Huayu Tianxian: This director is such a hypocrite!

"Slap! Slap! Slap! Slap!"

"Oh! Oh! Oh!"

On the quiet first day of the Lunar New Year, Li Erwa at the village entrance was once again setting off firecrackers to blast cow dung, clapping and cheering as he did so.

Ye Chong stood on the ridge of the field behind the house, with his own little villa in front of him, and the road just beyond.

Ye Chong's family was considered a middle-class family, with a small fortune of one or two million yuan in the early 2000s. Later, they invested in their cousin's resort, which boosted the Ye family's fortunes even further.

After being blacklisted in his previous life, he had no reason to stay in Kyoto, so he simply returned to his hometown.

After failing the civil service exam twice, my mom arranged for me to work as a photographer for my cousin, responsible for shooting promotional videos for the resort on Douyin. After that, I went to work for an influencer company that my cousin introduced me to.

She hangs out with internet celebrities every day, relying on her connections and her cousin's relationship, and spends her days aimlessly participating in beauty pageants at the company.

I finally had something to strive for in this life, but then a woman tripped me up.

"Beauty is a curse..."

Shaking his head, Ye Chong roared towards the village entrance, "Li Erwa! You son of a bitch, get over here!"

Upon hearing this, Li Erwa and his friends excitedly ran over.

As mentioned before, phrases like "god-bastard" and "I'll fuck your swear words" are not considered swear words in Chongqing.

The swear words in Chongqing are much dirtier than this!

"Ye Guo, what are you doing?"

Li Erwa, who was only ten years old, had clearly become the leader of the children. He had a thick neck, but he was not naive. His current attempts to please others would turn into benefits later.

"Give me a box, please." Ye Chong stretched out his hand, demanding firecrackers, and then added, "I want snap pops!"

"Uh... I'll take it!"

Li Erwa reluctantly took out a firecracker and handed it over.

Ye Chong was startled when he saw the cow dung on his sleeve, but he still took the firecracker and casually took out a box of chocolate beans from his pocket and threw it over.

"Don't go fry cow dung, you're like a hornet's nest."

"Hehehe...Okay!"

Li Erwa turned and ran, afraid that if he was too slow, he would have to share the food with his friends.

"So young!" Ye Chong murmured to himself.

This is such a great opportunity to win people over, and you're thinking of taking it all for yourself?

He thought of Yi Fei and her daughter again; now that they were single, would they be exploited by capital...?

"Well!"

He choked, then let out a long breath.

He took out firecrackers and started throwing them idly into his yard.

"Whoosh~ Snap!"

"Hello~ Motorbike!"

Happy moments are always prone to mishaps. Ye Chong paused, thought for a moment, then sat down on the edge of the field and took out his phone from his pocket to check it.

Unknown number?

"Feed?"

"..."

There was silence on the other end of the phone.

Ye Chong frowned.

He blocked everyone before going home, and now that there's no Do Not Disturb mode, this is the only way.

So the calls that come in are either from a newly purchased phone card or from a stranger.

Could it be...?

"Is this President Ye?" a young male voice asked.

"Hmm." Ye Chong bit his lip and took out three firecrackers from his pocket with his right hand and threw them down.

"Snap—"

"President Ye, this is Yang Yu, who contacted you before. I've gone home and carefully considered your proposal."

"Um……"

There was a moment's hesitation on the phone, then the caller asked again, "Are you listening? Mr. Ye?"

"Hmm." Ye Chong responded, then asked, "Get on the ship? Dumplings, let's go conquer the new world."

The dumpling on the other side twitched its mouth. It had long been said that Ye Chong was abstract, but it was not expected to be this abstract.

It wasn't actually abstract; Ye Chong was thinking about his profession and deliberately referenced anime elements, but... the specific concept of the New World in One Piece won't be drawn until next year.

"Mr. Ye, I can take over Feiye Animation, but I have a few requirements."

After saying that, Dumpling suddenly regretted it.

He's just an employee now. It's already incredibly lucky that Ye Chong found him and invited him to take charge of a new company. Now he's making demands?

Oh no, is this project going to fail?

"Can."

"what?"

"Okay! Go ahead and bring it." Ye Chong repeated.

"Ah, okay! My first request is, can I change it to two? Uh... firstly, I hope that if I do well in the future, I can get stock options."

"no problem."

"Well, secondly, I hope to organize the gathering myself. I'm used to being free-spirited, and sometimes my words might offend people..."

"Can."

