Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 125 Wang Zuxian is so pitiful!

In the evening, in the afterglow of the setting sun, Li Zhenxing strolled home after get off work. As soon as he opened the door, his son came up to him with a fawning smile and took the bag from his hands.

Upon seeing this, Li Zhenxing immediately understood that his son was definitely trying to ask him for money again. Sure enough, the next moment:
"Dad, can I have 15 yuan?"

Li Zhenxing immediately straightened his face: "Didn't I just give you money last week? You've only just started your vacation and you're already asking for money every day to go out and have fun. Did you go to the arcade again?!"

"Dad, no! I'm not going to the arcade. I'm going to see a movie with my classmates tomorrow!"

Li Zhenxing's expression softened upon hearing this; watching a movie was much better than going to the arcade. Two months ago, he had dragged his son home from the arcade and given him a good beating before the son finally learned his lesson. Now, he rarely gave him pocket money.

As Li Zhenxing changed his shoes, he asked:
"What movie? Who did you go with?"

"Wang Zuxian's!"

Upon hearing this, Li Zhenxing immediately exclaimed in surprise, "Wang Zuxian? She has a new movie? How come I didn't know? You're not lying to me, are you!"

Although his son is already in junior high school, Li Zhenxing is not an old-fashioned person. He has seen many of Joey Wong's movies, especially Nie Xiaoqian in "A Chinese Ghost Story," which captivated him back then. He doesn't know how many times he has watched it.

Why would I lie to you? If you don't believe me, look at the newspaper!

Li Chao quickly grabbed a newspaper from the table and handed it to his father.

Li Zhenxing took the newspaper and looked at it:
"Asian Queen of Pop Wang Zuxian's Search for Relatives in Mainland China"

—Wu Yuchen, Best Director at Berlin Film Festival, documented the entire event!

Searching for relatives? Does Wang Zuxian have relatives in mainland China?

Li Zhenxing immediately became interested. He then looked at the illustration next to it, which showed Wang Zuxian and three young people hugging each other, some crying and some laughing, a scene of deep brotherly affection.

He then immediately read the main text of the report, which introduced that "My Brothers and Sisters" was directed by Berlin Best Director Wu Yuchen, who used a documentary style and the most realistic shots to follow Wang Zuxian throughout her search for her relatives.

Among them was an interview with Wang Zuxian, which was very moving and brought me to tears.

After reading the entire report, Li Zhenxing still couldn't figure out whether Wang Zuxian really had relatives in mainland China.

This is both a documentary style and real footage, so could it be a true story?
It was precisely this seemingly half-true, half-false situation that aroused Li Zhenxing's desire to explore even more; everyone is curious about the gossip of celebrities!

"Alright, approved. I'll let you go see him tomorrow."

Upon hearing this, Li Chao's face immediately lit up with joy. However, before he could be happy for long, he heard his father say to his mother:

"Hey, there's a new movie starring Joey Wong, about her journey back to the mainland to find her relatives. Shall we all go see it together tomorrow?"

"Wang Zuxian is looking for relatives in mainland China? Isn't she a Hong Kong star? Does she have relatives in mainland China?"

"Who knows? That's roughly what I read in the newspaper. Xiao Chao wants to see it, so let's take him with us tomorrow!"

Li Chao hurriedly ran to Li Zhenxing and said anxiously, "Dad, I meant I wanted to go with my classmates!"

"It doesn't matter who you watch it with, can't you watch it with your parents? If you don't want to watch, then stay home and do your homework!"

Li Chao pouted, wanting to resist but unable to. Having something to watch was better than doing homework at home.

The following Saturday, Li Zhenxing reached the ticket window:

"Three copies of 'My Brothers and Sisters'."

He took the movie ticket from the ticket seller and was about to leave when the ticket seller called out to him from behind:

"Hey, wait a minute, here you go."

The ticket seller handed him a few sheets of toilet paper, which Li Zhenxing took and asked curiously:
"What's going on? Are they giving out tissues at the movies now?"

"Here's some tissue to wipe your noses, so you won't cry and not have any."

Li Zhenxing found it amusing. Was it really that big of a deal? It was just Wang Zuxian looking for her relatives. How could it possibly make him cry?

However, since there was no harm in taking advantage of such a bargain, I tried asking, "There are three of us, could you give us a little more?"

The ticket seller handed him several more tickets. Since the publicity staff had paid for and delivered these tickets, she didn't mind giving them away.

A moment later, Li Zhenxing and his family of three entered the theater and found that there were quite a few people there, all chattering and discussing.

"Does Wang Zuxian really have brothers and sisters in mainland China?"

"Is this fake? This must be a movie, right?"

"Didn't you see the documentary style they used, recording the whole process? Don't you even know what a documentary is? A documentary is real!"

