Chapter 348

In the closet, Sister Xue, who was in a low position, raised her head and glared fiercely at Wei Ming. The little brat only knew how to trample on himself, but she had bitterness she couldn't speak of and had nothing to say.

Just as Gong Ying gradually adapted to the operations in the narrow space and became more and more accustomed to flashing and moving, suddenly, a female voice came from outside: "Brother, then I'll go to sleep first."

Gong Ying's eyes widened, and she trembled all over in horror.

The operation was temporarily interrupted. Wei Ming said to her: "Little Hong insists on staying here. Her classmates have all returned to school."

After the horror, Gong Ying worriedly said: "Then what should I do?"

Wei Ming pulled her out of the closet: "Of course, come out of the closet."

After coming out, Sister Xue angrily slapped Wei Ming. Wei Ming smiled and endured it: "Don't leave the room tonight. I'll bring the chamber pot in in a while."

"Then what about tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow morning she's going to watch the flag-raising ceremony. She'll leave before dawn, and after that, she has to go back to school to participate in National Day activities."

Hearing Wei Ming say this, Gong Ying felt a little more at ease. Wei Ming laughed: "Then shall we continue?"

Gong Ying flicked her arm and said angrily: "Continue your head, sleep!"

However, on the bed, unable to bear being pointed at by Wei Ming's gun, Sister Xue finally did a good deed once, sending the Buddha to the west.

The next morning, when Gong Ying was still in Wei Ming's arms, before dawn, she heard movement outside.

That night, Gong Ying slept lightly. Listening, it should be Wei Hong going out. She closed her eyes, finally able to sleep soundly.

After Wei Ming woke up, he didn't disturb her. Last night, he did insist for a longer time. It was hard on his wife to be so earnest.

Walking out of the room, he first locked the door, then went to the kitchen to get something to eat, and finally returned to the study, looking at a book about Germany.

In less than a week, they would set off, so it was time to get familiar with Germany. However, this book was written more than ten years ago, so one couldn't believe everything in it.

In the morning, the queue at the Daguanlou Cinema was already full early in the morning. The manager looked at the crowd, feeling it was close to the liveliness of the ten-plus tribute films in '79.

This year wasn't an integer year, and there weren't that many tribute films with strong lineups. The most famous work at this time was *Mama, Love Me Once Again*.

This film had several attractive points. One was that the original author was Wei Ming. Although the original was in script form, the popularity wasn't low, and there were millions of readers.

Two, it was said to be adapted from a true story, which made people even more curious.

Three, this was starring Gong Ying. *Good Things Come After Hardships*, *The Herdsman*, and other films made her a quasi-first-line actress in the country, but she was always a bit short of the very top.

After all, although *The Herdsman* had a good reputation and was highly recognized in the industry, there was still some gap in the number of viewers compared to movies like *Little Flower*, *Romance on Lushan Mountain*, and *Happy Reunion* that triggered a nationwide viewing craze.

So Zhu Lin caught up from behind, and her current popularity might be a little bit stronger than hers.

But because she was beautiful, the audience who liked Gong Ying was very fanatical. After Wang Qiankun opened the cinema door, he felt that at least half of the people who came in were single young men.

The other half were basically family viewers, especially mothers with children.

This movie had been highlighted in publications like *Popular Cinema*, and plus this name, it looked like a film about family affection, which was very attractive to parents.

Seven-year-old Pan Ying was brought by his parents to watch this movie today. He looked quiet and was a little boy who liked to draw.

Already in elementary school, he had some complaints about this name, feeling it was too much like a girl's. However, his parents never took it to heart. Hmph, sooner or later he would change it.

Pan Ying's father, Pan Zhiguang, was a policeman from Guangdong Province, and his mother, Tian Runxiang, was a teacher with a bright future. Their family lived in Dashilan, and it was just a few steps to Daguanlou.

However, on the way, Pan Ying was thinking about *Fairy Tale King* for this month, curious if the Black Cat Detective who lost one ear would be lonely, and worried about the Calabash Brothers after their grandfather was caught.

He was a loyal reader of Wei Shenme, and didn't care much for Wei Ming.

After entering the cinema, sitting in front of them was a family of four—a pair of parents plus a son and daughter. The children looked similar in age and should be twins, both younger than Pan Ying.

Today, Wei Pingan brought his wife and children to the city to play and took the opportunity to watch his son's new film.

Lu Xiaoyan had been looking forward to this day for a long time. She accompanied her son to participate in the filming of this play throughout the whole process and knew that this movie definitely wouldn't be bad. She cried several times on the scene, not to mention the finished film had music, interludes, and film techniques.

If it weren't for the fact that both she and Wei Pingan had to work yesterday, she would have taken the children to the Beijing Film Studio for an advance screening long ago.

After waiting for a while, the cinema was seven or eight-tenths full, and the movie officially started.

The original version was a story told in flashback, starting from the son growing up and returning to the country, meeting his crazy mother in the welfare home, and recalling the previous events.

Wei Ming's version started from a pair of parents losing their son and reporting to the police, but this couple was a bit strange. The father was a bit anxious, but the wife seemed to have nothing to do with it.

For those who hadn't read the original, this was a suspense.

At this time, a little boy who looked very cute was hiding in the cargo bed of a truck.

Lu Xiaoyan immediately pointed at the screen excitedly, poked Lele, and pinched Xizi.

