Huayu: Serious director, who's eavesdropping on your thoughts?

With a flick of his wrist, Zhao Huaiyuan sent the dumplings falling into the water.

"Hmm... what time is it?"

On the sofa, Mom woke up groggily. She rubbed her eyes and saw her son busy at the stove.

"Oh dear, I'm so sleepy. I overslept. Where's your dad? He's not home yet."

"No, Dad just called and said the boiler at the factory is broken and they're short-handed. I'll go fill in for him and won't be back for lunch." Zhao Huaiyuan pushed the dumplings with the back of his spoon.

"This... you're not home on the second day of the Lunar New Year either. Didn't we agree to visit your second uncle's house today? And you, why didn't you wake me up?"

"If you don't want to go, then you don't have to go. We've already visited in December every year, so as long as we show our respect, it's fine. It won't make a difference if we have to have another meal. Besides, the roads are all icy today, so it's hard for me to drive. I don't want to break any records."

"That's true, the roads were bad today... It's tough on you. You can't visit relatives on the second day of the Lunar New Year. I remember you loved visiting relatives when you were little, and now that you're all grown up, you know to make dumplings for me."

"Hehe, isn't it only right to serve our elders? Here, try some of my dumplings, pork and scallion!"

Mom picked up her chopsticks, took a bite of something, blew on it, and then, after finishing it, suddenly remembered something. She put down her chopsticks and asked:

"Oh right, I've been so busy these past few days I forgot to ask you. Your sister called earlier, and she was being all mysterious, saying you won some kind of... I love... award at school? You just started learning it, how did you win an award already?"

"It's nothing, just some student assignments, they were just taking pictures for fun."

"Oh, right, Mom, I also filmed a real movie called 'Escape from the British Museum,' which just premiered yesterday. You can see it in cinemas in our city. How about I take you and Dad to see it in a couple of days after we've finished visiting all the relatives?" Zhao Huaiyuan said with some anticipation.

"You're just trying to make your mother happy. Making movies is such an easy thing. No way, no way. There's too much work to do. I don't have the time or the money." Mom didn't believe her.

Just as Zhao Huaiyuan was about to speak, he heard someone knocking on the door.

"Auntie, are you home? Happy New Year!"

"Your Aunt Wang is here." Mom went to open the door with a bowl in her hand.

"Happy Chinese New Year, Sister Wang!"

Aunt Wang walked in wearing a large floral-patterned jacket and sporting a trendy perm.

"Xiao Yuan got up so early."

"Aunt Wang is here. Sit down and have something to eat with us?" Zhao Huaiyuan greeted her.

"He's eaten! Oh my, Xiao Yuan has grown taller!"

"hey-hey."

"By the way, Xiao Yuan, I heard about what happened yesterday from Linlin. She said you two didn't see each other?"

"Well, there's a misunderstanding. I didn't see him." Zhao Huaiyuan smiled.

"Linlin has something to say about you; she's quite dissatisfied with you. This deal is probably off. I came over today to tell you this, so you won't keep thinking about it."

The mother sensed something was amiss. She hadn't even had a chance to ask her son about it yet, but now that she'd heard from Sister Wang, she quickly asked, "Didn't you see him, or did Linlin not like our Xiaoyuan?"

"Of course I didn't see him, Xiao Yuan. Don't blame me for picking on you. You're a college student and you're good-looking, but I heard from Linlin that someone called you yesterday, and you hung up after only a few words. That was really bad of you."

"It's nothing, Aunt Wang, thank you for your trouble," Zhao Huaiyuan said, not wanting to say too much.

"Sister Wang, it's just that our Xiaoyuan isn't lucky enough." Mom was a little embarrassed. She didn't know what had happened, but she could tell that Linlin was unwilling.

"It's not about whether you're lucky or not. The girl was initially attracted to your status as a college student, but after you did this, she's no longer interested. She says you have a bad temper and will definitely be difficult to please in the future."

Zhao Huaiyuan smiled but didn't explain.

That day, the other party didn't answer the phone, didn't reply to text messages, and was almost two hours late.

She did call later, but she still acted like a fairy princess. He hung up without saying a word, but he never expected that she would now shift the blame onto him.

Seeing that Zhao Huaiyuan didn't speak, his mother awkwardly explained, "That's just how this child is... Sister Wang, please bear with him."

"I don't care, I can't let the child have such a big deal about it. The main thing is that the girl, Linlin, is really good-looking. She has so many suitors, it's just a pity that she can't get our Xiaoyuan."

"Our little Yuan just wasn't destined for that fate," Mom sighed.