"I came here because of Wu Yuchen, the Berlin Best Director. He previously directed a movie called 'We Two,' which was very touching."

"This is really unusual; the movie theater is even proactively handing out tissues!"

"Hey, I didn't take it. I won't take advantage of public resources!"

Everyone was talking at once, and soon the lights in the movie theater went out, and the movie officially began.

At the very beginning of the film, we hear Joey Wong softly murmuring her opening remarks:

"My father said that brothers and sisters were originally snowflakes in the sky, none of them knew each other, but after falling down from the sky, they would melt into one, freeze into ice, melt into water, and none of them could live without the others..."

In the opening scene, accompanied by beautiful accordion music, a family of six appears one after another. As the innocent and adorable smiling faces of the children appear on the screen, the audience is immediately drawn into the film.

This family in a small town in Northeast China is poor but happy enough. Of the four siblings, the eldest brother is tough and impulsive, the second daughter is well-behaved and sensible, and the two younger brothers and sisters are still a bit naive.

The eldest brother would lead his younger siblings in playing pranks on the neighbors.

Once, after doing something wrong and being punished, the eldest brother was made to stand outside in the freezing cold as punishment, and was not allowed to eat. The second daughter felt sorry for her brother, so she secretly took a steamed bun from the table and stuffed it into her clothes for her brother to eat outside.

Seeing this scene, Li Zhenxing couldn't help but smile. He remembered when he was a child, he was naughty and beat up the neighbor's child, and was punished by his parents for standing in the corner. His younger sister would secretly bring him food in the same way.

The little girl was hospitalized with a fever. When she saw the child in the next bed eating canned oranges, she cried and begged her father for some.

The older siblings took out their New Year's money and pooled together a jar of mandarin orange preserves for their little sister. They all said they didn't like them, but they couldn't help asking her, "Is it good?" and "Can you finish the whole jar?"

At this moment, his wife gently touched Li Zhenxing's arm:
"Do you remember when you gave me a jar of mandarin oranges? I kept it for so long, I couldn't bear to eat it, and it eventually went bad~"

Li Zhenxing naturally remembered that in those days of scarcity 20 years ago, canned oranges were a rare commodity. These heartwarming scenes seemed to transport them back to that impoverished yet warm era.

However, the sweeter and happier the story is beforehand, the more painful the subsequent betrayal becomes. Especially when the eldest brother, Qi Yiku, sends his younger siblings away one by one.

The clever and bright little sister chased after her older brothers and sisters, crying, and the four children embraced and wept; the second sister, Qi Sitian, blinked her large, pitiful eyes as her eldest brother pushed her away; the eldest brother, Qi Yiku, ran until he was exhausted in the icy snow, and alone on the desolate snowfield of Northeast China, he cried out the names of his entire family...

Watching these four lovable children forced to scatter to the ends of the earth at an age when they shouldn't be experiencing separation, some audience members in the theater had already broken down in tears.

These emotional fluctuations and outbursts, delivered through the children's almost unadorned performances, became powerful tearjerker moments, building up layer by layer and bringing tears to the eyes at every turn, pushing the film's somber atmosphere to new heights.

Li Zhenxing initially tried to maintain his fatherly dignity by keeping his tears from flowing because his son was by his side, but as he watched the later episodes, he couldn't hold back any longer and tears streamed down his face.

When he tried to get a tissue to wipe his tears, he found that his wife and son had already given them all away.

He didn't know if the guy who didn't take advantage of the public funds regretted it, but he certainly regretted not asking for more paper.

He glanced at his son, who was now completely out of control, wailing and crying. He had long since run out of tissues, and tears were streaming down his face. He didn't even notice what his father looked like. Li Zhenxing breathed a sigh of relief; at least his son hadn't noticed.

When the movie ended and the lights in the theater came back on, Li Zhenxing adjusted his glasses and saw that his wife's eyes were red and his son was crying so hard he looked like a big, messy cat. He couldn't help but laugh.

At this point, quite a few people in the theater were still sobbing, and some were crying as they said:

"I never imagined Wang Zuxian was so pitiful! She was so adorable when she was little..."

"It's not easy for anyone, even big stars have it tough!"

This era is not lacking in simple-minded "fools" who become hopelessly immersed in movies.

In fact, Li Zhenxing had already figured it out; this must be a movie directed by Wang Zuxian. But he wouldn't argue with people at this point. The movie was fake, but the emotions and the feelings it evoked were real.

He plans to recommend the movie to his family and friends when he gets back. Such a great family movie shouldn't be enjoyed by just his family; sharing is worse than enjoying alone!
……

"Wang Zuxian placed an advertisement in the newspaper to find her three siblings who were separated from their parents on the mainland!"

"My Brothers and Sisters" ignites a summer tearjerker!

"My Brothers and Sisters" - Joey Wong's touching journey to find her family!

