet." Before Ye Fan could offer to teach him, he said, "Forget it. My brother-in-law's family of four, my father-in-law, mother-in-law, Xiaoru, and me as a driver, can't fit in one car."

Zhang Xiaoming was about to go to the store, but stopped when he heard this: "Your brother-in-law's two children?"

Wei Jianshe: "Rural areas only implemented strict family planning a few years ago. Their two children were born by chance, with a one-year difference in age. The second child would have had to be aborted a year later."

Ye Fan: "When Qian Xiaoru's brother and sister-in-law take the child back, will her parents stay to attend your wedding?"

Wei Jianshe nodded: "I will have dinner with my parents tomorrow and go back early the day after tomorrow. My brother-in-law has to report to school, so I dare not delay."

Ye Fan said, "It's not hot anymore, let's take them out for a walk today. By the way, did you buy anything for Qian Xiaoru?"

"What to buy?" Wei Jianshe was not familiar with getting married for the first time and could not help asking.

Zhang Xiaoming shook his head helplessly: "We're already married, we can't just be plain like we're attending a funeral."

Wei Jianshe suddenly realized.

Ye Fan said: "Then you take the bus back from here? I'll go to the crew to check it out?"

"You're busy!" Wei Jianshe went to the intersection to wait for the bus. Ye Fan was closer through the alley, but he was not on the same road.

When Ye Fan arrived at the set, he saw a big cake and couldn't help asking, "Who's having a birthday?"

Chang Guangrong came over with a briefcase under his arm: "You don't understand? I wish our drama a successful completion."

Ye Fan couldn't help but look at the cake - Glory Class 8. Ye Fan wanted to complain before: "You are the only one who can advertise to this extent."

"I spent money to promote my sportswear, so it must have the word 'Glory' on it." Originally, the name of the school in the play had nothing to do with the word "Glory". Chang Guangrong asked the screenwriter to change it, and the full name was "The Story of Class 8, Grade 3, Rongguang Middle School". But the name was too long and hard to remember, so he decided to just call it "Rongguang Class 8".

Ye Fan asked: "Is Dabao not here?"

"Dabao was called away by his tutor just a few days after you left." Chang Guangrong asked, "Didn't Aunt Yu tell you?"

Ye Fan looked into the distance and said, "She is your consultant in the crew, and she also has the air traffic controller Dabao?"

Chang Guangrong smiled awkwardly and changed the subject: "I think this drama will be popular. I'll ask a friend to jump the queue and air it before the New Year. There will be one episode a day, and it will be just in time for the New Year. After the New Year, someone will definitely ask Dabao and Erbao to shoot a commercial."

Ye Fan: "You'd better hurry up and stock up. Even if the show fails, there will still be a certain audience based on the time you chose. Only a small number of these viewers will buy clothes, and sales will double by the end of the year."

"Yes, yes!" Chang Guangrong said, "You go eat the cake, I'll talk to the director."

The director wanted to talk to Ye Fan, so Chang Guangrong "let him go". He then took the cake to Ye Fan and said, "Ms. Ye, another piece?"

Ye Fan shook his head slightly.

The director asked: "Ms. Ye, I think Erbao is very talented, you——"

Ye Fan told him to stop: "Erbao needs to go to school."

"I know. You can shoot movies during the winter and summer vacations, and you can shoot commercials on weekends," said the director.

Ye Fan suspected that he only knew that Erbao was a college student. Considering that Erbao would have no contact with him in the future, she simply said, "Erbao's school is strict."

"Military school?"

Ye Fan shook his head: "The School of International Relations."

The director was stunned.

Ye Fan: "She will be doing internship in some department at the end of this year or in the second half of next year. So, I'm sorry."

"I was abrupt, I should apologize." The director didn't dare to ask the future diplomat to film again, "Where is Chu Guangming?"

Ye Fan said: "Dabao's junior, a top student at Aviation University, his monthly salary after graduation will not be less than 300 yuan, and if he works in Hong Kong City, his monthly salary will not be less than 10,000 yuan."

The director smacked his lips and thought to himself that no wonder they all looked so dull when he talked to them about the film and television industry.

"I didn't recognize the great man." The director smiled awkwardly. Suddenly he remembered that Chang Guangrong had not mentioned the review, and had not worried that no one would want the show. He just reminded him to hurry up and make it better. "Which channel does Mr. Chang plan to broadcast it on? Although this show is a bit short, it is also my first TV show, and my family is looking forward to it."

Ye Fan believed it, because since Wei Jianshe knew that Erbao was filming a TV series, he asked her more than once when it would be broadcast: "After the news broadcast before the New Year. The specific time has not been determined yet."

The director immediately understood that Chang Guangrong had connections, but it didn't match his usual style: "Mr. Chang's family is not simple."

Ye Fan wanted to sympathize with the director but also wanted to laugh: "You two have been working together for a few months, don't you know? Why does it sound like you're asking me about it?"

The director saw that Ye Fan was unusual and didn't dare to play tricks on her: "I have always been curious. You can't blame me, because Mr. Chang is really good at calculating, completely different from those high-ranking officials' children I know!"

(End of this chapter)