After saying those two sentences, Ye Chong began to mention his rules: "You'll get shares, and if you do well, you might even get shares in the group company. But... the company has a clause that if you want to seek other opportunities, you're not allowed to take any of your team with you. Of course, once you see the company's benefits, you won't have any thoughts of leaving."

"Yes, I understand."

"Um……"

"You'll be joining in May. First, you need to assemble the domestic team and purchase basic equipment. The professional equipment and personnel are still abroad and haven't returned yet."

This left the person on the other end of the phone somewhat bewildered.

What kind of professionals does animation require?

Ye Chong didn't hide anything and directly revealed the truth: "This is not a simple animation, it's a 3D animated feature film! We have a group of thirty senior executives, top talents in film, animation, special effects, and production. Six or seven of them will be under your command."

"Huh? Then, can I do it?"

Ye Chong rolled his eyes.

You're already 25, and you're asking me if I, at 20, could do that?

"If you're not good enough, the shares, dividends, and company building will belong to someone else."

"Yes! I can do it!"

"Hmm..." After explaining the general arrangements, Ye Chong submitted the first task to him.

"Frozen? Sounds...well, it has a lot of Chinese mythology vibes?"

Of course, the translated version should be more Chinese-style!

Ye Chong then discussed some precautions with him before hanging up the phone.

"Thus, the previously laid-out sections began to gradually come together."

Making money with ringtones, going all-in on stocks, starting a tech company with Meilika, studying abroad for talent, hoarding stocks, and Facebook was an unexpected bonus.

Everything is proceeding along the predetermined path.

Ye Chong, on the other hand, was completely messed up by a relationship.

He already had a lot going on these past two years, dealing with scripts, the company, the system, plus the complicated relationship with Yifei.

tired.

His mind and body were both screaming warnings. After thinking carefully for a moment, he raised his hand and turned off his phone.

"I'll turn it on again when school starts, haha—nobody'll miss me anyway."

After thinking it over, he stood up, dusted himself off, reached into his pocket with his right hand, and threw all the firecrackers down.

"Clap clap clap clap..."

"Ye Chong!!! You get down here right now!"

Ye Chong shrank back.

This "old lady" isn't just a Chongqing slang term; it really means "his old lady"!

……

7 PM.

The mahogany floors of Ye Chong's small house were cool to the touch, but his body felt warm.

There are no radiators in the south, only air conditioners. Ye Chong hasn't been home for a long time and is still getting used to it.

"Hurry up! You're so slow at scooping rice. If you were so eager to go fishing, my daughter and I wouldn't be starving!"

At the simple wooden dining table, Ye Chong kept his head down and remained silent.

The middle-aged woman with the trendy ramen noodle haircut and roaring like a dragon is his mother, Zhou Tang.

"Why are you mentioning my fishing again? My fishing hasn't bothered anyone. Besides, don't say that word during the Lunar New Year, it's unlucky."

The fat man carrying three bowls of rice, with a fawning expression, was his father, Ye Pengcheng.

Oh, right, he also had a younger uncle who died young, named Ye Wanli...

Ye Chong took the rice bowl from his father without saying a word, moved the fish in front of him to the other side, and started smashing the green pepper and shredded pork in front of him.

Seeing this, Zhou Tang picked up her chopsticks but didn't pick up any food: "Has the dog been fed?"

"Feeding, feeding."

Ye Chong's family has a black country dog, um... a mongrel.

Every household in the countryside has a big yellow dog. Ye Chong's family has a big black dog, but its name isn't Big Black.

"I'm telling you, you little bastard, if you take my little white dog to the pond again, I'll fucking kill you!"

"I told you not to say that word during the New Year."

The two argued for a few more minutes before starting to eat.

Actually, today was supposed to be Ye Chong's training day, and his dad still had a score to settle with him. Fortunately, his mom's beloved Xiaobai was taken out fishing by his dad, thus saving him from a disaster... right?

"Ye Chong".

"what?"

Ye Chong looked up and saw that his father's squinting eyes were very similar to his own. No, it should be said that Ye Chong resembled his father.

However, Ye Chong wasn't fat, so he didn't have that "smiling tiger" vibe.

"Where's the girlfriend you were talking about, you little bastard?"

Ye Chong rolled his eyes.

I just said this afternoon that I would relax for a month and temporarily forget about women, but who knew I couldn't escape it after all.

"They've broken up, they must have broken up."

"What do you mean by 'should'?" Zhou Tang frowned.

