This actor has something

Chapter 383 I have always respected Director Zhang

He Daqi was reclining on the sofa, while his two children were lying on top of him. The two children were watching the TV intently, which was showing an animated cartoon.

"Pleasant Goat, Beautiful Goat, Lazy Goat, Boiling Goat, Slow Goat, Soft Goat, Red Wolf, Gray Wolf."

"Don't underestimate me just because I'm a sheep; the green grass smells better because of me..."

As the ending theme of the animated film began, the two little ones happily jumped off the sofa and ran to the TV, swaying and dancing to the music.

He Daqi lay there chuckling, his smile somewhat Tang-like, like the village's second-generation fool.

Just as he was about to clap and have the two children dance again, Vivian Chow nudged over from the other end of the sofa and snuggled into Ho Tai-kai's arms.

Whenever He Daqi is home, except when he goes to the toilet, he doesn't have much time to be alone. He's like a magnet, always surrounded by either the children or Zhou Huimin.

Seeing that the two children had made room, Zhou Huimin quickly came over to fill in the space.

“Daqi~” Vivian Chow hummed.

Upon hearing this, He Daqi turned his head, gently stroked her hair with his fingers, and asked softly, "What's wrong?"

"When are we going to film Painted Skin? I've almost memorized the script." Zhou Huimin pressed her face against He Daqi's chest, rubbing against him for a moment to find a good position, wanting to hear He Daqi's strong and powerful heartbeat.

He Daqi clicked his tongue. The company is pressuring us, the partners are pressuring us, and now even his wife is pressuring us. How can things ever get better?

"The problem is that we don't have a director. Ning Hao is preparing for Crazy Stone 2, and Lu Yang can't lead the crew on his own. I wanted to ask Lao Tian at the school if he was free, but we haven't heard back yet. It seems he's busy. I was thinking that if all else fails, I'll ask Chen Kaige or Jiang Wen. But I haven't made up my mind yet."

The two names He Daqi mentioned completely stunned Zhou Huimin. What on earth was that?
"I think... maybe we should wait for Lao Tian's side. If all else fails, we can find one in Hong Kong. There aren't many film crews working there right now, so there are plenty of people with free time."

Vivian Chow subtly expressed her disapproval: What a joke! Which of Chen Kaige and Jiang Wen is easy to get along with? How could she possibly cast them in her film? Vivian Chow simply couldn't imagine what kind of film these two could make of Painted Skin.

He Daqi nodded with a smile: "Alright, then let's wait for Lao Tian."

He did it on purpose. How could he possibly go to find Chen Kaige and Jiang Wen? He was afraid that Zhou Huimin would nag him, so he deliberately picked out these two people to deal with.

If you really want to make a film, there are plenty of directors. Just like what Vivian Chow said, there are very few film crews starting production in Hong Kong now, and you can easily find several directors who are just waiting to make a living.

He Daqi sighed inwardly. Even Zhou Huimin was urging him; it seemed the happy days were coming to an end.

Just as I was thinking about something, the end credits on TV finished, and the two little ones returned to the sofa. When they realized they had no seats left, they stood together at one end of the sofa.

The little girl pouted and pushed He Daqi, meaning that her mother had taken her place and that He Daqi should push her away.

He Daqi did indeed do that, but Zhou Huimin was shameless and even argued with the two children, hugging He Daqi tightly with a smile and shaking her head while making faces at the children.

Well, the two kids, still angry, climbed up the sofa and hugged He Daqi, leaving him at the very bottom, completely pinned down by his wife and children.

The family of four played around for a while until Zhou's mother came downstairs and said it was time for dinner.

He Daqi ate quickly, and while his wife and children were still eating, he took his phone to the backyard of the villa and called Ma Yingjun.

"Little Ma, have you eaten yet?"

“You ate, so you wanted to ask about Lao Tian, ​​right? It's perfect timing since you weren't calling me. I was going to call you anyway. Let's arrange a time to talk in person. I'll invite your uncle along. It's been so long since I've seen him. I'll have a good drink with him.”

He Daqi was slightly taken aback and called He Bing over.

Looks like something's up...

“Okay, I’m free any day now. You can just set a time, Brother Ma.” He Daqi agreed quite readily.

"It's settled then. I'll call you in a couple of days."

"okay!"

After hanging up the phone, He Daqi frowned and pondered for a moment. It was quite cold outside, and since he couldn't figure it out, he didn't think about it anymore and quickly took his phone back to the villa.

……

……

He Bing sat with his legs crossed next to He Daqi.

