I am a historical film director in the entertainment industry.

Chapter 404 Going Back to Zeng Li's Hometown
The movie "Crazy Stone" is absolutely hilarious! I was completely captivated by its unique style while watching it.

[The first mainland Chinese comedy film, *Crazy Stone*.]

While the film *Crazy Stone* uses exaggeration to create humor, you should never overlook its tight logic.

Many of the film's comedic moments succeed because of foreshadowing. For example, there's a scene where an international thief imitates a scene from "Mission: Impossible" where he falls to steal a treasure but the rope isn't long enough, causing him to curse as a "shady merchant." If viewers watch closely, they'll recall the scene in the first half of the film where the merchant sells the thief a 10-meter rope.

Another scene involves Director Xie receiving a call for help from his son but ignoring it repeatedly. This humor stems from an earlier scene in the film where Director Xie discovers Xie Xiaomeng teaching his father how to kidnap someone in the restroom. This joke is a double whammy.

There are many such clever connections, which, although exaggerated, are very convincing and enough to make the audience use their imagination.

Because the film contains too many dramatic coincidences, too many pre-planned humorous moments, and too many connections between the characters, the story is prone to errors under such a large amount of information.

Fortunately, the director and production team did a very good job in the end. The whole story was told very tightly, and there were no obvious loopholes in the film from beginning to end.

A commercial film like this requires meticulous and repeated revisions; it cannot be accomplished simply by using clever tricks.

[I attended the premiere. "Crazy Stone" is really good. The story is very logical, and the seriousness of the characters' stubbornness creates conflict, leads to unexpected twists and turns, and ultimately, the comedic effect. The last scene was both funny and infuriating; real-life comedies are never truly funny.]

[I highly recommend this movie! You'll regret it for the rest of your life if you don't see it in theaters.]

[It turns out movies filmed in dialects can be this good.]

[The director of this film employed various creative techniques, including cinematic language and dark humor. I wonder if anyone noticed that director Ning Hao played some minor, insignificant roles in the film, yet he was inexplicably funny.]

The coincidences in the film are all cleverly designed, and every plot twist is perfectly logical. Because they are logical, the irony is amplified, as if this large, makeshift production is filled with seemingly absurd yet undeniably real absurdities.

The significance of "Crazy Stone" to the Chinese film industry far outweighs the value of the film itself.

Regardless of the film's artistic merits or flaws, the spirit it presents to the audience is powerful and vibrant; this is a feeling that cannot be obtained through short-sighted means such as money, fame, seniority, political achievements, or fringe themes. These superficial terms are permeating every aspect of Chinese cinema, forcing ordinary viewers to gradually distance themselves from it.

【…】

Various news articles about "Crazy Stone" have appeared online, and celebrities have also recommended the movie.

Many people even consider this film to be the best comedy film in mainland China.

Three days later.

The box office of "Crazy Stone" has reached more than 90 million.

Cheng Sheng held the box office report, secretly pleased.

As long as the box office doesn't weaken, the total box office should easily exceed 300 million.

The movie made money.

While Cheng Sheng was happy, he also knew how to act, so he gave the crew a large red envelope in advance.

Then he treated the crew of "Crazy Stone" to a good meal.

As for the victory celebration banquet, it's a bit too early to hold it now.

After that, Cheng Sheng asked Xing Aina to continue monitoring the box office of "Crazy Stone," while he prepared to go back to his hometown with Zeng Li.

Jingzhou.

this day.

Cheng Sheng and Zeng Li dressed up early and then appeared at Zeng Li's hometown.

After getting off the car.

Cheng Sheng met Zeng Li's father. Zeng Li's parents divorced when she was in elementary school, and she and her younger sister lived with their mother.

Zeng Li was unfortunate because her parents divorced when she was young; however, she was also fortunate because neither of her parents remarried and devoted themselves to raising her.

Zeng Li rarely saw her father and knew nothing about his financial situation.

She hadn't returned to Jingzhou for several years; usually, her mother would come to Kyoto to keep Zeng Li company.

After Zeng Li bought a house in Kyoto, her father never visited.

She doesn't usually call her father, but she will call to greet him during holidays.

Zeng Li’s father lives in a two-bedroom apartment in a 30-year-old building. The apartment is dimly lit and the hallway is covered with colorful advertisements.

The house was very dilapidated, and the electric fan on the coffee table was broken, so he used a brick to weigh it down so it could continue to blow.

Having not seen her father for six years, Zeng Li brought Cheng Sheng to meet him. Apart from introducing Cheng Sheng as her boyfriend, they didn't have much to talk about.

Zeng Li's father was not highly educated and had not seen much of the world, so he didn't talk much with his daughter.

Cheng Sheng felt quite embarrassed.

I thought meeting my parents would be a lot of talk, but I didn't expect it to be such an awkward scene.

Fortunately, Cheng Sheng had grown up in the countryside and talked to Zeng Li's father about rural matters, which gradually eased the awkward atmosphere.

When Zeng Li's father learned that Cheng Sheng was also from the countryside, he immediately became much more enthusiastic.

She greeted Cheng Sheng back and forth, and then warmly took him to the fields for a walk, where they picked some vegetables, intending to personally cook a sumptuous dinner for Zeng Li and Cheng Sheng.

Upon hearing that her father was going to cook, Zeng Li insisted on inviting him to eat out.

But Cheng Sheng stopped him. After all, he and Zeng Li were big celebrities. If outsiders saw him and Zeng Li coming back to see Zeng Li's father, who knows what kind of scandal it would cause.

Upon hearing this, Zeng Li also realized what was going on.

She was so excited to see her father that she almost forgot about this.

It is not appropriate for her to reveal her relationship with Cheng Sheng at this time.

Finally, Cheng Sheng and Zeng Li worked together to prepare dinner.

Dinner consisted of three home-style dishes.

All three of them ate with great relish, finishing every last drop of food, not even the soup.

After finishing their meal, Cheng Sheng and Zeng Li stayed for another hour before saying goodbye to Zeng Li's father and leaving.

It wasn't that Cheng Sheng didn't want to stay overnight; it was just that there was only one bed in the house.

Before leaving, Zeng Li secretly put some money under her father's pillow.

After leaving the house and getting into the car, Zeng Li lost control of her emotions and cried for a long time inside the car.

It wasn't that Zeng Li didn't want to buy a house for her father, but that her father didn't want to leave this place.

Otherwise, with Zeng Li's current assets, she could easily buy her father a villa.

The older generation is nostalgic and doesn't want to leave their hometown.

(End of this chapter)