Chapter 393: Time is a Butcher's Knife

On the 22nd, which was also the 29th day of the twelfth lunar month, the last day of the lunar year, Wei Jin took Jing Tian and embarked on the journey home.

Sitting in the spacious private jet, Jing Tian leaned tightly against Wei Jin; thinking that they would arrive in just over two hours, she felt a bit nervous.

"What? The ugly daughter-in-law is about to visit, are you scared?"

Wei Jin's teasing made Jing Tian feel somewhat shy.

Although she had met his parents before and had even visited during the Spring Festival, coming home with Wei Jin for the Spring Festival was, after all, like a young daughter-in-law visiting her in-laws, wasn't it? But the young girl still wanted to put on a strong front.

"You're the ugly one. Who knows how happy Uncle will be to see me."

Wei Jin couldn't really refute that; the two old men at home only knew about Jing Tian and Ceng Li so far, and their impression of both women was excellent.

Especially Jing Tian, who was the daughter-in-law the two old men were most satisfied with.

This time, upon learning that Jing Tian was coming over for the New Year, his uncle Wei Anguo, who usually disliked crowds and stubbornly stayed in his own old house, also agreed to spend the New Year's Eve with his brother and nephew.

You have to know, the last time Wei Anguo spent the New Year with Wei Jin was back when they were celebrating Dudu's full-month banquet.

"Fine, fine, fine, my Tian Tian is the most wonderful, okay?"

After holding the young girl in his arms and being lovey-dovey for a while, Wei Jin took out his phone and browsed the movie news on the Yinxiang Net app.

Wei Jin had to admit that the closer it got to the New Year, the more sluggish the film market became.

With almost no opponents left, the performance of Flying Swords of Dragon Gate was still falling short of expectations.

It had been in theaters for 22 days, with a box office reaching 678 million, but the daily box office was already less than 15 million, and the downward trend was somewhat obvious.

Wei Jin could only pin his hopes on an explosion during the Spring Festival film season; otherwise, whether it could break 1 billion remained ambiguous.

That film, The Great Magician, was still performing poorly; after 10 days in theaters, the box office had just broken the 100 million mark, and the daily box office was already under 10 million.

Additionally, The Viral Factor, which was distributed by the company and in which Emperor Group had placed high hopes, had also been released a few days ago.

It was just that the results left Wei Jin somewhat speechless: 11 million on the first day, and after five days in theaters, the box office had barely broken 50 million.

Honestly, for this distribution, China Film Group and Shanhe Media had already been powerful enough, securing an average screen share of no less than 25% across multiple theater chains.

But according to these figures, let alone breaking even or making a profit, it was questionable whether the box office could even cover the production costs.

It had to be said that Zhou Dong's drawing power was getting worse and worse.

One could only blame him for acting in too many bad films over the years—Curse of the Golden Flower, The Treasure Hunter, The Green Hornet, and so on—the audience could no longer be fooled.

At this moment, Wei Jin even felt a bit sorry for Boss Yang; not only would she lose a large sum of money, but her face had also been slapped swollen.

Previously, in Hong Kong, Emperor Group had held a premiere for The Viral Factor, and the momentum they built was massive.

The media in Hong Kong had always been very exaggerated; before the film was even released, they were already shouting the slogan: "The King of Gunfight Films—400 million director Lin Chao-xian is about to sweep the New Year Slot and dominate the Spring Festival film season."

It was as if Hong Kong cinema was about to become glorious once again.

Now, it was time to wake up from that dream, right? However, this didn't really affect the distributors.

Generally speaking, there are several payment methods for distribution business.

One is for the distributor to advance the marketing expenses and then deduct them from the distributable box office.

One is for the producer to provide the marketing expenses directly, with the distributor just handling the spending and earning a distribution commission at the end.

There is another situation, which is that the distributor converts the marketing costs into an investment and eventually takes a percentage share of the distributable box office.

But no matter which situation it is, the theater chain's share of the box office is paid directly to the distributor.

Unless the box office is truly disastrous, the distribution business is basically a sure win.

Therefore, before general distribution, they would also make a final estimate of the film's box office and set reasonable marketing expenses to ensure that the distribution fee could definitely be recovered.

Withdrawing his thoughts, Wei Jin continued to look down and noticed a film.

All's Well, Ends Well 2012, directed by Huang Baiming and featuring Zhen Zidan and Gu Xiaozhang, the one where Yang Mi showed off her figure in the original version, had been released.

This time without Yang Mi, the producers actually found Zhou Xiuna, a starlet who had a one-night stand with Wei Jin, to star in it, which could be said to be well-versed in the art of attracting attention.

But the first-day result of 5 million undoubtedly declared that this film with a production cost of 70 million would lose everything.

It had to be said that the Hong Kong directors' playbook of stacking star lineups, rehashing old ideas to sell nostalgia, and showing off figures to grab attention was indeed outdated.

