Huayu: The Big Players Behind the Scenes

the next day,

Wang Changtian of Guangxian originally planned to report Zhuang Huai'an's speech from the previous night, but just as he had this idea, he received an unknown phone call.

After hanging up the phone, Wang Changtian broke out in a cold sweat. Luckily, he hadn't taken any action last night.

Meanwhile, major media outlets across mainland China received this mysterious call, and editors remained tight-lipped about it. In the end, the media outlets unanimously reported only the news of Zhuang Huai'an receiving the award, knowing nothing else.

Here

Zhuang Huai'an also received a call from Han Sanping. After hanging up, he remained silent for a long time, Han's last words echoing in his mind.

Culture is a public image; one must be careful with one's words and actions.

Alas, he was ultimately too unconventional, prompting his parents to personally intervene and discipline him.

When Jiang Wen heard this, he sighed. He had reached an age where both sides could understand each other, and things were different now, little brother.

After returning to Beijing from Hong Kong

Zhuang Huai'an stayed at home for a whole month without going out, which made Liu Yifei extremely worried. Whenever she had time, she would run to the courtyard house.

The school leaders learned the whole story and quickly sent the Wang brothers, Wang Hongwei and Wang Jingsong, to investigate.

"Oh, what brings you two here?"

Zhuang Huai'an, who was writing in his study, looked up and saw two old men, Lao Wang, looking at him with worry, with Liu Yifei following behind them, looking bewildered.

"No...it's nothing."

Wang Hongwei scrutinized his old apprentice for a while, and after finding nothing amiss, he smiled and said, "It's been a while since I've seen you, so I dragged Old Wang along to come and see you."

Wang Jingsong, who was standing nearby, also noticed nothing unusual, and the two of them breathed a sigh of relief at the same time.

"Alright, since you two are already here, why don't you grab a bite to eat at my place?"

Zhuang Huai'an got up, stretched, and boasted, "Auntie Pang's cooking is amazing! She's been cooking all over me for the past month, and I've gained at least ten pounds from all that food."

"When in Rome, do as the Romans do. You can arrange it as you see fit." Wang Hongwei nodded with a smile.

Leading the two teachers to the tea room, Zhuang Huai'an opened a bottle of Hua Zi teapot and began to brew tea.

"Sisi, Teacher Jinsong is a vegetarian, and Teacher Wang doesn't eat spicy food. Go and say hello to Auntie Pang."

"Okay." Liu Yifei nodded sweetly in agreement, and closed the door behind her as she left.

The two kings exchanged a glance, and a smile curved their lips.

"My disciples, you are all still young, especially Sisi. There are some things you need to be careful about."

"Don't worry, Master, I know what I'm doing," Zhuang Huai'an said with a smile. "We're just good friends right now, and I've never crossed any lines."

"That's good." Wang Hongwei secretly breathed a sigh of relief; he was genuinely afraid that his good apprentice would turn to crime.

"The two teachers came here today for more than just a casual chat, didn't they?"

"You noticed?"

"Your expressions are too obvious. I guess it's related to the Hong Kong Film Awards, right?" Zhuang Huai'an handed over two cups of tea.

"You guessed right."

Wang Hongwei didn't mince words, saying frankly, "I thought you were in seclusion at home creating, until today when Director Zhang told us about the media blackout. Everyone is very worried about you."

Zhuang Huai'an laughed and said, "Are you worried I'll get stuck on something?"

"That's right."

Wang Jingsong picked up the thread, "Huai'an, since your debut, you've had both awards and box office success. You've built a career in Hollywood at such a young age. It's because you've had it too easy that Director Zhang is worried that you might do something rash after being criticized."

That's right, I'm having a really good time, Teacher Wang!

"Well, it's not really criticism. I was just caught up in my excitement and forgot that those above have their own considerations. It's more like a reminder from an elder."

Zhuang Huai'an had long since figured it out. Jiang Wen was right. Things were different now. To put it bluntly, he was now a representative of Chinese culture.

In particular, after the script for "The Martian" was submitted, many leaders attached great importance to it, hoping that Zhuang Huai'an could use this film to show the world a voice of China.

But he made a careless remark and lost his sense of propriety.

United Front work is not something that can be accomplished with a single sentence or a single movie; it requires long-term, patient, and continuous efforts.

He did make a mistake in this matter.

Fortunately, there was another important figure present at the meeting. Although Mr. Jianhua praised Zhuang Huai'an's behavior, it was only a personal compliment and did not imply anything else.

Thus, under the interference of a mysterious force, Zhuang Huai'an's angry remarks were only known to those present at the awards ceremony and a small circle of people, and did not cause any stir.

It's laughable that Zhuang Huai'an was mocking Han Sanping for needing to learn from the lessons of "Red Cliff" in the first two chapters, but he didn't expect that he would be the one to learn from the lessons first.

