Huayu Entertainment 1995 started with hijacking.

Chapter 307 A good brother is one who listens.
Zhang Weiping was stunned for a moment, then immediately grabbed Zhang Yimou's hand, his face beaming with joy:

"You got it? That's great! This is wonderful news!"

Congratulations, Mouzi! You're going to be a dad again!

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yimou chuckled.

Zhang Weiping put his arm around Zhang Yimou and asked, "Yimou, I wonder if your sister-in-law's baby is a boy or a girl. Do you want a boy or a girl?"

Zhang Yimou had obviously thought about this question as well, and said with a smile, "If it's a boy, I'll name him Zhang Yiding; if it's a girl, I'll name her Zhang Yijiao."

Zhang Weiping punched Zhang Yimou's chest: "Hey, looks like you want a boy~"

Zhang Yimou has two children. His eldest daughter, born to his ex-wife, is 20 years old. His eldest son, Zhang Yinan, was born to Chen Ting in 2001 and is only 2 years old.

Listen to the name he wants to give his child. If it's a boy, he'll name him Zhang Yiding. That, combined with his eldest son's name, would mean "male offspring." His traditional, farmer-like emphasis on male offspring is quite evident.

Therefore, Zhang Weiping also said, "Yiding is great! We'll give you another son, so that your Zhang family can have more descendants and become even more prosperous!"

Zhang Yimou smiled and nodded again, without saying a word.

Then Zhang Weiping chattered on and on for a while until he stopped, at which point Zhang Weiping finally spoke up: "Weiping, look, Chen Ting is pregnant now, and I'm not home, so she has no source of income..."

At this point, Zhang Yimou paused for a moment, then continued, "The money from before..."

He didn't say anything more, hesitant to speak, but he also believed that Zhang Weiping had understood what he meant.

Zhang Weiping certainly understood what Zhang Yimou meant: he wanted money back from him for the film fees that had been owed to him.

Since 2000, Zhang Yimou has basically not received any money from Zhang Weiping.

According to the official investigation into his situation during the subsequent over-birth incident, in 2000, Zhang Yimou's family annual income was only 2760 yuan, which was the basic salary from the Guangdong Western Film Studio.

Can you believe that such a big director has an annual family income of only 2760 yuan?
But that's how Zhang Yimou always did it; he kept his head down and never asked Zhang Weiping for help. If it weren't for his wife Chen Ting being pregnant this time, and having a second child in violation of the one-child policy, he wouldn't have been able to bring it up. Zhang Yimou is the kind of traditional person who values ​​brotherhood, cares about his reputation, and would rather suffer himself than complain.

When filming "Hero," the investors, led by Jiang Zhiqiang, invested $3000 million. Zhang Yimou's salary wasn't low; although it wasn't disclosed, it was certainly several million. However, this money never reached his hands; it all went to New Pictures Film Company.

When Zhang Weiping heard that Zhang Yimou had mentioned money, a bitter look immediately appeared on his face. He said to Zhang Yimou with great difficulty, "Yimou, it's not that I don't want to give you this money, it's just that our company is struggling to make ends meet right now!"

In fact, based on Zhang Weiping's understanding of Zhang Yimou, he knew this would happen as soon as Zhang Yimou mentioned his wife's pregnancy. However, he kept changing the subject and avoided bringing it up, knowing that Zhang Yimou was shy and didn't want him to bring it up.

But now that Zhang Yimou has brought it up, he has also prepared his explanation:
"Look, last time 'Hero' made so much money, a bunch of people in China thought we made a fortune, but only you and I know that we just made a lot of noise. The real money all went to investors like Jiang Zhiqiang."

That's why we had to invest in "House of Flying Daggers" ourselves. All of New Pictures' money is currently tied up in this film, and I really don't have any more to spare right now!

Zhang Weiping stretched out his hands, looking quite troubled. But then he put his arm around Zhang Yimou, appearing quite resolute.

"Okay, Mouzi, I'll call your sister-in-law right now and have her take 5 yuan to your sister-in-law! Also, if your sister-in-law needs anything, I'll have her prepare it for her. For now, have your sister-in-law stay with your sister-in-law and take good care of her!"

Zhang Yimou quickly waved his hand: "No need, no need. Chen Ting is only 3 months pregnant. She's fine on her own, and she has family members to help her."

