1979: The child's mother is a celestial being.

Chapter 149 Departure for Berlin (Please Subscribe!)
Shanghai, the Gong family.

"Sis, you have another chance to go abroad with Director Chen! I'm so envious of you."

Gong Xue, who was packing her luggage in the room, looked up at her younger sister and smiled to comfort her, "Gong Ying, you are now an actress at the Shanghai Film Studio. Keep it up, you will have opportunities in the future too."

Because of her role in "The Cotton Robe" and the influence of her sister, Gong Ying was recruited by the Shanghai Film Studio after a conversation with them at the end of last year.

However, Gong Ying doesn't think she has the same luck as her sister, because—"I'm not as pretty as you, my sister, so Director Chen won't cast me as the female lead."

“You’re just as good, okay? Besides, Director Chen doesn’t just look at faces when choosing actors; he values ​​temperament and image more. Moreover, it’s not just Director Chen’s own films that have the opportunity to go abroad. Look at this time, didn’t the male and female leads of your film ‘The Cotton Robe’ also have the opportunity to go abroad?” Gong Xue said.

Gong Ying nodded, stopped complaining to her sister, and changed the subject, asking, "So, when are you leaving, sister?"

"When I received the notice at the factory today, I went to the train station to check the tickets. There happened to be a train to Beijing tomorrow morning, so I bought a ticket directly."

"Huh? Leaving tomorrow morning? What about the blind date Mom arranged for you?" Gong Ying asked curiously.

"The reason I'm leaving tomorrow is because I don't want to go on blind dates, but Gong Ying, please don't tell Mom." Gong Xue sighed with mixed feelings when talking about her life's most important matter.

"Then why don't you just stand them up? That's not a good idea."

“I’m an actress, and I heard that person is a technician. Putting aside our personalities, our jobs just don’t match. I’d better not waste my time,” Gong Xue said.

"But……"

Gong Ying wanted to persuade her sister on behalf of her mother, but Gong Xue's words scared her into a cold sweat: "Why don't you go, Gong Ying? You're not a child anymore anyway."

"No, no, no, I'm not in a hurry to get married if you're not getting married."

Gong Ying snapped out of her daze and saw her sister teasing her. She wiped away non-existent cold sweat from her forehead and retorted, "Sister, you don't happen to like Director Chen, do you?"

"You brat, what nonsense are you talking about? Director Chen is married."

Seeing her sister's strong reaction, Gong Ying said in a muffled voice, "I didn't even say which Director Chen it was, why are you in such a hurry, sister?"

Gong Xue glared at her younger sister and warned, "Don't make jokes like that again."

"Okay, okay, I won't say anymore..."

While the Gong sisters were bickering, Zhang Guorong had already arrived in Beijing.

In addition to him, Shi Hui, Fu Mingxian, the head of a Hong Kong left-wing cinema and two accountants also came with him.

"Happy New Year, Xiao Chen! Congratulations on your promotion!"

"Thank you, thank you Aunt Shi Hui, Happy New Year to you too. Uncle Fu Qi didn't come this time?"

"He really wanted to come, but the New Year just passed and he's been very busy with work, so he couldn't."

“I understand, I understand…”

Downstairs at the Oriental Company, Chen Fusheng first exchanged pleasantries with Shi Hui, then greeted everyone else in turn, and invited them all upstairs together.

"Your company is quite large, which means the higher-ups value you a lot."

"It's alright, since this used to be a school," Chen Fusheng said, his words carrying a double meaning.

"Hmm, Lingzi seemed to have mentioned it to me when she went to Hong Kong last time. This place used to be the Beijing Film Academy, right?"

"Yes, the old campus of Beijing Film Academy."

In the conference room of Dongfang Company, everyone chatted about various things for more than ten minutes before getting down to business.

In fact, Shi Hui and his team came to Beijing mainly to settle the box office revenue sharing of "The Cotton Robe" with Oriental Company, and to discuss a more convenient and mutually beneficial cooperation plan.

Of course, I also came to pick up a copy of the movie "The Devotion of Suspect X".

"President Chen, Director Ling Zi, and all leaders, as of yesterday, 'The Cotton Robe' has been showing in Hong Kong for 33 days, accumulating a box office of HK$1637.68..."

As soon as the accountant finished her report, Shi Hui added, "This time, we'll settle the accounts for the first month after the film's release, which is thirty days. As for the extra three days, we'll include them in the subsequent box office revenue sharing, which will also make it easier to settle next time. Xiao Chen, do you think this plan is acceptable?"

"Sure, No problem."

Chen Fusheng didn't even hesitate to nod in agreement to such trivial matters that didn't harm his own interests.

The accountant, who had just given the report, received a signal in his eyes and then went on to say the cumulative box office revenue for the first thirty days, which totaled 1589.33 million.

Oriental Film Company and the left-wing cinemas split box office revenue 50/50, which was much higher than the revenue splits of other cinemas and film companies in Hong Kong. This was not entirely due to government support, but more so because Oriental Film Company's films pulled the left-wing cinemas back from a near-death state.

Hong Kong films are subject to a 15% entertainment tax. After tax deduction, this means that Oriental Films' actual revenue is 42.5% of the total box office.

In total, the box office revenue of "The Cotton Robe" in Hong Kong in its first month was HK$675.47 million.

The money had to go through a procedure before it could be transferred into the Oriental Company's account, namely, foreign exchange settlement.