Wang Zuxian was already very famous, and with these reports, many viewers were drawn into the cinema, basically going in laughing and coming out crying.

Soon, the topic of Wang Zuxian searching for her relatives spread widely.

"Did you know? Actually, Wang Zuxian is from Northeast China. She's so pitiful. Her parents died in an accident when she was young, and she was forced to go to Hong Kong with someone else, which is how she became a big star!"

"What? No way, I remember reading in a magazine that she was from Taiwan?"

"No, that's not true. Her brother gave her to a neighbor who was going abroad. The people you're talking about definitely aren't her biological parents. Don't believe me? The movie theater even showed her going back to the mainland to find her family!"

"Huh?! Really?"

"Of course it's real! The Berlin Best Director was in charge of filming the whole thing, so it's absolutely authentic!"

"Then I'll have to go take a look."

"Let me tell you, bring plenty of tissues when you go. The tissues the movie theater gives out are never enough. I couldn't stop crying, it was so touching!"

……

Xiao Tang is the distributor for "My Brothers and Sisters" in Hangzhou, and he's currently answering phone calls one after another:

"Add another copy? No problem, but it'll be at least a week from now!"

"What? Not enough paper? Manager Lu, your cinema can use this today, and I'll buy some and deliver it to you tomorrow!"

"They won't give you the copy? Didn't you agree that the two cinemas would share one copy? Fine, I'll make a call and try to persuade him, but if he doesn't listen, there's nothing I can do. You'll have to solve it yourselves!"

Don't think it's strange that two companies share one copy. A movie copy can actually be divided into four or five copies, so theoretically four or five companies can share one. That is, the first company plays disc A first, and after 20 minutes, the delivery person quickly sends disc A to the second company. After the second company plays disc A, they quickly take disc B from the first company, and disc A is sent to the third company, and so on.

It's obvious that one cinema is so popular with "My Brothers and Sisters" that they're refusing to share the copies with another cinema, wanting to keep it all for themselves. This could very well escalate into a brawl.

When Xiao Tang was in the distribution business, he was basically treated like a servant, going to various cinemas and begging them to promote the film and copies. But this time, with "My Brothers and Sisters," the situation was completely reversed. Cinemas were chasing after him for copies, allowing him to experience what it's like to be the boss.

However, he didn't dare to delay and naturally had to quickly call and report the situation to his superiors.

……

"Hurry up! The whole country is urging us to hurry. Every second we delay means less box office revenue. Work 24/7 in three shifts to get the copies of 'My Brothers and Sisters' produced as soon as possible!"

After hearing Han Sanping's order, the production department director hurriedly ran out of the office.

Han Sanping looked very excited. He had thought that with Wang Zuxian's participation, "My Brothers and Sisters" would do well at the box office, but he didn't expect it to be this good!

In just two days over the weekend, according to rough estimates, "My Brothers and Sisters" has already grossed 1300 million yuan!
With a box office of 13 million in just two days, Han Sanping never dared to dream of such a result, considering that the film's production cost was only a little over one million!

At this moment, he remembered that Wu Yuchen had told him to prepare for a box office of 5000 million, but he thought Wu Yuchen was just joking.

Han Sanping has seen this movie, but he thinks 20 million is about right, and 30 million is the highest. After all, times are changing, and it is impossible for everyone to create a myth like "Mom, Love Me Again" again after 10 years, right?
In fact, not only Han Sanping, but also purchasing managers from various regions who watched the film at the screening had similar opinions: 20 to 30 million is already a very good box office.

Han Sanping couldn't help but sigh. Now it seemed that they had all underestimated Wu Yuchen and Wang Zuxian! They had underestimated this film, "My Brothers and Sisters"!
Now cinemas across the country are urging him, and he is also urging the production department, hoping to work overtime to produce it as soon as possible and lose less box office revenue.

When Wang Zuxian saw her phone ring, she glanced at it and answered it with a smile:
"Director Wu, hello! Did you think of me when you came across a good movie?"

With Wu Yuchen winning the Best Director award at the Berlin Film Festival, his status in Wang Zuxian's heart naturally changed, rising by at least two levels.

This time, Wang Zuxian didn't participate in any film promotions in mainland China, since "My Brothers and Sisters" didn't even have a premiere ceremony. However, she was given the publicity plan related to Wu Yuchen beforehand, and she smiled and said she didn't mind at all.

Wu Yuchen's hearty laughter came through the phone:
"Haha, not yet, but I have some good news for you~"

"good news?"

"Yes, I think it's good news, but I don't know if you'll like it, Sister Xiaoxian. My Brothers and Sisters has been released for two weeks and has grossed 4200 million yuan."

"How much?!" Wang Zuxian stood up abruptly upon hearing this.

(End of this chapter)