Aunt Wang glanced at Zhao's mother and softened her tone: "Auntie, Xiao Yuan will definitely be successful in the future. Actually, it's better if the two of them break up. Linlin is a big spender. A single piece of clothing costs over a thousand yuan. If the two of them really got together, our family's finances... cough, never mind."

No one spoke in the room; only the crackling of the stove could be heard.

Aunt Wang seemed to have said enough and was getting a little bored, so after sitting for a while longer, she got up to say goodbye.

"Alright, I'm relieved that you've delivered the message. You two eat, I need to go to the supermarket. I heard they're having a sale today, eggs are two cents cheaper."

Aunt Wang has passed away.

They had just left a short while ago.

Buzz...

The phone rang, and Zhao Huaiyuan went out into the yard to answer it.

Because there were so many calls from unknown numbers these past few days, Zhao Huaiyuan set up a list so that only people he knew could call.

"Hey, Huaiyuan, this is Tian Zhuangzhuang."

Happy Chinese New Year, teacher.

"What's so great about it? I've been looking for you for ages. There's a boss from Guangdong named Wang Jianjun, the vice president of Zhongkai Culture. He called the department and said he couldn't reach you."

"Zhongkai Culture?" Zhao Huaiyuan was taken aback, knowing that it was a well-known audio-visual production giant in China.

"Yes, these people have a keen sense of smell. They want the exclusive VCD and DVD rights to 'The Great Britain,' and they urgently need your home address, saying they're afraid someone else will snatch it up first. They want to drive over tonight to discuss it in person. So, what do you say, will you give it to them or not?"

"Teacher, please send me his phone number. I'll make a note of it and contact him directly."

"Okay, write this down... 13..."

After hanging up the phone, Zhao Huaiyuan returned to the living room and said to his mother,

"Mom, don't worry about Aunt Wang's matter. It's nothing. I'm going out for a bit to go to an internet cafe to look up some information."

"Okay, go ahead," Mom instructed.

..

After leaving the house, Zhao Huaiyuan drove his hatchback, made a phone call, and arrived at the Grand World in just fifteen minutes.

In the 90s and early 21s, the Da Shijie (Great World) in this small city attracted merchants from surrounding provinces and even across the country to purchase wool sweaters due to its rich variety, affordable prices, and convenient transportation. It was one of the more influential wool sweater distribution centers in North China.

Also known as the World of Wool Sweaters.

Big World, Intellectual Internet Cafe.

More than two months have passed since Zhao Huaiyuan uploaded Ghost Blows Out the Light. Today's plot is that Hu Bayi and others escape death, and the secret of the Queen of Jingjue is about to be buried under the yellow sand.

This volume should be coming to an end.

With a flurry of banging, oh yeah! Volume One is officially finished! Hooray!

Zhao Huaiyuan checked his private messages.

Sure enough, it was packed to the brim again.

Besides readers urging for more updates and the persistent Northwest Lone Wolf requesting a meeting, there have also been private messages from publishing houses seeking collaborations.

The royalty rate has also increased from the initial 6% to 8%, and some have even reached 10%.

"It's about time to talk about physical publishing."

Zhao Huaiyuan had a plan in mind. The first volume was at its peak in popularity when it was finished, and discussing publication at this time would maximize profits.

After finishing with the novel, Zhao Huaiyuan switched to the film and television forum section.

As soon as I entered, I saw a post titled "What did we miss? A review of the textual arc and metaphors of home and country in (Escape from the British Museum)" pinned to the top.

This post is incredibly popular; it has received over a thousand replies, and the word "explosive" is displayed next to it.

Zhao Huaiyuan glanced at the comments and found them quite interesting. As time went on, the doubts gradually diminished until the comments were almost entirely filled with tearful tributes and similar sentiments.

Looking at the comments under this pinned post, aside from discussions of other films released during the Spring Festival, many of the titles are about patriotism and national sentiment.

A tribute! As long as we remember them, their journey home is never far!

Popular Science Post: Besides the Chinese Jade Pot with Scrolling Floral Design, How Many Other National Treasures Does the British Museum Have?

After watching the movie, all I want to say is, one day, I will definitely bring you all home in style!

This overwhelming narrative of national identity and patriotism was extremely rare and impactful on the internet in 2003.

What was the internet environment like back then?

Among the many posts about family and country, one post with a unique style suddenly appeared and its popularity is soaring.

The title is: "I'm not talking about country or nation, I'm only talking about character! Who exactly is that figure in the British film, gazing at the moon from behind?"