Originally, this procedure was also subject to taxation. The applicable tax rate for foreign exchange earnings from films was 10% in 2025. However, my country's foreign exchange reserves are currently very low. In order to encourage domestic enterprises to earn foreign exchange, the government has provided tax exemptions for many entities. As a representative of companies that generate foreign exchange for the country through films, Oriental Company naturally enjoyed this treatment as well.

Therefore, when the HKD 675.47 goes through the foreign exchange settlement process, no further tax will be deducted; the settlement will be made directly according to the official exchange rate.

The official exchange rate between the RMB and the HKD this year is 31.15:100.

So, HKD 675.47, converted at this exchange rate, is approximately RMB 210 million. That's a considerable sum of money.

Moreover, the box office revenue share from Hong Kong, a country the size of a palm, exceeded that of China Film Group. What about overseas?

At this moment, not only Chen Fusheng, but everyone in the conference room from Dongfang Company was filled with hope and confidence for the company's future.

The dream of reaching for the stars and the sea is no longer just a dream.

The goal of transforming Oriental Film Export Company into a global behemoth no longer seems so unattainable.

Two hours later, as the negotiations were nearing their end, Chen Fusheng suddenly made an unreasonable request.

"Xiao Chen, you want to invite Cheng Long to star in your next film? That might be a bit difficult. He's Golden Harvest's biggest movie star, and his films sell well in Taiwan. Golden Harvest won't let him go."

"It's not my next movie, it's the one after that. I'll be making a Chinese blockbuster this year, aiming to compete with Hollywood, to break into the European and American film markets. Cheng Long's image is very suitable for the Chinese hero in my movie, so I hope Aunt Shi Hui can help me make contact after she goes back."

After a pause, Chen Fusheng added, "Hong Kong is too small after all. Didn't Golden Harvest want to send Jackie Chan to Hollywood before? Of course, it's okay if it doesn't work out. Consider it a precaution. When I come back from Berlin this time, I will also go to Hong Kong to promote the film. I will talk to him then. I think he shouldn't refuse me."

Hearing the confidence in Chen Fusheng's words, Shi Hui, who originally felt that the chances were not very high, suddenly felt that maybe this matter was not so difficult.

Although she didn't know where Chen Fusheng got his confidence from, she inexplicably believed in him.

Moreover, Shi Hui wasn't the only one in the conference room who felt this way; everyone else, including those from the Oriental Company and the people she brought from Hong Kong, shared the same feeling.

"Alright, since you've said so, Xiao Chen, I'll contact Cheng Long when I get back and help you with the preliminary battles."

"Thank you, Aunt Shi Hui."

"It's nothing. By the way, we're really curious about the story behind your movie that's comparable to American blockbusters."

Shi Hui's words immediately lightened the previously serious atmosphere in the conference room.

The negotiation meeting was also put on hold in a cheerful atmosphere.

"Brother Chen, can I go to Berlin with you?"

As soon as the meeting ended, Fu Mingxian approached Chen Fusheng alone and asked him a question.

"You're not going to school anymore?" Chen Fusheng knew that Aunt Shi Hui definitely disagreed when she saw Fu Mingxian deliberately avoiding her mother.

Of course, he disagreed as well.

"Can I ask for leave, please, Brother Chen?"

"No, we're going to work, we don't have time to take care of you."

"I don't need to be taken care of, I can just stay with Sister Gong Xue."

"Ask your mother if she agrees first."

Chen Fusheng looked up and noticed that Aunt Shi Hui had already walked over.

"Brother Chen, if you talk to my mom, she'll agree."

"I disagree..." Shi Hui scolded her daughter for being so unreasonable.

Seeing that Shi Hui's tone was a bit harsh, making Fu Mingxian almost cry, Chen Fusheng, who also had a daughter, couldn't bear to see this scene and stepped in to smooth things over.

Zhang Guorong then came over to mediate, and the conflict between the mother and daughter was thus resolved.

However, Fu Mingxian was in a low mood all afternoon, until he met Chen Qian again at Siji Hutong.

Surprisingly, the little guy still remembered his aunt, Fu Mingxian.

Shi Hui and Fu Mingxian only stayed at the Chen family's house for one night before returning to Hong Kong. When they left, Chen Fusheng even went to the airport to see them off.

Then, when I got back to the company, I saw that Gong Xue had also arrived.

Moreover, he was on the same train and in the same carriage as Fu Jinggong, the director of "The Return of the Swallows," as well as the male and female leads.

But it wasn't something they planned in advance; it was simply fate.

However, the three of them went to China Film Group, while Gong Xue came to Oriental Film Company.

However, Chen Fusheng led the team to the Berlin International Film Festival, as the organizers had already decided.

In addition, they will be accompanied by personnel from the foreign affairs department and the security department on this trip. Chen Fusheng only found out the number of people on the other side right before boarding. Therefore, their tickets were delivered directly by the relevant departments, and they did not need to book them themselves.

The team that went to Berlin consisted of 24 people: 4 directors, 8 actors, 1 person from China Film Group, 2 people from the Film Bureau, 3 people from the foreign affairs department, and 6 people from the security department.

February 9th, just after the Lantern Festival, is the day Chen Fusheng and his men set off on their expedition.

Outside the airport, many leaders came to see them off, including Secretary Ding from the ministry, Director Chen and Director Shi from the Film Bureau, the former director of Beijing Film Studio, and most of the employees of Oriental Company.

After saying goodbye to them one by one, Chen Fusheng waved to the 23 'warriors' behind him:
"Comrades, let's go!"

(End of this chapter)