However, this lesson is very necessary!

"It's good that you can understand it."

Wang Hongwei nodded with satisfaction. "Besides coming to see you today, we also brought a message from Dean Zhang."

"What did Dean Zhang say?" Zhuang Huai'an asked curiously.

"We will only discuss creative work and will not touch upon politics."

Wow, that sounds a bit like a royal privilege.

Zhuang Huai'an was somewhat surprised, but if Zhang Huijun said it, then he must have been instructed by his superiors to dare to say it, and it wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it was authorized by imperial power.

From this perspective, this matter can be viewed from a different angle. Being protected by the higher-ups like this means that one has already achieved invincibility!

After Zhang Yimou was so badly criticized by the public for his "black eight minutes" at the Athens Olympics, no relevant departments spoke up for him. It seems that Zhang Yimou is now doubly superior to himself.

Tsk, I can't think about this anymore, I should get carried away.

After lunch, the two Wangs returned to school.

Before the dishes and chopsticks had even been cleared away, my dear brother Jiang Wen arrived again.

"Hey girl, this table is pretty plain! Who's here?"

"It's teachers Wang Hongwei and Wang Jingsong from the school."

"Oh, that's perfect, I haven't eaten either. Girl, go get me a bowl and chopsticks, I'll just grab a bite."

"what?"

Liu Yifei stood still. "Uncle Jiang, the dishes are getting cold. Why don't you ask Auntie Pang to make you a few more?"

"Alright then, don't bother, just ask the plump lady to make me some noodles with minced meat sauce."

Jiang Wen looked around but didn't see his younger brother, so he asked, "Where's Huai'an?"

"He went out for a walk," Liu Yifei said happily. "The two teachers, Wang, came and persuaded him for a while. Perhaps he has come to his senses. After finishing his meal, he said he wanted to go out for a walk."

"Tsk, what a deep bond between master and disciple."

Jiang Wen felt a little jealous. "I've been trying to reason with him all day long, but he ignores me. Did he suddenly understand everything as soon as Wang Hongwei and the others came?"

No sooner had he finished speaking than Zhuang Huai'an pushed open the door and entered, laughing, "You two are talking bad about me, aren't you? I heard you from the doorway."

Jiang Wen glanced at him. "No, we're discussing whether you're more like Cao Cao or a dog."

"What do you mean Cao Cao dog?" Liu Yifei was a little confused. "Brother Huai'an... isn't Senior born in the Year of the Rat? He just turned 20 recently."

"Ignore him."

Zhuang Huai'an glared at Jiang Wen with annoyance. "Is he trying to say I'm fast on my feet or have dog ears?"

"Hey, this kid's not stupid." Jiang Wen turned to look at Liu Yifei, pointing at Zhuang Huai'an with one finger as if she were talking about real bullets.

"Hmph, Uncle Jiang, you can go hungry!" The little girl was a bit unhappy and turned to leave.

Jiang Wenchao winked at Zhuang Huai'an, and the two exchanged a smile, reminiscent of Bo Fu meeting Gong Jin.

The two had just entered the tea room and sat down when Jiang Wen tossed them a cigarette and laughed, "What's up, young master? Have you thought this through?"

"I've never been confused."

"Before that, you looked like you'd been hit hard and were about to die."

"You're overthinking it. I'm just taking this opportunity to rest for a while and sort out my future plans."

Zhuang Huai'an handed him a cup of tea. "In the past two years, I haven't had a proper rest. It feels like ever since I came back from Cannes for the first time, someone has been pushing me forward from behind, and I can't stop even if I want to."

"I understand."

Jiang Wen said with a serious face, "I felt the same way after I finished filming 'In the Heat of the Sun.' I always wanted to get everything out of my head in one go, afraid that the inspiration would vanish in an instant. Don't you think that's how it is?"

"Brother, you're absolutely right, brother!"

Zhuang Huai'an slapped his thigh, looking as if he had finally found a kindred spirit.

He was exactly in the same state as Jiang Wen described. Outsiders only thought he was a genius, so his inspiration was endless.

In reality, only Zhuang Huai'an himself knew that although he had many works in mind, only a few could be considered excellent. Many other works were simply not in line with the national conditions, and after being forcibly modified, they lost their original flavor.

So he was in a hurry, in a hurry to make the emo trilogy, in a hurry to make the pinnacle of marriage-themed films like "Gone Girl", and in a hurry to make the pinnacle of realism-themed films like "Parasite".

They are also in a hurry to prepare for "The Martian," one of the science fiction trilogy.

This period of seclusion made him realize once again the point he had been emphasizing.

If you can't lead a team, you'll just work yourself to death.

Zhuang Huai'an finally remembered his original intention to become a director.