Huayu: A Commercial Director

Chapter 20 Freshman
When he got off the plane, there were already people waiting for him at the airport.

"Don't you have a performance today?" Chen Shou asked his junior apprentice, Lao Feng, who came to pick him up.

"Brother, there isn't one today, but Master has a performance today at the Tianqiao Theater," Feng Chaoyang said.

"Then let's go straight to the overpass," Chen Shou said.

"Aren't you going back to the horse farm? Your master's wife is waiting for you and is going to give you a welcome-back dinner."

"Oh? Then let's go back to the horse farm first, and go to the overpass later."

He returned to the horse farm, where, as expected, his master's wife was waiting for him at the door. She had prepared a sumptuous lunch, all of which were Chen Shou's favorite dishes. They ate and chatted, and drank quite a bit of wine.

The master's wife watched the two brothers drinking with a smile. Since they had both been drinking, they were destined to be unable to leave for a while, so they both took a nap and didn't go to the Tianqiao Theater until evening.

The performance is already underway on stage. The plan for this year is to promote a new star. Two previous stars left, and Yue Yunpeng is already very popular in small theaters. He has been pushed to the forefront and has become a rising star.

Today's performance is a crosstalk play called "Celebrating a Birthday." The actors were all dressed up and ready to go on stage. When Chen Shouzhe and Feng Chaoyang arrived, the actors were already prepared.

"Senior brother, senior brother, senior brother, keep watch! It's the big director!"

There was a lot of noise backstage. When Chen Shouzhe came in, everyone stood up. Chen Shouzhe kept greeting them. He could ignore his peers. He had become Yu Qian's apprentice a long time ago, and basically everyone backstage called him senior brother.

Only a few people with the character "Yun" called him junior brother, but unfortunately they all left. It's undeniable that they were good at crosstalk, but they chose to become strangers afterward.

"Uncle-Master, oh, Master, you're here too." Chen Shou greeted the elders backstage.

The elders were very happy with Chen Shouzhe's choice, and they fussed over him, showing him warmth and concern. Chen Shouzhe could feel their sincerity, as he had grown up in such an environment since childhood.

He arrived before his master and godfather, who already knew of his return. His attire today was very 'casual,' with all sorts of demons and evil spirits.

"I've gotten quite a bit darker," Old Guo said with a smile, wearing a landlord's hat.

"I went to the Northwest to film for a while, and the weather there was really unpleasant," Chen Shou said with a smile.

"He does look quite different. Filming is tough, and you, as the director, suffer along with him."

"That's to be expected. Everyone suffers in that kind of environment. There's a big show today. Is there a suitable role for me?" Chen Shou asked with a smile after looking around.

“Forget about you, you’re just causing trouble,” Teacher Yu said.

Chen Shouzhe is now a director, and returning to small theaters would be detrimental to his reputation. Although the audience enjoys watching his performances, an actor's identity needs to be cultivated. As a director with the highest box office, returning to the small stage of crosstalk would be tantamount to abandoning his directorial identity, and he would be looked down upon by many people.

Chen Shouzhe was unaware of these things. Since his master disagreed, he didn't say anything and just watched from backstage.

Many people have performed the crosstalk play "Grand Birthday Celebration." It says that a filial son is needed, so the steward arranges for a crosstalk actor to come and play the filial son, promising to pay him a certain amount of money. Later, a Taoist priest comes on stage and tells the filial son that the master is not dead.

The monk is the main character in this play, because the role is given to Yue Yunpeng.

"This isn't a mud kiwi, is it?" Chen Shou asked with a smile, looking at the string of things hanging around Yue Yunpeng's neck.

"No, they're all hollow, they're not heavy," Yue Yunpeng said with a smile.

"Oh, these three old ladies." Chen Shou couldn't stop laughing when he saw the outfits of Sun Yue, Liu Jiji, and Yang Hetong. The three of them weighed an average of 300 pounds each.

"If you three are really women, I'll make a weight loss movie for you. One of you will make a billion, and the three of you will make a billion. Box office is no problem."

Behind the chaotic scene, Tao Yunsheng is a paper doll boy, Meng Hetang is a paper doll girl, the paper horse is Luan Yunping, and the filial son is the future crown princess Yan Hexiang.

