Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 144 Only a few hundred million

A gathering at Lao Guo's house naturally includes a meal, which Lao Guo cooks himself.

There were no outsiders or apprentices present; the two families sat together and had a simple meal.

The three children were left together and made a ruckus.

Yu Lao Er is a little over two years old and runs around everywhere, causing damage. Chen Caiyu is a little over one year old and has just started walking steadily. Guo Lao Er is a few months old and can only crawl. As a result, he has become the target of Chen Caiyu's chasing and beating.

The three children kept the house in chaos, so a nanny had to look after them.

Guo Qilin is nineteen years old this year. He dropped out of junior high school to pursue crosstalk, and according to the plan, he should be promoted in two years.

A few years ago, when Journey to the West was a hit, he also played Qingfeng in Qingfeng Mingyue, one of the two Taoist boys who scolded the monkey so badly that he was ashamed. This fit his character traits. In any case, he was one of the few characters in Journey to the West who caught the monkey in a compromising situation and scolded him.

"Whether you can act in movies or not depends on whether you're suitable. You haven't studied acting professionally, so it's very difficult to present the effect that the director wants on the screen. You're still young, so let's hone your skills for a few years first. Anyway, your dad has already arranged everything for you, so what's the rush?" Chen Shouzhe sat next to Guo Qilin, looking at the screen in front of them and playing games.

"Brother, I just want to find a job," Guo Qilin said.

“I know what you’re thinking. Right now, you need to stay humble and not be arrogant. What’s meant for you has already been prepared for you. Just follow this path steadily, and you will succeed. If all else fails, if you really want to run away from home one day, you can come work for my company,” Chen Shou said with a smile.

"Brother, please stop joking." Guo Qilin smiled awkwardly.

Having such a young brother, how could she not mind? Even though she had the baby with her own consent, there was still one more child, and besides, he wasn't her biological mother. It was impossible not to feel some resentment.

“Then you need to learn to be independent. You grew up surrounded by people, so you should understand this even better. If you want to break free from your family, you either have to wait until you're truly an adult or until you're financially independent,” Chen Shou said.

"I understand, brother," Guo Qilin said.

“It’s hard to treat everyone equally. Overthinking will only cause you more trouble. The right thing to do is to strive to become better. Look at your dad, isn’t he excellent? All the money he makes from his stand-up comedy is earned by your family, and you’re still not satisfied. So many people envy your dad. When you start to become independent, you’ll realize how precious what your dad left you is,” Chen Shou said with a smile.

"That's still not as good as you, brother," Guo Qilin said.

"I wouldn't be where I am today without your father's help. Everything is difficult at the beginning, and who can understand the hardships I went through back then?" Chen Shou shook his head, quickly pressed the controller, and the character on the screen defeated the opponent with an uppercut.

"Nice, brother, practice more. Have you seen the movie 'Chrysanthemum' by the Grand Tutor? In it, the emperor would kill his own son without hesitation, leaving behind the words, 'What is given to you is yours, what is not given to you is not yours. If you want it, go for it yourself.' In terms of starting point, you have a greater advantage than many people." Chen Shou sighed.

How could Lao Guo not love his son? He had already paved the way for him long ago.

Of course, Guo Qilin was also rebellious at times, wanting to learn to be a director and then follow him.

Chen Shouzhe also thought it was a good idea, depending on his personal choice. However, Chen Shouzhe couldn't guarantee his success as a director, but as a crosstalk performer or a star, he would definitely succeed.

In Yan Hexiang's words, he has a good father.

After a satisfying meal, with nothing else to do, Lao Guo, a homebody, rarely went out unless he had work. However, tonight someone delivered tickets to Teacher Yu, so he left the three children with the nanny and both families went to see a play.

Shen Teng and his troupe were in a comedy troupe a few years ago. After that, Shen Teng and his troupe became famous and started appearing on the Spring Festival Gala. The original troupe company also used Shen Teng and Ma Li to make some movies, which were well received and helped them gain a foothold in the film and television industry.

While the actors were performing on stage, Chen Shou was sitting in the audience. Perhaps he noticed him, because the actors on stage kept looking at him. During the performance, Shen Teng's old problem resurfaced, and he forgot his lines again.

Fortunately, Ma Li pulled him back to his senses, helping him remember his lines and complete the play.

The audience is only allowed to take out their phones to film during the performance, after the actors have taken their bows. Recording is not permitted during the performance.

Drama is not like crosstalk; it changes every day. Crosstalk can only be recorded by Deyun Society; other groups and stand-up comedy are not allowed. Similarly, drama is not allowed to be recorded or filmed.

The story they're performing is just one; if the audience watches it online, they won't come to see it in person. If they can't sell tickets, the audience will starve.

Crosstalk doesn't have this problem. The climax of crosstalk is fixed and traditional. It tests the interaction between the performers on stage. The bigger the stage, the harder it is to perform. In China, only Deyun Society can do commercial performances. Of course, they can also perform if they are willing to give away eggs.

Everyone else was clapping, but Chen Shou didn't. He looked at Shen Teng and Ma Li on the stage, and Shen Teng was clearly still looking in his direction.

After the performance ended and the audience left, the owner of the theater troupe that Shen Teng worked for came over to say hello.

"Teacher Guo, Teacher Yu, Director Chen, welcome to our distinguished guests."

