Huayu: From charlatan to great entertainer

Chapter 533 Husband, are you thirsty?

It has been almost two weeks since Lu Kuan left the film crew on May 9th to go home to prepare for childbirth and temporarily handed over the film set to Zhao Fei. She will be returning to work this afternoon.

However, the filming locations for the past month or so have been in Beiping, such as "Dr. Chen's Home" at the China Film Huairou Film and Television Base and "Macro Electronics Basic Research Institute" at the Tsinghua University Physics Base.

After that, he had to travel to various places in the north and south, such as the "Lightning Research Base" in Mount Tai, Shandong Province, and coordinate with the military in advance to film the "Mount Everest" aircraft carrier at the Qingdao Naval Base, etc.

The final stop was Canada, where very few scenes were filmed. The scenes mainly simulated the Soviet Cold War base in Siberia, which was the original location of the script.

They rushed here despite the hardships of food and drink, all for the purpose of getting a tax refund.

At that time, some CG shots that require high-cost rendering, such as the digital asset production of the "Mount Everest" aircraft carrier and the snow scene effects of the Siberian base, will be subcontracted to companies such as Mokko and Image Engine in Vancouver, taking advantage of the digital media tax credits provided by the Canadian federal government and British Columbia.

Including the agreed-upon technology transfer agreement, it's actually cheaper than if Butian Pictures did it themselves.

However, people's joys and sorrows are not all the same.

While the Nanshan Invincible team was under immense pressure from the world of "Wenjie" and "preparing to lose before even thinking about winning," the instigator of all this, the founder of the "Wenjie First Empire," Napoleon Hiromasa, was "painfully happy" taking care of his child at home.

In the bedroom, Liu Yifei was breastfeeding Xiaoyouyou.

Nowadays, babies sleep most of the time, except for feeding every 2-3 hours. Their vision is only able to see clearly at a distance of 20-30 centimeters, which is exactly the distance to the mother's face when breastfeeding.

During the "newborn period" before the baby is one month old, the baby's main task is to adapt to the new world outside the mother's body, and all actions are for survival and to seek protection.

The blackout curtains in the master bedroom on the second floor were half open, and the May sunlight was filtered through the curtains to make it incredibly soft. Liu Yifei leaned against the headboard on a nursing pillow, with three buttons undone on her cotton loungewear, revealing half of her snow-white shoulder.

Little Youyou was wrapped in a blue swaddle blanket with cloud patterns, only her fluffy little head peeking out as she diligently sucked on the food.

The baby girl's eyelids trembled gently with the rhythm of feeding, and her baby hair brushed against the skin of her mother's chest, turning it a light red.

"How come my daughter can eat more than my son? It's so strange."

Xiao Liu spoke quietly, afraid of disturbing her daughter who was engrossed in eating: "She was bigger than her brother in the womb, and closer to the cervix, so of course she can eat now."

Boss Lu smirked, "Good, good, eat more so you can beat your little brother up and give him some toughening up."

"You're so mean! Ouch..." Liu Xiaolv suddenly gasped, "These little gums are like sandpaper. They're going to torture me to death when they grow their little teeth in a few months."

Lu Kuan felt sorry for his wife: "We can use a baby bottle then."

After the daughter had eaten and drunk her fill, Liu Xiaoli took her to sleep for a while before the son woke up crying from hunger. So, the second "milk-boosting soldier" took over.

The old man is now a skilled and fast diaper changer. After quickly checking that everything is alright, he sets up the eldest prince's spot and continues to sit on the edge of the bed with great interest, watching the little one forage for food.

"I was worried that we wouldn't have enough for the first two days, otherwise I wouldn't have prepared so much milk powder. I never thought that your impoverished mountain area could produce double the amount of food!"

"Get lost!" Xiao Liu's ears turned slightly red. "Didn't you see all those lactation-boosting soups and dishes my mom made for me? If you eat them, you'll produce milk too. I think she should be sent to work on a dairy farm!"