"Then I'll watch your performance." Chen Shouzhe stood behind the door and watched as the actors went on stage one by one. The opening act was Boss Gao asking Yan Hexiang to be his son, followed by the funeral procession of the patriarch, with all sorts of demons and evil spirits appearing on stage.

There were constant laughs throughout the performance. Later, Yue Yunpeng was put to the test by having to sing and chant scriptures. However, the spotlight shining on his face made him look like the King of Hell.

After enjoying the performance, everyone went on stage for an encore, and Chen Shouzhe joined them.

When he appeared, the audience cheered. Unexpectedly, Chen Shouzhe had also returned and called for him to perform a piece. The performance ended at ten o'clock, and a group of people went out for a late-night snack. Actually, it's best for actors not to eat too much before going on stage, as it's easy to feel bloated. Eating too much can cause blood to be concentrated in the stomach, and coupled with standing for too long, it can easily lead to brain hypoxia. Therefore, it's best for actors not to eat too much before going on stage. If they are really too hungry, they can eat a banana to tide them over.

So after the performance, if you can't find the actors backstage, it's because they've gone to find food.

Some people went home, while others went out for a late-night snack. Chen Shou followed the elderly couple to a noodle shop not far away, where they ate noodles with soybean paste before going home.

"Have you considered buying a house? House prices in Kyoto are getting higher and higher. You can buy a house now, but they will only get higher in the future."

On the way, Meng Hetang drove, while Chen Shouzhe, Feng Chaoyang, and Yu Qian sat in the car, with Chen Shouzhe and Yu Qian sitting together.

"I haven't considered it yet. I've invested all my money in 'Painted Skin.' I'll think about it after it's released," Chen Shou said.

Are you planning to release it this year?

"If all goes well, it can be released in October."

"It's June now, it's a bit rushed."

"I'll finish producing it as soon as possible before August, so it would be best to release it during the National Day holiday in October."

"Alright, you're all grown up now. You need to make your own decisions. The entertainment industry is a place of fame and fortune, and the film and television industry is even more serious, involving too many interests. Take Hong Kong for example, in the last century, the entertainment industry there was almost controlled by the triads. We're much better off now, but it used to be very shady, with all sorts of tricks."

"I understand, Master."

Having lived two lives, Chen Shou knew all too well the importance of controlling the media. Look at the Western media; with the rise of the internet, their deceptions no longer worked.

Countless people have been fooled in the past, some even to the point of being completely misled without realizing it. There are quite a few such people in the entertainment industry.

Chen Shouzhe understood this in his heart, but he had too little time. He needed to find a way to make money, instead of just being a director.

This path is difficult, and it's not enough for Chen Shou to rely on just one person; he needs more time.

Yu Qian didn't say much. Chen Shou just needed to understand. As for how to proceed, adults have their own ideas, and he would ask when he needed to.

The next day, I went straight to the post-production room of China Film Group to start post-production work on the film, including the score and a theme song.

Having learned from the experience of the previous film, "Painting Heart" was already completed during the filming breaks and will be used as a promotional song.

In addition, Chen Shouzhe will also go back to school to attend classes. The only downside is that he will always run into a lot of classmates walking around him, especially those from the performing arts department.

This year, the performing arts department produced a very beautiful campus belle named Nazar, as well as a "Mou Girl" named Zhou Dongyu.

Chen Shouzhe 'bumped into' her; she was quite pretty, with the exotic charm of an ethnic minority.

"Hello senior, I'm a freshman in the Performing Arts Department, my name is Nazar."

"Hello." Chen Shou nodded and walked past her.

Chen Shou didn't have too many thoughts. There were too many handsome men and beautiful women in this industry, especially at Beijing Film Academy. He had seen quite a few students in the past few days, not just freshmen, but also sophomores and juniors.

Seeing Chen Shouzhe hurriedly walk past her, Nazha was momentarily stunned. She hadn't even had a chance to introduce her classmates who had come with her before Chen Shouzhe had already left in a hurry.

“He…” For the first time, Naza doubted her own looks. Could it be that she couldn’t attract this man at all?

"A great director is just different." The classmate next to Nazar looked at him with admiration.

Naza was a little disappointed but didn't think too much about it, after all, she had a boyfriend and had already signed a contract with Sugarman in private.

Chen Shou was in a hurry to get to China Film Group, so he didn't have time to waste on relationships. Women would only affect his editing speed.

(End of this chapter)