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

Chapter 224 Opportunity Favors the Prepared (Please Subscribe!)

Capital International Airport.

Chen Fusheng and Deng Zaijun returned from Hong Kong today.

Also returning with them were Zhang Guorong, Zhang Mingmin, and Li Sisi, the third princess of the Great Wall.

As for Mei Yanfang, whom Deng Zaijun favored, the other party did not agree.

The reason for not agreeing is actually quite simple: they are afraid of being suppressed by the Freedom Council.

The group arrived at the parking lot, where vehicles from both Oriental Company and CCTV were waiting to pick them up.

"Director Deng, shall we part ways here?"

"Yes, yes, thank you Director Chen for this trip."

"you are welcome."

After speaking with Deng Zaijun, Chen Fusheng also said goodbye to Zhang Guorong and the others, then got into the company car and drove away.

"Why the sudden decision to establish a Hong Kong subsidiary?"

Han Sanping was caught off guard when Chen Fusheng approached him as soon as he returned, saying he wanted to open a branch company in Hong Kong.

"I had been planning to do this for a while, and then I found a promising director in Hong Kong, so I decided not to put it off any longer."

"A promising director...who is it?" Han Sanping asked curiously.

"His name is Wang Rui, you probably haven't heard of him."

"Hmm, I've never heard of it."

Chen Fusheng gave Han Sanping a brief introduction to Fatty Wang.

Then he continued, "Next, I'll be recording the Spring Festival Gala, so the glorious task of 'expanding territory' in Hong Kong will have to be left to you, Lao Han."

"As expected, leaders all know how to make empty promises." Han Sanping said with a wry smile, but still accepted Chen Fusheng's grand promise.

"By the way, once the branch office is open, who do you plan to send to manage it? Or are you going to recruit someone from Hong Kong?"

Chen Fusheng hadn't really considered this issue properly, so he stared at Han Sanping for a long time without saying a word.

"You don't want me to take charge, do you?" Han Sanping pointed to himself.

"It's not that bad. Do you have a suitable candidate?" Chen Fusheng asked.

"What do you think of Li Xiaowan? I feel she has good management skills."

Li Xiaowan?
If it weren't for Han Sanping's reminder, Chen Fusheng wouldn't have remembered this future boss of Rongxinda for a moment.

“Okay, since you think she’s suitable, then we’ll take her with us on this trip.”

"Why don't you talk to her first? What if she's unwilling?"

"Okay, what is she doing now?"

"It seems like I was working as an assistant director on Sister Ling's film crew."

"Not at the office?"

"No."

"Okay, let's talk about it another day."

"..."

Next, Han Sanping discussed the Hong Kong branch issue in Chen Fusheng's office for more than half an hour before leaving.

As soon as Han Sanping left, Chen Fusheng was about to pack up and leave work when Zhang Yimou appeared at the door of his office.

Just as the other person was about to raise their hand to knock on the door, Chen Fusheng called out directly:
"Stop knocking, Comrade Yimou, come in."

"Oh, thank you, Director Chen."

"Did you need something from me?" Chen Fusheng asked curiously, his gaze falling on his hand and noticing that the top item was the "Yanjing Literature and Art" magazine, which published his fifth novel, "Under the Hawthorn Tree."

So he began to have some guesses about the purpose of his visit.

"There is something I need to take care of..."

"No rush, let's talk while sitting down."

Interrupting Zhang Yimou, Chen Fusheng then came over himself, carrying a teacup.

When he put down his teacup and was about to make a cup for Zhang Yimou, the latter quickly stood up and said, "Director Chen, let me do it, let me do it, please sit down."

"Alright, then you can do it yourself. The tea is in the first drawer." Chen Fusheng didn't stand on ceremony with Zhang Yimou. He sat down, picked up his teacup, and took a couple of sips to moisten his throat. After all, he had just been discussing with Han Sanping for so long and hadn't even had a sip of water yet.

"I heard you want to adapt 'Under the Hawthorn Tree'?"

After Zhang Yimou sat down, Chen Fusheng was the first to ask a question.

"Yes, I heard from Director Chen that your next film wouldn't be 'Under the Hawthorn Tree,' so I thought I'd give it a try."

