Huayu: The Big Players Behind the Scenes

After the food was served,

Zhuang Huai'an's ravenous eating left the mother and daughter stunned.

"Are you... that hungry?" Liu Yifei asked blankly.

Aunt Liu seemed to be deep in thought. It seemed that the child was still a little reserved after the previous meal.

According to the first law of men's eating habits, as long as one person eats fast, the others will quickly follow suit.

Jiang Wen was also influenced by his eating habits, and the two men devoured three large bowls of rice before putting down their chopsticks.

Seeing that Jiang Wen looked like he had eaten too much, Zhuang Huai'an laughed and teased, "Brother, I eat a lot because I'm young and still growing. You don't know why, but you still have such a big appetite at your age."

"Hiccup~" Jiang Wen burped without any regard for his image, too lazy to pay any attention to him.

Seeing the two of them like this, the little girl found it amusing and laughed so hard that her gums were showing. Aunt Liu patted her daughter reproachfully, signaling her to tone it down.

"Have a cup of hot tea," Aunt Liu said, getting up to make some. "Green tea aids digestion; it'll make you feel better."

"Thank you, Auntie." Zhuang Huai'an politely tapped the table.

Jiang Wen smiled and nodded. It wasn't that he was impolite, but he was too full. Before he could even speak, he started burping.

The group drank tea and chatted for a while. After a short while, Zhuang Huai'an got up to pay the bill and they all went home.

The following day, "The Hunt" was released in major theaters.

Thanks to its Cannes Film Festival award, the box office reached 1.8 million on its opening day. At this rate, it should easily surpass 10 million before it leaves theaters.

Don't underestimate this number. Before the movie "Hero" was even released, the box office had already exceeded 10 million, which basically secured its place among the top five highest-grossing films in mainland China that year.

Zhuang Huai'an did the math: if the box office reached 10 million, he could get 3.5 million, barely breaking even, while the overseas rights would be pure profit.

He left all these trivial matters to Wolong Wang Zhiyong, while Zhuang Huai'an hid in the courtyard and lived a secluded life.

At the end of July, a client manager from HSBC Hong Kong called to say that $35 million had been deposited into Zhuang Huai'an's account, and he had been automatically upgraded to a VIP client of HSBC.

Zhuang Huai'an replied that he understood.

The money came from the agent, Tony. Although the event ended in June, the process still took almost a month, and now it's finally in my pocket. (I won't go into too much detail, I'll just mention it briefly.)

During this time, Liu Yifei also joined the Tianlong crew. The young girl would always send him text messages with all sorts of questions, and Zhuang Huai'an would happily reply. They just treated each other as friends and didn't dare to think about anything else.

Days passed by, and before we knew it, it was mid-August. A piece of news once again swept through the entertainment industry.

"Huai'an, you've made it to the finals again!" Wang Zhiyong's voice was excited on the other end of the phone.

"The official Venice website has announced that 'The Seaside Town' has been selected for the main competition!"

"Great!" Zhuang Huai'an excitedly pumped his fist. This nomination gave him more confidence, which showed that no matter what era, movies that can evoke emotional resonance can be successful.

After hanging up Wang Zhiyong's call, Zhuang Huai'an thought for a moment and then decisively removed the phone battery.

Until we get results, all this socializing is pointless.

Early the next morning,

There was a knock on the gate of the courtyard house. When Zhuang Huai'an opened the door, he saw Han Sanping and Jiang Wen.

"Why can't I get through to you on the phone?" Old Han asked as soon as he entered the door.

"Huh? I can't get through?" Zhuang Huai pretended to be dumbfounded. "Maybe he forgot to charge it. I didn't notice."

He welcomed the two into the tea room, offered them each a bottle of Chinese liquor, and began to brew tea.

"I'm telling you, you should at least get a landline at home. It's so inconvenient if we can't reach you when something happens."

Han Sanping complained somewhat: "Luckily, I was quick-witted enough to figure out that Old Jiang knew where you lived."