Additionally, following the premiere of Once Again, some film critics and netizens who participated in the premiere gave their own evaluations.

"The film has all the elements it should have regarding family and love, the songs are also highlights, and the actors' performances are quite good; although not particularly stunning, the faint warmth is quite nice."

"Quite good, the premise is novel, plus the powerful rhythm control and camera work—Wei Jin's directing skills are indeed strong, highly recommended!"

"Liu Yifei is quite lucky to be able to get such a role. To be honest, her previous roles were all disconnected from reality; even Shirley Yang always felt a bit strange, but her performance in this film is quite good, worth a watch!"

"The best tear-jerker of the year. Wei Jin said it was a gift to female audiences across the country; perhaps it can also be understood as a gift to his own mother. Unfortunately, Mother Wei can no longer see it."

"A combination of laughter and tears, a family-friendly film above the standard, worth enjoying!"

"Average, not as satisfying as his previous films."

"It's okay, much better than other bad films, specifically referring to All's Well, Ends Well 2012."

"."

The overall evaluation was still quite good, though naturally, there were those who nitpicked.

Wei Jin wasn't surprised by this; to each their own, you can't force it.

Furthermore, the film's three original songs also began to be promoted online and offline, and the effect was quite good.

Especially Echoes of the Rainbow; in just one day, it had climbed into the top ten of multiple radio station request charts, and there was nothing but praise on the internet.

There were even professional musicians who came forward to support it, giving the song high affirmation.

This also caused the film's buzz and the fans' enthusiasm for watching the film to continue rising, which could be seen from the film's pre-sale situation.

"Brother, how much do you think the box office will be?"

Jing Tian, eating snacks while lying on Wei Jin's shoulder, asked suddenly.

Although she was already "sisters" with Liu Yifei, Jing Tian was not willing to be outdone by her in box office numbers.

"It's hard to say right now; I'm not too clear about the situation for the Spring Festival film season either."

Wei Jin wasn't trying to fool her; although there were no opponents in this slot, the current potential of the Spring Festival film season wasn't considered large, and he really couldn't say for sure whether it could achieve good results.

"In that case, Brother, which release window are you planning for *Bottom-Tier Girl*?"

"We'll see. This movie is suited for students, so it's best to release it during the summer or National Day holidays."

Chatting along the way, time passed quickly; two-plus hours later, the plane landed smoothly.

Wei Jin and Jing Tian walked out of the airport, wearing down jackets and masks, with hats on, wrapped up tightly.

Lao Zhu, who had come to pick them up, had been waiting for a long time; after the annual meeting, Wei Jin had given him time off.

The car drove toward the familiar place, and Jing Tian held onto Wei Jin's arm, becoming increasingly nervous. Soon, the two arrived at the destination; Lao Zhu helped with the luggage and wanted to follow, but was stopped by Wei Jin.

"Lao Zhu, go back yourself. It's New Year's Eve, you should be with your family. It's just this little bit of stuff, I'll take it in myself."

Zhu Wei thought about it and nodded; if he followed, he was afraid he would be asked to stay for dinner, and it would be hard to refuse.

"Alright, President Wei, please give my regards to the two elders."

"Mm, I will."

Honestly, Wei Jin hadn't been back for several years. At first glance, the environment here felt a bit strange, yet it also carried a sense of familiarity and warmth.

Wei Jin carried the luggage in one hand and held Jing Tian's hand with the other, while she carried the gifts. The two walked up the old stairs step by step and opened the door.

As expected, his father and uncle were already tidying up inside, just waiting for the two of them to return.

"Dad, Uncle, we're back."

"Uncle, Uncle, hello." Jing Tian looked well-behaved.

"Eh, eh, Tian Tian is here, come over and sit."

The two old men greeted Jing Tian with joyful faces, ignoring Wei Jin entirely.

"Tian Tian, you chat with Uncle for a while, I'll go to the kitchen to prepare dinner, it'll be ready in a bit."

Hearing this, Jing Tian immediately stood up, "Ah, Uncle, let me help you."

"Don't, Tian Tian, you just stay put."

Before the two old men could speak, Wei Jin refused directly.

What a joke, today is New Year's Eve; if he really let Jing Tian into the kitchen, the two old men might not survive the meal.

Jing Tian clearly understood what Wei Jin meant and pouted, but seeing the uncle present, she immediately switched to a sweet smile and started chatting with him.

This acting, Wei Jin wanted to award her a prize!

Wei Xingbang worked quickly; in less than 7 o'clock, an extremely sumptuous dinner was served.

"Tian Tian, come try it, see if it suits your taste."

Looking at the dishes on the table that clearly favored the Shaanbei region, a smile appeared on Jing Tian's face; fortunately, the Wei family didn't eat Sichuan food all the time.