"Hey, Mouzi, why are you being so polite with your brother? I can't come up with the big money right now, but you have to take this 5 yuan first, otherwise you're disrespecting your brother!"

Zhang Weiping firmly grasped Zhang Yimou's hands, his eyes meeting Zhang Yimou's gaze with unwavering conviction.

Only then did Zhang Yimou nod.

Zhang Weiping then laughed and said, "That's more like it! We're like brothers! If you need anything, just ask me. I'll do what I can, and I'll risk my life for you if I can't!"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yimou grasped Zhang Weiping's hand and nodded repeatedly, saying, "Thank you, Weiping!"

Zhang Weiping thought things were almost done, but then Zhang Yimou spoke up again:

“Weiping, I didn’t want to bring this up this time. If it were just about having a child, the family could scrape together enough to keep the mother and child from going hungry. But now the country is promoting family planning, and I’m not the first one. I have to pay a fine.”

Zhang Yimou paused for a moment, then looked at Zhang Weiping and said, "I, Zhang Yimou, may be poor, but I must live with integrity and not lead the way in violating national policies!"

Zhang Weiping was genuinely taken aback by Zhang Yimou's gaze. He wondered if Zhang Yimou was implying something, subtly mocking him, or if the old man was using this opportunity to force him to repay the money.

However, Zhang Weiping's inner thoughts did not affect his expression at all. He looked quite moved, then patted Zhang Yimou on the shoulder, gave him a thumbs up, and said:
"Mou Zi, what you said is well said! Very well said! I, Zhang Weiping, am so proud and honored to have a brother like you!"

Then Zhang Weiping stared wide-eyed at Zhang Yimou with unwavering conviction, patting his chest and guaranteeing:
"Don't worry about this, Mouzi. I'll handle everything perfectly for you!"

Zhang Yimou hesitated for a moment: "This..."

Zhang Weiping immediately retorted, "What, you don't believe your older brother?"

Zhang Yimou quickly waved his hand: "No, Weiping, this is my personal matter after all, and having more children than allowed is also..." Zhang Weiping interrupted him loudly: "What personal matter? Don't you consider me a brother anymore? Your business is my business!"

Zhang Weiping patted Zhang Yimou's hand: "Besides, we made a promise back then. You would be in charge of the creative work, and I would be in charge of handling the miscellaneous tasks and protecting you! Haven't we been doing this for the past few years? Has Brother ever broken his promise?"

Old Zhang shook his head: "Brother, you did well. That's not what I meant. I was just thinking that it would be too much trouble for you to handle things between me and Chen Ting. I had Chen Ting pay the fine, and then everything..."

Zhang Weiping stood up abruptly, shoved Zhang Yimou's hand away, and feigned anger: "Yimou, if you still call me 'Big Brother,' then I'm going to take care of this matter!"

Upon hearing Zhang Weiping's words, Zhang Yimou was speechless, and then quickly grabbed Zhang Weiping: "Weiping, you must be my older brother!"

Zhang Weiping's expression softened, and he said to Zhang Yimou, "That's more like it! Don't worry, leave this to your brother."

He then explained, "Your sister-in-law is only three months pregnant, which means she won't give birth until March or April next year. Once this film is finished, we can sell the copyright, and as soon as we make some money, I'll go and pay your fine immediately!"
So, the most important thing now is for you to make a good movie!

Upon hearing this, Zhang Yimou nodded in agreement.

After Zhang Weiping left, Zhang Yimou sighed. He knew that the company was in trouble because it had staked all its money on "House of Flying Daggers". If it weren't for the extra birth, he really wouldn't have asked for the money.

As for whether Zhang Weiping would lie to him, Zhang Yimou refused to believe it. Even though more than one person had told him before that Zhang Weiping was suspicious, after working together for so many years, he couldn't believe that a close brother who had taken care of him, cared for him, and supported him in every way for eight years would lie to him!

……

Meanwhile, after Zhang Weiping returned to his room, the fat on his face immediately drooped, and his expression turned gloomy.

Everyone tends to assume that others are the ones they want to know, so he was just thinking back to whether Zhang Yimou was using this as an excuse to ask him for money today.

