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

Chapter 212 Liu Xiaoli: I'll Act! (Please Subscribe!)

"Mom, why are your eyes so swollen?"

"You still have the nerve to say that."

Yang Hongmei glared at her son.

Last night, after she returned to her bedroom, she read "Under the Hawthorn Tree" again.

I cried again for the beautiful yet regrettable love between Lao San and Jing Qiu.

Then this morning when I woke up, my eyes were a little puffy.

"I'm just worried about you." Chen Fusheng knew it was related to reading his novel, but his wife's eyes were fine, so he still suggested that his mother go to the hospital to get checked out and get some anti-inflammatory medicine.

"It will go away on its own in a little while, why go to the hospital?"

Yang Hongmei retorted to her son, then continued:
"If you could change the ending of the novel, and not let Lao San die, and let him and Jing Qiu finally get together, maybe I could recover faster."

Chen Fusheng: "..."

“Mmm, I think it’s a good idea.” Liu Xiaoli, who was feeding her son, immediately agreed when she heard her mother-in-law say this.

Chen Fusheng was speechless once again.

“If we change the story, it won’t be called ‘Under the Hawthorn Tree’ anymore,” he said.

"What impact does it have? Your story is fictional anyway, so why not give the male and female protagonists a happy ending? Or is your story based on a real person?" Yang Hongmei retorted.

"There is no prototype..."

Before Chen Fusheng could finish speaking, Liu Xiaoli seemed to have thought of something and interrupted, "Honey, you wrote it like this on purpose because of the bet you made with Xiaowei, right?"

"Am I that bored?" Chen Fusheng retorted.

Liu Xiaoli thought about it carefully, then replied, "I feel you do."

"This design wasn't really for the sake of the bet; it was simply to make the novel more compelling, more realistic, and to make it more relatable and memorable for readers," Chen Fusheng explained.

"Um, Dad, what are you talking about?"

Suddenly a childish voice broke in, filled with curiosity and doubt.

“We’re talking about art, honey,” Chen Fusheng said with a smile to his daughter.

What is art?

“Art is…”

Goodness, this really stumped Chen Fusheng.

He looked to his wife for help.

However, Liu Xiaoli couldn't answer such an abstract question.

Fortunately, my mother, a university teacher, stepped in at this moment.

She answered:
"Art is about expressing what you think is beautiful in your heart in a way that you like. For example, wearing a dress that you think is pretty, or singing a song that you like. These are all art, art in life."

Chen Qian was completely confused and looked at her father for confirmation. Chen Fusheng quickly nodded to her, so the little girl pretended to understand and nodded along with her father.

That earnest little face was absolutely adorable.

After a while, Liu Xiaoli stopped discussing the revision of the ending with her husband and instead asked a new question: "Your novel is going to be adapted into a movie, right?"

"Hmm." Chen Fusheng nodded, thinking that his wife's job was easy, so he suggested, "How about you adapt it again, wife?"

Instead of answering, Liu Xiaoli asked, "Are you going to film this in your next project?"

"They probably won't film it."

"why?"

"I don't like making these kinds of youth romance films."

"Why don't you like it?"

"Where do you get so many questions? You probably learned them from your daughter."

"Tell me about it," Liu Xiaoli continued to ask.

"What's there to say? It's just a personal preference."

Seeing a hint of disappointment in his wife's eyes, Chen Fusheng seemed to have grasped her thoughts and then added, "If you're willing to play the female lead, then I can consider making a romance film with you."

"I can't act," Liu Xiaoli instinctively refused.

"It's alright, I can teach you," Chen Fusheng said patiently.

Of course, he didn't necessarily want to lead his wife down the path of acting. He just suddenly wanted to take advantage of their youth and make a film or television production with his wife. Even if the production was mediocre, when they got old, they could look back on it and it would be an incredibly precious memory.

He didn't hide it and shared his sudden idea.

"That sounds pretty romantic, Xiaoli, why don't you give it a try?" Yang Hongmei suggested after hearing her son's explanation.

At this moment, Liu Xiaoli was indeed somewhat tempted.

She picked up the novel "Under the Hawthorn Tree" and looked at her husband, saying, "If we're going to act it out, do you want me to play Jingqiu?"

"...No." Chen Fusheng thought for a moment and then shook his head. "Then what will you act in?"

……

"Which romance movie should we make?"

In the office of Dongfang Company, Chen Fusheng still hadn't figured out this problem by the time he arrived at work.

At that moment, Tong Jiang walked in carrying a stack of documents.

Some requests required his signature, some required his stamp, and some required his reply.

"Director Chen, the Writers Association has invited you to attend the inaugural Mao Dun Literature Prize award ceremony on December 15th and serve as a presenter. Do you have time to attend?"

As Chen Fusheng swiftly signed the previous document, he looked up to confirm, "What number?"

"August 15."

"can."

"So, will you call them back yourself, or should I call them back for you?"

"I'll do it myself in a bit, just give me the number."

"it is good……"

After the secretary finished reporting the follow-up work arrangements, Chen Fusheng promptly returned the call to the Writers Association.

I confirmed with the other party over the phone that I would attend the Mao Dun Literature Prize and inquired about some details.

After dealing with the work at hand, he got up and went to the deputy general manager's office that had been arranged for Han Sanping.

"How's it going, Lao Han? Are you settling in well at work?"

Han Sanping was writing something at his desk when he saw Chen Fusheng knock on the door and come in. He smiled at him and said, "Still getting familiar with it."

"Keep it up! I believe these tasks shouldn't be too difficult for you."

Chen Fusheng then asked, "By the way, how's the post-production work on 'Hachiko' coming along?"

"It's almost done, do you want to go check it out?"

"Let's go." Chen Fusheng said in Sichuan dialect, imitating Han Sanping's accent.

The two then went to the editing room. Although the movie was not yet finished, it was almost done.

Chen Fusheng didn't finish watching it; he only watched the beginning and the end. He felt that Han Sanping's filming efficiency was a bit slow.

But slow and steady wins the race.

"How's it going, Xiao Chen?"

"Yes, that's good."

"Can my movie be sent to the United States for release?"

This is the issue that Han Sanping cares about most.

"...I feel fine." Chen Fusheng looked away and nodded to Han Sanping.

"Director Chen, this film is so moving, it should be good enough to be submitted to the three major European awards, right?" Peng Xiaolian, who was Han Sanping's assistant director, asked.

"You can give it a try, but don't have too high expectations."

"Ah? Why?"

"Because the award's judging system favors artistic innovation and intellectual depth over mere emotional resonance."

“Is that so…” Han Sanping had previously considered having “Hachiko: A Dog’s Tale” compete for awards, but after hearing Chen Fusheng’s analysis, he suddenly hesitated.

Chen Fusheng then patted him on the shoulder and said, "This is just my own experience based on attending several film festivals. It may not be accurate, so Lao Han, you can also sign up and give it a try."

"After the post-production is finished, I will contact Comrade Yu Yuxi to come and take a look."

"Well, that's fine..."

Afterwards, they came out of the editing room, and Han Sanping accompanied Chen Fusheng to visit all the departments.

It's both a way to convey care and to understand the recent work situation.

After returning to his office, Chen Fusheng wrote himself a leave request and then approved the leave for himself.

But just as he was about to get up and go home, a sudden inspiration struck him.

I know what kind of film I should be making next.

Now he wasn't in a hurry to go back.

Sitting down again, Chen Fusheng picked up his pen and wrote a name on the blank page of his notebook—

About Time!
One important factor in choosing this film was that since he was making this romance movie as a memento for the future, it would be best to include his daughter and son in it as well.

This show is perfect for it.

(End of this chapter)