"What's the matter that's so urgent, that you had to come all this way in person?" Zhuang Huai'an continued to play dumb.

"You know you were nominated for the Venice Film Festival, right?" Old Han observed his reaction.

"I know, I received a call yesterday."

Zhuang Huai'an's calm tone left Han Sanping speechless, making him feel like a eunuch who was more anxious than the emperor.

"Hehehe, you see, I told you this kid did it on purpose." Jiang Wen elbowed Han Sanping with a wicked grin. He knew this kid too well.

He's clearly a great person, but he's afraid of socializing.

"Well, I was worrying for nothing," Han Sanping shook his head and smiled bitterly.

Zhuang Huai'an ignored him and continued to demonstrate his Kung Fu tea ceremony, filling each of them with seven-tenths of a cup and handing it over.

"What are your plans for this?" Old Han took a sip of tea and couldn't help but ask, "I mean, do you have confidence in this film?"

"Of course I'm confident, but whether I'll win an award is another story," Zhuang Huai'an said, exhaling a puff of smoke. "I heard that Gong Li is the president of the jury for this year's Venice Film Festival?"

The two exchanged a glance, realizing to themselves that it was indeed the case.

Jiang Wen cleared her throat and tentatively asked, "What do you mean?"

"Planning is up to me, success depends on Li." Zhuang Huai'an deliberately made things mysterious, plagiarizing Jiang Wen's famous saying.

"Understood," Han Sanping nodded. "I'll handle this. As long as your film is of good quality, I'll definitely get you an award this time."

"Don't,"

Zhuang Huai'an refused, saying, "Just let things take their course. Please don't even think about going to find someone in private."

For major film festivals, it's an unspoken rule that jury presidents tend to favor films from their own countries.

This is one of the reasons why Zhuang Huai'an went to Venice; with Gong Li as a convenient option, he definitely wanted to make use of it.

But he didn't want China Film Group to get involved, as it would seem like they were using their power to intimidate others; there was no need for that.

Gong Li isn't stupid; she'll definitely help her own people.

This vote is practically secured; the other judges will be handled by our old friend, MK2.

Why not spend some money, or even just buy it?

Han Sanping pondered for a moment and nodded: "Alright, we'll go with your idea."

After refilling their cups of hot tea, Zhuang Huai'an asked, "So, you two came all this way in such a hurry just for this?"

"One of them, and there's some good news too."

Han Sanping laughed and said, "After the news of your nomination for Venice came out, it also boosted the box office of 'The Hunt.' Yesterday's box office statistics came out: 260 million, far exceeding the opening day's box office!"

"That's certainly good news." Zhuang Huai'an smiled broadly. He wasn't Jack Ma; he wasn't interested in money.

"As of today, 'The Hunt' has been in theaters for 15 days, accumulating a box office of 16.5 million yuan. At this rate, it's expected to break 20 million yuan before it leaves theaters!"

Han Sanping was also very happy. He had secured the publication of "The Hunt," which was a political achievement.

"It's fine," Zhuang Huai'an glanced at his watch and asked, "It's not even 9 o'clock yet, have you two had breakfast?"

Jiang Wen said, "No, I was dragged here by Lao Han early this morning."

"How about some soy milk and fried dough sticks at the alleyway corner?"

"Let's go!"

Seeing that Zhuang Huai'an didn't care about the outside world, Han Sanping nodded to himself. "A person with a calm mind can be a general. There are successors in Chinese-language cinema!"

Watching the two walk out of the teahouse arm in arm, Han Sanping called out, "I haven't eaten yet either, wait for me!"

Arriving at the breakfast shop at the alley entrance, Zhuang Huai'an refused the soy milk offered by the mischievous Jiang Wen and instead launched a fierce attack on soy milk, fried dough sticks, and tofu pudding.

As a native of Jiangxi Province, he can eat tofu pudding sweet, savory, and even spicy – ​​he's a complete glutton who can't choose his food.