Entertainment Era: My Good Sister Is All Over the World

The songs of singers, the dances of dancers, the swordsmen's swords, the pens of writers, and the fighting spirit of heroes are all like this: as long as one is alive, one cannot give up.

—Gu Long, *Heroes Shed No Tears* (1979)

……

Huang Wenbin hurriedly went out the door and then ran into Liang Xiaosheng.

It turned out he was the one shouting.

"What's going on?" Huang Wenbin asked, looking surprised.

Liang Xiaosheng looked at Huang Wenbin with a beaming smile: "The script for 'Let the Bullets Fly' has been approved, and we'll be starting pre-production soon."

Huang Wenbin couldn't help but chuckle.

"Our factory's scripts are notoriously difficult to get approved, it's like going to court in ancient times."

Liang Xiaosheng casually explained, "In the past, after someone passed the review, they would shout like this, and it gradually became a routine."

"I see," Huang Wenbin said with a sudden realization. "This has certainly broadened my horizons."

Before long, Chen Huaikai walked over with a beaming smile.

"Uncle Chen, is everything settled?" Huang Wenbin asked, feigning ignorance.

Chen Huaikai was in high spirits and patted Huang Wenbin on the shoulder with a smile: "It's because your script is good that it was approved without much trouble. Lao Wang is getting someone to estimate the costs, and the team will be set up in a few days."

Liang Xiaosheng sincerely congratulated Director Chen, saying, "Congratulations!"

"I also want to thank you!" Chen Huaikai said to Liang Xiaosheng, "If I hadn't met you, I wouldn't have found this notebook, nor would I have met Xiao Huang."

Little Yellow?

It sounds a bit like calling it a pet dog.

Huang Wenbin felt a little awkward, but it didn't really matter.

Fortunately, he had foresight. When copying the script for "Shaolin Temple," he changed the female lead's dog's name to "Wangcai," whereas its original name was "Ah Huang."

Given the fame of Shaolin Temple, he'll probably end up with another nickname, "Ah Huang."

"By the way, Director Chen, Wenbin said he got a new idea from you."

Liang Xiaosheng then brought up the inspiration Huang Wenbin had just discussed, saying, "He said he wanted to write a script about Peking Opera. You're a Peking Opera expert, so it would be a good opportunity for him to learn from you."

"You want to write a script for a traditional opera film?" Chen Huaikai's eyes lit up, and he asked with great surprise.

"No!" Huang Wenbin shook his head and quickly clarified, "It's still a drama, but the main characters are Peking Opera singers, and it tells their life experiences from the Republic of China era to the present. It's just that I really know very little about Peking Opera, and I'm not very clear about their lives either."

"That's easy." Chen Huaikai said confidently, "Perfect timing. I've arranged to have dinner with some Peking Opera artists today. You can come along, and I'll introduce you. You can ask me any questions, and if I'm busy, you can contact them."

Huang Wenbin was somewhat flattered: "Is this appropriate?"

"What's inappropriate about it?" Chen Huaikai laughed nonchalantly. "You're my nephew now. With your screenwriting skills and writing ability, the scripts you write will definitely be very popular. This will be a way to promote Peking Opera, and they'd be more than happy to do it."

Huang Wenbin didn't stand on ceremony: "Then I'll have to trouble Uncle Chen."

"No trouble at all." Chen Huaikai now likes Huang Wenbin no matter what he does, and even feels a little inexplicably resentful: Why isn't such a good kid my son?

She also felt a little regretful that her daughter had married so early, otherwise she could have kept this boy at bay.

"Come on, come on, let's go see the world now." Chen Huaikai stepped forward, grabbed Huang Wenbin's hand, and walked directly downstairs.

Huang Wenbin was taken aback: "Now?"

"Yes, right now." Chen Huaikai explained to Huang Wenbin, "We've invited a group of veteran Peking Opera artists to have vegetarian food at Gongdelin Restaurant. We have to ride our bikes there, which will take at least an hour. If we don't go soon, we won't be able to get a table."

Huang Wenbin asked with some confusion, "Can't we book in advance?"

"Even if you have a reservation, you still need to go early." Chen Huaikai pulled Huang Wenbin and they had already walked to the carport downstairs. "Their business is so good that the master chef who makes vegetarian dishes only works for two hours, and then his apprentice does the rest, so the taste isn't authentic."

Chen Huaikai skillfully pushed his Yan brand bicycle out of the bike shed.

Originally a sewing machine brand, Yanpai became popular, so the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Light Industry officially named the bicycles produced by the Beijing Bicycle Factory Yanpai bicycles.

This model is relatively simple and elegant, and is very popular among some intellectuals.

Chen Huaikai's car is very agile, and you can tell he takes good care of it. He bought it a few years ago, and apart from the paint showing some signs of wear, everything else is maintained as good as new.

"Do you want to sit in the front or the back?" Chen Huaikai stepped into the car and asked Huang Wenbin with a smile.

Huang Wenbin didn't own a bicycle and didn't want to borrow one right now, so he could only say, "I'll sit in the back."

Chen Huaikai, supporting himself on one leg, said with a smile, "Then what are we waiting for? Come on up. You're not worried that this old man can't carry you, are you?"

"No, no." Huang Wenbin waved his hands repeatedly and sat down in the back seat with his legs apart.

