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

Chapter 58 Going South
"Hey, Comrade Fusheng, you can actually draw storyboards?"

Chen Fusheng was drawing storyboards for "The Tuner" and was so focused that he didn't notice that Director Shi had walked up to him.

"Director Shi!" He looked up and greeted him first, then chuckled awkwardly and explained, "I've been free these past few days, so I've been learning from a few directors."

"Let me see how it is." Director Shi changed his angle, carefully examined Chen Fusheng's drawing, and then nodded, giving it a good evaluation.

"That's great, the drawing is good. Young people should learn more so they can improve."

"Director Shi's teachings are correct."

Deputy Director Shi nodded again, then changed the subject, saying, "The script for 'The Tuner' has been approved. Comrade Fusheng, you and Comrade Han Sanping, come to my office for a moment."

"Okay." Chen Fusheng and Han Sanping followed Deputy Director Shi to his office with surprise and delight.

"sit."

"Thank you, Director Shi."

"How are things going? Are you settling into your work routine lately?" Deputy Director Shi didn't immediately start talking about work; instead, he began by showing concern for the people.

"I'm fine, I'm adapting quite well." "I'm just a little homesick."

Chen Fusheng didn't say the second half of his heartfelt words.

Han Sanping glanced at him and copied, "Me too."

"That's good."

Deputy Director Shi then got to the point, saying, "I called you two here to discuss the film's budget and where you'd like to film it."

When the conversation turned to serious matters, Chen Fusheng and Han Sanping both sat up straight.

"Director Shi, can we still decide the film's budget ourselves?"

"You can give me a number, but you can't ask for an exorbitant amount."

Deputy Director Shi added, "Although your film funding is applied for directly from above by me, our country's finances are currently very tight, and all units across the country are tightening their belts, as you are aware of. Therefore, we should still save money wherever possible."

Chen Fusheng nodded. my country is indeed poor now, and the international environment is full of wolves. So, although there is a part of the reason for his joining the current film foreign exchange earning group, he also has the ambition and ideal of contributing his modest efforts to the country's development and construction.

“You’re the director, so you answer this.” Chen Fusheng posed this difficult question to Han Sanping.

Unable to shirk responsibility, the latter could only give Deputy Director Shi a rather conservative figure.

"Is 60 okay?"

Chen Fusheng is actually more professional than Han Sanping in this regard. Although he did not specifically calculate the budget required for "The Tuner", he made a simple calculation based on the budget of 480,000 for "Cow" and was certain that 600,000 was obviously not enough to shoot "The Tuner".

Fearing that Deputy Director Shi might agree too readily, he quickly added, "I think 600,000 might not be enough."

He then explained his reasons, mainly describing the expenses for props and set design. After listening, Han Sanping realized that he had underestimated the cost.

Deputy Director Shi, being a screenwriter himself and having worked on many film crews, understood the facts Chen Fusheng was stating. After a moment's thought, he said, "Here's what we'll do: I'll apply for an initial film budget of 80 yuan. You can start filming now. If the budget becomes too tight later on, you can apply to me again. But remember, you must not be extravagant."

Hearing that there was a safety net, Han Sanping and Chen Fusheng naturally had no objections and nodded repeatedly.

"Okay, now let's discuss where you plan to film this movie?"

“Shanghai,” Chen Fusheng and Han Sanping blurted out, a question they had discussed before.

Deputy Director Shi wasn't surprised, because their script was set in Shanghai during the late Republican era.

“Alright, since you’ve chosen to film in Shanghai, I’ll assign the task to the Shanghai Film Studio and have them assist you with the filming.” “Cooperate with the Shanghai Film Studio?” Chen Fusheng and Han Sanping exchanged a glance; things were indeed going as they had expected.

"Is there a problem?"

"No...no problem."

"That's good. In that case, you can discuss when to leave and then report the time to me. I will also send you a producer and two accountants."

The two immediately exchanged ideas, asking each other, "What do you say?"

"I feel like I can leave anytime."

"Sure, I'm fine with that too."

Deputy Director Shi overheard their conversation, smiled, and said, "Good, I like the efficiency of you young people, no procrastination... Well, in that case, I'll have someone buy you train tickets. You should go back and pack your things. I'll let you know after the tickets are bought."

"Okay." Han Sanping and Chen Fusheng nodded and were about to get up and leave.

But at that moment, Deputy Director Shi suddenly remembered something he hadn't mentioned yet, and quickly added:
"Oh right, I almost forgot about that."

Chen Fusheng and Han Sanping both cast curious glances, then Deputy Director Shi continued:

"The news agency just called and said that your film 'Cow' has already grossed over HK$100 million in its first week of release in Hong Kong. This is one of the best-grossing films by leftists in recent years. So they also conveyed the thanks of Comrade Fu Qi and Comrade Shi Hui to you."

'One million Hong Kong dollars a week is one of the best-grossing films by leftists in recent years?' Chen Fusheng keenly observed how bad the situation of leftists in Hong Kong is now.

"Comrade Fusheng, what are you thinking about?"

Seeing that Han Sanping still had some reaction after he told him the good news, but Chen Fusheng was lost in thought, Deputy Director Shi couldn't help but ask a question out of curiosity.

"Oh..." Chen Fusheng came to his senses and couldn't say what was on his mind. He could only use the film "Romance on Lushan Mountain" that Fu Qi and Shi Hui had taken to Hong Kong with their film "Cow" when they came to Beijing last week as a shield.

"Alas, it's a pity. 'Romance on Lushan Mountain' was very popular in China, but its box office performance in Hong Kong was not ideal and fell far short of expectations. After a week of release, it only earned HK$60."

Upon hearing this, not only Han Sanping, but even Chen Fusheng felt a pang of sadness.

After all, this movie is incredibly popular in the country.

As a result, their film "Cow" has almost lost its popularity.

But this movie, which was a huge hit in China, failed to adapt to Hong Kong and crashed.

It's truly a pity.

However, this indirectly proves the fact that it is difficult for Chinese domestic films to go global.

This further highlights the unique nature of their film export revenue-generating working group.

"I didn't expect 'Romance on Lushan Mountain' to do so badly at the Hong Kong box office."

Even after he got off work, Han Sanping was still sighing.

Chen Fusheng, however, took it all in stride. He had seen too many cases of Chinese films crashing while trying to go abroad, so he was no longer surprised.

Because he was about to go to Shanghai, Chen Fusheng had to write another letter home in advance to tell his wife where he was going, so that she wouldn't send the letter to Beijing again next week.

However, before writing the letter, Chen Fusheng first received a letter from his wife that had been sent that week at the gatehouse...

(End of this chapter)