"Then...then we should change it. I'd rather he be called Iron Egg!"

"Iron Egg? It's not a bad idea. With a full ammunition depot, firepower can be sustained." Washing Machine said smugly, "One is strategic deterrence, and the other is logistical support. A perfect closed loop."

Liu Yifei was both annoyed and amused. She steadily supported her son with her left hand and reached out to pinch him, saying, "Why are you talking such nonsense!"

Lu Kuan chuckled and dodged, teasing his wife for being tied up by the little brat: "I call this planning ahead! If our son can be like his father in the future, with plenty of ammunition, precise delivery, and perfect accuracy... wouldn't that bring prosperity to the family?"

"I'll make you a grandma before you're even 40!"

"Get out of here! Take your son Lu Tiedan with you and get out of here!" Liu Yifei saw Lu Ping burping contentedly and gently handed the baby to her husband.

Yoyo is still the best, it's so fragrant and sweet. This son is influenced by the washing machine, he'll be just like him sooner or later.

"Why call him Lu Tiedan? You gave him that name, so his nickname can go with your surname." Lu Kuan whistled, teasing the baby. "Liu Tiedan? Liu Tiedan?"

"That way, if he rebels later and says that his sister's nickname is so cute, 'Youyou,' while his own is so awkward, 'Iron Egg,' then the origin of the character 'Liu' will be clear."

Liu Yifei hugged her husband's arm and rested her head on his shoulder. The couple looked at their son, who was still spitting out milk bubbles: "You must teach him well, so that he can be as strong and outstanding as you, and protect the whole family in the future."

"In the future, when people all over the world mention Lu Ping, they will say, 'He truly deserves to be Lu Kuan's son!'"

A Chinese mother's feelings for her son are a blend of tenderness and resilience; she hopes he will be as strong and upright as his father, yet also longs for him to forever retain the innocent charm of being cared for.

They see their husbands as role models, but they also place more hidden expectations on their sons:

She wanted to replicate her partner's strength, yet she couldn't help but stroke the baby's delicate soles with her palms, secretly praying that fate would be kinder to the child.

However, Lu Kuan was not a traditional Chinese father, and he did not have any deep or complex expectations for his son.

"He will have his own wonderful life and endless choices. At most, we can teach him how to be a person."

"Just like the growth of wheat, it knows to bend down and take root in spring, endures the scorching heat in summer, and bows its head fully at the autumn harvest."

"I'm just his lowest point, right, Liu Tiedan?"

The man looked at his sleeping baby with tenderness in his eyes, which was no less than the affection he felt when looking at his daughter.

No one knows better than himself that Lu Kuan in his previous life was nothing more than a wasted dreamer who had no lofty pursuits or achievements other than financial freedom. So what right or qualification did he have to make demands on his children?

As a mother, and given her admiration for her husband, it's only natural for Xiao Liu to have the urge to hope her son will succeed.

But Dad himself is very clear-headed.

My success in this life is merely standing on the shoulders of my previous life.

Lu Kuan's current expectations and mindset towards his children may not be something the 22-year-old "Little Liu" can understand, but the "Old Liu," who experienced the vicissitudes of life after the age of 35 in his previous life, certainly does:
There is no path in this world that one absolutely must take.

If you can be self-consistent, your life is already fulfilling enough.

……

"Oh dear!" The new mother was looking down at her sleeping son when she suddenly felt a warm sensation on her chest. The normal reaction during breastfeeding caused two dark water stains to instantly appear on her clothes.

Seeing this, Lu Kuan quietly took his son back to the temperature-controlled cradle in the nursery next door, and returned with a sterilized breast pump.

"You're getting more and more enthusiastic with your praise! There was even leftovers after the two kids finished eating? We've never had such a lavish meal in our lives!"

Liu Yifei was also flustered: "Stop talking nonsense! Hurry up and get it done, we can't waste it. Director Zhu said this is liquid gold, and there is no better nutrition for the baby than this."