Smoking wasn't allowed in He Daqi's van, which bored He Bing, so he made conversation by asking, "Did you get into trouble at school?"

“Uncle, I graduated last year.” He Daqi rolled his eyes.

Upon hearing this, He Bing clapped his hands and said with a smile, "Oh dear! I forgot, you know, I didn't even throw you a graduation banquet, what a mess!"

"It's alright, this meal is on you. When we get there, I'll order some more expensive dishes to make up for it." Hearing He Bing joking around, He Daqi immediately chimed in.

He Bing chuckled and waved his hands repeatedly: "No way! I've only earned a few coins, and you, the big spender, have to foot the bill."

"So you expect me to pay for your class reunion?"

Shouldn't it?

Should it be?

The uncle and nephew could chatter on and on about nothing for a long time; their gossiping was quite a tradition.

Ma Yingjun had made a reservation at the Sijiucheng Hotel, and even booked a large private room. The uncle and nephew thought they had arrived early, but when they opened the door with smiles and were about to greet Ma Yingjun, they found that there were already quite a few people inside.

He Daqi raised an eyebrow, somewhat puzzled as to how this group had come together.

Ma Yingjun, Lao Tian, ​​Chen Kaige, Zhang Yimou, Wang Jinghua.

The five people were chatting and laughing when they saw He Daqi and his nephew He Bing come in. They all smiled and stood up to greet them.

He Bing was taken aback by the scene. He turned his head and gave He Daqi a strange look, then turned back and greeted him with a smile.

"Da Qi, come sit down, what are you doing standing here?"

He Daqi felt a tap on his shoulder and turned around to find Han Shanping standing behind him. Han Shanping must have just arrived as well, standing one behind the uncle and nephew. "I'm the junior, and I was just thinking of pouring tea for everyone, but I couldn't find the teapot after looking around. I was going to ask the waiter."

He Daqi laughed and made up a joke, then went into the private room. Without looking for anyone else, he went to shake hands with Zhang Yimou first: "Director Zhang, I'm a fan of yours! I've always wanted to have a good chat with you in person, and today I finally have the chance."

This is terrible. Zhang Yimou's first impression of He Daqi was not good.

This little brat is incredibly ruthless when he's at it, but now that we've met, he claims to be a fan. Would a fan really do something like rubbing his head on the ground?
Zhang Yimou forced a smile and politely replied, "Hello."

He Daqi was very enthusiastic, but it was all talk. He greeted Zhang Yimou and shook hands, but before Zhang Yimou could finish saying hello, he immediately turned around and went to find Chen Kaige.

"Oh! Director Chen, it's been a while! Are you feeling better?"

"I'm much better now. I was just angry at the time; I didn't have any serious illness."

"That's good, that's good." He Daqi nodded seriously, and then prepared to exchange a few polite words with Lao Tian.

Before he could even say hello, Old Tian waved his hand with a half-smile: "If you dare to talk nonsense to me, I won't tolerate it!"

"Of course not." He Daqi rubbed his nose awkwardly.

That's strange. What's the relationship between Lao Tian and Zhang Yimou? I just tricked Zhang Yimou, and Lao Tian immediately sought revenge.

"Alright, sit down and settle down. I invited your uncle here today so you could repay a favor. Sit down and let's eat and chat," Ma Yingjun said with a smile.

He Daqi smacked his lips and went over to sit next to Wang Jinghua. He was full of questions and wanted Wang Jinghua to clear them up.

Before he could speak, the waiter pushed the food cart in.

He Daqi was right about something he said earlier; he was the junior at this table. So he quickly got up, turned the table around, and asked the waiter to put the dishes on the table.

"Alright, the food's here. Let's have a drink first, then we'll talk." Han Shanping happily opened the Moutai on the table and started serving the liquor.

Well, sitting at the same table with these middle-aged people, I was forced to drink a glass before I even ate any food. Luckily, they drank from small cups, so it wasn't much of a sip.

"Daqi, you should know by now, right? You didn't spend much time at school when you were in school, so you don't know that Director Zhang and Director Chen often go to the school to give a couple of lectures. They are the brand of our Beijing Film Academy, and they are your seniors."

After drinking a glass of wine, Ma Yingjun started talking about serious business.

"I'm getting old. Speaking of school, I've almost forgotten what it was like when we were studying. So many years have passed, and people from our class are doing all sorts of things now. I only remember that Yi Mou was in the photography department, but he would come to our directing department every day to audit classes." Old Tian chirped as he continued the conversation.

I see……

You should have said you were classmates earlier! No wonder you didn't respond to the Painted Skin incident.