"Thank you, Uncle, Uncle, Brother, let's dig in."

Wei Jin hadn't been back for several years, and when he spent the New Year in Beijing, it was always Ceng Li or a nanny doing the cooking. It had really been a long time since he tasted his father's cooking, so he couldn't help but tuck in heartily.

The time spent eating was incredibly warm.

After the meal, Wei Jin took the initiative to take on the task of washing the dishes, while taking the opportunity to send messages to the women.

When he came out, the Year of the Dragon Spring Festival Gala had already started.

The general director of this year's Spring Festival Gala was Ha Wen, the wife of Li Yong and the then-assistant director of the CCTV Variety Channel.

The hosts were Zhu Jun, Li Yong, Dong Qing, Bi Fujian, Sa Beining, and Li Shishi.

Honestly, the stage art and programs for this year's Spring Festival Gala were quite good, the stage design had a festive atmosphere, and even the product placements were reduced.

It was just that the absence of Lao Zhao made the gala lack a bit of character.

However, Qiao Zhenyu in that ancient costume, paired with the stage rich in ancient style, singing "Not a Hero," was truly stunning.

Happy Fun Age's "Today's Happiness" could also be considered a highlight of this year's gala; even the usually serious two old men were amused.

"Brother, Brother Teng and Allen are really too funny, you don't know that in the theater they..."

Jing Tian was also laughing uncontrollably. After calming down for a long while, she chatted with Wei Jin about the days at Happy Fun Age, and the two old men listened with great interest.

"Tian Tian, you mean this funny-looking young man is the school hunk of the PLA Academy of Arts? What does that mean?"

"Big Brother, a school hunk is the best-looking young man in school, it means about the same as the village beauty from our time."

As a university teacher, Wei Xingbang was clear about these things and helped explain, but then he was very puzzled.

"Tian Tian, this funny guy is probably bragging, right? How can he be considered a school hunk looking like that?"

"Uncle, it's true, Brother Teng showed me photos. He was really handsome when he was young, a bit like Li Tianwang, it's just..."

Speaking of this, Jing Tian didn't know how to finish.

They say time is a butcher's knife, but Brother Teng's pig grew too fast, making time unable to resist striking early.

Come to think of it, Shen Teng was only 4 years older than Wei Jin, and even a year younger than the "Four Beauties of Tianya" Qiao Zhenyu.

Yet whether it was Wei Jin or Qiao Zhenyu, they were both in their prime, in the flower of their youth, but Shen Teng had already grown into a greasy middle-aged uncle with a face full of wrinkles.

This was too unscientific! After grumbling to himself, Jing Tian brought up another matter.

"By the way, Brother, Brother Teng and the others are tinkering with a new play, it seems to be called something like *Charlotte's Detective*."

Wei Jin almost choked on his water; Jing Tian's train of thought was truly something.

"It's *Goodbye Mr. Loser*, right?"

"Yes, yes, that's it. The name is so funny. They originally asked me to participate, but I have to be busy with the concert..."

Jing Tian nodded hurriedly, then a look of suspicion appeared on her face.

"But Brother, how did you know?"

"Cough, did you forget I'm a shareholder?"

Having casually fooled the young girl, Wei Jin didn't stay idle either; while replying to the women's messages, he took the time to send red envelopes in the company group, and incidentally accompanied his family to continue watching the Spring Festival Gala.

The subsequent programs had no new ideas, and the singing programs had quite a few mishaps.

Xiubo and Wei Wei sang a duet of "Amour," and the lyrics were sung incorrectly.

Wang Luodan, who was squeezed out of the Four Dan Actresses but still managed to snag the title of Golden Eagle Goddess, sang a duet of "Come Home Often" with the evergreen of the music scene, Teacher Cai, who had a halo circling above his head, and they were both severely off-key.

"Son, you say it's quite good that this Spring Festival Gala doesn't interrupt with commercials, but this collective off-key singing is a bit much, isn't it? Don't they even need to rehearse?"

Wei Xingbang found it a bit hard to accept such a stage disaster at the Spring Festival Gala.

"Dad, this year's Spring Festival Gala is live, so it's normal for issues to arise. These people making mistakes aren't professional singers, and aren't there some who performed well?"

"Xingbang, what Jin said is right. That Sa-something-or-other just now? Didn't she sing quite well?"

Uncle Wei Anguo expressed his understanding; having experienced a special era, he most disliked situations where mistakes were not allowed.

"Uncle, that's Sa Dingding, a female Singer with quite a lot of talent; she even participated in Mango TV's 'I Am a Singer' this year."

Jing Tian helped introduce her from the side, but seeing the disaster on the Spring Festival Gala, the young girl felt a sense of trepidation and made up her mind that once she returned to the capital, she would continue her practice. (End of chapter)