He brushed it off this time, but what about next time? What if he has another child next time? She'll definitely keep asking him for more.

And that's not the main issue. For so many years, Zhang Yimou has always listened to him, never interfering with money matters and letting him manage everything. But today, Zhang Yimou has repeatedly tried to defy his decisions and brought up money, which is not a good sign for Zhang Weiping!
What did Zhang Weiping see in Zhang Yimou back then? Besides his outstanding film talent, wasn't it simply that he was easy to control?

To achieve this goal, he and his wife went to great lengths back then, even breaking Gong Li away from Zhang Yimou. How could they tolerate Zhang Yimou getting out of their control?
Zhang Weiping paced back and forth inside the room, pondering a solution. Then he picked up his phone and called his wife.

“Hey, Mouzi’s wife, Chen Ting is pregnant. Take out 5 yuan and send it to her today. Also, spend more time with her these days, visit her often, and deepen your relationship with her. It would be even better if you stayed at their house to keep her company and make her feel touched. The point is to make her completely open up to you.”

"Wei Ping, I've had some dealings with Chen Ting before. She's not that simple-minded. I don't think she'll necessarily work out..."

Zhang Weiping frowned and continued, "Try again. Pregnancy is when a woman is most vulnerable, this is a good opportunity. If you put in a little more effort, you might succeed. If it really doesn't work, just like before, devise a plan to make them divorce!"

I know this old guy too well. He values ​​his reputation more than anything. Chen Ting is about to give birth to his second child, but he's been keeping it a secret from everyone. Not only does he refuse to get a marriage certificate, but he also makes Chen Ting follow him without any status or recognition. Do you think Chen Ting doesn't have any resentment in her heart?

And his eldest daughter is also in the middle of them. He's keeping it a secret from her and is pretending to be a good father in front of her, haha!
With all this mess in their family, if we find the right opportunity and handle it properly, it won't be difficult to separate them!

"Okay, Weiping, I'll head over now."

After Zhang Weiping hung up the phone, he still felt it wasn't enough. He thought he had to come up with another way to make Zhang Yimou feel a sense of crisis and cut off his trust in everyone outside the company. Then he would step in to rescue him and make him trust only him!

……

Wu Yuchen has shown no concern whatsoever for the setbacks encountered by the "House of Flying Daggers" crew. Now that "The Pirate King" has entered its final stages of filming, he has devoted all his energy to it.

However, at this moment, Wu Yuchen received a call from China: "Director Wu, can you come back in December this year?"

Wu Yuchen thought for a moment: "December? I can only say I'll try my best. Is there anything going on here?"

If things go according to the current plan, filming should wrap up by the end of November. However, he's not sure if the subsequent filming will go smoothly, since with such a large production, any unexpected event could disrupt the filming schedule, such as an injury to one of the lead actors…

Therefore, Wu Yuchen didn't dare to give a definite answer. Moreover, even after filming was finished, he still had to be responsible for post-production, and unless there was something absolutely necessary, he didn't want to waste time and energy going back and forth.

He wanted to finish post-production on Pirate King 2 before the new year so he could go home and have a peaceful New Year.

"Director Wu, it's like this, you've been selected as one of this year's Top Ten Outstanding Young People of China, and you're a hot candidate with a high chance of winning. The awards ceremony will likely be held in December, and we hope you can attend."

Upon hearing the title of one of China's Top Ten Outstanding Youths, Wu Yuchen knew its significance; it was an event that the government attached great importance to, and high-ranking officials would be present.

Wu Yuchen continued, "Could you confirm the exact time?"

"Director Wu, we can't give a specific time right now because it depends on the schedule of our superiors. But generally, it's held at the end of December or the beginning of January. As for the winners, they'll usually be announced at the end of November!"

Upon hearing this, Wu Yuchen roughly understood the timeframe and, after thinking for a moment, said, "In that case, I should be able to get back to China. Please let me know once the specific time is set."

"Okay, okay, it's so great that you're back! We'll definitely let you know as soon as possible!"

After hanging up the phone, Wu Yuchen smiled. One of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons! He never thought he could earn such an honor.

Although this identity might enhance his journey, it doesn't seem to offer any real help to him as a director, but it sounds nice!
And he figured his parents would be overjoyed when he told them the news!
(End of this chapter)