"Haha, Daqi, you might not know, but these classmates have a really good relationship. Speaking of which, we were the first batch of college students after the resumption of the college entrance examination. I went to Sichuan University and later went to Beijing Film Academy to study directing. When I went there, Yimou and the others had already graduated." Han Shanping poured more wine while talking about some of their history.

So today you want Zhang Yimou to shake hands and make peace with you? Or do you want me to apologize to Zhang Yimou?
He Daqi began to wonder if he had gone too far, causing Zhang Yimou to lose money and become desperate, even forming a gang to come after him.

“I have always respected Director Zhang. I have seen all his movies, and I love them, especially ‘Curse of the Golden Flower,’ which is my favorite.” He Daqi didn’t back down and chose to go all out.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yimou slapped his forehead, gave a wry smile, and downed another mouthful of wine.

Old Tian smiled and shook his head, took a sip with Zhang Yimou, and then advised, "I called you here to have a drink and resolve the conflict. It was Zhang Weiping who caused the trouble, not Yimou. Back then, Zhang Weiping was an investor, and Yimou couldn't say anything. But things are different now. The movie is finished and has been taken off the screens. We can deal with the future later. Daqi, you can't just follow along with every movie Yimou makes, can you? We all know you have the ability, but there's no need. It's better to be on good terms than anything else."

He Daqi quickly chimed in, nodding earnestly, "I'm not lying, everything I said is true, I've always had great respect for Director Zhang."

He managed to smooth things over with both kind and unkind words. The words that followed earlier weren't very pleasant, but now, with a turn of events, the same words have a different meaning.

"Eat your vegetables, eat your vegetables, don't just drink," Wang Jinghua urged.

I reckon today's party is going to be tough, so I ordered all sorts of snacks to go with the drinks. He Daqi, being the petty person he is, is stuffing himself with food right now, afraid that he'll be too full to drink properly when the party starts.

He ate in silence, while the others started chatting.

He Daqi was familiar with this scene. He had seen it once before in Chen Kaige's hospital room. It was a group of middle-aged people who started reminiscing about their glorious past after only a few words. In particular, Lao Tian, ​​Zhang Yimou, and Chen Kaige were classmates, so they talked endlessly. Han Shanping would occasionally chime in, since they went to university at the same time.

On the other side, He Bing and Ma Yingjun were also having a good time chatting. When they talked about Coca-Cola, they laughed heartily, then clinked glasses and downed their drinks to celebrate.

Only Wang Jinghua and He Daqi remained silent. At this moment, He Daqi was still a little confused. Was Wang Jinghua's appearance at this table a bit abrupt?

However, his doubts soon disappeared.

"Daqi, there's something I need to discuss with you. Director Zhang said he doesn't want to continue working with Zhang Weiping and is planning to sign with our Asia-Pacific region. What do you think?" Wang Jinghua lit a cigarette, took a puff, and threw out this bombshell with a smile.

He Daqi almost choked. He blinked and gnawed on the stewed oxtail, and it took him a long time to realize what Wang Jinghua had said.

How did Wang Jinghua persuade Zhang Yimou?

Does this work?
Picture what?
He Daqi suddenly felt a bit quiet. When he looked up, he realized that everyone at the table was looking at him, wanting to see how he would respond.

“I think it’s fine. I’ve always respected Director Zhang,” He Daqi quickly replied.

"However, there's a problem. Yi Mou is the chief director of the Olympics now, and he's worried that Zhang Weiping might say something inappropriate. Last time, your wife caused a huge uproar because of Zhang Weiping's comments, and the internet censorship seemed to work quite well. So this time, could you..."

"There's no such thing as a complete internet blockade. It's just a tacit understanding between internet companies to avoid exposing each other's major shareholders' dirty secrets," He Daqi immediately waved his hand.

This kind of thing needs to be explained clearly, otherwise it can easily cause trouble.

“Then reducing the negative exposure of Yi Mou is fine, right?” Wang Jinghua changed her approach again.

“That’s fine.” He Daqi nodded gently.

What dirt did Zhang Weiping get on Zhang Yimou? He Daqi was quite curious at the moment.

However, what he was more curious about was what Zhang Yimou was thinking, and why he suddenly wanted to sign with Asia-Pacific.

What He Daqi didn't know was that Zhang Yimou was almost starving. He hated Zhang Weiping so much that he was itching to eat. In addition, Wang Jinghua had sensed something was wrong when she called him earlier and had been trying to fool him for a while, which led to today's meal.

(End of this chapter)