Director Chen's back seat must be frequently used by people, so a piece of velvet was placed on it to make it less uncomfortable for their bottoms.

"My wife has ridden on the back seat of this bike!" Chen Huaikai pushed off with his foot and sped forward. "My daughter always sits on the front bar."

Huang Wenbin couldn't help but ask, "What about Chen Kaige?"

"He's got the temper of a young master!" Chen Huaikai shook his head and sighed softly, "I urged the family to buy him a car a long time ago, but he disdains to ride in an old man's car like this."

Huang Wenbin didn't ask any more questions, after all, it was their family matter.

The two chatted intermittently along the way.

Chen Huaikai has a gentle temperament and rarely asks inappropriate questions, taking excellent care of Huang Wenbin's feelings.

Huang Wenbin was also a very curious person, asking questions about everything he saw; his curiosity about this era was truly overwhelming.

Chen Huaikai answered every question Huang Wenbin asked patiently, even more patiently than he had with his own son.

It must be said that Chen Huaikai is indeed a cycling expert. The journey that would normally take an hour was completed in less than fifty minutes by him, who skillfully navigated through streets and alleys and took the straightaways.

After parking the car, the two walked into the vegetarian restaurant together.

"These artists are great, they saved me a lot of money on meat tickets." Chen Huaikai booked a private room and led Huang Wenbin inside, then chuckled and complained.

Huang Wenbin also had a general understanding of the situation. In order to maintain the condition of their voices, Peking Opera performers are very particular about what they eat. They can't eat food that is too cold or too hot, and they eat as little meat as possible. When they crave meat, they will cook some vegetables in meat broth.

He knew this from listening to Guo Degang's crosstalk in his previous life.

Chen Huaikai went to the kitchen and confirmed that it was the master chef making it before he felt relieved.

Half an hour later, several more groups of people arrived.

Chen Huaikai greeted them warmly, and once everyone was there, he began to introduce them to each other.

"This man is Huang Wenbin, a newly recruited screenwriter at our factory. I just got a script from him, and we're about to start filming."

Chen Huaikai pointed to Huang Wenbin and introduced him to the others, saying, "He recently wanted to write a script about Peking Opera, so I shamelessly brought him here to broaden his horizons. Please give me some face and offer him a few pointers when you have time."

"How old is this child?" one of the elderly men, with a buzz cut and a rather dignified appearance, asked with a smile.

Huang Wenbin quickly replied, "19 years old, studying at the Beijing Film Academy."

"As expected, heroes emerge from among the young." The old man with the buzz cut had a very loud voice, and even when he spoke softly, everyone in the room could hear him. "He is much better than my son. He only got to sing in the theater because of his father's legacy."

Upon hearing this, the dashing young man sitting next to the short-haired old man lowered his head, somewhat embarrassed.

Huang Wenbin felt that the young man looked very familiar, and two lines of dialogue even came to mind.

One of the sentences was: "You only make a few hundred yuan a month, why are you risking your life?"

Another saying was from someone else: "My second brother is invincible!"

"Let me introduce you. This is Mr. Yu Mingkui, a master of Peking Opera and a disciple of Qiu Lao, the founder of the Qiu School."

Chen Huaikai introduced Huang Wenbin to the dignified-looking old man with a buzz cut.

He then pointed to the young man next to the old man: "This is his son, Yu Rongguang, who is also a rising star in the Fenglei Peking Opera Troupe."

"I'm not much of a star; I barely managed to avoid embarrassing myself." Yu Mingkui shook his head slightly, somewhat dissatisfied.

Chen Huaikai laughed it off, glossing over the part, and then pointed to an elegant middle-aged woman opposite him, saying, "This is Yu Yanxia of the Xun School, a famous actress from the SD Province Peking Opera Troupe."

Pointing to the young woman next to Master Yu, she introduced, "This lady next to him is his apprentice, Wei Huili. She's only 26 years old this year, but she already has quite a presence."

"Hello, I'm Wei Huili." The young woman greeted Huang Wenbin in a very open and friendly manner.

Looking at that bright and pretty face, Huang Wenbin immediately remembered who she was.

Isn't this Miss Gao from the 86 TV series "Journey to the West"? She's also Zhang Xiu's aunt from the 94 TV series "Romance of the Three Kingdoms," the Zou Shi who made Prime Minister Cao Cao utter the famous line, "I wonder if my lady would like to share a bed with me tonight?"

"Cough cough cough!"

Seeing Huang Wenbin staring blankly at Wei Huili, Chen Huaikai couldn't help but cough lightly: "Just look, that's enough. It's time to snap out of it."

"Oh, I'm sorry." Huang Wenbin snapped out of his daze and quickly apologized.

"Young people are easily swayed by love, that's normal." Yu Mingkui couldn't help but laugh heartily. "You're a good lad, how about I play matchmaker for you? What do you think of this young man, Sister Yu?"

Yu Yanxia, ​​a witty woman, smiled and said, "He's quite handsome, a good match for our Huili."

Wei Huili quickly distanced herself, saying, "He's too young; I'm six or seven years older than him."

Yu Mingkui chuckled and teased, "You little rascal, you're really tempted. 'A woman three years older than her husband is like a gold brick,' he's got two gold bricks in his hands, he's hit the jackpot."

Except for the young people, everyone else joined in the laughter.