As he spoke, Zhang Yimou took out a notebook from a stack of materials he had brought and handed it to Chen Fusheng: "This is the script I tried to adapt. I would like to ask Director Chen to take a look."

Chen Fusheng reached out and took it with a hint of curiosity, then flipped through it briefly.

He nodded as he flipped through the pages.

He had to admit that Zhang Yimou is indeed Zhang Yimou.

Although he majored in photography, the script he wrote looks very professional.

Chen Fusheng quickly skimmed through it and found some flaws in the content, but overall, the merits outweighed the flaws.

If it were his wife who adapted it, the first version probably wouldn't have achieved this level of quality.

Of course, his wife didn't mention adapting his novel this time, nor did he have time to adapt it for her, so he only agreed when Zhang Yimou asked him last time.

"Not bad!" Chen Fusheng put down the script and gave a brief evaluation, then asked, "Who are you planning to collaborate with?"

"I...I want to film it myself!"

Although Zhang Yimou had prepared himself mentally before coming, he still stammered a couple of times when he said those words to Chen Fusheng.

He was clearly still somewhat guilty.

Although Chen Fusheng was somewhat surprised by these words, he did not show any excessive astonishment or a sense of absurdity.

He didn't say anything.

After a two-second silence, Zhang Yimou mustered his courage again and said, "Director Chen, I know my idea this time might be a bit... bold, but I'm really not being unreasonable. I'm also confident in directing a good film, and I hope you can give me a chance to try."

As he spoke, he took out the storyboards he had drawn during this period, handed them over, and gave a brief introduction.

"These are the storyboards I've drawn these past few days, a total of thirty-three. Please take a look."

Chen Fusheng took the storyboard sketches handed to him, but didn't look at them right away. Instead, he smiled at Zhang Yimou and said, "You've prepared quite well."

Zhang Yimou just chuckled twice.

Next, Chen Fusheng also focused his attention on these thirty-three storyboard shots.

Storyboards can provide a direct view of a director's narrative logic, visual style, aesthetic sense, cinematic language skills, and other professional qualities.

Of course, if a director's storyboard is drawn too abstractly, it may not be noticeable.

Fortunately, Zhang Yimou's storyboard was not among the exceptions.

After carefully examining two or three of the films, Chen Fusheng gained a general understanding of Zhang Yimou's skill level, and then flipped through the rest.

Looking up, he met Zhang Yimou's tense yet expectant gaze. Instead of commenting on the shot, he asked directly:

Tell me about your shooting concept.

This question delighted Zhang Yimou.

I feel like I'm already halfway to success.

Of course, he didn't dare to be careless, because if the shooting approach wasn't right, there was also the risk of being eliminated.

Fortunately, Zhang Yimou was well-prepared this time. He had already gone through the filming ideas countless times in his mind while writing the script and drawing the storyboard, so he was able to answer the questions fluently.

"What about the roles? How are you planning to find actors for Lao San and Jing Qiu?" After listening to Zhang Yimou's filming plan, Chen Fusheng still didn't offer any comments, but just kept asking questions.

"I don't think Jingqiu needs to be very beautiful, but she must look quiet and down-to-earth, with clean and pure eyes. Oh, and she should speak softly... As for Lao San, he doesn't need to be very handsome either, but he should look reasonable, reliable, and have a somewhat honest and simple smile..."

Afterwards, Chen Fusheng asked a few more questions and was satisfied with the answers, so he made a decision on the spot.

"I have finished asking my questions. I hope you, Comrade Yimou, will put your heart into making a good film about Lao San and Jingqiu."

Upon finally hearing these words, Zhang Yimou was somewhat incredulous. After a couple of seconds of stunned silence, he excitedly stood up and bowed to Chen Fusheng: "Thank you, thank you Director Chen for giving me this opportunity. I will definitely film it well and with all my heart, and I will absolutely not let you down."

Chen Fusheng also stood up, stepped forward, and patted Zhang Yimou on the shoulder: "Opportunities are for those who are prepared. Keep it up!"

"Yes……"

Zhang Yimou nodded emphatically, his voice very nasal.

(End of this chapter)