Colostrum is only available in women during the later stages of pregnancy and the first few days after delivery, and it is an irreplaceable "first vaccine" for newborns.

Its immune protection and nutritional suitability far surpass those of formula milk, making it a precious gift from mothers to their newborn babies.

"It's full!" The washing machine skillfully unscrewed the bottle cap and expertly assembled the tubing. "These will be stored in the medical refrigerator for the baby to have a snack when he gets hungry in the middle of the night."

"It's already full?" Xiao Liu was both amused and exasperated; it was still leaking!
To be honest, she didn't know how she, a poor household, could have such a huge financial performance. She had even teased Jing Tian before, asking to "borrow her for a while"!

These are just stereotypes. In reality, the shape and size are like a mobile phone casing. The only gland responsible for lactation represents the battery capacity. Ultimately, the quality and quantity are determined by the mother's own physical condition.

At 22, in her prime, with no unhealthy lifestyle habits, a healthy and positive mindset, and a consistent exercise routine, Liu Yifei is a top-tier maternal figure on this planet.

But now a sweet dilemma has arisen: the two babies didn't eat much just now, and even after finishing the two small bottles, they're still not empty, but it doesn't seem worth going next door to get another bottle...

Liu Yifei looked up at her husband, her gaze inadvertently sweeping over his shirt, which was taut from bending over. The lines of his shoulders and arms, which were not too muscular, still smelled of the baby's milk from the swaddling clothes. Her Adam's apple bobbed slightly.

The young woman, who had been abstaining for nine months, suddenly felt the air conditioning was too hot, and unconsciously twisted the lace trim of her nightgown with her fingertips.
"Husband? Are you thirsty..." Her voice trailed off like a hook dipped in honey, her reddened eyes radiating a languid charm of a new mother, her intentions self-evident.

With such a strong signal, how could a washing machine with a Wi-Fi antenna attached not receive it?

He raised an eyebrow and caught a glimpse of his wife's glistening lips, then deliberately shook the milk bottle: "What kind of talk is this? Someone of my stature? Does he deserve to eat in the same military mess hall as the baby?"

"Stop being so cheeky, hurry up!" The young woman, who had boldly seduced her husband in broad daylight, scolded him, kicking his shin with the force of a cat scratch, and then put the bottle on the bedside table.

Sunlight filtered through the gauze curtains, casting dappled shadows on her collarbone. Liu Yifei's earlobes, faintly visible through her hair, were so red they looked as if they could bleed.

He wouldn't refuse such amusing anecdotes between husband and wife, and the washing machine readily "cooperated."

Xiao Liu tilted her head back, feeling the warmth with the restraint and probing of an adult. The intimacy with her husband after half a year was far more embarrassing than she had imagined, yet it also carried a secret thrill.

After a while, the washing machine looked up at her, a mischievous smile in its eyes. It lightly brushed its tongue across the corner of its lips and deliberately smacked its lips.
"Reporting to the commander, the quality inspection is complete!" He lowered his voice, his breath hot against his wife's ear.

"Haha!" Liu Yifei, who was behind closed doors, wasn't too shy, but the bed sheet in her hands had been crumpled quite a bit: "How does it feel?"

"This... is like warm almond milk, light and refreshing at first taste, with a slight fishy smell."

He licked his lips, clearly still wanting more, though his true intentions were elsewhere.

"Hahaha!" Xiao Liu's eyes sparkled, her fingertips lightly hooking her husband's collar, her postpartum lips glistening with moisture. "You washing machine have really gotten me all fired up..."

"Once I'm feeling better, I'll make you work yourself to the bone!" Little Liu, like a ripe peach, seemed to be openly challenging him.

She pulled her husband's collar closer, and the sweet scent unique to breastfeeding wafted out from her slightly open collar, becoming even more fragrant with her body heat.

First, collect some interest from the female commander, and then "return to German headquarters" after a while.

Springtime filled the room, a sweet silence enveloping everything.