Men resemble their mothers and women resemble their fathers; Ye Chong's handsome face is a direct inheritance of Zhou Tang's beauty.

However, she is a middle-aged woman who pursues fashion, and she has been watching too much "Water Moon Cave" in the past few days.

Ye Chong picked up his chopsticks and poked at the white rice, suddenly losing his appetite. "Is it because we're not in contact anymore?"

"Are you kidding me? You took out that million and didn't even make a ripple!"

"Tsk!"

"You son of a bitch, try clicking your tongue again, shall you?"

Despite Ye Pengcheng's fierce and explosive appearance, Ye Chong has never been beaten by his father in his entire life.

"You Chinese should just search it online. You wouldn't even know you've teased that 'fairy sister'!"

Zhou Tang's eyes lit up: "Liu Yifei?!"

Ye Chong opened his mouth wide and nodded mechanically: "Yes, yes."

"He definitely spent a million on whoring, Pengcheng, you block the door, I'll go get the prostitute!"

"Okay!"

After saying that, Mom stood up and prepared to get the stick.

Ye Chong sighed several times in silence and took out his phone, which was already switched off.

The elderly couple paused, and only after Ye Chong placed the photo in front of them did they look at each other, their mouths agape, as if they could fit an egg in them.

then……

"Pengcheng—get the stick, I'm going to call Xiaobai out and bite him!"

"Okay!"

Dad turned and walked away, muttering to himself, "You little brat, you just let me go like that? If I don't beat you until you're covered in red welts, I'll change my surname to yours!"

Ye Chong: ...

"No points! We're arguing!"

The elderly couple then stopped in their tracks and came to him.

What the heck?

"You're definitely the one who's wronged, you little bastard."

Ye Chong recounted the events with a sense of helplessness, and the elderly couple fell silent.

Despite their Buddhist-like attitude, the elderly couple have a good eye for things; otherwise, they wouldn't have amassed such a fortune.

"Click—"

The silence was broken by the sound of a lighter. Ye Chong had just lit a cigarette when a slap came flying and knocked the cigarette to the ground.

Ye Chong looked up suspiciously, and his father's serious face appeared before him: "Who did you learn that from?"

Ye Chong replied instinctively, "With myself."

"What?" Dad tilted his ear to the side.

Ye Chong felt a chill run down his spine. Although his father had never hit him, he could be quite fierce when necessary.

"Even Qianbao smokes."

Mom leaned in: "Which one is Qianbao number four?"

Ye Chong clicked his tongue: "Liu Yifei."

"Did you see it with your own eyes?"

"No, I saw it in TV dramas and on set."

"That's all wrong." His mother looked at him seriously: "You work in the film and television industry, but can what you act out be the same as what you do in real life? It's the same with being a person; what you say and what you think aren't necessarily the same."

Ye Chong seemed to be deep in thought.

"To put it bluntly, you guys are still immature!" Dad chimed in.

Ye Chong stared at his own ceiling again, thinking to himself, "I'm over fifty years old in both my past and present lives, and I'm still not mature?"

"Your kid, you've been dealing with four stubborn guys since you were little, all of them wanting to win, and they're chauvinistic. I find that strange; I've never been chauvinistic, where did your kid get that from?"

After he finished speaking, he looked at Zhou Tang across from him, but was glared at by the latter with narrowed eyes, and then looked away.

"You two are quite sophisticated, even knowing how to be chauvinistic."

"Chongwa'er!" Dad got up and patted him on the shoulder, unusually not criticizing him: "You're so sophisticated because your mom loves watching dramas. I love her, so I tease her and watch with her. We're getting old, but we've been through that phase too."

Ye Chong looked up and met his father's meaningful gaze: "Flowers may bloom again, but youth never returns. In your youth, love and adventure boldly. Right or wrong, you'll realize they're not a big deal once you've experienced them firsthand."

Mom chimed in, "Once you and Qian'er get together, you two can look back and see today's argument as the sweetest spice in the seasoning, right?"

Ye Chong paused, muttering the word "youth" to himself, and lowered his head in deep thought.

The elderly couple standing nearby were sweating profusely as they pulled out a copy of "Moonlight Lost at Midnight".

"Look, look, what other quotes are there?"

"Hmm... Slurp!" (Sound of licking fingers and turning pages)

"A true saying: Moonlight can get lost in the midnight, love can get lost in the years, and we, we get lost in each other's lives."

"Okay, okay, but it's a bit long! I can't memorize it!"