"Mr. Zhang, you're too kind," Old Guo said.

"You should have told me before you came so I could have reserved tickets for you. You can't even see anything from this far back," Zhang Cheng said.

"No, no, I saw it very clearly. Shen Teng even forgot his lines," Teacher Yu said with a smile.

Zhang Cheng smiled awkwardly, then looked at Chen Shouzhe. The old couple were just people in the industry, making a living by performing, but Chen Shouzhe was different. Guo and Yu's high status in the industry was largely due to their apprentice and godson.

If this were his junior, he would want to hang a flag behind him saying his relationship with Chen Shouzhe. It was only after entering the entertainment industry that he realized how deep the waters were in this industry, and Chen Shouzhe was one of those at the top. The joint blacklist two months ago almost wiped out a long-established giant, and now it was half dead and looking to get rid of it.

"I guess it's because Director Chen is here. He's so nervous. He was just saying backstage that he forgot his lines when he saw Director Chen," Zhang Cheng laughed.

“That’s definitely not right. A stage play isn’t the Spring Festival Gala stage, unless it’s a new play being performed today,” Chen Shou said.

"You know him, he can't remember his lines, haha." Zhang Cheng laughed and moved on.

"We have other things to do, so we won't stay any longer. Come to my place for dinner another day," Teacher Yu said.

“Okay, I’ll come over another day.” Zhang Cheng saw them off at the theater entrance.

After watching the play, Chen Shou was somewhat dissatisfied with Shen Teng's performance. It was one thing to not remember the lines, but after so many performances, he was still affected by Shen Teng's presence, which clearly showed a lack of control over the stage.

Of course, he did have very high expectations for Shen Teng. Comedians are not easy to find, and it's extremely difficult to find a few new-era comedians in China.

Chen Shouzhe received messages from Shen Teng and Ma Li, asking if he had eaten yet, as the two were planning to treat him.

Chen Shouzhe told them he had to go home and they would talk about it another day.

They went back to Lao Guo's house, but didn't stay there. The whole family returned to the horse farm in a large group.

The next day, the master and apprentice went to the celebration banquet for Wu Jing's movie.

With box office earnings exceeding 500 million, he finally made it through.

After the first movie flopped, the second movie was a success, especially since it was a military-themed film, which makes it even more remarkable.

There were quite a few people at the celebration banquet. In the past, nobody paid any attention to Wu Jing, and nobody thought he could make movies. After the first movie flopped, nobody watched the second one even less.

Now that we've succeeded, we've made more friends, and quite a few people, including many from film production companies, have come to the celebration banquet.

They want to get involved in any project that can make money, and now they're all eyeing Wu Jing, waiting for his next movie.

Yu Qian arrived late with Chen Shou because the child was clinging to him and he couldn't leave. After two days, the child had already remembered him.

Now she clings to her father every day. When she saw Chen Shouzhe leaving, she cried her heart out. It took a long time to comfort her until she fell asleep before Chen Shouzhe left.

"Brother Qian, Director Chen, you've finally arrived." Wu Jing spotted Yu Qian and Chen Shouzhe stepping through the door. He had been watching the door, waiting for them to come over.

Many people try to chat with him, but he always gives perfunctory replies, seemingly indifferent. He says that the success of his film depends on two key figures, who haven't arrived yet.

Upon seeing the two enter, he immediately went to greet them. As the protagonist of the celebration banquet, Wu Jing's actions naturally attracted attention. Following the direction he walked, he saw Yu Qian and Chen Shouzhe following behind Yu Qian.

"I was a little delayed at home, congratulations Director Wu Jing!!" Teacher Yu said with a smile.

"Brother Qian, I should thank you. Without you, nothing would have been possible," Wu Jing said modestly.

"It has nothing to do with me. The movie is yours; you should thank yourself," Teacher Yu said.
"No, no, no, I couldn't have done it without you," Wu Jing quickly waved her hand.

When he was at his wit's end, Yu Qian contacted him and asked him to come to the horse farm. He thought Yu Qian just wanted him to go for a walk to clear his head. Later, he found out that Chen Shouzhe was staying overnight at the horse farm and Yu Qian wanted to introduce Chen Shouzhe to him.

As expected, it worked. With Chen Shouzhe's 30 million, plus his previous savings, he was able to make this movie, instead of going bankrupt by selling his house and car.

“It has nothing to do with me. If you want to thank someone, thank Shou.” Yu Qian said.

"Of course, Director Chen, thank you so much." Wu Jing walked up to Chen Shouzhe and hugged him tightly.

"Take it easy, is it really necessary to get so worked up? It's only a few hundred million in box office revenue." Chen Shou said, wincing in pain.

Those around Chen Shouzhe rolled their eyes when they heard what he said. They wanted a few hundred million in box office revenue, but it seemed that none of Chen Shouzhe's movies had ever grossed less than 600 million, so 500 million was definitely not the case.

Wu Jing calmed down and said, "There's no need to be so discouraging, okay? Let's have a few more drinks later."

"That's no problem, since I'm the one paying," Chen Shou said, shrugging.

"Then I'll have a few more drinks," Wu Jing said happily, realizing what was happening.

Chen Shouzhe was the producer, and he paid for the celebration banquet. Moreover, many of the people who came to the event were there because of Chen Shouzhe; he himself didn't have that much influence.

(End of this chapter)