The shameless couple took advantage of their son and daughter's absence to have a brief and indistinct affair in the bedroom, which ended in a drunken stupor.

The long-awaited intimacy allowed the couple to rediscover the thrill of youth. The nine-month period of abstinence was like a long brewing process, turning even the most ordinary physical contact into a delightful, slightly intoxicating experience.
-
The Wenyu River Mansion was bathed in the warm May sun in the afternoon. The lawns of the estate had just been mowed, and the air was filled with the fragrance of grass and roses. Aunt Qiao, the nanny, was tidying up the dishes in the kitchen, and the faint sound of bowls and plates clattering could be heard.

"I'm leaving now, Mom, Auntie, I'm leaving Xixi in your care." After seven unforgettable days of becoming a father, the "Grand Marshal of Breastfeeding" reluctantly prepared to leave home for the film set.

After the milk comes in, it's time for the man to go and earn money to support the family; he has to overcome this hurdle.

However, with Liu Xiaoli, Zhou Wenqiong, and Aunt Qiao, who had been taking care of her daughter's child for two years, there was nothing to worry about.

Xiao Liu straightened her husband's shirt collar, and the gentle breeze outlined the soft curves of his slightly plump postpartum waistline.

"Don't rush back if it's too late at night."

Liu Xiaoli laughed and said, "Yes, Xiaolu, you've been working too hard these past few days. Your lower eyelids are even turning blue. Your aunt and I will take turns keeping her company while she breastfeeds the baby at night."

Boss Lu nodded: "I'll see how it goes! I need to get Zhao Fei's footage over here and go through it in the next few days. I'll probably have to stay up late again. I'll call you in advance if he's not coming back."

As the engine noise faded into the distance, Aunt Zhou Wenqiong exclaimed in surprise, "Such a wealthy man, I never expected him to spoil his child so much. He hasn't asked us to spend any time with him these past few days."

The mother-in-law, who "unnecessarily" helped her daughter up, couldn't stop smiling: "This child is excellent, unlike those guys who become arrogant and conceited once they have money, who have no humanity at all."

“Back in the day, a group of my old friends in the dance troupe married businessmen who had only a little money, but they were incredibly extravagant. They didn’t care about their babies at all and left everything to the nanny. The children would hide behind the nanny whenever they saw their own father.”

Xiao Liu smiled but didn't reply; she was perhaps the only person in the world who knew the answer.

Lu Kuan's deep affection and love for children are rooted in the bittersweet yet warm bond between him and Zeng Wenxiu.

Growing up in a materially impoverished environment, Lu Kuan's adoptive mother's unconditional sacrifice of her personal happiness and economic security shaped his concrete understanding of the concept of family:

Family ties have nothing to do with material conditions, but are built on pure emotional investment and mutual protection.

So all that "humanity" was poured into his wife and children in this life.

……

Mr. Lu visited Huairou Film and Television Base again, but not to the set of "The Founding of a Republic". Instead, he visited several sets built by the crew of "Ball Lightning", mainly Dr. Chen's house.

In this scene, Dr. Chen, played by Xin Baiqing, goes through several key plot points, which also connect and introduce the concept of "ball lightning":

First, childhood trauma is reenacted: As a child, Dr. Chen witnessed the tragedy of his parents being instantly "quantized" by ball lightning. The house showed strange signs of destruction, with furniture partially carbonized but without burning or spreading, and glass melting into an unnatural crystalline state, demonstrating the unique "selective annihilation" effect of ball lightning.

Secondly, the origins of Dr. Chen's scientific obsession in adulthood: his return to his old home and reconstruction of events through remaining physical evidence trigger his dedication to ball lightning research. Close-up shots focus on the photos of his parents and quantum physics notes on the wall, suggesting the entanglement of scientific exploration and emotional trauma.

Because both scenes involve the appearance of "ball lightning," the later plot needs to use special camera techniques and special effects to present visual spectacles such as "the quantumized parents appearing and disappearing," so it is impossible to film in ordinary family scenes.