Xizi in the lens had been in the car for a while. His face looked dirty, but it couldn't hide his cute appearance. Many audience members also recognized that he was Gong Ying's son in *The Herdsman*.

And Pan Ying recognized directly that this little actor was the little boy in front. He touched his mother in surprise and pointed to the front.

Pan Mother, who was in the dark, couldn't see clearly either. She whispered: "Focus on the movie, don't disturb others."

Because he was too sleepy, the little boy gradually fell asleep, and a distant mother's call seemed to ring in his ears.

"Little Calabash, wake up~"

The lens turned, and the little boy woke up, only he had changed scenes. The sun was bright, Little Calabash was lying on a bamboo mat, beside him was his mother helping him fan with a cattail fan, and outside the window were calabash vines full of calabashes.

Seeing this scene, Pan Ying had some spirit. So many Calabash Brothers!

The heroine Gong Ying officially appeared, and the story also returned to two years ago.

Gong Ying at this time was a young mother's look, hair tied up, face small and exquisite, able to withstand various close-ups, which was pleasing to the audience's eyes.

The story started from the second year of the resumption of the college entrance examination. Her husband, Hu Wanqian, had already taken the exam for a year and failed. This was his second time participating in the college entrance examination. Only by passing the college entrance examination could he return to the Magic City he was thinking about day and night.

Ma Xiaowei appeared for the second time. He looked scholarly, but the audience had already understood that he would marry someone else later. The woman who reported to the police with him turned out to be a stepmother.

At this time, it was more than a month away from the college entrance examination. Hu Wanqian returned from school with a letter in his hand.

This was a letter written by his parents in the Magic City, the general idea being that they hoped he would return to the Magic City to prepare for the exam. The Magic City had richer educational resources and could find famous teachers to tutor him, thereby increasing the probability of passing the exam. It could be seen that Hu Wanqian's parents had some energy.

"It's just that this way, only the two of you mother and son will be left at home." Hu Wanqian worried. At this time, he still had the image of a good husband.

His wife, He Hua, told him to go to the Magic City with peace of mind; she could take good care of Little Calabash.

The plot officially unfolded, and the characters gradually became full. He Hua was a rural girl whose father was unknown and mother died early, and her background wasn't good. Hu Wanqian was an educated youth who went to the countryside from the big city of the Magic City.

Although He Hua was hated by everyone in the village because she had a landlord grandfather who was shot, she was truly beautiful. Hu Wanqian ultimately ignored his parents' instructions for the sake of beauty, settled down in the countryside, and gave birth to the cute and lively Little Calabash.

Next were the rival scenes between mother He Hua and son Little Calabash. He Hua wasn't as weak as she looked. She could climb trees to pick fruits, go into the water to catch fish, weave all kinds of small things with grass, and was also proficient in carpentry. In Little Calabash's eyes, his mother could do anything.

This mother character was worlds apart from Gong Ying's past image, and also different from the classic mother images shaped in movies before.

She was younger and prettier, more lively and enthusiastic, more like Little Calabash's friend and playmate. The children on the scene immediately liked this He Hua mother. How they wished they could use this mother to exchange for their own mother!

Seeing the audience's reaction, Lu Xiaoyan knew that Little Xue's character shaping was very successful and popular.

Although He Hua looked like she hadn't read many books, she was very sensible. She sent her son to school to learn very early, and sometimes when she passed by the classroom door, she would stop and listen carefully to the knowledge taught by the teacher, her eyes full of longing for knowledge.

The next segment, after Little Calabash fell asleep, He Hua lit a kerosene lamp to write a letter to her husband far away. Although the characters were written crookedly, the content was very sweet, and the smile on her face made people dream back to their passionate love.

When acting this segment, she was thinking about Little Wei.

A month later, Hu Wanqian returned to participate in the college entrance examination. After receiving the admission notice, when He Hua and Little Calabash were both happy for the husband and father, Hu Wanqian took out money with a heavy face and asked Little Calabash to buy two catties of meat to celebrate. It was just that Little Calabash didn't realize something was wrong and just thought this was celebrating.

When Little Calabash happily swung the meat on the grass rope and returned home, the house suddenly became messy, and He Hua held a pair of scissors in her hand, her eyes absent.

But when she heard Little Calabash's childish "Mom," she threw the scissors aside in a panic, then squatted down and hugged Little Calabash tightly, and tears "swished" down.

Seeing Mom crying, Little Calabash also cried, crying while comforting Mom, and helping her wipe her tears.

This scene poked many audience members on the scene, and some people already started to have red-rimmed eyes, and this was just the most insignificant beginning.

This place had some blank spaces, but adult audience members almost all understood. The educated youth passed the college entrance examination and didn't want the rural wife and child anymore. This was a routine that had begun to appear in recent educated youth literature.

Even if they didn't understand, the director inserted a scene of Hu Wanqian returning to the Magic City home and discussing the marriage with another woman of extraordinary background with his parents.

From the layout of this house, one could tell that Hu Wanqian's family background was extraordinary. However, this marriage arranged for him was even more remarkable. Although the woman didn't go to college, her family background was still above the Hu family, which was of great benefit to his future. If Hu Wanqian hadn't been admitted to Fudan University, there would have been no play.

And Hu Wanqian was still worried about He Hua and Little Calabash at this time. He stared at the rich dishes on the table, not knowing what the two mother and son were eating.

The lens turned, and a plate of bright red braised pork was served on a wooden table.