For the past two weeks, Zhao Fei has been filming other minor scenes, all in preparation for his return to film this crucial scene.

However, during the few days that Boss Lu was away, the crew welcomed a young man who had just returned from abroad and was preparing to "learn from the barbarians to subdue them".

"Director Lu! Congratulations!" A cheerful voice came from the special effects studio. Guo Fan rushed forward, his face beaming with his signature bright smile.

He was wearing a black T-shirt with "Avatar Crew" printed on it, and his hair was much longer than before he joined the Avatar crew, radiating...

It has an even stronger resemblance to Daji.

It seems he's done quite a bit of socializing and deceiving foreigners.

After the Berlin Film Festival in early 08, Guo Fan was assigned to a Hollywood film crew by Dean Lu of the Pan-Asia Film Academy, where he underwent internship training in the films "Iron Man" and "Avatar".

Lu Yang, a classmate, returned to China several months early. After his thesis defense and approval by the college's investment committee, he was granted permission to shoot his first feature film, "Brotherhood of Blades." Cyber ​​Daji, who was given an even greater mission, only embarked on her journey home a week ago.

Boss Lu nodded to Guo Fan, then smiled at Zhao Fei and the others who had gathered around, saying, "I've received all the congratulatory messages you sent, thank you very much, Fei—"

He turned and called out, "Give everyone some candy. Everyone gets some tonight; it's a crew dinner!"

"it is good!"

“The director is awesome!”

"Have some candy! Let's share in Director Lu's family's joy!"

Guo Fan shamelessly helped A Fei hand out candy: "Director Lu, look how well I came back this time. I didn't forget to give out wedding candy even after I finished eating."

"You're so clever!" Boss Lu teased. "This afternoon we'll see what real skills you've learned, not just empty words."

"That's impossible!" Guo Fan said confidently, "I practically studied hard for truck drivers, even secretly taking pictures of the flowcharts posted in the toilets."

"The Na'vi motion database, Pandora's bioluminescence parameters, facial capture pixel algorithms, and so on—a whole bunch!"

Lu Kuan frowned and asked, "You've learned it all?"

“No.” Cyber ​​Daji spoke, panting heavily. “Learning it would be too difficult. But if I were a director, I could at least distinguish between good and bad techniques and know how to use them appropriately.”

"That's more like it. It's a good thing you haven't learned it yet. If you had, you would have been useless!"

Guo Fan was stunned: "Director Lu, what's going on...?"

Lu Kuan said seriously, "To say that you can master Hollywood's top technology in a year or two is to talk big, and it's not the real goal."

His gaze cut through the noisy crowd on set and landed on the MoCap equipment being tested in front of the green screen in the distance:
"Technology is something you can never learn completely. Avatar only used a part of it. What the academy hopes you and Lu Yang will learn is the director's mindset."

"The most valuable thing about the 'truck driver' you mentioned is not his cutting-edge technology and databases, but how he uses industrial thinking to deconstruct fantasy worlds."

As Boss Lu looked at the film set where green screens and special effects equipment were being set up after a scene was filmed, he spoke a few more words to Guo Fan, the only person present who could understand his views on Hollywood technology and industrialization.

He pointed to the quantum annihilation scene that was being built: "You should have seen this scene today. We need to make the audience believe in the scientific nature of ball lightning, and at the same time present its bizarre beauty that transcends the rules of physics."

"What would Cameron do? He would first have biologists design the Na'vi's skeletal structure, then have materials scientists calculate the fluorescence wavelengths of Pandora's plants, and finally hand it over to the special effects team to realize."

"You need to understand that the director of a science fiction film is not a technician, but a chief engineer who collaborates across disciplines."

"Last night, I was taking care of my child while scratching my head and looking at these technical parameters. I was actually quite overwhelmed."

Lu Kuan tapped the monitor frame: "But what we should really learn is not Houdini's particle algorithm, but how to precisely mesh the theoretical model of the Institute of Physics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the fluid dynamics simulation of Beihang University, and the CG team of Butian Pictures like gears."

Guo Fan's eyes gradually brightened as he recalled the scenes he witnessed on the set of Avatar:

Cameron's work log is filled with emails with MIT professors, and linguists and anthropologists are always present on the motion capture set.

As astute as he was, he naturally understood the meaning behind the words of the mentor before him.

Directing is a special profession, especially for a science fiction director like Guo Fan who is about to direct "The Wandering Earth". He needs to establish a coordinate system with "scientific authenticity" as the horizontal axis and "artistic expression" as the vertical axis.

The essence of this profession is to build a translation bridge between scientists and artists;

Secondly, there is the control of industrial processes. The director should act like the chief engineer of an engineering project, breaking down science fiction into executable technical modules and ensuring that each link serves the narrative realism through standardized processes.

Finally, and most importantly, is the ability to transform aesthetics, that is, to give surreal phenomena a form of expression that conforms to film aesthetics while adhering to scientific bottom lines.

While Lu's grasp of science fiction films and his overall management skills are not yet on par with those of Cameron and others, he possesses the visionary perspective of "standing on the shoulders of giants" when it comes to the art of science fiction cinema.

These words were like a wake-up call for Guo Fan, who had just returned from studying abroad. They brought him back on track from his gradual shift towards Hollywood's technocratic mindset and helped him break free from the trap of technology worship.

Of course, Lu Kuan will also share his expertise with Guo Fan during the filming of "Ball Lightning," since he brought back the most popular filming style in Hollywood at the moment.

Art needs inspiration, but throughout his career, he has already added his own "deep blue touch" to various fields of film art:
He learned storytelling in "Whiplash" and "The Thief", gained a basic grasp of special effects techniques in "A Home Too Far", advanced his skills in special techniques and composition such as overexposure in "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button", and learned about staging, color and so on in "Tangshan", "Sky" and the Olympic Games.

Such examples are numerous.

In his previous life, he only possessed theoretical knowledge; everything still needs to be applied to artistic practice in this life.

This science fiction film was clearly a "youth study" undertaken by himself and Guo Fan and others, in line with the historical trend, during the rampage and invasion of Avatar.

Cyber ​​Daji abandoned her usual playful demeanor and took these words to heart. However, she couldn't skip the flattery, as was the standard procedure:

"Director Lu, what you've said is far more valuable than the flowcharts I secretly photographed at Industrial Light & Magic! I learned techniques from truck drivers, but you've given me profound insights!"

"Ha! I think that's a bit exaggerated. You're itching to get involved after seeing Lu Yang make a movie, aren't you?" Lu Kuan teased him deliberately. "You're coming to these shows this afternoon? Zhao Fei, you make the arrangements..."

"No, no, no! Director Lu! I'm not qualified at all!" Guo Fan rubbed his hands with an embarrassed smile, wondering why his tried-and-true flattery tactics always failed him when he came to this person.

Inside the green screen tent, under uniform lighting, Xin Baiqing's position and the trajectory of the virtual ball lightning were precisely marked with fluorescent tape.

Three cameras were mounted on a hydraulic stabilizer, with the main camera shooting at 60 frames per second to allow for dynamic blur adjustment in post-production compositing.

Lu Kuan sat in the director's chair in the center of the monitor array, his gaze fixed on the main screen.

There, the green screen-free pre-compositing effect is displayed in real time, and the life-size real scene of Dr. Chen's old house is precisely superimposed with the actors' movements through the edge tracking system.

The small window in the lower right corner of the monitor displays data from the physical effects department:
The pressure value of the pre-embedded blasting device, the smoke trigger countdown, and the standby signal of the magnetic carbon powder adsorption device are all waiting to be triggered.

Having experienced a major life event and reaped significant commercial success, the young director has finally returned to his beloved profession.

At that moment, cinematic art, science fiction, and the transmission of life were entangled in a wondrous quantum entanglement in his eyes.

"Ready for live filming! Action!"

(End of this chapter)